The Yoga Book

Patanjali, an ancient yogi-sage, integrated and simplified the science of yoga concisely in his Yoga Sutras during the 3rd century AD. These sutras can be considered as a collection of aphorisms on yoga. They are referred to as The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, and are not the original exposition of a philosophy, but a compilation of work.

In them, he divided the path of Raja Yoga (‘Royal Yoga’, the king of yogas) into eight limbs, referred to as Ashtanga Yoga. These eight limbs give us an understanding of the deeper purposes and directions of yoga. They were devised by him to show us through yoga practice how to attain self-realization.

There is a misconception that Ashtanga Yoga consists of eight ‘steps’, but the word does not mean ‘step’. Ashta means ‘eight’ and anga means ‘limb’. In practising yoga, it is incorrect to isolate one limb and call that yoga. This is like a man's amputated arm telling you, ‘I am John Smith,’ when in fact, the arm is cut off from the main body and is nothing but a lump of dead flesh. One limb does not make a complete person.

Similarly, the yoga student who only practises yoga postures, ignoring the other limbs, such as yama, niyama and meditation, is not practising true yoga. Nor is meditation yoga without the practice of yama and niyama. Merely shifting emphasis from one limb to the other does not make one more essential than the other. Yoga is integration and wholeness; only the eight limbs practised together constitute yoga.

The eighth limb, called samadhi (superconsciousness) is not really considered a limb, because it is enlightenment or a state of union with the Divine.

We shall look at each of these limbs in turn in the following chapters, starting with yama.

Yama and niyama are divided into ten principles or ten commandments (without the Christian connotation of sin weighing heavily upon them). They are universal human practices, and are the foundation stones of all true religions.

The essential purpose of yama and niyama is to promote moral and ethical principles within the individual. They are an integral part of yoga practice and we cannot advance spiritually without practising them. They help to purify and steady the mind. Patanjali explains in Sutra 1:3 that when one has control over the mind and its modifications, one establishes oneself in one's true nature (the Self).

Yama and niyama have an intimate relationship — niyama safeguards yama. For example, if one has contentment (the niyama santosha) one will not steal (the yama asteya — ‘non-stealing’), tell a lie (satyam — truth) or harm others (ahimsa — ‘non-violence’). Another example is if one has internal purity (the niyama saucha), one can achieve chastity (brahmacharya).

There are five principles which constitute yama (restraints and social disciplines). These are all interdependent and one needs to understand them in a subtle as well as in an obvious way.

The word yama means ‘restraint’ — self-restraint. Yama basically means ‘to refrain’ from actions, words and thoughts which cause distress and harm to others. Yama is also the name of the King of Death. In this context, yama means there must be a dying to ignorance, which is the source of egoism, attachment and repulsion.

The five principles of yama are: ahimsa (non-violence), satya (truth) asteya (non-stealing), brahmacharya (purity) and aparigraha (non-attachment) (The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali 2:30).

To purify and steady the mind, these restraints should be practised in thought, word and deed at all times, under all circumstances, wherever you are.

Patanjali instructs us to examine life and to see that all experiences that give temporary pleasure are tainted by sorrow and pain. He tells us that the cause of sorrow and pain is the identification of the seer (Self) with the seen (nature). When there is a unity of the seer (experiencer) and the seen (experienced) without the division of thought, then sorrow and pain do not arise.

Patanjali says, ‘One can avoid sorrow and pain that has not yet manifested.’ And how does one do that? By practising yoga: ‘Yoga is the stilling of the movement of thought (without expression or suppression) in the undivided consciousness.’ (Yoga Sutras 1:2)

All paths of yoga have the same goal — liberation of the mind from all obstacles to realizing the Self. Yoga is the dissolution of the psychological division within oneself, between what one is and what one wishes to be.

By examining your thoughts, words and actions with awareness and discrimination, you can come to an understanding of why problems and obstacles occur, and by which means they can be avoided. One practises yoga and meditation to remove the obstacles that stand between oneself and God. When the obstruction is removed, we have clear vision. What is the obstacle and how is it removed? By turning the attention within (Self-awareness) to observe the inner obstacles, thoughts and feelings, the obstruction will be revealed. You will realize what agitates the mind and veils the truth.

To obtain a greater awareness of the yamas and niyamas, and to bring the practice of them into your everyday life, begin by taking one yama or niyama each week. Keep a diary or notebook with you to record your observations. Observe with awareness, your own as well as that of others, your thoughts, words and actions in relation to the yama or niyama you are working with each week.

