YOGA

The word yoga presently popularized by Westerners who learnt it from India. Yoga is a science that aims at uniting the soul with the body to attain the final liberation known as Moksha.The final state wherein the soul blends with the Supreme Being known by various names.

Yoga  is a collection of physical exercises, but the original Yoga sutras Handed down by patanjali concentrates on Physical, mental and Spiritual aspects. There are various schools of Yoga propagated by various religions in various times, the famous one being of the Hinduism, whose scholars have extensively compiled and practiced the literatures for this beautiful art to be handed down to generations and to make sure the future generations received the same amount of wellbeing  and spiritual happiness that they received

The broader aspect of Yoga is divided into:

1.Raja Yoga

2.Hatha Yoga

RAJA YOGA:

The raja yoga is ancient philosophy of Hinduism that concentrates on the overall well-being of the person practicing it as specified in the first para.

When writing about Raja Yoga the article will be incomplete if there is no mention of Patanjali.The rishi who is considered as the father of Raja Yoga practice.In Tamil shaivaite tradition a verse is found in Tirumoolar’s Tirumandiram as follows:

Nandhi arulPetra Nadharai Naadinom
Nandhigal Nalvar Siva Yoga MaaMuni
Mandru thozhuda Patañjali Vyakramar
Endrivar Ennodu (Thirumoolar) Enmarumaame

நந்தி அருள் பெற்ற நாதரை நாடினோம்

நந்திகள் நால்வர் சிவ யோக மாமுனி

மன்று தொழுத பதஞ்சலி வியாக்ரமர்

என்றிவர் என்னோடு என்மருமாமே

This translates as:

We went to the lord who graced nandhi

Four nandhis,siva Yoga Maamuni,patanjali,vyagramar and me,the eight

Thus it is said that Patanjali and others learnt Yoga and other siddhis from the first siddha,Lord Ishwara.

Thus he is revered as the authority on Yoga, true to it he has compiled the Patanjali Yoga sutra,that describes the rules for Liberation

Patanjali Yoga sutras are the considered to be authority in Raja Yoga.It starts with the following note:

योग: चित्त-वृत्ति निरोध:

Translating as: Yoga is the inhibition of Modifications of the Mind.(Swami Vivekananda translated this)

This is considered to be the state that is close to the Samadhi State of mind where in the mind of the practitioner is free from all modifications and is aware of only itself and consequently unaware of anything external to it, which means a state of being unconscious to the outside world.

Patanjali Outlines 8 limbs or अङ्ग of Raja Yoga as follows:

•         Yama
•          Niyama
•          Asana
•          Pranayama
•          Pratyahara
•          Dharana
•          Dhyana
•          Samadhi

YAMA:

The Yamas outlines the restraints to be followed compulsorily by a person who wished to practice Raja Yoga. These are not only needed to practice Raja Yoga but are essential ethical qualities a human being should follow to lead a happy life. These are five in number

1.   Ahimsa:The most important and the most difficult Yama is ahimsa.Ahimsa not only means physical injury to human and non-human forms but also include mental and wordly deeds.It is to be understood the practitioner of Raja Yoga must practice ahimsa of all forms,the use of force or the method to get a deed done through should definitely be the last resort and even if it is the case,the deed must virtuous enough.
2. Satya:This is another important Yama to be followed,which is becoming increasingly difficult in this present world.Satya or truthfulness is a virtue which should be followed strictly,even when the life hangs with uncertainity,this is what is expected by a raja yoga practitioner.Thus the above two virtues give Human beings the most ethical and complete life when followed with utmost discipline.
3.  Asteya:On a narrow sense asteya means not to steal,but in a broader sense asteya requires one not to be desired of others properties even in thoughts.Satya and asteya go hand in hand in practicing, a person who is Satyavan will automatically follow Asteya, since if he has to steal or be desirous of other people’s properties, he cannot lie as he is practicing Satya
4.  Brahmacharya:The next Yama speaks of a stage of life which every human being goes through in his initial years.It generally means to search for Brahman(The supreme God),and takes a contextual meaning depending upon the practitioner. For a grihastha or a married one  it is essentially to remain truthful and faithful to his married partner and for an unmarried it means essentially to pursue Celibacy of the highest form i.e.Not to wander his minds into unwanted pleasures(here unwanted pleasures means pleasures that are not right for his maturity).
5.  Aparigraha:Aparigraha is the thought of non-possessiveness or non-greediness, It is an result of asteya in a sense that you should first practice asteya,i.e should not be desirous of other properties and then slowly transform to practice aparigraha or non-desirous of one’s own property. It follows that only Consciousness is one’s own and other external things are not.

