Yoga: The tradition of Yoga

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The roots of Yoga can be traced back roughly 5,000 years to the Indus Valley civilization, where seals depicting people performing asanas (yoga postures) were used in trade along the river.

The word Yoga comes from the Sanskrit word "Yuj" meaning to yoke, join or unite. It is the union of all aspects of an individual: body, mind and soul. Hence, Yoga reunites all opposites - mind and body, stillness and movement, masculine and feminine, sun and moon - in order to bring reconciliation between them.

Yoga is one of the six branches in Indian philosophy and is referred to throughout the Vedas ? the ancient scriptures of India. There is a legend that says that the knowledge of Yoga was first offered by Lord Shiva to his wife Parvati and from there passed on to the world.

According to the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the ultimate aim of Yoga is to reach "Kaivalya" (freedom). This is the experience of one's innermost being or "soul" (the Purusa). When this level of awareness is achieved, one becomes free of the chains of cause and effect (Karma) which bound us to continual reincarnation. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali is a 2200 year old classical piece of Yoga Philosophy. Hear, Patanjali describe 8 disciplines of yoga which must be practiced and refined in order to perceive the true self- the ultimate goal of Yoga:

Yama - Universal ethics: Non-violence, truthfulness, non-stealing.p>

Niyama - Principles of self conduct: purity, contentment, study of self, surrender.

Asana - practice of the postures.

Pranayama - Breath control.

Pratyahara - withdrawal and control of the senses.

Dharana - concentration.

Dhyana - meditation.

Samadhi - higher consciousness.

Yoga And Soul

Physical reality is only a fraction of all that is! In your search for happiness, you have been running away from the `Self', which is the real source of joy. Many a time, you find yourself stressed and ailing because you don't know your inner being, the Self.

This inner being , the Self, is our awareness. It is energy. It is the energy of Divine Love.

All evolution and the manifestation of material energy are guided by the supreme energy of Divine Love. Normally, you do not know how powerful and thoughtful this unknown energy is. The silent working of awareness is so automatic, minute, dynamic, and precious that we take it for granted. After Self-realisation, this energy appears to us as silent throbbing vibrations flowing through our being, and you automatically come to know all there is to know and thus be ?Self Aware?!

But we have been unable to achieve Self-realisation because we cannot fix our attention on something that lacks form (abstract being). Instead, our attention wanders outside on forms.

Spiritual yogic practices and systems deal with regulations and exercises, which help you (i.e. the sleeping soul) to wake up, discriminate between the real and the unreal, gradually leading your mind to firmly stabilise and merge in the soul?thus "internalising the soul?s attention"?on itself?in lieu of expending energy on outer forms. Once fully awakened, the Energy (soul) realises Itself, and is freed automatically from the pangs of birth and death.

Yoga: The Beginning Stage of Yoga

When you first begin to practice yoga, the mind, like a child runs in different directions. For a while you may be able to stabilise your mind but the thoughts invariably get scattered.

It is at this stage that you have to exercise conscious control and practice the art of 'pratyahaar'. There are some practitioners who can control and bring the mind quickly to focus without much effort due to an inner state of calmness.

Once the mind is stabilised, it helps to fix one's attention and brings much peace. Even if the attention span is short, it at least helps control the mind and arrest its restlessness and constant thought-flux.

Yoga: The Advanced Stage of Yoga

"True happiness can be achieved only through a state of nothingness."

The supreme aim of all yogic exercises is to elevate the soul to higher levels of consciousness by strengthening the mental faculties.

Once the mind is strengthened and concentrated, it is easy to make it delve on itself and dissociate from ephemeral and perishable objects of the world and the senses.

At this stage, external objects and sensory inputs do not make any impressions or leave any residues in the lake of the mind. The waters of this lake become calm and placid.

The mind, thus, is totally focused on itself, one-pointed and impervious to external sensations.

This stage can be easily understood by imagining the case of salt water in a tumbler. The salt is fully dissolved in water and there are no undissolved particles left. But the solution is not uniform in its composition. Still, there is no proper mixing as one homogenous solution, as the water has not been stirred.