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Home , Purusha

LIVE LOVE INSPIRE

HOUSE OF OM

MODULE 5

PRACTICE 120 MINS

In this module you will find your balance with a specifically designed Vinyasa Flow sequence, accompanied by for Gratitude, and your usual pranayama routine.

HISTORY 60 MINS

In the history lesson you will learn about the Darshans, and the Four Margas of (a continuation).

YOGA NIDRA 20 MINS

Also known as Yogic sleep, Yoga Nidra is a state of between waking and sleeping. Usually induced by a guided meditation REFLECTION 60 MINS

Every second module you will be writing a reflection. Save it to your own journal as well - you will not only learn much faster, but understand what works for you better.

HISTORY QUIZ AND QUESTIONS 60 MINS

Five closed and two open question will both entertain with a little challenge, and pinpoint what resonated the most with your individual self.

BONUS

Om Mani Padme Hum Mantra

In all spiritual traditions, Mantra Yoga or Meditation is regarded as one of the safest, easiest, and best means of systematically overhauling the patterns of consciousness. YOGA HISTORY

THE FOUR MARGAS OF YOGA

Yoga is one of the 6 Darshans of traditional Indian thought. “Darshan” means ‘to see’. It implies that it does not mean ‘Philosophy’ or ‘to think about life’ but ‘to see/ experience reality’.

The six Darshans are: • Purva Mimamsa • • • Or Uttara Mimamsa • • Yoga • Purva Mimamsa (Earlier Enquiry)

It is based on The and Brahmanas.

The most important text is the Mimamsa , written by around 200 to 300 BCE, and the central idea is ; to live life in keeping with the Vedic moral code and focus on ritualism.

Metaphysics

There are many Pure Selves that come to consciousness only in conjunction with a body-mind. there is no above these selves. There is no focus on seeking self- liberation as the self is unconscious, till it comes in conjunction with a body mind.

Therefore this system is good for the societal order, and to live life in a balanced manner but there is no real striving beyond that.

• Nyaya (Rule)

The Nyaya school was founded by Akshapada Gautama around 500 BCE.

The main text is the Nyaya Sutra by Akshapada Gautama and the central idea is that to live rightly and pursue meaningful goals we must determine what constitutes right knowledge.

There are numerous selves (Atman), all considered unconscious. God is a special Atman and is the only conscious self.

The Nyaya School is perhaps the first school where the rules of logic were formulated.

The Nyaya School considered liberation the noblest goal (Apavarga). However, this was criticized by other schools because, what is the purpose of Self-Liberation if the self is unconscious?

• Vaisheshika (Distinctions) Vaisheshika School was founded by 500 to 600 BCE.

The main text is the vaisheshika Sutra by Kanada, while the central idea is the Distinctions between the six primary categories of .

These categories are: • (substance) • Guna (quality) • (action) • Samanya/ Jati (universal) • Vishesha (particular) • Amavasya (inherence or relational)

Vaisheshika like Nyaya is mostly non-existent today. Even Purva Mimamsa has been replaced by Uttara Mimamsa or Vedanta.

Let us look at the 3 Schools of Classical Hindu thought that continue to flourish today.

• Uttara Mimamsa (Later Enquiry) or Vedanta (Culmination of Vedic Wisdom) It is based on the Aranyakas, and .

The main text is the Sutra or Vedanta of Badarayana in 200CE.

The central idea is that reality is a single harmonious whole. Vedanta is the most well- known idea of Hindu thought, which has outlasted every other philosophical idea. Metaphysics

Non dualism. Here that is no division between matter and Consciousness. matter is considered to be or illusory. Everything is consciousness, there is no split. When realization dawns, then matter dissolves and only consciousness remains. one must strive towards this. meditation is an internal ritual - which is an idea from the Upanishads.

The best known practitioner is Shankara who lived 788-820 CE and also Ramanujam 1017 to 1127 CE. Shankara revived the Hindu way of life at a time when Buddhism was becoming the dominant religion in India. Because of Shankar's work, Buddhism was more or less moved out of India as people changed to the Hindu thought.

