What Does Yoga Mean? Where Did It Originate From?
The term 'yoga' describes several practices that help in improving physical, mental, and spiritual health. To understand the meaning of yoga, you need to go back to its beginnings. So, when did yoga begin? The practice of yoga started in ancient India. While yoga has evolved over the centuries, its origin and meaning still govern the practice and philosophy.
Understanding the meaning of yoga
Yoga was primarily seen as a discipline used to 'yoke' or to 'control one's mind'. It helps to calm a person and recognise the 'witness-consciousness'. The witness-consciousness detaches from the activities of the 'chitta' or the mind. It's also separate from the 'dukkha' or the mundane sufferings of a human being.
To know more about yoga and the meaning of the word, you need to look at the root words from which it is derived. One can derive its meaning from its Sanskrit origins. Scholars believe that the definition of yoga comes from the Sanskrit root word 'Yuj'. The word Yuj means 'to attach, join, harness, yoke'.
Yoga origin and history and its meaning can be traced back to the Rig Veda. In Rig Veda, the hymn 5.81.1 is for Savitri, the Sun Goddess, who rises in the morning. This hymn is where you come across the word yoga for the first time. The meaning that a scholar can infer from this hymn is 'to yoke' or 'to yogically control'.
The connection of yoga to yoke can also be found in Pāṇini's interpretation dating back to the 4th century BCE. Pāṇini offers two meanings of yoga, both from two different root words. The first is from the root word 'Yuji yoga'. Yuji yoga means 'to yoke'. The second root word is 'Yuj samādhau', which means 'to concentrate'. If you look at the Yoga Sutras, then you'll find that the meaning and origin of yoga is close to that of Yuj samādhau. So, you can consider it to be the proper etymology. The first commentary on Yoga Sutras further confirms this meaning. The commentary by Vyasa states that yoga means 'samādhi' or 'concentration'.
However, scholars have also found another word in the Yoga Sutras. This word is 'kriyāyoga', which is more of a technical term. The word is associated with the practical parts of philosophy. The term is for the 'union with the supreme' through the duties one has in everyday life.
The root words for yoga meaning in Sanskrit and the technical term kriyāyoga gives a complete meaning to yoga. Yoga is, thus, a philosophical practice that helps to concentrate.
Meaning of yoga in different Indian ancient texts
It's possible to understand the meaning and etymology of yoga from specific texts and interpretations. However, several definitions of yoga have come up over the centuries in other classical or ancient texts. These texts feature the yoga meaning in Sanskrit and have helped scholars clarify the origins of the term and the practice.
Here are some of the texts and the different meanings of yoga.
- Vaiśeṣika Sūtra
The text of the Vaiśeṣika Sūtra dates back to the 4th century BCE. It talks about human pleasure and suffering. According to the information in the Vaisesika Sutra, yoga is the practice that can detach the mind from both pleasure and suffering while it's still within the human self.
- Katha Upanishad
A text from the 1st century BCE, Katha Upanishad considers yoga to be the practice that brings together and restrains the five senses. The highest state of the human mind is when all five senses are present, but the mind is calm, and there is no activity of the intellect. Yoga is the discipline that helps to achieve this state.
- Bhagavad Gita
The meaning of yoga in the Bhagavad Gita goes back to the 2nd century BCE. Here, yoga is equanimity that helps the mind to stay the same in both failure and success. According to the Bhagavad Gita, yoga poses help to separate the mind and the self from prolonged suffering.
- Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, 1st century CE, has the phrase 'yogas chitta vritti nirodhah'. It means that yoga is what calms down the mind. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali gives a complete yet straightforward meaning of yoga and explains it as a discipline that can settle the patterns or the fluctuations within the human mind.
- Yogācārabhūmi-Śāstra (Sravakabhumi)
The Yogācārabhūmi-Śāstra is a Mahayana Buddhist Yogacara text from the 4th century CE. Here, the meaning of yoga has four different aspects: faith, aspiration, perseverance, and means. Every practice of yoga has to include all these four elements.
- Kaundinya's Pancarthabhasya on the Pasupatasutra
The Kaundinya's Pancarthabhasya on the Pasupatasutra is another 4th century CE text. It describes the practice of yoga as a system, and within this system, the human self unites with the Lord.
To further understand the origin of yoga and its meaning, you can also look at these classical texts:
- Yogaśataka by Haribhadra Suri (a Jain text dating back to the 6th century CE)
- Śaradatilaka of Lakshmanadesikendra (11th century CE)
- Yogabija (14th century CE)
When and where does yoga originate from?
It's challenging to have a specific answer to the question 'when did yoga begin?' But the origins of yoga can be traced back through two separate models. These models are the linear model and the synthesis model.
According to the linear model, yoga originated from the Aryans. Hindu scholars believe that the Vedic texts reflect the practice of yoga and that later it was influenced by the Buddhists. Support for the linear model also comes from the fact that scholars consider the Vedic texts the source of spiritual upliftment and knowledge. As yoga poses and practice aim to achieve spiritual health, the practice can also originate from the Aryans.
On the other hand, the synthesis model proclaims that the yoga origin and history come from systems that differ from the Vedic school of thought. These systems include Jainism and Buddhism. This origin of yoga has substantial scholarship as it points towards the philosophy and anthropology of pre-Aryan periods and locations, particularly in the northeast regions of India.
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