NIYAMA:

The Niyamas are observances that are to be followed virtuously in Raja Yoga.Yamas and Niyamas may be sometimes taken to be same but are not so,essentially Yamas give solutions for the Don’ts in Raja Yoga and Niyamas are taken to be habits that result out Yamas

Niyamas are again five in number:

1.  Shaucha:Shaucha refers to the overall purity of the mind and body.Shaucha is to practiced through speech, Deeds and thought
2.  Santosha:This is the second Niyama of contemptness,which requires people to be able to accept the circumstances as it is and then try to find a solution to it. When we are contempt only with Our Atman(Consciousness) the need to change circumstances does not arise.
3.   Tapas:Tapas does not only mean meditation, it means persistence, which requires one to constantly search for the Brahman, without being demotivated, this ends with self-realization that Brahman is within us and there is no need to search for it outside
4.  Svadhyaya:Svadhyaya essentially means self-introspection ,which requires one to do tapas until self-realization is achieved, the whole process is termed as svadhyaya
5.  Ishvara-Pranidhana:Ishvara pranidhana essentially means concentrating on the supreme brahman,without any doubts. Complete faith on Supreme Brahman.

ASANA:

This remains to be the most famous practiced angha of Raja Yoga,Asana,for the physical wellbeing.Practiced by everybody,the real meaning of Asana is actually being in a inanimate-posture for a certain amount of time in a relaxed state of body,i.e with ease.Thus any asana which stresses the body for the time is not an asana, initially this is very difficult to achieve but by the right amount of practice and the right Yoga Teacher who can sense the stress,it is easier to achieve.Patanjali after specifying famous asanas such as Padmasana suggests that sthirasukasana- an asana which is a comfortable for individual to practice provided it follows the above constraints. Thus Asana is a supplement to Yoga and not the complete Yoga itself

PRANAYAMA:

According to the Siddhas of Tamilnadu,Pranayama or breath control is an essential way to increase one’s lifetime. It is told that there is an certain number  of breaths per day (one breath=inhaling once and exhaling once) for one to live 120 years in earth. The number should not exceed or be less than the specified one. But it is not practically possible to have a less number of breaths than specified one because in the present world we are plagued by stress and other factors that increase the number of breaths which subsequently reduces our lifespan. Thus Pranayama which is an inherent practice is to be done in the morning preferably. Pranayama also leads to concentration where the consciousness is the only true thing which is sensed and all things external to it are ignored

 PRATYAHARA:

Pratyahara means bringing one’s own belief to oneself. Here oneself refers to the Atman or the consciousness. Thus essentially it means to withdraw oneself from outside world to the inner world or Consciousness and ultimately to attain Samadhi state

DHARANA:

Single-minded,focused,concentration call it anything which says to think of only one thing, that is Dharana.Dharana is one of the basic steps in meditation which at the highest level concentrates on the Atman. It is practiced by concentrating on one’s own common mind, or on one’s own breath. With practice one can concentrate on his atman in the advanced stages

DHYANA:

If dharana is focusing on a subject then Dhyana is contemplation of the subject. Deep thoughtful reflections on the subject of Dharana is essential so that one knows on what, why he has to concentrate on the subject.Dhyana always leads to better insights, such as the number of breaths during meditation and whether it follows the rules of pranayama or not.

SAMADHI:

The final stage of Raja Yoga is the Samadhi,it is the state of being one, being blissful. Bliss is attained when one following all the above methods and then doing dhyana on the subject and getting engrossed so much that one is not aware of anything other than the subject he is contemplating on. Such a state when attained gives the utmost Bliss for Humans

Thus Raja Yoga according to Yoga’s father does not merely concentrate on the physical aspects of but concentrates on making atman, body in resonance with Brahman(Supreme Self).

The other Arm Hatha Yoga concentrates more on the physical readiness of the body to do Dharana,brahmacharya,Dhyana and Samadhi. Will write about Hatha Yoga in another time.