MY SCHOOL by Dr .Nilesh Gopal das Joshi (beginner reading books for adults .txt) 📕

individual and it includes the practices of “brahmacharya” (celibacy), non-stealing, and non-receiving of gifts.Yama means abstention. It is the control of the body, mind and speech. It includes five vows: Ahimsa: Ahimsa or non-violence is the absolute absence of any form of injury to any living being. Satya: truth or Satya is to be exact both in mind and speech. i.e. to speak things as they are and to remember them exactly as they are seen, heard or imagined. Astaya:Astaya or non-stealing includes both not taking or not stealing another’s property and not having even a desire for it. Brahmacharya: Brahmacharya or celibacy is the control of attachment in the enjoyment of the senses, especially those of sex. Aparigrah:Aparigrah or non-covetousness requires one not to accept or collect unnecessary things.

All the mentioned yamas are necessary for the concentration of the citta.

‘Niyama’: It means self-purification by practicing cleanliness, contentment, studying scriptures and surrendering oneself to God.Niyama is self-culture and includes internal and external purification of an individual. It includes five elements: Sauch: Sauch or cleanliness includes external cleaning through bath and pure diet etc. as well as internal cleaning through sympathy, friendliness, happiness and detachment. Santos: Santos or contentment means satisfaction in whatever is attained by sufficient and suitable efforts. Tapa: Tapa or penance includes practice of tolerance of the cold and heat. It requires various types of hard practices. Swadhyaya:Swadhyaya or study of religious scriptures is very useful for spiritual advancement. Hence it si a necessary principle of good conduct in yoga. IswarPranidhan: The fifth niyama in yoga is IswarPranidhan or to remember God and to surrender oneself to him. This helps the aspirant in the practice of yoga. ‘Asana’: This implies practicing certain body-postures for acquiring health and developing steadfastness of mind. ‘Asanas’ (exercises or postures) have been developed over the centuries and they help in strengthening every muscle, nerve and gland of the body.

Steady and comfortable posture is known as Asana. It helps in the concentration of citta and in the control of the mind. Yoga has prescribed various types of postures like Padma, Veer, Bhadra, Sirsa, Garuda and Mayura.

These postures are very helpful in controlling the mind as well as other vital elements in the body. They also help in removing the sufferings due to cold and heat. As a matter of fact, posture is nothing, but the control of the body. It also keeps the body free from diseases and makes it strong. By it, one can control the different external and internal organs in the body. Thus, yoga philosophers had the valuable insight to realise that mental control requires discipline of the body as well.

‘Pranayama’: It is the practice of controlling breath for strengthening the respiratory system, purifying blood and soothing the mind. It deals with regulation of inhalation, retention and exhalation of breath. There are three main steps of pranayama: Puraka: The first step in pranayama is puraka or inhaling. i.e. to take in as much air as possible. Kumbhak: After the maximum amount of air is taken in, the second stage in pranayam is kumbhak or to retain it for half of the time taken for inhaling. Recaka: The third stage in pranayama is Recaka or to gradually exhale this air in almost the same time as taken in inhaling.

The time taken in all these stages of pranayama is gradually increases so that in due course the aspirant may control his breath, thus helping in the concentration of the citta.

‘Pratyahara’: This is an attempt to free the mind from the domination or control of senses. Consists in withdrawing the senses from their objects. The introversion of the different sense organs by restraining them from their object is known as pratyahara. By practising this, the aspirant can keep his/her mind undisturbed by worldly objects even while they live in this world. The practice of pratyahara requires very strong determination and repression of the senses.

The five stages of yoga that were discussed are known as external means. The remaining three stages are known as internal means. The first five are merely preparatory to the next three which are directly concerned with yoga. The latter three are;

‘Dharana’: This is concentration on a single object or point.Dharana refers to fixing the mind on the object of meditation like the top of the nose or the mid-point of the eyebrows or the lotus of the heart or the image of the deity. This is the beginning stage of Samadhi. ‘Dhyana’: It refers to the concentration on the all-pervading ‘Divinity’ through practice. When the knowledge of an object of concentration is continued in a process, it is known a s dyana. This requires clear knowledge of the object. In dyana, in the beginning, the aspirant knows only the different parts or forms of the object and only gradually realises the whole of it. Thus, by dyana, the aspirant has the real knowledge of the object, along with discipline of citta through meditation. ‘Samadhi’: This is the last stage of Yoga. In this stage, the yogi merges himself with the Divine Spirit, although he is alert and conscious. Samadhi means concentration. At this stage, the mind of the yogi is completely absorbed in the object of meditation. This is the culmination and the goal to which all the seven stages discussed are only preparing steps. The stage of absolute identity, when the process of concentration and the object become one and identical, negating the differences between the subject and the object is known as samadhi. In this stage, there is no separate cognition of the subject or the process of concentration, and the citta attains the form of the object. Thus, in this stage the subject and the objet as well as the process of concentration becomes one.

Four Yogic Paths for God Realization:

There are four paths to suit people of four kinds of temperament. They all lead to the same goal, the attainment of ultimate reality. Roads are different, but the destination is the same. The four paths that are indicated for the achievement of this ultimate truth, from the different stand-points, the man of action, the man of devotion, the mystic man and the philosopher or the man of reason, are respectively termed karma yoga, Bhakti yoga, Raja yoga and Jana yoga.

