higherformofbeingifone’searthlylifehasbeenlivedinaccordancewiththeteachingsofMaat.In
ancienttimes,theAncientEgyptianswereoftenreferredtobypeopleinneighboringcountriesas“the
mostreligiouspeopleofalltheworld,”becausetheyseemedtoconstantlyaffirmspiritualprinciples
ineveryaspectoftheirlives.ThiswasthefirstpracticeofwhathascometobeknownasIntegral
Yoga in East Indian Mystical Spirituality.
ThetermYogahasreceivedwidepopularityinrecentyearsfromtheEastIndianperspective.The
disciplinesofYogafallunderfivemajorcategories.Theseare:YogaofWisdom,YogaofDevotional
Love,YogaofMeditation,TantricYogaandYogaofSelfless-RighteousAction.Withinthesecategor-
ies there are subsidiary forms which are part of the main disciplines.
Essentially,thepracticeofanydisciplinethatleadstoonenesswiththeSupremeConsciousnesscan
becalledYoga.Ifyoustudy,rationalizeandreflectupontheteachings,youarepracticingYogaof
Wisdom.IfyoumeditateupontheteachingsandyourHigherSelf,youarepracticingYogaofMedita-
tion.Ifyoupracticerituals,whichidentifyyouwithyourspiritualnature,youarepracticingYogaof
RitualIdentification(whichispartoftheYogaofWisdomandtheYogaofDevotionalLoveofthe
Divine).Ifyoudevelopyourphysicalnatureandpsychicenergycenters,youarepracticingSerpent
Power(KundaliniorUraeus)Yoga(whichispartofTantricYoga).Ifyoupracticelivingaccording
totheteachingsofethicalbehaviorandselflessness,youarepracticingYogaofAction(Maat)in
dailylife.IfyoupracticeturningyourattentiontowardstheDivinebydevelopinglovefortheDivine,
thenitiscalledDevotionalYogaorYogaofDivineLove.ThepractitionerofYogaiscalledayogin
(malepractitioner)oryogini(femalepractitioner),andonewhohasattainedtheculminationofYoga
(unionwiththeDivine)iscalledayogi.Inthismanner,Yogahasbeendevelopedintomanydiscip-
lines,whichmaybeusedinanintegralfashiontoachievethesamegoal:Enlightenment.Therefore,
theaspirantshouldlearnaboutallofthepathsofYogaandchoosethoseelementstoconcentrateon
which best suithis or her personality and practice them all in an integral, balanced way.
INTEGRAL PRATICES OF MYSTICAL SPIRITUALITY
Thus,SmaiTawiisadisciplineofspirituallivingwhichtransformseveryaspectofpersonalityinan
integralfashion,leavingnoaspectofahumanbeingbehind.Thisisimportantbecauseanunbalanced
movementwillleadtofrustration,moreignorance,moredistractionandmoreillusionsleadingaway
fromtheHigherSelf.Forexample,ifapersondevelopsmostlythereasoningaspectofpersonality,
heorshemaycometobelievethattheyhavediscoveredtheHigherSelf,howeverwhenitcomesto
dealingwithsomeproblemoflife,suchasthedeathofalovedone,theycannotcontroltheiremo-
tions,oriftheyaretemptedtodosomethingunrighteous,suchassmoking,theycannotcontroltheir
actions;theyhavenowillpowertoresist.ThevisionofYogaisaloftygoal,whicheveryhumanbe-
ingcanachievewiththeproperguidance,self-effortandrepeatedpractice.Theintegralpracticeof
Yogaandmysticalspirituality(practiceofthefourmaindisciplines)istoallowyoutogrow