 | Este artículo contiene texto índico . Sin el soporte de representación adecuado , es posible que vea signos de interrogación o cuadros , vocales fuera de lugar o conjunciones faltantes en lugar del texto índico. |
| Parte de una serie sobre |
| hinduismo |
|---|
 |
|
Yoga ( / j oʊ del ɡ del ə / ; [1] sánscrito : योग ; pronunciación ) es un grupo de físicos , mentales y espirituales prácticas o disciplinas que se originó en la antigua India . El yoga es una de las seis escuelas filosóficas ortodoxas del hinduismo . [2] [3]
Existe una amplia variedad de escuelas, prácticas y objetivos de yoga [4] en el hinduismo , el budismo y el jainismo . [5] [6] [7] El término "Yoga" en el mundo occidental a menudo denota una forma moderna de hatha yoga y yoga como ejercicio , que consiste principalmente en posturas o asanas .
La práctica del yoga ha sido pensado para volver a la fecha pre- védicos de la India tradiciones; posiblemente en la civilización del valle del Indo alrededor del 3000 a. C. El yoga se menciona en el Rigveda , [nota 1] y también se menciona en los Upanishads , [9] aunque muy probablemente se desarrolló como un estudio sistemático alrededor de los siglos V y VI a. C., en los movimientos ascéticos y Śramaṇa de la antigua India . [10] [nota 2] La cronología de los primeros textos que describen las prácticas de yoga no está clara, y se atribuye de forma variable a los Upanishads . [11] Los Yoga Sutras de Patanjalidatan del siglo II a. C., [12] [13] y ganó prominencia en el oeste en el siglo XX después de ser introducido por primera vez por Swami Vivekananda . [14] Los textos de hatha yoga comenzaron a surgir en algún momento entre los siglos IX y XI con orígenes en el tantra . [15] [16]
Más tarde, los gurús del yoga de la India introdujeron el yoga en Occidente, [17] tras el éxito de Swami Vivekananda a finales del siglo XIX y principios del XX con su adaptación de la tradición del yoga, excluyendo las asanas. [17] Fuera de la India, se ha convertido en una técnica de relajación, alivio del estrés y aptitud física basada en la postura . [18] El yoga en las tradiciones indias, sin embargo, es más que ejercicio físico; tiene un núcleo meditativo y espiritual. [18] [19] Una de las seis principales darsanas ortodoxas , o escuelas, de la filosofía india también se llama Yoga darsana , tiene su propio método epistemológico., que asume la ontología y la metafísica del Samkhya darsana estrechamente correlacionado . [20]
Etimología
El sustantivo sánscrito योग yoga se deriva de la raíz sánscrita yuj (युज्) "unir, unir, arnés, yugo". [21] La palabra yoga está relacionada con " yugo " en inglés. [22]
El sentido espiritual de la palabra yoga surge por primera vez en sánscrito épico , en la segunda mitad del primer milenio a. C., y está asociado con el sistema filosófico presentado en los Yoga Sutras de Patanjali , con el objetivo principal de "unir" el espíritu humano con el espíritu divino . [23] El término kriyāyoga tiene un significado técnico en los Yoga Sutras (2.1), que designa los aspectos "prácticos" de la filosofía, es decir, la "unión con lo supremo" a través del desempeño de deberes en la vida diaria. [24]
Según Pāṇini , el término yoga puede derivarse de cualquiera de dos raíces, yujir yoga ( unir ) o yuj samādhau ("concentrarse"). [25] En el contexto de los Yoga Sutras , los comentaristas tradicionales consideran la raíz yuj samādhau (concentrarse) como la etimología correcta. [26] De acuerdo con Pāṇini, Vyasa , quien escribió el primer comentario sobre los Yoga Sutras , [27] afirma que yoga significa samādhi (concentración). [28]
Alguien que practica yoga o sigue la filosofía del yoga con un alto nivel de compromiso se llama yogui (puede aplicarse a un hombre o una mujer) o yogini (una mujer). [29]
Definición en los textos indios clásicos
El término Yoga se ha definido de diversas formas en las diferentes tradiciones filosóficas y religiosas de la India.
| Texto de origen | Aprox. Fecha | Definición de Yoga [30] |
|---|---|---|
| Yoga Sutras de Patanjali | C. Siglo IV a. C. | yogas chitta vritti nirodhah (1.2) "Yoga es calmar las fluctuaciones / patrones de conciencia" |
| Katha Upanishad | C. Siglo V a. C. | "Cuando los cinco sentidos, junto con la mente, permanecen quietos y el intelecto no está activo, eso se conoce como el estado más elevado. Ellos consideran que el yoga es una restricción firme de los sentidos. Entonces uno se distrae porque el yoga es el surgimiento y el fallecimiento "(6.10-11) |
| Bhagavad Gita | C. 2do siglo a. C. | "Ten la misma mentalidad tanto en el éxito como en el fracaso. Esa ecuanimidad se llama Yoga" (2.48) "Yoga es habilidad en acción" (2.50) "Sepa que lo que se llama yoga es la separación del contacto con el sufrimiento" (6.23). |
| Yogācārabhūmi-Śāstra (Sravakabhumi), unaobra de Yogacara budista Mahayana | Siglo IV d.C. | "El yoga es cuádruple: fe, aspiración, perseverancia y medios" (2.152) |
| Sutra de Vaisesika | C. Siglo IV a. C. | "El placer y el sufrimiento surgen como resultado de la unión de los órganos de los sentidos, la mente y los objetos. Cuando eso no sucede porque la mente está en el yo, no hay placer ni sufrimiento para quien está encarnado. Eso es yoga "(5.2.15-16) |
| Yogaśataka un trabajo Jain por Haribhadra Suri | Siglo VI EC | "Con convicción, los señores de los yoguis han definido en nuestra doctrina el yoga como la concurrencia ( sambandhah ) de los tres [conocimiento correcto ( sajjñana ), doctrina correcta ( saddarsana ) y conducta correcta ( saccaritra )] comenzando con el conocimiento correcto, ya que [de ese modo surge] en conjunción con la liberación ... En el uso común, este [término] yoga también [denota el contacto del alma con las causas de estos [tres], debido al uso común de la causa del efecto ". (2, 4). [31] |
| Pancarthabhasya de Kaundinya en el Pasupatasutra | Siglo IV d.C. | "En este sistema, el yoga es la unión del yo y el Señor" (II43) |
| Linga Purana | Siglos VII-X d.C. | "La palabra 'yoga' significa nirvana, la condición de Shiva ". (I.8.5a) |
| Brahmasutra -bhasya de Adi Shankara | C. Siglo III a. C. | "Se dice en los tratados sobre yoga: 'El yoga es el medio para percibir la realidad' ( atha tattvadarsanabhyupāyo yogah )" (2.1.3) |
| Mālinīvijayottara Tantra , una de las principales autoridades en el Shivaísmo de Cachemira no dual | Siglos VI-X d.C. | "Se dice que el yoga es la unidad de una entidad con otra". (MVUT 4.4–8) [32] |
| Mrgendratantravrtti , del erudito Shaiva Siddhanta Narayanakantha | Siglos VI-X d.C. | "Tener autodominio es ser un Yogin. El término Yogin significa" alguien que está necesariamente "unido con" la manifestación de su naturaleza ... el estado de Siva ( sivatvam ) "(MrTaVr yp 2a) [32] |
| Yogabija , un trabajo de Hatha yoga | CE del siglo XIV | "La unión de apana y prana, el propio rajas y el semen, el sol y la luna, el alma individual y el alma suprema, y de la misma manera la unión de todas las dualidades, se llama yoga" (89). |
| Śaradatilaka de Lakshmanadesikendra, una obra de Shakta Tantra | Siglo XI d.C. | "Los expertos en yoga afirman que el yoga es la unidad del alma individual (jiva) con el atman. Otros entienden que es la constatación de Siva y el alma como no diferentes. Los eruditos de los Agamas dicen que es un Conocimiento que es de la naturaleza del Poder de Siva. Otros eruditos dicen que es el conocimiento del alma primordial ". (SaTil 25.1-3b) [33] |
Metas
El objetivo final del Yoga es Moksha (liberación), aunque la forma exacta que adopte depende del sistema filosófico o teológico con el que se conjuga.
En el sistema clásico de yoga Astanga, el objetivo final de la práctica del yoga es alcanzar el estado de Samadhi y permanecer en ese estado como conciencia pura.
Según Jacobsen, Yoga tiene cinco significados tradicionales principales: [34]
- Un método disciplinado para alcanzar una meta.
- Técnicas de control del cuerpo y la mente.
- Un nombre de una escuela o sistema de filosofía ( darśana ).
- Con prefijos como "hatha-, mantra- y laya-, tradiciones especializadas en técnicas particulares de yoga.
- El objetivo de la práctica del Yoga. [34]
Según David Gordon White , desde el siglo V d.C. en adelante, los principios básicos del "yoga" estaban más o menos en su lugar, y las variaciones de estos principios se desarrollaron en varias formas a lo largo del tiempo: [35]
- Un medio meditativo para descubrir la percepción y la cognición disfuncionales, así como superarlas para liberar cualquier sufrimiento, encontrar la paz interior y la salvación. La ilustración de este principio se encuentra en textos hindúes como el Bhagavad Gita y Yogasutras , en una serie de obras budistas Mahāyāna, así como en textos jainistas. [36]
- La elevación y expansión de la conciencia de uno mismo para ser coextensiva con todos y con todo. Estos se discuten en fuentes como la literatura védica del hinduismo y su épica Mahābhārata , el jainismo Praśamaratiprakarana y los textos budistas de Nikaya. [37]
- Un camino hacia la omnisciencia y la conciencia iluminada que le permite a uno comprender la realidad impermanente (ilusoria, engañosa) y permanente (verdadera, trascendente). Se encuentran ejemplos de esto en los textos escolares del hinduismo Nyaya y Vaisesika , así como en los textos del budismo Mādhyamaka, pero de diferentes maneras. [38]
- Una técnica para entrar en otros cuerpos, generar múltiples cuerpos y lograr otros logros sobrenaturales. Estos son, afirma White, descritos en la literatura tántrica del hinduismo y el budismo, así como en el budista Sāmaññaphalasutta. [39] James Mallinson, sin embargo, no está de acuerdo y sugiere que tales prácticas marginales están muy alejadas del objetivo de la corriente principal del Yoga como medio de liberación impulsado por la meditación en las religiones indias. [40]
White aclara que el último principio se relaciona con los objetivos legendarios de la "práctica del yogui", diferentes de los objetivos prácticos de la "práctica del yoga", tal como se los considera en el pensamiento y la práctica del sur de Asia desde el comienzo de la Era Común, en los diversos hinduistas y escuelas filosóficas jainistas. [41]
Historia
No hay consenso sobre su cronología u origen específico que no sea el yoga desarrollado en la antigua India. Los orígenes sugeridos son la civilización del valle del Indo (3300–1900 a. C.) [42] y los estados del este de la India pre-védicos , [43] el período védico (1500–500 a. C.) y el movimiento śramaṇa . [44] Según Gavin Flood, pueden existir continuidades entre esas diversas tradiciones:
[E] sta dicotomización es demasiado simplista, porque indudablemente se pueden encontrar continuidades entre la renunciación y el brahmanismo védico, mientras que elementos de las tradiciones no brahmánicas sramana también jugaron un papel importante en la formación del ideal renunciante. [45] [nota 3]
Las especulaciones prefilosóficas del yoga comenzaron a surgir en los textos de c. 500 - c. 200 a . C. Entre el 200 a. C. y el 500 d. C., las escuelas filosóficas del hinduismo, el budismo y el jainismo fueron tomando forma y comenzó a surgir un sistema filosófico coherente de yoga. [47] La Edad Media vio el desarrollo de muchas tradiciones satélites del yoga. El yoga llamó la atención de un público occidental educado a mediados del siglo XIX junto con otros temas de la filosofía india.
India pre-védica
El yoga puede tener elementos pre-védicos. [42] [43] Algunos yoga estatales se originaron en la civilización del valle del Indo. [48] Marshall, [49] Eliade [11] y otros eruditos señalan que el sello Pashupati descubierto en un sitio de la civilización del valle del Indo representa una figura en una posición que se asemeja a una asana utilizada para la meditación, Mulabandhasana . Esta interpretación se considera especulativa e incierta por un análisis más reciente de Srinivasan [11] y puede ser un caso de proyectar "prácticas posteriores en hallazgos arqueológicos". [50]
Período védico (1700-500 a. C.)
Según Crangle, algunos investigadores han favorecido una teoría lineal, que intenta "interpretar el origen y el desarrollo temprano de las prácticas contemplativas indias como un crecimiento secuencial de una génesis aria", [51] [nota 4] al igual que el hinduismo tradicional considera los Vedas para ser la fuente última de todo conocimiento espiritual. [53] [nota 5] Thomas McEvilley favorece un modelo compuesto en el que existía un prototipo de yoga pre-ario en el período pre-védico y su refinamiento comenzó en el período védico. [56]
Las prácticas ascéticas , la concentración y las posturas corporales descritas en los Vedas pueden haber sido precursoras del yoga. [57] [58]
Según Zimmer, se considera que la filosofía del yoga es parte del sistema no védico, que también incluye la escuela Samkhya de filosofía hindú , el jainismo y el budismo : [43] "[El jainismo] no deriva de fuentes brahmánicas-arias, sino que refleja la cosmología y antropología de una clase alta pre-aria mucho más antigua del noreste de la India [Bihar], que tiene sus raíces en el mismo subsuelo de especulación metafísica arcaica que el Yoga, Sankhya y el budismo, los otros sistemas indios no védicos ". [59] [nota 6]
Referencias textuales
El primer uso de la raíz de la palabra "yoga" se encuentra en el himno 5.81.1 del Rig Veda , una dedicación al dios Sol naciente en la mañana (Savitri), donde se ha interpretado como "yugo" o "yóguicamente". control". [62] [63] [nota 7]
La evidencia más temprana de la tradición de Yogis y Yoga se encuentra en el himno Keśin 10.136 del Rigveda, afirma Karel Werner. [8]
Los yoguis de los tiempos védicos dejaron poca evidencia de su existencia, prácticas y logros. Y la evidencia que ha sobrevivido en los Vedas es escasa e indirecta. Sin embargo, no se puede dudar de la existencia de yoguis consumados en los tiempos védicos.
