Yoga DarshanYoga Darshan

•Yoga Darshan Yoga Darshan

(Philosophy of Yoga)(Philosophy of Yoga)

Philosophy is the discipline concerned with questions of how one should live (ethics); what sorts of things exist and what are their essential natures (metaphysics); what counts as genuine knowledge (epistemology); and what are the correct principles of reasoning (logic).

Darshan /PhilosophyDarshan /PhilosophyWay of lifeWay of life

Shat Darshan

• Indian Philosophy has Indian Philosophy has six darshanas called six darshanas called

Shat DarshanasShat Darshanas

Shat DarshanShat Darshan• Purva MimamsaPurva Mimamsa - (or simply Mimamsa),

the tradition of Vedic exegesis, with emphasis on Vedic rituals.

• VedantaVedanta - (also called Uttara Mimamsa), the Upanishadic tradition, with emphasis on Vedic philosophy.

• NyayaNyaya -- the school of logic

• VaisheshikaVaisheshika - - the atomist school

• SamkhyaSamkhya - the enumeration school

• YogaYoga - the school of Patanjali

Yoga DarshanYoga Darshan

Principal Texts:

1. Bhagavad Gita

2. Patanjali Yoga Sutra

3. Hath Yoga Pradipika

Bhagavad Gita

• Karma Yoga:Karma Yoga: The yoga of action

• Bhakti Yoga:Bhakti Yoga: The yoga of devotion

• Jnana Yoga:Jnana Yoga: The yoga of knowledge

Patanjali Yoga SutraPatanjali Yoga Sutra

• The sage Patanjali is regarded as the founder of the formal Yoga philosophy.

Hath Yoga PradipikaHath Yoga Pradipika

• Lord Shiva (आदि�ना�थ) is credited with propounding Hatha Yoga. The most comprehensive text of Hatha Yoga is the Hatha Yoga Pradipika by Yogi Swatmarama.

Yoga of PatanjaliYoga of Patanjali Hath YogaHath Yoga

Yoga of Patanjali begins with a

purification of the mind (yamas) and spirit (niyamas), then comes to the body via asana (body postures) and pranayama (breath).

Hatha Yoga is a development of — but also differs substantially from — the Raja Yoga of Patanjali. It focuses

on shatkarma, the purification of the body as leading to the purification of the mind (ha), and prana, or vital energy (tha).

Asanas of Patanjali's are largely a means of preparing for meditation.

Hath Yoga contains substantial tantric influence, and introduces chakras and kundalini. it also marks the development of asanas as full body 'postures' .

Patanjali Yoga SutraPatanjali Yoga Sutra

• The Sutras are built on a foundation of Samkhya philosophy.

• In the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali prescribes adherence to eight "limbs" or steps (the sum of which constitute "Ashtanga Yoga") to quiet one's mind and achieve kaivalya. The Yoga Sutras form the theoretical and philosophical basis of Raja Yoga, and are considered to be the most organized and complete definition of that discipline.

Patanjali Yoga SutraPatanjali Yoga Sutra

Patanjali divided his Yoga Sutras into 4 chapters or books (Sanskrit pada) containing in all 196 aphorisms:

1. Samadhi Pada (51 sutras)

2. Sadhana Pada (55 sutras)

3. Vibhuti Pada (56 sutras)

4. Kaivalya Pada (34 sutras)

Samadhi PadaSamadhi Pada

Samadhi Pada (51 sutras)Samadhi Pada (51 sutras)

Samadhi refers to a blissful state where the yogi is absorbed into the One. The author describes yoga and then the nature and the means to attaining samadhi. This chapter contains the famous definitional verse: "Yogaś citta-vritti-nirodhaḥ" ("Yoga is the restraint of mental modifications.)

Sadhana Pada• Sadhana Pada (55 sutras) • Sadhana is the Sanskrit word for "practice" or

"discipline". Here the author outlines two forms of Yoga: Kriya Yoga (Action Yoga) and Ashtanga Yoga (Eightfold or Eightlimbed Yoga).

• Kriya yoga, sometimes called Karma Yoga, is also expounded in Chapter 3 of the Bhagavad Gita, where Arjuna is encouraged by Krishna to act without attachment to the results or fruit of action and activity. It is the yoga of selfless action and service.

• Ashtanga Yoga describes the eight limbs that together constitute Raja Yoga.

