What is Yoga? Swami Maitreyananda

WHAS IS YOGA ?
by (Dharmachari Swami Maitreyananda)
Yogacharya Fernando Estevez Griego



Yogacharya Fernando Estevez Griego (Dharmachari Swami Maitreyananda) was born
in 1956 on November 11 in Montevideo, Uruguay—the country where he lived his
childhood
and part of his adolescent years. He lived the years of his youth in the
Bahamas, the United
States, Canada, Spain, France, Switzerland, Israel, India and Argentina.
He is considered one of the world’s most prestigious and important
Yoga Masters, as he is internationally considered an inescapable reference on
this discipline.
His training took place studying under the best and most renowned Yoga Masters
of India,
making him the direct disciple of, Swami Vishnudevananda (Sivananda), Yogavatar
Krishna
Kisore Dasji and the Venerable L. Ariyawansa Navaka Mahatera.
He graduated as a yoga teacher from the Sivananda Ashram and the Forest Vedanata
University; he obtained the Yogacharya level or level of Yoga Master, in India.
He studied Bachellor of Medicine and Psychology and he is Doctor of Philosophy
in
Psychology, a Master In Yoga Therapy, a an Counsellor of Aryuveda, Master in
Ayurveda
Yoga Therapy and Football (Soccer) Fitness Trainer
He is one of the pioneers belonging to the International Yoga Federation, along
with
other Yoga Masters of national and continental yoga organizations.
From 1987 is the sucessor and director of International School of Integral Yoga
(Ramana Yoga) founded by Swami
Asuri Kapila in 1932, which is
considered one of the three best yoga schools in the world that has trained over
9.000 Yoga
Masters or Yogacharyas, Masters, Teacher Trainers, Yoga Teachers and Yoga
Instructors.
Yogacharya Estevez Griego was twice elected the International Yoga Federation
President, from 1990-1992 and from 2003-2005. When he presided over the
International
Society of Integral Yoga, the “Aurobindo Sivananda Ashram®” Received the
succession of
Krishna Kisore Dasji in the World Yoga Council.
Yogacharya Estevez Griego is known all over the world for his charisma, wisdom,
spirituality and his complete dedication to Yoga, resulting in a diversity of
people from all over
the world coming directly to receive his teachings at this school, in the
gurukula tradition.
The Yogacharya freely offered us all his wisdom by answering each and every one
of
our questions about Yoga.
We invite you to enjoy them.



Question: What is yoga?
Sw. Maitreyananda: YOGA IS SPRITUAL EDUCATION.
Yoga is: a Psycho-Physical-Spiritual science, art and philosophy of life that integrates
together the three planes of human existence with the Universe or the Supreme or God or the
All, by the means of SAMADHI, a state of existential plentitude, happiness or bliss. The first
technique taught in the Sutras was Viyoga or the ability to separate the spirit from the mind
and the body. We are what we feel, because the spirit of ourselves or of all things, is what we
feel in the determined moment, generating an affective state. Yoga teaches the development
of human spiritual intelligence, understanding it as an affective, sentimental and anemic
adaptation-capacity of the individual and his surroundings. This capacity to adapt spiritually
allows the yogi to surmount feelings and situations that are unbearable to other people.
The yogi, like all people who practice yoga, learns to feel. He begins to understand
and learn that he is not with he thinks or believes, nor what motivates him to act (physical
changes of the body plus the things that surround him: actions). The yogi begins to
understand that his spirit is what he feels. He begins to know that it is more important To Be
than To Have. It is more important to be a doctor, actor or yoga teacher than to have the title
of doctor, actor or yoga teacher. It is more important to be happy than to have a happy face.
Happiness is not something you own, happiness is achieved when one is happy. Freedom is
the power to be, because having is always a transient state. In order to be oneself, one
needs to learn to be. And in order to learn to be, one needs to communicate with his inner
self, with his feelings, passions, yearnings, affections and anemic states. Our affective world
is our Spirit. We say that spiritual intelligence is the human being’s capacity to adapt himself
affectively, sentimentally and anemically with his surroundings. Yoga like any other science,
allows him to work his affective intelligence (the capacity to understand and to adapt to the
feelings and affections of others) and his emotional intelligence (the capacity to understand
and adapt the emotions of his own self).
The final goal of Yoga is not to integrate the human being psycho-physically and
spiritually, nor is the final goal of Yoga to integrate the individual socially and ethoecologically.
For 5.000 years the final goal of Yoga has been has been Samadhi, an
experience of existential fullness that integrates us with God, the Universe and the All. This
experience is only achieved with spiritual education and when we say “spiritual education” we
are not referring to religious education or religiousness. Being spiritual does not mean being
religious and being religious does not necessarily mean being spiritual. We are referring to
the kind of spirit and spirituality that can be arrived at from art itself; few things are as spiritual
as art. Art is the expression of the spirit. Art expresses our feelings. If we understand this
vision we can understand how an asana or yoga pose can be spiritual simply because of the
attitude one assumes in the pose (predisposition or an act).
Etymologically, it means to integrate or harness, to integrate myself with something by
harnessing it, to put the harness on the horses to guide them. In this way, I integrate myself
to the horses and the vehicle. Yog comes from Yug. Yug means to unite and Yog means to
integrate. IT IS FOR THIS VERY REASON THAT ONE CAN SAY YOG OR YOGA.
The term Yoga: the term derives from the root YUJ which means “Dynamic Union”,
“Integration”, “Harness”, “To Tie Together”. It has other connotations such as : “Union”, “A
Conjunction of Stars”, “Grammatical Rule”, “Effort”, “Team”, “Means”, “Magic”, “Added”, etc. It
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is related to the English YOKE, the French JOUG, the German JOCH, the Greek EUVOC, the
Latin IUGUM, the Russian IGO, and the Spanish YUGO.
It also means “Dynamic Union”, “Integration”, “Tie”, and “To Join”. It has other
connotations like: “Union”, “Conjunction of Stars”, “Grammatical Rule”, “Effort”, “Team”,
“Means”, “Magic”, “Added”, etc.
The word first appeared in the Vedic era in the Taittriya Upanishad. The word
appeared meaning “control of the senses”. Later, in the Maitrayani Upanishad, some of the
Yoga techniques were exposed. The base of the Yoga philosophy is santosha: contentment--
content to have been born and to have the opportunity to live. It deals with seeing the glass
half full, being positive, saying “how wonderful it is that the glass is half full”, not thinking
negatively that the glass is half empty. It deals with looking for the necessary and not thinking
so much in the desirable. In other words, it is not prioritizing the desirable over the necessary.
Water is necessary whereas Coca Cola is a desire and is not necessary.
Question: In what era, in what country, city or civilization, did
yoga originate?
Sw. Maitreyananda: Historically, it was brought to India, but India is where it was
established and flourished.
Question: What place does yoga occupy within the Hindu
philosophy?
Sw. Maitreyananda: Yoga occupies a place of privilege in Hinduism, as it is one of the six
Darshanas or forms of living within the Sanatan Dharma. Yoga occupies this privileged place
outside of Hinduism also.
Question: What is Hinduism?
Sw. Maitreyananda: Hinduism is an ancient culture that encompasses a variety of rich
ancestral customs from different towns and races that had interacted with each other, giving
place to different types of art, sciences, disciplines, sports and diverse rights related to each
act of life. Hinduism, contrary to what many believe, is not composed only of one religion that
has had a historical and precise founder like in the case of other religions. Rather, it includes
an incredible variety of religions profoundly different from one another. It includes opposite
principles and is directed towards different goals. We ought to summarize a vast number of
philosophies, schools of thought and spirituality that allow the transmition of amplitude of
ways of to be in the World and in our particular social lives. The particular part about
Hinduism is that it was enriched by more than 3.000 dialects, various languages and writing
systems.
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Question: Who was historically the first Yoga Master who began
the teachings of yoga?
Sw. Maitreyananda: Shiva, then Matsyendra and Hiranyagarbha
Question: Who were the most important disciples of this first
Master?
Sw. Maitreyananda: Well, several. In the case of Shiva, his principal disciple was
Matsyendra. In Hiranyagarbha’s case, they were Gonika and Patanjali. The latter codified the
teachings in the Yoga Sutras.
Question: Where do we find the first archeological discoveries of
a certain yoga practice?
Sw. Maitreyananda: Adduara in Sicily and Mohendo Daro in Pakistan, in what was
Ancient India.
Question: What is the most ancient text known with reference to
yoga?
Sw. Maitreyananda: The Upanishads
Question: What are the most important written texts on yoga?
Sw. Maitreyananda: The Yoga Sutras, the Bhagavad Guita or Yoga Sastra, the Vedas,
the Tantras.
Question: What is the Ethical and Deontological Code of Yoga?
Sw. Maitreyananda: The Yamas (restraints) and the Niyamas (the observances). They
are the base of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, with his addition of the Yogadharshana
Upanishad that later Dattatreya amplified.
The Yamas and Niyamas are yoga techniques, the principle ones, added to these two
are: Pranayama (control of the vital energy), Swara (control of the breath), Anna Yoga
(control of the food), Santosha or contentment, Satkarmas (bodily cleanings), Pratiahara
(introspection), Dharana (concentration), Dhyana (meditation), reflection, contemplation,
imagination, relaxation, excersizes, attitude, etc. For example, Patanjali in the Yoga Sutras
had exposed eight steps for Classical Yoga (Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratiahara,
Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi).
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Question: What are the Yamas?
Sw. Maitreyananda: they are the ethical practices of yoga, the fundamental principles of
the yogi, they are:
1. Ahimsa. Means non-violence.
Non violence towards all existence, understanding that all of creation is necessary and a
part of us all, as we all are developed from this same existence that allows us the gift of life.
To respect all forms of life is not an order, it is a necessity once one understands that there is
never one being separated from the others and rather the being is well integrated with the
others. To respect means having an attitude of respect towards others and towards oneself.
A means no and Himsa means violence. No physical violence, no mental violence, no
spiritual violence. In other words, it means not killing. Having well understood this, it means
that we all form part of the same being, existence and we are in a constant state of
interdependence on others.
ETHICAL CODE IN YOGA
1. Not harming, not killing, neither physically nor
mentally, any living being (ahimsa, non-violence)
2. Affirming the truth in thought, discourse and action
(satya, truthfulness)
3. Not stealing; abstaining from theft (asteya, not
stealing)
4. Discipline and organization of the various impulses
and desires (brahmacharya, auto-discipline)
5. Not being greedy and not accepting unnecessary
gifts or bribes from people with doubtful motives
(aparigraha, not coveting)
6. Observing purity, both externally and internally,
physically and mentally (shaucha, purity)
7. Cultivating the spirit of contentment. Not multiplying
desires for material goods (santosha, contentment)
8. Preparing one self to bear to the environmental
changes and reverses of fortune (tapas, training of self).
9. Studying the books of spiritual wisdom with devotion
and ample critique (swadhyaya, study of the writings)
10. Always remembering God and submitting oneself to
Divine Will (Ishwarapranidhana, love of God)
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Therefore, a yogi needs to respect all forms of life; this includes the five kingdoms of
living beings: Plants, Animals, Bacteria, Protozoan and Fungus. He respects them because
he is a living being with the same rights as other living beings. But this love towards others
and this attitude of respect, could prevent us from eating, since in order to eat one must
eliminate other lives be them vegetable or animal, because if one does not eat he is
exercising violence against himself. On the other hand, the sicknesses that attack us are
caused by microbes, bacteria and fungi that we must fight in order to be healthy. In our body
our white cells on occasion must attack small living beings that invade us and make a
forbidden use of our bodily resources. For this reason, not being violent and not killing is
practically impossible. In order to live, one must give himself nutrients from vegetables and
animals. A vegetarian is not a less violent person than a carnivore or a carnivorousvegetarian.
Killing an animal or a plant is exactly the same. The problem is how and with
what attitude do we complete our need as a species of human beings. One thing is killing to
eat which is necessary and another thing is destroying without reason. One thing is
defending oneself against aggression and another thing is attacking others for pleasure or
esteem. One can esteem himself without being violent and can be violent without esteeming
himself. Aggression is a defense mechanism to protect our own self our loved ones our
possessions and our space.
Violence is the use of physical means to cause organic harm to a living being. When
we need to eat, we are eating surely something that was taken violently from a living being:
vegetable or animal. However, when we do it without anger, rather when we do it for
necessity, we are totally in accordance with the natural law of the Earth and the Universe.
2. Satya. Means truth or trying to be truthful
If one is truthful he is authentic. The truth is not anything besides the way our mind
interprets reality. It is not reality, rather it is what we think is reality. There is only one Reality,
while there are as many truths as there are living beings. Telling the truth is being frank and
sincere and trying not to lie. One does not lie to not have to be constantly tracing lies and
having to hide more lies. One does not lie to be truly free in his actions. One does not lie to
be comfortable with oneself. However, in certain occasions tolerant lies or if you prefer hiding
the truth, is necessary. This is not saying things that we cannot or should not say in order to
not cause harm to others. Compassion or Karuna should always guide our actions. If in
saying a truth of ours we hurt the feelings or a person or put the life of a human being in
danger our feeling of compassion should be first in place. There is no necessity to make
others suffer. If a five year old child is happy because he believes that Santa Claus he has
given him toys, there is no reason to make the comment that Santa Claus does not exist.
Because, although Santa Claus is not real, we can affirm that he is true.