• Samkhya (Enumeration) The Samkhya School’s most renowned luminary is Sage and he wrote the Samkhya Sutra.

However when we refer to Samkhya as part of the 6 darshans, we primarily refer to another text.

The main text is the Samkhya Karika written by Ishvar Krishna (350 CE).

The central idea is to enumerate and describe the primary categories of existence (). Samkhya in fact means ‘number’ or to ‘enumerate’.

There are 25 everlutes that describe the process of Creation.

• Purusha - Awareness • Prakriti - Matter/ Energy or Nature • Prakriti, as creation unfolds, manifests as Mahat or (Great Intelligence) • From Mahat comes (Identification as a Self) • From Ahamkara comes the 11 organs of sense and action • Manas (mind, as the internal sense organ) • The 5 Jnanendriyas (sense organs - nose, tongue, eyes, skin & ears) • The 5 Karmendriyas (organs of action - hands, legs, mouth - speech, genitals, anus) • Further down the line of creation; are the 5 (Subtle quality of the senses - smell, taste, sight, touch and hearing) • Finally, we arrive at the last stage of creation; the 5 Panchamahabhutas (Elements - earth, water, fire, air, space) Creation manifests along these lines, but let’s now understand the purpose of creation according to the Samkhya School.

Metaphysics

Purusha associates with Prakriti to trigger evolution/ creation. This process is for the sake of self-liberation of the selves, which somehow wrongly identify with a body-mind instead of their intrinsic condition of pure consciousness.

There is no special Self or God in Samkhya, it is atheist.

Viveka (discrimation) is the means to attain liberation. One of the greatest contributions of the Samkhya School has been the Guna Theory wherein the manifest creation is an interplay between 3 qualities or characteristics: • Gunas • Sattva • • Tamas

The unique combination of these 3 Gunas determines a person’s individuality and behaviour as well as other inanimate objects.

The Guna Theory is now adopted by all of Indian thought including Yoga and Ayurveda.

Classical Yoga and Samkhya are sister-philosophies as they have nearly the same ideas - except for a few; especially the idea that introduced of Iswara. • Yoga (Integration)

When we speak of Classical Yoga as one of the 6 Darshans of Indian thought, we are referring specifically to the Yoga school of Patanjali.

Yoga existed before him, and there were many contemporary schools as well in his time but it is the Yoga of Patanjali that has come to define the ideological system of classical Yoga.

The main text is of course the Yoga Sutras circa 200CE.

The central idea is how to overcome the apparent indivisibility between self and nature. In other words, realising pure awareness to stand on its own and not be identified with nature or consciousness. The fact that our awareness is distinct from a tree is simple to comprehend - but the challenge is to distinguish our awareness from our consciousness or mind. Our consciousness is mutable and dependent on the Gunas and is therefore different from our awareness, which is immutable/ unchanging and is not dependent on the Gunas.

When Awareness stands in its own light, this indivisibility with Consciousness has been overcome, Patanjali calls it Kaivalya, the goal of Yoga.

Metaphysics

Like Samkhya, Yoga is a dualist philosophy with self and nature (Purusha and Prakriti) being the 2 aspects of creation. Upon self-liberation, nature starts involuting / disintegrating for the yogi as it has served its purpose.

Patanjali however differs from Kapila’s Samkhya by introducing the idea of Iswara (Pure awareness) or the Lord as a special Atman or Self.

Iswara Pranidhan or aligning with the pure awareness/ Lord is one of the of the 8 limbs of Yoga. More on that in the lectures on the Sutras.

The self-realization of Kaivalya dawns through progressive stages of (ecstatic states from where wisdom dawns).

Patanjali’s writings are also inspired by the Buddha as these were the prevalent ideas of the time in ancient India (circa 500 BCE) Yoga comes from the word ‘Yuj’ or Union, this is a Union of the Individual with the Cosmic. However, it is also important to understand the definition of Yoga as Vi-Yoga or separation as the Yoga Sutras constantly remind us about the separation of Pure Awareness from identification with consciousness.

