Westerners tend to associate the practice of yoga with the physical regimen of poses, stretches and breathing, commonly known as hatha or astanga yoga. There is much more than this in the ancient art of yoga. Meditation, specifically mantra meditation, is an integral part of the yogic tradition as it helps bring the practitioner closer to the true and ultimate goal of yoga: union with the Supreme.
The Sanskrit word “yoga” means “union” or to “link up with”, specifically referring to linking up with God or the Supreme Being. The practice of hatha and astanga yoga is a preliminary process designed to assist the yogi in controlling their senses to able to focus better on the Supreme. Ultimately the practitioner is able to control and raise their life air through the chakras to attain union.
A mantra is a sound vibration or specific series of words or sounds. The word “mantra” is derived from the Sanskrit word “man” which means “mind” and “tra” which means “to deliver from” or “away”. A mantra is therefore a sound vibration that takes the mind away from the material and puts it on the spiritual. Hence, mantra meditation is often referred to as “transcendental sound” because the sound of the mantra transcends the material world.
Mantras are always derived from names of God or descriptions of attributes of the Supreme Being. Thus, mantras often include Sanskrit names for God such as Rama, Chandra, Krishna and Siva. Also, Sanskrit terms such as ‘Hare” (referring to the energy of God) and “Shanti” (peace) are quite common.
The process of mantra meditation is quite simple. The yogi focuses his attention on the sound of the mantra and repeats it softly to him or herself, or sings and chants it aloud with others. Whenever the mind wanders, attention is brought back to the sound of the mantra. This can be done while using meditation beads (japa yoga), or in groups with musical instruments (kirtan). In time, with practice, the practitioner is better able to focus the mind on the transcendental sound and the mind has less of a tendency to wander.
The purpose of mantra meditation involves a fascinating philosophy. First of all, it is believed that the names of God have a purifying effect on the consciousness. The body is seen as a temporary, material container, housing the spirit soul (one’s true essence) and surrounded by a subtle material body, or the mind. The regular hearing and chanting of mantras is seen to help clear away the confusion and misery caused by identifying oneself with one’s body and mind.
This false bodily identification is seen as the root of all pain and bewilderment. Imagine the spirit soul as a brilliant, shining gemstone but one cannot perceive this because it is covered by dirt and dust. Mantras serve as a sort of transcendental polishing cloth, slowly taking away the dust so that the yogi can begin to experience the true essence of the self - eternal, full of knowledge and bliss!
Mantra meditation is therefore an important aspect of the process of self-realization. This is the ultimate goal of yoga: the realization that we are spirit in essence, part and parcel of the Supreme Spirit. The more we progress on the path of yoga, the more peaceful, blissful and loving we become. This is spiritual life.
Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Yoga
Showing posts with label Mantras. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mantras. Show all posts
March 2, 2009
March 1, 2009
The Mystery of Enlightenment
Initially, enlightenment is living in the present moment and accepting your situation as it is. That is a pretty heavy task for anyone in any time. It is often said that an enlightened person cannot be angered by small talk or negative energy.
Many people are humble and believe that they will never be enlightened in this life. They also believe: The goal of enlightenment is too vast for the average person to achieve. However, should you just give up?
What can you do to attain enlightenment?
You should meditate daily: This will help you connect to the world around you. This is an awareness of plants, animals, people and many things around you that are often not appreciated or overlooked.
Meditation will enhance awareness of yourself, everything around you, and the connection between the two. This will bring out the ability to see reality as it is - with the ultimate goal of reaching a state of ?pure consciousness.?
Understand the value of prayer, mantras, and singing. Even if you only practice in your mind, this will strengthen positive energy within you. Many people resort to theses practices; to gain comfort in times of need. This is a shame because you can gain the positive benefits of prayer, mantras, and singing, any time.
Remember, enlightenment is not a race: You would be shocked at the number of people who put pressure on themselves to be ?instantly enlightened.?
