Switch from Physical to Psychic

When does a yogi reduce or cease physical approach to deities and environment?

This is an elaborate question which has a variety of answers, depending on the practice stage, of the yogi who inquires. Some yogis break off from physical worship and approach to a deity over a period of years, but some do it over a period of life times, as that yogi gains a foothold in the practice.

If one is primarily physically focused, and that is the condition of the psyche, where it remains hard fast focused on physical features, then the switch to psychic approach using the subtle body apparatus, rather then the physical form, would be an aspiration for the future.

First the yogi would have to submit himself/herself to be trained in how to shed and leave aside physical priorities, and embrace and cultivate, psychic ones. Then he/she would practice for some time to make the shift. In the meantime, the service to a deity as formal or informal deity worship and visitation (darshan) would continue but it would be reduced gradually over time, as the yogi/yogini gets a foothold on the psychic side of life.

For instance!

It can be resolved in terms of time regulation. A certain devotee of a particular deity, spend two hours per day being involved in physical services to a deity. This time was parceled as follows.

·       ½ hour for cleaning his physical body and attiring it

·       ½ hour for chanting private mantras related to the deity

·       ¾ hour for attending a worship ceremony for the deity

·       ¼ hour for eating sanctified foods and associating with other devotees of the deity

How should he adjust this time?

How much of it should be spend for his psychic practice, where he reduces the time for the physical practice and uses that portion for psychic practice?

How should he keep reducing the physical focus over time?

So long as he will approach a physical deity, there will be a necessity to parcel the time for that figure, but with reduction step by step. In the example of time allotment above, he could begin the reduction with the two hours for the deity being reduced to one and one-half hour, allotting half hour to his psychic focus on the deity and other related practice. Then over time bit by bit he could reduce the deity related services to a mere ten minutes and one hour and fifty minutes for the psychic practice.

He has to decide which cervices will be deducted bit by bit. He must also determine which services he would install which pertains to his psychic interest.