Raja yoga - methodologies of enlightenment

Control of the psychic prana is the key to unlocking the powers of the mind. One's own psychic energy is always manifest in one's karma.

The realm of free will is open up to those in control of their own psychic prana. The practice of pranayama shifts the manifestation of one's mental energy from the subconscious to the conscious. Control of this prana is the fundamental basis of yoga.

Through pranayama any desired outcome can be achieved.

Yoga is the inhibition of the mind stuff (chitta), restricting it from taking various forms. The mind stuff is the prana that is harnessed by the mind and sent out as thought. The forms of the mind stuff from which it is restrained are the vrittis.

The soul is the intelligence behind the mind, one's true self being analagous to the bottom of the ocean. The vrittis are like the ocean waves on the leeward side of the island, churning up the sand near the shore so that the bottom cannot be seen. Yoga is the island that blocks the wind and the waves so that the bottom can be clearly seen, even at great depths on the windward side.

If the vrittis were the ocean waves, the chitta would be the ocean. If the chitta is not restrained, the various forms that the vrittis manifest become connected to the mind and the true self cannot be seen.

When the chitta is restrained, the intelligence of the soul may harness prana through it. In this unmodified state, the chitta is pure energy that can generate power as well as manifest in various desirable ways as directed by the intelligent soul. If the chitta is not restrained the energy is dissipated into the vrittis. Thus the mind becomes mixed up with the vrittis and the connection between the soul and its karma is lost.

Calmness is the unmodified state of mind whence one's true nature is revealed and the spritual utility of concentration is found.

By restraining the breath and exhaling, the chitta is pacified.

The physiological reaction to the simple process of consciously controlling one's breathing is so dramatic that pranayama is often confused with breathing. But prana is not the breath; it is the energy that permeates our universe. It is the fundamental stuff of all things.

Prana is the vitality within the breath and it is the source of the power that causes the motion of the lungs to generate the breath. Thus the practice of pranayama includes conscious breathing because control of the lungs is control of the prana of the breath. Continual practice of deep, controlled breathing brings the practitioner into relaxed states of mind associated with a reduced brainwave frequency.

To practice pranayama in this way one must merely exhale, inhale and hold it for some time. Repetition of this controlled breathing causes the chitta to be pacified and the mind becomes quiet. That is all.

Pranayama applies to all the senses. The prana of hearing holds great utility in meditation.

The prana of hearing is close to the prana of mind. Thought has form as it relates to words. Every word has a corresponding thought. In the hearing of words the prana of the mind is open. The connectedness between thought and word exists on a spiritual plane. As the sound is purified, its connectedness to all things is precipitated in its utterance. This accounts for the power of the word Om, the utterance of which (pronounced "aum") is the fundamental basis of all expression.

Just as the prana of mind is not limited to thought, the prana of hearing is not limited to words. Certain words are associated with deep thought, as are certain sounds. Such are the rare thoughts that are not connected to words and lie at the very gates of the seedless samadhi.

The sounds that are posted on this site are mantras designed to achieve a deep level of connectedness to a clearly defined meditative state. This is an unmodified state where the chitta is pacified and the thought words are connected to the mantra sounds only in an abstract sense. This is because the mantra comprises not words, but sounds. This mantra is a sound progression that encourages the practitioner to delve into deep, unmodified states.

Samadhi is within reach to those who have achieved the power of concentration.

The samadhi associated with the unmodified state wherein the thought words are abstractly connected to the sound is the "samadhi with question." Such samadhi results naturally from this abstract connectedness of the thought to the mantra sound. Because Harmonic meditation induces this samadhi by establishing the abstract connectedness within the sound, it is a very powerful means to self-discovery and self-mastery. Here is how it works:

1. The binaural audio track induces a state of meditation.
2. Audio mantra builds and reinforces brainwave pattern with sound.
3. Thought patterns emerge.
4. Samadhi "with question" is achieved.

In order to progress beyond the samadhi "with question" one must discriminate between the sound, meaning and knowledge with respect to the object of the meditation. Remember that in this meditation the mind is not purified. But the chitta is pacified so that the nature of the thought words are preserved therein. In this state the mind becomes clear and the mind stuff resonates with the qualities of the thought words. The memory is active, creating the links between the knowledge about the object and the thought words associated with the sound.

