The Yoga rules

By Joseph Van Moorleghem

Correct meditation is not easy for those who are in maya. A simple test towards correct practice in meditation consists of inviting the candidate to the following exercise: count from one to ten inwardly (be honest to yourself) without being interrupted in the flow of your thoughts by an itch, a smell, a sound, an emotion or even a thought other than the sequence from one to ten.

You could be in the course of reciting the numbers in your mind, and in the short silence between one and two, you become aware of a presence that is accompanying you in your count. A thought that intrudes and flashes in between the silence between the two numbers, of the nature of: "there we are, two already!" and you know that at that very point, the silence has been broken. You have not failed at anything though, you have only discovered that you have no control over your own mind.

Many make it to two, fewer get to three and most drop out on the inner count of four, because by then, one has been interrupted by some or other intruding thought, or one starts smiling, or suddenly, there is an unforeseen bowel movement, or one has to swallow some saliva and what have you else. Indeed, the situation can sometimes be hilarious. The fact that you also realize that you have little control over how your thoughts present themselves to you can be disconcerting, and it should be.

For a master it is of course the simplest of exercises and a yogi master does this exercise effortlessly. It can be the doorway to first stillness, a way of starting a meditation session. Disciplining the mind to follow the will and not intrude with any thoughts is the most difficult of challenges for the beginner, but when there are thoughts inside your head, then that is not silence.

And correct meditation is about creating silence within. It is because yogis, the masters who have understood yoga, have always known of this first enormous hurdle, that the postures have been created.

Postures help bring focus, discipline and control over the mind. Once the mind can be stilled, the path to higher self becomes clear.

When the body is full of toxins, this can also be a problem, for the unhealthy body will keep interfering with the mind until sufficient attention has been given to this situation and the health related issues are cleared away. Again, postures stimulate the body to clear away the toxins. The whole concept of yoga is about preparing for correct meditation which takes the pupil on the path to mastery.

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.