Revision as of 07:57, 16 June 2015 view source70.30.101.28 (talk)No edit summary← Previous edit | Latest revision as of 19:59, 13 December 2024 view source Chiswick Chap (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users, Page movers, New page reviewers, Pending changes reviewers, Rollbackers295,743 edits →{{anchor|Yoga as a physical practice}}Yoga as exercise: small ce, punct | ||
Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{Short description|Spiritual practices from ancient India}} | |||
{{about|the umbrella term yoga which includes religion, philosophy, and practices|one of the six Hindu philosophy schools|Rāja yoga|the popular yoga that explains and emphasizes the physical practices or disciplines|Hatha Yoga|other uses}} | |||
{{about||modern yoga as exercise|Yoga as exercise|the use of yoga as therapy|Yoga as therapy|the ancient Indian philosophy|Yoga (philosophy)|other uses}} | |||
] | |||
{{pp|small=yes}} | |||
{{Hindu philosophy}} | |||
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2016}} | |||
{{Buddhism}} | |||
{{Use |
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2016}} | ||
] performing yoga in the ]]] | |||
{{Contains Indic text}} | |||
{{Contains special characters|Indic}} | |||
'''Yoga''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|j|oʊ|g|ə}}; ]: {{lang|inc|]}}, ) is a ] ], ], and ] practice or discipline. Yoga is a philosophy of ] that requires mental, physical and spiritual connection in order to achieve enlightenment. Lord ] was the first yogi as per the authentic ] texts in which Yoga was first taught. There is a broad variety of schools, practices and goals{{sfn|White|2011}} in ], ] (including ] and ]<ref>Chogyam Trungpa (2001) ''The Lion's Roar: An Introduction to Tantra''. Shambhala. ISBN 1-57062-895-5</ref><ref>Edmonton Patric 2007,pali and its sinificance p. 332</ref><ref name="Lama Yeshe 1998, pg.135-141">Lama Yeshe (1998). ''The Bliss of Inner Fire.'' Wisdom Publications. pp. 135-141.</ref>) and ].<ref>Denise Lardner Carmody, John Carmody (1996), ''Serene Compassion.'' Oxford University Press US. p. 68.</ref><ref name="autogenerated1">Stuart Ray Sarbacker, ''Samādhi: The Numinous and Cessative in Indo-Tibetan Yoga.'' SUNY Press, 2005, pp. 1–2.</ref><ref name="Tattvarthasutra 2007 p. 102">Tattvarthasutra , see Manu Doshi (2007) Translation of Tattvarthasutra, Ahmedabad: Shrut Ratnakar p. 102</ref><ref name="autogenerated1" /> The best-known are ] and ]. | |||
{{Hinduism |schools}} | |||
'''Yoga'''{{efn|name="traditional_modern_yoga"}} ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|j|oʊ|g|ə}};{{sfn|OED|0000}} {{langx|sa|योग}}, {{IPA|sa|joːɡɐ|audio=Yoga pronunciation.ogg}}, lit. "yoke" or "union") is a group of ], mental, and ] practices or disciplines that originated in ], aimed at controlling body and mind to attain various ] goals,{{sfn|Bowker|2000 |p=entry "Yoga"}}{{sfn|Keown|2004|p=entry "Yoga"}}{{sfn|Johnson|2009|p=entry "Yoga"}}{{efn|name="two_definitions"}} as practiced in the ], ], and ] traditions.{{sfn|Carmody|Carmody|1996|p=68}}{{sfn|Sarbacker|2005|pp=1–2}} | |||
Yoga may have pre-] origins,{{efn|Hindu-scholars have argued that Yoga has ] Vedic origins, and influenced Jainism and Buddhism.}} but is first attested in the early first millennium BCE. It developed as various traditions in the eastern Ganges basin drew from a common body of practices, including ] elements.{{sfn|Crangle|1994|pp=1–6}}{{sfn|Crangle|1994|pp=103–138}} Yoga-like practices are mentioned in the '']''{{sfn|Werner|1977}} and a number of early ],{{sfn|Deussen|1997|p=556}}{{sfn|Ayyangar|1938|p=2}}{{sfn|Ruff|2011|pp=97–112}}{{efn|name="Katha_Upanishad"}} but systematic yoga concepts emerge during the fifth and sixth centuries BCE in ancient India's ] and ] movements, including Jainism and Buddhism.{{sfn|Samuel|2008|p=8}} The '']'', the classical text on Hindu yoga, ]-based but influenced by Buddhism, dates to the early centuries of the ].{{sfn|Bryant|2009|p=xxxiv}}{{sfn|Desmarais|2008|p=16–17}}{{efn|name="YS_dating"}} ] texts began to emerge between the ninth and 11th centuries, originating in ].{{efn|name="hatha_yoga_dating"}} | |||
The origins of Yoga have been speculated to date back to pre-Vedic ] traditions, but most likely developed around the sixth and fifth centuries BCE, in ancient India's ] circles, which are also credited with the early ].{{sfn|Samuel|2008|p=8}}{{refn|group=note|Buddhists, Jainas and Ajivikas{{sfn|Samuel|2008|p=8}}}} The chronology of earliest texts describing yoga-practices is unclear, varyingly credited to Hindu ]<ref name=marksing>Mark Singleton (2010), Yoga Body: The Origins of Modern Posture Practice, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0195395341, pages 25-34</ref> and Buddhist ],<ref name="Werner (1977) p. 119-20" /> probably of third century BCE or later. The '']'' from first half of 1st millennium CE is one of a key surviving major texts on Yoga.<ref>Whicher, pp. 1-4, chronology on pp. 41-42</ref><ref>W. Y. Evans-Wentz (2000), Tibetan Yoga and Secret Doctrines, 3rd Edition, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0195133141, Chapters 7 and 8</ref> Hatha yoga texts emerged around 11th century CE, and in its origins was related to ].<ref name="khecari1">James Mallinson, "Sāktism and Hathayoga," 28 June 2012. pg. 20, Quote: "The techniques of hatha yoga are not taught in Sanskrit texts until the 11th century or thereabouts."</ref><ref name="autogenerated16">Burley, Mikel (2000). Hatha Yoga: Its Context, Theory and Practice. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. p. 16. "It is for this reason that hatha-yoga is sometimes referred to as a variety of 'Tantrism'."</ref> | |||
Yoga is practiced worldwide,{{sfn|BBC|2017}} but "yoga" in the Western world often entails a modern form of Hatha yoga and a ],{{sfn|Burley|2000|pp=1–2}} consisting largely of ]s;{{sfn|History|2019}} this differs from traditional yoga, which focuses on ] and release from worldly attachments.{{sfn|King|1999|p=67}}{{sfn|Burley|2000|pp=1–2}}{{sfn|Jantos|2012|pp=362–363}}{{efn|name="traditional_modern_yoga"}} It was introduced by ]s from ] after the success of ]'s adaptation of yoga without asanas in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.{{sfn|White|2011|p=xvi–xvii, 2}} Vivekananda introduced the ''Yoga Sutras'' to the West, and they became prominent after the 20th-century success of hatha yoga.{{sfn|White|2014|pp=xvi–xvii}} | |||
Yoga gurus from India later introduced yoga to the west,{{sfn|White|2011|p=2}} following the success of Swami ] in the late 19th and early 20th century.{{sfn|White|2011|p=2}} In the 1980s, yoga became popular as a system of ] across the Western world.<ref name="autogenerated16"/> Yoga in Indian traditions, however, is more than physical exercise, it has a meditative and spiritual core.<ref> | |||
*Marek Jantos (2012), in Oxford Textbook of Spirituality in Healthcare (Editors: Mark Cobb et al.), Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0199571390, pages 362-363 | |||
*James M. Nelson (2009), Psychology, Religion, and Spirituality, Springer, ISBN 978-1441927699, pages 78-82 | |||
*Jean Varenne (1977), Yoga and the Hindu Tradition, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-0226851167, Preface and Introduction</ref> One of the six major orthodox schools of Hinduism is also called ], which has its own epistemology and metaphysics, and is closely related to Hindu ] philosophy.<ref> | |||
*Mikel Burley (2012), Classical Samkhya and Yoga: An Indian Metaphysics of Experience, Routledge, ISBN 978-0415648875, See Introduction section; | |||
*John A. Grimes (1989), A Concise Dictionary of Indian Philosophy: Sanskrit Terms Defined in English, State University of New York Press, ISBN 978-0791401002, page 70</ref> | |||
{{TOC limit|3}} | |||
Many studies have tried to determine the effectiveness of yoga as a complementary intervention for cancer, schizophrenia, asthma, and heart disease. The results of these studies<ref> | |||
*{{cite journal|last=Smith|first=Kelly B.|first2=Caroline F. |last2=Pukall|title=An evidence-based review of yoga as a complementary intervention for patients with cancer|journal=Psycho-Oncology|date=May 2009|volume=18|issue=5|pages=465–475|doi=10.1002/pon.1411|pmid=18821529}} | |||
*{{cite journal|last=Sharma|first=Manoj|first2=Taj|last2= Haider|title=Yoga as an Alternative and Complementary Treatment for Asthma: A Systematic Review|journal=]|date=October 2012|volume=17|issue=3|pages=212–217|doi=10.1177/2156587212453727}} | |||
*{{cite journal|last=Innes|first=Kim E.|first2=Cheryl |last2=Bourguignon|title=Risk Indices Associated with the Insulin Resistance Syndrome, Cardiovascular Disease, and Possible Protection with Yoga: A Systematic Review|journal=]|date=November–December 2005|volume=18|issue=6|pages=491–519|doi=10.3122/jabfm.18.6.491}}</ref><ref name="Schizophrenia">{{cite journal | last1=Vancampfort | first1=D. | last2=Vansteeland | first2=K. | last3=Scheewe | first3=T. | last4=Probst | first4=M. | last5=Knapen | first5=J. | last6=De Herdt | first6=A. | last7=De Hert | first7=M. | title=Yoga in schizophrenia: a systematic review of randomised controlled trials | journal=] |date=July 2012 | volume=126 | issue=1 | pages=12–20 | doi=10.1111/j.1600-0447.2012.01865.x}}, art.nr. 10.1111/j.1600-0447.2012.01865.x</ref> have been mixed and inconclusive, with cancer studies suggesting none to unclear effectiveness, and others suggesting yoga may reduce risk factors and aid in a patient's psychological healing process. | |||
== |
==Etymology== | ||
] |
], author of the '']'', meditating in the ]]] | ||
The ] noun {{lang|sa|योग}} ''{{IAST|yoga}}'' is derived from the root ''{{IAST|]}}'' ({{lang|sa|युज्}}) "to attach, join, harness, yoke".{{sfn|Satyananda|2008|p=1}}{{sfn|Jones|Ryan|2007|p=511}} According to Jones and Ryan, "The word yoga is derived from the root yuj, “to yoke,” probably because the early practice concentrated on restraining or “yoking in” the senses. Later the name was also seen as a metaphor for “linking” or “yoking to” God or the divine."{{sfn|Jones|Ryan|2007|p=511}} | |||
In ], the more commonly used, literal meaning of the ] word '']'' which is "to add", "to join", "to unite", or "to attach" from the root ''{{IAST|yuj}}'', already had a much more figurative sense, where the yoking or harnessing of oxen or horses takes on broader meanings such as "employment, use, application, performance" (compare the figurative uses of "to ]" as in "to put something to some use"). All further developments of the sense of this word are post-Vedic. More prosaic moods such as "exertion", "endeavour", "zeal", and "diligence" are also found in ].<ref>{{cite book|title=A Sanskrit-English Dictionary: ...with Special Reference to Greek, Latin, Gothic, German, Anglo-saxon..|author=Monier Monier-Williams|page=804|publisher=Clarendon}}</ref> | |||
Buswell and Lopez translate "yoga" as "'bond', 'restraint', and by extension "spiritual discipline."{{sfn|Buswell|Lopez|2014|p=entry "yoga"}} Flood refers to restraining the mind as yoking the mind.{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=95}} | |||
There are very many ] containing ''yog'' in Sanskrit. ''Yoga'' can take on meanings such as "connection", "contact", "method", "application", "addition", and "performance". In simpler words, Yoga also means "'''combined'''". For example, ''guṇá-yoga'' means "contact with a cord"; ''chakrá-yoga'' has a medical sense of "applying a splint or similar instrument by means of pulleys (in case of dislocation of the thigh)"; ''chandrá-yoga'' has the astronomical sense of "conjunction of the moon with a constellation"; ''puṃ-yoga'' is a grammatical term expressing "connection or relation with a man", etc. Thus, ''bhakti-yoga'' means "devoted attachment" in the ] ]. The term '']'' has a grammatical sense, meaning "connection with a verb". But the same compound is also given a technical meaning in the ''Yoga Sutras'' (2.1), designating the "practical" aspects of the philosophy, i.e. the "union with the Supreme" due to performance of duties in everyday life<ref>Whicher, p. 6–7.</ref> | |||
''Yoga'' is a ] of the ] word "yoke," since both are derived from an ] root.{{sfn|White|2011|p=3}} According to ], the first use of the root of the word "yoga" is in hymn 5.81.1 of the '']'', a dedication to the rising Sun-god, where it has been interpreted as "yoke" or "control".{{sfn|Burley|2000|p=25}}<ref name=sriauro />{{efn|Original Sanskrit: '''युञ्जते''' मन उत '''युञ्जते''' धियो विप्रा विप्रस्य बृहतो विपश्चितः। वि होत्रा दधे वयुनाविदेक इन्मही देवस्य सवितुः परिष्टुतिः॥१॥<ref>Sanskrit: <br />Source: {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170511111113/https://sa.wikisource.org/%E0%A4%8B%E0%A4%97%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B5%E0%A5%87%E0%A4%A6:_%E0%A4%B8%E0%A5%82%E0%A4%95%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%A4%E0%A4%82_%E0%A5%AB.%E0%A5%AE%E0%A5%A7 |date=11 May 2017 }} Wikisource</ref><br />'''Translation 1''': Seers of the vast illumined seer yogically control their minds and their intelligence... (…){{sfn|Burley|2000|p=25}}<br /> | |||
According to ], a 6th-century BCE Sanskrit grammarian, the term yoga can be derived from either of two roots, ''yujir yoga'' (to yoke) or ''yuj samādhau'' (to concentrate).<ref name="Dasgupta 1975 226"/> In the context of the ''Yoga Sutras of Patanjali'', the root ''yuj samādhau'' (to concentrate) is considered by traditional commentators as the correct etymology.<ref>Bryant 2009, p. 5.</ref> In accordance with ], ] who wrote the first commentary on the ''Yoga Sutras'',<ref>Bryant 2009, p. xxxix.</ref> states that yoga means '']'' (concentration).<ref>{{cite book |last= Aranya |first= Swami Hariharananda |authorlink= Swami Hariharananda Aranya |title= Yoga Philosophy of Patanjali with Bhasvati |year= 2000 |publisher= University of Calcutta |location= Calcutta, India |isbn= 81-87594-00-4|page= 1}}</ref> | |||
'''Translation 2''': The illumined yoke their mind and they yoke their thoughts to the illuminating godhead, to the vast, to the luminous in consciousness;<br /> | |||
the one knower of all manifestation of knowledge, he alone orders the things of the sacrifice. Great is the praise of Savitri, the creating godhead.<ref name=sriauro>Sri Aurobindo (1916, Reprinted 1995), A Hymn to Savitri V.81, in The Secret of Veda, {{ISBN|978-0-914955-19-1}}, page 529</ref>}} | |||
] (4th c. BCE) wrote that the term ''yoga'' can be derived from either of two roots: ''yujir yoga'' (to yoke) or ''yuj samādhau'' ("to concentrate").<ref name="Dasgupta 1975 226">{{cite book |last=Dasgupta |first=Surendranath |title=A History of Indian Philosophy | volume=1 |year=1975 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |location=], India |isbn=81-208-0412-0 |page=226}}</ref> In the context of the ''Yoga Sutras'', the root ''yuj samādhau'' (to concentrate) is considered the correct etymology by traditional commentators.{{sfn|Bryant|2009|p=5}} In accordance with Pāṇini, ] (who wrote the first commentary on the ''Yoga Sutras''){{sfn|Bryant|2009|p=xxxix}} says that yoga means '']'' (concentration).<ref>{{cite book |last=Aranya |first=Swami Hariharananda |author-link=Swami Hariharananda Aranya |title=Yoga Philosophy of Patanjali with Bhasvati |year=2000 |publisher=] |location=Calcutta, India |isbn=81-87594-00-4 |page=1}}</ref> Larson notes that in the Vyāsa Bhāsy the term "samadhi" refers to "all levels of mental life" (sārvabhauma), that is, "all possible states of awareness, whether ordinary or extraordinary."{{sfn|Larson|2008|p=29}} | |||
A person who practices yoga, or follows the yoga philosophy with a high level of commitment, is called a ]; a female yogi may also be known as a ].<ref>American Heritage Dictionary: "Yogi, One who practices yoga." Websters: "Yogi, A follower of the yoga philosophy; an ascetic."</ref> | |||
==Prehistoric Origin== | |||
Estimated 15,000 years ago (~13,000 BCE), ] (the first yogi), a person with unknown origins appeared in the upper regions of ]. Seeing his intense ecstatic state, seven hardcore seekers stayed with him. He took his seven disciples - ] to Kantisarovar and transformed himself in to Aadi ] - the first guru and started a systematic exposition of yoga in a scientific manner not intellectually as a philosophy, but experientially. After imparting his knowledge he sent his seven disciples to different parts of the world.<ref>{{cite news||last1=J|first1=]|title=The first Guru is born|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/edit-page/The-first-Guru-is-born/articleshow/14613783.cms|accessdate=13 June 2015|agency=Times News Service|publisher=]|date=3 July 2012}}</ref> One went to Central Asia. Another went to North Africa and the Middle East, another went to South America, One stayed right there with Adiyogi. Another one came to the lower regions of the Himalayas and started what is known as Kashmiri Shaivism. Another one went south into the Indian Peninsula who is known as ]. The Sapta Rishis became the basis of the seven basic schools of yoga. Even today, these seven schools are still distinctly there. Adiyogi created this spine of knowledge, not in the form of books or teachings, but as an energy-based knowledge.<ref>{{cite book||last1=J|first1=]|title=Shiva - Ultimate Outlaw|date=February 2014|publisher=ISHA FOUNDATION|location=Coimbatore|page=7|edition=First|url=http://www.ishafoundation.org/blog/sadhgurus-latest-ebook-shiva-ultimate-outlaw/|accessdate=13 June 2015}}</ref> He had the highest understanding of human nature, but he didn’t put anything down in writing. ] came much later to reorganize the complex and diversified subject and he has put them all in a certain format - as the ].<ref>{{cite book||last1=J|first1=]|title=Mystic's musings|date=2003|publisher=Wisdom Tree|location=New Delhi, India|isbn=8186685596|page=547|edition=1st ed.|url=http://www.amazon.com/Mystics-Musings-Jaggi-Vasudev/dp/8186685596}}</ref> | |||
{{anchor|Definition in classic Indian texts}} | |||
==Goal of Yoga== | |||
The ultimate goal of Yoga is '']'' (liberation) though the exact definition of what form this takes depends on the philosophical or theological system with which it is conjugated. | |||
==Definition== | |||
According to Jacobsen, "Yoga has five principal meanings:<ref name="Jacobsen4" /> | |||
# Yoga as a disciplined method for attaining a goal; | |||
# Yoga as techniques of controlling the body and the mind; | |||
# Yoga as a name of one of the schools or systems of philosophy (''{{IAST|darśana}}''); | |||
# Yoga in connection with other words, such as "hatha-, mantra-, and laya-," referring to traditions specialising in particular techniques of yoga; | |||
# Yoga as the goal of Yoga practice."<ref name="Jacobsen4">Jacobsen, p. 4.</ref> | |||
=== Definitions in classical texts === | |||
According to David Gordon White, from the 5th century CE onward, the core principles of "yoga" were more or less in place, and variations of these principles developed in various forms over time:{{sfn|White|2011|p=6}} | |||
The term "''yoga''" has been defined in different ways in Indian philosophical and religious traditions.<!--the whole table sources this statement--> | |||
# Yoga as an analysis of perception and cognition; illustration of this principle is found in Hindu texts such as the '']'' and '']'', as well as a number of Buddhist Mahāyāna works;{{sfn|White|2011|pp=6-7}} | |||
# Yoga as the rising and expansion of consciousness; these are discussed in sources such as Hinduism Epic ''], Jainism Praśamaratiprakarana;{{sfn|White|2011|pp=7-8}} | |||
# Yoga as a path to omniscience; examples are found in Hinduism ] and ] school texts as well as Buddhism Mādhyamaka texts, but in different ways;{{sfn|White|2011|pp=9-10}} | |||
# Yoga as a technique for entering into other bodies, generating multiple bodies, and the attainment of other supernatural accomplishments; these are described in ] literature of Hinduism and Buddhism, as well as the Buddhist Sāmaññaphalasutta;{{sfn|White|2011|pp=10-12}} | |||
{| class="wikitable" | |||
White clarifies that the last principle relates to legendary goals of "yogi practice", different from practical goals of "yoga practice," as they are viewed in South Asian thought and practice since the beginning of the Common Era, in the various Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain philosophical schools.{{sfn|White|2011|p=11}} | |||
|+ | |||
!Source Text | |||
!Approx. Date | |||
!Definition of Yoga{{sfn|Mallinson|Singleton|2017|pp=17–23}} | |||
|- | |||
|'']'' | |||
| c. 4th century BCE | |||
|"Because in this manner he joins the ] (breath), the ], and this Universe in its manifold forms, or because they join themselves (to him), therefore this (process of meditation) is called Yoga (joining). The oneness of breath, mind, and senses, and then the surrendering of all conceptions, that is called Yoga"<ref>{{Cite book |last=Muller |first=F. Max |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TXf-AQAAQBAJ |title=The Upanisads |date=2013-11-05 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-86449-0 |language=en}}</ref> | |||
|- | |||
|] | |||
| c. 4th century BCE | |||
|"Pleasure and suffering arise as a result of the drawing together of the sense organs, the mind and objects. When that does not happen because the mind is in the self, there is no pleasure or suffering for one who is embodied. That is yoga" (5.2.15–16)<ref>], 5.2.15–16</ref> | |||
|- | |||
|'']'' | |||
| last centuries BCE | |||
|"When the five senses, along with the mind, remain still and the intellect is not active, that is known as the highest state. They consider yoga to be firm restraint of the senses. Then one becomes un-distracted for yoga is the arising and the passing away" (6.10–11)<ref>'']'', 6.10–11</ref> | |||
|- | |||
|'']'' | |||
| c. 2nd century BCE | |||
|"Be equal minded in both success and failure. Such equanimity is called Yoga" (2.48) | |||
"Yoga is skill in action" (2.50) | |||
"Know that which is called yoga to be separation from contact with suffering" (6.23)<ref>'']'', 2.48, 2.50, 6.23</ref> | |||
|- | |||
|'']'' | |||
|c. first centuries CE{{sfn|Bryant|2009|p=xxxiv}}{{sfn|Desmarais|2008|p=16-17}}{{efn|name="YS_dating"}} | |||
|1.2. ''yogas chitta vritti nirodhah'' – "Yoga is the calming down the fluctuations/patterns of mind"<br />1.3. Then the ] is established in his own essential and fundamental nature.<br />1.4. In other states there is assimilation (of the Seer) with the modifications (of the mind).<ref>'']'', 1.2–4</ref> | |||
|- | |||
|''] (Sravakabhumi)'', a ] Buddhist ] work | |||
| 4th century CE | |||
|"Yoga is fourfold: faith, aspiration, perseverance and means" (2.152)<ref>''] (Sravakabhumi)'', 2.152</ref> | |||
|- | |||
|Kaundinya's ''Pancarthabhasya'' on the '']'' | |||
| 4th century CE | |||
|"In this system, yoga is the union of the self and the Lord" (I.I.43) | |||
|- | |||
|''Yogaśataka'' a ] work by ] | |||
| 6th century CE | |||
|"With conviction, the lords of Yogins have in our doctrine defined yoga as the concurrence (''sambandhah'') of the three beginning with correct knowledge, since conjunction with liberation....In common usage this yoga also contact with the causes of these , due to the common usage of the cause for the effect." (2, 4).<ref>''Yogaśataka'', 2, 4</ref>{{sfn|Vasudeva|p=241}} | |||
|- | |||
|'']'' | |||
| {{nowrap|7th–10th century CE}} | |||
|"By the word 'yoga' is meant nirvana, the condition of ]." (I.8.5a)<ref>'']'', I.8.5a</ref> | |||
|- | |||
|'']-bhasya'' of ] | |||
| c. 8th century CE | |||
|"It is said in the treatises on yoga: 'Yoga is the means of perceiving reality' (''atha tattvadarsanabhyupāyo yogah'')" (2.1.3)<ref>']-bhasya'', 2.1.3</ref> | |||
|- | |||
|''Mālinīvijayottara Tantra'', one of the primary authorities in non-dual ] | |||
| 6th–10th century CE | |||
|"Yoga is said to be the oneness of one entity with another." (4.4–8)<ref>''Mālinīvijayottara Tantra'', 4.4–8</ref>{{sfn|Vasudeva|pp=235–236}} | |||
|- | |||
|''Mrgendratantravrtti'', of the ] scholar Narayanakantha | |||
| 6th–10th century CE | |||
|"To have self-mastery is to be a Yogin. The term Yogin means "one who is necessarily "conjoined with" the manifestation of his nature...the Siva-state (''sivatvam'')" (yp 2a)<ref>''Mrgendratantravrtti'', yp 2a</ref>{{sfn|Vasudeva|pp=235–236}} | |||
|- | |||
|''Śaradatilaka'' of Lakshmanadesikendra, a ] ] work | |||
| 11th century CE | |||
|"Yogic experts state that yoga is the oneness of the individual Self (jiva) with the atman. Others understand it to be the ascertainment of Siva and the Self as non-different. The scholars of the Agamas say that it is a Knowledge which is of the nature of Siva's Power. Other scholars say it is the knowledge of the primordial Self." (25.1–3b)<ref>''Śaradatilaka'', 25.1–3b</ref>{{sfn|Vasudeva|p=243}} | |||
|- | |||
|''Yogabija'', a ] work | |||
| 14th century CE | |||
|"The union of apana and prana, one's own rajas and semen, the sun and moon, the individual Self and the supreme Self, and in the same way the union of all dualities, is called yoga. " (89)<ref>''Yogabija'', 89</ref> | |||
|} | |||
===Scholarly definitions=== | |||
==Schools of Yoga== | |||
Due to its complicated historical development, and the broad array of definitions and usage in Indian religions, scholars have warned that yoga is hard, if not impossible, to define exactly.{{sfn|White|2011}} David Gordon White notes that "'Yoga' has a wider range of meanings than nearly any other word in the entire Sanskrit lexicon."{{sfn|White|2011}} | |||
The term "yoga" has been applied to a variety of practices and methods. The well-known Hindu schools of Yoga being ], ], ], ] and ], but also including Jain and Buddhist practices. ], constitute classical Ashtanga Yoga (the eight limbs), also called ].<ref>{{Cite book|title = Ashtanga Yoga Primer|last = Hari Dass|first = Baba|publisher = Sri Ram Publishing|year = 1978|isbn = 978-0918100047|location = Santa Cruz|pages = bk. cover}}</ref> | |||
In its broadest sense, yoga is a generic term for techniques aimed at controlling body and mind and attaining a soteriological goal as specified by a specific tradition: | |||
===Buddhism=== | |||
* Richard King (1999): "Yoga in the more traditional sense of the term has been practised throughout South Asia and beyond and involves a multitude of techniques leading to spiritual and ethical purification. Hindu and Buddhist traditions alike place a great deal of emphasis upon the practice of yoga as a means of attaining liberation from the world of rebirth and yogic practices have been aligned with a variety of philosophical theories and metaphysical positions."{{sfn|King|1999|p=67}} | |||
{{Main|Buddhist meditation|Dhyāna in Buddhism|Yogacara|Vajrayana}} | |||
* John Bowker (2000): "The means or techniques for transforming consciousness and attaining liberation (mokṣa) from karma and rebirth (saṃsāra) in Indian religions."{{sfn|Bowker|2000 |p=entry "Yoga"}} | |||
* Damien Keown (2004): "Any form of spiritual discipline aimed at gaining control over the mind with the ultimate aim of attaining liberation from rebirth."{{sfn|Keown|2004|p=entry "Yoga"}} | |||
* W. J. Johnson (2009): "A generic term for a wide variety of religious practices At its broadest, however, ‘yoga’ simply refers to a particular method or discipline for transforming the individual A narrower reading makes the practice contingent on, or derived from, control of the body and the senses, as in haṭha-yoga, or control of the breath (prāṇāyāma) and through it the mind, as in Patañjali's rājayoga. At its most neutral, yoga is therefore simply a technique, or set of techniques, including what is usually termed ‘meditation’, for attaining whatever soteriological or soteriological-cum-physiological transformation a particular tradition specifies."{{sfn|Johnson|2009|p=entry "Yoga"}} | |||
According to ], yoga has five principal meanings:{{sfn|Jacobsen|2018|p=4}} | |||
Buddhist meditation encompasses a variety of ] techniques that aim to develop ], ], ], ], and ]. | |||
# A disciplined method for attaining a goal | |||
# Techniques of controlling the body and mind | |||
# A name of a school or system of philosophy (''{{IAST|darśana}}'') | |||
# With prefixes such as "hatha-, mantra-, and laya-, traditions specialising in particular yoga techniques | |||
# The goal of yoga practice{{sfn|Jacobsen|2011|p=4}} | |||
] writes that yoga's core principles were more or less in place in the 5th century CE, and variations of the principles developed over time:{{sfn|White|2011|p=6}} | |||
Core techniques have been preserved in ancient ] and have proliferated and diversified through teacher-student transmissions. ] pursue meditation as part of the path toward ] and ].{{refn|group=note|For instance, Kamalashila (2003), p. 4, states that Buddhist meditation "includes any method of meditation that has ] as its ''ultimate'' aim." Likewise, Bodhi (1999) writes: "To arrive at the experiential realization of the truths it is necessary to take up the practice of meditation.... At the climax of such contemplation the mental eye ... shifts its focus to the unconditioned state, ]...." A similar although in some ways slightly broader definition is provided by Fischer-Schreiber ''et al.'' (1991), p. 142: "'''Meditation''' – general term for a multitude of religious practices, often quite different in method, but all having the same goal: to bring the consciousness of the practitioner to a state in which he can come to an experience of 'awakening,' 'liberation,' 'enlightenment.'" Kamalashila (2003) further allows that some Buddhist meditations are "of a more preparatory nature" (p. 4).}} The closest words for meditation in the classical languages of Buddhism are '']''{{refn|group=note|The ] and ] word ''bhāvanā'' literally means "development" as in "mental development." For the association of this term with "meditation," see Epstein (1995), p. 105; and, Fischer-Schreiber ''et al.'' (1991), p. 20. As an example from a well-known discourse of the ], in "The Greater Exhortation to Rahula" (''Maha-Rahulovada Sutta'', ] 62), Ven. ] tells Ven. ] (in Pali, based on : ''{{IAST|ānāpānassatiṃ, rāhula, bhāvanaṃ bhāvehi.}}'' translates this as: "Rahula, develop the meditation of ]." (Square-bracketed Pali word included based on Thanissaro, 2006, end note.)}} and '']''.{{refn|group=note|See, for example, ; ; as well as, Kapleau (1989), p. 385, for the derivation of the word "zen" from ] "dhyāna." ] Secretary Dr. Rupert Gethin, in describing the activities of ] contemporaneous with the Buddha, wrote: | |||
# A meditative means of discovering dysfunctional perception and cognition, as well as overcoming it to release any suffering, find inner peace, and salvation. Illustration of this principle is found in Hindu texts such as the '']'' and '']'', in a number of Buddhist Mahāyāna works, as well as Jain texts.{{sfn|White|2011|pp=6–8}} | |||
:"...here is the cultivation of meditative and contemplative techniques aimed at producing what might, for the lack of a suitable technical term in English, be referred to as 'altered states of consciousness'. In the technical vocabulary of Indian religious texts such states come to be termed 'meditations' ( ''dhyāna'' / ''jhāna'') or 'concentrations' ('']''); the attainment of such states of consciousness was generally regarded as bringing the practitioner to deeper knowledge and experience of the nature of the world." (Gethin, 1998, p. 10.)}} Buddhist meditation techniques have become increasingly popular in the wider world, with many non-Buddhists taking them up for a variety of reasons. | |||
# The raising and expansion of consciousness from oneself to being coextensive with everyone and everything. These are discussed in sources such as in Hinduism Vedic literature and its epic '']'', the Jain Praśamaratiprakarana, and Buddhist Nikaya texts.{{sfn|White|2011|pp=8–9}} | |||
# A path to omniscience and enlightened consciousness enabling one to comprehend the impermanent (illusive, delusive) and permanent (true, transcendent) reality. Examples of this are found in Hinduism ] and ] school texts as well as Buddhism Mādhyamaka texts, but in different ways.{{sfn|White|2011|pp=9–10}} | |||
# A technique for entering into other bodies, generating multiple bodies, and the attainment of other supernatural accomplishments. These are, states White, described in ] literature of Hinduism and Buddhism, as well as the Buddhist Sāmaññaphalasutta.{{sfn|White|2011|pp=10–12}} | |||
According to White, the last principle relates to legendary goals of yoga practice; it differs from yoga's practical goals in South Asian thought and practice since the beginning of the Common Era in Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain philosophical schools.{{sfn|White|2011|p=11}} ] disagrees with the inclusion of supernatural accomplishments, and suggests that such fringe practices are far removed from the mainstream Yoga's goal as meditation-driven means to liberation in Indian religions.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Mallinson |first=James |author-link=James Mallinson (author) |title=The Yogīs' Latest Trick |journal=Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society |publisher=] |volume=24 |issue=1 |year=2013 |pages=165–180 |doi=10.1017/s1356186313000734 | s2cid=161393103 |doi-access=free |issn = 0035-869X}}</ref> | |||
===Hinduism=== | |||
A classic definition of yoga comes from Patanjali Yoga Sutras 1.2 and 1.3,{{sfn|King|1999|p=67}}{{sfn|White|2011|p=3}}{{sfn|Feuerstein|1998|p=4-5}}{{sfn|Olsson|2023|p=2}} which define yoga as "the stilling of the movements of the mind," and the recognition of Purusha, the witness-consciousness, as different from Prakriti, mind and matter.{{sfn|White|2011|p=3}}{{sfn|Feuerstein|1998|p=4-5}}{{sfn|Olsson|2023|p=2}}{{efn|name="Samuel_White|Vivekananda"|{{harvtxt|Samuel|2010|p=221}}, referring to White (2006), ''"Open" and "Closed" Models of the Human Body in Indian Medical and Yogic Traditions''. Asian Medicine: Tradition and Modernity 2: 1-13, notes that, according to White, a "frequent modern interpretation of yoga" is largely based on "Vivekananda's selective reading of the ''Yogasutra'', as 'a meditative practice through which the absolute was to be found by turning the mind and senses inwards, away from the world'."}} According to Larson, in the context of the ''Yoga Sutras'', yoga has two meanings. The first meaning is yoga "as a general term to be translated as "disciplined meditation" that focuses on any of the many levels of ordinary awareness."{{sfn|Larson|2008|p=30}} In the second meaning yoga is "that specific system of thought (sāstra) that has for its focus the analysis, understanding and cultivation of those altered states of awareness that lead one to the experience of spiritual liberation."{{sfn|Larson|2008|p=30}} | |||
====Yoga (Philosophy)==== | |||
{{Main|Rāja yoga|Yoga Sutras of Patanjali}} | |||
Yoga is a philosophical school in Hinduism, and sometimes referred to as ].<ref>], Indian Philosophy, London, George Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1971 edition, Volume II, pp. 19–20.</ref> Yoga, in this context, is one of the six '']'' schools of Hinduism (those which accept the Vedas as source of knowledge).<ref>{{Harvnb|Flood|1996|pp=82, 224–49}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.co.in/books?id=DTPJpanTizwC&pg=PA446&dq=yoga+is+one+of+the+six+astika+schools+of+hindu+philosophy&hl=en&sa=X&ei=6a81UqbZAsHIrQe8uoGoCQ&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false|title=Changing World Religions, Cults & Occult|publisher=}}</ref> The ''Yoga Sutras of Patanjali'' is considered as a central text of the Yoga school of Hindu philosophy,<ref>Whicher, pp. 41-43</ref> | |||
Another classic understanding{{sfn|King|1999|p=67}}{{sfn|White|2011|p=3}}{{sfn|Feuerstein|1998|p=4-5}}{{sfn|Olsson|2023|p=2}} sees yoga as union or connection with the highest Self (''paramatman''), Brahman,{{sfn|Feuerstein|1998|p=4-5}} or God, a "union, a linking of the individual to the divine."{{sfn|Olsson|2023|p=2}} This definition is based on the devotionalism (]) of the Bhagavad Gita, and the ] of ].{{sfn|Olsson|2023|p=2}}{{sfn|Feuerstein|1998|p=4-5}}{{efn|name="Grimes"|See, for example, {{harvtxt|Grimes|1996|p=359}}, who states that yoga is a process (or discipline) leading to unity ('']'') with the divine ('']'') or with one's self ('']'').}}{{efn|name="union_AV"|This understanding of yoga as union with the divine is also informed by the medieaval synthesis of Advaita Vedanta and yoga, with the Advaita Vedanta-tradition explicitly incorporating elements from the yogic tradition and texts like the '']'' and the '']'',{{sfn|Madaio|2017|pp=4–5}} culminating in ]'s full embrace and propagation of Yogic samadhi as an Advaita means of knowledge of the identity of the individual self (''jivataman'') and the highest self (''Brahman''), leading to liberation.{{sfn|Rambachan|1994}}{{sfn|Nicholson|2010}}}} | |||
As a school of philosophy, Yoga is a way of life, and incorporates its own epistemology, metaphysics, ethical practices, systematic exercises and self-development techniques for body, mind and spirit.<ref name=edbryant/> Its ] ('']s'') is same as the ] school. Both accept three reliable means to knowledge – perception (''pratyākṣa'', direct sensory observations), inference (''anumāna'') and testimony of trustworthy experts (''sabda'', agama). Both these orthodox schools are also strongly ]. Unlike Sāṃkhya school of Hinduism which pursues non-theistic/atheistic rationalist approach,<ref name=lpfl>Lloyd Pflueger, Person Purity and Power in Yogasutra, in Theory and Practice of Yoga (Editor: Knut Jacobsen), Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120832329, pages 38-39</ref><ref>Mike Burley (2012), Classical Samkhya and Yoga - An Indian Metaphysics of Experience, Routledge, ISBN 978-0415648875, pages 43-46</ref> Yoga school of Hinduism accepts the concept of a "personal, yet essentially inactive, deity" or "personal god".<ref>Kovoor T. Behanan (2002), Yoga: Its Scientific Basis, Dover, ISBN 978-0486417929, pages 56-58</ref><ref>Mike Burley (2012), Classical Samkhya and Yoga - An Indian Metaphysics of Experience, Routledge, ISBN 978-0415648875, page 39, 41</ref> Along with its epistemology and metaphysical foundations, Yoga school of Hindu philosophy incorporates ethical precepts ('']'' and '']s'') and an introspective way of life focused on perfecting one's self physically, mentally and spiritually, with the ultimate goal being ''kaivalya'' (liberated, unified, content state of existence).<ref name=edbryant/><ref>Mike Burley (2012), Classical Samkhya and Yoga - An Indian Metaphysics of Experience, Routledge, ISBN 978-0415648875, pages 38-46</ref><ref>Wade Dazey (2008) on pages 421-423, and Lloyd Pflueger on pages 46-52, in Theory and Practice of Yoga : 'Essays in Honour of Gerald James Larson, Editor: Knut A. Jacobsen, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120832329</ref> | |||
While yoga is often conflated with the "classical yoga" of Patanjali's yoga sutras, Karen O'Brien-Kop notes that "classical yoga" is informed by, and includes, Buddhist yoga.{{sfn|O'Brien-Kop|2021|p=1}} Regarding Buddhist yoga, James Buswell in his ''Encyclopedia of Buddhism'' treats yoga in his entry on meditation, stating that the aim of meditation is to attain samadhi, which serves as the foundation for ''vipasyana'', "discerning the real from the unreal," liberating insight into true reality.{{sfn|Buswell|2004|p=520}} Buswell & Lopez state that "in Buddhism, a generic term for soteriological training or contemplative practice, including tantric practice."{{sfn|Buswell|Lopez|2014|p=entry "yoga"}} | |||
====Hatha yoga==== | |||
{{Main|Hatha yoga}} | |||
O'Brien-Kop further notes that "classical yoga" is not an independent category, but "was informed by the European colonialist project."{{sfn|O'Brien-Kop|2021|p=1}} | |||
Hatha yoga, also called hatha ] (हठविद्या), is a kind of yoga focusing on physical and mental strength building exercises and postures described primarily in three texts of ]:<ref name=kriyananda>See Kriyananada, page 112.</ref><ref name=burley>See Burley, page 73.</ref><ref name=Roden>See Introduction by Rosen, pp 1–2.</ref> | |||
# '']'', ] (15th century) | |||
# '']'', author unknown (1500 C.E <ref name=mallinson>See translation by Mallinson.</ref> or late 17th century) | |||
# '']'' by Gheranda (late 17th century) | |||
==History== | |||
Many scholars also include the preceding ''Goraksha Samhita'' authored by ] of the 11th century in the above list.<ref name=kriyananda/> Gorakshanath is widely considered to have been responsible for popularizing hatha yoga as we know it today.<ref name=dwhite>On page 140, David Gordon White says of Gorakshanath: "... hatha yoga, in which field he was India's major systematizer and innovator."</ref><ref name=bajpai>Bajpai writes on page 524: "Nobody can dispute about the top ranking position of Sage Gorakshanath in the philosophy of Yoga."</ref><ref name=Eliade>Eliade writes of Gorakshanath on page 303: "...he accomplished a new synthesis among certain Shaivist traditions (Pashupata), tantrism, and the doctrines (unfortunately, so imperfectly known) of the siddhas – that is, of the perfect yogis."</ref> | |||
], showing a seated figure in ], surrounded by animals,3300 BCE, ] ]] | |||
There is no consensus on yoga's chronology or origins other than its development in ancient India. There are two broad theories explaining the origins of yoga. The linear model holds that yoga has Vedic origins (as reflected in Vedic texts), and influenced Buddhism. This model is mainly supported by Hindu scholars.{{sfn|Crangle|1994|p=1-6}} According to the synthesis model, yoga is a synthesis of indigenous, non-Vedic practices with Vedic elements. This model is favoured in Western scholarship.{{sfn|Crangle|1994|p=103-138}} | |||
The earliest yoga-practices may have appeared in the Jain tradition at ca. 900 BCE.{{sfn|Jones|Ryan|2007|p=511}}Speculations about yoga are documented in the early Upanishads of the first half of the first millennium BCE, with expositions also appearing in Jain and Buddhist texts {{circa|500|200 BCE}}. Between 200 BCE and 500 CE, traditions of Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain philosophy were taking shape; teachings were collected as ]s, and a philosophical system of ''Patanjaliyogasastra'' began to emerge.{{sfn|Larson|2008|p=36}} The Middle Ages saw the development of a number of yoga satellite traditions. It and other aspects of Indian philosophy came to the attention of the educated Western public during the mid-19th century. | |||
] Buddhism, founded by the Indian ]s,<ref>Davidson, Ronald. ''Indian Esoteric Buddhism.'' Columbia University Press. 2002, pg.169-235.</ref> has a series of asanas and pranayamas, such as ] (Sanskrit ''caṇḍālī'')<ref name="Lama Yeshe 1998, pg.135-141"/> and ] which parallel hatha yoga. | |||
=== |
===Origins=== | ||
{{Main|Shaivism|Shaiva Siddhanta|Nath}} | |||
===={{anchor|Synthetic model}}Synthesis model==== | |||
In ], yoga is used to unite '']'' with ].<ref>Larson, p. 142.</ref> See also 'tantra' below. | |||
Heinrich Zimmer was an exponent of the synthesis model,{{sfn|Crangle|1994|p=5}} arguing for non-Vedic ].{{sfn|Zimmer|1951|p=217, 314}} According to Zimmer, yoga is part of a non-Vedic system which includes the ] school of ], ] and ]:{{sfn|Zimmer|1951|p=217, 314}} " does not derive from Brahman-Aryan sources, but reflects the cosmology and anthropology of a much older pre-Aryan upper class of northeastern India – being rooted in the same subsoil of archaic metaphysical speculation as Yoga, ], and Buddhism, the other non-Vedic Indian systems."{{sfn|Zimmer|1951|p=217}}{{refn|group=note|Zimmer's point of view is supported by other scholars, such as Niniam Smart in ''Doctrine and argument in Indian Philosophy'', 1964, pp. 27–32, 76{{sfn|Crangle|1994|p=7}} and S. K. Belvakar and ] in ''History of Indian philosophy'', 1974 (1927), pp. 81, 303–409.{{sfn|Crangle|1994|pp=5–7}}}} More recently, ]{{sfn|Gombrich|2007}} and Geoffrey Samuel{{sfn|Samuel|2008}} also argue that the '']'' movement originated in the non-Vedic eastern Ganges basin,{{sfn|Samuel|2008}} specifically ].{{sfn|Gombrich|2007}} | |||
Thomas McEvilley favors a composite model in which a pre-Aryan yoga prototype existed in the pre-Vedic period and was refined during the Vedic period.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=McEvilley|first=Thomas|year=1981|title=An Archaeology of Yoga|journal=Res: Anthropology and Aesthetics |volume=1 |issue=spring |page=51 |doi=10.1086/RESv1n1ms20166655 |s2cid=192221643|issn=0277-1322}}</ref> According to Gavin D. Flood, the Upanishads differ fundamentally from the Vedic ritual tradition and indicate non-Vedic influences.{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=78}} However, the traditions may be connected: | |||
===Jainism=== | |||
{{blockquote|his dichotomization is too simplistic, for continuities can undoubtedly be found between renunciation and vedic Brahmanism, while elements from non-Brahmanical, Sramana traditions also played an important part in the formation of the renunciate ideal.{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=77}}{{refn|group=note|Gavin Flood: "These renouncer traditions offered a new vision of the human condition which became incorporated, to some degree, into the worldview of the Brahman householder. The ideology of asceticism and renunciation seems, at first, discontinuous with the brahmanical ideology of the affirmation of social obligations and the performance of public and domestic rituals. Indeed, there has been some debate as to whether asceticism and its ideas of retributive action, reincarnation and spiritual liberation, might not have originated outside the orthodox vedic sphere, or even outside Aryan culture: that a divergent historical origin might account for the apparent contradiction within 'Hinduism' between the world affirmation of the householder and the world negation of the renouncer. However, this dichotomization is too simplistic, for continuities can undoubtedly be found between renunciation and vedic Brahmanism, while elements from non-Brahmanical, Sramana traditions also played an important part in the formation of the renunciate ideal. Indeed there are continuities between vedic Brahmanism and Buddhism, and it has been argued that the Buddha sought to return to the ideals of a vedic society which he saw as being eroded in his own day."{{sfn|Flood|1996|pp=76–77}}}}}} | |||
