define the yoga on the basis of bhagavad gita

Firmly holding the base of his body, his neck, and his head straight, looking only at the tip of his nose, he must be serene, fearless, and above any lusty thought. What is this discernment Krishna speaks of? Bhakti-yoga is called karma-yoga, for example, when, in the practitioner's mind, the first word in the hyphenated compound takes precedence. Karma-yoga emphasizes working (karma) for the Supreme, jnana-yoga emphasizes focusing one's knowledge (jnana) on the Supreme, dhyana-yoga involves contemplating (dhyana) the Supreme, buddhi-yoga is about directing the intellect (buddhi) toward the Supreme, and bhakti-yoga—the perfection of all yogas—occurs when devotion (bhakti) is emphasized in relation to the Supreme. Selfless, cleansing, freeing, balancing, inspiring, and joyfully performed actions based on a vision in which one experiences peaceful interconnectedness with all life around them. The people of India in the time of the Gita were given to extreme acts of renunciation. Yet the Gita also creates a hierarchy: First come study, understanding, and meditation (dhyana-yoga). Krishna then begins to describe the effects of those who completely depend on Krishna in their practice of yoga, and become attached to him. It takes 7 seconds to join. Elephant offers 2 articles/day for free. Krishna tells us it was Arjuna’s love for him that inspired him to speak of yoga again, the “ultimate secret”, the same yoga that was once known by the ancients. Krishna elaborates on how to perform karma-yoga in the sixth chapter, again emphasizing its superiority to mere renunciation and philosophy: One who is unnattached to the fruits of his work and who works as he is obligated is in the renounced order of life, and he is the true mystic, not he who lights no fire and performs no duty. Then the subject of energies that pull one toward and away from absorption in yoga begins, with only eight verses in the last three chapters of the Bhagavad Gita that use the words yoga or yukta, mainly characterizing those absorbed in yoga as reflecting the qualities of sattva, or clarity, purity. This brings us back to the basic definition of the word yoga. But since the work is directed to God, it can be called karma-yoga instead of just karma. Religion and yoga, therefore, have the same end in mind: combining or linking with God. Musings on the Bhagavad Gita 15: The Yoga of Sovereign Secret Science , Bhagavad Gita Online, Bhagavad Gita Indonesia - bhagavadgita.or.id He recommends the active form of yoga, which He calls karma-yoga. The Bhagavad Gita explains four types of yoga: karma-yoga, jnana-yoga, dhyana-yoga and bhakti-yoga. Your investment will help Elephant Journal invest in our editors and writers who promote your values to create the change you want to see in your world! The Gita teaches how we can, in modern terms, be in the world but not of it. People who worship God’s (here gods means gods like sun, Indra…. The Bhagavad Gita is a Hindu sacred text originally written in Sanskrit that forms part of a larger epic, the \"Mahabharata.\" Yoga is presented in the Bhagavad Gita as the process by which a person can connect with the Absolute or Divine. Welcome to elephant's ecosystem. Each and every one of us is born with this “sacred duty” that we must fulfill during this lifetime. Krishna ends this chapter by informing Arjuna that one who is absorbed with faith in yoga, abides only in Krishna. “Among these, the person of knowledge, who is constantly absorbed in yoga that is solely an offering of love, is exceptional. The Sanskrit word yoga comes from the root word yuj – ‘to connect’. to Bhagavad Gita (8) Bhagavad Gita Chapter Wise Summary (2) Krishna- The Absolute Truth (4) Classic Queue,Inspiring (Wow),Non New-Agey Spirituality,Popular Lately,Yoga,Z ADMIN Yoga Popular Lately,Z ADMIN Yoga Top 10 Individual Blogs, Arjuna,Bhagavad Gita,bhakti,Dharma,guru,Krishna,love,sanskrit,Yoga,yoga practice, the definition of yoga was not restricted to the bodily postures. By creating an account you agree to Elephant's Terms and Privacy Policy. In verses 11–17 Krishna explains that Arjuna's "sorrow is sheer delusion" because physical sensations are transitory—just as life and death are transitory. Bhagavad Gita is part of the great Hindu epic Mahabharata. Just which is He recommending—the austere form of disciplined sitting and meditation or action in perfect consciousness? Clear, discerning, totally voluntary, dynamic participation in one’s life. As supermodel Christy Turlington, pictured on the cover as an ardent practitioner, is quoted as saying, "Some of my friends simply want to have a yoga butt." We're community-driven. Krishna begins by telling Arjuna how yoga cannot be practiced without renouncing