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YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED: F.A.Q. 8
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YOGA AND PSYCHOLOGY QUESTION: In what way is Western Psychology related
to Yoga? ANSWER: This is an interesting yet highly complex
topic that requires not only a thorough understanding of Psychology but also
considerable knowledge of European history. Before embarking on a more
detailed discussion, a clear definition of the term Psychology will go a long
way in elucidating the issue. In conventional language, Psychology is held to
be the study (Logia) of the mind (Psyche) and mental processes. In our view,
this definition is unsatisfactory for a number of reasons, only two of which
need to concern us here. First, the mind, that is, the faculty of thinking, feeling and
perceiving, has no independent existence of its own, being in fact a function
of the Soul. Any systematic study of the mind that excludes the Soul is
necessarily incomplete, potentially misleading and hence fundamentally flawed. The fact is that the Greek word Psyche which forms the basis
of the term Psychology, means not only mind but also Soul. The Soul is the
conscious entity at the heart of our being. It is that part of us which
provides us with awareness and understanding and continues to exist even
after the death of the physical body. Since the original founders of
Psychology accepted the reality of the Soul as defined above, the original
and true Psychology is, by definition, that branch of knowledge which
concerns itself with the Soul and its mental functions. After all, just as it
is meaningless to analyse the movements of a motor car or any other vehicle
without reference to its driver, the mind cannot be properly known or
understood so long as one remains incognizant of the Soul. On the other hand,
if the Soul is known, the mind is necessarily also known. Second, as Psychology has a practical application based on
knowledge of the Soul (and its mental functions) and not just on the study
thereof, it may be appropriately termed Science. It follows from this, that
Psychology properly speaking is the Science of the conscious Soul - or
Science of Consciousness as Professor Jung put it. It is the knowledge of how
consciousness experiences, and interacts with, the World and, in the final
analysis, how consciousness experiences and relates to itself: in other
words, Self-Knowledge or Self-Realisation which, as we know, is the very
essence of Yoga. The clarification of this point is particularly important in
view of the fact that it has been a source of confusion and a major obstacle
in the understanding of both Yoga and Psychology even among Indian scholars
with modern academic training. The fact is that any form of Psychology that
is not based on knowledge of the conscious Soul (or consciousness) is not
proper Psychology. Thus the correct Hindi term for true Psychology should be
not Mano-Vijnana (Mind-Knowledge) but Atma-Jnana (Soul-Knowledge) which is a
long-established synonym for Yoga. Likewise, genuine Yogis who are traditionally
known by the various synonymous appellations of Atma-Vid, Atma-Jnani (Knowers
of the Soul), or Jnaneshvara (Masters of Spiritual Knowledge), are the
original and true Psychologists and Doctors of the Soul. While this may come as a shock to those familiar exclusively
with the conventional concept of Psychology, from a Yogic perspective Yoga
and Psychology are essentially identical. This fact will become evident if we
briefly examine the historical connections between the two systems. Western Psychology as we know it today, has its origins in the
natural reaction to the growing materialism of the 18th and 19th
centuries that followed a long millennium of religious authoritarianism and
oppression. Deprived of a Spiritual experience of life, the human heart was
longing for an alternative to the theology-centred dogma of the Christian
Church on one hand and the Soul-less theories of Science, on the other. It is important to remember that it all had started with the
rise of Bible-based faiths during the Middle Ages (known as the Dark Ages of
human history) in particular the period beginning with the disintegration of
the Roman Empire in the 4th century up to the 8th
century when Europe was unnecessarily - and often forcibly - converted to
Christianity while much of Asia fell under Muslim military occupation. This
in itself created an artificial division between the two continents which for
millennia had formed a geographical, cultural and Spiritual unity. Moreover, through their Middle-East-oriented worldview, the
new religions aimed to eliminate all reference to people's Ancestral
Spirituality. Nations which had been at home in Europe from earliest
prehistory were suddenly requested to regard themselves as descendants of
Abraham and Moses - no less - and to adopt the State-sponsored beliefs and
practices of some obscure Middle-Eastern sect with a disturbing ambition for
World domination. To make matters worse, all aspects of everyday life were
controlled to the smallest detail by the religious authorities who expected
