“Yoga” is such a word that it inspires lot of curiosity. Floods of questions & confusions strike the mind. The questions arise regarding body, mind, soul and the God.
Yoga is such a vast subject that a brief description is not possible. But, in case we adopt a methodology, the Yoga is easy to grasp. Hence, let us first of all ‘know what the Yoga is’. While maintaining your curiosity about what Yoga is, before knowing this, let us know what Yoga is not. Yes, by this, we can know Yoga more deeply after eliminating all misconceptions about Yoga , since because of these, with the passage of time, the shape of Yoga has become diffused. As for example, the removal of dust from Saftik-diamond, make it lustrous, similarly the quality of Yoga is.Yoga is not the name of wandering in forests and mountains. In fact, not to abandon life is Yoga. Yoga is not action-less nor it is to ignore duties, or go to destitute or be aloof by fear, boredom or losing heart from the world.In fact, what is Yoga? In simple words Yoga is an art of living. The life full of Yoga leads us to right direction which takes us to up liftment, light and divine joy. It is a true road from the darkness of ignorance to knowledge and from artificiality to reality. The motivation of selfless feelings comes from Yoga only. The circle of Karma can only be broken by Yoga full life, which is in fact the aim of our life. This is called ‘Pursharth Chatushatya in our holy books , which means Dharma, Artha, Kama, Moksh. Therefore, the right way of life shall depend on Yoga Sadhana and the true Yog-Sadhna will depend on right way of life.In our holy books, it is clearly defined what is Yoga. What is its object & nature. Still some people because of their own interest misguide others – for example they wrongly name Yoga as giving pains to the body without any reason: to stand on one foot, to dig oneself in the earth, to stop heart beats and pulse. Yoga is not a magic or miracle and nor it is a thing to show off. Broadly, Yoga is not limited to just doing certain physical actions or asanas. Yoga is not just a philosophy. It provides a true knowledge. It is a subject which provides human beings true knowledge mixed with actions. It is not the heritage of any particular person, caste or group. It is a wide-spread knowledge which is flowing continuously since inception of the universe.In context of above, it is evident that Yoga is far from any confusion or misconception. It is not limited to any caste, period, age, place, dress or expression which implies it is a subject beyond all these boundaries. Yoga does not bind itself in just any philosophy or intellectualism. In case we define Yoga by following definitions, we can know true form of Yoga very easily. Though Yoga is defined by many definitions but Yoga Darshan and Shrimad Bhagwad Gita(Holy books) are real legendary books defining it.
a) Yogshichat Vritinirodha: Yoga is to control the forces of mind (Yoga Darshan).
b) The meeting of soul and great God and full development of personality by Yoga is Yoga (Gita).After knowing the above definitions, we can know the simple meaning of Yoga & by associating with the individual personality, we can understand our body, mind, brain and soul.Yoga is the meeting of soul with the God and also means to control forces of mind.
Introduction of YogaYoga is from the Sanskrit word ‘Yuj’, which means generally to add or to mix or to sum. Hence the summation or mixing of two or more is Yoga or to get encouraged to mix your self towards good deeds is called Yoga. In other words, in case you feel fear, doubt, shame while doing anything, this implies your soul is not supporting you. On the other hand, while doing anything, you get acceptance from your mind and soul, it is performed with full physical potential and willpower, it is Yoga and this type of Yoga develops the personality completely. This implies movement towards Yoga & to achieve the aim which is also Yoga. The follower of this path is Yogi and also who completes his sadhna is also called Yogi.The legends have described Yoga. It is a means as well as end.
The second definition of Yoga: Yoga is the meeting of soul with God. The legends have described the God as Sat-Chit-Anand. Sat means what is real and true. Chit means life, as soul is live. Anand means divine joy . As for example the complete soul resides in every atom of our body but cannot be seen. Similarly, God is joy, it is in whole universe.Soul is sat-chit but wander in search of Anand (divine joy). This stops after getting divine joy of God. When human soul is near God, one feels divine joy. This state of meeting God is called Yoga.