The industrial strength meditations to be discovered on this site build on the abstract relationship between the thought words and the sounds, enabling the ability to discriminate and thus quiet the memory. This is because the actual mantra is not the sound of the thought word but rather a more fundamental sound that is readily discriminated from the thought memory as the meditation progresses. This leads to the samadhi "without question".

The samadhi "with seed" lies beyond the realm of discrimination.

This is still the same samadhi, but the mind is more focused. In this state the chitta still resonates with the object of the meditation, but it is clearly separated from the thought sound and the thought memory with which it is associated. It is the samadhi "with discrimination". Meditating on this state where the thought and the sound are separable allows the chitta to resonate on the pure meditation object, eliminating the waves of memory and sound within the mind-stuff. This is the samadhi "without discrimination".

The yogi who has reached the samadhi "without discrimination" has the chitta firmly fixed upon the pure thought object. This is a highly advanced state of meditation where the knowable becomes known. That is why the ancient yogis refer to the knowledge gained beyond discrimination as "filled with truth".

The resulting samadhi "with seed" is good to practice because the powerful impressions it brings block out all other impressions. The yogi who is adept at sustaining such a powerful thought force has learned to suppress the seeds of past actions. The thought force of such a conception represses all other thought impressions.

The seedless samadhi is attained by restraint of even the conception that suppresses all other impressions.

Liberation is attained by the yogi only when the seeds of past actions are destroyed. This requires that the chittta become purified. Such purification is beyond knowledge. It is achieved when the chittta is devoid of all resonances and the true nature of the soul is revealed.

Because of the abstract connectedness of the mantra sound to the thought form, it is possible to practice many different levels of samadhi "with seed". Ultimately one reaches the point where the sound itself becomes the seed. As even this sound is eliminated, the state becomes disconnected from all things. It has become seedless and the chitta is purified.

Practicing sustained states of samadhi will cause all mental and physical obstacles to vanish.

The key to progress is the retention of concentration. The gurus know that by practicing on one object many of the obstructing distractions can be avoided. Thus the attaining to concentration and maintaining of the mind in its unmodified state are facilitated.

• Unlock the barriers to your true self.
• Become the master of your destiny.
• Find true meaning in samadhi "without question".

The pranayama of hearing leverages a direct interface to the brain so that the elements of the mantra are processed by the mind in such a manner as the physiology of the brain dictates. The resulting brainwave pattern causes the practitioner to sustain a deep state of meditation. Such meditation is the doorway to all of the powers (siddhis) of the yogi.

This page describes some of the spiritual applications of yoga. The realization of the seedless samadhi is truly a great accomplishment. The obstructions along the path to self-realization are created from the residue of past actions. Only when all such residue has been removed can the chitta be purified and the true self revealed.

Nevertheless, the practical applications of yoga and all of the (siddhis) encompass the samadhi where the residual seed of past action remains. Such samadhi is of great interest to the modern yoga practitioner as the object of such meditation holds the key to the mastery of one's own destiny. This in turn leads to fulfillment of karma and spiritual advancement.

All of the practical applications of Raja yoga are within reach to the dedicated practitioners who avail themselves of the powerful information and tools presented on this website. This section is dedicated to the modern interpretation of the science of yoga so that disciples can achieve maximum rewards and rapidly progress using the audio mantra.

It is important to keep in mind that while the audio mantra will automatically create a state of deep meditation, and it will also tend to create the samadhi "with question," practitioners wishing to achieve samadhi "without question" must concentrate the mind further by attempting to discriminate the various components of the meditation object and purify the memory so that only the meaning remains.

According to the science of Raja yoga, elements of hatha yoga must also be applied to achieve the successful outcome. This is because it is impossible to realize high thoughts if the posture is not firm and the spinal column resting undisturbed. Furthermore it is impossible to purify these thoughts without the discipline of kriya yoga. This is the first step of Raja yoga bringing peace of mind through controlling the prana of mind.

A modern interpretation of Zen wisdom
Glossary