Nowadays, the rapid advancement of the modern age has given rise to chaos. Everywhere there is an atmosphere of unrest, noise, and disturbance. Anyone you look at is caught in the struggle of life, suffering from various kinds of sorrow and pain. Emotional turmoil has left people half-paralyzed. Yet all of this is unavoidable. We must face environmental pressure and disorder. In the ongoing struggle of life, we must create better conditions for ourselves. We have to endure thousands of favorable and unfavorable circumstances. Therefore, to confront these adverse conditions, trying times, and heavy, burdensome events, we need a healthy and energetic body. For this purpose, there is a need for such an exercise or discipline that, in the least amount of time, without any equipment, is equally beneficial for people of every age, every profession, and of all levels of strength and weakness. That discipline is yoga.
Like other esoteric sciences, yoga has long remained highly mysterious and has been passed down in a secretive manner from generation to generation among monks, yogis, sadhus, and others. This is why the art remained beyond the reach of the general public, and only a select few benefited from it. In a famous Sanskrit book on yoga, it was even written that “yoga should be kept hidden from the masses just as a precious treasure is guarded.” But times have changed now. The secrets of the past are no longer secrets. The spell of mystery has been broken, and therefore, from time to time, facts continue to come to light.
It should be understood that yoga has several types.
Mantra Yoga
It tells us through which kinds of chants (mantras) spiritual powers can be awakened.
Raja Yoga
It tells us how the doors of the subconscious can be opened and how mysterious mental powers are developed.
Kundalini Yoga
It explains how to awaken the serpent lying asleep at the lower end of the spine, so that mysterious, magical powers come under one’s control, through which extraordinary feats can be demonstrated.
Hatha Yoga
It teaches us what kinds of exercises and postures can keep us physically healthy, fit, and agile, how certain practices can protect us from premature aging, and how old age can be made more comfortable. “Ha” is the symbol of the sun, “Tha” is that of the moon, and “Yoga” means union; thus, this gives us the meaning of Hatha Yoga. The sun is the source of positive energies, and the moon represents negative energies. When Hatha Yoga is applied to the human being, it signifies the union of the positive and negative energies within the human body—and this is our aim and objective. Just as an electric bulb cannot light up unless the positive and negative currents meet in a specific order, similarly, countless positive and negative forces lie dormant within the human body. Until these forces are united in a particular sequence, the doors of the subconscious do not open and dormant powers do not awaken. Hence, the function of yoga is to bring about the union of these very positive and negative energies.
It is also a fact that, like others, I do not personally know everything about this art. I know only as much as I needed to know. However, why I know what I know will be explained gradually, from time to time, in the discussions that follow.