Statue in the ashram: Patanjali, author of the Yoga-sutra.
In the Ashram, various types of yoga from a complex tradition are taught and practiced in a propedeutic fashion: SIDDHA SIDDHANTA YOGA is a great systematic tool for spiritual growth.
"Face yourself boldly, examine your life through the bright crystal of yamas and niyamas, the observances, the ethics of yoga; purify yourself through asana and pranayama; detach from the senses through pratyahara; focus your mind through dharana, and finally, if you will deserve it, dhyana, meditation, will come, and then samadhi will enter with all its wonders in the dwelling that was once its natural."
(Paramahamsa Yogananda Ghiri)
The siddha siddhanta yoga, not to be confused with the siddhanta of Sri Goraksanatha, is a deep and wide system of tantric yoga whose origins are found in the Siddar Saiva revelations, especially belonging to the Sri Kantar Sampradaya. It is impossible to describe the technical and philosophical richness of this system; the knowledge of mantra, yantra and mudra is elevated to the highest levels. Every technique is expressed to its highest potential to keep the body and mind in harmony.
Inside the system are innumerable techniques, touching on all the possible needs of man, depending on his physical condition, his health, his spiritual level, his thirst for knowledge, his aspirations, his devotion.
Here are some examples of the disciplines of the system used at different levels.
Hatha yoga: for a deep development of the awareness of body-mind through purifications (karma), body postures (asana), control of vital breaths (pranayama), control of the neuromuscular activity (mudra), etc.
Karma yoga: the path of action. It is the way of the disinterested and aware action. Its practice leads to knowledge and the control of our own tendencies and unconscious power and to the resolution of karmic bonds; it is the foundation on which all other types of yoga rest.
Laya yoga: laya means “to reabsorb”, therefore, this yoga, through the reabsorption of all the energies and forces which are usually wasted, brings to the reawakening and the realization of that pure and bright conscience manifesting as kundalini sakti, and to the control and transformation of its highest expression of strength and power.
Raja yoga: for the development of the mind’s potential, with appropriate techniques, through the awakening of the psychic and spiritual centers of man.
Jnana yoga: for the realization of the knowledge of one’s Inner Self through relaxation techniques, jnana kriya, meditation and the study of texts.
Yoga cikitsa: holistic system of prevention, treatment and preservation of health, not only physical but also emotional, mental and spiritual.
The sadhana, or exercise of discipline, is the foundation of the spiritual path and those who devote themselves to the research of reality constantly follow it.
It is the most efficient way to face ourselves, examine our own life and our own actions through the bright crystal glass of observances and yoga ethics.
The real sadhana, practically, is certainly not the simply methodical repetition of the learned techniques but the constant application of the yogic principles; it is the ability to catch, in any contest and situation, the precious teachings offered by life.
Sadhana can only be learned, according to the tradition, from a Master, and an Ashram is the perfect place where to receive those teachings and put them into practice.
The ways are many, allowing every individual to find those that are more suitable to one’s needs and temperament.