{{Main|Jain meditation}} | |||
], 24th ]]] | |||
Jain meditation has been the central practice of spirituality in ] along with the ].<ref name="Ratna traya">{{cite book|first= Acharya |last=Mahapragya |title=Jain Yog |publisher=Aadarsh Saahitya Sangh |chapter=Foreword |year=2004}}</ref> Meditation in Jainism aims at realizing the self, attain salvation, take the soul to complete freedom.<ref name="blessings">{{cite book|first= Acharya|last=Tulsi |title=Sambodhi |publisher=Aadarsh Saahitya Sangh |url=http://www.adarshsahityasangh.com/BookDetail.aspx?Id=24 |oclc=39811791 |chapter=blessings |year=2004}}</ref> It aims to reach and to remain in the pure state of soul which is believed to be pure conscious, beyond any attachment or aversion. The practitioner strives to be just a knower-seer (''Gyata-Drashta''). Jain meditation can be broadly categorized to the auspicious ''Dharmya Dhyana'' and ''Shukla Dhyana'' and inauspicious ''Artta'' and ''Raudra'' Dhyana. | |||
The ascetic traditions of the eastern Ganges plain are thought to drew from a common body of practices and philosophies,{{sfn|Bryant|2009|p=xxi}}{{sfn|Samuel|2008}}{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=233}} with proto-samkhya concepts of ''purusha'' and ''prakriti'' as a common denominator.{{sfn|Larson|2014}}{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=233}} | |||
===Tantra=== | |||
{{Main|Tantra|Yogi|Siddhi}} | |||
Samuel states that ] is a contested concept.{{sfn|Samuel|2008|p=9}} Tantra yoga may be described, according to Samuel, as practices in 9th to 10th century Buddhist and Hindu (Saiva, Shakti) texts, which included yogic practices with elaborate deity visualizations using geometrical arrays and drawings (]), fierce male and particularly female deities, transgressive life stage related rituals, extensive use of ]s and ]s, and sexual techniques, all aimed to help one's health, long life and liberation.{{sfn|Samuel|2008|p=9}}<ref>Mukunda Stiles, Tantra Yoga Secrets, Weiser, ISBN 978-1578635030, pages 3-7</ref> | |||
=== |
====Linear model==== | ||
According to Edward Fitzpatrick Crangle, Hindu researchers have favoured a linear theory which attempts "to interpret the origin and early development of Indian contemplative practices as a sequential growth from an Aryan genesis";{{sfn|Crangle|1994|p=4}}{{refn|group=note|See also Gavin Flood (1996), ''Hinduism'', p.87–90, on "The orthogenetic theory" and "Non-Vedic origins of renunciation".{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=87–90}}}} traditional Hinduism regards the ] as the source of all spiritual knowledge.{{sfn|Crangle|1994|p=5}}{{refn|group=note|Post-classical traditions consider ] the originator of yoga.{{sfn|Feuerstein|2001|loc=Kindle Locations 7299–7300}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Aranya |first=Swami Hariharananda |author-link=Swami Hariharananda Aranya |title=Yoga Philosophy of Patanjali with Bhasvati |year=2000 |publisher=University of Calcutta |location=Calcutta, India |isbn=81-87594-00-4|page=xxiv | chapter=Introduction}}</ref>}} Edwin Bryant wrote that authors who support ] also tend to support the linear model.{{sfn|Bryant2009|p=xix-xx}} | |||
Apart from the spiritual goals, the physical postures of yoga are used to alleviate health problems, reduce stress and make the spine supple in contemporary times. Yoga is also used as a complete exercise program and physical therapy routine.<ref>Dupler, Douglas; Frey, Rebecca. , 3rd ed (2006). Retrieved 30 August 2012.</ref> | |||
====Indus Valley Civilisation==== | |||
While the practice of yoga continues to rise in contemporary American culture, sufficient and adequate knowledge of the practice’s origins does not. According to Andrea R. Jain, Yoga is undoubtedly a Hindu movement for spiritual meditation, yet is now being marketed as a supplement to a cardio routine. This scope "dilutes its Hindu identity." Contemporaries of the Hindu faith argue that the more popular yoga gets, the less concerned people become about its origins in history. These same contemporaries do state that while anyone can practice yoga, only those who give Hinduism due credit for the practice will achieve the full benefit of the custom.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Jain|first1=Andrea R.|title=The malleability of yoga: a response to Christian and Hindu opponents of the popularization of yoga|journal=Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies|date=2012|volume=25|pages=1–8|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.7825/2164-6279.1510|accessdate=25 September 2014|doi=10.7825/2164-6279.1510}}</ref> | |||
The twentieth-century scholars ], ], and Mircea Eliade believe that the central figure of the ] is in a ] posture,{{sfn|Singleton|2010|pp=25–34}} and the roots of yoga are in the ].{{sfn|Samuel|2008|pp=1–14}} This is rejected by more recent scholarship; for example, ], Andrea R. Jain, and ] describe the identification as speculative; the meaning of the figure will remain unknown until ] is deciphered, and the roots of yoga cannot be linked to the IVC.{{sfn|Samuel|2008|pp=1–14}}<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal|last=Doniger|first=Wendy|date=2011|title=God's Body, or, The Lingam Made Flesh: Conflicts over the Representation of the Sexual Body of the Hindu God Shiva|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23347187|journal=Social Research|volume=78|issue=2|pages=485–508|jstor=23347187|issn=0037-783X}}</ref>{{refn|group=note|Some scholars are now considering the image to be an instance of Lord of the Beasts found in Eurasian neolithic mythology or the widespread motif of the ] found in ancient ]ern and Mediterranean art.{{sfn|Witzel|2008|pp=68–70, 90}}<ref>{{Cite book|last=Kenoyer|first=Jonathan Mark|title=The Master of Animals in Old World Iconography|publisher=Archaeolingua Alapítvány|year=2010|editor-last=Counts|editor-first=Derek B.|pages=50|chapter=Master of Animals and Animal Masters in the Iconography of the Indus Tradition|editor-last2=Arnold|editor-first2=Bettina}}</ref>}} | |||
==={{anchor|Earliest textual references (1000–500 BCE)}}Earliest references (1000–500 BCE)=== | |||
{{Further|Vedic period}} | |||
The ], the only texts preserved from the early Vedic period and codified between c. 1200 and 900 BCE, contain references to yogic practices primarily related to ascetics outside, or on the fringes of ].{{sfn|Jacobsen|2018|p=6}}{{sfn|Werner|1977}} The earliest yoga-practices may have come from the Jain tradition at ca. 900 BCE.{{sfn|Jones|Ryan|2007|p=511}} | |||
==History== | |||
The origins of yoga are a matter of debate.{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=87-90}} There is no consensus on its chronology or specific origin other than that yoga developed in ancient India. Suggested origins are the ] (3300-1900 BCE){{sfn|Crangle|1994|p=4-7}} and pre-Vedic north-eastern India (] region),{{sfn|Zimmer|1951|p=217, 314}} the Vedic civilisation (1500-500 BCE), and the sramana-movement (starting ca. 500 BCE).{{sfn|Samuel|2010}} According to Gavin Flood, continuities may exist between those various traditions:{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=77}} | |||
{{quote|his dichotomization is too simplistic, for continuities can undoubtedly be found between renunciation and vedic Brahmanism, while elements from non-Brahmanical, Sramana traditions also played an important part in the formation of the renunciate ideal.{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=77}}{{refn|group=note|Gavin Flood: "These renouncer traditions offered a new vision of the human condition which became incorporated, to some degree, into the worldview of the Brahman householder. The ideology of asceticism and renunciation seems, at first, discontinuous with the brahmanical ideology of the affirmation of social obligations and the performance of public and domestic rituals. Indeed, there has been some debate as to whether asceticism and its ideas of retributive action, reincarnation and spiritual liberation, might not have originated outside the orthodox vedic sphere, or even outside Aryan culture: that a divergent historical origin might account for the apparent contradiction within 'Hinduism' between the world affirmation of the householder and the world negation of the renouncer. However, this dichotomization is too simplistic, for continuities can undoubtedly be found between renunciation and vedic Brahmanism, while elements from non-Brahmanical, Sramana traditions also played an important part in the formation of the renunciate ideal. Indeed there are continuities between vedic Brahmanism and Buddhism, and it has been argued that the Buddha sought to return to the ideals of a vedic society which he saw as being eroded in his own day."{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=76-77}}}}}} | |||
The ''Rigveda''{{'s}} ] suggests an early Brahmanic contemplative tradition.{{refn|group=note| | |||
Pre-philosophical speculations of yoga begin to emerge in the texts of c. 500–200 BCE. Between 200 BCE–500 CE philosophical schools of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism were taking form and a coherent philosophical system of yoga began to emerge.<ref name="Larson, p. 36">Larson, p. 36.</ref> The Middle Ages saw the development of many satellite traditions of yoga. Yoga came to the attention of an educated western public in the mid 19th century along with other topics of Indian philosophy. | |||
* Wynne states that "The Nasadiyasukta, one of the earliest and most important cosmogonic tracts in the early Brahminic literature, contains evidence suggesting it was closely related to a tradition of early Brahminic contemplation. A close reading of this text suggests that it was closely related to a tradition of early Brahminic contemplation. The poem may have been composed by contemplatives, but even if not, an argument can be made that it marks the beginning of the contemplative/meditative trend in Indian thought."{{sfn|Wynne|2007|p=50}} | |||
* Miller suggests that the composition of Nasadiya Sukta and '']'' arises from "the subtlest meditative stage, called absorption in mind and heart" which "involves enheightened experiences" through which seer "explores the mysterious psychic and cosmic forces...".{{sfn|Whicher|1998|p=11}} | |||
* Jacobsen writes that dhyana (meditation) is derived from the Vedic term dhih which refers to "visionary insight", "thought provoking vision".{{sfn|Whicher|1998|p=11}}}} Techniques for controlling breath and vital energies are mentioned in the ''Atharvaveda'' and in the ]s (the second layer of the Vedas, composed c. 1000–800 BCE).{{sfn|Jacobsen|2018|p=6}}{{sfn|Lamb|2011|p=427}}{{sfn|Whicher|1998|p=13}} | |||
According to Flood, "The ]s contain some references ... to ascetics, namely the ] or ]s and the Vratyas."{{sfn|Flood|1996|pp=94–95}} Werner wrote in 1977 that the ''Rigveda'' does not describe yoga, and there is little evidence of practices.{{sfn|Werner|1977}} The earliest description of "an outsider who does not belong to the Brahminic establishment" is found in the ] hymn 10.136, the ''Rigveda''{{'s}} youngest book, which was codified around 1000 BCE.{{sfn|Werner|1977}} Werner wrote that there were | |||
===Origins (before 500 BCE)=== | |||
{{Blockquote|... individuals who were active outside the trend of Vedic mythological creativity and the Brahminic religious orthodoxy and therefore little evidence of their existence, practices and achievements has survived. And such evidence as is available in the Vedas themselves is scanty and indirect. Nevertheless the indirect evidence is strong enough not to allow any doubt about the existence | |||
] | |||
of spiritually highly advanced wanderers.{{sfn|Werner|1977}}}} | |||
According to Whicher (1998), scholarship frequently fails to see the connection between the contemplative practices of the '']s'' and later yoga practices: "The proto-Yoga of the Vedic ]s is an early form of sacrificial mysticism and contains many elements characteristic of later Yoga that include: concentration, meditative observation, ascetic forms of practice (''tapas''), breath control practiced in conjunction with the recitation of sacred hymns during the ritual, the notion of self-sacrifice, impeccably accurate recitation of sacred words (prefiguring ''mantra-yoga''), mystical experience, and the engagement with a reality far greater than our psychological identity or the ego."{{sfn|Whicher|1998|p=12}} Jacobsen wrote in 2018, "Bodily postures are closely related to the tradition of ('']''), ascetic practices in the Vedic tradition"; ascetic practices used by Vedic priests "in their preparations for the performance of the ]" may be precursors of yoga.{{sfn|Jacobsen|2018|p=6}} "The ecstatic practice of enigmatic longhaired ''muni'' in ''Rgveda'' 10.136 and the ascetic performance of the ''vratya-s'' in the ''Atharvaveda'' outside of or on the fringe of the Brahmanical ritual order, have probably contributed more to the ascetic practices of yoga."{{sfn|Jacobsen|2018|p=6}} | |||
====Pre-Vedic India==== | |||
Yoga may have pre-Vedic elements.{{sfn|Crangle|1994|p=4-7}}{{sfn|Zimmer|1951|p=217, 314}} | |||
According to Bryant, practices recognizable as classical yoga first appear in the Upanishads (composed during the late ]).{{sfn|Bryant|2009|p=xxi}} Alexander Wynne agrees that formless, elemental meditation might have originated in the Upanishadic tradition.{{sfn|Wynne|2007|pp=44–45, 58}} An early reference to meditation is made in the ] (c. 900 BCE), one of the ].{{sfn|Flood|1996|pp=94–95}} The ] (c. 800–700 BCE) describes the five vital energies ('']''), and concepts of later yoga traditions (such as ] and an internal sound) are also described in this upanishad.{{sfn|Jacobsen|2011|p=6}} The practice of ] (focusing on the breath) is mentioned in hymn 1.5.23 of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad,<ref name=Eliade2009/> and ] (withdrawal of the senses) is mentioned in hymn 8.15 of Chandogya Upanishad.<ref name=Eliade2009>Mircea Eliade (2009), Yoga: Immortality and Freedom, Princeton University Press, {{ISBN|978-0-691-14203-6}}, pages 117–118</ref>{{refn|group=note|Original Sanskrit: स्वाध्यायमधीयानो धर्मिकान्विदध'''दात्मनि सर्वैन्द्रियाणि संप्रतिष्ठा'''प्याहिँसन्सर्व भूतान्यन्यत्र तीर्थेभ्यः स खल्वेवं वर्तयन्यावदायुषं ब्रह्मलोकमभिसंपद्यते न च पुनरावर्तते न च पुनरावर्तते॥ १॥ – ], VIII.15<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160822070520/https://sa.wikisource.org/%E0%A4%9B%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%A8%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%A6%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%97%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AF%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%AA%E0%A4%A8%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%B7%E0%A4%A6%E0%A5%8D_%E0%A5%AA |date=22 August 2016 }}, Chandogya Upanishad, अष्टमोऽध्यायः॥ पञ्चदशः खण्डः॥</ref><br /> | |||
=====Indus Valley Civilisation (before 1900 BCE)===== | |||
Translation 1 by ], The Upanishads, The ] – Part 1, Oxford University Press: (He who engages in) self study, concentrates all his senses on the Self, never giving pain to any creature, except at the tîrthas, he who behaves thus all his life, reaches the world of ], and does not return, yea, he does not return.<br /> | |||
Some state yoga originated in the ].{{sfn|Samuel|2008|p=2-3}} Marshall,<ref name="Possehl 2003, pp. 144–145">Possehl (2003), pp. 144–145</ref> Eliade<ref name=marksing/> and other scholars suggest that ] discovered at ] sites depict figures in positions resembling a common yoga or meditation pose. This interpretation is considered speculative and uncertain by more recent analysis of Srinivasan,<ref name=marksing/> and may be a case of projecting "later practices into archeological findings".{{sfn|Samuel|2010|p=2-10}} | |||
Translation 2 by G.N. Jha: VIII.15, page 488: (He who engages in self study),—and having withdrawn all his sense-organs into the Self,—never causing pain to any living beings, except in places specially ordained,—one who behaves thus throughout life reaches the ''Region of Brahman'' and does not return,—yea, does not return.—}} The ] (probably before the 6th c. BCE) teaches breath control and repetition of a ].{{sfn|Mallinson|Singleton|2017|p=xii}} The 6th-c. BCE ] defines yoga as the mastery of body and senses.{{sfn|Whicher|1998|p=17}} According to Flood, "he actual term ''yoga'' first appears in the ],{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=95}} dated to the fifth<ref>Richard King (1995). ''''. SUNY Press. {{ISBN|978-0-7914-2513-8}}, page 52</ref> to first centuries BCE.{{sfn|Olivelle|1996|p=xxxvii}} | |||
=== |
===Second urbanisation (500–200 BCE)=== | ||
{{Main|History of India#"Second urbanisation" (c. 600 – c. 200 BCE)|l1=Second urbanisation}} | |||
According to Crangle, Indian researchers have generally favoured a linear theory, which attempts "to interpret the origin and early development of Indian contemplative practices as a sequential growth from an Aryan genesis",{{sfn|Crangle|1994|p=4}}{{refn|group=note|See also Gavin Flood (1996), ''Hinduism'', p.87-90, on "The orthogenetic theory" and "Non-Vedic origins of renunciation".{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=87-90}}}} just like traditional Hinduism regards the Vedas to be the source of all spiritual knowledge.{{sfn|Crangle|1994|p=5}}{{refn|group=note|Post-classical traditions consider ] as the originator of yoga.<ref>{{cite book |last= Feuerstein |first= Georg |title= The Yoga Tradition: Its History, Literature, Philosophy and Practice |year= 2001 |publisher= Hohm Press|location= Arizona, USA |isbn= 978-1890772185 |page= Kindle Locations 7299–7300}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last= Aranya |first= Swami Hariharananda |authorlink= Swami Hariharananda Aranya |title= Yoga Philosophy of Patanjali with Bhasvati |year= 2000 |publisher= University of Calcutta |location= Calcutta, India |isbn= 81-87594-00-4|page=xxiv | chapter = Introduction}}</ref>}} | |||
Systematic yoga concepts begin to emerge in texts dating to c. 500–200 BCE, such as the ], the middle Upanishads, and the '']''{{'s}} '']'' and '']''.{{sfn|Larson|2008|pp=34–35, 53}}{{refn|group=note|Ancient Indian literature was transmitted and preserved through an ].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wynne |first1=Alexander |title=The Oral Transmission of the Early Buddhist Literature |journal=Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies |date=2004 |volume=27 |issue=1 |pages=97–128 |url=http://journals.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/index.php/jiabs/article/view/8945/2838}}</ref> For example, the earliest written Pali Canon text is dated to the later part of the 1st century BCE, many centuries after the Buddha's death.<ref>Donald Lopez (2004). Buddhist Scriptures. Penguin Books. pp. xi–xv. {{ISBN|978-0-14-190937-0}}</ref>}} | |||
] practices, concentration and bodily postures described in ] may have been precursors to yoga.<ref name="Jacobsen6" /><ref name="Whicher, p. 12">Whicher, p. 12.</ref> According to Geoffrey Samuel | |||
{{quote|Our best evidence to date suggests that practices developed in the same ascetic circles as the early sramana movements (Buddhists, Jainas and Ajivikas), probably in around the sixth and fifth centuries BCE.{{sfn|Samuel|2008|p=8}}}} | |||
===={{anchor|Buddhism and śramaṇa movement}}Buddhism and the śramaṇa movement==== | |||
=====North-eastern India (before 500 BCE)===== | |||
] of the Buddha becoming a wandering hermit instead of a warrior |alt=Old stone carving of the Buddha with his servants and horse]] | |||
According to Zimmer, Yoga philosophy is reckoned to be part of the non-Vedic system, which also includes Hindu ] school, Jainism and Buddhism:{{sfn|Zimmer|1951|p=217, 314}} | |||
<!-- Irrelevant to article subject ] is said to have attained omniscience|left]] --> | |||
{{quote| does not derive from Brahman-Aryan sources, but reflects the cosmology and anthropology of a much older pre-Aryan upper class of northeastern India - being rooted in the same subsoil of archaic metaphysical speculation as Yoga, Sankhya, and Buddhism, the other non-Vedic Indian systems."{{sfn|Zimmer|1951|p=217}}{{refn|group=note|Zimmer's point of view is supported by other scholars, such as Niniam Smart, in ''Doctrine and argument in Indian Philosophy'', 1964, p.27-32 & p.76,{{sfn|Crangle|1994|p=7}} and S.K. Belvakar & ] in ''History of Indian philosophy'', 1974 (1927), p.81 & p.303-409.{{sfn|Crangle|1994|p=7}} See Crangle 1994 page 5-7.{{sfn|Crangle|1994|p=5-7}}}}}} | |||
<!--This quotation is repeated, see above-->According to ], the "best evidence to date" suggests that yogic practices "developed in the same ascetic circles as the early ] movements (], ] and ]), probably in around the sixth and fifth centuries BCE." This occurred during India's ] period.{{sfn|Samuel|2008|p=8}} According to Mallinson and Singleton, these traditions were the first to use mind-body techniques (known as ''Dhyāna'' and ''tapas'') but later described as yoga, to strive for liberation from the round of rebirth.{{sfn|Mallinson|Singleton|2017|pp=13–15}} | |||
===Vedic period (1700-500 BCE)=== | |||
Werner writes, "The Buddha was the founder of his system, even though, admittedly, he made use of some of the experiences he had previously gained under various Yoga teachers of his time."{{sfn|Werner|1998|p=131}} He notes:{{sfn|Werner|1998|pp=119–20}} | |||
====Textual references==== | |||
{{blockquote|But it is only with Buddhism itself as expounded in the ] that we can speak about a systematic and comprehensive or even integral school of Yoga practice, which is thus the first and oldest to have been preserved for us in its entirety.{{sfn|Werner|1998|pp=119–20}}}} | |||
The first use of the root of word "yoga" is in hymn 5.81.1 of the ], a dedication to rising Sun-god in the morning (Savitri), where it has been interpreted as "yoke" or "yogically control".<ref name="burley"/><ref name=sriauro/>{{refn|Original Sanskrit: '''युञ्जते''' मन उत '''युञ्जते''' धियो विप्रा विप्रस्य बृहतो विपश्चितः। वि होत्रा दधे वयुनाविदेक इन्मही देवस्य सवितुः परिष्टुतिः॥१॥<ref>Sanskrit: '<br>Source: Wikisource</ref><br>'''Translation 1''': Seers of the vast illumined seer yogically control their minds and their intelligence... (...)<ref name="burley">{{cite book|last=Burley|first=Mikel|title=Hatha Yoga: Its Context, Theory and Practice|year=2000|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|location=Delhi|isbn=978-8120817067|page=25|url=http://books.google.com/?id=ezxQHzjwUosC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Hatha+Yoga:+Its+Context,+Theory+and+Practice#v=onepage&q=Hatha%20Yoga%3A%20Its%20Context%2C%20Theory%20and%20Practice&f=false}}</ref><br> | |||
'''Translation 2''': The illumined yoke their mind and they yoke their thoughts to the illuminating godhead, to the vast, to the luminous in consciousness;<br> | |||
the one knower of all manifestation of knowledge, he alone orders the things of the sacrifice. Great is the praise of Savitri, the creating godhead.<ref name=sriauro>Sri Aurobindo (1916, Reprinted 1995), A Hymn to Savitri V.81, in The Secret of Veda, ISBN 978-0914955191, page 529</ref>|group=note}} | |||
Early Buddhist texts describe yogic and meditative practices, some of which the Buddha borrowed from the ] tradition.<ref>], "Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benares to Modern Colombo." Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1988, p. 44.</ref><ref>Barbara Stoler Miller, "Yoga: Discipline of Freedom: the Yoga Sutra Attributed to Patanjali; a Translation of the Text, with Commentary, Introduction, and Glossary of Keywords." University of California Press, 1996, p. 8.</ref> The ] contains three passages in which the Buddha describes pressing the tongue against the palate to control hunger or the mind, depending on the passage.<ref>Mallinson, James. 2007. ''The Khecarīvidyā of Adinathā.'' London: Routledge. pp. 17–19.</ref> There is no mention of the tongue inserted into the ], as in ]. The Buddha used a posture in which pressure is put on the ] with the heel, similar to modern postures used to evoke ].<ref>{{harvnb|Mallinson |2012|pp=20–21}}, "The Buddha himself is said to have tried both pressing his tongue to the back of his mouth, in a manner similar to that of the hathayogic khecarīmudrā, and ukkutikappadhāna, a ] which may be related to hathayogic techniques such as mahāmudrā, mahābandha, mahāvedha, mūlabandha, and vajrāsana in which pressure is put on the perineum with the heel, in order to force upwards the breath or Kundalinī."</ref> ] which discuss yogic practice include the '']'' (the ] sutta) and the '']'' (the ] sutta). | |||
Rigveda, however, does not describe yoga with the same meaning or context as in modern times. Early references to practices that later became part of yoga, are made in ], the earliest Hindu Upanishad.{{refn|group=note|Flood: "...which states that, having become calm and concentrated, one perceives the self (''atman''), within oneself."{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=94–95}}}} For example, the practice of ] (consciously regulating breath) is mentioned in hymn 1.5.23 of Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (c. ~ 900 BCE), and the practice of ] (concentrating all of one's senses on self) is mentioned in hymn 8.15 of ] (c. ~ 800-700 BCE).<ref>Mircea Eliade (2009), Yoga: Immortality and Freedom, Princeton University Press, ISBN 978-0691142036, pages 117-118</ref>{{refn|Original Sanskrit: स्वाध्यायमधीयानो धर्मिकान्विदध'''दात्मनि सर्वैन्द्रियाणि संप्रतिष्ठा'''प्याहिँसन्सर्व भूतान्यन्यत्र तीर्थेभ्यः स खल्वेवं वर्तयन्यावदायुषं ब्रह्मलोकमभिसंपद्यते न च पुनरावर्तते न च पुनरावर्तते}}॥ १॥ – ], VIII.15<ref>, Chandogya Upanishad, अष्टमोऽध्यायः॥ पञ्चदशः खण्डः॥</ref><br> | |||
Translation 1 by ], The Upanishads, The Sacred Books of the East - Part 1, Oxford University Press: (He who engages in) self study, concentrates all his senses on the Self, never giving pain to any creature, except at the tîrthas, he who behaves thus all his life, reaches the world of ], and does not return, yea, he does not return.<br> | |||
<ref>Translation 2 by GN Jha: VIII.15, page 488</ref> | |||
The chronology of these yoga-related early Buddhist texts, like the ancient Hindu texts, is unclear.{{sfn|Samuel|2008|pp=31–32}}{{sfn|Singleton|2010|loc=Chapter 1}} Early Buddhist sources such as the ] mention meditation; the ] describes ''jhāyins'' (meditators) who resemble early Hindu descriptions of ''muni'', the Kesin and meditating ascetics,<ref>] (1993), The Two Traditions of Meditation in Ancient India, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120816435}}, pages 1–24</ref> but the meditation practices are not called "yoga" in these texts.{{sfn|White|2011|pp=5–6}} The earliest known discussions of yoga in Buddhist literature, as understood in a modern context, are from the later Buddhist ] and ] schools.{{sfn|White|2011|pp=5–6}} | |||
====Vedic ascetic practices==== | |||
Ascetic practices ('']''), concentration and bodily postures used by Vedic priests to conduct '']'' (Vedic ritual of fire sacrifice), might have been precursors to yoga.{{refn|group=note| | |||
* Jacobsen writes that "Bodily postures are closely related to the tradition of tapas, ascetic practices in the Vedic tradition. The use by Vedic priests of ascetic practices in their preparations for the performance of the sacrifice might be precursor to Yoga."<ref name="Jacobsen6">Jacobsen, p. 6.</ref> | |||
* Whicher believes that "the proto-Yoga of the Vedic rishis is an early form of sacrificial mysticism and contains many elements characteristic of later Yoga that include: concentration, meditative observation, ascetic forms of practice (tapas), breath control..."<ref name="Whicher, p. 12"/>}} ''Vratya'', a group of ascetics mentioned in the '']'', emphasized on bodily postures which may have evolved into yogic ]s.<ref name="Jacobsen6" /> Early Vedic ]s also contain references to other group ascetics such as, Munis, the ], and Vratyas.<ref name="Flood94">Flood, p. 94–95.</ref> Techniques for controlling breath and vital energies are mentioned in the ]s (texts of the Vedic corpus, c. 1000–800 BCE) and the ''Atharvaveda''.<ref name="Jacobsen6" /><ref>Whicher, p. 13.</ref> ] of the ''Rig Veda'' suggests the presence of an early contemplative tradition.{{refn|group=note| | |||
* Wynne states that "The Nasadiyasukta, one of the earliest and most important cosmogonic tracts in the early Brahminic literature, contains evidence suggesting it was closely related to a tradition of early Brahminic contemplation. A close reading of this text suggests that it was closely related to a tradition of early Brahminic contemplation. The poem may have been composed by contemplatives, but even if not, an argument can be made that it marks the beginning of the contemplative/meditative trend in Indian thought."<ref>Wynne, p. 50.</ref> | |||
* Miller suggests that the composition of Nasadiya Sukta and ] arises from "the subtlest meditative stage, called absorption in mind and heart" which "involves enheightened experiences" through which seer "explores the mysterious psychic and cosmic forces...".<ref name="Whicher11">Whicher, p. 11.</ref> | |||
* Jacobsen writes that dhyana (meditation) is derived from Vedic term dhih which refers to "visionary insight", "thought provoking vision".<ref name="Whicher11"/>}} | |||
] is a yoga system which predated the Buddhist school. Since Jain sources are later than Buddhist ones, however, it is difficult to distinguish between the early Jain school and elements derived from other schools.{{sfn|Werner|1998|pp=119–120}} Most of the other contemporary yoga systems alluded to in the Upanishads and some Buddhist texts have been lost.<ref name="Eating disorders">{{cite journal |last=Douglass |first=Laura |year=2011 |title=Thinking Through The Body: The Conceptualization Of Yoga As Therapy For Individuals With Eating Disorders |url=http://web.ebscohost.com.subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=3&sid=1d8495be-1c1c-4423-ad48-1f6054f42876%40sessionmgr111&hid=103 |journal=Academic Search Premier|page=83 |access-date=19 February 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zB4n3MVozbUC&pg=PA1809|title=Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature: devraj to jyoti|last=Datta|first=Amaresh|publisher=Sahitya Akademi|year=1988|isbn=978-81-260-1194-0|page=1809}}</ref>{{refn|On the dates of the Pali canon, Gregory Schopen writes, "We know, and have known for some time, that the Pali canon as we have it — and it is generally conceded to be our oldest source — cannot be taken back further than the last quarter of the first century BCE, the date of the Alu-vihara redaction, the earliest redaction we can have some knowledge of, and that — for a critical history — it can serve, at the very most, only as a source for the Buddhism of this period. But we also know that even this is problematic ... In fact, it is not until the time of the commentaries of Buddhaghosa, Dhammapala, and others — that is to say, the fifth to sixth centuries CE — that we can know anything definite about the actual contents of canon."{{sfn|Wynne|2007|pp=3–4}}|group=note}} | |||
===Preclassical era (500-200 BCE)=== | |||
Yoga concepts begin to emerge in the texts of c. 500–200 BCE such as the Buddhist Pali Canons, the middle Upanishads, the ''Bhagavad Gita'' and ] (Book of Peace) of the '']''.<ref>Larson, p. 34–35, 53.</ref> | |||
====Upanishads==== | ====Upanishads==== | ||
The Upanishads, composed in the late ], contain the first references to practices recognizable as classical yoga.{{sfn|Bryant|2009|p=xxi}} The first known appearance of the word "yoga" in the modern sense is in the ]{{sfn|Singleton|2010|pp=25–34}}{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=95}} (probably composed between the fifth and third centuries BCE),{{sfn|Phillips|2009|pp=28–30}}{{sfn|Olivelle|1998|pp=12–13}} where it is defined as steady control of the senses which{{snd}}with cessation of mental activity{{snd}}leads to a supreme state.{{sfn|Flood|1996|pp=94–95}}{{refn|For the date of this Upanishad see also Helmuth von Glasenapp, from the 1950 Proceedings of the "Akademie der Wissenschaften und Literatur"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/vonglasenapp/wheel002.html |title=Vedanta and Buddhism, A Comparative Study |access-date=29 August 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130204142029/http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/vonglasenapp/wheel002.html |archive-date=4 February 2013 }}</ref>|group=note}} The Katha Upanishad integrates the ] of the early Upanishads with concepts of ] and yoga. It defines levels of existence by their proximity to one's ]. Yoga is viewed as a process of interiorization, or ascent of consciousness.{{sfn|Whicher|1998|pp=18–19}}{{sfn|Jacobsen|2011|p=8}} The upanishad is the earliest literary work which highlights the fundamentals of yoga. According to White, | |||
;Katha Upanishad | |||
{{blockquote|The earliest extant systematic account of yoga and a bridge from the earlier Vedic uses of the term is found in the Hindu Katha Upanisad (Ku), a scripture dating from about the third century BCE ... t describes the hierarchy of mind-body constituents—the senses, mind, intellect, etc.—that comprise the foundational categories of Sāmkhya philosophy, whose metaphysical system grounds the yoga of the Yogasutras, Bhagavad Gita, and other texts and schools (Ku3.10–11; 6.7–8).{{sfn|White|2011|p=4}}}} | |||
The first known appearance of the word "yoga", with the same meaning as the modern term, is in the ],<ref name=marksing/>{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=95}} composed about fourth to third century BCE, where it is defined as the steady control of the senses, which along with cessation of mental activity, leading to a supreme state.<ref name="Flood94" />{{refn|For the date of this Upanishad see also Helmuth von Glasenapp, from the 1950 Proceedings of the "Akademie der Wissenschaften und Literatur"<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/vonglasenapp/wheel002.html | title=Vedanta and Buddhism, A Comparative Study | accessdate=29 August 2012}}</ref>|group=note}} ''Katha Upanishad'' integrates the monism of early Upanishads with concepts of samkhya and yoga. It defines various levels of existence according to their proximity to the innermost being ''Ātman''. Yoga is therefore seen as a process of interiorization or ascent of consciousness.<ref>Whicher, p. 18–19.</ref><ref name="Jacobsen8">Jacobsen, p. 8.</ref> It is the earliest literary work that highlights the fundamentals of yoga. White states: | |||
{{quote|The earliest extant systematic account of yoga and a bridge from the earlier Vedic uses of the term is found in the Hindu Katha Upanisad (Ku), a scripture dating from about the third century BCE t describes the hierarchy of mind-body constituents—the senses, mind, intellect, etc.—that comprise the foundational categories of Sāmkhya philosophy, whose metaphysical system grounds the yoga of the Yogasutras, Bhagavad Gita, and other texts and schools (Ku3.10–11; 6.7–8).{{sfn|White|2011|p=4}}}} | |||
The hymns in book two of the ] (another late-first-millennium BCE text) describe a procedure in which the body is upright, the breath is restrained and the mind is meditatively focused, preferably in a cave or a place that is simple and quiet.<ref>See: Original Sanskrit: {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110304112640/http://sanskritdocuments.org/all_pdf/shveta.pdf |date=4 March 2011 }} Book 2, Hymns 8–14;<br /> English Translation: ] (German: 1897; English Translated by Bedekar & Palsule, Reprint: 2010), Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Vol 1, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120814677}}, pages 309–310</ref>{{sfn|Singleton|2010|p=26}}{{sfn|Jacobsen|2011|p=8}} | |||
;Shvetashvatara Upanishad | |||
The hymns in Book 2 of ], another late 1st millennium BCE text, states a procedure in which the body is held in upright posture, the breath is restrained and mind is meditatively focussed, preferably inside a cave or a place that is simple, plain, of silence or gently flowing water, with no noises nor harsh winds.<ref>See: | |||
Original Sanskrit: Book 2, Hymns 8-14;<br> | |||
English Translation: ] (German: 1897; English Translated by Bedekar & Palsule, Reprint: 2010), Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Vol 1, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120814677, pages 309-310<br> | |||
Secondary Source Review: Mark Singleton (2010), Yoga Body: The Origins of Modern Posture Practice, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0195395341, page 26</ref><ref name="Jacobsen8" /> | |||
The '']'', probably composed later than the Katha and Shvetashvatara Upanishads but before the ''Yoga Sutras of Patanjali'', mentions a sixfold yoga method: breath control, introspective withdrawal of the senses, meditation (''dhyana''), ], ], and ].{{sfn|Singleton|2010|pp=25–34}}{{sfn|Jacobsen|2011|p=8}}<ref>{{cite journal |title=Introducing Yoga's Great Literary Heritage |last=Feuerstein |first=Georg |author-link=Georg Feuerstein |journal=] |date=January–February 1988 |issue=78 |pages=70–75}}</ref> In addition to discussions in the Principal Upanishads, the twenty ] and related texts (such as '']'', composed between the sixth and 14th centuries CE) discuss yoga methods.{{sfn|Ayyangar|1938|p=2}}{{sfn|Ruff|2011|pp=97–112}} | |||
;Maitri Upanishad | |||
], likely composed in a later century than Katha and Shvetashvatara Upanishads but before Patanjali's Yogasutra, mentions sixfold yoga method – breath control (''pranayama''), introspective withdrawal of senses (''pratyahara''), meditation (''dhyana''), mind concentration (''dharana''), philosophical inquiry/creative reasoning (''tarka''), and absorption/intense spiritual union (''samadhi'').<ref name=marksing/><ref name="Jacobsen8" /><ref>{{cite journal | title=Introducing Yoga's Great Literary Heritage | last=Feuerstein|first= Georg | journal=] |date=January–February 1988 | issue=78|authorlink=Georg Feuerstein|pages=70–5}}</ref> | |||
==== |
===={{anchor|Macedonian historical texts}}Macedonian texts==== | ||
] reached India in the 4th century |
] reached India in the 4th century BCE. In addition to his army, he brought Greek academics who wrote memoirs about its geography, people, and customs. One of Alexander's companions was ] (quoted in Book 15, Sections 63–65 by ] in his ''Geography''), who describes yogis.<ref name=charlesrl>Charles R Lanman, , Harvard Theological Review, Volume XI, Number 4, Harvard University Press, pages 355–359</ref> Onesicritus says that the yogis were aloof and adopted "different postures – standing or sitting or lying naked – and motionless".<ref name=strabo>Strabo, {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221101030721/https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Strabo/15A3%2A.html#ref101 |date=1 November 2022 }} Book XV, Chapter 1, see Sections 63–65, Loeb Classical Library edition, Harvard University Press, Translator: H. L. Jones</ref> | ||
Onesicritus also mentions his colleague |
Onesicritus also mentions attempts by his colleague, ], to meet them. Initially denied an audience, he was later invited because he was sent by a "king curious of wisdom and philosophy".<ref name=strabo /> Onesicritus and Calanus learn that the yogis consider life's best doctrines to "rid the spirit of not only pain, but also pleasure", that "man trains the body for toil in order that his opinions may be strengthened", that "there is no shame in life on frugal fare", and that "the best place to inhabit is one with scantiest equipment or outfit".<ref name=charlesrl /><ref name=strabo /> According to ], these principles are significant in the history of yoga's spiritual side and may reflect the roots of "undisturbed calmness" and "mindfulness through balance" in the later works of ] and ].<ref name=charlesrl /> | ||
====''Mahabharata'' and ''Bhagavad Gita''==== | |||
====Early Buddhist texts==== | |||
Werner notes:<ref name="Werner (1977) p. 119-20"/> | |||
{{quote|"But it is only with Buddhism itself as expounded in the ] that we can speak about a systematic and comprehensive or even integral school of Yoga practice, which is thus the first and oldest to have been preserved for us in its entirety."<ref name="Werner (1977) p. 119-20">Werner (1977) p. 119-20</ref>}} | |||
''Nirodhayoga'' (yoga of cessation), an early form of yoga, is described in the Mokshadharma section of the 12th chapter (''Shanti Parva'') of the third-century BCE '']''.{{sfn|Mallinson|Singleton|2017|pp=xii–xxii}} ''Nirodhayoga'' emphasizes progressive withdrawal from empirical consciousness, including thoughts and sensations, until ''purusha'' (self) is realized. Terms such as ''vichara'' (subtle reflection) and ''viveka'' (discrimination) similar to Patanjali's terminology are used, but not described.{{sfn|Whicher|1998|pp=25–26}} Although the ''Mahabharata'' contains no uniform yogic goal, the separation of self from matter and perception of ] everywhere are described as goals of yoga. ] and yoga are ], and some verses describe them as identical.{{sfn|Jacobsen|2011|p=9}} Mokshadharma also describes an early practice of elemental meditation.{{sfn|Wynne|2007|p=33}} The ''Mahabharata'' defines the purpose of yoga as uniting the individual '']'' with the universal Brahman pervading all things.{{sfn|Jacobsen|2011|p=9}} | |||
The chronology of completion of these yoga-related Pali Canons, however, is unclear, just like ancient Hindu texts.{{sfn|Samuel|2008|pp=31-32}}<ref>Mark Singleton (2010), Yoga Body: The Origins of Modern Posture Practice, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0195395341, Chapter 1</ref> Early known Buddhist sources like the ''Majjhima Nikāya'' mention meditation, while the ''Anguttara Nikāya'' describes ''Jhāyins'' (meditators) that resemble early Hindu descriptions of ''Muni'', ''Kesins'' and meditating ascetics,<ref>Bronkhorst, Johannes (1993), The Two Traditions of Meditation in Ancient India, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120816435, pages 1-24</ref> but these meditation-practices are not called yoga in these texts.{{sfn|White|2011|pp=5-6}} The earliest known specific discussion of yoga in the Buddhist literature, as understood in modern context, is from the third- to fourth-century CE scriptures of the Buddhist Yogācāra school and fourth- to fifth-century ] of Buddhaghosa.{{sfn|White|2011|pp=5-6}} | |||
] narrating the ''Bhagavad Gita'' to ]]] | |||
A yoga system that predated the Buddhist school is Jain yoga. But since Jain sources postdate Buddhist ones, it is difficult to distinguish between the nature of the early Jain school and elements derived from other schools.<ref name="Werner (1977) p. 119-20"/> Most of the other contemporary yoga systems alluded in the Upanishads and some Pali canons are lost to time.<ref name="Eating disorders">{{cite journal|last=Douglass|first=Laura|title=Thinking Through The Body: The Conceptualization Of Yoga As Therapy For Individuals With Eating Disorders|journal=Academic Search Premier|year=2011|page=83|url=http://web.ebscohost.com.subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=3&sid=1d8495be-1c1c-4423-ad48-1f6054f42876%40sessionmgr111&hid=103|accessdate=19 February 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Datta|first=Amaresh|title=Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature: devraj to jyoti|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=zB4n3MVozbUC&pg=PA1809|year=1988|publisher=Sahitya Akademi|isbn=978-81-260-1194-0|page=1809 }}</ref>{{refn|On the dates of the Pali canon, Gregory Schopen writes, "We know, and have known for some time, that the Pali canon as we have it — and it is generally conceded to be our oldest source — cannot be taken back further than the last quarter of the first century BCE, the date of the Alu-vihara redaction, the earliest redaction we can have some knowledge of, and that — for a critical history — it can serve, at the very most, only as a source for the Buddhism of this period. But we also know that even this is problematic... In fact, it is not until the time of the commentaries of Buddhaghosa, Dhammapala, and others — that is to say, the fifth to sixth centuries CE — that we can know anything definite about the actual contents of canon."<ref>Wynne, pp. 3–4.</ref>|group=note}} | |||
The '']'' (''Song of the Lord''), part of the ''Mahabharata'', contains extensive teachings about yoga. According to Mallinson and Singleton, the ''Gita'' "seeks to appropriate yoga from the renunciate milieu in which it originated, teaching that it is compatible with worldly activity carried out according to one's caste and life stage; it is only the fruits of one's actions that are to be renounced."{{sfn|Mallinson|Singleton|2017|pp=xii–xxii}} In addition to a chapter (chapter six) dedicated to traditional yoga practice (including meditation),{{sfn|Jacobsen|2011|p=10}} it introduces three significant types of yoga:{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=96}} | |||
