by Sucharita Ray

Created on: September 11, 2009

Yoga derived from the Sanskrit root yuj, in its purest definition means to yoke. Simply put it alludes to the union of the mind, body and spirit. However in the context of the contemporary world particularly the West, yoga usually refers to the practice of physical postures or asanas.

Asana is essentially only one step of the eight limbs of yoga as prescribed in sage Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, which is part of the Hindu Sutra literature dating to 2nd century BCE. In Hinduism, yoga is one among the six orthodox philosophical schools. Yoga is also discussed in the primary Hindu texts, the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita. It is also an integral part of other religions originating from the region.

Early Buddhism incorporated and improvised on the meditative practices of yoga presented in the early Hindu texts. However, the Buddha preached meditative absorption should be combined with the practice of mindfulness as opposed to the yogic tradition of absolute cessation of thought. Buddhism also departed from earlier yogic thought in rejecting the Brahminic notion of liberation at death in favor of liberation in life.

The association of yoga and Jainism is best described by the author Vivian Worthington who writes, Yoga fully acknowledges its debt to Jainism, and Jainism reciprocates by making the practice of yoga part and parcel of life." The five major five vows of Jainism of non violence, truth, non-stealing, celibacy or chastity and non-attachment bear a close resemblance to the five abstentions described in the Yoga Sutra.

RAJA YOGA

Raja yoga is the oldest from of yoga known. Actually, the term Raja Yoga is a retronym, first used in the 15th-century Hatha Yoga Pradipika to differentiate the school based on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali from the school of Hatha Yoga developed by Swami Swatmarama. It is a complete yoga system which deals with the refinement of human behavior through the practice of the eight limbs described by Patanjali.

The eight limbs of Raja yoga are:

1) Yama or the five restraints of non-violence, non-lying, non-covetousness, non-sensuality and non-possessiveness.

2) Niyama or the five observances of purity, contentment, austerity, study and surrender to god.

3) Asana or amalgamation of mind and body through physical activity.

4) Pranayama or regulation and control of breath.

5) Pratyahara or abstraction of the sense organs from external objects.

6) Dhrana or concentration.

7) Dhyana or meditation that helps in developing transcendental awareness.

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