Soaham Pranayama

Without the emotional depth, motivation and mental concentration, the feelings and meditations associated with the Soaham Sadhana would be like 'mere imaginations' or 'mental amusement and diversion' or 'day dreaming', and would not show any sigh of progress.

Attracting the Mahaprana is not a physical or mental exercise. It can't be attained without the warmth and the urge of the innermost sentiments. The voice of the inner emotions could be powerful enough to be 'heard' by (to reach) the cosmic centers of thy expression only if the Sadhaka's external and internal personalities are purifies, disciplined and indeed devoted towards his Sraddha in the divine disciplines. Similar strength of the inner self and the willpower of the Sadhaka are required in the later phase of the Soaham Pranayama. The Sadhaka has to firmly uproot his viles, weaknesses and ego that are deeply rooted in his instincts as a jiva.

If one sincerely performs the contemplation phase of the Sadhana of Soaham, the corresponding thoughts and emotions would be gradually assimilated in his memory and subconscious mind. His integrity of character and duty-bound righteous activities will support rapid conditioning to accelerate the spiritual effects. Such a person would live the life of a true karma yogi. His actions will be inspired and controlled by the divine will. In worldly terms, he may be a farmer, a gardener; a laborer, a businessman; a doctor, a scientist etc may have a lower, medium, high or no status in the socio-economic system and live an utterly ordinary life. In either case, his spiritual refinement would excel progressively. All his deeds would be selfless and duty bound and hence estimable likes those of the great personalities, saints and sages.

King Janaka used to live a duty-bound life of an emperor and was seen busy in related worldly affairs. But because of his selfless, enlightened attitude, fair and discerning intellect and piety of emotions, he was considered a karma yogi. His knowledge was honored as equivalent to that of a scholar of the Brahm Vidya.

If the Soaham Sadhana is being performed adeptly, its effects on enlightening the Sadhaka's emotions would be reflected in different facets of his life in terms of his righteous thinking, broad outlook and cooperating behavior etc. Because of its direct connection with the emotional center and the inner self, the Soaham Sadhana becomes a principal Sadhana for peerless spiritual evolution.

The history of the Bhakti Age of the Nepalese literature highlights two major streams of development of devotional poesy and literature; (1) nirguna (nirakar) - in which the God is realized as absolute, formless and omnipresent; and (2) Saguna (sakara) - where the devotion is focused at a specific form (idol) of a manifestation of God. Chronologically, the period of nirguna is supposed to be earlier.

This was around 1500 AD, when the saintly poet Kabira had propagated religious reforms under the nirguna philosophy of Bhakti (devotion). About one century later, the saintly poets like Surdasa, Tulsidasa, and Mira etc had inspired the flow of Saguna Bhakti in the form of vaisnava Bhakti (devotion of God Rama and Krishna in the hearts of the people that even today a vast majority of the people of Nepalese origin is influenced by it. The saguna Bhakti or Rama or Krishna is an integral part of these people's religious life.