* ]: yoga of action{{sfn|Jacobsen|2011|pp=10–11}} | |||
* ]: yoga of devotion{{sfn|Jacobsen|2011|pp=10–11}} | |||
* ]: yoga of knowledge<ref>E. Easwaran, Essence of the Bhagavad Gita, Nilgiri Press, {{ISBN|978-1-58638-068-7}}, pages 117–118</ref><ref>Jack Hawley (2011), The Bhagavad Gita, {{ISBN|978-1-60868-014-6}}, pages 50, 130; Arvind Sharma (2000), Classical Hindu Thought: An Introduction, Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0-19-564441-8}}, pages 114–122</ref> | |||
The ''Gita'' consists of 18 chapters and 700 ''shlokas'' (verses);<ref name="bibekd">Bibek Debroy (2005), The Bhagavad Gita, Penguin Books, {{ISBN|978-0-14-400068-5}}, Introduction, pages x–xi</ref> each chapter is named for a different form of yoga.<ref name=bibekd />{{sfn|Jacobsen|2011|p=46}}<ref>Georg Feuerstein (2011), The Bhagavad Gita – A New Translation, Shambhala, {{ISBN|978-1-59030-893-6}}</ref> Some scholars divide the ''Gita'' into three sections; the first six chapters (280 ''shlokas'') deal with karma yoga, the middle six (209 ''shlokas'') with bhakti yoga, and the last six (211 ''shlokas'') with jnana yoga. However, elements of all three are found throughout the work.<ref name="bibekd" /> | |||
The early Buddhist texts describe meditative practices and states, some of which the Buddha borrowed from the śramana tradition.<ref>], "Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benares to Modern Colombo." Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1988, p. 44.</ref><ref>Barbara Stoler Miller, "Yoga: Discipline of Freedom: the Yoga Sutra Attributed to Patanjali; a Translation of the Text, with Commentary, Introduction, and Glossary of Keywords." University of California Press, 1996, p. 8.</ref> One key innovative teaching of the Buddha was that ] must be combined with liberating cognition.<ref>Wynne, p. 92.</ref> Meditative states alone are not an end, for according to the Buddha, even the highest meditative state is not liberating. Instead of attaining a complete cessation of thought, some sort of mental activity must take place: a liberating cognition, based on the practice of mindful awareness.<ref>Wynne, p. 105.</ref> The Buddha also departed from earlier yogic thought in discarding the early Brahminic notion of liberation at death.<ref name="Wynne, p. 95">Wynne, p. 95.</ref> | |||
====Philosophical sutras==== | |||
The Pali canon contains three passages in which the Buddha describes pressing the tongue against the palate for the purposes of controlling hunger or the mind, depending on the passage.<ref>Mallinson, James. 2007. ''The Khecarīvidyā of Adinathā.'' London: Routledge. pg.17-19.</ref> However there is no mention of the tongue being inserted into the ] as in true ]. The Buddha used a posture where pressure is put on the perineum with the heel, similar to even modern postures used to stimulate Kundalini.<ref>James Mallinson, "Sāktism and Hathayoga," 6 March 2012. pgs. 20-21 "The Buddha himself is said to have tried both pressing his tongue to the back of his mouth, in a manner similar to that of the hathayogic khecarīmudrā, and ukkutikappadhāna, a squatting posture which may be related to hathayogic techniques such as mahāmudrā, mahābandha, mahāvedha, mūlabandha, and vajrāsana in which pressure is put on the perineum with the heel, in order to force upwards the breath or Kundalinī."</ref> | |||
Yoga is discussed in the foundational ]s of ]. The '']'' of the ] school of Hinduism, composed between the sixth and second centuries BCE, discusses yoga.{{refn|group=note|The currently existing version of ''Vaiśeṣika Sūtra'' manuscript was likely finalized sometime between the 2nd century BCE and the start of the common era. Wezler has proposed that the Yoga related text may have been inserted into this Sutra later, among other things; however, Bronkhorst finds much to disagree on with Wezler.<ref name=Bronkhorst64/>}} According to ], the ''Vaiśeṣika Sūtra'' describes yoga as "a state where the mind resides only in the Self and therefore not in the senses".<ref name="Bronkhorst64">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AZbZDP8MRJoC&pg=PA64|title=The Two Traditions of Meditation in Ancient India |author=Johannes Bronkhorst |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |year=1993 |isbn=978-81-208-1114-0 |page=64}}</ref> This is equivalent to ''pratyahara'' (withdrawal of the senses). The sutra asserts that yoga leads to an absence of ''sukha'' (happiness) and ''dukkha'' (suffering), describing meditative steps in the journey towards spiritual liberation.<ref name="Bronkhorst64" /> | |||
====Uncertainty with chronology==== | |||
Alexander Wynne, author of ''The Origin of Buddhist Meditation'', observes that formless meditation and elemental meditation might have originated in the Upanishadic tradition.<ref>Wynne, pp. 44–45,58.</ref> The earliest reference to meditation is in the '']'', one of the oldest Upanishads.<ref name="Flood94" /> '']'' describes the five kinds of vital energies ('']''). Concepts used later in many yoga traditions such as internal sound and veins ('']'') are also described in the Upanishad.<ref name="Jacobsen6" /> '']'' defines yoga as the mastery of body and senses.<ref>Whicher, p. 17.</ref> | |||
The '']'', the foundation text of the ] school of Hinduism, also discusses yoga.<ref name="Phillips2009p281">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uLqrAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA281 |title=Yoga, Karma, and Rebirth: A Brief History and Philosophy |author=Stephen Phillips |publisher=Columbia University Press |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-231-14485-8 |pages=281 footnote 36}}</ref> Estimated as completed in its surviving form between 450 BCE and 200 CE,<ref name="Nicholson2013p26">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AVusAgAAQBAJ |title=Unifying Hinduism: Philosophy and Identity in Indian Intellectual History |author=Andrew J. Nicholson |publisher=Columbia University Press |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-231-14987-7 |pages=26}}, "From a historical perspective, the Brahmasutras are best understood as a group of sutras composed by multiple authors over the course of hundreds of years, most likely composed in its current form between 400 and 450 BCE."</ref><ref name="nvisaeva36">NV Isaeva (1992), Shankara and Indian Philosophy, State University of New York Press, {{ISBN|978-0-7914-1281-7}}, page 36, ""on the whole, scholars are rather unanimous, considering the most probable date for Brahmasutra sometime between the 2nd-century BCE and the 2nd-century CE"</ref> its sutras assert that yoga is a means to attain "subtlety of body".<ref name="Phillips2009p281" /> The '']''—the foundation text of the ] school, estimated as composed between the sixth century BCE and the secondcentury CE<ref name="jfowlerpor129">Jeaneane Fowler (2002), Perspectives of Reality: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Hinduism, Sussex Academic Press, {{ISBN|978-1898723943}}, page 129</ref><ref>B. K. Matilal (1986), "Perception. An Essay on Classical Indian Theories of Knowledge", Oxford University Press, p. xiv.</ref>—discusses yoga in sutras 4.2.38–50. It includes a discussion of yogic ethics, ] (meditation) and ], noting that debate and philosophy are also forms of yoga.<ref name="Phillips2009p297">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uLqrAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA281 |title=Yoga, Karma, and Rebirth: A Brief History and Philosophy |author=Stephen Phillips |publisher=Columbia University Press |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-231-14485-8 |pages=281 footnote 40, 297}}</ref><ref name="vidyabhushana137">SC Vidyabhushana (1913, Translator), , The Sacred Book of the Hindus, Volume VIII, Bhuvaneshvar Asrama Press, pages 137–139</ref><ref name="potterteip237">Karl Potter (2004), The Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies: Indian metaphysics and epistemology, Volume 2, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120803091}}, page 237</ref> | |||
====Bhagavad Gita==== | |||
] narrating the ] to ].]] | |||
{{Main|Bhagavad Gita}} | |||
The ''Bhagavad Gita'' ('Song of the Lord'), uses the term "yoga" extensively in a variety of ways. In addition to an entire chapter (ch. 6) dedicated to traditional yoga practice, including meditation,<ref>Jacobsen, p. 10.</ref> it introduces three prominent types of yoga:{{refn|Flood writes, "...Bhagavad Gita, including a complete chapter (ch. 6) devoted to traditional yoga practice. The Gita also introduces the famous three kinds of yoga, 'knowledge' (jnana), 'action' (karma), and 'love' (bhakti)." <ref>Flood, p. 96.</ref>|group=note}} | |||
* ]: The yoga of action.{{refn|Karma yoga is to act without attachment to results, unaffected by success or failure, without fear or anger, in the state of ].<ref name="Jacobsen, p. 10-11">Jacobsen, p. 10-11.</ref>|group=note}} | |||
* ]: The yoga of devotion.{{refn|Bhakti yoga is to act out of devotion for ] (Vishnu), without attachment to its fruits.<ref name="Jacobsen, p. 10-11"/>|group=note}} | |||
* ]: The yoga of knowledge.{{refn|Jnana yoga is to act with the knowledge of '']'' (Highest Reality, True Self); that there is divinity, oneness and unity in Self and all life; right knowing leads to right doing; success is in the journey not the end, serenity is in the action itself not the fruit; Till one does one's best, there is no failure.<ref>E. Easwaran, Essence of the Bhagavad Gita, Nilgiri Press, ISBN 978-1586380687, pages 117-118</ref><ref>Jack Hawley (2011), The Bhagavad Gita, ISBN 978-1608680146, pages 50, 130; Arvind Sharma (2000), Classical Hindu Thought: An Introduction, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0195644418, pages 114-122</ref>|group=note}} | |||
The Gita consists of 18 chapters and 700{{refn|Some manuscript versions of Bhagavad Gita discovered in different parts of India had 750 shlokas, but 700 is the most accepted / common.<ref>Bibek Debroy (2005), The Bhagavad Gita, Penguin Books, ISBN 978-0144000685, Introduction, pages x-xi</ref>|group=note}} ''shlokas'' (verses), with each chapter named as a different yoga, thus delineating eighteen different yogas.<ref name=bibekd/><ref>Jacobsen, p. 46.; Georg Feuerstein (2011), The Bhagavad Gita - A New Translation, Shambhala, ISBN 978-1590308936</ref> Some scholars divide the ''Gita'' into three sections, with the first six chapters with 280 ''shlokas'' dealing with Karma yoga, the middle six containing 209 shlokas with Bhakti yoga, and the last six chapters with 211 shlokas as Jnana yoga; however, this is rough because elements of ''karma'', ''bhakti'' and ''jnana'' are found in all chapters.<ref name=bibekd>Bibek Debroy (2005), The Bhagavad Gita, Penguin Books, ISBN 978-0144000685, Introduction, pages x-xi</ref> | |||
====Mahabharata==== | |||
Description of an early form of yoga called ''nirodha–yoga'' (yoga of cessation) is contained in the Mokshadharma section of the 12th chapter (]) of the ''Mahabharata'' epic. The verses of the section are dated to c. 300–200 BCE. ''Nirodha–yoga'' emphasizes progressive withdrawal from the contents of empirical consciousness such as thoughts, sensations etc. until ''purusha'' (Self) is realized. Terms like ''vichara'' (subtle reflection), ''viveka'' (discrimination) and others which are similar to Patanjali's terminology are mentioned, but not described.<ref>Whicher, p. 25–26.</ref> There is no uniform goal of yoga mentioned in the ''Mahabharata''. Separation of self from matter, perceiving '']'' everywhere, entering into ''Brahman'' etc. are all described as goals of yoga. Samkhya and yoga are conflated together and some verses describe them as being identical.<ref name="Jacobsen9" /> Mokshadharma also describes an early practice of elemental meditation.<ref>Wynne, p. 33.</ref> | |||
Mahabharata defines the purpose of yoga as the experience of uniting the individual '']'' with the universal ] that pervades all things.<ref name="Jacobsen9">Jacobsen, p. 9.</ref> | |||
===Classical era (200 BCE – 500 CE)=== | ===Classical era (200 BCE – 500 CE)=== | ||
The Indic traditions of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism were taking shape during the period between the ] and the ] eras (c. 200 BCE – 500 CE), and systems of yoga began to emerge;{{sfn|Larson|2008|p=36}} a number of texts from these traditions discussed and compiled yoga methods and practices. Key works of the era include the ''],'' the ''],'' the '']'', and the ''].'' | |||
This period witnessed many texts of Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism discussing and systematically compiling yoga methods and practices. Of these, Patanjali's Yoga Sutras are considered as a key work. | |||
==== |
==== ''Yoga Sutras of Patanjali'' ==== | ||
] as an avatar of the divine serpent ]]] | |||
{{main|Rāja yoga}} | |||
During the period between the ] and the ] (c. 200 BCE–500 CE) philosophical schools of ], ] and ] were taking form and a coherent philosophical system of yoga began to emerge.<ref name="Larson, p. 36"/> | |||
One of the best-known early expressions of ]ical yoga thought is the '']'' (early centuries CE,{{sfn|Bryant|2009|p=xxxiv}}{{sfn|Desmarais|2008|p=16-17}}{{efn|name="YS_dating"}} the original name of which may have been the ''Pātañjalayogaśāstra-sāṃkhya-pravacana'' (c. 325–425 CE); some scholars believe that it included the sutras and a commentary.{{sfn|Mallinson|Singleton|2017|pp=xvi–xvii}} As the name suggests, the metaphysical basis of the text is ]; the school is mentioned in Kauṭilya's ] as one of the three categories of ''anviksikis'' (philosophies), with yoga and '']''.<ref>Original Sanskrit: साङ्ख्यं योगो लोकायतं च इत्यान्वीक्षिकी |<br />English Translation: Kautiliya, R Shamasastry (Translator), page 9</ref><ref>Olivelle, Patrick (2013), King, Governance, and Law in Ancient India: Kautilya's Arthasastra, Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0-19-989182-5}}, see Introduction</ref> Yoga and samkhya have some differences; yoga accepted the concept of a personal god, and Samkhya was a rational, non-theistic system of Hindu philosophy.<ref name="lpfl" />{{sfn|Burley|2012|pp=31–46}}{{sfn|Radhakrishnan|Moore|1967|p=453}} Patanjali's system is sometimes called "Seshvara Samkhya", distinguishing it from ]'s Nirivara Samkhya.{{sfn|Radhakrishnan|1971|p=344}} The parallels between yoga and samkhya were so close that ] says, "The two philosophies were in popular parlance distinguished from each other as Samkhya with and Samkhya without a Lord."{{sfn|Müller|1899|p=104}} ] wrote that the systematization of yoga which began in the middle and early Yoga Upanishads culminated in the ''Yoga Sutras of Patanjali''.{{refn|Werner writes, "The word Yoga appears here for the first time in its fully technical meaning, namely as a systematic training, and it already received a more or less clear formulation in some other middle Upanishads....Further process of the systematization of Yoga as a path to the ultimate mystic goal is obvious in subsequent Yoga Upanishads and the culmination of this endeavour is represented by Patanjali's codification of this path into a system of the eightfold Yoga."{{sfn|Werner|1998|p=24}}|group=note}} | |||
{| class="wikitable floatright" | |||
=====Samkhya===== | |||
|+ Yoga Sutras of Patanjali{{sfn|Stiles|2001|p=x}} | |||
{{further|Samkhya}} | |||
|- | |||
<!--] Muni, in a Kolkata temple]]--> | |||
!Pada (Chapter)||English meaning||Sutras | |||
|- | |||
|Samadhi Pada||On being absorbed in spirit|| style="text-align: center" | 51 | |||
|- | |||
|Sadhana Pada||On being immersed in spirit|| style="text-align: center" | 55 | |||
|- | |||
|Vibhuti Pada||On supernatural abilities and gifts|| style="text-align: center" | 56 | |||
|- | |||
|Kaivalya Pada||On absolute freedom|| style="text-align: center" | 34 | |||
|} | |||
The ''Yoga Sutras'' are also influenced by the Sramana traditions of Buddhism and Jainism, and may be a further Brahmanical attempt to adopt yoga from those traditions.{{sfn|Mallinson|Singleton|2017|pp=xvi–xvii}} Larson noted a number of parallels in ancient samkhya, yoga and ] Buddhism, particularly from the second century BCE to the first century AD.{{sfn|Larson|2008|pp=43–45}} Patanjali's ''Yoga Sutras'' are a synthesis of the three traditions. From Samkhya, they adopt the "reflective discernment" (''adhyavasaya'') of ''prakrti'' and ''purusa'' (dualism), their metaphysical rationalism, and their three ] methods of obtaining knowledge.{{sfn|Larson|2008|pp=43–45}} Larson says that the ''Yoga Sutras'' pursue an altered state of awareness from Abhidharma Buddhism's ''nirodhasamadhi''; unlike Buddhism's "no self or soul", however, yoga (like Samkhya) believes that each individual has a self.{{sfn|Larson|2008|pp=43–45}} The third concept which the ''Yoga Sutras'' synthesize is the ] tradition of meditation and introspection.{{sfn|Larson|2008|pp=43–45}} | |||
Many traditions in India began to adopt systematic methodology by about first century CE. Of these, ] was probably one of the oldest philosophies to begin taking a systematic form.<ref>Larson, p. 38.</ref> Patanjali systematized Yoga, building them on the foundational metaphysics of Samkhya. In the early works, the Yoga principles appear together with the Samkhya ideas. Vyasa's commentary on the ''Yoga Sutras'', also called the ''Samkhyapravacanabhasya'' (''Commentary on the Exposition of the Sankhya Philosophy''), describes the relation between the two systems.<ref>Radhankrishnan, Indian Philosophy, London, George Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1971 edition, Volume II, p. 342.</ref> The two schools have some differences as well. Yoga accepted the conception of "personal god", while Samkhya developed as a rationalist, non-theistic/atheistic system of Hindu philosophy.<ref name=lpfl/><ref>Mike Burley (2012), Classical Samkhya and Yoga - An Indian Metaphysics of Experience, Routledge, ISBN 978-0415648875, pages 31-46</ref><ref>For yoga acceptance of samkhya concepts, but with addition of a category for God, see: Radhakrishnan and Moore, p. 453.</ref> Sometimes Patanjali's system is referred to as ''Seshvara Samkhya'' in contradistinction to Kapila's ''Nirivara Samkhya''.<ref>Radhankrishnan, Indian Philosophy, London, George Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1971 edition, Volume II, p. 344.</ref> | |||
Patanjali's ''Yoga Sutras'' are considered the first compilation of yoga philosophy.{{refn|group=note|For ] as the founder of the philosophical system called yoga see: {{harvnb|Chatterjee|Datta|1984 |p=42}}.}} The verses of the ''Yoga Sutras'' are terse. Many later Indian scholars studied them and published their commentaries, such as the ''Vyasa Bhashya'' (c. 350–450 CE).{{sfn|Larson|2008|pp=21–22}} Patanjali defines the word "yoga" in his second sutra, and his terse definition hinges on the meaning of three Sanskrit terms. ] translates it as "Yoga is the inhibition (''{{IAST|nirodhaḥ}}'') of the modifications (''{{IAST|vṛtti}}'') of the mind (''{{IAST|citta}}'')".{{sfn|Taimni|1961|p=6}} ] translates the sutra as "Yoga is restraining the mind-stuff (''Citta'') from taking various forms (''Vrittis'')."{{sfn|Vivekananda|p=115}} ] writes that 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, is only aware of its own nature as consciousness unmixed with any other object."<ref name=edbryant>Edwin Bryant (2011, Rutgers University), {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190518185305/https://www.iep.utm.edu/yoga/ |date=18 May 2019 }} IEP</ref>{{sfn|Bryant|2009|p=10}}{{sfn|Bryant|2009|p=457}} | |||
The parallels between Yoga and Samkhya were so close that ] says that "the two philosophies were in popular parlance distinguished from each other as Samkhya with and Samkhya without a Lord...."<ref>Müller (1899), Chapter 7, "Yoga Philosophy," p. 104.</ref> | |||
] writes that if yoga is understood as ] (mental control), its goal is "the unqualified state of ''niruddha'' (the perfection of that process)".{{sfn|Dass|1999|p=5}} "Yoga (union) implies duality (as in joining of two things or principles); the result of yoga is the nondual state ... as the union of the lower self and higher Self. The nondual state is characterized by the absence of individuality; it can be described as eternal peace, pure love, Self-realization, or liberation."{{sfn|Dass|1999|p=5}} | |||
=====Yoga Sutras of Patanjali===== | |||
{{Main|Raja Yoga|Yoga Sutras of Patanjali}} | |||
].]] | |||
{{Yoga Sutras of Patanjali}} | |||
In Hindu philosophy, yoga is the name of one of the six '']'' (which accept the testimony of Vedas) philosophical schools.<ref>For an overview of the six orthodox schools, with detail on the grouping of schools, see: Radhakrishnan and Moore, "Contents," and pp. 453–487.</ref><ref>For a brief overview of the yoga school of philosophy see: Chatterjee and Datta, p. 43.</ref> Karel Werner, author of ''Yoga And Indian Philosophy'', believes that the process of systematization of yoga which began in the middle and Yoga Upanishads culminated with the ''Yoga Sutras of Patanjali''.{{refn|Werner writes, "The word Yoga appears here for the first time in its fully technical meaning, namely as a systematic training, and it already received a more or less clear formulation in some other middle Upanishads....Further process of the systematization of Yoga as a path to the ultimate mystic goal is obvious in subsequent Yoga Upanishads and the culmination of this endeavour is represented by Patanjali's codification of this path into a system of the eightfold Yoga."<ref>Werner, p. 24.</ref>|group=note}} | |||
Patanjali defined an ] in ''Yoga Sutras'' 2.29: | |||
There are numerous parallels in the concepts in ancient Samkhya, Yoga and Abhidharma Buddhist schools of thought, particularly from 2nd century BCE to 1st century AD, notes Larson.<ref name=l4345>Larson, pp. 43-45</ref> Patanjali's Yoga Sutras is a synthesis of these three traditions. From Samkhya, Yoga Sutras adopt the "reflective discernment" (''adhyavasaya'') of ''prakrti'' and ''purusa'' (dualism), its metaphysical rationalism, as well its three ] methods to gaining reliable knowledge.<ref name=l4345/> From Abhidharma Buddhism's idea of ''nirodhasamadhi'', suggests Larson, Yoga Sutras adopt the pursuit of altered state of awareness, but unlike Buddhist's concept of no self nor soul, Yoga is physicalist and realist like Samkhya in believing that each individual has a self and soul.<ref name=l4345/> The third concept Yoga Sutras synthesize into its philosophy is the ancient ] traditions of meditation and introspection, as well as the yoga ideas from middle Upanishads such as Katha, Shvetashvatara and Maitri.<ref name=l4345/> | |||
# ] (The five abstentions): ] (Non-violence, non-harming other living beings),<ref>James Lochtefeld, "Yama (2)", The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Vol. 2: N–Z, Rosen Publishing. {{ISBN|978-0-8239-3179-8}}, page 777</ref> ] (truthfulness, non-falsehood),<ref name=artid>Arti Dhand (2002), The dharma of ethics, the ethics of dharma: Quizzing the ideals of Hinduism, Journal of Religious Ethics, 30(3), pages 347–372</ref> ] (non-stealing),<ref name=mngulati /> ] (celibacy, fidelity to one's partner),<ref name=mngulati>MN Gulati (2008), Comparative Religions And Philosophies : Anthropomorphism And Divinity, {{ISBN|978-8126909025}}, page 168</ref> and ] (non-avarice, non-possessiveness).<ref name=artid /> | |||
# ] (The five "observances"): ] (purity, clearness of mind, speech and body),<ref>Sharma and Sharma, Indian Political Thought, Atlantic Publishers, {{ISBN|978-8171566785}}, page 19</ref> ] (contentment, acceptance of others and of one's circumstances),<ref name=ntummers>N Tummers (2009), Teaching Yoga for Life, {{ISBN|978-0-7360-7016-4}}, pages 16–17</ref> ] (persistent meditation, perseverance, austerity),<ref>Kaelber, W. O. (1976). "Tapas", Birth, and Spiritual Rebirth in the Veda, History of Religions, 15(4): 343–386</ref> ] (study of self, self-reflection, study of Vedas),<ref>SA Bhagwat (2008), Yoga and Sustainability. Journal of Yoga, Fall/Winter 2008, 7(1): 1–14</ref> and ] (contemplation of God/Supreme Being/True Self).<ref name=ntummers /> | |||
Patanjali's Yoga Sutras are widely regarded as the first compilation of the formal yoga philosophy.<ref>For ] as the founder of the philosophical system called yoga see: Chatterjee and Datta, p. 42.</ref> The verses of ''Yoga Sutras'' are terse. Many later Indian scholars studied them and published their commentaries, such as the ''Vyasa Bhashya'' (c. 350–450 CE).<ref>Larson, p. 21–22.</ref> Patanjali's yoga is also referred to as Raja yoga.<ref>For "raja yoga" as a system for control of the mind and connection to Patanjali's ''Yoga Sutras'' as a key work, see: Flood (1996), pp. 96–98.</ref> Patanjali defines the word "yoga" in his second sutra: | |||
<blockquote class="toccolours" style="float:none; padding:10px 15px; display:table;">{{IAST|'''योग: चित्त-वृत्ति निरोध:''' <br> ''(yogaḥ citta-vṛtti-nirodhaḥ)''}}<br>- ''Yoga Sutras'' 1.2</blockquote> | |||
This terse definition hinges on the meaning of three Sanskrit terms. ] translates it as "Yoga is the inhibition (''{{IAST|nirodhaḥ}}'') of the modifications (''{{IAST|vṛtti}}'') of the mind (''{{IAST|citta}}'')".<ref>For text and word-by-word translation as "Yoga is the inhibition of the modifications of the mind." See: Taimni, p. 6.</ref> ] translates the sutra as "Yoga is restraining the mind-stuff (''Citta'') from taking various forms (''Vrittis'')."<ref>Vivekanada, p. 115.</ref> ] explains that, 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, is only aware of its own nature as consciousness unmixed with any other object."<ref name=edbryant>Edwin Bryant (2011, Rutgers University), IEP</ref><ref name="Bryant 2009, p. 10">Bryant 2009, p. 10.</ref><ref name="Bryant 2009, p. 457">Bryant 2009, p. 457.</ref> | |||
Patanjali's writing also became the basis for a system referred to as "Ashtanga Yoga" ("Eight-Limbed Yoga"). This eight-limbed concept is derived from the 29th Sutra of the Book 2 of Yoga Sutras. They are: | |||
# ] (The five "abstentions"): ] (Non-violence, non-harming other living beings),<ref>James Lochtefeld, "Yama (2)", The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Vol. 2: N–Z, Rosen Publishing. ISBN 9780823931798, page 777</ref> ] (truthfulness, non-falsehood),<ref name=artid>Arti Dhand (2002), The dharma of ethics, the ethics of dharma: Quizzing the ideals of Hinduism, Journal of Religious Ethics, 30(3), pages 347-372</ref> ] (non-stealing),<ref name=mngulati/> ] (celibacy, fidelity to one's partner),<ref name=mngulati>MN Gulati (2008), Comparative Religions And Philosophies : Anthropomorphism And Divinity, ISBN 978-8126909025, page 168</ref> and ] (non-avarice, non-possessiveness).<ref name=artid/> | |||
# ] (The five "observances"): ] (purity, clearness of mind, speech and body),<ref>Sharma and Sharma, Indian Political Thought, Atlantic Publishers, ISBN 978-8171566785, page 19</ref> ] (contentment, acceptance of others and of one's circumstances),<ref name=ntummers>N Tummers (2009), Teaching Yoga for Life, ISBN 978-0736070164, pages 16-17</ref> ] (persistent meditation, perseverance, austerity),<ref>Kaelber, W. O. (1976). "Tapas", Birth, and Spiritual Rebirth in the Veda, History of Religions, 15(4): 343-386</ref> ] (study of self, self-reflection, study of Vedas),<ref>SA Bhagwat (2008), Yoga and Sustainability. Journal of Yoga, Fall/Winter 2008, 7(1): 1-14</ref> and ] (contemplation of God/Supreme Being/True Self).<ref name=ntummers/> | |||
# ]: Literally means "seat", and in Patanjali's Sutras refers to the seated position used for meditation. | # ]: Literally means "seat", and in Patanjali's Sutras refers to the seated position used for meditation. | ||
# ] (" |
# ] ("Breath exercises"): ''Prāna'', breath, "āyāma", to "stretch, extend, restrain, stop". | ||
# ] ("Abstraction"): Withdrawal of the sense organs from external objects. | # ] ("Abstraction"): Withdrawal of the sense organs from external objects. | ||
# ] ("Concentration"): Fixing the attention on a single object. | # ] ("Concentration"): Fixing the attention on a single object. | ||
Line 241: | Line 266: | ||
# ] ("Liberation"): merging consciousness with the object of meditation. | # ] ("Liberation"): merging consciousness with the object of meditation. | ||
In Hindu scholasticism since the 12th century, yoga has been one of the six ] philosophical schools (darsanas): traditions which accept the Vedas.{{refn|group=note|For an overview of the six orthodox schools, with detail on the grouping of schools, see: {{harvnb|Radhakrishnan|Moore|1967|loc="Contents" and pp. 453–487}}.}}{{refn|group=note|For a brief overview of the yoga school of philosophy see: {{harvnb|Chatterjee|Datta|1984|p=43}}.}}{{sfn|Mallinson|Singleton|2017|pp=16–17}} | |||
Yoga school as developed in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras and Vedanta schools are two largest surviving schools of Hindu traditions. They share many thematic principles, concepts and belief in self/soul, but diverge in degree, style and some of their methods. Epistemologically, Yoga school accepts three means to reliable knowledge, while Advaita Vedanta accepts six ways.<ref>John A. Grimes, A Concise Dictionary of Indian Philosophy: Sanskrit Terms Defined in English, State University of New York Press, ISBN 978-0791430675, page 238</ref> Yoga disputes the ] of Advaita Vedanta.<ref name=shphillips/> Yoga school believes that in the state of ], each individual discovers the blissful, liberating sense of himself or herself as an independent identity; Advaita Vedanta, in contrast, believes that in the state of ], each individual discovers the blissful, liberating sense of himself or herself as part of Oneness with everything, everyone and the Universal Self. They both hold that the free conscience is aloof yet transcendent, liberated and self-aware. Further, Advaita Vedanta school enjoins the use of Patanjali's yoga practices and the reading of Upanishads for those seeking the supreme good, ultimate freedom and ].<ref name=shphillips>{{cite book | first=Stephen H. | last=Phillips | title=Classical Indian Metaphysics: Refutations of Realism and the Emergence of "New Logic" | publisher=Open Court Publishing | year=1995 | pages=12–13}}</ref> | |||
==== Yoga and Vedanta ==== | |||
Yoga and '']'' are the two largest surviving schools of Hindu traditions. Although they share many principles, concepts, and the belief in Self, they differ in degree, style, and methods; yoga accepts three means to obtain knowledge, and ] accepts.{{sfn|Grimes|1996|p=238}} Yoga disputes Advaita Vedanta's ].<ref name=shphillips /> It believes that in the state of ], each individual discovers the blissful, liberating sense of himself or herself as an independent identity; Advaita Vedanta teaches that in the state of ], each individual discovers the blissful, liberating sense of himself or herself as part of oneness with everything, everyone and the Universal Self. They both hold that the free conscience is transcendent, liberated and self-aware. Advaita Vedanta also encourages the use of Patanjali's yoga practices and the ''Upanishads'' for those seeking the supreme good and ultimate ].<ref name=shphillips>{{cite book | first=Stephen H. | last=Phillips | title=Classical Indian Metaphysics: Refutations of Realism and the Emergence of "New Logic" | url=https://archive.org/details/classicalindianm00phil | url-access=registration | publisher=Open Court Publishing | year=1995 | pages=| isbn=9780812692983 }}</ref> | |||
====Yoga Yajnavalkya==== | ====Yoga Yajnavalkya==== | ||
{{Main|Yoga Yajnavalkya}} | {{Main|Yoga Yajnavalkya}} | ||
{{Quote box | {{Quote box | ||
|quote |
|quote='''संयोगो योग इत्युक्तो जीवात्मपरमात्मनोः॥''' <br /> ''saṁyogo yoga ityukto jīvātma-paramātmanoḥ॥'' <br />Yoga is the union of the individual self (''jivātma'') with the supreme self (''paramātma''). | ||
|source |
|source=—'']''{{sfn|Larson|2008|p=478}} | ||
|width |
|width=30% | ||
|align |
|align=right | ||
}} | }} | ||
The '']'' is a classical treatise on yoga attributed to the Vedic sage ]. It takes the form of a dialogue between Yajnavalkya and his wife ], a renowned female philosopher.<ref>{{citation|title=Yoga Journal|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=-ekDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA121|year=2006|publisher=Active Interest Media, Inc.|page=121|issn=0191-0965}}</ref> The text contains 12 chapters and its origin has been traced to the period between the second century BCE and fourth century CE.<ref>{{cite book |last1= |first1= |authorlink1= |last2= |first2= |authorlink2= |editor1-first= Prahlad|editor1-last= Divanji|editor1-link= |others= |title= Yoga Yajnavalkya: A Treatise on Yoga as Taught by Yogi Yajnavalkya |trans_title= |url= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |accessdate= |type= |edition= |series= B.B.R.A. Society's Monograph No. 3 |volume= |year= 1954 |origyear= |publisher= Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. |location= Bombay, India |language= |isbn= |oclc= |doi= |id= |page=105 |pages= |at= |trans_chapter= |chapter= |chapterurl= |quote= |ref= |bibcode= |laysummary= |laydate= |separator= |postscript= |lastauthoramp=}}</ref> Many yoga texts like the ''Hatha Yoga Pradipika'', the ''Yoga Kundalini'' and the ''Yoga Tattva Upanishads'' have borrowed verses from or make frequent references to the ''Yoga Yajnavalkya''.<ref>{{cite book|last=Mohan|first=A.G.|title=Krishnamacharya: His Life and Teachings|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=E6nQQQ0OWo8C&pg=PA127|year=2010|publisher=Shambhala Publications|isbn=978-1-59030-800-4|page=127}}</ref> In the ''Yoga Yajnavalkya'', yoga is defined as ''jivatmaparamatmasamyogah'', or the union between the individual self (''jivatma'') and the Divine (''paramatma'').<ref name="Larson478" /> | |||
The ''Yoga Yajnavalkya'' is a classical treatise on yoga, attributed to the Vedic sage ], in the form of a dialogue between Yajnavalkya and the renowned philosopher ].<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Rosen |first=Richard |title=Guided Meditation |magazine=Yoga Journal |date=March 2006 |page=121 |issn=0191-0965 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-ekDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA121}}</ref> The origin of the 12-chapter text has been traced to the second century BCE and the fourth century CE.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-first=Prahlad |editor1-last=Divanji |title=Yoga Yajnavalkya: A Treatise on Yoga as Taught by Yogi Yajnavalkya |series=B.B.R.A. Society's Monograph |volume=3 |year=1954 |publisher=Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society |location=Bombay, India |page=105}}</ref> A number of yoga texts, such as the ''Hatha Yoga Pradipika'', the ''Yoga Kundalini'' and the ''Yoga Tattva Upanishads'', have borrowed from (or frequently refer to) the ''Yoga Yajnavalkya''.<ref>{{cite book|last=Mohan|first=A.G.|title=Krishnamacharya: His Life and Teachings|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E6nQQQ0OWo8C&pg=PA127|year=2010|publisher=Shambhala Publications|isbn=978-1-59030-800-4|page=127}}</ref> It discusses eight yoga ]s (Swastika, Gomukha, Padma, Vira, Simha, Bhadra, Mukta and Mayura),{{sfn|Larson|2008|p=479}} a number of breathing exercises for body cleansing,{{sfn|Larson|2008|pp=481–484}} and meditation.{{sfn|Larson|2008|pp=485–486}} | |||
====Jainism==== | |||
==== {{anchor|Buddhist Abhidharma and Yogacara}}Abhidharma and Yogachara ==== | |||
{{Main|Jainism}} | |||
], a fourth-century scholar and co-founder of the Yogachara ("Yoga practice") school of Mahayana Buddhism<ref>{{cite book|author=John M. Koller|title=Asian Philosophies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wgAQAQAAIAAJ|year=2002|publisher=Prentice Hall|isbn=978-0-13-092385-1|pages=144–145}}</ref>]] | |||
] in Yogic meditation in the ] posture.]] | |||
The Buddhist tradition of ] spawned treatises which expanded teachings on Buddhist theory and yoga techniques which influenced ] and ] Buddhism. At the height of the ] (fourth to fifth centuries CE), a northern Mahayana movement known as ] began to be systematized with the writings of Buddhist scholars ] and ]. Yogācāra Buddhism provided a systematic framework for practices which lead a ] towards awakening and full ].<ref>Dan Lusthaus. Buddhist Phenomenology: A Philosophical Investigation of Yogacara Buddhism and the Ch'eng Wei-shih Lun. Published 2002 (Routledge). {{ISBN|0-7007-1186-4}}. pg 533</ref> Its teachings are found in the encyclopedic '']'' (''] for Yoga Practitioners''), which was also translated into Tibetan and Chinese and influenced ] and ] traditions.<ref>Ulrich Timme Kragh (editor), ''The Foundation for Yoga Practitioners'': ''The Buddhist Yogācārabhūmi Treatise and Its Adaptation in India, East Asia, and Tibet, Volume 1'' Harvard University, Department of South Asian studies, 2013, pp. 16, 25.</ref> Mallinson and Singleton write that the study of Yogācāra Buddhism is essential to understand yoga's early history, and its teachings influenced the ''Pātañjalayogaśāstra.''{{sfn|Mallinson|Singleton|2017|pp=xvii–xviii}} The South India and Sri Lankan-based ] school also developed manuals for yogic and meditative training, primarily the '']'' and the '']''. | |||
According to '']'', 2nd century CE Jain text, yoga is the sum of all the activities of mind, speech and body.<ref name="Tattvarthasutra 2007 p. 102"/> ] calls yoga the cause of "asrava" or ]<ref name="Tattvarthasutra 6.2">Tattvarthasutra </ref> as well as one of the essentials—'']''—in the path to liberation.<ref name="Tattvarthasutra 6.2" /> In his ''Niyamasara'', Acarya ], describes ''yoga bhakti''—devotion to the path to liberation—as the highest form of devotion.<ref>Niyamasara </ref> Acarya ] and Acarya ] mention the five major vows of ascetics and 12 minor vows of laity under yoga. This has led certain ]s like Prof. ] to call Jainism, essentially, a system of yogic thinking that grew into a full-fledged religion.<ref>Zydenbos, Robert. "Jainism Today and Its Future." München: Manya Verlag, 2006. p.66</ref> The ] or the constraints of the '']'' bear a resemblance to the ], indicating a history of strong cross-fertilization between these traditions.<ref>Zydenbos (2006) p.66</ref>{{refn|Worthington writes, "Yoga fully acknowledges its debt to Jainism, and Jainism reciprocates by making the practice of yoga part and parcel of life."<ref>Worthington, p. 35.</ref>|group=note}} | |||
====Jainism==== | |||
Mainstream Hinduism's influence on Jain yoga is noticed as ] founded his eightfold yoga and aligned it with Patanjali's eightfold yoga.<ref>P. 313 ''The Integrity of the Yoga Darsana: A Reconsideration of the Classical Yoga'' By Ian Whicher</ref> | |||
{{Main|Jainism}} | |||
According to '']'', a second-to-fifth century Jain text, yoga is the sum of all activities of mind, speech and body.{{efn|name="Tattvarthasutra 2007 p. 102"}} ] calls yoga the generator of ],<ref name="Tattvarthasutra 6.2">Tattvarthasutra </ref> and essential to the path to liberation.<ref name="Tattvarthasutra 6.2" /> In his '']'', ] describes ''yoga bhakti''—devotion to the path to liberation—as the highest form of devotion.{{sfn|Kundakunda|pp=134–140}} ] and ] note the five major vows of ascetics and 12 minor vows of laity in yoga. According to ], Jainism is a system of yogic thinking which became a religion.{{sfn|Zydenbos|2006|p=66}} The ] (constraints) of the ''Yoga Sutras of Patanjali'' are similar to Jainism's ], indicating cross-fertilization between these traditions.{{sfn|Zydenbos|2006|p=66}}{{refn|Worthington writes, "Yoga fully acknowledges its debt to Jainism, and Jainism reciprocates by making the practice of yoga part and parcel of life."{{sfn|Worthington|1982|p=35}}|group=note}} Hinduism's influence on Jain yoga may be seen in Haribhadra's '']'', which outlines an eightfold yoga influenced by Patanjali's eightfold yoga.{{sfn|Whicher|1998|p=313}} | |||
====Yogacara school==== | |||
{{Main|Yogacara}} | |||
In the late phase of Indian antiquity, on the eve of the development of ], the | |||
] movement arises during the ] (4th to 5th centuries). | |||
Yogacara received the name as it provided a "yoga," a framework for engaging in the practices that lead to the path of the ].<ref>Dan Lusthaus. Buddhist Phenomenology: A Philosophical Investigation of Yogacara Buddhism and the Ch'eng Wei-shih Lun. Published 2002 (Routledge). ISBN 0-7007-1186-4. pg 533</ref> The yogacara sect teaches "yoga" as a way to reach enlightenment.<ref name="Simpkins">Simple Tibetan Buddhism: A Guide to Tantric Living By C. Alexander Simpkins, Annellen M. Simpkins. Published 2001. Tuttle Publishing. ISBN 0-8048-3199-8</ref> | |||
===Middle Ages (500–1500 CE)=== | ===Middle Ages (500–1500 CE)=== | ||
{{multiple image | |||
Middle Ages saw the development of many satellite traditions of yoga. Hatha yoga emerged in this period.<ref>Larson, pp. 136–139.</ref> | |||
| total_width=330 | |||
| footer=Male and female ]s in 17th- and 18th-century India | |||
| image1=A yogi seated in a garden.jpg | |||
| alt1=A male yogi | |||
| image2=Female Ascetics (Yoginis) LACMA M.2011.156.4 (1 of 2).jpg | |||
| alt2=Two female yoginis | |||
}} | |||
The Middle Ages saw the development of satellite yoga traditions. ] emerged during this period.{{sfn|Larson|2008|pp=136–139}} | |||
====Bhakti movement==== | ====Bhakti movement==== | ||
{{ |
{{Main|Bhakti yoga}} | ||
The ] was a development in medieval Hinduism which advocated the concept of a ] (or "]"). The movement was initiated by the ] of South India in the 6th to 9th centuries, and it started gaining influence throughout India by the 12th to 15th centuries.<ref name="Cutler">{{cite book|last=Cutler|first=Norman|title=Songs of Experience|publisher=Indiana University Press|year=1987|page=1|isbn=978-0-253-35334-4|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=veSItWingx8C&pg=PA1}}</ref> Shaiva and ] bhakti traditions integrated aspects of ''Yoga Sutras'', such as the practical meditative exercises, with devotion.<ref>Larson, p. 137.</ref> '']'' elucidates the practice of a form of yoga called ''viraha'' (separation) ''bhakti''. ''Viraha bhakti'' emphasizes one pointed concentration on Krishna.<ref>Jacobsen, p. 22.</ref> | |||
In medieval Hinduism, the ] advocated the concept of a ] or ]. The movement, begun by the ] of South India during the 6th to 9th centuries, became influential throughout India by the 12th to 15th centuries.<ref name="Cutler">{{cite book|last=Cutler|first=Norman|title=Songs of Experience|publisher=Indiana University Press|year=1987|page=1|isbn=978-0-253-35334-4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=veSItWingx8C&pg=PA1}}</ref> ] and ] ''bhakti'' traditions integrated aspects of the ''Yoga Sutras'' (such as meditative exercises) with devotion.{{sfn|Larson|2008|pp=137}} The '']'' elucidates a form of yoga known as ''viraha'' (separation) ''bhakti'', which emphasizes concentration on Krishna.{{sfn|Jacobsen|2011|p=22}} | |||
====Tantra==== | |||
Tantra is a genre of yoga that arose in India no later than the 5th century CE.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Einoo |first=Shingo (ed.) |year=2009 |page=45 |title=Genesis and Development of Tantrism |publisher=University of Tokyo}}</ref>{{refn|group=note|The earliest documented use of the word "Tantra" is in the ] (X.71.9).<ref name=Banerjee>Banerjee, S.C., 1988.</ref> The context of use suggests the word ''tantra'' in Rigveda means "technique".}} George Samuel states, "Tantra" is a contested term, but may be considered as a school whose practices appeared in mostly complete form in Buddhist and Hindu texts by about 10th century CE.{{sfn|Samuel|2008|p=9}} Over its history, some ideas of Tantra school influenced the ], ], ], and ] traditions. Elements of Tantric yoga rituals were adopted by and influenced state functions in medieval Buddhist and Hindu kingdoms in ] and ].{{sfn|White|2000|p=7}}{{sfn|Samuel|2008|pp=324-333}} | |||
===={{anchor|Hindu Tantra}}Tantra==== | |||
By the turn of the first millennium, ] emerged from ].<ref name="khecari1" /><ref name="autogenerated16" /> | |||
'']'' is a range of esoteric traditions which had begun to arise in India by the 5th century CE.<ref>{{cite book|editor-last=Einoo |editor-first=Shingo |year=2009 |page=45 |title=Genesis and Development of Tantrism |publisher=University of Tokyo}}</ref>{{refn|group=note|The earliest documented use of the word "Tantra" is in the ] (X.71.9).<ref name=Banerjee>Banerjee, S.C., 1988.</ref>}} Its use suggests that the word ''tantra'' in the ''Rigveda'' means "technique". George Samuel wrote that ''tantra'' is a contested term, but may be considered a school whose practices appeared in nearly-complete form in Buddhist and Hindu texts by about the 10th century CE.{{sfn|Samuel|2008|p=9}} Tantric yoga developed complex visualizations, which included meditation on the body as a microcosm of the cosmos. It included mantras, breath control, and body manipulation (including its ] and ]s. Teachings about chakras and Kundalini became central to later forms of Indian yoga.{{sfn|Mallinson|Singleton|2017|pp=xviii–xx}} | |||
Tantric concepts influenced Hindu, ], Buddhist, and Jain traditions. Elements of Tantric rituals were adopted by, and influenced, state functions in medieval Buddhist and Hindu kingdoms in ] and ].{{sfn|Samuel|2008|pp=324–333}} By the turn of the first millennium, ] emerged from ].{{sfn|Burley|2000|p=16}}{{efn|name="hatha_yoga_dating"}} | |||
