THE YOGA TRADITION

K.S. Balasubramanian
Dy. Director
The Kuppuswami Sastri
Research
Institute,
M
ylapore, Chennai -4.

The term Yoga has become popular throughout the

world. Many people practise different Yogic exercises for
prevention and cure of physical and mental disorders. Yoga
is also one of the most extra-ordinary spiritual sciences
which enables a seeker to realize the ultimate Reality.
Several practices are prescribed by the texts on Yoga for the
physical, mental, and spiritual development of a person.
For more than five thousand years, the practical utility
of this science has been acknowledged by great saints,
seers, physicians, philosophers, poets and others. However,
there seems to be lot of misconceptions of about the term
Yoga.
I. Meaning of the word Yoga
The word Yoga has been defined and interpreted in
various ways by saints, commentators, scholars,
philosophers, mystics and others. According to Amarakoºa
 2

(III. 3.22), the most popular lexicon in Sanskrit (6th cent.

A.D.), Yoga means -sann¢haª (preparation or armour),
1
sa¬gati (union), dhy¢na (meditation), up¢ya (means) and
yukti (fitness). The commentator Appay¢rya adds,

`moJ: gyÌo Ðì`bm^o

{dîH$å^mXm¡ M ^ofOo Ÿ&
where dravyal¢bha is also referred to as Yogak¾ema.
Lord K¨¾´a says in the G¤t¢ (IX.22):

AZÝ`m: {MÝV`ÝVmo _m§ `o OZm:

n`w©nmgVo Ÿ&
Vofm§ {ZË`m{^`wº$mZm§ `moJjo_§
dhmå`h_² Ÿ&&
Also this word appears in the Ka°hopani¾ad. (2.22) as
"" .... mando yogak¾emam v¨´¤te'' ..
In the above contexts, the word Yoga has been
commented upon by ¹a¬kara as, ""apr¢ptasya pr¢ptiª
yogaª.''
According to other lexicons, Yoga also means firmness
of the body (vapuª, sthairya), attaining some rare objects
(ap¦rva vastu sampr¢pti), substance, ungrateful person, trick
(magic), medicine (remedy), unit of time and so on.
According to Ka°hopani¾ad Yoga is "indriya dh¢ra´a
'2.

1
It can be seen here that Yoga stands for both up¢ya (means) and the upeya (the
end)
2
Ka°hopani¾ad - 6.11
 3

Each chapter of the Bh.g. is called Yoga, like Arjuna vi¾

¢da yoga, S¢¬khya Yoga, Karma Yoga and so on, where the
word Yoga refers to adhy¢ya.
In Sanskrit grammar, we are familiar with yoga and
r¦²hi words, where yoga means "derivation'.
In Darºanas, while dealing with theory of knowledge,
the commonly accepted means of valid knowledge (pram¢
´a) is pratyak¾a (perception). It is divided into two viz.
laukika and yaugika where the term yoga refers to "inner' or
that which comes out through inner absorption.
Paninian interpretation
P¢´ini, the father of Sanskrit grammar derives the term
Yoga through three roots viz. (i) Yujir "Yoge' (ii) Yuj
"samyamane' and Yuj "sam¢dhau'.
(i) Yujir Yoge:
This is the standard definition for the term Yoga.
According to this derivation, Yoga means to "yoke', "contact,'
"connect', "unite' and 'harness'.
In §gveda, on some occasions, the word Yoga is used in
the sense of "yoking' or "harnessing.'
The Vedic society consisted of people who were
engaged in many activities, agriculture occupying an
important position among them. So they had to "yoke' the
bull/ox for ploughing, in which sense the word Yoga has been
used.
 4

The most popular definition of Yoga is the union of

individual self (j¤va) and the supreme Self (God), in which
sense Yoga Y¢j®avalkya (YY), an ancient text on Yoga
describes the term.3

g§`moJmo `moJ BË`wº$mo

OrdmË_na_mË_Zmo:4
Pata®jali, however does not use the term Yoga in this
sense, since in his philosophy there is no room for union of
j¤va and Brahman.
The above definition also presupposes the view that
j¤va and Brahman are different and when their union takes
place, it is Yoga. Hence it is a school of dualism.
(ii) Yuj Samyamane
According to this derivation, Yoga stands for "control' or
"restraint', i.e. controlling or restraining the activities of the
mind.
Pata®jali, defines Yoga in this sense only when he

says: ""`moJ: {MÎmd¥{Îm - {ZamoY:''5 which means

""restraining the modifications of the mind is Yoga''. It is to
be noted that Pata®jali does not say "citta nirodha' or
restraining /controlling the mind itself, but only the v¨ttis or

