Yoga and Meditation

Query: Everyday I meditate when at work, at home or whenever position. I try to visualise the symbol of the mind's eye, heart chakra, crown chakra during meditation. I would like to know the right path. Is it wrong to chant 'Hare Krsna' mantra together with practicing Kundalini yoga meditation and visualising of chakra's symbol. Can you advice what practices should we follow?

Vijay Kumar:
Before we discuss further the topic of yoga and meditation... we need to understand the terminology in totality! Most human beings world over indulge in yoga or meditation never trying to understand the true meaning and purport of yoga meditation. For all practical purposes yoga and meditation mean the same. Why?

In Hinduism meditation is termed as yoga. And what does yoga mean? The word yoga has derived from the root word Yog which in Hindi means the process of synthesizing between the two. Ever since our soul atman separated from the bigger whole, God Almighty himself... the effort of our soul atman to merge with God Almighty at the earliest is termed as yoga.

Two Yog two equals four in Hindi. The process of our soul atman... the path undertaken by our soul atman in reaching the end of cosmic life... the 8.4 millionth manifestation at the earliest is what we term as yoga. It must be clearly understood that we are not a perishable body... we are a soul atman on its cosmic journey... absolutely indestructible imperishable!

As a human being we are duty-bound to assist our soul atman to merge with mightier soul... God Almighty himself at the earliest! It is the duty of every human being to gain enlightenment (kaivalya jnana) and finally salvation (moksha) at the earliest. Only then our soul atman gains permanent release from the cycle of birth and death forever.

And how do human beings perform yoga! Yoga (also termed as meditation in English) simply is the path undertaken by the body... the human being to reach the cosmic goal of life at the earliest. Removing the dross... impurities within is the prime purpose of every soul atman manifesting the human form.

Sitting in a dimly lit room with a small bulb in the centre, chanting of Hare Krishna mantra, trying to awaken the Kundalini, practicing Kundalini yoga, visualizing the centre of the mind's eye are some of the paths undertaken by various human beings. Yoga nee meditation has nothing to do with all above.

Synthesizing with God almighty... realizing our true real self can never be accomplished in this manner. Indulgence in the act without ever realizing the meaning and purport of Yoga nee meditation carries no meaning. I have seen people meditating for years without any fruitful results. How can we expect one to do proper meditation unless one understands the meaning of yoga nee meditation!

And how does our soul atman synthesize with the bigger soul... God Almighty himself! Lying in the Shavasana pose of yoga we simply need to concentrate our efforts on the breathing process! After all who needs the breathing! It simply cannot be the human being. It has to be our soul atman that requires fresh air to breathe.

God Almighty is always present with us in minuscule form as our soul atman residing within our heart. The moment we block flow of fresh air to our heart... it stops beating leading to death and decay of the body. The soul atman deprived of fresh air immediately leaves the body. Does it mean that the source of breathing is where our soul atman resides! Yes, the truth is so!

All forms of yoga nee meditation concentrate on the breathing process which eventually leads one towards our own soul and helps us realize self. Laying in the Shavasana... the death pose of yoga... one can reach our true inner self! The path... the journey is long but not impossible! We need not concentrate on the Hare Krishna mantra or the centre of a dimly lit bulb... we simply need to reach the source of breathing.

Lying in the Shavasana pose of yoga we simply need to think... who needs the breathing... the body or the soul within! Slowly the cosmic truth would be eventually realized by us that it is our soul atman that is on its cosmic journey and it is our soul atman alone that requires the breathing. The right mode of breathing is very important to gain access to our soul atman.

As the impurities... the dross within remove from the body... the mental process of every human being... one proceeds towards the source of breathing. More the truthfulness followed in life... faster is the journey towards our soul atman... the true inner self residing within our heart as our soul atman.

The culmination of all forms of yoga... nee meditation is simply reaching our soul atman itself. By negating all impurities within the body... from our thinking we simply gain our real self... the form of purified soul atman. The moment all impurities dross within the human form removes... one finally gains enlightenment at the end of the journey.

