11 Summer 2014

Articles & Viewpoints

by Dean Das
Yoga: For sale or liberation?
I
t is estimated there are some 600
million Yoga practitioners in the
world, with over 22 million regular
practitioners in the U.S.A. The form
of Yoga most popular in the West is
that of Hatha Yoga (physical yoga)
with its emphasis upon postures
(asanas). Hatha Yogas short history
in the West (approximately 60 years)
has spawned a multi-billion dollar
industry encompassing yoga organi-
zations, yoga teachers, yoga classes,
yoga retreats, yoga
students, yoga
accessories, not
forgetting Rolls-
Royce driving, sex-
addicted (not mu-
tually exclusive),
populist Gurus of
the times.
So where did this
behemoth called
Yoga suddenly arise from? What are
its original roots and what is the cur-
rent relationship to these roots?
Part One of this article will survey
the methodologies and goals of the
Motherland of Yoga, Indian Yoga.
Part Two will look at the aspirations
and goals of Modern Western Yoga,
and its relationship to traditional In-
dian Yoga.
Yoga has been documented for over
3,000 years. Yogas ancient roots
rst appear in written form in the
Rg ahd AIharva Vedas, (Hihdu sa-
cred texts), 3rd to 1st millennia BCE.
Ih Ihe Rg Veda Ihe word 'yoga' re-
fers to a practice discipline result-
ing in a yoking. It does not record
an accompanying systematic prac-
Iice. 1he laIer AIharva Veda (1sI mil-
lennia BCE) mentions Yoga in rela-
tion to two sects of strange looking
wahderihg asceIics' hamed VraIyas
and Munis. Living in the Indus valley
o! NorIh WesI Ihdia, Ihe VraIyas ahd
Munis were proto-yogis, engaged
in tapas (spiritual practices causing
internal heat). These yogis were
feared by the common folk due to
their mystical powers such as ying
through the air; communing with
Ihe god o! wihd Vayu', ahd 'drihk-
ing poison with the god Rudra.
1he VraIyas ahd Muhis pracIiced
two tapasyas (spiritual practices),
breath control (pranayama), and
the holding of difcult postures
(asanas). The purpose of these prac-
tices was to gain control over the
vital energies (pranas) of the body,
bringing about a transcendence of
both mind and sensory experience.
The Brahmanas (600 BCE) like the
Vedas exhorIed Ihe yoga pracIiIioh-
er to practice breath control (pra-
nayama) in order to master the vital
energies (pranas), to bring about
the transcendence of mind.
Upanishadic literature (later philo-
sophical texts) refers to Yoga as not
only the pathway to transcendence,
but as transcendence Itself Yoga is
the union of individual consciousness
with Universal Consciousness. The
Taitirrya Upanishad (1st C BCE) refers
to Yoga as the attainment of the in-
ner self (adhyatmayoga), to be en-
joyed, and got to, via the breath.
O! Ihe same period, Ihe KaIha Upah-
ishad refers to Yoga as the steadfast
control of the senses by which one
attains liberation (moksha).
The Samkhya School (2nd C BCE),
one of the six orthodox Schools of
Indian Philosophy (darshanas), to
which early Yoga attached itself,
states that Yoga is the
practice methodology
to achieve moksha
(liberation from human
suffering), by attaining
an ecstatic trance state
of isolation (kaivalya),
far beyond the experi-
ence of the mind and
the senses.
In Chapter 6 of the
Bhagavad-Gita, (200
8CL), Krishha advises Ar|uha 'Io
practice Yoga by sitting rmly
(asana), and to control the mind
and senses (pratyahara), by xing
the mind on one-point (dharana),
thus entering into trance (dhyana),
to experience the Self (samadhi).
Through the practice of Yoga, the
mind becomes disciplined, devoid
of all material desires, and enters
transcendence.
