I have been following the study and practice of Raja Yoga meditation for over seven years.  Over time I have developed more discipline in my practice and have become better able to channel my thoughts and to feel content with who I am.  I have just completed the seven day Raja Yoga foundation course again at Global Cooperation House in London, where I was lucky enough to get one to one tuition with one of the best and most advanced teachers.  It included a deeper understanding of the virtues of the human soul and a broader perspective of the eternal and imperishable aspect of spirit, both of which has helped to enhance my meditation further.

Raja Yoga means yoga to become a king – a master over yourself.  It also means union with God.  The aim of Raja Yoga is to discipline the mind, sharpen the intellect and to have full control over the bodily senses.  It is an ancient open-eyed meditation technique which comes from India and is free to learn.  It is a great way to save your time, energy and money as it makes you wiser and more in control of your life as you develop will power.  One truly can become a self-ruler.

Meditation is a way to stay connected with God and in that way you become pure, free of the vices of attachment, lust, greed, anger, and ego (ALGAE).  There are different things you can do with your mind during meditation to stay in the awareness of being a soul, and thus to connect with yourself and with God.  It is important to stay positive and meditate with compassion and love.  You cannot keep a good spiritual connection if you have any of the vices, particularly attachment.

One of the things you can do is to see yourself as one who does everything only for the One.  This way you pay good attention to all actions, keep a clear conscience and stay in God’s love.  Tell yourself that He is getting His work done through you.  You are His instrument.

Not only can you devote all your actions to the One, you can also devote your time, money and energy to Him too!  That is a sure way to keep your mind in constant remembrance.  Drinking pure fluids and eating pure food which has been cooked in His remembrance and been given drishti (pure, divine vision through the eyes in God’s remembrance) will also help to keep your mind pure, as the vibrations we ingest also affect our thoughts.

Another thing you can do is to keep talking to the One in the different relationships of Father, Mother, Friend, Teacher and Guide.  Experience God’s companionship NOW because it is a unique and special time in the world when we can know and connect with God in accurate consciousness.  Tell Him what you are doing hour by hour and keep Him with you when you go to work, eat your meal, go for a walk and sleep.

The Brahma Kumaris offer an advanced daily class to get to know God and the self.  It is called the ‘Murli’.  So another thing you can do is reflect deeply on the daily teachings to inculcate them into your life.  There are different ways to ‘churn’ on the Murli.  One way, and this my favourite and most recent practice, is to go through the letters of the alphabet, picking out the words from the Murli associated with each letter. For example, A for Authority, B for Benevolent, C for Consciousness etc.

Another method is to think about what touched your heart from the Murli and what you understood from it.  By thinking deeply about the different points and what virtues and powers you need to develop and to refine within yourself, you will easily become an embodiment of it.

The technique I learned from Dadi Janki, the most senior head within the organisation and who conducts a class almost daily, even at the age of 100 years old, is to go deep within and answer the following questions: Who am I? Who do I belong to? and What do I have to do now?  Once you have answered this set of questions, go through them again twice more without thinking about anything else.  If your mind wanders in between then start again.  This will help you to develop good concentration as well as self-purpose.

Another practical method of meditation is to use positive self-affirmations and to go into the experience of those self-affirmations.  It requires you to have powerful thoughts and to have faith in what you are telling yourself.  It is a good way to improve your personality and to develop self-respect.  The daily Murli provides many titles we can give to ourselves for the purpose of self-affirmation.

To practise being soul conscious whilst in Godly remembrance as much as you can in every second, thought and breath will help you to gradually make this a natural and easy state of being.  On a practical level this will help you to stay calm and relaxed, and it also helps you to pay attention to the task and develop mindfulness.  However, at a higher and deeper level, you will feel more in tune with your authentic self and more fulfilled as a result.

You can learn more about Raja Yoga and get more guidelines in the following books and CDs:

• The Power of Meditation
• Inside Out
• New Beginnings
• In the Light of Meditation
• Practical Meditation
• Practical Guidelines to Meditation CD
• Learn How to Meditate CD