Issues
- All of us have potential which is beyond even our wildest dreams, but most of this potential remains untapped.
- Each person has the capacity to experience different planes of consciousness, yet most of us live in the lower planes, without experiencing higher levels of existence, or even believing that they exist.
- Many people are unhappy in the world, dissatisfied and yet not sure what is lacking in their lives.
Reasons
- The basic reason for this unhappiness is our attachment to the material plane of existence.
- Once we gain a glimpse of higher spheres of consciousness, then our unhappiness and discontent automatically fade away.
Solution
- There are various systems of yoga, such as raja yoga, kundalini yoga, etc., which are widely propagated throughout the world.
- All are aiming at transcendental states where one starts to commune with one’s inner being.
- Most of the systems emphasize the importance of concentration as a means of withdrawing consciousness from the outside surroundings and directing it into the innermost realms of the mind.
Need
- Without becoming too involved in the field of semantics,
- The limitation of the mind on the path of concentration is a distraction.
- Any attempt on our part to subjugate the consciousness and make it dwell on one point imposes a strain on the mind resulting in tension and frustration at our failure to curb its wandering tendency.
Hurry
- Concentration is possible only if a person is very relaxed mentally and physically. Most people cannot relax, or if they do it is on rare occasions.
- That means psychophysical relaxed being concentrate easily
Desire
- As such, many people try to concentrate, they will tend to try to suppress the disturbing factor in the mind and create more tension in themselves.
- Concentration is something that occurs spontaneously in a very relaxed mind and body.
- A system is required which progressively leads a person to deeper states of relaxation until concentration becomes the spontaneous activity of consciousness.
- This system is the system of YOGA
Brief
- Before we talk about yoga, let us briefly discuss where relaxed concentration will lead us.
- The fruit or culmination of deep one-pointed concentration is the occurrence of the spontaneous state of meditation.
- Most people have heard of meditation, yet very few people have actually experienced it.
- It arises only under conditions of almost abnormal relaxation (yes, abnormal is the right word, for most people never experience deep states of relaxation; even during sleep they are plagued by subconscious worries, phobias, fears, etc.) of both mind and body, together with a high state of conscious alertness.
- Many people think that they are meditating, but in fact, they are probably not. Modern scientific instruments can even show whether a person is in a state of meditation or not. These instruments measure electrical wave patterns emitted from the brain. The frequency and amplitude of these brain waves indicate the inner state of mind.
- Normally, because of our mental distractions, we are totally unable to contact or express our inner power. During deep periods of concentration, we start to understand the deeper aspects of our being. So the fruits of concentration are substantial. Many people, whether they have experienced meditation or not, know that great things are in store for them if only they can concentrate deeply.
Kriya Yoga
- The very word kriya means activity or movement and in this context activity or movement of awareness or consciousness. The word kriya also means practical or preliminary and in this sense, it means the preliminary practice which leads to yoga; yoga here meaning the culmination, the union, the final result of practice, not the process as we normally understand it. Thus as we have already explained, in contrast to other forms of yoga, kriya yoga does not ask you to curb your mental fluctuations but asks you to purposely create activity in your consciousness. In this way, mental faculties are harmonized and flower into their fullest potential, and coordination is brought about between the nervous system and the brain.
- Kriya yoga is more interested in awareness than concentration. What do we mean by awareness? By awareness, we mean conscious attention of thoughts or of objects, either external or internal, without necessarily being one-pointed. Simultaneously, and this is most important, the word awareness implies that the individual knows that his attention is at a particular place or on a train of thought. The word implies a relationship between the activity of perception and the perceiver.
- Kriya yoga has been taught to large numbers of people throughout the world. Many people have gained wonderful benefits, yet others have gained little or nothing even though they might have practiced regularly and with enthusiasm.
- The fault generally lies in the sequence of the practices. If the sequence is wrong, then the system of kriya yoga loses its full power, for the different kriyas bear a close relationship to each other. As an analogy, consider music. There are a certain number of musical notes. If these notes are played in a certain order, then beautiful music can result. If they are played in another sequence, then ear-jarring noise can result. The sequence is of the utmost importance. It is the same with the kriya yoga practices.
- Kriya Yoga does not ask you to abstain from your sexual life. Why should it? Sexual activity is a natural part of life, so why abstain from it?
- There are no restrictions or barriers to those who want to practice kriya yoga. Your age, diet, social position, religion or whatever, will not bar you from practicing. All you need is the interest and effort to change your life.
- It is our intention to make the system of kriya yoga available to everyone who is interested, because large numbers of people are now ready to reap the benefits of kriya yoga, yet cannot because they lack knowledge of the system. If you feel that kriya yoga is for you, then we hope that you will sincerely take up the practices systematically illumined in this Series, and will start today to prepare yourself for the subtle science of kriya yoga.