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Raja Yoga

Meditation process:

  • Before Starting
    • Say Om six times
    • Say Suklam Bharadaram mantra
    • Say Gayatri mantra
    • Go through each of the Limbs of Patanjali and show where you have failed.
  • During
    • Focus on the tip of the nose.
    • Visualize the Ista Devata
    • Repeat the japa
  • End
    • Say Om six times

pratyahara

Pratyahara is the withdrawal of the senses. However, with the world as it is it is easy to move from one thing to the other based on what the current pull is toward. There needs to be a way to pull back to a common thread whenever the senses wander. The way to accomplish this is though Japa. Japa is the repetition of a mantra. It is way to focus the mind away from the senses onto the mantra. This focus is what leads to the next step of dharana.

  • Move one sense at a time.
  • Focus on a single point in between the eyebrows as if looking at the tip of the nose.
  • Repeat the mantra while visualizing the Ista Devata at the point.

dharana

dhyana

If the mind is not still during practice (citta-vritti-nirodah), if your back or leg hurts, if your mind is all over the place then the preliminary practices have not been addressed. But as stated, it is better to start with meditation and then figure out how to address the issues that come up.

samadhi

Haven't reached this yet. But I am working on it. 🧘🏾

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