- For the yoga practice of primarily physical exercises that is popular in the West, see Hatha Yoga
- For the location in Tokyo, Japan, see Yoga (用賀、Yōga).
Hatha Yoga posture performed at a Hindu temple.
Yoga is a family of spiritual practices (together with their accompanying texts and institutions) that developed on the Indian subcontinent. It includes Hatha Yoga, the related fitness exercises familiarly known as simply 'Yoga' popular in the West. As a means to enlightenment (or bodhi) and freedom (or moksa), yoga is central to Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.
The word "yoga"
The word "yoga" -- from the Sanskrit root yuj ("to yoke") -- is generally translated as "union" or "integration". The union may be that of the individual soul (atman) with the supreme Reality (brahman), as in Vedanta philosophy; or with a specific god or goddess, as in theistic forms of Hinduism and some forms of Buddhism.
The word yoga may also be written יוגה, योग, Joga, Ioga, Jooga, zh:瑜伽, ja:ヨーガ or Yôga. One who practises yoga is called a yogi or in Sanskrit, a yogin (masculine) or yogini (feminine).
Common themes
This statue of a yogini goddess was created in Kaveripakkam in Tamil Nadu during the 10th century. There were 64 such yoginis worshiped in a sect later incorporated into Hinduism.
The ultimate goal of yoga is the transformation of the mind (psyche) in order to attain liberation (moksa) from worldly suffering and the cycle of repeated births (samsara) -- a state which yogis call kaivalya or nirvana. Yoga involves mastery over the body and its desires, and leads gradually to knowledge of the true nature of reality. Thus the spiritual goals of yoga are inseparable from those of the wider religions of which it forms a part. (In some legends, however, the power of yoga is presented as essentially amoral--a yogi, having amassed merit through spiritual practice, may then cause mischief even to the gods).
Common to all religious forms of yoga is the practice of concentration (dharana) and meditation (dhyana). Dharana, according to Patanjali's definition, is the 'binding of consciousness to a single point'. The awareness is concentrated on a fine point of sensation (such as that of the breath entering and leaving the nostrils) and this sustained concentration leads to a state of heightened awareness and absorption (dhyana).
Another common element is the spiritual teacher (guru in Sanskrit; lama in Tibetan). While emphasized to varying degrees by all schools of yoga, in some the guru takes on quasi-divine proportions. The guru guides the student (shishya or chela) through yogic discipline from the beginning. Thus the novice yoga student is find and devote himself a sadguru (true teacher). Traditionally, knowledge of yoga--as well as permission to practice it or teach it--has been passed down through initiatory chains of gurus and their students called guruparampara.
Origins
- Main article: History of Yoga
Yoga's origins date back to before recorded history. Images of a meditating yogi from the Indus Valley Civilization are thought to be 6 to 7 thousand years old. The earliest written accounts of yoga appear in the Rig Veda, dated conservatively between 1500 and 1200 BC. Since the Vedas were transmitted through oral tradition for many generations, the practice of Yoga may be much older.
The first full description of the principles and goals of yoga are found in the Upanisads, thought to have been composed between the eighth and fourth centuries BC. The Upanisads are also called Vedanta since they constitute the end or conclusion of the Vedas (the traditional body of spiritual wisdom). In the Upanisads, the older practises of offering sacrifices and ceremonies to appease external gods gives way instead to a new understanding that man can, by means of an inner sacrifice, become one with the Supreme Being (referred to as Brāhman or Māhātman) -- through moral culture, restraint and training of the mind.
Hindu yoga
Bhagavad-Gita
Within Hinduism, the Bhagavad-Gita, which famously distinguishes several types of "yoga", corresponding to the duties of different classes of people. Capturing the essence and at the same time going into detail about the various Yogas and their philosophies, it constantly refers to itself as such, the "Scripture of Yoga" (see the final verses of each chapter). The book is thought to have been written some time between the 5th and the 2nd century BC. In it Krishna describes the following yogas:
- (1) Karma yoga, the yoga of "action" in the world
- (2) Jnana yoga, the yoga of meditation or intellectual endeavor
- (3) Bhakti yoga, the yoga of devotion to a deity (for example, to Krishna)
Patanjali
Perhaps the classic description of yoga is the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, which form the basis not only of the darshana called "yoga"--one of six such "orthodox" (i.e. Veda-accepting) schools of Hindu philosophy--but also of the practice of yoga in most ashrams (to the extent these can be distinguished). The school (dharshana) of Indian philosophy known as "yoga" is primarily Upanishadic with roots in Samkhya, and some scholars see some influence from Buddhism.
