There is a lot of interest these days in “yoga”. However, what the westerners call “yoga” refers only to the postures which are known as “asanas”. Yoga asanas are bodily postures which are very good for strengthening the body as well as the mind. However, “yoga” is a many- flavoured word with infinite connotations. It comes from the Sanskrit word “yuj” — to unite. Hinduism aims at uniting the individual self or the “atman” with the universal self or “Brahman”. Any attempt to do this can be termed as “yoga”. Thus, we have many types of yogas in Hinduism — jnana yoga, karma yoga, raja yoga, bhakti yoga etc. The physical postures which go under the name of “yoga” all over the world today have existed in India for centuries. They were emphasised and brought to the domain of the ordinary man by the great Hindu Master known as Patanjali who was the very first psychologist the world has ever known. Hence even today this is known as Patanjali yoga and has been brought to the focus of the modern world through the efforts of Baba Ram Dev and other great masters of Yoga. Our Prime Minister has declared that 21st June should be celebrated as “yoga day” all over the world. People who practice yoga all over the world have found that it brings great benefit to their mental and physical health. Thus, the word “yoga” has become a key word in many western countries and many yoga schools have sprung up all over the world since people have discovered that yoga is something which helps everyone to lead a healthier and happier life.
Because of its rapid rise to glory, the word yoga has created a lot of suspicion in Muslim and Christian countries. They believe that “yoga” has a Hindu flavour and the whole thing is a diabolic plot on the part of the Hindus to insinuate their ideas into the main stream of world thought. This view exists in India also and is the root cause for the lobby which is trying to stop the introduction of the practice of yoga in all schools, as the government wants to do. In ancient days all students of the “padashalas” as the old Indian schools were known, had to practice yoga. With the advent of the English, this was replaced by something called PT, which is a sort of physical fitness” routine. Yoga asanas however enliven both body and mind. Their effects are not limited to the body alone.
Unfortunately, there is an attempt on the part of many intellectual Hindus and even some of the gurus to support the anti-Hindu lobby and insist that yoga has no Hindu undertones and can be practiced by anyone who wants to improve his mind and body. Of course, it can be practiced by anyone who wants to improve his mind and body. Hindus have never patented any of their knowledge. It was always readily available to the whole of humanity.
But at the outset I would like to make a few things clear to the general public. I assert most vehemently that “yoga” is indeed a word with deep Hindu connotations. It comes from the ancient Hindu scriptures. It definitely has its roots in Hinduism. If anyone out of sheer prejudice does not want to practice this because it has a Hindu origin, it is their problem not ours!
However, it is high time that people of other traditions and religious beliefs should at least have the grace to acknowledge that “yoga” indeed comes from the Hindu tradition. If they want to make use of it they may do so but still they should have the honesty to admit that the roots come from Hinduism. Gratitude is the least that we can expect from the followers of other religions. Be truly grateful that you are living in a country which has no quarrel with any other religion, living in a country which has always welcomed the followers of all other religions. Be grateful for the freedom you are given to worship your own gods and for the numerous benefits you are enjoying from this land which is the land of the rishis!
Hinduism gives four goals out of which the 4th is called “moksha” or liberation. Who or what is it that wants liberation? The embodied soul is known as the “jivatman”. It is only a holographic representation of the Brahman or the Supreme Soul (Paramatman). This jivatman is always desirous of joining the Paramatman. In Hinduism it is said that any method taken by the jivatman to unite with the Paramatman can be called “yoga”. Yogasanas are only a method by which the physical body can be purified so that it becomes easier for us to sit down and meditate for an hour or so without pain and thus help to unite with that Supreme Soul.
Many classical methods of yoga have been given in Hinduism. The Ashtanga Yoga of Patanjali is one that has fascinated many people but it must be pointed out that asanas are only one eighth of the methods that have been given to us to purify both the physical and mental bodies and enable the individual to unite with the Paramatman. It is also to be noted that Patanjali calls his whole system “ashtanga yoga” which means the eight limbs of yoga. The limbs of an infant grow simultaneously and not one by one so also the practitioner of yoga should see that all the eight limbs as given by Patanjali should be cultivated simultaneously if we want the desired result. We cannot lead a dissolute life and expect to become experts in meditation and yogasanas. There are certain strict disciplines, both moral and physical, to be followed before we can expect the correct results.
Other forms of classical yogas as mentioned in our books \ are Jnana Yoga or the yoga of wisdom, Karma Yoga or the yoga of action and Bhakti Yoga or the yoga of devotion. Lord Krishna has clearly brought out these three yogas in the Srimad Bhagavad Gita. However, it is interesting to note that all the eighteen chapters of the Srimad Bhagavad Gita are known as yogas. The very first chapter is called “Arjuna Vishada Yoga” or the yoga of Arjuna’s sorrow! Even sorrow can be the goad that will allow our mind to be directed towards God. When our life runs on a smooth plane with no sorrows or distractions, we might not be that interested in communicating with God but the moment we are beset with troubles and problems we will find that even an atheist will start to think of God! Thus, any activity that can lead us towards God can be called “yoga”. The problem here is to train the mind in such a way that whatever action the individual does is directed towards union with God. The mental dedication is the most important.
All the classical types of yogas are meant to train the mind for this one dedication which is the most important thing for the individual. A yogic life therefore is a combination of knowledge, spirituality and activity in the physical world. The true yogi is one who has realised that all these three come from the same source – the individual, God and the world have the same source. We define everything in the world as belonging to a space/time continuum but the fact is that God is above this continuum which is a concept of the mind. This is why we find it difficult to dedicate everything to something which is beyond our mental concept. The mind is so involved in the external world that it seems impossible for it to think in any other manner. Even if we intellectually understand that our true nature is nothing but existence-consiousness and bliss – Sat-chit-ananda, still we are prone to think that it is located somewhere outside us.
We think that the world consists of only two things, the seer and the seen. When we see anything, we think “I am the seer” and the object is outside me. We don’t realise that there is also an unseen or transcendent knower which is ever present at all times and is a witness to our every thought and action. Therefore, we don’t have a private life! There is a transcendent source that is aware of every leaf that falls, every winking of an eye of every creature in the world! Yoga is meant to teach you of the existence of this Being and is meant to unite you to this Being so that we begin to see this great principle operating everywhere at all times at all places.
When we dimly come to realise the existence of such a Being, we start to fear it and that is the beginning of all religion. All religion begins with fear of the unknown. Because of our conditioning we are apt to think that this Being is transcendent or something above us. This is not correct. The transcendence of this Being is not spatial. It is not an ascension from the level of the seer and seen to something above both but it is actually an inclusiveness of both the seer and seen. With the practice of yoga, we come to realise that the creature, the creation and the creator are totally interconnected. The fear that we felt in the beginning ends in the knowledge that the Being we fear is actually our very Self – closer than a friend, closer than a relative and the only beloved. This is the union that yoga aims at. Actually, yoga is at the basis of all spirituality, religion and true philosophy. Yoga is a total operation of our mental, physical and intellectual life in order to focus on that which is not to be seen by the physical eyes.
At lease all the Hindus of this country should become practicing yogis so that very soon others will also follow and learn to appreciate the greatness of Hinduism
Hari Aum Tat Sat