people to dedicate their lives exclusively to the edification of the Church. Needless to say, this absurd disregard of historical,
Spiritual and psychological realities, which was contrary to the natural
instincts of the people, could hardly be conducive to mental and emotional
health. It was in fact directly responsible for an unprecedented rise in
cases of psychological disorder among large sections of the population. The
infamous witch-hunts and other atrocities committed in the name of religion during
this time, are perhaps the best-known illustration of the collective insanity
that had descended upon most Western countries. To eliminate any misunderstanding, we may note here that Yoga
does not condemn any religion, one of The Yoga Order's principal functions
being to encourage mutual understanding and co-operation between all
religious denominations. However, the truth is that conventional religion in
general and individual religions - for example, Christianity - in particular,
do not always work for everybody. In such cases, a dissatisfied person has
every legal, moral and Spiritual right to seek fulfilment in alternative
forms of Spirituality. This is a very important fact that no rational being
can ignore or deny. Unlike conventional religion which has time and again
become involved in acts of violence such as military invasions, forced
conversions and other genocidal activities, Yoga regards the World as a
Community of Free Souls and we strongly reject any attempt to impose a
religious belief on intelligent beings as a serious transgression against the
Spiritual Laws of the Universe. As it happens, the light of Christianity did not bring the
Illumination the Western Soul had been longing for. On the contrary, what had
started as a supposed religion of brotherhood and love, soon became an
instrument of social, political and religious oppression. It may be worthy of
note in this context that not only have 2,000 years of Christianity produced
remarkably few cases of what could qualify as Enlightenment from a Yogic
point of view, but those who in the past did exhibit a degree of Spiritual
Realisation, such as Meister Eckhart, St. John of the Cross or Jacob Boehme,
far from receiving due recognition and support, were typically met by the
Church authorities with a mixture of embarrassment and suspicion that fully
exposed the system's Spiritual inadequacy. In consequence, people began to
search for light elsewhere. One of the first rays of hope was that of
emergent Science. Yet although the excesses of state-imposed religion were
tempered somewhat by a more rational approach to life pioneered by the
votaries of Science, the scientific worldview proved equally unable to
satisfy the needs of the Soul. Even worse, the science-based Industrial
Revolution of the late 18th and early 19th centuries
was to turn millions of people into victims of systematic exploitation by the
powerful few. Thus it was against this background of general
de-Spiritualisation and de-humanisation of life, that by the 19th
century a new field of knowledge dawned on the academic horizon of The result of centuries of Church-imposed suppression had been
to drive people's natural Spiritual instincts into the recesses of their
subconscious mind, creating a chronic psychological split in many
individuals. A healing process was only possible by consciously reversing the
situation. What European man needed was, first, to rediscover and reclaim his
pre-Christian, Ancestral Spirituality that had previously nourished his Soul
and, second, to rebuild the broken links with his Asian brothers and sisters.
This was the noble task that Psychology had set itself and in so doing it
offered the perfect answer to the needs of the time. Ancient European Mythology and folklore had provided an
important source of inspiration to those searching for alternative forms of
Spirituality for some time. The works of Ancient Greek Philosophers were
equally much-read by all knowledge-loving people. In addition to this, the
European conquest of Inspired by the great thinkers of his time and emboldened by
his own researches, the Swiss Psychologist Carl Gustaf Jung (1875-1961) set
about to give the Western World its Spiritual Identity back that it urgently
needed in order to recover its psychological and Spiritual health and
well-being. A highly intelligent and gifted man, he had long understood that
the Bible was not Humanity's sole repository of Wisdom and that other Wisdom
Books existed, many of which were older and perhaps wiser than the Bible
itself. Not only this, but if there was any Wisdom in ancient books, might
not even more Wisdom be found in the forgotten depths of man's own heart?
Could not every man and woman on Earth discover their own Book of Wisdom by
searching their own Souls? Particularly popular with psychologist theorists of the time
was the dubious belief that mental and emotional conditions (such as
neurosis) could be solved by analysing and interpreting them in terms of the
patient's history of psychosexual development - a concept chillingly
reminiscent of the Church-promoted belief in Mankind's inherent sinfulness.
