Attaining an authentic connection through yoga

Yoga, a Sanskrit term, means yoke or union — a union with the divine.

by Preeti Wanage — 

To practice yoga in the classical sense is to practice an authentic connection with God. Yoga, a Sanskrit term, means yoke or union — a union with the divine.

While people have been trying for thousands of years to achieve a spiritual state in many different ways, their efforts do not often add up to yoga, “the ultimate connection” or enlightenment.

In the Bagavad Gita, God promises “Yoga kshema wahamhiam,” which means, “If you are in yoga, then all your needs (spiritual, physical and material) will be taken care of.” That i,s a big “if.” Many people think that by reading a book, practicing physical exercise or being austere, they are achieving yoga, but that belief is imprecise.

Those certainly are paths, but what is the destination? Some practices open strange doors and others may lead somewhere interesting, but they are simply detours on the road to the ultimate goal of connection.

Albeit rare, the attainment of the actual divine connection is promised by every religion. As the Vedic literature explains, this connection happens by virtue of the kundalini energy, which, when activated by an enlightened soul, provides a cool breeze called Chaitanya, which forms a halo.

Buddha described a similar experience of awakening. The Chinese called this power Tao. Muslims called this breeze Ruh. Jesus referred to a “cool breeze of the Holy Spirit.”

Fortunately, it is also promised that the earnest seeker of truth will achieve this spiritual evolution by dint of pure desire, as in the words, “Knock and the door shall be opened.”

Preeti Wanage lives in Phoenix, Ariz., where she is an adult education specialist and has taught Sahaja Yoga meditation for 15 years. www.azsahajayoga.org or 623-936-6227.

Reprinted from AzNetNews, Volume 24, Number 6, December 2005/January 2006.