Username:
Password:
forgot password? \| Register

Home > Searching for the Divine Soul

Searching for the Divine Soul

By Cassie Welch - Cassie has been teaching yoga for last few years. She received her Yoga Teacher Training from Yoga Vida Gurukul. She has got a rich experience in the ancient practices of Yoga, such as pranayama, cleansing techniques and also philosophy.

Searching for the Divine Self

Ancient myths of every culture tell the same story of our search for wholeness. These myths contain stories of courageous heroes who face daunting tasks that transform their conditioned beliefs and alter their perceptions. Once they return successful from their quest - these are the people who become our great teachers, saints, seers, prophets; the spiritual leaders of mankind. This quest, this journey is something that is within all us and Yoga offers each of us a guided path to follow.

The great sage Patanjali wrote the Yoga Sutras, the eightfold path to Enlightenment. In the Sutras he teaches a step by step way to walk the inner journey.

	Yama - the laws of life
	Niyama - rules for living
	Asana - physical postures
	Pranayama - regulation of breath
	Pratyahara - the retirement of the senses
	Dharana - concentration, steadiness of mind
	Dhyana - meditation
	Samadhi - the settled mind

These steps can be summarized into purification, refinement and finally surrender and union with our source. Yama, Niyama, Asana and Pranayama are all apart of purifying our thoughts and actions, our body and our emotions. All religions have similar concepts of purification, believing it is necessary to be purified before one can return to God and all religions have a set of rules for society to follow. Patanjali also starts his spiritual path with laws for society that we must uphold.

The Yamas -

	Nonviolence
	Truthfulness
	Non - Stealing
	Chastity
	Nonattachment

Integrating these Yamas into our lives will purify our actions and our thoughts. In beginning we may be able to stop ourselves from performing physical violence, and then slowly we?re able stop our verbal violence and finally we will be unable to think a violent thought. The same process happens with each Yama as we develop.

Niyamas or the personal laws for each of us to uphold, take us a little deeper -

	Purity, Cleanliness
	Contentment
	Austerity
	Self Study
	Surrender to the Lord

With these we look a little more directly inward - for example remaining content is all about learning to maintain equilibrium in the mind no matter the circumstances but before we can begin to do that we need to understand our reactions to situations. Each Niyama has its own process and they lead us to a greater understanding of ourselves and our connection with God. Then Patanjali continues the inner journey with Asanas, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana, and finally Samadhi, but initially we can all start the journey on this path of Yoga by following the Yamas and Niyamas and beginning the process of purification.

Patanjali says that ?Yoga is a process of settling the mind, the chittas (mental conditioning) into silence.? He says that ?when our mind is settled, we are established in our true nature? which is limitless. William Blake described his experience of Unity, of our true nature as being able

To see the world in a grain of sand

And heaven in a wild flower

Hold infinity in the palm of your hand

And eternity in an hour.

The quest for our true nature has been apart of humanity since our dawn - great philosophers, scientists and poets, seers and sages, leaders and prophets and spiritual teachers all have given us insight and some understanding. Yoga presents a journey to discover the Divine Self; it offers a process of personal evolution and the wisdom of the Yoga Sutras can aid us on this path.

Cassie Welch
'Shiva Yoga Classes'
51 Prestons St
Christchurch, NZ.

References -

1.	Four Chapters on Freedom - Swami Satyananda Saraswati
2.	The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali - Translated and Introduced by Alistair Shearer 1982