Talks on Agni, Vol. 1
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Jnana, Bhakti and Karma Yoga in the Bhagavad Gita
Jnana, Bhakti and Karma Yoga in the Bhagavad Gita The Bhagavad Gita - written between 600 -500 BCE is sometimes referred to as the last Upanishad. As with many Yoga texts and great literature there are many possible layers of meaning. In essence it is grounded by the meditative understanding of the underlying unity of life presented in the Upanishads, and then extends this into how yoga practice, insight and living life can become one and the same. Ultimately it is a text that describes how yoga can clarify our perception of life, its purpose and its challenges, and offers guidance as to how we might understand and negotiate them. It encourages full engagement with life, and its difficulties and dilemmas are turned into the manure for potential liberation and freedom. The Bhagavad-Gita is actually a sub story contained within a huge poem/story called the Mahabharata, one of the ‘Puranas’ or epics that make up much of early Indian literature. It emphasises the importance of engagement in the world, perhaps a reaction to the tendency developing at the time in Buddhism and Vedanta to renounce worldly life in favour of personal liberation. The yoga of the Bhagavad-Gita essentially suggests that fully engaging in all aspects of life and its challenges with a clear perspective is a valid yogic path and possibly superior to meditative realisation alone. There is an implication in this emphasis that there is a potential danger for some people of using yoga practice and lifestyle to avoid difficulties in life and not engage with the world and the culture and time we find ourselves in; and/or perhaps to misunderstand that yoga practice is partly practice for something – to re-evaluate and hopefully enrich our relationship to the rest of life. -
(1896) Vedanta Philosophy: Eight Lectures on Karma Yoga
Karma Yoga i Karma Yoga Writings Address by Swami Vivekananda on “The Ideal of a Universal Religion” Vedanta Philosophy: Lectures by the Swami Vivekananda on “The Cosmos” Vedanta Philosophy: Lecture by the Swami Vivekananda on “The Atman” Vedanta Philosophy: Lecture by the Swami Vivekananda on “The Real and Apparent Man” Vedanta Philosophy: Lecture by the Swami Vivekananda on “Bhakti Yoga” The Vedanta Philosophy: An Address Before the Graduate Philosophical Society of Harvard University Vedanta Philosophy: Eight Lectures by the Swami Vivekananda on Karma Yoga (The Secret of Work) Vedanta Philosophy: Lectures by the Swami Vivekananda on Raja Yoga and Other Subjects My Master Vedanta Philosophy: Lectures by the Swami Vivekananda on Jnana Yoga ii Vedanta Philosophy Eight Lectures on Karma Yoga The Secret of Work Delivered under the Auspices of the Vedanta Society 1896 Swami Vivekananda 1863–1902 信 YOGeBooks: Hollister, MO 2013:09:01:20:35:28 iii Vedanta Philosophy Eight Lectures on Karma Yoga Copyright YOGeBooks by Roger L. Cole, Hollister, MO 65672 © 2010 YOGeBooks by Roger L. Cole All rights reserved. Electronic edition published 2010 isbn: 978‑1‑61183‑026‑2 (pdf) isbn: 978‑1‑61183‑027‑9 (epub) www.yogebooks.com iv Contents I. ………………………………… Karma in its Effect on Character. II. ………………………………… “Each is Great in His Own Place.” III. …………………………………………………The Secret of Work. IV. ……………………………………………………… What is Duty? V. ……………………………… We Help Ourselves, not the World. VI. …………… Non‑Attachment is Complete Self‑Abnegation. VII. ………………………………………………………………Freedom. VIII. ………………………………………… The Ideal of Karma Yoga. v Vedanta Philosophy Eight Lectures on Karma Yoga vi Preface. he word Karma is fully explained in the text of this book, but possibly it may not be out of place to give a brief idea Tof what is meant by Yoga. -
Karma Yoga, Its Origins, Fundamentals and Seven Life Constructs