=====Vajrayana Buddhism===== | |||
{{Main|Vajrayana}} | |||
] is also known as '''Tantric Buddhism''' and ''Tantrayāna''. Its texts were compiled starting with 7th century and Tibetan translations were completed in 8th century CE. These tantra yoga texts were the main source of Buddhist knowledge that was imported into Tibet.<ref>John Powers (2004), in Encyclopedia of Buddhism (Editors: Damien Keown et al.), Routledge, ISBN 978-0415314145, pages 775-785</ref> They were later translated into Chinese and other Asian languages, helping spread ideas of Tantric Buddhism. The Buddhist text ] and ''Caryāgiti'' introduced hierarchies of chakras.<ref name="autogenerated14">White, David Gordon. ''Yoga in Practice''. Princeton University Press 2012, page 14.</ref> | |||
==== |
=====Vajrayana and Tibetan Buddhism===== | ||
] is also known as Tantric Buddhism and ''Tantrayāna''. Its texts began to be compiled during the seventh century CE, and ] translations were completed the following century. These ''tantra'' texts were the main source of Buddhist knowledge imported into Tibet,<ref>John Powers (2004), in Encyclopedia of Buddhism (Editors: Damien Keown et al.), Routledge, {{ISBN|978-0-415-31414-5}}, pages 775–785</ref> and were later translated into Chinese and other Asian languages. The Buddhist text ] and '']'' introduced hierarchies of chakras.<ref>White, David Gordon. ''Yoga in Practice''. Princeton University Press 2012, page 14.</ref> Yoga is a significant practice in Tantric Buddhism.<ref name="Lama Yeshe 1998, pg.135–141">Lama Yeshe (1998). ''The Bliss of Inner Fire.'' Wisdom Publications. pp. 135–141.</ref><ref>Chogyam Trungpa (2001) ''The Lion's Roar: An Introduction to Tantra''. Shambhala. {{ISBN|1-57062-895-5}}</ref><ref>Edmonton Patric 2007, Pali and Its Significance, p. 332</ref> | |||
{{Main|Hatha yoga|Hatha Yoga Pradipika}} | |||
The earliest references to hatha yoga are in Buddhist works dating from the eighth century.<ref>James Mallinson, "Sāktism and Hathayoga," 28 June 2012. pgs. 2 "The earliest references to hathayoga are scattered mentions in Buddhist canonical | |||
works and their exegesis dating from the eighth century onwards, in | |||
which it is the soteriological method of last resort."</ref> The earliest definition of hatha yoga is found in the 11th century Buddhist text ''Vimalaprabha'', which defines it in relation to the center channel, bindu etc.<ref>James Mallinson, "Sāktism and Hathayoga," 28 June 2012. pgs. 2 "In its earliest definition, | |||
in Pundarīka’s eleventh-century Vimalaprabhā commentary on the Kālacakratantra, hathayoga is said to bring about the "unchanging moment" (aksaraksana) "through the practice of nāda by forcefully making the breath enter the central channel and through restraining the bindu of the bodhicitta in the vajra of the lotus of wisdom". While the means employed are not specified, the ends, in particular restraining bindu, semen, and making the breath enter the central channel, are similar to those mentioned in the earliest | |||
descriptions of the practices of hathayoga, to which I now turn."</ref> The basic tenets of Hatha yoga were formulated by Shaiva ascetics ] and ] c. 900 CE. Hatha yoga synthesizes elements of Patanjali's ''Yoga Sutras'' with posture and breathing exercises.<ref>Larson, p. 140.</ref> Hatha yoga, sometimes referred to as the "psychophysical yoga",<ref>Raub, James A.. Psychophysiologic Effects of Hatha Yoga on Musculoskeletal and Cardiopulmonary Function: A Literature Review.</ref> was further elaborated by ], compiler of the '']'' in 15th century CE. This yoga differs substantially from the Raja yoga of Patanjali in that it focuses on '']'', the purification of the physical body as leading to the purification of the mind (''ha''), and '']'', or vital energy (''tha'').<ref>Living Yoga: Creating a Life Practice – Page 42 by Christy Turlington (page 42)</ref><ref>"Guiding Yoga's Light: Yoga Lessons for Yoga Teachers" – Page 10 by Nancy Gerstein</ref> Compared to the seated asana, or sitting meditation posture, of Patanjali's Raja yoga,<ref>"Mindfulness Yoga: The Awakened Union of Breath Body & Mind" – Page 6 by Frank Jude Boccio</ref> it marks the development of asanas (plural) into the full body 'postures' now in popular usage<ref name="Burley">{{cite book|last=Burley|first=Mikel|title=Hatha Yoga: Its Context, Theory and Practice|year=2000|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|location=Delhi|isbn=978-8120817067|page=16|url=http://books.google.ca/books?id=ezxQHzjwUosC&printsec=frontcover&dq=mikel+burley&hl=en&sa=X&ei=2ZUVUp2WMuHWiwKipYEg&ved=0CDMQuwUwAA#v=onepage&q=mikel%20burley&f=false}}</ref> and, along with its many modern variations, is the style that many people associate with the word ''yoga'' today.<ref>Feuerstein, Georg. (1996). "The Shambhala Guide to Yoga." Boston & London: Shambhala Publications, Inc.</ref> | |||
Tantra yoga practices include postures and breathing exercises. The ] school practices ], a discipline which includes breath work, meditation and other exercises.<ref>"Yantra Yoga: The Tibetan Yoga of Movement" by Chogyal Namkhai Norbu. Snow Lion, 2008. {{ISBN|1-55939-308-4}}</ref> Nyingma meditation is divided into stages,<ref>''The Lion's Roar: An Introduction to Tantra'', by Chogyam Trungpa. Shambhala, 2001 {{ISBN|1-57062-895-5}}</ref> such as ], Upa yoga, Yoga yana, ], ] and ].<ref>"Secret of the Vajra World: The Tantric Buddhism of Tibet" by Ray, Reginald A. Shambhala: 2002. pp. 37–38 {{ISBN|1-57062-917-X}}</ref> The ] traditions also include Kriya, Upa (called "Charya"), and yoga, with ] replacing mahayoga and atiyoga.<ref>"Secret of the Vajra World: The Tantric Buddhism of Tibet" by Ray, Reginald A. Shambhala: 2002. p. 57 {{ISBN|1-57062-917-X}}</ref> | |||
It is similar to a diving board – preparing the body for purification, so that it may be ready to receive higher techniques of meditation. The word "Hatha" comes from "Ha" which means Sun, and "Tha" which means Moon.<ref>Hatha Yoga </ref> | |||
==== |
====Zen Buddhism==== | ||
{{anchor|Yoga and Zen}} | |||
Various yogic groups had become prominent in ] in the 15th and 16th century, when ] was in its nascent stage. Compositions of ], the founder of Sikhism, describe many dialogues he had with ]s, a Hindu community which practiced yoga.<ref>Dhillon, p. 249.</ref> Guru Nanak rejected the austerities, rites and rituals connected with Hatha Yoga.<ref>Dhillon, p. 255.</ref> He propounded the path of Sahaja yoga or Nama yoga (meditation on ''the name'') instead.<ref>{{cite book |last=Mansukhani|first=Gobind Singh|title=Introduction To Sikhism|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=5_SirMuPr54C&pg=PA66|year=2009|publisher=Hemkunt Press|isbn=978-81-7010-181-9|page=66 }}</ref> The '']'' states: | |||
], whose name derives from the Sanskrit ''dhyāna'' via the Chinese ''ch'an'',{{refn|"The Meditation school, called 'Ch'an' in Chinese from the Sanskrit 'dhyāna,' is best known in the West by the Japanese pronunciation 'Zen{{'"}}.<ref>The Buddhist Tradition in India, China, and Japan. Edited by William Theodore de Bary. pp. 207–208. {{ISBN|0-394-71696-5}}</ref>|group=note}} is a form of Mahayana Buddhism in which yoga is an integral part.<ref>{{harvnb|Dumoulin|Heisig|Knitter|2005|p=13}}: "This phenomenon merits special attention since yogic roots are to be found in the Zen Buddhist school of meditation."</ref> | |||
{{quote|Listen "O Yogi, Nanak tells nothing but the truth. You must discipline your mind. The devotee must meditate on the Word Divine. It is His grace which brings about the union. He understands, he also sees. Good deeds help one merge into Divination."<ref>{{cite book |last=Dhillon|first=Harish|title=Guru Nanak|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=obRecfp1QCYC&pg=PA178|year=2010|publisher=Indus Source Books|isbn=978-81-88569-02-1|page=178 }}</ref>}} | |||
===={{anchor|Hatha Yoga}}Medieval hatha yoga==== | |||
===Modern history=== | |||
], an 11th-century yogi of the ] tradition and a proponent of hatha yoga<ref>{{cite book|author=Akshaya Kumar Banerjea|title=Philosophy of Gorakhnath with Goraksha-Vacana-Sangraha|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ljn1koKa0CQC |year=1983|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0534-7 |pages=xxi }}</ref>|alt=Sculpture of a young yogi sitting in the lotus position]] | |||
The first references to hatha yoga are in eighth-century Buddhist works.<ref>{{harvnb|Mallinson |2012|p=2}}: "The earliest references to hathayoga are scattered mentions in Buddhist canonical works and their exegesis dating from the eighth century onwards, in which it is the soteriological method of last resort."</ref> The earliest definition of hatha yoga is in the 11th-century Buddhist text '']''.<ref>{{harvnb|Mallinson |2012|p=2}}: "In its earliest definition, in Pundarīka's eleventh-century Vimalaprabhā commentary on the Kālacakratantra, hathayoga is said to bring about the "unchanging moment" (aksaraksana) "through the practice of nāda by forcefully making the breath enter the central channel and through restraining the bindu of the bodhicitta in the vajra of the lotus of wisdom". While the means employed are not specified, the ends, in particular restraining bindu, semen, and making the breath enter the central channel, are similar to those mentioned in the earliest descriptions of the practices of hathayoga, to which I now turn."</ref> Hatha yoga blends elements of Patanjali's ''Yoga Sutras'' with posture and breathing exercises.{{sfn|Larson|2008| p=140}} It marks the development of asanas into the full-body postures in current popular use{{sfn|Burley|2000|p=16}} and, with its modern variations, is the style presently associated with the word "yoga".{{sfn|Feuerstein|1996|<!--page needed-->}} | |||
====Reception in the West==== | |||
{| class="wikitable floatleft" | |||
|width="200pt" |{{Photomontage | |||
| photo1a = Ustrasana - Camel Pose.jpg{{!}}Ustrasana | |||
| photo1b = Urdhva Prasarita Ekapadasana (cropped).jpg{{!}}Urdhva Prasarita Ekapadasana | |||
| photo2a = Hatha Yoga, Pawanmuktasana, Zhengzhou, China.JPG{{!}}Pawanmuktasana | |||
| photo2b = An Eka Pada Koundinyasana yoga posture asana.jpg{{!}}Eka Pada Koundinyasana | |||
| photo3a = Trikonasana Yoga-Asana Nina-Mel.jpg{{!}}Trikonasana | |||
| photo3b = Janusirsasana Yoga-Asana Nina-Mel.jpg{{!}}Janusirsasana | |||
| photo4a = Bhujangasana Yoga-Asana Nina-Mel.jpg{{!}}Bhujangasana | |||
| photo4b = Siddhasana.jpg{{!}}Siddhasana | |||
| spacing = 1 | |||
| size = 200 | |||
| foot_montage =Various yoga ]s. | |||
}} | |||
|} | |||
Yoga came to the attention of an educated western public in the mid-19th century along with other topics of Indian philosophy. In the context of this budding interest, ] published his ''Treatise on Yoga Philosophy'' in 1851. | |||
====Sikhism==== | |||
The first Hindu teacher to actively advocate and disseminate aspects of yoga to a western audience, ], toured Europe and the United States in the 1890s.<ref name="ReferenceA">Shaw, Eric. ''35 Moments'', '']'', 2010-09. | |||
Yogic groups became prominent in ] during the 15th and 16th centuries, when ] was beginning. Compositions by ] (the founder of Sikhism) describe dialogues he had with ], a Hindu community which practiced yoga. Guru Nanak rejected the austerities, rites and rituals associated with hatha yoga, advocating sahaja yoga or nama yoga instead.<ref>{{cite book |last=Mansukhani|first=Gobind Singh|title=Introduction To Sikhism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5_SirMuPr54C&pg=PA66|year=2009|publisher=Hemkunt Press|isbn=978-81-7010-181-9|page=66 }}</ref> According to the ], | |||
</ref> The reception which Swami Vivekananda received built on the active interest of intellectuals, in particular the ], among them ] (1803-1882), who drew on ] and the interest of philosophers and scholars like ] (1770-1831), the brothers ] (1767-1845) and ] (1772-1829), ] (1823-1900), ] (1788-1860) and others who had (to varying degrees) interests in things Indian.<ref>Goldberg, Philip, American Veda. From Emerson and the Beatles to Yoga and Meditation. How Indian Spirituality Changed the West, New York, 2010: Harmony Books, pp.21ff., Von Glasenapp, Hellmuth, Die Philosophie der Inder, Stuttgart, 1974: A. Kroener Verlag, p. 166f.</ref> | |||
{{blockquote|O Yogi, Nanak tells nothing but the truth. You must discipline your mind. The devotee must meditate on the Word Divine. It is His grace which brings about the union. He understands, he also sees. Good deeds help one merge into Divination.<ref>{{cite book |last=Dhillon |first=Harish |title=Guru Nanak |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=obRecfp1QCYC&pg=PA178 |year=2010 |publisher=Indus Source Books|isbn=978-81-88569-02-1 |page=178}}</ref>}} | |||
] also had a large influence on the American public's view of Yoga.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=http://www.utne.com/2007-03-01/Mind-Body/Fear-of-Yoga.aspx?page=2#axzz2bnQLbp2o |title=Fear of Yoga |publisher=Utne.com |accessdate=28 August 2013}} | |||
</ref> Esoteric views current at the end of the 19th century provided a further basis for the reception of Vedanta and of Yoga with its theory and practice of correspondence between the spiritual and the physical.<ref>De Michelis, Elizabeth, A History Of Modern Yoga. Patanjali and Modern Esotericism. London, 2004: Continuum Books, pp. 19ff. | |||
</ref> The reception of Yoga and of Vedanta thus entwined with each other and with the (mostly ]-based) currents of religious and philosophical reform and ] throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries. ], himself rooted in the Romanian currents of these traditions,{{citation needed|date=November 2013}} brought a new element into the reception of Yoga with the strong emphasis on Tantric Yoga in his seminal book: ''Yoga: Immortality and Freedom''.{{refn|Eliade, Mircea, Yoga - Immortality and Freedom, Princeton, 1958: Princeton Univ.Pr. (original title: Le Yoga. Immortalité et Liberté, Paris, 1954: Libr. Payot)|group=note}} With the introduction of the Tantra traditions and philosophy of Yoga, the conception of the "transcendent" to be attained by Yogic practice shifted from experiencing the "transcendent" ("Atman-Brahman" in Advaitic theory) in the mind to the body itself.<ref>Flood, Gavin D., Body and Cosmology in Kashmir Saivism, San Francisco, 1993: Mellen Research University Press, pp.229ff.</ref> | |||
===Modern revival=== | |||
The modern scientific study of yoga began with the works of ] and Major D. Basu in the late 19th century, and then continued in the 20th century with Sri Yogendra (1897-1989) and ].<ref>Singleton, Mark (12 January 2010). Yoga Body: The Origins of Modern Posture Practice. Oxford University Press. p.32, 50. ISBN 9780199745982. Retrieved 14 March 2014.</ref> Western medical researchers came to ]’s ], starting in 1928, to study Yoga as a science.<ref>Joseph S. Alter (30 August 2004). Yoga in Modern India: The Body between Science and Philosophy. Princeton University Press. p.87. ISBN 9780691118741. Retrieved 14 March 2014.</ref> | |||
===={{anchor|Introduction in the west}}Introduction in the West==== | |||
] | |||
Yoga and other aspects of Indian philosophy came to the attention of the educated Western public during the mid-19th century, and ] published his ''Treatise on Yoga Philosophy'' in 1851.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TFyCDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT10|title=The Little Red Book of Yoga Wisdom|last=Besaw|first=Kelsie|date=2014-01-07|publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=9781628738704|language=en|page=10}}</ref> ], the first Hindu teacher to advocate and disseminate elements of yoga to a Western audience, toured Europe and the United States in the 1890s.<ref name="ReferenceA">Shaw, Eric. "35 Moments", '']'', 2010.</ref> His reception built on the interest of intellectuals who included the ]; among them were ] (1803–1882), who drew on ] and philosophers and scholars such as ] (1770–1831), the brothers ] (1767–1845) and ] (1772–1829), ] (1823–1900), and ] (1788–1860).{{sfn|Goldberg|2010|pp=21ff}}<ref>Von Glasenapp, Hellmuth. ''Die Philosophie der Inder''. Stuttgart, 1974: A. Kroener Verlag, pp. 166f.</ref> | |||
], including ], also influenced the Western public's view of yoga.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=http://www.utne.com/2007-03-01/Mind-Body/Fear-of-Yoga.aspx?page=2#axzz2bnQLbp2o |title=Fear of Yoga |publisher=Utne.com |access-date=28 August 2013}}</ref> Esoteric views at the end of the 19th century encouraged the reception of Vedanta and yoga, with their correspondence between the spiritual and the physical.{{sfn|De Michelis|2004|pp=19ff}} The reception of yoga and Vedanta entwined with the (primarily ]) currents of religious and philosophical reform and ] during the 19th and early 20th centuries. ] brought a new element to yoga, emphasizing tantric yoga in his ''Yoga: Immortality and Freedom''.{{sfn|Eliade|1958}} With the introduction of tantra traditions and philosophy, the conception of the "transcendent" attained by yogic practice shifted from the mind to the body.<ref>Flood, Gavin D., Body and Cosmology in Kashmir Saivism, San Francisco, 1993: Mellen Research University Press, pp.229ff.</ref> | |||
The West,{{clarify|date=October 2013|reason=which parts of the West, include specific clarifications and qualifications from the cited sources}} in the early 21st century typically associates the term "yoga" with ] and its ] (postures) or as a ].<ref> | |||
Title: A History of Modern Yoga. Author: Elizabeth De Michelis. Published: Continuum, 2005 | |||
</ref> During the 1910s and 1920s in the USA, yoga suffered a period of bad publicity due largely to the backlash against immigration, a rise in puritanical values, and a number of scandals. In the 1930s and 1940s yoga began to gain more public acceptance as a result of celebrity endorsement.{{citation needed|date=November 2013}} In the 1950s the United States saw another period of paranoia against yoga,<ref name=":0" /> but by the 1960s, western interest in Hindu spirituality reached its peak, giving rise to a great number of ] schools specifically advocated to a western public. During this period, most of the influential Indian teachers of yoga came from two lineages, those of ] (1887–1963) and of ] (1888–1989).<ref>Bryant 2009, p. xviii.</ref> | |||
Teachers of Hatha yoga who were active in the west in this period included ] (1918-2014), ] (1915-2009), ] (1927-1993), and ] (1914-2002).<ref>{{cite web | |||
| url = http://www.yogajournal.com/lifestyle/281 | |||
| title = The New Yoga | |||
| accessdate = 5 February 2011 | |||
| first = Ann | |||
| last = Cushman | |||
| authorlink = | |||
| date=January–February 2000 | |||
| work = Yoga Journal.com | |||
| publisher = | |||
| page = 68 | |||
}} | |||
</ref><ref> | |||
Silva, Mira, and Mehta, Shyam. (1995). ''Yoga the Iyengar Way'', p. 9. Alfred A. Knopf, New York. ISBN 0-89381-731-7 | |||
</ref><ref> | |||
Desikachar, T. K. V. (2005). ''Health, healing and beyond: Yoga and the living tradition of Krishnamacharya'', (cover jacket text). Aperture, USA. ISBN 978-0-89381-731-2 | |||
</ref> ] brought ] to the United States in 1969.<ref name="thomas.loc.gov"> US Library of Congress | |||
</ref> Comprehensive, classical teachings of Ashtanga Yoga, ], the subtle body theory, Fitness Asanas, and tantric elements were included in the yoga teachers training by ] (1923-), in the United States and Canada.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Jones and Ryan|first1=Constance and James|title=Encyclopedia of Hinduism|date=2007|publisher=Infobase Publishing|location=New York|isbn=978-0-8160-5458-9|page=Baba Hari Dass}}</ref> | |||
===={{anchor|Yoga as a physical practice}}Yoga as exercise==== | |||
A second "yoga boom" followed in the 1980s, as ], a follower of ], connected yoga to heart health, legitimizing yoga as a purely physical system of health exercises outside of ] or ] circles, and unconnected to any religious denomination.<ref name="ReferenceA" /> Numerous asanas seemed modern in origin, and strongly overlapped with 19th and early-20th century Western exercise traditions.<ref>Singleton, Mark. (2010). ''Yoga Body: The Origins of Modern Posture Practice'', p. 161. Oxford University Press, USA. ISBN 0195395344</ref> | |||
{{main|Yoga as exercise}} | |||
] | |||
The postural yoga of the Western world is a physical activity consisting of asanas, often connected by ], sometimes accompanied by breathing exercises and usually ending with a period of relaxation or meditation. It is often known simply as "yoga",<ref name="De Michelis 2007">{{cite journal |last=De Michelis |first=Elizabeth |author-link=Elizabeth De Michelis |title=A Preliminary Survey of Modern Yoga Studies |journal=Asian Medicine, Tradition and Modernity |volume=3 |issue=1 |year=2007 |pages=1–19 |doi=10.1163/157342107X207182 |url=https://wzukusers.storage.googleapis.com/user-31520575/documents/5a57bf9c24c23ZrCu301/Survey_of_Modern_Yoga_De_Michelis_2007.pdf}}</ref> despite older Hindu traditions (some dating to the ''Yoga Sutras'') in which asanas played little or no part; asanas were not central to any tradition.<ref name="Jain 2016">{{cite conference |last=Jain |first=Andrea |author-link=Andrea Jain |chapter=The Early History of Modern Yoga |title=Modern Yoga |journal=Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Religion |chapter-url=http://oxfordre.com/religion/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199340378.001.0001/acrefore-9780199340378-e-163 |series=Oxford Research Encyclopedias |access-date=23 February 2019 |doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780199340378.013.163 |date=July 2016|isbn=978-0-19-934037-8 }}</ref> | |||
Yoga as exercise is part of a modern yoga renaissance,<ref name="Mishra 2016">{{cite news |last=Mishra |first=Debashree |title=Once Upon A Time: From 1918, this Yoga institute has been teaching generations, creating history |url=http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/once-upon-a-time-from-1918-this-yoga-institute-has-been-teaching-generations-creating-history/|newspaper=] |date=3 July 2016 |location=Mumbai}}</ref> a 20th-century blend of Western gymnastics and haṭha yoga pioneered by ] and ].{{sfn|Singleton|2010|pp=32, 50}} Before 1900, hatha yoga had few standing poses; the ] was pioneered by Bhawanrao Shrinivasrao Pant Pratinidhi, the Rajah of Aundh, during the 1920s.<ref name="ET 2018">{{cite news |last1=Doctor |first1=Vikram |title=Bhawanrao Shrinivasrao Pant Pratinidhi: The man who promoted Surya Namaskar |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/bhawanrao-shrinivasrao-pant-pratinidhi-the-man-who-promoted-surya-namaskar/articleshow/64607546.cms |work=The Economic Times (India) |date=15 June 2018}}</ref> Many standing poses used in gymnastics were incorporated into yoga by ] in Mysore between the 1930s and the 1950s.{{sfn|Singleton|2010|pp=199–203}} Several of his students founded schools of yoga. ] created ],{{sfn|Singleton|2010|pp=175–210}} which led to ];<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kest |first1=Bryan |title=The History of Power Yoga |url=https://poweryoga.com/blog/power-yoga-history/ |publisher=Power Yoga |access-date=1 January 2019<!--Primary source presumed correct about itself-->|date=4 September 2017 }}</ref> ] created ] and systematised asanas in his 1966 book, '']'';{{sfn|Sjoman|1999|pp=39, 47}} ] taught yoga to Hollywood actors; and Krishnamacharya's son, ], founded the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandalam in ].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.yogajournal.com/lifestyle/281 |title=The New Yoga |last=Cushman |first=Ann |date=January–February 2000 |work=] |page=68 |access-date=5 February 2011}}</ref>{{sfn|Mehta|Mehta|Mehta|1990|p=9}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Desikachar |first=T. K. V. |author-link=T. K. V. Desikachar |year=2005 |title=Health, healing and beyond: Yoga and the living tradition of Krishnamacharya |page=cover jacket text |publisher=Aperture, USA |isbn=978-0-89381-731-2}}</ref> Other schools founded during the 20th century include ]'s ] and ] of ]'s ]. Yoga as exercise has spread around the world.<ref name="YJ on styles">{{cite web |title=What's Your Style? Explore the Types of Yoga |url=https://www.yogajournal.com/practice/which-yoga-is-right-for-you-2 |work=Yoga Journal |date=13 November 2012}}</ref><ref name="Beirne 2014">{{cite news |last=Beirne |first=Geraldine |title=Yoga: a beginner's guide to the different styles |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/jan/10/yoga-beginners-guide-different-styles |access-date=1 February 2019 |newspaper=] |date=10 January 2014}}</ref> | |||
] | |||
Since 2001, the popularity of yoga in the USA has risen constantly. The number of people who practiced some form of yoga has grown from 4 million (in 2001) to 20 million (in 2011). | |||
] | |||
{{Cquote|''Yoga has become a universal language of spiritual exercise in the United States, crossing many lines of religion and cultures,... Every day, millions of people practice yoga to improve their health and overall well-being. That's why we're encouraging everyone to take part in PALA (Presidential Active Lifestyle Award), so show your support for yoga and answer the challenge.'' - ]}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/US-President-Barack-Obama-throws-weight-behind-yoga/articleshow/19312748.cms?fb_action_ids=10200829361558502&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map=%7B%2210200829361558502%22%3A155657327933475%7D&action_type_map=%7B%2210200829361558502%22%3A%22og.likes%22%7D&action_ref_map=%5B%5D|title=US President Barack Obama throws weight behind yoga|accessdate=2013-04-01|author=Chidanand Rajghatta|publisher=Times of India}}</ref> | |||
{{As of | 2013}} some schools in the United States oppose the practice of yoga inside educational facilities, saying it promotes ] in violation of the ].<ref>{{cite web |url = http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/US-President-Barack-Obama-throws-weight-behind-yoga/articleshow/19312748.cms?fb_action_ids=10200829361558502&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map=%7B%2210200829361558502%22%3A155657327933475%7D&action_type_map=%7B%2210200829361558502%22%3A%22og.likes%22%7D&action_ref_map=%5B%5D | title=US President Barack Obama throws weight behind yoga|accessdate=1 April 2013|first=Chidanand |last=Rajghatta|publisher=Times of India}} | |||
</ref> | |||
The number of asanas used in yoga has increased from 84 in 1830 (as illustrated in '']'') to about 200 in ''Light on Yoga'' and over 900 performed by ] by 1984. The goal of haṭha yoga (spiritual liberation through energy) was largely replaced by the goals of fitness and relaxation, and many of its more esoteric components were reduced or removed.{{sfn|Singleton|2010|pp=29, 170}} The term "hatha yoga" also refers to gentle yoga, often for ].{{sfn|Singleton|2010|p=152}} | |||
The ] supports the integration of yoga into the exercise regimens of healthy individuals as long as properly-trained professionals deliver instruction. The College cites yoga's promotion of "profound mental, physical and spiritual awareness" and its benefits as a form of stretching, and as an enhancer of breath control and of core strength.<ref> | |||
{{cite web|title=Diversify Your Client's Workout With Yoga|url= http://certification.acsm.org/blog/2013/february/diversify-your-clients-workouts-with-yoga |publisher=American College of Sports Medicine|accessdate=19 September 2013}}</ref> | |||
Yoga as exercise has developed into a worldwide, multi-billion-dollar business involving classes, teacher certification, clothing, books, videos, equipment, and holidays.<ref name="Delaney 2017">{{cite news |last1=Delaney |first1=Brigid |title=The yoga industry is booming – but does it make you a better person? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/sep/17/yoga-better-person-lifestyle-exercise |work=The Guardian |date=17 September 2017}}</ref> The ancient, cross-legged ] and ] are widely recognised symbols of yoga.{{sfn|Singleton|2010|p=32}} The ] established 21 June as the ],<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.unic.org.in/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160709170015/http://www.unic.org.in/display.php?E=13712&K=Yoga|url-status=dead|title=United Nations Information Centre for India and Bhutan|archive-date=9 July 2016|website=www.unic.org.in}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Rajghatta |first=Chidanand |work=The Times of India |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Narendra-Modi-calls-for-International-Yoga-Day/articleshow/43665102.cms |title=Narendra Modi calls for International Yoga Day |date=28 September 2014}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/UN-declares-June-21-as-International-Day-of-Yoga/articleshow/45480636.cms|title=UN declares June 21 as 'International Day of Yoga' | India News – Times of India|website=The Times of India|date=11 December 2014 }}</ref> and it has been celebrated annually around the world since 2015.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://newsroom24x7.com/2015/06/21/massive-turnout-on-international-day-of-yoga-in-india/|title=Massive turnout on International Day of Yoga in India|first=Newsroom24x7|last=Network|date=21 June 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=PM Modi Leads Yoga Session, India Sets Guinness Records: 10 Developments|url=http://www.ndtv.com/cheat-sheet/sushma-swaraj-addresses-the-united-nations-in-new-york-on-international-yogaday-highlights-773899 |access-date=21 June 2015 |agency=NDTV}}</ref> On 1 December 2016, yoga was listed by ] as an ].<ref>{{Cite news | title=Yoga joins Unesco world heritage list | work=The Guardian | date=2016-12-01 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/dec/01/yoga-joins-unesco-intangible-world-heritage-list}}</ref> | |||
====Medicine==== | |||
{{main|Yoga as exercise or alternative medicine}} | |||
The effect of yoga as exercise on physical and mental health has been a subject of study, with evidence that regular practice is beneficial for low back pain and stress.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ross |first1=Alyson |last2=Thomas |first2=Sue |title=The Health Benefits of Yoga and Exercise: A Review of Comparison Studies |journal=The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine |volume=16 |issue=1 |year=2010 |pages=3–12 |doi=10.1089/acm.2009.0044 |pmid=20105062 |s2cid=14130906 }}</ref><ref name=hayes>{{cite journal |author1=Hayes, M. |author2=Chase, S. |title=Prescribing Yoga |journal=Primary Care |volume=37 |issue=1 |pages=31–47 |date=March 2010 |pmid=20188996 |doi=10.1016/j.pop.2009.09.009}}</ref> In 2017, a ] review found that yoga as exercise interventions designed for chronic ] increased function at the six month mark, and modestly decreased pain after 3–4 months. The decrease in pain was found to be similar to other exercise programs designed for low-back pain, but the decrease is not large enough to be deemed clinically significant.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Wieland |first1=L. Susan |last2=Skoetz |first2=Nicole |last3=Pilkington |first3=Karen |last4=Vempati |first4=Ramaprabhu |last5=D'Adamo |first5=Christopher R. |last6=Berman |first6=Brian M. |date=2017-01-12 |title=Yoga treatment for chronic non-specific low back pain |journal=Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews |volume=1 |issue=1 |at=CD010671 |doi=10.1002/14651858.cd010671.pub2 |pmc=5294833 |pmid=28076926}}</ref> | |||
=====Potential benefits for adults===== | |||
While much of the medical community regards the results of yoga research as significant, others point to many flaws which undermine results. Much of the research on yoga has taken the form of preliminary studies or clinical trials of low methodological quality, including small sample sizes, inadequate ], lack of randomization, and high risk of bias.<ref name="Krisanaprakornkit2010">{{cite journal | last = Krisanaprakornkit|first= T.|last2= Ngamjarus|first2= C.|last3= Witoonchart|first3= C.|last4= Piyavhatkul|first4= N.| title = Meditation therapies for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) | journal = ] | volume = | issue = 6 | pages = CD006507 | year = 2010 | pmid = 20556767 | doi = 10.1002/14651858.CD006507.pub2 | url = }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Ospina|first=M. B.|last2= Bond|first2= K.|last3= Karkhaneh|first3= M.|last4 = et al.|title= Clinical trials of meditation practices in health care: characteristics and quality|journal=Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine|year=2008|volume=14|issue= 10|pages= 199–213}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Uebelacker|first=L. A.|last2=Epstein-Lubow|first2= G.|last3= Gaudiano|first3= B. A.|last4= Tremont|first4= G.|last5= Battle|first5 = C. L.|last6= Miller|first6= I. W.|title= Hatha yoga for depression: critical review of the evidence for efficacy, plausible mechanisms of action, and directions for future research|journal=Journal of Psychiatric Practice |year=2010 |volume=16 |issue=1 |pages= 22–33|doi= 10.1097/01.pra.0000367775.88388.96|pmid= 20098228}}</ref> Long-term yoga users in the United States have reported musculoskeletal and mental health improvements, as well as reduced symptoms of asthma in asthmatics.<ref name="Birdee">Birdee, Gurjeet S. et al. "Characteristics of Yoga Users: Results of a National Survey." Journal of General Internal Medicine. October 2008, Volume 23 Issue 10. p1653-1658</ref> There is evidence to suggest that regular yoga practice increases brain ] levels, and yoga has been shown to improve mood and anxiety more than some other metabolically-matched exercises, such as walking.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101111160539.htm | title = Yoga's ability to improve mood and lessen anxiety is linked to increased levels of a critical brain chemical, research finds | doi= 10.1089/acm.2010.0007 |publisher=Sciencedaily.com |date=12 November 2010 |accessdate=28 November 2012}}</ref><ref>Streeter, Chris C. et al. "Effects of Yoga Versus Walking on Mood, Anxiety, and Brain GABA Levels: A Randomized Controlled MRS Study." Journal of Alternative & Complementary Medicine. November 2010, Volume 16 Issue 11, p1145-115</ref> The three main focuses of Hatha yoga (exercise, breathing, and meditation) make it beneficial to those suffering from heart disease. Overall, studies of the effects of yoga on heart disease suggest that yoga may reduce high blood-pressure, improve symptoms of heart failure, enhance cardiac rehabilitation, and lower cardiovascular risk factors.<ref>Yoga could be good for heart disease. Simultaneous focus on body, breathing, and mind may be just what the doctor ordered. (2010). Harvard Heart Letter: From Harvard Medical School, 21(3), 5. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.</ref> For chronic ], specialist Yoga for Healthy Lower Backs has been found 30% more beneficial than usual care alone in a UK clinical trial.<ref name="pmid22041945">{{cite journal |last=Tilbrook|first= Helen E |last2=''et al.'' |title=Yoga for Chronic Low Back Pain: A Randomized Trial |journal=Ann. Intern. Med. |volume=155 |issue=9 |pages=569–578|year=2011 |pmid=22041945|doi=10.1059/0003-4819-155-9-201111010-00003}}</ref> Other smaller studies support this finding.<ref name="pmid16365466">{{cite journal |last=Sherman |first=KJ|last2= Cherkin |first2=DC|last3= Erro |first3=J|last4= Miglioretti |first4=DL|last5= Deyo|first5= RA |title=Comparing yoga, exercise, and a self-care book for chronic low back pain: a randomized, controlled trial |journal=Ann. Intern. Med. |volume= 143 |issue= 12 |pages=849–56|year=2005 |pmid=16365466 |doi=10.7326/0003-4819-143-12-200512200-00003}}</ref><ref name="pmid15836974">{{cite journal|last=Williams |first=KA |last2 = Petronis|first2= J|last3= Smith |first3=D|last4= ''et al.'' |title= Effect of Iyengar yoga therapy for chronic low back pain |journal=Pain |volume=115 |issue=1–2 |pages=107–17 |year=2005 |pmid=15836974|doi=10.1016/j.pain.2005.02.016}}</ref> The ''Yoga for Healthy Lower Backs'' programme is the dominant treatment for society (both cheaper and more effective than usual care alone) due to 8.5 fewer days off work each year.<ref name="pmid22433499">{{cite journal |last=Chuang|first= Ling-Hsiang |last2=''et al.'' |title=A Pragmatic Multicentered Randomized Controlled Trial of Yoga for Chronic Low Back Pain: Economic Evaluation |journal=Spine |volume=37 |issue=18 |pages=1593–1601 |year=2012 |pmid=22433499|doi=10.1097/BRS.0b013e3182545937}}</ref> A research group from Boston University School of Medicine also tested yoga's effects on lower-back pain. Over twelve weeks, one group of volunteers practiced yoga while the control group continued with standard treatment for back pain. The reported pain for yoga participants decreased by one third, while the standard treatment group had only a five percent drop. Yoga participants also had a drop of 80% in the use of pain medication.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091104101541.htm |title= Researchers Find Yoga May Be Effective For Chronic Low Back Pain In Minority Populations |publisher= Sciencedaily.com |date= 4 November 2009 |accessdate= 28 November 2012}}</ref> | |||
== Traditions == | |||
There has been an emergence of studies investigating yoga as a complementary intervention for cancer patients. Yoga is used for treatment of cancer patients to decrease depression, insomnia, pain, and fatigue and to increase anxiety control.<ref>DeStasio, Susan A. Integrating Yoga Into Cancer Care. Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing. February 2008, Volume 12 Issue 1. p125-130</ref> ] programs include yoga as a mind-body technique to reduce ]. A study found that after seven weeks the group treated with yoga reported significantly less mood disturbance and reduced stress compared to the control group. Another study found that MBSR had showed positive effects on sleep anxiety, quality of life, and ] in cancer patients.<ref>Smith K, Pukall C. An evidence-based review of yoga as a complementary intervention for patients with cancer. Psycho-Oncology . May 2009;18(5):465–475.</ref> | |||
Yoga is practised with a variety of methods by all ]. In Hinduism, practices include ], ], ], ], and ]. | |||
=== Jain yoga === | |||
Yoga has also been studied as a treatment for ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.webmd.com/balance/guide/the-health-benefits-of-yoga|title=Yoga Health Benefits: Flexibility, Strength, Posture, and More|publisher=}}</ref> Some encouraging, but inconclusive, evidence suggests that yoga as a complementary treatment may help alleviate symptoms of schizophrenia and improve health-related ].<ref name="Schizophrenia" /> | |||
{{Main|Jain meditation}} | |||
Yoga has been a central practice in ]. Jain spirituality is based on a strict code of nonviolence, or ] (which includes ]), almsgiving (]), faith in the ], austerities ('']'') such as ], and yoga.<ref>{{cite book |title=Jain Yog |last=Mahapragya |first=Acharya |publisher=Aadarsh Saahitya Sangh |year=2004 |chapter=Foreword}}</ref>{{sfn|Feuerstein|2002|pp=187, 198}} Jain yoga aims at the liberation and purification of the self from the forces of ], which binds the self to the cycle of ]. Like yoga and Sankhya, Jainism believes in a number of individual selves bound by their individual karma.<ref>{{cite book |url= http://www.adarshsahityasangh.com/BookDetail.aspx?Id=24 |title=Sambodhi |last=Tulsi |first=Acharya |publisher=Aadarsh Saahitya Sangh |year=2004 |chapter=Blessings |oclc=39811791 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160305051429/http://www.adarshsahityasangh.com/bookdetail.aspx?id=24 |archive-date=5 March 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Only through the reduction of karmic influences and the exhaustion of collected karma can one become purified and released.{{sfn|Feuerstein|2002|pp=192–193}} Early Jain yoga seems to have been divided into several types, including meditation, abandonment of the body (]), ], and reflection (bhāvanā).<ref>Pragya, Samani Pratibha (2017), Prekṣā meditation : history and methods. PhD Thesis, SOAS, University of London, p. 42.</ref> | |||
Implementation of the Kundalini Yoga Lifestyle has shown to help substance abuse addicts increase their quality of life according to psychological questionnaires like the Behavior and Symptom Identification Scale and the Quality of Recovery Index.<ref> | |||
Khalsa, Sat Bir S. et al. Evaluation of a Residential Kundalini Yoga Lifestyle Pilot Program for Addiction in India. Journal of Ethnicity in Substance Abuse. 2008, Volume 7 Issue 1. p67-79 | |||
</ref> | |||
=== Buddhist yoga === | |||
Yoga has been shown in a study to have some cognitive functioning (], including inhibitory control) acute benefit.<ref> | |||
] in seated meditation, ], ]]] | |||
{{cite pmid| 22820158 }}</ref> | |||
{{Main|Buddhist meditation|Dhyāna in Buddhism||}} | |||
Buddhist yoga encompasses a variety of methods which aim to develop the ] Its ultimate goal is ] (awakening) or ] (cessation), traditionally seen as the permanent end of suffering (]) and ].{{refn|group=note|For instance, Kamalashila (2003), p. 4, states that Buddhist meditation "includes any method of meditation that has ] as its ''ultimate'' aim." Likewise, Bodhi (1999) writes: "To arrive at the experiential realization of the truths it is necessary to take up the practice of meditation.... At the climax of such contemplation the mental eye … shifts its focus to the unconditioned state, ] ..." A similar although in some ways slightly broader definition is provided by Fischer-Schreiber ''et al.'' (1991), p. 142: "'''Meditation''' – general term for a multitude of religious practices, often quite different in method, but all having the same goal: to bring the consciousness of the practitioner to a state in which he can come to an experience of 'awakening,' 'liberation,' 'enlightenment.'" Kamalashila (2003) further allows that some Buddhist meditations are "of a more preparatory nature" (p. 4).}} ] use a number of terms for spiritual ] in addition to yoga, such as '']'' ("development"){{refn|group=note|The ] and ] word ''bhāvanā'' literally means "development" as in "mental development." For the association of this term with "meditation," see Epstein (1995), p. 105; and, Fischer-Schreiber ''et al.'' (1991), p. 20. As an example from a well-known discourse of the ], in "The Greater Exhortation to Rahula" (''Maha-Rahulovada Sutta'', ] 62), Ven. ] tells Ven. ] (in Pali, based on : ''{{IAST|ānāpānassatiṃ, rāhula, bhāvanaṃ bhāvehi.}}'' translates this as: "Rahula, develop the meditation of ]." (Square-bracketed Pali word included based on Thanissaro, 2006, end note.)}} and '']''.{{refn|group=note|See, for example, ; ; as well as, Kapleau (1989), p. 385, for the derivation of the word "zen" from ] "dhyāna." ] Secretary Dr. Rupert Gethin, in describing the activities of ] contemporaneous with the Buddha, wrote: | |||
=====Physical injuries===== | |||
:"... here is the cultivation of meditative and contemplative techniques aimed at producing what might, for the lack of a suitable technical term in English, be referred to as 'altered states of consciousness'. In the technical vocabulary of Indian religious texts such states come to be termed 'meditations' ( ''dhyāna'' / ''jhāna'') or 'concentrations' ('']''); the attainment of such states of consciousness was generally regarded as bringing the practitioner to deeper knowledge and experience of the nature of the world." (Gethin, 1998, p. 10.)}} | |||
{{See also|Sports injury}} | |||
A small percentage of yoga practitioners each year suffer physical injuries analogous to sports injuries;<ref name="IJOY2012No2" /> therefore, caution and common sense are recommended.<ref name="TheYogaDrYWB">{{cite web|title=Can Yoga Wreck Your Body?|url=http://theyogadr.com/yoga-wreck-body/|publisher=TheYogaDr.com|accessdate=21 November 2012|first=Kathleen |last=Summers|format=blog by medical and yoga expert|quote=Here are some tips to avoid injury:}}</ref> Yoga has been criticized for being potentially dangerous and being a cause for a range of serious medical conditions including thoracic outlet syndrome, degenerative arthritis of the cervical spine, spinal stenosis, retinal tears, damage to the ], "],"<ref name="JAMA8971">{{cite journal|title=Yoga Foot Drop|journal=JAMA, The Journal of the American Medical Association|date=9 August 1971|volume=271|issue=6|pages=827–828|doi=10.1001/jama.1971.03190060065025|url=http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=338611|accessdate=19 November 2012|first=Joseph |last=Chusid}}</ref> etc. An exposé of these problems by ] published in January, 2012 in '']''<ref name="NTYM01512">{{cite news|title=How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/08/magazine/how-yoga-can-wreck-your-body.html|accessdate=29 August 2012|newspaper=The New York Times Magazine|date=5 January 2012|first=William J. |last=Broad|authorlink=William Broad}}</ref> resulted in controversy within the international yoga community. Broad, a science writer, yoga practitioner, and author of ''The Science of Yoga: The Risks and the Rewards'',<ref name="Science of Yoga">{{cite book|title=The Science of Yoga The Risks and the Rewards|publisher=Simon & Schuster|isbn=978-1451641424|page=336|first=William J.|last= Broad|edition=1st|type=hardcover|date=7 February 2012}}</ref> had suffered a back injury while performing a yoga posture.<ref name="Guardian011412">{{cite news|title='Yoga can damage your body' article throws exponents off-balance: A $5bn industry is outraged over a New York Times article saying that the keep fit regime is bad for your body|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/jan/14/yoga-can-damage-body-row|accessdate=29 August 2012|newspaper=The Guardian, The Observer|date=14 January 2012|first=Joanna |last=Walters}}</ref> Torn muscles, knee injuries,<ref name="JOS2008">{{cite journal|last=Patel|first=SC|first2=DA |last2=Parker|title=Isolated rupture of the lateral collateral ligament during yoga practice: a case report|journal=Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery|year=2008|volume=16|issue=3|pages=378–80|url=http://www.josonline.org/pdf/v16i3p378.pdf}}</ref> and headaches are common ailments which may result from yoga practice.<ref name="DM82912">{{cite news|title=When yoga can be bad for the body beautiful|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-137314|accessdate=29 August 2012|newspaper=The Daily Mail|first=Beth |last=Hale}}</ref> | |||
