Sādhana Pāda
the core Yogic Acceleration process
Actually this is the introductory chapter for beginners, and the previous Samadhi pada is actually for experts who want to dedicate their life to Yoga.
You still need to understand the entire thesis first.
Psyching ourselves in with, or getting fully inspired by, a particular psychic intelligence, is the core protocol of Yogic Acceleration, called a Kriyā.
Because we are dealing with psychic Beings a Kriyā is considered a sacred practice, that is, approached with reverence and full intention, cleansing the environment, etc.
Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, Chapter-2, starts with:
सूत्र 2.1: तपः स्वाध्यायेश्वरप्रणिधाननि क्रियायोगः
Tapah-svādhyāya-IshwarapraniDhānā-ni kriyā-Yogah
Burn, study, offer it up to the all-pervading wish-granting Ishwara
Burn in the fire of “austerity” (tapas) - meaning we have to actively give up something, say all unnecessary foods, or habits.
Then observe reactions/state - this is Self-study (svAdhyAya), with the perspective that it is the relationship (Bandha) that attaches to various forms, which is actually burnt, like so much kindling into the fire of Self-knowledge. Specifically, it is really useful to study Yoga texts like Patanjali Sutras.
Self, or in Sanskrit Sva is Su+a, which means a good beginning!
Ensure that whatever outcome happens, is given up to Ishwara, which is a psychic Being that, with the power of Om, instills the most pliant yet firm coating in the psyche, that all other psychic Beings have an appropriate terrain in which to be instilled - such as the first one that fulfills any big wish - the Ishta Devatā.
This is Kriyā Yoga.
The Kriyā gets heightened, for example, when we time planetary configurations to do a certain practice, along with other rituals the invoke the story for a particular Devā, then this results in a highly effective instillation. The largest scope of the psychic Being gets us to the Avatār effect.
We are transcending psychological time with perspective of Yugas, and accelerating mechanical time too.
सूत्र 2.44 स्वाध्यायात् इष्ट-देवता सम्प्रयोगः
Svādhyāyāt ishta-devataā samprayogah
From self-study the personal wish-granting deity becomes available for perfect deployment (into the Mindscape).
Again, Sanskrit Sva is Su+a, which means a good beginning! And also, the 'a' indicates countering the bad.
Now we actually see the most 'tuned' manifestation of Self, a particular Intent coming into play.
The psychic intelligence of the Deva is now in deep memory.
Yoga-geek speak: A deva is indeed a Vritti, a fluctuation in the Mindspace, which should be stopped as per Patanjali initially. But it is an aKlishta vritti that does not entangle as psychic viruses - because it came from a certain space that included Mantras, Tapas, etc.;
As it is aKlishta there are no Kleshas, psychic blockages being created in the Chitta.
Thus we instill this psychic intelligence which informs our every moment. Devatā is described as a glow because it shines light on who we are. Around us people perceive it too. Internally it is likely that there is increased energetic activity in our neuronal network, toward coherence.
The two Sutras could be treated as Mantras, because as we contemplate and realize, it is certainly meant to expand the Mind in a safe yet very potent manner - which is the meaning of Mantra.
The Storytelling
Traditional cultures have instilled these psychic Beings naturally, marinating its society in a particular cultural soup.
As we absorb the psychic Beings deeper & deeper into our Mindscape, we notice that they are enacting roles which are a mirror to the story of our own Life.
How these characters react to situations in the script, is reflected in our own behavior patterns, which could be enhanced or weakened if we but had the will to do so.
Epiphany
When the realization strikes, that, just like we have these psychic Beings running around in our story, we too could be living a life as just a character in someone else's story, or some other system framework, this gives us serious pause to consider the implications of lifestyle change.
At this point we get fully impregnated by the psychic intelligence of these psychic Beings, and now in the theater of our Mind we become the director and scriptwriter, and thus the storyteller in charge of our life story.
Now we are in charge of the plot and can always step in as needed into the live theater of life, snapping our fingers to get attention, no longer held hostage to external forces.
This in turn gives these psychic Beings in our Mindscape a feeling of liberation, equally empowering, that they now express themselves to fruition and merge into the infinite Brhman - this is what is called as Moksha.
By enabling these psychic Beings to get Moksha, we ourselves get Jeevan Moksha from the fetters that hold us back, and we can express forth in a space of pure Bhakti, a fount of pure creative intelligence, that others can be inspired too in similar fashion, but tuned to who they are and their context.
Why it's Safe
The counter-argument to this Psychic Being model is that we are opening ourselves up to being taken over by "spirits", and something could go wrong.
Agreed, but we are not that stupid - remember as Sapiens we are supposed to be clever!
All characters in these stories have a definite end-date, and they do "die", or exit the stage.
It helps too that we always remember Moksha as an internal attitude to renounce any bondage to whatever Beings we have absorbed into our Mindscape.
This is what we call as Moksha. This is true of every single character in Yoga Stories, although timelines may differ.
When they are past their due-date, which is usually a confluence of events - not mechanical calendar time, they simply drop away, and we remember them with fondness for having helped us on our journey, and vice-versa too, as others reinforce the same subjective experience.
Furthermore we never get possessed by them, as though they were completely independent Beings, for unless we systematically provide them life energy they just revert to being interesting storied concepts in the Mind, thus these can be dropped or added at will.
Yoga stories are replete with tales of Psychic Beings, so they also form a part of the civilizational Mindscape, and if psychogenetics in fact impacts genetics, their effects also get passed down through generations.
Although there is a framework, this is based on intelligent processes that work with empirical inputs from life, and not a fixed axiomatic ideology of any kind.
This is a conscious ideology.
This is in stark contrast to the simplistic/axiomatic rules that are at the core of Western models that mirrored God-given Laws from “up above”, thus much of Western science & math has an artificial theology at its core - and this has directly led to a disconnected and mechanical world view.
According to Swami Vivekānanda:
"Make that one idea your life; dream of it; think of it; live on that idea. Let the brain, the body, muscles, nerves, every part of your body be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success, and this is the way great spiritual giants are produced.”
Makes it easier to actually implement Viveka because we can easily make decisions what action to take based on whether it fits with our goal or not, but the goal has to be all-consuming - and thus we get copious energy to do the actual work needed.