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Seven Stages (Yogi)
According to Vedic and Sanatana (Hindu) philosophy, every Yogi goes through seven stages of development before achieving complete liberation. They are listed in the commentary on the Yoga Sutras by Vyasa. The Stages The seven stages are grouped into two phases: #The first four stages form the first phase where the Yogi is liberated from the 'products of mindfulness (mental) processes',(i.e.) results of his thoughts. #The last three stages form the second phase in which the Yogi is liberated from the mind itself. Stage 1: ''"That which is to be known is known by me".'' At this stage the yogi realises that all true knowledge comes from within oneself, and the mind becomes satisfied that meditation will lead to all truth. Stage 2: At this stage the yogi recognises the causes of his sufferings, uses this knowledge to free himself from those causes and hence becomes free from pain. Stage 3: The yogi attains full discriminative knowledge of the state of samādhi, in which the Yogi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Historical Vedic Religion
The historical Vedic religion (also known as Vedicism, Vedism or ancient Hinduism and subsequently Brahmanism (also spelled as Brahminism)), constituted the religious ideas and practices among some Indo-Aryan peoples of northwest Indian Subcontinent (Punjab and the western Ganges plain) during the Vedic period (1500–500 BCE). These ideas and practices are found in the Vedic texts, and some Vedic rituals are still practiced today. It is one of the major traditions which shaped Hinduism, though present-day Hinduism is markedly different from the historical Vedic religion. The Vedic religion developed in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent during the early Vedic period (1500–1100 BCE), but has roots in the Eurasian Steppe Sintashta culture (2200–1800 BCE), the subsequent Central Asian Andronovo culture (2000–900 BCE), and the Indus Valley civilization (2600–1900 BCE). It was a composite of the religion of the Central Asian Indo-Aryans, itself "a syncreti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yoga
Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciousness untouched by the mind ('' Chitta'') and mundane suffering (''Duḥkha''). There is a wide variety of schools of yoga, practices, and goals in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism,Stuart Ray Sarbacker, ''Samādhi: The Numinous and Cessative in Indo-Tibetan Yoga''. SUNY Press, 2005, pp. 1–2.Tattvarthasutra .1 see Manu Doshi (2007) Translation of Tattvarthasutra, Ahmedabad: Shrut Ratnakar p. 102. and traditional and modern yoga is practiced worldwide. Two general theories exist on the origins of yoga. The linear model holds that yoga originated in the Vedic period, as reflected in the Vedic textual corpus, and influenced Buddhism; according to author Edward Fitzpatrick Crangle, this model is mainly supported by Hindu scholars. According ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Free Will
Free will is the capacity of agents to choose between different possible courses of action unimpeded. Free will is closely linked to the concepts of moral responsibility, praise, culpability, sin, and other judgements which apply only to actions that are freely chosen. It is also connected with the concepts of advice, persuasion, deliberation, and prohibition. Traditionally, only actions that are freely willed are seen as deserving credit or blame. Whether free will exists, what it is and the implications of whether it exists or not are some of the longest running debates of philosophy and religion. Some conceive of free will as the right to act outside of external influences or wishes. Some conceive free will to be the capacity to make choices undetermined by past events. Determinism suggests that only one course of events is possible, which is inconsistent with a libertarian model of free will. Ancient Greek philosophy identified this issue, which remains a major focus o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yoga Sutras
The ''Yoga Sutras of Patañjali'' is a collection of Sanskrit sutras (aphorisms) on the theory and practice of yoga – 195 sutras (according to Vyāsa and Krishnamacharya) and 196 sutras (according to others, including BKS Iyengar). The ''Yoga Sutras'' was compiled in the early centuries CE, by the sage Patanjali in India who synthesized and organized knowledge about yoga from much older traditions. The ''Yoga Sutras'' is best known for its reference to '' ashtanga'', eight elements of practice culminating in ''samadhi''. The eight elements are ''yama'' (abstinences), ''niyama'' (observances), ''asana'' (yoga postures), ''pranayama'' (breath control), ''pratyahara'' (withdrawal of the senses), '' dharana'' (concentration of the mind), ''dhyana'' (meditation) and ''samadhi'' (absorption). The main aim of practice is ''kaivalya'', discernment of ''purusha'', the witness-consciousness, as distinct from '' prakriti'', the cognitive apparatus, and disentanglement of ''purusha'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vyasa
Krishna Dvaipayana ( sa, कृष्णद्वैपायन, Kṛṣṇadvaipāyana), better known as Vyasa (; sa, व्यासः, Vyāsaḥ, compiler) or Vedavyasa (वेदव्यासः, ''Veda-vyāsaḥ'', "the one who classified the Vedas"), is a revered sage portrayed in most Hindu traditions. He is traditionally regarded as the author of the ''Mahabharata.'' He is also regarded by many Hindus as the compiler of a number of significant scriptures. As a partial incarnation, Amsa Avatar (aṃśa-avatāra) of Vishnu, he is also regarded by tradition as the compiler of the mantras'' of the Vedas'' into four Vedas, as well as the author of the eighteen ''Puranas'' and the Brahma Sutras. He is one of the seven Chiranjeevis. Name Vyasa's birth name is ''Krishna Dvaipayana'', which possibly refers to his dark complexion and birthplace, although he is more commonly known as "Veda Vyasa" (''Veda Vyāsa'') as he has compiled the single, eternal ''Veda'' into fou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
SUNY Press