Traditionally we see 4 forms of Yoga, they are called the four margas (Path) • Jnana Yoga - The head, if one is more intellectually inclined • Bhakti Yoga - The heart if one is more emotionally inclined • Karma Yoga - The hands if one is more of a doer and likes giving services • Raja Yoga - Energy if one is more keen on practicing physical activities

Jnana Yoga

The yoga for inquiry and not intellect, going deep into the question “Who am I?” Reading or learning from others will not bring one to that ultimate realization. This is not about information but a total transformation from within. Ultimately the mind reaches its limit and one will have to make an allogical leap, not illogical but allogical (beyond logic, which is very much a mind attribute) If you are a person who is mainly intellectual, then your path is inquiry or Jnana Yoga. this is not intellectualization; rather it is inquiry. to ask the question “who am I?”, and to seek out an answer as a life purpose. Not merely intellectualization, but the question of “who am I?” drives the person's life.The person can even be illiterate - it does not matter. What matters is the inquiry - using the discriminating capacity of the mind to seek out answers to life. A good example would be a . At 13 he began to ask “Who am I?" He decided that unless he really knows who he is, what is the purpose of continuing his life and his daily life routines? Ramana Maharshi left home and went to the Velliangiri Hills in Tamil Nadu, and continued to meditate on this question, and through this process he eventually reached the Enlightenment. He is the best known Jnana yogi of the last century, along with Jiddu Krishnamurti. Bhakti Yoga Bhakti Yoga or The Yoga of Devotion is the best for the emotionally inclined people. It is the best way to express one's emotion by working with a Deity, a Guru or a higher entity, or a personal God or any other idea. In this way, we express our emotions in a beautiful manner. All Saints are usually Bhakti Yogis By dedicating oneself to one's god we are able to overcome a limited sense of self. Many people follow Bhakti Yoga, and religions such as Christianity and Islam are the prime examples of Bhakti Yoga. Faith and devotion are the main qualities for the devotee. All the saints such as Mirabai are examples of Bhakti Yoga.

Nowadays, it may be fashionable to say that religion doesn't work, but faith and devotion does work beautifully for many people across the . If you are an emotional person and faith comes naturally to you, you know how beautiful that journey is, or if you know someone in your family or friends’ circle, you can witness their incredible journey.

Karma Yoga The Yoga of Service. Many people are doers in the world, and for them, Karma Yoga is the right approach. They are the people who would like to do things, help people, and improve the situation of the world. People like Mother Theresa and Gandhi are classic examples of Karma Yogis.

They serve people and dedicate their lives to this purpose. Often they could combine Bhakti Yoga and Karma Yoga by dedicating their actions to a higher purpose or God.

We will see in the section on the Gita - Krishna’s description of Karma Yoga. Raja Yoga Finally, if you are doing this course, then Raja Yoga is your primary way of approaching yoga. Patanjali’s Raja Yoga focuses on working with your energy - training your body, mind, and energy to transcend your limited sense of identity. Patanjali focuses on the 8 stages or Limbs of Yoga, training first your moral and ethical values, then your body, senses, mind, and eventually going beyond the mind to ecstatic states of Samadhi.

Raja Yoga means the royal path. You work with your body, mind, and energy to transform and to bring about the distinction of pure awareness from Identifying with patterns of consciousness.

There is an old story of 4 people meeting in a forest. One of them was a Bhakti yogi, one Jnana yogi, one Karma yogi, and one Raja yogi.

As sometimes is the case with spiritual people, they felt that their path is the best. So each one started to speak to the others glorifying their own path and journey, telling the others why they are wasting their time following these other margas.

So the Bhakti yogi was telling the others, “Why are you wasting your time meditating or doing things in the world, working with asanas and so on, when you should just be dedicating your life to God?”.

