INTRODUCTION TO YOGA.

The whole of evolution is one in its essence. The progression is the same, and the sequences are identical. Whether you are observing the unfolding of consciousness in the universe, in the human race, or in a single individual, you can study the laws that govern the whole. In Yoga, you learn to apply those very same laws to your own consciousness in a rational and definite way. All laws are essentially one, no matter how differently they appear at various stages of their manifestation.

If you look at Yoga in this light, then this practice—which may have seemed so alien and distant—will begin to show a familiar face and approach you in a way that is not entirely strange. As you study the unfolding of consciousness and the corresponding evolution of physical forms, it will not seem so strange that you should eventually pass from the state of "man" to that of the super-man A term used here to describe an advanced stage of spiritual evolution that transcends ordinary human limitations.. By transcending the barriers of humanity, you find yourself in a realm where divinity becomes more clearly visible.

THE ONENESS OF THE SELF.

The Self within you is the same as the Universal Self. Whatever powers are displayed throughout the world exist within you as well—in seed form, latent and waiting. He, the Supreme, does not evolve; in Him, there are no additions or subtractions. His portions, the Jīvātmās Sanskrit: individual souls or sparks of the divine spirit that inhabit living beings., are exactly like Himself. They only reveal their powers in the material world as the conditions around them draw those powers forth. If you can realize the unity of the Self amidst the diversity of the Not Self A technical term referring to everything that is not the eternal spirit, including the physical body, the mind, and the material world., then Yoga will not seem like an impossible task for you.