- Karel Werner, Yoga y el Ṛg Veda [8]
El Rigveda, sin embargo, no describe el yoga, y hay poca evidencia de cuáles eran las prácticas. [8] Las primeras referencias a prácticas que luego se convirtieron en parte del yoga, se hacen en Brihadaranyaka Upanishad , el primer Upanishad hindú. [65] Por ejemplo, la práctica de pranayama (la regulación consciente de la respiración) se menciona en el himno 1.5.23 de Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (c. 900 a. C.), y la práctica de pratyahara (concentrar todos los sentidos en uno mismo) se menciona en el himno 8.15 de Chandogya Upanishad (c. 800–700 a. C.). [66] [nota 8] El Jaiminiya Upanishad Brahmana enseña el mantrarepetición y control de la respiración. [68]
Prácticas ascéticas védicas
Las prácticas ascéticas ( tapas ), la concentración y las posturas corporales utilizadas por los sacerdotes védicos para realizar el yajña (sacrificio) podrían haber sido precursores del yoga. [nota 9] Vratya , un grupo de ascetas mencionado en el Atharvaveda , enfatizó las posturas corporales que pueden haber evolucionado hacia asanas yóguicas . [57] Los primeros Samhitas también contienen referencias a otros ascetas grupales como munis, keśin y vratyas. [65] Las técnicas para controlar la respiración y las energías vitales se mencionan en los Brahmanas (textos del corpus védico, c. 1000–800 a. C.) y el Atharvaveda .[57] [69] Nasadiya Sukta del Rig Veda sugiere la presencia de una tradición contemplativa temprana. [nota 10]
Era preclásica (500-200 a. C.)
Los conceptos del Yoga sistemático comienzan a emerger en los textos de c. 500-200 a. C., como los primeros textos budistas , los Upanishads medios, el Bhagavad Gita y el Shanti Parva del Mahabharata . [72] [nota 11]
Budismo y movimiento śramaṇa
Según Geoffrey Samuel , nuestra "mejor evidencia hasta la fecha" sugiere que las prácticas yóguicas "se desarrollaron en los mismos círculos ascéticos que los primeros movimientos śramaṇa ( budistas , jainas y ajivikas ), probablemente alrededor de los siglos VI y V a. C." Esto ocurrió durante lo que se llama el período de la ' Segunda Urbanización '. [10] Según Mallinson y Singleton, estas tradiciones fueron las primeras en utilizar técnicas psicofísicas, principalmente conocidas como dhyana y tapas . pero luego descrito como yoga, luchar por el objetivo de la liberación ( moksha , nirvana ) del samsara (la ronda del renacimiento).[75]
Werner afirma: "El Buda fue el fundador de su sistema [Yoga], aunque, es cierto, hizo uso de algunas de las experiencias que había adquirido anteriormente con varios profesores de Yoga de su tiempo". [76] Señala: [77]
Pero es solo con el budismo mismo, tal como se expone en el Canon Pali, que podemos hablar de una escuela de práctica de Yoga sistemática y completa o incluso integral, que es, por lo tanto, la primera y más antigua que se ha conservado para nosotros en su totalidad. [77]
Los primeros textos budistas describen prácticas yóguicas y meditativas, algunas de las cuales el Buda tomó prestado de la tradición śramaṇa . [78] [79] El canon Pali contiene tres pasajes en los que el Buda describe presionar la lengua contra el paladar con el propósito de controlar el hambre o la mente, según el pasaje. [80] Sin embargo, no se menciona la inserción de la lengua en la nasofaringe como en el verdadero khecarī mudrā . El Buda utilizó una postura en la que se ejerce presión sobre el perineo con el talón, similar incluso a las posturas modernas que se utilizan para estimular el Kundalini. [81] Algunos de los suttas principales que discuten la práctica yóguica incluyen el sutta Satipatthana( Sutta de los cuatro fundamentos de la atención plena ) y el sutta Anapanasati ( Sutta de la atención plena de la respiración ).
Sin embargo, la cronología de la finalización de estos primeros textos budistas relacionados con el yoga no está clara, al igual que los antiguos textos hindúes. [82] [83] Las primeras fuentes budistas conocidas como el Majjhima Nikāya mencionan la meditación, mientras que el Anguttara Nikāya describe a los Jhāyins (meditadores) que se asemejan a las primeras descripciones hindúes de Muni , Kesins y ascetas meditadores, [84] pero estas prácticas de meditación no se denominan yoga en estos textos. [85] La discusión específica más antigua conocida sobre el yoga en la literatura budista, tal como se entiende en el contexto moderno, es del posterior Yogācāra budista yEscuelas Theravada . [85]
Un sistema de yoga anterior a la escuela budista es el yoga Jain . Pero dado que las fuentes jainistas son posteriores a las budistas, es difícil distinguir entre la naturaleza de la primera escuela jainista y los elementos derivados de otras escuelas. [86] La mayoría de los otros sistemas de yoga contemporáneos aludidos en los Upanishads y algunos textos budistas se pierden en el tiempo. [87] [88] [nota 12]
Incertidumbre con cronología
Alexander Wynne observa que la meditación sin forma y la meditación elemental podrían haberse originado en la tradición Upanishadic. [90] La referencia más antigua a la meditación se encuentra en el Brihadaranyaka Upanishad , uno de los Upanishads más antiguos. [65] Chandogya Upanishad describe los cinco tipos de energías vitales ( prana ). Los conceptos que se utilizan más tarde en muchas tradiciones de yoga, como el sonido interno y las venas ( nadis ), también se describen en el Upanishad. [57] Taittiriya Upanishad define el yoga como el dominio del cuerpo y los sentidos. [91]
Upanishads
La primera aparición conocida de la palabra "yoga", con el mismo significado que el término moderno, se encuentra en el Katha Upanishad , [11] [92] probablemente compuesto entre los siglos V y III a. C., [93] [94] donde se define como el control constante de los sentidos, que junto con el cese de la actividad mental, conduce a un estado supremo. [65] [nota 13] Katha Upanishad integra el monismo de los primeros Upanishads con conceptos de samkhya y yoga. Define varios niveles de existencia según su proximidad al ser más íntimo Ātman . Por tanto, el yoga se ve como un proceso de interiorización o ascenso de la conciencia. [96] [97]Es la obra literaria más antigua que destaca los fundamentos del yoga. White declara:
El relato sistemático más antiguo existente del yoga y un puente de los usos védicos anteriores del término se encuentra en el Katha Upanisad (Ku) hindú, una escritura que data aproximadamente del siglo III a. C. […] [I] t describe la jerarquía de la mente constituyentes del cuerpo (los sentidos, la mente, el intelecto, etc.) que comprenden las categorías fundamentales de la filosofía Samkhya, cuyo sistema metafísico fundamenta el yoga de los Yogasutras, el Bhagavad Gita y otros textos y escuelas (Ku3.10-11; 6.7- 8). [98]
Los himnos del Libro 2 del Shvetashvatara Upanishad , otro texto de finales del primer milenio a.C., establecen un procedimiento en el que el cuerpo se mantiene en posición vertical, la respiración se restringe y la mente se concentra meditativamente, preferiblemente dentro de una cueva o un lugar que sea simple. , llano, de silencio o de agua que fluye suavemente, sin ruidos ni vientos fuertes. [99] [100] [97]
El Maitrayaniya Upanishad , probablemente compuesto en un siglo posterior a Katha y Shvetashvatara Upanishads, pero antes del Yoga Sutra de Patanjali, menciona el método de seis yoga: control de la respiración ( pranayama ), retirada introspectiva de los sentidos ( pratyahara ), meditación ( dhyana ), concentración de la mente ( dharana ). , investigación filosófica / razonamiento creativo ( tarka ) y absorción / unión espiritual intensa ( samadhi ). [11] [97] [101]
Además de la discusión sobre Yoga en los Upanishads principales anteriores , veinte Yoga Upanishads , así como textos relacionados como Yoga Vasistha , compuestos en el 1er y 2do milenio EC, discuten los métodos del Yoga. [102] [103]
Textos históricos macedonios
Alejandro el Grande llegó a la India en el siglo IV a. C. Junto con su ejército, llevó consigo a académicos griegos que luego escribieron memorias sobre geografía, personas y costumbres que vieron. Uno de los compañeros de Alejandro fue Onesicritus , citado en el Libro 15, Secciones 63–65 por Estrabón , quien describe a los yoguis de la India. [104] Onesicritus afirma que esos yoguis indios ( Mandanis ) practicaban la distancia y "diferentes posturas - de pie o sentados o acostados desnudos - e inmóviles". [105]
Onesicritus también menciona a su colega Calanus tratando de reunirse con ellos, a quien inicialmente se le niega la audiencia, pero luego se le invita porque fue enviado por un "rey curioso por la sabiduría y la filosofía". [105] Onesicritus y Calanus aprenden que los yoguis consideran que la mejor doctrina de la vida es "librar al espíritu no sólo del dolor, sino también del placer", que "el hombre entrena el cuerpo para el trabajo a fin de que sus opiniones se fortalezcan", que "No hay vergüenza en la vida por una tarifa frugal", y que "el mejor lugar para habitar es uno con el equipo o el atuendo más escaso". [104] [105] Estos principios son importantes para la historia del lado espiritual del yoga. [104]Estos pueden reflejar las antiguas raíces de la "calma imperturbable" y la "atención plena a través del equilibrio" en obras posteriores del hindú Patanjali y el budista Buddhaghosa respectivamente, afirma Charles Rockwell Lanman ; [104] así como el principio de Aparigraha (no posesividad, no deseo, vida simple) y el ascetismo discutido en el hinduismo y el jainismo posteriores. [ cita requerida ]
Mahabharata y Bhagavad Gita
La descripción de una forma temprana de yoga llamada nirodhayoga (yoga de la cesación) está contenida en la sección Mokshadharma del capítulo 12 ( Shanti Parva ) del Mahabharata (siglo III a. C.). [106] Nirodhayoga enfatiza el retiro progresivo de los contenidos de la conciencia empírica como pensamientos, sensaciones, etc. hasta que se realiza purusha (Ser). Términos como vichara (reflexión sutil), viveka (discriminación) y otros que son similares a la terminología de Patanjali se mencionan, pero no se describen. [107] No hay un objetivo uniforme del yoga mencionado en el Mahabharata.. La separación del yo de la materia, percibir a Brahman en todas partes, entrar en Brahman, etc., se describen como metas del yoga. Samkhya y yoga se combinan y algunos versos los describen como idénticos. [108] Mokshadharma también describe una práctica temprana de meditación elemental. [109] Mahabharata define el propósito del yoga como la experiencia de unir al atman individual con el Brahman universal que impregna todas las cosas. [108]
El Bhagavad Gita ('Canción del Señor') es parte del Mahabharata y también contiene extensas enseñanzas sobre Yoga. Según Mallinson y Singleton, el Gita "busca apropiarse del yoga del medio renunciante en el que se originó, enseñando que es compatible con la actividad mundana llevada a cabo de acuerdo con la casta y la etapa de la vida de uno; son solo los frutos de las acciones de uno los que son ser renunciado ". [106] Además de un capítulo completo (cap. 6) dedicado a la práctica del yoga tradicional, incluida la meditación, [110] presenta tres tipos destacados de yoga: [111]
- Karma yoga : el yoga de la acción. [112]
- Bhakti yoga : el yoga de la devoción. [112]
- Jnana yoga : el yoga del conocimiento. [113] [114]
El Gita consta de 18 capítulos y 700 shlokas (versos), [115] con cada capítulo nombrado como un yoga diferente, delineando así dieciocho yogas diferentes. [115] [116] [117] Algunos eruditos dividen el Gita en tres secciones, con los primeros seis capítulos con 280 shlokas que tratan sobre Karma yoga, los seis del medio contienen 209 shlokas con Bhakti yoga, y los últimos seis capítulos con 211 shlokas como Jnana yoga; sin embargo, esto es aproximado porque los elementos del karma , bhakti y jnana se encuentran en todos los capítulos. [115]
Sutras filosóficos
El yoga se analiza en los antiguos Sutras fundamentales de la filosofía hindú . El Vaiśeṣika Sūtra de la escuela de hinduismo Vaisheshika , que data de haber sido compuesto en algún momento entre los siglos VI y II a. C., trata sobre el yoga. [nota 14] Según Johannes Bronkhorst , un indólogo conocido por sus estudios sobre el budismo y el hinduismo tempranos y profesor de la Universidad de Lausana, Vaiśeṣika Sūtra describe el Yoga como "un estado en el que la mente reside sólo en el alma y, por lo tanto, no en el Sentidos". [118] Esto es equivalente a pratyahara. or withdrawal of the senses, and the ancient Sutra asserts that this leads to an absence of sukha (happiness) and dukkha (suffering), then describes additional yogic meditation steps in the journey towards the state of spiritual liberation.[118]
Similarly, Brahma sutras – the foundational text of the Vedanta school of Hinduism, discusses yoga in its sutra 2.1.3, 2.1.223 and others.[119] Brahma sutras are estimated to have been complete in the surviving form sometime between 450 BCE to 200 CE,[120][121] and its sutras assert that yoga is a means to gain "subtlety of body" and other powers.[119] The Nyaya sutras – the foundational text of the Nyaya school, variously estimated to have been composed between the 6th-century BCE and 2nd-century CE,[122][123] discusses yoga in sutras 4.2.38–50. This ancient text of the Nyaya school includes a discussion of yogic ethics, dhyana (meditation), samadhi, and among other things remarks that debate and philosophy is a form of yoga.[124][125][126]
Classical era (200 BCE – 500 CE)
During the period between the Mauryan and the Gupta eras (c. 200 BCE–500 CE) the Indic traditions of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism were taking form and coherent systems of yoga began to emerge.[47] This period witnessed many new texts from these traditions discussing and systematically compiling yoga methods and practices. Some key works of this era include the Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali, the Yoga-Yājñavalkya, the Yogācārabhūmi-Śāstra and the Visuddhimagga.
Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
One of the best known early expressions of Brahmanical Yoga thought is the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the original name of which may have been the Pātañjalayogaśāstra-sāṃkhya-pravacana (c. sometime between 325 - 425) which some scholars now believe included both the sutras and a commentary.[127] As the name suggests, the metaphysical basis for this text is the Indian philosophy termed Sāṃkhya. This atheistic school is mentioned in Kauṭilya's Arthashastra as one of the three categories of anviksikis (philosophies) along with Yoga and Cārvāka.[128][129] The two schools have some differences as well. Yoga accepted the conception of "personal god", while Samkhya developed as a rationalist, non-theistic/atheistic system of Hindu philosophy.[130][131][132] Sometimes Patanjali's system is referred to as Seshvara Samkhya in contradistinction to Kapila's Nirivara Samkhya.[133] The parallels between Yoga and Samkhya were so close that Max Müller says that "the two philosophies were in popular parlance distinguished from each other as Samkhya with and Samkhya without a Lord."[134]
Yoga Sutras of Patanjali[135] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Pada (Chapter) | English meaning | Sutras |
| Samadhi Pada | On being absorbed in spirit | 51 |
| Sadhana Pada | On being immersed in spirit | 55 |
| Vibhuti Pada | On supernatural abilities and gifts | 56 |
| Kaivalya Pada | On absolute freedom | 34 |
Karel Werner argued that the process of systematization of yoga which began in the middle and early Yoga Upanishads culminated with the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.[note 15]
The Yoga Sutras are also influenced by the Sramana traditions of Buddhism and Jainism, and may represent a further Brahmanical attempt to adopt yoga from the Sramana traditions.[127] As noted by Larson, there are numerous parallels in the concepts in ancient Samkhya, Yoga and Abhidharma Buddhist schools of thought, particularly from the 2nd century BCE to the 1st century AD.[137] Patanjali's Yoga Sutras is a synthesis of these three traditions. From Samkhya, the Yoga Sutras adopt the "reflective discernment" (adhyavasaya) of prakrti and purusa (dualism), its metaphysical rationalism, as well its three epistemic methods of gaining reliable knowledge.[137] From Abhidharma Buddhism's idea of nirodhasamadhi, suggests Larson, Yoga Sutras adopt the pursuit of altered state of awareness, but unlike Buddhism's concept of no self nor soul, Yoga is physicalist and realist like Samkhya in believing that each individual has a self and soul.[137] The third concept Yoga Sutras synthesize into its philosophy is the ancient ascetic traditions of meditation and introspection, as well as the yoga ideas from middle Upanishads such as Katha, Shvetashvatara and Maitri.[137]
Patanjali's Yoga Sutras are widely regarded as the first compilation of the formal yoga philosophy.[note 16] The verses of the Yoga Sutras are terse. Many later Indian scholars studied them and published their commentaries, such as the Vyasa Bhashya (c. 350–450 CE).[138] Patanjali defines the word "yoga" in his second sutra:
योगश्चित्तवृत्तिनिरोधः
(yogaś citta-vṛtti-nirodhaḥ)
- Yoga Sutras 1.2
This terse definition hinges on the meaning of three Sanskrit terms. I. K. Taimni translates it as "Yoga is the inhibition (nirodhaḥ) of the modifications (vṛtti) of the mind (citta)".[139]Swami Vivekananda translates the sutra as "Yoga is restraining the mind-stuff (Citta) from taking various forms (Vrittis)."[140] Edwin Bryant explains that, to Patanjali, "Yoga essentially consists of meditative practices culminating in attaining a state of consciousness free from all modes of active or discursive thought, and of eventually attaining a state where consciousness is unaware of any object external to itself, that is, is only aware of its own nature as consciousness unmixed with any other object."[141][142][143]
If the meaning of yoga is understood as the practice of nirodha (mental control), then its goal is "the unqualified state of niruddha (the perfection of that process)",[144] according to Baba Hari Dass. In that context, "yoga (union) implies duality (as in joining of two things or principles); the result of yoga is the nondual state", and "as the union of the lower self and higher Self. The nondual state is characterized by the absence of individuality; it can be described as eternal peace, pure love, Self-realization, or liberation."[144]
Patanjali's writing defined an Ashtanga or "Eight-Limbed" Yoga in Yoga Sutras 2.29. They are:
- Yama (The five "abstentions"): Ahimsa (Non-violence, non-harming other living beings),[145] Satya (truthfulness, non-falsehood),[146] Asteya (non-stealing),[147] Brahmacharya (celibacy, fidelity to one's partner),[147] and Aparigraha (non-avarice, non-possessiveness).[146]
- Niyama (The five "observances"): Śauca (purity, clearness of mind, speech and body),[148] Santosha (contentment, acceptance of others and of one's circumstances),[149] Tapas (persistent meditation, perseverance, austerity),[150] Svādhyāya (study of self, self-reflection, study of Vedas),[151] and Ishvara-Pranidhana (contemplation of God/Supreme Being/True Self).[149]
- Asana: Literally means "seat", and in Patanjali's Sutras refers to the seated position used for meditation.
- Pranayama ("Breath exercises"): Prāna, breath, "āyāma", to "stretch, extend, restrain, stop".
- Pratyahara ("Abstraction"): Withdrawal of the sense organs from external objects.
- Dharana ("Concentration"): Fixing the attention on a single object.
- Dhyana ("Meditation"): Intense contemplation of the nature of the object of meditation.
- Samadhi ("Liberation"): merging consciousness with the object of meditation.
In later Hindu scholasticism (12th century onwards), yoga became the name of one of the six orthodox philosophical schools (darsanas), which refers to traditions that accept the testimony of Vedas.[note 17][note 18][152]
Yoga and Vedanta
Yoga and Vedanta are the two largest surviving schools of Hindu traditions. They share many thematic principles, concepts and belief in self/soul, but diverge in degree, style and some of their methods. Epistemologically, Yoga school accepts three means to reliable knowledge, while Advaita Vedanta accepts six ways.[153] Yoga disputes the monism of Advaita Vedanta.[154] Yoga school believes that in the state of moksha, each individual discovers the blissful, liberating sense of himself or herself as an independent identity; Advaita Vedanta, in contrast, believes that in the state of moksha, each individual discovers the blissful, liberating sense of himself or herself as part of Oneness with everything, everyone and the Universal Self. They both hold that the free conscience is aloof yet transcendent, liberated and self-aware. Further, Advaita Vedanta school enjoins the use of Patanjali's yoga practices and the reading of Upanishads for those seeking the supreme good, ultimate freedom and jivanmukti.[154]
saṁyogo yoga ityukto jīvātma-paramātmanoḥ॥
Yoga is union of the individual self (jivātma) with the supreme self (paramātma).
—Yoga Yajnavalkya[155]
The Yoga Yajnavalkya is a classical treatise on yoga attributed to the Vedic sage Yajnavalkya. It takes the form of a dialogue between Yajnavalkya and Gargi, a renowned philosopher.[156] The text contains 12 chapters and its origin has been traced to the period between the second century BCE and fourth century CE.[157] Many yoga texts like the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, the Yoga Kundalini and the Yoga Tattva Upanishads have borrowed verses from or make frequent references to the Yoga Yajnavalkya.[158] The Yoga Yajnavalkya discusses eight yoga Asanas – Swastika, Gomukha, Padma, Vira, Simha, Bhadra, Mukta and Mayura,[159] numerous breathing exercises for body cleansing,[160] and meditation.[161]
Buddhist Abhidharma and Yogacara
The Buddhist tradition of Abhidharma developed various treatises which further expanded teachings on Buddhist phenomenological theory and yogic techniques. These had a profound influence on Buddhist traditions such as the Mahayana and the Theravada.
During the Gupta period (4th to 5th centuries), a movement of northern Mahāyāna Buddhism termed Yogācāra began to be systematized with the writings of the Buddhist scholars Asanga and Vasubandhu. Yogācāra Buddhism received the name as it provided a "yoga," a systematic framework for engaging in the practices that lead through the path of the bodhisattva towards awakening and full Buddhahood.[163] Its teachings can be found in the comprehensive and encyclopedic work, the Yogācārabhūmi-Śāstra (Treatise on the Foundation for Yoga Practitioners), which was also translated into Tibetan and Chinese and thus exerted a profound influence on the East Asian Buddhist and Tibetan Buddhist traditions.[164] According to Mallinson and Singleton, the study of Yogācāra Buddhism is essential for the understanding of yoga's early history, and its teachings influenced the text of the Pātañjalayogaśāstra.[165]
Like the northern tradition, the south India and Sri Lankan based Theravada school also developed manuals for yogic and meditative training, mainly the Vimuttimagga and the Visuddhimagga.
Jainism
According to Tattvarthasutra, 2nd century CE Jain text, yoga is the sum of all the activities of mind, speech and body.[7] Umasvati calls yoga the cause of "asrava" or karmic influx[166] as well as one of the essentials—samyak caritra—in the path to liberation.[166] In his Niyamasara, Acarya Kundakunda, describes yoga bhakti—devotion to the path to liberation—as the highest form of devotion.[167] Acarya Haribhadra and Acarya Hemacandra mention the five major vows of ascetics and 12 minor vows of laity under yoga. This has led certain Indologists like Prof. Robert J. Zydenbos to call Jainism, essentially, a system of yogic thinking that grew into a full-fledged religion.[168] The five yamas or the constraints of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali bear a resemblance to the five major vows of Jainism, indicating a history of strong cross-fertilization between these traditions.[168][note 19]
Mainstream Hinduism's influence on Jain yoga can be see in Haribhadra's Yogadṛṣṭisamuccaya which outlines an eightfold yoga influenced by Patanjali's eightfold yoga.[170]
Middle Ages (500–1500 CE)
Middle Ages saw the development of many satellite traditions of yoga. Hatha yoga emerged in this period.[171]
Bhakti movement
The Bhakti movement was a development in medieval Hinduism which advocated the concept of a personal God (or "Supreme Personality of Godhead"). The movement was initiated by the Alvars of South India in the 6th to 9th centuries, and it started gaining influence throughout India by the 12th to 15th centuries.[172] Shaiva and Vaishnava bhakti traditions integrated aspects of Yoga Sutras, such as the practical meditative exercises, with devotion.[173] Bhagavata Purana elucidates the practice of a form of yoga called viraha (separation) bhakti. Viraha bhakti emphasizes one pointed concentration on Krishna.[174]
Hindu Tantra
Tantra is a range of esoteric traditions that began to arise in India no later than the 5th century CE.[175][note 20] George Samuel states, "Tantra" is a contested term, but may be considered as a school whose practices appeared in mostly complete form in Buddhist and Hindu texts by about 10th century CE.[177] Tantric yoga developed complex visualizations which included meditation on the body as a microcosm of the cosmos. They included also the use of mantras, pranayama, and the manipulation of the subtle body, including its nadis and cakras. These teachings on cakras and Kundalini would become central to later forms of Indian Yoga.[178]
Over its history, some ideas of Tantra school influenced the Hindu, Bon, Buddhist, and Jain traditions. Elements of Tantric yoga rituals were adopted by and influenced state functions in medieval Buddhist and Hindu kingdoms in East and Southeast Asia.[179] By the turn of the first millennium, hatha yoga emerged from tantra.[15][180]
Vajrayana and Tibetan Buddhism
Vajrayana is also known as Tantric Buddhism and Tantrayāna. Its texts were compiled starting with 7th century and Tibetan translations were completed in the 8th century CE. These tantra yoga texts were the main source of Buddhist knowledge that was imported into Tibet.[181] They were later translated into Chinese and other Asian languages, helping spread ideas of Tantric Buddhism. The Buddhist text Hevajra Tantra and Caryāgiti introduced hierarchies of chakras.[182] Yoga is a significant practice in Tantric Buddhism.[183][184][185]
The tantra yoga practices include asanas and breathing exercises. The Nyingma tradition practices Yantra yoga (Tib. "Trul khor"), a discipline that includes breath work (or pranayama), meditative contemplation and other exercises.[186] In the Nyingma tradition, the path of meditation practice is divided into further stages,[187] such as Kriya yoga, Upa yoga, Yoga yana, Mahā yoga, Anu yoga and Ati yoga.[188] The Sarma traditions also include Kriya, Upa (called "Charya"), and Yoga, with the Anuttara yoga class substituting for Mahayoga and Atiyoga.[189]
Zen Buddhism
Zen, the name of which derives from the Sanskrit "dhyāna" via the Chinese "ch'an"[note 21] is a form of Mahayana Buddhism. Yoga practices integrally exist within the Zen Buddhist school.[191]
Hatha Yoga
The earliest references to hatha yoga are in Buddhist works dating from the eighth century.[193] The earliest definition of hatha yoga is found in the 11th century Buddhist text Vimalaprabha, which defines it in relation to the center channel, bindu etc.[194] Hatha yoga synthesizes elements of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras with posture and breathing exercises.[195] It marks the development of asanas (plural) into the full body 'postures' now in popular usage[180] and, along with its many modern variations, is the style that many people associate with the word yoga today.[196]
Sikhism
Various yogic groups had become prominent in Punjab in the 15th and 16th century, when Sikhism was in its nascent stage. Compositions of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, describe many dialogues he had with Jogis, a Hindu community which practiced yoga. Guru Nanak rejected the austerities, rites and rituals connected with Hatha Yoga. He propounded the path of Sahaja yoga or Nama yoga (meditation on the name) instead.[197] The Guru Granth Sahib states:
Listen "O Yogi, Nanak tells nothing but the truth. You must discipline your mind. The devotee must meditate on the Word Divine. It is His grace which brings about the union. He understands, he also sees. Good deeds help one merge into Divination."[198]
Modern revival
Philosophy
Yoga came to the attention of an educated western public in the mid-19th century along with other topics of Indian philosophy. In the context of this budding interest, N. C. Paul published his Treatise on Yoga Philosophy in 1851.[199]
The first Hindu teacher to actively advocate and disseminate aspects of yoga, not including asanas, to a western audience, Swami Vivekananda, toured Europe and the United States in the 1890s.[200] The reception which Swami Vivekananda received built on the active interest of intellectuals, in particular the New England Transcendentalists, among them Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882), who drew on German Romanticism and philosophers and scholars like G. W. F. Hegel (1770–1831), the brothers August Wilhelm Schlegel (1767–1845) and Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel (1772–1829), Max Mueller (1823–1900), Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860), and others who had (to varying degrees) interests in things Indian.[201][202]
Theosophists including Madame Blavatsky also had a large influence on the Western public's view of Yoga.[203] Esoteric views current at the end of the 19th century provided a further basis for the reception of Vedanta and of Yoga with its theory and practice of correspondence between the spiritual and the physical.[204] The reception of Yoga and of Vedanta thus entwined with each other and with the (mostly Neoplatonism-based) currents of religious and philosophical reform and transformation throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries. Mircea Eliade brought a new element into the reception of Yoga with the strong emphasis on Tantric Yoga in his seminal book: Yoga: Immortality and Freedom.[205] With the introduction of the Tantra traditions and philosophy of Yoga, the conception of the "transcendent" to be attained by Yogic practice shifted from experiencing the "transcendent" ("Atman-Brahman" in Advaitic theory) in the mind to the body itself.[206]
Practice
Yoga as exercise is a physical activity consisting largely of asanas, often connected by flowing sequences called vinyasas, sometimes accompanied by the breathing exercises of pranayama, and usually ending with a period of relaxation or meditation. It is often known simply as yoga,[207] despite the existence of multiple older traditions of yoga within Hinduism where asanas played little or no part, some dating back to the Yoga Sutras, and despite the fact that in no tradition was the practice of asanas central.[208]
Yoga as exercise was created in what has been called the Modern Yoga Renaissance[209] by the blending of Western styles of gymnastics with postures from Haṭha yoga in India in the 20th century, pioneered by Shri Yogendra and Swami Kuvalayananda.[210] Before 1900 there were few standing poses in Haṭha yoga. The flowing sequences of salute to the Sun, Surya Namaskar, were pioneered by the Rajah of Aundh, Bhawanrao Shrinivasrao Pant Pratinidhi, in the 1920s.[211] Many standing poses used in gymnastics were incorporated into yoga by Krishnamacharya in Mysore from the 1930s to the 1950s.[212] Several of his students went on to found influential schools of yoga: Pattabhi Jois created Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga,[213] which in turn led to Power Yoga;[214] B. K. S. Iyengar created Iyengar Yoga, and systematised the canon of asanas in his 1966 book Light on Yoga;[215] Indra Devi taught yoga to many film stars in Hollywood; and Krishnamacharya's son T. K. V. Desikachar founded the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandalam in Chennai.[216][217][218] Other major schools founded in the 20th century include Bikram Choudhury's Bikram Yoga and Swami Sivananda of Rishikesh's Sivananda Vedanta Schools of Yoga. Modern yoga spread across America and Europe, and then the rest of the world.[219][220]
The number of asanas used in yoga as exercise has increased rapidly from a nominal 84 in 1830, as illustrated in Joga Pradipika, to some 200 in Light on Yoga and over 900 performed by Dharma Mittra by 1984. At the same time, the goals of Haṭha yoga, namely spiritual liberation (moksha) through the raising of kundalini energy, were largely replaced by the goals of fitness and relaxation, while many of Haṭha yoga's components like the shatkarmas (purifications), mudras (seals or gestures including the bandhas, locks to restrain the prana or vital principle), and pranayama were much reduced or removed entirely.[221] The term "hatha yoga" is also in use with a different meaning, a gentle unbranded yoga practice, independent of the major schools, sometimes mainly for women.[222]
Yoga has developed into a worldwide multi-billion dollar business, involving classes, certification of teachers, clothing, books, videos, equipment, and holidays.[223] The ancient cross-legged sitting asanas like lotus pose (Padmasana) and Siddhasana are widely recognised symbols of yoga.[224]
The United Nations General Assembly established 21 June as "International Day of Yoga",[225][226][227] celebrated annually in India and around the world from 2015.[228][229] On 1 December 2016, yoga was listed by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage.[230]
The impact of postural yoga on physical and mental health has been a topic of systematic studies, with evidence that regular yoga practice yields benefits for low back pain and stress.[231][232] In 2017, a Cochrane review found low‐ to moderate‐certainty evidence that yoga improved back function compared to non-exercise.[233]
Traditions
Yoga is practised with a variety of methods by all Indian religions. In Hinduism, practices include Jnana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Karma Yoga, Laya Yoga and Hatha Yoga.
