Liberating yoga from fancy mats and mere human contortion

By Surya Vishwa 

Yoga.

What are the first images that surface in your mind when you hear this word?

Possibly yoga mats. And contortionists who can turn the human body into an abstract art of callisthenic mesmerisation. 

Where was ‘yoga’ researched and found? Was it upon a narrow yoga mat? Did the founders of this science don in fancy skintight attire and use their findings for popularity and fame? The answer is an obvious no.

Yoga is a science. 

Science is not the monopoly of just this modern world of technology and lab experiments. 

It would not be an exaggeration to say that yoga is a science which could save this world of over consumption, inequality, wars, deforestation and climatic disasters. 

How so? 

Because as is evident in the Sanskrit term Yuj from which the word Yoga is formed it means ‘unite’ enabling the restoration of the inter-connected balance and thereby oneness that we have lost – with ourselves, our human family and the universe. 

Within the realm of yoga we connect to the limitless pulsating cosmic organism that holds a larger intelligence beyond our limited selves which generally in everyday ignorance operate as separated fragments.

Yoga is central to the body of knowledge developed by ancient humans following the Sanatana Dharmic tradition (over time referred to as Hinduism) originating across vastness of habitation which we today identify as India which then included territories now part of other modern nation states within South Asia.

This ancient knowledge bridges human consciousness with universal consciousness. Even the minute energy fluctuation between a twig of a tree that turned sunward or earthward was understood and this understanding used in healing the body, the encasing of flesh that contains the central vitality, the prana, manifest through breath. In yogic verbiage the physical body is referred to as the Sthula Sharira or the Annamaya Kosha (physical sheath).

Today in our populist understanding of this ancient and intricate science we give attention mostly to the exercise component. We have almost lost the integral awareness that yoga enshrined every aspect of life enunciating the depth in which it should be lived. We have to remind ourselves that the component concerning physical action is but one segment – aimed at awakening the whole of cosmic memory within the body.

Universal gift

The term ‘yoga’ encapsulates interconnectedness and eliminates the division between where human skin ends and rest of existence begins, showing that the division is a mirage. This means that yoga is indeed the universal gift India has bestowed on the world. Understood authentically in the way the ancient rishis meant us to, yoga could be the solution for realistically achieving the entire set of sustainable development goals of the United Nations and facilitating a world peace mindset humanity craves. This would be presented as a separate analysis in our upcoming editions. 

The word yoga appeared in written form about 4,000 years ago although its knowledge existed across the evolution of time mastered by men who courted solitude and wisdom – the Rishis or saints who lived directly connected to nature, devoting their entire life to mastering the complex filigree of life force and being the ‘seers of thought’ as described by Swami Vivekananda. 

While yoga is best explained as the route to oneness it also means ‘applying oneself to’ (diligence to insight and duty) as understood throughout the Bagavad Gita where the word yoga appears scores of times (around 100) in relation to karma (understood as action), Dharma (understood as duty), Atma (understood as the point of energetic conscious life-force referred to as soul), Brahmaan (the infinite limitless expanse of omni present universal intelligence) and Mokhsa (the breaking away from worldly confines towards the hereafter liberation). 

When we hold up what we have understood above we may mirror many of the truths taught through other different cultures and routes of contemplation but expressed in varying linguistics. 

These, our short-sighted world separates as opposing ‘religions’ warring over and clinging onto the magnifying of interpretive differences. We do not see the similarities or the wholeness. We do not see the root and the unity. We see only the outward paradoxes. We pay homage to these dissimilarities we augment. To explain otherwise in detail could even get us imprisoned or killed. This is the curse of our limitedness and the seed of modern conflict between nations, communities and religions. 

In sharp contrast to present day myopia, across the portals of time, men dedicated to mental and spiritual expansion, interpreted and worked extensively within the context of wisdom and practiced seeking peace, insight and the eternal unfettered state. Yoga as detailed out by the revered sage Patanjali around 2nd century BCE is considered the most significant treatise on which much of today’s understanding of this science is based. The question that arises is how we can explain this spiritual quest to a world which has made even this cosmic science a monetary and manipulative gimmick (or a contentious argumentative topic for the explicit purpose of splitting hairs). On an interconnected note the word ‘spirit’ emanates from the Latin term spirare which means breath. 