In ], yoga practices included: | |||
An extensive survey of yoga practitioners in Australia showed that about 20% had suffered some physical injury while practicing yoga. In the previous 12 months 4.6% of the respondents had suffered an injury producing prolonged pain or requiring medical treatment. Headstands, shoulder stands, lotus and half lotus (seated cross-legged position), forward bends, backward bends, and handstands produced the greatest number of injuries.<ref name="IJOY2012No2">{{cite journal|last=Penman|first=Stephen|first2=Marc |last2=Cohen|first3= Philip |last3=Stevens|first4= Sue |last4=Jackson|title=Yoga in Australia: Results of a national survey|journal=IJOY, International Journal of Yoga|year=2012|volume=5|issue=2|pages=92–101|doi=10.4103/0973-6131.98217|accessdate=20 November 2012|pmid=22869991|pmc=3410203}}</ref> | |||
* the four '']'' (four meditations or mental absorptions), | |||
* the ] (foundations or establishments of mindfulness), | |||
* '']'' (mindfulness of breath), | |||
* the ] (supranormal states of mind), | |||
* the ] (divine abodes). | |||
* '']'' (contemplations, recollections) | |||
These meditations were seen as supported by the other elements of the ], such as ], ], sense restraint and ].<ref>Analayo (2017), ''Early Buddhist Meditation Studies'', Barre Center for Buddhist Studies, pp. 69–70, 80</ref> Two mental qualities are said to be indispensable for yoga practice in Buddhism: '']'' (calm, stability) and '']'' (insight, clear seeing).'''<ref>Thanissaro Bhikkhu, ''One Tool Among Many, The Place of Vipassana in Buddhist Practice,'' 1997.</ref>''' ''Samatha'' is a stable, relaxed mind, associated with '']'' (mental unification, focus) and ''dhyana'' (a state of meditative absorption). '']'' is insight or penetrative understanding into the true nature of phenomena, also defined as "seeing things as they truly are" (''yathābhūtaṃ darśanam''). A unique feature of classical Buddhism is its understanding of all phenomena ('']'') as being empty of a self.<ref>Buswell, Robert, ed. (2004), ''Encyclopedia of Buddhism'', MacMillan, p. 889.</ref><ref>Paul Williams (2008). ''Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations''. Routledge. pp. 68–69. {{ISBN|978-1-134-25056-1}}.</ref> | |||
Some yoga practitioners do not recommend certain yoga exercises for women during menstruation, for pregnant women, or for nursing mothers. However, meditation, breathing exercises, and certain postures which are safe and beneficial for women in these categories are encouraged.<ref name="American Yoga Association">{{cite web|last=Christensen|first=Alice|title=Who Can Practice Yoga?|url=http://www.americanyogaassociation.org/general.html|work=General Yoga Information|publisher=American Yoga Association|accessdate=28 October 2012}}</ref> | |||
Later developments in Buddhist traditions led to innovations in yoga practice. The conservative ] school developed new ideas on meditation and yoga in its later works, the most influential of which is the '']''. Mahayana meditation teachings may be seen in the ], compiled c. 4th century. Mahayana also developed and adopted yoga methods such as the use of ]s and ], ] aiming at rebirth in a ], and visualization. Chinese Buddhism developed the ] practice of ] introspection and ]. ] developed and adopted tantric methods which are the basis of the Tibetan Buddhist yoga systems, including ], ], the ], ], ] and ].{{sfn|Feuerstein|2002|pp=230–241}} | |||
Among the main reasons that experts cite for causing negative effects from yoga are beginners' competitiveness and instructors' lack of qualification. As the demand for yoga classes grows, many people get certified to become yoga instructors, often with relatively little training. Not every newly certified instructor can evaluate the condition of every new trainee in their class and recommend refraining from doing certain poses or using appropriate props to avoid injuries. In turn, a beginning yoga student can overestimate the abilities of their body and strive to do advanced poses before their body is flexible or strong enough to perform them.<ref name="NTYM01512" /><ref name="DM82912" /> | |||
=== Classical yoga === | |||
], a tear in the arteries in the neck which provide blood to the brain can result from rotation of the neck while the neck is extended. This can occur in a variety of contexts, but is an event which could occur in some yoga practices. This is a very serious condition which can result in a ].<ref name="AS2000">{{cite journal|last=Biffl|first=Walter L.|first2=Ernest E. |last2=Moore|first3= J. Paul |last3=Elliott|first4= Charles |last4=Ray|first5= Patrick J. |last5=Offner|first6= Reginald J.|last6= Franciose|first7= Kerry E. |last7=Brega|first8= Jon M. |last8=Burch|title=The Devastating Potential of Blunt Vertebral Arterial Injuries|journal=Annals of Surgery|date=May 2000|volume=231|issue=5|pages=672–681|url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1421054/|accessdate=21 November 2012|pmc=1421054 |doi=10.1097/00000658-200005000-00007 |pmid=10767788}}</ref><ref name="PMJ1984">{{cite journal|title=Non-atheromatous causes of cerebral infarction|journal=Postgraduate Medical Journal|date=June 1984|volume=60|issue=704|pages=386–390|url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2417905/pdf/postmedj00124-0008.pdf|accessdate=21 November 2012|first=E. M. |last=Critchley|format=PDF|pmc=2417905|doi=10.1136/pgmj.60.704.386|pmid=6379628}}</ref> | |||
{{main|Yoga (philosophy)}} | |||
What is often referred to as classical yoga, ], or '']'' is primarily the yoga outlined in the dualistic '']''.{{sfn|White|2014|p=xvi}} The origins of classical yoga are unclear, although early discussions of the term appear in the Upanishads.{{sfn|Larson|2008|pp=43–45}} ''Rāja yoga'' (yoga of kings) originally denoted the ultimate goal of yoga; '']'',{{sfn|Mallinson|2011|p=770}} but was popularised by ] as a common name for ashtanga yoga,{{refn|group=note|Not to be confused with ], a style of ] using fluid transitions (]s) between asanas.}} the eight limbs attain samadhi as described in the ''Yoga Sutras''.{{sfn|Hari Dass|1978}}{{sfn|White|2014|p=xvi}} Yoga philosophy came to be regarded as a distinct orthodox school ('']'') of Hinduism in the second half of the first millennium CE.{{sfn|Whicher|1998|p=320}}<ref group=web name=Bryant2010_IEP/> | |||
Classical yoga incorporates epistemology, metaphysics, ethical practices, systematic exercises and self-development for body, mind and spirit.<ref name="edbryant" /> Its ] ('']'') and metaphysics are similar to the ] school. The Classical yoga's metaphysics, like Sāṅkhya's, primarily posits two distinct realities: '']'' (nature, the eternal and active unconscious source of the material world composed of three '']'') and ''puruṣa'' (consciousness), the plural consciousnesses which are the intelligent principles of the world.<ref name="iep.utm.edu">Ruzsa, Ferenc, {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190318003120/https://www.iep.utm.edu/sankhya/ |date=18 March 2019 }}</ref> Moksha (liberation) results from the isolation (''])'' of ''puruṣa'' from ''prakirti,'' and is achieved through meditation, stilling one's thought waves (''citta vritti'') and resting in pure awareness of ''puruṣa.''<ref name="iep.utm.edu"/> Unlike Sāṅkhya, which takes a non-theistic approach,<ref name="lpfl">Lloyd Pflueger, Person Purity and Power in Yogasutra, in Theory and Practice of Yoga (Editor: Knut Jacobsen), Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120832329}}, pages 38–39</ref>{{sfn|Burley|2012|pp=43–46}} the yoga school of Hinduism accepts a "personal, yet essentially inactive, deity" or "personal god" (]).<ref>] (2002), Yoga: Its Scientific Basis, Dover, {{ISBN|978-0-486-41792-9}}, pages 56–58</ref>{{sfn|Burley|2012|pp=39, 41}} | |||
], damage to the structure joining the femur and the hip, have been reported to have resulted from yoga practice.<ref name="CiOS2009">{{cite journal|last=Kang|first=Chan|first2=Deuk-Soo |last2=Hwang |first3=Soo-Min |last3=Cha|title=Acetabular Labral Tears in Patients with Sports Injury|journal=Clinics in Sports Injury|date=December 2009|volume=1|issue=4|pages=230–235|doi=10.4055/cios.2009.1.4.230|accessdate=21 November 2012|pmc=2784964 |pmid=19956481}}</ref> | |||
=== |
=== In Advaita Vedanta === | ||
]'s ''Adi Shankara with Disciples'' (1904)|alt=Painting of a guru with four disciples near a pond]] | |||
It is claimed that yoga can be an excellent training for children and adolescents, both as a form of physical exercise and for breathing, focus, mindfulness, and stress relief: Many school districts have considered incorporating yoga into their P.E. programs. The Encinitas, California school district gained a San Diego Superior Court Judge's approval to use yoga in P.E., holding against the parents who claimed the practice was intrinsically religious and hence should not be part of a state funded program.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jdjournal.com/2013/07/02/california-judge-says-yoga-is-secular-approves-its-use-in-schools/|title=California Judge Says Yoga is Secular, Approves its Use in Schools|author=Daniel June|date=2 July 2013|work=JD Journal}}</ref> | |||
] is a varied tradition, with a number of sub-schools and philosophical views. It focuses on the study of the ] and the '']'' (one of its early texts), about gaining spiritual knowledge of ]: the unchanging, absolute reality.<ref>George Thibaut, Vedanta Sutras Part 1, ''The Sacred Books of the East'' at ], Volume 34 (Editor: Max Muller), Oxford University Press, pages lxxii–lxxiii</ref> | |||
==Yoga physiology== | |||
]s of a yogin]] | |||
{{Main|Yoga physiology}} | |||
One of the earliest and most influential sub-traditions of Vedanta is ], which posits ] ]. It emphasizes ] (yoga of knowledge), which aims at realizing the identity of one's atman (individual consciousness) with Brahman (the Absolute consciousness).<ref>Deutsch, Eliot (1988), ''Advaita Vedanta: A Philosophical Reconstruction'', University of Hawaii Press, pp. 104–105. {{ISBN|0-88706-662-3}}</ref><ref>Comans, Michael (2000), ''The Method of Early Advaita Vedānta: A Study of Gauḍapāda, Śaṅkara, Sureśvara, and Padmapāda'', Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, p. 183.</ref> The most influential thinker of this school is ] (8th century), who wrote commentaries and other works on jñāna yoga. In Advaita Vedanta, jñāna is attained from scripture, one's ], and through a process of listening to (and meditating on) teachings.<ref>P. P. Bilimoria (2012). ''Śabdapramāṇa: Word and Knowledge.'' Springer. pp. 299–301. {{ISBN|978-94-009-2911-1}}.</ref> Qualities such as discrimination, renunciation, tranquility, temperance, dispassion, endurance, faith, attention, and a longing for knowledge and freedom are also desirable.<ref>] (1980), Advaita Vedanta : A Philosophical Reconstruction, University of Hawaii Press, {{ISBN|978-0824802714}}, pages 105–108</ref> Yoga in Advaita is a "meditative exercise of withdrawal from the particular and identification with the universal, leading to contemplation of oneself as the most universal, namely, Consciousness".<ref>Michael Comans (1993), ''The question of the importance of Samādhi in modern and classical Advaita Vedānta'', Philosophy East & West. Vol. 43, Issue 1, pp. 19–38</ref> | |||
Over time, an extended yoga physiology developed, especially within the tantric tradition and hatha yoga. It pictures humans as composed of ] or ] which cover the atman. The three bodies are described within the ], which adds a fourth state, ], while the five sheaths (pancha-kosas) are described in the ].<ref>David Frawley, ''Yoga and the Sacred Fire: Self-Realization and Planetary Transformation'', p.288</ref> They are often integrated: | |||
# ''Sthula sarira'', the Gross body, comprising the ''Annamaya Kosha''<ref name="FD" /> | |||
# ''Suksma sarira'', the ], composed of; | |||
## the '']maya Kosha'' (Vital breath or ]), | |||
## ''] Kosha'' (]) | |||
## the ''] Kosha'' (])<ref name="FD" /> | |||
# ''Karana sarira'', the ], comprising the '']'' (])<ref name="FD">{{cite book|title=The Fourth Dimension|author=J.Jagadeesan|publisher=Sai Towers Publishing|page=13|url=http://books.google.com/?id=G3uGtLLz2A4C&pg=PA13&dq=Sthula+sarira#v=onepage&q=Sthula%20sarira&f=false|isbn=9788178990927}}</ref> | |||
'']'' is an influential Advaita text{{sfn|Feuerstein|2002|p=401}} which uses ] to illustrate its ideas. Teaching seven stages of yoga practice, it was a major reference for medieval Advaita Vedanta yoga scholars and one of the most popular texts on Hindu yoga before the 12th century.{{sfn|White|2014|pp=xvi–xvii, 51}} Another text which teaches yoga from an Advaita point of view is the ''].''<ref>{{cite magazine |author-link=Richard Rosen (yoga teacher) |first=Richard |last=Rosen |date=March–April 2001 |title=T.K.V. Desikachar's English translation of a 700-year-old text introduces Westerners to one of the earliest hatha yoga manuals (Review of Yogayajnavalkya Samhita by T.K.V. Desikachar) |magazine=Yoga Journal |via=] |pages=147–149 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AeoDAAAAMBAJ&pg=RA1-PA147}}</ref> | |||
Within the subtle body energy flows through the ] or channels, and is concentrated within the ]s. | |||
=== Tantric yoga === | |||
==Yoga compared with other systems of meditation== | |||
{{Main|Tantra}} | |||
According to Samuel, Tantra is a contested concept.{{sfn|Samuel|2008|p=9}} Tantra yoga may be described as practices in 9th to 10th century Buddhist and Hindu (Saiva, Shakti) texts which included yogic practices with elaborate deity visualizations using geometric arrays and drawings (]s), male and (particularly) female deities, life-stage-related rituals, the use of ]s and ]s, and sexual techniques aimed at aiding one's health, longevity and liberation.{{sfn|Samuel|2008|p=9}}<ref>Mukunda Stiles, Tantra Yoga Secrets, Weiser, {{ISBN|978-1-57863-503-0}}, pages 3–7</ref> | |||
=== |
=== Hatha yoga === | ||
], a posture used as an asana and a ]<ref>James Mallinson (2011). Knut A. Jacobsen; et al., eds. Haṭha Yoga in the Brill Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Vol. 3. Brill Academic. pp. 770–781. {{ISBN|978-90-04-27128-9}}.</ref>]] | |||
{{anchor|Yoga and Zen}} | |||
{{Main|Hatha yoga}} | |||
], the name of which derives from the Sanskrit "dhyaana" via the Chinese "ch'an"{{refn|"The Meditation school, called 'Ch'an' in Chinese from the Sanskrit 'dhyāna,' is best known in the West by the Japanese pronunciation 'Zen'"<ref>The Buddhist Tradition in India, China, and Japan. Edited by William Theodore de Bary. pp. 207–208. ISBN 0-394-71696-5</ref>|group=note}} is a form of ]. The Mahayana school of Buddhism is noted for its proximity with yoga.<ref>Dumoulin, Heinrich & Knitter, p. 22.</ref> In the west, Zen is often set alongside yoga; the two schools of meditation display obvious family resemblances.<ref>Dumoulin, Heinrich & Knitter, p. xviii.</ref> This phenomenon merits special attention since yogic practices have some of their roots manifested in the Zen Buddhist school.{{refn|Exact quote: "This phenomenon merits special attention since yogic roots are to be found in the Zen Buddhist school of meditation."<ref name="Dumolin13">Dumoulin, Heinrich & Knitter, p. 13.</ref>|group=note}} Certain essential elements of yoga are important both for Buddhism in general and for Zen in particular.<ref name="Dumolin13" /> | |||
Hatha yoga focuses on physical and mental strength-building exercises and postures described primarily in three Hindu texts:<ref name=kriyananda>See Kriyananada, page 112.</ref><ref name=burley73>See Burley, page 73.</ref><ref name=Roden>See Introduction by Rosen, pp 1–2.</ref> | |||
# '']'' by Svātmārāma (15th century) | |||
# '']'', author unknown (1500<ref name=mallinson>See translation by Mallinson.</ref> or late 17th century) | |||
# '']'' by Gheranda (late 17th century) | |||
Some scholars include ]'s 11th-century ''Goraksha Samhita'' on the list,<ref name=kriyananda /> since Gorakshanath is considered responsible for popularizing present-day hatha yoga.<ref name=dwhite>On page 140, David Gordon White says about Gorakshanath: "... hatha yoga, in which field he was India's major systematizer and innovator."</ref><ref name=bajpai>Bajpai writes on page 524: "Nobody can dispute about the top ranking position of Sage Gorakshanath in the philosophy of Yoga."</ref><ref name=Eliade>Eliade writes of Gorakshanath on page 303: "...he accomplished a new synthesis among certain Shaivist traditions (Pashupata), tantrism, and the doctrines (unfortunately, so imperfectly known) of the siddhas – that is, of the perfect yogis."</ref> ] Buddhism, founded by the Indian ]s,<ref>Davidson, Ronald. ''Indian Esoteric Buddhism.'' Columbia University Press. 2002, pg.169–235.</ref> has a series of asanas and pranayamas (such as ])<ref name="Lama Yeshe 1998, pg.135–141" /> which resemble hatha yoga. | |||
=== {{anchor|Laya yoga and kundalini yoga}}Laya and kundalini yoga === | |||
===Tibetan Buddhism=== | |||
Laya and ], closely associated with hatha yoga, are often presented as independent approaches.{{sfn|Whicher|1998|pp=6–7}} According to ], laya yoga (yoga of dissolution or merging) "makes meditative absorption (''laya'') its focus. The laya-yogin seeks to transcend all memory traces and sensory experiences by dissolving the microcosm, the mind, in the transcendental Self-Consciousness."<ref>Feuerstein, Georg, ''Yoga: The Technology of Ecstasy,'' J.P. Tarcher, 1989, p. 61.</ref> Laya yoga has a number of techniques which include listening to the "inner sound" (''nada''), mudras such as ] and Shambhavi mudra, and awakening ] (body energy).<ref>{{cite book |last=Daniélou |first=Alain |title=Yoga: Mastering the Secrets of Matter and the Universe |publisher=Inner Traditions / Bear & Co |year=1991 |page=107 |isbn=9780892813018 |oclc=831272340}}</ref> | |||
In the ] tradition, the path of meditation practice is divided into nine ''yanas'', or vehicles, which are said to be increasingly profound.<ref>''The Lion's Roar: An Introduction to Tantra'' | |||
by Chogyam Trungpa. Shambhala, 2001 ISBN 1-57062-895-5</ref> The last six are described as "yoga yanas": "]", "Upa yoga," "Yoga yana," "]," "]" and the ultimate practice, "]."<ref>"Secret of the Vajra World: The Tantric Buddhism of Tibet" by Ray, Reginald A. Shambhala: 2002. pp. 37–38 ISBN 1-57062-917-X</ref> The ] traditions also include Kriya, Upa (called "Charya"), and Yoga, with the ] class substituting for Mahayoga and Atiyoga.<ref>"Secret of the Vajra World: The Tantric Buddhism of Tibet" by Ray, Reginald A. Shambhala: 2002. p. 57 ISBN 1-57062-917-X</ref> | |||
Kundalini yoga aims to awaken bodily and ] with breath and body techniques, uniting them with universal consciousness.<ref>Larson, p. 142.</ref> A common teaching method awakens kundalini in the lowest ] and guides it through the central channel to unite with the absolute consciousness in the highest chakra, at the top of the head.<ref>{{cite book |author=Vishnudevananda, Swami |author-link=Swami Vishnudevananda |title=Meditation and Mantras |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |year=1999 |page=89 |isbn=978-0143422235}}</ref> | |||
Other tantra yoga practices include a system of 108 bodily postures practiced with breath and heart rhythm. The Nyingma tradition also practices ] (Tib. "Trul khor"), a discipline that includes breath work (or pranayama), meditative contemplation and precise dynamic movements to centre the practitioner.<ref>"Yantra Yoga: The Tibetan Yoga of Movement" by Chogyal Namkhai Norbu. Snow Lion, 2008. ISBN 1-55939-308-4</ref> The body postures of Tibetan ancient yogis are depicted on the walls of the Dalai Lama's summer temple of ]. A semi-popular account of Tibetan yoga by Chang (1993) refers to ] (Tib. "tummo"), the generation of heat in one's own body, as being "the very foundation of the whole of Tibetan yoga."<ref>Chang, G.C.C. (1993). "Tibetan Yoga." New Jersey: Carol Publishing Group. p. 7 ISBN 0-8065-1453-1</ref> Chang also claims that Tibetan yoga involves reconciliation of apparent polarities, such as ] and mind, relating this to theoretical implications of ]. | |||
=={{anchor|Reception in other religions}}Reception by other religions== | |||
===Christian meditation=== | |||
{{Main|Christian meditation|A Christian reflection on the New Age|Aspects of Christian meditation}} | |||
Some Christians integrate yoga and other aspects of Eastern spirituality with prayer and meditation. This has been attributed to a desire to experience God in a more complete way.<ref name="nytimes_vatican">{{cite news|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE1D61531F934A35752C0A966958260&sec=&spon=|title=Trying to Reconcile the Ways of the Vatican and the East |last=Steinfels|first=Peter|date=7 January 1990|work=New York Times|accessdate=5 December 2008}}</ref> In 2013, Monsignor ], servicing Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, having worked for over 23 years with Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (]),<ref>http://www.sancarlo.pcn.net/Francais/RM1.htm Bishop Raffaello Martinelli presentation</ref> said that for his ], a Christian can learn from other religious traditions (], yoga, controlled respiration, ]):'' "As long as the ] rejects nothing of what is true and holy in these religions, we should not despise these indications since non-Christian. Instead, we can collect from them what is useful, provided you never lose sight of the Christian conception of prayer, its logic and requirements, since it is within this that all these fragments must be reformulated and assumed.../..."''.<ref>http://www.webdiocesi.chiesacattolica.it/cci_new/documenti_diocesi/80/2013-01/23-236/AdA-201301-Opera-Completa.pdf Argomenti di Attualità mons. Raffaello Martinelli ed. gennaio 2013 Page 135</ref> Previously, the ], and some other Christian organizations have expressed concerns and disapproval with respect to some eastern and ] practices that include yoga and meditation.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2722743.stm | title=Vatican sounds New Age alert | publisher=BBC | date=4 February 2003 | accessdate=27 August 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | first=Wayne | last=Teasdale | title=Catholicism in dialogue: conversations across traditions | publisher=Rowman & Littlefield | year=2004 | page=74 | isbn=0-7425-3178-3}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.albertmohler.com/2010/09/20/the-subtle-body-should-christians-practice-yoga/ | first=R. Albert Jr. | last=Mohler | title=The Subtle Body – Should Christians Practice Yoga? | accessdate=14 January 2011}}</ref> | |||
===Christianity=== | |||
In 1989 and 2003, the ] issued two documents: '']'' and "]," that were mostly critical of eastern and New Age practices. The 2003 document was published as a 90-page handbook detailing the Vatican's position.<ref>''Handbook of vocational psychology'' by W. Bruce Walsh, Mark Savickas 2005 ISBN 0-8058-4517-8 page 358</ref> The Vatican warned that concentration on the physical aspects of meditation "can degenerate into a cult of the body" and that equating bodily states with mysticism "could also lead to psychic disturbance and, at times, to moral deviations." Such has been compared to the early days of Christianity, when the church opposed the gnostics' belief that salvation came not through faith but through a mystical inner knowledge.<ref name="nytimes_vatican" /> The letter also says, "one can see if and how might be enriched by meditation methods developed in other religions and cultures"<ref name="Letter_from_Vatican">{{cite web|url=http://www.ewtn.com/library/curia/cdfmed.htm |title=1989 Letter from Vatican to Bishops on Some Aspects of Christian Meditation |publisher=Ewtn.com |accessdate=28 November 2012}}</ref> but maintains the idea that "there must be some fit between the nature of prayer and Christian beliefs about ultimate reality."<ref name="nytimes_vatican" /> Some ] Christian organizations consider yoga to be incompatible with their religious background, considering it a part of the ] inconsistent with Christianity.<ref>Dr Ankerberg, John & Dr Weldon, John, ''Encyclopedia of New Age Beliefs'', Harvest House Publishers, 1996</ref> | |||
{{further|Category:Christian yoga}} | |||
Some Christians integrate ] of yoga, stripped from the ] of ], and other aspects of Eastern spirituality with ], ] and ] affirmations.<ref name="nytimes_vatican">{{cite news|last=Steinfels|first=Peter|date=7 January 1990|title=Trying to Reconcile the Ways of the Vatican and the East|work=]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/01/07/weekinreview/ideas-trends-trying-to-reconcile-the-ways-of-the-vatican-and-the-east.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090808214350/https://www.nytimes.com/1990/01/07/weekinreview/ideas-trends-trying-to-reconcile-the-ways-of-the-vatican-and-the-east.html|archive-date=8 August 2009}}</ref><ref name="vice21">{{cite news|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/7xxa3a/inside-the-growing-world-of-christian-yoga|work=Vice|last=Solomon|first=Serena|date=5 September 2017|title=Inside the Growing World of Christian Yoga|access-date=3 September 2021}}</ref> The practice also includes renaming poses in English (rather than using the original ] terms), and abandoning ]s as well as ]; Yoga is associated and reframed into ].<ref name="vice21" /> This has drawn charges of ] from various Hindu groups;<ref name="vice21" /><ref name="abc20">{{cite news|last=Carleton|first=James|year=2020|title=Mental and spiritual wellness in isolation|work=ABC|url=https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/godforbid/mental-and-spiritual-wellness-in-isolation-lockdown/13467828|access-date=3 September 2021}}</ref> scholars remain skeptical.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Jain|first=Andrea R.|title=Selling Yoga : from Counterculture to Pop culture|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2015|isbn=978-0-19-939024-3}}</ref> Previously, the ], and some other Christian organizations have expressed concerns and disapproval with respect to some eastern and ] practices that include yoga and meditation.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1989/12/16/vatican-warns-against-practicing-eastern-meditation/e974fb62-c018-4cbb-a002-39fd03ec1075/|year=1989|author=Victor L. Simpson|title=Vatican warns against practicing Eastern meditation| newspaper=] }}</ref><ref name="bbc01">{{cite news |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2722743.stm |title=Vatican sounds New Age alert |publisher=BBC |date=4 February 2003 |access-date=27 August 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Wayne |last=Teasdale |title=Catholicism in dialogue: conversations across traditions |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |year=2004 |page=74 |isbn=0-7425-3178-3}}</ref> | |||
In 1989 and 2003, the ] issued two documents: '']'' and "]," that were mostly critical of eastern and ] practices. The 2003 document was published as a 90-page handbook detailing the Vatican's position.<ref>''Handbook of vocational psychology'' by W. Bruce Walsh, Mark Savickas 2005 {{ISBN|0-8058-4517-8}} page 358</ref> The Vatican warned that concentration on the physical aspects of meditation "can degenerate into a cult of the body" and that equating bodily states with mysticism "could also lead to psychic disturbance and, at times, to moral deviations." Such has been compared to the early days of Christianity, when the church opposed the ]' belief that salvation came not through faith but through mystical inner knowledge.<ref name="nytimes_vatican" /> The letter also says, "one can see if and how might be enriched by meditation methods developed in other religions and cultures"<ref name="Letter_from_Vatican">{{cite web |url=http://www.ewtn.com/library/curia/cdfmed.htm |title=1989 Letter from Vatican to Bishops on Some Aspects of Christian Meditation |publisher=Ewtn.com |access-date=28 November 2012 |archive-date=2 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100502022624/http://www.ewtn.com/library/curia/cdfmed.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> but maintains the idea that "there must be some fit between the nature of prayer and Christian beliefs about ultimate reality."<ref name="nytimes_vatican" /> Some{{Which|date=January 2018}} ] Christian organizations consider yoga to be incompatible with their religious background, considering it a part of the ] inconsistent with Christianity.<ref>Dr Ankerberg, John & Dr Weldon, John, ''Encyclopedia of New Age Beliefs'', Harvest House Publishers, 1996</ref> | |||
Another view holds that Christian meditation can lead to religious pluralism. This is held by an interdenominational association of Christians that practice it. "The ritual simultaneously operates as an anchor that maintains, enhances, and promotes denominational activity and a sail that allows institutional boundaries to be crossed." <ref>{{cite journal | title = An Anchor and a Sail: Christian Meditation as the Mechanism for a Pluralist Religious Identity | journal = Sociology of Religion | year = 2009 | first = Jonathan | last = Mermis–Cava }}</ref> | |||
===Islam=== | ===Islam=== | ||
In early 11th century, the Persian scholar ] visited India, lived with Hindus for 16 years, and with their help translated several significant Sanskrit works into Arabic and Persian languages. One of these was Patanjali's Yogasutras.<ref name=sptg>S Pines and T Gelblum (Translators from Arabic to English, 1966), Al-Bīrūni (Translator from Sanskrit to Arabic, ~ 1035 AD), and Patañjali, , Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, Vol. 29, No. 2 (1966), pages 302-325</ref><ref>David White (2014), , Princeton University Press, ISBN 978-1-4008-5005-1</ref> Al Biruni's translation preserved many of the core themes of Patañjali 's Yoga philosophy, but certain sutras and analytical commentaries were restated making it more consistent with Islamic monotheistic theology.<ref name=sptg/><ref>Philipp Maas (2013), A Concise Historiography of Classical Yoga Philosophy, in Periodization and Historiography of Indian Philosophy (Editor: Eli Franco), Sammlung de Nobili, Institut für Südasien-, Tibet- und Buddhismuskunde der Universität Wien, ISBN 978-3900271435, pages 53-90, {{oclc|858797956}}</ref> Al Biruni's version of Yoga Sutras reached Persia and Arabian peninsula by about 1050 AD. Later, in the 16th century, the hath yoga text ''Amritakunda'' was translated into Arabic and then Persian.<ref>Satish Chandra (2007), Historiography, Religion, and State in Medieval India, ISBN 978-8124100356, pages 135-136</ref> Yoga was, however, not accepted by mainstream Sunni and Shia Islam. Minority Islamic sects such as the mystic ] movement, particularly in South Asia, adopted Indian yoga practises, including postures and breath control.<ref>{{cite doi|10.1017/S1356186304004675}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unc.edu/~cernst/pdf/jras2.pdf |title=Situating Sufism and Yoga |format=PDF |accessdate=5 September 2010}}</ref> Muhammad Ghawth, a Shattari Sufi and one of the translators of yoga text in 16th century, drew controversy for his interest in yoga and was persecuted for his Sufi beliefs.<ref>Carl W. Ernst, , in Islamic Mysticism Contested: Thirteen Centuries of Debate and Conflict (Editors: Fred De Jong and Berndt Radtke), Brill, 1999</ref> | |||
Early-11th-century Persian scholar ] visited India, lived with Hindus for 16 years, and (with their help) translated several Sanskrit works into Arabic and Persian; one of these was Patanjali's ''Yoga Sutras''.<ref name=sptg>S Pines and T Gelblum (Translators from Arabic to English, 1966), Al-Bīrūni (Translator from Sanskrit to Arabic, ~ 1035 AD), and Patañjali, {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312213950/http://www.jstor.org/stable/611180 |date=12 March 2017 }}, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, Vol. 29, No. 2 (1966), pages 302–325</ref>{{sfn|White|2014|p={{page needed|date=August 2020}}}} Although Al-Biruni's translation preserved many core themes of Patañjali's yoga philosophy, some sutras and commentaries were restated for consistency with monotheistic Islamic theology.<ref name=sptg /><ref>Philipp Maas (2013), A Concise Historiography of Classical Yoga Philosophy, in Periodization and Historiography of Indian Philosophy (Editor: Eli Franco), Sammlung de Nobili, Institut für Südasien-, Tibet- und Buddhismuskunde der Universität Wien, {{ISBN|978-3-900271-43-5}}, pages 53–90, {{oclc|858797956}}</ref> Al-Biruni's version of the ''Yoga Sutras'' reached Persia and the ] by about 1050. During the 16th century, the hatha yoga text ''Amritakunda'' was translated into Arabic and Persian.<ref>Satish Chandra (2007), Historiography, Religion, and State in Medieval India, {{ISBN|978-8124100356}}, pages 135–136</ref> Yoga was, however, not accepted by mainstream ] and ]. Minority ]ic sects such as the mystic ] movement, particularly in South Asia, adopted Indian yoga postures and breath control.<ref>{{cite journal| doi=10.1017/S1356186304004675| title=Situating Sufism and Yoga| year=2005| last=Ernst| first=C.W.| journal=Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society| volume=15| pages=15–43| s2cid=53485495| url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/BFBC851ADCEC24B0E08A8BDF10D4DCB7/S1356186304004675a.pdf/situating_sufism_and_yoga.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.unc.edu/~cernst/pdf/jras2.pdf |title=Situating Sufism and Yoga |access-date=5 September 2010}}</ref> Muhammad Ghawth, a 16th-century Shattari Sufi and translator of yoga text, was criticized for his interest in yoga and persecuted for his Sufi beliefs.<ref>Carl W. Ernst, {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140824030955/http://www.unc.edu/%7Ecernst/pdf/UTRECHT.pdf |date=24 August 2014 }}, in Islamic Mysticism Contested: Thirteen Centuries of Debate and Conflict (Editors: Fred De Jong and Berndt Radtke), Brill, 1999</ref> | |||
Malaysia's top ]ic body in 2008 passed a ], prohibiting ]s from practicing yoga, saying it had elements of ] and that its practice was ], therefore ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.islam.gov.my/portal/lihat.php?jakim=3600 |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20090106003351/http://www.islam.gov.my/portal/lihat.php?jakim=3600 |archivedate=6 January 2009 |title=Sidang Media – Fatwa Yoga |publisher=Islam.gov.my|accessdate=5 September 2010|quote=Quote: The Fatwas of Religious Council in Islamic affairs on Yoga. After carefully studied various reports and factual data, the Council unanimously agreed that this ancient India religious teachings, which involves physical and mental exercises, are Hinduism in nature known as wahdat al-wujud philosophy (oneness of existence; the realization of identity between the Self in man, Atman; and the Divine, BRAHMAN: ‘Brahman is all, and Atman is Brahman'). It is prohibited (haram) for Muslims to practice it.}}</ref> Some Muslims in Malaysia who had been practicing yoga for years, criticized the decision as "insulting."<ref> – ]</ref> ], a women's rights group in Malaysia, also expressed disappointment and said yoga was just a form of exercise.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/11/23/nation/2625368&sec=nation |title=Mixed reactions to yoga ban |publisher=Thestar.com.my |date=23 November 2008 |accessdate=5 September 2010}}</ref> This fatwa is legally enforceable.<ref>Paul Babie and Neville Rochow (2012), Freedom of Religion Under Bills of Rights, University of Adelaide Press, ISBN 978-0987171801, page 98</ref> However, Malaysia's prime minister clarified that yoga as physical exercise is permissible, but the chanting of religious mantras is prohibited.<ref>"," Saudi Gazette</ref> | |||
Malaysia's top ]ic body imposed a legally-enforceable 2008 ] prohibiting ]s from practicing yoga, saying that it had elements of ] and its practice was ] as ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.islam.gov.my/portal/lihat.php?jakim=3600 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090106003351/http://www.islam.gov.my/portal/lihat.php?jakim=3600 |archive-date=6 January 2009 |title=Sidang Media – Fatwa Yoga |publisher=Islam.gov.my|access-date=5 September 2010|quote=The Fatwas of Religious Council in Islamic affairs on Yoga. After carefully studied various reports and factual data, the Council unanimously agreed that this ancient India religious teachings, which involves physical and mental exercises, are Hinduism in nature known as wahdat al-wujud philosophy (oneness of existence; the realization of identity between the Self in man, Atman; and the Divine, BRAHMAN: ‘Brahman is all, and Atman is Brahman'). It is prohibited (haram) for Muslims to practice it.}}</ref><ref>Paul Babie and Neville Rochow (2012), {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222094331/http://www.adelaide.edu.au/press/titles/freedom-religion/ |date=22 December 2015 }}, University of Adelaide Press, {{ISBN|978-0-9871718-0-1}}, page 98</ref> Malaysian Muslims who had been practicing yoga for years called the decision "insulting."<ref> – ]</ref> ], a Malaysian women's-rights group, expressed disappointment and said that yoga was a form of exercise.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/11/23/nation/2625368&sec=nation |title=Mixed reactions to yoga ban |publisher=Thestar.com.my |date=23 November 2008 |access-date=5 September 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110622072723/http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=%2F2008%2F11%2F23%2Fnation%2F2625368&sec=nation |archive-date=22 June 2011 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> Malaysia's prime minister clarified that yoga as exercise is permissible, but the chanting of religious mantras is not.<ref>{{cite web |work=Saudi Gazette |url=http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentID=2008112723185 |title=Badawi: Yoga for Muslims OK without chant |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130731183706/http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentID=2008112723185 |archive-date=31 July 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref> | |||
In 2009, the Council of Ulemas, an Islamic body in Indonesia, passed a fatwa banning yoga on the grounds that it contains Hindu elements.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7850079.stm | work=BBC News | title=Indonesian clerics issue yoga ban | date=25 January 2009 | accessdate=6 April 2010}}</ref> These fatwas have, in turn, been criticized by ], a ] Islamic seminary in India.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://specials.rediff.com/news/2009/jan/29video-islam-allows-yoga-deoband.htm |title=rediff.com: Why give yoga religious connotation: Deoband |publisher=Specials.rediff.com |date=29 January 2009 |accessdate=5 September 2010}}</ref> Similar fatwas banning yoga, for its link to Hinduism, were issued by the Grand Mufti ] in Egypt in 2004, and by Islamic clerics in Singapore earlier.<ref>Andrea R. Jain (2014), Selling Yoga: From Counterculture to Pop Culture, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0199390243, page 195; Archive: New Strait Times, Malaysia</ref> | |||
The ] (MUI) imposed a 2009 fatwa banning yoga because it contains Hindu elements.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7850079.stm | work=BBC News | title=Indonesian clerics issue yoga ban | date=25 January 2009 | access-date=6 April 2010}}</ref> These fatwas have been criticized by ], a ] Islamic seminary in India.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://specials.rediff.com/news/2009/jan/29video-islam-allows-yoga-deoband.htm |title=Why give yoga religious connotation: Deoband |website=rediff News |date=29 January 2009 |access-date=5 September 2010}}</ref> Similar fatwas banning yoga for its link to Hinduism were imposed by Grand Mufti ] in ] in 2004, and by Islamic clerics in Singapore earlier.<ref>{{cite book |first=Andrea R. |last=Jain |year=2014 |title=Selling Yoga: From Counterculture to Pop Culture |title-link=Selling Yoga |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-939024-3 |page=195}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Find alternative to yoga, urges Jakim |work=New Straits Times |location=Malaysia |url=http://ddms.usim.edu.my/bitstream/handle/123456789/975/24%20Nov%202008%20-%20PRIME%20NEWS%20(14).pdf?sequence=1 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150208225308/http://ddms.usim.edu.my/bitstream/handle/123456789/975/24%20Nov%202008%20-%20PRIME%20NEWS%20(14).pdf?sequence=1 |archive-date=8 February 2015}}</ref> | |||
In Iran, as of May 2014, according to its Yoga Association, there were approximately 200 yoga centres in the country, a quarter of them in the capital ], where groups can often be seen practising in parks. This has been met by opposition among conservatives.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21602272-conservative-clerics-are-wary-popular-pastime-perils-yoga|title=The perils of yoga: Conservative clerics are wary of a popular pastime|work=Economist.com.}}</ref> In May 2009, Turkey's head of the ], ], discounted personal development techniques such as reiki and yoga as commercial ventures that could lead to extremism. His comments were made in the context of reiki and yoga possibly being a form of proselytization at the expense of Islam.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/english/domestic/11692086.asp?gid=244 |title=It’s OK to stretch, just don’t believe |publisher=Hurriyet.com.tr |accessdate=5 September 2010}}</ref> | |||
According to Iran's yoga association, the country had about 200 yoga centres in May 2014. One-quarter were in the capital, ], where groups could be seen practising in parks; conservatives were opposed.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21602272-conservative-clerics-are-wary-popular-pastime-perils-yoga|title=The perils of yoga: Conservative clerics are wary of a popular pastime|magazine=The Economist |date=17 May 2014}}</ref> In May 2009, Turkish ] head ] discounted personal-development techniques such as ] and yoga as commercial ventures which could lead to extremism. According to Bardakoğlu, reiki and yoga could be a form of proselytizing at the expense of Islam.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/english/domestic/11692086.asp?gid=244 |title=It's OK to stretch, just don't believe |date=21 May 2009 |publisher=Hurriyet.com.tr |access-date=5 September 2010}}</ref> ] brought yoga to ] in 2017, contributing to making it legal and recognized despite being allegedly threatened by her community which asserts yoga as "un-Islamic".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/meet-nouf-marwaai-the-woman-behind-yoga-becoming-no-more-a-deviant-behaviour-in-saudi-arabia/articleshow/61655093.cms|title=Meet Nouf Marwaai, the woman behind yoga becoming 'no more a deviant behaviour' in Saudi Arabia|work=The Economic Times|date=15 November 2017|author=PTI}}</ref> | |||
==International Yoga Day== | |||
On December 11, 2014, The 193-member U.N. General Assembly approved by consensus, a resolution establishing June 21 as ']'. | |||
==See also== | ==See also== | ||
{{Portal |
{{Portal|Hinduism|India}} | ||
* ] | |||
* ] | * ] | ||
* ] | |||
* ] | * ] | ||
* ] | * ] | ||
* ] | |||
* ] | * ] | ||
* ], a form of yoga performed on a pole | |||
* ] | |||
==Notes== | ==Notes== | ||
{{reflist|group=note|30em}} | {{reflist|group=note|30em}} | ||
{{notelist|30em|refs= | |||
<!-- H --> | |||
<!-- "hatha_yoga_dating" --> | |||
{{efn|name="hatha_yoga_dating"|Hatha Yoga dating:<br>{{harvtxt|Mallinson |2012|p=20}}: "The techniques of hatha yoga are not taught in Sanskrit texts until the 11th century or thereabouts."<br>{{harvtxt|Burley|2000|p=15}} "While many scholars prefer to locate hatha-yoga's formative years somewhere between the ninth and tenth centuries CE, coinciding with the estimated flourishing of the great siddhas Matsyendra and Goraksa, other researchers and practitioners of yoga look much farther back in time."}} | |||
<!-- K --> | |||
<!-- "Katha_Upanishad" --> | |||
{{efn|name="Katha_Upanishad"|The first known appearance of the word "yoga" with the same meaning as the modern term is in the '']'' ({{harvnb|Singleton|2010|pp=25–34}}, {{harvnb|Flood|1996|p=95}}), which was probably composed between the fifth and third centuries BCE ({{harvnb|Phillips|2009|pp=28–30}}, {{harvnb|Olivelle|1998|pp=12–13}}).}} | |||
<!-- T --> | |||
<!-- "Tattvarthasutra 2007 p. 102" --> | |||
{{efn|name="Tattvarthasutra 2007 p. 102"|Tattvarthasutra , see Manu Doshi (2007) Translation of Tattvarthasutra, Ahmedabad: Shrut Ratnakar p. 102.}} | |||
<!-- "traditional_modern_yoga" --> | |||
