Let’s take a brief look at the manner in which Yoga and Guided Meditation, Mindfulness Meditation, and Vedantic Meditation are pursued in modern culture in order to understand.

1. Yoga
and
Medication

2. The title of this blog does not contain a spelling error. The fact of the matter is that many people who take up
only Yoga & Meditation without proper guidance and context will wind up falling back on Medication to support their
emotional well-being. What is the reason for this? Let’s take a brief look at the manner in which Yoga and Guided
Meditation, Mindfulness Meditation, and Vedantic Meditation are pursued in modern culture in order to understand.
The term Yoga is derived from the Sanskrit root Yuj, meaning ‘to unite, join, merge, or yoke,’ and it refers to a set of
Physical, Mental & Intellectual practices intended to help one control the mind, escape suffering, and unite with the
Infinite Consciousness. What most people today understand as ‘YOGA,’ however, is actually just one specific type of
yoga, the Hatha Yoga. This type of yoga relies on physical techniques and is considered a preparatory spiritual practice.
Yoga and Medication

4. The physical exercises and postures associated with yoga are known as
Yoga-Asanas. These practices help one keep their Gross Physical Body
fit and flexible, for the purpose of extending one’s longevity so that they
may have greater opportunity to achieve the fourth human goal of
reaching the Infinite Consciousness, Brahman. The discipline acquired
through these practices also helps one endure the more disciplined
practices associated with the other forms of yoga.
Thus, Yoga-Asanas primarily benefits the gross physical body and is
meant to serve as a preparatory practice on the journey towards
capturing infinity.

5. Meditation, especially those of Mindfulness Meditation, Guided Meditation, & Vedantic Meditation, etc. on the
other hand, are of the most advanced spiritual practices involved in the pursuit of infinity. Between Yoga-Asana and
Meditation, there are several intermediate practices that are generally skipped over by modern life coaches and
practitioners. The discrepancy inherent in the combination of preparatory Yoga-Asana and Advanced Vedantic
Meditation is the reason why many people fail to get the benefit they hope for from these practices, and eventually fall
back on Medication.
The primary intermediate practices of yoga are Karma Yoga, Upaasana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, and Gnana Yoga. Each of
these Yogas involves distinct practices and benefits the human personality in distinct ways. The reader will understand
that the human personality is composed of several distinct layers: the physical, active, mental, and intellectual layers.
Each of these layers asserts itself differently in each individual’s personality, and each one responds differently to
different practices of yoga. Through intentional, systematic practices of each of these Yogas, one’s overall personality
will gradually become meditative, qualifying one to perform the advanced meditation that precedes capturing infinity.

7. The problem is that most guides & gurus focus exclusively on Yoga-Asana and on Meditation, completely skipping over
the intermediate stages. Without knowledge of the intermediate Yogas, the role of Intellect, and Inner Personalities – the
practitioners are inevitably unprepared to embark on a lasting commitment to Meditation. At most, they will obtain some
temporary peace and calmness from their efforts, although this is likely more due to the disparity between stressful
everyday life and peaceful contemplation than from actual meditative practice. This just amounts to temporary Stress
Management.

8. Dedicated practitioners may even go so far as to attend special extended retreats on Stress Management, Mindfulness
Meditation etc., totally removing themselves from the agitations of life by traveling to remote locations so that they can
‘focus’ on the practices of yoga and meditation. However, once they return to regular life, their commitment to Yoga and
Meditation tends to quickly wane; after a week or so, their practice will taper off—as will the temporary benefit they
derived from their Stress Management retreat.

9. In an attempt to resist this all-but-inevitable decline, some enthusiastic
practitioners may try to force themselves to continue Meditation, giving no regard
to the condition of their current state of mind and intellect, or to the extent of their
unfulfilled desires or emotional dependency on the world. While a genuine
commitment to Meditation requires a strong intellect, such forced commitment as
this ironically circumvents the intellect, and leads to poor results.
All efforts to perform Mediation that are not founded on sound preparatory
practices are doomed to fail, and the attempt to remain committed to meditation by
suppressing thoughts can result in the kind of rampant, unchecked thought flow
that can lead to depression or other psychological distress. This is why an uncritical
practice of Yoga and Meditation so often leads to Medication.

