Yoga Sutra

The earliest written account of Yoga appears in Rig Veda, which began to be codified between 1,500 and 1,200 BC.  The first full description of the principles and goals of Yoga are found in Upanisads between 8 to 4 centuries BC. 

With the advent of Upanisads, the practices of offering sacrifices and ceremonies to appease Gods gave way to understanding that man, by means of inner sacrifice, can become one with Supreme Being, through moral culture, restraint and training of mind.

Around 2nd century, Sage Patanjali compiled the first text of Yoga Sutra.  Sage Patanjali compiled and presented Yoga in its entirety providing complete guide on practices and methods of Yoga for physical, mental and spiritual gains. 

It is believed when people began to drift away from spiritual path, the Shesh Nag, the serpent king, was incarnated as Patanjali to put together the ancient wisdom on Yoga in writing in the form of Yoga Sutra.  Patanjali complied and put all the ancient wisdoms on Yoga practices into writing.  Prior to it the knowledge was passed down orally through the unbroken of chain teacher-disciple tradition. 

According to Patanjali, Yoga means union; the union of Atma -the individual soul with Param Atma -the universal soul.  Yoga is means to train body, mind and soul to attain a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquillity. 

The goal of Yoga is to still the fluctuation of mind, and rest in our true nature, while the ultimate goal of it is to attain spiritual realisation, the enlightenment.

Patanjali says the knowledge gained of the object concentrated upon through Yoga is utterly real as everything within the conscious mind totally vanishes except the object concentrated upon.  The transformation from illusory perception of the physical world to the creation of utterly real world within oneself has pragmatic implications to our being. 

Patanjali synthesized the whole spectrum of Yoga and presented in the form of the Astanga Yoga -Eightfolds Yoga, which has eight sequential steps.  The eightfold or eight steps are called the eight limbs of Yoga of which the first two are moral codes, the qualities we need to progress further.

1...Yama               Code of conduct and ethics, and self restraints

2...Niyama            Devotion, commitment, respect and adherence

3...Asana              Fitness of body and mind

4...Pranayama      Integration of mind and body by concentrating on inflow and out flow of breath 

5...Pratyahara       Withdrawal of senses from their objects of attraction

6...Dharana          Concentration with one-pointedness of mind

7...Dhyana           Absorption into contemplative meditation

8...Samadhi         Super conscious state of being filled with divine awareness

1...Yama

Yama includes practices for self restraining and self-control.  It provides guidelines as how we interact with the outer world. 

Yama, as social disciplines, guides us in our relationships with others.  It consists of social codes of conduct and ethics. 

The essential Yamas are:

i..     Satya:                  Truthfulness

ii..    Ahimsa:               Non-violence

iii..   Dana:                  Generosity

iv..    Ksama:                Pardon / not to be revengeful

v..     Akrodha:             Absence of anger

vi..    Anasuya:             Absence of envy and ill-will

vii..   Asteya:                Not stealing/ not taking what is not earned

viii..  Sthirta:                Being firm on what is right and true

ix..    Brahmacharya:   Celibacy/ abstention from indulgence in illicit sex and intoxication

x..     Aprarigraha:        Renunciation of selfish desire, greed and attachment

2...Niyama

Niyama is all about self-regulation that enables us to have positive environment in which we grow.  Niyamas provide ways as how we interact with ourselves, our inner world and with others, and harness the energy being generated for harmony and mutual prosperity. 

The important Niyamas are:

i..       Shaucham:           Purity of mind and heart

ii..      Santosha:             Contentment; mental satisfaction within the scope of one’s                                       endowment

iii..     Shraddha:             Devotion; dedication of one’s actions for the greatest goods

(iv)..   Swadhaya:            Self learning; inner exploration, practices that helps us to                                          experience the interwoven fabric of reality

v..      Daya:                    Loving kindness and compassion; Practicing wholesome and                                   virtuous actions

vi..     Tapa:                    Austerity; training of senses and being self  disciplined

vii..    Vrata:                   Sacred vows; fulfilling the spiritual  commitment

viii..   Havan Yagya:        Renunciation; being free from anxiety for the fruits of one’s                                    action

3...Asana

Yoga Asana is the physical aspect of Yoga.  It is about developing and maintaining physical health such that we are able to pursue spiritual development.  The physical development of the body is necessary to endure the entire process through to enlightenment. 