It is good to have goals in life, so creating a log to track your progress is a beneficial practice. Your log may track your meditation sessions, your ability to deal with, or diffuse, negative situations, your ability to create positive energy and project it to others, and your ability to see reality.
If you continue the process of keeping and maintaining a log, your results will be encouraging. You may also want to join a group with compatible religious beliefs, search for a teacher, or share your practice with a friend on the same path.
Lastly, do not be frustrated by uncertainty and learn to accept what you cannot control. If all humans could maintain enlightenment, we would experience world peace. We could all accept each other, despite differences of culture, nationality, color, sex, religious beliefs, or any other thing humans can find to develop a pre-conceived notion about each other.
My first taste of Yoga was over 40 years ago, at the age of 7, in a martial arts school setting. I have continued to study martial arts until this day and I have four teaching certificates in four different martial arts. Now I teach both Martial Arts and Yoga.
I began to seriously practice Yoga (under Laura Foster) over twenty years ago due to martial arts competition related injuries.
Laura was a skilled & knowledgeable teacher of Restorative Hatha Yoga, Raja Yoga, and Laya Yoga. After training with her for 3 years, she certified me as a teacher in 1987.
I became certified as a Master Teacher (Guru) on September 15, 1995, after teaching over 5,000 hours under her wing. Shortly afterward, Laura retired at age 90.
Since that time, I started organizing Yoga Teacher Training camps. As time went on, we began getting requests from everywhere in the U.S. and Canada for a comprehensive Yoga Teacher Training correspondence course.
http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org
Many people are humble and believe that they will never be enlightened in this life. They also believe: The goal of enlightenment is too vast for the average person to achieve. However, should you just give up?
What can you do to attain enlightenment?
You should meditate daily: This will help you connect to the world around you. This is an awareness of plants, animals, people and many things around you that are often not appreciated or overlooked.
Meditation will enhance awareness of yourself, everything around you, and the connection between the two. This will bring out the ability to see reality as it is - with the ultimate goal of reaching a state of ?pure consciousness.?
Understand the value of prayer, mantras, and singing. Even if you only practice in your mind, this will strengthen positive energy within you. Many people resort to theses practices; to gain comfort in times of need. This is a shame because you can gain the positive benefits of prayer, mantras, and singing, any time.
Remember, enlightenment is not a race: You would be shocked at the number of people who put pressure on themselves to be ?instantly enlightened.?
It is good to have goals in life, so creating a log to track your progress is a beneficial practice. Your log may track your meditation sessions, your ability to deal with, or diffuse, negative situations, your ability to create positive energy and project it to others, and your ability to see reality.
If you continue the process of keeping and maintaining a log, your results will be encouraging. You may also want to join a group with compatible religious beliefs, search for a teacher, or share your practice with a friend on the same path.
Lastly, do not be frustrated by uncertainty and learn to accept what you cannot control. If all humans could maintain enlightenment, we would experience world peace. We could all accept each other, despite differences of culture, nationality, color, sex, religious beliefs, or any other thing humans can find to develop a pre-conceived notion about each other.
My first taste of Yoga was over 40 years ago, at the age of 7, in a martial arts school setting. I have continued to study martial arts until this day and I have four teaching certificates in four different martial arts. Now I teach both Martial Arts and Yoga.
I began to seriously practice Yoga (under Laura Foster) over twenty years ago due to martial arts competition related injuries.
Laura was a skilled & knowledgeable teacher of Restorative Hatha Yoga, Raja Yoga, and Laya Yoga. After training with her for 3 years, she certified me as a teacher in 1987.
I became certified as a Master Teacher (Guru) on September 15, 1995, after teaching over 5,000 hours under her wing. Shortly afterward, Laura retired at age 90.
