Yoga is one of the six Darshanas. Darshanas are schools of philosophy which came about centuries ago in India. These are ways of understanding our true SELF and our true NATURE.

What does ‘Yoga’ mean?

In Sanatan Dharma, we are about freedom, mukti, liberation, moksha, etc., which are all ways of experiencing something beyond this manushya birth. Yoga is a science which allows us to free ourselves from this cycle of birth and death. Yoga allows us to yoke, or join ourselves with the larger existence in order to experience the ONENESS.

Types of Yoga?

Usually Yoga teachers will say that there are four main types — Jnana yoga or wisdom and inquiry; Karma yoga – working without thinking about fruits of one’s actions; Bhakti yoga – devotion and belief in a divine entity; Raja yoga – physical cultivation of the self. Each path overlaps with the other and many yoga gurus will add additional categories to the “types” column. There are no wrong answers. Each practitioner will have a gut feeling about what they find attractive enough to pursue.

Is Yoga Hindu?

What is “Hindu?” If “Hindu” is a construct based on India’s geographical identity, then of course Yoga is Hindu. Is Yoga the same thing as Vendanta (one of the six Darsanas)? Well, not exactly, but there are tons of overlap. All six philosophies essentially lead to the same thing — discovery of the Self. Thus, in short, Yoga cannot be dissected away from Vedanta or what is largely known as Hinduism. Plus, Hinduism is not just a belief in one thing; Hindus or Sanatanis believe in commonalities regardless of India’s regions, languages, etc. These commonalities largely revolve around certain beliefs towards – karma, artha, kama, and the eventual goal – moksha.

Don’t let haters, abrahamics (same thing?) and neo-Buddhist douches fool you into believing otherwise.

Was Buddha Hindu?

Is the earth round? Well, there have been many Buddhas, but Gautama the Buddha surely was a Hindu and died a Hindu. A brilliant being who became enlightened probably never figured that idiots around the world would try to argue that Buddhism is older than Hinduism, and that Buddha pre-dates the Vedas.

Buddha’s teachings on meditation and mindfulness are all derived from what was prevalent during his time — Shri Patanjali’s 8-limbed path of yoga, where meditation and mindfulness are Dhyana and Dharana.

Is yoga a Spiritual Practice or a Religious Practice?

Yoga is primarily a spiritual practice where little ritual is involved. However, discipline toward the self and others is part of yoga and this can be rightly or wrongly labeled as religiosity.

Yoga is an individual practice, a practice which requires inquiry of the self. Personal experience is key. No amount of reading a book or attending classes suffices. One has to experience IT and thus belief forms. In short, yoga is a spiritual practice.

Is Yoga a Science?

Adi Yogi, or the first Yogi, meaning Shiva is said to have passed this science to human beings 70-80k years ago. Pashupatinath, or the lord of all living things – Adi Yogi is shown in a seal discovered from the Indus Valley archeological site and the practice of Yoga seems to pre-date the Indus Valley time frame. Meaning, Yoga was already being practice by Dharmic ancestors during Indus Valley. This means Yoga is older than the Indus times.

What is Tantra?

Tantra means technology.  Tantra is part of yoga.  Tantra means utilizing what is available to us in the mayavi world and taking advantage of these technologies and processes to advance yoga practice.  Is Tantra related to sexual activity?  Not really; though Singer-artist Sting has made a big stink about Tantrik sex and what not.  Also, Bollywood films are culprits in re-defining Tantra and showing crazy magicians who use occult to bring people back from the dead, possess others, etc.  Tantra is NOT a sexual activity.  Tantra IS part of Yoga, though unless a person is advanced in their Yoga practice, they don’t really need to be concerned about exploring Tantra.  Focus on the first two steps of Shri Patanjali’s yoga outline – yama and niyama and then worry about the rest.

Why are Yoga gurus maligned?

There have been instances where fake gurus have taken advantage of innocent ‘believers.’ However, maligning people like Baba Ramdev, Sadhguru from Isha, etc., are coordinated efforts from leftists, commies, jihadis and Chrisitan missionaries. Discrediting anything that works, (read Hindu practices) is their Modus Operandi. One should be critical of all the mud-slinging that happens in the guise of discrediting Hindu elites, especially those who have built successful Yoga empires. No where in the Shastras does it say that a Yogi cannot set up a successful parampara and make it economically viable.

Is Yoga more than just Asanas?

Absolutely. Asanas are the most popular part of yoga the world over. However, Yoga is an 8-limbed path which is successive in nature. It begins with discipline, then asanas, then pranayama and then meditation and mindfulness techniques. In sum, one cannot simply jump and skip to the meditation part rejecting the other, successive aspects of yoga.

Can Anyone Practice Yoga?

Anyone can practice yoga. However, there is no shortage of people trying to hijack and utilize yoga for their own agendas. Example, Christians converting Surya Namaskars into Son Salutations (Son meaning Jesus), disconnecting Sanskrit names of asanas and re-naming according to Abrahamic vocabulary and other such shenanigans are not lost on the traditional yoga community.

Cat yoga, dog yoga, beer yoga, wine yoga, goat yoga, naked yoga are all commercial in nature and most likely have nothing in common with the original, spiritual practice. However, one could argue that at least these market forces allow yoga to be on the public’s mind?

Hope this inspires everyone to practice yoga on #IDY2021.

Sources: Informal conversations with yoga teachers; internet research. Image: Indus Saraswati Civilization-Harappa FaceBook page.

 

DISCLAIMER: The author is solely responsible for the views expressed in this article. The author carries the responsibility for citing and/or licensing of images utilized within the text.