Raja Yoga declares that each human is an infinite ocean of knowledge and power. It teaches that desires, wants and also the power of supply are right inside every human. And whenever a desire is fulfilled, it comes out of his infinite supply and not from any supernatural being.

Raja Yoga proposes that one should use "concentration" to observe the internal states of mind. Concentration is defined as - "mind studying mind". Raja Yoga proposes to teach how to concentrate mind, how to discover internal states of our own minds and how to form our own conclusions from our findings.

Aphorisms of Patanjali are the highest authority on Raja-Yoga and divide Raja Yoga into 8 steps(Aphorism 29-55 in Chapter 2 and Aphorism 1-3 in Chapter 3) –

1. Yama(control) - This includes
a. Non-injury - Never causing pain by thought, word or deed in any living being.
b. Truthfulness - Relating facts as they are.
c. Non-covetousness - Not taking others' goods by stealth or by force.
d. Chastity - Chastity in thought, word and deed.
e. Not receiving any gifts from anybody.

2. Niyama(regular habits) - This includes
a. Austerity - Controlling physical body such as fasting.
b. Study - Reading the vedic scriptures
c. Contentment
d. Purity - Purification of body(such as bathing) and mind
e. Surrender to GOD

3. Asana(posture) - One has to go through a series of physical and mental exercises everyday. So, it is necessary to find a posture in which one can remain for long. The main part of the activity will be along the spinal column. So, the spinal column should be free. Any posture is fine as long as the spinal column is free, one is sitting erect and holding the chest, neck & head in a straight line.

4. Pranayam(controlling the vital forces in one's body) – One should be able to control the breath. This includes:
a. Exhaling or filling
b. Inhaling or emptying
c. Restraining

5. Pratyahara(controlling the senses) - Bringing the organs of senses under control when they come in contact with the external objects.

6. Dharana - Fixing the mind on a spot. This gives rise to a particular kind of mental waves and everything else disappears.

7. Dhyaana(Meditation) - Only one wave is left in the mind.

8. Samadhi(Super-Consciousness) - The whole mind becomes one wave.

Raja Yoga says that we should be master and not the slaves of nature. We should control the body and mind not the other way round. Human birth is the greatest birth we can have. And we have the power to control the universe around us.

First of all, one should have a healthy body to practice Raja Yoga. And for that, regular practice is necessary. One should take care of the food consumed by the body. Health is important to control mind but it is not the final goal of Raja Yoga. Final goal is "ultimate liberation of the soul". But we can attempt to control the mind only when the body is under control.

To control mind, first we need to control the breath because breath supplies power to whole of our body. By controlling breath, we can control the nerve currents that are moving all over the body. Mind is also set in motion by nerve currents and by controlling these nerve currents, we can control our chain of thoughts. When perfected, mind can be attached to none, one or several organs at once. And we can analyze the internal states of our mind.

By analyzing our own mind, we can encounter something which is eternally pure and perfect. This knowledge brings perfect bliss to us. We can get answers to all our questions such as whether there is GOD, whether we have souls, etc.

The man who has controlled his mind has the power to control the whole universe meaning he is beyond "nature's laws". This is the ultimate goal of Raja Yoga.

Written by Deepak Goel using the text Raja Yoga - Conquering the Internal Nature by Swami Vivekananda.