Hari Aum.
Sivananda was of the opinion that the head (intellect), heart (emotions) and hand (actions) of a human being need to be simultaneously developed for spiritual progress.
For this, he advised the 'yoga of synthesis', a harmonious blend of the three main paths of yoga, namely:
1. Jnana yoga- the path of knowledge. This cultivates the intellect.
2. Bhakti yoga- the path of devotion. This cultivates the heart.
3. Karma yoga- the path of action (serving living beings). This cultivates the 'hand'.
Further, he says there are three main defects in the mind that stand in the way of self-realisation. These are:
1. Mala, impurity- this is removed by karma yoga
2. Vikshepa, restlesness- this is removed by bhakti yoga
3. Avarana, ignorance- this is removed by jnana yoga.
This is Sivananda's song of "A little" which describes the yoga of synthesis:
"Eat a little, drink a little
Talk a little, sleep a little
Mix a little, move a little
Serve a little, rest a little
Work a little, relax a little
Study a little, worship a little
Do Asana a little, Pranayama a little
Reflect a little, meditate a little
Do Japa a little, do Kirtan a little
Write Mantra a little, have Satsang a little
Serve, Love, Give, Purify, Meditate, Realize
Be good, Do good; Be kind, Be compassionate
Enquire 'Who am I ?', Know the Self and be Free"
The mind likes variety. At the same time, it often has a favourite practice. Therefore, it is a good idea to select one path of yoga as the main practice and combine a bit of the others too for all-rounded development.
For example, as I like the bhakti yoga path, I have chosen this approach as my main yoga. I combine this approach with karma yoga (work as doctor etc), jnana yoga (reading spiritual books) and a bit of hatha yoga (asana and pranayama).
This is a link to one of Sivananda's articles on the yoga of synthesis:
http://www.sivanandaonline.org/public_html/?cmd=displaysection§ion_id=637&format=html
Hari Aum Tat Sat
Sivananda was of the opinion that the head (intellect), heart (emotions) and hand (actions) of a human being need to be simultaneously developed for spiritual progress.
For this, he advised the 'yoga of synthesis', a harmonious blend of the three main paths of yoga, namely:
1. Jnana yoga- the path of knowledge. This cultivates the intellect.
2. Bhakti yoga- the path of devotion. This cultivates the heart.
3. Karma yoga- the path of action (serving living beings). This cultivates the 'hand'.
Further, he says there are three main defects in the mind that stand in the way of self-realisation. These are:
1. Mala, impurity- this is removed by karma yoga
2. Vikshepa, restlesness- this is removed by bhakti yoga
3. Avarana, ignorance- this is removed by jnana yoga.
This is Sivananda's song of "A little" which describes the yoga of synthesis:
"Eat a little, drink a little
Talk a little, sleep a little
Mix a little, move a little
Serve a little, rest a little
Work a little, relax a little
Study a little, worship a little
Do Asana a little, Pranayama a little
Reflect a little, meditate a little
Do Japa a little, do Kirtan a little
Write Mantra a little, have Satsang a little
Serve, Love, Give, Purify, Meditate, Realize
Be good, Do good; Be kind, Be compassionate
Enquire 'Who am I ?', Know the Self and be Free"
The mind likes variety. At the same time, it often has a favourite practice. Therefore, it is a good idea to select one path of yoga as the main practice and combine a bit of the others too for all-rounded development.
For example, as I like the bhakti yoga path, I have chosen this approach as my main yoga. I combine this approach with karma yoga (work as doctor etc), jnana yoga (reading spiritual books) and a bit of hatha yoga (asana and pranayama).
This is a link to one of Sivananda's articles on the yoga of synthesis:
http://www.sivanandaonline.org/public_html/?cmd=displaysection§ion_id=637&format=html
Hari Aum Tat Sat
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