The goal of yoga is to realize that all life is one. If we are to truly live in that realization, we must affirm that oneness and unity by being kind, compassionate and respectful to all living beings in thought, word and actions.

We must refrain from causing or wishing harm, distress or pain to any living being, including ourselves and the environment. It would also be equally wrong to approve of another person's harmful or violent actions. Violence is very destructive at any level. We should not only refrain from violence against living beings, but against all forms — there can be violence in the way you close a door, in picking a rare wild flower or polluting the environment.

Ahimsa is not merely non-killing or ‘Thou shalt not kill’. To live in ahimsa, it is important to develop an attitude of perfect harmlessness with positive love and respect for all life, not just in our actions, but in our thoughts and words as well. With perfect practice of ahimsa one rises above anger, hatred, aggression, fear, jealousy, resentment, envy and attachment. With perfection of ahimsa one realizes the unity and oneness of all life and attains universal love, peace and harmony.

Unsteadiness of the mind or restlessness is an obstacle to spiritual progress. In his sutras (2:3), Patanjali lists five afflictions that disturb mental equilibrium: ignorance (lack of spiritual knowledge), egotism, attraction to pleasure and aversion to pain, and clinging to life. Of these five afflictions, ignorance (avidya) is the source of all the other obstacles.

When one feels hatred, resentment, anger, jealousy or violence toward another, the mind and breath become unsteady. Abandon all destructive and negative thoughts; cultivate the opposite, positive qualities of love, compassion, patience, tolerance, sympathy and kindness.

Observe others when they become angry or harsh in their words and actions. Analyse their motives and behaviour. Observe your own thoughts, words and actions. Do you have thoughts that are self-destructive? Do you become defensive when criticized? When and why do you become angry? Where does this anger arise from?

Analyse your good and bad tendencies. Keep a spiritual diary and record in it at the end of the day your conduct, thoughts, words and actions. Be totally honest with yourself and make the necessary changes for improvement. Train your mind to think positive, inspiring thoughts.

3 Study the lives of those great souls who attained perfection in non-violence.

These include Mahatma Gandhi, St Francis of Assisi, Buddha, Jesus Christ, Paramhansa Yogananda and others.

4 Practise yoga asanas (see chapter 4), pranayama (see chapter 5) and meditation (see chapter 8) to control the body, breath and mind.

7 Give service to others and perform all your actions with love and awareness.

THE POWER OF AFFIRMATION

The first step towards Self-realization is bringing the mind into balance and harmony with the true Self. It is re-establishing our wholeness with life. This requires a self-education on our part: a self-awareness, an attentiveness to life from moment to moment.

The truth and reality remain hidden from us because we have identified our self with the mind, which has a limited vision of reality. It is only through wrong or false identification of the self with the mind that ignorance exists — ‘I am this personality’, ‘this is mine’, ‘I am this body’. As soon as we drop this false idea and regain our true identity as pure consciousness, the Self (Atman), then ignorance and the ego of separateness disappear.

Our everyday thoughts, words and actions create our habits, desires, behaviours, emotions, attitudes, and sense-urges. These in turn shape and mould our life into the personality and character that we have made for ourselves.

When not established in Self-awareness, the soul is inclined to be identified with the mind and body-personality independent of our true spiritual nature.

On a day-to-day basis it is important to be aware and mindful of our thoughts, words and actions. Awareness is the key to the art of living. How many of us are aware that it is a blessing to be alive in a human form, where self-knowing and self-discovery is possible? If we are not aware of this sacred opportunity to relate to the life around us, we may equate the act of living only with going to school, acquiring a degree according to our talents, having a career, getting married or not married, bringing up the family, securing life with insurance policies and bank balances, repeating pleasures and sufferings, likes and dislikes — getting entangled in the mind-field of ego and continuing like this until old age, disease and finally death takes us away from this world.

Without ever truly knowing who we are and why we are here, we miss knowing what the true purpose of life is.

Our thoughts shape our destiny. We are what we think, not only consciously but also subconsciously. For years we have repeated words and statements, and attached meaning to them with our thoughts and feelings, which have created seed impressions in the soil of our subconscious mind. These impressions sink into the subconscious mind from the conscious mind and remain there, holding us in our conflicting patterns of feeling, habit and reaction.

The subconscious records all of what we think and believe, whether we want it or not. We give out the orders and the subconscious carries them out. Every act and every condition has its origin in the mind. Thoughts, whether positive or negative, are seeds that, when dropped or planted in the subconscious mind, germinate, grow and produce their fruit in due season.

The superconscious mind or intuitive mind works through the subconscious when the pathways of the subconscious are open. So, we must be careful to create positive pathways when we impress the subconscious mind.

