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Patanjali

Perhaps the classic description of yoga is the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, which form the basis not only of the darshana called "yoga"--one of six such "orthodox" (i.e. Veda-accepting) schools of Hindu philosophy--but also of the practice of yoga in most ashrams (to the extent these can be distinguished). The school (dharshana) of Indian philosophy known as "yoga" is primarily Upanishadic with roots in Samkhya, and some scholars see some influence from Buddhism.

Patanjali in the Yoga Sutras presents the goal of yoga as 'the cessation of mental fluctuations' (cittavrtti nirodha), an achievement which gives rise to the possibility of stable meditation and thus deeper states of absorption (dhyana or samadhi). This requires considerable restraint (yama) and self-discipline (niyama; see below for Patanjali's eight limbs of yoga)). Patanjali's Yoga Sutras are the classic exposition of Raja Yoga (Skt: Royal yoga) and held as authoritative by all schools.

Patanjali's text sets forth eight "limbs" of yoga practice. Interestingly, only one of them involves physical postures. The eight are:

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Hatha yoga

Over the last century the term yoga has come to be especially associated with the postures (Sanskrit āsanas) of hatha yoga. Hatha yoga has gained wide popularity outside of India and traditional yoga-practicing religions, and the postures are sometimes presented as entirely secular or non-spiritual in nature.

Traditional Hatha Yoga is a complete yogic path, including moral disciplines, physical exercises (e.g., postures and breath control), and meditation, and encompasses far more than the 'yoga' of postures and exercise practiced in the West as physical culture. The seminal work on Hatha Yoga is the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, written by Swami Svatmarama.

Hatha Yoga was invented to provide a form of physical purification and training that would prepare aspirants for the higher training that is called Raja Yoga (see above). This is still true today. Despite this, many in the West practice 'Hatha yoga' solely for the perceived health benefits it provides, and not as a path to enlightenment.

Natya yoga

The guide to Natya Yoga was written by Bharata Muni. Sage Narada along with Gandharvas were the first to practise Natya Yoga, which comprise all the four main yoga's. Natya Yoga was practised by the medieval devadasis, and is currently taught in a few orthodox schools of Bharatanatyam and Odissi.

Buddhist yoga

Within the various schools of Tibetan Buddhism yoga likewise holds a central place, though not in the form presented by Patanjali or the Gita. (For example, physical postures are rarely practiced.) An example would be "guru yoga," the veneration of the spiritual teacher which must be done at the beginning of the spiritual path and regularly throughout. In the tantric traditions a number of practices are classified by the name "yogatantra." Yogacara ("Yoga Adepts"), which also known as Cittamatra ("Consciousness Only") is an important philosophical school within Indo-Tibetan Buddhism.

Yoga and tantra

Yoga is often mentioned in company with Tantra. While the two have deep similarities, most traditions distinguish them from one another.

They are similar in that both amount to families of spiritual texts, practices, and lineages with origins in the Indian subcontinent. (Coincidentally, both have been popularized to some extent in the West, with perhaps a shallower understanding of their nature.)

Their differences are variously expressed. Some Hindu commentators see yoga as a process whereby body consciousness is seen as the root cause of bondage, while tantra views the body as a means to understanding, rather than as an obstruction. It must be said that in India, tantra often carries quite negative connotations involving sexual misbehavior and black magic.

Tantra has roots in the first millennium CE, and incorporates much more of a theistic basis. Almost entirely founded on Shiva and Shakti worship, Hindu tantra visualizes the ultimate Brahman as Param Shiva, manifested through Shiva (the passive, masculine force of Lord Shiva) and Shakti (the active, creative feminine force of his consort, variously known as Ma Kali, Durga, Shakti, Parvati and others). It focuses on the kundalini, a three and a half-coiled 'snake' of spiritual energy at the base of the spine that rises through the chaKrishna.htmlas until union between Shiva and Shakti (also known as samadhi) is achieved. (Some Hindu yoga teachers, however, have adopted these concepts.)

Tantra emphasises mantra (Sanskrit prayers, often to gods, that are repeated), yantra (complex symbols representing gods in various forms through intricate geometric figures), and rituals that range from simple murti (statue representations of deities) or image worship to meditation on a corpse! While tantric texts (see kaularvatantra, mahanirvana tantra) and teachers (e.g. Abhinava Gupta) may seem odd and highly arcane from the point of view of classical yoga, that these incorporate yoga concepts seems clear.

In Tibetan Buddhism, which embraces both, yoga is seen as a synonym for "spiritual practice," while "tantra" refers to a specific category of texts and practices, etc that are roughly analogous to the Hindu ones described above. (The fact that Hindu "yoga" has these things as well may have escaped the attention of classical Tibetan commentators.) In that spirit other Buddhist traditions, such as Theravada, practice a form of "yoga" but reject "tantra."

Great modern yogis

Beginning with the arrival of the great Swami Vivekananda in 1893, there has been a steady flow of learned teachers that have brought the transcendental message of Yoga to the West. Although the influence of these Yogins is deeply inscribed into the surface of the modern yogic ethos, both in India and America, a proliferation of 'yoga clinics' and non-spiritual yoga systems has been seen in the West, especially in the United States. While many Americans view it as an exercise system that simply enhances one's health, a much greater number in India (and a minority in America) still see it as it has been for over 5,000 years, whether in the Bhagavad Gita, the Yoga Sutras, the writings of the Dalai Lama, or the "Yoga Boom" of the 20th century, a system of spirituality universal in its application.

