Himalayan Raja Yogi
Mouni Maharaj walked out of the Himalaya's in 1935.As an already acomplished practitioner of Raja Yoga he lived and taught in a small Punjab village, Bhuko, for the next 20 years, occasionally wandering off around India.
He knew many of the old great sages of India, including Ramana Maharshi and Nityananda.
Around 1955 he abruptly departed the Punjab village and established a new ashram in the Rajasthan desert near Merta city. There he stayed and taught for 40 years, the last 20 years never leaving the gate of his ashram.
In 1995 he again abruptly departed, establishing an ashram near Mt Abu. I first travelled to meet him in 1977 where he offered to teach me the genuine, little known, methods of Raja Yoga and the raising of the Kundalini. I travelled back there whenever I felt the need, but his inner guidance is always with me.
From 1996, as probably the most deeply respected Yogi in Rajasthan and the Punjab, he moved continuously around India, attending to his students as he felt the call from the world wide way. Mouni Maharaj died 31st October 2007.
In 1995 he again abruptly departed, establishing an ashram near Mt Abu. I first travelled to meet him in 1977 where he offered to teach me the genuine, little known, methods of Raja Yoga and the raising of the Kundalini. I travelled back there whenever I felt the need, but his inner guidance is always with me.
From 1996, as probably the most deeply respected Yogi in Rajasthan and the Punjab, he moved continuously around India, attending to his students as he felt the call from the world wide way. Mouni Maharaj died 31st October 2007.
Mouni Maharaj Speaks:
Consciousness, truth, light, sound, reality, etc – none of these are the True Self but they all lead to the same place (that place which is beyond conception where dwells the True Self).
Mantras can help the taming of the mind. He gives mantras to his students to improve the quality of their lives. He gives breathing exercises to improve their health. These are not directly for Self-realisation but will help people prepare for it.
Maya exists. We must do our duty within it. Our outer duty in life is to do no harm while giving help to our family and those we meet. Our inner duty is to seek self knowledge so as to know the Self.
Yoga is what arises when the ripples of the mind cease. All Yoga (Hatha, Bhakti, Raja) is one. The purpose of Yoga is to know the Self. Many practices have side benefits and some spend their efforts there, but that is not the real purpose of Yoga. Modern Hatha Yoga as has spread throughout the world is not true yoga – it is yoga for a hobby and will not lead to Self-realisation. It may just make people more attached to their bodies.
Prayer is the best. Other exercises prepare the way but are not so important. In praying, motive is most important – pray, don't prey. Real prayer is beyond words. Purpose of prayer is to reach out for the True Self. When as a result of this you realise your present consciousness is nothing, only then will the True Self arise to support your life and the life of those with whom you are connected.
Harm no-one is the most important rule for outerlife. Also, don't react to difficult outer events or conditions, or they will rule your inner world.
Love arises when you recognise no difference between yourself and the other.
Guru worshipping by the student – he does not recommend this. It is not a true path to enlightenment. Any teacher who asks it or allows it of their students is mis-using the students devotion. He recommends that students visit him for a time and then go home to practise within their own lives. Otherwise the students become dependent on the teacher's presence.
Teacher explains the Way but your own effort is the main ingredient. Teacher's energy (baraka, darshan or spiritual emanation) helps you to make an effort. The more effort you make, the more help you receive. Effort depends on Will.
Silence – at a later stage (20 to 40 years) when you rest in the inner silence, you will be told what to do from the inside, only then the outer teacher is no longer necessary. When this inner knowledge arises you must follow it.
Realisation is available to all but is attained only by those few who have the will to sustain a lifetime of effort.