I used to read a lot about the benefits of yoga, hear others talk about it and observe it from the sidelines, but it was only in words to me until yoga became my daily ritual.
Now I can join my peers in affirming through experience that the practice of yoga is empowering. Because of its effect on our mind, especially the ability to take control of it and thus learn to manage one’s own states and moods, yoga becomes a tool that unlocks the limitless potential of human beings. You have probably heard stories about the ability of great yogis to exert control over physical processes and familiar reality through inner effort.
These abilities, or powers, are called siddhis, which are acquired along with an expansion of the mind. These abilities need not necessarily go beyond our understanding and conception of reality and the laws of the universe. I mean that we are not going to talk to you about the lividity and the stopping of the heartbeat.
My focus will be on the more down-to-earth, but no less meaningful abilities that actually apply to daily life and make it more profound, interesting and limitless. I would like to point out right away that yoga, as a holistic spiritual philosophy, affects not only asanas, the essence of which is to prepare our body and consciousness for a deeper practice, namely, meditation. So when I talk about yoga, I don’t mean part of it, but the whole complex with all its consequences. So, what can yoga do for us and what siddhis may become available to us in the near future, after a sincere immersion in yoga?
Introduction to the story
The philosophy and practice of yoga evolved over many thousands of years and came to be known from the practices of tantra. 7,000 years ago the magical Himalayan mountains gave the world the great yogi Sadashiva, who brought with him the knowledge necessary to build world civilization: art, music, science, medicine, language, social norms and, most importantly, psycho-spiritual practices.
The word “tantra” itself means: “that which liberates from grossness (ignorance)”, “liberation from the darkness of ignorance through merging with the Supreme”. therefore its practices were based on a systematic and scientific method, which made it possible to achieve a state of of spiritual enlightenment. Tantra can be called the mother of of all systems of yoga, for each system is based on some fragment of the teachings of tantra.
Yoga is a timeless science, and its value to the modern world is no less than it was in the past. Many physicians and health professionals have come to realize that the level of Tantra yogic practices is far superior to that of “traditional” medicine.
The Purpose of Yoga
Yoga is about 2 things: first we need to forget our limitations and second we need to remember our infinity. And forgetting our infinity is called pratyahara – it means to gradually detach our mind from the objects of the outside world, from our body, from our thoughts. The attention is always directed outward to our outside world to our body or to our thoughts. And in yoga and meditation, we direct our attention inward to the very core of our spirit.
Transforming Thinking
All people have a big stream of thoughts in their heads that absorb energy and we end up wasting our potential. Every thought absorbs energy and we feel depleted, we do not feel enough power and inspiration to do something important, creative, useful, to achieve success in the internal and external sphere. Thoughts are constantly running and from one thought flows out the other. And thoughts are not free, each thought takes a certain amount of energy of the soul and ordinary thoughts make our mind rude. Scattered thinking is our style, we live this way since childhood and we need to transform and transform our thinking.
Yoga compares favorably to ordinary thinking because we train our mind here, we learn to redirect our thoughts from a coarse, material flow to an infinite and sublime flow. During practice, we consciously track our thoughts that limit us in thought, helping us to remember our infinity. Mantra is an important key in the philosophy of yoga and if we continuously repeat the mantra to ourselves during practice, at some point it will open to us a completely different state of consciousness.
Increasing awareness and concentration
What is mindfulness? Awareness is when we are aware of what is happening to us and when we develop awareness we have the ability to influence our thought processes, form our character and life in general. The more consciousness we have through yoga, the more influence and control and constructiveness we have in our life.
Relieving stress and tension
Today’s world is full of mental stress and tension. People are always in a hurry to get somewhere, but they still do not have enough time to put their plans into action. The high speed and activity of the modern world has a devastating effect on our sensitive minds and nervous systems.
To deal effectively with stress and hardship, people must learn to better understand and control their own minds. The mind is the receptacle of all our thoughts and feelings, resentment, hatred, jealousy and joy that arise under the influence of external conditions.
Lust for Infinity
All the religions of the world focus on the discovery of truth, the comprehension of a higher Essence, and the attainment of infinite happiness. They all speak of a higher form of existence, though they call it differently: heaven, paradise, salvation, bliss, satori, nirvana. All religions came from the human desire to go beyond physical and mental existence into the realm we call spirituality. This spiritual longing is a fundamental characteristic of man. “The thirst for infinity is in every living being.”
Yoga emphasizes the practical aspect of the spiritual path. A person can belong to any faith (or not belong to any faith at all) and practice yoga and meditation. Regular practice of yoga helps one come to this happiness, as the horizon of perception gradually expands and one gets closer to the transcendental state of happiness and realization.
The revolution of consciousness
Usually we identify with the body and the shallow layers of our mind, living only in the lower planes of existence. We feel that we are separate and distinct from the world and ourselves; we erect social barriers, barriers of faith, caste, gender, race or nationality. On the conscious level, people are different and separate, but on the level of the superconscious mind and the infinite Soul, all are one.
Those who manage to rise above the lower layers of existence transcend all mental and social barriers and attain universal vision. Realizing that all are part of the universal Mind. This is why yoga is the practice through which we can elevate ourselves and realize our oneness. The first revolution must be a revolution of consciousness.
Be in harmony with yourself and the world
Maria Shakti.