First brought to America by the great yogi and disciple of Shri RamaKrishna Paramahamsa, Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902), the Hindu representative at the 1893 World Parliament of Religions in Chicago, Yoga has also been transported in the arms of many other great yogis and formed into stratified schools seeking to propagate Yoga in its great spiritual context. These teachers have made their imprint in both India and America, and continue to serve as modern embodiments of Yoga.

Many modern schools of Hatha Yoga derive from the school of Sri Tirumalai Amacharya, who taught in Mysore, India from 1924 until 1947, at which time he moved to Madras, where he taught until his death in 1989. Among his students prominent in popularizing Yoga in the West were Sri K. Pattabhi Jois famous for popularizing the vigorous Ashtanga Vinyasa style, B.K.S. Iyengar who emphasizes alignment and the use of props, Indra Devi and Krishna.htmlishnamacharya's son T.K.V. Desikachar who developed the Viniyoga style. Desikachar founded the Krishna.htmlishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram in Madras (now Chennai), with the aim of making available the heritage of yoga as taught by Krishna.htmlishnamacharya.

Paramahansa Yogananda (1893-1952), a practitioner of Krishna.htmliya Yoga, arrived in America as a powerful example of the universality of Yoga in 1920. Seeking to establish the underlying unity between the original Yoga and the original Christianity of Jesus, he came to the U.S. with the Hindu Bhagavad Gita in one hand and the Christian New Testament in the other, speaking to his disciples in a pluralist ideology with Yoga as the binding force. Yogananda founded the Self-Realization Fellowship in Los Angeles, in 1925. His Autobiography of a Yogi is considered a spiritual classic. His chief disciple was Rajarsi Janakananda, a great yogi born in the West.

Sri Aurobindo's translations and interpretations of Hindu and Yogic scriptures, such as the Upanishads and Bhagavad-Gita, reflect his background as a Western-reared Bengali who later embraced his homelands spiritual traditions, focusing on the goddess Srii. His epic Hindu/Yoga poem Savitri is a treasure of Hindu Yogic literature, formally being the longest poem ever written in English. Besides his influence and scholarly writing on Yoga, he also founded Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry, that continues to propagate the practice of Integral Yoga. This is Aurobindo's synthesis of the four main Yogas (Karma, Jnana, Bhakti and Raja).

Swami Sivananda (born in Pattamadai, Tamil Nadu, on September 8, 1887, attained Mahasamadhi in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, on July 14, 1963), one of the greatest yoga masters of modern times, authored over 200 books on yoga and spirituality. Sivananda also established Sivananda ashram in Rishikesh, and founded the Divine Life Society. His disciple, Swami Satyananda (born in Almora, Uttarakhand, in 1923), has established the International Yoga Fellowship Movement, and the Bihar School of Yoga. Satyananda's main disciple Swami Niranjananda (born in Rajnandgaon, Madhya Pradesh in 1960) later founded Bihar Yoga Bharati, the world's first yoga university. Another disciple of Swami Sivananda's, Swami Vishnu Devananda (1927-1993), was sent by his Guru to the West in 1957, where he founded the International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centers. He authored The Complete Illustrated Book of Yoga, first published in 1960. He is also known as the Flying Swami for personally flying a small airplane over conflict areas in the name of peace.

Swami Rama Tirtha was the founding spiritual head of the Himalayan Institute. He was the first yogi to come to America and be subjected to the scrutiny of modern science. Among other things, he stunned doctors by stopping the beat of his heart completely for several minutes.

Gopi Krishna.htmlishna (1903-1984) was a Kashmiri office worker and spiritual seeker. He wrote autobiographical accounts of his spiritual experiences with Yoga. His most famous one is Kundalini: Path to Higher Consciousness. Gopi Krishna.htmlishna's graphic accounts of his experiences stand out as among the clearest journals documenting a spiritual transformation. They are highly recommended as reading for anyone interested in Yogic phenomena.

Swami Ramdevji Maharaj is a modern Indian yogi who follows the tradition of astanga yoga discovered by Maharshi Patanjali. While the important aspect of pranayama was neglected due to its lack of popularity and fear of potential negative side-effects, Swami Ramdevji Maharaj has broadcast teachings about it over a satellite channel AASTHA and held mass campainings all over the country. He claims to have used these techniques to cure various diseases.

Shrii Shrii Anandamurti, Bengal, India, 1921-1990 incorporated within Raja Yoga, advanced meditation techniques from the tantras. He is the founder of Ananda Marga.

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada popularised the process of Bhakti Yoga in many countries around the world through his movement called the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, (more popularly known as the Hare Krishna movement) which he founded in 1966.

Mahamandaleshwar Paramhans Swami Maheshwarananda (Swamiji) comes from Rajasthan, India, and has been living in Vienna, Austria since 1972. Swamiji is the author of the scientific master-system Yoga in Daily Life and founder of the International Sri Deep Madhavananda Ashram Fellowship and Yoga in Daily Life ashrams and centres worldwide. He also inspired the foundations of the Yoga in Daily Life Youth Union and the Ayurveda Academy of Yoga in Daily Life.

Swami Satyananda Saraswati (born 1923) is an important yoga master and guru in both his native India and the West, developing a physical and mental relaxation technique called Yoga Nidra, which literally means "sleep of the yogis".

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