The process of meditation... the art of yoga is a journey... a process by which human beings negate the presence of impurities within! Lesser the impurities... higher the spiritual accomplishment! Removal of complete impurities dross within announces one having reached the level of Mahavira, Gautama Buddha, Jesus Christ or Prophet Mohammed!

Be it Raja yoga, Kundalini yoga or any other form of yoga... the essence of all is reaching our soul atman through the path of breathing! There is nothing else in the spiritual domain that needs to be accomplished. Meditation nee yoga can be performed anywhere and at any time. We did not get up early in the morning to perform yoga.

It is a different matter that in the early hours of the morning when we are absolutely fresh... it is best to concentrate on God Almighty and the breathing process! The meditation yoga can always be intermittent... as and when time is available! Living in Grihastha ashram (family life) sometimes continuously for days we may not be able to indulge in meditation nee yoga.

It is perfectly in order. Even before we search for our true inner self... we need to take care of our family... those dependent upon us! Always remember that the same spark of divinity that exists within us... that we are searching for is also present in the body of those we love... be it the wife or children. Every living being rather every human being is a direct representative of God Almighty on Mother Earth.

The journey in the human form is simply the path undertaken by our soul atman to purify itself. The form of a human being is simply medium for the soul atman within to reach the goal of cosmic life... the 8.4 millionth manifestation! The sooner we accomplish our goal of life... the better! Every soul atman desires completing the cosmic journey at the earliest.

Chanting of any mantra including Hare Krishna mantra is the Bhakti yoga path taken by many to reach the ultimate goal... realizing our true self! The path of Bhakti yoga is a long one that ultimately culminates into... rather merges into the path of jnana yoga. In my life I always pursued the jnana yoga path of Wisdom. I ultimately succeeded in life.

At any stage of life I would simply not suggest taking the Bhakti yoga path! The journey is too long for human beings to sustain. The path of Bhagavad Gita... the foremost of all sacred Wisdom existing on Mother Earth is the best. The Sacred Bhagavad Gita contains everything knowable on the cosmic path. The knower of Bhagavad Gita finally becomes the knower of all. Having gained enlightenment one becomes omniscient in all respects!

Follow the path of meditation nee yoga seriously and sincerely. Always remember the true and correct purport of yoga nee meditation. Do not indulge in the ritualistic pattern followed world over. Simply chanting of various mantras... indulgence in Bhakti yoga path of life is prolonging the journey towards God.

The sure shot method of reaching God at the earliest is following the path of jnana yoga... the path of Wisdom as defined in the Sacred Bhagavad Gita. By concentrating on the breathing process... and practicing Neti (not this, not this) as preached and practiced by Maharishi Ramana... one finally reaches the stage of Nirvikalpa Samadhi when one can have a dialogue with God Almighty on one-to-one basis and that too permanently.

Reaching the end of cosmic life... the stage of Nirvikalpa Samadhi is the end of all. One has finally reached the Mount Everest of cosmic pursuit... the spiritual goal of life! Having attained the stage of Nirvikalpa Samadhi there is nothing beyond on the spiritual path that is yet to be accomplished. One has finally become a living Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa!

May God bless all!

Always there to clarify your queries (send your query),

Vijay Kumar "Atma Jnani" Vijay Kumar... The Man who Realized God in 1993 on Yoga and Meditation. For more details on yoga meditation visit - yoga and meditation. Send your query - click here

Full text of query: Everyday I meditate when I'm at work, at home or whenever position. I also try to visualise the symbol of the mind's eye, heart chakra, crown chakra during meditation.

I would like to know whether I'm on the right path. Is it wrong to chant 'Hare Krsna' mantra together with practicing Kundalini yoga meditation and visualising of chakra's symbol. Is it wrong to mix different methods to enlightenment (Buddhist, Kundalini yoga, Hare Krsna, etc). Can you advice what practices should we follow?