To change the conflicting subconscious patterns of feeling and habit we can use the power of positive affirmation.

An affirmation is a statement of truth-positive words, that are repeated verbally and mentally for the purpose of confirming what is true, or of what we want to be true; or awakening to what is more desirable.

Affirmations are always worded to describe ideal circumstances as existing in the present. We affirm what is, not what we hope for.

Throughout this book there are affirmations to help you make positive changes in your life; they will help you to open to spiritual energy and awareness.

HOW TO USE AFFIRMATIONS

For affirmations to effectively help us, they need to be repeated consciously with awareness, with intensity of attention, with faith and conviction.

They should be repeated regularly throughout the day, for as many days or weeks until the desired result, change or awakening is attained.

The best time to practise is immediately after awakening in the morning, or at night, just before going to sleep. Other good times are after deep meditation and in quiet, relaxed periods when the mind is calm and more receptive to positive suggestions.

METHOD

1 Relax the body from tension and release the mind from anxiety, worry and restlessness. Breathe in deeply and tense your whole body while holding your breath for five seconds, then release the tension and exhale deeply. Repeat twice more.

2 Sit still in a comfortable meditation posture in which the head, neck and spine are held straight. Close the eyes and become aware of the natural breath flowing in and out. Practise this breath awareness for a few minutes or until the mind becomes calm.

3 When the body is still and the mind is calm and free from restlessness, then repeat your affirmation with deep concentration with the eyes closed, looking inwardly at the spiritual eye (the point between the eyebrows). Repeat your affirmation several times loudly to command the attention of your conscious mind. Then repeat it quietly to absorb the meaning more deeply. Continue to speak it very quietly, in a whisper. Then mentally, contemplating the meaning more intently as you gaze into the spiritual eye raising the consciousness toward superconsciousness.

4 After the practice session maintain awareness and inner calm. Establish the feeling within you that the condition you desire is already a part of your life. Visualize and know this to be true. With inner conviction, know, feel and visualize that your affirmations are working for you now!

Remember: An affirmation declares that which is true and opens the way for its manifestation.

I remain vigilant against superficial differences and conflicts. I discriminate wisely. Instead of fault-finding, criticizing, judging and blaming others for seeming mistakes and deficiencies, I consider myself and others worthy of love, forgiveness and respect.

I see all people as expressions of the one Life. I am set free from limitation by the truth of my oneness with God. In this knowledge I walk the path of selfless love, knowing that there is no place for violence in love. Love is my divine nature and I have an endless capacity for love, which is ever seeking expression through me. God dwells within everyone's heart.

To exaggerate, pretend, distort or lie to others, or to manipulate people for our own selfish concerns, is against our essential nature. Our essential nature is truth and living in truthfulness means to be anchored in the awareness of God.

Honesty with oneself is the first step to self-improvement. Without integrity in a relationship there can be no trust and without trust no credibility or mutual respect. Dishonesty is due to selfishness and the fear of a loss of reputation, to which one loses claim by being a hypocrite.

How can you ever achieve any success in self-realization or self-knowledge by sending out false messages about yourself? If you tell lies, you build up a personality which consists of lies and you deceive yourself. You can never know what truth is if you are immersed in lying.

To be truthful is not to be tactless. Thoughtfulness is essential to the usefulness of truth in relationship to others.

If you live in truth you will have peace of mind, free from fear, anxiety and worry. People will respect you from all walks of life. Those that live in truth have the power of the universe behind their thoughts and intentions.

Search out truths about yourself on all levels, including your likes and dislikes, without being judgemental or prejudiced. Be ready to admit your faults and errors without feelings of guilt or sorrow, yet be sensitively aware of harm caused to others.

Always recognize and accept the state of things and circumstances as they are and work with what is.

Only speak those words which are truthful. Before you speak, examine your thoughts to determine if they are selfish or harmful. Will they cause distress to someone? Your thoughts, words and actions should be in harmony.

See God in everything and everyone. Truth promotes the welfare of all living beings and brings love, harmony and peace.

Silence is more than closed lips, the constant chattering of the mind also has to be stilled until there is an inner silence. To be still is to be in the presence of God. In the Bible (Psalm 46:10) it says: ‘Be still and know that I am God.’ In understanding this simple verse we can truly find inner communion with God. God cannot speak to our minds nor can He fill our hearts with inspiration when our consciousness is not attuned to the inner silence. Energy slowly gathers when the mind is silent. Thought and egoic preoccupations scatter the energy. When the mind is still, it reflects life accurately, without distortion.