Classical yoga
What is often referred to as Classical Yoga, Astanga (Yoga of eight limbs), or Raja Yoga is mainly the type of Yoga outlined in the highly influential Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.[234] The origins of the Classical Yoga tradition are unclear, though early discussions of the term appear in the Upanishads.[235] The name "Rāja yoga" (yoga of kings) originally denoted the ultimate goal of yoga, samadhi,[236] but was popularised by Vivekananda as a common name for Ashtanga Yoga,[note 22] the eight limbs to be practised to attain samadhi, as described in the Yoga Sutras.[237][234] Yoga is also considered as one of the orthodox philosophical schools (darsanas) of Hinduism (those which accept the Vedas as source of knowledge).[238][239]
Classical yoga incorporates epistemology, metaphysics, ethical practices, systematic exercises and self-development techniques for body, mind and spirit.[141] Its epistemology (pramana) and metaphysics is similar to that of the Sāṅkhya school. The metaphysics of Classical Yoga, like Sāṅkhya, is mainly dualistic, positing that there are two distinct realities. These are prakriti (nature), which is the eternal and active unconscious source of the material world and is composed of three gunas, and the puruṣas (persons), the plural consciousnesses which are the intelligent principles of the world, and are multiple, inactive and eternal witnesses. Each person has an individual puruṣa, which is their true self, the witness and the enjoyer, and that which is liberated. This metaphysical system holds that puruṣas undergo cycles of reincarnation through its interaction and identification with prakirti. Liberation, the goal of this system, results from the isolation (kaivalya) of puruṣa from prakirti, and is achieved through a meditation which detaches oneself from the different forms (tattvas) of prakirti.[240] This is done by stilling one's thought waves (citta vritti) and resting in pure awareness of puruṣa.
Unlike the Sāṅkhya school of Hinduism, which pursues a non-theistic/atheistic rationalist approach,[130][241] the Yoga school of Hinduism accepts the concept of a "personal, yet essentially inactive, deity" or "personal god" (Isvara).[242][243]
Buddhist yoga
Buddhist yoga encompasses an extensive variety of methods that aim to develop key virtues or qualities known as the 37 aids to awakening. The ultimate goal of Buddhist yoga is bodhi (awakening) or nirvana (cessation), which is traditionally seen as the permanent end of suffering (dukkha) and rebirth.[note 23] Buddhist texts use numerous terms for spiritual praxis besides yoga, such as bhāvanā ("development")[note 24] and jhāna/dhyāna.[note 25]
In early Buddhism, various yogic practices were taught including:
- the four dhyānas (four meditations or mental absorptions),
- the four satipatthanas (foundations or establishments of mindfulness),
- anapanasati (mindfulness of breath),
- the four immaterial dwellings (supranormal states of mind),
- the brahmavihārās (divine abodes).
- Anussati (contemplations, recollections)
These meditations were seen as being supported by the other elements of the eightfold path, such as the practice of ethics, right exertion, sense restraint and right view.[244] Two mental qualities are said to be indispensable for yogic practice in Buddhism, samatha (calm, stability) and vipassanā (insight, clear seeing).[245] Samatha is the quality of a stable, relaxed and calm mind. It is also associated with samadhi (mental unification, focus) and dhyana (a state of meditative absorption). Vipassanā meanwhile, is a kind of insight or penetrative understanding into the true nature of phenomena. It is also defined as "seeing things as they truly are" (yathābhūtaṃ darśanam). The true nature of things is defined and explained in different ways, but an important and unique feature of classical Buddhism is its understanding of all phenomena (dhammas) as being empty of a self (atman) or inherent essence, a doctrine termed Anatta ("not-self") and Śūnyatā (emptiness).[246][247] This is in sharp contrast with most other Indian traditions, whose goals are founded either on the idea of an individual soul (atman, jiva, purusha) or a universal monistic consciousness ( Brahman). Vipassanā also requires an understanding of suffering or dukkha (and thus the four noble truths), impermanence (anicca) and interdependent origination.
Later developments in the various Buddhist traditions led to new innovations in yogic practices. The Theravada school, while remaining relatively conservative, still developed new ideas on meditation and yogic phenomenology in their later works, the most influential of which is the Visuddhimagga. The Indic meditation teachings of Mahayana Buddhism can be seen in influential texts like the Yogācārabhūmi-Śāstra (compiled c. 4th century). Mahayana meditation practices also developed and adopted new yogic methods, such as the use of mantra and dharani, pure land practices which aimed at rebirth in a pure land or buddhafield, and visualization methods. Chinese Buddhism developed its own methods, such as the Chan practice of Koan introspection and Hua Tou. Likewise, Tantric Buddhism (also Mantrayana, Vajrayana) developed and adopted tantric methods, which remain the basis of the Tibetan Buddhist yogic systems, including the Six yogas of Naropa, Kalacakra, Mahamudra and Dzogchen.[248]
Jain yoga
Jain yoga has been a central practice in Jainism. Jain spirituality is based on a strict code of nonviolence or ahimsa (which includes vegetarianism), almsgiving (dana), right faith in the three jewels, the practice of austerities (tapas) such as fasting, and yogic practices.[249][250] Jain yoga aims at the liberation and purification of the self (atma) or soul (jiva) from the forces of karma, which keep all souls bound to the cycle of transmigration. Like Yoga and Sankhya, Jainism believes in a multiplicity of individual souls which bound by their individual karma.[251] Only through the reduction of karmic influxes and the exhaustion of one's collected karma can a soul become purified and released, at which point one becomes an omniscient being who has reaches "absolute knowledge" (kevala jnana).[252]
The early practice of Jain yoga seems to have been divided into several types, including meditation (dhyāna), abandonment of the body (kāyotsarga), contemplation (anuprekṣā), and reflection (bhāvanā).[253] Some of the earliest sources for Jain yoga are the Uttarādhyayana-sūtra, the Āvaśyaka-sūtra, the Sthananga Sutra (c. 2nd century BCE). Later works include Kundakunda's Vārassa-aṇuvekkhā ("Twelve Contemplations", c. 1st century BCE to 1st century CE), Haribhadra's Yogadṛṣṭisamuccya (8th century) and the Yogaśāstra of Hemachandra (12th century). Later forms of Jain yoga adopted Hindu influences, such as ideas from Patanjali's yoga and later Tantric yoga (in the works of Haribhadra and Hemachandra respectively). The Jains also developed a progressive path to liberation through yogic praxis, outlining several levels of virtue called gunasthanas.
In the modern era, new forms of Jain meditation have also been developed. One of the most influential ones is the prekṣā system of Ācārya Mahāprajña which is eclectic and includes the use of mantra, breath control, mudras, bandhas, and so on.
Yoga in Advaita Vedanta
Vedanta is a varied tradition with numerous sub-schools and philosophical views. Vedanta focuses on the study of the Upanishads, and one of its early texts, the Brahma sutras. Regarding yoga or meditation, the Brahma sutras focuses on gaining spiritual knowledge of Brahman, the unchanging absolute reality or Self.[254]
One of the earliest and most influential sub-traditions of Vedanta, is Advaita Vedanta, which posits nondualistic monism. This tradition emphasizes Jñāna yoga (yoga of knowledge), which is aimed at realizing the identity of one's atman (soul, individual consciousness) with Brahman (the Absolute consciousness).[255][256] The most influential thinker of this school is Adi Shankara (8th century), who wrote various commentaries and original works which teach Jñāna yoga. In Advaita Vedanta, Jñāna is attained on the basis of scripture (sruti) and one's guru and through a process of listening (sravana) to teachings, thinking and reflecting on them (manana) and finally meditating on these teachings (nididhyāsana) in order to realize their truth.[257] It is also important to develop qualities such as discrimination (viveka), renunciation (virāga), tranquility, temperance, dispassion, endurance, faith, attention and a longing for knowledge and freedom ('mumukṣutva).'[258] Yoga in Advaita is ultimately a "meditative exercise of withdrawal from the particular and identification with the universal, leading to contemplation of oneself as the most universal, namely, Consciousness".[259]
An influential text which teaches yoga from an Advaita perspective of nondualistic idealism is the Yoga-Vāsiṣṭha.[260] This work uses numerous short stories and anecdotes to illustrate its main ideas. It teaches seven stages or bhumis of yogic practice. It was a major reference for medieval Advaita Vedanta yoga scholars and before the 12th century, it was one of the most popular texts on Hindu yoga.[261]
Another text which teaches yoga with an Advaita point of view is the Yoga-Yājñavalkya.[262] This work contains extensive teachings on ten Yamas (ethical rules) and ten Niyamas (duties), and eight asanas. It also discusses a theory of nadis and prana (vital breath), and follows this with instructions on pranayama (breath control), pratyahara (sense withdrawal), meditation on mantras, meditative visualizations and Kundalini.
Tantric yoga
Samuel states that Tantrism is a contested concept.[177] Tantra yoga may be described, according to Samuel, as practices in 9th to 10th century Buddhist and Hindu (Saiva, Shakti) texts, which included yogic practices with elaborate deity visualizations using geometrical arrays and drawings (mandala), fierce male and particularly female deities, transgressive life stage related rituals, extensive use of chakras and mantras, and sexual techniques, all aimed to help one's health, long life and liberation.[177][263]
Hatha yoga
Hatha yoga, also called hatha vidyā, is a kind of yoga focusing on physical and mental strength building exercises and postures described primarily in three texts of Hinduism:[265][266][267]
- Hatha Yoga Pradipika, Svātmārāma (15th century)
- Shiva Samhita, author unknown (1500[268] or late 17th century)
- Gheranda Samhita by Gheranda (late 17th century)
Many scholars would include the Goraksha Samhita by Gorakshanath of the 11th century in this list.[265] Gorakshanath is widely considered to have been responsible for popularizing hatha yoga as we know it today.[269][270][271] Other hatha yoga texts include the Haṭhābhyāsapaddhati, the Hatha Ratnavali, the Joga Pradīpikā, and the Sritattvanidhi.
Vajrayana Buddhism, founded by the Indian Mahasiddhas,[272] has a series of asanas and pranayamas, such as tummo (Sanskrit caṇḍālī)[183] and trul khor which parallel hatha yoga.
