Yoga

   The term 'yoga' is derived from the root 'yuj', meaning, 'to join'. Hence yoga sadhana is an exercise 'to unite' what is disconnected, disjointed. What is disconnected or disjointed in the spiritual world is the jivatman with paramatman. It is also the body and mind working disregarding the soul, that constitutes the core of the substance. Lot of problems are created when a person works with his hands or legs without applying mind as in the case of driving a vehicle or working on a machine. When such is the case, one can imagine the consequences when the jiva goes on with its day-to-day activities disregarding the soul. The entire body and mind are the product of the soul, but it is disregarded almost all though the life by the jiva. This is the crux of the problem. The jiva gets into problems due to this utter disregard of the soul that is at the root of its creation! Hence, the learned sages like Sage Patanjali or Sage Shandilya devised the yoga sutras that would help the jiva to enable it to get connected to the Soul, the Atman. The Atman may, at a later stage, work itself to get united with the super soul,the higher one, the paramatman.  

   The ashtanga yog sutras suggest the eight-fold path- yama,niyama, pratyahara, ishvara pranidana, asana, pranayama, dhyana, and samadhi. The sadhaka has to take one by one slowly all these steps in order to reach the top. It may take several lives since each and every step is slippery and the chances are that every time one climbs will slip back! A trained teacher may help to some extent, but one achieves depends much on one's own effort. there is hardly a single soul that has attained to the highest nirvikalpa samadhi during the last 2500 years! The Buddha is the one who attained to this state, so far. Hence, it is open to question as to whether what we are doing is right in this yogabhyasa?
   What the present day yoga teachers, who boast of a Master's Degree in Yoga, too, do is to break the brittle bones of their students teaching them asanas that are not suited to their age. Yoga is age-specific and the asanas and pranayamas are very delicate instruments that lead to samadhi via dhyana, dharana and astute renunciation. These are not to be adopted without the preliminary steps being perfected, such as absolute adherence to satya, asteya, shoucha, etc addresses in yama and niyama. These are absolutely difficult propositions to an ordinary person. So, yogabhyasa is no joke! In fact, if a person attains to pratyahara and Ishvarapranidana, there is no need for further yogic practices! Ishvara pranidana is like the take off of a aircraft that is put on autopilot. There is nothing one can do in that state. Higher level of Consciousness takes care of irself and tehre is a magnet that attracts it adn drive it higher and higher.
 hence, one should be careful here. It is not for maintaining general health that we take to yoga. It is to attain to the unity level, teh Buddha state of existence that we underatake to yoga..