And just like this, the Jnana yogi was asking the other three why they are wasting their time with doing actions in the world - they should just be asking, “Who am I”. And the Karma yogi said, “All this “Who am I”, and this “God”, all of this is fine, but essentially we are here to do things and serve people - so let's help people”.

And Raja yogi said, “Unless you have a disciplined practice what is the point of all of this? You will not reach enlightenment”.

This discussion went on for a while. As is the case with spiritual discussions, there was no end in sight, and soon it began to rain. The rain became torrential and all the four had to run searching for cover. Eventually, they reached a small temple that was just big enough as a cover for a shivalinga (a stone representative of ). Exhausted from running they all collapsed on the shivalinga and eventually fell asleep. When they woke up in the morning they were amazed to find Shiva in front of them.

Each one bowed down and started to ask Shiva, “I have been praying to you for the last 30 years, yet you have never appeared to me - so why today?”. And just like this each of them told Shiva how they have been searching for such a long time in their own life and yet why is it that today he appears to them?

“So”, Shiva says looking at Bhakti yogi, “You only looked at me through your heart, and you (facing Jnana yogi) only looked for me through your brain, and you (turning to Karma yogi) only looked for me through your actions, and you (now turning to Raja yogi) only looked for me through your energies. When you bring all these together - only then do you find me!”

This is a beautiful story to remind us that whatever our predominant quality is, it becomes our main Marga in yoga, but we have to continue to practice the other aspects as well. This makes our searching more holistic, as we try to attain Liberty with all of self and not just one part.

Let's spend a little time asking ourselves, “Yes, I do Raja Yoga, but what is the other predominant quality in me?” YOGA HISTORY. FOUR MARGAS QUIZ

The yoga of working with energy, is also being called as: 1.Raja Yoga 2.Bhakti Yoga 3.Karma Yoga 4.Jnana Yoga

The yoga inquiry, where someone is going into a deep question of “Who Am I?” which create a total transformation of within, is also being called as: 1.Raja Yoga 2.Bhakti Yoga 3.Karma Yoga 4.Jnana Yoga

In 4 Margas of Yoga, which are the Marga that is being taught by Krishna? 1.Raja Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga 2.Bhakti Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Karma Yoga 3.Bhakti Yoga, Ashtanga Yoga, Raja Yoga 4.Ashtanga Yoga, Karma Yoga, Raja Yoga

“As you sow, you shall reap” is also an act of: 1.Jnana Yoga 2.Karma Yoga 3.Raja Yoga 4.

Who’s the first Yogi that is using Tantra as the path to embark the liberation? 1.Raja Yoga 2.Krisna 3.Buddha

4. Adi Yoga

4 , 2 , 2 , 4 , 1 : s r e w s n A FOUR MARGAS QUESTIONS

1 How do you reconcile the different margas within your own personality?

2 As a teacher, you will find students who are emotional ass well as those who are intellectual. How do you teach people that all paths are equal? REFLECTION

What did you think about the lessons of these past modules? How did they impact you? What did you feel was useful, and what was lacking? What do you think you will keep using and in what situations? BONUS

OM MANI PADME HUM MANTRA

"Om Mani Padme Hum"

“Om Mani Padme Hum” is most powerful mantra of Buddhism especially of . This mantra is the manifestation of Buddha’s compassion. It is said that all the teachings of the Buddha are contained in this mantra: Om Mani Padme Hum cannot really be translated into a simple phrase or sentence.

‘Om’, the word with three syllables, represents the body, speech and mind. It represents the Self also.

‘Mani’ means jewel and represents Warm-Heartedness—Karuna (Compassion).

‘Padme’ means Wisdom, the and

‘Hum’ means inseparable.

So Warm-Heartedness and Understanding, these two practices should combine, should conjoin. In order to purify ‘I’, compassion and wisdom must combine. Through that, the self can purify and reach a permanent state of happiness, . That’s the meaning of ‘Om Mani Padme Hum’. NOTES