Let us know Yoga better

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These
days there is hardly anyone who does not know what Yoga is.
Almost everyone takes it for granted that Yoga is very beneficial.
Many Yoga Gurus have written books on Yoga and some of these are
quite popular.







But if you see closely, many of these books are about certain `forms’
of Yoga that the Guru is propagating. Also, most of these books give
an authoritarian view of Yoga. Yoga is projected as if it is a belief
system much like religion or any other faith-based practice.

















For example, when these books talk about body postures or breathing
exercises, they no doubt claim the health benefits of these. But they
rarely explain in a logical way how these practices actually achieve
what is claimed. Often very little empirical evidence is provided in
support of their claims.




Some Gurus submerge their readers with hyperbole, throwing lot of
mutually contradicting concepts and views without getting into actual
details. They talk in terms of cosmic energy, super consciousness,
supra mundane awareness, and so on. What these really are is rarely
explained or defined.




Using some modern medical jargons or vague analogies to theories in
quantum physics, these Gurus try to give a scientific face to their
mystic theories.





Such an approach to Yoga has two problems. Firstly, without a clear
understanding of the underlying mechanisms behind Yoga, it is
difficult to reap its full potential. Secondly, a poorly understood
system often gets distorted and diluted over a period of time.




What we need is a clearly defined system with sound concepts. A
system that can be put to test in an objective fashion to the extent
possible. A system that can produce predictable results that can be
relied upon.




Does Yoga that we see around, meet these criteria?




Most people think that Yoga is some body oriented practice, a set of
body postures or some kinds of breathing exercises and so on. The aim
of these people is often to keep themselves fit and healthy.





Health and fitness are definitely important. But Yoga is not just
that.




Yoga has wide range of utility starting from mundane health
enhancement, to stress reduction, to developing mental concentration,
to enhancing mental capabilities, to having a taste of inexplicable
bliss, to ultimate realization, and finally to establish a more
peaceful and livable world.




But some of these are not really the goal of Yoga but are only
byproducts that one can reap by sincere practice of Yoga, as we will
see later on.












Yoga has a long history of thousands of years. Over a period of time,
Yoga has undergone various changes and taken many new forms. What is
projected as Yoga today is only the tip of the iceberg.
What
then really is Yoga?




The widely accepted originator of Yoga namely Patanjali defines Yoga
as





Yoga is restraining the activities of the mind




-Yoga
Sutra 1.2













That means Yoga is about making the mind completely calm. That does
not mean that having a calm mind is the goal of Yoga. Calming of the
mind is only a means, a method to attain something that is beyond
mind. What that is, we will be seeing down the line.




As it is clear from this very second statement in the Patanjali’s
Yoga Sutra, Yoga is mostly a mind-oriented system that has very
little of what we see today as Yoga.





Let us get a bit more into this original Yoga as propounded by
Patanjali.



Patanjali’s Yoga is described in his work Yoga Sutra – a
collection of 195 Sutras. A Sutra is a concise expression of
ideas, often conveyed in as few words as possible.


.

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