The word Yog means ‘connection’. The mental connection between the soul and Supreme Soul or the remembrance of the Supreme Soul by the soul is called meditation or Raj Yog. Stability in the Soul-consciousness and God-consciousness will bring peace and bliss to the soul. By this means, all the latencies of the vicious actions of the past lives will be destroyed because intellectual communion with God acts like fire. It burns the sins of the past. Yoga washes off all dirt from the soul; bathing in a river may clean the body but a soul is cleansed only in the remembrance of the Supreme Soul. Yoga is the only means through which soul gets link or association with God, who is the truth. By dint of Yoga, man controls his otherwise fickle sense organs and overcomes diverse vile thoughts. Yog has such great force that, under its influence, even the elements of nature are brought to elevated state and the right path and peace is established in the world.

Through the meditation or RajYog, the soul gets immense joy of an extraordinary kind from it’s link with the Supreme Soul.

The Knowledge of our relationship with God
Knowledge of the relationship between the soul and the supreme soul is very essential to remembrance. In his dealings in life, man remembers every now and then only those who are bound to him by ties of one kind or another. The closer the relationship, the more easily one is reminded of it without any effort, as it were. It is very important to realize and feel that God indeed is our Supreme Father-Mother, Teacher, true Friend and Guide, and the real Protector. Relationship is the lever that can lift us to the state of Yoga. So if we have clearly before us, our relationship with God, we shall every now and then be reminded of Him and only this true link redeems all the human beings.

God is the most beautiful being
Beauty is a thing that bewitches man and draws his mind and understanding again to itself. But beauty of physical body and other things is only temporary and subject to gradual decline and decay. On the contrary, it is the Supreme Soul, the Supreme Father, who is absolutely and truly beautiful. His beauty is spotless; it never suffers change or decline. Remembering Him will make a soul clean and beautiful.

How to practice Raja Yoga?
Whenever one remembers any person or thing, one is reminded of all that person or thing is and what one’s association therewith is. Hence, at the very start, you have the feeling that you are now here to remember God, your mind will at once be transported to the highest world of eternal Light, which is His abode. The qualities of God, the Supreme Soul, a point-of-light will come to the memory.

This means that you have not to utter any sound or syllable, nor recite mentally any formula or maxim, but you have to let yourself easily remember Him, or be conscious of Him, the Supreme Soul who is in the Incorporeal World, in the way in which the memory of any of your worldly relations or ties comes to you. You will then recollect in some such manner as: ” I am a soul… I am a point of light and I am a child of the Supreme Soul… He is also a point of light. God the Supreme Father is an inexhaustible repository of knowledge, peace, bliss and love and is Almighty …. He it is who bestows blessedness on all… How very fortunate I am …”.

The knowledge of both the soul and Supreme Soul is already there. Hence this should not be difficult to practice. You need to withdraw yourself from all your sense organs and establish yourself in the faith that you are a soul, distinct from your body; You will be reminded of the Supreme Soul. As long as we live in the consciousness of the body, we tend to remember only the body and it’s connections. On the contrary, when I understand myself to be a soul, I will naturally put in mind the Supreme Father of the soul.

The Benefits of Meditation

The benefits of meditation are enormous. It calms our mind and body. In these fast and frenetic times, it has the most important ability to replenish mental and emotional energy.
Meditation enables you to create new attitudes and responses to life, giving you a clear spiritual understanding of yourself.

Meditation is the process of re-discovering, enjoying and using the positive qualities already latent within you. Like any skill, meditation requires practice to achieve positive and satisfying results. By doing a little every day, it soon becomes a natural and easy habit, which generously rewards you for the little effort it involves.

What Does Meditation Do?

Meditation energizes your awareness bringing both peace and wisdom to a busy mind. It expands your capacity to love and heals broken hearts. Also it dissolves many fears replacing them with lightness and freedom from anxiety.

Meditation is both the journey and the destination, revealing the secrets of consciousness and the treasures of the soul. It develops the power to be more alert and effective in our interaction with each other and with our precious world. But perhaps the greatest gift that comes with meditation is the glow of inner peace that is both gentle and strong.

