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YOGA.
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conduct, he replied that he was not in the habit of praying with those whose minds were busy selling horses in Africa during their prayers. Thereupon his questioner admitted that his mind was not in his prayers, but was indeed with his horses in Africa. The moral of the anecdote is that it is no good praying unless you can bring your mind to discard all other thoughts for the time. When your horses' cannot wait for the brief space of a few moments, God will not wait for you either.
Is it not the want of faith in religion and a little too much interest in the horses in Africa' which is the cause of evil amongst us? So long as we suffer ourselves to drift away from God, it is the merest mockery to attend the church. When we go to worship God, let it be with the purest heart and undivided attention. When we attend the House of God, we ought not to insult Him by bestowing our attention on ungodly things? It is worth while to understand the reason why temples, churches and other places of worship came into existence. The following from 'The Raja Yoga' will be found to contain a fair explanation of the matter :
"Those of you who can afford it will do better to have a room for this (Yoga) practice alone : do not sleep in that room, it must be kept holy; you must not enter the room until you have bathed, and are perfectly clean in body and mind. Place flowers in that room always; they are the best surroundings for a yogi ; also pictures that are pleasing. Barn incense morning and evening. Have no quarrelling, or anger, or unholy thoughts in that room. Only allow those persons to enter who are of the same thought as you. Then by and by there will be an atmosphere of holiness in that room, and when you are miserable, sorrowful, doubtful, or your mind is disturbed, the very fact of entering that room will make you calmer.
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