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For many people today, '''yoga''' is an Indian-derived form of physical exercise--based on the famous postures--which may or may not include a spiritual component. In this form yoga has spread all over the world, in ever-increasing variety.
For many people today, '''yoga''' is an Indian-derived form of physical exercise--based on the familiar postures--which may or may not include a spiritual component. In this form, yoga has spread all over the world, in ever-increasing variety.


More fundamentally, "yoga" refers to a family of voluntary spiritual practices, together with their attendant texts and teacher-student lineages, aimed at release from the cycle of reincarnation (''samsara''). This liberation is given various Sanskrit names:
More fundamentally, "yoga" refers to a family of voluntary spiritual practices, together with their attendant texts and teacher-student lineages, aimed at ''nirvana'' (the "snuffing out" of egoism and delusion). Its underlying assumption is that by stilling or concentrating the mind, the yoga practitioner can


:*''moksha'' ("liberation")
"Yoga" in this sense is practiced within the religions of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism; and encompasses theistic as well as nontheistic forms.
:*''mukti'' ("release," i.e. from bondage)
:*''kaivalya'' ("aloneness")
:*''samadhi'' ("equipoise")
:*''nirvana'' ("extinction" or "snuffing out," as with a candle, of egoism and delusion. Chiefly Buddhist, however cf. ''Bhagavadgita'' 2:72)
 
 
Its underlying assumption is that by stilling or concentrating the mind, the yoga practitioner can
 
"Yoga" in this sense is practiced within the religions of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism; and encompasses theistic as well as nontheistic forms.
 
In Indian philosophy, "Yoga" is the name of one of the six "orthodox" (i.e., Veda-affirming) schools, while "Yogacara" ("Yoga Practitioners") is an important school of thought within Mahayana Buddhism.


===The name===
===The name===


From Sanskrit ''yoga'' (योग) meaning "union." Derived from ''yugam'', a cognate of the modern English "yoke" (via Latin ''iugum'').  Its Proto-Indo-European forbear is speculated to be ''*yugom'', from the root ''*yeug''- (Sanskrit ''yuj-'') meaning "to join" or "unite".
(Sanskrit योग)
 
The term is attested since the [[Rigveda]] in the sense of "act of yoking, joining, attaching, harnessing" but also "undertaking, business, performance". A mental sense of "exertion, zeal, diligence" is attested since the [[Mahabharata]], and the spiritual or mystical sense of
"abstract contemplation, meditation" likewise appears in the Mahabharata as well as in the [[Upanishad]]s.
 
A practioner of yoga is called a "yogin" (masculine), "yogini" (feminine), or most commonly, a "yogi" (unisex). In this form it has become the nickname of Lawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra, the celebrated baseball player for the New York Yankees; who in turn inspired the name of cartoon character Yogi Bear.
 
===Origins===
 
A soapstone [http://www.indiana.edu/~isp/cd_rom/images/harappa/shiva_33.htm seal] from the Indus Valley archeological site of Mohenjo-Daro depicts a horned figure (or, a figure wearing a headdress) surrounded by four animals, and seated on a throne in what may be interpreted as a yogic or meditative position. (The soles of his feet are pressed together.) The figure is often identified with Shiva, perhaps in his role as Pashupati ("Lord of Animals").
 
Several Vedic references
 
 


==Yoga in Hinduism==
==Yoga in Hinduism==
===Vedas===
The word "yoga" is found in the ''Rg Veda'' [t.k.], mentions "yoga" as a kind of discipline.
The fifteenth book of the''Atharva Veda'', the ''Vratya Kanda'', connects it with ''pranayama'' (breath control), for the purpose of improving the musical quality of hymns sung to Rudra.
===Upanisads===
The ''Maitrayaniya Upanisad'' (2nd or 3rd century BC) defines yoga as "The oneness of the breath and mind, and likewise of the senses, and the relinquishment of all conditions of existence" for the purpose of uniting Brahman with Atman. It presents a sixfold path including
:(1) ''pranayama'' ("breath control")
:(2) ''pratyahara'' ("withdrawal of the senses from objects")
:(3) ''dhyana'' ("meditation")
:(4) ''dharama'' ("concentration")
:(5) ''tarka'' ("contemplation")
:(6) ''samadhi'' ("absorption")
Note the similarity to Patanjali's ''Yogasutras''.


===The Bhagavadgita===
===The Bhagavadgita===
The ''Bhagavadgita'' (''Song of the Lord'') is a Vaisnava treatise composed around the time of Christ, or perhaps a century or so before, and incorporated into the text of the epic poem ''Mahabharata''. Its format is that of a series of dialogues between the god Krishna, and the hero Arjuna.
Although his cause is just, Arjuna is reluctant to enter into battle against his relatives and teachers, and asks Krishna whether it would not be preferable to simply abandon the fight. Krishna's answer takes the form of a lengthy (seventeen out of a total eighteen chapters) discourse. His answer is that Arjuna (being a ''kshatriya'', or member of the warrior class) has a duty to fight, but should remain unattached to the "fruits" of his action, devoting these to Krishna. In the process, several "yogas" are distinguished:
*''Karmayoga'' (the yoga of "action" in the world)
*''Jnanayoga'' (the yoga of study and the pursuit of wisdom)
*''Bhaktiyoga'' (the yoga of religious devotion)
Other yogas are sometimes identified in the ''Gita'' as well.
The question of which yoga the ''Gita'' intends to recommend is a major question occupying Hindu philosophers. Sankara is the most prominent philosophical exponent of ''jnanayoga''; Ramanuja, of ''bhaktiyoga''; and M.K. Gandhi, of ''karmayoga''. A number of commentators see the three as harmonious; an example would be the "integral yoga" (''purnayoga'') of Sri Aurobindo.


