Comments on: Blavatsky on Yoga

By: Katinka - Spirituality

Katinka - Spirituality — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 10:05:25 +0000

Hi Gisela,

You should probably ask your questions on http://www.theosophy.net/ it’s a theosophical forum filled with people who know a lot about Blavatsky and spirituality in general.

By: Gisela

Gisela — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 08:46:28 +0000

Hi,

this is so interesting. I spent a few days in Nepal not long ago and met a new friend there. She introduced me to Blavatsky Theosophy etc. I do have many questions and it would be great if anyone would have some time and email me. What is this whole thing about 2012?
Gisela

By: katinka - spiritual

katinka - spiritual — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 10:19:54 +0000

Blavatsky did not claim to be a medium in the classic sense. She claimed to be in touch with living masters who dictated her words to her (which is closer to today’s channeling). I think this is a good topic for my Friday post about Blavatsky so I’ll stop it this for now.

By: Jim Clark

Jim Clark — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 10:08:41 +0000

Well, yes they practice Mediumship, and run development groups for the development of such abilities. I haven’t as yet read any of Blavatsky’s work (reading the Secret Doctrine is on my “too do” list), but I understand she was very critical of the Spiritualist’s of her day, whilst at the same time she had a name for herself as a Medium.
I don’t actually know that much about the history of Spiritualism, although I understand that it exists in a different form today to it’s origional conception. Also, I have heard that it’s quite different in different countries, I’m in Australia.
Clearly, Christian’s see any Pyschic phenomena as the work of Satan, I’m pretty sure that no-one with any sort of New-Age, Mystic or Occult worldview takes this view. However, clearly there are different views on whether such things as Mediumship are safe, or desirable. I would be very interested on hearing your personal opinion on this topic, as well as the general view of Theosophy on this topic. (From the reading that I have done, I have a very high view of Theosophy).
Clearly, not all things in the Supernatural world are all love and light, however, from the research I’ve done and the people I have spoken with directly, it seems that there is always a clear reason why some people experience “Psychic Attack”, and that such experiences are avoidable.
I do however agree, that the specific pursuit of Psychic abilities (Siddhi’s) is not necessarily “Spiritual”, I have met people who have possessed such abilities and have been quite imature, psychologically and spiritually.
Thank you for your time, I look forward to a response.
God Bless,
Hari Om

By: katinka - spiritual

katinka - spiritual — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 09:52:47 +0000

I wonder – when you use the word ‘spiritualism’ do you mean the old talking to departed spirits kind?

By: Jim Clark

Jim Clark — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 00:14:55 +0000

Hi Katinka,
Great blog! I just found it today, I’ll have to do some exploring. The Lineage I have learned through (Satyananda Saraswati) take an integrated approach to yoga – Hath Yoga, Raja Yoga, Bhakit Yoga, Karma Yoga, Ritual, lots of chanting, etc. I personally find this approach brilliant, as all the practices have their specific effects.
Hatha Yoga is specifically designed for the awakening of Kundalini, particularly the bandhas and mudras, so therefore must be considered as valid a spiritual practice as Meditation. In the “Hatha Yoga Pradipika”, it states that Hatha Yoga is a stepping stone towards Raja Yoga, and in fact the last quarter of the book is all about Samadhi. However of course, most people doing Asana’s in gyms are not aware of this.
Certainly, attainment of Siddhi’s is not the goal of Yoga, they can be distractions leading one away from the far greater achievment of Self-Realization. However, Siddhi’s do have practical uses. ESP is invaluable for counsellors, and can mean getting to the heart of an issue in far less time then would have taken place with convential techniques. Also, energy healing can massively speed up the theraputic proccess, as long as it’s directed at the cause of an illness, and not merely at the symptoms. But of course, they can also be dangerous, as Blavatsky was wise to point out.
This is why I see no problem in following both traditional Yoga/Vedanta and New Age/Spiritualism. I see the Mysticism as being the end goal (ie the Absolute aim, long term) whilst Spiritualism deals more with the immediate problems of life (ie the Relative). I look forward to reading more of your work in the future.
God Bless,
Hari Om,
Jim Clark

By: Katinka Hesselink - All Considering

Katinka Hesselink - All Considering — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 08:07:45 +0000

Richard: interesting

Suibhne: I think it depends on the person in question whether that really is the best approach. It depends I think on where one is on the path, and what the specific karmic obstacles are we face in this particular one.

By: suibhne

suibhne — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 10:06:22 +0000

Just like to say that there is everything to be gained by doing Yoga asanas in combination with the higher Raja-Yoga, as the steps involved in freeing up the body also lead to freeing up the mind.

I do agree that most of the Yoga taught in classes is just for exercise but the greatest progress can be made by following both paths in combination.

Grá agus solas.

By: richard

richard — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 19:56:25 +0000

I call spirit ‘intelligent energy.’ I could probably just as well call it just ‘energy’ because all energy, it seems, is intelligent. Spiritual practice seems to be a disipline of something like mindfulness accompanied by a love for reality.