[English] Audio Book – Let us know Yoga better.

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You are listening to the audiobook, "Let us know Yoga better", published by divine voice publications. This is the first part of the series, "The Complete Science of Yoga". The original English book is, "The ultimate book on Yoga : All that you want to know about Yoga". Authors – Dr. King and Swami Satyapriya.

Yoga: Is it merely physical exercise, or is it a science that goes beyond that?

 

In today's fast-paced life, peace of mind is becoming an illusion. But the answer lies within us. This book series introduces a fascinating link between the ancient tradition of yoga and modern neuroscience.

How can yoga postures change not only our body, but also the way our brain functions? How can we reduce mental stress through meditation and explore the experience of bliss? This book series, "The Complete Science of Yoga", is an attempt to examine the three-thousand-year-old path of yoga against the touchstone of modern science and explain it in simple terms.

This is a comprehensive guide to improving the quality of your life, increasing concentration, and exploring the mysteries of the mind.

The major attractions of this series are:

• Scientific perspective: An analysis of the relationship between yoga and the brain.
• Practical steps: Simple ways to practise meditation and improve concentration.
• Historical background: The three-thousand-year journey through which yoga has evolved.

There are nine books in this series. They are:

Part 1. Let us know Yoga better.: The present book.
Part 2. The Science of the Brain That Helps Us Understand Yoga.
Part 3. How to Reduce Mental Stress?
Part 4. How Do Yoga Postures Improve Health?
Part 5. How to Sharpen Concentration?
Part 6. How to Meditate?
Part 7. What Happens When We Meditate?
Part 8. Is There a Mind Beyond Our Brain?
Part 9. What Is the Ultimate Goal of Yoga?

Come, let us understand yoga correctly.

......

These days, it is rare to find someone who does not know what yoga is. Almost everyone naturally agrees that yoga is highly beneficial. Many yoga gurus have also written books about yoga. Some of them have become very popular.

But if we look a little more closely, most of these books talk only about the particular 'forms of yoga' promoted by those gurus. In addition, most of these books explain yoga from a prescriptive point of view. Yoga is portrayed as a belief system, like a religion or other belief-based practices.

For example, when these books talk about postures or breathing exercises, they certainly mention their health benefits. But it is rare for them to logically explain how those practices produce the claimed results. Very little practical evidence is provided in support of their claims.

Some gurus overwhelm readers with exaggeration, throwing together numerous ideas and viewpoints that contradict one another, without explaining them. They use terms such as cosmic energy, superconsciousness, transcendental awareness, and so on. But what these terms actually mean is rarely explained or defined.

Using modern medical terminology or vague analogies related to theories of quantum physics, these gurus attempt to give a scientific façade to their mysterious theories.

This kind of explanation of yoga creates two major problems. The first is that, without clearly understanding the basic mechanisms behind yoga, it is difficult to derive its full benefit. The second is that a system that is not properly understood becomes distorted over time and loses its significance.

What we need is a system of yoga with clearly defined and sound principles. A system that can, as far as possible, be tested objectively. A system that produces reliable and predictable results.

Does the yoga we see today meet these standards?

For most people, yoga means a body-centred practice involving certain postures or breathing exercises. The usual purpose of such people is to maintain physical health and fitness.

Health and physical fitness are certainly important. But yoga is not limited to that.

Yoga has a wide range of applications, beginning with general improvement of health and extending to stress reduction, increased concentration of the mind, development of mental abilities, the experience of inexplicable bliss, ultimate realization, and finally, the creation of a more peaceful and livable world.

But some of these are not the actual goals of yoga. They are merely by-products that naturally arise when yoga is practised sincerely. We will see this later.

Yoga has a long history extending over thousands of years. Over time, yoga has undergone many changes and taken on many new forms. What is presented as yoga today is only a condensed version of the vast tradition of yoga.

So, what is true yoga?

Patanjali, who is widely accepted as the originator of yoga, defines yoga as follows:

"Yogah chitta vritti nirodha".

Yoga means controlling the activities of the mind.
– Yoga Sutra 1.2.

That is, yoga is about bringing the mind into a completely peaceful state. But having a peaceful mind is not the ultimate goal of yoga. Calming the mind is merely a method, a means of reaching some state that is beyond the mind. We will see what that is later.

As becomes clear from this second sutra of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras itself, yoga is primarily a system focused on the mind. Many of the elements that we see as yoga today have very little place in it.

Let us now enter a little more deeply into this original yoga propagated by Patanjali.

Patanjali's yoga is described in his work, the Yoga Sutras. It is a collection of 195 sutras in total. A sutra is a concise expression that conveys a profound meaning in very few words.

These sutras are divided into four chapters. They are Samadhi Pada, Saadhana Pada, Vibhuti Pada, and Kaivalya Pada.

The divisions between these chapters are not very clear. The subjects often flow across the boundaries of the chapters. It appears as though what was originally one continuous work was later divided by someone.

The first two chapters contain the central elements of the Yoga Sutras. They discuss the fundamental principles and methods. Since the remaining chapters appear to be later additions, I generally focus on these first two chapters.

According to the opinion of most people, Patanjali's yoga was propagated around 200 BCE. Some place it in a later period, between 400 and 600 CE. But based on the reasons I will explain later, I hold the view that Patanjali lived around 200 BCE or earlier.

I am not very rigid about these dates. But sometimes chronology helps us understand how ideas flowed from one stage to another. This is useful for understanding how the yoga of today acquired its present form and what factors contributed to it.

The main subject of Patanjali's yoga is gradually bringing the mind to a state of complete peace. Its purpose is to realize the ultimate truth of our individual existence.

Meditation is prescribed as the path to reach that goal. There is only limited mention of physical postures and breathing exercises in this yoga. They are regarded merely as preparation for meditation. Improvement of health was never the goal.

Patanjali's yoga has eight stages. It is called Ashtanga Yoga. In brief, these stages are Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana, and Samadhi.

Considering Patanjali's definition of yoga and the importance he gives to meditation, it appears that the origin of this yoga goes back much further than Patanjali. Perhaps thousands of years before 200 BCE.

Buddhism, which existed about four centuries before Patanjali, also had meditation practices similar to Patanjali's yoga. It too had preparatory stages such as Yama, Niyama, and Pranayama before meditation.

For that reason, I also refer to those practices as yoga. I suspect that Patanjali may have been influenced by these Buddhist practices and ideas. Or it is possible that both had a common origin.

It is also not correct to say that yoga or meditation practices began with the Buddha himself. Meditation techniques existed even before the Buddha. The Buddha may have systematized them and made them more practical.

For example, the Bhagavad Gita mentions many kinds of yoga. There, the word 'yoga' is used in a very broad sense.

In particular, it speaks about Jnyana Yoga, Karma Yoga, Dhyana Yoga, and Bhakti Yoga.

You can listen to this book completely free of charge by following the instructions given below.

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© Dr. King, Swami Satyapriya 2026