Yoga: Beyond Physical Fitness, A Means To Achieve Consciousness

The world celebrated International Yoga Day on the 21st of June, and the media was abuzz with hundreds of people gathered to perform yogasanas, not only throughout the country but also the world over like China, USA, Canada, France, Japan, South Africa and several other countries. 180 countries participated with the Jawans performing Yoga in temperatures of -25 degrees at 18,000 ft. The celebrations continue with Dubai celebrating Yoga Day with over 15 thousand people participating despite the severe heat and the Ramadan fast. In response to Prime Minister Modi’s  request  the UN had declared June 21st as  International Yoga Day in 2014 and it was a proud moment for us because after all Yoga has originated in India. Anupam Kher had the privilege of doing the honour of illuminating the UN Headquarters in New York and addressing a select audience consisting of delegates and well known Yoga Gurus. We had Modi along with 51,000 people, perform yogasanas in Lucknow and similar such performances were held in every nook and corner of the country. At the behest of the Prime Minister, people throughout the country kept sending pictures of three or more generations performing Yoga together to the PMO and these in turn were posted on Twitter. Every day, an Asana with not only the technique of performing it, but also its benefits were posted on Twitter and Facebook by the PM to encourage people to take to Yoga on a regular basis. Everyone, around the world seemed to be charged to achieve physical fitness which indeed is important because it's rightly said that health is wealth. Like everything else, soon the euphoria will die down with many adopting Yoga as a lifestyle, but with the majority getting back to their hectic schedules till the next International Yoga Day celebration.

Therefore, we need to understand the true meaning of yoga. In his address to the UN General Assembly, Narendra Modi said, “Yoga is an invaluable gift of India’s tradition. It embodies unity of mind and body; thought and action; restraint and fulfilment; harmony between man and nature, a holistic approach to health and well-being. It is not about exercise but to discover the sense of oneness with yourself, the world and the nature. By changing our lifestyle and creating consciousness, it can help us deal with climate change. Let us work towards adopting an International Yoga Day.” It took less than three months for UN General Assembly to declare June 21st as the World Yoga Day. This resolution has been adopted under the Global Health and Foreign Policy by the UN in order to provide a holistic approach to the people worldwide for their health and well-being.

Is Yoga limited to yogasanas to attain physical fitness or as a means of remaining disease free? It's all that and much more.

The philosophy of Yoga has originated in India and Rishis and Sages in ancient times practiced and taught Yoga as a means of connecting with the inner self, the atma and achieving the unity of the atma with the Paramatma. It is a means of connecting the micro consciousness with the macro consciousness.

The Sanskrit word yoga has many meanings and is derived from the Sanskrit root 'yuj’ meaning 'to yoke’ or 'to unite’. Though there are various schools of Yoga, the Patanjali Yoga sutras compiled prior to 400 CE by sage Patanjali was the most translated ancient Indian text in the mediaeval era. Scholars consider the Yoga sutras of Patanjali to be one of the foundations of classical Yoga Philosophy of Hinduism. Edwin Bryant explains that according to Patanjali, Yoga essentially consists of meditative practices culminating in attaining a state of consciousness free from all modes of active or discursive thought, and of eventually attaining a state where consciousness is unaware of any object external to itself, that is, it's only aware of its own nature as Consciousness unmixed with any object. Maharishi Patanjali systematized the ancient, traditional, meditative Yoga practices and developed the philosophy called Yoga Darshana. Patanjali professed that if one detaches oneself from all the bindings of the body, mind and senses, one gets the vision of the pure atma. Mukti is possible only when the Atma attains control over the body, Indriyas (sense organs) and Ahankar (ego). When this happens, it leads to the pure atma recognising the Yatharth Purush (Supreme Being) and this realisation is Atma Jnana.

Patanjali prescribed an eight stepped Yogic meditation practice called the Ashtanga Yoga. The steps given below are to be executed in the order given.

1.Yama or moral practices - Ahimsa, Satya, Asteya (not to steal), Brahmacharya (celibacy), and Aparigraha (not to collect).
2.Niyama or rules and abstinence - the rule is of good behaviour or Sadachara.
3.Asanas or Yogic exercises - There are various asanas.
4.Pranayama - a breath control and consists of three activities:
a.Puraka - pulling in the breath through the right nostril keeping the left one closed.
b.Kumbhaka - holding the breath within.
c.Rechaka - Leaving the breath gradually through the other nostril. This should be repeated with both right and left nostril.
5.Pratyahara - This is the way of gradually withdrawing the senses from their objects, suppressing the ego, and thus being in control of the mind which is actually being controlled by the Buddhi.
6.Dharana - To focus the mind on a desired point either at the Nabhi Chakra or Trikuti.
7.Dhyana - To meditate and contemplate continuously without obstacles of any kind on the subject aimed at.
8.Samadhi - This is the last stage or condition of Yoga Sadhana. After reaching this stage one gets so engrossed and captivated that one loses track of body and mind completely.

The Bhagavad Gita also lays down the path of Karma Yoga, Jnana Yoga and Bhakti Yoga for emancipation. According to Lord Krishna, he who attains perfection in Karma Yoga finds Jnana Yoga by itself in his Atma after sometime.

Jnana means 'knowledge’, that's total experience of the Supreme Being or Reality. Bhakti Yoga is the Yogic pathway to self-realization. It is based on pure and selfless love and communion with God. The Bhagwad Gita emphasises on Bhakti and devotion to the Guru and developing inner joy and communion with Him.

Great importance is given to Guru Bhakti i.e. devotion to the Spiritual Teacher in the Upanishads, the Religion of Saints namely Kabir, Guru Nanak and the Radhasoami Faith. It is considered as the first step without which no spiritual progress is possible. In the Religion of Saints the stress is on devotion to the living and perfect Guru.

Further, all the religions which believe that the Creation had a beginning declare that a Shabda or Sound manifested itself at the beginning of the Creation. All the sages and saints, Prophets and Faqirs who appeared in the world taught almost the same practices, namely Repetition of Holy Names, Contemplation of Holy Forms and the Sound Practices. The Radhasoami Faith teaches the Surat Shabd Yoga, which is essentially the sound practice of listening internally to the ever reverberating Spiritual sounds via meditation. What is unique in the Radhasoami Faith is the belief that the sound Radhasoami is the manifested name of the Supreme Being, and that sound is reverberating everywhere since eternity.

Thus Yoga not only harmonizes and revitalizes but helps the body to maintain an equilibrium thereby leading to the general physical and mental well-being of the individual. It also brings about a sense of calm and fine tunes the entire system to bring about a heightened Consciousness of the self and the environment. Yoga is a way of life, a pathway to self-realization leading to the Ultimate Reality.

For a deeper understanding of Consciousness and the means of achieving it, do watch the speech by Prof Prem Saran Satsangi on the subject of integrating Arts and Science of Consciousness. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utmm2IkTurI