Streams of Yoga

Streams of Yoga:

There are large number of methods of yoga catering to the needs of different persons in society to bring about the transformation of the individual. They are broadly classified into four streams. And few more to advance ourselves to listen within us deeply to merge with the supreme.

Swami Vivekananda puts them as Work, Worship, Philosophy and Psychic control.

They are Karma Yoga, Bhakthi Yoga, Gnana Yoga and Raja Yoga respectively.

Karma Yoga – Path of Action without any expectation

• There should be no calculation or expectation for the work/help/service we do from any others in this world.
• Be it any relationship, Husband – Wife, Parent – Child, Employer – Employee, Elders – Youngsters within family, within Friends, other Relatives, etc.
• Help for the needy, without any mental calculation. Don´t help anyone, just because he/she helped you before, rather help a person who´s in need.
• It will automatically make all those you love to live well including who helped you before.
• There is a divine calculation otherwise called Sukshma Calculation, which is maintained universally as per our doings, which is what deciding as what´s to be given to a person at that point of time.
• So, learning to live happily without any mental calculation and disturbing ourselves is the one being taught in Karma Yoga.

Bhakti Yoga – Path of Worship or Emotions control.

• The concept behind bhakthi Yoga is that a complete surrender of our mind towards the supreme power within us throughout the day inspite of our routines with full focus on the work as well as the divine within us.
• Should develop divine attributes like love, patience and acceptance within us, around us with all living beings and non-living beings.
• The negative effect of ego-consciousness should be cleared and purified completely to attain this state of mind.

Gnana Yoga – Path of Philosophy or Knowledge

• This is the path which gives importance to the knowledge.
• Through knowledge, making our live better.
• Never run back of scriptures, books all the time to learn things, though its necessary in the initial stages to know as what to do.
• Otherwise, life is itself a book, just observe it and learn what it teaches you.
• Whenever, facing a problem, never try to run and escape out of the problem, rather make a study at that time so consciously as what´s really pushing you to that state and how to overcome it.
• Learn the basic things first necessary to make a reasonable healthy, happy and peaceful life first, then increase the awareness both within and around you more and more as life permits.
• Never over-strain in the name of learning.
• Ultimate aim of Gnana yoga is to make an union of our soul with the supreme soul within us and become in-seperable. It´s the ultimate stage and can be achieved through Gnana Yoga.

Let us learn about this in great detail in a separate article.

Rāja/Astanga Yoga – Path of Psychic control or Mind control

Its´ been developed by Sage Patanjali. It has eight limbs and let us learn about this in detail in the other article. It leads a person from normal life to Samadhi state, stage by stage increasing the awareness of a person deeper.

Kriya Yoga – Path of Action with complete awareness

• Doing any action with complete awareness over the action, the body, the mind and the intellect and the situation is termed the kriya yoga. By this way, we follow the flow of breath to effectively oxygenate the body and make it fit for meditation and union with almighty within us.
• Initially, one can start by listening breath when walking, listening to the body movements when walking, the speed of legs and hands as well as the surrounding we are walking.
• Then, same can be applied when doing any kind of physical activity like walking, running, moving out for buying grocery, when moving body during any physical labor in factories, in house like washing utensils, washing clothes, slicing vegetables, playing with balls, simply sitting and observing the breath, our arising thoughts in between etc.
• Advanced Sadhakas/ascetics follow a certain way of channelizing the breath in upward direction for greater result in union and transformation of self to higher possibility.

Let us learn about this in great detail in separate article later.

Swara Yoga –  Swara is Sanskrit word, meaning sound or note. It is also a continuous flow of air through one nostril. Yoga means union, so Swara yoga is a science which is realization of cosmic consciousness through control and manipulation of breath. Swara yoga is an ancient science of pranic body rhythms and explores how prana can be controlled through the breath.

 

• Swara Yoga is science which is a complete study, observations, control and manipulation of breath or Swara.
• Pranayama is only related to control of breath in various ways.
• In swara yoga, you will find association of breath in relation to activities of sun, moon, various seasons, physical and mental conditions of individuals etc.
• So Swara Yoga is more comprehensive in theory and practices related to breath

Let us learn about Swara Yoga deeper in a seperate article.

Hatha Yoga: The combination of Asanas and Pranayama, breathing techniques together can be termed as Hatha Yoga.

Laya / Kundalini Yoga: Gorakshanatha is the founder of this Yoga. There are two paths of self-illumination, the path of expansion and the path of total dissolution.

• The first path includes many spiritual practices and is taught by most teachers of yoga.
• The second path is laya yoga, the direct route, which is taught by very few.
• You must have read in the Bible, ´By God, I swear I die every night.´ What is this death and this night?
• When the mind is withdrawn to the source, the mind and pranas hibernate, and the body remains as if dead. That is laya yoga samadhi.
• The only difference between the final stage of laya yoga and the death experience is that after death you do not come back into the same body, whereas after experiencing the laya state, you return to the same body and mind and resume life as the same individual.
• In order to be able to face that experience, the practices of hatha yoga are absolutely indispensable.
• Hatha yoga prepares the foundation for laya.
• Now, Kundalini Yoga also known as laya yoga, is a school of yoga that is influenced by Shaktism and Tantra. It derives its name through a focus on awakening kundalini energy through regular practice of meditation, pranayama, chanting mantra and yoga asana. Called by practitioners “the yoga of awareness”, it aims “to cultivate the creative spiritual potential of a human to uphold values, speak truth, and focus on the compassion and consciousness needed to serve and heal others.
• The practice of kriyas and meditations in Kundalini Yoga are designed to raise complete body awareness to prepare the body, nervous system, and mind to handle the energy of Kundalini rising. The majority of the physical postures focus on navel activity, activity of the spine, and selective pressurization of body points and meridians. Breath work and the application of bandhas (3 yogic locks) aid to release, direct and control the flow of Kundalini energy from the lower centers to the higher energetic centers.
• Along with the many kriyas, meditations and practices of Kundalini Yoga, a simple breathing technique of alternate nostril breathing (left nostril, right nostril) is taught as a method to cleanse the nadis, or subtle channels and pathways, to help awaken Kundalini energy.

