Principles and Practice of Hindu Religion
Chapter - VI : The Daily Practice of the Faith

An Applied Method of Practice of the Agamas and
the Vedas to lead a Pious and Peaceful Way of Life
 
   
 
Lesson - 88 :
The Principles of the Teachings and its Practice
The Four Yogas as Spiritual Discipline
 
 
 
 

 

 

The real meaning of the Religion becomes revealed to one who practices the spiritual discipline. It cannot be reconciled if one emphasizes only the letter of the scriptures and overlooks the spirit and inner meaning revealed in the books. One must have the faith in those writings and understand the teachings through a teacher and then he must analyze and subject it to rigorous reasoning. After this, having been convinced of the soundness of the doctrine of the scriptures, one should meditate and experience the teachings in the depths of contemplation. This is the true spirituality and this is the practice of Yoga, which means the union of the individual self with the Supreme Self. The Vedas gave different types of rules available for different kinds of people to follow according each one's understanding and desire. The yogas are spiritual disciplines for daily living and practice of religion for a devout Hindu. Yoga is not just repetition of some unknown words and some exercises.

 

The Vedic teachings, as a guide, gave us four main paths for our living and for practice of religion. They are the Karma Yoga, Bhakthi Yoga, Raja Yoga and Jñana Yoga. Of the four yogas, Raja Yoga deals with conditioning, control and development of the body and mind through self-control, concentration and physical discipline. They perform special breathing exercises, meditation and physical exercises. Jñana Yoga or the path of knowledge is the deep study of the scriptures and philosophy. It is the purest form of spiritual discipline with the search for the impersonal reality. This is extremely difficult for people who are still partly materialistic and are constantly attached to their duties to the world and its being. We see Karma Yoga and Bhakthi Yoga followed as the two common methods for daily living for all our people here. Thus Hinduism is not just a Religion, a blind faith or a cold philosophy for intellectuals but the whole way of life and thinking for every day and for every one to follow in their daily practice.

 
    
 
 
   
 
Lessons: - 81, - 82, - 83, - 84, - 85, - 86, - 87, - 88, - 89, - 90, - 91, - 92, - 93, - 94, - 95, - 96 .