CHAPTER 2: What is the True meaning of Yoga
The word Yoga comes from the word Yuj which literally means Union. The actual meaning of Yoga is the Union of a human being with the Divine. It implies the unification of our Soul with the Divine Cosmic Universal Soul. Yoga is all about being ever-connected with the Divine. It is a rare state which carries with it the gift of eternal joy and everlasting peace.
Have you noticed how a SIM card is always connected with the network? Wherever we go, our mobile phone is connected to the satellite. This is a simple example of a good union. Yoga calls for us to be ever-connected with the Divine, but does this happen? Unfortunately, we are so connected with the illusionary earthly sentiments that our heavenly connection is disrupted. Yoga is both an art and science of being ever-united with the Divine. This is easier said than done and we must work hard to acquire the state of being a true Yogi, one who lives in Yoga, ever-united with the Cosmic Consciousness.
Yoga is being in union with the Divine. It is being connected to our source. Any human being can be in Yoga. All they have to do is to disconnect from the world and connect to the Creator. This is not very easy to do. Therefore, Yoga is considered to be a challenging practice. Yoga, for the true lover of God, is all about living with devotion and prayer, being connected with the Divine. Yoga for some may be seeing God in the poor and the downtrodden. For some, it may be seeing God in animals and being compassionate, loving, and kind. Still, others do Yoga through meditation and contemplation. Whatever be the method of Yoga, as long as it builds a connection, and unites us with the Divine, it is Yoga.
Normally, we human beings live in Bhoga, instead of Yoga. Instead of being united with the Divine, we are slaves of our own cravings that seek to indulge in sensory pleasures, Bhoga. Yoga is transcending the pleasure of body and mind, as it involves living with a strong connection with the Divine, thus experiencing Divine ecstasy and Bliss.
Yoga is a connection between an individual Soul and the Universal Soul. It is Union of the energy within us with the Cosmic Energy. It comprises several actions that ultimately help us to be liberated from the body-mind complex and to become one with the Divine.
It is unfortunate that people have confused Yoga with Asana and Pranayama. These are just two tiny fragments of the overall Yogic practice but they dominate the understanding of the term Yoga. For a seeker on a spiritual journey, what is the true meaning of Yoga? We human beings are so engrossed in the material world that we are lost in this race to become an ace, in a chase for material possessions. It is sad that we get caught in the maze and we suffer. Yoga is all about slowing down our pace and living with grace. What does this mean?
Every human being wants to be happy. For this, people chase success and achievement. Although they are successful, they are not content. Their desires make them miserable. Then they go to God to solve their problems. Sometimes prayer works and sometimes it doesn’t. A true Yogi’s life, however, is very different. A Yogi, one who is always in a state of Yoga, is a person of Realization. He realizes that we are not the body and mind but rather the Divine Soul. The Yogi lives with this Realization in Yoga or in Divine union with the Cosmic Consciousness. Far more than any physical and any mental discipline, the Yogi spends his life in several spiritual practices that help him remain in Yoga or in Divine union.
How does one become a true Yogi? When our individual consciousness unites with the Universal consciousness, that is called being in a state of Yoga. This starts with a quest of realizing the truth of who we truly are and why we are here. Once we achieve this state of self-Realization, transcending body-mind-ego, then we are qualified to remain in Yoga or in Divine Union. As long we don’t realize the Truth, that we are not this ego, mind, and body, it is very difficult to be in Yoga. To achieve this state one has to realize the Truth and be liberated from the prison of the body-mind complex.
Very few people, probably less than 1% of the world’s population, understand the true meaning of Yoga. They are the ones who pay more attention to uniting with the Divine than on Asanas or Pranayama, just physical exercises and breathing techniques. They realize that true Yoga is more about spiritual practice than about physical and mental wellbeing.
Why is it that the world gives so much importance to physical postures and breath control? This is because human beings believe that we are the body-mind complex. We also believe that this Yoga or Union of body, mind, and Soul will give us that most needed peace and tranquillity that we seek. Our goal is happiness and we believe that Yoga is the way to peace and joy. Both, our understanding of our life goal and the solution that we choose, are wrong. Our ultimate goal of life is to realize the Truth and be liberated from the cycle of death and rebirth. Our goal is to live without misery, sorrow, and suffering as long as we are alive in this body. Yoga is the way to achieve this ultimate goal and to be liberated, both, from misery and sorrow while we are alive, as well as from the cycle of death and rebirth, once the physical body dies.
True Yoga actually calls for us to go beyond the body and mind, very different from what the world considers it to be. Worldly Yoga gets us entangled in body-mind exercises, while true Yoga makes us focus on spiritual exercises that will ultimately help us unite with the Divine.
Yoga is about realizing that this body is not our true identity, not about becoming a champion in strengthening and lengthening our body muscle. For this, we have to go beyond the two limbs of Yoga, Asana and Pranayama, which are part of the 8 limbs of the Patanjali Hatha Yoga, we must discover the holistic Yogic experience that covers all the 8 limbs of Yoga. This will help us to understand the true meaning of Yoga and will make us transcend the ego, mind, and body to achieve that state of being a true Yogi.
Does Yoga involve controlling of the breath? The real purpose of controlling the breath is to control the mind. True Yoga addresses this by realizing the futility of the mind and how it roots us into this world of illusions. Yoga helps one go beyond samsara, desires of this world, by transcending the mind.
Those who are fortunate to understand the true meaning of Yoga, realize that we are not the body that we seem to wear but rather the ones who wear the body. They realize that we are not the mind, the mind is just an illusion and it stops us both from being in Yoga and from realizing the Truth. They also realize that we are not the Ego that keeps saying “I.” It is the Ego that says “this is mine,” and focuses on “my relationships” that stops the seeker from his destination. These few rare seekers who are fortunate to understand that they are the Divine Soul. This realization helps them start their Yogic journey. As a true Yogi, they go beyond physical exercise and breath control, beyond the wellbeing of the body and mind, and become conscious of their true existence as the Soul. They realize that their ultimate goal is to unite with the Divine. This is a state of true Yoga which the world is far from understanding.
Yoga, therefore, is the means to achieve our ultimate goal - liberation, salvation or enlightenment. It has nothing to do with what the world thinks of Yoga. It is about self-Realization through the transcending of ego, mind, and body. Thereafter, it is about using techniques like meditation to remain in that state of cosmic consciousness. There are various ways that a true Yogi remains in this state of being ever united and it is not easy for a common man to achieve this state of Yoga.
Once we understand the true meaning of Yoga, then we can try to start the journey of realizing the truth and being in the state of true Yoga, a state that will make us both Blissful and Peaceful. Most of the world thinks that their goal is happiness instead of realizing that our true goal is liberation and this liberation can be achieved only through Yoga. Not through physical exercises and breath control, but by being in a state of Divine Union with the Universal, Divine Cosmic Consciousness.
Yoga is not the union of body, mind, and Soul,
When the Soul unites with the Divine,
that fulfills the true Yogic Goal.