International Journal of Hinduism & Philosophy (IJHP) November 2019 Karma yoga, its origins, fundamentals and seven life constructs Dr. Palto Datta Centre for Business & Economic Research (CBER), UK Mark T Jones Centre for Innovative Leadership Navigation (CILN), UK Karma yoga is both simple and complex at the same time and as such requires a measured and reflective response. This paper in exploring the origins and fundamentals of karma yoga has sought to present interpretations in a clear and sattvic manner, synthesising key elements into seven life constructs. Karma yoga is revealed to have an eternal relevance, one that benefits from intimate knowledge of the Bhagavad Gita. By drawing on respected texts and commentaries it has striven to elucidate certain sacred teachings and give them meaning so that they become a guide for daily living. Keywords Purpose The purpose of this study is to gain an understanding of the concept of Karma yoga and its Altruism, place in the Bhagavad Gita and how this philosophical thought can influence people’s Bhagavad Gita, conduct and mindset. The study focuses on identifying the various dimensions of karma Karma yoga, yoga, with special reference to Niskarma yoga and the life constructs drawn from it. Karma yogi, Design/methodology Niskama Karma The study has employed a qualitative research methodology. To achieve the study objectives, yoga, and identify the various constructs of the Niskama Karma yoga, the study used content Service analysis of three main texts authored by Swami Vivekananda, Mohandas Karamchand conscious ness Gandhi, Swami Chinmayananda as a source of reference and extensive literature review on various scholarly journal articles and relevant books that discussed extensively the concept of Karma Yoga, Niskarma Yoga and relevant key areas of the study. -
Keynote Address by Yogini Kaliji
Keynote Address by Yogini Kaliji Silver Lining Yoga Concert in Yeongwol, South Korea • March 11, 2017 Añjali Mudrā: a greeting with no words. This hand symbol alone expresses…in our hearts we connect as One. Namaste' It is simple to say "we or I". Yoga goes further: "who are we, who am I?" The path of self-inquiry begins when we ask who is the real self behind the outer personality. First let us self-reflect on the mental contents of our individual mind. Look at the desires and attachments "seeing" thoughts and emotions as good, not good, or mixed. Yoga practice gives us the focused time to witness the mind, to cleanse the mental sheath, and to allow the more subtle vibrations of knowledge to emerge. The ultimate aim is to realize our true nature, the eternal soul radiating consciousness extolled in eternal, blissful knowledge. When yoga is compared to the sun, the rays are yoga paths of knowledge. One learns about the sun through the sunrays. The aim of each ray is manas-śānti, to bring peace to the mind. Each ray of yoga is important. It is the combined light of all the rays that illuminates the mind. The moon reflects the mind that goes through apparent change. The moon does not really change, nor does the mind, but rather it is the cycles of thoughts and emotions passing through the mind that change. Yoga is to transcend the thinking mind as the sun transcends the moon. As the moon reflects the sun, the mind reflects the universal mind. -
Different Paths of Yoga: an Overview Dr
1 Overview Article International Journal of Science and Consciousness Access online at: www.ijsc.net March 2017, 3(1), 1-5 Different Paths of Yoga: An Overview Dr. Ajay Bhardwaj Sr. Asst. Professor, Dept of Communication, DSVV, Haridwar, India Abstract Yoga is the union of the individual soul with the supreme soul. Yoga is a practical path to self-realization, a means of attaining enlightenment by purifying the entire being. Yoga is the science that teaches us the method of uniting the individual soul with the Universal soul, of merging the individual will in the cosmic will; of experiencing our oneness with the divine consciousness. We have the description of the aim of yoga in almost all the holy books. Almost all the scriptures have declared that self – realization is the supreme aim of human life and this can be attained only by the constant practice of yoga. The different paths of yoga whether they be karma yoga, bhakti yoga, jnana yoga or raja yoga, they pave the way for the lifting