Bhagavad Gita and the Roots of Yoga

The Bhagavad Gita famously distinguishes several types of “yoga”, corresponding to the duties of different nature of people. Capturing the essence and at the same time going into detail about the various Yogas and their philosophies, it constantly refers to itself as such, the “Scripture of Yoga” (see the final verses of each chapter). The book is thought to have been written some time between the 5th and the 2nd century BC. In it, Krishna describes the following yogas:

(1) Karma yoga, the yoga of “action” in the world.

(2) Jnana yoga, the yoga of knowledge and intellectual endeavour.

(3) Bhakti yoga, the yoga of devotion to a deity.

(4) Raja yoga, the yoga of meditation

Patanjali

Perhaps the classic description of yoga is the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, which form the basis not only of the darshana called “yoga”–one of six such “orthodox” (i.e. Veda-accepting) schools of Hindu philosophy–but also of the practice of yoga in most ashrams (to the extent these can be distinguished). The school (dharshana) of Indian philosophy known as “yoga” is primarily Upanishadic with roots in Samkhya, and some scholars see some influence from Buddhism. The Yoga philosophy fully believes in the epistemology of the Samkhya school, as well as its concept of the individual spirits (Purusha) and the Nature (Prakriti)—but differs from Samkhya’s atheism.

Patanjali in the Yoga Sutras presents the goal of yoga as ‘the cessation of mental fluctuations’ (cittavrtti nirodha), an achievement which gives rise to the possibility of stable meditation and thus deeper states of absorption (dhyana or samadhi). This requires considerable restraint (yama) and self-discipline (niyama; see below for Patanjali’s eight limbs of yoga)). Patanjali’s yoga is sometimes called Raja Yoga (Skt: “Royal yoga”) or “Ashtanga Yoga” (”Eight-Limbed Yoga”), in order to distinguish it from Hatha yoga. It is held as authoritative by all schools. Patanjali is also known for writing commentaries (Mahabhashya) on the Sutras of the great Sanskrit grammarian Panini. In fact, Panini, Patanjali and Kātyāyana are regarded are the highest authority not only in Sanskrit but also in the whole of Linguistics.

Patanjali’s text sets forth eight “limbs” of yoga practice. Interestingly, only one of them involves physical postures (and these mainly involve seated positions). The eight are:

(1) Yama (The five “abstentions”): violence, lying, theft, (illicit-) sex, and possessions

(2) Niyama (The five “observances”): purity, contentment, austerities, study, and surrender to god

(3) Asana: This term literally means “seat,” and originally referred mainly to seated positions. With the rise of Hatha yoga, it came to be used of these yoga “postures” as well.

(4) Pranayama: Control of prāna or vital breath

(5) Pratyahara (”Abstraction”): Reversal of the sense organs ( “That by which the senses do not come into contact with their objects and, as it were, follow the nature of the mind.” — Vyasa)

(6) Dharana (”Concentration”): Fixing the attention on a single object

(7) Dhyana (”Meditation”)

(8) Samadhi: Super-conscious state or trance (state of liberation)

Hatha Yoga

Over the last century the term yoga has come to be especially associated with the postures (Sanskrit āsanas) of hatha yoga (”Forced Yoga”). Hatha yoga has gained wide popularity outside of India and traditional yoga-practising religions, and the postures are sometimes presented as entirely secular or non-spiritual in nature.

Traditional Hatha Yoga is a complete yogic path, including moral disciplines, physical exercises (e.g., postures and breath control), and meditation – and encompasses far more than the yoga of postures and exercises practiced in the West as a physical culture. The seminal work on Hatha Yoga is the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, written by Swami Svatmarama.

Hatha Yoga was invented to provide a form of physical purification and training that would prepare aspirants for the higher training that is called Raja Yoga. This is still true today. Despite this, many in the West practice ‘Hatha yoga’ solely for the perceived health benefits it provides, and not as a path to enlightenment.

Natya Yoga

The guide to Natya (Dance) Yoga was written by Bharata Muni. Sage Narada along with Gandharvas were the first to practise Natya Yoga, which comprise all the four main yoga’s. Natya Yoga was practised by the medieval devadasis, and is currently taught in a few orthodox schools of Bharatanatyam and Odissi.

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• Yoga Themes
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• The Origins and Definition of Yoga
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• An Overview of Tai Chi Chuan

Tags: asana, Bhagavad Gita, bharata muni, dharana, dhyana, hatha yoga, natya yoga, niyama, pratyahara, prenayama, samadhi, yama

This entry was posted on Monday, December 1st, 2008 at 10:24 pm and is filed under Yoga. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.