Surya deva,
I think the effectiveness of any given approach may have some relationship with the unique matrix of obstructions within any given individual.Energetically,physiologically,emotionally,mentally etc.
ajapa and japa yoga
I’m not totally conversant with all possible subtle distinctions between the two.Generally ,Ajapa is spontanous whereas japa is based repetition.I will say that rote mechanical repetition is less effective than repitition where you neither chase the mantra nor hold or hang on it. This i am led to believe is much more effective in working on superficial mind and rapidly transcending it all the way to stillness,inner silence or PBC.AYP deep meditation i can tell you uses this approach.It’s basically the same as Transcendental Meditation but uses a universal mantra based on it’s sound properties.
I can talk about Deep Meditation as that is the technique i am very familar with and have experience with.Indeed it’s possible it may well be like the Rolls Royce or Cadillac of meditation techniques.Unlike some forms of japa yoga it does’nt use a mala for a start; not all do.Repeition of " I am" is all that is entailed.Also some forms of japa may say we do not lose mantra. In AYP actually losing the mantra is a very good sign indeed. It has deomonstarted that a lot of deep cleansing has taken place in the deep realms of sub-conscious/unconsious.It’s typically characterised by wondering what one is indeed doing at some point during our sitting…We completely ose ourselves for a moment as it were, until we realise that has occured , come to,and then go back to the simple procedure, i.e mental recitation of mantra.Also i’ve just looked ‘Meditation from the Tantras’ book which is indeed an eye-opener and somewhat encyclopoaedic;Satyananda/that book obviously bears the legacy of Swami Sivananda(see here on an excerpt from his Japa Yoga)Also whereas in that book i consulted said you can observe other thoughts from the ‘witness state’ as it were while focused on the mantra , i.e if & while they arise the AYP approach it is said to ‘favour’ the mantra.Indeed that seems to be their key-word. So it is expected that thoughts indeed will arise and so achnowledged as a positive and natural thing. This is purification and cleansing occuring.Sometimes it seems the ayp mantra method can become like ajapa, i.e spontaneous. Indeed in that book under the ‘ajapa yoga’ chapter it say japa becomes ajapa after a while and then it is true meditation or some such thing.I can tell you that AYP deep meditation traverses very effectively all the limbs from, yes, pratyahara all the way to samadhi and at times can seem to oscillate between limbs depending on how the purification is going at any given point or indeed session.It goes deep quickly and from the start;that is why it is effective and potent and a standard 20 mins is prescribed.Japa or mantra yoga which may be a bigger umbrella(–i’m not technically up on all the distinctions), can take you all the way home,enlightenment,self-realization liberation,God-head etc on it’s own but i think it’s real power and potency can be employed when combining with other yogas or techniques.
Yes, Yes, Yes—Pratyahara is like the Gateway limb to the “higher yogas”.I can tell you that Deep Meditaition will facilitate introversion of the senses;this in turn makes our practices much more effective as we are much less, perhaps even not at all, distracted by the external distractions of our enviroment.We can go deep much more easily.Pratayhara also facilitates a relaxed awareness which is also very essential to going deep and for making our meditations effective. That is why hatha yoga is prescribed becuase it deals with the bodily tensions and seeks to unite & harmonise body-mind.Relaxation on all levels [I]can[/I] be somewhat more difficult.
I can tell you that the AYP apporach works through a kind of [B][I]reverse-engineering[/I][/B]. The DM serves first to loosen the nerves. But overall that apporach is best,including DM, on global purification.It relies alot on spiritual surrender,i.e letting go componont of DM, and they are also quite fanatical or religious about their bhakti, which is good thing.Meditation components do tend todo this’ they can kind of turbo-charge your spiritual growth, a bit like catalytic injection and useful in cultivating the witness state, deep & abiding inner silence ayp call it…
Now the question you posited i asked what sounds like pretty much the same thing. Is hatha yoga and puirfication of the body and balancing of the energetic system worth following? I can tell you that in the AYP system it is not long before it is tken up but DM isprecribed first and does indeed serve to loosen the nerves , psychically as well as indeed physically too( believe it or not).
