Application or concentration of thoughts abstract meditation, the act of joining or harnessing.
Yoga is defined as that state of mind in which the individual soul (atman) unites with Brahman, the cosmic soul. The purpose of yoga is the joining of mind and body in order to achieve perfect unity, leading to moksha, the final concentration of the spirit and its 'escape' from the cosmos.
 |
The system of yoga, as now known, is attributed to Patanjali whose Yogasutra (5th century AD) is still the final authority on the subject even though later commentaries by Veda Vyasa and many others have been written on it.
Today, the yoga system of training is intellectual as well as moral. Before beginning training, these 10 virtues are to be cultivated within oneself:
1. Non-violence (ahinsa); 2. Speaking the truth (satya); 3. Not stealing (assteya); 4. celibacy (brahmacharya); 5. Disowning Pranayam.Yoga possessions (aparigraha); 6. purity (sucha); 7. contentment (santosha); 8. fortitude (tapas); 9. study (svadhya); 10. Devotion to god (Ishwar-pranidhan).
After practicing self-control as defined above, the student is ready for the first of the two stages of yogic training. The preparatory stage consists of asana (posture), pranayama (breath control) and pratyahara (withdrawal of senses from their object). The second stage comprises of dharana (establishment), dhyana (concentration) and samadhi (profound meditation).
Asana, or sitting down in a particular pose (there are 84 poses enumerated), is the beginning of yogic studies. The five most important postures are Padmasana, Bhadrasana, Vajrasana, Virasana and Svastikasana. These poses, most of that need training to achieve, are basis on which a person can practice meditation. Apart from their spiritual value these postures help in treating or curing many ailments. Pranayama, or the act of stretching the breath and bringing it to its original rhythm, consists of puraka (filling of the body with air), kumbhaka (holding it) and rechaka (releasing the breath). The effect of pranayama is improved health and freedom from disease. Its purpose is peace, pacification, enlightenment and tranquillity.
Pratyahara is detachment from worldly objects. It is a state of mind in which a person is unmoved by feelings of either sorrow or joy. The next stage involves dharana, or establishing a stable state of mind by concentrating and retaining breath for long intervals; dhyana, or deep and abstract concentration; and then samadhi, which means contemplating an object so intensely that one loses all sense of self and can finally achieve the status of a true yogi. Samadhi has two sub-stages, sampragyata and asampragyata. A yogi who attains asampragyata samadhi dissolves at death into natural elements and is not reborn (see also Moksha).
Apart from Patanjali's system, yoga also adopted other means like incantation and magic
to achieve its aim. The most important of these are 
Hatha: a technique employed by traditional dancers, which results in extraordinary mind-and-body co-ordination.
Mantra: the muttering of Mantras in meditation.
Laya: reintegration of the mind with the cosmic soul by the practice of breath control.
Bhakti: reintegration through love and unswerving devotion to a chosen deity.
Jnana (gyana): reintegration through knowledge.
Karma: reintegration through action, or doing one's duty and fulfilling one's obligations as a human being to the best of one's ability.
Raja: when the yogi loses all sense of self and mental agitation is stilled. This is the highest form of yoga.
Training in yoga is a very elaborate process. It involves the practicing of various postures (which take the major part of the day), controlling the breath in a prescribed way, concentration on a deity (sagun) or on infinity (nirgun).
Yoga also involves a controlled diet. Various texts prescribe the ideal food for yogis: barley, gruel, milk, buttermilk, fruit, roots, and grain, oil cakes and barley water. In addition to strict dietary control, many yogis subject themselves to endurance tests. It is a very common practice among yogis to bury themselves or stay in water for days on end. There are also yogis who are known to have stood on one foot for several years. Such a strenuous system of training helps an ordinary person achieve a balanced mind and body and encourages spiritual growth.
The physical and psychological benefits of yoga have made it acceptable not only to Hindus but to Jains and Buddhists. The powers that a true yogi possesses are Yoga tremendous. He can become invisible at will, can stay suspended in mid-air, can dart through space with the speed of light, can still the heartbeat for sometime and can perform many other acts that seem miraculous. All this can happen only through excellent control over the nervous system.
While true yogis aim for the liberation of the soul, others practice yoga to attain peace or simply to improve their general health. There are many yogic centres in India to teach such lay students, while advanced spiritual seekers need to find and be accepted by a proper guru. Yoga and its origin are believed to date back to pre-Aryan times.
