Muraqaba and Religion

Members of the religious establishment often declare Muraqaba (meditation) to be something outside of religion. They also claim that it could not be found in Scriptures. This whole argument may impress someone with marginal a mind, but when we look at this matter with wisdom and depth, the earlier notion simply melts away. When we look into the teachings of Scriptures including the Qur’an (Koran), we find that their main message is for us to contemplate.

Contemplation means to explore with all the mental capabilities the numerous signs scattered all over the Universe. The second main institution of religion is prayer (salat). Salat is a very broad term, which literally means to form a connection. Here it means that through contemplation a person is able to form a connection with the Divine. Contemplation is Muraqaba.

Muraqaba could not be limited to a specific pose because Muraqaba in essence is a mental activity or state. The system of rules and regulation put forth by religion has room for both outward and inward inspirations. Every pillar and activity has its outward (zahir) form as well as an inward (batin) or meaningful state. Both sides are equally important.

Through obligatory religious acts the most desired inward state is the station of ihsaan (higher awareness). The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) has defined ihsaan in these words:

“When you perform salat, do it in such a way as if you were beholding God or that He were watching you.”

Through the inward state (contemplation) of religion when someone achieves that higher level of God-awareness (ihsaan), he or she is then able to gain gnosis of God.

During the time of the Prophet Muhammad, the faithful had his glorious company. The spirits of his companions were enlightened with his love. Most of their time was spent in the contemplation on his personality and essence. They were always busy finding the wisdom through his words and actions. Because of this focused life, they were able to gain the spiritual awareness. Moreover because of his company they had involuntarily gained the cognitive and intuitive angle of perception without much effort.

After his physical demise, the source of guidance was removed from the outward sight. Gradually the inward (batin) side of religion lost the prominence it had once enjoyed. Islam then turned into a collection of outward rituals and traditions. Ahlul Bayt and later Sufi saints then tried to popularize the inner mode of religion and created a system (silsila; Sufi orders) through which gaining that awareness was made possible. Its purpose was to combine dhikr (remembrance) with fikr (contemplation). The practical form of fikr was then labeled as Muraqaba, which means to think or to focus on a given object.

Contemplation:

Generally in all religious scriptures and especially in the Qur’an (Koran), noesis or contemplation is greatly emphasized. In various verses cognition is even ordered, for examples there are verses that dictate to contemplate on skies, on the land, or on rain and the growth of plants, and in some on the birth of animals as well as humans is stressed. Through various styles of suggestions, it is stressed to make deep thinking part of regular life. According to the Qur’an (Koran), those who possess knowledge and those who are nearer to God are immersed in deep thinking.

 God has stated in the Qur’an (Koran):

“In the creation of earth and skies and in the daily routine of day and night, there are signs for those wise people who remember God, standing, sitting and resting and those who contemplate on the creation of skies and earth and as a result come to conclusion that O’ Our Lord , Thou has not created these with no purpose.” [aal-irnran}

Besides the universe, the Qur’an (Koran) has also disclosed the Divine Essence and Attributes, as in these verses:

“Wherever you turn, you see the Face of God.” “Be aware, be certain that God is seeing you.” “God engulfs everything.”

It is stated in the Quran (Koran):

“Did you not see that person (Ezra) who was walking by a city (Jerusalem) the roofs of which had collapsed?” Said he, “How would God revive that city after it has been completely destroyed?” So God kept him dead for a hundred years and then gave him back his life. God said, “Since how long have you stayed here?” He replied, “Maybe a day or two.” God said “Nay. You were dead for a hundred years. Look at your food and drink, has it not been decayed? Look at your mule. We did that to show you

Our sign for the people. And watch these bones how We are going to connect them. Then We will

dress them with flesh.” Then when the Reality was revealed to him he said, “Now I know that God is omnipotent.”

[al-Baqara]

 In Sura aal-Imran it stated:

“And no man is entitled to converse with Him unless through vahii or behind a Veil or through a messenger, who communicates with whatever He wishes. Verily, He is all-glory and all-Wise. And in the same way We sent you Our Word through vahii. You were not aware of what Book is and what faith is. But We made that Book a light (nur), and We guide whomever We wish.”

 It is stated in Sura Mulk:

“He, who created seven skies on top of each other, you would not be able to find any error in the creative work of the Merciful. See it again. Have you found any fault? Look at it again and again, your sight would return back to you after having failed, it would be tired as well.”