The Yama and Niyama are the moral grounds, while Asana is about toning up the body readying for spiritual wellbeing. 

It is incorrect to think that practicing Asanas will make us a better human being.  If Asana is practiced independent of other steps of Yoga, it becomes merely the physical exercise. 

There are numerous sitting postures for meditation alone.  The prominent ones are Padma-Asana, Vajra-Asana, Swastika-Asana, Peetha-Asana, Sarvatobhadra-Asana, Bhowma-Asana, Shaila-Asana and etc.. 

4...Pranayama

Pranayama means to regulate breathing.  It is an off shoot of Asana. 

Pranayama specifically generates inner psycho-physical energy through the medium of regulating the breath. 

Pranayama is not simply breathing exercise for gainful health but equally for awakening the inner psycho-physical energy. 

Pranayama shields from distractions by facilitating Dharana -concentration and Dhyana -meditation.

5...Pratyahara

Pratyahara means to restraint.  The sense organs are trained firstly not to have their own perceptions and secondly on withdrawal or non-response of senses to their object, while the communication between the senses and mind is intact. 

In practicing Pratyahara, the mind is informed of the senses receiving the signals from their objects but the mind is not sending signal to the senses for responding to its object.  The mind simply becomes aware and that awareness originates from our inner consciousness which is deep within ourselves. 

With Pratyahara, we are able to awaken our inner consciousness and regulate the interactions between mind, senses and sense objects.

Pratyahara enables us to focus on the purity and power of our inner consciousness -the supreme power, and establish a cosmic link. 

6...Dharana

Dharana means stilling the mind by concentrating with one-pointedness of mind, holding the mind on to a particular object of concentration. 

By continuous concentration for long period of time, with love and devotion for the end to be attained, the mind becomes firmly grounded on the object of concentration.   

7...Dhyana

Dhyan generally means meditation.  It is the state of unbroken flow of thoughts into the subject or object of concentration. 

In practicing Dhyana, not only the mind, which is the outer consciousness, is fixed but also the inner consciousness is in the mode of contemplation on the object concentration. 

Dhyana encompass both concentration and contemplation on an object leading to a state when the object of concentration fills the whole of one’s attention.

8...Samadhi

Samadhi means enlightened existence living in bliss.  In Samadhi, the whole personality is dissolved in the awareness of the object that is focussed on.  According to Patanjali, Smadhi means mystical absorption.  At Samadhi, Param-Atma is realised in one’s heart. 

A Yogi in Samadhi neither hears nor sees nor reacts to any situation except the one to which the Yogi is focussing on.   Such a state is not death but death-like since that trance could be retrieved.  At that state the Yogi, with his inner vision, is able to realise Param-Atma in his heart which is ever lasting, pure, dazzling and complete. 

At the state of Samadhi the Atma –individual self, the Jeev Atma is completely merged with Param Atma, the universal self.  At that state the pure consciousness, the nothingness of self, the self-awareness without the self and self illumination without the self is realised, and the Yogi becomes aware or conscious of the one and only reality, the Brahmn. 

At Samadhi one becomes aware that this world is nothing but Maya –illusion.  The Atma -the individual self, to which we cling on to, thinking that it is real and permanent is Maya.  Thinking what is not real as real is Avidhya –ignorance, which can be overcome with Vidhya –knowledge that Brahmn -the universal self alone is real. 

The self illumination at Samadhi leads to immersion with the divine, losing the separate self by identifying with the infinite divine, the individual realises his true nature; Tat Tvam Asi –the true nature is the divine nature. 

The Atma -the individual self has the scope to merge itself with the absolute, the universal self, by which it loose its self-identity, but its true identity exists precisely in becoming one with the absolute.  This realization, the bliss without form, takes place at Samadhi.