Since that time, I started organizing Yoga Teacher Training camps. As time went on, we began getting requests from everywhere in the U.S. and Canada for a comprehensive Yoga Teacher Training correspondence course.
http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org
February 26, 2009
Yoga - Practices and History
Yoga is a practice that people do keep their bodies in shape. All of the elements of Yoga were inherited form the practice of Hinduism. Ethnic principles, and body principles, along with spiritual guidance and philsophy are just some of the features associated with Yoga. Yoga is usually taught, by a person called a “Guru”. Their intentions are to teach people how to obtain a quieter state of mind through meditation. Quiet breathing and chanting “mantras” are practiced to help the person get to the “quiet” state of mind.
Yoga is supposed to lead a person to better health, and a calmer, more emotional well-being. Mental clarity and a joy in living are the main thoughts imposed upon a person who practices Yoga. The steps in Yoga ultimately are supposed to lead to an advanced state of meditation called “samadhi”.
All the goals of Yoga are expressed in different ways among a lot of different traditions. In Hinduism the main thought is that yoga brings people closer to God. In Buddhism practices, yoga is supposed to help people get a deeper sense of wisdom, compassion, and insight. In some of the farther Western countries, individualism is the strongest emphasis, so yoga would help people there get a better meaning in themselves. But, the ultimate goal of yoga is to actually attain liberation, from any type of suffering and/or the cycle of birth and death.
The word “yoga” derives from a sacred root of “Sanskrit”, which in English means “yoke”. The general translation of yoga is a “union of the individual with the universal soul”. The diversity of yoga involves many subdivisions, but everyone would agree that “the path to enlightenment” is the best suited phrase for yoga.
A common theme of yoga is the practice of concentration. The concentration is mainly focused on one point of sensation. When you sustain this “concentration” for a long enough period of time you will reach, what is called “meditation”. Most meditators express deeper feelings of joy, peace, and self-oneness. The focus of meditation differs between yoga teachers. Some may focus more on peaceful thoughts, spiritualism, or a better sense of well-being, while others will focus on the more physical aspects like, different types of stretches for getting the body into being more fit. All would agree though that meditation for either the spiritual part or physical part of yoga is the most practiced.
A little bit of history on yoga comes from the Indus Valley Civilization that was around somewhere in between six or seven thousand years ago. The earliest accounts of yoga were documented in the Rig Veda. This was a certain type of writing used back around 1500 to 2000 BC. However, the full description of yoga was first found in the “Upinasads” composed around the eighth century before Christ. The main thought of the Upinasads was that they constituted the end or conclusion of the “traditional body of spiritual wisdom”. The Upinasads used to offer sacrifices and hold certain types of ceremonies to appease the Gods. They used the thought that man could please the external gods by these sacrifices and in return that they would become one with the Supreme Being, through moral culture, restraint, and a stronger training of their minds.
With all the different types and practices of yoga, one person has so many types to choose from. Whether they want a more peaceful inner self, a stronger sense of well-being, or a body that will be put into better shape. All practices contain a characteristic designed for each purpose. While some practices are argued about, all have one thing in common, it is practiced regularly around the world by many, and it is growing more popular every day.
Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Yoga
Yoga is supposed to lead a person to better health, and a calmer, more emotional well-being. Mental clarity and a joy in living are the main thoughts imposed upon a person who practices Yoga. The steps in Yoga ultimately are supposed to lead to an advanced state of meditation called “samadhi”.
All the goals of Yoga are expressed in different ways among a lot of different traditions. In Hinduism the main thought is that yoga brings people closer to God. In Buddhism practices, yoga is supposed to help people get a deeper sense of wisdom, compassion, and insight. In some of the farther Western countries, individualism is the strongest emphasis, so yoga would help people there get a better meaning in themselves. But, the ultimate goal of yoga is to actually attain liberation, from any type of suffering and/or the cycle of birth and death.
The word “yoga” derives from a sacred root of “Sanskrit”, which in English means “yoke”. The general translation of yoga is a “union of the individual with the universal soul”. The diversity of yoga involves many subdivisions, but everyone would agree that “the path to enlightenment” is the best suited phrase for yoga.