“In fact these are the bright verses (ayaat) which are saved in their bosoms, those have been given the knowledge. And no one could deny Our verses except the unjust.” [Sura Ankaboot]

“We attest on the places where stars fall. If could perceive, it is a great consecration. No doubt, this Quran (Koran) is glorious, saved in a book, which is protected. No one can touch it, except those who are pure. It is revealed from the Lord of the Worlds.”

In Sura Rahman (Merciful) there is an invitation to think:

“O’ throng of humans and jinns! If you have the power to cross the boundaries of the Universe, then do so. You could not except through Sultan (spiritual ability).”

 In Sura Baqarah, it is stated,

“Let it be followers of Islam, Jews or Christians or Sabi, whoever has faith in God and on the Day of Judgment and do good deeds, their reward is saved with their Lord. They have no fear nor do them grief.”

 In all of the above verses wherever a hidden realm is mentioned, the purpose is to implant these facts in the person’s consciousness, so that not even a trace of doubt stays thereafter. Thereby that person reaches the level of faith (iman). This faith takes the person to the level of observation. According to Sufi Saints, this level is the attestation of the heart that comes after the verbal affirmation of faith. The idea is to make them aware of the vision of their heart through which they will be able to witness matters that are the foundation of the faith (iman).

In order to achieve this level of faith and to make it part of the consciousness, Sufi Saints have always recommended Muraqaba to their students. Through Muraqaba, reality is imposed on the heart in a way that the vision of the soul is activated and the person witnesses the reality in its form before them.

By analyzing cognition, we come to a realization that cognition is a mental process in which a person is able to concentrate deeply on any given idea, point or observation after surrendering all other unrelated thoughts and whims. When the Sufis and other Masters of Spirituality gave this contemplation a form of exercise and made rules and regulations then it was termed as Muraqaba, Meditation or Ga’yan (as in Buddhist or Hindu mysticism).

In human cognition there exists a light that can observe the inner dimension (batin) of any outward object (zahir) or the hidden state (ghayb) of a being. The observation of the hidden realm (ghayb) could declassify any being of the outward (zahir). In other words when we wit ness the hidden reality of any being then its outward form could no longer be hidden from us. Through this process the limits of the outward is revealed to the human consciousness and it becomes increasingly possible to learn where the outward had originated.

This is the way of the Prophets of God that they locate the outward through the inner. By contemplating into the inner, the mind eventually can be lit by that light which reveals the hidden realities into observation. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) has called this light the Light of Insight (nur-firasat).

 There is a saying (hadith) of the Prophet:

“Fear the insight of the faithful (mo’min) for he sees through the Light of God.”

The concentration of thought is imperative in both the outward (academic) and esoteric studies. Until the desire, enthusiasm, curiosity and depth are created, we are unable to learn any branch of knowledge. In the same way in order to learn the spiritual science it is necessary that a person be able to focus all of his or her mental abilities on one point. When a person contemplates with the help of strong will and purity of actions then the Point of Cognition (nuqta-e-fikr) is activated and its meaning and its inner dimensions manifest themselves.

On numerous occasions in the Quran (Koran), God has shown His signs and has directed to contemplate on those signs. A sign is in fact a name of outward motions or manifestations and the focus on contemplations shows that there are those hidden factors whose complete understanding would lead humans towards the Truth. Actually, all physical sciences and beings are based on Spiritual Laws. Through contemplation and concentration, the knowledge of those laws can be accessed.

 The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) has said:

“The one who gains awareness of himself gains awareness of God.”

 Human Soul, Ego or Spirit is a collection of such attributes that represents the entire cosmos. That is why man is also known as microcosm (a’lam asghar). When someone tries to gain awareness of the Self and the attributes of his soul then the Laws of Creativity are revealed to him. Self-awareness eventually creates such energy in the mind that it becomes a basis of the awareness of the Creator.

 God says in the Quran (Koran):

“We are closer to you than your cardinal vein.”

“He is inside your soul. Why don’t you see?”

“We will soon reveal to them Our signs in the cosmos and in the souls.”

The right way towards self-awareness has been transferred from the Prophets and Apostles to the Mankind. Among the different methods applied by those who were blessed with Prophethood (nur-e- nabnuat), Muraqaba is the most prominent.