3. Asteya. Means to not covet, mainly to not steal
Coveting makes it so that we want to have things, charges, powers or attributes that others
have without having conquered them ourselves. Or using an object in a way that we find
convenient without having considered what the object was made for, which is the same as
coveting. When we misuse what has been given to us, when we want what we do not need,
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when above the need is the desire, one loses his priorities in life--which should be making a
life for himself.
4. Brahmacharya. Means mastership in Brahman or God or a person absorbed in Brahman,
who studies the Vedas and other books of wisdom.
He who knows that everything is Brahman and that Brahman is everything, dedicates himself
to study. Such is the life of the student and the celibate. But this does not mean that one
must observe abstinence.
5. Aparigraha. Means to not hoard, nor accept, nor keep things which have no use, for the
simple act of having them so that others may not.
Having millions of dollars without using them or helping others is something that has no
meaning except pretending to demonstrate omnipotence when we are actually fragile.
Everything that does not have use should be given up to others. One should not be asking
for things if he does not earn them. Giving use to things in life and making others happy is
the correct way to turn the energy of the universe.
Question: What are the Niyamas?
Sw. Maitreyananda: they are precepts or observances of yoga within the above ethics.
Saucha.
Means bodily purity. Laying in the sun, immersion baths, massages with oil, practicing
asana and pranayama. The mind is purified by singing of mantras. Having mental purity,
bodily purity and spiritual purity.
Santosha.
To awaken the art of being content or being positive for the simple fact of enjoying life
and being alive. Life is a party. For the sole fact of existing, a yogi is satisfied and content.
Tapas.
The effort to integrate oneself in everything, the Absolute, the Supreme or God--
placing needs above desires.
Swadhyaya.
The study of oneself and the texts of yoga. Educating oneself, not only mentally or
physically, but spiritually. Spirituality is controlling and enjoying feelings.
Iswara Pranidhana.
It means the renunciation of our reactions and the fruits or our actions, not having
attachment to them neither in their successes nor in their failures, because everything
passes. It means dedication to the representation that we have of the Supreme Absolute,
God or the All.
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Question: What are the Asanas?
Sw. Maitreyananda: The “asanas” are static postures that are realized in yoga with
different goals. They look to unblock muscular tensions with the goal of allowing a better
circulation of vital energy to the human being, giving him flexibility, resistance in the flexibility
and a better muscular tone and balance. This allows an understanding of the whole body by
the art of ones own mind and produces a resulting emotional change.
A physical yoga posture or asana is a physical posture that works by means of
flexibility to unblock muscular energy and by means of strength or tension to eliminate the
energy from a part of the muscle.
This energy that is dissipated or lost, changes the emotions. It breaks the physical
holder of the emotion because it eliminates muscular tension or rather, because it eliminates
the energy of the emotion was feeding off of.
The muscle is the physical part of the emotion, while the energy that was being
hoarded is purely spiritual. Our spirituality or our feelings, is seen to be affected by the quality
and selection of our emotions. In an emotion, the spirit and the body are connected. The
asana must be accompanied by mental concentration that allows the integration of the body
and the spirit. For this reason, the physical posture in yoga is directed only to the spirit and
not to the mechanics of the muscle, like in gymnastics.
The postures have organic benefits and principally target the organs of the human
being in the ventral and dorsal bodies, looking to massage them by means of compressions in
various parts, by means of changing the position of the organs like in inversion postures. The
postures look to increase the flexibility of the vertebral column so that the nervous connectors
arrive to the organs with better energy.
They also work the muscles like in other disciplines, but the attention goes
fundamentally to the organs and not so much the external. It works from the changes or
blood circulation from the straight-spine postures to the inversion postures, which favor the
return flow of the blood in the veins. Each posture has an organic, muscular, circulatory and
energetic benefit that in the last years has been used to its greatest potential in the
development of Yogatherapy and Ayurveda.
Question: What does Pranayama consist of?
Sw. Maitreyananda: It is the technique that teaches us to economize and administer
energy through the correct use of respiratory rhythm and the holding of air in relation to the
actions that we perform in life. For example, when we make a physical or mental effort, to
have more strength or to pay better attention, it is necessary to hold the breath. This
technique is called kumbhaka and we use it to use less strength or to improve the memory.
We exhale in double the time of each inhalation in order to allow a greater muscular
relaxation with greater amount of oxygen, which in turn allows a greater mental relaxation.
Question: What does Swara Yoga consist of?
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Sw. Maitreyananda: One ought to attempt, according to the yoga of breathing or Swara
Yoga, that the exhalation is always longer than the inhalation. Preferably, it should be double
the time. The breath should be produced by the conscious use of the diaphragm, allowing us
to oxygenate ourselves with a greater capacity and release more carbon dioxide at the same
time.
Question: What is the correct way to eat?
Sw. Maitreyananda: The correct way to eat is that which allows us to receive nutrients
from natural foods, not fried food, not addictive food, food with a lot of fiber and low in fat.
Most importantly, it is eating with people who make us spiritually happy because they are nice
to us, not eating in a hurry and giving ourselves the time to eat comfortably.
Question: What is Pratiahara?
Sw. Maitreyananda: Pratiahara means introspection or leaving the exterior in order to go
towards my insides; it is isolating the self from the exterior for one or two seconds, cancelling
the mental contact with the senses.
Question: What is concentration?
Sw. Maitreyananda: Concentration means not having any other images in my mind, only
the one that I am seeing or imagining, without a second image. Concentration is based in a
technique called uni-directionality of the mind or ekagrata. This is not seeing another image
or thinking about any other thing.
Question: What is meditation?
Sw. Maitreyananda: Meditation means not thinking or doubting, not comparing images
or having ideas. It is the total relaxation of the mind. In yoga meditation is called Dhyana,
and it is the step before Samadhi. This is no yoga without meditation. Mediation is the only
technique that all methods of yoga have in common.
In order to meditate, it is advisable that the torso be straight, that you are seated
comfortably and in contact with the ground. The vertebral column must be free because if
you are lying down you are generally not meditating, rather you are performing relaxation.
There are twelve (12) dhyanasanas or meditation postures that are recommended and they
only vary in the way that the legs are placed in order to comfortably maintain yourself straight.
Meditation relaxes the mind, it rests absolutely and the body remains static. The spirit
then finds itself free from thoughts. For the mind it is a well-deserved rest and a vacation for
the spirit.
In meditation the body does not rest fully, rather in relaxation the opposite happens
where the body rests and the mind can be active.
It is necessary that the mind rests by way of meditation, rather than having to take
psych-pharmaceutical drugs. Meditation is the time when the spirit is the most free.
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In order to meditate it is necessary to follow the technique proposed by Patanjali:
VIYOGA. Separating the mind from the spirit is achieved through meditation. The first thing
to do when meditating is to not think and then the spirit separates itself from the mind. The
Spirit and the Mind (feelings and thoughts) cross each others paths; they confuse each other
and create obstacles for each other. This provokes conflict that is avoided once one knows or
learns, to differentiate between what one thinks and what one feels. One should learn to
respect both his planes and that these do not necessarily need to direct themselves to only
one sense.
Question: What is the difference between reflecting and
meditating?
Sw. Maitreyananda: Reflecting (Tarka Yoga) comes from seeing reflections of images or
comparing them. He who reflects compares images and ideas. He who reflects doubts and
compares. He who meditates does not.
Question: What is contemplation?
Sw. Maitreyananda: Observing exterior images without inserting interior images to them;
it is avoiding reflection. Concentration can be on an internal image; contemplation is only on
an external image.
Question: What does relaxation consist of?
Sw. Maitreyananda: It is called Sama Yoga; it is a technique that allows the mind to
concentrate and by way of a paused respiratory change, conscious relaxation of the muscular
tension and lowering the highest tones, one achieves a bodily and mental rest.
Question: What is the value of relaxation in life?
Sw. Maitreyananda: The body needs to rest deeply, hence many people sleep without
resting. Relaxation allows a Master to guide us in class to a state of rest and absence of
tension. Without tension the breath changes. Likewise, if I change my breath and make it
more rhythmic, then the tension will change.
Without tension the mind does not generate defenses. Without tension negative
mental images disappear. As a result, the mind relaxes itself.
Question: What is Samadhi?
Sw. Maitreyananda: Samadhi is a state of human fullness (called ataraxia in Greek). It
is a state in which the human being does not need to think or doubt in order to be integrated
to himself and to the All.
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It can be defined as entasy and ecstasy; it is a spiritual state which merges fullness,
contentment, harmony and inner peace. It is an integrated spiritual state; it is achieved
through the practices of yoga techniques.
Without Samadhi, yoga is not realized. The final goal of yoga is Samadhi.
Question: Do all the methods bring the practitioner to Samadhi?
Sw. Maitreyananda: Yes, in order to be a method of yoga it must always bring a
practitioner to Samadhi which is our aim, otherwise we are not practicing a genuine method of
yoga.
Question: What yoga techniques help for day to day well-being?
Sw. Maitreyananda: in order to help our well-being, we need to be well spiritually,
physically and mentally in order to then be well socially. When we go to a simple and
common yoga class, the first thing that we do is release distress or harmful stress; we relax
ourselves and let our yoga teacher assume the group responsibility of guiding the class.
We simply relax and we do not worry about what we have to do. We follow the
instructions of our teacher. It is he who indicates which postures will release our tensions,
which breaths will calm us and fill us with oxygen.
We begin to have time for ourselves. We can concentrate on ourselves and direct our
attention to how we really feel. It seems that time begins to go slower, that everything
changes, that our mental worries leave as our muscular tension leaves and that our spirit
releases allowing us to feel ourselves.
This oasis of peace augments itself in the relaxation and then it is made even more
potent with the mantras and music at the end of the class, which seems like a sort of lullaby
for adults. The result is an extraordinary moment of well being. I eventually add daily
changes in my way of nourishing myself to this and in my way of breathing and eating.
Question: Why do so many different forms of yoga exist?
Sw. Maitreyananda: Because there are different kinds of human beings. Different types
or lines of yoga do not exist; rather they are methods with different styles for each different
kind of human being. A method is a selection of yoga techniques that a master adapted for a
determined group of people.
When one begins to practice yoga he does not know what method is best for him, only
with time and by trying different methods, teachers and masters can he compare and know
which is best for him. One discovers with time that a method, a teacher and a master make
him spiritually happy and he naturally chooses that method. He can also practice various
methods; there is nothing to stop him from doing so.
Any option is correct as long as the goal is achieved, as there are different paths to
arrive at any city, the important part is arriving there. There are people that work with one
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method or style of yoga in order to better their physical parts, others to practice their mental
part, other for their spiritual part and even another to work or boost their spiritual part.
Human beings have three planes of existence, the mental, the physical and the
spiritual. Some have mental intelligence, others spiritual intelligence and others physical
intelligence. Intelligence is the human ability to adapt mentally, physically and spiritually to
the surroundings. We all have these intelligences and other sub intelligences or specific
intelligences, but we all have some type of disability in one of these intelligences—all of us.
On certain occasions, a very mentally intelligent person can be extremely unhappy,
which signifies a disability in his spiritual (affective and sentimental) intelligence. For this
reason, a yoga method almost always starts from one of these intelligences, from the one we
have the most developed to develop that intelligence which we need to train.
Question: Is that Aurobindo’s vision with his Integral Yoga?
Sw. Maitreyananda: Yes, exactly. Sri Aurobindo and Swami Sivananda taught exactly
this; the Purna Yoga or Integral Yoga is a method of methods. The idea of Sri Aurobindo was
that each person can take from each method of yoga what he needs and can do. Sri
Aurobindo influenced Swami Sivananda who after having met him taught a synthesis yoga
that had the same principle.
Question: Can it be said then that there are physical methods,
mental methods and spiritual methods?
Sw. Maitreyananda: It is best to say that they are all mental, spiritual and physical at the
same time since the human being is composed of these three planes. Some methods stress
more the mental techniques, while others use more physical techniques, while others
prioritize spiritual techniques.
Question: Could you please provide us with an example?
Sw. Maitreyananda: Jnana Yoga is more mental than Hatha Yoga which is more
physical. Raja Yoga, Bhakti Yoga and Mantra Yoga are more spiritual and if one wants to,
they can say that Purna Yoga or Integral Yoga is more social.
Question: Could you please explain, what is Integral Yoga?
Sw. Maitreyananda: Yes. Integral Yoga is the art of living harmoniously and creatively
from the integral experience of the Being (Self). Sri Aurobindo underlined the need to
develop a creative attitude towards life one which one embarks: 1) union with the temporal
dimension of existence (Shiva), 2) mobilization of the faculties and deepest potentials of the
human psyche (atman), 3) cooperation or creative fusion with the evolutionary impulse of the
Self (Shakti).
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Purna Yoga or Integral Yoga was created by Sri Aurobindo in Pondicherry, India.
Aurobindo conceived of the idea to join the traditional yoga methods that until this moment
had been separated by their respective followers. It was in the way that the practice of all
methods of yoga was joined, especially Hatha, Raja, Karma, Bhakti, Jnana and Tantra Yoga.
It searched for a final goal that is at the same time social and individual.
The principal follower of Integral Yoga was Mirra Richard (The Mother) who continued
her social duty by creating the Aurobindo Society, the Aurobindo Ashram and gave way to the
Yoga City or Auroville. In the United States, Haridas Chauduri diffused Integral Yoga with his
book: Integral Yoga, based on the teachings of Aurobindo.
Integral Yoga has various styles and was spread mostly by Sivananda, who after
meeting Aurobindo, created his Synthesis Yoga following the same principals of Aurobindo.
In South America, Yoga Integral was spread in 1934 by Swami Asuri Kapila, a contemporary
of Sivananda.
