An Introduction to Raja Yoga Meditation
What is Raja yoga meditation?
The meaning of the word “yoga” should not only be defined as a physical discipline. The highest meaning of yoga is concentration of the mind in order to attain a link with GOD.
“Yoga” originates from the Sanskrit root “Yog,” signifying “link” or “union,” while “Raja” literally translates to “king or ruler”. So, Raja yoga is a divine communion between soul and Supreme soul which makes us self-sovereign. Meditation comes from the Latin word “Mederi” which means to heal. Raja yoga thus a self-healing process.
By practicing Raja yoga meditation, we start exploring a new world-a world inside, activating our dormant inner energies in the form of powers and nourishing the spiritual awareness of the self, the Supreme, time, and the world; we find the root of our problems and also the key to their solutions. We start to respond to situations rather than just reacting to them, and we begin to live in harmony. Through this easy Raja yoga meditation, we souls experience true peace, purity, love, and happiness and receive powers from the Supreme.
How to meditate?
It is an easy and natural way of meditation without rituals or mantras or postures. We practice Raja yoga meditation with ‘open eyes,’ making this method versatile, simple, and easy to practice. But when you get started you can use a simple five-step process to follow, Step 1-relaxation, Step 2- concentration, Step 3 -contemplation, Step 4 – realisation, Step 5- meditation.
Where to meditate?
In our modern world, the pace of life is growing faster, filled with activities and responsibilities, so where can we fit meditation? That’s the beauty of Raja yoga; you can practice it anywhere at any time. Meditation is the journey inward, a journey of self-discovery, or, in fact, re-discovery. You can visit our centres or connect online to learn this technique and get equipped to practise it anywhere.
When to meditate?
Most people want to meditate, but they don’t find time to do so. So how and when do busy people make time to meditate? What is a good time to meditate, and for how long?
The answer is: any time is a good time to connect with yourself, because that is what meditation is. We need not close our activities in order to start meditation.
But take a few moments of quiet reflection in silence, removing ourselves from the busyness of daily life and turning inwards to our inner world. This enables us to come back to a centred place of being.
Who can meditate?
Anyone can practice and benefit from Raja yoga meditation. This meditation is assessable to people of all backgrounds, such as any nationality, religion, gender, profession, and social strata.
Meditation is a state of being in that place just beyond everyday consciousness, which is where spiritual empowerment begins. In our modern world, the pace of life is growing faster, and we are losing touch with our true inner peace and power. When we lose our sense of grounding, we may find ourselves being pushed and pulled in various directions. At this point, we begin to feel stressed and trapped. Over time, this feeling gradually leads to illness and disease, throwing our mental, emotional, and physical health out of balance.
With Raja yoga meditation, you can transform the old patterns of your thoughts, words and actions and recreate yourself to be how you want to be. This ancient meditation practice harnesses your natural powers and trains your mind to be your friend.
We all make mistakes. We all waste resources. We waste our words, our energy, and our time until we pause and think deeply about what matters in our life. When we hold on tight to our views, the mind shrinks and smothers any power to love. In that state, the soul can’t breathe new energy to face and overcome obstacles in life.
But when we sit quietly, cancel all mindsets, and allow ourselves to know the deep peace of the soul, miraculous changes can happen for a better life. People will understand you clearly, new doors will open.
Raja yoga teaches us to step back and observe life, take a calm breath, cool our reactions, and step forward in the way we choose—independent of others urging us to think or act as they wish.
Raja yoga sets you free and releases the power to respond with love. This Spiritual awareness gives us the power to choose beneficial and positive thoughts over those that are negative and wasteful. We start to respond to situations, rather than just reacting to them. We begin to live with harmony; we create better, happier, healthier relationships and change our lives in a most positive way.
Brahma Kumaris Shailer Park provide free Raja yoga Meditation, Positive Thinking and Anger Management Courses. Please contact us on 0414685144 or [email protected] for further information.
Visit https://brahmakumaris.org.au and find out the events happening close to your location.
