The word yoga is derived from the Sanskrit verb yuj
meaning bind, join, unite, control.
It is allied to the English word yoke, the German joch,
and the Latin jungo (I join).
Yoga thus literally means union and control.
It signifies the union of man with God,
of the individual with the universal reality,
of each with the All of existence.
It means union of the mortal with the eternal.
It implies union of the mind with the inmost centre
of one's own being, the self or atman -
union of the conscious mind
with the deeper levels of the unconscious -
resulting in the integration of personality.
-Haridas Chaudhuri
I prefer to think of Yoga as "Four-fold Awareness".
1. Awareness of the body and how it works.
2. Awareness of the emotions and how they use the body.
3. Awareness of the mind
and how it can control the emotions and the body,
and transcend "itself" into the higher mind.
4. Awareness of "awareness" itself,
which is a higher mind experience.
-Gitananda
1. Awareness of the body and how it works.
2. Awareness of the emotions and how they use the body.
3. Awareness of the mind
and how it can control the emotions and the body,
and transcend "itself" into the higher mind.
4. Awareness of "awareness" itself,
which is a higher mind experience.
-Gitananda
The whole educative thrust of yoga
is to make things go right in our lives.
But we all know that an apple can appear perfect on the outside
but be eaten away by an invisible worm on the inside.
Yoga is not about appearances.
It is about finding and eradicating the worm,
so that the whole apple, from the skin inward,
can be perfect and a healthy one.
That is why yoga, and indeed all spiritual philosophies,
seem to harp on the negative -
grasping desires, weaknesses, faults, and imbalances.
They are trying to catch the worm
before it devours and corrupts the whole apple from the inside.
So yoga insists on examining, scientifically and without judgement,
what can go wrong, and why, and how to stop it.
It is organic farming of the self - for the Self.
-B. K. S. Iyengar
is to make things go right in our lives.
But we all know that an apple can appear perfect on the outside
but be eaten away by an invisible worm on the inside.
Yoga is not about appearances.
It is about finding and eradicating the worm,
so that the whole apple, from the skin inward,
can be perfect and a healthy one.
That is why yoga, and indeed all spiritual philosophies,
seem to harp on the negative -
grasping desires, weaknesses, faults, and imbalances.
They are trying to catch the worm
before it devours and corrupts the whole apple from the inside.
So yoga insists on examining, scientifically and without judgement,
what can go wrong, and why, and how to stop it.
It is organic farming of the self - for the Self.
-B. K. S. Iyengar
Yoga is a sophisticated system
for achieving radiant physical health,
superb mental clarity, and therefore peace of mind,
as well as spiritual insight, knowledge and understanding.
It is a complete system for total psychosomatic spiritual health.
It's a way of learning to live in happy harmony with life.
-Erich Schiffman
for achieving radiant physical health,
superb mental clarity, and therefore peace of mind,
as well as spiritual insight, knowledge and understanding.
It is a complete system for total psychosomatic spiritual health.
It's a way of learning to live in happy harmony with life.
-Erich Schiffman
The goal of Integral Yoga,
and the birthright of every individual,
is to realize the spiritual unity
behind all the diversities of the entire creation
and to love harmoniously as members of one universal family.
The goal is achieved by maintaining our natural condition of:
a body of optimum health and strength,
senses under total control,
a mind well-disciplined, clear and calm,
an intellect sharp as a razor,
a will as strong and pliable as steel,
a heart full of unconditional love and compassion,
an ego as pure as crystal,
and a life filled with supreme peace.
-Satchidananda
and the birthright of every individual,
is to realize the spiritual unity
behind all the diversities of the entire creation
and to love harmoniously as members of one universal family.
The goal is achieved by maintaining our natural condition of:
a body of optimum health and strength,
senses under total control,
a mind well-disciplined, clear and calm,
an intellect sharp as a razor,
a will as strong and pliable as steel,
a heart full of unconditional love and compassion,
an ego as pure as crystal,
and a life filled with supreme peace.
-Satchidananda
In yoga experience the consciousness widens in every direction,
around, below, above, in each direction stretching to infinity.
When the consciousness of the yogi becomes liberated,
it is not in the body,
but in this infinite height, depth and wideness that he lives always.
Its basis is an infinite void or silence, but in that all can manifest -
Peace, Freedom, Power, Light, Knowledge, Ananda.
-Aurobindo Ghose
around, below, above, in each direction stretching to infinity.
When the consciousness of the yogi becomes liberated,
it is not in the body,
but in this infinite height, depth and wideness that he lives always.
Its basis is an infinite void or silence, but in that all can manifest -
Peace, Freedom, Power, Light, Knowledge, Ananda.
-Aurobindo Ghose
The yoga we practice is not for ourselves alone, but for the Divine;
its aim is to work out the will of the Divine in the world,
to effect a spiritual transformation
and to bring down a divine nature and and divine life
into the mental, vital and physical nature and life of humanity.
-Aurobindo Ghose
its aim is to work out the will of the Divine in the world,
to effect a spiritual transformation
and to bring down a divine nature and and divine life
into the mental, vital and physical nature and life of humanity.
-Aurobindo Ghose
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