Yoga is to control forces of mind:It is experienced that mind is often restless. This restlessness is as per our Varity. Varity means behavior, to get pleasure while being happy and be sad in distress, the feeling of jealousy or hatred is Verities (behavior).To control these Varities (behaviors) or to be away from all these temptations, is through Yoga. One gets divine joy in such state. Nothing attracts such mind. The Lord Krishna has said in Gita:‘Yoga Karamsu Koshalam’ means to do the deeds in such a fine way that nothing remains to be done. It is true perfection in action. The deeds which are worth doing are called Su-karma.To aspire results while doing deeds also distracts mind. In other words being fully devoted to the duty, is the foundation of ‘Karamasu Kushalam’.Selfishness also reduces level of perfection in our deeds. As per Shrimad Bhagwat Gita, Yoga is to go on performing one’s deed perfectly – which means to perform one’s deed so perfectly that nothing remains to be done. These are the deeds which liberate us from the bonds of results of our deeds. When we do our deeds dutifully without selfishness and surrendering the result of these deeds to God, these do not bind us. The outcome of every deed is certain but by surrendering the results to God we are not bound by the results. In this way, while undergoing the result of our past good or bad deeds coolly and by doing present deeds with the spirit of duty, we can bring perfection to our deeds.In context of another definition of Yoga, as per Lord Shri Krishna, ‘Samavtavam Yog Uchate’ , which means to keep eternal and emotional balance in all situations. Samavatavam means to be in balance. This means balance in both states i.e. happiness in which normally we cannot control our ego and the sorrows in which we just crumble down. By doing this, we shall continuously move towards our aim, keep peace of mind while maintaining balance. Following are the main causes to distract from the main aim:1. The remembrance of old good and bad deeds.2. Utmost faith in the principle of deeds and their results.3. Not to accept joys and sorrows as part of life.
Balance of Mind in Yoga‘Yog Smadhi’ implies “balance of mind”. Balance state of mind means stability & purity. As in ‘Ashtang Yoga’ there are eight parts – Yam, Niyam, Aasan, Pranayam, Pratyahar, Dharna, Dhyana, Smadhi – the last state is ‘Smadhi’. First five parts, (‘Yana to Pratyahar’) are external parts. This includes physical body, action organs (hands and feet, tongue, Anus and sensing organs (eyes, nose, ear tongue and skin) which are controlled and purified. This also includes our behaviors and responsibility towards others.After finishing the external activities, internal journey starts. This is a deep journey. The last three parts of Astang Yog Dharna(concentration), Dhayana,(meditation)Smadhi(transidental meditation) are steps of internal journey. To achieve aim, external and internal forces are balanced or in other words when contribution from all forces are at their peak, it is the state of ‘Samadhi’.
Significance of Yoga in LifeForms of Yoga: You have just read different definitions of Yoga. You must be feeling that all definitions are quite different. Despite different definitions, they all express the same meaning in different forms.
Harmonization of all definitionsLet us concentrate deeply on different definitions of Yoga. We have concentrated on six definitions of Yoga:
- Complete personality development
- Meeting of Soul with God
- Control of forces of mind.
- Perfection in deeds.
- Balance state
- Stable state of mind
Yoga is a way to personality development. When we give best of our performance with our full mind and body and these support it, we are at the best of our elements. When Yoga reaches its peak while developing physical, mental and internal powers, it is treated as complete development of personality. This is the supreme definition of Yoga.In the state of complete development, the eternal self becomes so pure, clean, transparent and powerful that after realizing one’s form, becomes capable of achieving divine joy of God. This is the second definition of Yoga – the meeting of ‘Soul with God’.It is worth thinking how our soul becomes pure, clean & transparent. The purity or impurity of soul is based on one’s mind. The more purified the mind is , the more perfect the soul is. The impurity of mind is called the weakness of soul. Whatever deeds we do, see , or hear, all this reaches to our mind through our Karam Indiriya & Gyan Indiriya. They leave deep mark on our mind in form of “Suksham Sanskar”. When we try to control these forces, pacify stimulations of mind, these efforts are called ‘Yogashichat Variti Nirodh”. This is the third definition of Yoga i.e. to control forces of mind is Yoga.Mind pacifies with its control & forces get concentrated. Then one starts doing each worthy job with full interest & in proper form. This brings perfection in his deeds. In the forth definition it is said that perfection in deeds is Yoga. This aspect of perfection in deeds teaches us a sense of duty in action. Which means – to do one’s duty , irrespective of the circumstances favouring or adverse.Whether it is sorrow or joy, gain or loss, respect or disrespect, it is essential to keep balance of mind & to do the deeds properly. In the fifth definition of Yoga, maintaining this balance is called Yoga.The purity of body, mind and soul; control of forces of mind; perfection in deeds; balanced state of mind ; all lead one towards complete purity & stability of mind. This is called the Samhit or Smadhi state of mind. This is the ultimate aim of Yoga.
