Yoga
Sastram refers to a book of knowledge or authoritative teaching about the
practice of yoga. While traditionally it refers to an in-depth classical text
about yoga, in modern times the term has come to be associated with The
Yoga Sutras, which were written by Patanjali, the founder of this Yoga
philosophy. This system is closely
allied to the Sankhya. It mostly accepts
the epistemology and metaphysics of the Sankhya with its twenty-five
principles, but admits also the existence of God. The special interest of this Yoga system is
in the practice of yoga as the means to the attainment of Vivekajnaana or
discriminative knowledge.
The
term, yoga-sastra, derives from the ancient Sanskrit language. Yoga means “to
bind together” or “union,” while sastra means “instruction,” “treatise,”
“sacred book,” “manual” or “scripture.”
According
to Patanjali’s Yogasutram "चित्तवृत्तिनिरोधः योगः",
Yoga consists in the cessation of all mental functions. These
are (क्षिप्त = dissipated condition मूढ,
= stupefied condition, विक्षिप्त = relatively pacified
condition, एकाग्र = concentration and निरुद्ध
= cessation of the function of contemplation - इति पञ्चचित्तभूमयः)
the five levels of mental functions.
In
the classical sense, examples of yoga-sastras include: "Hemachandra's
Yogasastra" (a Svetambara Jain text), "Yoga-Sastra of
Dattatreya" (one of the lords of yoga and considered a deity by
some), and also the Hindu sacred book, the Bhagavad Gita.
But
it is The Yoga Sutras that are most mentioned as Yoga-Sastra in the modern
world. The 196 sutras are arranged into four chapters:
Samadhi-Pada,
which describes yoga, nature and the path to samadhi (enlightenment).
Sadhana-Pada,
which describes the practice of kriya (selfless action) yoga and
Ashtanga (eightfold path) yoga.
Vibhuti-Pada,
which describes the spiritual and mystical powers of yoga practice.
Kaivalya-Pada,
which describes moksha (liberation) and the transcendental ego.
It is the
eightfold path described in Sadhana Pada that is most familiar
to yogis in
the western world. It consists of yamas (ethical rules),
niyamas (virtues),
asanas (yoga postures), pranayama (breathing
exercises), pratyahara (sensory
withdrawal), dharana (concentration),
dhyana (deep
meditation) and samadhi (a state of intense concentration
and union).
Some
of the Important works
1.
YogaSutram of Patanjali
2.
YogaSutraBhashyam of Vyasa Rishi.
3.
TattvaVaisaradi of Vacaspati.
4.
Vrutthi & YogaManiPrabha of Bhojaraja of Dhara.
No comments:
Post a Comment