2. Patanjali's Yoga Sutras • Founded by Sage Patanjali • A compilation of definitions, goals and obstacles with yoga • Goal of yoga: "Chitta-vrita-nirodha", roughly translates to • "Inhibition of fluctuating states of mind"
3. Five Fluctuating States of Mind • Knowledge from direct cognition • Knowledge from a false conception • Experience based on fancy or imagination • Sleep • Experience based on memory
4. Five Obstacles • Ignorance • Egoism • Attraction to specific people or objects • Repulsion towards specific people or objects • The strong desire to live on and the fear of death
5. Patanjali's Raja Yoga • Purpose: achieve the goal of yoga through these steps: • Yama: how you should interact with the world around you • Niyama: look within and maintain mental purity • Asana: poses an individual assumes while meditating • Pranayama: focus on flow of life force
6. Patanjali's Raja Yoga (Cont'd) • Pratyahara: withdraw from distractions from outside world • Dharana: develop ability to concentrate • Dhyana: mastering meditation • Samadhi: complete and total meditation is accomplished
7. Karma Yoga • Performing actions in order to appease Divine Consciousness • Includes any daily activity, not necessarily conducting a ritual daily • All activities must be done in name of Divine Consciousness • Goal: to no longer be individual but part of the grand scheme of life
8. Jhana (Gyana) Yoga • Path of knowledge • Individual becomes a scholar • Goal: to become enlightened and to cut ties from material world • The awaken soul will unite with the Divine
9. Bhakthi Yoga • Bhakthi translates to "Devotion" • Goal: to channel love and devotion with the Divine • Once enlightened, one will find universal love everywhere
10. Hatha Yoga • Focuses on full body poses • Goal: to awaken the chakras through poses • Unfortunately, most practitioners do not go further than poses for benefits • Deeper spiritual connection is lost for this reason
11. Meditation • What all forms of yoga have in common • Emphasis on channeling the spiritual world • Deep meditation has lasting effects
12. "The real state of samadhi is that in which we remain attached with Reality, pure and simple, every moment-no matter how busy we may be all the time with worldly work and duties. It is known as sahaj samadhi-one of the highest achievements, and the very basis of nirvana. Its merits cannot be described bywords, but can be realized by one who abides in it." -Great Master Shri Ram Chandra Maharaj of Shahjahanpur, founder of the Sahaj Marg system