up of human consciousness to a higher and nobler realm of light, love and life with divine harmony and joy. Key words: Self-realization, Individual soul, Supreme soul, Consciousness, Paths of yoga Article Received: 16-03-2017, Accepted: 30-03-2017, Published: 31-03-2017 Conflict of interest: None declared *Corresponding Author: Dr. Ajay Bhardwaj, Sr. Asst. Professor, Dept of Communication, DSVV, Haridwar, India E-mail: [email protected] International Journal of Science and Consciousness (IJSC): a Bio-Psycho-Spiritual approach Published by the Research Foundation for Science & Consciousness, Uttarakhand, India Copyright IJSC 2017 | March 2017 | Vol. -
Call of Vivekananda Om
1 Call of Vivekananda Om. A-sa-to ma sad gam-ma-ya. Ta-ma-so-ma jyo-tir gam-ma-ya. Mri-tyor ma a-mri-tam ga-ma-ya. Avir avir ma e-dhi. Rudra yat te dak-shi-nam mu-kham. Tena mam pahi nityam. Tena mam pahi nityam. Tena mam pahi nityam. Lead us from the unreal to the Real. Lead us from darkness unto Light. Lead us from death to Immortality. Reveal to us Thy Resplendent Truth and evermore protect us, Oh Lord, by Thy Sweet and Compassionate Face, by Thy Sweet and Compassionate Face, by Thy Sweet and Compassionate Face. The subject of my talk this morning is: The Call of Vivekananda. Swami Vivekananda’s name is well known in connection with the Vedanta movement in this country. It was he who brought Vedanta to the US in 1893. His one hundred and twenty-fifth birthday will be tomorrow and we shall be celebrating this occasion next Sunday at 10:30 am, but this morning’s service is a prelude to this birthday celebration, 125th birthday celebration of this great prophet, Swami Vivekananda. Those of you who have read his life story and some of his works are familiar with the dynamic role he played during his three year’s stay in the US. Two times he visited the US, first in 1893 as to represent Hinduism in the Parliament of Religions in Chicago. And second time in 1900, 1898, no 1899. So all together his stay in the West was three years and a half. -
Karma and Karma Yoga Neil Edsall the Sanskrit Word Karma
Karma and Karma Yoga Neil Edsall The Sanskrit word Karma literally means action. To the yogi this means the thought, the action, the reaction, the reaction to the reaction, and the mental “seed” left behind by the thought or action. In Buddhism, karma can be said to refer to one's intention or motivation while doing an action. For us westerners karma is not as foreign as we think. The teachings of karma echo the Newtonian principle that every action produces an equal and opposite reaction. Every time we think or do something, we create a cause, which in time will bear its corresponding effects. This cyclical cause and effect generates the world of birth and reincarnation. Karma is not a system of punishment and reward. There is no higher being arbitrarily deciding who will be punished and who will be rewarded. We are “punishing” ourselves every time we act motivated by selfish reasons. Our punishment is simply the effect of our own selfish desires. Intention is the most important of all mental activities because it gives direction to the mind, determining whether we engage with virtuous, non-virtuous, or neutral thoughts, actions and reactions. Just as iron is powerlessly drawn to a magnet, our minds are powerlessly drawn to the object of our intentions. "Some people misunderstand the concept of karma. They take the Buddha's doctrine of the law of causality to mean that all is predetermined, that there is nothing that the individual can do. This is a total misunderstanding. The very term karma or action is a term of active force, which indicates that future events are within your own hands. -
Practice of Karma Yoga
