Enlightenment is a gradual unfolding of awareness.  We live in a state of mental belief where each experience and everything in it appears to be real.  A yogic mind aspires towards a state of consciousness where the unseen reality is known.  All of us have been taught that a solid object if seen under a microscope is not solid at all.  A mass of atoms and particles weave an intricate pattern of energetic activity, grouping together in colonies that form basic elements that collectively gather into an apparent solid form.  A tree is a mass of atoms suspended and vibrating within another mass called air.  What appears solid is a visible form that can be reshaped into furniture.  What appears solid is a visible form that can be breathed in to support another life form i.e. the body.  Knowledge is knowing of more than one reality.  Only a few hundred years before even scientists believed that everything seen was real.  They did not know about atoms and so without knowledge they were ignorant. Ignorance is a state of consciousness where awareness is imprisoned within a belief that what is seen is real.  You believe in your ability to change things aground you and that you are in control.  The truth is a wisdom that awakens within the mind of knowledge and ignorance.  There are layers of experience where the awareness is able to recognise and understand the different realities as an exchange of energetic patterns.  One reality exists within another and there is always an interaction between the various activities of one form with another.  This exchange is seen and experienced as energy.

Yoga is the science of self-realization.  The subject of interest in yoga is the study of consciousness and the expansion of awareness so that we can awaken the dormant inactive mind that has the potential to realize the unseen layers of reality.  In simple terms, yoga is a practical system of methods that remove the veil of ignorance and allow you to experience the knowledge of other realities.  Of course we should know that there is another state of consciousness beyond knowledge that is very different from what we consider to be normal.  If you can understand that ignorance is subject to suffering and acceptance of fate then you must also know that knowledge can equally become a more dramatic experience of suffering and fate.  Without the proper application of knowledge and self-discipline you with simply become a more complex personality believing that you are in control because of your knowledge.  Today we classify ignorant people as uneducated and stupid.  If we have knowledge and skills we are considered intelligent and educated.  Yoga will definitely change your understanding of what is real and not real.  Awareness of the truth is enhanced through self-discipline.  Wisdom is the deep understanding of how to apply your knowledge without becoming blind to the whole picture. 

Yoga is a subtle experience; so fine that even thinking is gross.  The state of consciousness beyond knowledge is a transcendental awareness where you become the vehicle or instrument and there is a force of creative consciousness that flows through you.  You are not in control nor are you the doer.  A state of grace resonates within every cell and fibre of your being where you can see the most subtle cause and effect.  Life is in motion through the many layers of reality and the subtle dimensions of consciousness explode within you releasing waves of joy and contentment.  There is a smile that shines from inside throughout your very existence.  Your body shines, your heart is ripe with love and the mind melts into a divine intoxicated state if bliss.

The Science Of Yoga: There has always been an interest in the origins of life and the existence of a divine power.  Exploring the basic instincts of human nature allowed the very first groups of people to expand their awareness and knowledge of living.  Clothes, food, shelter and cleanliness were the first needs along with the skills to create and maintain them.  Even the most basic skills were developed through observation and experiment.  We watched animals building shelters and recognised the effects of different foods by tasting different cultures, styles and cuisines according to the individual regions of habitat developed into societies of people. The human qualities of feelings, communication and reasoning released an exchange of activity in consciousness that was understood by a few rare individuals who wanted to know the subtle realities of awareness.  They were the mystics and shamans who explored the realms of dreams and inner visions.  It is these extraordinary individuals who began to live a life of personal self-study.  Evolution of the physical world became empowered through involution of awareness and the awakening of consciousness to the inner more subtle realms.