In all three cases, Aurobidno, Sivananda and Swami Asuri Kapila intended to integrate
all the methods of yoga and techniques possible in order to transform yoga into a real art of
living. They proposed that each person practice the techniques of diverse methods to
achieve the goal of Samadhi.
Question: What is Tantra Yoga?
Sw. Maitreyananda: The vocabulary tantra is of Sanskrit origin and has various
meanings: “to weave, a weave, to warp, the essence, the characteristic feature, a frame,
doctrine, rule”, etc. But can also be translated as “extension” as it derives from the verbal root
“to extend”. Tantra Yoga is ancient pre-classical yoga. In myth, it is said to have been taught
by Shiva and Parvati and transmitted by Matsyendra. They say that there existed a yoga
master named Shiva who lived thousands of years in Tamil Nadu and later went to live in the
north of India. Many associate this yoga master with the actual god Shiva or as an
incarnation of him.
The world tantra means “continuity”, a continuity of teachings from a discipleship that is
guaranteed by a lineage, this is the uninterrupted line of the masters. This symbolizes
another continuity of the spirit that is densified on earth and the world transforming itself in the
continuity existing between the body and the mind, between external reality and the internal,
between transcendence and immanence. The Tantras are teachings about life and its
spirituality, the Tantra is therefore “that which expands wisdom”. The Tantra is the wisdom of
Life and all that lives.
To clarify this we can say that the ultimate end of tantra is the reintegration of the
individual with the supreme and absolute Self as the great all (which would be Shiva or the
state of Buddha whether one is Buddhist of Shivaita). To reach this goal it is necessary to
understand the theory, the rites, the cults and the practice of Tantra which is always called
Yoga. The Tantra Yoga is the practice of these teachings.
The tantra understands that all in life is perfect and that all is necessary. Learning to
live is the only path to understanding all and the All. One works from the simple towards the
complex, from the rough towards the sublime in order to understand that these classifications
are simply two faces of the same coin. The definite goal of tantra is to wake oneself or what
has commonly been called to enlighten oneself.
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“Tanyate vistriyate gnyanamanena iti Tantram”
Translation: Something which one attains to, remains and perfects his wisdom and his power
for is Tantra.
When one practices tantra he follows a path of tolerance towards everything, he
intends to adapt himself to everything, he looks to know and understand and be informed of
everything and is dedicated fully to everything. Tantra has seven aspects, one material and
physical aspect, another simply mental, another spiritual, to which one adds the Socio-cultural
aspect, the ethological aspect and the cosmic aspect. In tantra, the mystical, the highest
spirituality and the renunciation of riches are joined to business and politics. Money can
always work as a spiritual good always if its purpose is as such.
The Tantra goes from the rational to the irrational, from the logical to the illogical and
from there to the actual illogical life. It does not avoid the scientific nor the non scientific.
Tantra is a deeply pure way and a deeply impure way.
Tantra is fundamentally practice.
Tantra is divided amongst itself as:
Jnana Tantra or theory and understanding of the Tantra;
Kriya Tantra or the ritual of the Tantra, through use of ceremonies and pujas;
Charya Tantra or the Tantric cult; the cult to which one belongs: Buddhist (Buddha),
Vajrayana (the Buddhist Tantric vehicle of the Diamond), Shaktipada (Follower of Shakti),
Shaiva or Shivaita (Follower of Shiva), Kaula (Follower of Kali), Vaishnava (Follower of
Vishnu), Shingon (Japanese Tantric Buddhism), etc. And
Yoga Tantra or practice of the Tantra; practice of the teachings of which are realized by way
of the kaya or physical vehicle, the human body.
In the IV century a philosophical movement was born in India (Bharat) that was esoteric
and spiritual, one that influenced Hinduism, Buddhis, Jainism, Taoism, Chamanism, Sikhism,
Islam and other systems in India and Asia. In around the year 900 or 1000 AD, the Tantra
Yoga created Hatha Yoga, the best known son of Tantra Yoga and maybe the most famous
for sanctifying the human body as the temple of God. Tantra Yoga has many of its own
techniques, all of the ones of Hatha Yoga, Mantra Yoga and Kundalini Yoga, especially the
yantras, mandalas, asanas, kriyas, pranayama, pujas, japas and the nyasa ceremony or the
maithuna, the mystical sacrament of sexual relations. Tantra Yoga gives special reverence to
the rituals and the visualization techniques that look to awaken the inherent psycho-spiritual
power (kundalinishakti) in the human body.
Tantra is taught in the gurukula tradition from master to disciple by means of the diksha
initiation and for this is it necessary to follow these steps:
The initiation must be put into effect by a qualified spiritual master (guru) that was named
master by other tantric master or Mandaleswara from a recognized lineage.
The Tantra is based on the belief that the mind and matter are both manifestations of a
superior spiritual Reality, whose real nature is omniscient and is always present in everything.
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Tantra professes that the spiritual Reality (nirvana) is not something different from the
empirical rein of existence (samsara); rather it is something inherent in it.
Tantra teaches that one can achieve permanent enlightenment (boddhi) or freedom
(moksha) while remaining in the physical state. The method of achieving
liberation/enlightenment is the awakening of the spiritual power called kundalinishakti,
dormant in the muladhara, in the root of the human mind-body.
Tantra teaches that we are born physically, mentally and spiritually, various times and this
cycle is only interrupted in the moment of enlightenment.
Tantra teaches that we presently live in the kali yuga and that, consequently, we ought to
use simple and ordinary things or use of things that help us in our spiritual path.
In Tantra the magical meaning of ritual is based in the metaphysical notion that the
microcosm (in other words, the human being) is a faithful reflection of the macrocosms (in
other words, the universe). Spiritual enlightenment is proportionally accompanied to an
ample variety of spiritual powers; the understanding that sexual energy is an energy reserve
that should be used with wisdom to accelerate the spiritual process.
Emphasis is in the worthy first hand experience, instead of trusting in the
understanding of others.
The majority of tantric schools hold the idea of Shakti, the principle femininity of the
cosmic existence, the Goddess. The tantrika or sadhaka tries to receive the help of this
principle in his battle for freedom.
The Five Tantric Steps:
1. Recognizing the divinity of our body. Being comfortable in it. LOVING IT.
2. Discovering its mysteries. Cultivating Strength. The Snake trip.
3. Developing the Love Consciousness.
4. Living harmoniously with the Cosmos. The adventure of the present.
5. Living in Fullness. Maintaining the ecstasy.
In Tantra, Nature and all that live have a sacred character and deserve our love and
respect. The tantrika is a lover of life and from it lives to the fullest.
Tantra yoga or yoga tantra is what the practice of Tantra is called. Without yoga tantra
there is no tantra. Yoga is no different from Tantra and Tantra cannot be done without yoga.
Question: Is Kriya Yoga a method?
Sw. Maitreyananda: yes, within Tantra there exist four divisions: Jnana Tantra, Kriya
Tantra, Charya Tantra and Yoga Tantra.
Yoga Tantra is the practice of Tantra or the teachings and Kriya Tanta is the practice of
the rites of Tantra. Kriya Yoga is a method that integrated practice with rites and was
brilliantly exposed by Paramhansa Yogananda who learned it from the lineage of Lahiri
Mahasaya, the master of Sri Yusteswar who was Yogananda’s master. The Lahiri family
continues in India and in the world to transmit these teachings.
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Kriya Yoga is a conjunction of techniques by which one reaches meditation. They
were transmitted to Lahiri by Babaji, an emanation of Shiva himself the mythological father of
Yoga who incarnated himself in the Himalayas of India.
Question: What are the kriyas?
Sw. Maitreyananda: the word “kriya” means rite and extendedly the word is used for the
cleansing rites or satkarmas in yoga, that in the beginning were six rites called: Neti, Nauli,
Dhauti, Basti, Tratak and Kapalabhati.
They are eye, nose, lung, intestine and stomach cleanses that were transmitted from
masters to disciples. These cleanses are Hatha yoga techniques and within Tantra yoga
there are many more.
Question: What is Bhakti Yoga?
Sw. Maitreyananda: Bhakti Yoga is a traditional yoga in India that is not a classical yoga.
It is the yoga of devotion that is based in rites, kirtans and bhajans. It is taken from the
existence of God, gods or the Supreme.
We can say that all theist religions: Monotheists and polytheists or those who believe in
God, are a form of Bhakti Yoga and that all were born of Bhakti Yoga or the need to relay with
the Supreme, God or Gods.
Bhakti yoga uses the feeling and the spirit as a way of communication and integration
and gives little value to the mental or reason.
For this reason I speak of theist religions, monotheist and polytheists, as they differ
from atheist religions, agnostics and pantheists that do not believe in the existence of God
and do not use the way of Bhakti Yoga as practice.
“Bhaj” means to share and integrate until being devotionally united to God, meaning
that Bhakti is based in the existence of God and the need to be one with him, the music and
the singing works here as much as role rites as they come from the emotional and the
spiritual. It is transforming the personal feelings of each individual and his relation with God,
based in the prema or Divine Love toward him.
Bhakti yoga is known as nava yoga or the yoga of the nine steps: Sravana, listening to
the name of God; Kirtana, siging to God; Smarana, meditating on God or concentrating on
Him; Padasevana or being at the feet of God; Arcana, devotional rite to God; Vandana,
prostration before the Ishwara or image of God; Dasya, devotion to God; Sakhya, friendship
with God; Atma Nivedana, becoming one with God, feeling part of God.
These teachings are in the Bhagavata Purna, we can also affirm that Sandiya is the
codifier of Bhakti Yoga in his Bhakti Sutras. The Sandiya path is different from that one
Patanjali.
Bhakti yoga has its origen in the Vedas of India, and in the Mazdeism of Persia
(humanity’s first monotheistic religion) of Zaratustra (800 BC.) is the base of the other three
monotheistic religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, which developed Bhakti Yoga as a
path of integration with God.
The Old Testament was written in 500 BC and the Mazdeism influence on Judaism
and Christianity is undeniable. For this reason many affirm that monotheistic religions were
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born of Bhakti Yoga. This includes Vedism and Brahmanism which dedicatedly influence all
of Hinduism.
Question: Master please, can you explain Prema Yoga?
Sw. Maitreyananda: “Prema” means divine love and it is a form of Bhakti Yoga. It is the
cultivation of love toward God.
Question: What is Jnana Yoga?
Sw. Maitreyananda: “Jnana” means understanding and, by extention, discernment. It
has the same root as gnosis in Greek.
The Yoga of Understanding is the contrary of Bhakti Yoga as it uses the mind and
within it the Intellect or Reason called Buddhi in yoga, the conscious mind called Manas, the
Egotistic Mind called Ahamkara, etc. Its principle technique is Viveka or rational discernment.
It is the opposite of religious devotion where the spirit leaves the side of the mind. Here one
begins with the mental and the rational, like a science. It has seven basic steps but there can
be more: Viveka or discernment; Vairgya or renunciation of mundane objects, Tapas or
austerity which in itself has seven precepts; Sama or tranquility; Dama or auto discipline;
Uparati or mental control; Titksha or patience; Samadhana or contemplation; Sraddha,
convincement and perseverance.
To those who follow Mumukshtva or the yearning for freedom, Sravana attends to the
teachings of the Guru or master, mamana (called tarka) or reflection, nididhyana or
concentration in the doctrines and teachings that all ends in meditation and in their
understanding that conduces to Samadhi. Shankara is considered the father of his method
from 700 BC. But this vision was proposed by Buda Shakyamuni. Govindapada the master
of Shankara studied with Gaudapada who was Buddhist to them that which is not rational
should not be accepted. An atheist can follow this path as easily as an agnostic of pantheist.
The science and philosophy are purely Jnana Yoga.
In Jnana Yoga the main thing is study and investigation. Reflection and the use of
reason are its fundamental practices.
Question: What is Karma Yoga?
Sw. Maitreyananda: Karma yoga is the yoga of doing or the yoga of acts. Karma comes
from kri which means to do or an act. Karma Yoga is the yoga of the correct acts that have
productive reactions. The relation between the action and the reaction it produces is
important. In Karma yoga life is composed of acts that constantly change reality. According
to the Yoga Sastra, commonly called the Bhagavad Gita, a part of the Mahabarata teaches
that karma yoga is superior to Jnana and Bhakti and to the renunciation of mundane life to
dedicate oneself exclusively to the spiritual.
Its fundamental practice is accepting our function in the world when we need to
complete our duties. This is called Naishkarmmya Karma that means no feeling in the act
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that we need to complete, rather it is our duty to complete these acts. For example, in order
to live we must necessarily kill vegetable and animal life.
It is our duty as human beings to eat and nourish ourselves and our children.
Inevitably, even if we are vegetarians, we must make plants suffer and we must eliminate
these living beings that have their own life.
Valmiki in his Yoga Vasista, a master work of karma yoga, teaches us that we must
participate in the world of our identity as human beings. Without action, Jnana Yoga lacks
meaning. This is because theory (teorium) and practice (praxis) do not matter if we do not
have product (poium), which is Samadhi.
Life is a theatre and I as an actor am a human being who must live his humanity by
means of correct actions belonging to the human being that I am.
Question: What does Hatha Yoga consist of?