{{efn|name="traditional_modern_yoga"|{{harvtxt|King|1999|p=67}}: "Many westerners see yoga as a variation on the modern concern for health and fitness and a means of overcoming the stresses and strains of modern day living. Most of what passes for yoga in this context, however, bears little relation to traditional practices, institutionalised as they were within established traditions or lienages (''sampradaya'') of teacher (''guru'') and pupil (''śiṣya''), structured according to hierarchical and initiatory stages of development and bound up with an ascetic lifestyle and world-view very different from the concerns of the modern western urbanite."}} | |||
<!-- "two_definitions" --> | |||
{{efn|name="two_definitions"|A classical definition comes from Patanjali's ''Yoga sutras''({{harvnb|Feuerstein|1998|pp=4–5}}, {{harvnb|White|2011|p=3}}, {{harvnb|Olsson|2023|p=2}}), which defines yoga as aiming to control (yoke) and still the mind ('']''), recognizing ('']'') or isolating ('']'') the '']'', the primordial ], from '']'', matter and mind ({{harvnb|Feuerstein|1998|pp=4–5}}, {{harvnb|Olsson|2023|p=2}}). Another classical definition ({{harvnb|Feuerstein|1998|pp=4–5}}, {{harvnb|White|2011|p=3}}, {{harvnb|Olsson|2023|p=2}}), informed by the ] {{harv|Olsson|2023|p=2}} and ] {{harv|Feuerstein|1998|pp=4–5}}, describes the pupose of yoga as the union of the individual self (''jivatman'') with the higher Self (''paramatman''), ], or God (Shiva).}} | |||
<!-- --> | |||
<!-- "YS_dating" --> | |||
{{efn|name="YS_dating"|{{harvtxt|Bryant|2009|p=xxxiv}}: "Most scholars date the text shortly after the turn of the Common Era (circa first to second century)."}} | |||
}} | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||
{{ |
{{reflist}} | ||
==Sources== | ==Sources== | ||
;Printed sources | |||
{{refbegin}} | {{refbegin}} | ||
<!-- A --> | |||
* {{cite book |last= Bryant |first=Edwin |authorlink= Edwin Bryant (author)|title= The Yoga Sutras of Patañjali: A New Edition, Translation, and Commentary |year= 2009 |publisher= North Point Press |location= New York, USA |isbn= 978-0865477360 }} | |||
* {{ |
* {{cite book | last =Ayyangar | first =T. R. S. | year =1938 | title =The Yoga Upanishads | publisher =The Adyar Library | location =Madras| url =https://archive.org/stream/TheYogaUpanishads/TheYogaUpanisadsSanskritEngish1938#page/n3/mode/2up}} | ||
<!-- B --> | |||
* {{cite book |last=Dhillon|first=Dalbir Singh|title=Sikhism, Origin and Development|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=osnkLKPMWykC&pg=PA249|year=1988|publisher=Atlantic Publishers|id=GGKEY:BYKZE4QTGJH }} | |||
* {{cite news | title=Yoga: How did it conquer the world and what's changed? |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-40354525 |access-date=14 June 2021 |work=BBC News |date=22 June 2017 | ref={{sfnref|BBC|2017}}}} | |||
* {{cite book | last = De Michelis | first = Elizabeth | year = 2004 | title = A History of Modern Yoga | publisher = Continuum | location = London | isbn=0-8264-8772-6 }} | |||
* {{cite book | last =Bowker | first =John | year =2000 | title =The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions | publisher =Oxford University Press}} | |||
* {{cite book |last1=Dumoulin|first1=Heinrich|last2=Heisig|first2=James W.|last3=Knitter|first3=Paul F.|title=Zen Buddhism: a History: India and China|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=9CYeWYtYBS4C|year=2005|publisher=World Wisdom, Inc|isbn=978-0-941532-89-1 }} | |||
* {{cite book | last = |
* {{cite book | last =Bryant | first =Edwin | year =2009 | author-link =Edwin Bryant (author) | title =The Yoga Sutras of Patañjali: A New Edition, Translation, and Commentary | publisher=North Point Press | isbn =978-0-86547-736-0 | location =New York | url =https://archive.org/details/yogastrasofpataj0000brya | url-access =registration}} | ||
* {{cite book | last = |
* {{cite book | last =Burley | first =Mikel | year =2000 | title =Hatha Yoga: Its Context, Theory and Practice|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass | location =Delhi | isbn =978-8-1208-1706-7 | url =https://archive.org/details/hathayogaitscont0000burl |url-access=registration}} | ||
* {{ |
* {{cite book | last =Burley | first =Mikel | year =2012 | title =Classical Samkhya and Yoga – An Indian Metaphysics of Experience |publisher =Routledge | isbn =978-0-415-64887-5}} | ||
* {{cite book |last= |
* {{cite book | last =Buswell | first =Robert | year =2004 | title =MacMillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism | publisher =MacMillan}} | ||
* {{cite book | |
* {{cite book | last1 =Buswell | last2 =Lopez | year =2014 | title =The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism | publisher =Princeton University Press}} | ||
<!-- C --> | |||
* {{cite book | last = Flood | first = Gavin | year = 1996 | title = An Introduction to Hinduism| publisher = Cambridge University Press | location = Cambridge | isbn=0-521-43878-0 | url = http://books.google.com/books?id=KpIWhKnYmF0C }} | |||
* {{cite book | last1 =Carmody | first1 =Denise Lardner | last2 =Carmody | first2 =John | year =1996 | title =Serene Compassion | publisher =Oxford University Press US}} | |||
* {{cite book | last = Gambhirananda | first = Swami | year = 1998 | title = Madhusudana Sarasvati Bhagavad_Gita: With the annotation Gūḍhārtha Dīpikā| publisher = ] Publication Department| location = Calcutta | isbn=81-7505-194-9 }} | |||
* {{cite book |last1= |
* {{cite book | last1 =Chatterjee | first1=Satischandra |last2=Datta |first2=Dhirendramohan |title=An Introduction to Indian Philosophy |year=1984 |publisher=University of Calcutta |location=Calcutta}} | ||
* {{cite book |last= |
* {{cite book | last =Crangle | first =Edward Fitzpatrick |title=The Origin and Development of Early Indian Contemplative Practices |year=1994 |publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag }} | ||
<!-- D --> | |||
* {{cite book |last=Lidell |first=Lucy |title=The Sivananda Companion to Yoga |url=http://selfdefinition.org/yoga/Lucy%20Lidell%20-%20The%20Sivananda%20Companion%20to%20Yoga.pdf |year=1983 |publisher=Gaia Books Limited | location = London |isbn=0-684-87000-2 }} | |||
* {{cite book |last= |
* {{cite book | last =Dass |first=Baba Hari |year=1999 |title=The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali: A Study Guide for Book I: Samadhi Pada |location=Santa Cruz, CA |publisher=Sri Rama Publishing |isbn=0-918100-20-8}} | ||
* {{cite book | last =De Michelis |first=Elizabeth |author-link=Elizabeth De Michelis |title=A History of Modern Yoga |publisher=Continuum |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-8264-8772-8 |location=London}} | |||
* {{cite book | last = Müller | first = Max | authorlink= Max Müller |year = 1899 | title = Six Systems of Indian Philosophy; Samkhya and Yoga, Naya and Vaiseshika | publisher = Susil Gupta (India) Ltd.| location = Calcutta | isbn=0-7661-4296-5 | url = http://books.google.com/books?id=hiH57a0tGpcC}} Reprint edition; Originally published under the title of "The Six Systems of Indian Philosophy." | |||
* {{ |
* {{Citation | last =Desmarais |first=Michele |year=2008 |title=Changing Minds: Mind, Consciousness and Identity in Patanjali's Yoga Sutra |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-8-1208-3336-4}} | ||
* {{cite book |last= |
* {{cite book | last =Deussen |first=Paul |title=Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Volume 1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8mSpQo9q-tIC |year=1997 |publisher=] |isbn=978-8-1208-1467-7 }} | ||
* {{cite book | last1 =Dumoulin |first1=Heinrich |last2=Heisig |first2=James W. |last3=Knitter |first3=Paul F. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9CYeWYtYBS4C |title=Zen Buddhism: a History: India and China |publisher=World Wisdom |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-941532-89-1 }} | |||
* {{Citation |last=Samuel |first=Geoffrey |title=The Origins of Yoga and Tantra |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-521-69534-3 |url=http://books.google.com/?id=JAvrTGrbpf4C}} | |||
<!-- E --> | |||
* {{cite book |last=Satyananda |first=Swami |authorlink=Swami Satyananda |title=Asana Pranayama Mudra Bandha |url=http://www.znakovi-vremena.net/en/Swami-Satyananda-Saraswati---Asana-Pranayama-Mudra-Bandha.pdf |year=2008 |publisher=Yoga Publications Trust | location = Munger |isbn=978-81-86336-14-4 }} | |||
* {{cite book |last= |
* {{cite book |last=Eliade |first=Mircea |author-link=Mircea Eliade |title=Yoga: Immortality and Freedom |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=1958 |isbn=978-0-691-14203-6 |location=Princeton}} | ||
<!-- F --> | |||
* {{cite book | title=Yoga And Indian Philosophy (1977, Reprinted in 1998) | publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publ | last=Werner|first= Karel | year=1998 | isbn=81-208-1609-9 }} | |||
* {{cite book | last =Feuerstein | first =Georg | year =1996 | author-link =Georg Feuerstein | title =The Shambhala Guide to Yoga |edition =1st | publisher =Shambhala Publications | location =Boston & London | isbn =978-1-5706-2142-0 | url =https://archive.org/details/shambhalaguideto00feue | url-access =registration }} | |||
* {{cite book |last=Whicher |first=Ian |title=The Integrity of the Yoga Darśana: A Reconsideration of Classical Yoga |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=_Qo9K9hPvQgC |year=1998 |publisher=SUNY Press |isbn=978-0-7914-3815-2 }} | |||
* {{ |
* {{cite book | last =Feuerstein | first =Georg | year =1998 | author-link =Georg Feuerstein | title =The Yoga Tradition: Its History, Literature, Philosophy and Practice | publisher =Hohm Press | isbn =0-934252-88-2 | url =https://archive.org/details/yogatraditionits00feue/page/n5/mode/2up}} | ||
* {{cite book | last =Feuerstein | first =Georg | year =2001 | author-link =Georg Feuerstein | title =The Yoga Tradition: Its History, Literature, Philosophy and Practice | publisher =Hohm Press | isbn =978-1-890772-18-5}} | |||
* Worthington, Vivian (1982). ''''. Routledge. ISBN 0-7100-9258-X. | |||
* {{cite book | last =Feuerstein | first =Georg | year=2002 | author-link =Georg Feuerstein | title =The Yoga Tradition |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |location=Delhi}}<!--not ideal using multiple editions--> | |||
* Wynne, Alexander Routledge, 2007, ISBN 1-134-09741-7. | |||
* {{ |
* {{Cite book |last=Flood |first=Gavin D. |author-link=Gavin Flood |title=An Introduction to Hinduism |year=1996 |publisher=Cambridge University Press }} | ||
<!-- G --> | |||
* Zydenbos, Robert. ''Jainism Today and Its Future''. München: Manya Verlag, 2006. p. 66 | |||
* {{cite book |last=Goldberg |first=Philip |title=American Veda. From Emerson and the Beatles to Yoga and Meditation. How Indian Spirituality Changed the West |publisher=Harmony Books |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-385-52134-5 |location=New York |url=https://archive.org/details/americanvedafrom00gold }} | |||
* {{cite book |last=Gombrich |first=Richard |year=2007 |title=Religious Experience in Early Buddhism |publisher=OCHS Library |url=http://www.ochs.org.uk/lectures/religious-experience-early-buddhism |access-date=14 December 2023 |archive-date=1 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160701190900/http://www.ochs.org.uk/lectures/religious-experience-early-buddhism |url-status=dead }} | |||
* {{cite book | last =Grimes | first =John A. | title =A Concise Dictionary of Indian Philosophy: Sanskrit Terms Defined in English |publisher=State University of New York Press |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-7914-3067-5}} | |||
<!-- H --> | |||
* {{cite book |last=Hari Dass |first=Baba |title=Ashtanga Yoga Primer |year=1978 |pages=bk. cover |location=Santa Cruz |publisher=Sri Ram Publishing |isbn=978-0-918100-04-7}} | |||
* {{cite web |title=Yoga Landed in the U.S. Way Earlier Than You'd Think—And Fitness Was Not the Point |url=https://www.history.com/news/yoga-vivekananda-america |website=HISTORY |date=20 June 2019 |access-date=14 June 2021 | ref ={{sfnref|History|2019}}}} | |||
<!-- J --> | |||
* {{cite book | editor-last =Jacobsen | editor-first =Knut A. | year =2011 | title =Yoga Powers| publisher =Brill | location =Leiden |isbn =978-9-0042-1214-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rHXQsZiz7PoC }} | |||
* {{cite book | editor-last =Jacobsen | editor-first =Knut A. | year =2018 | title =Theory and Practice of Yoga: Essays in Honour of Gerald James Larson | publisher =Brill}} | |||
* {{cite book | last =Jantos | first =Marek | year =2012 | chapter =Prayer and Meditation | editor-last =Cobb | editor-first =Mark | title =Oxford Textbook of Spirituality in Healthcare | publisher =Oxford University Press | isbn =978-0-19-957139-0}} | |||
* {{cite book | last =Johnson | first =W.J. | year =2009 | title =A Dictionary of Hinduism | publisher =Oxford University Press}} | |||
* {{cite book | last1 =Jones | first1 =Constance A. | last2 =Ryan | first2 =James D. | year =2007 | chapter =Yoga | title =Encyclopedia of Hinduism | publisher =Facts On File, Inc.}} | |||
<!-- K --> | |||
* {{cite book | last =Keown | first =Damien | year =2004 | title =A Dictionary of Buddhism | publisher =Oxford University Press}} | |||
* {{cite book | author =Kundakunda | title =Niyamasara | title-link =Niyamasara}} | |||
* {{cite book | last =King | first =Richard | year =1999 | title =Indian Philosophy. An Introduction to Hindu and Buddhist Thought | publisher =Georgetown University Press}} | |||
<!-- L --> | |||
* {{Citation | last=Lamb | first =Ramdas | year =2011 | chapter =Yogic Powers and the Ramananda Sampraday | editor-last =Jacobsen | editor-first=Knut A. | title =Yoga Powers | publisher =Brill | location =Leiden |isbn=978-9004212145}} | |||
* {{cite book | last =Larson | first =Gerald James | year =2008 | author-link =Gerald James Larson | title =The Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies: Yoga: India's philosophy of meditation | publisher =Motilal Banarsidass | isbn =978-81-208-3349-4 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p6pURGdBBmIC }} | |||
* {{cite book | last =Larson | first =Gerald James | year =2014 | title =The Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies, Volume 4: Samkhya, A Dualist Tradition in Indian Philosophy | publisher =Princeton University Press}} | |||
<!-- M --> | |||
* {{cite journal | last1 =Madaio | first1 =James | title =Rethinking Neo-Vedānta: Swami Vivekananda and the Selective Historiography of Advaita Vedānta1 |journal=Religions |date=24 May 2017 |volume=8 |issue=6 |page=101 |doi=10.3390/rel8060101|doi-access=free }} | |||
* {{cite book | last =Mallinson | first=James |author-link=James Mallinson (author) |title=Brill's Encyclopedia of Hinduism. Volume Three |year=2011 |chapter=Haṭha Yoga |publisher=Brill |editor-last1=Jacobsen |editor-first1=Knut A. |editor-last2=Basu |editor-first2=Helene}} | |||
* {{cite web |last=Mallinson |first=James |author-link=James Mallinson (author) |title=Sāktism and 'Hathayoga' |date=28 June 2012 |url=http://www.khecari.com/resources/SaktismHathayoga.pdf |access-date=2013-09-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130616025645/http://www.khecari.com/resources/SaktismHathayoga.pdf |archive-date=16 June 2013 |url-status=dead }} | |||
* {{cite book |last1=Mallinson |first1=James |last2=Singleton |first2=Mark |author1-link=James Mallinson (author) |author2-link=Mark Singleton (yoga scholar) |title=Roots of Yoga |publisher=Penguin Books |year=2017 |isbn=978-0-241-25304-5 |oclc=928480104 |title-link=Roots of Yoga }} | |||
* {{cite book |last1=Mehta |first1=Silva |last2=Mehta |first2=Mira |last3=Mehta |first3=Shyam |date=1990 |title=Yoga: The Iyengar Way |publisher=Dorling Kindersley |isbn=978-0-86318-420-8|title-link=Yoga: The Iyengar Way }} | |||
* {{cite book |last=Müller |first=Max |author-link=Max Müller |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hiH57a0tGpcC |title=Six Systems of Indian Philosophy; Samkhya and Yoga, Naya and Vaiseshika |publisher=Susil Gupta (India) Ltd. |year=1899 |isbn=0-7661-4296-5 |location=Calcutta }} Reprint edition; Originally published under the title of "The Six Systems of Indian Philosophy." | |||
<!-- N --> | |||
* {{citation | last =Nicholson | first=Andrew J.|year=2010|title=Unifying Hinduism: Philosophy and Identity in Indian Intellectual History|publisher=Columbia University Press|title-link=Unifying Hinduism: Philosophy and Identity in Indian Intellectual History}} | |||
<!-- O --> | |||
* {{cite book | last =O'Brien-Kop | first =Karen | year =2021 | title =Rethinking 'Classical Yoga' and Buddhism: Meditation, Metaphors and Materiality | publisher =Bloomsbury Publishing}} | |||
* {{cite web | title =yoga| website =] | url =http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/232036 | publisher =Oxford University Press |access-date=9 September 2015|date=September 2015 | ref={{sfnref|OED|0000}}}} | |||
* {{Citation | last =Olivelle | first =Patrick | year =1996 | title =The Early Upanishads: Annotated Text & Translation |publisher =Oxford University Press | isbn =978-0195124354}} | |||
* {{cite book | last =Olivelle | first =Patrick | year =1998| title =The Early Upanishads: Annotated Text and Translation |publisher =Oxford University Press | isbn =978-0-19-512435-4 | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=d4IRDAAAQBAJ}} | |||
* {{cite book | last =Olsson | first =Tova | year =2023 | title =Yoga and Tantra: History, Philosophy & Mythology | publisher =Motilall Banarsidass}} | |||
<!-- P --> | |||
* {{cite book | last =Phillips | first =Stephen | year=2009 | title =Yoga, Karma, and Rebirth: A Brief History and Philosophy | publisher =Columbia University Press | isbn =978-0-231-14485-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uLqrAgAAQBAJ}} | |||
<!-- R --> | |||
* {{cite book |last1=Radhakrishnan |first1=S. |title=Indian Philosophy |location=London |publisher=George Allen & Unwin |year=1971 |volume=II}} | |||
* {{cite book |last1=Radhakrishnan |first1=S. |author-link=Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan |last2=Moore |first2=C. A. |title=A Sourcebook in Indian Philosophy |publisher=Princeton |year=1967 |isbn=978-0-691-01958-1 |url=https://archive.org/details/sourcebookinindi00radh }} | |||
* {{Citation | last =Rambachan | first =Anatanand | year =1994 |title=The Limits of Scripture: Vivekananda's Reinterpretation of the Vedas|publisher=University of Hawaii Press}} | |||
* {{cite book |last=Ruff |first=Jeffrey Clark |chapter=Yoga in the 'Yoga Upanisads': Disciplines of the Mystical 'OM' Sound |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1ii7D-bR0osC&pg=PA97 |editor-first=David Gordon |editor-last=White |year=2011 |title=Yoga in Practice |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0691140865 |pages=97–116 }} | |||
<!-- S --> | |||
* {{cite book | last =Samuel | first =Geoffrey | year =2008 | author-link =Geoffrey Samuel | title =The Origins of Yoga and Tantra |publisher =Cambridge University Press | isbn =978-0-521-69534-3 | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=JAvrTGrbpf4C}} | |||
* {{Citation | last =Samuel | first =Geoffrey | year =2010 | title =The Origins of Yoga and Tantra. Indic Religions to the Thirteenth Century | publisher =Cambridge University Press}} | |||
* {{cite book | last =Sarbacker | first =Stuart Ray | year =2005 | title =Samādhi: The Numinous and Cessative in Indo-Tibetan Yoga | publisher =SUNY Press}} | |||
* {{cite book |last=Satyananda |first=Swami |url=http://www.znakovi-vremena.net/en/Swami-Satyananda-Saraswati---Asana-Pranayama-Mudra-Bandha.pdf |title=Asana Pranayama Mudra Bandha |publisher=Yoga Publications Trust |year=2008 |orig-year=1996 |isbn=978-81-86336-14-4 |location=Munger |author-link=Swami Satyananda }} | |||
* {{cite book | last =Shearer | first =Alistair | year =2020 | title =The Story of Yoga: From Ancient India to the Modern West |publisher =Oxford University Press}} | |||
* {{cite book |last=Singleton |first=Mark |author-link=Mark Singleton (yoga scholar) |title=Yoga Body: the origins of modern posture practice |title-link=Yoga Body |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-19-539534-1 |oclc=318191988}} | |||
* {{cite book |last=Sjoman |first=Norman E. |title=The Yoga Tradition of the Mysore Palace |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1BU2WI8wMpcC |edition=2nd |year=1999 |publisher=Abhinav Publications |location=New Delhi |isbn=81-7017-389-2 |pages=11, 35 }} | |||
* {{cite book |last=Stiles |first=Mukunda |title=Yoga Sutras of Patanjali: With Great Respect and Love |isbn=978-1-5786-3201-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ytHC2gJ2CbcC |year=2001 |publisher=Weiser Books }} | |||
<!-- T --> | |||
* {{cite book | last =Taimni | first =I. K. | year =1961| title =The Science of Yoga | publisher =The Theosophical Publishing House |isbn =81-7059-212-7 | location =Adyar, India }} | |||
<!-- V --> | |||
* {{cite book | last =Vasudeva | first =Somadeva | title =The Yoga of the Mālinīvijayottara Tantra, Critical edition, translation & notes}} | |||
* {{cite book | last =Vivekananda | first =Swami | author-link =Vivekananda | title =Swami Vivekananda at the Parliament of Religions |publisher=Indic Publication |isbn=978-1-301-19120-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Lw4gkcQS7cEC }} | |||
<!-- W --> | |||
* {{cite journal | last =Werner | first =Karel Werner | year =1977 | title =Yoga and the Ṛg Veda: An Interpretation of the Keśin Hymn (RV 10, 136) | journal =Religious Studies, Vol. 13, No. 3, Page 289–302}} | |||
* {{cite book | last =Werner | first =Karel | year =1998 | orig-year =1977 | author-link =Karel Werner | title =Yoga And Indian Philosophy | publisher =Motilal Banarsidass Publ | isbn =81-208-1609-9 }} | |||
* {{cite book | last =Whicher | first =Ian | year =1998 | title =The Integrity of the Yoga Darśana: A Reconsideration of Classical Yoga | publisher =SUNY Press | isbn=978-0-7914-3815-2 | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=_Qo9K9hPvQgC }} | |||
* {{cite book | last =White | first =David Gordon | year =2011 | author-link =David Gordon White | chapter =Yoga, Brief History of an Idea | title =Yoga in Practice | publisher =Princeton University Press |pages=1–23 | chapter-url =http://press.princeton.edu/chapters/i9565.pdf }} | |||
* {{cite book | last =White | first =David Gordon | year =2014 |author-link=David Gordon White | title =The 'Yoga Sutra of Patanjali': A Biography | publisher =Princeton University Press | isbn =978-1-4008-5005-1}} | |||
* {{cite book | last =Witzel | first =Michael | year =2008 | author-link =Michael Witzel | chapter =Vedas and Upanisads | editor =Gavin Flood | title =The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism | publisher =John Wiley & Sons | isbn =978-0-470-99868-7 | pages =68–70 |chapter-url =https://books.google.com/books?id=SKBxa-MNqA8C&pg=PA68}} | |||
* {{cite book | last =Worthington | first =Vivian | year =1982 | title =A History of Yoga | publisher =Routledge | isbn =0-7100-9258-X | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=5aI9AAAAIAAJ }} | |||
* {{cite book | last=Wynne |first=Alexander | year =2007 | title =The Origin of Buddhist Meditation | publisher =Routledge |isbn =978-1-134-09741-8 | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=ElIupyX_SYAC&pg=PA51 }} | |||
<!-- Z --> | |||
* {{cite book | last =Zimmer | first =Heinrich | year =1951 | title =Philosophies of India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bRQ5fpTmwoAC|author-link=Heinrich Zimmer |location=New York, New York |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=0-691-01758-1 }} Bollingen Series XXVI; Edited by Joseph Cambell. | |||
* {{cite book | last =Zydenbos | first =Robert | year =2006 | title =Jainism Today and Its Future | location =Munich | publisher =Manya Verlag | page =66}} | |||
{{refend}} | {{refend}} | ||
;Websources | |||
{{reflist|group=web|refs= | |||
<!-- Bryant2010_IEP --> | |||
<ref group=web name=Bryant2010_IEP>Edwin Bryant (2011, Rutgers University), {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190518185305/https://www.iep.utm.edu/yoga/ |date=18 May 2019 }} IEP</ref> | |||
}} | |||
==Further reading== | |||
* {{cite book | editor-last =White | editor-first =David Gordon | year =2012 | title =Yoga in Practice | publisher =Princeton University Press | ref =none}} | |||
==External links== | ==External links== | ||
{{Wikiquote-inline}} | |||
<!--======================== {{No more links}} ============================ | |||
* ] | |||
| PLEASE BE CAUTIOUS IN ADDING MORE LINKS TO THIS ARTICLE. Misplaced Pages | | |||
* ] | |||
| is not a collection of links nor should it be used for advertising. | | |||
<!--Friends, do not think of adding any advertising link here. It will be deleted, and you will inevitably be blocked from editing, as many advertisers have been before you. Be wise, don't join them.--> | |||
| | | |||
| Excessive or inappropriate links WILL BE DELETED. | | |||
| See ] & ] for details. | | |||
| | | |||
| If there are already plentiful links, please propose additions or | | |||
| replacements on this article's discussion page, or submit your link | | |||
| to the relevant category at the Open Directory Project (dmoz.org) | | |||
| and link back to that category using the {{dmoz}} template. | | |||
==={{No more links}}=========--> | |||
{{wiktionary|योग}} | |||
{{Sister project links | wikt= | commons=Yoga | b=Yoga | n=no | q=no | s=no | v=Yoga | voy=no | species=no | d=no}} | |||
* {{Dmoz|/Society/Religion_and_Spirituality/Yoga/|Yoga}} | |||
{{Yoga}} | {{Yoga}} | ||
{{Navboxes | {{Navboxes | ||
|title |
|title=Articles related to Yoga | ||
|list |
|list = | ||
{{Indian Philosophy}} | {{Indian Philosophy}} | ||
{{Worship in Hinduism}} | {{Worship in Hinduism}} | ||
{{Vaishnava philosophy}} | {{Vaishnava philosophy}} | ||
{{Modern yoga}} | |||
{{Asanas}} | |||
{{Meditation}} | {{Meditation}} | ||
{{New Age Movement}} | |||
}} | }} | ||
{{Authority control}} | |||
{{Good article}} | {{Good article}} | ||
Line 522: | Line 608: | ||
] | ] | ||
] | ] | ||
] | ] | ||
] | |||
] | ] | ||
] | ] | ||
] | ] | ||
] | ] | ||
] | ] | ||
] |
Latest revision as of 19:59, 13 December 2024
Spiritual practices from ancient India For modern yoga as exercise, see Yoga as exercise. For the use of yoga as therapy, see Yoga as therapy. For the ancient Indian philosophy, see Yoga (philosophy). For other uses, see Yoga (disambiguation).This article contains Indic text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks or boxes, misplaced vowels or missing conjuncts instead of Indic text.
Yoga (/ˈjoʊɡə/; Sanskrit: योग, Sanskrit pronunciation: [joːɡɐ] , lit. "yoke" or "union") is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines that originated in ancient India, aimed at controlling body and mind to attain various salvation goals, as practiced in the Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist traditions.
Yoga may have pre-Vedic origins, but is first attested in the early first millennium BCE. It developed as various traditions in the eastern Ganges basin drew from a common body of practices, including Vedic elements. Yoga-like practices are mentioned in the Rigveda and a number of early Upanishads, but systematic yoga concepts emerge during the fifth and sixth centuries BCE in ancient India's ascetic and Śramaṇa movements, including Jainism and Buddhism. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the classical text on Hindu yoga, samkhya-based but influenced by Buddhism, dates to the early centuries of the Common Era. Hatha yoga texts began to emerge between the ninth and 11th centuries, originating in tantra.
Yoga is practiced worldwide, but "yoga" in the Western world often entails a modern form of Hatha yoga and a posture-based physical fitness, stress-relief and relaxation technique, consisting largely of asanas; this differs from traditional yoga, which focuses on meditation and release from worldly attachments. It was introduced by gurus from India after the success of Swami Vivekananda's adaptation of yoga without asanas in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Vivekananda introduced the Yoga Sutras to the West, and they became prominent after the 20th-century success of hatha yoga.
Etymology
The Sanskrit noun योग yoga is derived from the root yuj (युज्) "to attach, join, harness, yoke". According to Jones and Ryan, "The word yoga is derived from the root yuj, “to yoke,” probably because the early practice concentrated on restraining or “yoking in” the senses. Later the name was also seen as a metaphor for “linking” or “yoking to” God or the divine."
Buswell and Lopez translate "yoga" as "'bond', 'restraint', and by extension "spiritual discipline." Flood refers to restraining the mind as yoking the mind.
Yoga is a cognate of the English word "yoke," since both are derived from an Indo-European root. According to Mikel Burley, the first use of the root of the word "yoga" is in hymn 5.81.1 of the Rigveda, a dedication to the rising Sun-god, where it has been interpreted as "yoke" or "control".
Pāṇini (4th c. BCE) wrote that the term yoga can be derived from either of two roots: yujir yoga (to yoke) or yuj samādhau ("to concentrate"). In the context of the Yoga Sutras, the root yuj samādhau (to concentrate) is considered the correct etymology by traditional commentators. In accordance with Pāṇini, Vyasa (who wrote the first commentary on the Yoga Sutras) says that yoga means samadhi (concentration). Larson notes that in the Vyāsa Bhāsy the term "samadhi" refers to "all levels of mental life" (sārvabhauma), that is, "all possible states of awareness, whether ordinary or extraordinary."
A person who practices yoga, or follows the yoga philosophy with a high level of commitment, is called a yogi; a female yogi may also be known as a yogini.
Definition
Definitions in classical texts
The term "yoga" has been defined in different ways in Indian philosophical and religious traditions.
Source Text | Approx. Date | Definition of Yoga |
---|---|---|
Maitrayaniya Upanishad | c. 4th century BCE | "Because in this manner he joins the Prana (breath), the Om, and this Universe in its manifold forms, or because they join themselves (to him), therefore this (process of meditation) is called Yoga (joining). The oneness of breath, mind, and senses, and then the surrendering of all conceptions, that is called Yoga" |
Vaisesika sutra | c. 4th century BCE | "Pleasure and suffering arise as a result of the drawing together of the sense organs, the mind and objects. When that does not happen because the mind is in the self, there is no pleasure or suffering for one who is embodied. That is yoga" (5.2.15–16) |
Katha Upanishad | last centuries BCE | "When the five senses, along with the mind, remain still and the intellect is not active, that is known as the highest state. They consider yoga to be firm restraint of the senses. Then one becomes un-distracted for yoga is the arising and the passing away" (6.10–11) |
Bhagavad Gita | c. 2nd century BCE | "Be equal minded in both success and failure. Such equanimity is called Yoga" (2.48)
"Yoga is skill in action" (2.50) "Know that which is called yoga to be separation from contact with suffering" (6.23) |
Yoga Sutras of Patanjali | c. first centuries CE | 1.2. yogas chitta vritti nirodhah – "Yoga is the calming down the fluctuations/patterns of mind" 1.3. Then the Seer is established in his own essential and fundamental nature. 1.4. In other states there is assimilation (of the Seer) with the modifications (of the mind). |
Yogācārabhūmi-Śāstra (Sravakabhumi), a Mahayana Buddhist Yogacara work | 4th century CE | "Yoga is fourfold: faith, aspiration, perseverance and means" (2.152) |
Kaundinya's Pancarthabhasya on the Pashupata-sutra | 4th century CE | "In this system, yoga is the union of the self and the Lord" (I.I.43) |
Yogaśataka a Jain work by Haribhadra Suri | 6th century CE | "With conviction, the lords of Yogins have in our doctrine defined yoga as the concurrence (sambandhah) of the three beginning with correct knowledge, since conjunction with liberation....In common usage this yoga also contact with the causes of these , due to the common usage of the cause for the effect." (2, 4). |
Linga Purana | 7th–10th century CE | "By the word 'yoga' is meant nirvana, the condition of Shiva." (I.8.5a) |
Brahmasutra-bhasya of Adi Shankara | c. 8th century CE | "It is said in the treatises on yoga: 'Yoga is the means of perceiving reality' (atha tattvadarsanabhyupāyo yogah)" (2.1.3) |
Mālinīvijayottara Tantra, one of the primary authorities in non-dual Kashmir Shaivism | 6th–10th century CE | "Yoga is said to be the oneness of one entity with another." (4.4–8) |
Mrgendratantravrtti, of the Shaiva Siddhanta scholar Narayanakantha | 6th–10th century CE | "To have self-mastery is to be a Yogin. The term Yogin means "one who is necessarily "conjoined with" the manifestation of his nature...the Siva-state (sivatvam)" (yp 2a) |
Śaradatilaka of Lakshmanadesikendra, a Shakta Tantra work | 11th century CE | "Yogic experts state that yoga is the oneness of the individual Self (jiva) with the atman. Others understand it to be the ascertainment of Siva and the Self as non-different. The scholars of the Agamas say that it is a Knowledge which is of the nature of Siva's Power. Other scholars say it is the knowledge of the primordial Self." (25.1–3b) |
Yogabija, a Hatha yoga work | 14th century CE | "The union of apana and prana, one's own rajas and semen, the sun and moon, the individual Self and the supreme Self, and in the same way the union of all dualities, is called yoga. " (89) |
Scholarly definitions
Due to its complicated historical development, and the broad array of definitions and usage in Indian religions, scholars have warned that yoga is hard, if not impossible, to define exactly. David Gordon White notes that "'Yoga' has a wider range of meanings than nearly any other word in the entire Sanskrit lexicon."
In its broadest sense, yoga is a generic term for techniques aimed at controlling body and mind and attaining a soteriological goal as specified by a specific tradition:
- Richard King (1999): "Yoga in the more traditional sense of the term has been practised throughout South Asia and beyond and involves a multitude of techniques leading to spiritual and ethical purification. Hindu and Buddhist traditions alike place a great deal of emphasis upon the practice of yoga as a means of attaining liberation from the world of rebirth and yogic practices have been aligned with a variety of philosophical theories and metaphysical positions."
- John Bowker (2000): "The means or techniques for transforming consciousness and attaining liberation (mokṣa) from karma and rebirth (saṃsāra) in Indian religions."
- Damien Keown (2004): "Any form of spiritual discipline aimed at gaining control over the mind with the ultimate aim of attaining liberation from rebirth."
- W. J. Johnson (2009): "A generic term for a wide variety of religious practices At its broadest, however, ‘yoga’ simply refers to a particular method or discipline for transforming the individual A narrower reading makes the practice contingent on, or derived from, control of the body and the senses, as in haṭha-yoga, or control of the breath (prāṇāyāma) and through it the mind, as in Patañjali's rājayoga. At its most neutral, yoga is therefore simply a technique, or set of techniques, including what is usually termed ‘meditation’, for attaining whatever soteriological or soteriological-cum-physiological transformation a particular tradition specifies."
According to Knut A. Jacobsen, yoga has five principal meanings:
- A disciplined method for attaining a goal
- Techniques of controlling the body and mind
- A name of a school or system of philosophy (darśana)
- With prefixes such as "hatha-, mantra-, and laya-, traditions specialising in particular yoga techniques
- The goal of yoga practice
David Gordon White writes that yoga's core principles were more or less in place in the 5th century CE, and variations of the principles developed over time:
- A meditative means of discovering dysfunctional perception and cognition, as well as overcoming it to release any suffering, find inner peace, and salvation. Illustration of this principle is found in Hindu texts such as the Bhagavad Gita and Yogasutras, in a number of Buddhist Mahāyāna works, as well as Jain texts.
- The raising and expansion of consciousness from oneself to being coextensive with everyone and everything. These are discussed in sources such as in Hinduism Vedic literature and its epic Mahābhārata, the Jain Praśamaratiprakarana, and Buddhist Nikaya texts.
- A path to omniscience and enlightened consciousness enabling one to comprehend the impermanent (illusive, delusive) and permanent (true, transcendent) reality. Examples of this are found in Hinduism Nyaya and Vaisesika school texts as well as Buddhism Mādhyamaka texts, but in different ways.
- A technique for entering into other bodies, generating multiple bodies, and the attainment of other supernatural accomplishments. These are, states White, described in Tantric literature of Hinduism and Buddhism, as well as the Buddhist Sāmaññaphalasutta.
According to White, the last principle relates to legendary goals of yoga practice; it differs from yoga's practical goals in South Asian thought and practice since the beginning of the Common Era in Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain philosophical schools. James Mallinson disagrees with the inclusion of supernatural accomplishments, and suggests that such fringe practices are far removed from the mainstream Yoga's goal as meditation-driven means to liberation in Indian religions.
A classic definition of yoga comes from Patanjali Yoga Sutras 1.2 and 1.3, which define yoga as "the stilling of the movements of the mind," and the recognition of Purusha, the witness-consciousness, as different from Prakriti, mind and matter. According to Larson, in the context of the Yoga Sutras, yoga has two meanings. The first meaning is yoga "as a general term to be translated as "disciplined meditation" that focuses on any of the many levels of ordinary awareness." In the second meaning yoga is "that specific system of thought (sāstra) that has for its focus the analysis, understanding and cultivation of those altered states of awareness that lead one to the experience of spiritual liberation."
Another classic understanding sees yoga as union or connection with the highest Self (paramatman), Brahman, or God, a "union, a linking of the individual to the divine." This definition is based on the devotionalism (bhakti) of the Bhagavad Gita, and the jnana yoga of Vedanta.
While yoga is often conflated with the "classical yoga" of Patanjali's yoga sutras, Karen O'Brien-Kop notes that "classical yoga" is informed by, and includes, Buddhist yoga. Regarding Buddhist yoga, James Buswell in his Encyclopedia of Buddhism treats yoga in his entry on meditation, stating that the aim of meditation is to attain samadhi, which serves as the foundation for vipasyana, "discerning the real from the unreal," liberating insight into true reality. Buswell & Lopez state that "in Buddhism, a generic term for soteriological training or contemplative practice, including tantric practice."
O'Brien-Kop further notes that "classical yoga" is not an independent category, but "was informed by the European colonialist project."
History
There is no consensus on yoga's chronology or origins other than its development in ancient India. There are two broad theories explaining the origins of yoga. The linear model holds that yoga has Vedic origins (as reflected in Vedic texts), and influenced Buddhism. This model is mainly supported by Hindu scholars. According to the synthesis model, yoga is a synthesis of indigenous, non-Vedic practices with Vedic elements. This model is favoured in Western scholarship.
The earliest yoga-practices may have appeared in the Jain tradition at ca. 900 BCE.Speculations about yoga are documented in the early Upanishads of the first half of the first millennium BCE, with expositions also appearing in Jain and Buddhist texts c. 500 – c. 200 BCE. Between 200 BCE and 500 CE, traditions of Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain philosophy were taking shape; teachings were collected as sutras, and a philosophical system of Patanjaliyogasastra began to emerge. The Middle Ages saw the development of a number of yoga satellite traditions. It and other aspects of Indian philosophy came to the attention of the educated Western public during the mid-19th century.
Origins
Synthesis model
Heinrich Zimmer was an exponent of the synthesis model, arguing for non-Vedic eastern states of India. According to Zimmer, yoga is part of a non-Vedic system which includes the Samkhya school of Hindu philosophy, Jainism and Buddhism: " does not derive from Brahman-Aryan sources, but reflects the cosmology and anthropology of a much older pre-Aryan upper class of northeastern India – being rooted in the same subsoil of archaic metaphysical speculation as Yoga, Sankhya, and Buddhism, the other non-Vedic Indian systems." More recently, Richard Gombrich and Geoffrey Samuel also argue that the śramaṇa movement originated in the non-Vedic eastern Ganges basin, specifically Greater Magadha.
Thomas McEvilley favors a composite model in which a pre-Aryan yoga prototype existed in the pre-Vedic period and was refined during the Vedic period. According to Gavin D. Flood, the Upanishads differ fundamentally from the Vedic ritual tradition and indicate non-Vedic influences. However, the traditions may be connected:
his dichotomization is too simplistic, for continuities can undoubtedly be found between renunciation and vedic Brahmanism, while elements from non-Brahmanical, Sramana traditions also played an important part in the formation of the renunciate ideal.
The ascetic traditions of the eastern Ganges plain are thought to drew from a common body of practices and philosophies, with proto-samkhya concepts of purusha and prakriti as a common denominator.
Linear model
According to Edward Fitzpatrick Crangle, Hindu researchers have favoured a linear theory which attempts "to interpret the origin and early development of Indian contemplative practices as a sequential growth from an Aryan genesis"; traditional Hinduism regards the Vedas as the source of all spiritual knowledge. Edwin Bryant wrote that authors who support Indigenous Aryanism also tend to support the linear model.
Indus Valley Civilisation
The twentieth-century scholars Karel Werner, Thomas McEvilley, and Mircea Eliade believe that the central figure of the Pashupati seal is in a Mulabandhasana posture, and the roots of yoga are in the Indus Valley civilisation. This is rejected by more recent scholarship; for example, Geoffrey Samuel, Andrea R. Jain, and Wendy Doniger describe the identification as speculative; the meaning of the figure will remain unknown until Harappan script is deciphered, and the roots of yoga cannot be linked to the IVC.
Earliest references (1000–500 BCE)
Further information: Vedic periodThe Vedas, the only texts preserved from the early Vedic period and codified between c. 1200 and 900 BCE, contain references to yogic practices primarily related to ascetics outside, or on the fringes of Brahmanism. The earliest yoga-practices may have come from the Jain tradition at ca. 900 BCE.
The Rigveda's Nasadiya Sukta suggests an early Brahmanic contemplative tradition. Techniques for controlling breath and vital energies are mentioned in the Atharvaveda and in the Brahmanas (the second layer of the Vedas, composed c. 1000–800 BCE).
According to Flood, "The Samhitas contain some references ... to ascetics, namely the Munis or Keśins and the Vratyas." Werner wrote in 1977 that the Rigveda does not describe yoga, and there is little evidence of practices. The earliest description of "an outsider who does not belong to the Brahminic establishment" is found in the Keśin hymn 10.136, the Rigveda's youngest book, which was codified around 1000 BCE. Werner wrote that there were
... individuals who were active outside the trend of Vedic mythological creativity and the Brahminic religious orthodoxy and therefore little evidence of their existence, practices and achievements has survived. And such evidence as is available in the Vedas themselves is scanty and indirect. Nevertheless the indirect evidence is strong enough not to allow any doubt about the existence of spiritually highly advanced wanderers.
According to Whicher (1998), scholarship frequently fails to see the connection between the contemplative practices of the rishis and later yoga practices: "The proto-Yoga of the Vedic rishis is an early form of sacrificial mysticism and contains many elements characteristic of later Yoga that include: concentration, meditative observation, ascetic forms of practice (tapas), breath control practiced in conjunction with the recitation of sacred hymns during the ritual, the notion of self-sacrifice, impeccably accurate recitation of sacred words (prefiguring mantra-yoga), mystical experience, and the engagement with a reality far greater than our psychological identity or the ego." Jacobsen wrote in 2018, "Bodily postures are closely related to the tradition of (tapas), ascetic practices in the Vedic tradition"; ascetic practices used by Vedic priests "in their preparations for the performance of the sacrifice" may be precursors of yoga. "The ecstatic practice of enigmatic longhaired muni in Rgveda 10.136 and the ascetic performance of the vratya-s in the Atharvaveda outside of or on the fringe of the Brahmanical ritual order, have probably contributed more to the ascetic practices of yoga."
