Yoga Experiences Part 1

Yoga Experiences Part 1 came into being as an outcome of disciples questions following their Shaktipat initiation (transference of spiritual energy from Guru to disciple) and any serious spiritual seeker will find it an invaluable source of information and the answer to many of their questions on the Yoga practiced by Indian sages since time immemorial. In the first chapter, Pranotthana, Rajarshi Muni discusses his experience with static meditation prior to receiving Shaktipat from his Guru and how he toiled with trying to keep his body straight, stiff and steady and his mind thoughtless. He points out that he was never successful in maintaining this effort driven practice for any prolonged period. He then goes on to lucidly describe the various Yoga asanas, pranayams and manifestations that occurred to him automatically after receiving Shaktipat and the release of Prana, the vital force, in the body (Pranotthana) and how marked its contrast was to his pre Shaktipat, effort driven meditation attempts. In Chapter 2 Rajarshi explains how, following Shaktipat, the seekers become so enthused with their meditations that they go on extending the time limits and frequency of their meditations until they find that doing so proves unworkable and that they come to the realization that they have to adopt a more scientific, time limited, approach. Chapter 3 is devoted to Yogic experiences and how, in the early stages the Yoga aspirant familiarizes himself with the lower Cakras, later with the middle Cakras and finally with the higher Cakras. In Chapter 3 he also describes his first frightening experiences with Kundalini. His Guru, in the Forward to the book, points out that it is far more difficult to make a non- Yogi comprehend the significance of Kundalini (serpentine spiritual energy, usually lying dormant in the lowest Cakra) than to acquaint those born blind with various colors or those who are born deaf with various tunes. Rajarshi devotes Chapter 4 specifically to the Kundalini and how it is intimately related to the all prevading cosmic power of the imperceptible Brahma (God, the Supreme Being) that created the whole universe. He points out how the human body is also part of the perceptible Brahma (the universe) and how a part of this residual cosmic power, in the form of the Kundalini, is linked with the human body. Seekers ask how they can recognize the Kundalini, but he points out that the Kundalini is a divine force causing subtle inner experiences that can only be comprehended by one s own experience. He goes on to provide supporting quotations for his own experiences from the scriptures, the means by which all sadhaks can validate the truthfulness of their Yoga experiences. Chapter 5 deals with various Yogic processes.. In the beginning he introduces the three initial levels of the release of the pranic energy following Shaktipat and in the end he deals with the awakening of Kundalini and the entry into Yoga. The sixth and last chapter discusses Yoga Nidra (Yogic sleep) and how Yoga Nidra is a lower stage of Yoga that helps relieve the seeker of the fatigue caused by the various Yogic manifestations such as Asanas, Mudras, Dhyana, Pranayam or Pratyahara. His Guru, Swami Kripalvanandaji, in his book s Forward, points out that when Rajarshi wrote the book, his Yogic practice was hardly two years old, but that his praise worthy efforts in previous births as well as in this life resulted in his very commendable Yogic attainments, the result of which is a book that contains no admixture of false conjectures or flights of fancy and how the book would be bound to be a source of enlightenment to all readers and find a prestigious place among the known works of Yoga. In summary, this is most certainly a book that deserves reading by any serious aspirant of Yoga.