When Did Yoga Begin?

CHAPTER ONE

What Is Yoga?

Yoga is a Sanskrit term meaning “union”—a process of uniting your individual self with your essential Self, or the soul’s union with God. Every religion has tried to depict the glorious, intrinsic nature of man in various ways. The Biblical statements, “God created man in His own image,” “The Kingdom of Heaven is within Thee,” the declaration of the Koran, “Man is a ray of God,” and the Upanishadic statement, “Aham Brahmasmi”— “Thou art That,” all these constitute the basic theme of the world’s religions. They all direct you to your Divine destiny—that of discovering that you are essentially the Eternal Self. “Man, Know Thyself,” as several ancient Greek philosophers affirmed.

However, right from childhood you are conditioned to think of yourself in terms of the limited body-mind complex. These concepts become so entrenched in the mind that it takes considerable effort through Yoga to go beyond these limitations and realize one's true Reality.

Frustrated by life's circumstances, stress and negative thoughts plaguing our minds, we oftentimes feel small, helpless and defeated. With a change of attitude, however, and a degree of transformation in your life through Yoga, you discover that you are not as feeble as you thought. Rather, you have abundant energy to overcome obstacles that you once thought were insurmountable. You can render the impossible, possible, and that there are endless possibilities of discovering new horizons within yourself because your source is Divine.

Christ, Buddha, Rama, Krishna, Moses and Mohammed all spoke of the possibility of rising beyond the narrow confines of the mind in order to experience the joy and the expansion of peace by being reunited with the Divine Self within. That is the goal of life—Self-Realization. That is the goal of Yoga.

There is much misconception about Yoga in the West. Some identify it with physical poses and exercises, or Hatha Yoga. Some consider Yoga a way to achieve miracles in life and develop psychic powers. But, there is more to Yoga than this. It is therefore necessary to understand the true implications of Yoga and what it has to offer in one's life.

The Yoga system of philosophy presents a rational sequence, both in theory and practice, of the necessary disciplines one must adopt towards discovering one's true nature and potential. When we speak of Yoga in this book, we mean Integral Yoga— a way of life and thought that synthesizes all aspects of the ancient Yoga tradition into a comprehensive plan of personality integration.

When Did Yoga Begin?

It is very difficult to fix a date in history when Yoga began. The Vedic literature (source of Yogic teachings) dates back to a period thousands of years before Christ. However, it is not the antiquity of the teachings and philosophy of Yoga, but its time-proven techniques of self-discipline, mind control and spiritual perfection that give it its authenticity, meaning and significance.

Newton discovered the law of gravity, but the law did not originate with him. Much in the same way, the mystic laws of self-advancement, spiritual unfoldment and Divine Realization did not start with someone who simply discovered certain spiritual laws. Therefore, questions like who discovered Yoga, and when, are of little importance for one who seeks inner unfoldment and self-perfection.

It is enough to recognize that Yoga has existed for thousands of years and has proven itself, time and time again, as the most powerful movement in nourishing the religions of the world and helping mankind in discovering one’s Essential Nature and Universality of Life.

From the book Integral Yoga: The Secret to Enlightenment by Swami Jyotirmayananda, published by the Yoga Research Foundation. © Swami Jyotirmayananda. All rights reserved.