What is YOGA?

 

Yoga has been practiced from the pre Vedic period  dating back in 600 B.C. The granth Yoga Sutras which describes yoga was written by Sage Patanjali, who was famous for describing something in concise way. As per him, yoga means '' Chitta Vritti Nirodha'' which tanslates into;

1. Chitta=  Mind or consciousness
2. Vritti = continuos fluctuation or variation
3. Niroddha = abolish or end something, get rid of

The granth decribes process of yoga in 8 parts also called as ASHTANG-YOGAS which mastered will gain spiritual bliss and nirvana.  Ashtanga yoga literally means "eight-limbed yoga," as described by the Patanjali Muni in the Yoga Sutras. According to Patanjali, the path of internal purification for Self enlightenment through the following eight spiritual practices:

1. Yama [moral codes]
2. Niyama [self-purification and study]
3. Asana [posture]
4. Pranayama [breath control by Pranakarshana]
5. Pratyahara [sense control]
6. Dharana [concentration]
7. Dhyana [meditation]
8. Samadhi [absorption into the Universal]

They are segregated within themselves in 2 groups of yoga. First 5 parts of ashtangyoga  form part of ''HATH YOGA'' and the later for parts form ''RAJ YOGA''.

After having a brief knowledge about what yoga is, we have to dive in deep onto the details as to why this is necessary and the practices of yoga that is prevalent right now.

As far as we knew till now, yoga seemed to us as any other physical activity for loosing weight, gaining weight, toning body etc. but the inherent values of yoga has been neglected. Yoga as per the great sage himself is done for the purpose of controlling the mind from unnecessary fluctuations. This might seem easy work done but if asked a person to close their eyes and to breath for 15 minutes, that person wont be able to complete the process without experiencing multiple thoughts arising in their mind.

It is said that to attain Spiritual well being Yoga can be practiced only in 2 way either to become a Sanyasi [Living a hermit life] or by Abhyas [Learning it]. As we are part of a society we are ''Sansari'' beings and living a life in Sanyasa is not possible. Therefore for us, learning is the only way to practice yoga.

To achieve the stage of stilling the mind before reaching our ultimate dream or objective through the path of yoga it is necessary to prepare the body for this process. For many years, being unaware about the teachings of yoga about having a right ''Ahar'' diet or way of living, we end up accumulating toxins in ourselves.

 Therefore to open up the passage for the stream to flow free, we need to clean the passage i.e. clean our body or self purification with ''Shuddi-kriya''. This part forms part of ''Hath Yoga''. Kriya like Dhoti [Self cleansing by drinking saline water and spewing it out through mouth removing toxics and acids from the stomach], Neti [ Cleansing of nose with saline water] and exercises concentrating the lower abdomen, lungs and other limbs.

The benefits of yoga cant be attained only by practicing Asanas, rather it is a continuous process of keeping a check on our mind from deviating to ill thoughts and unstability of consciousness. Here, the person has to observe various ''Yama''. They're code of conduct which are inter mingled and all are directed towards a common goal of mental peace and prosperity.They're as follows

1. AHIMSA
2. SATYA
3. ASTHEYA
4. APARIGRIHA
5. BRAHMACHARYA

To look into detail what this means:-

1 AHIMSA which means non violence a principle deeply entrenched in our Indian culture and propagated widely by our dear father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi. Ahimsa is further divided into different levels on to the importance of living or non living beings in ecological cycle. Himsa or violence can be done even when you are uprooting a stalk of grass. In this our whole society will  come to standstill as we  will have no food to eat, so as per the Sutras if an act done for the benefit of others without selfish intention it is no wrong.
            Himsa can happen when you hit someone physically, think ill about something mentally or talk or listen evil about something. It is necessary to have a control on the violent nature of ourselves which positively leads to even having a by product of societal peace and welfare. Violent nature also leads to developing upset stomach and acid reflux issues, so isn't it wise to manage our anger and take care of our body?

2. SATYA means truth and it is always wise to say truth rather than lying and have to constantly remember that which lie we told to which person and so on. Subsequently this behavious not only affects others but also hampers our mind and causes unnecessary panic. Sutras also said that a satya which is going to give pain to other and therefore lying to him is not Asatya. True person is always someone who is revered and respected in the society rather than a liar.

3. ASTHEYA means no stealing. It can also be interpreted as no misplacement or misappropriation of a thing. This act is of criminal nature and taking a thing without the assent or consent of the possesioner is condemned strictly

4. APARIGRIHA means not hoarding unnecessary things. It envisages into the practices of not collecting and hoarding things without any reason and especially when you have enough amount of that thing. The reason for this that human being should not have greedy behavior and strive for minimizing the stress that is bogged down on the mother nature for our unstoppable and destructive consumption pattern.
           I would like to explain this with a small anecdote, there was a wood cutter whose guru had given him a pouch of diamond. Though not wanting it,he accepted it and  kept it in his bag. On his journey to home, he would keep checking his bag for ensuring the diamonds safety. Seeing this, his guru chucked the diamonds out and filled the pouch with stones. Next day seeing what was inside the wood cutter threw away the stones and was even lesser worried than before while doing his work. So this means that when you have lesser things to worry about you can invest your most time being productive.

5. BRAHMACHARI refers to the practice of austerity. It doesn't necessary pertains to the idea of celibacy. It is all about finding the right balance for life for a Sansari being. There are 5 aims of a human being called purusharthas to achieve for human fulfillment. They are dharma (duty, ethics), artha (prosperity, wealth), kama (pleasure of the 5 INDRIYA or 5 sensory organs), and moksha (the pursuit of liberation).
             To understand the real nature of kama which is the feature which causes the most fluctuation in mind, is by knowing how to control the sensory organs and their wants. Just like aparigriha the wants and needs of the sensory organs like good food for taste, good clothes for feeling of touch, good fragrance for smell, good visuals to see,etc. Every other wants of the humanbeing has to  be satisfied but to an appropriate level and not in excess for attaining bramacharya.

I find this so empowering and enlightening after knowing the real background and understanding the whole system of yoga. I hope even you are amazed enough with the information, being so close to us yet so far. As Dr Ambedkar has once rightly remarked that we are ungrateful to not know Sanskrit by itself rather have to read it through the English  translations done by foreigners.

The rest of the limbs of yogas will be explained in the upcoming posts. Do let me know what you feel about this post in the comment section or react to the post down below. A new feature of subscription has been discovered by me lately so, click on the subscribe button given right on the start of the page to gate daily notification of my new posts. Hope you have  GOOD AND HEALTHY DAY AND ALWAYS BEE HAPPY :)