When the mind is still, introspection and self-observation can take place. In this silence one becomes aware of the different types of thoughts; the sacred thoughts, the desires, the longings and the fears. Observe every thought and feeling as it arises in the mind, being aware of its cause, content and meaning. By observing your thoughts like this, suppressed experiences in the unconscious mind start to unfold themselves, releasing tremendous energy, while unburdening the unconscious mind of all conflict. After some time of practice the mind will experience a stillness in which there is no observer or observed, just awareness of silence and peace.

I am now committed to purposeful living in order to clear my mind and consciousness. I contemplate only that which is good for me and good for others. I express truth in thought, word and deed to all living beings. I live in truth, love and harmony, and share it with others. I see the divine nature in every person I meet; love and goodwill continually flow out through me, thereby blessing them.

The main reasons for people stealing are insecurity, selfishness, greed, a poverty consciousness and desperation.

Greed and desire are the source of stealing. Desire keeps one continually looking to the future for one's fulfilment, instead of realizing that perfection is attainable here and now. The mind is constantly turning outward, because it believes that fulfilment lies in the external world. To try to gain satisfaction by fulfilling the endless desires that arise in the mind is an utterly futile endeavour; it will only cause unhappiness and sorrow. Desire arises from the ego, from the thought of ‘I’, ‘I want’, ‘I need’, ‘I must have’. Examine your desires and you will find that what you are really wanting or seeking is eternal happiness and joy, eternal peace, and eternal love. To experience this we must look within, it cannot be found outside of ourselves. Jesus says: ‘The Kingdom of God is within you.’ (Luke 17:2)

Once you attain love, joy and peace from within, it will also come to you from without.

It is through forgetfulness of our true identity and our relationship to God that we feel lost, experience unhappiness and live in a poverty consciousness. The Spirit of God dwells within us, but until we have a conscious awareness of God's presence within, it cannot bear fruit in our experience.

It is like forgetting our identity in sleep but recalling it on waking, when in fact it has never been lost.

When we are consciously aware, open to the universe, attuned and surrendered to God, life provides all that we need and more. God is the Consciousness from which we derive everything and we are all a part of that Consciousness. God is the source of all supply. He is the source of your very existence. We live only in our relationship to God — we are in God and God is in us. There is only one spiritual power — God is the Power, Source and Primal Cause. So instead of giving your power to outward circumstances, conditions and opinions of others, give all power to the Spirit within you. Eliminate all negative thoughts of lack, poverty and failure from your mind. Live more from within by attuning your will with God's Will, and let divine wisdom be your guide in everything.

Stealing out of necessity cannot be justified because it means violating another's right to keep what he or she has earned or inherited. Asteya means not depriving others of what belongs to them. In the case of someone who is homeless and steals a loaf of bread because they are hungry and have no money, the individual should be accountable for the crime first of all, while society should take the necessary measures to treat the cause.

People steal material objects from others, but stealing can also take place on a subtle level. We can steal people's time, affections, emotions, attentions, ideas and thoughts, to win attention and fame for ourselves.

Stealing also breaks the yama principles of truthfulness by lying and dishonesty to conceal the theft; non-violence because stealing disturbs the mind of the victim of theft; and non-attachment by stealing with greed. Hoarding too much of anything is also stealing.

1 Realize and understand that it is the desire or need for something apart from God that keeps us in separation from Him.

Misunderstanding leads us to believe that we can be satisfied with something outside of ourselves, other than the presence and the Power of God.

2 Channel all your desires into one desire — the desire for Self-awareness and Self-realization.

3 Develop a consciousness of abundance, so that you are able to receive freely from the universal supply.

Realize that if you have any sense of lack, it is because your thoughts, ideas and beliefs have conditioned your mind to think that way. Turn your thoughts from lack and limitation to the belief in the inevitable law of God working for you in abundance. Attune your will to God's Will and visualize yourself as you want to be. Retain that image and sustain it joyfully with faith and expectancy until you succeed in its attainment.

Service awakens compassion and takes attention away from our personal feelings of lack. When we consciously serve and give from the heart, inner grace becomes operative in our lives.

5 Simplify your life by eliminating all non-essential things and activities.

This may also include associating with egocentric people who have conflicting and negative patterns of thought to your spiritual views on life.

Cultivate higher states of consciousness and oneness with God by communing with God in deep meditation regularly.

