The Essence Of Yoga (

)
-------------------------Yoga means union with God. The state of yoga is impossible to attain without the
blessings of Lord Shiva. It needs a concentrated and focussed mind. There are s
ome specific spots in the human body concentrating upon which, enables a man to
attain the state of yoga-spot between the eyebrows, lower part of the throat, na
vel etc.
The state of yoga can never be attained until and unless a person has fully cont
rolled the tendencies of sense organs. It can be achieved with the help of eight
means. Yama (penance)
. Niyam (discipline)
. Asan (posture)
. Pranayama (breath-control)
. Pratyahar (restraint of passion)
. Dharan (retention)
. Dhyan (concentration)
. Samadhi (deep meditation)
Each of them holds an important position in the path of yoga.
A person should sit with his legs crossed in Padmasan and try to concentrate his
mind by fixing his gaze between his eyebrows. He should keep his spine erect. H
e should meditate either on the form of Omkar or on the form of lord Shiva.
Breath control is an important aspect of yogic exercise. A man should exhale dee
ply for 32 times and then breathe in deeply. He should then retain his breath as
long as possible and visualize lord Shiva within his body. By constant practice
he will achieve mastery over this art and a time will come when he will experie
nce divine bliss. This divine bliss can not be experienced unless one has attain
ed a deep state of meditation (Samadhi).
Obstacles in the path of Yoga:
A man experiences numerous obstacles in the path of Yoga-laziness, restlessness
confusion, a diseased body etc. The main reason for being lazy is a bulky physiq
ue and one's inability to concentrate his mind. Lack of concentration results in
restlessness, which is a major obstacle in the path of yoga. If a person in uns
ure about the results he becomes confused. It is impossible for a person sufferi
ng from any disease to concentrate his mind.
All the above mentioned hurdles can be overcome by firm resolution. A man who ha
s successfully overcome all these obstacles might experience other obstacles in
the form of siddhis (divine powers). There is a real danger of getting lured by
these divine powers. As a result his mind may get distracted from his original g
oal and he may deviate from his path.
The names of these siddhis or divine powers are:
. Pratibha (having knowledge of past present and future incident)
. Shravana (being capable of listening to abnormal sounds)
. Varta (whatever is said becomes true)
. Darshana (capable of seeing things which can mot be seen by the mortal eyes)
. Aswada (being capable of experiencing divine (tastes)
. Vedana (being capable of relieving other's pain by a mere touch)
If a person successfully overcomes all these allurements then he becomes a siddh
- or man of accomplishment and divine powers.