The yoga you see people doing today is Hatha yoga which is a branch of Raja yoga. Besides this yoga, there are many more yogas-Laya yoga, Swara yoga, Kundalini yoga, Tantra yoga etc. They All are means to evolve faster.
Human consciousness evolves till man reaches the highest stage where he becomes a superhuman -almost like god. But evolution being extremely slow, it may take centuries for an individual to reach his or her final destination. The ancient wise who were aware of this fact, had devised various yogas to accelerate the process. The variety in yogas is because, everybody is not the same, and hence is not attracted to a standard method. Each one needs a yoga according to his or her temperament to succeed in his or her endeavour.
Food also needs to be specific for each yoga as they all have specific effects on the body. For example, Raja yoga slows down the metabolism of the individual, and hence the practitioners of this yoga need a low calorie diet. We often see people who meditate a lot have big bellies. It is because they do not decrease their food intake.Taking high calorie heavy food can even harm their system as meditation lowers their body temperature making it difficult for them to digest heavy food. That is why many yoga practitionerstoday have dyspepsia and other stomach problems. And they are always struggling to keep their weight down.
Yogas that increase the metabolic rate of the body are Karma yoga and Bhakti yoga. The followers of these yogas should eat all kinds of sweets, confectionery, cheese, butter and deep fried food. That is why one sees deities being offered mostly laddoos, kheer and rich halwa. It is to show Bhakti yogis what they should eat.
Even if you are not a pure Bhakti yogi, you can still do some Bhakti yoga practices to keep your body mind and soul in the right shape and move forward faster in the subtle realm. And the best part is, this yoga is very enjoyable.
Human consciousness evolves till man reaches the highest stage where he becomes a superhuman -almost like god. But evolution being extremely slow, it may take centuries for an individual to reach his or her final destination. The ancient wise who were aware of this fact, had devised various yogas to accelerate the process. The variety in yogas is because, everybody is not the same, and hence is not attracted to a standard method. Each one needs a yoga according to his or her temperament to succeed in his or her endeavour.
Food also needs to be specific for each yoga as they all have specific effects on the body. For example, Raja yoga slows down the metabolism of the individual, and hence the practitioners of this yoga need a low calorie diet. We often see people who meditate a lot have big bellies. It is because they do not decrease their food intake.Taking high calorie heavy food can even harm their system as meditation lowers their body temperature making it difficult for them to digest heavy food. That is why many yoga practitionerstoday have dyspepsia and other stomach problems. And they are always struggling to keep their weight down.
Yogas that increase the metabolic rate of the body are Karma yoga and Bhakti yoga. The followers of these yogas should eat all kinds of sweets, confectionery, cheese, butter and deep fried food. That is why one sees deities being offered mostly laddoos, kheer and rich halwa. It is to show Bhakti yogis what they should eat.
Even if you are not a pure Bhakti yogi, you can still do some Bhakti yoga practices to keep your body mind and soul in the right shape and move forward faster in the subtle realm. And the best part is, this yoga is very enjoyable.
