Understanding Yoga

Today Yoga is no more an indigenous system restricted to India but an international phenomenon popular all over the globe. With the inception of the International Yoga Day in 2015  after the unanimous declaration by the United Nations General Assembly, every 21st of July is being observed all over the world as a day devoted to Yoga.  The first International Yoga Day  in 2015 was celebrated by organizing a huge open air yoga class for 35,985 people at Rajpath in New Delhi. The event made it to the Guinness World records for the largest number of participants in a yoga class as well as for the largest number of participating nationalities having participants from 84 nations.

Though a word popularly understood as an Indian system of exercise, ‘Yoga’ in Sanskrit literally means ‘coming together’ or ‘Union’. It is a discipline  that  focuses on holistic mind-body-soul balancing through a system of physical, mental and spiritual practices. Various subtypes of Yoga have been described- Karma Yoga, Gyana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Hatha Yoga and Raj Yoga.  Gyana, Karma and Bhakti yoga have been described in the Bhagwad Geeta as paths to reach the Supreme Consciousness. Raj Yoga  is a name given to Maharshi Patanjali’s Ashtanga or 8 limbed Yoga. These limbs are as follows-

1. Yama – Ethics and Integrity
2. Niyama – Self-discipline
3. Asana – Yogic postures
4. Pranayama – Breathing techniques
5. Pratyahara – Withdrawal of senses
6. Dharana – Focused awareness
7. Dhyana – Meditative absorption
8. Samadhi – Bliss and Enlightenment.

Each of these is an important step in the practice of Yoga and for best results each step should be followed. However the 3 limbs we commonly learn in today’s times during Yoga classes include Asana, Pranayama and Dhyana.  Asanas are flexibility exercises and poses  meant to keep the physical body supple and healthy while Pranayamas are breathing exercises of different kinds  meant to balance the life force that connects the soul to the mind-body complex. On the other hand, Dhyana is a meditative practice that is used to increase focus and control the mind. Hence Yoga can be viewed as a ‘Process’ as well as a ‘State’. Once the body, vital force and mind are trained and balanced, one starts aligning with the Soul Light or Inner Divinity. The step-by-step system of achieving this can be understood as the ‘Process of Yoga’. Once this alignment is achieved, one is no longer suffering, no more living at the mercy of circumstances, but becomes first a detached observer and then an active co-creator of one’s life. The light of one’s Higher Wisdom shines through every part of one’s being, be it mind, body or vital force. This state of living as a union of mind, life force, body and soul in perfect alignment is what is meant by the ‘State of Yoga’.

India has had luminous Yogis since times immemorial. Their exemplary lives and character show us exactly what the ‘State of Yoga’ means. We can find this state in the lives of Shri Rama and Shri Krishna. There have also been great Yogis who through their lives and struggles exemplify the ‘Process of Yoga’ in action finally ending in the ‘Yogic State’ such as Maharshi Vishwamitra, Maharshi Valmiki, Prince Arjuna and Gautam Buddha. These lives show us the transforming effects of the path of Yoga. More recent examples of Yogis who taught as much through their lives and character as through their written or spoken word are Maharshi Raman, Swami Ramkrishna Paramhansa, Swami Vivekananda, Mahatma Gandhi and Shri Aurobindo. To say in few words, a Yogi is someone whose purpose and actions transcend the individual self and go beyond the constraints of space and time. The immortal effects of the life and work of great Indian Yogis bear witness to this. The Bhagwad Gita is as relevant and contemporary today as it was thousands of years back. It’s eternal and unchanging value can clearly be attributed to the ultimate Gyan Yogi who spoke it transcending space and time. The Ramayana continues to be the gold standard for the classic battle between Right and Wrong because it’s protagonist Shri Rama epitomises Karma Yoga. The life of Hanumana and  Radha gave them a status equal to their respective objects of worship as they had perfected the state of Bhakti Yoga. Today millions worship each of these phenomenal Yogis as Gods.

Yoga is getting more and more popular today all over the world. It is being proposed as an Alternative System of Healing. Although some protagonists of Yoga had a concern that people use it as a way to reduce their stress, lose weight, lower their high BP or decrease chances of getting diabetes or heart problems, there may be no harm in that. Several Yoga exponents feel it should still be encouraged so that they develop an aspiration for more through the practice of Yoga. Yoga is ultimately a proven method to achieve one’s own Divinity and lead a supremely productive life in line with the Divine Will and under guidance of Divine Wisdom. Yoga is definitely the ‘Process’ of achieving as well as the ‘State’ of perfect mind- body-soul union.