selfish motive (6.1). (6.18-19). In verse 6.41, Krishna reassures Arjuna that such a soul is reborn to the “pure and prosperous”, and that even one desiring to know yoga “transcends the sound of ultimate reality”. The Bhagavad Gita is a great philosophical work that played the same role in the history of India, as the New Testament did in the history of the countries of the Euro-pean culture. Bhagavad Gita Chapter 6 Summary – Dhyana Yoga; Categories. So yoga draws one to Krishna? Chapter five begins with Arjuna asking Krishna which is better: the renunciation of actions or the practice of yoga? Pure, determined force that moves us toward the mysterious and secret, and connects us with the wonderfulness of existence, of being and of all life. Here yoga is connected to light, to primal origins, to sonic transmission and to the eternal. Perhaps the individual practices of today’s yoga practitioners will be significantly nourished the more they embrace the rich and complex definitions Krishna gave yoga in the Bhagavad Gita. Krishna explains that both processes of yoga, the contemplative and the active, begin with learning how to control the mind, which is essentially dhyana, or meditation: When the yogi, by practice of yoga, disciplines his mental activities and becomes situated in transcendence—devoid of all material desires— he is said to be well established in yoga. May this site’s daily new articles inspire & expand your mind& heart in the midst of this busy-busy world of ours. Contrary to what some may think, the definition of yoga was not restricted to the bodily postures most of the western world associates it with, but rather, it encompassed a wide range of ways to connect with one’s highest potential. Breath control, along with intricate sitting postures (asana), was an effective means for quieting one's passions, controlling bodily appetites, and focusing on the Supreme. Krishna calls this method raja-yoga, because it was practiced by great kings (raja) in ancient times. “But what is the necessity of knowing such things, O Arjuna? I support this whole universe continuously, with one part of myself.” (10.42). She identifies this Yoga-Yajna with the Jishnu-Yoga which also, like Gita-Yoga aims at the best form of human behaviour, leading to the realization of not only the global unity of mankind, but also of the supreme universal energy, responsible for the unity of the entire cosmos. The Bhagavad-gita addresses all eight limbs of raja-yoga, the form of yoga popular today as ashtanga yoga or hatha yoga.3 For example, yama, the first limb, consists of five ethical principles: truthfulness, continence, nonviolence, noncovetousness, and abstention from stealing. The main principle of yoga, in whatever form, is to direct our activity toward linking with God. It is characterized to be as valuable and reliable to all beings on our planet as the sun is. And for most readers of the Gita, this can get confusing. Most people get beyond that and see that it's much, much more.". Hinduism portrayed gods intervening in political and military activity on a regular basis. It takes the doctrine of nivritti, negation, so dominant in ancient India, and augments it with positive spiritual action. It is similar in meaning to religio, the Latin root of the word religion, which means "to bind together." The Yoga Sūtra of Patañjali is a collection of 195 Sanskrit sutras on the theory and practice of yoga.The Yoga Sutra was compiled sometime between 500 BC and AD400 by the sage Patanjali in India who synthesized and organized knowledge about yoga from much older traditions. It should be noted at the outset that the word yoga itself refers to "linking with God." The Gita seeks to correct this misconception. Since the goal of yoga is to re-connect with God, bhakti-yoga rises above all the rest. By creating an account you agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Krishna tells Arjuna they will know him completely. Everlasting, primal, revealing, the archetypal light and fueled by love. How does he do this? Krishna accepts both forms of renunciation, but He describes the active form as more practical and more effective as well. Realizing that the world of matter will cease to exist and that birth all too quickly leads to death, the aspiring yogi begins to practice external renunciation and gradually internal renunciation, which, ultimately, comprises giving up the desire for the fruit of one's work (karma-phala-tyaga) and performing the work itself as an offering to God (bhagavad-artha-karma). Arjuna had fallen into despondence and Krishna presents yoga to him as an alternative way of being. For yoga in the Gita is a rich, complex and colorful experience engaging so much of life and human existence. Krishna begins