YOGA, YOGESHWAR & SAMADHI:

                                        

Everything changes with time, place & circumstances that include the practice of YOGA. In today’s modern, techie & fashionable world, Yoga means physical fitness. In reality YOGA is about our Spiritual fitness, which includes physical fitness. By practicing the Yoga, some people try to stop the mind from thinking but it is impossible. The goal of Yoga is not to become unconscious... LOL 😂 but to become God conscious, it is a state of Higher Consciousness.

Audio: https://www.dropbox.com/s/09gvqjfcn91bvpt/YOGA%2C%20YOGESHWAR%20%26%20SAMADHI.m4a?dl=0

YOGA is a Sanskrit word, meaning union, joining or linking of our eternal Soul to the Supreme Soul. Patanjali (Father of Yoga) Yoga Sutras have described 8 limbs of Yoga. The 1st seven limbs prepare us for the last limb of Yoga called SAMADHI, so our mind is ready to connect with the God. Lord Krishna in the Gita has spoken on every kind of Yoga which includes Dhyana Yoga , Karma Yoga, Knowledge Yoga & Spiritual Yoga to show us how to live efficient, satisfactory, peaceful, joyful & fulfilling lives. KRISHNA is also known as a YOGESHWAR, meaning one who is Supreme in all Yogi. Spiritual Yoga means an unconditional loving relationship with YOGESHWAR or God & his creations -- it is the essence of all Yoga. Out of all Yoga, it is easier to practice Spiritual Yoga (Bhakti Yoga ) in our daily lives. 

Bg 6.18 -- When the yogī, by practice of yoga, disciplines his mental activities and becomes situated in transcendence (SAMADHI) – devoid of all material desires – he is said to be well established in yoga. 

Bg 6.27 -- The yogī whose mind is fixed on Me verily attains the highest perfection of transcendental happiness. 

Bg 7.1 -- The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: Now hear, O son of Pṛthā, how by practicing yoga in full consciousness of Me, with mind attached to Me, you can know Me in full, free from doubt.

An Unconditional, loving relationship with Lord YOGESHWAR by practicing Spiritual Yoga is nourishing to our heart (Soul), transcendental to our consciousness, purifying to our senses and thus helps us to overcome our weaknesses or deficiencies. Yes, we do have good qualities within us, but there is always a room for improvement. 

Bg 6.28 -- Thus the self-controlled yogī, constantly engaged in yoga practice, becomes free from all material contamination and achieves the highest stage of perfect happiness in transcendental loving service to the Lord.

Our distress & demonic qualities (anger, greed, envy, conceit & possessiveness) diminish simply by associating with the supremely pleasant & divine personality-- Lord YOGESHWAR. Just like stabilizing a rocking boat, we need to anchor the boat to the fix objects. Similarly, we need to anchor our shaky Soul from material misery with the Lord YOGESHWAR. Self realizing ourselves as an eternal Soul is not enough.....we must link our Soul with the Supreme Soul or Lord YOGESHWAR to maintain our purity, love, stability and elevate ourselves higher. Otherwise, by default we will be disappointed, distressed & degrade in this world. If the higher human mind is not focused toward higher supreme objects, then by default, it will come down to lower mundane objects. 

Arjuna is addressing to Lord Krishna.
Bg 11.4 -- If You think that I am able to behold Your cosmic form, O my Lord Yogeshwar, O master of all mystic power, then kindly show me that unlimited universal Self. Vedabase.com

It is easy to say, but difficult to follow. I am in the same boat with everyone else, or I may even be behind, but thinking in the right direction will help us to go in the right direction.   
Thank You.  

Jay Yogeshwar.

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MY SPIRITUAL INSPIRATION , SOURCE & THE GURUS:

I am inspired to hear & read the Vedic Scriptures by regularly listening to Sri Pandurang Shashtri Athvale, also known as Dadaji ( speaks on Srimad Bhagavad Gita, Veda based discourses & western philosophy ) and the association of Swadhyay Parivar every Sunday in Swadhya Kendra. 

I also hear and read the discourses & literature on Vedic thoughts from Srila Prabhupada, his disciples & grand disciples ( HH Bhakti Rasamitra Swami, HH Chaitanya Charandas Prabhu, Shubha Vilas Prabhu, Sutapa Das, Amarnath Dasa, HH Bhakticharu Swami, HH Urmila Devi Dasi, HH Sivarama Swami, HH Radhanath Swami, HH Romapada Swami, Lal Govind Prabhu ( Gujarati & Hindi) Prahalad Maharaj in Surat (Gujarati) .......and many more from ISKCON......). 

FYI: A good source of Vedic literature: Vedabase.com . Srimad Bhagavad Gita is the essence & Srimad Bhagavatam (SB) is the nectar of all Vedic scriptures. Repeatedly hearing/reading & meditating the Scriptures, Eating Sanctified Pure Food and Chanting Vedic Mantras are nourishing to our heart (Soul), transcendental to our consciousness, purifying to our senses and thus helps us to overcome our weaknesses or deficiencies. Yes, we do have good qualities within us but there is always a room for improvement. 

