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The article was published in RemedySpot  

Sanatan Kriya , as formulated by  Yogi Ashwini , encapsulates in its entirety, all the eight limbs of  Ashtang Yoga  as prescribed by the  Patanjali Yoga Sutras  about 5000 years ago. The eight limbs of Ashtang Yoga are -  Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayam, Pratyahar, Dhyan, Dharna, Samadhi.  By following the practice of the five  Yamas  and five  Niyams , the path of Yoga becomes clear. The impediments in the progress of the practitioner or  sadhak  get removed leading the  sadhak  to the next stage, which involves the purification of the physical and the etherical self of the individual. Asana  is a posture, which is attained with the objective of gaining mastery of the physical body. The practitioner or more appropriately the  sadhak  practices the posture with complete awareness of the physical and internalization of senses till the posture becomes effortless or in other words till the physical...

Go back by 20 years and the video games available were Mario, bricks et al. Later, the games were upgraded and they became more interactive. Then there came games like Prince of Persia where human involvement increased; though both Mario and Prince of Persia were played using the same four buttons. Mario had only 8-10 stages; there were far more exciting levels. Next came motion sensors; today we have 3D games. You get into the game and feel that you are in real life. There may come a time when you will be able to put your consciousness into the character and be able to live in a virtual environment where you will feel pleasure-pain, death and birth. The knob and buttons being your five senses. In Mario, the player would collect gold coins; in this virtual game too, you will be busy collecting gold coins—better looks, bigger house, fancier car or a prettier girlfriend. You forget how many hours have passed. Then suddenly, the power goes off. You cannot retrieve the coins collecte...

There are people who, even after years of interacting with me and getting their experiences, ask me if I could teach them a new practice, a new mantra, a little more gyan or about Ashtang Yog. I wonder, what more can I teach them? Rather, what is there to teach? You are at point A, you have to go to point B, and the path from A to B was clearly laid down by Rishi Patanjali thousands of years ago. All that is needed is for you to walk that path… yama, niyama, asan, pranayam, pratyahaar, dharna, dhyan, samadhi… and you will our destination. Yoga does not call for standing on your head or breathing abnormally; neither does it involve complicated diets and rituals—it is simply integrating the principles of Ashtang Yog in your everyday life. Let us look at just the five yamas and niyamas: satya—to always speak the truth; asteya—not to steal; aparigraha—not to collect; ahimsa—non-violence; brahmacharya—celibacy; swacchh—cleanliness and personal hygiene; santosh—satisfaction with what you...