I am an individualized expression of God. God is my life. I am a channel through which God's abundance, love, peace, joy, health, power and intelligence ceaselessly and freely flow. Because I am made in the image of God, all that God has is embodied within my consciousness. God alone is the Divine Source. He is Infinite, and in my oneness with God I am thankful that I have everything I need. I take responsibility for my thoughts, attitudes and actions. I act and live honestly and express my highest spiritual self to the world.

Brahmacharya is the sum and substance of yoga and literally means, ‘when the inner consciousness flows constantly towards Truth, the Absolute (Brahman)’. It also means purity in thought, word and action.

In India, some yogis and swamis restrict its meaning by interpreting brahmacharya as restraint of the sex impulse or celibacy, rather than as a sublimation of passion through deeper emotions of loving, kindness and affection. If brahmacharya only meant celibacy then married people who wanted children would not be able to practise yoga. Brahmacharya has a wider meaning than the restraint of the sex impulse, otherwise there could not have been householder saints with children. One such saint was Lahiri Mahasaya who was initiated into the ancient technique of Kriya Yoga by the immortal master Mahavatar Babaji in the foothills of the Himalayas in 1861. Lahiri Mahasaya and his wife had five children born to them some years after Lahiri's initiation by Babaji.

It is interesting to note that in ancient times many saints were householders. They would bring up families while continuing their practice of yoga and leading a spiritual life. To them, there was no conflict between sex and God. It was only later that asceticism and celibacy entered into the Indian religious tradition.

In most religious traditions sexuality is regarded as an obstacle to spiritual life, which has ingrained in the human consciousness feelings of guilt, shame and having sinned.

Sexuality in itself is neither pure nor impure, it only becomes impure if it is used without discrimination, understanding, respect, care, love and responsibility. There is nothing to be ashamed or guilty about, for we would not be here without it. God created sex for the purposes of procreation and creativity, not for sense-gratification and selfish pleasure.

Brahmacharya is not the abandonment of sex, but the transcendence of it. The question is not, ‘Shall I renounce sex, marriage and social responsibility for a life of spiritual practice?’, but ‘What is the right relationship to them?’ Whether one is following the householder's path or the path of renunciation, the question is the same.

From a spiritual or moral point of view, a sexual relationship is not dependent on being married or not, but on commitment. There has to be commitment, responsibility, care, love and concern for each other to make the relationship meaningful. Otherwise it is a relationship of possessing an object for ego-gratification through the senses. Sexuality is not just a toy provided for our physical pleasure divorced from love, commitment, care and responsibility.

Love can express itself naturally and spontaneously in joyful sexual intimacy without feelings of guilt or shame. But if your relationship with another is based on self-gratification, you will find that you disregard the feelings of that partner and sooner or later the relationship is destroyed. For a true relationship to form, the identification of others as objects for self-gratification must end.

If we are attached to the goal of orgasm then sex becomes an addiction, and like any other addiction our mind becomes preoccupied with it, causing us tension. Excessive indulgence in sensuality causes pain and sorrow. The mind becomes agitated; the intellect is impaired and one is not able to discriminate. One's physical radiance and magnetism decreases with loss of energy and vitality; boredom, depression and discontent set in.

There is a fine balance between indulgence and abstinence. Repression or denial can be just as harmful as indulgence — both can be ego-orientated; both can make the mind dull, losing its sensitivity and awareness. There is no lasting joy in either indulgence or repression.

Ask yourself, ‘Where does the experience of desire arise from? Did this desire, action or experience arise from the ego-sense or from my true Self, the soul intelligence within? Why has this thought or desire entered my mind? Whom does it concern? Who am I?

If you practise this Self-enquiry constantly and persistently, eventually all thoughts will drop away, and the ego will disappear. Only by understanding the nature of desires can you prevent them. By turning the mind inward to investigate its own source and nature, it is illuminated by Self.

When our mind is turned outward and lost in desires and attachments, our true eternal nature, Self, is forgotten. We have forgotten our true identity through over-identification with the body, mind and ego. We experience happiness and unhappiness, pleasure and pain because the body and mind are subject to change. That which changes cannot be real, only that which is permanent and eternal is real.

We must understand how ‘I’, the ego, got caught up in this conflict between what is and what is desired. The desire to experience creates the ‘I’. If the desire to experience is absent, there is no ego-sense — what remains is pure experiencing. To some extent we can use the example of sleep. In deep sleep one can remain totally absorbed and integrated in the state in which one simply is, without a desire or craving for any other state. In sleep you become one with the state of sleep. There is no division and no pain. You do not experience sleep, nor do you desire to wake up. Sleep and ‘I’ are one — I am asleep, but I do not know I am asleep. I am sleeping peacefully and happily, but I do not know that. In the experience of sleep there is pure experience, no thought of ‘I’ or ‘me’, but when I awake from sleep the craving to experience arises again and it identifies itself as the ‘I’ or ‘me’. This is the first thought that arises, then the ‘I’ thought connects itself to the other thoughts and casts a shadow of ignorance around itself. Thought is always a movement away from what is, it is a movement between the past and the future. When attention is distracted and diverted from our centre of awareness, we become divided. Conflict arises and our energy is scattered.

