Existence and Yoga

From the Jacket 'Existence and Yoga' gives a ray of hope to man's existence and his struggle to live a turbulent free and fulfilled life.

Creation of a man, the study of ancient civilization and the world's oldest written source of knowledge; the Vedas, Upanisads, Bible, Torah and Qur'an explain the questions of the nature of God, man's existence and our consciousness.

Yoga Philosophy, Meditation and the technique of Pranayama has been examined to unravel the power of matter, mind and energy to attain love, light and peace in our day-to-day life.

The authors hope that this book may open the door the vast internal realm of mankind and light his internal lamp which will lead to the path of harmony and wisdom.

Preface "Existence and Yoga" offers a powerful inspiration to its readers to study the eastern and western religious and philosophical thoughts. It encourages the reader to explore the purpose of his existence, salvation, of one's soul and find the everlasting truth. By the Yoga practices one becomes better at whatever one is; a better Christian, a better Hindu, and a better human being.

the book reveals the nature of man his existence and the problems of survival since his evolution and the practice of Yoga for meaningful survival. Man stands and experiences entirely alone the events in his life. He is responsible for his actions and inactions. This book also probes into the historical events and practices of ancient river valley civilizations. One astounding revelation among the people was the undaunted faith and devotion and steadfastness of the mind. Yoga helps mankind to develop universal existence and also enlightens the societies to a path of morality, compassion and virtuous living. To day, many values in the societies have changed. There is a great and relentless advance in the world. Break through in the world. There is more interdependence in trade, education, science, research and various human cultures. The Creation of man and the world civilization we found it too voluminous to discuss fully. Therefore we were constrained to restrict our discussions to the most basic and important aspect.

A comprehensive introduction is given to the prominent religions of the world namely: Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Confucianism, Buddhism and Hinduism. It provides an understanding of the basic teachings of the above religions so that the human's can make sense of all religions and respect other different religions. "We are all children of God." Every human basically has the same question! "Is life only about accumulation of wealth, power, position and material comforts?" Beyond this is there any purpose of man's existence? Self knowledge, Yoga practices, healthy and right living may provide answers to the complex questions of human existence. Ethics for any society or culture is very important and it is discussed briefly in this book. It is concerned with the issues of right and wrong. It is an enquiry as to what is generally good for the society as a whole. Present times are uncertain times; there is much suspicion among individuals and uneasiness in the world. Situational levels. An example, from the epic of Mahabharata is given to expand on the importance of situational thinking at present violent times.

Special emphasis is given to the section of Vedanta. This being a complex concept, many books on religions fail to clearly and fully explain numerous questions about life, role of the material world and above all the Self or Atman. In writing this book care was taken to keep it simple for the understanding of our readers, who may have little or no knowledge of the scripted to make the reader an expert in Hinduism; there are many other advanced books on this subject the reader can pursuer, if this book arouses his interest.

There is great deal of interdependence of philosophy with the religion in the east than in the west. An attempt has been made to explore the differences in the various schools of thoughts in Vedanta on one hand and Kant and Schopenhauer philosophy on the other. There are some commonalities between these two schools of philosophies as will be found by the reader. We have not investigated deep into the complex nature of these two schools of philosophies.

Another interesting subject in this volume is the role of "Yoga and Meditation," in the present age, Yoga practice is a path to living a complete life; it is a means to an enlightened existence. It is timeless, pragmatic science evolved over thousands of years dealing with the physical, moral and spiritual existence of a man as a whole. Yoga has its roots even in the holy Vedas. This volume offers tremendous benefits to individuals from every culture, race, sex, and economic status and beliefs to realize the law of one's own being. It of often the plunge into the unknown that grabs our attention the most. It forces us to search our soul to meet the challenges we face in our mundane existence. The Bhagavad Gita says: "Working out of one's Karma according to the law of one's own being is therefore the Dharma or Religion or way to salvation of an individual.

About the Authors Lalit Kilam completed his higher education in Europe and in the mountainous region of the Himalayas. He is a computer engineer who enjoys working with Computers and interconnecting masses by providing High Speed Internet to the customers of Saskatchewan, Canada. During these years he had an opportunity to experience a wide range of various religious Philosophies happenings around the world and also their impact on the human life. He strongly believes that mankind is responsible for his own actions and he also is a fervent and sincere believer in the practice of Yoga and spiritual growth. According to him Yoga and meditation brings inspiration and solace to the spirits of the people living around the globe.

Manju Kilam has completed her education from a reputed University in India. She has a Masters in Business and also a Ph.D. Presently she is teaching Business management courses, in the school of Business. She has a wealth of experience in business and teaching from India and North America. She is enthusiastic about globalization and its impact on Canada and other parts of the world and has published several articles in reputed academic journals. Travel is another of her interests and has traveled to several countries around the globe, Closer to home, Manju is involved with Yoga and naturopathy.

