Parables of Rama
by Swami Rama Tirtha | 102,836 words
Stories in English used by Swami Rama to illustrate the highest teaching of Vedanta. The most difficult and intricate problems of philosophy and abstract truths, which may very well tax the brains of the most intellectual, are thus made not only simple and easy to understand but also brought home to us in a concrete form in such an interesting and ...
A Hatha Yogi came before an Indian Prince and threw himself into a long trance. There was no sign of life. The people built a cottage over him to protect him from rain and storm. One night there was a very severe storm and the bricks fell on the head of the Yogi. He came to life again and the first words he uttered were "A horse as my reward, O king! a horse, a horse, O king!"
So long as persons of this kind are in a state of concentration, they are in a good state, they are happy: but when on the material plane, they are just as miserable as anybody else.
MORAL: A Hatha yogi may be happy as long as he is in a state of concentration (Samadhi) but no sooner than he is out of it, he may feel just as anybody else. Hence, Hatha Yoga Samadhi does not give lasting happiness.