The practice of Raja Yoga meditation or intellectual communion with God brings into the soul many powers. Of these, eight are very important. Please refer to the adjoining diagram.

Eight Powers of Raja Yog

The Power To Pack-Up

With the ability to go within, one can learn how to pack up all wasteful thinking in a second, so that there is lightness and freedom from burdens and worries, though there may be many responsibilities. The mind is not scattered over the wide world and so much drawn out to men and matters that he is unable to sleep or to detach himself at his will. With the practice of meditation, one can wind up his thoughts at will.

Power To Tolerate

Just as trees offer the same fruits even to those who pelt stones at them, a yogi tolerates all attacks on him and does good even to those who offer brickbats at him. In the light frame of mind, one will be able to tolerate all types of situations and people to the extent that there is no sense at all of having to tolerate something or someone. With the understanding that each one is simply playing their role in this immense world-drama, impatience, irritation and annoyance disappear like mists before a strong sun.

The Power To Accommodate

Just as the ocean accepts different rivers that flow into it, whether polluted or clean, one will be able to adjust to all that is happening around him, a yogi would be able to accommodate others with him. It makes the man broadminded. One will be able to adjust into all the happenings around him. Even when the atmosphere is weak and impure, they would not affect him.

The Power Of Judgment

One will learn to take correct and quick decision. One will get the ability to accurately assess any situation with clarity and confidence. In a detached, impartial state of mind, one can judge one’s own thoughts, words and actions to see if they are beneficial. One will become a judge of the self and not of others.

The Power Of Discrimination

Just as an expert jeweler can easily distinguish the false from the pure diamonds, one will acquire the power to distinguish between right and wrong or good and bad. One can accurately discriminate between real truth and the apparent truth, between things of temporary value and those of eternal value and between superficial and the subtle. The power helps in recognizing illusions even when they are sweetly decorated and enticing.

The Power To Face

Meditation develops the power to endure hardships. Adversities like death of those on whom one depends may come and high storms may rage strongly, yet his flame of equanimity does not get extinguished. Having confidence in one’s spiritual state brings the courage to face any type of situation.

The Power To Co-Operate

The natural result of all the powers is that I am able to share with others the tasks and qualities that my Father has given to me. There is no feeling of competition, so I can give as well as accept suggestion as to how to proceed with the task of world upliftment. By learning meditation, one will develop the spirit of co-operation. This is a great achievement because if everyone gives his little finger, the society could lift great mountains.

The Power to Withdraw

With full awareness that I (soul) am is an entity different from the body, one can withdraw from the senses and become a point. In the same way that a tortoise retreats into it’s shell in a moment of danger, or just to rest, a person would be able to retract himself from any situation and remain protected.

Getting started for Meditation

Make an appointment with yourself for 10 or 20 minutes each morning or evening. Find a quiet place and relax. Soft music, though not a necessity, can create an appropriate atmosphere. Sit comfortably upright on the floor or in a chair. Keep your eyes open and, without staring, gently rest them on a chosen point somewhere in front of your room.

Gently withdraw your attention from all sights and sounds. Become the observer of your own thoughts.

Don’t try to stop thinking, just be the observer, not judging or being carried away by your own thoughts, just watching.

Gradually they will slow down and you will begin to feel more peaceful. Create one thought for yourself, about yourself for example, “I am a peaceful soul.”

Hold that thought on the screen of your mind; visualize yourself being peaceful, quit and still. Stay as long as you can in the awareness of that thought. Don’t fight with other thoughts or memories that may come to distract you. Just watch them pass by and return to your created thought, “I am a peaceful soul.”

Now think of the Supreme Soul, who is the ocean of peace, bliss, love and so on. Soul receives all these virtues from Him.

Acknowledge and appreciate the positive feelings and other positive thoughts, which may spring directly from this thought.

Be stable in these feelings for a few minutes. Be aware of unrelated thoughts. Finish your meditation by closing your eyes for a few moments and creating complete silence in your mind.