We seek happiness everywhere but we look for it in the wrong places and misinterpret what true happiness is. The mind that we rely so much on, plays an active role in sabotaging our efforts. The mind identifies us as the ego and then makes us desire and crave. We want to be happy and we seek happiness outside of us. We become miserable every time with every disappointment while in seeking and not getting what we want. But the truth is that we are not the mind, the body and the ego.

We have already realized that we may have a mind, but we are not the mind. We also know that the body dies and we are not the body that dies. Then how can we be the ego–an entity without the body and without the mind? We are the life energy that gives life to this body-mind complex and appears as a part of it as long as it is alive. It is the mind that makes us believe we are this entity but in reality, we are not. How do we tame this rascal mind?

Most of what they call Yoga today is about physical exercise, popularly known as Yogasana. While these are body postures that were originally designed to create a sitting posture so that one could remain in a state of silent meditation, Yogasanas have been modernized into something else. Modern Yoga encompasses all kinds of physical exercises which include stretching of the body, reclining, standing, squatting, inverting and twisting the body. While these physical exercises may help improve flexibility and well-being, these forms are simply not true Yoga. 

Yoga is being in union with the Divine. It is being connected to the source of Life.

Any human being can be in Yoga. All they have to do is to disconnect from the world and connect to the Creator. This is not a very easy thing to do. Yoga is considered to be a challenging practice.

There are four ways to live a Yogic Life. They are often referred to as Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Gyaana Yoga or Dhyaana Yoga. These terms mean that the four ways to live in Yoga are through action, devotion, education or meditation. Yoga, for the true lover of God, is all about living with devotion and prayer, being connected with the Divine. Yoga for some may be seeing God in the poor and the unfortunate. For some, it may be seeing God in animals and being compassionate, loving, and kind. Still, others do Yoga through meditation and contemplation. Whatever be the method of Yoga, as long as it builds a connection, and unites us with the Divine, it is Yoga. 

Dhyaana, which literally means concentration, focus, attention, and contemplation. It starts with silence. It calls for shutting off all our 5 body senses. To do this, some people meditate. This helps in taming the rascal mind that keeps the seeker indulged in desires and thoughts. To meditate is just like pressing the brake in a vehicle, the mind comes to a near halt. Meditation is possible through various methods. It may be focusing our attention on breathing or on the flame of a candle or on a particular thought or even a scene like waves lashing on a rock. In such a state, a yogi or the one connected to the Divine realizes the truth. Normally, the mind jumps like a monkey and does not let us contemplate the truth that neither are we the body nor the mind. Although we know it, we are not able to realize this truth because of the rascal mind. Meditation reveals the truth. 

By shutting off the body and mind from creating perceptions and thoughts and concentrating on a simple question with the intellect, does the job. Ask: Who am I? Am I this body? Am I the mind? In this method, the body and mind are both still as if asleep. Only the intellect meditates and contemplates on one point: “If I am the body, then which body am I – the body that I was born as or the body that I inhabit today or the body that will grow old and die? The body is constantly changing. So, what am I? The mind stops wandering and focuses on the truth that helps us understand that we have a body, but we are not the body. This method of continuously probing “Who am I?” with deep concentration can lead to the realization that “I am not this body. I am the energy that gives power to the body. Such contemplation can lead to realization and Liberation.