Let us now delve into the sacred science of yoga that uses the body as a gateway to ultimate freedom and bliss.

Yoga, through physical postures prescribed the way we can understand that the human body holds different milestones in the form of what is known as ‘Chakras’ that we can travel to and open the lock of, via Yoga postures (asanas) and dhyana (understood generally as meditation and which can be described as sustained calm). The Chakras (translated as wheel from Sanskrit) is the blueprint of the inner body that influence energy flow and can also be described as knots that we gain through the sansaric sojourns which we have to undo.

These chakras transform the human body into sacred human geometry making the universe and humanity one fabric and this unity is fast tracked through yogic asanas/postures. The number of asanas in Yoga runs into thousands and each one links the human being with the sun, earth, sky, ether, water and air elements within the body and within the universe. This is the basis of Ayurveda which identified disease of a human body in how it transgresses the balance of the eco system of the natural world which is found within the combined human oasis of flesh and consciousness. 

 Infinite flow of knowledge

The study of the science of yoga could be categorised as an infinite flow of knowledge that may not be possible to reach perfection in just one lifetime especially for us modern humans whose minds are contaminated with an overload of rubbish. Raja Yoga is the pinnacle of Yogic attainment which seeks to connect the human mind with the supreme point of intelligence or energy force described as Brahmaan (we can use the divine term of God here and infer this word to be non-sectarian). 

Raja Yoga (Raja meaning king or supreme connection of Yoga) is believed to be difficult to attain to perfection in one life cycle and does not emphasise on the physical exercise component but rather on the controlled use of the mind and breath. This has to be understood given that the combined goal of Yogic practices is to traverse from ignorance to knowledge or untruth (asath) to truth (sath) and from darkness to light and thus reach the summit of the enlightened state.

The eight-step training for this objective as detailed out by Sage Patanjali is Yama; actions which yogis should abstain such as extravagance and violence. In this category the wise and sublimated use of sexual energy for higher sacred goals is advised. Niyama categorises and expounds the code of ethical conduct pertaining to morality, self-discipline, contentment and reaching one’s supreme consciousness. Asanas focuses on the physical meditative postures and Pranayama focuses on deep breathing exercises to control the life force of the body. Linked to these are the varied mudras that activate the nerve points within the palms and fingers that has energising or calming the body and the mind. 

Prathyahara focuses on stabilisation of concentration for increased perception and Dharana highlights developing mental strength though concentration which can be on specific object. Dhyana is about the purification of thought waves through meditation. Samadhi is the fruit of meditation defined as the final stage of absolute consciousness that surpasses and transcends states of waking, dreaming or sleeping. 

The knowledge enshrined within yoga teaches that in seeking to know God (which can also be defined in secular parlance as the own true and unsullied innermost awareness/spirit of man parallel to cosmic reflection of it) that there are subtler senses hidden beneath the layers of flesh of the human machinery which is generally associated with the five senses of physical surface reality.

Double-edged sword

Here it is important that we comprehend the double-edged sword like nature of yoga if it is not used with utmost discipline and restraint. This is because the ‘root’ human life force kindles the sexual energy considered the most powerful within the human geography. When this dynamic power is activated it awakens what is known as the Kundalini energy descriptively understood as the rise of the coiling serpent from the base of the spine to the foremost point of the third eye realm (between the two eye brows). This power is activated with certain yoga asanas. 

For a person who uses yoga in a shallow manner, without deep understanding of its sacred significance and the moral responsibility of using wisely the powers that it could give rise to, the result could be debilitating. Kundalini is the transformation of sexual energy and in a practitioner who has devoted much time in the purification of awareness this energy could be used to connect to the ultimate in supreme expansion, purification and sublimation. 