Sw. Maitreyananda: Hatha Yoga is a son of Tantra Yoga. It has four sub methods or
schools, that of Matsyendra and Goraksha, the school of Gheranda, the school of
Swatmarama and the modern or eclectic school. It has an infinite ancient styles, classical
styles, modern styles and contemporary styles. It uses the need to practice asanas in order
to work the vehicle of the human being as a reference. Understand that if the vehicle is not in
shape and with good energy, the conductor or the mind, cannot arrive anywhere. And the
passenger or the Spirit, cannot move freely. It is an extraordinarily wise concept. It teaches
us that we must clean the vehicle, keep it in shape and care for it as the true temple of our
spirit, for which it recommends cleanses (kriyas or satkarmas). It teaches us to economize
our energy with pranayama, fill ourselves with prana and oxygenize ourselves well.
Also, meditation is much easier with an in-shape body free of tension and pain. We
must remember that the body makes us suffer spiritually by suffering physically. Pain is
always of physical origin and suffering is always of spiritual origin and the first can lead to the
second. Hatha Yoga intends to prevent this situation. Power Yoga is a dynamic style of
Hatha Yoga. Hatha means Power in Sanskrit.
Question: What is a style of yoga?
Sw. Maitreyananda: For example, take Hatha Yoga which is a method known for its
practice of yoga poses. This method has five styles. You can give a Static class with poses
that are separated by prolonged relaxations, or a Dynamic form without these relaxations.
This would be one pose after another needing to rest in the actual pose. Or you could give a
pose linked to another without pause in a fluid and rhythmic form, put to music and this would
be the Rhythmic style.
You could mix two of these styles and call it a mixed style or you could do three styles
in one class and this would be called an eclectic style. Whichever of these forms of giving a
class is a style, but it is not a method.
Dynamic Yoga, Static Yoga, Rhythmic Yoga, Mixed Yoga or Eclectic Yoga is not
methods but teaching styles of a particular method. In this case, the method is Hatha Yoga.
Question: Master, explain to me please, what is Raja Yoga?
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Sw. Maitreyananda: It is the Yoga of Patanjali who called it Ashtanga Yoga or the Yoga
of the Eight (8) Steps. Dattatreya called it Yoga Dashana and the people call it King Yoga or
Raja Yoga. It was converted into Classical yoga from 200 BC to 1000 AD when Hatha Yoga
became famous. Hatha Yoga was part of the yoga tradition but it was not part of Classical
yoga.
Patanjali’s yoga is separate from Kapila’s Samkhya although in the beginning it was
linked to Samkhya and this is due to Dattatreya who made Patanjali’s Yoga a Darshan
orthodox disciple of Hinduism or in other words an independent discipline from the other
disciplines. Yoga was always practiced within Samkhya, Vedism, Brahamism, Buddhism,
Jainism etc. The 8 steps are:
Yamas Ethical principles
Niyamas Observances
Asanas Postures
Pranayama Control of vital Energy
Pratiahara Abstraction of the senses
Dharana Concentration of the mind
Dhyana Meditation
Samadhi Fullness
It was designed and codified by Patanjali in the year 200 BC and he wrote it in the
Aphorisms of Yoga or the Yoga Sutras.
Two masters commented directly on these aphorisms and added their own teachings
to them. They were Vyasa and his commentary or Mahabyasa and Dattatreya who wrote the
Yoga Darshan Upanishad deepening the teachings of Patanjali.
Raja Yoga is based on attitude and then on a practice of breath control, introspection,
concentration and meditation to later achieve Samadhi. It is a yoga that works the mind in
order to arrive at Samadhi with the spirit.
The original method of Patanjali, like the method of Dattatreya does not have Hatha
Yoga postures or asanas because they did not consider them very important. Mostly for this
reason, Raja Yoga is called the Yoga of the Mind.
In reality, Raja Yoga considers samyama very important or the practice of
concentration, meditation and samadhi within a space of half an hour, more than other yoga
techniques and goes directly to these practices without wasting much time on others.
Question: What is Ayurvedic Yogatherapy?
Sw. Maitreyananda: Just as the goal of yoga is Samadhi, we must clarify that most
people do not do yoga; rather they practice only certain techniques of yoga in search of well
being.
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Yogatherapy is not yoga; rather it is the use of yoga techniques applied to spiritual
therapy. Rather, yogatherapy is a complementary therapy and is never alternative. It
complements other forms of therapy be it psychotherapy, physical therapy or medicine. It
works in the field of feelings and emotions of the human being by means of psycho-physical
techniques that indirectly better the spiritual terrain. By the methods that we explained earlier,
Ayurveda is an Indian health system that has within it Ayurvedic medicine, Ayurvedic
psychology and Ayurvedic massage that treat the patient with natural treatments.
For millenniums this ancestral medicine and official of Hindu culture from India has
worked yogatherapy techniques. (Ayurveda is one of the most ancient healing systems in the
world; it means the art of healing and has been practiced uninterruptedly in India for more
than 5000 years.)
Question: So, yogatherapy and the practice of other isolated
techniques of yoga work toward well-being, beauty and
relaxation while Yoga works toward Samadhi?
Sw. Maitreyananda: Exactly, in reallity there are more than Yoga Instructors,
Technicians or Teachers of Yoga Techniques in all of American and Europe than there are
Yoga Teachers. They teach only postures, relaxation, breathing, a little concentration and
meditation and other techniques, without applying the whole of yoga.
Question: Could you please explain to me the different kinds of
Yoga that exist?
Sw. Maitreyananda: Yoga as a science, art and philosophy of life is divided in different
methods composed of different yoga techniques. Each method uses or chooses different
techniques that are means to arrive at Samadhi, the final goal of YOGA. A method of yoga is
a conjunction of techniques transmitted through millenary generations from master to disciple.
This form of personalized teaching is known as gurukula. The methods not only have
different techniques but that a method composed of the same techniques thought out
centuries have their own different styles. A Style is not a method in itself rather it is a form in
which a master transmits the teachings of his method.
For example, the Hatha Yoga is a method that has different styles: like Shadanga Yoga of
Goraksha Nath, Sapta Yoga of Gheranda or Iyengar Yoga of the B.K.S. Iyengar himself.
These are all only styles of Hatha Yoga. The Power Yoga or Power Vinyasa Yoga, are
dynamic styles of Hatha Yoga. The Purna Yoga or Integral Yoga of Sri Aurobindo is
considered a method of methods. The styles of Integral Yoga are: the Yoga of Synthesis of
Swami Sivananda and Integral Yoga of Swami Satchidananda and Purna Yoga Integral of
Swami Asuri Kapila all are styles of the Purna Yoga method. The Ashtanga Yoga of Patanjali
is a method but the Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois is only a style of this
method, like the Vinyasa Ashtanga of BNS Iyengar of Mysore or the Raja Yoga of Swami
Chidananda.
A Yoga Method is a conjunction of techniques that bring the yogi to Samadhi. A Yoga
Style is a form established by a master of lineage to transmit a method. A Yoga School is
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a group of people who follow one or more masters who practice a method of yoga or
various determined styles. Specialties in yoga: are techniques directed towards different
objectives.
Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga A style of the method of Ashtanga Yoga of Patanjali with Kramajis
or dynamic Series developed by Yogacharya Sri K. Pattabhi
Jois who synthesized the Ashtanga with the Hatha Yoga of
Svatmarama. Lineage of Patanjali, Natha Muni and
Krishnamacharya.
Vinyasa Ashtanga Yoga A style of the method Ashtanga Yoga of Patanjali with Kramajis or
simple Series developed by Yogaratna BNS Iyengar who
synthesized the Ashtanga with the Hatha Yoga of Svatmarama.
Lineage of Patanjali, Natha Muni and Krishnamacharya.
Power Yoga An eclectic style of the Hatha Yoga method with Kramajis or
Series developed by various authors. Lineage of Goraksha,
Gheranda and Svatmarama.
Sarva Yoga A method of yoga, known as Total Yoga. Developed by Swami
Asuri Kapila, a contemporary of Aurobindo and co-created by
Swami Sivananda. It is a method that integrates all the methods
of yoga with full liberty. Lineage of Shankaracharya of Sringeri,
Ramana Maharshi, Swami Vishwananda and Aurobindo.
Iyengar Yoga A style of the Hatha Yoga method developed by Yogacharya
B.K.S. Iyengar who synthesized the Mallakahmb Yoga of Sir
Blambhatt Dada Deodhar and his use of elements like ropes and
supports with the Hatha Yoga of Svatmarama. Lineage of
Patanjali, Natha Muni and Krishnamacharya.
Dwiasanas Yoga A style of the Hatha Yoga method, Ghathasta or Yoga Sport which
consists of doing yoga postures with partners, developed by
various authors, dwi meaning two or asanas by two. Lineage of
Goraksha, Gheranda and Svatmarama.
Kundalini Tantra Yoga A style of the Tantra Yoga method that is based on the
development of the Kundalini centered in the theory of the 49
chakras, developed by various authors. Lineage of Matsyendra,
Goraksha.
Hatha Mantra Yoga A method of Yoga that synthesizes the Hatha with Mantra Yoga,
developed by various authors. Lineage of Matsyendra,
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Goraksha, Gheranda and Svatmarama.
Yoga Sport Methods of Yoga, five: Yoga Asanas, Artistic Yoga, Athletic Yoga,
Rhythmic Yoga, Mallakahmb Yoga that are converted in national
sports in India and use spiritual competition to educate the spirit
and perfect psychomental techniques. It is a synthesis of Hatha
Yoga, Karma Yoga, Tola Yoga and Raja Yoga. Lineage of
Nataraj, Krishna, Patanjali and Matsyendra.
Athletic Yoga A style of Yoga Sport that is characterized by the exactitude of
alignment and perfection of posture. Developed by the school of
Yogananda, Gosh, Swami Gitananda, Dhyam and various authors.
Lineage of Nataraj, Krishna, Patanjali and Matsyendra.
Artistic Yoga A style variation of Hatha Yoga and the Art of Yoga, characterized by
its beauty and fluidity, as well as its coordination, respiratory rhythm,
and posture put to music. It appears to be a cascade of asanas.
There exist variations of demonstrative Hatha Yoga that are noncompetitive,
and others of Yoga Sport in which practitioners compete
on the world-wide level. It is very popular in India, Europe, and the
Americas in its second acceptance of Yoga with Art. Lineage of
Nataraj, Matsyendra, and Swami Maitreyananda.
Yoga Art A method of Yoga that encapsulates Art as a spiritual development
and as the purest form of spirituality. Various authors. Lineage of
Saraswati and Nataraj.
Sama Yoga A technique of Yoga that means the yoga of relaxation.
Maha Kriya Yoga A style of Tantra Yoga that uses practices of maha Yoga and rites of
Kriya Tantra or Kriya Yoga. Lineage of Babaji Shiva.
Kriya Tantra Yoga A style of Tantra Yoga that uses practices of maha Yoga and rites of
Kriya Tantra of Kriya Yoga. Lineage of Babaji Shiva.
Yoga Dance A style of Hatha Yoga with Dance born in the south of India, a
variation of the Art of Yoga. There exist European, American, and
Indian variations. It is very popular in India, Europe, and the
Americas. Lineage of Nataraj.
Static Yoga A style in which a Hatha or Ashtanga Yoga class is dictated.
Dynamic Yoga A style in which a Hatha or Ashtanga Yoga class is dictated.
Therapeutic Yoga: A style of Hatha Yoga directed toward the psychophysical-spiritual
well-being of the individual.
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Maha Purna Yoga A method of methods that unites the teachings of the ancient
Maha Yoga with the Purna Yoga of Aurobindo. It is characterized
by a major Tantra presence in all the references to Hatha and
Mantra. Lineage of Patanjali, Nagaland, Matsyendra, Lele,
Aurobindo, Swami Asuri Kapila.
Sai Yoga A method of yoga developed by Mataji Indra Devi, who utilized
her devotional vision of Satya Sai Baba implementing the method
of Prema in the Bhakti Yoga in each practice of Hatha or Raja
Yoga. Lineage of Natha Muni, Krishnamacharya, and Satya
Sai Baba.
Bikram Yoga A style of Hatha Yoga, Ghathasta Yoga and Yoga Sport,
developed by Yogiraj Birkram Chaudury. Disciple of Vishnu
Charan Gosh the brother of Yogananda. Lineage of Babaji, Sri
Yukteswar, Yogananda, Gosh.
Hatha Vinyasa Yoga A style of the Hatha Yoga method with Kramajis or simple Series
developed by various authors who synthesize the Vinyasa Yoga
with the Hatha Yoga. Lineage of Goraksha, Gheranda and
Svatmarama.
Swasthya Yoga A style of therapeutic yoga, that means Yoga for Health,
developed in Rajasthan, India as a form of Yogatherapy. It
synthesizes Hatha Yoga with Chikitsa Yoga or Yogatherapy.
Lineage Goraksha, Gheranda and Svatmarama.
Okido Yoga A style of the Zen Yoga method, developed by Masahiro Oki in
Japan, it is an integral yoga that encapsulates the Zen Buddhist
philosophy, using a dynamic style. Lineage of Patanjali,
Svatmarama and Boddhidharma.
Zen Yoga A method of Yoga developed in Japan by various authors. It
synthesizes Integral Yoga with Zen. Lineage of Patanjali,
Svatmarama and Boddhidharma.
Ghathasta Vinyasa Yoga A style of the Hatha Yoga method with Kramajis or simple Series
developed by various authors that synthesize the Vinyasa Yoga
with the Hatha Yoga. Lineage of Goraksha, Gheranda and
Svatmarama.
Natha Yoga School of yoga, created by Yogacharya Matsyendra who
developed the Tantric Yoga, especially Hatha and Kundalini Yoga.
Lineage of Shiva, Matsyendra and Gorakshanath.