10. True Meditation is the capacity to direct one’s mind to a single thought—toward Brahman, Infinity, to the exclusion of
all other thoughts, under the continuous observation of the intellect, and for a sustained period. This capacity can only
be achieved after diligent cultivation of all layers of the personality, practicing all intermediate forms of Yoga; only then will
one be prepared to plunge into the deep Vedantic Meditation that can culminate in capturing infinity!
Recall that the term Yoga derives from a root meaning ‘to unite, join, merge, or yoke.’ In order for two things to be merged or
yoked, this implies that they are initially separate entities. What two entities does this refer to, then? It refers to the seemingly
separate, microcosmic, individual self from Brahman, or infinite consciousness. Thus, working toward uniting these two
entities is the object of the various Yogas, the various sets of procedures, systems, and actions one engages in as they attempt
to get closer to achieving the ultimate human goal.

11. As mentioned at the start of this blog, the five primary Yogas of Vedanta are Hatha Yoga, Karma Yoga,
Upaasana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, and Gnana Yoga. These five Yogas address all layers of the human personality,
adequately preparing one for Vedantic Meditation.
However, in addition to these primary yogas there are numerous other practices taught by various gurus, life
coaches, and institutions, including: Ashtanga Yoga; Samaaadhi Yoga; Kriya Yoga; Raja Yoga; Patanjali Yoga;
Buddhi Yoga; Dhyana Yoga; Mukti Yoga; Sakthi Yoga; Vipansana Yoga; Kundalini Yoga; Zen Yoga; Tantra
Yoga; Mantra Yoga; Vynyasa Yoga; Yin Yoga; Prana Yoga; Hot Yoga; Cold Yoga; Stress Yoga; Power Yoga;
HIIT Yoga; and many more.

12. These additional practices are essentially derivatives of the earlier mentioned five fundamental Yogas, and most of
them are irrelevant to the attempt to capture infinity. For now, let us focus on the five fundamental Yogas, as these
are the practices that will enable one to enhance their qualification for capturing infinity. In this blog we will briefly
touch on Hatha Yoga, while in the forthcoming book “Who Banged the Big Bang”, shall examine each of the
remaining four Yogas in greater detail.
Hatha Yoga, then, is a set of physical exercises and breathing techniques focused on keeping the gross body fit and
prolonging the lifespan so that one may have the longest possible opportunity to fulfill the fourth human goal and
capture infinity. Vedantic texts emphasize the importance of maintaining a fit gross physical body that will help
rather than hinder the attempt to capture infinity. However, care for one’s physical body does not mean
that excessive or even exclusive attention should be focused on the gross physical body.

13. There are some practitioners who focus excessively on the fitness aspect of Hatha Yoga; they spend all their time focusing on
keeping the gross body fit, while neglecting the fitness of the subtle body. This is based on a number of factors, chief among
them vanity and an incomplete knowledge of the Yogas.
At most this will result in a healthy gross body—although this is not even guaranteed, as obsession with the gross body can lead
to unhealthy behaviors, such as anorexia, which can wind up shortening the lifespan rather than prolonging it, as Hatha Yoga
intends. In any event, such a lopsided focus on the gross body will hinder one’s progress as they attempt to pursue infinity.
This same logic also applies to seemingly responsible lifestyle choices, like becoming a vegan. While the importance of
avoiding injury to other living beings is undeniable, there are even bigger issues involved in insisting on pursuing a vegan
lifestyle—namely, that it can cause distress to others, and that it can involve ignorance of the effect one has on others and on the
world around them, a sign of a weak intellect.

14. Vedanta considers hunger to be a periodical ‘Divine Disease’ of the gross
body, known as Vaishvaanara; in this conception, food, or Aahaaram, is a
form of medicine that serves to temporarily cure this recurring Divine Disease
of the Gross Physical Body. Thus, food should not be a primary focus in and
of itself, but rather should be consumed only in a sufficient amount to provide
nourishment and relieve the temporary state of hunger, the Vaishvaanara when
it arises for the purpose of ensuring it does not interfere with one’s practice of
the various Yogas.
On the other side of the spectrum are those who discount the importance of
physical fitness; such people shun Hatha Yoga, along with other forms of
physical fitness activities, and instead focus their energy on only growing their
knowledge of Vedanta. For such individuals, their gross physical bodies will
represent a hindrance to their efforts to capture infinity and may even wind up
shortening their lifespan—the ultimate hindrance to this effort.

15. One upside of the modern fascination with Hatha Yoga is that there are ample resources available, both online and
offline, for learning about and practicing this form of yoga. The reader should explore such options in order to
start to build up their physical yogic practice; however, they must always remain aware of the role of Hatha Yoga
in the big picture—specifically, that it is a preparatory practice that one should engage in just enough to keep their
gross physical body fit. One practices Hatha Yoga so that they may be able to spend sufficient time dedicated to
the remaining four primary Yogas, which shall be dealt in detail in the forthcoming book “Who Banged the Big
Bang”.