Nowadays people are using yoga as a means of curing diseases, but its original purpose is different. Its real goal is self realization.
In the present times, Asanas (physical postures), along with a few Pranayama (breath control) exercises is passing off as yoga. No one particularly seems to be concerned about the Yama and Niyamas. In his Principles of Yoga (Yoga Sutras), Sage Patanjali, first mentioned about the Yama and Niyamas (Moral Discipline and Observances) and the next steps of Pratyahara and Dhyana (Withdrawal of senses and Meditation) are mentioned later. Sri Sankara has summarized all these principles in one Sloka (a couplet of sanskrit verse).
In his treatise Viveka Chudamani, Adi Sankaracharya says about Yoga thus -
yōgasya prathamaṁ dvāraṁ vāgnirōdhō aparigraḥ
nirāśā ca nirīhā ca nityamēkāntaśīlatā
According to Sankara's teachings, the foremost steps in Yoga are,
1. vāgnirōdhō: Control over speech
2. aparigraḥ: Not accepting anything from others
3. nirāśā: Not having hope
4. nirīhā: Not hankering after fame, status, money etc
5. nityamēkāntaśīlatā: Always staying in solitude
These are the foundational principles of yoga. Without these steps as the basis, any number of practices are futile.
Just by practicing yoga postures without first practicing the above basic principles, yoga remains merely, a form of workout like any other physical exercise. One might get the benefit of improved health, but cannot attain spiritual progress.
Is it right to bring down such a noble objective of Yoga to the level of mere physical exercise? We need to rethink about our attitude towards Yoga.
All rights reserved. This article has been translated by Lakshmi T, which was originally posted in teluguyogi.net on January 4, 2009. The content or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express permission of the publisher.