By contrast, Jung correctly recognised that what caused psychological
imbalance was the restriction or contraction of human consciousness, that is,
the imposition of unnatural mental patterns - such as certain religious or
scientific beliefs - upon the conscious Self or Soul. According to him, as
according to Yoga, mental and emotional health and well-being could be
attained only within the context of a larger Consciousness which he termed
Collective Unconscious. The concept of the Unconscious had already been known to
European philosophers before Jung, and the use of dream interpretation for
purposes of healing and divination had been a well-established Spiritual
practice among all peoples of the Ancient World. In keeping with the
time-honoured Spirituality of his Ancestors, therefore, Jung proposed to
access the Collective Unconscious, that is, the Unseen (and Unknown) World of
Spirit by means of certain Yoga-like techniques such as dream analysis and
active imagination. An important concept introduced by Jung was that of the
Archetypes, powerful primordial images held within the Collective Unconscious
and hence common to all human beings, which appeared in European folk art and
mythology since times immemorial. Such Archetypes were the Wise Old Man, the
Hero, the Saviour, the Sun God and many others which all corresponded to
concepts found in the Yoga tradition (Adi-Natha, Maha Vira, etc.). By
consciously entering the Unconscious, man could awaken and contact these
Unknown Forces and utilise their creative power to transform his life. Like
the great Wisemen, Shamans and Magicians of pre-Christian Thus the great genius of Jung consisted in the liberation of
Psychology from the prison-house of clinical Psychiatry to which it had been
confined by the scientific community and making it once again into the
promising Spiritual endeavour it had originally been. For this reason, Jung
is rightly seen as the unchallenged father of modern Western Psychology. In
his inspired and gifted hands, Psychology soon became the Master Key for
unlocking the Secrets of Life that would enable the Western World to fulfil
its Higher Destiny in the same way as Yoga had brought Spiritual Liberation
to millions in the East. This creative fusion of Ancient Spirituality and
Modern Psychology was to become the driving force behind the New Age movement
and lay the foundations for the World Spirituality of the New Millennium. What must be obvious in the light of these facts, is that as
already observed, Psychology in the original sense and as expounded by
Professor Jung, is a natural and necessary progression from both religious
belief and scientific theory. It is that field of knowledge which brings a
Spiritual dimension to human existence and elevates man to higher stages of
experience. Without it, Humanity would remain imprisoned in a web of mental
constructs without ever seeing the life-bringing light of its own Soul. Furthermore, as the Enlightening and Liberating Science (or
Knowledge) of the Soul, true Psychology must be admitted to be essentially
identical with Yoga. Indeed, both Jungian Psychology and Yoga aim to achieve
a condition of Wholeness (or Unity) through Self-Realisation or Illumination
which is brought about by a process of interiorisation of consciousness. By
looking within, by directing the light of one's consciousness inwards, one
discovers one's real Self. It must be remembered that Western Psychology was based not
only on Ancient European Spirituality (Celtic, Germanic, Greek) but also on
the Yoga tradition itself which had reached Europe through translations of
Ancient Indian texts inspiring an entire constellation of free-thinking Souls
from the eminent philosopher Schopenhauer to the romantic writer and poet
Victor Hugo and finally to Jung himself. Although it has been generally excluded from the investigation
of modern scholarship, Following the Muslim Arab invasion of It must be said in this context that although Yogis do not,
generally speaking, leave many archaeological traces, historical evidence
attests to the physical presence of "Indian sages" in the Middle
East centuries before the advent of Islam. Similarly, Sanskrit inscriptions
of the pre-Islamic era found in caves off the Yemeni coast indicate that
Indian culture was present not only in Unfortunately, however, religious fundamentalism was to put an
end to the teaching of Philosophy and other non-Islamic, "Western
sciences" and Sufism itself eventually became, for all practical
purposes, just a Muslim sect. Thus, as the ancient wisdom of East and West
had facilitated the rise of the Islamic World, the suppression of the same
brought about its final downfall. The question that legitimately arises at this point is, What
became of the descendants of Plato's great Academy? After their initial
settling in For a better understanding of events, it is essential to
remember that prior to the advent of Christianity and Islam in the region,
what is today known as "Afghanistan" and "Pakistan"
formed an integral part of India, thereby making India and Persia (Iran)
next-door neighbours. Moreover, these two North-West Indian provinces,
together with Apart from the well-documented trade links between the Roman
Empire and India, conclusive evidence of India's long-established Spiritual