Yoga is being calmly centred within, in a state of attentive awareness at all times. In this state of awareness the mind is quiet, free from conflict.

In the Bhagavad Gita (6:16—18) Lord Krishna advises us to follow the path of moderation.

Yoga is not for those who eat too much or who eat too little, nor for those who sleep too much or sleep too little. But to those that are moderate in eating, sleeping, wakefulness, recreation and moderate in all their actions, yoga will bring an end to all sorrow. Those souls who have learned to discipline their mind and remain calmly established in the self, free from attachment to all desires, attain the state of union.

Sex pleasure dissipates one's energy in direct proportion to the consciousness of self-indulgence. When there is self-giving love, there is to some extent an upward flow of energy in the spine, and thus an inflow of divine energy in the form of love. It is not repression, however, when a person seeks with understanding to redirect the flow of this energy upward toward the brain. Energy so directed can give one tremendous powers of accomplishment on all levels of life. Where there is consent of the will there is not repression, but transmutation.

Through the practice of yoga and meditation the sexual energy (semen) on the physical level can be transmuted into spiritual or subtle energy (ojas) by directing and channelling it upwards, towards the higher brain centres, through the subtle pathway in the spine called the sushumna. This energy is then stored in the brain as ojas shakti.

Both men and women have vital fluids whose loss due to excessive sexual indulgence causes loss of vitality and unsteadiness of prana in the body. For obvious reasons the man loses more of this vital fluid during the sexual act than the woman does.

Those who are following a spiritual path and are not married or in a sexual relationship will find the following yoga postures and practices beneficial in conserving and transforming the seminal energy on the physical level into ojas shakti on the spiritual level.

Those people who are married or in a sexual relationship can also gain benefit from these practices, for they have rejuvenating and toning effect on the glands, nerves, sex centre and body systems, promoting and prolonging youth and vitality.

• Siddhasana (adept's pose) (see chapter 8). This meditative seated posture prevents the formation of semen by acting on the testes and its cells. It also pushes prana into the sushumna.

• Sarvangasana (shoulder stand). Prevents nocturnal discharges and helps to directs the flow of seminal energy towards the brain.

1 Lie flat on your back with a blanket folded in two under your shoulders to protect your neck. Align your neck, spine and legs in a straight line.

2 Bend your knees with your feet on the floor. Inhale and raise your hips off the floor, supporting them with your hands.

3 Exhale as you bring your hands to your back and drop your knees to rest on your forehead. Bring your elbows closer together.

4 Inhale and extend your trunk upwards, tucking your chin into your collarbone. Exhale while raising your hips and thighs until your knees point to the ceiling or sky.

5 Inhale, extend your trunk, and tighten your buttocks as you straighten your legs, pulling them up from the hips, lifting as high as possible.

6 While holding the pose relax your buttocks, legs, feet, throat and facial muscles. Breathe normally. Hold the pose for 30 seconds. Advanced students can increase the time to five minutes.

7 To come out of the pose slowly lower your feet to a 45-degree angle over the head. Lower your arms to the floor behind your back, with your palms resting on the floor.

8 With control lower your back, vertebra by vertebra, to the floor until you are lying flat on your back.

9 Relax in shavasana (corpse pose — see page 132) for two or three minutes while concentrating on your breath.

• Sirshasana (headstand). Helps to direct the flow of seminal energy towards the brain and prevents nocturnal discharges.

1 Begin from shashankasana (pose of a child) — sit on your heels with your forehead resting on the floor, with your hands relaxed and palms upwards by your sides. Relax for a few moments in this pose.

2 Kneel with your head firmly and comfortably resting on a folded blanket. Place your elbows shoulder-width apart. Bring your hands into a clasped position by interlocking the fingers against the back of your head. Rest the centre of the crown of your head on the blanket between your forearms.

3 Raise your hips and walk your feet towards your head with your hips up and your knees straight.

4 Bend your knees in towards your chest as you raise your feet from the floor, bringing your heels to your buttocks.

5 With your back straight and your knees bent, slowly straighten your hips until your knees in their folded position are pointing towards the ceiling.