Patanjali in the Yoga Sutras presents the goal of yoga as 'the cessation of mental fluctuations' (cittavrtti nirodha), an achievement which gives rise to the possibility of stable meditation and thus deeper states of absorption (dhyana or samadhi). This requires considerable restraint (yama) and self-discipline (niyama; see below for Patanjali's eight limbs of yoga)). Patanjali's Yoga Sutras are the classic exposition of Raja Yoga (Skt: Royal yoga), also known as Ashtanga Yoga, and held as authoritative by all schools.
Patanjali's text sets forth eight "limbs" of yoga practice. Interestingly, only one of them involves physical postures. The eight are:
- (1) Yama (The five "abstentions"): violence, lying, theft, sex, and possessions)
- (2) Niyama (The five "observances"): purity, contentment, austerities, study, and surrender to God
- (3) Asana ("Postures" of the body)
- (4) Pranayama (Control of prana or vital breath)
- (5) Pratyahara ("Abstraction") "is that by which the senses do not come into contact with their objects and, as it were, follow the nature of the mind." - Vyasa
- (6) Dharana ("Concentration") - Fixing the attention on a single object
- (7) Dhyana ("Meditation")
- (8) Samadhi - Super-conscious state or trance
Hatha yoga
Over the last century the term yoga has come to be especially associated with the postures (Sanskrit āsanas) of hatha yoga. Hatha yoga has gained wide popularity outside of India and traditional yoga-practicing religions, and the postures are sometimes presented as entirely secular or non-spiritual in nature.
Traditional Hatha Yoga is a complete yogic path, including moral disciplines, physical exercises (e.g., postures and breath control), and meditation, and encompasses far more than the 'yoga' of postures and exercise practiced in the West as physical culture. The seminal work on Hatha Yoga is the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, written by Swami Svatmarama.
Hatha Yoga was invented to provide a form of physical purification and training that would prepare aspirants for the higher training that is called Raja Yoga (see above). This is still true today. Despite this, many in the West practice 'Hatha yoga' solely for the perceived health benefits it provides, and not as a path to enlightenment.
Natya yoga
The guide to Natya Yoga was written by Bharata Muni. Sage Narada along with Gandharvas were the first to practise Natya Yoga, which comprise all the four main yoga's. Natya Yoga was practised by the medieval devadasis, and is currently taught in a few orthodox schools of Bharatanatyam and Odissi.
Buddhist yoga
Within the various schools of Tibetan Buddhism yoga likewise holds a central place, though not in the form presented by Patanjali or the Gita. (For example, physical postures are rarely practiced.) An example would be "guru yoga," the veneration of the spiritual teacher which must be done at the beginning of the spiritual path and regularly throughout. In the tantric traditions a number of practices are classified by the name "yogatantra." Yogacara ("Yoga Adepts"), which also known as Cittamatra ("Consciousness Only") is an important philosophical school within Indo-Tibetan Buddhism.
Yoga and tantra
Yoga is often mentioned in company with Tantra. While the two have deep similarities, most traditions distinguish them from one another.
They are similar in that both amount to families of spiritual texts, practices, and lineages with origins in the Indian subcontinent. (Coincidentally, both have been popularized to some extent in the West, with perhaps a shallower understanding of their nature.)
Their differences are variously expressed. Some Hindu commentators see yoga as a process whereby body consciousness is seen as the root cause of bondage, while tantra views the body as a means to understanding, rather than as an obstruction. It must be said that in India, tantra often carries quite negative connotations involving sexual misbehavior and black magic.
Tantra has roots in the first millennium CE, and incorporates much more of a theistic basis. Almost entirely founded on Shiva and Shakti worship, Hindu tantra visualizes the ultimate Brahman as Param Shiva, manifested through Shiva (the passive, masculine force of Lord Shiva) and Shakti (the active, creative feminine force of his consort, variously known as Ma Kali, Durga, Shakti, Parvati and others). It focuses on the kundalini, a three and a half-coiled 'snake' of spiritual energy at the base of the spine that rises through the chakras until union between Shiva and Shakti (also known as samadhi) is achieved. (Some Hindu yoga teachers, however, have adopted these concepts.)