Laya Yoga and Kundalini yoga
Laya and Kundalini yoga are closely associated with Hatha yoga but are often presented as being independent approaches.[24]
According to Georg Feuerstein, Laya yoga (yoga of dissolution or merging) "makes meditative absorption (laya) its focus. The laya-yogin seeks to transcend all memory traces and sensory experiences by dissolving the microcosm, the mind, in the transcendental Self-Consciousness."[273] There are various forms and techniques of Laya yoga, including listening to the "inner sound" (nada), practicing various mudras like Khechari mudra and Shambhavi mudra as well as techniques meant to awaken a spiritual energy in the body (kundalini).[274]
The practice of awakening the coiled energy in the body is sometimes specifically called Kundalini yoga. It is based on Indian theories of the subtle body and uses various pranayamas (breath techniques) and mudras (bodily techniques) to awaken the energy known as kundalini (the coiled one) or shakti. In various Shaiva and Shakta traditions of yoga and tantra, yogic techniques or yuktis are used to unite kundalini-shakti, the divine conscious force or energy, with Shiva, universal consciousness.[275] A common way of teaching this method is to awaken the kundalini residing at the lowest chakra and to guide it through the central channel to unite with the absolute consciousness at the highest chakra (in the top of the head).[276]
Reception in other religions
Christianity
Some Christians integrate yoga and other aspects of Eastern spirituality with prayer and meditation. This has been attributed to a desire to experience God in a more complete way.[277] In 2013, Monsignor Raffaello Martinelli, servicing Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, having worked for over 23 years with Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI),[278] said that for his Meditation, a Christian can learn from other religious traditions (zen, yoga, controlled respiration, Mantra), quoting Aspects of Christian meditation: "Just as "the Catholic Church rejects nothing of what is true and holy in these religions," neither should these ways be rejected out of hand simply because they are not Christian. On the contrary, one can take from them what is useful so long as the Christian conception of prayer, its logic and requirements are never obscured. It is within the context of all of this that these bits and pieces should be taken up and expressed anew."[279] Previously, the Roman Catholic Church, and some other Christian organizations have expressed concerns and disapproval with respect to some eastern and New Age practices that include yoga and meditation.[280][281][282]
In 1989 and 2003, the Vatican issued two documents: Aspects of Christian meditation and "A Christian reflection on the New Age," that were mostly critical of eastern and New Age practices. The 2003 document was published as a 90-page handbook detailing the Vatican's position.[283] The Vatican warned that concentration on the physical aspects of meditation "can degenerate into a cult of the body" and that equating bodily states with mysticism "could also lead to psychic disturbance and, at times, to moral deviations." Such has been compared to the early days of Christianity, when the church opposed the gnostics' belief that salvation came not through faith but through a mystical inner knowledge.[277] The letter also says, "one can see if and how [prayer] might be enriched by meditation methods developed in other religions and cultures"[284] but maintains the idea that "there must be some fit between the nature of [other approaches to] prayer and Christian beliefs about ultimate reality."[277] Some[which?] fundamentalist Christian organizations consider yoga to be incompatible with their religious background, considering it a part of the New Age movement inconsistent with Christianity.[285]
Another view holds that Christian meditation can lead to religious pluralism. This is held by an interdenominational association of Christians that practice it. "The ritual simultaneously operates as an anchor that maintains, enhances, and promotes denominational activity and a sail that allows institutional boundaries to be crossed."[286]
Islam
In the early 11th century, the Persian scholar Al Biruni visited India, lived with Hindus for 16 years, and with their help translated several significant Sanskrit works into Arabic and Persian languages. One of these was Patanjali's Yogasutras.[287][288] Al Biruni's translation preserved many of the core themes of Patañjali 's Yoga philosophy, but certain sutras and analytical commentaries were restated making it more consistent with Islamic monotheistic theology.[287][289] Al Biruni's version of Yoga Sutras reached Persia and Arabian peninsula by about 1050 AD. Later, in the 16th century, the hath yoga text Amritakunda was translated into Arabic and then Persian.[290] Yoga was, however, not accepted by mainstream Sunni and Shia Islam. Minority Islamic sects such as the mystic Sufi movement, particularly in South Asia, adopted Indian yoga practises, including postures and breath control.[291][292] Muhammad Ghawth, a Shattari Sufi and one of the translators of yoga text in the 16th century, drew controversy for his interest in yoga and was persecuted for his Sufi beliefs.[293]
Malaysia's top Islamic body in 2008 passed a fatwa, prohibiting Muslims from practicing yoga, saying it had elements of Hinduism and that its practice was blasphemy, therefore haraam.[294] Some Muslims in Malaysia who had been practicing yoga for years, criticized the decision as "insulting."[295] Sisters in Islam, a women's rights group in Malaysia, also expressed disappointment and said yoga was just a form of exercise.[296] This fatwa is legally enforceable.[297] However, Malaysia's prime minister clarified that yoga as physical exercise is permissible, but the chanting of religious mantras is prohibited.[298]
In 2009, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), an Islamic body in Indonesia, passed a fatwa banning yoga on the grounds that it contains Hindu elements.[299] These fatwas have, in turn, been criticized by Darul Uloom Deoband, a Deobandi Islamic seminary in India.[300] Similar fatwas banning yoga, for its link to Hinduism, were issued by the Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa in Egypt in 2004, and by Islamic clerics in Singapore earlier.[301][302]
In Iran, as of May 2014, according to its Yoga Association, there were approximately 200 yoga centres in the country, a quarter of them in the capital Tehran, where groups can often be seen practising in parks. This has been met by opposition among conservatives.[303] In May 2009, Turkey's head of the Directorate of Religious Affairs, Ali Bardakoğlu, discounted personal development techniques such as reiki and yoga as commercial ventures that could lead to extremism. His comments were made in the context of reiki and yoga possibly being a form of proselytization at the expense of Islam.[304]
See also
- List of asanas
- List of Indian yoga gurus
- List of yoga schools
- Yoga series
- Yoga tourism
- Yogis
Notes
- ^ Karel Werner argues that the existence of accomplished Yogis in Vedic times cannot be doubted, citing the Kesin hymn of the Rigveda as evidence of a yoga tradition in the Vedic era.[8]
- ^ Buddhists, Jainas and Ajivikas[10]
- ^ Gavin Flood: "These renouncer traditions offered a new vision of the human condition which became incorporated, to some degree, into the worldview of the Brahman householder. The ideology of asceticism and renunciation seems, at first, discontinuous with the brahmanical ideology of the affirmation of social obligations and the performance of public and domestic rituals. Indeed, there has been some debate as to whether asceticism and its ideas of retributive action, reincarnation and spiritual liberation, might not have originated outside the orthodox vedic sphere, or even outside Aryan culture: that a divergent historical origin might account for the apparent contradiction within 'Hinduism' between the world affirmation of the householder and the world negation of the renouncer. However, this dichotomization is too simplistic, for continuities can undoubtedly be found between renunciation and vedic Brahmanism, while elements from non-Brahmanical, Sramana traditions also played an important part in the formation of the renunciate ideal. Indeed there are continuities between vedic Brahmanism and Buddhism, and it has been argued that the Buddha sought to return to the ideals of a vedic society which he saw as being eroded in his own day."[46]
- ^ See also Gavin Flood (1996), Hinduism, p.87–90, on "The orthogenetic theory" and "Non-Vedic origins of renunciation".[52]
- ^ Post-classical traditions consider Hiranyagarbha as the originator of yoga.[54][55]
- ^ Zimmer's point of view is supported by other scholars, such as Niniam Smart, in Doctrine and argument in Indian Philosophy, 1964, p.27–32 & p.76,[60] and S.K. Belvakar & Inchegeri Sampradaya in History of Indian philosophy, 1974 (1927), p.81 & p.303–409.[60] See Crangle 1994 page 5–7.[61]
- ^ Original Sanskrit: युञ्जते मन उत युञ्जते धियो विप्रा विप्रस्य बृहतो विपश्चितः। वि होत्रा दधे वयुनाविदेक इन्मही देवस्य सवितुः परिष्टुतिः॥१॥[64]
Translation 1: Seers of the vast illumined seer yogically [युञ्जते, yunjante] control their minds and their intelligence... (…)[62]
Translation 2: The illumined yoke their mind and they yoke their thoughts to the illuminating godhead, to the vast, to the luminous in consciousness;
the one knower of all manifestation of knowledge, he alone orders the things of the sacrifice. Great is the praise of Savitri, the creating godhead.[63] - ^ Original Sanskrit: स्वाध्यायमधीयानो धर्मिकान्विदधदात्मनि सर्वैन्द्रियाणि संप्रतिष्ठाप्याहिँसन्सर्व भूतान्यन्यत्र तीर्थेभ्यः स खल्वेवं वर्तयन्यावदायुषं ब्रह्मलोकमभिसंपद्यते न च पुनरावर्तते न च पुनरावर्तते॥ १॥ – Chandogya Upanishad, VIII.15[67]
Translation 1 by Max Muller, The Upanishads, The Sacred Books of the East – Part 1, Oxford University Press: (He who engages in) self study, concentrates all his senses on the Self, never giving pain to any creature, except at the tîrthas, he who behaves thus all his life, reaches the world of Brahman, and does not return, yea, he does not return.
Translation 2 by G.N. Jha: Chandogya Upanishad VIII.15, page 488: (He who engages in self study),—and having withdrawn all his sense-organs into the Self,—never causing pain to any living beings, except in places specially ordained,—one who behaves thus throughout life reaches the Region of Brahman and does not return,—yea, does not return.— - ^
- Jacobsen writes that "Bodily postures are closely related to the tradition of tapas, ascetic practices in the Vedic tradition. The use by Vedic priests of ascetic practices in their preparations for the performance of the sacrifice might be precursor to Yoga."[57]
- Whicher believes that "the proto-Yoga of the Vedic rishis is an early form of sacrificial mysticism and contains many elements characteristic of later Yoga that include: concentration, meditative observation, ascetic forms of practice (tapas), breath control..."[58]
- ^
- Wynne states that "The Nasadiyasukta, one of the earliest and most important cosmogonic tracts in the early Brahminic literature, contains evidence suggesting it was closely related to a tradition of early Brahminic contemplation. A close reading of this text suggests that it was closely related to a tradition of early Brahminic contemplation. The poem may have been composed by contemplatives, but even if not, an argument can be made that it marks the beginning of the contemplative/meditative trend in Indian thought."[70]
- Miller suggests that the composition of Nasadiya Sukta and Purusha Sukta arises from "the subtlest meditative stage, called absorption in mind and heart" which "involves enheightened experiences" through which seer "explores the mysterious psychic and cosmic forces...".[71]
- Jacobsen writes that dhyana (meditation) is derived from the Vedic term dhih which refers to "visionary insight", "thought provoking vision".[71]
- ^ Ancient Indian literature was transmitted and preserved through an oral tradition.[73] For example, the earliest written Pali Canon text is dated to the later part of the 1st century BCE, many centuries after the Buddha's death.[74]
- ^ On the dates of the Pali canon, Gregory Schopen writes, "We know, and have known for some time, that the Pali canon as we have it — and it is generally conceded to be our oldest source — cannot be taken back further than the last quarter of the first century BCE, the date of the Alu-vihara redaction, the earliest redaction we can have some knowledge of, and that — for a critical history — it can serve, at the very most, only as a source for the Buddhism of this period. But we also know that even this is problematic... In fact, it is not until the time of the commentaries of Buddhaghosa, Dhammapala, and others — that is to say, the fifth to sixth centuries CE — that we can know anything definite about the actual contents of [the Pali] canon."[89]
- ^ For the date of this Upanishad see also Helmuth von Glasenapp, from the 1950 Proceedings of the "Akademie der Wissenschaften und Literatur"[95]
- ^ The currently existing version of Vaiśeṣika Sūtra manuscript was likely finalized sometime between the 2nd century BCE and the start of the common era. Wezler has proposed that the Yoga related text may have been inserted into this Sutra later, among other things; however, Bronkhorst finds much to disagree on with Wezler.[118]
- ^ Werner writes, "The word Yoga appears here for the first time in its fully technical meaning, namely as a systematic training, and it already received a more or less clear formulation in some other middle Upanishads....Further process of the systematization of Yoga as a path to the ultimate mystic goal is obvious in subsequent Yoga Upanishads and the culmination of this endeavour is represented by Patanjali's codification of this path into a system of the eightfold Yoga."[136]
- ^ For Patanjali as the founder of the philosophical system called yoga see: Chatterjee & Datta 1984, p. 42.
- ^ For an overview of the six orthodox schools, with detail on the grouping of schools, see: Radhakrishnan & Moore 1967, "Contents" and pp. 453–487.
- ^ For a brief overview of the yoga school of philosophy see: Chatterjee & Datta 1984, p. 43.
- ^ Worthington writes, "Yoga fully acknowledges its debt to Jainism, and Jainism reciprocates by making the practice of yoga part and parcel of life."[169]
- ^ The earliest documented use of the word "Tantra" is in the Rigveda (X.71.9).[176] The context of use suggests the word tantra in Rigveda means "technique".
- ^ "The Meditation school, called 'Ch'an' in Chinese from the Sanskrit 'dhyāna,' is best known in the West by the Japanese pronunciation 'Zen'"[190]
- ^ Not to be confused with Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga, a style of modern yoga using fluid transitions (vinyasas) between asanas.
- ^ For instance, Kamalashila (2003), p. 4, states that Buddhist meditation "includes any method of meditation that has Enlightenment as its ultimate aim." Likewise, Bodhi (1999) writes: "To arrive at the experiential realization of the truths it is necessary to take up the practice of meditation.... At the climax of such contemplation the mental eye … shifts its focus to the unconditioned state, Nibbana...." A similar although in some ways slightly broader definition is provided by Fischer-Schreiber et al. (1991), p. 142: "Meditation – general term for a multitude of religious practices, often quite different in method, but all having the same goal: to bring the consciousness of the practitioner to a state in which he can come to an experience of 'awakening,' 'liberation,' 'enlightenment.'" Kamalashila (2003) further allows that some Buddhist meditations are "of a more preparatory nature" (p. 4).