3
The present author was awarded Ph.D. degree by the University of
Madras for a critical study of this
text in 2005.
4
YY. I. 44
5
Yoga s¦tras (I-2); But the word samyana is used as a technical term by
Pata®jali, to mean the
combination of concertation, meditation and absorption, vide YS III. 4.
"Trayamekatra Samyamaª '
 5

the tendencies or the modifications of the mind, unlike some

of the later texts on Ha°ha yoga, which advocate annihilation
of the mind.
(iii) Yuj Sam¢dhau
According to this derivation, the term Yoga means sam
¢dhi or absorption. Vy¢sa, in his bh¢¾ya on the first
Yogas¦tra, defines the word Yoga as ""Yogaª sam¢dhiª''. This
has been accepted by many later commentators also.
The word sam¢dhi has been interpreted in different
ways by commentators. Traditionally it has been defined as
"Samyak adh¤yate asmin'. It also means the equilibrium of
6
the mind, if taken as sama + ¢dhi.
Apart from the above, there are many other definitions
for the term Yoga; two of them by lord K¨¾´a in the
Bhagavadg¤t¢ and well known:
(i) ""...... samatvam yoga ucyate '' (Bh.g. II.481)
(balance or equilibrium is Yoga)
(ii) "" ...... yogaª karmasu Kauºalam ''. (Bh.g. II.50)
(dexterity in one's actions is Yoga)
According to my Master Sadguru Sri Parthasarathiji
Maharaj, (President, Shri Ram Chandra Mission, –
(www.SRCM.ORG), Yoga is, ""not merely the union of two
subjects, or even that of individual Soul and the supreme
6
The word ¢dhi stands for mental disturbance. According to the
metaphysics of S¢¬khya (also of Yoga),
the original state of prak¨ti was equilibrium, or samat¢vasth¢. When it
was disturbed, the process of
creation started. When one brings the mind to this original state it is sam
¢dhi.
 6

Soul, but it is a state of mergence of both, where only one

remains. There is no question of duality there''.7
II. Brief History of Yoga.
(a) Origin of Yoga
To trace the origin of Yoga is like tracing the human
origin itself in this planet. It is well known that Pata®jali was
not the originator of both theory and practice of Yoga. He
only compiled the available details prevalent during his time,
on the practice and philosophy and propounded the Yoga
school of philosophy.
According to Harihara Aranya, Yoga is the most ancient
system of philosophy. 8 The excavations from the Mohenjo -
daro - Harappa clearly point out to some ¢sanas (like
M¦labandha) being practised during that period. This shows
that Yogic techniques were known at least five thousand
years ago in India.
We have evidences of Yogic techniques being practised
through Samhit¢, Br¢hma´a, ¡ra´yaka and Upani¾ad
sections of the Vedas. The B¨had¢ra´yaka, Ch¢ndogya,
Ka°ha, Maitr¤, Praºna, ¹vet¢ºvatara and other Upani¾ads
contain many passages where references about Yogic
practices and philosophy are found.
For example, the Atharvaveda (X.1.32) talks of eight cakras
in the body:

7
Principles of Sahaj Marg (vol. II) by P. Rajagopalachari, Shri Ram
Chandra Mission, India, 1989 (-).
8
Yoga system of Philosophy, University of Calcutta, 1977.
 7

Aï>m MH«$m ZdÛmam

XodmZm§ nya`moÜ`m Ÿ&
9
References about n¢²¤s and different pr¢´as are
found in Upani¾ads.10
Coming to the epic period, V¢lm¤ki, it is said, was an
adept in Yoga, before he composed R¢m¢ya´a. He himself
says (B¢lak¢´²a III.6):

VV: ní`{V Y_m©Ë_m VV² gdª `moJ_mpñWV: Ÿ&

There are also many references to the practice of pr¢´¢y
¢ma in R¢m¢ya´a.
The Mah¢bh¢rata is a store house of many techniques
of Yoga. The Bhagavad g¤t¢, which forms part of the great
11
epic is hailed as Yoga º¢stra and Lord K¨¾´a as the master
12
of Yoga.
The ¡gamas, which are divided into ¹aiva, ¹¢kta and
Vai¾´ava, contain innumerable references to the theory and
practice of Yoga. In many ¹aiva and Vai¾´ava ¢gamas, Yoga
forms a separate section.13