Adi Maha Yoga A method of yoga generated by the author of the Yoga Tattva
Upanishad (Krishnanatha), called the first integral yoga that
synthesizes the methods of Hatha, Laya, Mantra and Raja Yoga.
Lineage of Patanjali, Nagaland and Svatmarama.
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Yoga Therapy A method of Therapy or Spiritual Therapy based on psychophysical
techniques. It is based in Yoga as a method of spiritual development
that complements the psycho and physical therapy. It complements
medicine, Ayurvedic medicine, general therapies and especially
psychotherapy and physical therapy.
Ayur Yoga A style of Yoga based in Ayurveda, developed by Dr. Vasant Lan,
Betheyla and other ayurvedic doctors.
Ashtanga Hatha
Yoga
A method that integrates the Hatha of Goraksha and the Ashtanga of
Patanajli, it is called this by the followers of the Swatmarama
proposal. Lienage of Swatmarama.
Ayurvedic Yoga
Therapy
A style of Yogatherapy based on Ayurveda.
Sarva Maha Yoga A method of Yoga, known as the Great Total Yoga. Developed by
Swami Asuri Kapila, contemporary of Aurobindo. It is a method that
integrates all the methods of yoga together but it encapsulates the
teachings of Ramana Maharshi, Swami Asuri Kapila’s Guru. Lineage
of Shankaracharya of Srigeneri, Ramana Maharshi, Swami
Vishwananda and Aurobindo.
Panchanga Yoga A style of Yoga developed by Swami Jyiotirmayananda. Lineage of
Swami Jyiotrmayananda.
Tri Yoga A style of Hatha Yoga, fluid and very artistic developed by Mataji
Swamini Kali Ray in the U.S.A.
Vidya Yoga The Science of Yoga.
Scientific Yoga The Scientific Study of the Yoga Techniques developed in India by
Swami Kuvalyananda, Swami Gitananda and other authors. It is only
a form of laboratory study of yoga and is not a method or style of
yoga, in other words it cannot be taught in a practical class and rather
it can only be studied.
Swastha Yoga A style of Yogatherapy developed by Yogacharya Mohan. Lineage
of Nata Muni, Krishnamacharya.
Suddha Raja
yoga
A style of the Ashtanga Yoga of Patanjali that encapsulates
Mediation. Lineage of Patanjali (Naga) and Subramanyananda.
Ecclectic Yoga A synthesis of styles and/or Yoga Techniques. This name is given to
the ones who teach a in the static and then dynamic style.
Abhava Yoga A technique of the yoga of emotions (that develops the Emotional
Intelligence). Lineage of Puranas.
Adhyatma Yoga A style of non-dualistic yoga based on the science of the self.
Agni Yoga A method of Synthesis Yoga that is based on attitude.
Anna Yoga The technique of the Yoga of eating.
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Asparasha Yoga A method of yoga based on a monistic vision, the base of advaita.
Lineage of Gaudapada.
Ashtanga Yoga A method of classical yoga of the eight steps of Patanjali.
Lineage of Hiranyagarbha.
Bhakti Yoga A method of the yoga of devotion. Lineage of Krishna and
Narada.
Buddhi yoga A method of the yoga of rational and discriminative understanding.
Lineage of Krishna and Buddha.
Dyana Yoga A method of the yoga of meditation. Lineage of Shiva.
Ghathasta Yoga A method of the yoga of the body or Sapta Yoga created by
Geranda. Lineage of Matsyendra, Goraksha and Gheranda.
Guru Yoga A yoga tradition of having and learning from a yogacharya or
spiritual master of lineage.
Hiranyagarbha Yoga A method of Yoga and School of Yoga developed by Yogacharya
Hiranyagarbha. The Master of Patanjali, called Raja Yoga.
Founder of Yoga and incarnation of Brahma, grandfather of
Patanjali.
Japa Yoga A technique of mantra yoga, the recitation of the mantra.
Jnana Yoga A method of the yoga of understanding and study. Lineage of
Gaudapada, Govindapada and Shankara.
Naively Yoga The practice of the yoga of Moksha and the state of spiritual
freedom.
Karma Yoga The method of the yoga of action and correct attitude. Lineage
of Krishna.
Kriya Yoga The method of yoga based in rituals. Lineage of Shiva, Babaji
and Patanjali.
Kundalini Yoga The method of Tantra Yoga that works the 49 chakras and the
107 mama points. Lineage of Shiva, Babaji, Gorakshanath.
Karuna Yoga The method of the yoga of compassion. Buddhist lineage.
Laya Yoga The method of the yoga of intuition and unconscious meditation.
Maha Yoga The method of synthesis of Hatha, Laya, Mantra and Raja Yoga.
Lineage of Patanjali, Magana, Matsyendra, Yoga-Sheikh-
Upanishad
Mantra Yoga The technique of the tantric yoga of sound to control the mind,
magical or sacred. Vedic lineage, Shivaita, Vaishnava and
Buddhist.
Nada Yoga The method of the yoga of music and interior sound. Lineage
Saraswati and Ganesha.
Raja Yoga The method of Real Yoga. Lineage Naga, Patanjali and Darhana
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Question: What is Ayur Yoga?
Sw. Maitreyananda: Ayur Yoga was developed and popularized several decades ago by
the master Dr. Vasant Lad, director of the Ayurvedic Institute of New Mexico (United States)
and along with him the yoga teachers Bethelya and Ann Harrison established the Ayur Yoga
program and ayurveda courses.
The term Ayur Yoga or Ayur Yogatherapy denotes a practice and technique that can
be called Ayurvedic Yoga and the other similar discipline that is commonly known as
Ayurvedic Yogatherapy (Ayur Yogatherapy). The Ayur Yoga philosophy is based in the
Sankhya Darshana of Kapila and in the Yoga Darshana of Patanjali, while Ayurvedic
Yogatherapy is a complementary discipline to other therapies.
The first Ayur Yoga master in South America was the beloved Swami Asuri Kapila, the
founder of our school and Ashram in 1934 who introduced Ayurveda and Yoga to Montevideo
and Buenos Aires. Swami Asuri Kapila, like Dr. Vasant Lad taught that Ayurveda needs Yoga
like Yoga needs Ayurveda.
At the beginning of last century, we began to work in the development of Yogatherapy
like a spiritual therapy with psycho-physical techniques and it was not long before we all
understood the need to introduce a spiritual system of medicine, obligating us to return to the
origins of Ayurveda for its high spirituality.
Our Ayur Yogatherapy program or Ayurvedic Yogatherpay program, was developed by
doctors, psychologists and yoga masters who all have control and understanding of Yoga and
Ayurveda as a result of 20 year practices and having obtained diplomas in both disciplines.
Yogatherapy is a spiritual therapy that compliments psychotherapy, somatotherpay,
physical therapy, etc. Complementary does not mean alternative. Yogatherapy compliments
other therapy on the spiritual plane and conforms to our feelings and affective world. The
importance of emotions is its base between the limit of the spiritual and the physical. The
emotion establishes itself apart from mental processes.
Yoga therapy works with yoga techniques that have psycho-physical bases but are
directed to the individual’s spiritual terrain or noetic. When we speak of Ayurvedic Yoga
therapy we refer to a yogatherapy at the service of Ayurveda, as a complement to Medicine
and Ayurvedic Psychology.
All Ayurvedic therapy needs an Ayurvedic Yogatherapy. For this it is necessary to
have a price understanding of Yoga, Yogatherapy and Ayurveda.
Yoga.
Nyasa Yoga The technique of Yoga that means mental trip or induction.
Tanta lineage.
Nidra Yoga The technique of Projection or mental suggestion.
Pashupata Yoga The school of yoga of the Pashupata sect
Patanjala Yoga The yoga of Patanjali
Purna Yoga The method of classical methods of Yogacharya Sri Aurobindo.
Lineage Yogacharya Lele.
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Question: What is Kundalini Yoga?
Sw. Maitreyananda: Traditionally it is the Yoga of the serpent coiled at the base of the
spinal column. It is a tantric yoga that looks to elevate the Kundalini, waking this dormant
energy in a way that it passes through the 49 Chakras and reaches the head from the dorsal
spine, activating the principal energy centers (Chakras).
There exists a Kundalini Style that is taught by Sikh religion participants founded by the
Guru Nanak and that was taught by Yogui Bhajan. Yogui Bhajan learned Tantra Yoga and
the Mahan Tantric Kundalini Yoga from the late Lama Lilan Po of Tibet who left his physical
body converting him into his successor. Lama Lilan Po was Buddhist. Swami Sivananda,
who was Vedanta, wrote an excellent book about Kundalini Yoga. But Kundalini Yoga, Trika
Yoga and Hatha Yoga are Tantric Yogas.
Question: What is Trika Yoga?
Sw. Maitreyananda: Trika Yoga is a yoga based on the Shiva Sutras. Its major exposer
was Abhinavagupta (950 AD) in Kashmir Shivaism.
Question: What is Yoga Sport?
Sw. Maitreyananda: Yoga is not a sport and Yoga is not therapy. But Yoga Sport is a
sport and a Yogatherapy is a therapy, even though the whole of Yoga is not either of these.
Yoga is not just one thing, “all of life is yoga”, as Aurobindo said and he was right.
Yoga Sport has four basic styles in which practitioners compete. It is philosophically
based in karma yoga and in the teachings of Valmiki about practicing mundane things as all
that is mundane is in fact spiritual and in the teachings of the Gita about competition. This
competition is Spiritual even though mental and physical techniques are involved. Yoga Sport
is a unique contribution to all of humanity as it is the only spiritual sport in which judges
evaluate the individual’s spirituality, the correct attitude and action, within a competition of Fair
Play. It teaches to look at the internal by way of the external and to spiritually evaluate a
competitor.
Question: Could you explain Artistic Yoga to me?
Sw. Maitreyananda: it is a method that uses art as the maximum expression of human
spirituality and it integrates art with Hatha Yoga and Yoga Integral. Artistic Yoga is Hatha
Yoga and Yoga Integral, plus Art.
In addition to this there exists Artistic Yoga Sport, Artistic Hatha Yoga, which has
various styles such as Yoga Flow or Fluid Yoga, Artistic Rhythmic Yoga, Synchronized
Rhythmic Yoga, which are specializations. There exists Artistic Yoga in Pairs and Rhythmic
Yoga in Pairs.
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Question: What is Artistic Yoga in pairs?
Sw. Maitreyananda: In Artistic yoga in pairs, the yogis do yoga poses synching one body
with the other and hooking the movements together in an artistic way.
Question: Rhythmic Yoga?
Sw. Maitreyananda: In Rhythmic Yoga one follows the rhythm of the music and when it
is in pairs with partners it is converted into Synchronized Rhythmic Yoga where we forget the
ego and we return to the other person in doing both the same movements and postures with
exactitude without touching each other.
Question: How do you evaluate the spirituality of the
competitor?
Sw. Maitreyananda: Spiritually, we look to see if a person is happy, the maximum
expression of spirituality--if he is content with Santosha in the competition and if he is happy
(Mudita). The judge looks to see if you perceive an adversary as a partner that makes us
push ourselves or perfect our techniques, as a work of motivation and not perceiving the
adversary as an enemy that we need to attack.
The Maitri and Karuna of the competitor are evaluated, as his feelings of friendship,
amicability and compassion towards the adversaries and fellow competitors. The competitors
are taught by the masters through points. This is spiritual education. If he is scared, envious,
jealous, depressed, anxious, aggressive or any negative spiritual state, he obviously looses
points. In this way he learns a great deal by way of this sport.
If a competitor throws trash or papers on the floor of the competition space, if he
breaks plants, etc., he looses points in the ecological category. If he bothers animals in the
competition space he looses ethological points. If he smokes, takes pharmaceuticals, drugs
or drinks alcohol before or during the competition he looses points in the heath category and
is eliminated from the competition. Contrary to what one might think, in Yoga Sport the very
flexible person like a contortionist does not win, rather the person who correctly applies all the
yoga techniques and its spiritually happy and content wins.
Question: What is the difference between Classical yoga and
Traditional Yoga?
Sw. Maitreyananda: Something classical is that which deserves to be imitated for its
social, cultural, spiritual, artistic, mental and physical value and for that reason it is classified
as classical. Something traditional is based on customs and on the transmission of these
customs through generations. Tantra Yoga and its son Hatha Yoga, are examples of
Traditional Yoga as they have been practiced for thousands of years as a custom, but they
are not the Classical Yoga of Patanjali. It is exactly the same that happens with classical
dance and traditional or popular dances. What is popular and traditional is not necessarily
classical.
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That which is classical is qualified as such by social elites and not by the rural and
common folk.
Question: What is the difference between a yogi and a disciple?
Sw. Maitreyananda: A disciple follows a Master or a Guru and a yogi practices Yoga.
Question: What is the Yoga Instructor’s function?
Sw. Maitreyananda: To teach yoga techniques.
Question: What is the Technical Yoga Instructor’s function?
Sw. Maitreyananda: to advance the yoga techniques.
Question: What is the Yoga Teacher’s function?
Sw. Maitreyananda: to teach the techniques and philosophy of yoga.
Question: What is the Master in Yoga and Ph. D. degree?
Sw. Maitreyananda: the Master and Doctor of Philosophy degree in yoga of any
University is for he who know the yoga philosophy academically
Question: What is the Yoga Teacher Trainer’s function?
Sw. Maitreyananda: he who trains yoga instructors along side a Trainer or Master and
he who specializes them in different techniques.
Question: What is a Yoga Tutor?
Sw. Maitreyananda: A Trainer or Master who teaches you individually and privately.
