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| International Yoga Day Logo |
Today, India including the whole world
is celebrating International Yoga Day by holding mass Yoga sessions at prominent
public places with messages promoting the need for making it a part of life
style of every man and women for the well being of body, mind and soul. The 21st
of June was declared as International Yoga day unanimously by United Nations
General Assembly (UNGA) on 11th December, 2014. The Indian Prime Minister, Shri
Narendra Modi in his UN address had suggested the date of 21st June,
being the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere to be observed as
International yoga Day in acknowledgement of the ancient knowledge of Indian
Yogic science for the well being of mankind.
Yoga is generally perceived as Asanas,
an exercise form with different body postures, stretching and relaxing in a rhythmic
manner. But it is not limited to exercise only. Yoga is not just a form of
exercise. Neither, it is in any way connected with any religion. It is just a
path leading to self discovery, leading to discovery of infinite potential
hidden within. In fact, Yoga, which means union, Yoga is the union of body,
mind and soul, leading to total harmony in life. It leads one to discover love, peace and oneness with
the self and outside world. Yoga, the “union” is further defined as the union
of the individual consciousness with the universal consciousness or spirit.
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| Indian Prime Minister at International Yoga day |
How old is yoga? People generally
ask this question. Many people say that development of Yoga can be traced back to
5000 years; some people say that it dates back to 10,000 years. In india, the
knowledge of yoga is attributed to Lord Krishna who teaches Yoga to his friend
and disciple Arjuna in the battle field of Kurukshetra preceding the war of
Mahabharat. The Lord Krishna himself says as per Verse 1 of Chapter 4, to
Arjuna during the discourse of Bhagwad Gita
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| International Yoga day at Paris |
इमं विवस्वते
योगं प्रोक्तवानहमव्ययम् |
विवस्वान्मनवे प्राह
मनुरिक्ष्वाकवेऽब्रवीत् || 1||
Meaning:
“The Supreme Lord Shree Krishna
said: I taught this eternal science of Yog to the Sun-god, Vivasvan, who passed
it on to Manu; and Manu in turn instructed it to Ikshvaku.”
As such, the origin of knowledge
of Yoga is attributed to the supreme soul, the spirit spread through at the beginning
of this universe through Sun God.
The human body is called the chariot on
which rides the soul, the senses are the horses of the chariot and the ropes to
rein the horses are the control of mind and senses which ultimately leads one
to reach his/her destination. The destination is the supreme peace and harmony
within and outside. The journey of life becomes joyful and the soul reaches the
spirit at emancipation.
How to control the mind has been
a constant problem for mankind. In Bhagwad Gita, Arjuna, the great warrior,
himself asks Krishna how to calm his mind as it is continuously restless, constantly
agitates his senses and resists all
attempts to control it. The systematic knowledge of Yoga, the basis of all
modern Yoga was set forth in a scientific orderly form by the ancient Indian sage
Patanjali in his masterly work, “Yoga Sutras”. Paramahansa Yogananda had
written following about the sage Patanjali;
“Patanjali’s date is unknown, though
many scholars assign him to the second century B.C. His renowned Yoga
Sutras presents, in a series of brief aphorisms, the condensed essence of
the exceedingly vast and intricate science of God-union — setting forth
the method of uniting the soul with the undifferentiated Spirit in such a
beautiful, clear, and concise way that generations of scholars have
acknowledged the Yoga Sutras as the foremost ancient work on yoga.”
The yoga system of Patanjali is known as
the Eightfold Path, which leads to the final goal of God-realization. The Patanjali’s
Eightfold Path – Eight Step Discipline of Yoga includes the following;
1. Yama (moral conduct): It includes restraining
harmful thoughts and impulses, non-injury to others, truthfulness, non-stealing,
continence, and non-covetousness
2. Niyama (religious
observances): It includes cultivating good habits, cleansing and maintaining purity
of body and mind, contentment in all circumstances, self-discipline, self-study
(contemplation), and devotion to the Supreme Spirit, God and guru (teacher)
3. Asana: Learning
sitting postures suitable for prolonged contemplation, right postures.
4. Pranayama: Learning
the technique of rhythmic breathing, control of prana, the subtle life
currents in the body
5. Pratyahara: Withdrawing
and interiorization of senses senses from their objects of enjoyment and external
objects
6. Dharana: Fixing
the mind on the object of contemplation and focusing concentration
7. Dhyana: Uninterrupted
contemplation, also called meditation, absorption in the vast perception
of God in one of His infinite aspects — Bliss, Peace, Cosmic Light, Cosmic
Sound, Love, Wisdom, etc. — all-pervading throughout the whole universe
8. Samadhi: Total
absorption of the mind in the object of contemplation, super conscious
experience of the oneness of the individualized soul with Cosmic Spirit
The above steps include preparation and purification
of the body and mind to be healthy, powerful, and peaceful for the achievement of
ultimate stage of realization of God, the supreme truth. The first two steps,
Yama and Niyama, purify and strengthen our minds through moral and ethical
exercises. The third step, Asana, allow us to strengthen the body that allows
us to sit comfortably and meditate for long hours. The fourth step, Pranayama,
involves breathing techniques to control our physical and mental energies. The
fifth step, Pratyahara, is the techniques to withdraw our minds from all
objects except the object of our contemplation or meditation. The sixth step,
Dharana, is holding our minds with great concentration on the object of
contemplation or meditation. The seventh step, Dhyana is further maturing of
Dharana. The last and the eighth step, Samadhi, is ultimate concentration,
total absorption and experiencing super consciousness experience. We experience
God and oneness of shelf with the Cosmic spirit. These eight fold steps are
also called Ashtang Yoga, meaning eight limbs of Yoga.
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