9
For more details, see my crticle "" Description of n¢²¤s in Vedic and Yogic
Texts'', in Journal of Oriental
Research Vol. Lxxvi - Lxxvii, K.S.R.I. Chennai. Pp.109-120.
10
For more details, see Darºanopani¾ad , ed. by K.S.Balasubramanian and
T.V. Vasudeva, The K.S.R.I,
Chennai, 2007.
11 11
See colophon of all chapters B{V lr_V² ^JdÒrVmgw Cn{ZfËgw
~«÷{dÚm`m§ `moJemóo Ÿ...
12
For example, Ch. XVIII. 78, says, `Ì `moJoœa: H¥$îUmo ...
13
The four sections are Kriy¢, Cary¢, Yoga and J®¢na, though not all the
¡gamas contain all these four sections.
 8

Pata®jali's Yoga s¦tras attracted the attention of great

commentators of the past like Vy¢sa, ¹a¬kara, V
¢caspatimiºra and others down to the present century.
(b) Originator of Yoga
There are three different views regarding the originator
of Yoga, viz. Brahm¢, Vi¾´u and ¹iva, known as trinity of
Hinduism.
(i) Lord Brahm¢
The B¨hadyogiy¢j®avalkya sm¨ti of Y¢j®avalkya (XII.5)
says that the first teacher of Yoga is Lord Hira´yagarbha,14
the first born Himself:

{ha½`J^m} `moJñ` ZmÝ`: àmoº$m

nwamVZ: Ÿ&
YY (I.15cd - 16 ab) also says that Y¢j®avalkya (the
author of the text), learnt the Yoga º¢stra from Brahm¢, the
creator:

MamMaUm§ òï>ma§ ~«÷mU§

na_o{ð>Z_² Ÿ&
H$Xm{MV² VÌ JËdm@h§
ñVwËdm ñVmoÌ¡: àUå` MŸ&&
YY (I.10 cd): dú`m{_ `moJgd©ñd§ ~«÷Um
H$s{V©V§ nwam Ÿ&
and YY (X.22 cd): `Xwº$§ ~«÷Um nydª
H$_©`moJg_wƒ`_² Ÿ&

(ii) Lord Vi¾´u

14
According to Amarakoºa (I.1.16) the name Hira´yagarbha is synonym of lord
Brahm¢.
 9

Lord K¨¾´a, who is considered as an incarnation of Lord

Vi¾´u in Hindu mythology, says in the Bhagavad g¤t¢ (IV.1-
2) that he taught this science of Yoga to Vivasv¢n, who
passed it on to Manu, and Manu in turn to Ik¾v¢ku. Thus this
was known to the royal sages having been transmitted in
succession. But due to lapse of time, this science of Yoga
was lost:

B_§ {ddñdVo `moJ§ àmoº$dmZh_ì``_² Ÿ&

{ddñdmZ² _Zdo àmh _Zw[aúdmH$do@
~«drV² Ÿ&&
Ed§ naånam àmá{__§
amOf©`mo {dXw: Ÿ&
g H$mboZoh _hVm `moJmo
Zï>: naÝVn Ÿ&&
(iii) Lord ¹iva
The texts on Ha°ha Yoga like Ha°ha Yoga Prad¤pik¢
(HYP) of Sv¢tm¢r¢ma, Gorak¾asamhit¢ (GS) of Gorak¾an
¢tha, ¹ivasamhit¢ (¹S) and so on, and also texts on ¹aiva and
¹¢kta ¡gamas are unanimous in their view that lord ¹iva was
the originator of Yoga.
The very first verse of HYP says:

lr Am{XZmWm` Z_mo@ñVw
Vñ_¡ `oZmon{Xï>m hR`moJ{dÚm Ÿ&>
The texts on Ha°ha Yoga are also unanimous in their
opinion that it was lord ¹iva who gave eighty four ¢sanas in
keeping with the view that there are eighty four lakhs of
species in this world. For example, GS (I.7-8) says:
 10

AmgZm{Z M VmdÝVmo `mdÝVmo

OrdOÝVd: Ÿ&
......................................
MVwaer{V M bjmUm_oH¡$H§$ g_wXmöV_² Ÿ&
VV: {edoZ nrRm>Zm§
fmoS>emoZ§ eV§ H¥$V_² Ÿ&&
Thus it can be seen that the texts on Yoga contain
references which ascribe the origin of Yoga to either Brahm¢
or Vi¾´u or ¹iva.
III. Different branches of Yoga
Although many branches of Yoga are prevalent, only
four have been given prominence in the texts on Ha°ha
Yoga. They are Mantra Yoga, Ha°ha Yoga, Laya Yoga and R
¢ja Yoga.
For example,
¹iva Samhit¢ (V.9) says:

_ÝÌ`moJmo hRü¡d b``moJñV¥Vr`H$: Ÿ&

amO`moJñMVwW©:
ñ`mV² ..........Ÿ&&>
(i) Mantra Yoga
In this, Yogic practices are done along with specific
mantras. Even Pata®jali has accepted the efficacy of
mantra. He says,

V‚mn: VXW©^mdZ_² Ÿ&15

and

15
Yoga s¦tras I.28
 11

OÝ_m¡f{Y_ÝÌVn: g_m{YOm:
{gÕ`: Ÿ&16
In Mantra Yoga there are sixteen sections viz. (i)
bhaktiª (ii) ºuddhiª
(iii) ¢sana (iv) pa®c¢¬gasevanam (v) ¢c¢raª (vi) dh¢ra´¢
(vii) divyasevanam (viii) pr¢´akriy¢ (ix) mudr¢ (x) tarpa
´am (xi) havanam (xii) baliª (xiii) y¢gaª (xiv) japaª and
(xv) dhy¢nam and (xvi) sam¢dhiª.
Mantrayogasamhit¢ is the popular text on this subject.
(ii) Ha°ha Yoga
The chief aim of this branch of Yoga is to provide the
practitioners with good health and long life. K¢lid¢sa's
words,

eara_mÚ§ Ibw Y_©gmYZ_² 17

best suit
this branch. There are many texts on this branch of Yoga
which give innumerable techniques like ºodhaka kriy¢s, n¢²¤
ºuddhi, ¢sana, pr¢´¢y¢ma and mudr¢ which cure and
prevent many physical disorders. Hence this is the most
popular Yoga, being practised by millions of people from all
over the globe.
The word Ha°ha, though means force, is defined in this
system to represent the union of Sun or Pi¬gal¢ n¢²¤ and
the Moon or I²¢ n¢²¤ . Some of the popular texts are Ha°ha
Yoga Prad¤pik¢ of Sv¢tm¢r¢ma, Gorak¾a Samhit¢ of

16
ibid. IV-1
17
Kum¢rasambhava V.33
 12

Gorak¾an¢tha, Ha°ha Ratn¢val¤ of ¹r¤niv¢sa Yog¤ndra, ¹iva

Samhit¢, Ghera´²a Samhit¢, Ha°hasa¬ketacandrik¢ of
Sundaradeva and Yoga Upani¾ads (a set of twenty
Upani¾ads dealing with Yogic practices.)
(iii) Laya Yoga
This is defined in HYP (IV.34) thus:

b`mo b` B{V àmhþ: H$sÑe§ b`bjU_² Ÿ&

AnwZdm©gZmoËWmZm„`mo {df` {dñ_¥{V:
Ÿ&&
Originally lord ¹iva taught one crore and twenty five
lakhs of techniques of Laya Yoga. But N¢d¢nusandh¢na is
the best among all, says Sv¢tm¢r¢ma.18

lr Am{XZmWoZ gnmX
H$mo{Q>b`àH$mam: H${WVm O`pÝV Ÿ&
ZmXmZwgÝYmZH$_oH$_od _Ý`m_ho _w»`V_§
b`mZm_² Ÿ&&
(iv) R¢ja Yoga
Generally Pata®jali's a¾t¢¬ga Yoga is called R¢ja
Yoga. R¢ja Yoga is so called because it essentially deals with
the mind, which is the king among the indriyas.
Although there are other branches of Yoga as described
earlier, they act only as preliminary steps to lead the
aspirants to R¢ja Yoga, since only R¢ja Yoga leads one to
Kaivalya. HYP (I.1) says that Ha°ha Yoga is only a ladder
towards R¢ja Yoga.
18
HYP (IV.66)
 13

{d^«mOVo
àmoÞVamO`moJ_mamoTw>{_ÀNmo:
A{Yamo{hUrd Ÿ&&>
Further it says that the purpose of Ha°ha and Laya
Yogas is to take one to R¢ja Yoga.

H$odb§ amO`moJm` hR{dÚmon{Xí`Vo Ÿ&& 19

and gd} hR>b`monm`m: amO`moJñ` {gÕ`o
Ÿ&Ÿ& 20
>$
Conclusion
Yoga is one of the greatest treasures of India. Many
saints, philosophers, scientists, physicians, scholars and
people from all walks of life are being attracted towards
Yoga. It paves way for a comprehensive development of man
– physical, mental, intellectual and spiritual. It also has an
uninterrupted history of thousands of years of proven
efficacy in this country. Its purpose, according to Y

¢j®avalkya is: ""`moJoZ AmË_Xe©Z_²'' 21

""Through Yoga, the realisation of the Self.''

***

19
HYP. I.2.
20
ibid. IV. 103
21
Y¢j®avalkya sm¨ti I.8
14