The Secrets Of Esoteric Yoga’s For Attaining Enlightenment Revealed Here!

Yoga, which means “Spiritual Practice” in Hinduism, practiced by Hindu devotee’s called “Yogi’s”.  There is a form of it that has been trending for quite some time as a popular form of exercise  And it is one of the most Ancient Sciences of Holistic Personal Development and Spirituality, having been practiced by the Hindu’s of India for thousands of years. The greatest purpose and highest goal of Yoga is attainment of higher states of being, empowerment, enlightenment, and what are called “boons” (meaning blessings/powers achieved through devotional spiritual practices), and even magick. These days, people generally only recognize “Hatha” Yoga, which is an important Yoga, but the truth is that that is just a preliminary to other greater Yoga’s.  Hatha Yoga is the familiar type done with different stretching poses as you can see pictures of here, which is meant to conduct energies through the body and condition the body and prepare it for meditation and greater Yogas.  However unfortunately even the way it is taught now excludes the energy work aspects and other spiritual aspects, and is entirely fitness based, which has rendered it no longer even true Hatha Yoga.  All of the Sanskrit terminology has now been replaced with English words, which as any academic knows, without the proper cultural terminology, credibility is negated.  And it has been even further corrupted by the fact that this adulterated form of it it has been turned into big business, wherein classes, retreats, and even “yoga certifications” are sold at high prices, and even new age “yoga clothes” are sold, which ironically are not the actual types of clothing that Yogi’s traditionally wore.

Even those who are schooled in “certified yoga” do not even often know that what they have learned is not all of traditional Yoga as a whole, but simply one form of “Yoga” (which again, is a word for Spiritual Practice, of which there are many), which they haven’t even learned properly, but in a very diluted and adulterated fashion.  But they will then use the word Yoga as a generic and general blanket term to refer to the fitness poses they have learned in these “certified classes”.  Ironically even the certified teachers of it usually do not even know of the proper Sanskrit terminology, or the energetic practices that are supposed to go along with the poses, much less the other forms of yoga that they were supposed to be preparation for.  For as Hatha Yoga is a Yoga for the body, the other Yoga’s that one is supposed to progress to when the Hatha Yoga has been completed are Yoga’s of the mind and spirit.  These are done in meditation, or in your lifestyle. They may sometimes specialized practices which can raise your consciousness and help you to achieve enlightenment.  They are the bulk of what Yoga truly is, and they do what spiritual practices are supposed to do for the practitioner most ultimately.  But unfortunately with the trend of Hatha Yoga taking over as the generic form known only simply as “Yoga”, these other forms of Yoga have become very esoteric and almost entirely unknown.  But luckily I am am going to be shedding light on them in this article.

The primary Yoga Scripture is called “The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali”.  This is an extremely enlightening text on Personal Development, the Mind/Consciousness, and Spiritual Practice/Lifestyle that everyone who is interested in any of these things, and especially Yoga, should read. These Yoga Sutras will help you to attain the highest state of being possible.  But to help break it down for you in a simple, easy to digest and understand introductory manner, I will be providing the essential points from the text here in this article in a concise fashion.  Let us start with what the other forms of Yoga actually are.

The 6 Primary Yoga’s:

Raja Yoga – The path of Psychic control. Raja Yoga is for aspirants who are of meditative temperament with a natural yearning to completely master their minds. This is the most general yoga for personal development, meditation, and many other monastic lifestyle practices (described more below).

Bhakti Yoga – The Path of Religious Devotion. This Path is meant primarily for people who are temperamentally emotional and respond easily to love and affection. It is the Yoga of Hindu deity worship and the path of spiritual practice and religious rituals called “Pujas”, and sometimes the chanting of scriptures and hymns called “Suktams”.

Jnana Yoga – The path of rational inquiry. This path is prescribed for people of rational temperament to whom reason appeals more than faith. This is the intellectual/philosophical path to enlightenment and higher consciousness.

Karma yoga – The path of right action. The path of Karma Yoga is most attractive to people who are habitually very active. The path of purification of bad karmic energies and liberation from the karmic cycle of rebirth. This is the yoga of service/charity, virtuous actions, and always trying to do the right thing in life.

Mantra Yoga – The Yoga of concentrating the mind on specific formulas/sounds and invocations in order to produce certain effects.  Such as the most basic cosmic seed sound, “Om”.

Tantra Yoga – The metaphysical and practical yoga of sacred sexuality, which is seen by many traditionalists as being more radical in nature, as with the Left Hand Path, though it does have a conservative side as well such as the most popular “Sri Vidya Tantra” on the Right Hand Path.  Tantra Yoga may involve Sexual Practices and even Sex Magick on the left, or simply the worship of married Male & Female deities on the right.

