 |
| ॐ नम शिवाय |
Within Hindu philosophy, the word yoga is used to refer to one of the six orthodox (āstika) schools of Hindu philosophy. Yoga in this sense is based on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, and is also known as Rāja Yoga to distinguish it from later schools.Patanjali's system is discussed and elaborated upon in many classical Hindu texts, and has also been influential in Buddhism and Jainism. The Bhagavad Gita introduces distinctions such as Jnana Yoga ("yoga based on knowledge") vs. Karma Yoga ("yoga based on action").
Other systems of philosophy introduced in Hinduism during the medieval period are bhakti yoga, and hatha yoga.
The Sanskrit word yoga has the literal meaning of "yoke", from a root yuj meaning to join, to unite, or to attach. As a term for a system of abstract meditation or mental abstraction it was introduced by Patañjali in the 2nd century BC. Someone who practices yoga or follows the yoga philosophy with a high level of commitment is called a yogi or yogini.
The goals of yoga are varied and range from improving health to achieving मोक्ष. Within the Hindu monist schools of Advaita Vedanta, Shaivism and Jainism, the goal of yoga takes the form of moksha, which is liberation from all worldly suffering and the cycle of birth and death (samsara), at which point there is a realization of identity with the Supreme Brahman. In the Mahabharata, the goal of yoga is variously described as entering the world of Brahma, as Brahman, or as perceiving the Brahman or Ātman that pervades all things. For the bhakti schools of Vaishnavism, bhakti or service to Svayam Bhagavan itself may be the ultimate goal of the yoga process, where the goal is to enjoy an eternal relationship with Vishnu.
Terminology
The
Sanskrit word yoga has the literal meaning of "yoke", or "the act of
yoking or harnessing", from a root yuj. A serious practitioner of Yoga
(someone pursuing the higher spiritual and religious goals of Yoga)
takes upon themselves a life of austere self-discipline common to nearly
all forms of mystical and religious life. The practices that constitute
this self-disciplined life are called in yoga yama and niyama. This
self-discipline is the 'yoke' that one puts upon oneself for the purpose
of attaining moksha. An alternative definition is that Yoga is the
method of yoking, or unifying, the “lower” (egoistic) personality (those
inclinations that in Hellenistic philosophy and Christianity are called
passions) to the “higher” via a process of sublimation. In Vedic
Sanskrit, the term "yoga" besides its literal meaning, the yoking or
harnessing of oxen or horses, already has a figurative sense, where it
takes the general meaning of "employment, use, application, performance"
(compare the figurative uses of "to harness" as in "to put something to
some use"). All further developments of the sense of this word are
post-Vedic. A sense of "exertion, endeavour, zeal, diligence" is found
in Epic Sanskrit. The more technical sense of the term "yoga",
describing a system of meditation or contemplation with the aim of the
cessation of mental activity and the attaining of a "supreme state"
arises with early Buddhism (5th century BC), and is adopted in Vedanta
philosophy by the 4th century BC.There are a great many compounds containing yog in Sanskrit, many of them unrelated to the technical or spiritual sense the word has taken in Vedanta. Yoga in these words takes meanings such as "union, connection, contact", or "method, application, performance", etc. For example, guṇá-yoga means "contact with a cord"; cakrá-yoga has a medical sense of "applying a splint or similar instrument by means of pulleys (in case of dislocation of the thigh)"; candrá-yoga has the astronomical sense of "conjunction of the moon with a constellation"; puṃ-yoga is a grammatical term expressing "connection or relation with a man", etc.
Many such compounds are also found in the wider field of religion. Thus, bhakti-yoga means "devoted attachment" in the monotheistic Bhakti movement. The term kriyā-yoga has a grammatical sense, meaning "connection with a verb". But the same compound is also given a technical meaning in the Yoga Sutras (2.1), designating the "practical" aspects of the philosophy, i.e. the "union with the Supreme" due to performance of duties in everyday life.
Before पतंजलि
Prehistory
Several seals discovered at Indus Valley Civilization sites, dating to the mid 3rd millennium BC, depict figures in positions resembling a common yoga or meditation pose, showing "a form of ritual discipline, suggesting a precursor of yoga," according to archaeologist Gregory Possehl.Some type of connection between the Indus Valley seals and later yoga and meditation practices is speculated upon by many scholars, though there is no conclusive evidence.
Techniques for experiencing higher states of consciousness in meditation were developed by the shramanic traditions and in the Upanishadic tradition. While there is no clear evidence for meditation in pre-Buddhist early Brahminic texts, there is a view that formless meditation might have originated in the Brahminic tradition. This is based on strong parallels between Upanishadic cosmological statements and the meditative goals of the two teachers of the Buddha as recorded in early Buddhist texts. As well as some less likely possibilities, the view put forward is that cosmological statements in the Upanishads reflect a contemplative tradition, and it is concluded that the Nasadiya Sukta contains evidence for a contemplative tradition, even as early as the late Rg Vedic period.
