The History of Yoga

by Hareesh (Chris) Wallis (wallis.yogasthana.org)

I. Yoga is a path of disciplined spiritual practice derived from Indian (Sanskrit) scriptures,
entailing techniques of body, mind, heart, and 'spirit', that inevitably results in the attainment
of the most fulfilling state of integration, peace, joy, and insight possible.
II. Yoga in the Indus Valley Civilization? 2600-1800 BCE [very unlikely!]
III. Yoga in the early Vedas? (lit., 'texts of knowledge,' 1800-800 BCE) [none or next to none]
A. Keshins (lit., 'long-hairs') -- prnyma? alchemy?
IV. Yoga in the ramana movement, esp. early Buddhism (500 1 BCE) (TO BE EXPANDED)
A. the Buddha (Siddhrtha Gautama), 480 400 BCE
B. Mahvra Jina, founder of Jainism, ca. 570 450 BCE
V. Yoga in the Upanishads (lit., 'hidden connections' 600 BCE - 100 CE): key teachings
A. "Thou art That" (tat tvam asi; Chndogya Upanishad 6.8.7)

1. cf. "I am Brahman [the Absolute]!" (aham brahmsmi; Brhad-rankaya Up. 1.4.10)
2. Practice (abhysa): So'ham japa & awareness
B. "Two birds...nestle on the very same tree. One of them eats a tasty fig; the other, not
eating, looks on." (Mundaka Upanishad 3.1.1)
1. Practice: Witness Consciousness meditation
C. "A divine Self (tman) lies hidden in the heart of a living being...Regard that Self as God,
an insight gained through inner contemplation." (Katha Upanishad, ca. 200 BCE)
1. Practice: concentrative meditation
"When the five perceptions are stilled, when senses are firmly reined in, that is Yoga."
2. Practice: sense-withdrawal & one-pointedness
D. "When he keeps his body straight...and draws the senses together with the mind into his
heart, a wise one shall cross all the terrifying rivers with the boat consisting of

Brahman." (Shvetshvatara Up. 2.8, ca. 100 CE)

1. Practice: concentrative meditation
Recommeded translations: Juan Mascaro (poetic, easier reading) & Patrick Olivelle (literal,
harder reading)

VI. Yoga in the Bhagavad-gt (lit., "Song of the Blessed Lord", 100 CE) [BASED ON IV.C. ABOVE]
A. Definitions of Yoga: "Yoga is skill in action", "Yoga is the severance of union with pain,"
"Yoga is equanimity." (2.47)

B. Karma-yoga: the Yoga of Action. "Be intent on action, not on the fruits of action.
...Perform actions, firm in discipline, relinquishing attachment." (2.47-48) "Surrender
all actions to the Divine, and fix your reason on your inner Self." (2.30)
C. Jnna-yoga: the Yoga of Knowledge. "When a man is unattached and free, his reason
immersed in knowledge, acting only in sacrifice, his karma is wholly dissolved." (4.23)
"Knowledge will let you see all beings within your Self, and so in Me." (4.35)
D. Dhyna-yoga: the Yoga of Meditation. "Disciplining himself, his mind controlled, a yogi
finds peace, the pure calm that exists in Me. ...When his controlled thought rests within
the Self alone, without craving objects of desire, he is said to be disciplined." (6.15 & 18)
E. Bhakti-yoga: the Yoga of Devotion. "Keep your mind on Me, be My devotee, sacrificing,
bow to Me -- you will come to Me, I promise, for you are dear to Me." (18.65)
Recommended translations: Barbara Stoler Miller, R.C. Zaehner, Lars Martin Fosse, J.A.B. van
Buitenen
VII. Classical Yoga of Patanjali (100 BCE-400 CE) [CONNECTED TO IV.B. ABOVE]
A. Definition of Yoga: "Yoga is the stilling of the fluctuations of the mind." (1.2)
B. Result of Yoga: "Then the Seer abides in its own true nature." (1.3)

C. Philosophical framework (same as Snkhya): two basic principles of reality, pure

witness consciousness of the inner Self (puruha) and materiality (prakti); the
misidentification of the two is the cause of suffering (not accepted by Tantra)
D. Eight Components of Yoga practice. (accepted by Tantra)
1. Yama (non-violence, truth, non-stealing, sexual restraint, greedlessness)
2. Niyama (purity, contentment, austerity, study of sacred lore, surrender to the Divine)
3. sana (meditation posture)
4. Prnyma (breath regulation)
5. Pratyhra (sense-withdrawal)
6. Dhran (concentration)
7. Dhyna (meditation)

8. Samdhi (immersion)
Recommended translations: Chip Hartranft, Chris Chapple, Barbara Stoler Miller
VIII. The Jnna-yoga of Vednta (500 CE - PRESENT) [BASED ON IV.A. ABOVE]
A. Philosophical framework: there is only one existent thing, Brahman, whose nature is

Being, Consciousness, and Bliss; the perception of multiplicity is illusion (my). [the
first statement accepted by Tantra, the second rejected] This ignorance is remedied
only by scriptural knowledge (i.e. the Upanihads).

B. Quote: The highest [Brahman]--which is of the nature of Perception, like the sky, evershining, unborn, one alone, imperishable, stainless, all-pervading, and non-dual--That
am I and I am forever released. OM. I am Perception, pure and by nature changeless.
Being the infinite, I am unborn, abiding in Myself...self-effulgent, all-pervading, nondual, neither cause nor effect, always satisfied and therefore [always] released. OM."

(Upadesha-shasr, A Thousand Teachings, translated by Sengaku Mayeda [recommen.])

