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sar78
17 February 2013, 02:37 PM
Dear friends,

There is no doubt that Yoga by definition is the path of union towards God, so it is also often mentioned as Margas... So does it restrict in any way to stick to one particular type of yoga alone.?.. or can we practice all types of yogas. is it possible to.. for example practice meditation and bhakthi songs with karma duty and jnana or vichara searching for answers?

smaranam
18 February 2013, 01:48 AM
praNAm sar78

Karma and jnAna are the two wings and bhakti is the propeller or the soaring bird's tail.

The first question is what do you want. It is a myth that the destination is one. There are different mountains and peaks. A combination of various Yogas typically helps reach your peak.

Hence, i would not call the Yoga as a mArga at all. It is misleading.

1. Some people want to blend into the impersonal aspect of Brahman where there is no two entities or even one entity for that matter. For these also, they cannot reach their goal without bhakti, devotion to God the Person. Karma Yog and Dhyan, RAj Yog are also typically included.

2. Others want to be in association of or in service of the Supreme Parameshwar. The jnAna of pure devotees is different. It is that knowledge which is to be embibed in order to carry our loving devotional service to the Supreme Lord. They also have to distinguish spirit from matter, but their goal is very different. Also, it is an age old observation as well as implied by BhagavAn Shri KRshNa that His devotees do not need too much of other Yogas. NishkAm karma i.e. Karma Yoga is best followed hand in hand with bhakti, as it is natural to work for BhagavAn and give up any potential fruits at His Lotus Feet, in the process of devotional service.

We just heard the opinion of someone of type 1 a few days ago. If Svayam BhagavAn, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, were to appear before the supposed Brahman-jnAni - knower of impersonal Brahman (as per this opinion), they would ignore Him as "too much about name and form, hence a product of mAyA - i.e. illusion, or at least not the highest parmArtha"

Now, think. Would people of type 2, who finds this idea offensive to the point of revolting for themselves, ever pass by their path ?
Although - the shAstras do give examples of Brahma-vAdis who were later on attracted to the Supreme Lord, BhagavAn - such as the 4 snakAdi kumars, Shukdev Goswami, and many Rshis(sages). The Brahman-vAdis are different in the sense, they are devotees of the transcendental Supreme Person.

So, it is just the other way around from what you have suggested. The mArga is not the Yoga. Different yogas, combinations or sequences, assist different goals.

Moral of the story: THERE ARE DIFFERENT GOALS. Accordingly there are different schools. Some are sub-parampara under one umbrella. e.g. under Shaiva (devotees of Shiva) there are several schools more or less towards the same teachings and goal, and under VaishNav (devotees of VishNu), there are four authorized sampradAy - which has slight differences based on inclinations but are quite unanimous overall.

_/\_

om namo bhagavate vAsudevAya ~

Eastern Mind
18 February 2013, 09:22 AM
Dear friends,

There is no doubt that Yoga by definition is the path of union towards God, so it is also often mentioned as Margas... So does it restrict in any way to stick to one particular type of yoga alone.?.. or can we practice all types of yogas. is it possible to.. for example practice meditation and bhakthi songs with karma duty and jnana or vichara searching for answers?

Vannakkam: Of course we can focus on one, or all 4. There are several takes on how the yogas are applied. Some focus more on seva,others on bhakti, some say to select one you're good at, others say to select the one you're worst at to work on it, as its a weakness. Others say, don't select. So there is more than one way to apply the concept.

For me, in a nutshell, its balancing charya, kriya, yoga, to attain jnana, which is a different jnana than some define.

Hope this isn't all too confusing.

Aum Namasivaya

sar78
18 February 2013, 11:51 AM
Smaranam... Many many thanks for the explanatory reply... (& Eastern mind too...) it has invoked my thoughts....

still I am under the thought of opinion that so many great people have been repeatedly saying the fact that "all paths (even different relegions) lead to the same God who is the ONLY Supreme personality of the entire Universe" - Unionship with HIM IS THE ONLY ULTIMATE GOAL of human birth's purpose - is this correct? ofcourse Service to God included..

hence it seems you are laying here 2 different purposes rather than one above....

