YOGA

INTRODUCTION
Yoga is a way of life. It is predominantly concerned with maintaining a state of equanimity at all costs. All yoga schools of thought emphasize the importance of the mind remaining calm, because as the saying goes, only when the water is still can you see through it. Yoga Darshan or Yoga Philosophy also happens to be a valid discipline of Indian metaphysics (Brahma Vidya). It is the result of human wisdom and insight on physiology, psychology, ethics and spirituality collected together and practiced over thousands of years for the well being of humanity.
The basic idea of yoga is to unite the atma or individual soul with the paramatma or the Universal Soul. According to Yoga philosophy, by cleansing one's mind and controlling one's thought processes one can return to that primeval state, when the individual self was nothing but a part of the Divine Self. This is the sense encapsulated in the term samadhi. The aim of the yogi is to be able to perceive the world in its true light and to accept that truth in its entirety.[1]

In Sanskrit, the term 'yoga' stands for 'union'. A yogi's ultimate aim is to be able to attain this 'union' with the Eternal Self with the help of certain mental and physical exercises. It is often said that Hiranyagarbha (The Cosmic Womb) Himself had originally advocated the traditional system of yoga, from which all other yoga schools have evolved. But for all extant knowledge of yoga and its practices, such as yogasanas and pranayama, the entire credit goes to Maharishi Patanjali.[2]

1. WHAT IS YOGA?

The word "yoga" comes from the Sanskrit root yuj, which means "to join" or "to yoke". [3]Yoga is a practical aid, not a religion. Yoga is an ancient art based on a harmonizing system of development for the body, mind, and spirit. The continued practice of yoga will lead you to a sense of peace and well-being, and also a feeling of being at one with their environment. This is a simple definition. According to Patanjali, Yoga is a methodical effort to attain perfection, through the control of the different elements of human nature, physical and psychical.[4]

The practice of yoga makes the body strong and flexible, it also improves the functioning of the respiratory, circulatory, digestive, and hormonal systems. Yoga brings about emotional stability and clarity of mind. In the practice of Yoga the ultimate aim is one of self-development and self-realization.[5]
In practice, yoga is an applied science of the mind and body. It comes from the Hindu Vedas (scriptures). Practice and study of it help to bring about a natural balance of body and mind in which the state of health can manifest it. Yoga itself does not create health; rather, it creates an internal environment that allows the individual to come to his own state of dynamic balance, or health. Basically, yoga teaches that a healthy person is a harmoniously integrated unit of body, mind and spirit. Therefore, good health requires a simple, natural diet, exercise in fresh air, a serene and untroubled mind and the awareness that main's deepest and highest self is identical with the spirit of God. As a result, to many devotees, yoga becomes a philosophy that offers instruction and insight into every aspect of life: the spiritual, the mental and the physical. Of course, because it is all encompassing, people who want to pick and choose from its smorgasbord can do so without being disappointed. Yoga is equally satisfying as a physical therapy alone.[6]
Yoga is best known as a set of physical practices that include gentle stretches, breathing practices, and progressive deep relaxation. These physical practices are intended to ready the body and mind for meditation as well as for a meditative perspective on life.[7] These meditative practices also follow a sequence. First developed is the capacity to withdraw the senses from focus on the outer world, then, the capacity to concentrate on a meditative subject-a candle flame, a sacred or uplifting word or image, or the movement of the breath. Finally, and for most of us only occasionally, the concentration leads into a wordless and timeless experience of inner peace. The yoga masters describe various subtleties among these states of inner peace, but most of us, at best, achieve moments of this experience from time to time.[8]