Some schools may well suggest that you wait until kundalin is sufficiently awake until you embrace something like meditation(proper). Indeed i think some possibly do say this- see Here for example. But there is no right way just different approaches, with the scale of safety perhaps variable…Some wil say balance ida & pingala as a pre-requisite for suhshumna awakening as a pre-cursor before K awakening & crown fruition/maturation…The bihar prepartion uses a tantric sadhana, a mixed-component sadhana, that large employs kumbhaka, chakra location and tuning and then togther with mudras & bhandas to open up each chakra, done in sequence…Generally the ajna is opened first as master controller and then the root which grounds us and adresses twin sides of the polar charge.
Pratyahara is a useful benefit of effective meditation techniques and could be in degrees. You say you rarely acheived ‘true P’.Dm method acheives this and the other limbs.
I don’ think there a right or wrong answer. But embracing more of the limbs will make your yoga more effective.All that is needded then is the discipline & commitment to regular practice.
One could come to a point as a raja or meditation practioner that you become more sensitive to the practice.Some times it can be a symptom of not being sufficiently relaxed, i’e able to let-go… that is completely, mind& body…
You might just have an asana programme that is neither workiing or not serving you best. So you may wish to review that.I would recommend Satyananda seminal book for that ‘Asana,Pranayam,Mudra & Bhanda’ as well as ‘Kundalini Tantra’, another invaluable & obvious jewel in the yoga literature. The Bihar & AYP both lay out a path that is doable for most folk.
I would combine them all along with self-pacing principle and monitoring any sensitivities that may or may not crop up with any given technique. Deep mantra meditation, if there are existing imbaalnces could not always serve you best.The AYP practices are global purifiers but i think you can always use and test to see how sensitive you are.I think some of the base-line AYP practices can be employed to see how senstive you mgiht be or how much prufication has taken place.
I would say stick with one path. That is what i am doing. I am using the tantric sadhana of ‘Kundalini Tantra’ and emplying DM as a global purifer, mind transcender, PBC cultivator currently now and again, ie. as long as i am not too sensitive to it…I don’t practice it all the time but i have used AYP for testing purification levels and sampling to be honest with you.No delyaed effects or anything like this.All seem fairly effective. I’m sure meditation is probably easier when K is fully awake.But i don’t think there is necessarily a right or wrong answer.I think you could be senstive to any of the limbs. A bit like alchemical cookery ,The trick is putting toegther a recipe that works & is currently working. If you are sensitive to something like DM you could always employ the sadhan of Kundalini Tantra and that leave that to later.There only one way of knowing, through sutained practice, of course.
As i say ayp works from the inside -----> moving outwards.It goes deeep right from the start, then tries to balnce out the energy body, which it does. It’s just that some of us may benefit from other tool-suites in order to get the job done. Although the job as such and our own Consciousness evolution never stops. Things are always changing or in transtion.
If you’ve experienced the sublte body or pranamaya kosha ,which influences the physical and the mental, the bridge between the two. and know what to look for in terms of experience, in terms of activity in your third-eye, the crown and when nadis have been freed up and cleared, then i think you’re making good porgress. The rest is just a matter of time and being able to cultivate an accepatnce of where you are at and be able to live in the present…
Also just do your practice without expectation of results.Just do it.
I think I read Muz Murray, a mantra master for about 35 years since the 60’s say something like.
Whatever happens happens. Whatever does’nt does’nt. Those that accept or accepting of this are firmly established in the spiritual self.
So take the attitude that ita does’nt really matter what happens. As long as we obserne some of the first principles and techniques as they relate to safety and the over-arching prinicple of AYP, they call it self-pacing.We can’t go too slow but we can charge head too fast.So we just pace our openings for a safe and comfortable journey.
I hope this response of mine makes some sense. You asked a question i did indeed query myself.Combing all the limbs tends to deliver the best results.What you should do is guage how the different techniques affect you and complement you on all levels and then formulate something accordingly.
- who also practices yoga for couple of years, and meditation for some more, and as such has quite unique opinion.