C. Note: Vednta also incorporates the teachings of the Bhagavad-gt, and later becomes
Tantricized; therefore modern Vednta does not take the hard line of ancient Vednta
(that knowledge alone liberates and all practices besides contemplation are useless)

IX. Tantric Yoga (500 - 1300 CE, with influence down to present) [distantly related to IV.D.
above]
A. Tantric definitions of Yoga: "Yoga is said to be self-mastery." "Yoga is the oneness of
one entity with another."
B. Key teachings of Tantra (for 0, substitute any term for the Divine):
1. 0 dwells within you as you
2. See 0 in all beings
3. Nothing exists that is not 0
C. Types of Tantric yoga: mantra-yoga, kriy-yoga, laya-yoga, kundalin-yoga, shadangayoga, jnna-yoga, bhakti-yoga, more

D. Key practices: meditation, karana (early yoga poses, esp. inversions), prnyma,
mantra, visualizations, focusing on energy centers, 'affirmations', more

E. Key concepts: shakti, spanda, upya, ll, shaktipta, kundalini, cakras

F. Philosophical framework: "All that exists and has ever existed is one infinite divine
Consciousness, free and blissful, which projects within the field of its awareness a vast
multiplicity of apparently differentiated subjects and objects, each object an
actualization of a potential inherent in the divine Light of Consciousness (praksha) and
each subject a contracted locus of self-awareness (vimarsha). This projection, a divine
play (krd), is the result of the impulse (icch) within the Divine to express the totality
of its self-knowledge (jnna) in action (kriy). When that divine Consciousness contracts
into finite loci of awareness, out of its own free will, and those finite subjects then
identify with the limited and circumscribed cognitions and circumstances that make up
this phase of their existence, instead of with the trans-individual overarching pulsation
(spanda) of pure Awareness that is their true nature, they experience what they call
suffering. To rectify this, some feel an inner urge to take up the path of spiritual gnosis
and ritual practice, the purpose of which is to undermine their mis-identification and
directly reveal within the immediacy of awareness the fact that the Divine Powers of
Consciousness (chid), Bliss (nanda), Will (icch), Knowledge (jnna) and Action (kriy)

comprise the totality of individual experience as wellthereby triggering a recognition

(pratyabhijn) of one's own identity as the Supreme Lord, the All-in-all. This experiential
gnosis is repeated and reinforced through various means (upyas) until it becomes the
non-conceptual ground of every moment of experience, and one's sense of contracted
individuality is annihilated in the incandescence of the complete expansion into perfect
wholeness (prnat). Then one's perception permanently encompasses the reality of a
universe dancing ecstatically in the excitement of its completely perfect divinity."
[summary written by and 2007 Christopher Wallis, drawing on unpublished Sanskrit
sources; please do not quote in print without permission]
Recommended reading: my book forthcoming from Anusra Press, Consciousness is Everything by
Shankarnanda, and my two Master's theses on Tantric philosophy and practice; most
everything else available is either not about classical Tantra or severely distortive
X.

Hatha-Yoga (an outgrowth of Tantra [1300-present], founded by Gorakha (aka Gorakhnth) and practiced by the Nth Yogsthe traditional basis for modern yoga)

A. Purpose: to strengthen and empower the body; to awaken the kundalin; to exert

physical effort that will make the attainment of meditative absorption (samdhi aka
rja-yoga) almost effortless

B. Key practices (in ascending order importance): purification, sana, mudr,

pratyahra, prnyma, meditation

C. Quotes: "Salutations to Shiva, who taught the science of Hatha-Yoga. It is the
aspirant's stairway to the heights of Rja-yoga. Yogi Svtmrma, after saluting the
Lord and Guru, explains the science of Force (Hatha) for one reasonRja-yoga
(meditative attainment)." Hatha-yoga-pradpik 1.1-2 [translation Brian Akers]

"Yoga perishes by these six: overeating, overexertion, chattering/gossiping, needless

austerities, socializing, and restlessness. Yoga succeeds by these six: enthusiasm,
openness, courage, knowledge of the truth, determination, and solitude." Hatha-

yoga-pradpik 1.15-16 [translation Brian Akers]

Other key texts: The Viveka-mrtanda, the Shrad-tilaka (both being translated by
Christopher Tompkins); Gheranda Samhita, the Shiva Samhit (both trans. by James Mallinson,
available from YogaVidya.com)
XI.

Modern Yoga

A. "Modern postural yoga" (MPY) was created or "redacted" by Krishnamchrya in the

early 1930s in Mysore (after studying with Kuvalaynanda and Yogendra in Mahrhra), drawing on the Hatha-yoga texts above, as well as the Western discipline of
"harmonial gymnastics", and codified in his 'channeled' work the Yoga-rahasya.

1. Indra Dev (first to bring MPY to the West, in the 1940s

2. B.K.S. Iyengar
4. Sri Pattabhi Jois
5. T.K.V. Desikachar (Krishnamchrya's son)

6. Etc. etc. (all modern forms of postural yoga trace back to Krishnamchrya)
B. "Modern meditational yoga" was first transmitted to the West in 1893 (by #1 below),
with several (much more high-profile) transmissions around 1970
1. Viveknanda (of Rmakrishna's lineage), founded Vednta Society
2. Muktnanda (of Nitynanda's lineage, lineage also includes Gurumay
Chidvilsnanda [Siddha Yoga], Rudrnanda, Chetnanda [Nitynanda Institute])
3. Chgyam Trungpa (Kagyu and Nyingma lineages, Tibetan Buddhism)
4. Swm Shivnanda of Rishikesh, with several famous disciples
a. Satynanda of Bihar School of Yoga
b. Satchidnanda of Integral Yoga
c. Vishnudevnanda of the ivnanda Yoga Vednta Centers