2. THE PATH OF YOGA

Patanjali defines yoga as complete suppression of all mental modes. Vyasa defines it as absorptive concentration, and regards it as a universal attribute of the mind. All persons can attain yoga by repeated practice and detachment.[9] The distracted, infatuated, and occasionally steady minds are not fit for it. The art of yoga is a matter of constant practice and discipline of the body, the vital forces, and the mind. It is pre-eminently an art of mental discipline. According to Rdhakrishnan “the reality of he self is to be found not by means of an objective and penetration beneath the mental strata with which our ordinary life and activity conceal our diviner nature .”[10] Therefore the yoga philosophy urges the necessity of inhibition of mental states is brought about by practice and conquest of desire.[11]
The yoga enjoins the practice of restraints (yama), observances (niyama), bodily postures (asana), breath control (pranayama), withdrawal of the sense-organs (pratyahara), fixation of attension (dharana), meditation (dyana), and absorptive concentration (samadhi) as aids to yoga (yoganga).
1. The first disciplines of restraint consist in non-injury, truthfulness in thought and speech, non-stealing, sexual restraint, and non-acceptance of unnecessary gifts. These are negative virtues. Non-injury consists in the absence of cruelty to all creatures In all possible ways and at all times. It is tenderness, good will, and kindness for all living beings. [12]
2. The second discipline of observance consists in cleanliness contentment, austerities, study of the scriptures, and dedication of all actions to God. Cleanliness is of two kinds, external and internal. The former is Cleanliness of body by means of water and other purifying articles. The later is by purging it of all impurities- attachment, aversion, pride, conceit, envy, and the like by cultivating good will, compassion, and cheerfulness. [13]
3. The third discipline is bodily posture. It is a steady and pleasant posture of the body, which should not be painful, and distract the mind.[14]
4. This is the withdrawal of the ex5ternal sense organs from their objects due to withdrawal of mind from them. The five discipline if restraint, observance, bodily posture, breath c9ntrol, and sense-control are the external aids to yoga. The last three disciplines, fixation of mind, meditation, and absorptive concentration are the internal aids of yoga. They directly lead to conscious trance.[15]
5. This step is the fixing the mind on a particular object. The object is either intra-organic,. The mi9nd is fixed on the navel, the heart, and the tip of the nose, the tip of the tongues, the middle off the eyebrows, the throat, and the like. Bodily postures control the body; breath control regulates the vital forces; and the withdrawal of the senses from their objects controls the senses; fixation of attention controls the mind. It requires withdrawal of the mind from other objects, and prepares it for meditation.[16]
6. The last one is absorptive concentration or trance. It is the manifestation of the object of meditation only devoid of the cognition of meditation.[17]

3. DIFFERENT SCHOOLS OF YOGA


Although Yoga has been made into a separate school (darsana), its influence and many of its practices have been felt in other schools. In the course of time, certain stages of Yoga became ends in themselves, notably, the breathing exercises and sitting postures, as in the Yoga school of Hatha Yoga. Patañjali's Yoga is sometimes known as Raja (“Royal”) Yoga, to distinguish it from the other schools. [18]Yoga, in a less technical sense of achieving union with God, is also used, as in the epic poem the Bhagavadgita, to distinguish the alternate paths (margas) to such a union. In the 20th century, the philosophy and practice of Yoga became increasingly popular in the West. The first important organization for practitioners in the United States was the Self-Realization Fellowship, founded by Paramahamsa Yogananda in 1920.[19] Some 50 years later, instruction emphasizing both the physical and spiritual benefits of Yogic techniques was available through a wide variety of sectarian Yoga organizations, nonsectarian classes, and television programs in the United States and Europe.[20]

3. PROOFS FOR EXISTENCE OF GOD

Yoga accepts the existence of God. Patanjali defines God as a special kind of purusa who is always free from the pains, actions effects and impressions. He is eternally free and was never bound nor his any possibility of being bound. He is above the law of karma.[21] According to Sinha Patanjali gives an ontological argument for the existence of god. The law of continuity gives points to His existence. God is the Supreme Being who is the embodiment of degrees, higher and lower. Ether has the largest magnitude, and atoms have the smallest magnitude. Similarly, knowledge admits of degrees. Knowledge of the past, present, future, remote, and supersensible objects, individual and collective. Is found in different degrees its culmination in God who is omniscient. He is the highest limit of omniscience. Vyasa applies the law of continuity to power and lordship. There are different degrees of lordship, which point to the greatest power, unequalled and unsurpassed. Power increases more and culminates in God, the supreme omnipotent Lord. If there were a more powerful lord than God, He would be the highest lord. If there were another equality powerful Lord, there wills would be thwarted by each other. So God is the supreme Person whose lordship is unrivalled and unexcelled.[22] According to Sharma God is omniscient and omnipotent and omnipresent. He is the perfection incarnate. He is purest knowledge. He is the teacher of the rsis and the teacher of the Veda. “Aum” is his symbol. Devotion to god is one of the surest means of obtaining concentration.[23]
The vedas refer to God. Therefore he must exist. Vyasa urges that there is a beginning less relation between the Vedas and the pre-eminence of God. God is the prime Mover of Prakrti, upsets its equilibrium and starts the evolution of the world. He cannot create, preserve or destroy prakrti, which is the material cause of the world. He is the inactive efficient cause of the world. Acceding to yoga god is omniscient and omnipotent. God is the unmoved Mover of prakrti, the efficient cause of the world, and is Moral Governor.[24]

