Light on Yoga - Day 7

Tribute to Guriji and Light on Yoga - Day 7

What is Yoga?

The wealth of information in the next 30 or so pages (depending on your edition) gives me enough to study for the next few lifetimes or more.  Mr. Iyengar brings wisdom from Patanjali and the Yoga Sutras, The Bhagavad Gita, the Kathopanishad and the Hatha Yoga Pradipika.  All ancient texts that give us clues into how to reach the ultimate freedom even in this day and age.

Mr. Iyengar begins by giving us the Sanskrit (ancient language of India) definition of yoga.

From Light on Yoga: "The word Yoga is derived from the Sanskrit root yuj - meaning to bind, join, attach and yoke, to direct and concentrate one's attention on, to use and apply. It also means union or communion. It is the true union of our will with the will of God."

Facts from the first page:

- Yoga is one of the six orthodox systems of Indian philosophy.  This gives inquiry into what are the other five? Let me know what you find out. :)

- Patanjali is credited with systemizing yoga in the Yoga Sutras which consist of 196 aphorisms.

In Indian thought, "everything is permeated by the Supreme Universal Spirit (Paramatma) of which the individual human spirit (jivatma) is a part. The system of yoga is so called because it teaches the means by which the jivatma can be united to, or be in communion with the Paramatma, and so secure liberation (moksa)."

- One who follows the path of yoga is a yogi or yogin

-Mr. Iyengar gives reference to the Bhagavad Gita as being the most important authority on Yoga philosophy and the meaning of yoga is a deliverance from contact with pain and sorrow.  This leads us as yoga practitioners to another place of study. 

Mr. Iyengar gives a quote from chapter 6 of the Gita. "A lamp does not flicker in a place where no wind blows; so it is with a yoga, who controls his mind, intellect and self is stilled through the practice of Yoga, the yogi by the grace of the Spirit within himself finds fulfilment. Then he knows the joy eternal which is beyond the pale of the senses which his reason cannot grasp."

As you can see from this first page alone a glimpse of all that yoga is.  A quote back from the preface where Mr. Iyengar writes, " The guru (master) appears when the sisya (pupil) is ready."
I know this to be true and when one is ready you never know who that guru may be.  I can only hope I am a worthy student on this path. 

Namaste.
Pamela Nelson
www.plnyoga.blogspot.com