Posts under ‘Guru’

The fluctuation of sleep is based on a belief in non-existence.
During deep sleep there are no thoughts just nothingness and void. Other thoughts are experienced during dream state but not during deep sleep. According to the sage Patanjali there are 4 different states;
Physical consciousness, dream state, deep dreamless sleep and pure consciousness. The latter consciousness does [...]

Conceptualization is the result of knowledge acquired from thinking of things of no real substance.
Conceptualization is the thoughts and ideas which we think about when we daydream or have abstract thinking. This is spontaneous and is not affected by outer stimulants such as objects or people. This daydreaming is the mind talking to itself and as long as it continues, to prevent us [...]

Misconceptions are false knowledge.
Misconceptions are part of the reason we become disenchanted, depressed or disturbed because we believe an idea or event which is not real. The two culprits which create these misconceptions are Fear and Desire. We buy into an idea, event or person through our desires (self interest) that create fears (doubt) and we make conclusions (limited opinions) [...]

True knowledge comes through the five senses, inference and study of sacred works.
At the beginning of our practice it is impossible to control the mind so it is better to understand and acknowledge these mind movements to help become aware of the different types of fluctuations (thoughts) in our consciousness. These are namely conceptualization, misconceptions, sleep and memory. 
On a day to day basis we [...]

Fluctuations of the consciousness need discrimination.
At the beginning it is not easy to focus on spiritual matters as the mind is distracted by outer objects which take our attention. Discrimination is a vital practice as it selects one object to meditate on and separates us from all other distractions. This is how we control the mind.

Fluctuations of [...]

Yoga is the cessation of identifying with the fluctuations arising within consciousness.
The primary goal of yoga at this stage is to be able to start identifying with the true self and not just the small ‘I am’ which is the personality and ego. As we saw in the last lesson that practice and detachment give us the daily tools to be [...]