chapter sixteen with a verse that talks about “steadfastness in the yoga of knowledge”. As a lamp in a windless place does not waver, so the transcendentalist, whose mind is controlled, remains always steady in his meditation on the transcendent self. Krishna says this directly by the end of the sixth chapter. According to Krishna, Arjuna is the best of yogis because he has devotion to the Supreme Lord. In chapter six on the way of meditation, Krishna devotes 29 verses (more than any other chapter in the Bhagavad Gita) to defining what yoga is, what yoga is not, and what the effects of practicing yoga are. | Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy. See more. Gita defines the purpose of work, not for its outcomes. Free of wants and possessiveness, the yogi must fully restrain his mind. Then Krishna characterizes yoga again as devoting all actions to him. The Gita’s explanation of belief and practice has had a huge influence on the formation of Hindu thought. So the second part of the compound (yoga) also becomes prominent—linking with God takes precedence over what the individual wants. Then Krishna defines yoga as that which causes one’s self to become connected to the Self in all beings, “and thus one is not tainted even while acting” (5.7) So never does one who is absorbed in yoga act alone. Fearless, illuminating, and a journey that does not end with death. People’s views of this can be as varied as fingerprints! The Bhagavad Gita is a great philosophical work that played the same role in the history of India, as the New Testament did in the his-tory of the countries of the European culture. The Holy books also referred as Gita is known for its philosophical, practical, political, psychological and spiritual values. Nourished in the company of other yoga practitioners, by offerings of love, and the understandings they give rise to. The Bhagavad Gita ends with an emphatic, final verse that delights in the triumph of those who align themselves with a genuine, loving yoga practitioner and teacher, as Arjuna did with Krishna. Does this most sacred of texts accept the path of contemplation, or does it say that one must approach the Supreme through work? Indeed, Arjuna himself expresses confusion in two chapters of the Gita: Is Krishna advising him to renounce the world, Arjuna wonders, or is He asking him to act in Krishna consciousness? In the famous chapter eleven of the Bhagavad Gita Krishna gives Arjuna a vision of his “Universal Form”. The Bhagavad Gita’s yoga is something nearly every human participates in, to one degree or another, in one form or another. For example karma yoga (actions), gyan yoga (knowledge), dhyan yoga (meditation), bhakti yoga (devotion) etc. Aspiring spiritualists of the age felt that only by shaking off the burden of active worldly life could one approach a life of the spirit. Is there such a thing as the original yoga, and the original yoga teacher? The living entity, although Brahman by nature, has the desire to lord it over the material world, and due to this he falls down. This is the first instance in which the word bhakta, a lovingly devoted one, appears, from the noun bhakti. A thorough reading of the Gita reveals a hierarchy, a yoga ladder in which one begins by studying the subject of yoga with some serious interest—this is called abhyasa-yoga—and ends up, if successful, by graduating to bhakti-yoga, or devotion for the Supreme. But for us, it may be the duty of being a good mom, daughter, or friend. In verse 25 Krishna says:  “I am not revealed to everyone, being concealed by the divine power of yoga, Yoga-Maya. Krishna first identifies yoga (chap. Krishna continues emphasizing the value of loving relationships with others in yoga, as he declares in verse 6. It also expanded beyond that into descriptions of what such evolved states of being felt like. The recent explosion of yoga’s popularity around the globe has portrayed yoga in so many various shades and colors that finding the most authentic yoga may pose (no pun intended) a challenge. The difference, then, lies only in one's external involvement with the world. The differences are mainly in emphasis. One becomes free from such bondage because one learns to work as an "agent" rather than as an "enjoyer"—one learns to work for God, on His behalf. Hinduism is associated with the territory of India. All of this involves a complex inner development, beginning with an understanding of the temporary nature of the material world and of duality. Now, the third limb of Patanjali's method, asana, … Perhaps what is most amazing to any yoga practitioner about this spectacular vision is that Krishna attributes his universal form as having manifested from the yoga of his own being! Being absorbed in yoga destroys