Rāja-Yoga contains the following eight steps: (1) yama; (2) niyama. These two steps encompass various ethical and moral practices, considered as prerequisites. (3) Āsana, bodily poses; their aim is to find a position in which the practice of concentration is not disturbed by the body; (4) prānāyāma, breath control, practiced because the breath greatly influences one’s thoughts and emotional states. The third and fourth stage gave rise to the development of Hatha-Yoga. (5) Pratyāhāra, the withdrawal of the senses from sense objects, so that the mind is not diverted; (6) dhārana, or concentration, the ability to rest the mind on an object without straying or going out of control; (7) dhyāna, or meditation. At this level, it is said, the mind no longer projects its own concepts onto the object of meditation, but instead merges with the object itself. (8) Samādhi, also known as turīya, the supraconscious state, in which duality and the manifest world no longer exist. An introduction to Rāja-Yoga is found in Vivekānanda 1955.
Source: The Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and Religion: Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Zen. Shambhala Publications, Inc.
Documents on Raja-Yoga
Books on Raja-Yoga
External Links: Yoga / Raja yoga / Bhagavad Gita / Swami Vivekananda / Patanjali