Patanjali Yoga Sutras (400 BCE) de-
scribe two forms of Yogic discipline
(sadhana):
(a) Kriya Yoga (AcIioh), Ihe yoga
of austerity, studying and sur-
rendering the fruits of ones ac-
tions to God (refer also to the
Bhagavad-Gita).

The sine qua non of traditional Indian Yoga

lies in the human possibility of achieving a
state of Transcendence.
Part 1 of a 2-part exploration of the origin and evolution of yoga
Continued on page 12
12 Yoga Today
Articles & Viewpoints
(b) Ashtanga Yoga (Eight-limbed
Yoga), the path to Raja Yoga,
the Yoga of Meditation.
Early Tantric literature such as
the Tantraloka of Abhinavagupta
(1,000 CE) exhort the yogi to prac-
tice pranayamas (breath regula-
tions) in order to awaken the kun-
dalini (subtle life-force energy), to
keep it in the sushumna (the cen-
tral energy channel of the subtle
body), and to make it (kundalini)
rise through the chakras to the top
of the head, until kundalini enters
the absolute void (sunyati-sunya).
Later tantric treatises on Hatha
Yoga, the Goraksa Sataka, and Ha-
tha Yoga Pradipika (13th -14th CE)
describe postures (asanas); purify-
ing practices (shatkarmas); nger
/ hand gestures (mudras); bodily
locks (bandhas), and breath regula-
tions (pranayamas). Yogic discipline
(sadhana) is performed for the
sole purpose of the awakening
of kundalini lying dormant in the
sushumna. According to the HYP,
kundalini energy moves the prac-
titioner through the various stages
of Meditation (Raja Yoga) until to-
tal meditative absorption (sama-
dhi) is achieved.
Indian literature describes Yoga as
both the pathway i.e. the practice
methodology (sadhana), and ulti-
mate goal the union of individual
consciousness with Universal Con-
sciousness. Yoga is the attainment
of the inner self (adhyatmayoga).
The practice methodology consists
of asanas, pranayamas, pratyaha-
ras, dharanas, dhyanas. The goal is
the transcendental state called Sa-
madhi (total meditative absorption).
The texts mention the word tapas
frequently in relation to yogic dis-
cipline (sadhana). The literal mean-
ing of tapas is heat or glow. Pa-
tanjalis Yoga Sutras call tapas the
application of mental and physical
self-discipline, causing the burn-
ing away (tapas) of mental and
physical impurities. The Tantras
employ tapas to mean the psycho-
physiological heat generated in
the physical body through (forceful)
hatha yogic practices, causing exci-
tation of prana (bio-energy), within
the subtle body (sukshma sarira).
As with Yoga, the word tapas serves
a dual-function i.e. it is causational
i.e. a practice discipline, and is an
effect i.e. it burns away mental
and physical impurities.
An underlying theme intrinsic to
Yogic phenomenology is the role of
sacrice and surrender to main-
tain the Cosmic Order. Through rit-
ual, Ihe Vedas exIoll Ihe ihdividual
to sacrice him/herself to Agni,
the deity of re, whilst the Sutras,
Gita, and Tantras replace the sacri-
cial ritual with that of personal
surrender. In both cases, the own-
er of all actions is God, and at the
end of the day, all must surrender
the fruits of ones actions to God
(Karma Yoga).
Succinctly stated, traditional Indian
metaphysics asserts that humans
are capable of experiencing total
liberation (moksha), from the suf-
fering of samsaric existence i.e. the
eternal cycle of birth, death, and
rebirth, through the transcendence
of mind-body consciousness, thus
exposing the illusory nature of life
as we know it. The methodology
to achieve such liberation is called
Yoga. The practice of Yoga entails a
sequential process beginning with
self-mastery over the material
body, followed by the vital breath,
the sensory organs, and nally,
the mind. The phenomenal expe-
rience is one of an ecstatic trance
state beyond the mind and senses
(kaivalya), total meditative absorp-
tion (samadhi). This is Raja Yoga
Ihe Kihg o! all Yogas.