Tantra emphasises mantra (Sanskrit prayers, often to gods, that are repeated), yantra (complex symbols representing gods in various forms through intricate geometric figures), and rituals that range from simple murti (statue representations of deities) or image worship to meditation on a corpse! While tantric texts (see kaularvatantra, mahanirvana tantra) and teachers (e.g. Abhinava Gupta) may seem odd and highly arcane from the point of view of classical yoga, that these incorporate yoga concepts seems clear.
In Tibetan Buddhism, which embraces both, yoga is seen as a synonym for "spiritual practice," while "tantra" refers to a specific category of texts and practices, etc that are roughly analogous to the Hindu ones described above. (The fact that Hindu "yoga" has these things as well may have escaped the attention of classical Tibetan commentators.) In that spirit other Buddhist traditions, such as Theravada, practice a form of "yoga" but reject "tantra."
Great modern yogis
Shri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa (1836-1886)
Beginning with the arrival of the great Swami Vivekananda in 1893, there has been a steady flow of learned teachers that have brought the transcendental message of Yoga to the West. Although the influence of these Yogins is deeply inscribed into the surface of the modern yogic ethos, both in India and America, a proliferation of 'yoga clinics' and non-spiritual yoga systems has been seen in the West, especially in the United States. While many Americans view it as an exercise system that simply enhances one's health, a much greater number in India (and a minority in America) still see it as it has been for over 5,000 years, whether in the Bhagavad Gita, the Yoga Sutras, the writings of the Dalai Lama, or the "Yoga Boom" of the 20th century, a system of spirituality universal in its application.
First brought to America by the great yogi and disciple of Shri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902), the Hindu representative at the 1893 World Parliament of Religions in Chicago, Yoga has also been transported in the arms of many other great yogis and formed into stratified schools seeking to propagate Yoga in its great spiritual context. These teachers have made their imprint in both India and America, and continue to serve as modern embodiments of Yoga.
Many modern schools of Hatha Yoga derive from the school of Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, who taught in Mysore, India from 1924 until 1947, at which time he moved to Madras, where he taught until his death in 1989. Among his students prominent in popularizing Yoga in the West were Sri K. Pattabhi Jois famous for popularizing the vigorous Ashtanga Vinyasa style, B.K.S. Iyengar who emphasizes alignment and the use of props, Indra Devi and Krishnamacharya's son T.K.V. Desikachar who developed the Viniyoga style. Desikachar founded the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram in Madras (now Chennai), with the aim of making available the heritage of yoga as taught by Krishnamacharya.
Paramahansa Yogananda (1893-1952), a practitioner of Kriya Yoga, arrived in America as a powerful example of the universality of Yoga in 1920. Seeking to establish the underlying unity between the original Yoga of Krishna and the original Christianity of Jesus, he came to the U.S. with the Hindu Bhagavad Gita in one hand and the Christian New Testament in the other, speaking to his disciples in a pluralist ideology with Yoga as the binding force. Yogananda founded the Self-Realization Fellowship in Los Angeles, in 1925. His Autobiography of a Yogi is considered a spiritual classic. His chief disciple was Rajarsi Janakananda, a great yogi born in the West.
Sri Aurobindo's translations and interpretations of Hindu and Yogic scriptures, such as the Upanishads and Bhagavad-Gita, reflect his background as a Western-reared Bengali who later embraced his homelands spiritual traditions, focusing on the goddess Srii. His epic Hindu/Yoga poem Savitri is a treasure of Hindu Yogic literature, formally being the longest poem ever written in English. Besides his influence and scholarly writing on Yoga, he also founded Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry, that continues to propagate the practice of Integral Yoga. This is Aurobindo's synthesis of the four main Yogas (Karma, Jnana, Bhakti and Raja).