Vibhuti PadaVibhuti Pada

• Vibhuti Pada (56 sutras)

• Vibhuti is the Sanskrit word for "power" or "manifestation". Supra-normal powers are acquired by the practice of yoga. The temptation of these powers should be avoided and the attention should be fixed only on liberation.

Kaivalya Pada

• Kaivalya Pada (34 sutras)

• Kaivalya literally means "isolation", but as used in the Sutras stands for emancipation, liberation and used interchangeably with Moksha (liberation), which is the goal of Yoga. The Kaivalya Pada describes the nature of liberation and the reality of the transcendental self.

Swami Vivekananda defines yoga Yoga

Each Soul is potentially divine.The goal is to manifest this divinity within by controlling nature, external and internal. Do this either by work, or worship or psychic control, or philosophy, by one, or more or all of these and be free.

- Swami Vivekananda

Ashtang Yoga (Raja Yoga)

Patañjali's Yoga Sutras begin with the statement yogaś citta-vṛtti-nirodhaḥ , "Yoga limits the oscillations of the mind". They go on to detail the ways in which mind can create false ideations and advocate meditation on real objects, which process, it is said, will lead to a spontaneous state of quiet mind, the "Nirbija" or "seedless state", in which there is no mental object of focus.

Eight limbs of Ashtang Yoga

The eight limbs of Ashtanga Yoga are:

1. Yama2. Niyama 3. Āsana4. Pranayama 5. Pratyahara 6. Dharana 7. Dhyana8. Samadhi

1. Yama1. Yama

• Also known as the great universal vows or the sarvabhauma maha vratas, because they are not limited by either class, creed, time or circumstances.

• They are the guidelines for how we interact with the outer world, the social disciplines to guide us in our relationships with others.

Five YamasFive Yamas

1. Ahimsa

2. Satya

3. Asteya

4. Brahmacharya

5. Aparigraha

AhimsaAhimsa

• Ahimsa (non-violence) is the awareness and practice of non-violence in thought, speech and action.

• It advocates the practices of compassion, love, understanding, patience, self-love, and worthiness.

Satya

• Satya (truthfulness) is: "To be in harmony with mind, word and action, to conduct speech and mind according to truth, to express through speech and to retain it in the intellect what has been seen, understood or heard."

• A perfectly truthful person is he who expresses in his speech exactly what he thinks in his mind and in the end acts according to it.

AsteyaAsteya

• Asteya (non-stealing) is to give up the unauthorized possession of thought, speech and action.

• It stands against covetousness and envy.

• It advocates the cultivation of a sense of completeness and self-sufficiency in order to progress beyond base cravings.

Brahmacharya

• Brahmacharya (celibacy) is a behavior, which brings man nearer to the Divine.

• It is “towards Brahma” – that is towards our goal. Focusing all our energies and resources towards attaining the Goal.

AparigrahaAparigraha

• Aparigraha is the non-accumulation of worldly objects, caused by covetousness and attachment.

• The commentator Vyasa says that this last state of yama is attained when one remains totally detached from wordly pleasures of all kinds and so effectively refrains from committing himsa or violence of any sort.

2. Niyama2. Niyama

• How we interact with ourselves, our internal world.

• The niyamas are about self-regulation—helping us maintain a positive environment in which to grow.

• Their practice harnesses the energy generated from the cultivation of the earlier yamas.

Five NiyamasFive Niyamas

1. Shaucha

2. Santosha

3. Tapa

4. Swadhyaya

5. Ishwar-Pranidhan

Shaucha

• Shaucha implies both external as well as internal purity. In the words of sage Manu, water purifies the body; truthfulness the mind; true knowledge the intellect and the soul is purified by knowledge and austerity.

• It advocates the practices of intellectual purity, purity of speech and of the body.

SantoshSantosh

• Santosh (contentment) is not desiring more than what one has earned by his honest labor.

• This state of mind is about maintaining equanimity through all that life offers.

• Santosha involves the practice of gratitude and joyfulness—maintaining calm at all costs.

• This state of mind does not depend on any external-causes.

TapaTapa

• Tapa (Austerity) is the power to stand thirst and hunger, cold and heat, discomforts of place and postures, silent meditation and ritual fasts.

• As intense discipline burns up impurities, the body and its senses become supremely refined.

• It also maintains that the perfect man is he who practices both mental as well as physical austerity.

• It is the effort put forth in attaining a Goal.

