'Philosophy of Raja Yoga Essay\r'

'For umpteen in the West, yoga is simply sightly a part of your workout plan, a delegacy of strengthening the body, curing body ailments, and meliorate flexibility. As we review the philosophy of yoga we’ll devise about that it is â€Å" overmuch more than a arranging of physical exercise for health, Yoga is . . . an ancient cart track to unearthly growth. ” (Raphael) The word yoga is related to the side word yoke. A yoke is a wooden plank custom fitted on kine to help them pull the load. The aforementi iodined(prenominal) way the yoke is unifying the cattle to the beam, yoga is the union of body, headspring and spirit. (Chopra ix)\r\nWe first bump traces of yoga in ancient texts dating covering fire to 500 B. C where they speak of marriage â€Å"the light within you with the light of brahman”. There be four of import forms of yoga Gyan, Bhakti, Karma, and rajah, all which we pick out covered in class, save I pass on save go into detail abou t genus Raja yoga. It wasn’t until the work of Maharishi Patanjali in his Yoga Sutras that we come to see the main philosophy of Raja yoga as it stands now. (Chopra 23) Legend has it that Patanjali’s m otherwise, Gonnika, was praying to passkey Vishnu and that he was so moved by her devotion that Vishnu asked the cosmic serpent, Ananta, to prep atomic number 18 for serviceman incarnation.\r\nA speck of Ananta’s cosmic seed fell into Gonnika’s hand, she nurtured this cosmic seed, which then soon begeted into a baby boy. Quite identical to the Christian story of the Virgin Mary and the birth of Jesus, Gonnika named her child Patanjali from the root word ditch meaning â€Å"descended from promised land” and Anjali the word for praying posture. Patanjali set up a system of octette offset printinges of Raja each meant to get you close together(predicate) to unification with Brahman, they are: Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharan a, Dhyana and Samadhi. (Chapra 47) I will briefly discuss all eight some severalisees and how it compares to some catholic beliefs.\r\nThe first branch of yoga, Yama, deals with how you interact with others. These social rules include practicing nonviolence, speak truthfully, exercising proper sexual control, and organism generous. Like Christianity and all other ghostlike traditions they en braveness people to live skinny lives. The essence of Yama is to achieve, in Sanskrit, ahimsa. Mahatma Ghandi advocated this principle during the emancipation movement in India. Ahimsa fashion your unharmed body is in peace, your thoughts are nonviolent, and your actions are nonviolent.\r\nGhandi was quoted on saying, â€Å" If you express your love in such a manner that impresses itself indelibly pon your so called enemy, he must reappearance that love…and that requires far greater courage than delivering of blows. ” (Chapra 33) The second branch, Niyama, are the rules of personal behavior. How does wiz live when no one is watching? What choices do you make when you’re the merely witness? Niyama yoga encourages a surrender to the divine, discipline, whiteness and contentment. Asana is the main branch of yoga that has grown in popularity in the western sandwich world. It is the third branch of yoga and it deals with physical flexibility and tone. At the deepest direct of asana you will achieve full mind-body integration.\r\nThe antithetical postures offer great benefits in balance, and strength, and when preformed endlessly it hatful also be a great aerobic exercise, yet if not done properly it may arrest serious damage. Pr any(prenominal)ama is the fourth branch of yoga, which is similar to the Christian belief of the Holy Spirit. Prana means life force. Like the Holy Spirit, prana is the decision making factor between a supporting being and a cadaver. It is your soul. Modern twenty-four hours meditation derives from the fifth br anch of yoga, Pratyahara. This is the transit of ignoring the senses from the outer world and recognizing those in your inner world.\r\nThe concept is similar to when you stay international from food for a while; comm merely your next meal is dismissal to appreciation better than normal. When you withdraw from your senses you are satisfactory to experience them again with more vibrancy. Monks walking on hot coals seeming to tactile sensation nothing are practicing pratyahara. Dharana, the sixth branch, is the victory of attention. This has grown in popularity by unexampled day quantum physics and in the record â€Å"The Secret” which tries to prove the law of attraction. erst you activate your attention on something, your intentions switch a powerful magnetic becharm to attract those like(p) thoughts.\r\nBasically, if you set your mind to it you tramp achieve it. Very similar to Dharana, Dhyana, the seventh branch of yoga, is achieving complete awareness. You develop this skill in meditation, something I study everyone should practice no matter your ghostlike affiliation. Meditation teaches you to stay centered and wakeful to all possibilities, in order to be able to choose the best head for the hills of action for any obstacle. (Chapra 47) The eighth and net branch of yoga is called Samadhi. This is the belief that we are continuously infinite, that although our bodies are temporarily on this satellite our spirit is forever flowing in the cosmic world.\r\nSamadhi’s main intention is to know yourself as a spiritual being disguised as a human being. These teachings clash heavily with western philosophy of the afterlife. Christians believe that if we live good moral, ethical lives then we will be granted permission into the gates of heaven and therefore be in complete(a) peace. This belief, in my opinion, has been misinterpreted causing a worldly movement. We tend to believe that since we are unaccompanied here on this e arth once, that we are forced to make as much money as possible and to have as legion(predicate) things as we can while it lasts.\r\nIt has also led to scorn in our environment. When western civilization begins to see to it that the earth is in fact a living organism and we share the same breath of air with everyone, then we can begin to treat the Earth as our Mother Nature not just a temporary medium to the afterlife. elevated into a Roman Catholic family I still hold all the same values and beliefs I grew up with. however I believe no one religion is right, and it is naive to think that Christianity is the only way of life. Christianity, being one of the youngest religions, was derived from many beliefs of many different religions.\r\nSimilarities are everywhere, but over time, power, greed and many other factors have changed the customs and traditions to their favor. I no longer see myself as Catholic, but I am still super spiritual. I took this course hoping to find some a nswers and I’ve come to the realization that I don’t have to be a devout follower of any particular religion. I can administer bits and pieces from various teachings to establish my own beliefs in a way that’s going to help me live a chastely righteous life. Namaste.\r\n'