Do We Really See God Through Through Yoga – Meditation?

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One of the many gifts given by India to the world is yoga and meditation, which when practiced correctly, are powerful means of physical, mental and emotional growth and development.

Throughout the vast expanses of the Indian subcontinent and beyond, millions of people practice some or the other form of yoga and/or meditation for spiritual advancement too. So, do we really see God through yoga and meditation? Let us explore what Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan,an enlightened being has to say on this:

“Yama, niyam, asana, pranayam, pratyahaar, dharna, dhyan and samadhi are eight parts of Yoga.”

Generally, people do meditation to practice intense mental concentration. Here, Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan says:

“There is nothing wrong with concentrating the mind, but there is no need to trouble the mind if you want realization (darshan) of the Supreme Self.”

So, meditation for concentration alone won’t do much good. It can strengthen the mind and give loads of other benefits, but for true vision of God, it is not enough.

Param Pujya Dadashri talks about four types of yoga:

Deha Yoga: union-yoga of the body; fasting, penance, renunciation are all deha yoga.

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Japa Yoga: yoga of speech; recitation of mantras or chanting of Lord’s name.

Mano Yoga: yoga of the mind; Any focused mental activity falls under manoyoga.

Atma Yoga: union with the Self; i.e. the Pure Soul that resides within.

Now, the first three types of yoga can each result in tremendous benefits. But there is presence of ego (ahamkara) in such practice as it is all done with a sense of doership. The yogi feels, “I am doing this asana (exercise posture) or I am doing this penance or I am chanting the mantra or even, I am doing the meditation to see God.” This means that one is identifying with the body complex and is harnessing the belief of, “I am the doer of the acts done through the body complex.”

The body and all its associated identities are relative and external to one’s real form. One’s real form is God! In reality, one is nothing but the Absolute Soul (Parmatma). But as long as one is in a state of doership, one is in ego, ‘I am the doer’, and therefore he cannot really see or experience God.

It is only Atma Yoga that can allow one to do darshan of the Supreme Self. And for the purpose of Atma Yoga, one needs to get rid of the ego first. Only someone who is completely egoless can get rid of the ego of others. That is why we need a Gnani who can destroy our ego and help us realize our Self and our true nature. Atmayoga is possible only after this process called Self-Realization. The Self-Realization that one is nothing but a Pure Soul will remove the obstacles and help us to not only really see God, but eventually, attain moksha too i.e. the final liberation from life and death!

It is, however, very rare to find a Gnani! But fortunately, in this age, the path of Akram Vignan has opened up the way for us to attain the great knowledge of the Self. Here, through complete surrender to the Gnani, one can, with his grace, get completely free of all ego and establish Atma-yoga. We can then really see God and become free from all misery!