In a human consciousness that has not eliminated baseness and refined the inner moral compass, it could wreak havoc and be akin to enticing of spectators with petty tricks. It is said by spiritual masters that to use the Kundalini power for vain, mercenary or manipulative purposes of the world seriously impairs one’s karmic checks and balances as it is akin to dragging a symbol of piety through the profane muck of depravity.

The Sanata Dharma holds that there is one Infinite External, Changeless Existence, the All and from that All comes forth and to that All to which we return. This could be safely defined as resonating with almost every ‘religious’ tradition this planet has seen surfacing through the 4.5 billion years it has existed. This All is that which gives life. This is the all enshrining Oneness – the Immortal – the Atma that nothing in this world can exist outside of. 

Within this understanding a human is an entity that exists in a body of matter temporarily functioning as a separate Jiva (or Jiva-atma – a life sustaining force). What the Yogic postures/Asanas does is help the individual Jiva-atma to rest and be at peace (while still alive) within the bosom of the Universal Awareness or the Cosmic Jiva-Atma (the Cosmic soul). 

What we call matter is Shariram, body; or a Koshah, sheath. This is the Upadhih or vehicle which embodies, covers/clothes and transports the life force/energy/spirit/soul. Matter has form. Body is matter that has shape/form. The crux of energy within this form is manifest via breath that gets dissolved into air and is formless. The formless umbilical cord that links man with the universe is air. When this air is polluted the universe and man both get diseased that culminates in untimely death. 

Yoga prescribes the air within the body to be purified and cleared through the nasal structure with awareness focused inhalation and exhalation that eliminates stagnation of life force. Breath is what empowers the engine of the body to function and is what links us, as still living creatures to the mother that is the earth (although of course it is to this womb that we go when the last breath has left our body). 

Many categories of yoga

There are many categories of yoga mentioned in the thousands of books on yoga written across the world and some of these categories include Raja Yoga, Karma Yoga, Kriya Yoga, Bhakthi yoga, Astanga Yoga, Kundalini Yoga and Hatha Yoga. 

We will attempt to understand in brief the holistic and practical essence of some of these although the core spiritual significance of these segments merge or overlap one into the other. 

Raja Yoga is about linking one’s mind with the supreme most cosmic mind that transcends time and space. In this Yogic practice the focus is primarily on breath, awareness and concentration. 

Karma Yoga is the understanding of the impact of mental and physical action within the human life cycle. Kriya Yoga encompasses the components of Karma, Jnana and Bhakthi (action, thought and devotion). Some of the sages of India who emphasised the many dimensions of Kriya Yoga in the recent past include Mahavatar Babaji Maharaj, Lahiri Mahasaya, Swami Shriyukteshwar, Bhupendranath Sanyal, Paramahamsa Yogananda and Swami Satyananda. 

Bhakthi yoga is connected to devotion and a non-polarised understanding of its broad scope could open up humanity to yoga in the true essence it is meant for.

Astanga yoga refers to the eight limbs or branches of yoga as presented by Patanjali in the Yoga Sutras where the ultimate goal is unfettering unto liberation.

Kundalini yoga is associated with power – Shakthi as part of the divine feminine and pertains to the harnessing and transformation of sexual energy for higher elevation of consciousness.

Hatha yoga is about achieving the balance of synchronisation and harmony of solar and lunar energies within the body where Ha means sun and Tha means moon. Balance within the mind is linked to the balance within the body and this is achieved through understanding the intersection of solar system energy patterns within the physical realm. 

We have absorbed what we can call a snapshot view of yoga and its authentic significance for increasing the clarity of mind and oneness of spirit that is needed for our increasingly warring world. International Day of Yoga is commemorated on 21 June and it was our intention to contribute an in-depth understanding of the universal perception and relevance of yoga in our deathly over trivialised and over commercialised globalisation.

(The writer is a practitioner and student of yogic sciences and researcher of comparative spirituality, using mass communication for elevated consciousness, integrated approaches in peacebuilding and protection of mother earth.)