Due to the influence of the western world, we generally perceive Yoga as a physical practice to attain a healthy mind and body. However, Yoga and Yogasana are different. Yoga is not limited to performing Asanas and practicing meditation. It has a deeper meaning. Yoga's higher purpose is to attain a state of perfect spiritual insight by uniting physical and higher self. The term Yoga stems from the Sanskrit word Yuj, meaning "join" or "get united." The ultimate goal of Yoga is to unite one's soul with the Brahman, the Absolute Reality.
What is Yoga?
The term Yoga has been defined in various ways in the many different Indian philosophical and religious traditions.
Definition of Yoga in Upanishad
The term Yoga was first mentioned in Rigveda, though redundantly. Its clear meaning and purpose first appear in the Hindu scripture, Katha Upanishad, in Chapter 3 verses 10 and 11. The verse says,
indriyebhyah paraa hyarthaa arthebhyasca param manah |
manasastu paraa buddhir buddher atma mahan parah || 10 ||
Meaning: Beyond the sense-organs are the objects and beyond the objects is the mind; beyond the mind is the understanding and beyond the understanding is the Great Self.
mahatah param vyaktam vyaktaat purushah parah |
purushanna param kimchit saa kaashtha saa paraa gatih || 11 ||
Meaning: Beyond the Great Self is the Unmanifest; beyond the Unmanifest is the Purusha (that which fills the universe). Beyond that Purusha, there is nothing higher. That is the end (of the journey); that is the final goal.
Explanation: When our five senses are stilled, when our mind is stilled, when our intellect is stilled, we achieve the highest state. Yoga is this complete stillness in which one enters the unitive state, Never to become separate again.
These verses deal with the allegoric expression of an individual as a chariot. The body is equated to a chariot where the horses are the senses, the reins are the mind, and the charioteer is the intellect. The master of the chariot is the Self, on forgetting which the charioteer intellect becomes absorbed in the field of action. The verses conclude by describing control of the chariot and contemplation on the Self as ways by which the intellect acquires self-knowledge.
Definition of Yoga in Yoga sutra of Patanjali
Patanjali defines Yoga in Yoga Sutra in the following verse:
“chitta vritti nirodhah”
Chitta means mind, consciousness.
Vritti means waves, fluctuations.
Nirodhah means to control, to quiet.
Meaning: "Yoga is the quietening down the fluctuations of the mind".
1. Lord Krishna says, “Samatvam Yoga Uchyate” –
Samatva means the balanced state.
Uchyate means said to be.
Meaning: “Be equal minded in both success and failure. Such equanimity is called Yoga”.
2. Lord Krishna gives another definition of yoga: “Yogah karmasu kaushalam” –
Karma means action or behavior.
kaushalam means skill or efficiency.
Meaning: “Yoga is a skilled action.” All our actions should be to avoid negative experiences in life.
3. In chapter-6, verse- 23 of Bhagavad Gita, Krishna defines Yoga as
tam vidyad duhkha-sanyoga-viyogam yogasanjnitam
sa nishchayena yoktavyo yogo ’nirvinna-chetasa
tam—that; vidyāt—you should know; duḥkha-sanyoga-viyogam—state of separation from union with misery; yoga-saṁjñitam—is known as yog; saḥ—that; niśhchayena—resolutely; yoktavyaḥ—should be practiced; yogaḥ—yog; anirviṇṇa-chetasā—with an undeviating mind
Meaning: One should know that separation of contact with sorrow to be what is called Yoga. That Yoga has to be practiced with perseverance and with an undepressed heart.
Definition of Yoga in YogaVashishtha
In Yoga Vashishtha, Guru of Lord Rama Sage Vashishtha defines yoga as
“Yoga mana prashmana upayah” –
mana means mind.
prashmana means perfectly peaceful and silent.
upay means remedy, cure.
Meaning: Yoga is a cure for the mind to become perfectly steady and peaceful.
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