Reflections on the Teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda with Self-Realization Fellowship Monk Brother Tyagananda
In honor of the International Day of Yoga (June 21), we sat down with Brother Tyagananda, a monk of nearly 40 years with Self-Realization Fellowship, the organization founded by the author of Autobiography of a Yogi, Paramahansa Yogananda. In this interview, we discuss the true meaning of yoga and how India’s ancient science of yoga is relevant for today’s modern world.
What is yoga, and how has yoga changed over time?
When people think of yoga, they often think of physical exercise in the form of yoga poses or asanas, known as hatha yoga. However, the original purpose of the yoga asanas was to still the body for meditation, the deeper form of yoga. It was only in the last century or so that yoga poses became popularized as a physical fitness routine in the West, whereas the word yoga can be traced back approximately 5,000 years to some of India’s oldest sacred texts.
From Sanskrit, yoga or “yuj” translates to “union,” which can be interpreted in many ways. According to Paramahansa Yogananda, one of the first spiritual teachers to bring yoga to the West, yoga is the union of the individual soul with Spirit, and the methods by which this goal is attained.
At the heart of these methods is the practice of meditation, which gradually calms the body and quiets the mind, allowing us to focus our attention within and experience a spiritual awakening, one in which we attune with our soul.
Yogananda describes yoga meditation this way in his monumental translation and commentary on the Bhagavad Gita, “Yoga meditation is the process of cultivating and stabilizing the awareness
of one’s real nature, through definite spiritual and psychophysical methods and laws by which the narrow ego, the flawed hereditary human consciousness, is displaced by the consciousness of the soul.”
When you identify with this soul, and not the body or the mind, you realize yourself to be one with the Divine. That is true yoga.
What is the science behind yoga and meditation?
The science of yoga is empirical, meaning it is verifiable by observation or experience rather than theory or speculation alone. Yogananda taught that to experience the divine union yoga promises, we can approach meditation as a science experiment, one that yields specific results when you meet certain external conditions and follow a precise step-by-step process, in this case, a process that has been tested, tried, and true for millennia.
Some people find little progress with their meditation practice because they are missing essential steps or conditions to calm the body and mind. Some of these steps include assuming the proper meditation posture, or asana, sitting with the spine erect, hands placed upward on the thighs, and eyes closed, with the gaze gently focused on the point between the eyebrows. When we sit still and close our eyes, the breath slows down and this helps us, as Yogananda explains, “to switch off or on, at will, life current to the five sense telephones of sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch,” so that we can more easily bring our mind and life energy inward and upward toward the higher levels of consciousness in the spine and brain.
Yogananda says: “Man’s experience of joy originates in the brain, in the subtle center of God-consciousness that the yogis call the sahasrara, or thousand-petaled lotus. Yet the actual feeling of joy is experienced not in the head but in the heart. From the divine seat of God-consciousness in the brain, joy descends into the heart center and manifests there. That joy comes from God’s bliss, the essential and ultimate attribute of Spirit.”
To find that everlasting and all-fulfilling love, joy, and peace, we need to go within and reunite our soul with Spirit. Yoga meditation teaches us how to do that. This doesn’t mean that what we do in yoga class isn’t real yoga. But it does invite us to approach these postures with a different mentality, one in which we see the practice of movement and breath as a means to an end, preparing the body and mind for stillness. For it is only in that stillness that we are able to encounter the peace of the soul, which is who we really are.
For someone who lives a busy life, is it possible to achieve the same state of peace as a monk? Which yoga teachings can help someone manage day-to-day stress?
You do not need to retreat to a Himalayan cave or a monastery to find inner peace. Yogananda brought yoga to the West specifically to show all seekers, whether they be householders or monastics, how to achieve Self-realization, which he defined as “the knowing — in body, mind, and soul — that we are one with the omnipresence of God.” While this may seem like a lofty goal, it all starts with meditation.
It can be helpful to view meditation as a time for connecting to what’s sacred; so, find a quiet space without distractions, perhaps in front of an altar, where you can withdraw for a period from the world and all worries. Yogananda emphasized the importance of meditating regularly if you want to experience positive changes in your life. No matter how long you can sit still, the most important factor is your will to concentrate on finding God within yourself. Through practice, one may experience immediate benefits, such as lower stress levels, normalized or lower blood pressure, and feelings of calm. But the deeper, spiritual gifts of meditation come with devotion and consistency.
Do I need to have a Guru to practice yoga?
No, but the path will be clearer, and the results will be better if you do. Why is this? Simply put, a true guru has reached the goal of yoga—union with Spirit—and can show those of us walking the path the quickest way to get there too. A God-realized teacher who has attained what we aim to achieve in our meditation practice can transmit the wisdom that’s needed for our soul’s evolution and guide us to the goal.
How can I enhance my yoga meditation practice to truly get the most out of it?
The practice of pranayama is the basis of scientific yoga meditation. Pranayama means life-force control — techniques that work with the subtle energies and consciousness in the body to gradually lift it to higher experiences of soul-awareness. These are simple yet powerful methods which I practice in my daily meditations, ranging from muscle tension-and-relaxation exercises to Kriya Yoga, an ancient pranayama technique reintroduced to the world in modern times by Yogananda’s lineage of gurus — and which Yogananda found to be the most effective method for interiorizing the consciousness to perceive God within. These techniques and others can be learned in the Self-Realization Fellowship Lessons, a home-study course created by Yogananda to disseminate his teachings worldwide.
In addition to meditation techniques, it is essential that we live in harmony with cosmic law. What we do in our daily activities translates into our meditation and vice versa. From practicing non-violence and right speech to engaging in proper diet and exercise, the way we conduct our lives and relationships directly influences how much we can get out of our meditation practice. You might think of positive actions in life as creating a sturdy foundation on which to build your spiritual life.
Yogananda said: “In following the spiritual path of right action and of right methods of meditation for the purpose of realizing God, there is no waste of any spiritual toil, and all efforts are divinely rewarded.”
Brother Tyagananda, whose name means “bliss through inner renunciation,” has been a monk of Self-Realization Fellowship for nearly 40 years.
He currently serves as a minister at the Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine in Pacific Palisades, California. Born in Italy, Brother Tyagananda has lectured on the teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda in major cities across North America and Europe.
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