Omprem: My Queen

[Guest guest]

for his patience and composure and reasoned

argument. And a Sivananda devotee at that! (Oldtimers may

remember some sivananda trashing on this board way back

when) Thank you for your posts; they're extraordinary.

[Guest guest]

Om namah Sivaya<br><br>Thanks for you kind words.

I try to do the best that I can. What else can one

do?<br><br>I don't even know what a "queen" or "queen of

psychobabble" is supposed to imply. But it is of no concern or

even interest to me.<br><br>Swami Sivananda did not

defend himself against the axe wielder because he did

not want to remove his consciousness from Brahman and

become enmeshed in maya. He remained focused on Brahman

and, ever mindful of the kleshas did not value his

life and ego over Self-Realization. A difficult choice

that I would never have been able to make. At least,

there is Swami Sivananda's example as to what is

possible. A permanent reminder of what it means to resolve

the kleshas.<br><br>I was sorry to hear that there

had been some Sivananda thrashing here. Or trashing

of any spiritual path for that matter. Each path up

the mountain eventually leads to the same magnificent

view. Or, as the Sivananda group phrases it, "Paths are

many. Truth is One." <br><br>Any practice that involves

asana-pranayama is by definition astanga yoga as they are two of

the eight angas of Raja Yoga as presented by

Patanjali. Similarly, any yoga is also kundalini yoga as the

practices of a particular approach to yoga will eventually

result in kundalini rising. So in the end, where is the

difference?<br><br>It is too bad that we feel compelled to brand,

trademark and otherwise attempt to own these universal

teachings. Outside of a protective ego reaction (a natural

reaction) and a desire to cash in on yoga's current

popularity (an unacceptable reaction), I wonder what other

motives one could have to exalt the approach to yoga that

one is currently practising and put down other

approaches.<br><br>In my own case, I first learned about yoga/vedanta

through a Sikh Yogiraj from the Punjab. The philosophy

that he presented was straight out of Patanjali and

the Upanishads and thus would be compatible with most

yoga practitioners. His approach to hatha yoga,

however, was very different from the Sivananda approach

but very similar to the current Astanga approach of

Krishnamacharyaji's disciples.<br><br>In my naive enthusiasm for the

teaching and spiritual evolution that my first teacher

began in me, I accorded him near-guru status and

thought he could do no wrong. I was wrong, of course, but

that is another story. During that time of adoration,

I remember believing other teachers' methods were

not as good as methods that I was being taught. (As

you can see, I had, at that time, failed to learn

thoroughly the lessons of the yamas and niyamas.) Much to my

regret today, I jeered the names of some eminent

teachers and was admonished for it. And learned from the

admonishment. Lessons don't always come in pleasant ways.

<br><br>Eventually, the time came to leave that teacher and I was

attracted to the Sivananda group because of my sense of

connection to Swami Vishnu and because Swami Sivananda

presented a yoga of synthesis--according all yoga paths

equal validity and combining elements of each into an a

personal approach to yoga that has become known as

Sivananda.<br><br>Now, I take "Astanga" classes with a group that

teaches in the style of Richard Freeman. <br><br>So life

goes on, events change, different approaches to yoga

may have resonance at different times in one's

spiritual journey.<br><br>Om and Prem

[Guest guest]

I would also like to thank you for your posts

here. I don't remember the Sivananda trashing, and I'm

glad I missed it. I begin my practice with Swami

Vishnudevananda many years ago and have always been grateful for

the synthesis and philosopical grounding I was given

there.Om Namah Sivaya. You bring some intelligent

observations to this board.