| At the beginning of Patanjali’s eight-fold path of yoga lays the Yamas: the moral, ethical and societal guidelines for the practicing yogi. These guidelines are all expressed in the positive, and thus become emphatic descriptions of how a yogi behaves and relates to her world when truly immersed in the unitive sate of yoga. While we may not strive to reach such a pure state ourselves, the Yamas are still highly relevant and valued guides to lead a conscious, honest and ethical life.
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| The second limb of Patanjali's eight-limbed yoga system contains the five internal practices of Niyama (observance). These practices extend the ethical codes of conduct provided in his first limb, the yamas, to the practicing yogi’s internal environment of body, mind and spirit. The practice of Niyama helps us maintain a positive environment in which to grow, and gives us the self-discipline and inner-strength necessary to progress along the path of yoga.
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| Central to the philosophy of yoga is the universal spiritual concept of reaping what you sow: the law of Karma. Karma is the future consequences of one's current intentions, thoughts, behaviors and actions. While the Karma you currently create is the seeds that present future life experiences, your Karma is not your fate. You have the ability to consciously choose how you respond and react to Karmic generated events, thus reducing the current impact of your Karma and reducing or eliminating future Karma. This is both a psychological and physical practice, with the mental attitude much more powerful than the physical deed.
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| The Buddha says life is suffering; both the ancient yogis and the Buddhists point to the kleshas as the causes of our suffering. These "afflictions" distort our mind and our perceptions effecting how we think, act and feel. The five main kleshas vary in intensity on our psyche, from being inconsequential in their effect to utter blindness. The kleshas not only create suffering, but are said to bind us to the endless cycle of birth and rebirth, and thus preventing us from achieving enlightenment.
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| The ancient yogis have drawn a map to explore the deepest levels of our being and to facilitate the inward journey of yoga. The concept of having five selves (atma) within our body appeared in the earliest yogic texts, the Upanishads . Fifteen hundred years later Advaita Vedanta refined these five selves into the koshas, the five sheaths or coverings that veil the light of our True Self (Atman). The koshas are imagined as layers of an onion and form a barrier from realizing our true nature of bliss and oneness with the universe. Yoga is the tool to peel back these layers to bring our awareness deeper and deeper into our bodies, eventually reaching the innermost core, our True Self. When we can clearly see through the layers of the koshas we then attain a state of yoga, oneness with the universe.
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| Liberation is not a place; it does not exist in the heavens, the earth or the spirit-world. Freedom has no space, no time, no location; it can only exist in the now, in the present moment. Moksha (liberation, freedom) is the state of non-ego, where the “me” vanishes and one stands free from all desires, actions and consequences in a total state of oneness.
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| In the philosophy of Yoga, all matter in the universe arises from the fundamental substrate called Prakriti. From this ethereal Prakriti the three primary gunas (qualities) emerge creating the essential aspects of all nature—energy, matter and consciousness. These three gunas are tamas (darkness), rajas (activity), and sattva (beingness).
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| Sankhya philosophy, one of the oldest and most influential of the six systems (darshans) of Indian thought, has had a profound impact on the beliefs, values and concepts used in the practice of yoga. At the time of the Buddha, Sankhya philosophy revealed a detailed map of the universe to serve as a guide towards realizing the unitive state, the ultimate goal of yoga. Sankhya philosophy divides the universe into 25 distinct yet related principles called tattvas. The tattvas are guideposts to orient ourselves within the map and to see what we experience as separate concepts are truly part of a larger whole. Acknowledging and understanding these tattvas refines our discrimination, affirms our consciousness and brings us towards self-realization. Patanjali drew heavily upon Sankhya philosophy in the development of his Yoga Sutras, and many of the practical methods and techniques of yoga rest on Sankhya’s philosophical foundations.
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| The Vedas are considered the most sacred and treasured texts of India. The Vedas are a collection of hymns that were received by the ancient rishis (sages) as shruti, divine revelation. As hymns and mantras, these works were actively recited out loud to both praise and invoke the powers of the spiritual realms, and had been verbally passed on for many generations before written down on delicate palm leaves. These Vedic mantras were utilized in yagas and yajnas (ritual sacrifices and ceremonies) for promoting the well being of individuals, society and the world.
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| While the Vedas are considered the most sacred and treasured texts of India, it is the Upanishads that transferred the wisdom of the Vedas into practical and personal teachings. The word Upanishad literally means "sitting down beside” and the collection of Sanskrit texts known as the Upanishads are thought to be the direct teachings received at the foot of the ancient Indian sages. In these sacred texts we see an internalization of the sacrifice and worship extolled in the Vedas and a deeper understanding and exploration of the internal world of mind and spirit.
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| The Bhagavad Gita is the most treasured and famous of India’s spiritual texts. Composed of 700 verses, the Bhagavad Gita was written in the third or fourth century BCE as part of the epic text the Mahabharata. The Gita, as it’s commonly called, is a dialogue between Prince Arjuna and Sri Krishna, Arjuna’s charioteer, friend and council. The story opens to the scene of a battlefield just prior to the start of a colossal war with Arjuna asking Krishna for guidance.
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| What is commonly considered Yoga in the West is in actuality just one of the many paths of Yoga, and is technically called Hatha Yoga. The oldest and most widely used ancient text on the physical practices of Hatha Yoga is the Hatha Yoga Pradipika. This book was composed in 15th century CE by Swami Swatamarama and is derived from older Sanskrit texts, the teachings from well-known teachers and from Swatamarama's own yogic experiences. The main goal of this text is to illuminate the physical disciplines and practices of Hatha Yoga and integrate these with the higher spiritual goals of Raja Yoga (meditation). |
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