THE BHAGAVAT GITA SAYS ABOUT YOGA!
ANCIENT TIMES OF YOGA
LET'S MOVE TO THE EARLIEST REFERENCE TO YOGA IN THE ANCIENT TEACHINGS. THE FIRST REFERENCE TO YOGA IN THE UPANISHADS, THE BRAHMANICAL TEXTS, OCCURS IN THE KATHA UPANISHAD.
KATHA UPANISHAD : RESTRAINT OF THE SENSES - WHEN THE FIVE SENSES (INTRUMENTS OF KNOWLEDGE) AND THE MIND REMAIN STILL, NOT ACTIVE, IT IS KNOWN AS THE HIGHEST STATE. YOGA IS CONSIDERED AS THE RESTRAINT OF THE SENSES. THEN ONE IS UNDISTRACTED, FOR YOGA IS THE RISING AND THE PASSING AWAY.
THEN THE BHAGAVAD GITA :
TRANQUILLITY AND SKILLED ACTION:
- PERFORM ACTIONS ESTABLISHED IN YOGA. GIVE UP ATTACHMENT, ARJUNA. TREAT SUCCESS AND FAILURE AS EQUAL. YOGA IS EQUANIMITY.
- YOGA IS TO BE SKILLED IN ACTION.
- YOGA IS SEPARATION FROM CONTACT WITH SUFFERING.
- THE YOGA IS SUPERIOR TO THE ASCETICS, SUPERIOR TO THOSE WHO HAVE THE KNOWLEDGE, EVEN TO THE RITUALISTS, BE A YOGA ARJUNA.
THE MAHABHARATA SAYS :
THERE IS NO POWER EQUAL TO YOGA.
NO KNOWLEDGE EQUAL TO SANKHYA.
THEN THERE ARE A NUMBER OF YOGACHARA TEXTS OF THE BUDDISTS. THE YOGACARABHUMI-SASTRA IS ONE AMONG MANY TEXTS THAT DEAL WITH YOGA. THERE IS ALSO A BODY OF SRAMANA LITERATURE LINKED TO THE ANCIENT JAINA SCHOOL OF THOUGHT THAT ELABORATES ON YOGIC PRACTICES. THE YOGACHARA SCHOOL, IT SHOULD BE NOTED, PRE-DATES PATANJALI'S YOGA SUTRAS. THE CLASSIC DEFINITION OF YOGA IN THE YOGA SUTRA IS :
YOGA IS THE STOPPING OF THE DISTRACTION OF THE MIND. IT COULD ALSO BE TRANSLATED AS THE SUPPRESSION OF THE ACTIVITIES OF THE MIND. THERE ARE SEVERAL OTHER TEXTS ON YOGA, MOST OF THEM WRITTEN AFTER PATANJALI YOGA SUTRAS.WE DO NOT NEED TO GO INTO THEM AT THE MOMENT AND WILL BRING THEM IN WHEN APPROPRIATE, AS WE PROCEED.
THERE IS A FAIR AMOUNT OF CONTROVERSY SURROUNDING THE DATES OF THESE TEXTS, HOWEVER, IT IS NOT RELEVANT TO THE DISCUSSION. BEFORE ENDING THIS CHAPTER, HERE IS A QUOTATION FROM THE BHAGAVAD GITA, WHICH ENDORES MY VIEW THAT THE YOGA DARSHANA IS BY AND LARGE, NOT VERY DIFFERENT FROM THE SANKHYA DARSHANA, THOUGH YOGA LAYS MORE STRESS ON PRACTICE.
THE FOOLISH DECLARE THAT SANKHYA AND YOGA ARE SEPERATE. NOT THE WISE. HE WHO PERFORMS EVEN OF THEM CORRECTLY OBTAINS THE FRUIT OF BOTH. THE STATE ATTAINED BY THE SANKHYAS IS ALSO ATTAINED BY THE YOGIS. SANKHYA AND YOGA ARE ONE. WHO KNOWS THIS TRULY KNOWS - THE BHAGAVAD GITA.
- SAMADHI PADA : THE STUDY OF THE SUPERCONSCIOUS STATE.
- SADHANA PADA : THE ACTUAL PRACTICE.
- VIBHUTI PADA : THE EXTRAORDINARY ATTAINMENTS ACHIEVED BY THE PRACTICE.
- KAIVALYA PADA : THE ULTIMATE FREEDOM REALISED BY THE PRACTITIONER ON ATTAINING THE HIGHEST GOAL - THE POWER OF EXTRAORDINARY AWARENESS AND FREEDOM FROM CONDITIONING.
THE CHOICE OF BELIEF IN ISHWARA IS ENTIRELY THE INITIATES PREREQUISITE FOR SUCCESS IN YOGA, EVEN TO REACH THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF KAIVALYA.
THE ADDITION TO THE YOGA SUTRAS, WE WILL REFER TO OTHER POST-PATANJALI TEXTS LIKE THE SHIVA SAMHITA AND YOGA YAGNAVALKYA, AMONG OTHERS, WHENEVER REQUIRED TO SUPPLEMENT OUR LEARNING. THE UPANISHADS, INCLUDING THE EARLIEST PRINCIPLE UPANISHADS AND THE LATER YOGA UPANISHADS, WILL ALSO FORM OF PART OF OUR REFERENCE MATERIAL.
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