A common theme of yoga is the practice of concentration. The concentration is mainly focused on one point of sensation. When you sustain this “concentration” for a long enough period of time you will reach, what is called “meditation”. Most meditators express deeper feelings of joy, peace, and self-oneness. The focus of meditation differs between yoga teachers. Some may focus more on peaceful thoughts, spiritualism, or a better sense of well-being, while others will focus on the more physical aspects like, different types of stretches for getting the body into being more fit. All would agree though that meditation for either the spiritual part or physical part of yoga is the most practiced.
A little bit of history on yoga comes from the Indus Valley Civilization that was around somewhere in between six or seven thousand years ago. The earliest accounts of yoga were documented in the Rig Veda. This was a certain type of writing used back around 1500 to 2000 BC. However, the full description of yoga was first found in the “Upinasads” composed around the eighth century before Christ. The main thought of the Upinasads was that they constituted the end or conclusion of the “traditional body of spiritual wisdom”. The Upinasads used to offer sacrifices and hold certain types of ceremonies to appease the Gods. They used the thought that man could please the external gods by these sacrifices and in return that they would become one with the Supreme Being, through moral culture, restraint, and a stronger training of their minds.
With all the different types and practices of yoga, one person has so many types to choose from. Whether they want a more peaceful inner self, a stronger sense of well-being, or a body that will be put into better shape. All practices contain a characteristic designed for each purpose. While some practices are argued about, all have one thing in common, it is practiced regularly around the world by many, and it is growing more popular every day.
Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Yoga
February 23, 2009
What Is Mantra Yoga?
This means chanting of phrases, words which when chanted in full attention and could give you a sense of calmness and tranquility. It can also be stated as the achievement of the ultimate salvation by the chanting of verses. Most of the chants and phrases in Vedas are used for this purpose.
This was a way to gain knowledge about the universe and find unison in you. When the mantras are chanted it helps in keeping the individual away from the material world and be focused on the essentials of life. It is also a way to supreme consciousness which was a part of mans life.
By doing the Mantra Yoga you can also achieve Samadhi which is due to the use of the words and in absolute concentration. The wandering mind makes things very hard so this mantra yoga would help in getting your concentration level on mark. Everything in the Mantra Yoga makes it very important and noteworthy to achieve that oneness of soul and mind.
There are many mantras which can be used and are mainly in Sanskrit. The most common and used worldwide is the “Om” mantra which helps in creating that feeling of ease and calmness. These mantras can also be found in English to let each and everyone practice it.
It relaxes your body and mind and keeps you away from the distraction and a continuous focus is on the Mantra which creates the energy level making it beneficial for you. The Mantra is the only thing that remains in your mind, which increases your concentration and self-awareness level.
Kevin Pederson, the webmaster for Yogawiz, it is a place to find all about yoga, history of yoga, styles and importance of yoga and meditation technique through Mantra Yoga.
This was a way to gain knowledge about the universe and find unison in you. When the mantras are chanted it helps in keeping the individual away from the material world and be focused on the essentials of life. It is also a way to supreme consciousness which was a part of mans life.
By doing the Mantra Yoga you can also achieve Samadhi which is due to the use of the words and in absolute concentration. The wandering mind makes things very hard so this mantra yoga would help in getting your concentration level on mark. Everything in the Mantra Yoga makes it very important and noteworthy to achieve that oneness of soul and mind.
There are many mantras which can be used and are mainly in Sanskrit. The most common and used worldwide is the “Om” mantra which helps in creating that feeling of ease and calmness. These mantras can also be found in English to let each and everyone practice it.
It relaxes your body and mind and keeps you away from the distraction and a continuous focus is on the Mantra which creates the energy level making it beneficial for you. The Mantra is the only thing that remains in your mind, which increases your concentration and self-awareness level.
Kevin Pederson, the webmaster for Yogawiz, it is a place to find all about yoga, history of yoga, styles and importance of yoga and meditation technique through Mantra Yoga.
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