It is always a good idea to share our good thoughts & knowledge with others. Thanks to the Facebook & Social media for providing me the platform. Of course I use Smartphone & Google search to collect some data. 

Besides my parents, wife, teachers, family & friends GREATFUL to EVERYONE WHO HAVE CONTRIBUTED in MY LIFE. Hopefully my enthusiasm will continue by Grace of the Guru & God (Krishna , Absolute Truth).

NOTE:
Many times a word Hearing is used instead of Listening when it comes to the Scriptures. Because Scriptures are so potent that simply by Hearing them even if you don’t try to interpret or analyze or understand them still there will be passive positive effects on our mind & senses.

We can follow either the Quran, Bible,Torah, Tripitaka-Buddhism, Agama-Jainism, Guru Granth Sahib-Sikhism, Gita or any other Philosophy which makes sense to us, purifies us, elevates our consciousness and qualifies us to understand God and instill the love of God & his creation. (whichever way we can understand God -- either Personal with many names or Impersonal as an universal consciousness & energy).

Don’t try to understand God by Name, Religion or Depiction (means image, picture...etc) but try to understand him by the Definition through Scriptures. The Transcendental subject of God & his creation cannot be understood by mental speculation. Some times people ask why God is Supreme? It is just like asking why is the circle circular? Just by definition, the circle is circular. Similarly by definition, God is unborn, complete, unlimited, infinite, eternal, the Absolute Truth the source of everything, cause of all causes. 

I see God, besides the above mentioned qualities, as an eternal living person (not a abstract or some kind of light) known by the name KRISHNA meaning one who attracts everyone has also MANY other NAMES, forms, abodes, incarnations, activities, qualities, associates, is full of wisdom, bliss, and the cause of all causes.

Bg 9.17 -- I am the father of this universe, the mother, the support and the grandsire. I am the object of knowledge, the purifier and the syllable oṁ. I am also the Ṛg, the Sāma and the Yajur Vedas.

Bg:13-12:-- Accepting the importance of self-realization; and philosophical search for the Absolute Truth ( God ) – all these I declare to be knowledge, and besides this whatever there may be is ignorance. ( Vedabase.com ).

REINCARNATION PROOF:

                                        

The James Linegar Case..Story by Chris Cuomo, CNN. (FYI: watch up to 10 mins 40 seconds, when the initially skeptic father is convinced beyond doubt about his son's past life). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h82PwADicl8

What Gita says about Reincarnation.....(Reincarnation beliefs is pretty much same in Jainism, Buddhism, Sikhism & Hinduism).

REINCARNATION: Just like we change clothes as a daily routine; at the spiritual level, we the Atma (Soul) change bodies one life after another. Soul remain in the body until body is livable & transmigrate to new body along with the subtle bodies (mind, intelligence & ego). Soul thus carries an individual’s desires & imprints to next life.

Bg 2.22 -- As a person puts on new garments, giving up old ones, the soul similarly accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones. 

Here is the summary from the book: Consciousness - The Missing Link by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda

- What is so special about life? Why do we view it as sacred? Example: Although the chemicals that make up the human body are not as expensive as those making up a Ferrari, we still first go and try to save a friend in case he/she has met with an accident in a Ferrari.

- Life means presence of the Atma, or the conscious force in a body

- Death means the absence or leaving of the conscious force (Atma) from the body

- The fundamental question that the Bhagavad Gita answers right in the beginning is "Who Am I?". 

- Our real identity, per Gita, is that we're not these bodies, but we are the Atma. It is not that we are the body, and Atma is just a foreign particle that energizes us. We are the Atma itself. The real me and the real you are the Atma.

- Matter is manipulated and energized by spirit, as can be practically seen by us all around.

- The body is compared to a vehicle and the Atma to a driver

- Another comparison given in the Gita: The body is like clothes and the Atma is like the person wearing these clothes. Just like we change clothes as a daily routine; at the spiritual level, we the Atma change bodies one life after another.

- 3 ways to perceive the Atma: Intuition, Inference, Experience

- Intuition: We say "my nose, my ears", and know that we're different from these body parts. Similarly, it can be understood that we're different from the whole body itself. Also, when someone dies, we say "he/she has left us", although the body is still lying there.

- Inference: Sunlight implies presence of the sun; similarly, consciousness implies presence of the Atma. Conscious beings are so amazing, and so distinct from dead matter. No matter how hard we try to manipulate dead matter, we cannot produce a living being out of it.

- Experience: Practical experience gradually comes with Yoga and Meditation performed under proper guidance.