Contents

	Preface	15
	Chapter 1.	19
	CREATION OF UNIVERSE AND CIVILIZATION	19
	Creation of the Universe	19
	Epic of Matsya Purana	23
	Mesopotamian Civilization	29
	Egyptian Civilization	32
	Early Dynastic Period	32
	Old Kingdom	32
	Middle Kingdom	33
	New Kingdom	33
	Post Empire	33
	Greek Civilization	36
	Western civilization	39
	Latin American civilization	39
	The Indus Valley Civilization	40
	The Aryan civilization and the Rgveda	43
	The Yellow River Valley Civilization	45
	Shang Dynasty	45
	Chou Dynasty	46
	Ch'in Dynasty	47
	Chapter 2.	50
	NATURE AND THE CONCEPT OF MAN	50
	Auguste Comet's – Three Stages of Development	50
	Theological – the first Stage of Development	51
	Metaphysical – The Second Stage of Development	51
	Scientific – Third Stage of Development	52
	Nature and Needs of Man	54
	Philosophy of the existence of Man	58
	Chapter 3.	62
	RELIGIONS OF THE WORLD	62
	Introduction	62
	Christianity	64
	Who was Jesus?	65
	The life of Jesus	66
	John Baptizes Jesus	66
	The Teachings of Jesus	67
	Final Days of Jesus – Before Crucifixion	68
	Return of Jesus	69
	Roman Catholicism	69
	Eastern Orthodoxy	70
	Protestantism	70
	Similarities between Christianity and Hinduism:	72
	Judaism	73
	Origins of Jews	74
	Origins of Judaism	74
	The Patriarchal period	76
	Abraham (Abram)	76
	Isaac	77
	Jacob	77
	The Mosaic Period	78
	Moses	78
	Joshua as the successor	79
	The period of the Judges! Shoftim	79
	Exodus from Egypt	81
	The Torah (the law)	82
	The Talmud	82
	Similarities between Judaism and Hinduism:	83
	Islam	83
	What is Islam?	84
	Early life of Muhammad	84
	Muhammad's Early Years in Mecca	84
	Muhammad's Vision – Call to Become a Prophet	85
	Qur'an – Its Significance	86
	Five Pillars of Islam	87
	Muhammad's Teaching in Mecca	89
	Muhammad's Migration to Medina	89
	Qur'an – Vision of after life	90
	Similarities between Islam and Hinduism:	91
	Confucianism	92
	Self as Creative Transformation	96
	Community as a Vehicle for human Flourishing	96
	Nature as Home	96
	Heaven as a Source of Ultimate Transformation	97
	Quote – One of the Disciples	97
	Similarities between Confucianism and Hinduism	98
	Buddhism	98
	The Departure	99
	The Enlightenment	100
	The Buddha's First Sermon	100
	The Four Noble Truths	100
	The Eight-Fold Path	102
	The Doctrine of Dependent Origination	103
	Influence of Samkhya Philosophy on Buddhism:	106
	Similarities between Buddhism and Hinduism	107
	Hinduism	108
	The Four Paths recommended in Hinduism	110
	Reincarnation	111
	Chapter 4.	116
	VEDANTA	116
	Introduction	116
	The Compiling of the Vedas	117
	Upanisads	118
	The Aitareya Upanisad belongs to Rgveda	119
	Creation of Virat- Purusa	120
	Concerning the Self	125
	Gross Body	126
	Subtle Body	127
	Causal Body	127
	Katha Upanisad belongs to Yajurveda	128
	Mundakopanisad belongs to Atharvaveda	133
	Kenopanisad belongs to Samaveda	135
	Date of Composition of Vedas	138
	The Goal of Vedanta	139
	What is Vedanta?	140
	Vedic Concept of God	142
	Surya – God of Light	144
	Agni – God of Fire	145
	Vayu – God of Wind	147
	Prthvi – God of Earth	148
	Varuna – God of Water	149
	Akasa – God of Sky	149
	Vedic Yoga:	150
	Four Stages of man's life Cycle in Vedas	152
	Brahman and Atman	154
	Different States of Human Consciousness	157
	Waking State	158
	Subtle State	158
	Deep Steep State	158
	Turiya State	159
	The Classification of Indian Philosophy	160
	Six Vedic (Orthodox) Schools of Philosophy	161
	1. Nvdya of Gautama	161
	2. Vaisesika	161
	3. Samkhya of Muni Kapila	162
	4. Yoga Sutra of Patanjali	167
	5a. Uttara Mimamsa	167
