Yoga

Raja Yoga is named the king of Yoga. Raja Yoga directly aid you mind. In Raja Yoga, you don’t struggle with the Prana or the physical part of your body. This type of yoga has no Hatha Yogic Kriyas. The Yogi seats at ease, watches his mind and silences the bubbling thoughts. Raja Yoga stills your mind, block out negative thoughts and enter a thoughtless state of mind or Asamprajnata Samadhi, hence the name Raja Yoga. Raja Yoga follow both the Prakriti and Purusha philosophy, it helps the student in Advaitic Realization of oneness eventually. Though there is the mention of Purusha, ultimately the Purusha becomes identical with Highest Self or Purusha, or Brahman of Upanishads. Raja Yoga teaches the students to the highest step of the spiritual ladder of what we call Advaitic realization.

Patanjali’s Raja Yoga system is written down in Sutras. A ‘Sutra’ is a terse verse. It is written in an easily memorable form. It is pregnant with deep, hidden significance. Rishis of yore have expressed philosophical ideas and their realization in the form of Sutras only. It is very difficult to understand the meaning of the Sutras without the help of a commentary, a gloss or a teacher who is well-versed in Yoga. Only Yogis with many years of studying the writings can explain the full meaning of the Sutras. Literally, Sutra means a thread. Just as you put together flowers with all kind of various colours to make an ornament, just as pearls are arranged on a string to make a beautiful necklace, so are also the Sutras put together with the Yogic ideas. The Sutras are arranged into normal chapters.

Samadhi-pada is the first chapter. It expains about the various types of Samadhi. It contains 51 Sutras. Obstacles in meditation, the control of five different types of Vritti, the three different kinds of Vairagya, information about Ishvara, different ways to achieve Samadhi and a method to get peace of mind through yoga are all described in the first chapter.

The Second Chapter is Sadhana-pada. This chapter contains 55 Sutras. It explains Kriya, Tapas, the analyse and self-surrender to God.