Some of you may have noticed that I sometimes make reference to the term "Arhatic Yoga" in a couple of my posts. I cannot really divulge any details since I'm not authorized to make any statements about it, but so that you are not left scratching your head everytime you hear the term, I guess it would be safe enough to stick to generalities and how it relates to my life.
Arhatic Yoga was also founded by Master Choa Kok Sui. Developed concurrently with pranic healing, it was a work in progress even as he was busy spreading pranic healing in the late 80's. Currently, it is one of the optional higher courses offered at certain pranic healing centers around the world. You need to have taken at least the first three pranic healing courses (Basic, Advanced and Psychotherapy) including the course on Achieving Oneness with the Higher Soul.
As the name implies, it is a synthesis of different yoga systems. The goal of Arhatic Yoga is to accelerate one's spiritual development, a statement that would be difficult to understand on its deeper level to someone not already familiar with esoteric teachings. That alone is already a lengthy topic, so I will not dwell on it here, but hopefully you will get a glimpse of what I mean in the next few paragraphs.
If you will notice, the different yoga systems deal with certain aspects of one's nature. Many are already familiar with hatha yoga, which develops the physical body through certain exercises. Then there's raja yoga, that deals with the mind; karma yoga, that deals with action, and so on. Since Arhatic Yoga is a synthesis of all these systems, then you get the idea that Arhatic Yoga deals with developing and harmonizing the totality of one's being.
Anyone familiar with yoga would know about kundalini, mudras, meditations, etc. But these are methods and effects. The real core, for me, are the purifications (outer and inner, which includes character development). Unlocking the potentialities of one's being doesn't necessarily make you more enlightened, it just makes you more capable, either for good or for evil. In Hindu and Buddhist tradition, the simplest definition for the term arhat is "saint." So the goal is to produce saints, not monsters. Because of this, certain discernment is needed when accepting students, that's why one does not apply for the course but is instead invited when one has reached a certain level of readiness.
How then does this differ from other spiritual systems out there? I would say that the differences lie more with the methods, but the goal is the same. So it really depends on what system "calls" to your soul. After all, taking by example the Roman Catholic tradition, we know the stories of ordinary people who became saints just by living the Word of God (you may even have "living saints" close to you in the form of a loving mother, a generous aunt, a charitable grandfather, etc.). Of course, for some people, having an organized system of exercises and meditations saves a lot of time as opposed to experimenting on one's own and casting about randomly. It's really up to the person and what one's soul mission is.
I must hasten to add, though, that despite all the Hindu or Buddhist references, Arhatic Yoga is not a religion. It is a system of knowledge that helps your spirituality, whatever your religion is. In fact, I know several Catholic priests and nuns who are Arhatic Yogis.
If you want to know more details about Arhatic Yoga, you can check out this website or watch this short video series by Master Stephen Co (one of Master Choa's disciples) giving a few details about Arhatic Yoga.
And how has Arhatic Yoga impacted my life? For no body of knowledge is ever truly alive unless it affects one's life somehow. As of this writing, it hasn't even been a month since I took the first Arhatic Yoga course but I'm happy that I was entitled enough to have a chance to take it. I've had to make a few changes already, particularly in terms of scheduling. The additional meditations and exercises are certainly regimented enough that a change in schedule is really necessary. But overall, I've become even more aware of how what I think, feel, say and do affect other people, either positively or negatively. The tools are simple, but the execution can be difficult, but I'm working at it everyday so that I can become a positive influence in others' lives. This chance at positive change is perhaps one of the most valuable legacies that Master Choa left to the world.
I chose the title of this post in reference to Jacob's Ladder in the Bible. The imagery represents the end goal, and the effort one needs to put along the way in order to get there. That pretty much represents how a life of spirituality develops. The task may be herculean, but the hard won fruits of that labor will make everything worth it.
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