Yoga As a Universal Science

Website: www.swami-krishnananda.org......Page 1
 CON......Page 2
 PUBLISHER’S PREFACE......Page 3
What is Yoga?......Page 6
Samkhya—The Wisdom of Life......Page 7
The Universe and Our Place in It......Page 8
The Evolutionary Process......Page 9
Purusha and Prakriti-Nature of the Original Split in Brahman......Page 12
The Triad of Adhyatma, Adhibhuta and Adhidaiva......Page 15
Tanmatras—The Basic Building Bricks of Creation......Page 16
A Flaw in the Western Theory of Evolution......Page 17
The Deeper Implications of Man’s Fall from Heaven......Page 18
The Anatomy of Human Desire......Page 19
The Apparatus of Perception— The Three States and the Five Sheaths......Page 21
The Urge to Regain the Lost Kingdom and the Way It Manifests......Page 22
What Is the Mind?......Page 24
Why Should the Mind Be Controlled?......Page 25
Yoga Is Resting in One’s Own True Nature......Page 27
The Klishta Vrittis or the Agonising Functions of the Mind......Page 28
The Aklishta Vrittis or Non-pain-causing Functions of the Mind......Page 31
Yoga Is Not an Individual Affair......Page 33
Yoga - A State of Inward Being, Rather than Outward Doing......Page 34
Vairagya and Its True Implication......Page 35
Vrittis - The Fundamental Source of Life’s Difficulties......Page 37
Vairagya and Abhyasa Should Go Together......Page 38
Yoga Demands Our Whole Life......Page 39
Yoga Should Be Practised with Zeal and Love......Page 40
Internal Purification through Karma, Upasana and Jnana......Page 41
Moderation of Conduct Is Yoga......Page 43
Dullness of Spirit......Page 44
Doubts and the Need for a Guru......Page 45
Sleep and the Need for Occasional Rest......Page 46
The Necessity for Caution and Circumspection in the Practice of Yoga......Page 48
Illusions and Delusions......Page 49
What Is the Mind?......Page 53
The Psychology of Yoga vis-à-vis the Psychology of Vedanta......Page 54
Mind Control through Pranayama......Page 56
Importance of a Congenial Atmosphere......Page 57
The Play of the Gunas......Page 58
The Real Source of Joy in the Fulfilment of Desire......Page 59
The Role of the Guru in Vital Education......Page 60
The Concept of Ishvara—A Pragmatic Necessity......Page 63
Mind Control - A Graduated Process through Karma, Upasana and Jnana......Page 65
Love of God and the Role of Rituals in Its Development......Page 67
Progressively Enlarging Concepts of God......Page 69
How to Concentrate......Page 70
A Complete Symbol to Connote the Universal Form......Page 72
Om Chanting and Its Benefits......Page 73
Setting Ourselves in Tune with the Cosmic Vibration......Page 74
Concentration on an Object of Our Liking......Page 75
Concentration on Dream Experiences......Page 77
A Medical Treatment to the Sickness of the Soul of Man......Page 78
Our Relationship with Human Beings......Page 79
 CHAPTER 9 - THE YAMAS—OUR ATTITUDE TO THE PEOPLE AROUND US......Page 81
The Love-Hate Relationships......Page 82
The Deeper Philosophical Meaning of Ahimsa......Page 83
Striking a Balance between Outward Conduct and Inward Intention......Page 84
Respecting the Laws of Nature......Page 86
Curbing the Tendency to Grab......Page 87
Yoga Is Not Religion......Page 88
How Our Energy Gets Diverted and Dissipated......Page 90
Conservation of Energy for Brahma-Sakshatkara......Page 92
The Individual—A Pressure Centre......Page 93
The Havoc Wrought by the Externalising Senses......Page 94
Desire—A Metaphysical Evil......Page 95
Varnashrama—An Aid to Free Ourselves from the Grip of Nature......Page 96
The Deeper Significance of Saucha or Purity......Page 99
The Glory of Contentment......Page 101
Tapas-Austerity of the Whole Personality......Page 103
Svadhyaya or Sacred Study......Page 105
Isvara Pranidhana or Self-surrender to God......Page 106
Difference Between Yogasanas and Physical Exercises......Page 107
Training for Continuous Sitting in One Posture......Page 108
Yogasana—An Aid to Concentration......Page 109
Effortlessness in Asana Practice......Page 110
Psychical Fixation in the Practice of Asana......Page 111
What Is Body-Consciousness?......Page 113
Pranayama—Subduing the Vital Energy......Page 114
The Several Functions of the Prana......Page 115
Exhalation, Inhalation and Retention......Page 117
Prana and Mind......Page 118
The Pressure of Unfulfilled Desires......Page 119
Necessity for the Guiding Hand of the Guru......Page 120
Physical Isolation—Not a Solution to the Problem of Attraction......Page 121
Relative Intensity of Various Desires and How to Meet Their Challenge......Page 123
The Philosophy of Desires and Desire Fulfilment......Page 124
Difficulty of Sense-control and the Need for God’s Grace......Page 125
Pratyahara in Patanjali’s Yoga......Page 126
The Nature of Samsara and the Working of Maya......Page 127
Living Faith in the Existence of God and in His Capacity to Help......Page 129
Encountering the Powers of Nature......Page 130
The Philosophy behind Dharana or Concentration......Page 132
Breaking the Knot of the Mind......Page 134
Choosing the Point of Concentration......Page 136
Visualisation of Value in the Object of Meditation or Worship......Page 137
The Religious Spirit and the Inrush of the Soul towards the Absolute......Page 138
God and His Omnipresence......Page 139
Meditation—A Cosmic Activity and Not an Individual Affair......Page 140
The Technique and Stages of Meditation......Page 143
Rejecting the Irrelevant Thoughts......Page 145
What Differentiates Meditation from Concentration......Page 147
Dhyana Is Total Thinking......Page 148
Meditation in the System of Patanjali......Page 149
Role of Constructive Emotions in the Earlier Stages of Meditation......Page 150
Necessity to Establish a Proper Relationship between the Conscious and the Subconscious......Page 152
From Meditation to Samadhi......Page 153
Invisible Factors that Connect Us With the Universe......Page 155
The Empirical Law of Isolation and the Law of Connectedness of Things......Page 156
The Role of Dharana in Thinning Out the Vrittis......Page 157
How Meditation Reveals the Hidden Reality......Page 159
The Metaphysical Foundation of Modern Psychology......Page 160
Abolition of Space and Time in the Last Stage of Meditation......Page 161
Communion—The Final Aim of Yoga......Page 163
The Complex of Name and Form......Page 164
A Description of the Savitarka Samadhi......Page 165
Higher and Ever Higher Samadhi States......Page 167
An Utter Death for an Utter Eternity......Page 168
 EPILOGUE......Page 170