Yoga & healing diseases by Yogic TreatmentEvery one wants a healthy, beautiful and happy life, still sometimes, unintentionally and unknowingly suffers from some disease. These painful diseases take originate mainly due to wrong eating habits, bad environment, mental tension and ignoring laws of nature. Once caught by disease, there are many ways to get treatment. Every method has its own characteristics and limitations. But nowadays naturopathy & Yogic treatment are treated more popular holistic way of healing. People are getting attracted towards Reiki , Traditional healing, acupressure, acupuncture, treatment by touch and magnetic healingAmong all of these, Yogic treatment has been proved very helpful and safe. Let us see the main characteristics of Yogic treatment.
1. It is our legacy and is a proven method.
2. Basically, Yoga teaches art of living, healing is very easy and natural.
3. Under this method, the root cause of the disease is diagnosed and removed.
4. It is useful in every age of life.
5. It saves from negative effects of medicines.
6. It not only increases resisting power but also curing power.
7. It makes us possible to develop internal power as well as will power.
8. It increases the feeling of welfare of self & others, which helps all .
Even after having special effects of Yogic treatment, sometimes one still needs medicines. It is not wrong to take medicine , but to depend solely on medicines without changing routine, life style and eating habits, is not correct.After understanding definition of Yoga, we now know three aspects of our personality:
- Physical
- Mental
- Spiritual
We get sick, whenever harmony of these gets disturbed. Hence, for true cure, we need to work on all the areas. While doing healing by Yoga, the person is treated by taking care of all the three areas.
1. PhysicalThe major cause of physical illness is “Constipation’. In body, the process of digestion continues for hours , hence constant releasing of waste is natural. The specific organ, where it gets accumulated, gets diseased. As soon as one organ is disturbed or diseased, it has bad effect on other organs. It affects our whole system. The release of various types of oxidants through different organs, keeps us free from diseases.The oxidants are released from body in many ways e.g spitting, cough, sweat, urine,stool. The body is built of millions of tiny cells. It is the blood which provide air-water-food to these cells. Blood absorbs the oxidants. This bad blood mixed oxidants reaches kidneys, which after straining release some in the form of urine. The blood goes to lungs. The remaining oxidants are thrown out in the form of bad breath.For proper release of oxidants, it is very important for our organs to remain clean and all systems efficient. The basis of healthy body are – · Balanced food· Daily Yogic exercise· Surrounding atmosphere
2. Mental DiseasesThe second foundation of our personality is ‘Mind’. This includes the process of thinking, temperament, past experiences and the surrounding atmosphere. We behave as per our mind. If our mind is stable and balanced, we are happy and peaceful and if our mind is unbalanced we feel sad, bothered and worried. Therefore, it is very essential to give one’s mind or thoughts the right direction. The imbalance of mind not only affects our behaviour, but has bad effect on our body also.We all desire that our mind remain peaceful, powerful and balanced. Somehow, intentionally or unintentionally, it is not always possible .
Special features of mind
(1) Heart is very strong
(2) The heart is restless by nature
(3) The heart also is influenced by the values inculcated.
Though to your feelings/ wishes is difficult but not impossible. When we do not wish to think wisely, we select a wrong path and are unable to differentiate between wrong or right. And we are attracted towards vices and are unable to analyze that in the end, we are the loser/sufferer. Deep within all kinds of worries starts troubling us and we feel so helpless, week thus the stress. And because of the stress we suffer with different kind of heart, mental problems. It is a well known fact that the cause of mental problems is ignorance(agyan). And to save oneself from these problems, there is only one way ie to target light of knowledge and keep going towards the right path.
Disease :- The root cause of this (adhyatmic) disease is that we do not try to recognize ourselves and consider ourselves that we are the body and soul(man) (we feel that agony and ecstasy). To consider the pleasure or sadness relating to body or (man) as self’s. we believe that when the end of our body comes, we die and therefore are unable to understand that this is the end of the body and soul never dies. Thus we cannot differentiate between the body and soul and refuse to believe the real self and therefore invite different kinds of pains and sorrows. During life, there are times when one life is full of sorrows, but sometime it comes and goes. But when life goes according to our wishes, we are the happiest soul on the earth. Thus we should not forget that happiness and sorrows are the two sides of the same coin. We should not lose heart and instead try and face it bravely. Nothing is permanent whether it is happiness or pains/sorrows. Everything comes and goes – so be patient if bad time comes, it will not stay there forever- remember after every night comes the bright morning. Came very difficult time will come and go and you will be surrounded by the happiness. Good and bad/difficult times teach us to face the problem bravely. And thus there is no place of disappointment in our lives. The only possibility to get rid of those kinds of problem is through “yoga”. Regular yoga makes your body strong, way of thinking becomes pure and you become a good soul. All of you may be aware or heard about “Guru Granth Sahib”, in this “Granth” Guru Nanak Dev said “The only way to keep yourself free from all kinds of ailments”. Sorrows is to remember “God” and it is upto your belief in what way but never forget that, then is God above everything. Due to our ignorance, we lead an artificial life and do not follow the rules of the nature and this becomes the root cause of all our problems / ailments. And now last but not the least – if you wish to lead a normal healthy life try to understand, obey the rules of nature.
