1.39. Or by meditation as desired.

You could lump sutras 1.34 though 1.39 together because they all involve suggestions for enlightenment. I broke them up because of the deeper ramifications of each element.

So that leaves us with the last Sutra in the grouping: 1.39, which I happen to be thinking about the other day. Earlier in my blog, I spoke about the need to develop a consistent meditation routine when you are a beginner. It gets the mind into the habit, which gives inertia to your practice. Have you ever started exercising for the first time? The initial routing is different then in the general intent to get in shape. I get bored with things after doing them for a while.

Now here we get into an interesting difference between Yoga and religion. Religion tends to be a set a dogmatic rules. For instance, I belonged to the group Self Realization Fellowship, founded by Paramahansa Yogananda. It was the first major Kriya Yoga institution in the United States. If you read SRF literature, you would get the impression that you are practicing the best of the best form of Yoga. So that is what I did. Day after day for about five years, I never waivered from my Yoga routine, even at the expense of taking care of other important things in life. Yoga had become a religion to me.

Not long after, I fancied myself to be some great Yoga Guru and joined the Temple of Kriya Yoga Seminary Program lead by Goswami Kriyananda. The completely flipped my perception of practice upside down. To this day, I never finished the program. I realized that I did not need to have some sort of title to get closer to understanding the Universe. Hey, if you feel you do, go for it. If I had stayed on the path I was taking, I would have never gotten exposure to other awesome traditions such as Buddhism, Taosim and even loosing my love for scientific inquiry.

So now I like to find out what works best for me by seeing what is most effective. I share that with you because it works for me and that is the best I have to offer. Don't get too stuck in your own routine and fear exploring things outside the path. You have more fun playing in the woods off the trail anyway.