So now that you have a basic understanding of what the other forms of Yoga are, let us break down the basic tenets of Yoga and the Yogic Values/Virtues and the Spiritual/Life Philosophy and Monastic Lifestyle that Yogi’s were prescribed to live by, according to Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras.  Coincidentally, like with Buddhism’s Noble 8 Fold Path, there is an Eight Step Discipline to the Yogic Lifestyle.

Pratanjali’s 8 Step Discipline To Yoga

1.) Yama – Restraining harmful thoughts and impulses, which consisted of five things:
A.) Non-killing (of both humans and animals, even for food)
B.) Truthfulness
C.) Non-stealing
D.) Celibacy
E.) Non-acceptance of un-necessary gifts

2.) Niyama – Cultivating good habits, which consisted of five things:
A.) Keeping the body and mind clean, which consisted of four things:
i.) Purity/Mindfulness
ii.) The Three Gunas, or Attributes of Nature, which is too great of a subject to cover here and I would recommend you researched on your own.
iii.) Samskaras – Eliminating the impressions of past thoughts.
iv.) Physical cleanliness
B.) Being content with bare necessities of life.
C.) Physical and mental austerity (restraint), of which there were three types:
i.) Austerity of body
ii.) Austerity of speech
iii.) Austerity of mind
D.) Regular study of scriptures and chanting of Swadhyaya (the holy name of God), and Mantras.
E.) Ishwara-pranidhana – The practice of surrendering to God.

3.) Asana – Learning sitting postures suitable for prolonged meditation/contemplation, of which there are two main ones:
A.) Padmasana – The Lotus Posture, commonly known as sitting “Indian Style” because it is how Indians traditionally sit, or

B.) Vajrasana – Kneeling position with your buttocks resting on your heels

4.) Pranayama – Learning the technique of rhythmic breathing.

5.) Pratyahara – Withdrawing the senses from their objects of enjoyment & withdrawal of attention from the senses.

6.) Dharana – Taming the mind & fixing it on an object of contemplation. Concentration of consciousness on the object. Objective Observation.

7.) Dhyana – Uninterrupted Meditation, for the purpose of doing so to the point of meditative absorption on the object of meditation.

8.) Samadhi – Total absorption of the mind into the object of contemplation & becoming one with the universe through it (called “Samyama”). Merging & dissolution of subject & object. Only the pure universal consciousness remains. Oneness.

However, there are many obstacles in the Yogic path that can stop the Yogi dead in their tracks, and thus which the Yogi must be aware of and watch out for, as also outlined in the scriptures.

Obstacles to Yoga and Meditation

9 Obstacles Mentioned by Pratanjali:

1. Vyadhi – Disease
2. Styana – Lack of interest
3. Samshaya – Doubt
4. Pramada – Delusion
5. Alasya –Lethargy
6. Avirati – Reluctance to give up sense pleasures
7. Bhranti-darshana – Erroneous conception
8. Alabdha-bhumikatwa – non-attainment of any level of concentration
9. Anavasthitatwa – inability to retain a level of concentration once attained

Five More Subtle Obstacles Recognized by Pratanjali:

1. Avidya – Ignorance of ones inherent divine nature
2. Asmita – Egoism
3. Raga – Attachment
4. Dwesha – Aversion
5. Abhinivesha – Clinging to Life

Obstacles Mentioned in Vedantasara:

1: Laya – Sleep
2: Vikshepa – Wandering of the Mind
3: Kashaya – Reluctance to practice meditation
4: Rasa-Swada – Getting stuck in an intermediate joyful spiritual experience

Four Disturbances Caused by an Unconcentrated Mind:

1. Duhkha – Grief
2. Daurmanasya – Despair
3. Anga-mejayatwa – Involuntary nervous trembling of the body
4. Shwasa-prashwasa-vikshepa – Irregular breathing

So now that you understand the different forms of yoga and the basic tenets of it and how to practice it and moreover, lead a Yogic lifestyle, you are well equipped to follow your spiritual path all the way to the attainment, enlightenment and blessings that you want to achieve!  Just make sure that you follow this system and all of its formulas down to a T, otherwise they will not be very effective.  But when followed properly, they are one of the most effective systems out there for achieving higher consciousness.  And for many more great resources on Spirituality in both theory and practice be sure to check out the True Life Spirituality page by clicking this link here now.  And if you have any questions or need any assistance with your path-work, please feel free to email me at Info@TrueLifeDevelopment.com and be sure to inquire about my Official Shamanic Apprenticeships that I am offering to a select few people in which I will teach you everything that I know and personally take you all the way to the highest spiritual state of being that you have always wanted to be in and get you the spiritual life of your dreams!  And otherwise good luck on your spiritual journey!