influence on Europe may be found in archaeological materials (for example,
Roman inscriptions dedicated to the Indo-Persian Sun God Mithra) which
suggest that Sanskrit-based mantras or mystical formulas were in use
throughout the Roman Empire, that is, from Persia to Britain, up to the 3rd
century CE. This fact finds further confirmation in the testimony of ancient
writers (Dio Chrysostom and Clement of the first and second centuries CE) who
attest the presence of Indian sages in the Egyptian city of Indeed, the Indian Emperor Ashoka is known to have sent
Buddhist monks to Greece as early as the 3rd century BC, and a
century before this, Alexander the Great (after which the above-mentioned
city was named) and his retinue of warriors and philosophers are reported to
have maintained close contact with Yogis they had encountered during an
expedition to India, being even accompanied by some of them on their return
journey to Persia. At all events, the fact is that Indian Yogis were well-known
in the classical World under such names as "naked philosophers",
(gymnosophists, from their custom of walking about almost or entirely naked),
"forest hermits", "brahmans" and "shamans"
(shramanas, in Sanskrit) as evidenced by the writings of classical writers
such as Strabo and Diogenes Laertius (1st and 3rd centuries of the current
era, respectively). The teachings of Indian Yogis not only clearly influenced the
leading minds of Greece and Rome but in the case of Plotinus (205-270 CE)
himself, who was universally recognised as one of the wisest men of his time,
they must be seen as the primary motivating factor in his decision to
undertake a (unfortunately unfinished) journey to India. Yogic teachings are found even in Early Christian writings.
For example, Saint Hippolytus of Thus, in Plato's "Symposium", it is related that his
master, Socrates, would for hours stand motionless in adoration of the Sun -
just as Indian Yogis and ascetics do even now. The Solar Deity, Apollo
Hyperboraeus, was the God honoured by the members of the Socratic School at Hyperboraeus, moreover, means "beyond the (northern)
wind". In Spiritual terms, it signifies a supra-mental state of
consciousness which lies beyond the mental processes of ordinary life which,
in the manner of a blowing wind, disturb the natural peace and clarity of the
human Soul. In other words, this region "beyond the northern wind"
is nothing but Nirvana itself, which literally means, "No-blowing"
or "No-moving", that is to say, the absolute motionelessness and
calmness of the Enlightened Condition where the Supreme Light of
Consciousness reigns supreme. In Ancient Greek terms, it is Hyperborea, the
Blessed Land where the Sun shines day and night. This extraordinary state of Nirvana is to be found in a higher
mode of consciousness which is characterised by unobstructed Clarity and
Insight symbolised by the Sun, Moon, fire or any other source of light.
Meditation on the Supreme - traditionally defined as Consciousness and Bliss
- in the form of light is prescribed in all Indian sacred texts from the
Puranas to the Vedas and the Upanishads. Says the Shiva Purana: "He who, with a pure mind,
worships the Supreme Lord (Shiva) in the solar disc in the morning, Although this Spiritual dimension is often denied in modern
academic circles which seek to present psychology and philosophy as a purely
intellectual enterprise, it becomes clear that the Light of Consciousness as
a darkness or ignorance dispelling Spiritual force is the Supreme Principle
which Western psychology and philosophy have shared with the Eastern
tradition of Yoga from the very beginning. Indeed, the sacred geography,
Spiritual symbolism and emphasis on Self-knowledge ("Know thyself"
was the maxim inscribed above the entrance to the Oracle of Apollo at Going further back in time, the Orphic Traditions (so-called
Mystery Religions) of Ancient Greece and Thrace (8th-9th
centuries BC) - on which later philosophical schools like that of Socrates
were based - had sufficient elements in common with the teachings of Yoga
(Reincarnation, the Wheel of Rebirth, Vegetarianism) to render them
essentially identical with the latter, in particular, if we consider that
"Yoga" in its original sense meant "Spiritual
Discipline", as opposed to the "System of physical postures"
for which it is taken by many today. A similar relation of identity may be
found between the European and Indian systems of Astrology which, in their
original form, had a magical, religious and Spiritual significance. Finally,
we must not forget that European languages themselves were closely related to
Sanskrit, the classical language of In short, there can be no doubt that numerous channels of
Spiritual communication between East and West have been in operation - as
they still are - since prehistoric times. Humans are, after all,
communicative beings. In any event, that modern Spirituality has been greatly
influenced, inspired and stimulated by Yogic thought can hardly be a matter
of debate nor can modern Psychology, as a Spiritual endeavour, logically be
assumed to have remained outside the Yogic sphere of influence. The fact is
that Yogic teaching has not only provided the foundation for modern Western
Spirituality (including Psychology) but has also brought profound changes to
