Yoga Sutra Of Patanjali

The United Nations General Assembly declared June 21 as the International Day of Yoga on 11 December 2014. Addressing to UN General Assembly on September 27, 2014, our Prime Minister Sri Narendra Modi called for the adoption of 21 June as the International Day of Yoga. It is because of his efforts or rather because of his patronizing Yoga that India has the honour of being the Vishwa Guru of Yoga. India as well as all the 195 nations should be grateful to the Prime Minister of India and the United Nations for the International Day of Yoga because it would be a boon for them. Yoga can work miracles for students because it is yog on whose power Maharishies invented great things for the human civilization; it can revolutionize human business by increasing working ability in them; it can do away with negative thoughts altogether and all positive thinking can make the world heaven; and, what is more, it can help man die comfortably.

Yog Sutra by Maharishi Patanjali consists of Ashtang Yog and Karm Yog. Sanskrit scholars date it about fourth century CE. The Maharishi took the idea of Yog from older traditions that stretched back over thousands of years. He then modified it and divided Yog in eight sort of practices namely: Yam (moral codes), Niyam (self-purification), Asan (Postur), Pranayam (breath control), Pratyahar (sense control), Dharan (concentration), Dhyan (meditation) and Samadhi (oneness with the universe). The first four of the practices cleanse our external self and the other four of them purify our internal world, removing six poisons: desire, anger, delusion, greed, sloth and envy. The second group of practices is not possible unless one’s body and sense organs are strong. So, one must take up asans defined in the first group of practices daily. “Yogaschittbriti norodhah” – the controlling of your mind guided mechanically by your desires is yog.

Lord Vishnu’s slumber or Mahadeva’s Samadhi is the apex of Yoga and different Asanas are the primary steps of the staircase to the meditation which increases your ability to unite with the spirit of the universe. Yoga is not a simple exercise rather it is a set of therapeutic physical and mental exercise in self-control or in concentrating on breathing and relaxation. It is the part of Ayurveda which emphasizes a holistic approach, treating the whole of you with remedies for the mind, body and spirit.

Before going in for yog, it is necessary to be morally sound and to be self-disciplined, which is possible only when one is able to control one’s mind. Maharishi Patanjali has introduced certain moral rules and standards of good behaviour to be followed in one’s day-to-day life under Yam and Niyam; but he maintained that a healthy person can only stick to such principles and therefore he advised to practice asanas invented by him.

An asan is a physical exercise which is taken to get rid of impurities in the body and mind and to develop one’s strength and co-ordination. The main part of an asan is vinyas which allows one to inhale while assuming a particular posture and to exhale while moving into the next. This practice thins one’s blood by heating it and thus makes it easy to circulate freely. After the sweat has poured off the body and the heart is comfortable pumping the blood, the body is sure to be lively and strong.

Ashtang Yog does not allow a yogi to breathe as he may choose, rather determines a particular way to adopt a posture while simultaneously letting in his breath and then to assume the next posture while simultaneously letting out his breath, with strict guidelines to inhale and exhale at equal length. The yogi is then required to slowly increase the length of his breaths with the advancement of practice. Longer and even breathing eventually forces the body to stretch increasingly, thereby originating internal power.

Then follows Tristhan that decides how to sit in a particular posture, when to breathe and what to gaze. Thus it involves three places in conjunction with each other while performing a single asan meant to develop the ability to concentrate which is one of the most important stages of yog practice. Asanas of this nature stimulate the body, mind and nerves, thereby removing all sorts of harmful things from them.

In Ashtang Yog there are a few Bandhas referring to lock in life force and then to let it run through 72000 nadis i.e. nerves. Mool Bandh seals the anal and the Uddiyan Bandh the lower abdomen, thereby preventing pran (internal heat) from escaping and ultimately making the body light and energetic. Jalandhar Bandh is a method to lock the throat so the pran in the head may be detained in different nadis of the head and thus the pressure caused by holding the breath may be lowered. These bandhas help a yogi do asanas easily and correctly.

Generally, we find it a strain having to concentrate for long. Maharishi Patanjali prescribes nine places on which a yogi has to fix his gaze while performing an Asan. They are the navel, nose, between the eyebrows, thumb, hands, feet, upward and right and left sides. The process is called Drishti which forces the mind to stay concentrated. Slowly, when a yogi is accustomed to concentrate, he proceeds to the next stage of controlling his mind. He now starts watching his breath coming in and going out. Eventually, this advanced stage of concentration makes Dharana and Dhyam possible.

Yog Chikitsa detoxifies the body and makes it hale and hearty. Nadi Shodhan strengthens nerves by activating all channels of energy. Finally, the Sthir Bhag incorporates all that have been acquired by earlier practices. Since each posture is a preparation for the next, it is necessary to follow asanas in sequential order and with perfection at every level.

Yoga is a set of practices that makes you able to have a communion with God or to enter the super conscious state where ultimate reality can be realized. At first yoga purifies your body, removing every ailment from your body, because a sound body has a sound mind. Now when your physical structure is fit, it takes you through the process of making your mind sound. Once your body and mind is ready, you can start your journey to the superconscious world in you and after reaching there you will realize the real form of Brahman, ‘the universe’ or rather you will know 'Brahma Satyam Jagan Mithya Jivo Brahmaiva Na Aparah ' Brahman is absolute and therefore real; the world as we find in our everyday life is unreal; and there is no difference between an individual soul and Brahman. Patanjali Yoga Sanhita is the part of the Advait School of Meditation that believes there is nothing other than Brahma and what we see or experience through our senses is all false information and it is through Nirvikalp Samadhi, a sense of oneness with the universe, that we can know the ultimate reality. Thanks to the Prime Minister who is effortful to show not only India but the world the sadmarg, the way to happiness.