Raja (Royal) Yoga
Its basic theoretical text is Patanjali Maharshi’s Yoga Sutras, consisting of 4 books. Patanjali was a philosopher, doctor and yogi who probably lived around the 2nd century BCE. He wrote a series of 196 aphorisms or guidelines to the Sadhaka, the yoga student, on how to raise his consciousness beyond the everyday mental restrictions and low-energy thoughts and actions, guiding him to self-liberation. Yoga is a group of physical, mental and spiritual practices that aim at the ultimate balance, the union between body, mind and spirit, and the state of absolute contentment, when personal consciousness feels one and the same with cosmic consciousness.
According to Patanjali Raja yoga consists of 8 limbs of practice and this is why it is also called Ashtanga yoga (Ashtanga = 8 limbs):
- Yamas: self-control and code of ethics that reflect our respect for the others. Patanjali refers to: 1. Ahiṃsā: non violence, 2. Satya: no lying, 3. Brahmacarya: marital fidelity, the wise use and not the waste of sexual energy, 4. Asteya: no jealousy and no stealing, 5. Aparigraha: no acceptance of presents (not allowing dependence on others). Five extra sutras appear in several other Hindu texts: 6. Kṣamā: patience and forgiveness, 7. Dhrti: strength and resilience, perseverance, 8. Dayā: compassion, Ārjava: sincerity, non-hypocrisy, and Mitāhāra: modest diet/way of living.
- Niyamas: code of etchics and recommended activities that promote a healthy and worthy way of living, that reflect our self-discipline. They involve: 1. Sauca: internal and external purity, 2. Santosa: contentment, 3. Tapas: austerity, 4: Svadhyaya: study of spiritual scripts, 5: Isvara-pranidhana: abandonment of the Ego, adoration of God (or else the wholeness of creation) and not the Self.
Yamas & Niyamas are moral values expressing the most basic intellectual achievement that the Self is part of and therefore depends on the well-being of a greater whole. They represent respect to all creation, give reason to our existence, feel our hearts with contentment and elevate us above a basic, animalistic-instinctual level. It’s important to remember that moral codes have formed the core of all philosophy throughout history and in fact they define the foundations of social living.
- Asanas: body postures performed in relation to conscious breathing and a concentrated mind. They train body and mind, increase concentration and will-power, balance emotions and help us gain physical, emotional and mental health. They are part of Hatha Yoga.
- Pranayama: the science of breathing and the control of prana or vital energy. Through breathing exercises we act upon our physical and astral fields. Cleansing and restoring, pranayama brings health and balance on body, soul & mind. It is part of Hatha Yoga.
- Pratyahara: the withdrawal and freedom from the loud and controlling presence of the senses.
- Dharana: the silent rest of the mind on a single picture, sound or thought. The peace of mental concentration.
- Dyana: deep meditation where the mind is free from here and now. Meditation helps to gain control of our life and live in serenity. Dyana is the door that opens the way to the ultimate experience of oneness.
- Samanthi: self-realization or the experience of completeness, where there is no longer division between the Self and an exterior world. It transcends space, time and causality.
Raja Yoga sees a direct link between the mind and prana and aims at their control. Patanjali Maharshi in his Yoga Sutras claims that by controlling the mind we also gain control of the prana. Raja Yoga includes Kundalini Yoga (awakening of prana), Hatha Yoga (kriyas, asanas, pranayama, mudras, bandhas), Mantra Yoga (meditation yoga focusing on mandra singing), Yantra Yoga (Thibetan yoga), Nada Yoga (meditation on external and internal sounds), Laya Yoga (control of prana).