A Series of Twelve Lessons in
Self-Knowledge and Self-Control
Yogi Ramacharaka
A 2018 Foreword:
Open-Mindedness and Discernment
No higher form of
knowledge can be available to the general public and at the same time remain entirely
free from distortion.
Especially in materialistic societies, it will often
be presented in precarious ways. On the other hand, it must suffer misinterpretation
as it reaches the public. Therefore
blind belief in scriptures is of no use.
The verbatim and authentic teachings of Helena
Blavatsky, for instance, will be misrepresented if taught as a dead-letter
philosophy having no relation to the present-day challenges faced by mankind.
Even if presented in a correct and living way as an open-process
of active search and research, the authentic teachings will, up to a certain
degree, be misinterpreted by experienced students and neophyte alike.
It is from this point of view, which stimulates an
open yet humble search and research in authentic teachings, that the
Independent Lodge of Theosophists and its associated websites recommend books
on Raja Yoga written by various authors and with different perspectives. Some
of them are M. N. Dvivedi, Rohit Mehta, Selvarajan Yesudian & Elizabeth Haich,
I. K. Taimni, W. Q. Judge, Swami Vivekananda and Yogi Ramacharaka.[1]
All of these authors deserve our respect and gratitude
for having written serious books on Raja Yoga and the Aphorisms of Patanjali,
which give us a variety of valuable teachings. No one of them is perfect. It is
up to each student to find the wisdom in good books of Raja Yoga and test their
teachings in life. However, a few indications should be given.
It is worse than useless and extremely dangerous to
indulge in any childish pursuit of “occult powers” pertaining to Raja Yoga. The
very goal is self-destructive. There are solid indications clarifying that “Raja
Yoga” nowadays means self-knowledge and self-control, and that no form of “subtle”
power-manipulation can be accepted. Pseudo-esoteric and pseudo-theosophical
teachings are poison; and every study or practice aiming at the development of
so-called “psychic powers” as a goal in itself
is pseudo-esoteric. [2]
Raja Yoga is not the false science of manipulating “subtle
energies” for personal advantage. It is the science of self-knowledge. It is
the union between the lower self and the spiritual soul. It is the building of a
practical harmony between one’s life and that eternity in time which is
inseparable from boundlessness in space.
Raja Yoga is the conscious unity between a human
individual and the one universal Law. The good book by Ramacharaka points in such a
noble direction.
(Carlos Cardoso Aveline)
NOTES:
[1] M.N. Dvivedi deserves
special attention since his works were personally recommended by Helena
Blavatsky. The book by W.Q. Judge - a contemporary disciple and direct
co-worker of Blavatsky -, is quite small, yet useful. Click to read the books “The Yoga-Sutra of Patanjali”,
by M.N. Dvivedi, and “The Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali”,
by W.Q. Judge.
[2] See the articles “How to Develop Occult Powers”,
and “From Ritualism to Raja Yoga”.
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The book “Raja Yoga or Mental Development” was
published in our associated websites on the 27th of December, 2018.
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See also the
articles and “Good Sense in Approaching Raja Yoga”
and “Experiencing the Yoga Aphorisms”.
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On 14 September 2016, after examining the
state of the esoteric movement worldwide, a group of students decided to found
the Independent Lodge of Theosophists. Two of the priorities
adopted by the ILT are learning from the past and building
a better future.
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