Muraqaba is an act of the Heart. The word itself came from the Arabic word raqeeb. Raqeeb is one of the Divine Names listed in the Qur’an (Koran) and its literal meaning is protector or caretaker. This indicates protecting the mind from the negative and worrying thoughts and focusing on God or His attributes or signs.

In Sufi terminology, Muraqaba means to contemplate or to imagine. The eighteenth century Indian Sufi Syed Shah Waliullah Muhadith Dehlevi (1702-1762) wrote:

“The truth about Muraqaba is to let the force of perception concentrate on an object or idea, whether it is Divine Attributes or on the separation of body and soul or any other topic. This attention should be such that all the intelligence, whims, thoughts and all the senses become dormant to this focus. And the thing that does not feel becomes known without ever being felt.”

It means that in the human senses, the knowledge that is beyond the scope of intelligence and consciousness and is part of the soul, after having crossed the boundaries of senses and perception enters the field of observation and inspection through Muraqaba.

 Another Indian Sufi, Syed Ghauth Ali Shah (1804-1880) wrote in his hook Taleem Ghauthia, “One of the conditions of Muraqaba is that the person’s attention always remains at his heart. He is always immersed in the state of his heart. The second condition is to keep his focus on the one of the Divine Names or any verse of the Quran (Koran). The focus should be increased to a point where the person himself becomes the meaning and becomes unaware of self. Keep in mind that Muraqaba is based on the state of the heart. When the heart is attentive to God or anything other than God then all internal organs follow its command, because they are all obedient to the heart. The final stage of the Muraqaba is when the person is so immersed in imagining the Beloved that he becomes totally unaware of all else.”

 Another Sufi Ibn Mubarak once said to someone, “Raqib Al-Lah. When that person asked him what it meant, he replied, “Always live as if you are seeing God.”

The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) once said, “Pray to God as though you are watching Him. And if you could not do that, imagine that He is watching you.” In this saying of the Prophet (hadith) the first station is observation while the second is Muraqaba.

 Imam Ghazali (d.1150) in his book chemia saadat wrote:

“O’ friend, do not think that the door of the heart toward spiritual realm does not open before death. This idea is wrong. When a person during his wakefulness, prays and abstains from immoral behavior, seeks solitude, closes his eyes and after suspending the outward senses turns his heart towards Gnosis. And then instead of using the tongue, invocate (dhikr) the Divine Name of Al – Lah, with his heart and then loses himself and surrenders from all the physical things of this world. Then after reaching this station, the door of his heart opens even during wakefulness. Moreover, what other people see in their dreams he sees with his open eyes. He sees angels, he meets Prophets of God and receives their blessing (faidh).”

 In order to observe the hidden realm, all the saints, Prophets and Apostles have applied cognition and spent months or years with their abilities practicing Muraqaba. It should not be assumed that Prophethood can be achieved merely by trying. This is a special privilege that God bestows on a chosen few. The system of Prophethood and Apostle-hood has ended, however revelation (il’haam) and awakening of consciousness (roshan zarneeri) continues.

Abraham

When the Prophet Abraham was growing up, there came a moment during the search for the truth when he became deeply contemplative. During this gnostic phase of the search for the Beloved, his mind at first turned to the outward objects and toward the very thought of who his Creator was and where He was. That became a focal point of his quest. The depth of the awareness finally created a way towards gnosis and he directly received the Divine Guidance (hidaya). In the Quran (Koran), the quest of Abraham is related as follows:

“And We let Abraham observe the creatures of the skies and earth so that he could become the man of absolute faith. And when the darkness of the night prevailed, he saw a star. Said he, this is my Lord. So when it fell said he, I do not love those who go down.”

“Then when he saw the moon, the bright and glowing, said he, this is my Creator. When that fell too Abraham said, if my God would not guide me then I would be among those who have gone astray. Then when saw the sun, he said, this is my God. This is the biggest one. So when that went down, he said, O’ my people, no doubt I am disgusted with your infidelity. I turn my way towards the One who created this earth and the skies and I am not among those who worship idols.”

[Sura Inaam]

Moses

After freeing the Israelites from the slavery of Pharaoh, Moses on his way towards the Promised Land spent some time in the Sinai Desert. There he left his brother Aaron in charge of the community and went towards what is known today as Mount of Moses (jabal al musa, koh-e-toor) on God’s Will. There, he spent forty days and forty nights and received the Torah.

