"YOGA"
The word 'Yoga' reminds many people
of a person wearing saffron clothes
and doing dhyana
at some secluded place. But we claim
that this belief is in actuality an
erroneous one, and that Yoga has relevance
even to a modern-day working man.
Yoga is very important for each and
every person, from a child to an aged
one. Yoga not only keeps one fit but
also cures many diseases.
Yoga entered the West mainly through
the missionary work of Swami Vivekananda,
who spoke at the Parliament of Religions
in 1893. Since then Yoga has undergone
a unique metamorphosis. Unfortunately,
yoga in the west has come to mean
"hatha"
yoga which is mainly physical exercise
and postures (asanas).
In fact, asanas
is only one step in the eight step
path (Ashtanga
yoga of patanjali).
Yoga has been tailored to suit the
specific needs of their countrymen
and -women. Thus, by and large, Yoga
has been secularized and turned from
a rigorous spiritual discipline into
an "instant" fitness system.
What is the real goal of Yoga ? Yoga's
highest purpose is to help it's practitioner
in realizing true happiness, freedom,
or enlightenment.
However, Yoga has a number of secondary
goals, such as physical health, mental
harmony, and emotional balance. In
its most integrated form, Yoga seeks
to unlock our full human potential.
Benefits of practising
yoga:
1] Physical fitness : People view
Yoga only as a curing therapy, but
in reality involvement in Yoga will
ward off any disease and keep oneself
fighting fit.
2] Personality Development : by performing
Yoga one can attain peace of mind,
boost self-confidence, and gain more
energy for work.
3] Freedom from Habits : Many people
want to give up habits like smoking,
drinking etc. but they are unable
to do so. Practising
Yoga helps to get rid of all these
habits.
4] Stress relief : Today you can hear
words like Stress, Tension from everybody,
from youth to an aged person. Everybody
has his own tensions of work. We advice
to go for Yoga and get relief from
stress.
5] Competition : There is a lot of
competition in the education life
of every student now a day. Yoga works
there too. After performing even some
basics of Yoga like 'Omkar
', any student can feel the improvement
in his concentration as well as in
his inherent ability to memorize.
Thus Yoga helps them a lot.
Yoga Definition: Yoga is from the Sanskrit word 'Yug' meaning union {with the Divine}.
Different types of yoga There are various types of yoga. Before we examine
the differences, we shouldRemember
that all of them lead to the same
goal, unification with the Divine.
The yoga paths can be broadly classified into
Bhakti yoga : Path of Devotion Karma yoga : Path of Selfless Action Dnyana yoga : Path
of Transcendental Knowledge
Ashtanga yoga: Path
of Patanjali
(eight step path)
Unfortunately, yoga in the west has
come to mean "hatha"
yoga which is mainly
physical
exercise and postures (asanas). In fact, asanas is only
a single step
in
the eight step path (Ashtanga yoga of patanjali). Ashtanga yoga is sometimes referred to as Raja yoga . However,
Ashtanga
yoga is more of a philosophy like
basic research while raja yoga usually
refers to specific techniques which
are based on not only Ashtanga
yoga but also on various [minor] upanishadas.
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Different types of yoga:
Bhakti yoga ("Yoga of Devotion") is the path of devotion (to the Divine).
It is pure selfless love
from
the heart. A bhakti
yogi feels that whenever he thinks
of God, God thinks more of him. A
relationship between a Bhakta
and God can never be described in
words.
Karma yoga ("Yoga of Action")
is the path of selfless service. For
a karma yogi, the activities of human
life is a God given opportunity to
serve Him. He does not feel that the
world is an illusion, does not encounter
the ego given 'highs' of success or
the 'lows' of failure. Thus a karma
yogi is detached while carrying out
his duties on the earth. Karma Yoga
can also be summed up in a statement
by Sri Bhagavan Krishna in the Bhagavad
Gita: "Worshipping Him with proper actions, a man attains
realization". One key to Karma
Yoga is the performance of right action
and service for its own sake, without
consideration of the immediate or
apparent results.
Dnyana yoga ("Yoga of Wisdom") is the path of knowledge. A dnyana yogi wants to understand the transcendental truth. He wants to solve the
mystery of birth, death and the
purpose
of life. Hindu scriptures describe
a Dnyan
yogi as one who utters Neti, Neti meaning 'not this, not
this' to differentiate between what
is permanent and impermanent. He uses
viveka (discernment) for moving on from avidya
(ignorance) to vidya
(knowledge). He discerns that the
world as perceived by the senses is
not real, but an illusion conjured
up by the mind.
Dnyana Yoga is the yoga of the philosopher and thinker
who wants to go beyond the visible,
material reality. The Dnyan Yogi finds God through knowledge. Dnyana
Yoga is summed up in the Upanishads
by the following statement: "In
the method of reintegration through
knowledge, the mind is ever bound
to the ultimate end of existence which
is liberation This method leads to
all attainments and is ever auspicious."
Ashtanga (eight step) yoga was developed by Patanjali.
The eight steps that Would
lead a seeker from ignorance to Truth
are :
|
Yama
|
Self control
|
|
Niyama
|
Strict observance of character
|
|
Asanas
|
Body postures
|
|
Pranayama
|
Breathing exercises, and control of prana
|
|
Pratyahara
|
Withdrawal from sense desires
|
|
Dharana
|
Concentration on an object
|
|
Dhyana
|
Meditation on the Divine
|
|
Samadhi
|
Union with the Divine
|
Hatha Yoga ("ForcefulYoga"): It is a yoga concerned with physical and energetic
purification and training. Its goal
is to bring the physical body into
a perfect state of health so the soul
has a fitting vehicle of expression
to work through. It embraces many
practices, including physical postures
and breathing exercises (pranayama)
which also act upon the physical nervous
system and etheric
body which is considered a corollary
aspect of the physical body and brings
the vital energies of the physical
and etheric bodies under conscious control.
Raja yoga ("Royal Yoga")
is a science. There is no unconditional
faith required. It is similar to a
person who would go to the doctor
for illness, and take the medicine
the doctor gives with a faith that
it will cure him. If he followed all
the doctor's orders but still wasn't
cured then it is the fault of the
doctor and not that of the patient.
Kundalini yoga :Most of the saints have agreed that the culmination of the Kundalini Shakti is essential for
enlightenment. Various types of raja
yogas (including
siddha yoga,
kriya yoga,
laya yoga, sahaja yoga etc.) end
with the activation and culmination
of the kundalini
shakti at the crown chakra. They
may be referred to as Kundalini
yoga. Kundalini is the dormant energy which lies at the base of
spine.
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