The Essence of Yoga

In speaking of Samadhi we are referring to the supreme states of human consciousness when, beyond the petty ego, an individual occasionally is released into the universal consciousness beyond, to taste the Reality which exists in the patterned beauty of the infinite life in which we are a part and to which we are usually blind.

These expansions of consciousness are rare but well known enough by account, to allow us to accept that we also have a potential to experience the same.

To help us realise these ecstatic states beyond the normal range of human thought and emotion, the system of Yoga has been designed. But it is not only for the individual’s experience alone, as it must be translated into some expression which allows others to share, if only a droplet, or for a moment, that reflected experience of spiritual Realization when all sense of separation vanishes, and life seems as One.

It must be remembered that knowing something with the mind and realizing it are two different experiences. Any form of realization can be compared with a little light going on in one’s consciousness. This occurs together with new comprehension and insight. So realization on any level is a very special state and may occur infrequently, but when it comes, makes a lasting impression.

Spiritual Realization is similar but magnified many times, as anticipated when the focus is upon God, and it produces an inner excitement of one’s being. One feels to have suddenly known the Reality of the Universe and of the part each life plays in the great drama of the Cosmos. It represents the climax in the inner meditative and expansive experiencing of the yogi.

Samadhi is the experiencing of the heavenly states, beyond normal range of human life and results in keener perceptions, fresh perspectives or a greater comprehension that requires old conclusions to be reviewed and seen in a new light.

It is through human realizations that entirely new discoveries are made and it is through spiritual realizations that the truths of the spiritual Realities become known.

All who experience it are left with a memory of having tasted a rare and supreme joy beyond previously known conditions of human happiness – a tantalizing taste of heaven!

What heights of experience have you known in your life?

The beliefs of all philosophers, now confirmed by science, acknowledge that all forms of varying grades of matter, from the gross material to the subtlest, are animated by natural energies and intelligence – from the most infinitesimal to the astronomical magnitudes of the cosmos.

 If we would open our minds to the existence of an unseen order of spiritual intelligence in beings animating all nature and its forms, we would begin to know the life within the form, just as the astronomer or scientist aspires to seek an understanding of the universal intelligence and power that directs the cosmos.

Although using our own eyes, we may not be able to see stars that are millions of light years distant, nor have keenness of sight to observe tiny bacterial life at work, we trust in the technological means man has developed to demonstrate for us the reality of life forms that exist, but that are not yet capable of being perceived by the normal human faculties.

There are uniquely different individuals who have sighted ethereal ghosts, nature spirits, received visions of spiritual teachers and are familiar with the angelic beings who inhabit what is sometimes referred to as the ‘parallel world’ of subtle intelligences that exist in spheres that interpenetrate the material world we know.

 Some clairvoyants can see energy radiation from flowers and observe the tiny intelligences we call fairies, elves, sprites and so on. Most cultures have traditional terms and language that describes them. Others using extended sight see sparks of energy generated by cats, or the astral forms of the deceased that we call the ghosts.

Clairvoyants with well developed psychic senses see the light and colours emanating from a living human being and with experience and training become skilled in interpreting the qualities and characteristics of an individual.

 It may be that all forms have an indwelling life intelligence or soul. To be comfortable with this idea requires an imagination beyond the familiar observations of the material scientist.  However, it is the world of reality to the metaphysical scientist where soul and spirit represent higher and finer energies that are just as real as those observed in the material sense.

These invisible energy worlds are not new in human experience or cognition and in our historical reference, and artistic depictions. They survive in the substance and stories of traditional legend. Here, ghosts are accepted as the disembodied energies of a human intelligence; saints are depicted as radiating light or spiritual power; devils are depicted as malefic forms and influences of darkness. Angels are conceived as beings of light, colour and beneficence and in Asian lore are known as Devas.

Devas are our invisible companions. Until we can see them with our own eyes, we must rely upon our senses that tell us sometimes of an unseen presence. Sometimes this happens spontaneously but we can also extend our awareness of them deliberately. We can best do this in solitude or in nature but also in our own place of peace.

It can be that we feel conscious of a loved one who is not physically present, or feel that we are uplifted into a tranquil mood. If we are to become more aware of these benign angelic beings who exist to carry out the divinely directed natural processes. If we wish to know more about them, we need to open our consciousness to consider the possibility that we are not alone and that angelic beings are always with us.

All material forms are ensouled by natural intelligences, from mineral life, plant life, animal and human that we are all capable of sensing but rarely privileged to see.