A Short Description of Maha Yoga
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The Nine Yanas
The Nine Yanas By Cortland Dahl In the Nyingma school, the spiritual journey is framed as a progression through nine spiritual approaches, which are typically referred to as "vehicles" or "yanas." The first three yanas include the Buddha’s more accessible teachings, those of the Sutrayana, or Sutra Vehicle. The latter six vehicles contain the teachings of Buddhist tantra and are referred to as the Vajrayana, or Vajra Vehicle. Students of the Nyingma teachings practice these various approaches as a unity. Lower vehicles are not dispensed with in favor of supposedly “higher” teachings, but rather integrated into a more refined and holistic approach to spiritual development. Thus, core teachings like renunciation and compassion are equally important in all nine vehicles, though they may be expressed in more subtle ways. In the Foundational Vehicle, for instance, renunciation involves leaving behind “worldly” activities and taking up the life of a celibate monk or nun, while in the Great Perfection, renunciation means to leave behind all dualistic perception and contrived spiritual effort. Each vehicle contains three distinct components: view, meditation, and conduct. The view refers to a set of philosophical tenets espoused by a particular approach. On a more experiential level, the view prescribes how practitioners of a given vehicle should “see” reality and its relative manifestations. Meditation consists of the practical techniques that allow practitioners to integrate Buddhist principles with their own lives, thus providing a bridge between theory and experience, while conduct spells out the ethical guidelines of each system. The following sections outline the features of each approach. Keep in mind, however, that each vehicle is a world unto itself, with its own unique philosophical views, meditations, and ethical systems. -
And Daemonic Buddhism in India and Tibet
Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2012 The Raven and the Serpent: "The Great All- Pervading R#hula" Daemonic Buddhism in India and Tibet Cameron Bailey Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES THE RAVEN AND THE SERPENT: “THE GREAT ALL-PERVADING RHULA” AND DMONIC BUDDHISM IN INDIA AND TIBET By CAMERON BAILEY A Thesis submitted to the Department of Religion in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Religion Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2012 Cameron Bailey defended this thesis on April 2, 2012. The members of the supervisory committee were: Bryan Cuevas Professor Directing Thesis Jimmy Yu Committee Member Kathleen Erndl Committee Member The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee members, and certifies that the thesis has been approved in accordance with university requirements. ii For my parents iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank, first and foremost, my adviser Dr. Bryan Cuevas who has guided me through the process of writing this thesis, and introduced me to most of the sources used in it. My growth as a scholar is almost entirely due to his influence. I would also like to thank Dr. Jimmy Yu, Dr. Kathleen Erndl, and Dr. Joseph Hellweg. If there is anything worthwhile in this work, it is undoubtedly due to their instruction. I also wish to thank my former undergraduate advisor at Indiana University, Dr. Richard Nance, who inspired me to become a scholar of Buddhism. -
For Thoroughly Ascertaining Reality
www.khenposodargye.org For Thoroughly Ascertaining Reality By Jamgon Mipham Rinpoche Commented by Khenpo Sodargye 1 www.khenposodargye.org Not Final Version Yet For Internal Use Only If you find any mistake, please kindly send your message to [email protected]. We sincerely appreciate all your feedback. 2 www.khenposodargye.org Content Root Verses with Textual Outline ............................................................... 5 Chapter One. The Opening ........................................................................ 28 The Explanation of the Title ................................................................... 29 The Prostration & the Pledge ................................................................. 