—Dr. Viththiya
The very word Veda means knowledge, derived from the root vid. Indeed, the Vedas are the fountainhead of the knowledge. Entire humanity recognizes that Rgveda is the oldest book in the library of the mankind. However, the truth is that the four Vedas (Rgveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda and Atharvaveda) were revealed to four Rsis at the dawn of the mankind on the earth. God’s Revelation of Vedas: Badaraymja, the author of Brahmasutra (also called Vedanta-Dariana) declares at the outset that God exists because Vedas exist — ilistrayonitvdt. It must be so because the most benevolent God must reveal the knowledge to the mankind once He creates the creation and His masterpiece that the man is. Pataajali, the author of Yoga Dariana declares that God is the original teacher for the mankind — sa parvesamapi guruh kalenanavacchedat. The common sense says that God’s revelation must appear at the onset of the creation so that everybody, the first generation included, benefits from the same. Any book that appears into the world after human beings have inhabited the earth for a length of time can’t claim to be God’s revelation. Also, God’s revelation of knowledge includes the knowledge of the language. So, any book that claims to be God’s revelation must appear before the knowledge of the language developed. That means that a book in Arabic can’t be God’s revelation if the Arabic language had developed before the book appeared. Similarly, a book appearing in Latin or Hebrew can not be God’s revelation if these languages had developed at the time of appearance of that book. On the same token, Gird can not be called as God’s revelation because the language of Sanskrit was very much in its developed form when Gita came into existence. Therefore, only Vedas can be God’s revelations because they only gave rise to the language that is called Sanskrit. Commensurate to the unique features of the Vedas, man’s greatest effort was focused on preserving them since his advent on the earth. He devised several methods to recite it to preserve the same without any infinitesimal change even in a letter and its pronunciation. We Indians should take extreme pride that our forefathers took utmost care to such an extent. Of course, they were guided in their zeal and effort by the belief that it is God given word which they must pass on to the future generations, come what may. There is no other book even remotely close to such a unique astounding feature that the Vedas are associated with. Both the Creation and the Vedas Show Harmony: The very next line 135.darayana wrote after the above quoted line was — tattu sanzanvayat. Vedas must be God’s revelations because all they contain tally well with the creation. For example, the earth is referred to as bhiigola, meaning the earth is round like a sphere as is indeed the case. This led the ancient people in India to know that the earth is round like a ball while, on the contrary, the people in West Asia and elsewhere I thought it to be flat like a mat. There is nothing in the Vedas that is contrary to what is seen in nature. Over and beyond what we know today, the Vedas may contain many more revelations that we might not even be aware of today. Vedas contain knowledge about both matter and spirit. The knowledge about matter is in seed form leaving ample room for man to discover further and create his own body of literature. On the other hand, knowledge pertaining to spirit is at its pinnacle that man will never be able to add anything to that body of knowledge. The Vedas will always remain relevant like the sun is. Though man has created many sources of light to dispel the darkness, He remains dependent upon the sun. The role of Vedas is like that of the sun albeit in the inner intellectual domain where man must exhibit greater perseverance to dispel the darkness of untrue knowledge, which leads to pains and agonies of much greater proportions. Let us hope that humanity will benefit from the Vedas as much as it benefits from the sun, both having been created by the most benevolent and merciful God. If man followed the path shown by the Vedas in the ancient India, the life was at its brightest zenith. When India deviated from the path of Vedas about 6000 years ago, her downfall began. Since India was the lighthouse for the entire world, it is seen that the humanity too has been in miserable condition in the last few thousand years.
Fiji, like many other Pacific Island nations, has faced an increasing frequency of natural disasters, especially flooding, in recent years. The Christmas season in 2024 was unfortunately marked by severe flooding that impacted western division of the island nation.
The flooding also posed significant health risks, as contaminated water increased the potential for waterborne diseases. Emergency services, local authorities, and international aid organizations quickly mobilized to provide food, medical care, and clean water to affected communities.
The new year is here, and it’s time for many to celebrate the Year of the Wood Snake, beginning on January 29th, 2025, and ending on February 16th, 2026. The Year of the Wood Snake symbolizes growth, creativity, and flexibility. It’s described as a time for introspection and strategic personal development. Many believe that the Wood Snake year offers opportunities to deepen relationships, advance professional goals, and strengthen connections with nature. The Snake is the sixth animal in the 12-year cycle of the Vietnamese and Chinese zodiacs. I’d love to hear your thoughts in the coming months on how this year resonates with you. Were you born in a Year of the Snake? People born in 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013, or 2025 are Snakes. Whether you’re a Snake or not, remember to make time for walks to benefit your mental and physical well-being.
In response to our readers’ requests, I’m delighted to share some exciting upcoming free family-friendly events. In Richlands, the Vietnamese Community in Australia – Queensland Chapter will host their annual Lunar New Year festival from January 24th to 25th, 2025, from 5:30 PM to 9:30 PM at 315 Freeman Road, Richlands. This free event welcomes people of all ages and cultures. I have volunteered at this event from a very young age, so I can assure you it’s an event not to be missed. Grace church will be doing some important fundraising, so please stop by to say hello and buy some delicious traditional Vietnamese food. They have some important goals that we need to support them meet in 2025.
Last month, I had the pleasure of attending the Platinum Events Services Gold Coast’s Sponsors & Volunteers Appreciation Dinner, hosted by President Manish Saini and his team. Hearing from community and business leaders who are making a grassroots difference was inspiring, including our very own JD Deo. Great to hear from community and business leaders dedicated to enriching both the Indian and broader communities and learn about many upcoming Indian and multicultural events in 2025.
The 2024 Pan Pacific Masters Games and championships held at Gold Coast, Australia was an event not to be forgotten by all International Athletes and sportsmen competing in 25 different sports in Various Masters category.
5 Gold, 2 Silver and 3 Bronze and had finished with highest medal winner at Athletics Track and Field Championship.
I say this as within the Itaukei -traditional Fijians ,(62%of the population ) or Indo Fijian ( 34% of the population) diabetes in both men and women is amongst the highest in the world , there is much obesity (40% adult women and 30% adult men ), prostate cancer is the biggest killer of men, other cancers for women and the excessive drinking of Kava, the traditional Fijian drink of hospitality and communal bonding, is leading to domestic violence and the breakdown of families. There are also concerns about the health of children who are not getting an adequate healthy diet
