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In Hinduism there were many different forms of Yoga which were paths of practice that led the aspirant to the ultimate goal of union with divinity and the unity of all of Creation. Just as many different colours make up the rainbow, there were a rainbow of Yoga Paths that varied from heart and head centered focuses to the use of breath (pranayama), mantras, sutras, meditation, yoga postures, and various other techniques. The Kriya, Laya, Mantra, Raja, and Tantra Yoga Paths are discussed below. Kriya Yoga was a yoga of transformation that combined the practices and disciplines of Bhakti, Jnana, and Raja Yoga. Over 5,000 years old, the technique was traditionally conveyed from the Guru directly to the spiritually mature initiate. The goal of the meditator was to achieve self realization by raising the serpent force of kundalini to the ninth center, the thousand petaled lotus, at the top of the head by following a daily program of devotion to divinity, introspection, and self-discipline. The goal of the meditator in Laya Yoga was to transcend the lower levels of egoic, sensual, and material consciousness by awakening the seven energy centers. Five of these energy center were located along the spine - in the tailbone, in the sacrum, navel, heart, and throat areas.
Two of these energy centers
were located in the head - in the third eye and crown areas. By concentrating on
each of these energy centers in turn under the guidance of a qualified teacher,
the meditator opened doorways to higher states of consciousness.
The practice of Mantra Yoga involved the use of mantrams like Aum (spirit or word of divinity). Mantrams were seed sounds that had been revealed to adepts which have the power to bring into being the actualities they represent. There were thousands of mantrams in the Sanskrit language. A meditator chanted these syllables, words, and phrases, mindfully, with increasing spiritual focus. As the practice continued, the music, meaning, and cadence of the mantras repeatedly brought one to a transcendent state beyond intellect and emotions and resulted in a higher state of consciousness. Yoga Sutras were used in Raja Yoga to move the kundalini lifeforce from the base of the spine to the throat center where the meditator transmuted the lesser passions into a desire to speak only of divinity and to seek serenity. By focusing attention on the objects of meditation, the practitioner then restored equilibrium to the mind and the emotions. Afterwards, the energy of this balanced awareness was usually directed to the third eye area called Ajna, in the middle of the lower forehead. This then resulted in the achievement of a state of sublime tranquility. In Tantra Yoga, the devotee strove to break through barriers of personal limitation and to cross higher consciousness thresholds.
This was done by using the fire of a masculine/feminine
harmonized kundalini to transform negative habit patterns, obsessions, and
subconscious blocks into the transmutative energy of the creative force as an
universal expression of Spirit. When the spiritually awakened kundalini ascended
and opened each energy center in turn, samadhi (direct experience of the
Supreme Reality) was attained.
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