SwadhyayaSwadhyaya

• Swadhyaya (self-education) consists of scriptural studies.

• The scripture being, the Vedas and Upanishads together with the recitation of the Gayatri Mantra and the Om mantra.

• It is self-study as well as study of the self.

Ishwar-PranidhanIshwar-Pranidhan

• Ishwar-PranidhanIshwar-Pranidhan (surrender to God) is the dedication of all our actions, performed either by intellect, speech or body, to the Divine.

• The results of all such actions are dependent upon Divine decision.

• The mortal mind can simply aspire to realize the Divine through dedication, purification and concentration of the mind.

• Yamas and Niyamas are not about right and wrong. They are about being honest with the true Self.

• Living according to these principles are about living our lives in a better way, about moving towards an understanding, about making it possible to 'connect' with the Divine.

The Benefits of Practicing Yamas The Benefits of Practicing Yamas and Niyamasand Niyamas

AsanaAsana

• The postures of meditation should embody steadiness and ease.

AsanaAsana

• This occurs as all effort relaxes and unified contemplation arises, revealing that the body and the infinite universe are indivisible.

AsanaAsana

• Then, one is no longer disturbed by the play of opposites.

3. Asana3. Asana

• In the Yoga Sutra, Patanjali suggests that the only requirement for practicing asanas is that it be "steady and comfortable".

• The body is held poised, and relaxed, with the practitioner experiencing no discomfort.

• When control of the body is mastered, practitioners free themselves from the duality of heat/cold, hunger/satiety, joy/grief, which is the first step toward the unattachment that relieves suffering. This non-dualistic perspective comes from the Sankya school of the Himalayan Masters.

4. Pranayama4. Pranayama

• Pranayama, in which the control of prana is achieved (initially) from the control of one's breathing.

PranaPrana

• Pranasyedam vashe sarvamTridive yatpratishthitham Maatheva puthran rakshaswaShrishcha pragnyam cha vidhehi na ithi

• Whatever is there on all the three places(earth, space & heaven), is all controlled by Prana, the Life Force.

• O Prana, protect us, as the mother protects the child.

• Please give us the wealth & the intellect.

Nadis & Chakras

4. Pranayama4. Pranayama

• With effort relaxing, the flow of inhalation and exhalation can be brought to a standstill; this is called Pranayama – control of Prana.

PranayamaPranayama

• As the movement patterns of each breath - inhalation, exhalation, lull - are observed as to duration,number, and area of focus, breath becomes spacious and subtle.

PranayamaPranayama

• As realization dawns, the distinction between breathing in and out falls away.

PranayamaPranayama

• Then the veil lifts from the mind’s luminosity.

PranayamaPranayama

• And the mind’s potential for concentration is realized.

• Puraka or inhalation techniques are about regular and controlled inhalation. It also teaches regulating the entire breathing process and reducing the number of inhalations per minute.

• Rechaka or exhalation exercises teach slow and ordered breathing besides reducing the number of inhalations and exhalations per minute.

• Kumbhaka consists of retaining the breath after stopping natural inhalation and exhalation.

• Pranayama is converting both exhalation and inhalation into retention and storing the retained Prana in various internal organs for various lengths of time.

Stages of PranayamaStages of Pranayama

Benefits of PranayamaBenefits of Pranayama

• When practiced along with yogasanas the benefits of pranayama are more pronounced.

• It enables the mind to acquire the capacity to concentrate on any given object of attention.

• It helps in unveiling true knowledge.

5. Pratyahara5. Pratyahara

• Pratyahara (alternate food) is feeding the mind with an alternative food.

• It is the turning point – from external to internal

• The mind is focussed within.

7. Dharana7. Dharana

Dharana (concentration) is focussing of attention on one thought.

8. Dhyana8. Dhyana

DhyanaDhyana ( (meditation) is the ability to sustain mind’s attention without getting distracted.

• This is not a technique but rather a state of mind, a delicate state of awareness.

9. Samadhi9. Samadhi

SamadhiSamadhi (total absorption) is the state of becoming one with the True Self and merge into the object of concentration.

• In this state of mind, the perceiver and the object of perception unite through the very act of perception—a true unity of all thought and action.

• This is the culmination of all yogic endeavors—the ultimate 'yoga' or connection between the individual and the universal Soul

Antaranga YogaAntaranga Yoga

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Vivekananda Kendra,Kanyakumari