Channelings, Writings, and Vision by Dr Joshua David Stone!
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The purpose of this chapter is to give you a brief overview of the sacred paths of yoga. To begin this discussion it is important to understand that “Yoga” means “union with God.” There are, however, many ways that this can be achieved. I will attempt to describe them briefly. These are:
- Hatha Yoga
- Taraka Yoga
- Karma Yoga
- Yantra Yoga
- Bhakti Yoga
- Eco Yoga
- Jnana Yoga
- Sabda or Nada Yoga
- Kriya Yoga
- Mansa Yoga
- Laya Yoga
- Siddha Yoga
- Kundalini Yoga
- Sankirtan Yoga
- Asparsha Yoga
- Lambika Yoga
- Ashtanga Yoga
- Siva Yoga
- Agni Yoga
- Mantra Yoga
- Yoga of Synthesis
- Trinity Yoga
In my first book, "The Complete Ascension ", I spoke of the seven root races that make up our current world cycle and the yogas that were focused upon during these time periods. I will briefly review this here.
Polarian, Hyperborean, and Lemurian - Hatha Yoga
Atlantean - Bhakti Yoga
Aryan - Raja Yoga
Meruvian - Agni Yoga or Ashtanga Yoga
Paradisian - Unknown
These might be considered the major paths of yoga and there are many minor paths and off shoots of these. These are major because Hatha Yoga correlates with the physical yoga. Bhakti with the emotionally focused yoga. Raja with the mentally focused yoga.
All different paths of yoga might be considered as spokes on a wheel with God in the center. They all lead to the same place. I, personally, practice what might be termed a yoga of synthesis that integrates all the yogas and extracts the best and finest teachings from all of them.
Hatha Yoga
This school of yoga was the form focused upon in the Lemurian epoch of our history. It is a yoga focused upon physical purification and training. Its goal is to bring the physical body into a perfect state of physical health, so the soul may have a fitting vehicle of expression to work through.
There are many practices, including physical yoga postures and breathing exercises which also act upon the physical nervous system and etheric body which is considered a corollary aspect of the physical body. Hatha Yoga also helps to bring the vital energies of the physical and etheric body under control.
As one can see, this is an indispensable yoga for every person to practice on some level and is intimately tied together with passing the first initiation which has to do with physical mastery.
The word "Hatha" actually means the conjunction of the sun and the moon. It is this physical balance of these macrocosmic and microcosmic principles that must be balanced within the human body. There are five main steps in the process of Hatha Yoga. These are:
Abstinence
Observance
Sitting postures
Breath control
Non-attachment to possessions
Hatha Yoga also teaches many muscular contractions which are called bandhas and physical gestures that are called mudras. It also teaches the science of Pratyahara which has to do with learning to withdraw the senses from external objects, which is truly the key to effective meditation.
If you would like to learn more about Hatha Yoga there are many wonderful books on the market. Two books in particular, I would recommend, are, "The Practice of yoga" by Swami Sivananda, and a second book called, "Yoga Mastering the Secrets of Matter and the Universe", by Alain Danielou.
Bhakti Yoga
Bhakti Yoga was the yoga of the Atlantean period which dealt with emotional attunement. For this reason it is the yoga of love and devotion. It has also been, to a great extent, a major yoga of the Piscean Age. It is a yoga for people who are more identified with their emotional body.
It’s method of reintegration with Source is through love. There are nine steps to Bhakti Yoga. These are:
Listening
Singing of Praise
Meditation
Worship of the feet
Ritual worship
Prostration
To be a slave to God
To be a friend
Self surrender
Two of the well known spiritual masters that seem to embody this devotional Yoga are Paramahansa Yogananda and Sathya Sai Baba. They both embody this devotional aspect.
Two other forms of Bhakti Yoga are: The Way of passionate attachment and the way of transcendent love. "That form of devotion which makes use of emotions and brings joy and peace is called the way of passionate attachment. "From the Angirasa Daiva Mimansa, sutra.
The way of transcendent love sees the whole universe animate or inanimate as pervaded by divinity and experiences the reality, "Thou art that". "He who, with his whole being, sees Divinity in all existing things and all things in Divinity, stands highest among the devotees of the Lord."
Followers of Bhakti Yoga often personalize God, as the followers of Krishna and Rama did. They often are very involved with rituals, flowers, incense, beautiful buildings, and all forms which aid in cultivating love for God.
Bhaktis are less interested in intellectually understanding God. As you can see, these yogas relate very much to our four body system and how we each relate and identify with our physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual bodies.
Bhakti Yoga is also very much involved with self service. It is essential for every person on the spiritual path to practice some form of Bhakti yoga, otherwise they are disowning their emotional body in their pursuit of God realization.
We can see that on one yoga is better than another, although there are different yogas that suit certain people better at certain stages of their life and spiritual evolution. Bhakti yoga is the way of the heart, which in turn is the most important spiritual practice of all. Without a healthy physical body and controlled mind, this, in truth, cannot be achieved.
Raja Yoga
It has been said that the purpose of Hatha yoga is to make Raja yoga possible. Raja yoga cannot be achieved without the training of Hatha yoga and Bhakti yoga, for that matter. Raja yoga is the yoga of the Aryan age. It is for this reason it is the yoga that deals with the controlling and concentrating of the mind, which is the main lesson of this current root race. It is through the concentration of the mind that man gains knowledge and mastery of all things.
There are fifteen main steps to Raja yoga. These are:
Abstinence
Observance ("I am the principle of all things, the Brahman.")
Renunciation
Silence
Solitude
Proper use of time.
Postures
Root contraction (Mula-bandha)
Strengthening of the body
The straightening of the body
Spiritual sight
Breath control
Pratyhara - "Seeing Divinity in all perceptible forms brings delight to the mind and its faculties. Know this as the withdrawal which should be practiced every moment."
Contemplation - "The one changeless thought, ’I am the principle, the Brahman’, with no other notion, is known under the name of contemplation and is the giver of supreme bliss." - The Upanishads.
Identification - "When the very notion of contemplation is forgotten, this is known as identification." - The Upanishads
The term Raja yoga means royal yoga. It refers, specifically, to the yoga system of Patanjali. For an in-depth study of the teachings of Raja Yoga I would guide you to the other chapter in this book on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.
I have personally found Patanjali’s teachings to be some of the most profound I have ever studied. It is a system of study that I find very similar to "The Course in Miracles" in some ways. The only difference is that it was written over 5000 years ago. Raja yoga is especially important to study now because of the period of history of this planet in which we are living.
Karma Yoga
Karma yoga achieves union with God through "right action and through service. Sai Baba’s famous quote, "Hands that help are holier than lips that pray", applies here. Karma yoga can also be summed up in the statement by Sri Bhagavan Krishna, in the Bhagavad Gita, when he says, "Worshipping Him with proper actions, a man attains realization."
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