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yogani
USA
5195 Posts |
 Posted - Mar 05 2006 : 6:24:38 PM
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Picking up on a private conversation here...
Hi Jim:
Theosophy was really huge around 1900, before and after -- the only real Eastern wisdom game in town in the West until Vivekananda, Sir John Woodroffe and a few others began promoting, writing about and teaching practices. Then came Yogananda...
See lesson 253 for more history on Yoga coming to the West.
Theosophy and its off-springs (Steiner, Bailey, etc.) have Western 19th century spiritualism, intellectual mysticism and Pagan leanings mixed in, as there were no real practices to speak of coming West from India much before 1910-20 or so, so the Europeans and Americans did the best they could with all that Eastern philosophy.
Aren't you thrilled to know all this, Jim? Ah, but you'd rather just "point an click" in practices. Me too! 
The guru is in you.
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Jim and His Karma
2111 Posts |
Posted - Mar 05 2006 : 7:16:17 PM
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"Ah, but you'd rather just "point an click.""
LOL
"Point and Click" is actually a great tagline for AYP...
Yoga's sure changed a lot over the last hundred years, no? Oh, wait a minute....it's centuries old.........umm....er.....
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yogani
USA
5195 Posts |
Posted - Mar 06 2006 : 12:21:39 PM
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Hi Jim:
Newton's laws of motion have been around for a long time too, and look how far we have come in applying them. I think yoga is like that. As we move from rigid past-based applications and evolve toward results-oriented real time application of yoga practices, I think we will see a great acceleration in both the understanding and the utilization of the principles that are involved. Yoga is only reflecting what is within us already, just as Newton's laws reflect how physical motion has always occurred. The refinement of application in both cases is a process, not an absolute. This has been a mistaken notion about yoga over the centuries. Yoga is not a monolith. It is an evolving interpretation of human capabilities, and manifesting them in the most efficient ways. Will that process ever end? I think not.
Over the past 100 years there has been huge progress, but it is only the beginning of far greater things. We can do this!
The guru is in you.
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yogani
USA
5195 Posts |
Posted - Mar 06 2006 : 12:42:30 PM
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PS - This private conversation was just posted here in the satsang cafe. An exciting topic for sure, at the heart of all we are doing in AYP. Enjoy!  |
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Yoda
USA
284 Posts |
Posted - Mar 06 2006 : 5:43:52 PM
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Yeah Baby!
Just imagine how much easier it'll be to connect to yoga in future lives!!! Even in Africa and South America, access is improving by the minute. The "uphill" work has been done! Walk into any bookstore and the new age section has influenced fiction, music, business, sports, kids books, self-improvement, etc. I can see the difference in the last 20 years and can't imagine what the next 20 will bring. Quite staggering. In my opinion, the big shift for the west happened in the late sixties and has been on a tear ever since.
Definite Age of Aquarius, dude.
-Yoda |
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Jim and His Karma
2111 Posts |
Posted - Mar 06 2006 : 11:12:24 PM
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Yoda, I partially share your optimism, but not all the way.
I think the good stuff has been so diluted and smothered by the preponderance of fake lightweight platitudinous new agey stuff that it's nearly as unfindable as when it was hard to track down.
A needle in a haystack is as hard to find as a hidden needle....
Sorry to be Mr. Dreary...... |
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Etherfish
USA
3615 Posts |
Posted - Mar 06 2006 : 11:32:24 PM
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There is so much complexity yet. The average person is faced with hundreds of
methods, a lot of it sounding awfully new agey and far-fetched. So most of them probably think
practical thoughts like "Yoga is good for relaxation and balance." and "Meditation is good for
relaxation." And a lot of them think it's all bull.
Then a few think "It sounds like there is some truth there, but where do I start; there are so
many methods and they're so complex. I don't know what to believe."
Enter AYP. . . . |
Edited by - Etherfish on Mar 06 2006 11:34:54 PM |
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Yoda
USA
284 Posts |
Posted - Mar 07 2006 : 11:15:14 PM
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J&E-
The fact that the air is thick with new age inspiration and "yoga for bloodpressure" application means that yoga is here to stay. Compare that to 50 years ago... you are on a different planet. Add the convenience of the Internet and Yogani's easy home brew instructions and we have an auspicious situation here.
Only on the Internet, stuff like this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ram_Bahadur_Bomjon
Tashi Delek, "Glorious Auspiciousness" as the Tibetans would say.
-Yoda |
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mystiq
India
62 Posts |
Posted - Mar 08 2006 : 04:08:39 AM
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Dear Friends, Yoga has been part of the Indian concept of time that is based on the life of Brahma the creator.One day in the life of Brahma is termed as one chatur yuga one chatur yuga consists of Krita yuga 1728000 years, Treta yuga 1296000, Dvapara yuga, 864000 and kali yuga 432000 making a total of4320000. (for more details google it) We are now in the 5000th year(aprox) of Kali yuga. In the age of Kali the life span of humans is the lowest in descending order from Krita onwards. Therefore the old system of yoga which required extensive preparations and time is not practical now. Thus the need and evolution of new age yogas
mystiq |
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Yoga - Then and Now