Question: What other levels exist before becoming a Yoga
Master or Yogacharya?
Sw. Maitreyananda: there are many, but the important thing in order to be a Yoga
Master is not the levels, but having reached Samadhi and being a happy person. A
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Yogacharya or Yoga Master with angst, depression or sadness is not a Yogacharya or Yoga
Master.
Question: What exactly is it to be a Yoga Master or Yogacharya?
Sw. Maitreyananda: To be a person who studied with another Yoga Master and who this
Master named him Yoga Master after he proved that he arrived at Samadhi and that he is the
owner of happiness, harmony and interior peace.
Question: When does a person become a Master?
Sw. Maitreyananda: When he achieves Samadhi and can reach it again at will. It is
difficult to obtain inner peace and to be happy if you have not reached Samadhi.
Question: What is the mind?
Sw. Maitreyananda: The Mind is a conjunction of different functions whose capacities
are cognitive, such as: sensation, perception, impression, representations of understanding,
imagination, memory, attention, concentration, thought, categorization, intuition, reason,
mental intelligence, learning, language and will. The mind is an energy, resulting form the
brain activity and the whole nervous system. It dominates cognitive process and all
processes by which information is captured by the five external senses and the internal
intrasenses, transforming this information into impressions that are gathered in the memory
for later use.
Therefore, it is a human computer with cognition. It works with the information and
data that it has gathered in our own life and experience. It is this plus the genetic information
base that is the rigid disc of our innate capacities. The functions of the mind are called Anthar
karana.
In Yoga the constitution of the mind is: Chitta, Buddhi, Ahamkara, Manas, Alajavijnana and
Smritti.
CHITTA: The Unconscious Mind. It directly communicates with impulses and feelings (the
spirit). It is the box of wisdom. It gathers and later distributes information to the organs
(example, breathing); it unites spirit and organs. There is no sleepless state.
BUDDHI: the Reasoning Mind. It is responsible for capturing impressions and images. It
discerns and compares images and ideas, leading to reason.
AHAMKARA: The egotistic mind. It is the place of “I”.
ALAJAVIJNANA: The Subconscious, integrated by genetic memory.
SMRITTI: The Pre-Conscious composed of impressions (samskaras).
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Question: What is the spirit?
Sw. Maitreyananda: It is the feelings of the human being, that which the human being
feels. It communicates with the body by way of emotions and with the body by way of
sensation and intuition. It is the anemic and affective states of the human being. What one
feels, that is his spirit. The spirit is not rational or logical.
Every act that one performs is guided by the body, what one thinks is guided by his
mind and what one feels is guided by his spirit.
Feelings or Spiritual states are, for example, Love, Hate, Friendship, Enemy ship,
Happiness, Unhappiness, Contentment, Inner Peace, Insatisfaction, Fullness, Anguish, etc.
They establish our inner affective states and our anemic world.
In Yoga we are not minds and bodies that have spirits, rather we are spirits who have
minds and bodies, which is not the same.
Question: What is the difference between feelings and
emotions?
Sw. Maitreyananda: An emotion is an energetic impulse that produces a physiological
change in the human being. It looks for an answer to the outside stimulus or to the inner
image of the individual’s memory—it induces feelings in the human being as well as in
animals. Emotions descend from immediate conducts or from the individual’s automatic
reactions.
Emotions last a short time while feelings last for much longer. Feelings are the
Spiritual response that one feels and reacts to in the face of feeling in the human being’s
everyday life. Feelings are natural in humans and belong to his affective and spiritual world,
surrounded by his anemic states. The feeling is a spiritual way of relating to the outside from
SPIRITUAL BODY
B
O
D
Y
M
E
N
T
A
L
PHYSICAL BODY
V
A
S
A
N
A
S
Smriti
Pre-conscious
Alajavijñana
Subconscious
The six functions of the mind and their relation to the three bodies
Manas
Conscious mind
function
Chitta
Unconscious mind
function
Buddhi
Discerning mind
function
Ahamkara
Egotistical mind
function
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reason, for example, joy is a feeling and happiness is an emotion. Hate is a feeling and being
bothered is an emotion. Love is a feeling.
An emotion is a physiological change that obeys an external or internal cause, that
once that this cause disappears, the change persists. This change is produced by muscular
contractions and tensions that produce in the chosen muscles a particular type of energy that
receives the name of an emotion.
Yoga breaks these muscular tensions by way of stretching and combined with a
relaxed and conscious mental state that is synchronized with breath.
Question: What is a yoga lineage?
Sw. Maitreyananda: a lineage is an uninterrupted line of masters and disciples that
transmit millenary teachings. These disciples later transform themselves into masters who of
course have disciples themselves.
In yoga, the teaching is not academic rather it comes from the master to the disciple in
direct form. The disciple learns the technique from his master and later transmits it. Yoga is
based on direct experience and practice of the techniques, not in knowing from books. The
techniques are not learned in books rather in daily practice. This causes a lineage to be like a
guaranteed family for 5.000 years ensure that yoga techniques are not lost and continue to be
the same for millenniums.
Question: Are there one or many lineages in yoga?
Sw. Maitreyananda: Many are like a three with common trunks.
Question: Does each Master always generate a new lineage?
Sw. Maitreyananda: No
The Causal Body
is the cause
of aur existence
Mental Body
Physical Body
Causal
Body
CHART OF THE
THREE PLANES
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Question: If he does, what does it depend on?
Sw. Maitreyananda: Many masters have many students and few or very few disciples
and the school or lineage does not continue. Others have many disciples and few students
depending on the master’s charisma, teachings, results and wisdom.
Question: Are new lineages created in opposition of one Master
against another or is it something that is not proposed but rather
determined after many years have passed?
Sw. Maitreyananda: A lineage is something that has been uninterrupted since Patanjali,
Matsyendra, etc. Then there are sub-lineages within these lineages.
They are called schools; these make it so that a master belongs to a lineage and it is
recognized by his disciples and masters of prestige that come from that school. A lineage
must be thousands of years old, it is not created in five generations, nor can anyone presently
alive be called the creator of a lineage. Therefore, lineages are not made, created or
invented.
Question: What lineage do you belong to?
Sw. Maitreyananda: I belong to various. I belong to the lineage of Patanjali, Goraksha,
Shankara, Saraswati, Kashmir Shivaita, Vaishnava and to the sub-lineages of Krishna Disore
Dasji, Sivananda and Swami Asuri Kapila.
Note: Swami Maitreyananda is the successor of his master Krishna Kisore Das, the expresident
of the World Yoga Council and of Swami Asuri Kapila founder of yoga in South
America. For this reason he has become the first Occidental Yoga Master to be named the
Patron of Yoga Confederation of India.
Question: Can someone have various Masters and belong to
different lineages at the same time?
Sw. Maitreyananda: In my case I never had them at the same time, but in different
times, one after another, after my masters had left their physical bodies and the terrestrial
plane. However, they are always with me in the deepest part of my self.
Question: What is Buddhism?
Sw. Maitreyananda: Buddhism is the modern name given to the Buddha Dharma, a
philosophy of life created five centuries before the birth of Christ by a Sakhya prince born in
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the south of Nepal by the name of Siddharta Gautama and known as Shakyamuni the
Buddha. He is known as the “Buddha” which means “The Awakened One”.
Buddha was the in search of Dharma or the Ultimate Reality of all things.
Buddha experimented with the awakening called “enlightenment” in a swift way, thanks to
meditation, followed by a deep introspection. In this experience Buddha discovered the Four
Noble Truths.
In the month of Vaisakha (May) in the year 563 or 543 BC, he was born in Lumbini in the
Kapilavasthu district (in Nepal) as the prince Siddharta Gautama. He was the heir of the King
of the Shakya clan called Suddohona and his wife the Queen Maya Devi. The mother of
Buda called Maya Devi died seven days after his birth. Buddha was raised by his aunt and
the sister of his mother, Maha Prajapati Gotami “Mahaprajapati”, who also married the King
Suddohona. Since Buddha belonged to the Shakya clan, his nickname was Shakyamuni (the
silent sage of the Shakyas). Siddharta first married his cousin Gopa and later married
Yasodara with whom he had a son named Rahula. After living a life full of luxury, he took
aside the sad things in life. When he began to go through the royal gardens accompanied by
Chandaka, outside of them he met an old man, sick and weak. He later saw a dead man
carried away by his family. Meditation upon old age, sickness and death, he understood the
inutility of wasting life on luxuries, riches, pleasures and he began to look for a way to free
him self. One day he decided to search for the truth and the ultimate reality of all things,
renouncing his riches and his throne. He left his royal palace. At the beginning, Siddharta
searched for the teachings for the great masters like Arada and Rudraka who taught him to
meditate.
For six years he studied the teachings with other two great spiritual masters of the time and
he learned yoga and followed the ascetic practices. When he still had no answers and was
still not free from suffering, he abandoned extreme practices and one day seated below an
oriental fig tree named Bo, he meditated until he obtained contact with wisdom, finding the
Dharma or Ultimate Reality of all things. He was 35 years of age and after this effort he
became a Buddha, meaning an Awakened One or Enlightened. He lived this way for 45
years spreading his teachings and his movement was called Buddhism.
The Four Noble Truths:
The Truth about Suffering and Dissatisfaction: Existence has suffering in it
The Truth about the Cause of Suffering and Dissatisfaction: Desire, Attachment and
Ignorance are the cause of suffering
The Truth about the Ceasing of Suffering and Dissatisfaction: Human Beings can experiment
an extended state of suffering
The Truth about the Eightfold Way toward the Ceasing of Suffering and Dissatisfaction: This
path is called the Noble Eightfold Path.
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The Noble Eightfold Path
Correct Vision
Correct Thought
Correct Speech
Correct Action
Correct Means of Existence
Correct Effort
Correct Attention
Correct Meditation
The Five Precepts
(wu chie) or ABSTINENCES (panca-sila)
Accepted by laic disciples (upasakas) are:
1- Not kidding or harming any living being
2- Not stealing
3- Not lying, cheating, or defaming
4- Not abusing sexual excess
5- Not consuming alcohol or intoxicating substances (drugs, cigarettes, etc.)
The Ten Precepts
(shi chie) or ABSTINENCES (dasa sila)
Practiced by monks
1 through 5- The Five Precepts
6- Not eating at incorrect times (after midday)
7- Not dancing, singing, or participating in shows
8- Not using jewelry or perfumes
9- Not using seats that are ample, high, or luxurious
10- Not accepting gold or money
The Skandas
Buddhism does not believe in the existence of a Royal Me or a Soul. We are therefore
separate entities from all others and a world outside of us does not exist. Our discerning
mind or rational mind guides us to believing that life in terms of “I and Others” is real.
In reality, the human being is a conjunction of five forces or energies called Added
(Skandhas in Sanskrit; Yin in Chinese, Kandha in Pali):
1. Rupa Skandha: of material form, material or physical element.
2. Vedanta Skandha: of sensations, experimented by the senses, between what includes the
rational mind as thought.
3. Samjna Skandha: of perceptions, recognizing sensations (sight, touch, hearing, taste, smell
and intro-perception)

37
4. Samskhara Skandha: Neurological impulses (volatile spiritual plane: emotions, feelings,
passions)
5. Vijnana Skandha: of the mind, registry of cognition, capacity for judgment, discerning (visual
conscience, auditory conscience, etc.) Mental activity.
The Four Sacred and Historical Sites of Buddhism
Lumbini: the place where Buddha was born
Bodhgaya: the place where Buddha was enlightened
Sarnath: the place where Buddha gave his first sermon
Kasurinaga: the place where Buddha had his paranirvana
Question: What is Purnayana?
Sw. Maitreyananda: Purnayana means an integral vehicle and clearly expounds our
holistic, eclectic and integral vision of Buddhism. Nothing ought to be accepted because
nothing ought to be rejected. Everything exists for us to try. For us, Buddhism is the clumsy
name that some people nonsensically call Buddha Dharma, or the Dharma that follows a
Buddha. Buddhism as a religion and as a unique philosophical movement or religion, does
not exist. Buddha Shakyamuni was never a Buddhist. Neither did he found Buddhism. He
simply searched for the Dharma (Logos) (Tao), the Ultimate Reality of things that is above the
Universe, God and existence, the same as we do. There have been an infinite amount of
Buddhas and not all of them were specifically Buddhist, nor had they all taught the same
things. Each one discovered something different about Dharma and transmitted it in different
ways. In our vision, one who calls himself Buddhist is not really Buddhist. Or if you prefer, he
who wastes his time calling himself Buddhist is forgetting Dharma.
The important part for our school is knowing and experimenting everything in order to
find the Ultimate Reality of all things in this and other possible universes.
In order to do this we must understand that there are as many forms of Buddhism as
there were Buddhas.
Buddha, like us, was not Buddhist (paradoxically, those Buddhists who do not feel
Buddhist are the only people who understand what others call Buddhism). Their practices in
search of Boddhi or Dharma made them perfectly Buddhist that they are not Buddhist like
Buddha was. These people were simple dharmacharis, followers, cultivators and diffusers or
Dharma.
Before Buddha was a Buddha, he was a simple dharmachari, a simple follower of
Dharma. Then he was a Buddha, and finally a Boddhisattva. We follow the same and
identical route that Buda followed. We are Dharmacharis that follow Dharma, we use
Purnayana as our vehicle because this allows us to transit all the paths. We fill ourselves with
all the Buda’s different ways of teachings Dharma or Yanas.
