The Leela of Yoga
Yogiraj Yogananda Puri – my yoga guru
Yoga is aligning to the grandiosity of the Universe
Though incredibly vast, the lines of logic between planets millions of light years away and us do exist. When we are able to grasp that logic, we are able to play with the dimensions of the universe. The ancient rishis and sages, in the history of Hinduism, have indeed mastered this, and delivered it to the world as a practice to maintain the alignment between the universe and us.
That is how yoga came to be. It is aligning our body, our mind and our consciousness to the grandiosity of this universe that we live in, in Oneness. And when it happens, it radiates as spiritual powers from us.
The overwhelming loss of any science is what draws Paramaśiva or the Divine into a human form, in the form of an Avatār. And when it happens, the grand Līlā unfolds long before The Avatār descends into the human form. For the revival of the science, by delivering it once again to the universe, a few chosen guides are sent ahead of The Avatār, whose DNAs are blessed with the knowledge of the science, and are chosen to relate with Paramaśiva Himself as His teacher. From them, He gathers that very DNA and engineers it into His own bio-memory, Himself becoming the perfect combination of physical and metaphysical flexibility and strength to deliver it to the world.
His mission, therefore, is intricately planned even before the beginning, with the help of millions of people. They are extensions of Him with a designated role in the grand Līlā. Sent before and after His arrival, they scatter all over the world to contribute to the Grand Revival. With many of them yet to awaken to the grand narrative of the universe, they are perhaps even one amongst us.
Yoga is the communion between Consciousness and matter. The source of Yoga is Paramaśiva Himself and, therefore, He is Adi Yogi – the Primordial Yogi.
Paramaśiva describes Yoga as a method, a system and a science for human beings to explore the various possibilities and powers of Paramaśiva, and have access to various states of Consciousness and multiple dimensions of the universe. These include the ability to express and explore the various powers (Śaktis), the various states of Consciousness (like jāgrat, svapna, sushupti, Turīya, Turīyatita) and various planes (lokas) of the universe (like Tapoloka, Satyaloka, Svargaloka, and so on)
अनादिशिवसद्भावयोगयुक्तः सदाशिवः ।
मन्त्रयोगमयेपीठे तत्रस्थस्तेन चोच्यते ॥२२॥
anādiśivasadbhāvayogayuktaḥ sadāśivaḥ ।
mantrayogamayepīṭhe tatrasthastena cocyate ॥22॥
The unique system of Yoga exclusively belonging to Paramaśiva is known as Śivasadbhava Yoga which is centered on the essential qualities of Paramaśiva and on the nature of being eternally free from the three limiting factors – āṇava, karma and māyā. Lord Siva constantly remains established in the Yoga of Śivasadbhava. He is uninterruptedly seated on the pedestal which is of the nature of mantra Yoga (that is, the pedestal designed with mantras). Therefore He is praised as Yogapitha samsthita. 22
- RAURAVA ĀGAMA – Mantrartha Varnanam (Verse 22)
I trained in Paramaśiva’s Shastanga Yoga
The system in which I was trained, and which we now follow in our Sangha, is Paramaśiva’s original yoga, which He reveals in the Āgamas. It is Paramaśiva’s Shastanga Yoga, not Patanjali’s Ashtanga Yoga. It is not the 8-part Yoga by Patanjali, but the original 6-part Yoga by Paramaśiva Himself.
He gives an instruction to always be in tremendous sattvik ananda, the bliss, which comes from non-violent activities. Bliss comes from non-violent activities like yoga and dancing. Bhagavan Paramaśiva says that is an antidote for that layer of pitta to be cleansed. Pitta is a layer of toxins that collects over your brain from the time that you cognize your individuality. The sattvik ananda is the perfect weapon to pierce through that layer for you to express more and more powers stably.
Of the same caliber as great yogis like Kinaram Baba and Trailinga Swami, Yogirāj Yogānanda Puri was a seventh or eighth generation powerful yogi of the Nātā Sampradāya – a lineage of yogis that traces its source to Paramaśiva Himself, where Sādhus master the science of manifesting powers or Śaktis, expressing them in their most raw and powerful form.
For a long time, until the British colonizers split India into smaller countries, Yogananda Puri resided in a southeast territory of India called Brahmadesh, today known as Myanmar (Burma). He appeared in a village, in the outskirts of Tiruvannamalai, on 20 April 1913 and lived until 7 May 1995. We use the word ‘appeared’ because his actual date of birth is unknown. So it can only be told that he surfaced to his people on 20 April 1913. Going by what He revealed to The Avatār over time, he would have been at least 120 years when he died.