ViRa Love yourself so that you can love everyone else!!
I believe that Yoga is all about self-love. Yoga is the way to love your body, love your soul, spend time with your inner self, and most importantly, the way to heal yourself. Now let’s discuss a little bit about the origin of yoga what is mention in the Sanskrit scriptures about Yoga.
The Sanskrit word “Yoga” means addition or union. Indian sages described yoga as the union of the individual mind with the universal mind. According to ancient Yogies, ‘Mukti’ (liberation) is the ultimate goal of an individual soul and yogic practice is the key to reach the ultimate goal.
There are 6 Philosophies in Hinduism and Yoga is one of them. The root of “Yoga” is found in hymn 5.81.1 of the Rig Veda, a dedication to rising Sun-god in the morning (Savitri), interpreted as “yoke” or “yogically control”.[19]
युञ्जते मन उत युञ्जते धियो विप्रा विप्रस्य बृहतो विपश्चितः
Seers of the vast illumined seer yogically [युञ्जते, yunjante] control their minds and their intelligence.
— Rigveda 5.81.1
According to Sage Ved Vyasa, yoga is Samadhi (Nirvana), the Union on individual consciousness with Universal consciousness and Sage Patanjali described yoga in the Patanjali Sutra as Yoga is Chitt Vratti Nirodha.
- Chitta – Union of Mind, Intellect, and Ego also know as mind field.
- Vrattti – Thought waves.
- Nirudhha – Complete halt on thoughts.
According to sage Patanjali Yoga is a thoughtless and blissful state of mind. BRAHMAN is the one underlying substance of the universe, the unchanging “Absolute Being”, the intangible essence of the entire existence. It is the undying and unchanging seed that creates and sustains everything. It is beyond all description and intellectual understanding.
Traditional Yoga offers many different paths that can be taken, each appealing to different personalities, lifestyles and ultimately the philosophical approach on life.
There are different way these paths have been categorised, depending on the source. However, of the following 7 main paths, Swami Sivananda recognises the first 4 as the principal ones:
- Raja Yoga also known as Astanga Yoga:- Yama, Niyama, Asana, Praytranayam, Pratyahara, Dharna, Dhyana, Samadhi.
- Karma Yoga: – Yoga of selfless action or the actions of public welfare.
- Jnana Yoga:- Yoga of Knowledge, meaning study the scriptures and spread the righteous knowledge.
- Bhakti Yoga – Yoga of Devotion, the path of love and devotion.
- Hatha Yoga – Yoga of Forceful Effort, employs body postures, breath control, concentration, and meditation.
- Mantra Yoga -Yoga of Sound and Repetition, mantras are considered as asanas for the mind.
- Tantra Yoga -Yoga of Technology, the focus is on the subtle body, pranas, chakras, and awakening of Kundalini energy.
When we talk about various types of yoga practice, it is quite possible the paths appear different from each other but the ultimate truth is that all paths lead to the same destination, a state of ultimate bliss ‘param ananda’.