- Three attributes of Atma: Sat - eternal and not affected by anything temporary; Chit - full of knowledge and awareness; Ananda - blissful. But under the following 2 coverings, these 3 attributes get covered and we undergo many tribulations. 

- We (the Atma) have two coverings - Gross body & Subtle body

- Gross body refers to the physical body we live in. Subtle body refers to our mind, our intelligence and the false ego that makes us identify with everything material. After death Soul transmigrate to new body along with Subtle bodies, thus carrying an individual’s desires & imprints to next life.

- Some modern discoveries about this ancient known fact about Atma:
 o Near Death Experiences (NDEs): Extensively researched by Cardiologist Dr. Michael Sabom. Many patients have reported leaving their bodies and observing facts/incidents that are impossible to be known for a patient lying unconscious.
 o Past Life Memories: Psychiatrist Dr Ian Stevenson has thoroughly investigated around 2000 cases of reincarnation; for example a child accurately speaking details about a remote place that even his/her parents never visited.

Additional Sources:
(1) Bhagavad Gita (Chapter 2, verses 11 to 30, which constitute the very beginning of Lord Krishna's teachings). Vedabase.com

Bg 2.13 -- As the embodied soul continuously passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. A sober person is not bewildered by such a change.

Thank You.  

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***************************

MY SPIRITUAL INSPIRATION , SOURCE & THE GURUS:

I am inspired to hear & read the Vedic Scriptures by regularly listening to Sri Pandurang Shashtri Athvale, also known as Dadaji ( speaks on Srimad Bhagavad Gita, Veda based discourses & western philosophy ) and the association of Swadhyay Parivar every Sunday in Swadhya Kendra. 

I also hear and read the discourses & literature on Vedic thoughts from Srila Prabhupada, his disciples & grand disciples ( HH Bhakti Rasamitra Swami, HH Chaitanya Charandas Prabhu, Shubha Vilas Prabhu, Sutapa Das, Amarnath Dasa, HH Bhakticharu Swami, HH Urmila Devi Dasi, HH Sivarama Swami, HH Radhanath Swami, HH Romapada Swami, Lal Govind Prabhu ( Gujarati & Hindi) Prahalad Maharaj in Surat (Gujarati) .......and many more from ISKCON......). 

FYI: A good source of Vedic literature: Vedabase.com . Srimad Bhagavad Gita is the essence & Srimad Bhagavatam (SB) is the nectar of all Vedic scriptures. Repeatedly hearing/reading & meditating the Scriptures, Eating Sanctified Pure Food and Chanting Vedic Mantras are nourishing to our heart (Soul), transcendental to our consciousness, purifying to our senses and thus helps us to overcome our weaknesses or deficiencies. Yes, we do have good qualities within us but there is always a room for improvement. 

It is always a good idea to share our good thoughts & knowledge with others. Thanks to the Facebook & Social media for providing me the platform. Of course I use Smartphone & Google search to collect some data. 

Besides my parents, wife, teachers, family & friends GREATFUL to EVERYONE WHO HAVE CONTRIBUTED in MY LIFE. Hopefully my enthusiasm will continue by Grace of the Guru & God (Krishna , Absolute Truth).

NOTE:
Many times a word Hearing is used instead of Listening when it comes to the Scriptures. Because Scriptures are so potent that simply by Hearing them even if you don’t try to interpret or analyze or understand them still there will be passive positive effects on our mind & senses.

We can follow either the Quran, Bible,Torah, Tripitaka-Buddhism, Agama-Jainism, Guru Granth Sahib-Sikhism, Gita or any other Philosophy which makes sense to us, purifies us, elevates our consciousness and qualifies us to understand God and instill the love of God & his creation. (whichever way we can understand God -- either Personal with many names or Impersonal as an universal consciousness & energy).

Don’t try to understand God by Name, Religion or Depiction (means image, picture...etc) but try to understand him by the Definition through Scriptures. The Transcendental subject of God & his creation cannot be understood by mental speculation. Some times people ask why God is Supreme? It is just like asking why is the circle circular? Just by definition, the circle is circular. Similarly by definition, God is unborn, complete, unlimited, infinite, eternal, the Absolute Truth the source of everything, cause of all causes. 

I see God, besides the above mentioned qualities, as an eternal living person (not a abstract or some kind of light) known by the name KRISHNA meaning one who attracts everyone has also MANY other NAMES, forms, abodes, incarnations, activities, qualities, associates, is full of wisdom, bliss, and the cause of all causes.

Bg 9.17 -- I am the father of this universe, the mother, the support and the grandsire. I am the object of knowledge, the purifier and the syllable oṁ. I am also the Ṛg, the Sāma and the Yajur Vedas.

Bg:13-12:-- Accepting the importance of self-realization; and philosophical search for the Absolute Truth ( God ) – all these I declare to be knowledge, and besides this whatever there may be is ignorance. ( Vedabase.com ).