7 Come out of the pose slowly and carefully by bending your knees and drawing them into your chest. Gradually lower your feet to the floor and relax in the child's pose (shashankasana) again for a few seconds until breathing returns to normal.

• Padangushthasana (toe-balance pose). The pressure of the heel on the perineum (the area between the anus and sexual organs) acts on the spermatic duct, and so prevents the external flow of semen and nocturnal discharges, and tones the reproductive glands.

2 Sit on your right heel and place your left foot on your right thigh in half lotus.

4 Concentrate on the tip of your nose. Inhale and hold your breath while balancing. Exhale and repeat on the opposite side.

• Viryastambhanasana (semen-retention pose). Helps counter the effects of sexual excesses. An effective posture for the sublimation of the sex urge. Strengthens the reproductive glands.

1 Stand with your feet wide apart and clasp your hands behind your back; inhale.

2 Exhale, bend your right knee so it forms a right angle to the floor. Keeping your back straight lower your trunk down on the inside of your right leg until your nose or forehead touches your right foot, the left leg is kept straight.

3 Hold your breath for as long as comfortable while holding the pose, without strain.

• Matsyasana (fish pose). Tones up all the areas of the spine and the reproductive glands. It is particularly beneficial to women as it normalizes uterine functioning.

1 Lying flat on your back bring your feet together, with your arms by your sides palms down.

2 Slide your arms beneath your body, with your palms flat on the floor, so that you are sitting on your hands.

3 With the weight of your body on the elbows inhale, lift your head and arch your lower back, raising your chest.

4 Lower your head to the floor, so that the crown of your head is resting on the floor.

5 Pushing with your elbows, arch your chest as high as possible. Feel your chest expanding. Breathe abdominally.

6 To come out of the position keep your body weight on your elbows, and lift your head and neck first before lowering your back down to the floor slowly as you exhale. Relax in shavasana (corpse pose).

• Bandhas (energy locks). These help in transmitting sexual energy to the higher energy centres, and control the movement of pranic energy. The bandhas are:

There are also some mudras (energy seals) that are helpful in controlling the pranic energy — these in particular:

• ashwini mudra (gesture of the horse), a powerful technique for pumping the energy up into the third energy centre (manipura chakra)

• viparita karani mudra (reverse-posture mudra). Preserves the subtle nectar (amrita) that flows from the sahasrara chakra, promoting vitality and energy. This is an important practice for the sumblimation of sexual energy to the higher centres. (see chapter 4 for the technique)

• vajroli mudra (the thunderbolt), in which the muscles used to stop the flow of urine are contracted; after some practice a man can retain the energy from the semen even when ejaculating, transmitting it to the higher brain centres

• Bhadrasana (nobility pose). This posture is recommended for women, because it helps regulate the menstrual cycle. It also tones and strengthens the reproductive glands. It prevents nocturnal emissions in men.

1 Sit on the floor and bring the soles of your feet together. Clasp your hands firmly around your feet and pull your heels in close to your sexual organs. Lift your chest and straighten your neck.

2 Inhale slowly, pressing your knees and your thighs gently towards the ground, with your head, neck and spine in a straight line.

3 Hold your breath comfortably for ten seconds while concentrating on the energy flowing upwards to the spiritual eye (ajna chakra).

4 Slowly exhale and release the pose. Note: In the more advanced posture bend forward from the hips and bring your chin to the floor in front of your feet.

1 Sit with your right leg crossed over your left, so your right knee sits above your left. Draw your feet backwards to rest beside your hips. This pose is called virasana.

2 Raise your right arm over your right shoulder. Catch hold of your right hand by bringing your left hand behind your back.

3 Inhale and stretch your shoulders and arms by pulling up with your right arm and down with your left.

• Pranayama (control of the life-energy through the breath). By the practice of pranayama one controls the breath (the external manifestation of prana, life-force) and vital forces of the body. The mind, prana and semen have an intimate link. If one controls prana, then the mind is controlled. By controlling the seminal energy, the mind and prana are brought under control (see chapter 5 for the techniques).

Remember, happiness or pleasure is not in the objects you desire, but within your own Self (soul nature).

From thought comes attachment. From attachment desire arises. When desire is frustrated by an obstacle, anger springs up.

When there is anger, one becomes easily deluded and loses memory of right and wrong. Loss of memory then leads to loss of discrimination. From this loss of intelligence, spiritual life is wasted.

But those who can supervise the involvement between the senses and sense-objects by exercising self-control and who become free thereby from craving and from false repression attain inner calmness, in which all sorrows end. Then one soon becomes established in the Self.