PRACTICE OF KARMA YOGA By SRI SWAMI SIVANANDA SERVE, LOVE, GIVE, PURIFY, MEDITATE, REALIZE Sri Swami Sivananda So Says Founder of Sri Swami Sivananda The Divine Life Society A DIVINE LIFE SOCIETY PUBLICATION Sixth Edition: 1995 (4,000 Copies) World Wide Web (WWW) Edition: 2001 WWW site: http://www.SivanandaDlshq.org/ This WWW reprint is for free distribution © The Divine Life Trust Society ISBN 81-7052-014-2 Published By THE DIVINE LIFE SOCIETY P.O. SHIVANANDANAGAR—249 192 Distt. Tehri-Garhwal, Uttaranchal, Himalayas, India. OM Dedicated to all selfless, motiveless, disinterested workers of the world who are struggling hard to get knowledge of the Self by purifying their minds, by getting Chitta Suddhi through Nishkama Karma Yoga OM PUBLISHERS’ NOTE The nectar-like teachings of His Holiness Sri Swami Sivananda Saraswati, the incomparable saint of the Himalayas, famous in song and legend, are too well-known to the intelligent public as well as to the earnest aspirant of knowledge Divine. Their aim and object is nothing but emancipation from the wheel of births and deaths through absorption of the Jiva with the supreme Soul. Now, this emancipation can be had only through right knowledge. It is an undisputed fact that it is almost a Herculean task for the man in the street, blinded as he is by worldly desires of diverse kinds, to forge his way to realisation of God. Not only is it his short-sightedness that stands in the way but innumerable other difficulties and obstacles hamper the progress onward towards the goal. He is utterly helpless until someone who has successfully trodden the path, comes to his aid or rescue, takes him by the hand, leads him safely through the inextricable traps and pitfalls of worldly temptation and desires, and finally brings him to his destination which is the crowning glory of the be-all and end-all of life, where all suffering ceases and all quest comes to an end. -
1 Harmony of the Yogas: Sri Chaitanya Apayantu Mamangani
1 Harmony of the Yogas: Sri Chaitanya Apayantu mamangani vak pranas caksuh srotram atho balam indriyani ca sarvani. Sarvam brahmopanisadam ma’ham brahma nirakuryam ma ma brahma nirakarot anirakaranam astu anirakaranam me-stu. Tad atmani nirate ya upanisatsu dharmas te mayi santu te mayi santu. Aum. Shanti. Shanti. Shanti.1 [Kena Upanisad 1:1] May the limbs of my body be strong. May my speech, vital energy, eyes, ears and all the senses be purified. All indeed is Brahman as taught in the Upanishads. May I never deny Brahman, nor Brahman, me. May there be unbroken communion between Brahman and myself. May all the virtues described in the Upanishads belong to me who am devoted to self-knowledge. Yea, may they all belong to me. Om. Peace, Peace, Peace. The title of my lecture is: The Harmony of the Yogas. Today is the birthday of one of the great saints of India, Sri Chaitanya, who lived about half a century [five centuries] before Sri Ramakrishna. We shall be celebrating his birthday this evening with a program of worship, devotional songs, readings and prasad. This morning happened to be a Sunday. We could not get away from the Sunday service morning lecture. And the lecture title was decided long ago, before I knew that that would be Sri Chaitanya’s birthday in the evening. So I thought and thought and thought: how to harmonize this lecture title with Sri Chaitanya. Then there was a wonderful revelation to me. I thought, Sri Chaitanya is popularly known as the prophet of love, the prophet of bhakti, singing the name of the Lord, loudly, and going from place to place singing His Holy Name. -
Yoga Teacher Training – House of Om
LIVE LOVE INSPIRE HOUSE OF OM MODULE 1 PRACTICE 120 MINS In this module you will find your balance with a specifically designed Vinyasa Flow sequence, accompanied by Meditation for Health and Wellbeing, and your usual pranayama routine. HISTORY 60 MINS In the history lesson you will learn about the ancient period of yoga, Adiyogi, and Krishna. You will touch on Bhagavad Gita, and what will later become the Margas. HISTORY, TECHNIQUE, AND BENEFITS OF YOGA NIDRA 60 MINS Your first Yoga Nidra session of the course also introduces the history, technique, and benefits of Yoga Nidra. Find out what does it do and who came up with this method. 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. BONUS Meaning and Importance of Mantra Chanting 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. HISTORY YOGA HISTORY. ANCIENT PERIOD Yoga has been evolving and expanding throughout history, although we can’t study the history of yoga without understanding the contribution of the first yogis who brought it in life, and shared it with thousands of people, and made it possible for every human being. Adiyogi According to legend and mythology Adiyogi was the first yogi. Adi means first. Adiyogi is another term for Shiva. He used to spend this time dancing wildly sitting in deep states of meditation. -