31 Chapter Two. The Two Truths and the Two Types of Valid Knowledge ... 34 The Two Truths to be Ascertained ......................................................... 34 The Two Types of Valid Knowledge that Can Ascertain the Two Truths 36 The Manifestation of Dependent Arising ............................................... 39 The Principle of Function and the Principle of Dependence .................. 42 The Necessity of Understanding the Two Principles .............................. 47 The Principle of Nature on Conventional Level ...................................... 52 The Principle of Nature on Ultimate Level ............................................. 60 Summary of the Three Principles ........................................................... 64 The Principle of Establishment by Proof ............................................... -
The Malleability of Yoga: a Response to Christian and Hindu Opponents of the Popularization of Yoga
Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies Volume 25 Article 4 November 2012 The Malleability of Yoga: A Response to Christian and Hindu Opponents of the Popularization of Yoga Andrea R. Jain Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.butler.edu/jhcs Part of the Religion Commons Recommended Citation Jain, Andrea R. (2012) "The Malleability of Yoga: A Response to Christian and Hindu Opponents of the Popularization of Yoga," Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies: Vol. 25, Article 4. Available at: https://doi.org/10.7825/2164-6279.1510 The Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies is a publication of the Society for Hindu-Christian Studies. The digital version is made available by Digital Commons @ Butler University. For questions about the Journal or the Society, please contact [email protected]. For more information about Digital Commons @ Butler University, please contact [email protected]. Jain: The Malleability of Yoga The Malleability of Yoga: A Response to Christian and Hindu Opponents of the Popularization of Yoga Andrea R. Jain Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis FOR over three thousand years, people have yoga is Hindu. This assumption reflects an attached divergent meanings and functions to understanding of yoga as a homogenous system yoga. Its history has been characterized by that remains unchanged by its shifting spatial moments of continuity, but also by divergence and temporal contexts. It also depends on and change. This applies as much to pre- notions of Hindu authenticity, origins, and colonial yoga systems as to modern ones. All of even ownership. Both Hindu and Christian this evidences yoga’s malleability (literally, the opponents add that the majority of capacity to be bent into new shapes without contemporary yogis fail to recognize that yoga breaking) in the hands of human beings.1 is Hindu.3 Yet, today, a movement that assumes a Suspicious of decontextualized vision of yoga as a static, homogenous system understandings of yoga and, consequently, the rapidly gains momentum. -
Themelios an International Journal for Pastors and Students of Theological and Religious Studies
Themelios An International Journal for Pastors and Students of Theological and Religious Studies Volume 2 Issue 3 May, 1977 Contents Karl Barth and Christian apologetics Clark H Pinnock Five Ways to Salvation in Contemporary Guruism Vishal Mangalwadi The ‘rapture question’ Grant R Osborne Acts and Galatians reconsidered Colin J Hemer Book Reviews Vishal Mangalwadi, “Five Ways to Salvation in Contemporary Guruism,” Themelios 2.3 (May 1977): 72- 77. Five Ways to Salvation in Contemporary Guruism Vishal Mangalwadi [p.72] Man’s basic problem according to Hinduism is not moral but metaphysical. It is not that man is guilty of having broken God’s moral law, but that he has somehow forgotten his true nature and he experiences himself to be someone other than what he is. Man is not a sinner; he is simply ignorant of his true self. The problem is with his consciousness. His salvation consists in attaining that original state of consciousness which he has lost. Man’s true nature or original consciousness is defined differently by monistic and non-monistic gurus. The monistic gurus, who believe that God, man and the universe are ultimately one, teach that man is Infinite Consciousness or God, but has somehow been entangled in finite, personal, rational consciousness. So long as he remains in this state he is born repeatedly in this world of suffering. Salvation lies in transcending finite, personal consciousness and merging into (or experiencing ourselves to be) the Infinite Impersonal Consciousness, and thereby getting out of the cycle of births and deaths. In other words, salvation is a matter of perception or realization. -
