Tag Archives: Sutra

Huston’s Yogas

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Hindu Wedding Card by Parekh Cards

I’ve been reading Huston Smith’s World Religions for ordination studies. The book is well-written but dominated by recent academic perspectives of the topic. It offers a general overview of the larger faiths, but I wouldn’t base my practices on it. In the Hindu section, Houston outlines the primary Yogas or paths to union.     In brief, these are: – Hatha yoga is the path of the body – Karma yoga is the path of action and perception – Bhakti yoga is the path of devotion – Gyana or jnana yoga is the path of the intellect When I first … Continue Reading… →

True Samyama

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The Yoga Sutra of Patanjali is a short but potent text that describes Yoga or union. It also contains dozens of formulas to get specific results, like knowing past lives, getting great strength, or flying through the air. You can go into any spiritual bookstore and find many translations of this text. There are also many yoga studios. And yet most have little clue of what the simple contents are describing. This is because it’s experiential. It has to be taught properly so the experience can unfold. Right off the top, the text defines Yoga. 1v2-3: Yoga is the complete … Continue Reading… →