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THE HIMALAYAN TRADITION
The Himalayan Tradition comes to us from the Himalayan Mountains in India, which have been home to great sages for millennia. These great sages have lived and passed on knowledge of yogic techniques to disciples who then became masters passing on their teachings in an unbroken lineage since the Vedic period of 5000 years ago. The great sage Shankaracharya established five centers of Himalayan tradition 1200 years ago in India. The methods and philosophies of the Himalayan Tradition have withstood the test of time. Generation upon generation, have followed this path of pure meditation, and a huge reserve of knowledge has been built.
The purpose of the Himalayan Tradition is to awaken the divine flame within each human being, and the goal is for each student to become a master of the Tradition in coming to know his or her true Self. It is the task of the teacher, through the Grace of the Guru, to selflessly help his/her disciples on the way of highest enlightenment. Passing on the knowledge is done experientially through the transmission of a pulsation of energy.
The student is encouraged to study the writings of the Tradition and read about experiences of the great masters of the past for himself or herself. The student is expected to look to the Tradition for support and make sense of what the teacher says.
The Himalayan Tradition of Yoga Meditation combines the wisdom of Patanjali's Yoga-Sutras (the most classical text of Yoga), the philosophy and practices of Tantras and the oral instructions and initiatory experiences of a long line of saints and yoga masters whose names may or may not be known. This tradition is a unified system in which all parts are integral and linked, rather than being merely an intellectual combining of these elements.
The principal tenets and practices of all known systems of meditation are contained in the Himalayan Tradition, and for the most part, have arisen out of Himalayan Tradition. For example, Vipassana emphasizes breath awareness, Transcendental Meditation concentrates on repetition of the mantra, and Hatha practitioners perfect the postures. The Himalayan meditator, however, learns to sit in correct posture, relax fully, practice correct breathing, and then combine breath-awareness with mantra.