History of Yoga 2
The History of Yoga by Christopher (Hareesh) Wallis (hareesh.org, mattamayura.org) 1. Yoga means joining oneself (yoga) firmly to a spiritual discipline (yoga), the central element of which is the process (yoga) of achieving integration (yoga) and full connection (yoga) to reality, primarily through scripturally prescribed exercises (yoga) characterized by the meta-principle of repeatedly bringing together all the energies of the body, mind, and senses in a single flow (ekāgratā) while maintaining tranquil focused presence (yukta, samāhita). 2. Yoga in the Indus Valley Civilization? 2500-1700 BCE [hardly likely!] 3. Yoga in the early Vedas? (lit., 'texts of knowledge,' 1800-800 BCE): not in the hymns (saṃhitās), but there are early yogic ideas in the priestly knowledge-books (brāhmaṇas and āraṇyakas) 4. Yoga in the śramana movement (600 – 300 BCE) A. the Buddha (Siddhārtha Gautama), 480 – 400 BCE B. Mahāvīra Jina, founder of Jainism, ca. 550 – 450 BCE 5. Yoga in the Upanishads (lit., 'hidden connections' 700 BCE -100 CE): key teachings A. "Thou art That" (tat tvam asi; Chāndogya Upanishad 6.8.7) • cf. "I am Brahman!" (aham brahmāsmi; Bṛhad-ārankaya Up. 1.4.10) • Practice (abhyāsa): SO’HAM japa B. "Two birds...nestle on the very same tree. One of them eats a tasty fig; the other, not eating, looks on." (Muṇḍaka Upanishad 3.1.1) • Practice: Witness Consciousness meditation C. "A divine Self (ātman) lies hidden in the heart of a living being...Regard that Self as God, an insight gained through inner contemplation." (Kaṭha Upanishad, ca. 200 BCE) • Practice: concentrative meditation. "When the five perceptions are stilled, when senses are firmly reined in, that is Yoga." • Practice: sense-withdrawal & one-pointedness D. -
Siddha Yoga Meditation Center in New York
Siddha Yoga Meditation Center in New York 2013 Teachings & Learning Calendar Hosted by the SYMC in New York The Siddha Yoga Message and Focus of Study for 2013 is Mantra Japa! *Tuesday, January 1 Global Audio Satsang - A Sweet Surprise 2013 New Year’s Day *Saturday, February 23 2nd Offering of A Sweet Surprise 2013 New Year’s Day Saturday, March 9 Celebration Satsang Mahashivaratri *Saturday, April 20 Muktananda Dhyana Saptah: A Siddha Meditation Event *Saturday, May 4 Global Audio Satsang – Baba’s Birthday *Saturday, May 18 2nd Offering of the Baba’s Birthday Global Audio Satsang Tuesday, May 21 Celebration Satsang Baba’s Lunar Birthday Monday, June 24 Celebration Satsang Gurumayi’s Birthday Monday, July 22 Celebration Satsang Gurupurnima Tuesday, August 6 Celebration Satsang Bade Baba’s Solar Punyatithi Tuesday, August 13 Celebration Satsang Baba’s Divya Diksha Tuesday, September 24 Preparation Satsang for 2013 MAHASAMADHI INTENSIVE Tuesday, October 8 Preparation Satsang for 2013 MAHASAMADHI INTENSIVE Tuesday, October 15 Celebration Satsang Baba’s Lunar Mahasamadhi *Saturday, October 26 GLOBAL 2013 MAHASAMADHI SHAKTIPAT INTENSIVE *Saturday, November 16 2nd Offering of the Global 2013 Mahsamadhi Shaktipat Intensive Tuesday, November 26 Walking the Path of the Heart: An Exploration of the Siddha Yoga Home Study Course Please Note: ~ Events indicated with bold * are paid events & require registration. ~ Throughout 2013 registration will be made available via the local center and local center’s website (online) as the event time draws near. ~ 2nd Offerings – will take place at the Siddha Yoga Ashram in Manhattan (324 West 86th St.) Visit the center’s local website siddhayoganyc.org or the SYMCNY Calendar for any updates regarding the events listed above as well as information on reoccurring events (e.g. -
Branding Yoga the Cases of Iyengar Yoga, Siddha Yoga and Anusara Yoga
