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Yoga
Philosophy and Thought
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by Marianne
Woods Cirone, M.S., R.Y.T., Certified Yoga Teacher |
The
eight-limbed or royal (raja) yoga path provides as its very first two
limbs a series of guiding suggestions which will help the practitioner
achieve the final step of samadhi, or the blissful state of unity with consciousness. This eight-limbed path is known as Ashtanga yoga, and
is not to be confused with the type of Hatha yoga also known as 'power
yoga'. These guidelines are known as the yamas and niyamas, or observances
and abstentions. They are not provided as a mandate, but simply as
tools which will "pull pranic energy [life force] from the cosmic
source" and eventually lift the energy to higher levels
[chakras] within the individual. The
yamas and niyamas have been studied in great depth by philosophers and
yoga practitioners, and have been analyzed at great length on the level of
thought, word and deed. The following provides a brief list of the yamas and
niyamas.
| A |
| Yamas
(abstentions) |
| 1.
Non-violence |
| 2.
Non-lying (or truthfulness) |
| 3.
Non-stealing |
| 4.
Non-sensuality (or celibacy) |
| 5.
Non-greed |
| A |
| Niyamas
(observances) |
| 1.
Purity |
| 2.Contentment |
| 3.
Austerity |
| 4.
Study of the holy works |
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A |
| The
first of the yamas and niyamas to be discussed here is the second niyama,
which is contentment (or santosha in Sanskrit). According to |
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Goswami
Kriyananda's text
The Spiritual Science of Kriya Yoga, contentment
is said to be the most important of the yamas and the niyamas. He
describes it as "remaining content with what you have, and not
desiring that which you have not already earned". When you
perceive that something is being taken away from you, Kriyananda suggests
that rather it is converted or transmuted into that which you need more
dearly in the wisdom of God's way. This philosophy would be embodied
by those who have suffered a loss of job, health, etc. and use the
experience to more fully live and appreciate their lives. |
The
good feeling state, or contentment, is central to creating positive
experiences in your life say Esther and Jerry Hicks in their classical and
powerful materials on Deliberate Creation. To paraphrase
their compelling arguments, we cannot get from point A (our current, and
often times unhappy states) to Point B (our desired state) if we focus on
the fact that we are not yet at Point B. We must be able to find
joy, gratitude, acceptance, peace, allowing or all of the above in Point A
first, while continuing to focus on Point B, and then we can easily shift
to our desired Point B state.
| A |
| The
Abraham-Hicks books A New Beginning
I and II strongly guide readers
to appreciate where they are now, for any attention to what is not wanted
or the lack of what is wanted will simply prevent that which is wanted
from manifesting. Like so much of the spiritual teachings that |
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have
informed our world's great religions and philosophies, the Abraham teachings are
said to be received from a spiritual source. In this case they are channeled
from a group of spiritually advanced non-physical beings through Esther Hicks. The teachings of Abraham strongly parallel those
suggested in the niyama of contentment as Abraham says our most important
work is to feel happy and to stay there. Ultimately, what is the
point of any spiritual journey unless we can learn how to be happy? Additionally, the teachings in |
| A New Beginning
I and II also closely
relate to the yogic teaching, 'Aham Brahmasmi', or 'I am the Creative
Principle' as they recognize each individuals power to create through
thought, word, and deed. |
| A |
| Many
modern day writers have seemingly stumbled upon the insightfulness of this
wisdom in their suggestions to focus on gratitude |
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and appreciation.
Sarah Ban Breathnach in her best-selling
Simple Abundance
series focuses on
gratitude as the primary tool for bringing about peace, happiness and
prosperity. Her books reached phenomenal fame when they became strongly
recommended by Oprah on her show, as well as Oprah's even stronger
recommendation to utilize Sarah's "life changing" tool, the
daily gratitude journal. Sarah employed the ancient wisdom of
santosha as she suggested that readers focus on fully appreciating what
they already have, |
| as a path of happiness in itself as well as a doorway
to even more abundance. |
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