According to archaeologists, the ancient 5,000-year old figures carved in stone which were found in India, represent the image of a meditating yogi. The figure is shown seated with legs crossed and resting on his knees with his hands. The discoverer of this blueprint – an archaeologist Sir John Marshall - called this figure Shiva Pashupati. The first written mentions of yoga are found in ancient religious book "Rigveda" - one of four collections of Vedas - the sacred books of Indian priests (Brahmans). Scientists estimate the age of this book is approximately 3,500 years (though, the Indians believe that these books existed since the beginning of creation). And this is not the only descriptions of the concepts and teachings of Yoga of such impressive antiquity. In various ways, the term "yoga" is used in the well-known Bhagavad Gita. Gita is a holy book of Hindu culture and literature monument of the IV century B.C. Among the many possible topics of yoga in the Gita, the greatest attention is paid to the following three:
Karma Yoga: yoga of activities
Jnana Yoga: yoga of knowledge
Bhakti Yoga: yoga of devotion
An influential commentator on Indian literature - Madhusūdana Saraswati divided eighteen chapters of Gita into three sections, six chapters each. According to his method of dividing the first six chapters are Karma Yoga, which is the intermediate part, a bridge between actions and their results, and the last six on the contrary have the attitude to the immediate result that Saraswati called knowledge (Jnana). Mid is the six chapters of Bhakti. Later this system was accepted by some and rejected by other commentators.
Before you begin to reasonably know about yoga, there is something more than just "yoga - this is from India." It has only once get acquainted with the history of yoga as a desire to learn more asanas and pranayama will move deeply into your heart, where nothing will be able to beat this out, even the incredible complexity of some of the exercises.
So, let's start.
In the never-existing land Arctis, the most ancient civilization of the planet, a knowledge was born. When Arctis disappeared after the accident, the survivors of several generations of residents gave it to the best minds in three continents - Hittis, Pacifis and Atlantis. But the time has passed, and these worlds has gone, too. And the knowledge had passed in Ancient Egypt, and then - in the pre-Aryan Indian culture. People of pre-Aryan India created images, which in the light of modern science may be called the images of yogis. It was four and a half thousand years ago. A thousand years B.C. ago, in the valley of the Ganges, the Indo-Aryan culture appeared. In the 5-6 centuries B.C., its sages created the sacred books of the Vedas, then – comments of Upanishads, giving a powerful impetus to the development of philosophical thought. Time passed, and the idea was vested in action: so, the six brahman darshanas, six philosophical systems were born. Their names are Mimansa, Vedanta, Sankhya, Yoga, Nyaya and Vaisheshika. Yoga is considered by all other systems as a general method and means of knowing the world.
As a philosophical knowledge, it came to us from the last third of the first millennium B.C., and as the myth - from the ancient civilization. It is even older than the most ancient ones in the sense of being born from the legend. Do you feel what you are going to do? Over this thing the time has no power. In the language of yoga the world itself is talking to you, in all its firmness, which attracts and impresses.
In the modern world everything is much more prosaic. If not take into account everything written above, one can even think yoga is nothing more than fashionable global passion having come from India. In America, Europe, Russia and Asia, there are a lot of schools and branches, these are multiply as flies. If look at this from outside, it will be unpleasant. “What does it have, that the whole world is mad of it? Nonsense.” No. You just look at this from inside – tantra, karma, yantra, laya will help you, and all the ancient continents, too.
Let's apply to historical roots, yoga learning sources. Scientific tradition imputes the separation of yoga learning as independent system to a legendary Indian sage Patanjali (11-1 centuries B.C.). Patanjali separated yoga in the independent system on the basis of already existent knowledge and experience collected by yogi experts. In his transactions called “Yoga-Sutra”, Patanjali expounds philosophy and practice of that yoga, which is considered the classic one by the most of explorers. According to ancient sages' tradition, Patanjali does not pretends to an authorship in creation of yoga philosophic system. He just collects oral data reached him, and commented on these in the spirit of a unified doctrine. Philosophical terminology and interpretation of the practice of yoga given in the “Yoga-Sutra" is also coordinated with the authoritative texts of the Vedas and Upanishads.
In the original teachings of Patanjali, Yoga is divided into eight parts:
1) yama - restrictions in relationships with people and with nature;
2) niyama - Instructions of lifestyle;
3) asana - a variety of postures and body poses;
4) pranayama - breathing exercises associated with energy accumulation;
5) pratyahara - control and easing of the perception flow, mental relaxation;
6) dharana - concentration of thought;
7) dhyana - meditation, controllable stream of consciousness;
8) samadhi - the perfection of mind, knowledge of absolute truth. Changed, ecstatic state of consciousness.
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