- ^ The Pāli and Sanskrit word bhāvanā literally means "development" as in "mental development." For the association of this term with "meditation," see Epstein (1995), p. 105; and, Fischer-Schreiber et al. (1991), p. 20. As an example from a well-known discourse of the Pali Canon, in "The Greater Exhortation to Rahula" (Maha-Rahulovada Sutta, MN 62), Ven. Sariputta tells Ven. Rahula (in Pali, based on VRI, n.d.): ānāpānassatiṃ, rāhula, bhāvanaṃ bhāvehi. Thanissaro (2006) translates this as: "Rahula, develop the meditation [bhāvana] of mindfulness of in-&-out breathing." (Square-bracketed Pali word included based on Thanissaro, 2006, end note.)
- ^ See, for example, Rhys Davids & Stede (1921–25), entry for "jhāna1"; Thanissaro (1997); as well as, Kapleau (1989), p. 385, for the derivation of the word "zen" from Sanskrit "dhyāna." PTS Secretary Dr. Rupert Gethin, in describing the activities of wandering ascetics contemporaneous with the Buddha, wrote:
- "...[T]here is the cultivation of meditative and contemplative techniques aimed at producing what might, for the lack of a suitable technical term in English, be referred to as 'altered states of consciousness'. In the technical vocabulary of Indian religious texts such states come to be termed 'meditations' ([Skt.:] dhyāna / [Pali:] jhāna) or 'concentrations' (samādhi); the attainment of such states of consciousness was generally regarded as bringing the practitioner to deeper knowledge and experience of the nature of the world." (Gethin, 1998, p. 10.)
References
- ^ "yoga, n." OED Online. Oxford University Press. September 2015. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
- ^ Feuerstein 2012, p. 25.
- ^ Frazier, Jessica; Flood, Gavin (30 June 2011). The Continuum Companion to Hindu Studies. Bloomsbury Academic. pp. 24–25. ISBN 978-0-8264-9966-0.
- ^ White 2011, p. [page needed].
- ^ Denise Lardner Carmody, John Carmody (1996), Serene Compassion. Oxford University Press US. p. 68.
- ^ Stuart Ray Sarbacker, Samādhi: The Numinous and Cessative in Indo-Tibetan Yoga. SUNY Press, 2005, pp. 1–2.
- ^ a b Tattvarthasutra [6.1], see Manu Doshi (2007) Translation of Tattvarthasutra, Ahmedabad: Shrut Ratnakar p. 102
- ^ a b c d Karel Werner (1977), Yoga and the Ṛg Veda: An Interpretation of the Keśin Hymn (RV 10, 136), Religious Studies, Vol. 13, No. 3, page 289–302
- ^ Deussen 1997, p. 556.
- ^ a b c Samuel 2008, p. 8.
- ^ a b c d e Singleton 2010, pp. 25–34.
- ^ Whicher 1998, pp. 1–4, chronology 41–42.
- ^ W. Y. Evans-Wentz (2000), Tibetan Yoga and Secret Doctrines, 3rd Edition, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-513314-1, Chapters 7 and 8
- ^ White 2014, pp. xvi–xvii.
- ^ a b Mallinson 2012, p. 20, "The techniques of hatha yoga are not taught in Sanskrit texts until the 11th century or thereabouts."
- ^ Burley 2000, p. 15, "While many scholars prefer to locate hatha-yoga's formative years somewhere between the ninth and tenth centuries CE, coinciding with the estimated flourishing of the great siddhas Matsyendra and Goraksa, other researchers and practitioners of yoga look much farther back in time.".
- ^ a b White 2011, p. 2.
- ^ a b Burley 2000, pp. 1-2.
- ^ * Marek Jantos (2012), in Oxford Textbook of Spirituality in Healthcare (Editors: Mark Cobb et al.), Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-957139-0, pages 362–363
- ^ Burley 2012, "Introduction".
- ^ Satyananda 2008, p. 1.
- ^ White 2011, p. 3.
- ^ "application or concentration of the thoughts, abstract contemplation, meditation, (esp.) self-concentration, abstract meditation and mental abstraction practised as a system (as taught by Patañjali and called the yoga philosophy; it is the second of the two sāṃkhya systems, its chief aim being to teach the means by which the human spirit may attain complete union with īśvara or the Supreme Spirit; in the practice of self-concentration it is closely connected with Buddhism". Monier-Williams, A Sanskrit Dictionary (1899)
- ^ a b Whicher 1998, pp. 6–7.
- ^ Dasgupta, Surendranath (1975). A History of Indian Philosophy. 1. Delhi, India: Motilal Banarsidass. p. 226. ISBN 81-208-0412-0.
- ^ Bryant 2009, p. 5.
- ^ Bryant 2009, p. xxxix.
- ^ Aranya, Swami Hariharananda (2000). Yoga Philosophy of Patanjali with Bhasvati. Calcutta, India: University of Calcutta. p. 1. ISBN 81-87594-00-4.
- ^ American Heritage Dictionary: "Yogi, One who practices yoga." Websters: "Yogi, A follower of the yoga philosophy; an ascetic."
- ^ Mallinson & Singleton 2017, pp. 17–23.
- ^ Vasudeva, p. 241.
- ^ a b Vasudeva, pp. 235-236.
- ^ Vasudeva, p. 243.
- ^ a b Jacobsen 2011, p. 4.
- ^ White 2011, p. 6.
- ^ White 2011, pp. 6–8.
- ^ White 2011, pp. 8–9.
- ^ White 2011, pp. 9–10.
- ^ White 2011, pp. 10–12.
- ^ Mallinson, James (2013). "The Yogīs' Latest Trick". Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. Cambridge University Press. 24 (1): 165–180. doi:10.1017/s1356186313000734.
- ^ White 2011, p. 11.
- ^ a b Crangle 1994, p. 4–7.
- ^ a b c Zimmer 1951, p. 217, 314.
- ^ Samuel 2008.
- ^ Flood 1996, p. 77.
- ^ Flood 1996, pp. 76–77.
- ^ a b Larson 2008, p. 36.
- ^ Samuel 2008, p. 2–3.
- ^ Possehl 2003, pp. 144–145.
- ^ Samuel 2008, p. 2–10.
- ^ Crangle 1994, p. 4.
- ^ Flood 1996, p. 87–90.
- ^ Crangle 1994, p. 5.
- ^ Feuerstein 2001, Kindle Locations 7299–7300.
- ^ Aranya, Swami Hariharananda (2000). "Introduction". Yoga Philosophy of Patanjali with Bhasvati. Calcutta, India: University of Calcutta. p. xxiv. ISBN 81-87594-00-4.
- ^ McEvilley, Thomas (1981). "An Archaeology of Yoga". Anthropology and Aesthetics. 1 (spring): 51. doi:10.1086/RESv1n1ms20166655. ISSN 0277-1322. S2CID 192221643.
- ^ a b c d e Jacobsen 2011, p. 6.
- ^ a b Whicher 1998, p. 12.
- ^ Zimmer 1951, p. 217.
- ^ a b Crangle 1994, p. 7.
- ^ Crangle 1994, p. 5–7.
- ^ a b Burley 2000, p. 25.
- ^ a b Sri Aurobindo (1916, Reprinted 1995), A Hymn to Savitri V.81, in The Secret of Veda, ISBN 978-0-914955-19-1, page 529
- ^ Sanskrit:
Source: Rigveda Book 5, Chapter 81 Wikisource - ^ a b c d Flood 1996, pp. 94–95.
- ^ Mircea Eliade (2009), Yoga: Immortality and Freedom, Princeton University Press, ISBN 978-0-691-14203-6, pages 117–118
- ^ wikisource, Chandogya Upanishad, अष्टमोऽध्यायः॥ पञ्चदशः खण्डः॥
- ^ Mallinson & Singleton 2017, p. xii.
- ^ Whicher 1998, p. 13.
- ^ Wynne 2007, p. 50.
- ^ a b Whicher 1998, p. 11.
- ^ Larson 2008, pp. 34–35, 53.
- ^ Wynne, Alexander (2004). "The Oral Transmission of the Early Buddhist Literature". Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies. 27 (1): 97–128.
- ^ Donald Lopez (2004). Buddhist Scriptures. Penguin Books. pp. xi–xv. ISBN 978-0-14-190937-0
- ^ Mallinson & Singleton 2017, pp. 13–15.
- ^ Werner 1998, p. 131.
- ^ a b Werner 1998, pp. 119–20.
- ^ Richard Gombrich, "Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benares to Modern Colombo." Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1988, p. 44.
- ^ Barbara Stoler Miller, "Yoga: Discipline of Freedom: the Yoga Sutra Attributed to Patanjali; a Translation of the Text, with Commentary, Introduction, and Glossary of Keywords." University of California Press, 1996, p. 8.
- ^ Mallinson, James. 2007. The Khecarīvidyā of Adinathā. London: Routledge. pp. 17–19.
- ^ Mallinson 2012, pp. 20–21, "The Buddha himself is said to have tried both pressing his tongue to the back of his mouth, in a manner similar to that of the hathayogic khecarīmudrā, and ukkutikappadhāna, a squatting posture which may be related to hathayogic techniques such as mahāmudrā, mahābandha, mahāvedha, mūlabandha, and vajrāsana in which pressure is put on the perineum with the heel, in order to force upwards the breath or Kundalinī."
- ^ Samuel 2008, pp. 31–32.
- ^ Singleton 2010, pp. Chapter 1.
- ^ Bronkhorst, Johannes (1993), The Two Traditions of Meditation in Ancient India, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120816435, pages 1–24
- ^ a b White 2011, pp. 5–6.
- ^ Werner 1998, pp. 119–120.
- ^ Douglass, Laura (2011). "Thinking Through The Body: The Conceptualization Of Yoga As Therapy For Individuals With Eating Disorders". Academic Search Premier: 83. Retrieved 19 February 2013.
- ^ Datta, Amaresh (1988). Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature: devraj to jyoti. Sahitya Akademi. p. 1809. ISBN 978-81-260-1194-0.
- ^ Wynne 2007, pp. 3–4.
- ^ Wynne 2007, pp. 44–45, 58.
- ^ Whicher 1998, p. 17.
- ^ Flood 1996, p. 95.
- ^ Stephen Phillips (2009). Yoga, Karma, and Rebirth: A Brief History and Philosophy. Columbia University Press. pp. 28–30. ISBN 978-0-231-14485-8.
- ^ Patrick Olivelle (1998). The Early Upanishads: Annotated Text and Translation. Oxford University Press. pp. 12–13. ISBN 978-0-19-512435-4.
- ^ "Vedanta and Buddhism, A Comparative Study". Archived from the original on 4 February 2013. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
- ^ Whicher 1998, pp. 18–19.
- ^ a b c Jacobsen 2011, p. 8.
- ^ White 2011, p. 4.
- ^ See: Original Sanskrit: Shvetashvatara Upanishad Book 2, Hymns 8–14;
English Translation: Paul Deussen (German: 1897; English Translated by Bedekar & Palsule, Reprint: 2010), Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Vol 1, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120814677, pages 309–310 - ^ Singleton 2010, p. 26.
- ^ Feuerstein, Georg (January–February 1988). "Introducing Yoga's Great Literary Heritage". Yoga Journal (78): 70–75.
- ^ T. R. S. Ayyangar (1938), The Yoga Upanishads The Adyar Library, Madras
- ^ Ruff 2011, pp. 97–112.
- ^ a b c d Charles R Lanman, The Hindu Yoga System, Harvard Theological Review, Volume XI, Number 4, Harvard University Press, pages 355–359
- ^ a b c Strabo, Geography Book XV, Chapter 1, see Sections 63–65, Loeb Classical Library edition, Harvard University Press, Translator: H. L. Jones
- ^ a b Mallinson & Singleton 2017, pp. xii–xxii.
- ^ Whicher 1998, pp. 25–26.
- ^ a b Jacobsen 2011, p. 9.
- ^ Wynne 2007, p. 33.
- ^ Jacobsen 2011, p. 10.
- ^ Flood 1996, p. 96.
- ^ a b Jacobsen 2011, pp. 10–11.
- ^ E. Easwaran, Essence of the Bhagavad Gita, Nilgiri Press, ISBN 978-1-58638-068-7, pages 117–118
- ^ Jack Hawley (2011), The Bhagavad Gita, ISBN 978-1-60868-014-6, pages 50, 130; Arvind Sharma (2000), Classical Hindu Thought: An Introduction, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-564441-8, pages 114–122
- ^ a b c Bibek Debroy (2005), The Bhagavad Gita, Penguin Books, ISBN 978-0-14-400068-5, Introduction, pages x–xi
- ^ Jacobsen 2011, p. 46.
- ^ Georg Feuerstein (2011), The Bhagavad Gita – A New Translation, Shambhala, ISBN 978-1-59030-893-6
- ^ a b c Johannes Bronkhorst (1993). The Two Traditions of Meditation in Ancient India. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 64. ISBN 978-81-208-1114-0.
- ^ a b Stephen Phillips (2009). Yoga, Karma, and Rebirth: A Brief History and Philosophy. Columbia University Press. pp. 281 footnote 36. ISBN 978-0-231-14485-8.
- ^ Andrew J. Nicholson (2013). Unifying Hinduism: Philosophy and Identity in Indian Intellectual History. Columbia University Press. p. 26. ISBN 978-0-231-14987-7., "From a historical perspective, the Brahmasutras are best understood as a group of sutras composed by multiple authors over the course of hundreds of years, most likely composed in its current form between 400 and 450 BCE."
- ^ NV Isaeva (1992), Shankara and Indian Philosophy, State University of New York Press, ISBN 978-0-7914-1281-7, page 36, ""on the whole, scholars are rather unanimous, considering the most probable date for Brahmasutra sometime between the 2nd-century BCE and the 2nd-century CE"
- ^ Jeaneane Fowler (2002), Perspectives of Reality: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Hinduism, Sussex Academic Press, ISBN 978-1898723943, page 129
- ^ B. K. Matilal (1986), "Perception. An Essay on Classical Indian Theories of Knowledge", Oxford University Press, p. xiv.
- ^ Stephen Phillips (2009). Yoga, Karma, and Rebirth: A Brief History and Philosophy. Columbia University Press. pp. 281 footnote 40, 297. ISBN 978-0-231-14485-8.
