What is Yoga? The word Yoga is a Sanskrit word. Sanskrit is an ancient language of India where Yoga is originated. Yoga has its roots in ancient India. It is an Indian heritage. The word Yoga has many meanings. The Sanskrit language was similar to the English language when it comes to the meanings of the words. Like the English words the Sanskrit words have several meanings. The key is to understand the right meaning of the word. The word Yoga has been derived from the Sanskrit root 'Yuj', which means to control, to unite, to yoke and to make one. But it is not control in the strict sense of the word. The word control has been misunderstood and hence a caution. Please understand one thing that nothing can be controlled. The word control is that of the mind. The word control is that of the ego. Our mind can not control our soul. The mind is a sub-set of our soul. We can only understand things. The moment things are understood properly the control is automatically established. The by-product of awareness and understanding is control. One should not worry much about this. Another thing is that the word 'One' is not a numeric one. The word 'One' means oneness and it is the ultimate quality of our being. One and oneness means that all the divisions and formulations of the finite mind have come to an end. Take for example the case of a garland of the flowers. Before the garland all the flowers were separate and scattered. But an invisible thread passing through them binds and brings them all together. Similar is the case of our body and soul. All the parts of our body are like different and scattered flowers. Our soul is like an invisible thread passing through all these parts and making them look like one complete garland. The result of this unity and oneness is infinite happiness and bliss. Yoga also means to signify continuity and being expansive. Yoga is a systematic science to ultimately come to the understanding that the body and soul are not two different things. The division and difference was only a perception of the finite mind. It is similar to the understanding of the quantum physics that the whole universe is an interconnected oneness. Yoga is transcendence of all duality. All perspectives of the mind are relative and dual. These are the divisions and perceptions of the finite mind. Division and duality brings disorder. Only transcendence of the duality brings order and harmony. The whole purpose of Yoga is to attain to this oneness and harmony. Yama is the beginning and Samayama is the goal. It is the unity, oneness, harmony and symphony of the whole being. Samadhi simply means that now there are no divisions. Samadhi means Samadhan or solution. Samadhi means a solution to the problem. And what is the problem? The problem is of duality. Duality or division brings disorder or chaos. And unity or oneness brings symphony and harmony. Yoga is a journey from chaos to cosmos. Yoga is a journey from disorder to order. All divisions are disappeared in the transcendence of the duality. Samadhi is a state of trance and the outcome and by-product of the same is immense joy and ecstasy. Matter to man, electron to enlightenment and creation to consciousness is one single process. There is absolutely no division. It is one single process. In the whole garland there is no separation from the first flower to the last flower. There is no first and there is no last. The whole garland is one. This has to be the realization. The by-product of the realization of this oneness is immense joy, bliss and ecstasy.
What is the goal of Yoga? The goal of yoga is two fold. The first is making our body beautiful and the second is realizing our soul that is eternally beautiful. We have always been saying this: sound mind in a sound body. This is 100% true. Only the sound body has the sound mind. The sound mind lives in a sound body. And only the sound mind is capable of recognizing the beautiful and eternal soul inside the body. But we need to prepare our body for that goal. We need to begin with the body and there is no other way. The body is the door. Buddha has always been saying that our body is a door to our Buddha-hood. Please remember our body is a first door to our Buddha-hood. Buddha simply means the one who has recognized and realized the soul inside the body. Buddha himself suffered and tortured his body. His body has almost become a skeleton. This was because of the wrong ascetic practices prevailing of torturing and contorting the human body. And also because of the wrong masters who teach and consider only the contortions of the body as the way of yoga. This is a great ignorance. Posture is only a beginning and composure is the goal. Body is the beginning and Buddha-hood is the goal. This is the ultimate goal of yoga. Monkeys do better postures than the human beings. Does that mean the monkeys are Yogis? Buddha realized the mistake after a very long time when almost his whole body was spoiled. He then realized the importance of the body. Let us understand this mistake from the very beginning before moving on the path of yoga. Let the methods of preparing the body be proper and subtle. Let there be no myth and misunderstanding in this. The first and primary purpose of yoga is to prepare the body. Our body is the most important gift that God has given it to us. We have to make the body strong and agile. And then prepare the body and mind capable of peeping inside the body to have a glimpse of the beautiful and eternal soul.
We all exist at four levels. One, at the body level. Two, at the mind level. And three, at the heart level. The fourth is our very center. This fourth is our soul. This is the very center of our being. Our Soul is our Goal and our Goal is our Soul. In the ancient eastern tradition they have called it Turiya, meaning simply the fourth. The three layers of our being are: Physical, Intellectual and Emotional. The fourth is the very center of our being and is called the Soul. The body is only an outer layer of the soul. The outer is only a periphery of the inner. The outer is only a circumference of the inner. The Body and the Soul are not two different things. But we perceive them as two different things. The body is a seen part of the unseen soul and the soul is the unseen part of the seen body. The body is a gross part and the soul is a very subtle part. If the soul is an essence then the body is its effect. The unseen is not only there within the body but it is there outside too. It is in fact there everywhere. It is omnipresent, omnipotent and omniscient. It is all pervasive. It is the only thing that is permanent and eternal. Just take the example of a pot. Who is holding this pot? It is the emptiness that is holding the pot from inside and outside. Understanding this, realizing this and experiencing this brings health and wholeness. This is our true health. This is our true wellness. The whole purpose of Yoga is to attain to this health and harmony. The whole purpose of Yoga is to experience the symphony of the soul. This is how everything is integrated and One. The whole purpose of Yoga is to realize this union. Yoga Spirit is a holistic yoga program that helps us to know the miracles of our outer body and also something deep inside us which is deathless and immortal. To know this is the greatest mystery and miracle. To become aware and conscious of this is the greatest benediction. To experience and live in this state is a great joy, happiness, bliss and celebration. For the very first time in our life we are blessed. We have no other option but to show our gratitude and benediction to that supreme divinity. Welcome all to Yoga Spirit to learn, experience and live that inner mystery and miracle.
The goal of yoga is to make the body disease free, to make the mind anxiety free and to make the heart free of negative emotions. The symphony of all these three is the realization of the soul. This is the ultimate synthesis of yoga. The result and by-product is the state of a Yoganand, Sachitanand and Brahmanand.