This event is mentioned in the Qur’an (Koran) in these words:

“And We promised Moses thirty nights and added ten more nights, then the period of your Lord was completed with forty nights.”

Moses spent the entire forty days and nights there but what is interesting is that God only used the term ‘night’ but the day was not even mentioned. According to Sufism, ‘night’ is the name of those senses (nocturnal senses) that are responsible for the hidden revelations. During Muraqaba, the human senses are influenced by the nocturnal senses and the person is then able to observe the world after freeing himself from the clutches of Time and Space. During those forty days and nights, Moses was dominated by the nocturnal senses and therefore his mind was able to witness the hidden Reality and Divine Messages.

Mary (The Mother of Jesus)

The Mother of Mary had prayed to God that if she had a child, she would dedicate him to the Solomon’s Temple of Jerusalem. She was expecting that she would bear a boy; instead, she gave birth to a daughter (Mary). Acting on her promise to God that she would devote Mary to the Temple, she sent Mary to live in the Temple and her Uncle Prophet Zachariah (father of John the Baptist) became her custodian. Her reclusive life (khilwat) was for achieving mental concentration (Muraqaba). During her stay she involuntarily began performing miracles and other supernatural acts. In the Qur’an (Koran), it is mentioned that whenever her Uncle Prophet Zachariah would go to see her in the Temple, he would be surprised to see fruits of other seasons. Upon inquiring, she would say that that was the gift from the Lord.

Jesus

Jesus spent forty days in the wilderness praying. During his stay, He was tempted by Satan, who used greed and other tactics to lead him astray. However, Jesus paid no attention to his follies. Eventually Jesus was able to receive the divine favors.

In the Gospels (injeel) of Mark, it is stated:

“And it came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized of John in Jordan. And straightway coming up out of the water, saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him. And immediately the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness. And he was there in the wilderness for forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him.” [1:9-13]

Whether it is a spiritual confinement of Mary or retreat of Moses or Jesus, the main thing is that these noble personalities did spend a part of their life isolated from civilization and worldly affairs and were drawn to the unseen world with their full concentration.

Now we are going to shed some lights on how Muraqaba is related in Islam and its place in the life of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

Cave of Hira

A major turn in the life of Prophet Muhammad came when he started to retreat monthly for few days at a cave around three miles away from the city of Mecca. After spending a few days there on his own he would return to his home and family in Mecca. He would take with him food and water as well. Food consisted of dates and crushed beans.

Evidently, he was going there to achieve mental concentration, as this happened before the declaration of Prophethood and at that time there existed no system of prayer among the small number of monotheist Arabs for praying to the True God. According to the Sufi point of view, he was using the retreat to practice Muraqaba. During his stay his mind would contemplate the mysteries of the Universe and the Divine Essence. When that concentration reached its zenith, he started witnessing the unseen. First, he saw a group of angels and then he saw Archangel Gabriel. Through Gabriel, his Prophetic training started which culminated in a stage in which he started receiving the command directly from the Divine. This was related in the story of meraj in the Qur’an (Koran):

“Pure is the Essence which took His servant at night from the Mosque of Mecca masjid (al- haram) to the Mosque of Jerusalem (Dome of the Rock), so that he could witness the signs of Our might.”

[Sura Bani Israel]

“He teaches, He is all-powerful. Appeared in the true face, when at the supreme height. Came closer and further closer. Descended, until the remaining distance was less than two arches, even less. What the heart saw was not illusion.” [Sura Najam]

Attention to God

On one occasion when Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) finished his Muraqaba at the cave of Hira, he was given a commandment:

“O’ who covers with clothes! Spend thy night in vigil but a small portion, meaning the half night or even smaller portion. Or increased slightly from half and recite the Qur’an (Koran) very clearly. We are going to descend a heavy order on thee.”

[Sura Muzammil]

During the hours of night when the outward senses get groggy and the inner senses are activated, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) used to keep night vigil. Because of long hours of standing, his feet would get swollen.

With increased mental concentration and physical awakening, this vigil made the strong link even greater, which he had with the unseen world and God. The higher his concentration went, the more he received the observation of the unseen realm and his spiritual growth.