The base of our Health :- Health is the most important factor of our life and that is one thing we ignore the most. Just think how do we feel during eye illness. When we are unwell we start disliking good things in life for e.g. good food comforts and, what more even we don’t enjoy the company of our dear ones. It is clear now that our cheerfulness, happiness depends on our sound health. The better health provides you good life. It should be top most priority to maintain good health. To maintain good health, we have to follow curtain rules and regulations.
According to our sacred book, these are the three main following basis, which helps us to maintain good health :- (1) Diet (2) Sleep (3) celibacy To survive in the modern life and to complete our responsibilities, we need “energy” and we get this energy through the food we consume. Whatever we eat every day is called “Diet or food”. We can divide the food in three ways :- simple , spicy and rajsik
Simple Food (Satvik) :- This food is full of nutrient, sweet, simple and fresh and easy to digest. It includes wheat, rice, whole pulsesa small amount of ghee, milk, yoghurt, butter milk, nicely ripe fresh fruits and dry fruits as well
Spicy Food( Tamsik):-stale fried and full of spices comes under the tamsik category.
Rajsik food- this category is a mixture of satvik and tamsik Sweet and sour:- Different kinds of tasty food is called rajsik (as it name also suggest ).it is difficult to digest tamsik food and it makes you feel lethargic because it does not produce any energy in the body. If you consume this kind of food every day, it weakens your immune system and you fall sick every other day.There is a famous saying :- whatever you eat reflects on your personality . if you drink sweet water you will be a soft spoken person. It means that the kind of food we eat, will generate the same kind of energy in our body. If we eat simple food it helps to control our feelings, helps us to be strong, we will be at peace and rajsik food will make you aggressive and tamsik food will create rudeness.
A little information on digestive system :- After selecting the right kind of food we have to follow some rules. If we follow it will help us digesting the food easily .
(1) Avoid drinking water during meals or immediately after meals. It is difficult to digest the food if we drink. It makes the enzymes dilute which are helpful in digestion.
(2) PAGE24We should try and have the correct combination of food e.g. drink milk with sweets and fruits.
(3) Eat when really hungry – then the food is easily digested.
(4) Chew the food nicely. The more we chew, the glands create saliva which helps digesting the food easily.
(5) Do not sleep and avoid doing any hard work immediately after meals.
(6) The flour should not be very fine and add black gram atta and soya atta in the wheat flour.
(7) Be very cool and calm during your meals. If you are agitated or sad during meals, will have an ill-effect on your body.
Importance of passing stool: It is necessary to pass stool regularly, which helps the digestive system to work smoothly. Otherwise, one suffers from constipation and this causes stomach ailments. We should try to keep our stomach clean. The gist is that we need to follow certain rules to keep our stomach clear of wastage for e.g;-
(1) Start yoga and side by side take medication to avoid constipation. Once you do certain yoga to help clear the stomach then you may stop the medication.
(2) Keep water overnight in bronze jug (1 glass min) and drink first thing in the morning.
(3) Take one spoon trifla in Luke warm water (1 glass) before going to bed.
(4) Keep your jaws tight after drinking this water .
(5) While sitting on a pot, keep both jaws closed tightly.
(6) During this activity (mentioned above) pray to God and thank him and keep saying to yourself “my stools are better than yesterday”.
Sleep :- We perform different kinds of jobs during the day. Whether it is physical or mental. By doing this we lose energy constantly and we feel tired. That is why our body and mind need rest. During our sleep, the body recovers the energy lost during the days hard work we put in. and we have now, we are ready to start the day all over again as our battery is recharged after a good night sleep.
Importance of Sleep :- Sound sleep is an excellent and the easiest source of gaining energy and strength. You must have heard people complaining that they cannot sleep, believe me this is not “natural”. We are the ones who invite these kinds of trouble. Lack of sleep makes us restless and grumpy. As a result, we don’t feel like doing anything and get irritated easily. The result we feel so helpless and are unable to perform our duties. This causes stress and in medical language it is called depression. It is not possible to eradicate this problem. But it is very tough definately. Therefore it is rightly said that sleep is a nature’s gift and there is no alternative except getting a good night sleep.