The State University of New York (SUNY, , ) is a system of public colleges and universities in the State of New York. It is one of the largest comprehensive system of universities, colleges, and community colleges in the United States. Led by chancellor John B. King, the SUNY system has 91,182 employees, including 32,496 faculty members, and some 7,660 degree and certificate programs overall and a $13.08 billion budget. Its flagship universities are Stony Brook University and the University at Buffalo. SUNY's administrative offices are in Albany, the state's capital, with satellite offices in Manhattan and Washington, D.C. With 25,000 acres of land, SUNY's largest campus is SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, which neighbors the State University of New York Upstate Medical University - the largest employer in the SUNY system with over 10,959 employees. The State University of New York was established in 1948 by Governor Thomas E. Dewey, through legislative ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Motilal Banarsidass
Motilal Banarsidass Publishing House (MLBD) is an Indian academic publishing house, founded in Delhi, India in 1903. It publishes and distributes serials, monographs, and scholarly publications on Asian religions, Buddhology, Indology, Eastern philosophy, history, culture, arts, architecture, archaeology, language, literature, linguistics, musicology, mysticism, yoga, tantra, occult, medicine, astronomy, and astrology. Amongst its publications are the 100 volumes of the Mahapuranas; the 50 volumes of the ''Sacred Books of the East'', edited by Max Müller; ''Bibliotheca Buddhica'' (30 volumes in 32 pts); Ramcharitmanas with Hindi and English translations; the Manusmriti in 10 volumes and the Sanskrit lexicon; and the 7 volumes of ''Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies''. It also brings out books based on research and study conducted at organizations such as the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR), Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), and Indian Coun ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Knowledge
Knowledge can be defined as awareness of facts or as practical skills, and may also refer to familiarity with objects or situations. Knowledge of facts, also called propositional knowledge, is often defined as true belief that is distinct from opinion or guesswork by virtue of justification. While there is wide agreement among philosophers that propositional knowledge is a form of true belief, many controversies in philosophy focus on justification: whether it is needed at all, how to understand it, and whether something else besides it is needed. These controversies intensified due to a series of thought experiments by Edmund Gettier and have provoked various alternative definitions. Some of them deny that justification is necessary and replace it, for example, with reliability or the manifestation of cognitive virtues. Others contend that justification is needed but formulate additional requirements, for example, that no defeaters of the belief are present or that the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Samādhi
''Samadhi'' (Pali and sa, समाधि), in Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and yogic schools, is a state of meditation, meditative consciousness. In Buddhism, it is the last of the eight elements of the Noble Eightfold Path. In the Ashtanga (eight limbs of yoga), Ashtanga Yoga tradition, it is the eighth and final limb identified in the ''Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Yoga Sutras'' of Patanjali. In the oldest Buddhist sutra, suttas, on which several contemporary western Theravada teachers rely, it refers to the development of an investigative and luminous mind which is Upekkha, equanimous and mindful. In the yogic traditions, and the Buddhist commentarial tradition on which the Burmese Vipassana movement and the Thai Forest Tradition, Thai Forest tradition rely, it is interpreted as a meditative absorption or trance, attained by the practice of ''Dhyāna in Buddhism, dhyāna''. Definitions ''Samadhi'' may refer to a broad range of states. A common understanding regards ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Purusha
''Purusha'' (' or ) is a complex concept whose meaning evolved in Vedic and Upanishadic times. Depending on source and historical timeline, it means the cosmic being or self, awareness, and universal principle.Karl Potter, Presuppositions of India’s Philosophies, Motilal Banarsidass, , pp 105-109 In early Vedas, ''Purusha'' was a cosmic being whose sacrifice by the gods created all life. This was one of many creation myths discussed in the Vedas. In the Upanishads, the ''Purusha'' concept refers to the abstract essence of the Self, Spirit and the Universal Principle that is eternal, indestructible, without form, and is all-pervasive. In Sankhya philosophy, Purusha is the plural immobile cosmic principle, pure consciousness, unattached and unrelated to anything, which is “nonactive, unchanging, eternal, and pure”. Purusha uniting with Prakṛti (matter) gives rise to life. In Kashmir Shaivism, Purusha is enveloped in five sheaths of time (''Kāla''), desire (''Raga''), ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kaivalya
Kaivalya ( sa, कैवल्य), is the ultimate goal of aṣṭāṅga yoga and means "solitude", "detachment" or "isolation", a '' vrddhi''-derivation from ''kevala'' "alone, isolated". It is the isolation of purusha from prakṛti, and liberation from rebirth, i.e., Moksha. Kaivalya-Mukti is described in some Upanishads, such as Muktika and Kaivalya as the most superior form of Moksha which can grant liberation both within this life, as Jivanmukti, and after death, as Videhamukti. Patanjali The 34 Yoga Sutras of Patanjali of the fourth chapter deal with impressions left by our endless cycles of birth and the rationale behind the necessity of erasing such impressions. It portrays the yogi, who has attained ''kaivalya'', as an entity who has gained independence from all bondages and achieved the absolute true consciousness or ''ritambhara prajna'' described in the Samadhi Pada. "…Or, to look from another angle, the power of pure consciousness settles in its own pure natu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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