HIMALAYAN YOGA®

on the august 17, 2001

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Each cosmos affects the other; the universe affects us, moment to moment, and each one of us by our actions influences the entire cosmos, for good or ill.

The cosmos is the body of the Absolute, the vessel through which the Absolute expresses Itself. Every created thing in the universe contains at least a spark of the universal consciousness which is the Absolute, but most things cannot adequately express this consciousness.

At the base of the subtle spinal cord in the subtle body lies the residual Shakti of individuation, an energy which remains unavailable to the individual so long as his or her consciousness remains firmly entrenched in the mundane. This energy is our personal fragment of the cosmic power of self-identification.

The expression of Shakti in the physical body is Prana, the life force, the power which keeps body, mind and spirit functioning together as a living unit. All parts of one's being require prana.

In the ordinary human the ego is fully identified with the body and the limited personality, and all actions are centred around this temporary self. Each microcosmic reality is influenced by every other; all of us are caught in each other's projections and are defined in large part by them.

Our conscious personalities that we like to think of as stable and constant are in fact merely aggregates of ideas with which we temporarily self-identify.

The Yoga Sadhana is a method by wich man can find his true inner self and free himself from the cummon false self-identifications and projections from others.

Each time we push and jostle our way in the direction of our personal ambitions, the very force we apply creates an equal and opposite one. As a result of this, we ourselves create the obstacles which prevent progress.

If we struggle to make personal progress in yoga, our selfish efforts disturb the equilibrium of family and social life and soon strong opposition is encountered.

The symbol of yoga progress is the tortoise, which travels gradually forward in one direction. This gentle flowing motion does not overcome the inertia of the forces which would oppose it and therefore no antagonistic power is generated.