Whenever we travel, we have two major things to take care of: First to travel in the right direction to reach the destination and second to travel as light as possible to make the journey enjoyable. According to Bhartiya scriptures, life is a journey too, which is continuous from one birth to another. The baggage we carry birth after birth comprises the experiences called Sanskar in Sanskrit on our subtler mind called Chitta. When any human being takes new life, it has a source of life inside, which in its purest form is called the Jivatma (soul of the being). With this Jivatma, the Chitta (the subtler mind) travels to the next birth with experiences engraved through various births.
The Vedic concept of birth is that the Atma (soul), which comes out of Brahma gets encapsulated by the worldly attributes (Prakriti) comprising Pancha Koshas or layers (sheaths) of existence, and four Antahkarans. According to Vedanta, there are five such layers (Koshas in Sanskrit) which are called Annamaya (physical), Pranmaya (vital energy), Manomaya (Mental), Vigyanmaya (intellectual) and Anandamaya (Blissfulness). Within the innermost layer, the Jivatma resides along with experiences and feelings (Antahkaran in Sanskrit), which are: Consciousness (Buddhi), desire (Manas), ego (Ahankara) and knowledge (Chitta). This Jivatma then gets into the cycle of births and deaths taking new bodies. For the Atma to unite with the Brahma again, it has to come out of this birth cycle. This process is called Yoga, which is the unification of the Atma with its original source, the Brahma. In the journey of life, we need to practice Yoga to travel towards our final destination — Brahma — by shedding all the Sanskars (experiences) out of our consciousness, which are the baggage of Jivatma.
Yoga is practice-oriented science of spiritual discipline, which brings harmony between mind and body resulting in a healthy individual lifestyle as well as harmony with the other living beings and the environment. Good health is the result of the well-being of physical, mental, social, and emotional aspects of an individual.
In the ancient Bharatiya scripture, the Yoga Darshan, Maharshi Patanjali describes the science of Yoga in the form of Yoga Sutra. In his book, Yoga Darshan, Patanjali advocates Ashtanga (eight limbs of) Yoga, which prescribes eight paths of practices that need to be practiced in a given order to achieve Yogic benefits. In the beginning of the book itself, Patanjali says that for the practice of Yoga, it is very important to adhere firmly to self-discipline. Next, Patanjali describes what is Yoga in a Sanskrit Sutra, as:
Yogah Chitta Vritti Nirodhah
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Meaning, Yoga is the practice of restraining the mental fluctuations like thoughts, feelings, emotions, etc., which happen because of experiences stored in the individual consciousness. It says that to attain knowledge of the Supreme, Brahma, one has to overcome the afflictions of Chitta (mind) and have control over Buddhi (intellect).
The Eight Limbs of Ashtanga Yoga are: 1. Yam (abstention), 2. Niyam (observances), 3. Asan (postures), 4. Pranayam (controlling of breath), 5. Pratyahar (control over sense organs), 6. Dharana (concentration), 7. Dhyan (meditation), and 8. Samadhi (absorption). The first four are called Bahirang Yoga that are external methods of purification, and the last three are called Antarang Yoga that are internal methods of purification of mind (Chitta). Pratyahar acts as the bridge between both these methods. In the Yoga Sutra, the eight limbs describe eight different aspects of Yoga practice, all leading towards freedom and enlightenment.
1. Yam (abstention) lists five paths of restraints to be followed by practitioners in order to achieve harmony within and outer world, with society and environment.
a. Ahimsa (non-violence): Ahimsa is defined as not harming ourselves, others and environment either physically, mentally or emotionally. It promotes existence in harmony. Ahimsa can be applied by practicing asanas by respecting our limits and boundaries to escape pain and stress; in making food choices by choosing environment friendly and harmless food; in our thoughts by avoiding negative stressful thinking like jealousy, fear, anger, etc., thus reducing cortisol, the stress hormone, and strengthening the immune system. By thinking positive, one can help in boosting happiness which is contagious and it promotes healthy mental and physical self and positive surroundings.
b. Satya (truthfulness): Satya or ‘truthfulness’ is very important for happiness and liberation as it is a very effective way to manage mind fluctuations. Sat in Sanskrit means the true essence which is unchangeable. Truthfulness must be there in speech, thought, conduct and behaviour for all aspects of life to benefit from Satya. Satya must be practiced towards oneself as well as with others.
c. Asteya (non-stealing): It means non-stealing of physical goods, ideas, peace of mind, etc. It is said that desire, greed, low confidence, insecurity, raag (attachments) etc. are the causes for stealing. Non-stealing liberates the mind and helps in good health.
d. Brahmacharya (sublimating sexual energy): Brahmacharya means restraint from multiplying desires, especially sexual desires, to retain energy for spiritual development. Using the word meaning, Brahmacharya is the practice which leads to Brahma. When we practice Brahmacharya, we direct our energy away from external desires, channelizing it towards finding peace and happiness within ourselves. Brahmacharya, in general, means ‘celibacy’ or ‘chastity’ but in Yam it has a specific meaning.
e. Aparigraha (non-accumulation): Aparigraha meaning non-accumulation also translates to ‘non-greed’ or ‘non-possessiveness’, or ‘non-attachment’ because these are the causes for the need to accumulate. Aparigraha offers us so much freedom — the freedom to work without worrying about the outcomes, the freedom from reliance on material possessions and the freedom to experience everything life has to offer. Aparigraha can be practiced in diet by eating moderately as over-eating is a hindrance on the yogic path.
