This art of right living was perfected and practiced in the Indian subcontinent thousands of years ago and the foundations of yoga philosophy were written down in The Yoga Sutra of Patanjali. This sacred text describes the inner workings of the mind and provides an eight-step blueprint for controlling its restlessness so as to enjoy lasting peace. For the first time in the history of humanity, Patanjali brought religion to the level of science.
People still have misconception about yoga, as if it were a cult of Hinduism. To clear the misconception, great philosopher/mystic Osho says, "Yoga is not a religion. It is a pure science just like mathematics, physics or chemistry. It is just an accident that Hindus discovered it. It is not Hindu. It is pure mathematics of the inner being. So a Mohammedan can be a yogi, a Christian can be a yogi, a Jaina, and a Buddhist can be a yogi."I have been practicing yoga since my childhood. In fact, every one of us does yoga every day but we are not aware of it. The awareness that is the ultimate goal of yoga is missing. We greet people with folded hands and that is a part of yoga. We sit on the floor with folded legs while eating and that is a part of yoga. Yoga is our nature and it is the art of union or bringing together of that which was never separate.
Being a martial art instructor, I do stretching in preparation of martial art training. Most stretching steps in my martial art classes are yoga postures and thousands of my students benefit from it. Not only that, I end each martial art class with meditation. Yoga and martial arts classes without meditation are incomplete. Yoga is not only a workout; it is a process of work. It can make us alive in the present moment—the only place where we exist.
Most yoga practitioners are unaware of yam and niyam. Yoga starts from these two things. They purify the inner and outer selves of humans and make them ready for the spiritual journey. Yoga Asana is not twisting a body in different angles or sitting in dhyana (meditation) only.
Yoga is a combination of physical and mental exercise. Being physically fit but mentally dull will not work. Yoga means to be in perfect tune with the existence and have absolute harmony of body, mind and spirit. When people become physically and mentally healthy, only then can they realize the ultimate truth. One can realize the ultimate truth through meditation.
Meditation is not doing; it is witnessing the happening. Yoga practice may begin with the physical exercise but it gradually leads to the mental exercise.
In the present day, yoga is not limited to the Himalayan caves or in the hands of limited masters. It is available in every house through television, internet and yoga teacher in yoga classes. Everyone should take the yoga classes to be physically and mentally healthy and continue practicing it as a part of their life. It should be included as a compulsory subject in school curriculum.
Yoga should not be confined to mere formality like the way we practice other international UN days because it is a pure science of well being. It is the best method for integrating body, mind and soul. Yoga is a light, which once lit, never dims and the better we practice the brighter the inner flame. Baba Ramdev and Sadhguru Jaggi Basudeva of Isha Foundation enhanced my knowledge of yoga and my beloved master Osho gave me the master key of inner awareness. It was these great souls that I remembered this Yoga Day.
The author is a meditation practitioner
girithejorba@gmail.com
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