He received another commandment:

“Sever from the rest and focus on Him, the Lord of the East and of the West.”

In Sufism, this attempt in which all mental aptitudes are turned toward God is known as Muraqaba of the Divine Essence (al-dhat). In the Qur’an (Koran) it is stated on several occasions that to create a connection with the Divine, is the sole objective behind all the prayers and exercises, whether it is salat, fasting, zakat (charity) or hajj (pilgrimage), dhikr (remembrance of God) or any other form of prayer.

 Imam Ali ibn abi Talib has said:

“The foremost in religion is the Gnosis (ma’arifa) of Him, the perfection of Gnosis is to testify (shahada) of Him, the perfection of testifying of Him is to believe in His Unity (tawheed), the perfection of believing in His Unity is to regard Him pure. He is a Being but not through the phenomenon of coming into being. He exists but not from non-existence. He is with everything but not in physical nearness. He is away from everything but not in physical separation. He acts but without connotation of movements and instruments. He sees even when there is none to be looked at from among His creation. He is Single, such that there is none with whom He may keep company or whom He may miss in their absence.”

[Nahjul Balagha: Sermon 1]

 “These are the people whom the trade and business of worldly life could not distract them in their remembrance (dhikr) of God.”

[Sura Nur]

 Religion has established the structure of prayers by keeping in mind the physical and spiritual needs of humans. Connection with the Divine, dhikr, imagining His omnipresence, establishing salat, imagining God as the sole existence through self-negation, fasting, detachment (istaghna), these are all the media through which the mental focus is established on one point and that point is the Essence (dhat) of God, who is the Ultimate Reality (haqiqat kubra) of this Universe.

In order to have this focus on God and to purify the heart, religion has established the obligatory system of prayers. In addition to that a person may add more non-obligatory (nafil) prayers depending on conditions and ability. The night vigils, dhikr, recitation of the Qur’an (Koran), non-obligatory fasting are used for this purpose. The cognition (fikr) is evident in all the prayers and activities. When attempts to achieve cognition are activated, and strengthened then the evil thoughts weaken, and the focus on God deepens. When someone achieves this ecstasy during prayers, the real benefits of prayers are gained.

Prayer and Muraqaba

Just like all other Prophets before hiM, the prophet Muhammad also devised a system of prayers based on Divine Commandments. This system was devised so that people of all levels of society and ability could perform it and because of that could establish a connection with God. After Unity (tawheed), prayer (salat) is the most important pillar of Islam. Salat reinforces the idea of God’s omnipresence and by simply repeating it creates God-awareness. In the Salat all the movements of daily life are assembled so that a person, no matter what he is doing, remains at the higher level of God’s awareness.

Regarding prayer the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) has said,

“While performing the prayer, feel as if you are witnessing God or that He is watching you.”

 This above statement shows that the purpose of the prayer is to have full mental focus on God. Hence the prayer (salat) is not just the physical activity and the uttering of certain words. In the prayer, qayam (standing), ruku and sajada (prostration) and recitation are physical aspects while attention directed toward God is the spiritual one. In its essence salat (prayer) is a combination of both the physical and spiritual activity. Just as physical activity is essential, mental focus is necessary as well. Performing prayer by combining these two factors with full concentration is what establishing prayers (qayam us salat) means. Based on the definition of Muraqaba already given in earlier chapters, we can say that the salat (prayer) is that kind of Muraqaba in which along with the physical activity, awareness of God is envisaged. When a person always performs prayer with the above mentioned protocol then the Divine Lights (anwaar e’lahii) starts to store in his inner being and this storage of the Lights enables him for his spiritual flight.

Dhikar and Contemplation

According to the teachings of the Qur’an (Koran), dhikr (remembrance) of God is highly regarded. In the Qur’an (Koran) as well as in hadith, dhikr is recommended on several occasions. Salat is also referred as dhikr and its stated purpose is to establish the dhikr of God.

The literal meaning of dhikr is the act of remembering. It could also mean mentioning because to mention someone is to remember him. When you mention someone and his or her attributes, that act connects you mentally with the person you are mentioning. To remember someone or mention someone verbally are interrelated. In daily life there are several examples, for instance, when someone is in love with the other person then that love is manifested in way that not only they mention their lover’s name but in their heart the thoughts of the beloved prevail as well.

