Better Mental Health With Yoga
Mental health is a state of well-being in which an individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and is able to make a contribution to his or her community. Studies have shown that a yoga program can be beneficial in decreasing anxiety, stress, and…
Independence – Swami Vivekananda
This is the last and final part of the series by Swami Vivekananda from his work – Raja Yoga. The work of Raja Yoga is essentially an explanation of the Yoga Sutras (aphorisms) by Patanjali. Most of the modern day Yoga in some form or the other originates from Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. We’ve covered the…
Mystic Powers Of The Yogi – Swami Vivekananda
We have now come to the chapter in which the Mystic Powers of the Yogi have been described. This is the 3rd part of the Yoga Sutras (aphorisms) of Patanjali as explained by Swami Vivekananda. In the first two parts, Swami Vivekananda describes the spiritual uses of concentration. These are the first 51 sutras by…
Can Meditation Help With Anger? – Swami Vivekananda
We’ve at some point all experienced anger and even rage. We might have also encountered people getting angry and seen them doing ghastly things in the heat of the moment. It can almost be undisputedly said that anger is not good for anyone. Swami Vivekananda in Raja Yoga while deciphering Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras has clearly…
Concentration: Its Practice – Swami Vivekananda
The practice of concentration is the second part in Swami Vivekananda’s Raja Yoga and a continuation of the first part, which describes the spiritual uses of concentration. The first part has the first 51 sutras of Patanjali where the uses of concentration have been described. The second part discussed below has the next 55 sutras…
Concentration: It’s Spiritual Uses
This post is from Swami Vivekananda’s Raja Yoga and includes the first segment of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras interpreted and translated by Swami Vivekananda. This chapter from Raja Yoga essentially lists the first 51 Yoga Sutras from Patanjali’s 195 Yoga Sutras. Swami Vivekananda has explained these Sutras through four separate chapters in the book. The first…
Superconsciousness Explained by Swami Vivekananda
Superconsciousness and a means to achieve it have been beautifully explained by Swami Vivekananda in his book Raja Yoga. We see, as human beings, that all our knowledge which is called rational is referred to consciousness. My consciousness of this table, and of your presence, makes me know that the table and you are here.…
Dharana Basics by Swami Vivekananda
After you have practised Pratyahara for a time, take the next step, the Dharana, holding the mind to certain points. What is meant by holding the mind to certain points? Forcing the mind to feel certain parts of the body to the exclusion of others. For instance, try to feel only the hand, to the…
Concentrating the mind internally – Swami Vivekananda in Raja Yoga
It is easy to concentrate the mind on external things, the mind naturally goes outwards; but not so in the case of religion, or psychology, or metaphysics, where the subject and the object, are one. The object is internal, the mind itself is the object, and it is necessary to study the mind itself —…
Concentration – Swami Vivekananda in Raja Yoga
There is only one method by which to attain knowledge, that which is called concentration. The chemist in his laboratory concentrates all the energies of his mind into one focus, and throws them upon the materials he is analyzing, and so finds out their secrets. The astronomer concentrates all the energies of his mind and…