1. Some people want to blend into the impersonal aspect of Brahman where there is no two entities (or in other words state of Mukthi or moksham...)
2. Others want to be in association of or in service of the Supreme Parameshwar (Service as per GOD's Will - Siddha)

Now, my question is: are both are'nt the same tied well one-together?

Without attaining God hood (1) your service to God's Will (2) would not be complete - means you will have karma remaining to accomplish as your service would not be Godly enough... or in other words if you would offer True Service to Godhood as per God's will (type 2) you would not be able to do Godly Service without getting to HIS ABODE or being in HIS STATE OF ANANDA-BLISS (type 1)...

so there is only one goal/pupose - To be Godly (like Buddha, Jesus or RamaKrishnaParamahamsa or many siddhas) and To do Godly acts them as per God's wish... are'nt both tied together...? Meaning that You cannot Act Godly unless you be Godly first... 1 to 2 is automatic isnt it correct? if dhyana(RAJA) yoga achieves to state 1 will it not lead to do karma (KRIYA) properly accomplish and achieve 2? THATS MY HONEST DOUBT OF UNDERSTANDING REQURING CLARITY OF THINKING MANY TIMES

Nextly there is a term: Yoga Marga - path of Yoga which includes different types of Yoga... so I think its just words understanding perception... but you are correct marga has difference in meaning to yoga... as Eastern mind said Yoga and jnana are 2 steps in the order of pathway sequence: sariya-kriya-yoga- jnana... but there are terms for kriya yoga and jnana yoga which confuses the above sequence... (Also there is a term called Jnana Margam) I assume sariya means bhakthi if i am right? still I am trying to understand some portion of text in Smaranam's post... thanks very much for you both once again - Sar78

mariajules
22 April 2013, 12:39 AM
It is such a tough question to answer. I have heard a lot about Yoga and I am always in a search of good Yoga teachers. I want my kids to learn it so that they will not fall prey to today's fast and furious life.

Eastern Mind
22 April 2013, 12:55 PM
It is such a tough question to answer. I have heard a lot about Yoga and I am always in a search of good Yoga teachers. I want my kids to learn it so that they will not fall prey to today's fast and furious life.

Vannakkam: Welcome to these forums. What is yoga to you? Teachers will vary widely based on what you think it is.

Aum Namasivaya

yogacurious
06 May 2013, 11:34 AM
Yoga is not limited to practicing different poses, it is just a one limb amongst 8 limbs of yoga explained in Patanjali Yoga Sutra.

Check out this post for more information http://www.hindudharmaforums.com/showthread.php?t=8520

Vitani
06 May 2013, 04:16 PM
It is such a tough question to answer. I have heard a lot about Yoga and I am always in a search of good Yoga teachers. I want my kids to learn it so that they will not fall prey to today's fast and furious life.

Namaste. I assume you mean Hatha Yoga?

Pranams

ShivaFan
06 May 2013, 08:43 PM
Namaste.
Yes, I think you can perform multiple yogas as part of practice.

One of the most advanced Hindu friends I knew performed Bhakti Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Hatha Yoga, and meditation. He was very, very advanced and dynamic as a result.

Another, however, was mixing Kundalini Yoga with Raja Yoga and meditation, and threw some Tantra Yoga, and had some problems.

So the one exception perhaps is mixing Kundalini with some others.

I am starting to do more meditation. With Bhakti Yoga. I want to also start Surya praise and meditation in morning but ... any advice?

Om Namah Sivaya

sar78
18 May 2013, 02:27 AM
Regarding Surya Namakar i know its essence of all Yogasanas... early morning pranayama & meditation with surya namaskar is the ideal thing to do I would suppose... it keeps body mind clean healthy fresh throughout the day

Also the important question I have is... in Raja Yoga there are 8 limbs as we all know... as described in Ashtanga yoga sutras by Patanjali siddha


In that 6th or 7th limb is the meditation cum concentration practice..

the first 2 limbs yama & niyama - self restraint self conduct relegious observances study of scriptures good discipline... etc

without proper achievement in first 2 limbs is it advisable to get into meditation practice deeply? is it the step wise is it better or the simultaneous practice of ther 8 limbs altogether is it better is the confusion I have...

I would assume you need to have atleast some form of discipline self restraint level in the first 2steps to get into formal practice of the asanas pranayama concentrtation & meditation etc... or will it be the reverse is acceptable? thanks to all who contributed to this post