4. THE NATURE OF THE GOD

Patanjali describes God as a particular self-untouched by afflictions, actins, fruits, and dispositions. He is the perfect self-free from all taint of imperfections. He is eternally free from afflictions, ignorance, egoism, attachment, aversion, and far of death. He is eternally fulfilled, and does not experience fruits of actions-enjoyment and suffering. The yoga system believes in monotheism.[25] God is one. If there were rival Lords, they would be of equal powers. If they had equal powers, they would thwart each other’s will and fail to realize their ends. If they had unequal powers, the superior Lord would be the true Lord, and the others would be inferior to him. Through the yoga system believes in one supreme God, it recognizes the existence of many gods who are entangled in empirical life owing to ignorance.[26] God has eternal Knowledge, desire, and will, which do not lapse even during dissolution. He is immutable –free from the mutations of satva, rajas, and tamas to create the scriptures. According to yoga God is omniscient, omnipotent, contented, independent, and ubiquitous. He has eternal powers and eternally manifested powers. He has ten eternal qualities-Knowledge, detachment, lordship, austerity, veracity, forgiveness, patience, creative, power, self-knowledge, and superintendence. God is the supreme teacher and He is unlimited by time.[27]

6. THE PREPARATIONS FOR YOGA

There are many kinds or types of Yoga. This idea of a variety in Yoga arises on account of a sectional thinking, into which we perforce have introduced ourselves as the result of our mental structure. Really, the Yogas are not many, just as we cannot say that the rays of the sun are many, though they appear to be so due to a peculiar projectional structure of the mechanism of this emanation. There is an objective way of thinking and also a subjective way, the connection between which is what we call knowledge, or perception. Our knowledge of the world, or the knowledge of anything, is a reaction set up between the subject and the object. Unless these two are there in juxtaposition, there will not be knowledge; there will not be any kind of experience. Every experience is a reaction between the percipient subject and the perceived object, whatever be the nature of that object, physical or otherwise.[28]

There are three ways of Yoga, which are the well-known systems of Karma (action), Bhakti (devotion) and Jnana (knowledge), in which schools like that of Kundalini Yoga, Tantra Yoga, Japa Yoga, and even Patanjali's system of Yoga, and various methods of self-analysis, get subsumed. Yoga is the process of the gradual withdrawal of consciousness from particulars to the generals, until the highest common factor is reached. The particularized attention paid by consciousness in respect of any thing is to be withdrawn into the more general background of it, and the more it goes near to the general background, the more does it approximate to the ideal of Yoga. This withdrawal, to repeat again what was noticed earlier, can be inward, outward, or transcendent.[29]
There are three kinds of withdrawal. Withdrawal means going into one's own self in an individual sense, but it need not necessarily mean that. One can withdraw oneself even into an object by a peculiar adjustment of consciousness and in that technique of objective withdrawal; the object ceases to be an object any more. Here consciousness assumes a different position by an adjustment of itself with the object in a novel way. In fact, Yoga is a gradual attempt of consciousness to convert every object into a subject; and the more do we succeed in transforming the object into the subject, the more are we said to be advancing in Yoga. [30]
. The way of Karma Yoga and Bhakti Yoga, and partly of the Yoga of Patanjali, and the initial stages of even Jnana Yoga. Everything starts with the concept of the object; only the notion of the object varies according to the different systems of practice, the notion getting widened gradually, in an ascending degree.