ANDREA R. JAIN Branding yoga The cases of Iyengar Yoga, Siddha Yoga and Anusara Yoga n October 1989, long-time yoga student, John Friend modern soteriological yoga system based on ideas and (b. 1959) travelled to India to study with yoga mas- practices primarily derived from tantra. The encounter Iters. First, he went to Pune for a one-month intensive profoundly transformed Friend, and Chidvilasananda in- postural yoga programme at the Ramamani Iyengar itiated him into Siddha Yoga (Williamson forthcoming). Memor ial Yoga Institute, founded by a world-famous yoga proponent, B. K. S. Iyengar (b. 1918). Postural yoga (De Michelis 2005, Singleton 2010) refers to mod- Friend spent the next seven years deepening his ern biomechanical systems of yoga, which are based understanding of both Iyengar Yoga and Siddha Yoga. on sequences of asana or postures that are, through He gained two Iyengar Yoga teaching certificates and pranayama or ‘breathing exercises’, synchronized with taught Iyengar Yoga in Houston, Texas. Every sum- 1 the breath. Following Friend’s training in Iyengar Yoga, mer, he travelled to Siddha Yoga’s Shree Muktananda he travelled to Ganeshpuri, India where he met Chid- Ashram in upstate New York, where he would study 1954 vilasananda (b. ), the current guru of Siddha Yoga, for one to three months at a time. at the Gurudev Siddha Peeth ashram.2 Siddha Yoga is a Friend founded his own postural yoga system, Anusara Yoga, in 1997 in The Woodlands, a high- 1 Focusing on English-speaking milieus beginning in end Houston suburb. Anusara Yoga quickly became the 1950s, Elizabeth De Michelis categorizes modern one of the most popular yoga systems in the world. -
The Siddha-Yoga to the Test of the Criticism
1 The Siddha-Yoga to the test of the criticism. by Bruno Delorme - April 2018 - Presentation: This reflection is the culmination of a project that has been close to my heart for a long time: to write about an Indian sect, Siddha-Yoga, to which I belonged in my late teens. It presents itself at the same time as a historical, sociological, and psychoanalytic analysis. I wanted to put at the beginning my personal testimony which opens the reflection, and this in order to show how this movement affected me at a certain period of my life, and what it also produced in me. A Summary at the end of the article allows you to identify the main chapters. 2 My passage in the movement of Siddha-Yoga. Testimony by Bruno Delorme1 It was during the year 1978, when I was starting my professional life and after repeated school failures, that I became acquainted with Siddha-Yoga. My best friend at the time was involved in it and so talked to me about it at length. We were both in search of meaning in our lives and in search of spirituality. And Siddha-Yoga suddenly seemed to offer us what we had been looking for a long time. I joined the movement a year after him, and I discovered it through two communities that were roughly equidistant from the city where I lived: the Dijon ashram and the Lyon ashram. The latter was headed by A. C. and his wife, better known today for having managed the association "Terre du Ciel" and its magazine. -
Schisms of Swami Muktananda's Siddha Yoga
Marburg Journal of Religion: Volume 15 (2010) Schisms of Swami Muktananda’s Siddha Yoga John Paul Healy Abstract: Although Swami Muktananda’s Siddha Yoga is a relatively new movement it has had a surprising amount of offshoots and schismatic groups claiming connection to its lineage. This paper discusses two schisms of Swami Muktananda’s Siddha Yoga, Nityananda’s Shanti Mandir and Shankarananda’s Shiva Yoga. These are proposed as important schisms from Siddha Yoga because both swamis held senior positions in Muktananda’s original movement. The paper discusses the main episodes that appeared to cause the schism within Swami Muktananda’s Siddha Yoga and the subsequent growth of Shanti Mandir and Shiva Yoga. Nityananda’s Shanti Mandir and Shankarananda’s Shiva Yoga may be considered as schisms developing from a leadership dispute rather than doctrinal differences. These groups may also present a challenge to Gurumayi’s Siddha Yoga as sole holder of the lineage of Swami Muktananda. Because of movements such as Shanti Mandir and Shiva Yoga, Muktananda’s Siddha Yoga Practice continues and grows, although, it is argued in this paper that it now grows through a variety of organisations. Introduction Prior to Swami Muktananda’s death in 1982 Swami Nityananda was named his successor to Siddha Yoga; by 1985 he was deposed by his sister and co-successor Gurumayi. Swami Shankarananda, a senior Swami in Siddha Yoga, sympathetic to Nityananda also left the movement around the same time. However, both swamis with the support of devotees of Swami Muktananda’s Siddha Yoga, developed their own movements and today continue the lineage of their Guru and emphasise the importance of the Guru Disciple relationship within Swami Muktananda’s tradition. -