With Buddhism we understand the name modernly given as Buddha Dharma, a
philosophy of life created five centuries before Christ by a prince of the Sakhyas born in the
south of Nepal named Siddharta Gautama and known as Sakhyamuni the Buddha. His
nickname is: “The Buddha” which means “The Awakened One”.
We need to clarify that there existed Buddhas before Siddharta and Buddhas after
Siddharta. For this reason, what we call Buddhism never began and never ends.
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The Buddha Sakhyamuni or Gautama was a searcher for Dharma or the Ultimate Reality of
all things. In this experience Buddha discovered the Four Noble Truths, that are deep and
interesting, but we want to go beyond them. Because there exist other noble truths:
1. The Truth about Happiness is Satisfaction: Existence has Happiness.
2. The Truth about the Cause of Happiness is Satisfaction: The valuing of physical need
above mental desire and of spiritual aspiration above mental desire, Santosha or
Contentment, is the tool with which we can achieve the support of Happiness.
3. The Truth about Cultivating Happiness (Ananda) is contentment: As human beings we
can experiment an external state above spiritual suffering, not of physical pain, if we cultivate
Santosha or Contentment, Mudita or Happiness.
4. The Truth about the Multiple Path toward Happiness is as follows: Follow the natural law
of life and accept what you are. Better what you can about your own being, keeping in mind
that you are never totally separated from others.
Do not be a hypocrite like those who are vegetarians and killing vegetables and plants
thinking they are pacifists. Plants have the same rights as animals and animals have the
same rights as human beings. Human beings have human rights that we ought to respect.
We also ought to respect the rights of animals and plants.
All forms of life deserve our respect.
He who kills a plant does the same as he who kills an animal. He who kills a plant does
the same as he who kills a human being or an animal. There is no real difference between a
vegetarian and a carnivore in their grades of violence. Accept as a human your grade of
aggressiveness that you have in order to life and do not harm your own self by not eating.
Have compassion for all, be them Human Beings, Animals and Plants.
You are they.
Question: What is Zen Yoga?
Sw. Maitreyananda: Zen Yoga is a method of Yoga born in Japan and created by the
Sensei M Oki. He integrated Yoga, Zen and Shiatsu in one method of personal and spiritual
development based in the seated and firm meditation of Zen, known as ZaZen and in the
Bombu Zen or ordinary Zen, which touches on the contents of Buddhism, as well as the
practices of Shiatsu and Yoga. It is a dynamic yoga in his style.
Before, there existed other styles of Zen Yoga and this gave place to what Sensei Oki
and his students called Oki or Okido Yoga, his own style.
Question: Can you please speak to us about Bompu Zen?
Sw. Maitreyananda: Bompu Zen, means ordinary Zen. It is the practice of Zen without
the Buddhist religion. The practitioners of Zen meditation can be Christians, Jews, Hindus,
Atheists, Agnostics or can belong to whichever philosophy or religion. Bompu Zen is part of
Zen Yoga—a method which integrates the techniques of Yoga and of Zen.
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Question: Please, tell us about Patanjali.
Sw. Maitreyananda: Patanjali was born in Bharata Varsha (India) in the year 250 BC.
His father’s name was Angiras and his mother’s name was Gonika (the emanation of Sati).
Before being born on Earth, Patanjali was Adisesa or Ananta, Vishnu’s snake who was
rewarded for this by being reincarnated as a human being.
One day, the dance of Shiva (Nataraj) the Father of Yoga, left Vishnu enchanted. He
was deeply vibrating from the dance of the yogi king and it was in this way that Adisesa who
was supporting him asked what had happened to Vishnu. Vishnu replied that the joy of
seeing Shiva’s dance caused him to vibrate until infinity having a Samadhi. Adisesa, the
great serpent, wished to be reincarnated as a human being so that he could learn the dance
and yoga too. Vishnu and Shiva awarded him by giving him birth on Earth. Patanjali’s
mother, historically known as Gonika, a yogini devotee of the ancient Tantra Yoga, yearned
for a yogi son. Every day she would perform the Sacred Surya Namaskar to solicit the god
Surya to bless her with a yogi son. Hearing this, Surya accepted her request and in this
moment Amanta incarnated himself into his future mother Gonika. She called him Patanjali.
But Gonika herself was the incarnation of Sati (Parvati), the wife of Shiva who blessed Ananta
in her own womb.
The yoga tradition says that yoga was taught to Parvati by Shiva and Matsyendra
having heard these teachings transformed himself into the first yogi. Pravati as Sati
incarnated as Gonika. For this reason, Patanjali was born knowing yoga intuitively by the
work of Sati. Pat means fallen from the sky and Anjali describes the pose of prayer,
command, or plea.
The legend says that the first night in February, Angiras his father, visited Gonika and
together their conceived Patanjali, who later manifested himself in a river in the form of a little
snake, warning his mother that he would arrive in October (at the end of October; day 30 or
31 of each year the Patanjali Jayanthi, or birth of Patanjali is celebrated and declared by the
worldwide yoga community as the Day of Yoga.)
Patanjali lived as a yogi learning the teachings of his era from his master
Hiranyagarbha from the lineage of Kapila, the founder of Sankhya. He also had a normal
social life marrying Lolupa who was his only wife and having Nagaputra as a son, who later
followed the Naga tradition and converted into his successor and was also the master of
Nagananda who taught yoga in Nagaland. Other disciple of Patanjali and Nagaputra was the
legendary Dattatreya, Samkriti’s guru, who wrote Yoga Darshana.
Hiranyagarbha, Gonika’s father, was Patanjali’s grandfather. Uru and Agneyi were
Angiras fathers and Patanjali’s paternal grandparents. Hiranyagarbha, the manifestation of
Brahman and Agneyi was the daughter of Agni according to the Naga tradition.
Master, we thank you for your words and for your time.
Namaste!
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By, Swami Maitreyananda
SWAMIS AND HINDUISM
The world Swami literally means Master of Oneself, but it also means Sir or Owner. It
is an honorary title like Mataji, Bapu, Babaji, Baba, Mata, Guru, etc. It is a word that is used
as a sign of respect when you are addressing a spiritual master.
It is applied to spiritual masters of many different traditions and philosophies, schools
and orders of the different religions, especially within Hinduism.
Generally, it is an honorary title that is given to masters of different philosophies that
each one cultivates, for example, Vedanta, Yoga, etc. or spiritual masters that are not
religious. For this reason there exist different types of Swamis or rather different types of
people who have the title Swami, who of course, belong to a variety of different schools,
philosophies and religions.
To clarify this maybe it is necessary to say that Hinduism is not a religion, rather
something more complex: a culture, a group of various nations, various races and more than
3.000 dialects. Hinduism is composed of various religions that are as diverse and contrary in
their forms of expressing the Universe.
Within Hinduism there are polytheist religions, monotheist religions, pantheist religions,
atheists, etc. This conjoining of religions and philosophies that coexist together in one
civilization has tolerance as its common denominator—tolerance toward all forms of belief or
ancestral wisdom, that are not a part of your own belief. This is something that has always
been difficult for European Civilizations. Understanding this, it is much easier to understand
what a Swami (masculine) and a Swamini (feminine) are.
Since longer than is remembered, spiritual and philosophical masters have been given
the Swami title in the meaning of “master of oneself”. Many people are confused and believe
from lack of understanding and information about the diverse traditions in India, that a Swami
is a monk, or a yoga master or a priest—a frequent error.
A Swami is not, according to any point of view, a Hindu priest or a minister of a Hindu
cult, a place that is occupied by a Brahmin in the Hindu tradition.
This mistake is due in part to Indian Buddhism, the official religion that flowered with
the creation of monastic Bhikkhu (monk) orders that were characterized by their orange or
ocher dress.
In the first place, a monk is not necessarily a priest, nor does he have to be religious.
A monk is a person that simply has no partner. On the other hand, in many religions, a priest
can have a partner or can be married, as well as not be married; but a difference with the
monk is that a priest is always religious.
Buddhism is more of a life philosophy than a religion as it does not believe in the
existence of God or in a God Creator of the Universe. In general, Buddhism is still considered
another religion.
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In some eras, Buddhism was a philosophy and religion in India; since the time of
Asoka there existed a Buddhist master called Gaudapada whose disciple was a Hindu called
Govindapada, who instructed a Hindu reformer called Shankara.
Shankara integrated the Vedism, Brahmanism, Buddhism and Shivaism concepts in
order to establish the base for Hindu reform. In order to do this he exactly copied the
Buddhist model of monkshood in founding ten monk orders in the Shivaism Religion to which
he belonged. He created respective rules for these orders.
Effective in the year 770, Shankara founded ten orders of monks called “the dasnamis
sannyasin” and not the swamis, as is falsely believed. He called these orders: Arana,
Ashrama, Bharati, Giri, Parvati, Puti, Sangara, Saraswati, Teertha and Vana. Shankara
belonged to a Shaiva religion and today he is accepted as an incarnation of Shiva himself.
Shankara’s dasnami monks within Shivaism belonged to the Advaita school of Vedanta
and Monist. However, today Shankara’s ancient dasnami monks gave way to what we can
now call dasnami protestants who left the monastery and remained married, especially those
protestant groups that were the dasnamis of Saraswati, Giri and Puri.
In the beginning, these ancient monks had four Shankaracharyas or Shaivaite Hindu
Pontiffs that later became five Pontiffs and then became fifteen Pontiffs.
These Pontiffs governed the shaivaite dasnami monks from each of the other
dasnamis monastic orders within Dravidiam Shivaism in the south of India and generally they
received the honorary Swami title.
These monks taught Vedanta yoga instead of Kashmir Shivaism.
Shankara never created an order called “Swamis” and his principal successors
generally never used the name Swami that was before applied as a sign of respect, like in
Jainism.
Simultaneously, in the north of India in the Himalayas there existed a monistic tradition
(similar to the Advaita Vedanta) called Kashmir Shivaism, that had various spiritual masters
called Swamis, but since they teach trika yoga or tantric yoga, they are always married.
Kashmir Shivaism is based on the Shiva Sutras and in the Agamas or the Tantras. His
vision is pretty far from the idea of favoring the creation of monasteries and monk orders. In
fact, it was required that a spiritual master always have a consort. This is maybe what
caused the majority of people with the Swami title to actually be married.
Prior to the shaivaite dasnamis and their cousins the kashmires, are the jainists, the
followers to Mahavira, contemporaries of Buddha and Lao Tse and these received the Swami
title and wear white.
Later, within the Vaishnava religion, the followers of Vishnu, conformed following the
shaiva example of Shankara, the order of goswamis (Vaishnavas monks).
There actually exist Swamis of the Hindu religion, who of course are not shaivas
dasnamis, nor are they governed by the Shankaracharyas. The Vaishnavas monks and
priests or the followers of Vishnu, are governed by the Madhvacharyas or by
Ramanujacharya, who are their Vaishnavas Hindu Pontiffs.
On top of these, there exist the Suddha Swamis (Vaishnavas), a brotherhood and
order created by Swami Subramanya the real founder of the Suddha Dharma Mandalam and
continued by his successor Swami Sevananda (suddha) in America, who later also created
the suddha order, the order of the Sarva Swamis, a philosophical order, who are not directly
related to the followers of Shankara, Ramajuna, Madva, Jainists or Kashmir Shaivas. These
do not have Pontiffs.
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In both cases these spiritual masters are always married, and can even divorce, like
what happened with many of them, who received the honorary swami title of Swami anyway.
In our day, Osho Rajneesh created his own sannyas order and various sannyas (not
all) possess the Swami title and generally they wear red.
Between the Swamis that are not Shankara dasnamis, we find as examples such as
Swami Yogananda Paramhansa, and his master Swami Sri Yusteswar, Swami Tilak, Swami
Vivekananda, Suddha Swami Subramanya, Suddha Swami Sevananda, Sri Jagamohana
Aapthabhaaratha, Suddha Swami Arulambala, Swami Sai Baba, etc.
The yoga community always has its breast to different spiritual masters who receive
the Swami title, Mataji, Amma, Bapu or Baba. But it is important to precisely clarify that in all
religious and spiritual encounters or in interreligious organizations, that yoga and its followers
are known as a Spiritual Community, “not religious”, in the same sense as an artistic
community. Since art is spiritual in its essence and not religious. Yoga and its community is
spiritual not religious, hence its followers belong to different religions or are atheist or
agnostic.
There exist Swamis that believe in God and others that do not believe in God. A
spiritual master not only has no reason to be religious, but does not have any reason to have
a religion or belong to any particular cult either. He can even be atheist or pantheist.
By, Swami Maitreyananda
Samkhya is one of the oldest philosophies in the World, maybe even the oldest of
which we have knowledge, and it is without a doubt the oldest philosophy in India; its founder
and complier was Kapila around 700 B.C.
Samkhya means perfect classification and numeration. This philosophy is based on
various pillars, revealing itself as the first to clearly establish the existence of “a universe” and
that all is composed of two interactive and interdependent principals that produce the
innumerable forms of the cosmos and all its possible evolutionary combinations. These
principles generate diverse forms of life and existence that compose LIFE.
The first of these two mutually complementary principles is Prakriti or the primordial
universal substance of nature from which all forms of possible entities of existence derive; the
second principle is Purusha, which is more subtle than the first, it is called the spiritual or
energetic principal that activates the Prakriti and dotes it with a dynamic energy, generating
the diverse forms of the universe.
Samkhya does not know the existence of a universal creator called God, Brahma or
Ala and because of this point of view, it is considered an atheist or agnostic philosophy.
However, this does not mean that it does not accept the existence of a Superior Being, which
by definition, would be the actual Universe, Holos or Being.