Before we start seriously any kind of practice in the direction of Yoga, we must be well up with the requisite preparations. The achievements in Yoga are a gradual evolution, a systematic advance and not a sudden jump. It is not a revolution that we are setting up. There is no revolutionary process in Nature. Everything grows slowly, stage by stage, without missing even one link in the process of development, as we have grown from babyhood to the adult stage. [31]

Yoga is a highly technical and systematic subject, and if the methods adopted are correct, there should be no doubt, whatsoever, as to the possibility of the achievement of the end. The time that you take in reaching the goal depends upon the extent of the intensity of the practice and the emphasis that your feelings lay upon it, the extent to which you are in communion with the ideal, which you are trying to contemplate. [32]
Times, which are suggestive of an automatic withdrawal of the mind from external activities, are to be preferred. Nighttime is generally, and obviously, helpful because of an automatic tendency of the mind at that time to withdraw itself into subjectivity. When we speak of time for the practice of Yoga, or meditation, what we actually mean is not merely the hour of the day, such as eight o'clock, etc., but a fixed time. There is a cyclic movement of everything in Nature. This system of cyclic movement applies not only to the external world of astronomy but also to the internal world of the psyche. If we start taking our meal at a particular hour and we continue taking it at the same hour, we will start feeling hungry at the same time and not at other times, because of a cyclic effect in Nature which generally gets associated with the way of thinking, and affects sympathetically the physiological functions. [33]

Yoga is a process of rejoicing. It is not a suffering. It is a movement through happiness. From one state of joy, we move to another state of joy. It is not that Yoga starts with sorrow, or that it is a kind of prison-house into which we are thrown. We have sometimes a feeling that Yoga is a torture, a suffering, to the normal life of man. Sadhana means a fear, and indicates an unnatural seriousness. This is so, often because people have created a picture of awe and sternness about Yoga, an other-worldliness about it, dissociated from the natural likings of the human being. Our desires are, no doubt, obstacles to Yoga. But they are 'our' desires; this much we must remember, and they are not somebody's. So, we have to wean ourselves from these desires gradually and not make it appear that we are peeling our own skin. Such a drastic step should not be taken, and it is not the intention of Yoga. [34]

7. YOGA AND HAPPINESS
To be present as the body is a skill that can be learned through yoga, for yoga means "to union." Be presently happy rather than seek to become happy is an open option for anyone. We can either chose to lose ourselves in fear, anger, despair and all those other negative states, or you can chose to feel the total bliss that lies beyond them. According to yoga happiness is our birthright, so claim it, be one of the people that decides to become all they can be, enjoy everyday, make the most out of life and live it don't just exist within it.
The ego is temporarily suspended, and our consciousness and energy rise. Ego is external and true happiness is internal, it is a state of attitude. We have an overwhelming feeling of happiness, total blissfulness, which has the divine quality of love. The opportunity to experience these feelings on a regular basis are available by choice and perspective. No one else but ourselves can do this for us. When we center ourselves and we are totally present as the whole body, we can get in touch with the larger reality that is your internal self in which we are immersed. Then our energy starts to flow more freely, and we feel that deep sense of security, intuiting that true identity that is you untouched by any conflict or pain.[35]
To live in an attitude of gratitude. You cannot become happy you can only be happy. Most people have experienced moments of joy or delight at one time or another in their lives. So you know what happiness feels like, that feeling when the whole body radiates with joyous energy and you feel like embracing everyone and everything. In those precious moments, you are in touch with something more real than your ordinary external self. [36]

7. YOGA AND PURIFICATION

The mind is like a garden and if one is to grow and flourish their garden they must do the weeding. The practice of purification is to take a deep look within one's conscious self and see the weeds that grow there. To directly confront one's selfish tendencies can, at times, be very challenging. However one does not grow without these kinds of opportunities and therefore must discard the dead weight that they carry around inside their minds. It is this kind of weight that holds one down and backs. Most people in this world are carrying so much dead weight that they go nowhere but down. [37]

The only way out - is through and to take these challenges head on. The practice of yoga allows the opportunity to clear the mind, it doesn't happen overnight however it is a long enjoyable journey to a mind of peace and enlightenment. A garden that flourishes and blooms with color and vitality. Purification of the mind is essential if one is to improve one's self and the removal of the domination of one's ego is essential. The ego is the external self, the way we want people to see us, the constant approval that the ego yearns for. The ego is the biggest weed in the garden of your mind and that suckers need to be ripped out.[38]

