Yoga
Yoga : योग yóga) is a physical, mental, and spiritual
discipline, originating in ancient India. The goal of yoga, or of the person practicing
yoga, is the attainment of a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquility
while meditating on Supersoul. The word is associated with meditative practices
in Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. Within Hindu philosophy, the word yoga is used
to refer to one of the six orthodox (āstika) schools of Hindu philosophy. Yoga in
this sense is based on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, and is also known as Rāja Yoga
to distinguish it from later schools. Patanjali's system is discussed and elaborated
upon in many classical Hindu texts, and has also been influential in Buddhism and
Jainism. The Bhagavad Gita introduces distinctions such as Jnana Yoga ("yoga
based on knowledge") vs. Karma Yoga ("yoga based on action"). Other
systems of philosophy introduced in Hinduism during the medieval period are bhakti
yoga, and hatha yoga. The Sanskrit word yoga has the literal meaning of "yoke",
from a root yuj meaning to join, to unite, or to attach. As a term for a system
of abstract meditation or mental abstraction it was introduced by Patañjali in the
2nd century BC. Someone who practices yoga or follows the yoga philosophy with a
high level of commitment is called a yogi or yogini. The goals of yoga are varied
and range from improving health to achieving moksha. Within the Hindu monist schools
of Advaita Vedanta, Shaivism and Jainism, the goal of yoga takes the form of moksha,
which is liberation from all worldly suffering and the cycle of birth and death
(samsara), at which point there is a realization of identity with the Supreme Brahman.
In the Mahabharata, the goal of yoga is variously described as entering the world
of Brahma, as Brahman, or as perceiving the Brahman or Ātman that pervades all things.
For the bhakti schools of Vaishnavism, bhakti or service to Svayam Bhagavan itself
may be the ultimate goal of the yoga process, where the goal is to enjoy an eternal
relationship with Vishnu.
Modern history
Hindu revivalism
Nirmala Devi
New schools of Yoga were introduced in the context of Hindu revivalism towards the
end of the 19th century. The physical poses of Hatha Yoga have a tradition that
goes back to the 15th century, but they were not widely practiced in India prior
to the early 20th century. Hatha Yoga was advocated by a number of late 19th to
early 20th century gurus in India, including Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya in south
India, Swami Sivananda in the north, Sri Yogendra in Bombay, and Swami Kuvalyananda
in Lonavala. In 1946, Paramahansa Yogananda in his Autobiography of a Yogi introduced
the term Kriya Yoga for the tradition of Yoga transmitted by his lineage of gurus,
deriving it via Yukteswar Giri and Lahiri Mahasaya from Mahavatar Babaji (fl. 1860s).
Also influential in the development of modern Yoga were Tirumalai Krishnamacharya,
and his disciple K. Pattabhi Jois, who introduced his style of Ashtanga Vinyasa
Yoga in 1948. Most systems of Hatha Yoga which developed from the 1960s in the "yoga
boom" in the West are derived from Jois' system.
Yoga compared with other systems of meditation
Tantra
Tantrism is a practice that is supposed to alter the relation of its practitioners
to the ordinary social, religious, and logical reality in which they live. Through
Tantric practice, an individual perceives reality as maya, illusion, and the individual
achieves liberation from it. Both Tantra & Yoga offer paths that relieve a person
from depending on the world. Where Yoga relies on progressive restriction of inputs
from outside; Tantra relies on transmutation of all external inputs so that one
is no longer dependent on them, but can take them or leave them at will. They both
make a person independent. This particular path to salvation among the several offered
by Hinduism, links Tantrism to those practices of Indian religions, such as yoga,
meditation, and social renunciation, which are based on temporary or permanent withdrawal
from social relationships and modes. As Robert Svoboda attempts to summarize the
three major paths of the Vedic knowledge, he exclaims: Because every embodied individual
is composed of a body, a mind and a spirit, the ancient Rishis of India who developed
the Science of Life organized their wisdom into three bodies of knowledge: Ayurveda,
which deals mainly with the physical body; Yoga, which deals mainly with spirit;
and Tantra, which is mainly concerned with the mind. The philosophy of all three
is identical; their manifestations differ because of their differing emphases. Ayurveda
is most concerned with the physical basis of life, concentrating on its harmony
of mind and spirit. Yoga controls body and mind to enable them to harmonize with
spirit, and Tantra seeks to use the mind to balance the demands of body and spirit.[82]
During tantric practices and studies, the student is instructed further in meditation
technique, particularly chakra meditation. This is often in a limited form in comparison
with the way this kind of meditation is known and used by Tantric practitioners
and yogis elsewhere, but is more elaborate than the initiate's previous meditation.
It is considered to be a kind of Kundalini Yoga for the purpose of moving the Goddess
into the chakra located in the "heart", for meditation and worship.