According to Bryant, practices recognizable as classical yoga first appear in the Upanishads (composed during the late Vedic period). Alexander Wynne agrees that formless, elemental meditation might have originated in the Upanishadic tradition. An early reference to meditation is made in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (c. 900 BCE), one of the Principal Upanishads. The Chandogya Upanishad (c. 800–700 BCE) describes the five vital energies (prana), and concepts of later yoga traditions (such as blood vessels and an internal sound) are also described in this upanishad. The practice of pranayama (focusing on the breath) is mentioned in hymn 1.5.23 of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, and pratyahara (withdrawal of the senses) is mentioned in hymn 8.15 of Chandogya Upanishad. The Jaiminiya Upanishad Brahmana (probably before the 6th c. BCE) teaches breath control and repetition of a mantra. The 6th-c. BCE Taittiriya Upanishad defines yoga as the mastery of body and senses. According to Flood, "he actual term yoga first appears in the Katha Upanishad, dated to the fifth to first centuries BCE.
Second urbanisation (500–200 BCE)
Main article: Second urbanisationSystematic yoga concepts begin to emerge in texts dating to c. 500–200 BCE, such as the early Buddhist texts, the middle Upanishads, and the Mahabharata's Bhagavad Gita and Shanti Parva.
Buddhism and the śramaṇa movement
According to Geoffrey Samuel, the "best evidence to date" suggests that yogic practices "developed in the same ascetic circles as the early śramaṇa movements (Buddhists, Jainas and Ajivikas), probably in around the sixth and fifth centuries BCE." This occurred during India's second urbanisation period. According to Mallinson and Singleton, these traditions were the first to use mind-body techniques (known as Dhyāna and tapas) but later described as yoga, to strive for liberation from the round of rebirth.
Werner writes, "The Buddha was the founder of his system, even though, admittedly, he made use of some of the experiences he had previously gained under various Yoga teachers of his time." He notes:
But it is only with Buddhism itself as expounded in the Pali Canon that we can speak about a systematic and comprehensive or even integral school of Yoga practice, which is thus the first and oldest to have been preserved for us in its entirety.
Early Buddhist texts describe yogic and meditative practices, some of which the Buddha borrowed from the śramaṇa tradition. The Pāli Canon contains three passages in which the Buddha describes pressing the tongue against the palate to control hunger or the mind, depending on the passage. There is no mention of the tongue inserted into the nasopharynx, as in khecarī mudrā. The Buddha used a posture in which pressure is put on the perineum with the heel, similar to modern postures used to evoke Kundalini. Suttas which discuss yogic practice include the Satipatthana Sutta (the four foundations of mindfulness sutta) and the Anapanasati Sutta (the mindfulness of breathing sutta).
The chronology of these yoga-related early Buddhist texts, like the ancient Hindu texts, is unclear. Early Buddhist sources such as the Majjhima Nikāya mention meditation; the Aṅguttara Nikāya describes jhāyins (meditators) who resemble early Hindu descriptions of muni, the Kesin and meditating ascetics, but the meditation practices are not called "yoga" in these texts. The earliest known discussions of yoga in Buddhist literature, as understood in a modern context, are from the later Buddhist Yogācāra and Theravada schools.
Jain meditation is a yoga system which predated the Buddhist school. Since Jain sources are later than Buddhist ones, however, it is difficult to distinguish between the early Jain school and elements derived from other schools. Most of the other contemporary yoga systems alluded to in the Upanishads and some Buddhist texts have been lost.
Upanishads
The Upanishads, composed in the late Vedic period, contain the first references to practices recognizable as classical yoga. The first known appearance of the word "yoga" in the modern sense is in the Katha Upanishad (probably composed between the fifth and third centuries BCE), where it is defined as steady control of the senses which – with cessation of mental activity – leads to a supreme state. The Katha Upanishad integrates the monism of the early Upanishads with concepts of samkhya and yoga. It defines levels of existence by their proximity to one's innermost being. Yoga is viewed as a process of interiorization, or ascent of consciousness. The upanishad is the earliest literary work which highlights the fundamentals of yoga. According to White,
The earliest extant systematic account of yoga and a bridge from the earlier Vedic uses of the term is found in the Hindu Katha Upanisad (Ku), a scripture dating from about the third century BCE ... t describes the hierarchy of mind-body constituents—the senses, mind, intellect, etc.—that comprise the foundational categories of Sāmkhya philosophy, whose metaphysical system grounds the yoga of the Yogasutras, Bhagavad Gita, and other texts and schools (Ku3.10–11; 6.7–8).
The hymns in book two of the Shvetashvatara Upanishad (another late-first-millennium BCE text) describe a procedure in which the body is upright, the breath is restrained and the mind is meditatively focused, preferably in a cave or a place that is simple and quiet.
The Maitrayaniya Upanishad, probably composed later than the Katha and Shvetashvatara Upanishads but before the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, mentions a sixfold yoga method: breath control, introspective withdrawal of the senses, meditation (dhyana), mental concentration, logic and reasoning, and spiritual union. In addition to discussions in the Principal Upanishads, the twenty Yoga Upanishads and related texts (such as Yoga Vasistha, composed between the sixth and 14th centuries CE) discuss yoga methods.
Macedonian texts
Alexander the Great reached India in the 4th century BCE. In addition to his army, he brought Greek academics who wrote memoirs about its geography, people, and customs. One of Alexander's companions was Onesicritus (quoted in Book 15, Sections 63–65 by Strabo in his Geography), who describes yogis. Onesicritus says that the yogis were aloof and adopted "different postures – standing or sitting or lying naked – and motionless".
Onesicritus also mentions attempts by his colleague, Calanus, to meet them. Initially denied an audience, he was later invited because he was sent by a "king curious of wisdom and philosophy". Onesicritus and Calanus learn that the yogis consider life's best doctrines to "rid the spirit of not only pain, but also pleasure", that "man trains the body for toil in order that his opinions may be strengthened", that "there is no shame in life on frugal fare", and that "the best place to inhabit is one with scantiest equipment or outfit". According to Charles Rockwell Lanman, these principles are significant in the history of yoga's spiritual side and may reflect the roots of "undisturbed calmness" and "mindfulness through balance" in the later works of Patanjali and Buddhaghosa.
Mahabharata and Bhagavad Gita
Nirodhayoga (yoga of cessation), an early form of yoga, is described in the Mokshadharma section of the 12th chapter (Shanti Parva) of the third-century BCE Mahabharata. Nirodhayoga emphasizes progressive withdrawal from empirical consciousness, including thoughts and sensations, until purusha (self) is realized. Terms such as vichara (subtle reflection) and viveka (discrimination) similar to Patanjali's terminology are used, but not described. Although the Mahabharata contains no uniform yogic goal, the separation of self from matter and perception of Brahman everywhere are described as goals of yoga. Samkhya and yoga are conflated, and some verses describe them as identical. Mokshadharma also describes an early practice of elemental meditation. The Mahabharata defines the purpose of yoga as uniting the individual ātman with the universal Brahman pervading all things.
The Bhagavad Gita (Song of the Lord), part of the Mahabharata, contains extensive teachings about yoga. According to Mallinson and Singleton, the Gita "seeks to appropriate yoga from the renunciate milieu in which it originated, teaching that it is compatible with worldly activity carried out according to one's caste and life stage; it is only the fruits of one's actions that are to be renounced." In addition to a chapter (chapter six) dedicated to traditional yoga practice (including meditation), it introduces three significant types of yoga:
- Karma yoga: yoga of action
- Bhakti yoga: yoga of devotion
- Jnana yoga: yoga of knowledge
The Gita consists of 18 chapters and 700 shlokas (verses); each chapter is named for a different form of yoga. Some scholars divide the Gita into three sections; the first six chapters (280 shlokas) deal with karma yoga, the middle six (209 shlokas) with bhakti yoga, and the last six (211 shlokas) with jnana yoga. However, elements of all three are found throughout the work.
Philosophical sutras
Yoga is discussed in the foundational sutras of Hindu philosophy. The Vaiśeṣika Sūtra of the Vaisheshika school of Hinduism, composed between the sixth and second centuries BCE, discusses yoga. According to Johannes Bronkhorst, the Vaiśeṣika Sūtra describes yoga as "a state where the mind resides only in the Self and therefore not in the senses". This is equivalent to pratyahara (withdrawal of the senses). The sutra asserts that yoga leads to an absence of sukha (happiness) and dukkha (suffering), describing meditative steps in the journey towards spiritual liberation.
The Brahma Sutras, the foundation text of the Vedanta school of Hinduism, also discusses yoga. Estimated as completed in its surviving form between 450 BCE and 200 CE, its sutras assert that yoga is a means to attain "subtlety of body". The Nyaya Sutras—the foundation text of the Nyaya school, estimated as composed between the sixth century BCE and the secondcentury CE—discusses yoga in sutras 4.2.38–50. It includes a discussion of yogic ethics, dhyana (meditation) and samadhi, noting that debate and philosophy are also forms of yoga.
Classical era (200 BCE – 500 CE)
The Indic traditions of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism were taking shape during the period between the Mauryan and the Gupta eras (c. 200 BCE – 500 CE), and systems of yoga began to emerge; a number of texts from these traditions discussed and compiled yoga methods and practices. Key works of the era include the Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali, the Yoga-Yājñavalkya, the Yogācārabhūmi-Śāstra, and the Visuddhimagga.
Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
One of the best-known early expressions of Brahminical yoga thought is the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (early centuries CE, the original name of which may have been the Pātañjalayogaśāstra-sāṃkhya-pravacana (c. 325–425 CE); some scholars believe that it included the sutras and a commentary. As the name suggests, the metaphysical basis of the text is samkhya; the school is mentioned in Kauṭilya's Arthashastra as one of the three categories of anviksikis (philosophies), with yoga and Cārvāka. Yoga and samkhya have some differences; yoga accepted the concept of a personal god, and Samkhya was a rational, non-theistic system of Hindu philosophy. Patanjali's system is sometimes called "Seshvara Samkhya", distinguishing it from Kapila's Nirivara Samkhya. The parallels between yoga and samkhya were so close that Max Müller says, "The two philosophies were in popular parlance distinguished from each other as Samkhya with and Samkhya without a Lord." Karel Werner wrote that the systematization of yoga which began in the middle and early Yoga Upanishads culminated in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.
Pada (Chapter) | English meaning | Sutras |
---|---|---|
Samadhi Pada | On being absorbed in spirit | 51 |
Sadhana Pada | On being immersed in spirit | 55 |
Vibhuti Pada | On supernatural abilities and gifts | 56 |
Kaivalya Pada | On absolute freedom | 34 |
The Yoga Sutras are also influenced by the Sramana traditions of Buddhism and Jainism, and may be a further Brahmanical attempt to adopt yoga from those traditions. Larson noted a number of parallels in ancient samkhya, yoga and Abhidharma Buddhism, particularly from the second century BCE to the first century AD. Patanjali's Yoga Sutras are a synthesis of the three traditions. From Samkhya, they adopt the "reflective discernment" (adhyavasaya) of prakrti and purusa (dualism), their metaphysical rationalism, and their three epistemological methods of obtaining knowledge. Larson says that the Yoga Sutras pursue an altered state of awareness from Abhidharma Buddhism's nirodhasamadhi; unlike Buddhism's "no self or soul", however, yoga (like Samkhya) believes that each individual has a self. The third concept which the Yoga Sutras synthesize is the ascetic tradition of meditation and introspection.
Patanjali's Yoga Sutras are considered the first compilation of yoga philosophy. The verses of the Yoga Sutras are terse. Many later Indian scholars studied them and published their commentaries, such as the Vyasa Bhashya (c. 350–450 CE). Patanjali defines the word "yoga" in his second sutra, and his terse definition hinges on the meaning of three Sanskrit terms. I. K. Taimni translates it as "Yoga is the inhibition (nirodhaḥ) of the modifications (vṛtti) of the mind (citta)". Swami Vivekananda translates the sutra as "Yoga is restraining the mind-stuff (Citta) from taking various forms (Vrittis)." Edwin Bryant writes that 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, is only aware of its own nature as consciousness unmixed with any other object."
Baba Hari Dass writes that if yoga is understood as nirodha (mental control), its goal is "the unqualified state of niruddha (the perfection of that process)". "Yoga (union) implies duality (as in joining of two things or principles); the result of yoga is the nondual state ... as the union of the lower self and higher Self. The nondual state is characterized by the absence of individuality; it can be described as eternal peace, pure love, Self-realization, or liberation."
Patanjali defined an eight-limbed yoga in Yoga Sutras 2.29:
- Yama (The five abstentions): Ahimsa (Non-violence, non-harming other living beings), Satya (truthfulness, non-falsehood), Asteya (non-stealing), Brahmacharya (celibacy, fidelity to one's partner), and Aparigraha (non-avarice, non-possessiveness).
- Niyama (The five "observances"): Śauca (purity, clearness of mind, speech and body), Santosha (contentment, acceptance of others and of one's circumstances), Tapas (persistent meditation, perseverance, austerity), Svādhyāya (study of self, self-reflection, study of Vedas), and Ishvara-Pranidhana (contemplation of God/Supreme Being/True Self).
- Asana: Literally means "seat", and in Patanjali's Sutras refers to the seated position used for meditation.
- Pranayama ("Breath exercises"): Prāna, breath, "āyāma", to "stretch, extend, restrain, stop".
- Pratyahara ("Abstraction"): Withdrawal of the sense organs from external objects.
- Dharana ("Concentration"): Fixing the attention on a single object.
- Dhyana ("Meditation"): Intense contemplation of the nature of the object of meditation.
- Samadhi ("Liberation"): merging consciousness with the object of meditation.
In Hindu scholasticism since the 12th century, yoga has been one of the six orthodox philosophical schools (darsanas): traditions which accept the Vedas.
Yoga and Vedanta
Yoga and Vedanta are the two largest surviving schools of Hindu traditions. Although they share many principles, concepts, and the belief in Self, they differ in degree, style, and methods; yoga accepts three means to obtain knowledge, and Advaita Vedanta accepts. Yoga disputes Advaita Vedanta's monism. It believes that in the state of moksha, each individual discovers the blissful, liberating sense of himself or herself as an independent identity; Advaita Vedanta teaches that in the state of moksha, each individual discovers the blissful, liberating sense of himself or herself as part of oneness with everything, everyone and the Universal Self. They both hold that the free conscience is transcendent, liberated and self-aware. Advaita Vedanta also encourages the use of Patanjali's yoga practices and the Upanishads for those seeking the supreme good and ultimate freedom.
Yoga Yajnavalkya
Main article: Yoga Yajnavalkya—Yoga Yajnavalkyaसंयोगो योग इत्युक्तो जीवात्मपरमात्मनोः॥
saṁyogo yoga ityukto jīvātma-paramātmanoḥ॥
Yoga is the union of the individual self (jivātma) with the supreme self (paramātma).
The Yoga Yajnavalkya is a classical treatise on yoga, attributed to the Vedic sage Yajnavalkya, in the form of a dialogue between Yajnavalkya and the renowned philosopher Gargi Vachaknavi. The origin of the 12-chapter text has been traced to the second century BCE and the fourth century CE. A number of yoga texts, such as the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, the Yoga Kundalini and the Yoga Tattva Upanishads, have borrowed from (or frequently refer to) the Yoga Yajnavalkya. It discusses eight yoga asanas (Swastika, Gomukha, Padma, Vira, Simha, Bhadra, Mukta and Mayura), a number of breathing exercises for body cleansing, and meditation.
Abhidharma and Yogachara
The Buddhist tradition of Abhidharma spawned treatises which expanded teachings on Buddhist theory and yoga techniques which influenced Mahayana and Theravada Buddhism. At the height of the Gupta period (fourth to fifth centuries CE), a northern Mahayana movement known as Yogācāra began to be systematized with the writings of Buddhist scholars Asanga and Vasubandhu. Yogācāra Buddhism provided a systematic framework for practices which lead a bodhisattva towards awakening and full Buddhahood. Its teachings are found in the encyclopedic Yogācārabhūmi-Śāstra (Treatise for Yoga Practitioners), which was also translated into Tibetan and Chinese and influenced East Asian and Tibetan Buddhist traditions. Mallinson and Singleton write that the study of Yogācāra Buddhism is essential to understand yoga's early history, and its teachings influenced the Pātañjalayogaśāstra. The South India and Sri Lankan-based Theravada school also developed manuals for yogic and meditative training, primarily the Vimuttimagga and the Visuddhimagga.
Jainism
Main article: JainismAccording to Tattvarthasutra, a second-to-fifth century Jain text, yoga is the sum of all activities of mind, speech and body. Umasvati calls yoga the generator of karma, and essential to the path to liberation. In his Niyamasara, Kundakunda describes yoga bhakti—devotion to the path to liberation—as the highest form of devotion. Haribhadra and Hemacandra note the five major vows of ascetics and 12 minor vows of laity in yoga. According to Robert J. Zydenbos, Jainism is a system of yogic thinking which became a religion. The five yamas (constraints) of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali are similar to Jainism's five major vows, indicating cross-fertilization between these traditions. Hinduism's influence on Jain yoga may be seen in Haribhadra's Yogadṛṣṭisamuccaya, which outlines an eightfold yoga influenced by Patanjali's eightfold yoga.
Middle Ages (500–1500 CE)
Male and female yogis in 17th- and 18th-century IndiaThe Middle Ages saw the development of satellite yoga traditions. Hatha yoga emerged during this period.
Bhakti movement
Main article: Bhakti yogaIn medieval Hinduism, the Bhakti movement advocated the concept of a personal god or Supreme Personality. The movement, begun by the Alvars of South India during the 6th to 9th centuries, became influential throughout India by the 12th to 15th centuries. Shaiva and Vaishnava bhakti traditions integrated aspects of the Yoga Sutras (such as meditative exercises) with devotion. The Bhagavata Purana elucidates a form of yoga known as viraha (separation) bhakti, which emphasizes concentration on Krishna.
Tantra
Tantra is a range of esoteric traditions which had begun to arise in India by the 5th century CE. Its use suggests that the word tantra in the Rigveda means "technique". George Samuel wrote that tantra is a contested term, but may be considered a school whose practices appeared in nearly-complete form in Buddhist and Hindu texts by about the 10th century CE. Tantric yoga developed complex visualizations, which included meditation on the body as a microcosm of the cosmos. It included mantras, breath control, and body manipulation (including its nadis and chakras. Teachings about chakras and Kundalini became central to later forms of Indian yoga.
Tantric concepts influenced Hindu, Bon, Buddhist, and Jain traditions. Elements of Tantric rituals were adopted by, and influenced, state functions in medieval Buddhist and Hindu kingdoms in East and Southeast Asia. By the turn of the first millennium, hatha yoga emerged from tantra.
Vajrayana and Tibetan Buddhism
Vajrayana is also known as Tantric Buddhism and Tantrayāna. Its texts began to be compiled during the seventh century CE, and Tibetan translations were completed the following century. These tantra texts were the main source of Buddhist knowledge imported into Tibet, and were later translated into Chinese and other Asian languages. The Buddhist text Hevajra Tantra and caryāgiti introduced hierarchies of chakras. Yoga is a significant practice in Tantric Buddhism.
Tantra yoga practices include postures and breathing exercises. The Nyingma school practices yantra yoga, a discipline which includes breath work, meditation and other exercises. Nyingma meditation is divided into stages, such as Kriya Yoga, Upa yoga, Yoga yana, mahā yoga, Anu yoga and atiyoga. The Sarma traditions also include Kriya, Upa (called "Charya"), and yoga, with anuttara yoga replacing mahayoga and atiyoga.
Zen Buddhism
Zen, whose name derives from the Sanskrit dhyāna via the Chinese ch'an, is a form of Mahayana Buddhism in which yoga is an integral part.
Medieval hatha yoga
The first references to hatha yoga are in eighth-century Buddhist works. The earliest definition of hatha yoga is in the 11th-century Buddhist text Vimalaprabha. Hatha yoga blends elements of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras with posture and breathing exercises. It marks the development of asanas into the full-body postures in current popular use and, with its modern variations, is the style presently associated with the word "yoga".
Sikhism
Yogic groups became prominent in Punjab during the 15th and 16th centuries, when Sikhism was beginning. Compositions by Guru Nanak (the founder of Sikhism) describe dialogues he had with Jogis, a Hindu community which practiced yoga. Guru Nanak rejected the austerities, rites and rituals associated with hatha yoga, advocating sahaja yoga or nama yoga instead. According to the Guru Granth Sahib,
O Yogi, Nanak tells nothing but the truth. You must discipline your mind. The devotee must meditate on the Word Divine. It is His grace which brings about the union. He understands, he also sees. Good deeds help one merge into Divination.
Modern revival
Introduction in the West
Yoga and other aspects of Indian philosophy came to the attention of the educated Western public during the mid-19th century, and N. C. Paul published his Treatise on Yoga Philosophy in 1851. Swami Vivekananda, the first Hindu teacher to advocate and disseminate elements of yoga to a Western audience, toured Europe and the United States in the 1890s. His reception built on the interest of intellectuals who included the New England Transcendentalists; among them were Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882), who drew on German Romanticism and philosophers and scholars such as Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831), the brothers August Wilhelm Schlegel (1767–1845) and Friedrich Schlegel (1772–1829), Max Mueller (1823–1900), and Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860).
Theosophists, including Helena Blavatsky, also influenced the Western public's view of yoga. Esoteric views at the end of the 19th century encouraged the reception of Vedanta and yoga, with their correspondence between the spiritual and the physical. The reception of yoga and Vedanta entwined with the (primarily neoplatonic) currents of religious and philosophical reform and transformation during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Mircea Eliade brought a new element to yoga, emphasizing tantric yoga in his Yoga: Immortality and Freedom. With the introduction of tantra traditions and philosophy, the conception of the "transcendent" attained by yogic practice shifted from the mind to the body.
Yoga as exercise
Main article: Yoga as exerciseThe postural yoga of the Western world is a physical activity consisting of asanas, often connected by smooth transitions, sometimes accompanied by breathing exercises and usually ending with a period of relaxation or meditation. It is often known simply as "yoga", despite older Hindu traditions (some dating to the Yoga Sutras) in which asanas played little or no part; asanas were not central to any tradition.
Yoga as exercise is part of a modern yoga renaissance, a 20th-century blend of Western gymnastics and haṭha yoga pioneered by Shri Yogendra and Swami Kuvalayananda. Before 1900, hatha yoga had few standing poses; the Sun Salutation was pioneered by Bhawanrao Shrinivasrao Pant Pratinidhi, the Rajah of Aundh, during the 1920s. Many standing poses used in gymnastics were incorporated into yoga by Krishnamacharya in Mysore between the 1930s and the 1950s. Several of his students founded schools of yoga. Pattabhi Jois created ashtanga vinyasa yoga, which led to Power Yoga; B. K. S. Iyengar created Iyengar Yoga and systematised asanas in his 1966 book, Light on Yoga; Indra Devi taught yoga to Hollywood actors; and Krishnamacharya's son, T. K. V. Desikachar, founded the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandalam in Chennai. Other schools founded during the 20th century include Bikram Choudhury's Bikram Yoga and Swami Sivananda of Rishikesh's Sivananda yoga. Yoga as exercise has spread around the world.
The number of asanas used in yoga has increased from 84 in 1830 (as illustrated in Joga Pradipika) to about 200 in Light on Yoga and over 900 performed by Dharma Mittra by 1984. The goal of haṭha yoga (spiritual liberation through energy) was largely replaced by the goals of fitness and relaxation, and many of its more esoteric components were reduced or removed. The term "hatha yoga" also refers to gentle yoga, often for women.
Yoga as exercise has developed into a worldwide, multi-billion-dollar business involving classes, teacher certification, clothing, books, videos, equipment, and holidays. The ancient, cross-legged lotus position and Siddhasana are widely recognised symbols of yoga. The United Nations General Assembly established 21 June as the International Day of Yoga, and it has been celebrated annually around the world since 2015. On 1 December 2016, yoga was listed by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage.
The effect of yoga as exercise on physical and mental health has been a subject of study, with evidence that regular practice is beneficial for low back pain and stress. In 2017, a Cochrane review found that yoga as exercise interventions designed for chronic low back pain increased function at the six month mark, and modestly decreased pain after 3–4 months. The decrease in pain was found to be similar to other exercise programs designed for low-back pain, but the decrease is not large enough to be deemed clinically significant.
Traditions
Yoga is practised with a variety of methods by all Indian religions. In Hinduism, practices include jnana yoga, bhakti yoga, karma yoga, kundalini yoga, and hatha yoga.
Jain yoga
Main article: Jain meditationYoga has been a central practice in Jainism. Jain spirituality is based on a strict code of nonviolence, or ahimsa (which includes vegetarianism), almsgiving (dāna), faith in the three jewels, austerities (tapas) such as fasting, and yoga. Jain yoga aims at the liberation and purification of the self from the forces of karma, which binds the self to the cycle of reincarnation. Like yoga and Sankhya, Jainism believes in a number of individual selves bound by their individual karma. Only through the reduction of karmic influences and the exhaustion of collected karma can one become purified and released. Early Jain yoga seems to have been divided into several types, including meditation, abandonment of the body (kāyotsarga), contemplation, and reflection (bhāvanā).
Buddhist yoga
Main articles: Buddhist meditation and Dhyāna in BuddhismBuddhist yoga encompasses a variety of methods which aim to develop the 37 aids to awakening. Its ultimate goal is bodhi (awakening) or nirvana (cessation), traditionally seen as the permanent end of suffering (dukkha) and rebirth. Buddhist texts use a number of terms for spiritual praxis in addition to yoga, such as bhāvanā ("development") and jhāna/dhyāna.
In early Buddhism, yoga practices included:
- the four dhyānas (four meditations or mental absorptions),
- the four satipatthanas (foundations or establishments of mindfulness),
- anapanasati (mindfulness of breath),
- the four immaterial dwellings (supranormal states of mind),
- the brahmavihārās (divine abodes).
- Anussati (contemplations, recollections)
These meditations were seen as supported by the other elements of the Noble Eightfold Path, such as ethics, right exertion, sense restraint and right view. Two mental qualities are said to be indispensable for yoga practice in Buddhism: samatha (calm, stability) and vipassanā (insight, clear seeing). Samatha is a stable, relaxed mind, associated with samadhi (mental unification, focus) and dhyana (a state of meditative absorption). Vipassanā is insight or penetrative understanding into the true nature of phenomena, also defined as "seeing things as they truly are" (yathābhūtaṃ darśanam). A unique feature of classical Buddhism is its understanding of all phenomena (dhammas) as being empty of a self.
Later developments in Buddhist traditions led to innovations in yoga practice. The conservative Theravada school developed new ideas on meditation and yoga in its later works, the most influential of which is the Visuddhimagga. Mahayana meditation teachings may be seen in the Yogācārabhūmi-Śāstra, compiled c. 4th century. Mahayana also developed and adopted yoga methods such as the use of mantras and dharani, pure land practices aiming at rebirth in a pure land or buddhafield, and visualization. Chinese Buddhism developed the Chan practice of Koan introspection and Hua Tou. Tantric Buddhism developed and adopted tantric methods which are the basis of the Tibetan Buddhist yoga systems, including deity yoga, guru yoga, the six yogas of Naropa, Kalacakra, Mahamudra and Dzogchen.
Classical yoga
Main article: Yoga (philosophy)What is often referred to as classical yoga, ashtanga yoga, or rāja yoga is primarily the yoga outlined in the dualistic Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. The origins of classical yoga are unclear, although early discussions of the term appear in the Upanishads. Rāja yoga (yoga of kings) originally denoted the ultimate goal of yoga; samadhi, but was popularised by Vivekananda as a common name for ashtanga yoga, the eight limbs attain samadhi as described in the Yoga Sutras. Yoga philosophy came to be regarded as a distinct orthodox school (darsanas) of Hinduism in the second half of the first millennium CE.
Classical yoga incorporates epistemology, metaphysics, ethical practices, systematic exercises and self-development for body, mind and spirit. Its epistemology (pramana) and metaphysics are similar to the Sāṅkhya school. The Classical yoga's metaphysics, like Sāṅkhya's, primarily posits two distinct realities: prakriti (nature, the eternal and active unconscious source of the material world composed of three guṇas) and puruṣa (consciousness), the plural consciousnesses which are the intelligent principles of the world. Moksha (liberation) results from the isolation (kaivalya) of puruṣa from prakirti, and is achieved through meditation, stilling one's thought waves (citta vritti) and resting in pure awareness of puruṣa. Unlike Sāṅkhya, which takes a non-theistic approach, the yoga school of Hinduism accepts a "personal, yet essentially inactive, deity" or "personal god" (Ishvara).
In Advaita Vedanta
Vedanta is a varied tradition, with a number of sub-schools and philosophical views. It focuses on the study of the Upanishads and the Brahma Sutras (one of its early texts), about gaining spiritual knowledge of Brahman: the unchanging, absolute reality.
One of the earliest and most influential sub-traditions of Vedanta is Advaita Vedanta, which posits non-dualistic monism. It emphasizes jñāna yoga (yoga of knowledge), which aims at realizing the identity of one's atman (individual consciousness) with Brahman (the Absolute consciousness). The most influential thinker of this school is Adi Shankara (8th century), who wrote commentaries and other works on jñāna yoga. In Advaita Vedanta, jñāna is attained from scripture, one's guru, and through a process of listening to (and meditating on) teachings. Qualities such as discrimination, renunciation, tranquility, temperance, dispassion, endurance, faith, attention, and a longing for knowledge and freedom are also desirable. Yoga in Advaita is a "meditative exercise of withdrawal from the particular and identification with the universal, leading to contemplation of oneself as the most universal, namely, Consciousness".
Yoga Vasistha is an influential Advaita text which uses short stories and anecdotes to illustrate its ideas. Teaching seven stages of yoga practice, it was a major reference for medieval Advaita Vedanta yoga scholars and one of the most popular texts on Hindu yoga before the 12th century. Another text which teaches yoga from an Advaita point of view is the Yoga Yajnavalkya.
Tantric yoga
Main article: TantraAccording to Samuel, Tantra is a contested concept. Tantra yoga may be described as practices in 9th to 10th century Buddhist and Hindu (Saiva, Shakti) texts which included yogic practices with elaborate deity visualizations using geometric arrays and drawings (mandalas), male and (particularly) female deities, life-stage-related rituals, the use of chakras and mantras, and sexual techniques aimed at aiding one's health, longevity and liberation.
Hatha yoga
Main article: Hatha yogaHatha yoga focuses on physical and mental strength-building exercises and postures described primarily in three Hindu texts:
- Hatha Yoga Pradipika by Svātmārāma (15th century)
- Shiva Samhita, author unknown (1500 or late 17th century)
- Gheranda Samhita by Gheranda (late 17th century)
Some scholars include Gorakshanath's 11th-century Goraksha Samhita on the list, since Gorakshanath is considered responsible for popularizing present-day hatha yoga. Vajrayana Buddhism, founded by the Indian Mahasiddhas, has a series of asanas and pranayamas (such as tummo) which resemble hatha yoga.
Laya and kundalini yoga
Laya and kundalini yoga, closely associated with hatha yoga, are often presented as independent approaches. According to Georg Feuerstein, laya yoga (yoga of dissolution or merging) "makes meditative absorption (laya) its focus. The laya-yogin seeks to transcend all memory traces and sensory experiences by dissolving the microcosm, the mind, in the transcendental Self-Consciousness." Laya yoga has a number of techniques which include listening to the "inner sound" (nada), mudras such as Khechari and Shambhavi mudra, and awakening kundalini (body energy).
Kundalini yoga aims to awaken bodily and cosmic energy with breath and body techniques, uniting them with universal consciousness. A common teaching method awakens kundalini in the lowest chakra and guides it through the central channel to unite with the absolute consciousness in the highest chakra, at the top of the head.
Reception by other religions
Christianity
Further information: Category:Christian yogaSome Christians integrate physical aspects of yoga, stripped from the spiritual roots of Hinduism, and other aspects of Eastern spirituality with prayer, meditation and Jesus-centric affirmations. The practice also includes renaming poses in English (rather than using the original Sanskrit terms), and abandoning involved Hindu mantras as well as the philosophy of Yoga; Yoga is associated and reframed into Christianity. This has drawn charges of cultural appropriation from various Hindu groups; scholars remain skeptical. Previously, the Roman Catholic Church, and some other Christian organizations have expressed concerns and disapproval with respect to some eastern and New Age practices that include yoga and meditation.
In 1989 and 2003, the Vatican issued two documents: Aspects of Christian meditation and "A Christian reflection on the New Age," that were mostly critical of eastern and New Age practices. The 2003 document was published as a 90-page handbook detailing the Vatican's position. The Vatican warned that concentration on the physical aspects of meditation "can degenerate into a cult of the body" and that equating bodily states with mysticism "could also lead to psychic disturbance and, at times, to moral deviations." Such has been compared to the early days of Christianity, when the church opposed the gnostics' belief that salvation came not through faith but through mystical inner knowledge. The letter also says, "one can see if and how might be enriched by meditation methods developed in other religions and cultures" but maintains the idea that "there must be some fit between the nature of prayer and Christian beliefs about ultimate reality." Some fundamentalist Christian organizations consider yoga to be incompatible with their religious background, considering it a part of the New Age movement inconsistent with Christianity.
Islam
Early-11th-century Persian scholar Al-Biruni visited India, lived with Hindus for 16 years, and (with their help) translated several Sanskrit works into Arabic and Persian; one of these was Patanjali's Yoga Sutras. Although Al-Biruni's translation preserved many core themes of Patañjali's yoga philosophy, some sutras and commentaries were restated for consistency with monotheistic Islamic theology. Al-Biruni's version of the Yoga Sutras reached Persia and the Arabian Peninsula by about 1050. During the 16th century, the hatha yoga text Amritakunda was translated into Arabic and Persian. Yoga was, however, not accepted by mainstream Sunni and Shia Islam. Minority Islamic sects such as the mystic Sufi movement, particularly in South Asia, adopted Indian yoga postures and breath control. Muhammad Ghawth, a 16th-century Shattari Sufi and translator of yoga text, was criticized for his interest in yoga and persecuted for his Sufi beliefs.
Malaysia's top Islamic body imposed a legally-enforceable 2008 fatwa prohibiting Muslims from practicing yoga, saying that it had elements of Hinduism and its practice was haram as blasphemy. Malaysian Muslims who had been practicing yoga for years called the decision "insulting." Sisters in Islam, a Malaysian women's-rights group, expressed disappointment and said that yoga was a form of exercise. Malaysia's prime minister clarified that yoga as exercise is permissible, but the chanting of religious mantras is not.
The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) imposed a 2009 fatwa banning yoga because it contains Hindu elements. These fatwas have been criticized by Darul Uloom Deoband, a Deobandi Islamic seminary in India. Similar fatwas banning yoga for its link to Hinduism were imposed by Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa in Egypt in 2004, and by Islamic clerics in Singapore earlier.
According to Iran's yoga association, the country had about 200 yoga centres in May 2014. One-quarter were in the capital, Tehran, where groups could be seen practising in parks; conservatives were opposed. In May 2009, Turkish Directorate of Religious Affairs head Ali Bardakoğlu discounted personal-development techniques such as reiki and yoga as commercial ventures which could lead to extremism. According to Bardakoğlu, reiki and yoga could be a form of proselytizing at the expense of Islam. Nouf Marwaai brought yoga to Saudi Arabia in 2017, contributing to making it legal and recognized despite being allegedly threatened by her community which asserts yoga as "un-Islamic".
See also
- List of asanas
- Modern yoga gurus
- List of yoga schools
- Sun Salutation
- Yoga tourism
- Yogis
- Mallakhamba, a form of yoga performed on a pole
- Traditional games of India
Notes
- Zimmer's point of view is supported by other scholars, such as Niniam Smart in Doctrine and argument in Indian Philosophy, 1964, pp. 27–32, 76 and S. K. Belvakar and Inchegeri Sampradaya in History of Indian philosophy, 1974 (1927), pp. 81, 303–409.
- Gavin Flood: "These renouncer traditions offered a new vision of the human condition which became incorporated, to some degree, into the worldview of the Brahman householder. The ideology of asceticism and renunciation seems, at first, discontinuous with the brahmanical ideology of the affirmation of social obligations and the performance of public and domestic rituals. Indeed, there has been some debate as to whether asceticism and its ideas of retributive action, reincarnation and spiritual liberation, might not have originated outside the orthodox vedic sphere, or even outside Aryan culture: that a divergent historical origin might account for the apparent contradiction within 'Hinduism' between the world affirmation of the householder and the world negation of the renouncer. However, this dichotomization is too simplistic, for continuities can undoubtedly be found between renunciation and vedic Brahmanism, while elements from non-Brahmanical, Sramana traditions also played an important part in the formation of the renunciate ideal. Indeed there are continuities between vedic Brahmanism and Buddhism, and it has been argued that the Buddha sought to return to the ideals of a vedic society which he saw as being eroded in his own day."
- See also Gavin Flood (1996), Hinduism, p.87–90, on "The orthogenetic theory" and "Non-Vedic origins of renunciation".
- Post-classical traditions consider Hiranyagarbha the originator of yoga.
- Some scholars are now considering the image to be an instance of Lord of the Beasts found in Eurasian neolithic mythology or the widespread motif of the Master of Animals found in ancient Near Eastern and Mediterranean art.
-
- Wynne states that "The Nasadiyasukta, one of the earliest and most important cosmogonic tracts in the early Brahminic literature, contains evidence suggesting it was closely related to a tradition of early Brahminic contemplation. A close reading of this text suggests that it was closely related to a tradition of early Brahminic contemplation. The poem may have been composed by contemplatives, but even if not, an argument can be made that it marks the beginning of the contemplative/meditative trend in Indian thought."
- Miller suggests that the composition of Nasadiya Sukta and Purusha Sukta arises from "the subtlest meditative stage, called absorption in mind and heart" which "involves enheightened experiences" through which seer "explores the mysterious psychic and cosmic forces...".
- Jacobsen writes that dhyana (meditation) is derived from the Vedic term dhih which refers to "visionary insight", "thought provoking vision".
- Original Sanskrit: स्वाध्यायमधीयानो धर्मिकान्विदधदात्मनि सर्वैन्द्रियाणि संप्रतिष्ठाप्याहिँसन्सर्व भूतान्यन्यत्र तीर्थेभ्यः स खल्वेवं वर्तयन्यावदायुषं ब्रह्मलोकमभिसंपद्यते न च पुनरावर्तते न च पुनरावर्तते॥ १॥ – Chandogya Upanishad, VIII.15
Translation 1 by Max Muller, The Upanishads, The Sacred Books of the East – Part 1, Oxford University Press: (He who engages in) self study, concentrates all his senses on the Self, never giving pain to any creature, except at the tîrthas, he who behaves thus all his life, reaches the world of Brahman, and does not return, yea, he does not return.
Translation 2 by G.N. Jha: Chandogya Upanishad VIII.15, page 488: (He who engages in self study),—and having withdrawn all his sense-organs into the Self,—never causing pain to any living beings, except in places specially ordained,—one who behaves thus throughout life reaches the Region of Brahman and does not return,—yea, does not return.— - Ancient Indian literature was transmitted and preserved through an oral tradition. For example, the earliest written Pali Canon text is dated to the later part of the 1st century BCE, many centuries after the Buddha's death.
- On the dates of the Pali canon, Gregory Schopen writes, "We know, and have known for some time, that the Pali canon as we have it — and it is generally conceded to be our oldest source — cannot be taken back further than the last quarter of the first century BCE, the date of the Alu-vihara redaction, the earliest redaction we can have some knowledge of, and that — for a critical history — it can serve, at the very most, only as a source for the Buddhism of this period. But we also know that even this is problematic ... In fact, it is not until the time of the commentaries of Buddhaghosa, Dhammapala, and others — that is to say, the fifth to sixth centuries CE — that we can know anything definite about the actual contents of canon."
- For the date of this Upanishad see also Helmuth von Glasenapp, from the 1950 Proceedings of the "Akademie der Wissenschaften und Literatur"
- The currently existing version of Vaiśeṣika Sūtra manuscript was likely finalized sometime between the 2nd century BCE and the start of the common era. Wezler has proposed that the Yoga related text may have been inserted into this Sutra later, among other things; however, Bronkhorst finds much to disagree on with Wezler.
- Werner writes, "The word Yoga appears here for the first time in its fully technical meaning, namely as a systematic training, and it already received a more or less clear formulation in some other middle Upanishads....Further process of the systematization of Yoga as a path to the ultimate mystic goal is obvious in subsequent Yoga Upanishads and the culmination of this endeavour is represented by Patanjali's codification of this path into a system of the eightfold Yoga."
- For Patanjali as the founder of the philosophical system called yoga see: Chatterjee & Datta 1984, p. 42.
- For an overview of the six orthodox schools, with detail on the grouping of schools, see: Radhakrishnan & Moore 1967, "Contents" and pp. 453–487.
- For a brief overview of the yoga school of philosophy see: Chatterjee & Datta 1984, p. 43.
- Worthington writes, "Yoga fully acknowledges its debt to Jainism, and Jainism reciprocates by making the practice of yoga part and parcel of life."
- The earliest documented use of the word "Tantra" is in the Rigveda (X.71.9).
- "The Meditation school, called 'Ch'an' in Chinese from the Sanskrit 'dhyāna,' is best known in the West by the Japanese pronunciation 'Zen'".
- For instance, Kamalashila (2003), p. 4, states that Buddhist meditation "includes any method of meditation that has Enlightenment as its ultimate aim." Likewise, Bodhi (1999) writes: "To arrive at the experiential realization of the truths it is necessary to take up the practice of meditation.... At the climax of such contemplation the mental eye … shifts its focus to the unconditioned state, Nibbana ..." A similar although in some ways slightly broader definition is provided by Fischer-Schreiber et al. (1991), p. 142: "Meditation – general term for a multitude of religious practices, often quite different in method, but all having the same goal: to bring the consciousness of the practitioner to a state in which he can come to an experience of 'awakening,' 'liberation,' 'enlightenment.'" Kamalashila (2003) further allows that some Buddhist meditations are "of a more preparatory nature" (p. 4).
- The Pāli and Sanskrit word bhāvanā literally means "development" as in "mental development." For the association of this term with "meditation," see Epstein (1995), p. 105; and, Fischer-Schreiber et al. (1991), p. 20. As an example from a well-known discourse of the Pali Canon, in "The Greater Exhortation to Rahula" (Maha-Rahulovada Sutta, MN 62), Ven. Sariputta tells Ven. Rahula (in Pali, based on VRI, n.d.): ānāpānassatiṃ, rāhula, bhāvanaṃ bhāvehi. Thanissaro (2006) translates this as: "Rahula, develop the meditation of mindfulness of in-&-out breathing." (Square-bracketed Pali word included based on Thanissaro, 2006, end note.)
- See, for example, Rhys Davids & Stede (1921–25), entry for "jhāna"; Thanissaro (1997); as well as, Kapleau (1989), p. 385, for the derivation of the word "zen" from Sanskrit "dhyāna." PTS Secretary Dr. Rupert Gethin, in describing the activities of wandering ascetics contemporaneous with the Buddha, wrote:
- "... here is the cultivation of meditative and contemplative techniques aimed at producing what might, for the lack of a suitable technical term in English, be referred to as 'altered states of consciousness'. In the technical vocabulary of Indian religious texts such states come to be termed 'meditations' ( dhyāna / jhāna) or 'concentrations' (samādhi); the attainment of such states of consciousness was generally regarded as bringing the practitioner to deeper knowledge and experience of the nature of the world." (Gethin, 1998, p. 10.)
- Not to be confused with Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga, a style of modern yoga using fluid transitions (vinyasas) between asanas.
- ^ King (1999, p. 67): "Many westerners see yoga as a variation on the modern concern for health and fitness and a means of overcoming the stresses and strains of modern day living. Most of what passes for yoga in this context, however, bears little relation to traditional practices, institutionalised as they were within established traditions or lienages (sampradaya) of teacher (guru) and pupil (śiṣya), structured according to hierarchical and initiatory stages of development and bound up with an ascetic lifestyle and world-view very different from the concerns of the modern western urbanite."
- A classical definition comes from Patanjali's Yoga sutras(Feuerstein 1998, pp. 4–5, White 2011, p. 3, Olsson 2023, p. 2), which defines yoga as aiming to control (yoke) and still the mind (samadhi), recognizing (jnana) or isolating (kaivalya) the Purusha, the primordial witness-consciousness, from Prakriti, matter and mind (Feuerstein 1998, pp. 4–5, Olsson 2023, p. 2). Another classical definition (Feuerstein 1998, pp. 4–5, White 2011, p. 3, Olsson 2023, p. 2), informed by the Bhagavad Gita (Olsson 2023, p. 2) and Vedanta (Feuerstein 1998, pp. 4–5), describes the pupose of yoga as the union of the individual self (jivatman) with the higher Self (paramatman), Brahman, or God (Shiva).
- Hindu-scholars have argued that Yoga has Indo-Aryan Vedic origins, and influenced Jainism and Buddhism.
- The first known appearance of the word "yoga" with the same meaning as the modern term is in the Katha Upanishad (Singleton 2010, pp. 25–34, Flood 1996, p. 95), which was probably composed between the fifth and third centuries BCE (Phillips 2009, pp. 28–30, Olivelle 1998, pp. 12–13).
- ^ Bryant (2009, p. xxxiv): "Most scholars date the text shortly after the turn of the Common Era (circa first to second century)."
