THE MEANING AND PURPOSE OF YOGA
by Bhole Prabhu

Like many arts and sciences that are profound, beautiful, and powerful, yoga has suffered from the spiritual poverty of the modern world--it has been trivialized, watered down, or reduced to cliches. The deep and eternal essence of yoga has been misrepresented and packaged for personal profit by clever people. At the hands of some, yoga has been reduced to the status of just another exercise program available on videotape. In other contexts, yoga has been presented as a cult religion, aimed at attracting "devotees." Such a haze of confusion has been created around the clear and pure concept of yoga that it is now necessary to redefine yoga and clarify its meaning and purpose.

Yoga defines itself as a science--that is, as a practical, methodical, and systematic discipline or set of techniques that have the lofty goal of helping human beings to become aware of their deepest nature. The goal of seeking to experience this deepest potential is not part of a religious process, but an experiential science of self-study. Religions seek to define what we should believe, while a practical science such as meditation is based on the concrete experience of those teachers and yogis who have previously used these techniques to experience the deepest Self. Yoga does not contradict or interfere with any religion, and may be practiced by everyone, whether they regard themselves as agnostics or members of a particular faith.

Throughout history, yogic techniques have been practiced in both the East and West, so it would be an error to consider yoga an "Eastern import." In fact, yoga, with its powerful techniques for creating a sense of inner peace, harmony, and clarity of mind, is absolutely relevant to the modern world--both East and West. Given the increasing pace and conflict present in modern life, with all its resulting stress, one could say that yoga has become an essential tool for survival, as well as for expanding the creativity and joy of our lives.

THE LIVING TRADITION:

Although yoga does not "belong" to the East, it is easiest to trace its roots there, because cultural change has not obscured the origins of the science, and an ongoing tradition of yoga has continued to the present day. No one person "invented" yoga--yoga is a living tradition, a set of practices that dates back for centuries. These practices were codified by a scholar and teacher named Patanjali in The Yoga Sutras, written about the second century B.C.

The most important teaching of yoga has to do with our nature as human beings. It states that our "true nature" goes far beyond the limits of the human mind and personality--that instead, our human potential is infinite and transcends our individual minds and our sense of self. The very word "yoga" makes reference to this. The root, "yuj" (meaning "unity" or "yoke"), indicates that the purpose of yoga is to unite ourselves with our highest nature. This re-integration is accomplished through the practices of the various yoga disciplines. Until this re-integration takes place, we identify ourselves with our limitations--the limitations of the body, mind, and senses. Thus we feel incomplete and limited, and are subject to feelings of sorrow, insecurity, fear, and separation, because we have separated ourselves from the experience of the whole.

In the modern world we have become quite successful in our external achievements--we have created powerful technologies and a variety of products, we are obsessed with accumulating power, wealth, property and objects--and yet we have not been able to create either individual or social peace, wisdom, or happiness. We have only to look around and see the destructiveness of our weapons, the emptiness of our pleasures and entertainments, the misuse of our material and personal resources, the disparities between rich and poor, and above all, the loneliness and violence of our modern world. We see that amid all our success in the external world, we have accomplished little of lasting value. These problems will not be solved through new technological developments. Instead, the resolution to these human problems will come only when we discover within ourselves that for which all of mankind is searching--inner peace, tranquility, and wisdom. This attainment is the goal of yoga, for yoga is the practical science intended to help human beings become aware of their ultimate nature.

AN ASCENT INTO PURITY:

The process of yoga is an ascent into the purity of the absolute perfection that is the essential state of all human beings. This goal requires the removal of our enveloping personal impurities, the stilling of our lower feelings and thoughts, and the establishment of a state of inner balance and harmony. All the methods of yoga are based on the perfection of our personalities and may help to create a new world order.

In the beginning of our work, the greatest problem we experience is our inherent restlessness of mind. Mind, by its very nature, is outgoing and unsteady. The highest state of meditation, however, requires a calm, serene, one-pointed mind, free from negative emotions and the distractions created by cravings, obsessions, and desires. To reach the subtler levels of consciousness and awareness, we need willpower, clarity of mind, and the ability to consciously direct the mind towards our goal. This is possible only when we turn away from preoccupation with external acquisition and seek to stop all inharmonious or negative mental processes. To achieve this, we do not need to give up our homes and society and retire to a monastery. Instead, we can achieve a state of peace, harmony, and contentment in our daily meditation, and thus, go on carrying out our life's duties and activities with the love and devotion that emerges from our meditative experience.

For those who want to follow the path of yoga towards peace and evolution, there are a few prerequisites. We need good health, a calm mind, sincerity, and a burning desire to rise above our human imperfections. Our health is maintained by a simple and well- regulated diet, adequate sleep, some physical exercise, and relaxation. Imbalance or excesses in food, exercise, sleep, or our personal relationships produce physical and emotional disruptions that disturb the practice of yoga and meditation.

If the aspects of our daily lives are well balanced, then certainly we can make progress in yoga in the modern world. Regardless of where we live or what we do, we can create a life conducive to yoga.

PATHS TO THE SUMMIT (read on)