- ^ SC Vidyabhushana (1913, Translator), The Nyâya Sutras, The Sacred Book of the Hindus, Volume VIII, Bhuvaneshvar Asrama Press, pages 137–139
- ^ Karl Potter (2004), The Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies: Indian metaphysics and epistemology, Volume 2, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120803091, page 237
- ^ a b Mallinson & Singleton 2017, pp. xvi–xvii.
- ^ Original Sanskrit: साङ्ख्यं योगो लोकायतं च इत्यान्वीक्षिकी |
English Translation: Arthasastra Book 1, Chapter 2 Kautiliya, R Shamasastry (Translator), page 9 - ^ Olivelle, Patrick (2013), King, Governance, and Law in Ancient India: Kautilya's Arthasastra, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-989182-5, see Introduction
- ^ a b Lloyd Pflueger, Person Purity and Power in Yogasutra, in Theory and Practice of Yoga (Editor: Knut Jacobsen), Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120832329, pages 38–39
- ^ Burley 2012, pp. 31–46.
- ^ Radhakrishnan & Moore 1967, p. 453.
- ^ Radhakrishnan 1971, p. 344.
- ^ Müller 1899, p. 104.
- ^ Stiles 2001, p. x.
- ^ Werner 1998, p. 24.
- ^ a b c d Larson 2008, pp. 43–45.
- ^ Larson 2008, pp. 21–22.
- ^ Taimni 1961, p. 6.
- ^ Vivekananda, p. 115.
- ^ a b Edwin Bryant (2011, Rutgers University), The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali IEP
- ^ Bryant 2009, p. 10.
- ^ Bryant 2009, p. 457.
- ^ a b Dass 1999, p. 5.
- ^ James Lochtefeld, "Yama (2)", The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Vol. 2: N–Z, Rosen Publishing. ISBN 978-0-8239-3179-8, page 777
- ^ a b Arti Dhand (2002), The dharma of ethics, the ethics of dharma: Quizzing the ideals of Hinduism, Journal of Religious Ethics, 30(3), pages 347–372
- ^ a b MN Gulati (2008), Comparative Religions And Philosophies : Anthropomorphism And Divinity, ISBN 978-8126909025, page 168
- ^ Sharma and Sharma, Indian Political Thought, Atlantic Publishers, ISBN 978-8171566785, page 19
- ^ a b N Tummers (2009), Teaching Yoga for Life, ISBN 978-0-7360-7016-4, pages 16–17
- ^ Kaelber, W. O. (1976). "Tapas", Birth, and Spiritual Rebirth in the Veda, History of Religions, 15(4): 343–386
- ^ SA Bhagwat (2008), Yoga and Sustainability. Journal of Yoga, Fall/Winter 2008, 7(1): 1–14
- ^ Mallinson & Singleton 2017, pp. 16–17.
- ^ John A. Grimes, A Concise Dictionary of Indian Philosophy: Sanskrit Terms Defined in English, State University of New York Press, ISBN 978-0-7914-3067-5, page 238
- ^ a b Phillips, Stephen H. (1995). Classical Indian Metaphysics: Refutations of Realism and the Emergence of "New Logic". Open Court Publishing. pp. 12–13.
- ^ Larson 2008, p. 478.
- ^ Rosen, Richard (March 2006). "Guided Meditation". Yoga Journal. p. 121. ISSN 0191-0965.
- ^ Divanji, Prahlad, ed. (1954). Yoga Yajnavalkya: A Treatise on Yoga as Taught by Yogi Yajnavalkya. B.B.R.A. Society's Monograph. 3. Bombay, India: Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. p. 105.
- ^ Mohan, A.G. (2010). Krishnamacharya: His Life and Teachings. Shambhala Publications. p. 127. ISBN 978-1-59030-800-4.
- ^ Larson 2008, p. 479.
- ^ Larson 2008, pp. 481–484.
- ^ Larson 2008, pp. 485–486.
- ^ John M. Koller (2002). Asian Philosophies. Prentice Hall. pp. 144–145. ISBN 978-0-13-092385-1.
- ^ Dan Lusthaus. Buddhist Phenomenology: A Philosophical Investigation of Yogacara Buddhism and the Ch'eng Wei-shih Lun. Published 2002 (Routledge). ISBN 0-7007-1186-4. pg 533
- ^ Ulrich Timme Kragh (editor), The Foundation for Yoga Practitioners: The Buddhist Yogācārabhūmi Treatise and Its Adaptation in India, East Asia, and Tibet, Volume 1 Harvard University, Department of South Asian studies, 2013, pp. 16, 25.
- ^ Mallinson & Singleton 2017, pp. xvii–xviii.
- ^ a b Tattvarthasutra [6.2]
- ^ Kundakunda, pp. 134–140.
- ^ a b Zydenbos 2006, p. 66.
- ^ Worthington 1982, p. 35.
- ^ Whicher 1998, p. 313.
- ^ Larson 2008, pp. 136–139.
- ^ Cutler, Norman (1987). Songs of Experience. Indiana University Press. p. 1. ISBN 978-0-253-35334-4.
- ^ Larson 2008, pp. 137.
- ^ Jacobsen 2011, p. 22.
- ^ Einoo, Shingo, ed. (2009). Genesis and Development of Tantrism. University of Tokyo. p. 45.
- ^ Banerjee, S.C., 1988.
- ^ a b c Samuel 2008, p. 9.
- ^ Mallinson & Singleton 2017, pp. xviii–xx.
- ^ Samuel 2008, pp. 324–333.
- ^ a b Burley 2000, p. 16.
- ^ John Powers (2004), in Encyclopedia of Buddhism (Editors: Damien Keown et al.), Routledge, ISBN 978-0-415-31414-5, pages 775–785
- ^ White, David Gordon. Yoga in Practice. Princeton University Press 2012, page 14.
- ^ a b Lama Yeshe (1998). The Bliss of Inner Fire. Wisdom Publications. pp. 135–141.
- ^ Chogyam Trungpa (2001) The Lion's Roar: An Introduction to Tantra. Shambhala. ISBN 1-57062-895-5
- ^ Edmonton Patric 2007, Pali and Its Significance, p. 332
- ^ "Yantra Yoga: The Tibetan Yoga of Movement" by Chogyal Namkhai Norbu. Snow Lion, 2008. ISBN 1-55939-308-4
- ^ The Lion's Roar: An Introduction to Tantra, by Chogyam Trungpa. Shambhala, 2001 ISBN 1-57062-895-5
- ^ "Secret of the Vajra World: The Tantric Buddhism of Tibet" by Ray, Reginald A. Shambhala: 2002. pp. 37–38 ISBN 1-57062-917-X
- ^ "Secret of the Vajra World: The Tantric Buddhism of Tibet" by Ray, Reginald A. Shambhala: 2002. p. 57 ISBN 1-57062-917-X
- ^ The Buddhist Tradition in India, China, and Japan. Edited by William Theodore de Bary. pp. 207–208. ISBN 0-394-71696-5
- ^ Dumoulin, Heisig & Knitter 2005, p. 13, "This phenomenon merits special attention since yogic roots are to be found in the Zen Buddhist school of meditation."
- ^ Akshaya Kumar Banerjea (1983). Philosophy of Gorakhnath with Goraksha-Vacana-Sangraha. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. xxi. ISBN 978-81-208-0534-7.
- ^ Mallinson 2012, p. 2, "The earliest references to hathayoga are scattered mentions in Buddhist canonical works and their exegesis dating from the eighth century onwards, in which it is the soteriological method of last resort."
- ^ Mallinson 2012, p. 2, "In its earliest definition, in Pundarīka's eleventh-century Vimalaprabhā commentary on the Kālacakratantra, hathayoga is said to bring about the "unchanging moment" (aksaraksana) "through the practice of nāda by forcefully making the breath enter the central channel and through restraining the bindu of the bodhicitta in the vajra of the lotus of wisdom". While the means employed are not specified, the ends, in particular restraining bindu, semen, and making the breath enter the central channel, are similar to those mentioned in the earliest descriptions of the practices of hathayoga, to which I now turn."
- ^ Larson 2008, p. 140.
- ^ Feuerstein 1996.
- ^ Mansukhani, Gobind Singh (2009). Introduction To Sikhism. Hemkunt Press. p. 66. ISBN 978-81-7010-181-9.
- ^ Dhillon, Harish (2010). Guru Nanak. Indus Source Books. p. 178. ISBN 978-81-88569-02-1.
- ^ Besaw, Kelsie (7 January 2014). The Little Red Book of Yoga Wisdom. Simon and Schuster. p. 10. ISBN 9781628738704.
- ^ Shaw, Eric. "35 Moments", Yoga Journal, 2010.
- ^ Goldberg 2010, pp. 21ff.
- ^ Von Glasenapp, Hellmuth. Die Philosophie der Inder. Stuttgart, 1974: A. Kroener Verlag, pp. 166f.
- ^ "Fear of Yoga". Utne.com. Retrieved 28 August 2013.
- ^ De Michelis 2004, pp. 19ff.
- ^ Eliade 1958.
- ^ Flood, Gavin D., Body and Cosmology in Kashmir Saivism, San Francisco, 1993: Mellen Research University Press, pp.229ff.
- ^ De Michelis, Elizabeth (2007). "A Preliminary Survey of Modern Yoga Studies" (PDF). Asian Medicine, Tradition and Modernity. 3 (1): 1–19. doi:10.1163/157342107X207182.
- ^ Jain, Andrea (July 2016). "The Early History of Modern Yoga". Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Religion. Oxford Research Encyclopedias. doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780199340378.013.163. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
- ^ Mishra, Debashree (3 July 2016). "Once Upon A Time: From 1918, this Yoga institute has been teaching generations, creating history". Indian Express. Mumbai.
- ^ Singleton 2010, pp. 32, 50.
- ^ Doctor, Vikram (15 June 2018). "Bhawanrao Shrinivasrao Pant Pratinidhi: The man who promoted Surya Namaskar". The Economic Times (India).
- ^ Singleton 2010, pp. 199-203.
- ^ Singleton 2010, pp. 175-210.
- ^ Kest, Bryan (4 September 2017). "The History of Power Yoga". Power Yoga. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
- ^ Sjoman 1999, pp. 39, 47.
- ^ Cushman, Ann (January–February 2000). "The New Yoga". Yoga Journal. p. 68. Retrieved 5 February 2011.
- ^ Mehta 1990, p. 9.
- ^ Desikachar, T. K. V. (2005). Health, healing and beyond: Yoga and the living tradition of Krishnamacharya. Aperture, USA. p. cover jacket text. ISBN 978-0-89381-731-2.
- ^ "What's Your Style? Explore the Types of Yoga". Yoga Journal. 13 November 2012.
- ^ Beirne, Geraldine (10 January 2014). "Yoga: a beginner's guide to the different styles". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
- ^ Singleton 2010, pp. 29, 170.
- ^ Singleton 2010, p. 152.
- ^ Delaney, Brigid (17 September 2017). "The yoga industry is booming – but does it make you a better person?". The Guardian.
- ^ Singleton 2010, p. 32.
- ^ "United Nations Information Centre for India and Bhutan". www.unic.org.in. Archived from the original on 9 July 2016.
- ^ Rajghatta, Chidanand (28 September 2014). "Narendra Modi calls for International Yoga Day". The Times of India.
- ^ "UN declares June 21 as 'International Day of Yoga' | India News - Times of India". The Times of India.
- ^ Network, Newsroom24x7 (21 June 2015). "Massive turnout on International Day of Yoga in India".
- ^ "PM Modi Leads Yoga Session, India Sets Guinness Records: 10 Developments". NDTV. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
- ^ "Yoga joins Unesco world heritage list". The Guardian. 1 December 2016.
- ^ Ross, Alyson; Thomas, Sue (2010). "The Health Benefits of Yoga and Exercise: A Review of Comparison Studies". The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. 16 (1): 3–12. doi:10.1089/acm.2009.0044. PMID 20105062. S2CID 14130906.
- ^ Hayes, M.; Chase, S. (March 2010). "Prescribing Yoga". Primary Care. 37 (1): 31–47. doi:10.1016/j.pop.2009.09.009. PMID 20188996.
- ^ Wieland, L. Susan; Skoetz, Nicole; Pilkington, Karen; Vempati, Ramaprabhu; D'Adamo, Christopher R.; Berman, Brian M. (12 January 2017). "Yoga treatment for chronic non-specific low back pain". Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 1. CD010671. doi:10.1002/14651858.cd010671.pub2. ISSN 1465-1858. PMC 5294833. PMID 28076926.
- ^ a b White 2014, p. xvi.
- ^ Larson 2008, pp. 43-45.
- ^ Mallinson 2011, p. 770.
- ^ Hari Dass 1978.
- ^ Radhakrishnan 1971, pp. 19–20.
- ^ Flood 1996, pp. 82, 224–49.
- ^ Ruzsa, Ferenc, Sankhya, Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
- ^ Burley 2012, pp. 43–46.
- ^ Kovoor T. Behanan (2002), Yoga: Its Scientific Basis, Dover, ISBN 978-0-486-41792-9, pages 56–58
- ^ Burley 2012, pp. 39, 41.
- ^ Analayo (2017), Early Buddhist Meditation Studies, Barre Center for Buddhist Studies, pp. 69-70, 80
- ^ Thanissaro Bhikkhu, One Tool Among Many, The Place of Vipassana in Buddhist Practice, 1997.
- ^ Buswell, Robert, ed. (2004), Encyclopedia of Buddhism, MacMillan, p. 889.
- ^ Paul Williams (2008). Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations. Routledge. pp. 68–69. ISBN 978-1-134-25056-1.
- ^ Feuerstein 2002, pp. 230-241.
- ^ Mahapragya, Acharya (2004). "Foreword". Jain Yog. Aadarsh Saahitya Sangh.
- ^ Feuerstein 2002, pp. 187, 198.
- ^ Tulsi, Acharya (2004). "Blessings". Sambodhi. Aadarsh Saahitya Sangh. OCLC 39811791. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016.
- ^ Feuerstein 2002, pp. 192-193.
- ^ Pragya, Samani Pratibha (2017), Prekṣā meditation : history and methods. PhD Thesis, SOAS, University of London, p. 42.