Self Awakening
Self Awakening November 1, 2019 Maha Yoga – Effortless, joyful and no-cost path to Self-Realization Volume 12, Issue 2 EEditor’s note Dear Readers: The purpose of this quarterly newsletter, Self Awakening, is to inform Sadhaks (seekers of self-realization) and other readers about Maha Yoga, an effortless, joyful and no cost path to Self- Realization. P. P. Shri Narayan Kaka Maharaj of Nashik, India was a leading teacher and exponent of Maha Yoga, a centuries old tradition, Contents whereby a realized Guru (Siddha Guru) awakens the Universal Life Energy (Kundalini) within the Sadhak, eventually leading Editor’s note 1 him/her to self-realization. This ancient tradition (Parampara) Churning of the Heart 2 continues under the leadership of several Siddha Gurus, including the fourteen designated by P. P. Kaka Maharaj as Answers to questions 7 Deekshadhikaris (those authorized to initiate Sadhaks into Maha Book announcement 16 Yoga). Additional details about Maha Yoga are available at Upcoming events 17 www.mahayoga.org. 2 Website updates 18 To the thousands of Sadhaks in the Maha Yoga tradition all over How to contribute content 19 the world and other interested readers, this e-newsletter is intended to provide virtual Satsang. It is intended to encourage Sadhaks to remain engaged in Maha Yoga, be informed about Maha Yoga-related events around the world, and to provide a forum for getting guidance about Maha Yoga from leaders from P. P. Shri Kaka Maharaj’s lineage. Readers are urged to contribute questions, thoughtful articles, interesting life experiences related to Maha Yoga and news about Maha Yoga-related events to this e-newsletter. -
Siddha Mahayoga
Home K. List Siddha Mahayoga FAQ FAQ Subscrib Version 2.0, May 1996 e Copyright Kurt Keutzer, Posting 1996 History ([email protected]) List Archives The author grants the Archive right to copy and distribute Search this file, provided it remains Kundalin unmodified and original i FAQs authorship and copyright is Caution retained.The author retains Symptom both the right and intention s to modify and extend this List document. Topics Experien ces This FAQ gives an overview Member of Siddha Mahayoga. Essays The Kundalini FAQ is Meditatio introductory material that is ns good to read before reading Art this FAQ. Gallery Two other articles are Poetry strongly related: Cybrary Kundalini Yogas FAQ K. list The Siddha Mahayoga Polls Tradition of Swami Shivom Chat Tirth room List Mystress Voluntee I remember with gratitude rs those teachers who by their mere intention, glance, word Related or touch can accomplish what Lists is otherwise obtained only Sitemap with great effort and K Links difficulty. Link to Us TABLE OF CONTENTS: What is Kundalini ? What does Kundalini have to do with spiritual enlightenment? What is the goal of Kundalini yoga? So how do I awaken Kundalini ? What is Shaktipat? How does Shaktipat work? Who can give Shaktipat? Who can receive Shaktipat? Are all Shaktipat initiations the same? Can one receive Shaktipat just by being in the presence of those with awakened Shakti? So what happens after Shaktipat? What is the practice of Siddha Mahayoga? What are kriyas? So how do kriyas purify my consciousness? Are these kriyas some sort of self-hypnosis or some sort New Age phenomenon? Haven't a number of well-known teachers criticized kriyas? Don't they say that Kundalini is a force that needs control? What is the philosophy of Siddha Mahayoga? What is the precise role of the Guru in Siddha Mahayoga? What teachers give Shaktipat initiation? Where can I learn more? What is Kundalini ? "Kundalini " literally means coiling, like a snake.