Nada Yoga means “union through sound”. It is the ancient spiritual art and science of inner transformation through sound and tone. Meditation on sound is one universal path to Self-Realization, accessible to anyone, and appropriate for people of any religion or spiritual aspiration.
The term “Yoga” means to combine, coordinate, harmonize, integrate. Actually, there are many varieties of Yoga, generally grouped into five categories:
Jnana Yoga, the Yoga of knowledge and self-inquiry;
Bhakti Yoga, the Yoga of devotion;
Karma Yoga, the Yoga of service;
Kriya Yoga, the Yoga of technique;
Raja Yoga, a Yoga integrating all the other four forms;
Hatha Yoga, a basic form of Kriya Yoga, is the Yoga of physicality, postures, and movement. It’s probably the most well-known form of Yoga. However, the main classical text on Yoga – the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali – discusses physical postures (Hatha Yoga) in only three of its two hundred verses.
Within the heading of Kriya Yoga, or Yoga of technique, there are several subtly different forms of Yoga, which teach meditation on sound as a path to spiritual growth and awareness. The three principal forms of this variety of Yoga are Nada, Laya, and Surat Shabda Yoga. The subtle differences between these three are many and beyond the scope of mere explanation.