- ^ George Thibaut, Vedanta Sutras Part 1, The Sacred Books of the East at Google Books, Volume 34 (Editor: Max Muller), Oxford University Press, pages lxxii-lxxiii
- ^ Deutsch, Eliot (1988), Advaita Vedanta: A Philosophical Reconstruction, University of Hawaii Press, pp. 104-105. ISBN 0-88706-662-3
- ^ Comans, Michael (2000), The Method of Early Advaita Vedānta: A Study of Gauḍapāda, Śaṅkara, Sureśvara, and Padmapāda, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, p. 183.
- ^ P.P. Bilimoria (2012). Śabdapramāṇa: Word and Knowledge. Springer. pp. 299–301. ISBN 978-94-009-2911-1.
- ^ Eliot Deutsch (1980), Advaita Vedanta : A Philosophical Reconstruction, University of Hawaii Press, ISBN 978-0824802714, pages 105-108
- ^ Michael Comans (1993), The question of the importance of Samādhi in modern and classical Advaita Vedānta, Philosophy East & West. Vol. 43, Issue 1, pp. 19–38
- ^ Feuerstein 2002, p. 401.
- ^ White 2014, pp. xvi–xvii, 51.
- ^ Rosen, Richard (March–April 2001). "T.K.V. Desikachar's English translation of a 700-year-old text introduces Westerners to one of the earliest hatha yoga manuals (Review of Yogayajnavalkya Samhita by T.K.V. Desikachar)". Yoga Journal. pp. 147–149 – via Google Books.
- ^ Mukunda Stiles, Tantra Yoga Secrets, Weiser, ISBN 978-1-57863-503-0, pages 3–7
- ^ James Mallinson (2011). Knut A. Jacobsen; et al., eds. Haṭha Yoga in the Brill Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Vol. 3. Brill Academic. pp. 770–781. ISBN 978-90-04-27128-9.
- ^ a b See Kriyananada, page 112.
- ^ See Burley, page 73.
- ^ See Introduction by Rosen, pp 1–2.
- ^ See translation by Mallinson.
- ^ On page 140, David Gordon White says of Gorakshanath: "... hatha yoga, in which field he was India's major systematizer and innovator."
- ^ Bajpai writes on page 524: "Nobody can dispute about the top ranking position of Sage Gorakshanath in the philosophy of Yoga."
- ^ Eliade writes of Gorakshanath on page 303: "...he accomplished a new synthesis among certain Shaivist traditions (Pashupata), tantrism, and the doctrines (unfortunately, so imperfectly known) of the siddhas – that is, of the perfect yogis."
- ^ Davidson, Ronald. Indian Esoteric Buddhism. Columbia University Press. 2002, pg.169–235.
- ^ Feuerstein, Georg, Yoga: The Technology of Ecstasy, J.P. Tarcher, 1989, p. 61.
- ^ Daniélou, Alain (1991). Yoga: Mastering the Secrets of Matter and the Universe. Inner Traditions / Bear & Co. p. 107. ISBN 9780892813018. OCLC 831272340.
- ^ Larson, p. 142.
- ^ Vishnudevananda, Swami (1999). Meditation and Mantras. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 89. ISBN 978-0143422235.
- ^ a b c Steinfels, Peter (7 January 1990). "Trying to Reconcile the Ways of the Vatican and the East". The New York Times.
- ^ "Mons. Raffaello Martinelli". Archived from the original on 22 August 2011. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
- ^ Raffaello Martinelli (January 2013). "Argomenti di Attualità" (PDF). p. 135.
- ^ "Vatican sounds New Age alert". BBC. 4 February 2003. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
- ^ Teasdale, Wayne (2004). Catholicism in dialogue: conversations across traditions. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 74. ISBN 0-7425-3178-3.
- ^ Mohler, R. Albert Jr. "The Subtle Body – Should Christians Practice Yoga?". Retrieved 14 January 2011.
- ^ Handbook of vocational psychology by W. Bruce Walsh, Mark Savickas 2005 ISBN 0-8058-4517-8 page 358
- ^ "1989 Letter from Vatican to Bishops on Some Aspects of Christian Meditation". Ewtn.com. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
- ^ Dr Ankerberg, John & Dr Weldon, John, Encyclopedia of New Age Beliefs, Harvest House Publishers, 1996
- ^ Mermis–Cava, Jonathan (2009). "An Anchor and a Sail: Christian Meditation as the Mechanism for a Pluralist Religious Identity". Sociology of Religion. 70 (4): 432–453. doi:10.1093/socrel/srp064.
- ^ a b S Pines and T Gelblum (Translators from Arabic to English, 1966), Al-Bīrūni (Translator from Sanskrit to Arabic, ~ 1035 AD), and Patañjali, Al-Bīrūnī's Arabic Version of Patañjali's "Yogasūtra", Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, Vol. 29, No. 2 (1966), pages 302–325
- ^ White 2014, p. [page needed].
- ^ Philipp Maas (2013), A Concise Historiography of Classical Yoga Philosophy, in Periodization and Historiography of Indian Philosophy (Editor: Eli Franco), Sammlung de Nobili, Institut für Südasien-, Tibet- und Buddhismuskunde der Universität Wien, ISBN 978-3-900271-43-5, pages 53–90, OCLC 858797956
- ^ Satish Chandra (2007), Historiography, Religion, and State in Medieval India, ISBN 978-8124100356, pages 135–136
- ^ Ernst, C.W. (2005). "Situating Sufism and Yoga" (PDF). Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. 15: 15–43. doi:10.1017/S1356186304004675.
- ^ "Situating Sufism and Yoga" (PDF). Retrieved 5 September 2010.
- ^ Carl W. Ernst, Persecution and Circumspection in Shattari Sufism, in Islamic Mysticism Contested: Thirteen Centuries of Debate and Conflict (Editors: Fred De Jong and Berndt Radtke), Brill, 1999
- ^ "Sidang Media – Fatwa Yoga". Islam.gov.my. Archived from the original on 6 January 2009. Retrieved 5 September 2010.
The Fatwas of Religious Council in Islamic affairs on Yoga. After carefully studied various reports and factual data, the Council unanimously agreed that this ancient India religious teachings, which involves physical and mental exercises, are Hinduism in nature known as wahdat al-wujud philosophy (oneness of existence; the realization of identity between the Self in man, Atman; and the Divine, BRAHMAN: ‘Brahman is all, and Atman is Brahman'). It is prohibited (haram) for Muslims to practice it.
- ^ Top Islamic body: Yoga is not for Muslims – NBC News
- ^ "Mixed reactions to yoga ban". Thestar.com.my. 23 November 2008. Archived from the original on 22 June 2011. Retrieved 5 September 2010.
- ^ Paul Babie and Neville Rochow (2012), Freedom of Religion Under Bills of Rights, University of Adelaide Press, ISBN 978-0-9871718-0-1, page 98
- ^ "Badawi: Yoga for Muslims OK without chant". Saudi Gazette. Archived from the original on 31 July 2013.
- ^ "Indonesian clerics issue yoga ban". BBC News. 25 January 2009. Retrieved 6 April 2010.
- ^ "Why give yoga religious connotation: Deoband". rediff News. 29 January 2009. Retrieved 5 September 2010.
- ^ Jain, Andrea R. (2014). Selling Yoga: From Counterculture to Pop Culture. Oxford University Press. p. 195. ISBN 978-0-19-939024-3.
- ^ "Find alternative to yoga, urges Jakim" (PDF). New Strait Times. Malaysia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 February 2015.
- ^ "The perils of yoga: Conservative clerics are wary of a popular pastime". Economist.com.
- ^ "It's OK to stretch, just don't believe". Hurriyet.com.tr. Retrieved 5 September 2010.
Sources
- Bryant, Edwin (2009). The Yoga Sutras of Patañjali: A New Edition, Translation, and Commentary. New York, USA: North Point Press. ISBN 978-0-86547-736-0.
- Burley, Mikel (2000). Hatha Yoga: Its Context, Theory and Practice. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 978-8120817067.
- Burley, Mikel (2012). Classical Samkhya and Yoga – An Indian Metaphysics of Experience. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-64887-5.
- Chatterjee, Satischandra; Datta, Dhirendramohan (1984). An Introduction to Indian Philosophy. Calcutta: University of Calcutta.
- Crangle, Edward Fitzpatrick (1994). The Origin and Development of Early Indian Contemplative Practices. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag.
- Dass, Baba Hari (1999). The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali: A Study Guide for Book I: Samadhi Pada. Santa Cruz, CA: Sri Rama Publishing. ISBN 0-918100-20-8.
- De Michelis, Elizabeth (2004). A History of Modern Yoga. London: Continuum. ISBN 0-8264-8772-6.}
- Deussen, Paul (1997). Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Volume 1. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. ISBN 978-8120814677.
- Dumoulin, Heinrich; Heisig, James W.; Knitter, Paul F. (2005). Zen Buddhism: a History: India and China. World Wisdom. ISBN 978-0-941532-89-1.
- Eliade, Mircea (1958). Yoga: Immortality and Freedom. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-14203-6.
- Feuerstein, Georg (1996). The Shambhala Guide to Yoga (1st ed.). Boston & London: Shambhala Publications.
- Feuerstein, Georg (2001). The Yoga Tradition: Its History, Literature, Philosophy and Practice. Hohm Press. ISBN 978-1-890772-18-5.
- Feuerstein, Georg (2002). The Yoga Tradition. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.
- Feuerstein, Georg (2012). The Yoga Tradition: Its History, Literature, Philosophy and Practice. Hohm Press. ISBN 978-1-935387-39-8.
- Flood, Gavin D. (1996). An Introduction to Hinduism. Cambridge University Press.
- Goldberg, Philip (2010). American Veda. From Emerson and the Beatles to Yoga and Meditation. How Indian Spirituality Changed the West. New York: Harmony Books. ISBN 978-0-385-52134-5.
- Hari Dass, Baba (1978). Ashtanga Yoga Primer. Santa Cruz: Sri Ram Publishing. pp. bk. cover. ISBN 978-0-918100-04-7.
- Jacobsen, Knut A., ed. (2011). Yoga Powers. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 978-9004212145.
- Kundakunda. Niyamasara.
- Larson, Gerald James (2008). The Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies: Yoga: India's philosophy of meditation. Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 978-81-208-3349-4.
- Mallinson, James (2011). "Haṭha Yoga". In Jacobsen, Knut A.; Basu, Helene (eds.). Brill's Encyclopedia of Hinduism. Volume Three. BRILL.
- Mallinson, James (28 June 2012). "Sāktism and Hathayoga" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 June 2013. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
- Mallinson, James; Singleton, Mark (2017). Roots of Yoga. Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0-241-25304-5. OCLC 928480104.
- Mehta, Silva; Mehta, Mira; Mehta, Shyam (1990). Yoga: The Iyengar Way. Dorling Kindersley. ISBN 978-0-86318-420-8.
- Müller, Max (1899). Six Systems of Indian Philosophy; Samkhya and Yoga, Naya and Vaiseshika. Calcutta: Susil Gupta (India) Ltd. ISBN 0-7661-4296-5. Reprint edition; Originally published under the title of "The Six Systems of Indian Philosophy."
- Possehl, G. (2003). The Indus Civilization: A Contemporary Perspective. Rowman Altamira. ISBN 978-0-7591-0172-2.
- Radhakrishnan, S. (1971). Indian Philosophy. II. London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd.
- Radhakrishnan, S.; Moore, C. A. (1967). A Sourcebook in Indian Philosophy. Princeton. ISBN 0-691-01958-4.
- Ruff, Jeffrey Clark (2011). "Yoga in the Yoga Upanisads: Disciplines of the Mystical OM Sound". In White, David Gordon (ed.). Yoga in Practice. Princeton University Press. pp. 97–116. ISBN 978-0691140865.
- Samuel, Geoffrey (2008). The Origins of Yoga and Tantra. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-69534-3.
- Satyananda, Swami (2008) [1996]. Asana Pranayama Mudra Bandha (PDF). Munger: Yoga Publications Trust. ISBN 978-81-86336-14-4.
- Singleton, Mark (2010). Yoga Body: the origins of modern posture practice. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-539534-1. OCLC 318191988.
- Sjoman, Norman E. (1999). The Yoga Tradition of the Mysore Palace (2nd ed.). New Delhi, India: Abhinav Publications. pp. 11, 35. ISBN 81-7017-389-2.
- Stiles, Mukunda (2001). Yoga Sutras of Patanjali: With Great Respect and Love. Weiser Books. ISBN 978-1578632015.
- Taimni, I. K. (1961). The Science of Yoga. Adyar, India: The Theosophical Publishing House. ISBN 81-7059-212-7.
- Vasudeva, Somadeva. The Yoga of the Mālinīvijayottara Tantra, Critical edition, translation & notes.
- Vivekananda, Swami. Swami Vivekananda at the Parliament of Religions. Indic Publication. ISBN 978-1-301-19120-8.
- Werner, Karel (1998). Yoga And Indian Philosophy (1977, Reprinted in 1998). Motilal Banarsidass Publ. ISBN 81-208-1609-9.
- Whicher, Ian (1998). The Integrity of the Yoga Darśana: A Reconsideration of Classical Yoga. SUNY Press. ISBN 978-0-7914-3815-2.
- White, David Gordon (2011). "Yoga, Brief History of an Idea" (PDF). Yoga in Practice. Princeton University Press. pp. 1–23.
- White, David Gordon (2014). The "Yoga Sutra of Patanjali": A Biography. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-1-4008-5005-1.
- Worthington, Vivian (1982). A History of Yoga. Routledge. ISBN 0-7100-9258-X.
- Wynne, Alexander (2007). The Origin of Buddhist Meditation. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-09741-8.
- Zimmer, Heinrich (1951). Philosophies of India. New York, New York: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-01758-1. Bollingen Series XXVI; Edited by Joseph Cambell.
- Zydenbos, Robert (2006). Jainism Today and Its Future. Munich: Manya Verlag. p. 66.
External links
 | Wikiquote has quotations related to: Yoga |
Definitions from Wiktionary- Media from Wikimedia Commons
- Textbooks from Wikibooks
- Travel guide from Wikivoyage
- Resources from Wikiversity
| vteMeditation | |
|---|---|
| Main topics |
|
| Traditions |
|
| Techniques |
|
| Leaders |
|
| |
Category