Liberated Living

Ashok Vohra

Like all other sciences, philosophies, religions and cultures of the world, yoga is the theory and practice for understanding and realisation of the ultimate truth and reality.

Yoga’s uniqueness lies in the fact that it has typically Indian origin. From the discovery of an icon of Lord Siva in the posture of a yogin in the excavations in Mohenjo-Daro, the Orientalists conclude that the belief that yoga ‘sprang from the Vedic culture of the Aryans is mistaken’. They categorically assert that ‘the roots of yoga are to be found in the Dravidian culture of pre-Aryan India’. The absence of any yoga complex or icon from other Indo-European groups confirms their assumption.

The first reference to the term ‘yoga’ is found in the Rig Veda. In the text, it is used ‘in various senses such as yoking or harnessing, achieving the unachieved, connections and the like’. The term is primarily used in the sense of yoking or harnessing as that of steeds, but in yoga literature, it is used in the sense of restraint of the senses.

Though the rudimentary methods of yogic self-concentration are found in satipatthana sutra — the oldest Buddhist canon — it is only in the Maitrayani Upanishad that we find its somewhat systematic though incomplete account.

A perusal of yoga Upanishads such as Shandilya Yogatattava, Dhyanbindu, Hamsa, Amritananda, Vraha, Mandella Brahmana, Nadabindu, Yogakundali, et al shows that the yoga practices underwent diverse changes in diverse schools. Yoga practices grew in accordance with the doctrines of the Saivas and Shaktas and accordingly assumed different forms. Ultimately, they grew in the direction as the Hathayoga, which was supposed to produce mystic and magical powers through constant practices of elaborate breath control and physical exercises.

A continuous and consistent practice of the exercises and postures prescribed in Hathayoga is also associated with controlling and healing diseases and acquiring supernatural powers. The supernatural powers are ashta siddhis and nava nidhis. Lord Hanuman is said to have gained all of them through the practice of yoga.

According to Kashmir Saivism, the realisation that Shiva and Shakti are identical, one and the same, is nothing else but yoga. Pratibhigya philosophy believes yoga to be the realisation that Shiva and Atman are inseparable. Yogavasishtha describes yoga as “the technique of liberation from the world”.      

A completely systematic account of yogic method, its theory and practice is found in Patanjali’s Yogasutra. However, Patanjali, according to the famous commentators Vachaspati and Vijanabhikshu, is not the founder of yoga philosophy. He can, at the most, be regarded as the compiler and editor of information and compendiums available to him.

In Sanskrit language, the term yoga has varied usages. The lexicon lists more than 40 usages! For example, it is used in the sense of a command in the army to be armed, be prepared for war (sannahan; yogo yogah); it is also used to refer to a solution (upaya); a vaidya’s (doctor’s) prescription is also called yoga (ityeko yoga; iti dwitiyo yogah) that is yoga refers to a method of curing illness; it is also used to refer to dhyana (meditation); in another common usage, yoga refers to argument and logic. Nevertheless, the underlying common factor in all these usages is sangam or sanyoga — the unification of two or more things or qualities. For instance, a soldier’s unification or wearing the armour; the unification of medicine and the disease; the unification of chitta — consciousness with its object, etc.

The main purpose of yoga is to purge the mind (citta which is a complex conglomerate of buddhi, ahamkara and manas) of all its inclinations to the worldly pleasures and objects and obtain liberation — kaivalya. One whose citta is stable and unwavering is able to understand the subtlest of the subjects and is able to achieve his goals.

According to Patanjali, to obtain such a mindset one has to follow astanga yoga marg (eight fold path). The prescribed eight steps or angas for a practitioner are: yama, niyama, asana, pranayam, pratyahar, dharna, dhyana and samadhi. The practice of the first two leads to elimination of uncontrolled desires. 

Asanas and pranayam help one have a healthy and stable body. The practice of pratyahara helps one to detach one’s senses from mind. Dharna confines mind to one’s objective; dhyana is uninterrupted contemplation on it; and samadhi obliterates the distinction between the subject and the object.

Depending upon the nature of the objective, there is a different kind of yoga. The nature of the objective determines the nature of the method one has to adpot. Therefore, the means for achieving the chosen end can either be mental or physical or a combination of the two. To attain a long and healthy life, one has to adopt the techniques prescribed by Hathayoga. To win over one’s wayward senses one has to practise Rajayoga. Likewise, one may choose other kinds of yoga such as Karmayoga, Bhaktiyoga, Jnanayoga, Mantrayoga, Layayoga, Samkhyayoga, Kriyayoga, Dhyanayoga, Brahmayoga, Mokshayoga, Vibhutiyoga, Purushottamyoga, Prakrit-Purushayoga, Vijanayoga, Rajadhirajyoga et al. 

There is no objective hierarchy in them. The choice depends upon one’s objectives, likes and dislikes and suitability. Swami Vivekananda considers Rajayoga to be the best among all the yogas as it helps one control one’s mind and increase one’s prowess in the mental, physical and spiritual arenas of the individual’s lived life. Nevertheless, Krishna in the Gita says Bhaktiyoga is the easiest to practice.          

It is because of its pragmatic nature that yoga is universally accepted and its practices recommended by Jainism, Buddhism, Nyaya, Vaishesika, Mimamsa and Samkhya schools of Indian philosophy. 

Because of its practical approach to both the material (welfare of the body) and the spiritual matters (liberation, moksha etc.), one can conclude with the aphorism 1.67 of Yogashikha Upanishad viz., Verily, there is no merit higher than yoga, no good higher than yoga, No subtlety higher than yoga; there is nothing that is higher than yoga.