- ^ Hatha Yoga dating:
Mallinson (2012, p. 20): "The techniques of hatha yoga are not taught in Sanskrit texts until the 11th century or thereabouts."
Burley (2000, p. 15) "While many scholars prefer to locate hatha-yoga's formative years somewhere between the ninth and tenth centuries CE, coinciding with the estimated flourishing of the great siddhas Matsyendra and Goraksa, other researchers and practitioners of yoga look much farther back in time." - Original Sanskrit: युञ्जते मन उत युञ्जते धियो विप्रा विप्रस्य बृहतो विपश्चितः। वि होत्रा दधे वयुनाविदेक इन्मही देवस्य सवितुः परिष्टुतिः॥१॥
Translation 1: Seers of the vast illumined seer yogically control their minds and their intelligence... (…)
Translation 2: The illumined yoke their mind and they yoke their thoughts to the illuminating godhead, to the vast, to the luminous in consciousness;
the one knower of all manifestation of knowledge, he alone orders the things of the sacrifice. Great is the praise of Savitri, the creating godhead. - Vivekananda"
- See, for example, Grimes (1996, p. 359), who states that yoga is a process (or discipline) leading to unity (Aikyam) with the divine (Brahman) or with one's self (Ātman).
- This understanding of yoga as union with the divine is also informed by the medieaval synthesis of Advaita Vedanta and yoga, with the Advaita Vedanta-tradition explicitly incorporating elements from the yogic tradition and texts like the Yoga Vasistha and the Bhagavata Purana, culminating in Swami Vivekananda's full embrace and propagation of Yogic samadhi as an Advaita means of knowledge of the identity of the individual self (jivataman) and the highest self (Brahman), leading to liberation.
- Tattvarthasutra , see Manu Doshi (2007) Translation of Tattvarthasutra, Ahmedabad: Shrut Ratnakar p. 102.
References
- OED 0000.
- ^ Bowker 2000, p. entry "Yoga".
- ^ Keown 2004, p. entry "Yoga".
- ^ Johnson 2009, p. entry "Yoga".
- Carmody & Carmody 1996, p. 68.
- Sarbacker 2005, pp. 1–2.
- Crangle 1994, pp. 1–6.
- Crangle 1994, pp. 103–138.
- ^ Werner 1977.
- Deussen 1997, p. 556.
- ^ Ayyangar 1938, p. 2.
- ^ Ruff 2011, pp. 97–112.
- ^ Samuel 2008, p. 8.
- ^ Bryant 2009, p. xxxiv.
- Desmarais 2008, p. 16–17.
- BBC 2017.
- ^ Burley 2000, pp. 1–2.
- History 2019.
- ^ King 1999, p. 67.
- Jantos 2012, pp. 362–363.
- White 2011, p. xvi–xvii, 2.
- White 2014, pp. xvi–xvii.
- Satyananda 2008, p. 1.
- ^ Jones & Ryan 2007, p. 511.
- ^ Buswell & Lopez 2014, p. entry "yoga".
- ^ Flood 1996, p. 95.
- ^ White 2011, p. 3.
- ^ Burley 2000, p. 25.
- ^ Sri Aurobindo (1916, Reprinted 1995), A Hymn to Savitri V.81, in The Secret of Veda, ISBN 978-0-914955-19-1, page 529
- Sanskrit:
Source: Rigveda Book 5, Chapter 81 Archived 11 May 2017 at the Wayback Machine Wikisource - Dasgupta, Surendranath (1975). A History of Indian Philosophy. Vol. 1. Delhi, India: Motilal Banarsidass. p. 226. ISBN 81-208-0412-0.
- Bryant 2009, p. 5.
- Bryant 2009, p. xxxix.
- Aranya, Swami Hariharananda (2000). Yoga Philosophy of Patanjali with Bhasvati. Calcutta, India: University of Calcutta. p. 1. ISBN 81-87594-00-4.
- Larson 2008, p. 29.
- American Heritage Dictionary: "Yogi, One who practices yoga." Websters: "Yogi, A follower of the yoga philosophy; an ascetic."
- Mallinson & Singleton 2017, pp. 17–23.
- Muller, F. Max (5 November 2013). The Upanisads. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-136-86449-0.
- Vaisesika sutra, 5.2.15–16
- Katha Upanishad, 6.10–11
- Bhagavad Gita, 2.48, 2.50, 6.23
- ^ Desmarais 2008, p. 16-17.
- Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, 1.2–4
- Yogācārabhūmi-Śāstra (Sravakabhumi), 2.152
- Yogaśataka, 2, 4
- Vasudeva, p. 241.
- Linga Purana, I.8.5a
- 'Brahmasutra-bhasya, 2.1.3
- Mālinīvijayottara Tantra, 4.4–8
- ^ Vasudeva, pp. 235–236.
- Mrgendratantravrtti, yp 2a
- Śaradatilaka, 25.1–3b
- Vasudeva, p. 243.
- Yogabija, 89
- ^ White 2011.
- Jacobsen 2018, p. 4.
- Jacobsen 2011, p. 4.
- White 2011, p. 6.
- White 2011, pp. 6–8.
- White 2011, pp. 8–9.
- White 2011, pp. 9–10.
- White 2011, pp. 10–12.
- White 2011, p. 11.
- Mallinson, James (2013). "The Yogīs' Latest Trick". Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. 24 (1). Cambridge University Press: 165–180. doi:10.1017/s1356186313000734. ISSN 0035-869X. S2CID 161393103.
- ^ Feuerstein 1998, p. 4-5.
- ^ Olsson 2023, p. 2.
- ^ Larson 2008, p. 30.
- Madaio 2017, pp. 4–5.
- Rambachan 1994.
- Nicholson 2010.
- ^ O'Brien-Kop 2021, p. 1.
- Buswell 2004, p. 520.
- Crangle 1994, p. 1-6.
- Crangle 1994, p. 103-138.
- ^ Larson 2008, p. 36.
- ^ Crangle 1994, p. 5.
- ^ Zimmer 1951, p. 217, 314.
- Zimmer 1951, p. 217.
- Crangle 1994, p. 7.
- Crangle 1994, pp. 5–7.
- ^ Gombrich 2007.
- ^ Samuel 2008.
- McEvilley, Thomas (1981). "An Archaeology of Yoga". Res: Anthropology and Aesthetics. 1 (spring): 51. doi:10.1086/RESv1n1ms20166655. ISSN 0277-1322. S2CID 192221643.
- Flood 1996, p. 78.
- Flood 1996, p. 77.
- Flood 1996, pp. 76–77.
- ^ Bryant 2009, p. xxi.
- ^ Flood 1996, p. 233.
- Larson 2014.
- Crangle 1994, p. 4.
- Flood 1996, p. 87–90.
- Feuerstein 2001, Kindle Locations 7299–7300.
- Aranya, Swami Hariharananda (2000). "Introduction". Yoga Philosophy of Patanjali with Bhasvati. Calcutta, India: University of Calcutta. p. xxiv. ISBN 81-87594-00-4.
- Bryant2009, p. xix-xx.
- ^ Singleton 2010, pp. 25–34.
- ^ Samuel 2008, pp. 1–14.
- Doniger, Wendy (2011). "God's Body, or, The Lingam Made Flesh: Conflicts over the Representation of the Sexual Body of the Hindu God Shiva". Social Research. 78 (2): 485–508. ISSN 0037-783X. JSTOR 23347187.
- Witzel 2008, pp. 68–70, 90.
- Kenoyer, Jonathan Mark (2010). "Master of Animals and Animal Masters in the Iconography of the Indus Tradition". In Counts, Derek B.; Arnold, Bettina (eds.). The Master of Animals in Old World Iconography. Archaeolingua Alapítvány. p. 50.
- ^ Jacobsen 2018, p. 6.
- Wynne 2007, p. 50.
- ^ Whicher 1998, p. 11.
- Lamb 2011, p. 427.
- Whicher 1998, p. 13.
- ^ Flood 1996, pp. 94–95.
- Whicher 1998, p. 12.
- Wynne 2007, pp. 44–45, 58.
- Jacobsen 2011, p. 6.
- ^ Mircea Eliade (2009), Yoga: Immortality and Freedom, Princeton University Press, ISBN 978-0-691-14203-6, pages 117–118
- wikisource Archived 22 August 2016 at the Wayback Machine, Chandogya Upanishad, अष्टमोऽध्यायः॥ पञ्चदशः खण्डः॥
- Mallinson & Singleton 2017, p. xii.
- Whicher 1998, p. 17.
- Richard King (1995). Early Advaita Vedānta and Buddhism: the Mahāyāna context of the Gauḍapādīya-kārikā. SUNY Press. ISBN 978-0-7914-2513-8, page 52
- Olivelle 1996, p. xxxvii.
- Larson 2008, pp. 34–35, 53.
- Wynne, Alexander (2004). "The Oral Transmission of the Early Buddhist Literature". Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies. 27 (1): 97–128.
- Donald Lopez (2004). Buddhist Scriptures. Penguin Books. pp. xi–xv. ISBN 978-0-14-190937-0
- Mallinson & Singleton 2017, pp. 13–15.
- Werner 1998, p. 131.
- ^ Werner 1998, pp. 119–20.
- Richard Gombrich, "Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benares to Modern Colombo." Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1988, p. 44.
- Barbara Stoler Miller, "Yoga: Discipline of Freedom: the Yoga Sutra Attributed to Patanjali; a Translation of the Text, with Commentary, Introduction, and Glossary of Keywords." University of California Press, 1996, p. 8.
- Mallinson, James. 2007. The Khecarīvidyā of Adinathā. London: Routledge. pp. 17–19.
- Mallinson 2012, pp. 20–21, "The Buddha himself is said to have tried both pressing his tongue to the back of his mouth, in a manner similar to that of the hathayogic khecarīmudrā, and ukkutikappadhāna, a squatting posture which may be related to hathayogic techniques such as mahāmudrā, mahābandha, mahāvedha, mūlabandha, and vajrāsana in which pressure is put on the perineum with the heel, in order to force upwards the breath or Kundalinī."
- Samuel 2008, pp. 31–32.
- Singleton 2010, Chapter 1.
- Bronkhorst, Johannes (1993), The Two Traditions of Meditation in Ancient India, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120816435, pages 1–24
- ^ White 2011, pp. 5–6.
- Werner 1998, pp. 119–120.
- Douglass, Laura (2011). "Thinking Through The Body: The Conceptualization Of Yoga As Therapy For Individuals With Eating Disorders". Academic Search Premier: 83. Retrieved 19 February 2013.
- Datta, Amaresh (1988). Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature: devraj to jyoti. Sahitya Akademi. p. 1809. ISBN 978-81-260-1194-0.
- Wynne 2007, pp. 3–4.
- Phillips 2009, pp. 28–30.
- Olivelle 1998, pp. 12–13.
- "Vedanta and Buddhism, A Comparative Study". Archived from the original on 4 February 2013. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
- Whicher 1998, pp. 18–19.
- ^ Jacobsen 2011, p. 8.
- White 2011, p. 4.
- See: Original Sanskrit: Shvetashvatara Upanishad Archived 4 March 2011 at the Wayback Machine Book 2, Hymns 8–14;
English Translation: Paul Deussen (German: 1897; English Translated by Bedekar & Palsule, Reprint: 2010), Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Vol 1, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120814677, pages 309–310 - Singleton 2010, p. 26.
- Feuerstein, Georg (January–February 1988). "Introducing Yoga's Great Literary Heritage". Yoga Journal (78): 70–75.
- ^ Charles R Lanman, The Hindu Yoga System, Harvard Theological Review, Volume XI, Number 4, Harvard University Press, pages 355–359
- ^ Strabo, Geography Archived 1 November 2022 at the Wayback Machine Book XV, Chapter 1, see Sections 63–65, Loeb Classical Library edition, Harvard University Press, Translator: H. L. Jones
- ^ Mallinson & Singleton 2017, pp. xii–xxii.
- Whicher 1998, pp. 25–26.
- ^ Jacobsen 2011, p. 9.
- Wynne 2007, p. 33.
- Jacobsen 2011, p. 10.
- Flood 1996, p. 96.
- ^ Jacobsen 2011, pp. 10–11.
- E. Easwaran, Essence of the Bhagavad Gita, Nilgiri Press, ISBN 978-1-58638-068-7, pages 117–118
- Jack Hawley (2011), The Bhagavad Gita, ISBN 978-1-60868-014-6, pages 50, 130; Arvind Sharma (2000), Classical Hindu Thought: An Introduction, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-564441-8, pages 114–122
- ^ Bibek Debroy (2005), The Bhagavad Gita, Penguin Books, ISBN 978-0-14-400068-5, Introduction, pages x–xi
- Jacobsen 2011, p. 46.
- Georg Feuerstein (2011), The Bhagavad Gita – A New Translation, Shambhala, ISBN 978-1-59030-893-6
- ^ Johannes Bronkhorst (1993). The Two Traditions of Meditation in Ancient India. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 64. ISBN 978-81-208-1114-0.
- ^ Stephen Phillips (2009). Yoga, Karma, and Rebirth: A Brief History and Philosophy. Columbia University Press. pp. 281 footnote 36. ISBN 978-0-231-14485-8.
- Andrew J. Nicholson (2013). Unifying Hinduism: Philosophy and Identity in Indian Intellectual History. Columbia University Press. p. 26. ISBN 978-0-231-14987-7., "From a historical perspective, the Brahmasutras are best understood as a group of sutras composed by multiple authors over the course of hundreds of years, most likely composed in its current form between 400 and 450 BCE."
- NV Isaeva (1992), Shankara and Indian Philosophy, State University of New York Press, ISBN 978-0-7914-1281-7, page 36, ""on the whole, scholars are rather unanimous, considering the most probable date for Brahmasutra sometime between the 2nd-century BCE and the 2nd-century CE"
- Jeaneane Fowler (2002), Perspectives of Reality: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Hinduism, Sussex Academic Press, ISBN 978-1898723943, page 129
- B. K. Matilal (1986), "Perception. An Essay on Classical Indian Theories of Knowledge", Oxford University Press, p. xiv.
- Stephen Phillips (2009). Yoga, Karma, and Rebirth: A Brief History and Philosophy. Columbia University Press. pp. 281 footnote 40, 297. ISBN 978-0-231-14485-8.
- SC Vidyabhushana (1913, Translator), The Nyâya Sutras, The Sacred Book of the Hindus, Volume VIII, Bhuvaneshvar Asrama Press, pages 137–139
- Karl Potter (2004), The Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies: Indian metaphysics and epistemology, Volume 2, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120803091, page 237
- ^ Mallinson & Singleton 2017, pp. xvi–xvii.
- Original Sanskrit: साङ्ख्यं योगो लोकायतं च इत्यान्वीक्षिकी |
English Translation: Arthasastra Book 1, Chapter 2 Kautiliya, R Shamasastry (Translator), page 9 - Olivelle, Patrick (2013), King, Governance, and Law in Ancient India: Kautilya's Arthasastra, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-989182-5, see Introduction
- ^ Lloyd Pflueger, Person Purity and Power in Yogasutra, in Theory and Practice of Yoga (Editor: Knut Jacobsen), Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120832329, pages 38–39
- Burley 2012, pp. 31–46.
- Radhakrishnan & Moore 1967, p. 453.
- Radhakrishnan 1971, p. 344.
- Müller 1899, p. 104.
- Werner 1998, p. 24.
- Stiles 2001, p. x.
- ^ Larson 2008, pp. 43–45.
- Larson 2008, pp. 21–22.
- Taimni 1961, p. 6.
- Vivekananda, p. 115.
- ^ Edwin Bryant (2011, Rutgers University), The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali Archived 18 May 2019 at the Wayback Machine IEP
- Bryant 2009, p. 10.
- Bryant 2009, p. 457.
- ^ Dass 1999, p. 5.
- James Lochtefeld, "Yama (2)", The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Vol. 2: N–Z, Rosen Publishing. ISBN 978-0-8239-3179-8, page 777
- ^ Arti Dhand (2002), The dharma of ethics, the ethics of dharma: Quizzing the ideals of Hinduism, Journal of Religious Ethics, 30(3), pages 347–372
- ^ MN Gulati (2008), Comparative Religions And Philosophies : Anthropomorphism And Divinity, ISBN 978-8126909025, page 168
- Sharma and Sharma, Indian Political Thought, Atlantic Publishers, ISBN 978-8171566785, page 19
- ^ N Tummers (2009), Teaching Yoga for Life, ISBN 978-0-7360-7016-4, pages 16–17
- Kaelber, W. O. (1976). "Tapas", Birth, and Spiritual Rebirth in the Veda, History of Religions, 15(4): 343–386
- SA Bhagwat (2008), Yoga and Sustainability. Journal of Yoga, Fall/Winter 2008, 7(1): 1–14
- Mallinson & Singleton 2017, pp. 16–17.
- Grimes 1996, p. 238.
- ^ Phillips, Stephen H. (1995). Classical Indian Metaphysics: Refutations of Realism and the Emergence of "New Logic". Open Court Publishing. pp. 12–13. ISBN 9780812692983.
- Larson 2008, p. 478.
- Rosen, Richard (March 2006). "Guided Meditation". Yoga Journal. p. 121. ISSN 0191-0965.
- Divanji, Prahlad, ed. (1954). Yoga Yajnavalkya: A Treatise on Yoga as Taught by Yogi Yajnavalkya. B.B.R.A. Society's Monograph. Vol. 3. Bombay, India: Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. p. 105.
- Mohan, A.G. (2010). Krishnamacharya: His Life and Teachings. Shambhala Publications. p. 127. ISBN 978-1-59030-800-4.
- Larson 2008, p. 479.
- Larson 2008, pp. 481–484.
- Larson 2008, pp. 485–486.
- John M. Koller (2002). Asian Philosophies. Prentice Hall. pp. 144–145. ISBN 978-0-13-092385-1.
- Dan Lusthaus. Buddhist Phenomenology: A Philosophical Investigation of Yogacara Buddhism and the Ch'eng Wei-shih Lun. Published 2002 (Routledge). ISBN 0-7007-1186-4. pg 533
- Ulrich Timme Kragh (editor), The Foundation for Yoga Practitioners: The Buddhist Yogācārabhūmi Treatise and Its Adaptation in India, East Asia, and Tibet, Volume 1 Harvard University, Department of South Asian studies, 2013, pp. 16, 25.
- Mallinson & Singleton 2017, pp. xvii–xviii.
- ^ Tattvarthasutra
- Kundakunda, pp. 134–140.
- ^ Zydenbos 2006, p. 66.
- Worthington 1982, p. 35.
- Whicher 1998, p. 313.
- Larson 2008, pp. 136–139.
- Cutler, Norman (1987). Songs of Experience. Indiana University Press. p. 1. ISBN 978-0-253-35334-4.
- Larson 2008, pp. 137.
- Jacobsen 2011, p. 22.
- Einoo, Shingo, ed. (2009). Genesis and Development of Tantrism. University of Tokyo. p. 45.
- Banerjee, S.C., 1988.
- ^ Samuel 2008, p. 9.
- Mallinson & Singleton 2017, pp. xviii–xx.
- Samuel 2008, pp. 324–333.
- ^ Burley 2000, p. 16.
- John Powers (2004), in Encyclopedia of Buddhism (Editors: Damien Keown et al.), Routledge, ISBN 978-0-415-31414-5, pages 775–785
- White, David Gordon. Yoga in Practice. Princeton University Press 2012, page 14.
- ^ Lama Yeshe (1998). The Bliss of Inner Fire. Wisdom Publications. pp. 135–141.
- Chogyam Trungpa (2001) The Lion's Roar: An Introduction to Tantra. Shambhala. ISBN 1-57062-895-5
- Edmonton Patric 2007, Pali and Its Significance, p. 332
- "Yantra Yoga: The Tibetan Yoga of Movement" by Chogyal Namkhai Norbu. Snow Lion, 2008. ISBN 1-55939-308-4
- The Lion's Roar: An Introduction to Tantra, by Chogyam Trungpa. Shambhala, 2001 ISBN 1-57062-895-5
- "Secret of the Vajra World: The Tantric Buddhism of Tibet" by Ray, Reginald A. Shambhala: 2002. pp. 37–38 ISBN 1-57062-917-X
- "Secret of the Vajra World: The Tantric Buddhism of Tibet" by Ray, Reginald A. Shambhala: 2002. p. 57 ISBN 1-57062-917-X
- The Buddhist Tradition in India, China, and Japan. Edited by William Theodore de Bary. pp. 207–208. ISBN 0-394-71696-5
- Dumoulin, Heisig & Knitter 2005, p. 13: "This phenomenon merits special attention since yogic roots are to be found in the Zen Buddhist school of meditation."
- Akshaya Kumar Banerjea (1983). Philosophy of Gorakhnath with Goraksha-Vacana-Sangraha. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. xxi. ISBN 978-81-208-0534-7.
- Mallinson 2012, p. 2: "The earliest references to hathayoga are scattered mentions in Buddhist canonical works and their exegesis dating from the eighth century onwards, in which it is the soteriological method of last resort."
- Mallinson 2012, p. 2: "In its earliest definition, in Pundarīka's eleventh-century Vimalaprabhā commentary on the Kālacakratantra, hathayoga is said to bring about the "unchanging moment" (aksaraksana) "through the practice of nāda by forcefully making the breath enter the central channel and through restraining the bindu of the bodhicitta in the vajra of the lotus of wisdom". While the means employed are not specified, the ends, in particular restraining bindu, semen, and making the breath enter the central channel, are similar to those mentioned in the earliest descriptions of the practices of hathayoga, to which I now turn."
- Larson 2008, p. 140.
- Feuerstein 1996.
- Mansukhani, Gobind Singh (2009). Introduction To Sikhism. Hemkunt Press. p. 66. ISBN 978-81-7010-181-9.
- Dhillon, Harish (2010). Guru Nanak. Indus Source Books. p. 178. ISBN 978-81-88569-02-1.
- Besaw, Kelsie (7 January 2014). The Little Red Book of Yoga Wisdom. Simon and Schuster. p. 10. ISBN 9781628738704.
- Shaw, Eric. "35 Moments", Yoga Journal, 2010.
- Goldberg 2010, pp. 21ff.
- Von Glasenapp, Hellmuth. Die Philosophie der Inder. Stuttgart, 1974: A. Kroener Verlag, pp. 166f.
- "Fear of Yoga". Utne.com. Retrieved 28 August 2013.
- De Michelis 2004, pp. 19ff.
- Eliade 1958.
- Flood, Gavin D., Body and Cosmology in Kashmir Saivism, San Francisco, 1993: Mellen Research University Press, pp.229ff.
- De Michelis, Elizabeth (2007). "A Preliminary Survey of Modern Yoga Studies" (PDF). Asian Medicine, Tradition and Modernity. 3 (1): 1–19. doi:10.1163/157342107X207182.
- Jain, Andrea (July 2016). "The Early History of Modern Yoga". Modern Yoga. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Religion. Oxford Research Encyclopedias. doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780199340378.013.163. ISBN 978-0-19-934037-8. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
- Mishra, Debashree (3 July 2016). "Once Upon A Time: From 1918, this Yoga institute has been teaching generations, creating history". Indian Express. Mumbai.
- Singleton 2010, pp. 32, 50.
- Doctor, Vikram (15 June 2018). "Bhawanrao Shrinivasrao Pant Pratinidhi: The man who promoted Surya Namaskar". The Economic Times (India).
- Singleton 2010, pp. 199–203.
- Singleton 2010, pp. 175–210.
- Kest, Bryan (4 September 2017). "The History of Power Yoga". Power Yoga. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
- Sjoman 1999, pp. 39, 47.
- Cushman, Ann (January–February 2000). "The New Yoga". Yoga Journal. p. 68. Retrieved 5 February 2011.
- Mehta, Mehta & Mehta 1990, p. 9.
- Desikachar, T. K. V. (2005). Health, healing and beyond: Yoga and the living tradition of Krishnamacharya. Aperture, USA. p. cover jacket text. ISBN 978-0-89381-731-2.
- "What's Your Style? Explore the Types of Yoga". Yoga Journal. 13 November 2012.
- Beirne, Geraldine (10 January 2014). "Yoga: a beginner's guide to the different styles". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
- Singleton 2010, pp. 29, 170.
- Singleton 2010, p. 152.
- Delaney, Brigid (17 September 2017). "The yoga industry is booming – but does it make you a better person?". The Guardian.
- Singleton 2010, p. 32.
- "United Nations Information Centre for India and Bhutan". www.unic.org.in. Archived from the original on 9 July 2016.
- Rajghatta, Chidanand (28 September 2014). "Narendra Modi calls for International Yoga Day". The Times of India.
- "UN declares June 21 as 'International Day of Yoga' | India News – Times of India". The Times of India. 11 December 2014.
- Network, Newsroom24x7 (21 June 2015). "Massive turnout on International Day of Yoga in India".
{{cite web}}
:|first=
has generic name (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - "PM Modi Leads Yoga Session, India Sets Guinness Records: 10 Developments". NDTV. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
- "Yoga joins Unesco world heritage list". The Guardian. 1 December 2016.
- Ross, Alyson; Thomas, Sue (2010). "The Health Benefits of Yoga and Exercise: A Review of Comparison Studies". The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. 16 (1): 3–12. doi:10.1089/acm.2009.0044. PMID 20105062. S2CID 14130906.
- Hayes, M.; Chase, S. (March 2010). "Prescribing Yoga". Primary Care. 37 (1): 31–47. doi:10.1016/j.pop.2009.09.009. PMID 20188996.
- Wieland, L. Susan; Skoetz, Nicole; Pilkington, Karen; Vempati, Ramaprabhu; D'Adamo, Christopher R.; Berman, Brian M. (12 January 2017). "Yoga treatment for chronic non-specific low back pain". Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 1 (1). CD010671. doi:10.1002/14651858.cd010671.pub2. PMC 5294833. PMID 28076926.
- Mahapragya, Acharya (2004). "Foreword". Jain Yog. Aadarsh Saahitya Sangh.
- Feuerstein 2002, pp. 187, 198.
- Tulsi, Acharya (2004). "Blessings". Sambodhi. Aadarsh Saahitya Sangh. OCLC 39811791. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016.
- Feuerstein 2002, pp. 192–193.
- Pragya, Samani Pratibha (2017), Prekṣā meditation : history and methods. PhD Thesis, SOAS, University of London, p. 42.
- Analayo (2017), Early Buddhist Meditation Studies, Barre Center for Buddhist Studies, pp. 69–70, 80
- Thanissaro Bhikkhu, One Tool Among Many, The Place of Vipassana in Buddhist Practice, 1997.
- Buswell, Robert, ed. (2004), Encyclopedia of Buddhism, MacMillan, p. 889.
- Paul Williams (2008). Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations. Routledge. pp. 68–69. ISBN 978-1-134-25056-1.
- Feuerstein 2002, pp. 230–241.
- ^ White 2014, p. xvi.
- Mallinson 2011, p. 770.
- Hari Dass 1978.
- Whicher 1998, p. 320.
- ^ Ruzsa, Ferenc, Sankhya, Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Archived 18 March 2019 at the Wayback Machine
- Burley 2012, pp. 43–46.
- K. T. Behanan (2002), Yoga: Its Scientific Basis, Dover, ISBN 978-0-486-41792-9, pages 56–58
- Burley 2012, pp. 39, 41.
- George Thibaut, Vedanta Sutras Part 1, The Sacred Books of the East at Google Books, Volume 34 (Editor: Max Muller), Oxford University Press, pages lxxii–lxxiii
- Deutsch, Eliot (1988), Advaita Vedanta: A Philosophical Reconstruction, University of Hawaii Press, pp. 104–105. ISBN 0-88706-662-3
- Comans, Michael (2000), The Method of Early Advaita Vedānta: A Study of Gauḍapāda, Śaṅkara, Sureśvara, and Padmapāda, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, p. 183.
- P. P. Bilimoria (2012). Śabdapramāṇa: Word and Knowledge. Springer. pp. 299–301. ISBN 978-94-009-2911-1.
- Eliot Deutsch (1980), Advaita Vedanta : A Philosophical Reconstruction, University of Hawaii Press, ISBN 978-0824802714, pages 105–108
- Michael Comans (1993), The question of the importance of Samādhi in modern and classical Advaita Vedānta, Philosophy East & West. Vol. 43, Issue 1, pp. 19–38
- Feuerstein 2002, p. 401.
- White 2014, pp. xvi–xvii, 51.
- Rosen, Richard (March–April 2001). "T.K.V. Desikachar's English translation of a 700-year-old text introduces Westerners to one of the earliest hatha yoga manuals (Review of Yogayajnavalkya Samhita by T.K.V. Desikachar)". Yoga Journal. pp. 147–149 – via Google Books.
- Mukunda Stiles, Tantra Yoga Secrets, Weiser, ISBN 978-1-57863-503-0, pages 3–7
- James Mallinson (2011). Knut A. Jacobsen; et al., eds. Haṭha Yoga in the Brill Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Vol. 3. Brill Academic. pp. 770–781. ISBN 978-90-04-27128-9.
- ^ See Kriyananada, page 112.
- See Burley, page 73.
- See Introduction by Rosen, pp 1–2.
- See translation by Mallinson.
- On page 140, David Gordon White says about Gorakshanath: "... hatha yoga, in which field he was India's major systematizer and innovator."
- Bajpai writes on page 524: "Nobody can dispute about the top ranking position of Sage Gorakshanath in the philosophy of Yoga."
- Eliade writes of Gorakshanath on page 303: "...he accomplished a new synthesis among certain Shaivist traditions (Pashupata), tantrism, and the doctrines (unfortunately, so imperfectly known) of the siddhas – that is, of the perfect yogis."
- Davidson, Ronald. Indian Esoteric Buddhism. Columbia University Press. 2002, pg.169–235.
- Whicher 1998, pp. 6–7.
- Feuerstein, Georg, Yoga: The Technology of Ecstasy, J.P. Tarcher, 1989, p. 61.
- Daniélou, Alain (1991). Yoga: Mastering the Secrets of Matter and the Universe. Inner Traditions / Bear & Co. p. 107. ISBN 9780892813018. OCLC 831272340.
- Larson, p. 142.
- Vishnudevananda, Swami (1999). Meditation and Mantras. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 89. ISBN 978-0143422235.
- ^ Steinfels, Peter (7 January 1990). "Trying to Reconcile the Ways of the Vatican and the East". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 8 August 2009.
- ^ Solomon, Serena (5 September 2017). "Inside the Growing World of Christian Yoga". Vice. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
- Carleton, James (2020). "Mental and spiritual wellness in isolation". ABC. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
- Jain, Andrea R. (2015). Selling Yoga : from Counterculture to Pop culture. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-939024-3.
- Victor L. Simpson (1989). "Vatican warns against practicing Eastern meditation". The Washington Post.
- "Vatican sounds New Age alert". BBC. 4 February 2003. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
- Teasdale, Wayne (2004). Catholicism in dialogue: conversations across traditions. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 74. ISBN 0-7425-3178-3.
- Handbook of vocational psychology by W. Bruce Walsh, Mark Savickas 2005 ISBN 0-8058-4517-8 page 358
- "1989 Letter from Vatican to Bishops on Some Aspects of Christian Meditation". Ewtn.com. Archived from the original on 2 May 2010. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
- Dr Ankerberg, John & Dr Weldon, John, Encyclopedia of New Age Beliefs, Harvest House Publishers, 1996
- ^ S Pines and T Gelblum (Translators from Arabic to English, 1966), Al-Bīrūni (Translator from Sanskrit to Arabic, ~ 1035 AD), and Patañjali, Al-Bīrūnī's Arabic Version of Patañjali's "Yogasūtra" Archived 12 March 2017 at the Wayback Machine, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, Vol. 29, No. 2 (1966), pages 302–325
- White 2014, p. .
- Philipp Maas (2013), A Concise Historiography of Classical Yoga Philosophy, in Periodization and Historiography of Indian Philosophy (Editor: Eli Franco), Sammlung de Nobili, Institut für Südasien-, Tibet- und Buddhismuskunde der Universität Wien, ISBN 978-3-900271-43-5, pages 53–90, OCLC 858797956
- Satish Chandra (2007), Historiography, Religion, and State in Medieval India, ISBN 978-8124100356, pages 135–136
- Ernst, C.W. (2005). "Situating Sufism and Yoga" (PDF). Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. 15: 15–43. doi:10.1017/S1356186304004675. S2CID 53485495.
- "Situating Sufism and Yoga" (PDF). Retrieved 5 September 2010.
- Carl W. Ernst, Persecution and Circumspection in Shattari Sufism Archived 24 August 2014 at the Wayback Machine, in Islamic Mysticism Contested: Thirteen Centuries of Debate and Conflict (Editors: Fred De Jong and Berndt Radtke), Brill, 1999
- "Sidang Media – Fatwa Yoga". Islam.gov.my. Archived from the original on 6 January 2009. Retrieved 5 September 2010.
The Fatwas of Religious Council in Islamic affairs on Yoga. After carefully studied various reports and factual data, the Council unanimously agreed that this ancient India religious teachings, which involves physical and mental exercises, are Hinduism in nature known as wahdat al-wujud philosophy (oneness of existence; the realization of identity between the Self in man, Atman; and the Divine, BRAHMAN: 'Brahman is all, and Atman is Brahman'). It is prohibited (haram) for Muslims to practice it.
- Paul Babie and Neville Rochow (2012), Freedom of Religion Under Bills of Rights Archived 22 December 2015 at the Wayback Machine, University of Adelaide Press, ISBN 978-0-9871718-0-1, page 98
- Top Islamic body: Yoga is not for Muslims – NBC News
- "Mixed reactions to yoga ban". Thestar.com.my. 23 November 2008. Archived from the original on 22 June 2011. Retrieved 5 September 2010.
- "Badawi: Yoga for Muslims OK without chant". Saudi Gazette. Archived from the original on 31 July 2013.
- "Indonesian clerics issue yoga ban". BBC News. 25 January 2009. Retrieved 6 April 2010.
- "Why give yoga religious connotation: Deoband". rediff News. 29 January 2009. Retrieved 5 September 2010.
- Jain, Andrea R. (2014). Selling Yoga: From Counterculture to Pop Culture. Oxford University Press. p. 195. ISBN 978-0-19-939024-3.
- "Find alternative to yoga, urges Jakim" (PDF). New Straits Times. Malaysia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 February 2015.
- "The perils of yoga: Conservative clerics are wary of a popular pastime". The Economist. 17 May 2014.
- "It's OK to stretch, just don't believe". Hurriyet.com.tr. 21 May 2009. Retrieved 5 September 2010.
- PTI (15 November 2017). "Meet Nouf Marwaai, the woman behind yoga becoming 'no more a deviant behaviour' in Saudi Arabia". The Economic Times.
Sources
- Printed sources
- Ayyangar, T. R. S. (1938). The Yoga Upanishads. Madras: The Adyar Library.
- "Yoga: How did it conquer the world and what's changed?". BBC News. 22 June 2017. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
- Bowker, John (2000). The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. Oxford University Press.
- Bryant, Edwin (2009). The Yoga Sutras of Patañjali: A New Edition, Translation, and Commentary. New York: North Point Press. ISBN 978-0-86547-736-0.
- Burley, Mikel (2000). Hatha Yoga: Its Context, Theory and Practice. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 978-8-1208-1706-7.
- Burley, Mikel (2012). Classical Samkhya and Yoga – An Indian Metaphysics of Experience. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-64887-5.
- Buswell, Robert (2004). MacMillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism. MacMillan.
- Buswell; Lopez (2014). The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism. Princeton University Press.
- Carmody, Denise Lardner; Carmody, John (1996). Serene Compassion. Oxford University Press US.
- Chatterjee, Satischandra; Datta, Dhirendramohan (1984). An Introduction to Indian Philosophy. Calcutta: University of Calcutta.
- Crangle, Edward Fitzpatrick (1994). The Origin and Development of Early Indian Contemplative Practices. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag.
- Dass, Baba Hari (1999). The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali: A Study Guide for Book I: Samadhi Pada. Santa Cruz, CA: Sri Rama Publishing. ISBN 0-918100-20-8.
- De Michelis, Elizabeth (2004). A History of Modern Yoga. London: Continuum. ISBN 978-0-8264-8772-8.
- Desmarais, Michele (2008), Changing Minds: Mind, Consciousness and Identity in Patanjali's Yoga Sutra, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8-1208-3336-4
- Deussen, Paul (1997). Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Volume 1. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. ISBN 978-8-1208-1467-7.
- Dumoulin, Heinrich; Heisig, James W.; Knitter, Paul F. (2005). Zen Buddhism: a History: India and China. World Wisdom. ISBN 978-0-941532-89-1.
- Eliade, Mircea (1958). Yoga: Immortality and Freedom. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-14203-6.
- Feuerstein, Georg (1996). The Shambhala Guide to Yoga (1st ed.). Boston & London: Shambhala Publications. ISBN 978-1-5706-2142-0.
- Feuerstein, Georg (1998). The Yoga Tradition: Its History, Literature, Philosophy and Practice. Hohm Press. ISBN 0-934252-88-2.
- Feuerstein, Georg (2001). The Yoga Tradition: Its History, Literature, Philosophy and Practice. Hohm Press. ISBN 978-1-890772-18-5.
- Feuerstein, Georg (2002). The Yoga Tradition. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.
- Flood, Gavin D. (1996). An Introduction to Hinduism. Cambridge University Press.
- Goldberg, Philip (2010). American Veda. From Emerson and the Beatles to Yoga and Meditation. How Indian Spirituality Changed the West. New York: Harmony Books. ISBN 978-0-385-52134-5.
- Gombrich, Richard (2007). Religious Experience in Early Buddhism. OCHS Library. Archived from the original on 1 July 2016. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
- Grimes, John A. (1996). A Concise Dictionary of Indian Philosophy: Sanskrit Terms Defined in English. State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-0-7914-3067-5.
- Hari Dass, Baba (1978). Ashtanga Yoga Primer. Santa Cruz: Sri Ram Publishing. pp. bk. cover. ISBN 978-0-918100-04-7.
- "Yoga Landed in the U.S. Way Earlier Than You'd Think—And Fitness Was Not the Point". HISTORY. 20 June 2019. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
- Jacobsen, Knut A., ed. (2011). Yoga Powers. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 978-9-0042-1214-5.
- Jacobsen, Knut A., ed. (2018). Theory and Practice of Yoga: Essays in Honour of Gerald James Larson. Brill.
- Jantos, Marek (2012). "Prayer and Meditation". In Cobb, Mark (ed.). Oxford Textbook of Spirituality in Healthcare. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-957139-0.
- Johnson, W.J. (2009). A Dictionary of Hinduism. Oxford University Press.
- Jones, Constance A.; Ryan, James D. (2007). "Yoga". Encyclopedia of Hinduism. Facts On File, Inc.
- Keown, Damien (2004). A Dictionary of Buddhism. Oxford University Press.
- Kundakunda. Niyamasara.
- King, Richard (1999). Indian Philosophy. An Introduction to Hindu and Buddhist Thought. Georgetown University Press.
- Lamb, Ramdas (2011), "Yogic Powers and the Ramananda Sampraday", in Jacobsen, Knut A. (ed.), Yoga Powers, Leiden: Brill, ISBN 978-9004212145
- Larson, Gerald James (2008). The Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies: Yoga: India's philosophy of meditation. Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 978-81-208-3349-4.
- Larson, Gerald James (2014). The Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies, Volume 4: Samkhya, A Dualist Tradition in Indian Philosophy. Princeton University Press.
- Madaio, James (24 May 2017). "Rethinking Neo-Vedānta: Swami Vivekananda and the Selective Historiography of Advaita Vedānta1". Religions. 8 (6): 101. doi:10.3390/rel8060101.
- Mallinson, James (2011). "Haṭha Yoga". In Jacobsen, Knut A.; Basu, Helene (eds.). Brill's Encyclopedia of Hinduism. Volume Three. Brill.
- Mallinson, James (28 June 2012). "Sāktism and 'Hathayoga'" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 June 2013. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
- Mallinson, James; Singleton, Mark (2017). Roots of Yoga. Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0-241-25304-5. OCLC 928480104.
- Mehta, Silva; Mehta, Mira; Mehta, Shyam (1990). Yoga: The Iyengar Way. Dorling Kindersley. ISBN 978-0-86318-420-8.
- Müller, Max (1899). Six Systems of Indian Philosophy; Samkhya and Yoga, Naya and Vaiseshika. Calcutta: Susil Gupta (India) Ltd. ISBN 0-7661-4296-5. Reprint edition; Originally published under the title of "The Six Systems of Indian Philosophy."
- Nicholson, Andrew J. (2010), Unifying Hinduism: Philosophy and Identity in Indian Intellectual History, Columbia University Press
- O'Brien-Kop, Karen (2021). Rethinking 'Classical Yoga' and Buddhism: Meditation, Metaphors and Materiality. Bloomsbury Publishing.
- "yoga". OED Online. Oxford University Press. September 2015. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
- Olivelle, Patrick (1996), The Early Upanishads: Annotated Text & Translation, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0195124354
- Olivelle, Patrick (1998). The Early Upanishads: Annotated Text and Translation. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-512435-4.
- Olsson, Tova (2023). Yoga and Tantra: History, Philosophy & Mythology. Motilall Banarsidass.
- Phillips, Stephen (2009). Yoga, Karma, and Rebirth: A Brief History and Philosophy. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-14485-8.
- Radhakrishnan, S. (1971). Indian Philosophy. Vol. II. London: George Allen & Unwin.
- Radhakrishnan, S.; Moore, C. A. (1967). A Sourcebook in Indian Philosophy. Princeton. ISBN 978-0-691-01958-1.
- Rambachan, Anatanand (1994), The Limits of Scripture: Vivekananda's Reinterpretation of the Vedas, University of Hawaii Press
- Ruff, Jeffrey Clark (2011). "Yoga in the 'Yoga Upanisads': Disciplines of the Mystical 'OM' Sound". In White, David Gordon (ed.). Yoga in Practice. Princeton University Press. pp. 97–116. ISBN 978-0691140865.
- Samuel, Geoffrey (2008). The Origins of Yoga and Tantra. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-69534-3.
- Samuel, Geoffrey (2010), The Origins of Yoga and Tantra. Indic Religions to the Thirteenth Century, Cambridge University Press
- Sarbacker, Stuart Ray (2005). Samādhi: The Numinous and Cessative in Indo-Tibetan Yoga. SUNY Press.
- Satyananda, Swami (2008) . Asana Pranayama Mudra Bandha (PDF). Munger: Yoga Publications Trust. ISBN 978-81-86336-14-4.
- Shearer, Alistair (2020). The Story of Yoga: From Ancient India to the Modern West. Oxford University Press.
- Singleton, Mark (2010). Yoga Body: the origins of modern posture practice. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-539534-1. OCLC 318191988.
- Sjoman, Norman E. (1999). The Yoga Tradition of the Mysore Palace (2nd ed.). New Delhi: Abhinav Publications. pp. 11, 35. ISBN 81-7017-389-2.
- Stiles, Mukunda (2001). Yoga Sutras of Patanjali: With Great Respect and Love. Weiser Books. ISBN 978-1-5786-3201-5.
- Taimni, I. K. (1961). The Science of Yoga. Adyar, India: The Theosophical Publishing House. ISBN 81-7059-212-7.
- Vasudeva, Somadeva. The Yoga of the Mālinīvijayottara Tantra, Critical edition, translation & notes.
- Vivekananda, Swami. Swami Vivekananda at the Parliament of Religions. Indic Publication. ISBN 978-1-301-19120-8.
- Werner, Karel Werner (1977). "Yoga and the Ṛg Veda: An Interpretation of the Keśin Hymn (RV 10, 136)". Religious Studies, Vol. 13, No. 3, Page 289–302.
- Werner, Karel (1998) . Yoga And Indian Philosophy. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. ISBN 81-208-1609-9.
- Whicher, Ian (1998). The Integrity of the Yoga Darśana: A Reconsideration of Classical Yoga. SUNY Press. ISBN 978-0-7914-3815-2.
- White, David Gordon (2011). "Yoga, Brief History of an Idea" (PDF). Yoga in Practice. Princeton University Press. pp. 1–23.
- White, David Gordon (2014). The 'Yoga Sutra of Patanjali': A Biography. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-1-4008-5005-1.
- Witzel, Michael (2008). "Vedas and Upanisads". In Gavin Flood (ed.). The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 68–70. ISBN 978-0-470-99868-7.
- Worthington, Vivian (1982). A History of Yoga. Routledge. ISBN 0-7100-9258-X.
- Wynne, Alexander (2007). The Origin of Buddhist Meditation. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-09741-8.
- Zimmer, Heinrich (1951). Philosophies of India. New York, New York: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-01758-1. Bollingen Series XXVI; Edited by Joseph Cambell.
- Zydenbos, Robert (2006). Jainism Today and Its Future. Munich: Manya Verlag. p. 66.
- Websources
- Edwin Bryant (2011, Rutgers University), The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali Archived 18 May 2019 at the Wayback Machine IEP
Further reading
- White, David Gordon, ed. (2012). Yoga in Practice. Princeton University Press.
External links
Quotations related to Yoga at Wikiquote
Yoga | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Subtle body | |||||||||||
Hinduism |
| ||||||||||
Buddhism |
| ||||||||||
Modern |
|
Categories: