Yoga - history and tradition from India

Yoga is a path to enlightenment. The word 'yoga' is derived from the Sanskrit root yuj, to join, to unite, to attach. The English word yoke is cognate with the Sanskrit word yoga. The discipline originally aimed at achieving a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquility. The practice (or collection of practices) goes back to India: before the start of the Christian Era. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (written somewhere between 300 BC and 200 AD) are usually seen as the text that codifies yogic practices, but many of the practices themselves are definitely older.

Of course (hatha) yoga can be practised without any reference to its Indian roots or the spiritual system behind the practices.

Hatha yoga is the type of yoga where you have all kinds of postures (assana's) to go through. In hatha yoga there isn't a lot of movement, except the breath and a few advanced postures.

These postures were held motionlessly by Indian Sannyasins for years. There are stories of Sannyasins being carried by their disciples to the river for a bath - while the sannyasin stayed in position the whole time.

Most people who do hatha yoga in the West would find this a bit odd to say the least. We do yoga to stay flexible, find peace of mind and learn to control our breathing. Where the Sannyasin would get away from the world, most of us use yoga to be more integrated IN the world.

Yoga has become a part of a healthy lifestyle instead of a religious practice that serves to develop the mind at the expense of the body.

Jnana = knowledge

Jnana Yoga is about finding insight in meditation. This type of yoga has nothing to do with yoga postures or exercise. Instead it is about meditation and contemplation. For instance: if you read a spiritual book and contemplate on whether it is true what you read - that's Jnana yoga.

Bhakti is a religious movement in India where devotion to a God (usually Krishna or Shiva) is the way to salvation. This type of Hinduism is closest in form to Christianity as it involves a monotheistic outlook: that One God is the ultimate source of everything. The big difference: that One God will include all other Gods as emanations. In this way Hindus can easily say that Jesus was also an avatar (emanation) of God.

Bhakti Yoga is the method of reaching salvation through devotion to a specific god. Bhakti is the type of religious yoga that is most popular in India itself. It could be said to be the main type of yoga in Hinduism.

This one will surprise people who feel that Hinduism is less about compassion than other religions (like Buddhism and Christianity).

Karma Yoga is all about right action: purifying your karma by doing right by others, being compassionate, being generous etc.

The Bhagavad Gita stresses action without regard for consequences. This does NOT imply acting without regard for ethics. Instead it is about doing what you need to do without taking into account whether you will succeed or not.

In Yoga, it's just one thing after another

-- breath, breath, breath

Raja Yoga is the royal yoga. It is the crown of the classical types of yoga and involves meditation and right living. Raja Yoga includes all of the above. Described as ashtanga yoga (eightfold yoga) in the Yoga Suttras of Patanjali - it has eight aspects:

1) Yama refers to the five abstentions. These are the same as the five vows of Jainism.
* Ahimsa: non-violence, inflicting no injury or harm to others or even to one's ownself, it goes as far as nonviolence in thought, word and deed.
* Satya: truth in word & thought.
* Asteya: non-covetousness,, to the extent that one should not even desire something that is not his own.
* Brahmacharya: abstain from sexual intercourse; celibacy in case of unmarried people and monogamy in case of married people. Even this to the extent that one should not possess any unholy thoughts towards any other man or woman except one's own spouse. It's common to associate Brahmacharya with celibacy.
* Aparigraha: non-possessiveness
2) Niyama refers to the five observances
* Shaucha: cleanliness of body & mind.
* Santosha: satisfaction; satisfied with what one has..
* Tapas: austerity and associated observances for body discipline & thereby mental control.
* Svadhyaya: study of the Vedic scriptures to know about God and the soul, which leads to introspection on a greater awakening to the soul and God within,
* Ishvarapranidhana: surrender to (or worship of) God.
3) Asana: Discipline of the body: rules and postures to keep it disease-free and for preserving vital energy. Correct postures are a physical aid to meditation, for they control the limbs and nervous system and prevent them from producing disturbances.
4) Pranayama: control of breath. Beneficial to health, steadies the body and is highly conductive to the concentration of the mind.
5) Pratyahara: withdrawal of senses from their external objects.

The last three levels are called internal aids to Yoga (antaranga sadhana)

6) Dharana: concentration of the mind upon a physical object, such as a flame of a lamp, the mid point of the eyebrows, or the image of a deity.
7) Dhyana: steadfast meditation. Undisturbed flow of thought around the object of meditation. The act of meditation and the object of meditation remain distinct and separate.
8) Samadhi: oneness with the object of meditation. There is no distinction between act of meditation and the object of meditation. Samadhi is of two kinds:
o Samprajnata Samadhi conscious samadhi. The mind remains concentrated (ekagra) on the object of meditation, therefore the consciousness of the object of meditation persists. Mental modifications arise only in respect of this object of meditation.
o Asamprajnata Samadhi supraconscious. The citta and the object of meditation are fused together. The consciousness of the object of meditation is transcended. All mental modifications are checked (niruddha), although latent impressions may continue.

You will recognize some of these from regular (hatha) yoga practice: postures and breathing. But what is usually not taught in the West is the yama and niyama: how to live. Yet this is the part that is actually more about a way of life. Charges of selfishness of the yogic discipline become meaningless in the light of the rules of life included in yama.

Question: What did the sign in the window of the yoga master searching for a new disciple say?

Answer: Inquire within!

A group of bats, hanging at the ceiling of a cave discovers a single bat STANDING upright underneath on the floor of the cave.

Surprised by this unusual behavior, they ask this fellow: "What's wrong with you? What are you doing down there?"

And the fellow shouts back: "Yoga!"