In short, the sine qua non of tradi-
Continued on page 13
Yoga For sale or liberation Continued
Image courtesy of
http://danielofthesun.wordpress.com/
patanjalis-ashtanga-the-8-limbs-of-yoga/
13 Summer 2014
Articles & Viewpoints
tional Indian Yoga lies in the human
possibility of achieving a state of
Transcendence.
So what is Western
Modern Yogas
relationship to its
ancient Indian roots?
Modern Yoga is marketed under a
plethora of individual brandings
Hot yoga, Power yoga, Bikram yoga,
Classical yoga, Vihyasa yoga, HaIha
yoga, Iyengar yoga, Ashtanga yoga
et al. Arguably, the sole emphasis of
Modern Yoga is on the performance
of asanas (bodily postures), and a
cursory acknowledgement of the
importance of breath (pranayama).
Modern Yoga could correctly be cat-
egorized as Asana Yoga.
In contrast to the Wests penchant
for multiple style brandings, tradi-
tional Indian Yoga recognizes four
Yogas only Jnana (knowledge);
8hakIi (devoIioh), Karma (acIioh),
and Raja (meditation), with Tan-
tra (kundalini) Yoga being a lat-
ter acquisition. There is not and
never has been an acknowledged
tradition of Asana Yoga! Not that
asana isnt a part of Yoga. But it is
one limb (anga) only, of eight-limbs
(ashtanga) of Yoga. Contemporary
Western scholarship asserts except-
ing certain seated postures of med-
itation, there is little or no evidence
that asana has ever been the prima-
ry aspect of any Indian yoga prac-
tice tradition (Yoga Body, Mark
Singleton, 2010). The Hatha Yoga
Pradipika says; the sole purpose of
asana is for steadiness and ease of
position to gain success in medita-
tion (Raja Yoga). Asana is the rst
step on the ladder to Raja Yoga.
In summation, Modern Yoga (Asana
Yoga) has recognized just one of
the eight-limbs (ashtanga) of the
Tree of Yoga, branded and com-
moditized it into a product, and
sold it to an eager audience ob-
sessed with youth, health and
body consciousness. Three thou-
sand years of Yoga relegated to an
accessory, in service of the ego, all
in just sixty years. And we are the
poorer for it!
Part Two will turn the spotlight on
the aspirations and goals of Mod-
ern Yoga.
Note: Dean Das will deliver the
Plenary Lecture at 4.50pm on
12 April at the Annual YA Con-
ference in Melbourne, and con-
duct the morning Meditation at
6.30am on 13 April 2014.
Dean Das, founder of
Mind-Yoga (Aust) is a
Western Meditation
Master, a teacher of 30
years, and a direct dis-
ciple of revered kun-
dalini Siddha Master,
Swami Prakashananda Saraswati of
Nasik, Western India. He belongs to
the 9th C Siddha/Nath tradition of
Western India. Melbourne based,
Mind-Yoga conducts Courses and
Intensives across Australia.
Enquiries or info:
mindyoga@meditationclasses-
melbourne.com or www.medita-
tionclassesmelbourne.com
Yoga For sale or liberation Continued
YOGA TODAY is the quarterly journal
of Yoga Australia, with issues published
in January, April, July, and October.
Yoga Today welcomes articles from
yoga teachers of all traditions and
styles. The articles in this edition do
not reect any particular viewpoint of
the Association, nor its executive or
management committee. Articles and
viewpoints are samples of the breadth
of experience present in the broader
Australian yoga community, and of
each individual author.
To submit articles or to advertise in
future editions, contact our ofce
1300 881 451 or email
newsletter@yogaaustralia.org.au
Past issues of this newsletter are on our
website: www.yogaaustralia.org.au
Yoga Australia is the national association
for yoga teachers from all traditions
and styles of yoga across Australia.