dattaswami Posted April 1, 2008 Report Share Posted April 1, 2008 Yoga means simply attainment. But attainment of what? It has become the fashion of the day to use the word Yoga for every activity. Yoga means simply attainment. But attainment of what? is important. The Yoga shastra of Patanjali uses this word strictly in the attainment of Eswara (Lord). To render service (practical devotion) to the Lord, mental and physical health is needed. The early five stages (Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama and Pratyahara) concentrate on this attainment of physical and mental health. Afterwards the other three stages (Dharana, Dhayana and Samadhi) deal with the main subject of attainment of the Lord. Present preachers are stopping with the early five steps only and limiting their efforts by turning their spiritual work shops in to gymnasiums, hospitals and recreation centers. By this you are preaching the art of peaceful and happy living on this earth. If you stop here, the main goal of Patanjali Yoga is totally lost. A Boy who is admitted to the school is given fees and good food. He is expected to go to the school and study. But, he goes to the cinema theatre and uses the fees to purchase the ticket for cinema. This is the fate of Yoga today. The Yoga centre teaches all the steps to attain physical health by the first four steps and mental health by the fifth step. At the Lotus Feet of His Holiness Sri Dattaswami Anil Antony www.universal-spirituality.org Universal Spirituality for World Peace antonyanil@universal-spirituality.org Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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