History of Yoga

Yoga in the Indus Valley Civilization

Vedas (texts of knowledge)

• Reciting hymns, performing sacrifices, and chanting
• Pranayama (no evidence)
• Alchemy (no evidence)

Upanishads

1. Tat Tvam Asi "Thou art That", "You are that", or "That you are"
2. Practices (abhysa):
   • Witness Consciousness
   • Concentration
   • Sense-withdrawal & One-pointedness

Bhagavad-Gitã ("Song of the Blessed Lord")

• Karma Yoga (Action) "Be intent on action, not on the fruits of action. ...Perform actions, firm in discipline, relinquishing attachment." (2.47-48) "Surrender all actions to the Divine, and fix your reason on your inner Self." (2.30)
• Jnana-yoga: the Yoga of Knowledge. "When a man is unattached and free, his reason immersed in knowledge, acting only in sacrifice, his karma is wholly dissolved." (4.23) "Knowledge will let you see all beings within your Self, and so in Me." (4.35)
• Dhyana-yoga: the Yoga of Meditation. "Disciplining himself, his mind controlled, a yogi finds peace, the pure calm that exists in Me. ...When his controlled thought rests within the Self alone, without craving objects of desire, he is said to be disciplined." (6.15 & 18)
• Bhakti-yoga: the Yoga of Devotion. "Keep your mind on Me, be My devotee, sacrificing, bow to Me - you will come to Me, I promise, for you are dear to Me." (18.65)

Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

Classical Yoga

"Yoga is the stilling of the fluctuations of the mind." (1.2)

Goal: to extract/free spirit from body (body is seeing as a prison for spirit).

1. Yama (non-violence, truth, non-stealing, sexual restraint, greedlessness)
2. Niyama (purity, contentment, austerity, study of sacred lore, surrender to the Divine)
3. Asana (meditation posture)
4. Pranayama (breath regulation)
5. Pratyahara (sense-withdrawal)
6. Dharana (concentration)
7. Dhyana (meditation)
8. Samadhi (immersion)

Vedanta

(texts drawn primarily from the Upanishads)

There is only one existent thing,
Brahman, whose nature is Being,
Consciousness, and Bliss;
the perception of multiplicity is illusion (maya)

Tantra

"Yoga is said to be self-mastery." "Yoga is the oneness of one entity with another."

1. Divine dwells within you as you
2. See Divine in all beings
3. Nothing exists that is not Divine

Key practices: meditation, karana (early yoga poses, esp. inversions), pranayama, mantra, visualizations, focusing on energy centers, "affirmations", more

Key concepts: shakti, spanda, upaya, lila, shaktipata, kundalini, cakras

Upaya: science of giving right teaching in right time to right person.

• Tantric scriptures
• AYUS - general health (physical, soul)
• The process by which you uncover/discover
• Worship feminine
• Materialistic is a manifestation of spirit

Hatha Yoga Pradipika

Key practices: purification, asana, mudra, pratyahara, pranayama, meditation

Quotes: "Salutations to him, the Lord Shiva, through whom has arisen the knowledge of Hatha-Yoga. It shines forth, it is ready, as a stairway, for those who desire to attain to the heights of Raja-yoga. Yogi Svatmarama, after saluting the Lord and Guru, explains the science of Hatha for one reason-Raja-yoga (meditative attainment)."

Hatha-yoga-pradipika 1.1-2 [translation Kofi Busia]

"Yoga perishes by these six: overeating, overexertion, chattering/gossiping, needless austerities, socializing, and restlessness. Yoga succeeds by these six: enthusiasm, openness, courage, knowledge of the truth, determination, and solitude."

Hatha-yoga-pradipika 1.15-16 [translation Brian Akers]

Prof. Tirumalai Krishnamacharya

Light on Yoga By B.K.S.Iyengar