The overlooked personality work often missed out when doing physical yoga only
The Westerner William Walker Atkinson did sum up personality work of the Eastern Raja Yoga in a concise and sharp way under the pseudonym Yogi Ramacharaka .
Because this adresses aspects Yogi Bhajan did overlook, it will go hand in hand with the tantric yoga exercise (kriya) brought to the West by the Eastern Yogi Bhajan who was more physically inclined.
Within in a quarter century of own research I found this kriya to be most effective.
It is called “Sodarshan Chakra Kriya” (yoga for the balancing the chakras) and is an exercise for focus and mental purification.
Note: most ways only propagate either kriyas (exercises) or intellectual work, but both ways do multiply each other, so if you only listen to the videos or only do the yoga you will improve 12 steps within the next 12 lessons, but if you do both together you will improve by 12×12 = 144 steps.
The energies of both kinds of work do expotentially amplify each other.
This combination also protects you from falling into the trap of becoming a blinkered-eye cult follower for the simple reason that you won’t only have one leg to stand on, meaning that you always have a point of reference to sense when some path was not in tune with your self.
So here is the personality-work of the day for you.
If you are hearing disabled, or prefer to read you can read the first chapter of this book here in the beauty of its original scan.
For an easier read here is the plain text, (of which you only have to read chapter one).
and if you like to listen to the audio-book without background music you can do so here :
As for the personality work for all 12 lessons:
You have 1 lesson each to listen to in this playlist (just click the right arrow to acess the next lessons):
If you are hearing disabled, or prefer to read
you can read the first chapter of this book here in the beauty of its original scan
For an easier read here is the plain text,
and if you like to listen to the audio-book without background music you can do so here :
- LESSON I. The “I”
- LESSON II. The Ego’s Mental Tools
- LESSON III. The Expansion of the Self
- LESSON IV. Mental Control
- LESSON V. The Cultivation of Attention
- LESSON VI. Cultivation of Perception
- LESSON VII. The Unfoldment of Consciousness
- LESSON VIII. The Highlands and Lowlands of Mind
- LESSON IX. The Mental Planes
- LESSON X. Sub-Consciousing
- LESSON XI. Sub-Conscious Character Building
- LESSON XII. Sub-Conscious Influences
Put any of your questions into the comments and I will answer all of them
Sodarshan Chakra Kriya 
Excellent post! Thank you for sharing
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Thanks, and if you fully took in the video-audio-lesson about Raja Yoga you will now realise that “the I” can never be damaged by anything like the coronavirus which allows for a bit more relaxed attitude about it.
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Dear Amar, Thank you. The post is brilliant and interesting. In my opinion, Swami Vivekananda’s book on Raja Yoga is quite simple and easy to read and understand. Just 150 pages (excluding the appendix). While I do understand the motivation for interpreting it in the Western perspective, I don’t understand why it needs 12 long audio lessons. While I know that guided meditations and affirmations have their value, they were neither part of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali nor Raja Yoga book of Swami Vivekananda.
Despite the impressive testimonial of Ana & Ravi, I take Yogi Bhajan Lal’s statement that it is the ‘Highest Kriya’ with a pinch of salt because in my opinion, none can substantiate such a claim and making such a claim devalues the intrinsic value of any specific form of Yoga. It can only appeal to a few so-called followers who quite it as truth.
In the poem written by the 15th century Poet/Saint Jaidev ( as quoted by Ana& Ravi at https://www.raviana.com/content/so-darshan-chakra-kriya-number-one-meditation-kundalini-yoga), pumping of the navel is not part of the Kriya.
Be as it may, your post has inspired me enough to try out your lesson and look forward to the next lesson.
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Thank you, dear JV, I did contemplate upon the valuable things you said
and answered all your questions here:
Edit 2021:
To implementing my reflection on our conversation, I rewrote the entire Sodarshan Chakra Course again.
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