Science itself. A few instances of this will no doubt suffice to illustrate
the point. Charles Darwin's theory of evolution is, for all practical
purposes, merely a materialist form of the Yogic teaching concerning the evolution
of the individual atom of consciousness that gradually evolves through
mineral, vegetal and animal life to human, superhuman and finally Divine,
modes of existence. Being initially adopted by the scientific community as a
non-religious alternative to the biblical Creation Myth, If the doubt should arise here as to how precisely had a
British scholar of the 19th century come to be in possession of Yogic
knowledge, the answer is very simple. Being contemporaneous with such
remarkable students of Eastern Spirituality as the German philosopher Arthur
Schopenhauer (1788-1860) and the French poet and writer Victor Hugo
(1802-1885), and having taken an interest in religion before turning to
natural history, Darwin (1809-1882) must have come across the same, or
similar, Yogic material as inspired other European luminaries of his time. In
fact, as a British subject with an interest in religion he could scarcely
have avoided coming into contact with the Spirituality of India, a country
that at the time was in every respect a very important part of the Nor must one suppose that the theory of evolution was in any
way an exclusive monopoly of Indeed, much as Indian culture and Spirituality had deeply
influenced the whole of East Asia including China and Japan, the immense
impact of Indian Wisdom on the Western World was such that by the 19th
century many facets of it had become common knowledge among the educated
classes from Russia (see Helena P. Blavatsky, 1831-1891) to Britain (Annie
Besant, 1847-1933), illumining even such supposedly remote and backward
corners of Europe as Romania where, in the second half of the century, the
romantic poet Michael Eminescu (1850-1889) would be moved to compose verses
to Kamadeva, the Hindu God of Love (who is universally revered in India as a
manifestation of Lord Shiva). One only needs to think of the Anthroposophist movement, for
instance, a world-wide Spiritual initiative founded by the Austrian
philosopher and scientist, Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925), that is known to have
absorbed a wide range of Eastern ideas and practices including meditation.
After all, if Yogic terms like "Atman", "Nirvana",
"Reincarnation" and "Yoga" have long become assimilated
into Western languages, we may safely conjecture that the teachings and
practices they describe cannot have been far behind, as evidenced by the
following statement: "Clear knowledge of spirit arises from Yoga, or
abstraction of Nirvana" (W. Ward 1820). Nor can scientists, in so far as
they belong to the human species, be supposed to be entirely isolated from,
or immune to, cross-cultural influences. We can now easily understand how timeless Yogic teachings such
as those based upon the concept of a Universal Energy as the underlying
substratum of the material World could have passed into the teachings of
modern Physics. We can also see how, in the field of modern Medicine, a
rising number of Western practitioners are professionally recognising the
prophylactic and therapeutic properties of Yogic techniques while many of
them are personally taking up the practice of Yoga. It is an established fact
that most complementary and alternative techniques of diagnosis and therapy
in use today, for example, Reiki (or energy-healing) are ultimately based on
the teachings of Yoga, having reached the West via In the light of this, our contention to the effect that
Western Psychology is ultimately based upon, and originated in, the teachings
of Yoga, is neither surprising nor can be reasonably denied. It can hardly be
mere coincidence that European words denoting consciousness are practically
direct translations of the Yogic term Samvid - the Swedish word Samvete being
even phonetically identical with the Sanskrit original - and that other key
psychological terms likewise find their equivalents in Yogic vocabulary: ego
(aham), id (idam), etc. Even psychoanalitical terms like
"Nirvana-principle", notwithstanding their negative connotations,
demonstrate a clear link to Yogic teachings. In Jung's own words: "On account of the remarkable
agreement between the insights of Yoga and the results of psychological
research, I have chosen the Sanskrit term 'mandala' for this central symbol
[of the centre, or essence, of the collective unconscious]" (The
Psychology of Eastern Meditation, 1943). Of course, in his talks and writings, Jung could only express
this fact in an indirect way. One had to be careful when talking about things
that challenged the consensus ideology of the time. Indeed, the situation was
such that until well into the second half of the 20th century,
Spiritual Seekers wishing to break free from the stranglehold of official
dogma were often forced to meet in secret and lived in fear of being
discovered by the authorities. The State-sponsored arrogance and intolerance
towards non-Biblical culture and Spirituality is perhaps best epitomised in
the infamous utterance of a British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill:
"I hate Indians. They are a beastly people with a beastly religion."
