What is Yoga according to Patanjali Muni?
What is meaning of Sanskrit word ‘Yoga’? Today’s schools of yoga train you with stretching exercises and call it yoga. Stretching exercises are not yoga. They’re just touching the huge aspect of yoga. These exercises are for physical and mental well being that in turn, facilitate the real aim of yoga. So what is Yoga according to Patanjali Muni, if not the exercises?
You can read about Patanjali Muni and the legend associated with him. Patanjali is called the father of Yoga as he laid out many yoga sutras that help the seekers realize God.
Meaning of the Sanskrit word ‘Yoga’
Regardless of what it refers to today, the meaning of the Sanskrit word ‘Yoga’ is union of the practitioner/yogi with God or Universal Knowledge, as you might decide to call It.
First, the yogi must regulate his or her breathing system for proper flow of prana (life) inside the body and soul. Proper flow of prana (life) inside body makes one fit physically. Prana inside brain makes the mental health better. It is just the first part of Yoga. Most of us are satisfied with it and go on thinking we have mastered Yoga.
In reality, only a select few can master Yoga. Those who actually master Yoga, don’t go around bragging. They also get metaphysical or supernatural powers. That too is just a part of the huge scope of Yoga.
Aim of Yoga, the Sanskrit word
The yogi’s main goal is to get to God or the source of Ultimate Knowledge. Thus, Yoga is directly associated with aspiring to understand God rather than just physical well-being or obtaining psychic, and different types of super-natural powers.
A Yogi will be tempted to use his super natural powers and that may derail him from the path of realizing God. Muni Patanjali talks about these super-natural powers in his book but goes on to say that these powers are not the primary aim of yoga. Then what is the aim of yoga? Patanjali says yogis should not be tempted by any divine powers. Steadfast, focusing on God, they can reach God, Force, Ultimate, or The Truth.
Chitta and Vritti in Yoga – Muni Patanjali
Before we can discuss Yoga, we must understand two important things
- Chitta and
- Vritti
Swami Vivekananda gives an excellent example of these two. Think of Chitta (material that creates the mind) as a huge lake and vrittis (mental disturbances) as ripples in the lake. When there are no ripples, you can see the bottom of the lake (provided the water is clean enough). That, in a sense, means you have to purify yourself all the while trying to stop different feelings and emotions that arise within you for different reasons. An example of vritti can be impatience. Another example is anger.
If you are angry, you lose your reasoning power and do whatever comes to your brain. As you proceed with yoga, you will realize that “reasoning” is also a form of vritti (disturbance), albeit a subtle one. Yogis give up reasoning too, past a phase – when truth comes automatically to them. They can sense truth and after that, reasoning is not necessary. Until then, everyone, including Yogis, have to reason with themselves to stay sane in this fast-paced world.
Swami Vivekananda asks people to imagine a lotus and meditate on that. In my opinion, it may be good in the initial phase but is not exactly desirable. Imagination too should be given up for pacifying the mind material (Chitta). Imagination, is described by Muni Patanjali as a form of vritti (disturbance). It is important that there are no disturbances in the mind in order to know ones’ own self.
Reasoning is also a vritti, according to Muni Patanjali. Many philosophers have tried to prove that proper reasoning is the goal of yoga. In reality, reasoning is only the beginning of yoga. There comes a phase in yoga when truth starts coming to you automatically, just like streaming music on your phone when you turn on the radio. You don’t have to reason anymore. The truth is already there.
Yogis should aspire for this stage because from there, all knowledge starts coming to him or her. He or she is then one with God. I suppose this is what they call “Moksha (freedom from the cycle of rebirths)”. This is the actual meaning of the Sanskrit word Yoga. This is what Yoga is, according to Muni Patanjali. Check out the Patanjali Sutras/Aphorisms – Summary.
You may also want to read the teachings of Sri Ramakrishna. Probably, you would also be interested in knowing how to get rid of bad karma and karma cleansing.
Download the Yoga Sutras in English PDF
You can also download Muni Patanjali Yoga Sutras English PDF. It is a summary of the Yoga Sutras by Patanjali in PDF form that you can consult whenever you want. For ease of reading, it doesn’t contain Sanskrit verses.
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