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Kapila, like Buddha, Lao-Tse or Mahavira explains the dynamism of the “All” or
“Universe” from the fact that this always existed and will always exist.
Kapila simply explains the phenomenons of this universe, the second pillar of
Samkhya, that these two principles existed and will always exist in its two continual phases of
activity and rest, establishing cycles (kalpas) amongst themselves that are infinite, hence that
do not only need each other but that are the foundation of the universal existence itself,
without start nor finish.
The third pillar is that these two principles are two manifestations of the Universe, the
All (Holos) as a Being or Existence itself.
The Purusha is a subtle energy or spirit that lacks attributes, causing the materialnature
or prakriti, attracting it to incorporate itself to it and to generate form or entity.
Therefore this entity has qualities and attributes that are its own and that make it different or
similar to other entities. This entity later goes through different cycles or kalpas from having
been subjected to the wheel of existence or life called samsara.
When these entities change form, acquiring or losing other lesser forms or when they
move in space generating actions (karma) that are actions that conduce a reaction, that
establishes all the forms of life and of material. From this interdependence, the three gunas
or qualities of Prakriti are born, called Sattvas, Rajas and Tamas.
Sattvas: truth and harmony
Rajas: passion and activity
Tamas: indifference and inertia
When prakriti is animated by purusha in conformity with the three gunas, the 24 tattvas
of the human being are established, the buddhi (mahat), the discernative or rational principle
of the mind, from which the ahamkara is born, the individual and egoistic mind and from these
the tanmantras of subtle elements are born to which five gross elements or mahabutthas are
added. The physical organ is manifested by the five senses or jnana indriyas and from the
five physical organs or karma indriyas, exist the manas or conscience mind with a synthesis
power that notices its surroundings and is the energetic mental base, like almost another
sense in and of itself.
In this universe there exists The Manifested (vyakta) and The Unmanifested (avyakta).
Its perfections are:
1. Reflexive Reason
2. Oral Instruction
3. Study
4. Removal of the Three Miseries
5. Association with friends
6. Generosity
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By, Swami Maitreyananda
Today we can say that stress is linked to the strain and psycho-physical tension of the
human being. The Austro-Canadian Hans Selye was the first to conceive of stress and to
write about this phenomenon in living beings. We can affirm that stress is a natural physical
and mental response that serves us to affront demanding situations and to adapt ourselves to
our surroundings.
There exists positive stress called eustress, as well as negative stress called distress,
which cause similar physiological responses: sweaty hands and feet, an accelerated cardiac
rhythm, higher arterial pressure and the augmentation of muscular tension. In the emotional
plane, eustress helps and is a motivator to fight against adverse situations, while with
distress, the individual cowers and tries to flee the situation, like in a panic attack.
Stress has three stages: the first phase is alertness, a state of alarm and a tendency
to flee, generating physiological and biochemical changes in the body to produce a maximum
of energy needed to escape and leave running.
The second phase is the adaptation and resistance phase and this is produced when a
stressful situation is maintained and there accumulates chemical substances in the body that
were produced in the first phase. The result of this chemical situation is the maintaining of a
state of alertness, without the production of relaxation and as a result muscular tension is
maintained and augments itself. The third possible phase is exhaustion and is produced
when the stress is converted into chronic (distress) and is maintained for too long a time. The
internal sensation is spiritual; it is the feeling of being at the limit and beaten, it causes us to
rest poorly, to not sleep, not relax, being hurried all the time, having a permanent feeling of
anguish, anxiety, depression, panic, lack of esteem and a constant desire to flee.
Yoga and Yogatherapy for stress teaches us that an individual’s spiritual change obeys
a psycho-physical relationship that he has with himself and fundamentally with his
environment. An emotion is a physiological change generated by an internal cause (an image
or an idea) or an external cause that once that cause disappears, the physiological change
persists and continues to manifest itself establishing a type of muscular tension which affirms
the emotional tension.
INTERNAL SENSATIONS
In order to conquer a non-desired emotion, the first thing we have to do in Yoga in to
stretch the muscle, to break its level of tension and possible contracture, to eliminate the
muscular shell holding this energy, the non-desired emotion, which in part changes our
internal sensation. The following step in Yoga is to change our respiratory rhythm to change
the cardiac rhythm by means of diaphragm muscle and serene breathing, paused and slow,
45
bringing us relaxation and major oxygenation of the organism. The third step is to change our
attitude, abandoning hurries and giving us time to ourselves, which is not a small matter.
Thanks to static yoga poses, one conquers emotional shells, but in order to do so one must
concentrate in the breath and the entry of oxygen, as our primary daily nutrient is oxygen.
In Yoga and mainly in “Yogatherapy Against Stress”, it is taught that the human being
can learn to put the break on activity, lessening tension and quieting the mind for which we
use the technique of “Sama Yoga” or guided and induced relaxation. We ought to forget that
the big problem we have is that when we finish our daily work, we want to enjoy what comes
next and we need recreation. We need to be with loved ones, but we cannot stop. Hence our
mind continues thinking about work, obligations and unaccomplished goals. We need to
avoid these actions, we need to relax psycho-physically and this is why yoga poses are
necessary. We should not forget that stress, in and of it, is not bad. The problem is in those
instances where, without yoga, we cannot control it. In Yogatherapy Against Stress and
simply in Yoga, we learn that stress is a motivating energy for the human being and that the
real problem is when this energy controls us. Yoga, by definition, is the control of emotions
by means of techniques available to all and one more door that leads to peace and well-being
in each human being.
ETHICAL CODE IN YOGA
1. Not harming, not killing, neither physically nor
mentally, any living being (ahimsa, non-violence)
2. Affirming the truth in thought, discourse and action
(satya, truthfulness)
3. Not stealing; abstaining from theft (asteya, not
stealing)
4. Discipline and organization of the various impulses
and desires (brahmacharya, auto-discipline)
5. Not being greedy and not accepting unnecessary
gifts or bribes from people with doubtful motives
(aparigraha, not coveting)
6. Observing purity, both externally and internally,
physically and mentally (shaucha, purity)
7. Cultivating the spirit of contentment. Not multiplying
desires for material goods (santosha, contentment)
8. Preparing one self to bear to the environmental
changes and reverses of fortune (tapas, training of self).
9. Studying the books of spiritual wisdom with devotion
and ample critique (swadhyaya, study of the writings)
10. Always remembering God and submitting oneself to
Divine Will (Ishwarapranidhana, love of God)
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Yogatherapy is the application of actual contemporary yoga techniques as psycho-spiritual
therapy. From an existential point of view, Yogatherapy works directly on human emotions
and feelings, allowing the development of Emotional and Affective Intelligences and involving
his Affective and Spiritual zones. To achieve this, one uses primarily psycho-physical
techniques (Body-Mind), complemented by psycho-noetic techniques, as well as noeticphysical
techniques.
Yogatherapy, like Logotherapy, is based on the tridimensional existence of the human being:
mind, body and spirit. The fundamental difference with psychotherapy and physical therapy is
that Yogatherapy does not bias itself to the mental and it does not regulate therapy by way of
the mechanics of the body and its functions, rather it takes the human being as an indivisible
entity and it directs itself in this way with its goal to the emotional zone of the human and ends
in his affective world.
The human being by definition is what he feels (Spirit), above being what he thinks
(Mind) and what he does (Body).
Human feeling has its own language expressed by means of emotions, feelings and passions
that are made bodily and made mental, in order to communicate with its surroundings. The
historical evolution of Yogatherapy was born of many different fields and publics within
psychology, medicine and psycho-therapy, to be applied according to the different cases with
diverse methodologies. These methodologies share the execution of psycho-physical
techniques in search of working with the individual’s emotional zone, eliminating muscular
shells that can be caused by potential conflicts. It was Dr. Carl Jung who proposed the
creation of an Occidental Yoga when he presided over the International Association of
Psychoanalysis. It was Dr. Caycedo who first used the word Yogatherapy, vocabulary that
was coined as his own by Dr. Auriol in his book Yoga and Psycho-therapy and in which he
properly planted a certain methodology of yogatherapy.
YOGA GENEALOGY
In order to understand how to combat stress through Yoga, it is necessary to
understand much more than the poses. Yoga is before all, an art, science and philosophy of
life that integrates the mind, body and spirit of the human being, developing his spiritual
education. It is for this reason that it is ideal for eliminating stress.
Historically, Yoga is composed by a conjunction of psycho-physical-spiritual techniques
that integrate the three existential planes of the human being: Body, Mind and Spirit. Then,
by means of Samadhi, it integrates the human being with the forces of the universe and his
own conception of the All or the Supreme Being: God, Brahman, Dharma, Tao, the Absolute,
the Holos.
Yoga is a Spiritual Education and its goal is Samadhi, a state of “happiness, harmony
and fullness” in which one transcends duality and passes to experience being a part of
everything, producing in his own self an instance of entasy, ecstasy and estasy.
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Yoga was created some 5.000 years before Christ, but in its first trial, yoga was written
about 200 years before Christ by the Yogacharya Patanjali in the north of India.
From this date to the present, all yoga methods are obligated to be a conjunction of
techniques that produce Samadhi. Without Samadhi and without meditation there is no yoga,
hence yoga is an experience and a spiritual education that is realized by way of Samadhi.
Yoga affirms that we are a Spirit that has a mind and a body.
The first thing that we learn as Yoga Masters since 2.000 years ago, is “Viyoga” a
technique taught by Yogacharya Patanjali, which consists of separating the Sprit and the
Mind and the Body, to see its true nature. This technique allows us to better understand our
feelings and our affective states to later integrate ourselves mentally and bodily.
Spiritually, one is what he feels, mentally one is what he thinks and physically one is
what he does. But on occasion, one “thinks and does” and does not do what he feels and this
produces a constant dissatisfaction or dukha, which brings us to sadness, anxiety or anguish.
Therefore, Yoga begins with the practice of psycho-physical techniques. This is not its
final goal, hence these techniques are only the base of a spiritual development. Its goal is
and has been for 5.000 years, the spirit.
In order to understand this, it is necessary to define the spirit in scientific and noetic
terms. Spiritual states are our feelings and passions that have emotional supports. Our
affective world and our anemic states; this is our spiritual plane. Sadness, Happiness and
Joy are spiritual states and our feelings, hence our spirit is composed of our feelings. Our
interior world is our feelings. In Yoga’s first definition from 2,000 years ago, Yogacharya
Patanjali affirmed: “Yoga Chitta Vritti Nirodha”, which means:
“Yoga is the control of emotional vibrations on the Mind”.
Feelings, passions and emotions are not part of our mental world, hence the mental is
only a human process of cognition. The mind as a unit has ideas and images and with them it
elaborates chains of ideas and images called thoughts, produces memories and beliefs, but
only interprets the spiritual world, without perceiving it in its totality. If the mind does not
capture our spirit, then life lacks meaning. The meaning of life is not physically and its much
less mental, the meaning of life is absolutely spiritual. Before anything, we must understand a
fact about reality that we cannot escape: being spiritual does not mean being religious.
Religious is one thing and Spirituality is another.
Art, for example, is noetically a spiritual discipline, but has nothing to do with religion.
The artist feels and makes feel, this feeling is born as a result of his work and the state that
arises from this same spirituality.
Most people are not clear about the difference between their mind and their spirit. In
psychology, the effort to understand that the spiritual is a different plane even though it is
integrated to the mental and the physical, is owed to Dr. Viktor Frankl (the third psychological
school of Viena, later Freud’s and Adler’s) and its contribution allowed the separation of
Noetology from Psychology, in order to understand the spiritual dimension of individuals.
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In this way, we come to understand that above the three basic intelligences, the
Mental, the Bodily and the Spiritual, there exist three sub-intelligences.
THE THREE
INTELLIGENCES
No human being is, in reality,
materialistic, intellectual or spiritual; all
of us are those three things at the same
time. But when we
roughly say that something is
intellectual or spiritual, we are
unconsciously referring to the
Intelligence that individual has most
developed. We all have one of these
three intelligences more developed than
the others and of course we have one of
these intelligences in what we are
almost handicapped in a way.
Being mentally intelligent does not
mean that we are spiritually intelligent;
an intellectual person is not necessarily
happy. In order to be joyful and content,
one must develop spiritual intelligence.
And this is the goal of yoga.
Here we must pause on three new
contributions from psychology that have
been excerpted completely from Yoga
and more specifically from Yoga
psychology and Buddhism:
1) Emotional Intelligence that allows us
to adapt our emotions to the means in
which we life watching our interior.
2) Affective Intelligence that allows us
to understanding the feelings of others
and to adapt ourselves to them.
3) Spiritual Intelligence that is the sum
of the others, plus the constant result of
our own spirituality, that allows us to
adapt ourselves to live our own life.
A person who is gifted with Spiritual
Intelligence is relaxed, content, joyful or
happy most of the time. On the
contrary, someone without spiritual
intelligence will surely seem agitated,
dissatisfied, sad, anxious or in angst.
The person who was born with Spiritual
Intelligence only has to exercise it in his
skill, but to he who was not born with
this capacity, it is necessary to teach
him to develop it. For this reason there
exists Yoga.

Copyrights: Fernando Estevez Griego Ph.D. ©
(Dharmachari Swami Maitreyananda)
ISBN: 978-987-05-4859-1
ISBN: 978-987-05-9858-4
Coordination and Diagramation: Milena Ruppel
Translator: Isabelle Barger
Yoga Integral™
The Text Book of the International Yoga Federation
http://www.internationalyogafederation.net
International School of Yoga Integral
http://www.escuelainternacionaldeyoga.com