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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