The four paths are not antagonistic to one another, but on the other hand, they are complementary. They only indicate that the different methods of the Hindu religion are in harmony with each other. Religion must educate and develop the whole man, his/her heart, intellectual (head) and hand.Then only will they reach perfection. One sided development is no commendable. Karma yoga removes mala, purifies the mind and develops the hand. Bhakti yoga destroys Vikshepa and develops the heart. Raja yoga steadies the mind and makes it one-pointed. Jnana yoga removes the veil of ignorance, (Avarana) develops will and reason and brings in knowledge of the self. Therefore, one should practice the four yogas.

As already discussed, the term yoga refers to the union between Jivatma and Paramatma (individual soul and supreme soul). The science that teaches the way of acquiring this knowledge is called yoga Shastra. Hatha yoga concerns with physical body and control of breath. Raja yoga deals with the mind. Raja yoga and Hatha yoga are necessary counterparts of each other. No one can become a perfect yogi without a knowledge of the practices of both. Raja yoga begins where properly practised Hatha yoga ends.

HISTORY OF YOGA

     Yoga's history has many places of obscurity and uncertainty due to its oral transmission of sacred texts and the secretive nature of its teachings.  The early writings on yoga were transcribed on fragile palm leaves that were easily damaged, destroyed or lost. The development of yoga can be traced back to over 5000 up to 10000 years old . yoga's long rich history can be divided into four main periods of innovation, practice and development.

Pre-classical yoga

 

the beginnings of yoga were developed by the indus-saraswati civilization in northern India over 5000 years ago. The word yoga was first mentioned in the oldest sacred texts, the rig Veda.  The Vedas were a collection of texts containing songs, mantras and rituals to be used by Brahmans, the Vedic priests. Yoga was slowly refined and developed by the Brahmans and Rishis (mystic seers) who documented their practices and beliefs in the Upanishads, a huge work containing over 200 scriptures. The most renowned of the Yogic scriptures is the Bhagavad-Gita, composed around 500 B.C.E. The Upanishads took the idea of ritual sacrifice from the Vedas and internalized it, teaching the sacrifice of the ego through self-knowledge, action (karma yoga) and wisdom (jnana yoga).

Classical Yoga
In the pre-classical stage, yoga was a mishmash of various ideas, beliefs and techniques that often conflicted and contradicted each other. The Classical period is defined by Patanjali’s Yoga-Sutras, the first systematic presentation of yoga. Written sometime in the second century, this text describes the path of Raja Yoga, often called "classical yoga". Patanjali organized the practice of yoga into an "eight limbed path" containing the steps and stages towards obtaining Samadhi or enlightenment. Patanjali is often considered the father of yoga and his Yoga-Sutras still strongly influence most styles of modern yoga.

Post-Classical Yoga
A few centuries after Patanjali, yoga masters created a system of practices designed to rejuvenate the body and prolong life. They rejected the teachings of the ancient Vedas and embraced the physical body as the means to achieve enlightenment. They developed Tantra Yoga, with radical techniques to cleanse the body and mind to break the knots that bind us to our physical existence. This exploration of these physical-spiritual connections and body centered practices led to the creation of what we primarily think of yoga in the West: Hatha Yoga.

Modern Period

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, yoga masters began to travel to the West, attracting attention and followers. This began at the 1893 Parliament of Religions in Chicago, when Swami Vivekananda wowed the attendees with his lectures on yoga and the universality of the world’s religions. In the 1920s and 30s, Hatha Yoga was strongly promoted in India with the work of T. Krishnamacharya, Swami Sivananda and other yogis practicing Hatha Yoga. Krishnamacharya opened the first Hatha Yoga school in Mysore in 1924 and in 1936 Sivananda founded the Divine Life Society on the banks of the holy Ganges River. Krishnamacharya produced three students that would continue his legacy and increase the popularity of Hatha Yoga: B.K.S. Iyengar, T.K.V. Desikachar and PattabhiJois. Sivananda was a prolific author, writing over 200 books on yoga, and established nine ashrams and numerous yoga centers located around the world.

The importation of yoga to the West still continued at a trickle until Indra Devi opened her yoga studio in Hollywood in 1947. Since then, many more western and Indian teachers have become
pioneers, popularizing hatha yoga and gaining millions of followers. Hatha Yoga now has many different schools or styles, all emphasizing the many different aspects of the practice.

TYPES OF YOGA

 

Over the long history of yoga, different schools have emerged, and there are numerous examples of subdivisions and synthesis. It is common to speak of each form of yoga as a ”path” to enlightenment. Thus, yoga may include love and devotion (as in bhakti yoga), selfless work (as in karma yoga), wisdom of existence (as in jnana yoga), or an eight-limbed system of disciplines emphasizing meditation (as in Raja yoga).These practices occupy a continuum from the religious to the scientific. They need not be mutually exclusive. (A person who follows the path of selfless work might also cultivate some knowledge and devotion. ) some people (particularly in western culture) pursue yoga as exercise divorced from spiritual practice.

             Other types of yoga include Mantra yoga, kundalini yoga, iyengar yoga, kriya yoga, integral yoga, nitya yoga, maha yoga, purna yoga, anahata yoga, tantra yoga, tibetan yoga etc. It is often helpful to check the teacher and lineage to be sure how these terms are being used. Another name for Raja yoga (“royal yoga”) is asthanga yoga (Eight-limbed yoga), but this should not be confused with the asthangavinyasa yoga