Conscious Living Journal - Journeys for Conscious Living

Conscious Living Journal
Page 12
Sacred Mountains By Bruce Johnson
Consciousness Article
The Origins of Yoga & The Essence Ha-tha Yoga By “Ganesha”Glen Connelly
The exact origins of yoga are uncertain but it’s believed to be born in India, almost 26,000 years ago. It evolved during
the period of the ‘Sat Yuga’, also called the Golden age. This age was a time of great peace and harmony of mankind.
According to Hindu philosophy there are 4 main paths .The four main paths are Karma Yoga (the yoga of action),
Bhakti Yoga (the path of devotion), Raja Yoga (the Science of the mind), Jnana Yoga ( the yoga of knowledge) These
four main paths of Yoga are aspects of a whole that is called Yoga. Most schools of thought and practices in yoga stem
from these four paths.
Ha-tha yoga origins go back to about 5000 B.C. It is derived from the path of Raja yoga. It’s more commonly known as
the Ashtanga of Yoga or Eight Limbs comprised by the great sage Swami Patanjali. Traditional hatha yoga is a holistic
yogic path, including disciplines, physical postures (asana), purification procedures (shatkriya), poses (mudra),
breathing (pranayama), and meditation. The practices are synthesized to create the synergy of holistic physical and
mental health. The regular application of these sciences is what opens the door to higher states of consciousness.
Here in the west most turn to yoga because of is numerous physical, mental and emotional benefits but the ultimate
goal of the yogi is to ascend into the immortal realms of pure spirit, to imbibe the intuitional nectar of enlightenment,
irradicate disease and find liberation from suffering - Ganesha
Glen Connelly RYT®,CYT,MI,CRG®. Ganesha Is certified & registed as a Classical Ha-Tha Yoga Siramoni, Meditation Instructor.
He is an Ayurvedic based Yoga Therapist who has traveled extensively serving, studying & teaching in distinguished yoga
centers, studios, ashrams & resorts around the world. He feels honored that the bulk of his training was the guru -shishya system
"Master-disciple"during a, two year, work/training program with the blessed Swamis and sadhakas of the worldwide Sivananda
Vedanta Organization. It was during this time he performed Namakarana Samskara and was given the name Ganesha from the
Master teacher Swami Sita Ramananda. His main goal is serving others with yoga and to show how to use these ancient powerful
holistic systems in our everyday hectic modern lives.
Sacred Mountains are universal symbols of places where religious teachers and prophets participate in Divine Revelation.
Allegorically, the cave of the Sacred Mountain corresponds to the Heart of God, as the upper portion of the mountain
indicates the Mind of God. Jesus, Mohammed, Moses, and many others have all experienced inspiration on a Sacred
Mountain. Sacred Mountains and pyramids are often combined with holy temples of study, worship, and Spiritual
Initiation.
Sacred Mountains and pyramids represent the creative principle of nature as it expresses itself on all planes of the universe.
The peak of the mountain, like the capstone of the pyramid, is the mystic link between heaven and earth, and is
the spiritual source of all physical creation. Divine fire, or akasa, flows downward through six planes of life, becoming
increasingly dense and concrete as it moves toward the base of the mountain or pyramid, which symbolizes the physical
plane of life. The peak or capstone is the pole of spirit, unity, the soul, and the positive polarity. The base of the mountain
or pyramid is the pole of matter, diversity, the human personality, and is negatively polarized.
Sacred Mountains and pyramids share common symbolism with the World Tree. All three are located at the” center of
the world”, with the world- axis at their cores. This central axis always points to the Pole Star, around which the universe
revolves. The mountain peak or capstone is identical to the root of the World Tree, while the body and base of the mountain
or pyramid correspond to the tree’s many branches.
The caves of the Sacred Mountain and the chambers of a pyramid are both sites of the” second birth” and spiritual initiation.
They are the wombs, like the alchemist’s furnace, where the lead of human consciousness is transformed to the
gold of divine wisdom. The coffer in the King’s Chamber of the Great Pyramid was a type of baptismal fount where the
purified initiate was born again into their God-Self. The Ancient Wisdom teaches that Jesus himself was initiated in the
King’s Chamber of the Great Pyramid.