The Origins and Evolution of Yoga
The Origins and Evolution of Yoga The Origins and Evolution of Yoga 1 Etymology The word “yoga” is derived from the root “yuj” yuj: युज् (y´g) Sanksrit, verb to connect, to unite, to yoke The Origins and Evolution of Yoga 2 By 'definition' yoga: योग (y´g) Sanksrit, noun general term for spiritual disciplines in Hinduism, Buddhism, and throughout South Asia that are directed toward attaining higher consciousness and liberation from ignorance, suffering, and rebirth. Columbia Encyclopedia a Hindu spiritual and ascetic discipline, a part of which, including breath control, simple meditation, and the adoption of specific bodily postures, is widely practised for health and relaxation. Oxford Dictionary Online The Origins and Evolution of Yoga 3 Where Did Yoga Originate? Indus Valley Civilization Yoga originated in Pakistan and Northwest India at least 5,000 years ago India (2,500 BCE). Historical artifacts of yoga are found from the Indus Valley Civilization: Pashupati Seals (2900 BCE) of Shiva, Lord of the Yogis Shiva Pashupati seal Original Yogic scriptures are dated by their mention of the Sarasvati River, which dried up 4,000 years ago (1,900 BCE). The Origins and Evolution of Yoga 4 Vedic Yoga 1500 – 800 BCE Veda means knowledge. Rigveda - Oldest known text of any Indo-European language compiled in Vedic Sanskrit, composed by Rishis (seers) “yuj” is found many times throughout. Basis of Brahmanic Religion – religious clergy of Brahmans who administered rites (rituals and sacrifices), often to nobility. Vedic Practice: tapasic practices, rituals, sacrifice, hymns, stories of Yogis. The Origins and Evolution of Yoga 5 The Mahajanapadas 600 BCE – 300 BCE 16 Kingdoms throughout the Indian Subcontinent Wealthier classes patronized the Sadhus (ascetic yogis) so they tt could study the esoteric science of yoga. -
Yoga Journal - the Branches of Yoga
Yoga Journal - The Branches of Yoga http://www.yogajournal.com/basics/157?print=1 The Branches of Yoga Whether you are devotional or intellectual in nature, yoga has a path for you. By Mara Carrico In ancient times yoga was often referred to as a tree, a living entity with roots, a trunk, branches, blossoms, and fruit. Hatha yoga is one of six branches; the others include raja, karma, bhakti, jnana, and tantra yoga. Each branch with its unique characteristics and function represents a particular approach to life. Some people may find one particular branch more inviting than another. However, it is important to note that involvement in one of these paths does not preclude activity in any of the others, and in fact you'll find many paths naturally overlapping. Raja Yoga Raja means "royal," and meditation is the focal point of this branch of yoga. This approach involves strict adherence to the eight "limbs" of yoga as outlined by Patanajli in the Yoga Sutra. Also found in many other branches of yoga, these limbs, or stages, follow this order: ethical standards, yama ; self-discipline, niyama ; posture, asana; breath extension or control, Pranayama; sensory withdrawl, pratyahara ; concentration, dharana ; meditation, dhyana ; and ecstasy or final liberation, samadhi . Raja yoga attracts individuals who are introspective and drawn to meditation. Members of religious orders and spiritual communities devote themselves to this branch of yoga. However, even though this path suggests a monastic or contemplative lifestyle, entering an ashram or monastery is not a prerequisite to practicing raja yoga. Karma Yoga The next branch is that of karma yoga or the path of service, and none of us can escape this pathway.