If you are looking to grow, you could compare it to taking a journey to a chosen destination; it is only at the beginning and the end that you are aware that you are traveling. During a long portion of the trip, you might feel like nothing is taking place at all. Through persistent practice and discipline, the purification of the mind takes place and one becomes full of great energies. Wisdom arises in the mind and happiness abides in the heart. The world opens up with opportunities galore. The way to a better self is through the route of purification, which is likely to hurt a little while the ego is being ripped out and thrown away. Remain confident and keep the focus, the improvements when practiced properly are permanent and life is full of clarity when the road is clear.[39]







CONCLUSION

The word Yoga is used in a variety of senses. It may simply mean “method”. It is often used in the sense of yoking. To the modern mind, Yoga scheme of attaining perfection appears to be only an elaborate process of self- hypnotisation. Intense and solitary meditations, accompanied by physical exercises and postures, help to make our minds run into particular moulds. The yoga discipline is nothing more than the purification of the body, mind and soul, and preparing them for the beatific vision. Since the life of man depends on the nature of the citta, it is always within our reach to transform our nature by controlling our citta. Patanjali insists on certain practices increased vitality, prolonged youth and longevity, these are to be employed in the interests of spiritual freedom. The other methods are employed to purify and tranquillize citta. The main interest of Patanjali is not metaphysical theorizing, but the practical motive of indicating how salvation can be attained by disciplined activity.


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[1] Radhakrishnan, Indian Philosophy, (New Delhi: Blackie & Son Publishers PVT LTD, 1985), 336.
[2] Chandradhar Sharma, A Critical Survey of Indian Philosophy,(Delhi: Motilal Banarasidass Publishers,1991), 169
[3] Jadunath Sinha, Outlines of Indian Philosophy, Calcutta: New Central Book Agency, 1992), 293.
[4] Radhakrishnan, Indian Philosophy, 338
[5] M.Hiranna, Out Lines of Indian Philosophy, (Delhi:Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, 1993.), 169.

[7] Ibid., 172.
[8] The idea is taken Encyclopedia Britannica, 2002. np.
[9] Jadanath Sinha, Out lines of Indian Philosophy, 295.
[10] Radhakrishnan, Indian philosophy, new (Delhi: Blackie &Son Publishers Pvt. LTD.), 351.
[11] Ibid.
[12] Jadanath Sinha,Outlines of Indian Philoophy,305.

[13] Ibid.,306.
[14] Chandradhar Sharma, A Critical Survey of Indian Philosophy, 172.
[15] Jadanath Sinha, Outlines of Indian Philoophy, 305.
[16] P Nagaraja Rao, Fundamentals of Indian Philosophy, (New Delhi: Indian Book Company, 1991), 303..
[17] Jadunath Sinha, Outlines of Indian Philosophy, Calcutta: New Central Book Agency, 1992), 304-309.
[18] Chandradhar Sharma, A Critical Survey of Indian Philosophy, 169-172.
[19] Radhakrishnan, Indian Philosophy, 336-338.
[20] The idea is taken from Encyclopedia Britannica, 1994-2002, n.p.
[21] Shandradharma Sharma, A Critical Survey of Indian Philosophy, (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers), 174
[22] Jadunath Sinha, Out lines of Indian Philosophy, (Calcutta: New Central Book Agency,1992.), 298-299.
[23] Chandradhar Sharma, A Critical Survey of the Indian Philosophy, 174.
[24] Ibid., 299
[25] Radhakrishnan, Indian Philosophy, 368-372.
[26] Ibid.
[27] Ibid.., 300-302.
[28] M. Hiriyanna, Outlines of Indian Philosophy, 267-268.
[29] Radhakrishnan, Indian Philosophy, 358.
[30] Ibid.
[31] Radhakrishnan, Indian Philosophy, 359.
[32] Chandradhar Sharma, 170-174.
[33] Ibid.
[34] ibid.
[35] http://www.swami-krishnananda.org/intro/intro_06.html\viewed on 14.10.2005
[36] Ibid.
[37]M. Hiriyana, The Essential of Indian Philosophy, (Bombay: George Allen Unwin Private
Limited, 1973.), 203.
[38] Radhakrishnan, Indian Philosophy, 337.
[39] ibid.,