Swami Sivananda (born in Pattamadai, Tamil Nadu, on September 8, 1887, attained Mahasamadhi in Rishikesh, Uttaranchal, on July 14, 1963), one of the greatest yoga masters of modern times, authored over 300 books on yoga and spirituality. Sivananda also established Sivananda ashram in Rishikesh, and founded the Divine Life Society. His disciple, Swami Satyananda (born in Almora, Uttaranchal, in 1923), has established the International Yoga Fellowship Movement, and the Bihar School of Yoga. Satyananda's main disciple Swami Niranjananda (born in Rajnandgaon, Madhya Pradesh in 1960) later founded Bihar Yoga Bharati, the world's first yoga university. Another disciple of Swami Sivananda's, Swami Vishnudevananda (1927-1993), was sent by his Guru to the West in 1957, where he founded the International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centers. He authored The Complete Illustrated Book of Yoga, first published in 1960. He is also known as the Flying Swami for personally flying a small airplane over conflict areas in the name of peace.
Swami Rama Tirtha was the founding spiritual head of the Himalayan Institute. He was the first yogi to come to America and be subjected to the scrutiny of modern science. Among other things, he stunned doctors by stopping the beat of his heart completely for several minutes.
Gopi Krishna (1903-1984) was a Kashmiri office worker and spiritual seeker. He wrote autobiographical accounts of his spiritual experiences with Yoga. His most famous one is Kundalini: Path to Higher Consciousness. Gopi Krishna's graphic accounts of his experiences stand out as among the clearest journals documenting a spiritual transformation. They are highly recommended as reading for anyone interested in Yogic phenomena.
Swami Ramdevji Maharaj is a modern Indian yogi who follows the tradition of astanga yoga discovered by Maharshi Patanjali. While the important aspect of pranayama was neglected due to its lack of popularity and fear of potential negative side-effects, Swami Ramdevji Maharaj has broadcast teachings about it over a satellite channel AASTHA and held mass campainings all over the country. He claims to have used these techniques to cure various diseases.
Shrii Shrii Anandamurti, Bengal, India, 1921-1990 incorporated within Raja Yoga, advanced meditation techniques from the tantras. He is the founder of Ananda Marga.
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada popularised the process of Bhakti Yoga in many countries around the world through his movement called the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, (more popularly known as the Hare Krishna movement) which he founded in 1966.
Mahamandaleshwar Paramhans Swami Maheshwarananda (Swamiji) comes from Rajasthan, India, and has been living in Vienna, Austria since 1972. Swamiji is the author of the scientific master-system Yoga in Daily Life and founder of the International Sri Deep Madhavananda Ashram Fellowship and Yoga in Daily Life ashrams and centres worldwide. He also inspired the foundations of the Yoga in Daily Life Youth Union and the Ayurveda Academy of Yoga in Daily Life.
Swami Satyananda Saraswati (born 1923) is an important yoga master and guru in both his native India and the West, developing a physical and mental relaxation technique called Yoga Nidra, which literally means "sleep of the yogis".
- For a list of some modern styles of Yoga popular in America, Australia, Europe and India, see the List of yoga schools page.
See also
External links
- Anahata Yoga
- Aspects of Yoga — articles on meditation, japa, and other facets of Inner Life
- Find Yoga — find a yoga class in America
- Foundations of Yoga — exposition on prerequisites for Yoga at Atma Jyogi Ashram site
- Meditation Guru — online meditation classes free by SPACE
- More information about yoga and practising methods
- Namarupa: Categories of Indian Thought
- Online Autobiography of a Yogi, by Paramhansa Yogananda
- Pablo Stafforini's Yoga page — suggests a daily routine of asanas, with images and detailed description of postures.
- Regular Yoga Practice Brings Weight Maintainance While Aging health.dailynewscentral.com
- Sanskrit, Indian philosophies, Mantra, Hatha Yoga
- The Philosophy of Yoga - An Aesthetic Appraisal
- Traditional Yoga Studies Interactive — numerous articles on Yoga as a spiritual discipline
- Translations from Sanskrit — quotations from Ramana Maharshi; information on Sabdapurvayoga
- Worldwide links to Kundalini Yoga Classes — many articles about yoga, meditation, postures classes, and many links to yoga directories
- YogaEsoteric
- YogaYak -Online Video Based Yoga Classes — Hours of video relating to Yoga, Meditation, Pranayama. Community Forum.
- YogaPoses.net —Beginners site for uniting mind, body and spirit with yoga.
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