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Yoga Meditation

 

 By Swami Jnaneshvara

 

Yoga Meditation is the art and science of systematically observing, accepting, understanding, and training each of the levels of our being, such that we may coordinate and integrate those aspects of ourselves, and dwell in the direct experience of the center of consciousness. There is a 16-page description of Yoga Meditation, which explains the process in practical terms, and simple language.

Yoga Meditation is not actually a separate aspect of Yoga, due to the fact that Yoga is meditation. However, the phrase Yoga Meditation is being used here to discriminate between Yoga Meditation and the now popular belief that Yoga is about physical postures. Yoga or Yoga Meditation is a complete process unto itself, only a small, though useful part of which relates to the physical body. (See the article Modern Yoga versus Ancient Yoga)

In the Yoga Meditation of the Himalayan tradition, one systematically works with senses, body, breath, the various levels of mind, and then goes beyond, to the center of consciousness. The science of Yoga Meditation as taught by the Himalayan sages is already a whole, complete science that has been torn into smaller pieces over time. Individual parts have sometimes (unfortunately) been cut out from the whole of Yoga Meditation, given separate names, and then taught as unique systems of meditation. The perspective of Yoga Meditation on the www.SwamiJ.com site is that it is not a pasting together of disparate Yogas, but an already unified whole that we might call Yoga Meditation, or simply Yoga.

Yoga Meditation of the Himalayan tradition is holistic in that it not only deals systematically with all levels, but also involves a broad range of practices, including meditation, contemplation, prayer, and mantra, as well as the preparatory practices leading up to these. Yoga Meditation also explores all of the levels of reality and self-construction, including the gross (vaishvanara), subtle (taijasa), causal (prajna), and the absolute (turiya), as reflected in Om Mantra. Finally, Yoga Meditation leads one to the direct experience of the absolute, pure, eternal center of consciousness.

The root meaning of Yoga Meditation lies in the meaning of the word Yoga itself, which comes from "yuj" which means "to join," to bring together the aspects of yourself that were never divided in the first place. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali is a primary source of learning the practices of Yoga Meditation. The finer points of Yoga Meditation are described and taught face-to-face, as it is an oral tradition. Hopefully, the many articles on www.SwamiJ.com will enhance your understanding and practicing Yoga Meditation. There includes a succinct outline of Beginning, Intermediate and Advanced Yoga Meditation.

In the Himalayan tradition, Yoga Meditation is not limited to just the Yoga Sutras, but also includes Vedanta and internal Tantra, while also acknowledging that the practices are also contained in many other sources (See the article, Yoga, Vedanta, Tantra). The teachers of the Himalayan tradition may emphasize or draw on some of these (or other) sources more or less than others, matching the teachings with the student. Yoga Meditation also involves the process of Kundalini Awakening, and this is described in a series of pages on the site.

Yoga Meditation is not a religion, although some of the principles are contained within the various religions. There are articles on Mysticism and Religion on the site, which should give a good overview of this perspective of Yoga Meditation.

 

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