Guest guest Posted December 23, 2002 Report Share Posted December 23, 2002 Thank you for a most enlightening discourse. However, Yogi Bhajan and his 3HO movement is what got me started in my earlier ministry to Yoga students (Non-Christian). The teachers of the local 3HO centers often did not shepherd their students properly and as a consequence, many were "blown out" -- not in a good way, and the leaders made such students feel as if they had failed or were made to feel guilty for their situation. I watched marriages fall apart, people develop neuroses needing mental health care (usually not good either), dropping out, etc. A little compassion and serious shepherding gently applied would have corrected the problems easily. When it came to Yogi Bhajan's attention, he replaced the leaders of the groups and acted to ground the energies involved. Work with the energies and the practicies you have described requires patience and shepherding. Western students who are untrained in Hatha Yoga for at least a year should not attempt the more "dramatic" exercises, and they, in any case, should be shepherded by a teacher who has apprenticed for several years under a master teacher who is working with westerners. The ashram setting is more appropriate as it is in India with experienced, wise and emotionally balanced teachers, otherwise there can be much mischief. The student who attempts "Kundalini Yoga" may not be prepared for Kundalini Fire experiences, and their nervous systems may be adversely affected for quite some time. With proper support and a positive environment, the fruits of Kundalini Yoga practice can be most wonderful - but the practice is not trivial and can be harmful if misapplied. Most westerners are not prepared for an instant immersion in Kundalini Yoga, much less Kriya Yoga (Daya Mata almost lost it after Yogananda made his transition, and had to completely revise the Correspondence Course and the path of initiation into Kriya because she couldn't handle the energies involved for his disciples as Yogananda did. He initiated thousands of people at a time, while Roy Eugene Davis and Kriyananda still can initiate hundreds of people at a time. And Kriya Yoga is pretty tame compared to Kundalini Yoga as taught by Yogi Bhajan. In our city we had a psychiatrist who studied under Sai Baba, and in his practice of Yoga as applied to his patients killed people and was barred from the local mental institutions after eight of his patients committed suicide; I don't know what finally happened to him, but he has written several books which I consider quite dangerous because "a little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing", especially in a society which is already on the verge of paranoia. Opening up too quickly can overwhelm a constitution which is not prepared for the massive input which can occur, or if the movement of the energies is not properly directed it can move throught the channels in an inappropriate manner and actually cause damage. We worked with one young man who combined a fruitarian diet with 8 hours of yoga practice a day who managed to burn off the myelin sheath from the central nervous system, confirmed by neurologists. He, in consequence, lost a lot of motor control, and it took him about 6-7 years to rebuild his system. ONE CAN GET TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING, or if a little bit is good that is probably enough. In Yoga practice, as in life, too much drama is not a good thing. Slow steady building of practice, life and consciousness is a good thing. Namaste, John L. , "Pieter" <pietersa@l...> wrote: > Discrimination is the result of an emergence in the mind of the reflection > of the source of consciousness in the Heart. [snip] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 23, 2002 Report Share Posted December 23, 2002 , "John Logan <johnrloganis>" <johnrloganis> wrote: > Thank you for a most enlightening discourse. Namaste, You mention studying under sai baba, well that isn't possible for sb never taught anything and doesn't know much about K at all. I was a follower for 15 yrs even an officer. This psychiatrist wouldn't be named sandweiss by any chance would he? >From my understanding K can only be taught by those who have realised it and concentrate on that, not attracting mass audiences or devotees......Om Sakti.......Saktidass/Tony. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 24, 2002 Report Share Posted December 24, 2002 Yes that was whom I wrote about, tho the spelling is not quite right. I didn't mean to imply that SB taught Kundalini Yoga, but the psychiatrist took what SB gave him and studied on his own, giving the credit to SB. I met him and he became a "space cadet" as we called them in those days. The full system is difficult to teach in a mass situation but the basics can be so taught. Most of the groups had training in the large from Yogi Bhajan and then were broken into smaller groups for deeper training and the 3HO ashrams (?) were small, at least in the US. Ideally it would be taught almost on a one-to-one basis. Those who have been exposed to it with a little experience often drift into Tantra practice and mix the two - the result is attractive to larger numbers and such practice made for very popular workshops and seminars charging lots of money of course, especially in California. I have seen such mixtures lead to the breakup of marriages, due to a lack of understanding on the part of the teacher and the students. John L. , "saktidasa <saktidasa>" <saktidasa> wrote: > , "John Logan > <johnrloganis>" <johnrloganis> wrote: > > Thank you for a most enlightening discourse. > > > Namaste, > > You mention studying under sai baba, well that isn't possible for sb > never taught anything and doesn't know much about K at all. I was a > follower for 15 yrs even an officer. > > This psychiatrist wouldn't be named sandweiss by any chance would he? > > From my understanding K can only be taught by those who have realised > it and concentrate on that, not attracting mass audiences or > devotees......Om Sakti.......Saktidass/Tony. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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