And this in spite of the fact that thousands of Indians lost their lives
defending the Empire's interests in many parts of the World. Evidently, this irrational, offensive and almost pathological
hostility towards non-Biblical forms of Spirituality was systematically
fostered by the political Establishment of Europe as a tool for maintaining
power over its own people as well as keeping the colonised nations under
control. Unconditional obedience to Church and State had to be enforced by
any means. It will be not out of place to observe here that according to the
Declaration Dominus Iesus, recently issued by the Vatican (5th
Sept. 2000), non-Christian religions represent "an obstacle to
salvation". This confirms the wide-spread concern that, even today, far
from seeking to redress past errors, leading figures within the Christian
community continue to cultivate an irresponsible attitude of unexamined
prejudice against non-Biblical traditions. Even so, Jung whose teachings had already reached Jung unequivocally made his position clear by stating that
Yoga offered undreamt-of possibilities. Indeed, Yoga offers everything
already given by both Religion and Science to which it adds the benefit of
Higher Experience and the prospect of freedom, power and happiness in this very
lifetime. In view of the public attitude towards "alien faiths"
that was prevalent in Jung's time, it would be unreasonable to expect him to
have expressed his views any more clearly than he did. Needless to say, had
he done so, it would have amounted to professional suicide. Jung was, after
all, a Psychiatrist by profession and although many regarded him as a
Spiritual leader, his main concern was to wean his colleagues away from their
sterile and often anti-Spiritual approach to the treatment of psychological
conditions. Jung's dilemma was that while he was - in true Yogic fashion -
fully aware of the fact that one could not properly practise Psychiatry
(Soul-Healing) without true Psychology (Soul-Knowledge), society was still
not ready to accept his insights into the exact nature of genuine Psychology
which, as we have seen, was essentially identical with Yoga. In consequence,
Jung had to put his teachings across as gently and cautiously as possible,
often even in coded language, so as not to offend the political, religious or
scientific sensitivities of his audience. Nor should this surprise us as to a
large extent we are obliged to do the same even today. As we are entering the
New Millennium, we find ourselves living in a society that is still very much
in the grip of political, religious or scientific dogma. Freedom of
Consciousness and Freedom of Expression remain a rare and most precious
possession that continues to be threatened by ignorance and intolerance in
many parts of the World including the West. Conclusion From what has gone before, the whole issue may be summed up as
follows: Psychologically speaking, Yoga is a process leading to
Self-Awareness, Self-Knowledge or Self-Unity, that is, a mode of experience
in which consciousness has a direct perception of itself and operates in
unity, or at one, with itself, thereby creating a unique condition of
wholeness, health and happiness. All religious, scientific or Spiritual
teaching or activity, including certain forms of Western Psychology, is logically
identical with Yoga when, and to the extent to which, it produces the same
results. In historical terms, Western Psychology, in particular its
Jungian branch, has been stimulated, inspired and influenced by Yoga and has
in turn prepared the ground for the understanding and acceptance of Yoga on a
large scale in Western Society. Indeed, Jung's Analytical Psychology may be
said to be the only modern Western system of thought through which Yoga can
be properly understood. (As far as Ancient European traditions are concerned,
those of the Druids and pre-Christian Gnostics may fulfil a similar
function.) From a Spiritual viewpoint, therefore, which includes both the
psychological and historical dimensions of the issue, the true function of
Western Psychology has consisted in removing the culture-specific
psychological sediments that were blocking the channels of East-West
Spiritual communication so that the World-Liberating Yogic Truth of Universal
Unity may reach the heart of all people. Today, this Spiritual Process is
carried forward and expanded through the worldwide activities of The Yoga
Order and the teaching entities associated with it. In the context of practical application it may suffice to here
observe that Yoga Psychology has many points of resemblance with not only the
teachings of Carl G. Jung - in particular active imagination - but also what
is known as Transpersonal Psychology and Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. What is
essential to understand in all circumstances is that the aim of Yogic teachings
and practices is primarily Spiritual in nature. For
further information on Yoga Psychology see also the following: - Momentariness |