Mantra Yoga: Path of concentration and devotion to unite with supreme.

The word mantra comes from the Sanskrit, “mantrana”, meaning suggestion. Mantras are sacred, potent words, which yield tremendous results in the physical, mental and spiritual levels, when chanted with concentration and devotion.
Mantra yoga is an exact science where the mantras are signposts to the wandering mind, steering it to an ambient poise for meditation. Repetition of mantras completely engages the mind, offering a means of getting closer to the divinity within. Chanting of mantras produces positive vibrations, bringing benefits to the one who chants as well as the one who listens.
By constant repetition of the mantra, the aspirant absorbs the power of the presiding deity in the mantra. Chanting of mantras generate potent divine vibrations. They help fill the cells of the aspirant with the divine energy. They destroy the microbes and restore strength to the cells and tissues.
Tradition says that there are 70 million mantras. The ancient text, Yoga-Yajnavalkya says that a whispered mantra is a thousand times more beneficial than a spoken one, a mental mantra is a thousand times more beneficial than a whispered one and finally meditating on a mantra is a thousand times more beneficial than its silent recitation.

Let us learn about Mantra Yoga in detail in a separate article.

Nada Yoga: Path of invoking a union with God, through sound or music.

• The word ‘Nada’ comes from the Sanskrit word, ‘Nad’, which essentially signifies sound. It also means ‘flow’ and in this context would relate to the flow of consciousness. Nadam resonates to the sound of ‘Om’, which is the primordial energy.
• In Nada yoga, the aspirant focuses his attention on the anahata nada or the inner sound. The focus should be on the sound produced within the human body and not on any external vibration. The practitioner experiences a feeling of stillness, which instills an ability to reconnect with the soul or the ‘atman’.
• Yogis extol the ten inner astral sounds along with the supreme sound of ‘Om.’
• Nada yoga assists in tuning ourselves to all the astral sounds, ultimately immersing oneself with the cosmic sound, ‘Om’.
• Perhaps the reason why the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali say that mantra Om is “the sound that expresses the divine absolute, which should be repeatedly intoned while absorbing its meaning.”
• In nada yoga practice, we start by merely observing the sound around us and then cultivating awareness to them.

Types of Nada Yoga:

These are four types of Nadas

• 1. Vaikhari – audible sound
• 2. Madhyama – mental sound, unstruck sound
• 3. Pashyanta – a subconscious sound
• 4. Paranada – transcendent sound

Among the four Nadas, Para Nada is endowed with the highest frequency that produces nil vibration. The cosmic ‘Om’ is Paranada, full of pure energy and light.

Nada yoga helps in raising the awareness of the self and experiencing the profound inner layers.

The essence of Nada Yoga is summed up in the words of Sankaracharya as

“By one, who is desirous of attaining perfection in yoga, Nada alone has got to be closely heard (meditated upon), having abandoned all thoughts and with a calm mind.”

Let us learn about this in great detail later in a seperate article.

Tantra Yoga:

The objective of Tantra yoga is to awaken the Kundalini located at the base of the spine. It aims to achieve perfect unity between this energy center and the crown chakra, also called Lord Shiva. A state of perfect harmony can be reached through constant practice that involves chanting the holy name, offering prayers and engaging in various rituals.

Swami Gnaneshwara Bharati, has embodied the tenets of tantra yoga in these words: “The journey of tantra is to know them both (Shiva and Shakthi), at once, as one. Through the process of Kundalini awakening, the two are eventually experienced in their state of union”. Rightly then, the goal of Tantra Yoga is the union of the dynamic (Shakti) and static (Shiva) aspects of the personality.

It is recommended to pick up the nuances of Tantra yoga from a guru or preceptor. Tantra practice or sadhana involves:

• Bhuta Suddhi (tantric rite)- which helps to purify the five elements of which the body is composed. The body of the person practising it (sadhaka’s) becomes a fit vehicle to receive the light of the goddess.
• Nyasa (a powerful tantric rite) involves placing the tips of the fingers of the right hand on various parts of the body and reciting mantras.
• Kavacha (means protection) – The Supreme Lord is invoked with different names to protect the different parts of the body of the aspirant.
• Mudra – They are gestures performed by the hands, consisting of 108 mudras. Mudras delight the different deities invoked and an appropriate gesture is made to welcome a particular deity.
• Yantra – It is a diagram drawn on paper or a metal sheet and revered as an object of worship. Yantra is considered as the body of the deity and is appropriated to a specific deity only. The yantra is empowered with divine energy when the practitioner or sadhaka meditates upon the deity and invokes the powers of the deity into the yantra by reciting the appropriate chants or mantra that are vital to kindle the powers of the deity.

The essence of Tantra Yoga reverberates in the words of Soundarya Lahiri, which says, “only when Shiva is united with Shakthi does he have the power to create.”
Therapeutic Aspect of Tantra Yoga
Tantra Yoga focuses on spiritual healing. It helps in better utilization of energies locked in our lower chakras. This will eventually empower us to lead our daily lives efficiently.

ONE SINGLE METHOD DOES NOT SUIT ALL

                                                                          Namaste !