	5b. Purva Mimamsa of Jaimini	168
	6. Vedanta	168
	Two different divisions of Vedanta Philosophy	170
	I) Monastic (non-dualistic) II) Monotheistic	170
	Monastic or Adviata School of Thought	170
	Introduction	170
	The Principal doctrines of Adviata Vedanta	170
	Monotheistic School of Thought	171
	Four most prominent schools of thoughts:	171
	a) Ramanuja b) Nimbarka c) Madhva d) Vallabha	171
	Ramanuja's School of Thought (Qualified Monism)	172
	Nimbarka's School of Thought (Non Dualism)	174
	Madhva's School of Thought	174
	Vallabha's School of Thought (Pure Monism)	174
	How to attain the vision of God?	176
	Harmony in Religions according to Vedanta	177
	Chapter 5.	179
	ETHICS	179
	Introduction	179
	Ethics and Christianity	180
	Ethics and Judaism	181
	Ethics and Islam	182
	Ethics and Buddhism	183
	Ethics and Confucianism	185
	Five things that Confucius Did Say	185
	Ethics and Vedanta	186
	The three great paths man must follow	186
	Chapter 6.	190
	POWER OF YOGA	190
	Yoga Sutras of Maharsi Patanjali	191
	Yoga and different systems of Philosophical Thought	193
	Different Schools of Yoga	194
	1) Jnana Yoga	195
	2) Bhakti Yoga	197
	3) Karma Yoga	198
	4) Mantra Yoga	199
	5) Yantra Yoga	199
	6) Laya Yoga and Kundalini Yoga	200
	7) Tantric Yoga	200
	Hatha Yoga	201
	Raja Yoga	202
	The steps of the Astanga Yoga	203
	1. Yamas – Social Discipline	204
	a) Ahimsa (non-violence)	204
	b) Astheya (non-stealing)	204
	c) Satya (truthfulness)	204
	d) Brahmacarya (continence)	205
	e) Aparigraha (non-coveting)	205
	2. Niyamas – Individual Discipline	205
	a) Sauca (purety, cleanliness)	205
	b) Santosa (contentment)	205
	c) Tapas (discipline or self control)	206
	d) Svadhyaya (study of scriptures)	206
	e) Isvara Pranidhana (devotion to Lord)	206
	3. Asanas (postures)	206
	4. Pranayama (breath control)	207
	5. Pratyahara (sense withdrawal)	207
	6. Dharma (concentration)	207
	7. Samadhi (Super consciousness)	208
	8. Dhyana (Meditation)	208
	Relevance of Yoga in Day to day life	210
	Yoga Asanas	211
	"Surya Namaskara"	211
	Benefits:	220
	"Padmasana"	221
	Benefits:	222
	"Siddhasana"	222
	Benefits:	223
	"Pascimottanasana"	223
	Benefits:	223
	"Bhujangasana"	224
	Benefits:	224
	"Sarvangasana"	225
	Benefits:	225
	"Halasana"	226
	Benefits:	226
	"Garudasana"	227
	Benefits:	227
	"Ardha Matsyendrasana"	228
	Benefits:	228
	"Savasana"	229
	Benefits:	229
	Chapter 7.	230
	POWER OF CAKRAS	230
	Prana or Energy Centers	232
	Sahasrara Cakra	233
	The Ajna or third eye Cakra	234
	Visuddha or Visuddhi Cakra	235
	Anahata Cakra	236
	Manipura Cakra	237
	Svadhisthana Cakra	237
	Muladhara Cakra	238
	Chapter 8.	242
	POWER OF PRANAYAMA	242
	The Art of Yoga Breathing	242
	Breathing is important for two basis reasons	244
	The Five Pranas:	245
	Five forms of Prana	245
	Why Oxygen is so vital for our bodies?	247
	Oxygen purifies the blood stream	248
	1. Puraka (Inhalation)	249
	2. Abhyantara Kumbhaka	249
	3. Recaka (Exhalation)	250
	4. Bahya Kumbhaka (Pause after Exhaling) Empty Pause	250
	Important Preparations	251
	The Techniques of Pranayama	251
	Kapalabhati (The Cleansing Breath)	251
	Technique 1	252
	Antar Kumbhaka	252
	Technique 2	252
	Antar Kumbhaka	252
	Benefits	253
	Bhastrika Pranayama	253
	Technique 1	254
	Preliminary method	254
	Technique 2	255
	Basic method	255
	Technique 3	255
	Antar Kumbhaka (internal retention)	255
	Benefits	256
	Anuloma Viloma	257
	Anuloma Viloma Alternate Nostril Breathing	257
	Benefits of Anuloma Viloma	258
	Rules for Pranayama	258
	Glossary	260
	Bibliography	276
	Index	282