In the Bible we read: ‘Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be given to you’ (Matthew 6:33) We do not have to look far to find the Kingdom of God. ‘The Kingdom of God is within you.’ (Luke 17:21)

Through deep meditation with the consciousness calm and inwardly focused we can experience the presence of God in that inner silence. ‘Be still and know that I am God.’ (Psalm 46:10)

Pray for God's grace and presence to be established in you. Realize your oneness with God for fulfilment in life.

Meditation transcends egocentric thought processes, feelings and desires. Through meditation we can realize and express that pure consciousness, the reflection of God within us.

Your daily appointment with the Infinite during meditation is the most important time of the day.

See others as spiritual beings and relate to them accordingly. See through all outer appearances; everyone has the same innate nature and potential for awakening and spiritual growth.

God is the true source of contentment and fulfilment in my life. I rise above feelings of ego need and lack of any kind.

I find true fulfilment in God. I experience the love, peace, joy and harmony of God now. Whatever is necessary to my fulfilment will come into my experience by being consciously one with God. I remain open to the flow of God's grace in my life. Divine intelligence gives me the wisdom and guidance I need to achieve true joy and inspires me to right thought and right action. I neither repress nor pursue sensuality, but I follow the middle path by using my energy wisely. I channel it into true love, positive attitudes and for the purpose of higher consciousness. I remain responsible, caring and loving. I live each day in the complete awareness of God's reality within.

The Sankskrit word apara means ‘of another’ and agraha ‘to crave for’. Aparigraha means ‘without craving for what belongs to another’. It can also mean ‘not hoarding or accumulating’.

The difference between non-covetousness and non-greed is that non-covetousness means not to desire what is not rightfully one's own, and non-greed means not to be attached even to what already is one's own.

People who act from attachment manipulate situations and other people because they fear that they will lose the desired object. Such people have no security in life because they are ruled by selfish desire, anger, greed and fear.

The problem arises when the mind clings to what one thinks one's security is derived from — ‘My whole life depends upon that person’, ‘My security comes from being in this job, owning this house and being with my family.’ We develop a false sense of security by placing our power in such transitory things or by accumulating more possessions than we actually need. There is no need to keep or strive to possess anything beyond the basic requirements for a comfortable life.

Security is not possible when there is fear, which is the first product of duality and division. Your true security is in God. He is always with you, within your heart. Let the Spirit of God move into every area of your life. Keep the spirit of truth alive in your heart and mind. With God, you cannot fail.

Security is the love in your heart. Your generosity and your capacity to give is your security. Give unconditionally, because when you give with conditions, they will return to you.

Your security in relationships is to love unconditionally, not demanding love in return. It is the nature of the heart to give love and once anything goes out of the heart, it is not lost because it is reflected back to you.

We came into this world without anything, and we will leave it without taking anything with us. There is not one thing or person that we truly own. We are only the caretakers of what is available to us, and we need to be responsible for its right use in life. This natural law applies to material possessions, relationships, environment and nature.

Purity of heart, right motivation and corresponding effort, not expecting something for which one has not worked or inherited, are the means to counter covetousness. Purify the heart of envy and jealousy.

If we continually give back to life without any selfish motive, the universe gives freely back to us.

Take no thought for your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: they do not sow or reap … and God feeds them … Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendour was dressed like one of these.

Your Father knows that you need these things. But seek his Kingdom and these things will be given to you as well.

To those who worship Me alone, and constantly meditate on Me, without any other thought, I provide all their needs and give full security.

When we open ourselves to God by attuning our will to His Will, and remember Him, we receive His grace in greater abundance. By having faith in God and an understanding of divine grace, one can live a more fulfilling life.

Let go of attachment to those things, relationships, bad habits, negative attitudes and conditionings which block your awareness to higher understanding and Truth. Let go to let God's higher wisdom and grace be active in your life. Strength and understanding may not come all at once, but as we prove our desire for Truth is real, as we are willing to follow and trust, God will show us the way.

I trust God, and my faith assures me that I am safe and secure. Wherever I am, God is, and I am protected.

The freedom, strength and security I need come from the sure knowledge that I am not alone. The spirit of God is with and within me, and I can always be more than I have ever before expressed.

I let go of negative attitudes and conditionings which are not useful to higher understanding.

I am set free from all limitation and poverty consciousness by the truth of my oneness with God. Because the universe gives freely, I selflessly give to life in return. I know that the love I give expression to is from God, and God's supply of love is infinite.

My love, inner peace and ever-new joy is always secure when I am consciously aware and united with God's loving and guiding presence within.