At his time PANTANJALI tried to bring a system into the Yoga in his Yoga-Aphorisms. But he was only little understood - mainly because he has no special training - system with specific exercises.

"Ashtanga Yoga--Yama, niyam, aasan, praanayaam, pratyaahaar, dhaarnaa, dhyaan, samaadhi, theses are the eight limbs of yoga. A Guru takes a disciple into these one by one."(Shankaraycharya)
(The Illustrated Weekly of India, September 13, 1987)

The eight steps of RAJA - YOGA are equivalent to step 1- 16 of the UNIVERSAL Path.

1. YAMA [ Tarot 1,2 ] - Satya, Ahimsa, Brahmacharya, Aparigraha und Asteya

2. NIYAMA [ Tarot 3,4 ] - Saucha, Santosha, Tapas, Swadhyaya and Ishwara Pranidhana

So RAJA-Yoga has a kind of moral as its basis - and the study of the holy scriptures !

3. ASANA : Body-exercises like in Hatha-Yoga, the beginnings of Tai Chi Chuan or the first steps of KungFu-Training [ Tarot 5,6 ]

4. PRANAYAMA - Purification of the life-force (Prana, Chi) [ Tarot 7,8 ]
The chinese energy-exercises (Qi-Gong, Circulation of Chi) have a similar effect

5. PRATYAHARA - Drawing back of the senses [ Tarot 9,10 ]

6. DHARANA - Concentration [ Tarot 11,12 ]

7. DHYANA - Meditation [ Tarot 13,14 ]
The meditation is now so deep that it is the forrunner of Samadhi.

8. ISHVARA - SAMADHI (God - Extasy) [ Tarot 15,16 ]

There are two further SAMADHIS, the Sabikalpa Samadhi and the Nirbikalpa-Samadhi - the true Enlightenment with the Cosmic Consciousness, and finally the Sahaj-Samadhi.

Pantanjali warns that the SIDDHIS(occult forces) that very progressed disciples can have are a hinderance that binds to the lower forces and planes.

The Method :
Samadhi Pada I
27. The Word of Ishvara, is OM. This is the Pranava.
28. Through the sounding of the Word and through reflection upon its meaning, the path is found.

"Engaged in the practice of concentration, uttering the monosyllable OM, remembering Me always, the yogi attains to the supreme goal." (Bhagavad Gita 8,13)

A Raja-Yoga-Buch Online
A Wiki about Raja-Yoga
The system of Samkhya as forerunner of Pantanjali
Raja-Yoga- Sutras
A comment to Yama and Niyama
OM-Meditation
OM-Yoga
Tibetan Monks : OM-Mantra
Shankaracharya about the OM-Meditation(From the Commentary on the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad)

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