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Yoga And Its Relevance

2021-06-02

Yoga And Its Relevance

YOGA AND IT’S RELEVANCE
Yoga is a very ancient knowledge of India. Its practices are found in Vedas and also, its presence as symbolic depictions found in ancient remains from Indus Valley Civilization strongly signifies that Yoga is a several thousand years old knowledge. And the peculiarity about Yoga knowledge is, that it propelled to a very long journey from ancient times to the modern generations through tradition called as ‘Guru-Shishya Parampara’, where the knowledge is passed on by Master to his disciple.

Maharishi Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra and other ancient Yoga literature like Hathayoga texts, Shrimad Bhagavadgita, etc. manifest Yoga as the supreme and simplest means to attain liberation. In my imagination, I see Yoga as the infinite sky where a practitioner can fly limitless beyond normal human capacity and can reach the absolute.

Typically, human being in his whole life works to accumulate materialistic gains in order to attain happiness and still experience sorrow. If a person is able to control his sensory experiences and emotions and channelize them in the right direction, then he would be able to achieve the divine happiness which is permanent instead of momentary sensory pleasures. And, the source to achieve this happiness is Yoga.
Yoga as a word is so small in size yet its depth is infinite. Yoga enables a practitioner to reach the state where he becomes able to overcome his ignorance and ultimately blend with the supreme. The word ‘Yoga’ is derived from the Sanskrit root ‘Yuj’ whose explanation in Panini’s Grammar is as follows:
1- Yujiryoge (Union is Yoga)
2- Yuja Samadhau (Samadhi is Yoga)
3- Yuja Samyamane (Control is Yoga)
The English word ‘Yoke’ is also derived from the Sanskrit root ‘Yuj’ meaning ‘to harness’ or ‘to buckle to’ which significantly means ‘to make oneself ready, prepare’. A person does labour or spends energy according to purpose. Labour could either be physical or mental which is related to physical body and mind respectively. The action done combinedly through body and mind in order to attain the absolute is called as Yoga.
Thus, Yoga means to blend with your inner being and experience it. This higher state comes when practitioner physically and mentally harmonize with the divine. In such state, there is no dissimilation and everything transforms from duality to non-duality.
The vast knowledge that Yoga beacons for the mankind to reach ultimate goal of life, that is Liberation, it would be interesting to see the place of Yoga in today’s world. The immense knowledge in Yogaand the clean positive effects of Yogic practices on body and mind made it a global buzz word in a very short span of time, but, highly paced modern world has its own takeaway from that knowledge ocean and that takeaway is ‘Wellness’. Yoga has shrinked mere to some physical and mental exercises being adopted by most of the people globally either to gain and promote a healthy lifestyle or to improve health in existing disease conditions. It is no more being promoted or being learnt as a path to achieve the absolute or liberation.
However, this is also true that the world we are living in today is grappling with amost common problem, which is, poor health. The ultimate aim of Yoga is achievable through only a healthy body and healthy mind. So, one may optimistically assume that mankind has put its first step towards the ultimate goal of life.
The knowledge of Yoga can be applied to rectify distortions cropped up in human life gradually due to ever evolving social structure. Yoga is so complete that it proves to be significant in multiple fields ofsociety. Let us understand it as below,
Day-to-day life: From waking up in the morning till going to sleep in night, one indulges in multiple routine activities. Anti-nature lifestyle hampers performing the routine activities optimally which further affects one’s physical and mental health. Yogic principles of healthy living, namely, Ahara (food), Vihara (recreation), Achara (conduct), Vichara (thinking), and Vyavahara (behaviour) guides the practitioner to bring reforms in life style and overcome irregularities in his routine life.
Personal life: Inner Qualities i.e., physical, mental, ideological and spiritual elements complete the personality of an individual. Problems prevailing in modern society affect personal life of individual in which his capacity to adjust, his physical as well as mental health is adversely affected. In such case, the second limb of Ashtanga yoga i.e., ‘Niyama’ are the personal code of conduct which may be adopted to improve one’s personal life. According to Maharishi Patanjali, Shaucha (cleanliness), Santosha (contentment), Tapa (Penance), Swadhyaya (study of self), and IshwaraPranidhana (surrender to the supreme) are five Niyama which bring discipline to the personal life of practitioner.
Social life:Surely, technological advancements in modern times have upgraded the lives of people. There has also been intellectual development leading to new inventions and innovations. But with this social uprisethere has also been a rise in social problems like greed, violence, crime, lying for selfish gains, etc. These social distortions lead any society to downfall. The first limb of Ashtanga yoga i.e., ‘Yama’ (self-restraint)include five practices which should be followed in social life. They are, Ahimsa (non-violence), Satya (truthfulness), Asteya (non-stealing), Brahmacharya (celibacy), and Aparigraha (non-acquisitiveness). These virtues promote social well-being of an individual.
Professional life: The professional world today is highly competitive in nature. Everyone is in a race to prove himself better than others. There is also an endless desire to make more and more money and accumulate wealth. This has ultimately resulted in high degree of physical and mental stress, ailments, greed and selfishness among people. Yoga teaches us the concept of ‘Aparigraha’ which means non-accumulation of things. Also, the practice of meditation helps in relieving mental stress and opens door for introspection.
Medical field: The world in 21st century is transforming very fast than in previous centuries. Technology is at the forefront in every aspect of life and so is the development in medical science. Inspite of reforming advancements in medical field, the misery in the lives of people due to poor health has only increased. All age groups are suffering from some kind of physical or mental problem. Cost of new age medical treatments burn a hole in pocket and besides that, they bring their own set of side effects on body to deteriorate the health further. This observation is reinforced by a live example in current Covid-19 pandemic situation where another health hazard has surfaced by the probable over dosage of drugs in the treatment of Covid-19 infection. During this pandemic, yoga can play a vital role as a preventive health support and promotive health support to contain the severity of illness by boosting immunity and organ health. Studies have shown that behavioural health and physical inactivity of masses due to lock downs and self-isolation is another area of concern that is posing a challenge to medical practitioners globally. To overcome these health challenges, practices of Asana, Pranayama and Meditation are being seen as boon by medical fraternity as well as common people.
Also, yoga is cost effective and it poses no side effects when practiced under expert guidance. Inclusion of yoga therapy in the line of treatment in hospitals, clinics, and health centers has proved beneficial in curing the diseases.
Educational field: Education has to be built on the strong pillar of moral values. Student today will be a citizen of tomorrow’s society. Inculcating moral values in his character during education will shape him into a civilized personality. Modern education has a lacuna of this dimension. It emphasizes more on intellectual development and lags in developing emotional dimension of child. Introduction of Yoga education from the very primary level in education up to the higher education level helps in developing all dimensions of personality at all levels.
Spiritual dimension: Yoga paves way for people who want to work on their inner well-being. Systematic practice of various Yogic techniques helps in developing the spiritual dimension of practitioner. This leads a practitioner to self-realization and ultimately towards liberation.
So, concluding this topic it may be observed that growing popularity of Yoga among people from almost all walks of life reinforces the fact that the ancient science of Yoga resonates well with the modern world of 21st century. Yoga’s deep-rooted knowledge, its completeness, and its holistic approach makes it relevant today and it will surely keep beaconing forever in future for the upliftment of mankind.

By: Dr. Indu Sharma
Assistant Professor (Yoga Education),
Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga,
New Delhi.



Last Updated: 22-03-2024


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