The Vedic Samhitas contain references to ascetics, while ascetic practices ("tapas") are referenced in the Brāhmaṇas (900 to 500 BCE), early commentaries on the Vedas.
Upanishadic and Early Buddhist era
The Buddha depicted in yogic meditation, Kamakura, Japan.
The more technical linguistic sense of the term "yoga", describing a system of meditation or contemplation with the aim of the cessation of mental activity and the attaining of a "supreme state" arises with early Buddhism. In Hindu scripture, this sense of the term "yoga" first appears in the middle Upanishads, such as the Katha Upanishad (ca. 400 BCE). Shvetashvatara Upanishad mentions, "When earth, water, fire, air and akasa arise, when the five attributes of the elements, mentioned in the books on yoga, become manifest then the yogi's body becomes purified by the fire of yoga and he is free from illness, old age and death." (Verse 2.12). More importantly in the following verse (2.13) it mentions, the "precursors of perfection in yoga", namely lightness and healthiness of the body, absence of desire, clear complexion, pleasantness of voice, sweet odour and slight excretions.
The early Buddhist texts describe meditative practices and states that existed before the Buddha, as well as those first developed within Buddhism. One key innovative teaching of the Buddha was that meditative absorption must be combined with liberating cognition. Meditative states alone are not an end, for according to the Buddha, even the highest meditative state is not liberating. Instead of attaining a complete cessation of thought, some sort of mental activity must take place: a liberating cognition, based on the practice of mindful awareness. The Buddha also departed from earlier yogic thought in discarding the early Brahminic notion of liberation at death. Liberation for the Brahminic yogin was thought to be the realization at death of a nondual meditative state anticipated in life. In fact, old Brahminic metaphors for the liberation at death of the yogic adept ("becoming cool," "going out") were given a new meaning by the Buddha; their point of reference became the sage who is liberated in life.
Many of the Yogic practices that came in later ages synthesized the multiple approaches seen in this era, incorporating elements from Jainism and Buddhism into the Hindu Samkhya philosophy.
Indian Antiquity
Classical Yoga as a system of contemplation with the aim of uniting the human spirit with Ishvara, the "Supreme Being" developed in early Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism during Indian Antiquity, between the Mauryan and the Gupta era (roughly the 2nd century BCE to the 5th century CE).
Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
In Hindu philosophy, Yoga is the name of one of the six orthodox philosophical schools founded by Patanjali with heavy Buddhist influence. This school accepts the Samkhya psychology and metaphysics, but is more theistic than the Samkhya, as evidenced by the addition of a divine entity to the Samkhya's twenty-five elements of reality. The parallels between Yoga and Samkhya were so close that Max Müller says that "the two philosophies were in popular parlance distinguished from each other as Samkhya with and Samkhya without a Lord...." The intimate relationship between Samkhya and Yoga is explained by Heinrich Zimmer:
These two are regarded in India as twins, the two aspects of a single discipline. Sāṅkhya provides a basic theoretical exposition of human nature, enumerating and defining its elements, analyzing their manner of co-operation in a state of bondage ("bandha"), and describing their state of disentanglement or separation in release ("mokṣa"), while Yoga treats specifically of the dynamics of the process for the disentanglement, and outlines practical techniques for the gaining of release, or "isolation-integration" ("kaivalya").
Patanjali is widely regarded as the compiler of the formal Yoga philosophy. Patanjali's yoga is known as Raja yoga, which is a system for control of the mind. Patanjali defines the word "yoga" in his second sutra, which is the definitional sutra for his entire work:
These two are regarded in India as twins, the two aspects of a single discipline. Sāṅkhya provides a basic theoretical exposition of human nature, enumerating and defining its elements, analyzing their manner of co-operation in a state of bondage ("bandha"), and describing their state of disentanglement or separation in release ("mokṣa"), while Yoga treats specifically of the dynamics of the process for the disentanglement, and outlines practical techniques for the gaining of release, or "isolation-integration" ("kaivalya").
Patanjali is widely regarded as the compiler of the formal Yoga philosophy. Patanjali's yoga is known as Raja yoga, which is a system for control of the mind. Patanjali defines the word "yoga" in his second sutra, which is the definitional sutra for his entire work:
योग: चित्त-वृत्ति निरोध:
(yogaś citta-vṛtti-nirodhaḥ)
- Yoga Sutras 1.2
GYAN YOGA
No comments:
Post a Comment