2. Niyam (Observances): For a positive and uncluttered personality, one has to follow Niyam in life. Until there is a strong connection with oneself, we cannot have a great and positive relationship with others, including non-living things and the environment. There are five Niyams defined by Patanjali.
a. Shauch (purity): This refers to both types of cleanliness, internal and external, of the body. Purity of mind and speech is internal cleanliness and is attained by the practice of using good and pleasant words, truthfulness, relevant and not excessive talk, talking at proper time, practicing intellectual growth, patience, knowledge, knowing true-self, Swadhyay and with this, avoidance of fear, repentance, anger, greed, confusion, envy, etc. Purity of the body is external cleanliness and is achieved through bathing, brushing of teeth and hair, wearing clean clothes, cutting nails and hair etc., as well as keeping our surroundings clean.
b. Santosh(contentment): Santosh means accepting what we have and what we are and appreciating it. Practice of non-attachment or ‘Vairagya’ will lead to contentment. Our ego experiences Raag (attachment) when we find joy in something which becomes the greed for that feeling; and Dwesh (hatred) when we find pain and so try to avoid that feeling. We ultimately become attached to these experiences by clinging to them or by pushing them away respectively. Santosh is undeniably one of the most important practices for freedom and contentment of mind.
c. Tapas (discipline): Tapas is very important for purifying mind, body, emotions and achieving supreme consciousness. Tapas is the inner strength and the wisdom that encourages one to continue on the path of Yoga or any positive goals even when there are difficulties and distractions. This means cultivating a sense of self-control and courage to shed physical, mental and emotional ‘impurities’ and increase endurance.
d. Swadhyay(study of self and scriptures): Swadhyaya is the study of self and adopting practices that will lead to the attainment of the Supreme by getting rid of ‘fluctuations of the mind’. Apart from the study of the scriptures, the Upanishads and the Vedas, we can also study any book which helps in finding the ‘self’, chantingmantras, listening to a Guru, awareness of our thoughts, etc. These help move closer towards self-realisation and can be a daily practice of Swadhyay. While studying oneself, one needs to follow Satya and Ahimsa on self.
e. Ishwarapranidhan (surrendering to divine): Ishwarapranidhan is made of two words, ‘Ishwar’ meaning Supreme and ‘Pranidhan’ meaning dedicating or surrendering to the Supreme. Surrendering our ego and our selfish desires lead to ‘non-attachment’ as also mentioned in the Bhagavad Gita. Yoga Sutra suggests that by Ishwarapranidhan all the miseries get eradicated which is helpful in Yoga sadhana.
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3. Asan (Posture): In Yoga, the Asan is a body posture in which one is able to stay steadily for a longer time to purify the body in preparation for transcendence. Asan is described in the Yoga Sutra as “sthira sukham asanam” which means that asan should be sthira (steady) and sukham (comfortable). Although the Yogic practices were defined for liberation of the soul, in modern times Asanas and Pranayamas are popular for living a healthy life. The term Yoga therapy is being used for applying Yoga practices for recovering from health ailments. Asanas are categorized into standing, sitting, forward or backward bending, twisting, balancing, inverted positioning, etc. The benefits derived are many like musculoskeletal flexibility and strength, healthy circulatory system, mental focus, mind and body coordination, mental peace, sleep quality improvement, stress reductions, and so on.
4. Pranayam(control of breath and prana): Prana means ‘vital energy of life’ or ‘life force’ which is very important for our body to function. Prana cannot be directly controlled; it is controlled by controlling the breath. Working on the breath can also have an effect on our mind and emotion. Pranayamas are the practices where we control the breathing and thus extend and expand Prana in the body. Many types of Pranayamas are there which have different effects on the mind and the body and thus can treat psychosomatic imbalances by controlling the pattern of breathing. This also includes holding the breath (called Kumbhak in Sanskrit) inside (Antar-kumbhak) or outside (Bahya-kumbhak) of the body. Some of the Pranayamas are Bhastrika, Suryabhedi, Nadishodhan, Ujjayi, Bhramari, Sheetal, etc. These Pranayamas can calm or energize our body and are closely linked to our emotions. A regular Pranayama practice can stimulate the parasympathetic system and on the physical level, can strengthen the respiratory organs.
5. Pratyahar (directing the senses inwards): Pratyahar is the Yogic practice for sense withdrawal, meaning independence from external stimuli. Once the Pratyahar state has arisen, we are prepared for concentration and meditation. There are yogic practices which help in attaining the Pratyahar state. Some asanas like Koorma-asan, Bala-asan, etc. help in Pratyahar. Breath awareness, Bhramari Pranayam can also help in Pratyahar. It is a bridge between external Yoga practice methods (Yam, Niyam, Asan and Pranayam) and internal Yoga practice methods (Dharna, Dhyan and Samadhi).
6. Dharana (concentration): One pointed focus of the mind on something tangible or intangible is called Dharna. The subject of the concentration could be Sthool (gross) like deity, sun, moon, etc., or Sookshma (subtle) like breath, mantra, chakras (plexes). This practice controls the subconscious mind by binding it to one place.
7. Dhyan (meditation): The continuous concentration where the mind is in complete control effortlessly is called Dhyan. There is no disturbance in the mind’s concentration.
8. Samadhi (unified consciousness): It is the state when the individual consciousness is dissolved into Supreme consciousness. This is when self realization is reached, and full absorption has taken place.
Thus, the Ashtanga Yoga as explained in Yoga Darshan, which is one of the six Darshanas (Philosophy and Science) of ancient Bhartiya scriptures, is presented in this article in a very precise manner to explain its importance. In a nutshell, all the eight limbs are explained for understanding the basic flavour of Ashtanga Yoga. All these eight limbs need to be practiced to perceive the positive effect on the body, mind and soul.
*The writer is career technocrat-turned-explorer of Yogic Science and Philosophy. After spending three decades in software development and as professor of Information Technologies, she did MA in Yoga to teach traditional and Vedic Yog. She is the founder of Yogsarita Pvt Ltd, a Yoga organization imparting online Yoga training globally.