The early mystics of India were the ascetic sadhus and Rishi’s of the Sanatan culture.  The word Rishi translates as “seer” and is given to the genius of a yogi who has elevated into the blissful consciousness beyond knowledge and has seen an even more subtle reality not previously known or understood.  In this context Einstein would be considered a Rishi because he transcended the known science of physics and realized a deeper insight that still influences the great scientists of today. A sadhu is one who dedicates thier life to sadhana (spiritual effort). Before the Vedic traditions of the Indus Valley and Yamuna River, there were ancient peoples who inhabited these regions and practised a ritual form of tantric worship where the divine power inherent in all life was recognised as feminine in nature. The knowledge of power was realized through a variety of methods that later became defined as the science of yoga.  One of the great rishi’s to emerge from within the vedic tradition was Patanjali.  Very little is known about him and exactly who he was is lost in the historic memories of ancient civilizations.  It is generally believed that he lived within the first 1000 years BC.  Some scholars suggest that his teachings collectively publish today as the Patanjali Yoga Sutras influenced the great spiritual teacher Ghautama Buddha.  It is because of some similarities in the two teachings that advocates of Patanjali believe he was living before Buddha, while others feel he was born after the Buddha.  In any case the unique teachings of Patanjali Yoga Sutras were perhaps the first attempt to define yoga and have become the basis for all yogic scholars since.

Originally, before the written alphabet was developed, mystics of ancient India taught and recorded their wisdom in short poetic sentences that were sung as a chant. Sutra translates as “thread” and each sutra was a collection of mantras that had a literal meaning as well as a vibrational quality.  The vibrational sound of mantras resonate within the mind to facilitate learning ad understanding of the literal meaning of Patanjali’s sutras. Each sutra is chanted and explained through satsang and inspired discussion.  Some Gurus are academic teachers who study and analyse Patanjali sutras.  They expand on the teachings by prophesying to know the deeper meanings of each sutra. Patanjali was a Rishi of yoga and established a synthesis of yoga that remains the standard for all future study.  Every now and then an individual yogi is successful in their practice and is able to experience the transcendental state of consciousness.  They are known as Sat Gurus.  Sat translates as truth and these teachers can offer insight into the wisdom of yoga without academic study.  Every yogi aspires to live and study under a Sat Guru, however, this is not always possible because a yogi must transcend knowledge to be able to realize the supreme wisdom of an enlightened consciousness.  Sat Gurus are rare yogis who have become established in this very rare state of mindfull-ness. Patanjali was a Sat Guru and in his theology known as the Yoga sutras his first sutra begins with the following statement and the remaining text ia a thesis of conscise definitions that can be classified into 4 chapters. 

 “Now therefore the complete instructions regarding yoga”. 

• Chapter 1 defines yoga and the nature of mind, including the many different states of consciousness.
• Chapter 2 is the subject of personal requirements and practice to become successful in yoga.  These first two chapters are important to us because they offer insights into the practical application of yoga and the experiences of mental awareness through meditation.
• Chapter 3 and 4 describe the various powers that may result.

Overview: Any student of yoga will understand from Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras that it is necessary to study and practice several forms of yoga as they are all complimentary and progressive to each other.  This is because Patanjali offers 8 essential aspects of yoga practice essential to success.  These are:

1. Yama
2. Niyama
3. Asana
4. Pranayama
5. Pratyahara
6. Dharana
7. Dhyana
8. Samadhi 

Mental Health: When we talk about mental health in yoga, we are concerned with the way the mind thinks and the behaviour of the mental energy of the mind. In yoga an impure mind is one that is under the influence of selfishness, anger, jealousy, control issues, fear, laziness, restlessness and all of the other normal patterns of mental behaviour. A pure mind is one that is free of these mental afflictions so that the awareness is able to remain a witness without becoming affected by the changes that take place in our lives. Mental illness is understood as a state where the ability to manage these normal mental states is lost and we become extreme in our behaviour. Insomnia and other stress related illness is an indication that we are losing our ability to manage the energies of the mind. When the stress levels become extreme often we suffer from mental illness such as insomnia. This will cause us to experience extreme states of confusion and emotional instability. The eight steps of patanjali are the systematic process of yoga that allows us to achieve a pure mind and experience the true natire of our spiritual self.