Namaste - Yoga Adepts
4.26.2008
By Joseph Van Moorleghem
There is a vast ocean of knowledge on the subject of Yoga, so whether one is a beginner or considered a master, it is one of the subjects where one keeps on learning until one reaches the portal of illumination.
There are by default an equal amount of definitions on the subject of Yoga as there are individuals alive on earth and every single one of these definitions is the only correct one. Indeed, this very definition could be classified as a sutra, or "mind boggling" expression of a truth. Please note that I did not write "the truth", but "a truth". And I most certainly would not classify the above definition as a sutra, as it would be a lack of true modesty, which is a characteristic of the true yoga adept, or pupil on the path.
But it will do to demonstrate by example what sutras are. It has become clear to me that sutras have but one goal: give the mind a stupendous jolt. As the mind is responsible for your survival, it cannot but create a sense of "self". To help the pupil circumvent the veil that the mind creates to keep that sense of "self" as a tangible reality, the stupendous "jolt" will keep the mind busy, maybe long enough for the pupil to realize he has the opportunity to go and take a look behind the veil.
Indeed, truth is like a many faceted diamond: it changes when there is an minute difference of the angle from which one looks at it. Two people looking at the same diamond at the same time will definitely and invariably produce quite remarkably different descriptions of the same stone. No wonder diamonds are referred to as the masters of the mineral kingdom.
The first great Yoga master to use the technique of "mind boggling" expressions of truth (or Sutra) was Master Patanjali, who left us a treasure of sutras. It is rumored by adepts of Yoga that if one manages to understand them all, and there are several hundred, illumination of the pupil happens automatically.
The people who are born and raised in the West are ill equipped to deal with Yoga, that is easily understood. The extremely competitive environment, the continual repression of non scientifically proven fact, the speed at which people need to live to keep up constitutes a formidable barrier to surmount if one is to start with the practice of Yoga.
The benefits one can derive from taking up the practice of Yoga are too numerous to be addressed here, a number of posts on this particular aspect of Yoga will follow.
Joe is webmaster for mahasaya.com and yogi4u.com where he pursues his passion for spiritual work, self-growth and self-realization. He is happy to make available his experience and 30 years of intense personal research, meditations and in-depth questioning around the three subjects mentioned hereabove and strives to create a network of like minded adepts. You can post on his two sites, either http://mahasaya.com or the blog at http://www.yogi4u.com and he looks forward to your contributions.
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