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What is Yoga?
Yoga comes from the sanskrit
word 'Yukt' which means to join or to yoke. In a very practical sense of
the word that would signify the synchronising of the body with the mind.
But in a deeper sense, though it refers to the bonding, or the marriage
of the individual with the universal.
Yoga is a Science. It seeks
to explain in a very straight forward 'no-nonsense' way what would be the
requirements of any seeker, should he embark upon the journey from the
Finite to the Infinie. It strives to show the different paths that one
may have to follow. It cautions the Yoga Practitioner about the pitfalls
he may encounter and also declares the results and outcomes of ones endeavours.
In a sense it is the best
means by which one can come closest to understand that which cannot be
understood... that which can only be experienced.
According to yoga the Human
being is made up of 3 bodies.
The Outer physical body Karya Sharira
The Middle Subtle Body Suksma Sharira
The Inner Spiritual Body Karna Sharira
These three bodies are nourished by feedlines
called Kosyas
The Outer Body has one Kosya -- The Anamaya Kosya.
The Middle Body has 3 Kosyas -- The Pranayama
Kosya, The Manomaya Kosya, The Vijnyanamaya Kosya.
The Inner Body has one kosya -- The Anandamaya
Kosya
It is important to note what
the bodies are made up of, and only of the specified constituents. e.g.
Food & Nutrition make up the Physical body. If food is withdrawn from
the Physical body for a prolonged period of time the body will die. Similarly
if the middle body is deprived of its specific kosya then that kosya will
disolve and be no more.
The whole idea of Yogic practice
is to move from the physical state of existence to the spiritual . This
can be done only by moving through the Middle, Sukshma Sharira which bonds
the two.
The 3 Bridges which support this journey are
Breath, Mind and Intelligence.
It is interesting to note
that all religions at some stage or the other employ one of these paths,
singularly or in combination, to involute and experience the Bliss of the
soul.
All Saints and Prophets have eventually worked on 'The harnessing of the Breath' or 'The Silencing of the Mind' or 'The Awakening of the Intelligence', to experience the Supreme and all religions employ Scientific methods for silencing the mind. A very common example of this is the use of the Japa or the repetitive prayer used by all religious groups. The Christian Mantra is Jesus, Maranatha, or Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me etc., The Hindus Recite Ohm, Hari Ohm, Ohm Namo Sivaya, etc, The Muslims repeat Bismillah, Subhanallah etc.
The constant repitition of these types of 'prayer words' can concentrate the conscious mind and occupy it to the point that the subconscious surfaces.
The Yogi's and rishi's of the past realized that the introverted mind, in the process of silencing becomes aware of the breath. The major question now was: What if one conciously stays in a state of awareness of ones breath?
Bingo! The mind becomes silent
They, the Rishi's, also knew that the only organ in the Human Body that operates conciously as well as subconciously is the Diaphgram. They experimented with various types of breathing, i.e. prolonging, hastening, retention, smoothening, churning etc. the breath and a completely new science of 'Pranayama' was born.
They have paved the way for us to use. We can learn from their mistakes and the rich wisdom of their experiences.
One of the greatest of these sages was Lord Patanjali. He was able to gather all the knowledge and compile it in the four of the yoga sutras.
The subject of yoga is as old
as the hills. Long before modern science could begin the discovery of microbes
and medicine, the Rishis of yore devised ways and means to cure various
illnesses. To the yogi, a healthy body is a prime requisite for the spiritual
journey.
Unlike modern medicine which
treats only the afflicted parts of the human body, Yoga deals with the
body as a whole and hence, can rightly be declared as a wholistic science.
The Yogis of the past devised different methods of making the body whole.
The accent was on relying more and more on the human being and less and
less on external inputs. They used the breath (Pranayama) and Kneaded the
body (asana), so that the healthy sections of the body could act supportively
on the ailing regions, thereby eradicating diseases.
One of the main reasons why
present day systems of treatment have not been very effective in treating
addiction is because it does not have anything tangible to focus on. This
is also the reason why alternative medicine is begining to show a high
rate of success in curing psychosomatic illnesses.