suffering. Krishna's instruction here is especially useful for us today, living in the Western world. So what gives yoga its authenticity? Thus the connection between yoga, light and our loving relationships with others is emphasized. He describes it as impractical and "too difficult to perform," as it certainly is in our current age of distraction and degradation (known as Kali-yuga). Why not join the Elephant community, become an Elephriend. The penultimate verse in which the word yoga appears are spoken by the visionary Sanjaya who ends by calling Krishna Yogeshvara, the Lord of Yoga, in verse 18.75: “By the grace of Vyasa I have heard this supreme secret of yoga from Krishna, the supreme Lord of Yoga, appearing directly before my eyes, speaking it himself”. Aside from the obvious reincarnation interpretation, the double entendre of these words could point toward the value of surrounding oneself with others who are practicing yoga as a means to motivate and inspire one’s own practice. This bewildered world does not recognize me as the unborn and ever-present” But those who do will know Krishna even at the time of death. In chapter four, verse three, Krishna tells Arjuna that it is through love that we are found. Sacred duty refers to the moral order that sustains the cosmos, society, and the individual. These lead to deep contempla-tion of philosophy and eventually wisdom that culminates in renunciation (sannyasa-yoga). Self-realization is the situation of Vidya that is education. The question may legitimately be raised why the two approaches to yoga—the contemplative and the active (and all their corollaries)—seem to be interchangeable in one section of the Gita and a hierarchy in another. Krishna asserts that contemplative, or inactive, yoga is difficult because the mind can become restless or distracted. Concluding in verse 27 “be absorbed in yoga by means of yoga” and thus not be bewildered by the “two paths” of darkness and light through which souls exit their bodies. Rather, we can achieve the goal of yoga by learning the art of "detached action," one of the Gita's main teachings. Bhagavad Gita- Chap 11 (Pt-2) Vishwaroopa Darshana Yogah- Yoga of the Vision of the Universal Form Bhagavad Gita-Chapter 12 Bhakti Yogah-Yoga of Devotion BG-Chap 13 (Pt-1) Kshetra Kshetrajna Vibhaaga Yogah- Yoga of Distinction between The Field and the Knower of the Field In chapter seven on the way of realized knowledge, Krishna only speaks six verses in which the words yoga or yukta appears. Vision that excludes nothing from its practice. He is saying that we needn't go off to a forest to contemplate our navel. This refers to an unattached, selfless devotion to the divine. Then Krishna goes on with one detail after another about yoga: Yoga is not possible for those who have extremes in sleeping and eating. So yoga appears in more ways than we imagine. 47 that “one whose inner self has come to me, who is full of faith, who offers love to me- that one is considered by me to be the most deeply absorbed in yoga” What is this deep absorption called in Sanskrit, the language of the Bhagavad Gita? In ancient yoga texts, the various means whereby one practiced yoga directly merged with the aims of those very practices. In his constitutional position, a living entity is above the three modes of material nature, but association with material nature entangles him in the different modes of material nature, goodness, passion and ignorance. When light is lost to us, and we feel uninspired on our journey, what becomes our compass? Krishna answers that it is those whose mind are directed toward him and are always absorbed in yoga. Yoga should be practiced with determination and without entertaining discouraging thoughts. The yogi should practice such meditation for his own purification only—without any ulterior motive. These fundamental disciplines of yoga are mentioned in the Gita, as is niyama,the second limb, which consists of things like worship, cleanliness, contentment, austerity, and self-reflection. For one whose mind is unbridled, self-realization is difficult work. The Gita's entire sixth chapter is about Arjuna's rejection of conventional yoga. All rights reserved. Krishna goes on to define what it means to know him “completely” in chapter seven and speaks about all the places he is to be found: We experience Krishna in the taste of water, the radiance of the moon and sun, the sacred utterance in all the Vedas, the sound in space, the prowess in men. (All translations in this article were taken from Graham M. Schweig’s translation of Bhagavad Gita, published by Harper Collins, 2010), Copyright © 2011. If you want more, grab a subscription for unlimited reads for $3/month. 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