===The Yogasutras of Patanjali===
===The Yogasutras of Patanjali===
Patanjali's yoga is sometimes called Raja Yoga ("royal yoga") by way of distinction. The Yogasutras are divided into four books (Sanskrit ''pada''), containing in all 195 aphorisms (sutras), divided as follows:


'''I. Samadhi Pada''' (51 sutras)
===The Hathayoga Pradipika===
 
Samadhi refers to a blissful state where the yogi is absorbed into the One. The author describes yoga and then the means to attaining samadhi. This chapter contains the most famous verses: "Atha yoga anusasanam" ("Yoga begins with discipline") and "Yogas citta vritti nirodha" ("Yoga is control of citta vrittis" - i.e., thoughts and feelings).
 
'''II. Sadhana Pada''' (55 sutras)


''Sadhana'' is the Sanskrit word for "practice". Here the author outlines two forms of Yoga: ''kriya yoga'' (action yoga) and ''ashtanga yoga'' (eightfold yoga).


''Kriya yoga'', sometimes called ''karma yoga'', is reflected in the philosophy of the ''[[Bhagavad Gita]], Chapter 3'', where ''Arjuna'' is encouraged to act without attachment to the results of action. It is the yoga of selfless action or as some have observed, of service.
''Ashtanga'' ("eight-limbed") yoga consists of the following aspects:
1. *The five ''yama'' (abstentions; the word means "restraint"). These are also found in Jainism; Buddhism has a similarly-conceived list.
:(1) ''Ahimsa'' (abstention from violence, ''himsa'')
:(2) ''Satya''  ("truth", abstention from lying)
:(3) ''Asteya'' (abstention from theft)
:(4) ''Brahmacharya'' (abstention from sexual activity)
:(5) ''Aparigraha'' (abstention from possessions)
2. The five ''niyama'' ("observances"):
:(1) ''Shaucha'' ("{purity")
:(2) ''Santosha'' ("contentment")
:(3) ''Tapas'' ("heat", i.e., austerities, self-mortification)
:(4) ''Svadhyaya'' ("self-contemplation")
:(5) ''Ishvarapranidhana'' "surrender to the Creator")
3. ''Asana'' ("seat"). The term which is now generally translated as "physical postures" originally referring to ''seated'' postures.
4. ''Pranayama'' (control of ''prana'', the  vital breath or "life force")
5. ''Pratyahara'' ("withdrawal" of the mind from the senses, or the senses from objects)
6. ''Dharana'' (concentration, i.e., fixing the attention on a single object)
7. ''Dhyana'' (meditation)
8. ''Samadhi'' (equipoise)
'''III. Vibhuti Pada''' (55 sutras)
Vibhuti is the Sanskrit word for "power" or "manifestation". This book describes the higher states of awareness and the techniques of yoga to attain them.
'''IV. Kaivalya Pada''' (34 sutras)
===The Hathayoga Pradipika===


==Yoga in Buddhism==
==Yoga in Buddhism==
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==Yoga as exercise==
==Yoga as exercise==
In 1893, Swami Vivekananda spoke before the World Parliament of Religions, mentioning the need for a "Raja Yoga" (i.e. a more spiritual or universalistic) approach to religion. While Vivekananda's allegiance lay with Vedanta, Western interest in yoga soon grew.
By the twentieth century, a new (and arguably nationalistic) emphasis on sport and "fitness" led to hatha yoga being understood in these terms, both in India and in Western countries. Yogis were made objects of scientific research which showed them to be able to, inter alia, regulate supposedly involuntary activities such as heart-rate, blood pressure, or body temperature.
B.K.S. Iyengar
Sri Yogendra
Swami Kuvalayananda
Globalization affected yoga by
==Yoga as healing==
==References==
Alter, Joseph S. ''Yoga in Modern India: The Body Between Science and Philosophy.'' Princeton UP, 2004.
Feuerstein, Georg.
Love, Robert. [http://cjr.org/issues/2006/6/Love.asp "Fear of Yoga."] Originally published in ''Columbia Journalism Review'' (Issue 6, Nov/Dec 2006).
Sparrowe, Linda. [http://www.yogajournal.com/history/ "The History of Yoga."] Exerpt from ''Yoga: A Yoga Journal Book''

Revision as of 04:10, 14 February 2007

For many people today, yoga is an Indian-derived form of physical exercise--based on the familiar postures--which may or may not include a spiritual component. In this form, yoga has spread all over the world, in ever-increasing variety.

More fundamentally, "yoga" refers to a family of voluntary spiritual practices, together with their attendant texts and teacher-student lineages, aimed at nirvana (the "snuffing out" of egoism and delusion). Its underlying assumption is that by stilling or concentrating the mind, the yoga practitioner can

"Yoga" in this sense is practiced within the religions of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism; and encompasses theistic as well as nontheistic forms.

The name

(Sanskrit योग)

Yoga in Hinduism

The Bhagavadgita

The Yogasutras of Patanjali

The Hathayoga Pradipika

Yoga in Buddhism

Yoga in Jainism

Yoga as exercise

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