The center of religious teaching is the Essence of God and its purpose is to establish a link between the created and the Creator. In addition, it is to strengthen that relationship to a point where the heart can witness the Divine Light (tadjalli). Therefore, all functions, whether they are physical or rational are connected with the Divine so that consciously and subconsciously the thought of God encircles the mind.

The first stage of dhikr is to repeat continuously (as in mantra) any Divine Name (ism e’lahi) or attributes with the tongue. When someone is engaged in this activity, then his or her mind also remains focused on that thought. Even when temporarily the mind disengages in dhikr occasionally the mechanical motion never lets the will move away from the dhikr. This stage in Sufism is referred to as dhikr lisani (verbal), which means to repeat any Divine Name verbally while maintaining the focus on dhikr.

When you say the same name repeatedly then that single thought registers in the mind. Concentration is enhanced and the mind is able to maintain a focus on a single thought. When this occurs then the person feels a burden in repeating the Name with the tongue. He feels pleasure in repeating the Name in the realm of thought (alam khiyal). Therefore he switches from dhikr lisani to dhikr khafi (hidden). This stage in Sufism is known as dhikr galbi (by heart).

Then comes a moment when the person even feels a burden with the dhikr by heart as well. At that point the thought of that Name encircles him and he becomes totally immersed in the archetypal world of imagination (alam al-mithal). This state is called dhikr roohi (spiritual); its other name is Muraqaba. Muraqaba in this case is defined as a thought of God established in such a way that focuses on, and never deviates from Him.

We will explain this entire concept in an analogy. When someone does a dhikr of the Divine Name of al-Qadeer; at first he would do the dhikr by tongue, at the next level he would do the dhikr silently by heart, not by his tongue (hence no sound is generated). At the third level he does not have to repeat it by heart, instead the Divine Name al-Qadeer, in the form of thought and imagination encircles his mind. This level or style of dhikr where a person maintains the imagination of the meaning of the Name is known as Muraqaba. The purpose of all the different styles of dhikr is to create a capability in that person so that his entire focus is fully immersed in any one of the Divine Names.

In the beginning the person maintains the thought during the Muraqaba but with continued focus this thought dominates his consciousness along with the entire mental and physical functions. He is able to form a continued relationship with God, and no time is passed where he is not in that state of Muraqaba. When this state of Muraqaba becomes part of the consciousness then his soul ascends towards alam almalakut (world of Platonic intelligence) and he is rewarded with kashf (vision) and ilhaam (revelation).

World Religions

There are five major religions in the world today, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. In the teaching of all of these religions or in the life of their founders, Muraqaba plays a major part. In the case of Christianity we have already discussed the Muraqaba of Jesus. Jesus has also said, “Kingdom of God lies inside thee, find it within thyself.”

Moses spent forty nights doing Muraqaba at the Mount of Moses (jabal al-musa) in Si’nai. In Islam and in the life of the prophet Muhammad we have already mentioned the Muraqaba at the cave of Hira. Bhagavad Gita is the holy book of Hinduism. In it a dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna is recorded, which they had before the Battle of Mahabharata.

Arjuna asked Krishna,

“You have talked about having control over one’s mind (Muraqaba), you have also talked about self-realization, but I have found my mind to be utterly confused.”

Sri Krishna replied,

“What you are saying is correct. But by using the right resources, and through detachment, and with continued gayan (Muraqaba), a confused mind can be focused.”

Yoga is derived from Hinduism. Some 2,300 years ago in his book yoga sutra, Patanjali Maharishi presented the philosophy of Yoga. In Yoga, various exercises for improving human health and the details about Muraqaba to activate spiritual abilities are collected. Yoga is a word from Sanskrit and its literal meaning is to meet or meeting, whereas asana means to sit. Yoga Sutra means exercise. There are a total 84 different asana of Yoga. Many of these asana were created after observing the postures of different animals. Yoga exercises help improve immunity in the body against diseases and they are a source for purifying the soul.

Muraqaba also played a major part in the life of Siddhartha Guatama Buddha. When Buddha left his kingdom in search of Reality he spent six years in tough training and eventually did Muraqaba under a tree near Gaya, India. He spent forty days continuously in Muraqaba in search of the Truth. Finally, on the thirty-ninth night he received Enlightenment. There are eight basic points in the teaching of Buddha; the eighth one is the purification of thought and Muraqaba.