Sushmajee
Dictionary Of Hindu Religion | Dictionary
Dictionary-Y-Z | |
Yog |
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P-Q R S T-U V-W-X Y-Z see also Darshan, Patanjali Yog, Tantra, Yog (in Jyotish) Yog word is derived from the Sanskrit word "Yuj", means "to yoke" or to join, or to unite. Basically it is the "union of the individual Aatma (soul) with Paramaatmaa (Supreme Being), the universal soul." This can be defined as the "union with the Divine by integration of body, mind, and spirit". The Bhagvad Geetaa distinguishes several types of "Yog", corresponding to the duties of different nature of people. In it, Bhagavaan Krishn describes mainly three types of Yog - Karm Yog, Bhakti Yog and Gyaan Yog. Yogee is he who follows Yog to meet God. Its some other interpretations
and uses are given below --
(2) System of Philosophy-Means to Attain Bhagavaan
(1) Karm Yog -
Who does good to the whole world, and worships Vishnu by heart, action and
speech, and prays Him by Stotra etc, he follows Karm Yog and thus is called
Karm Yogee. It is one of the main concepts of Geetaa, preached by Krishn to
Arjun. (2) Kriyaa Yog -
Kriyaa Yog is of three types - Tapasyaa (penance), Swaadhyaaya (self study),
and worshiping Vishnu through fasts, hearing Puraan, and offering flowers etc.
Tapasyaa is Karm; self study is knowledge whether it is by reading Shaastra or
doing Jaap of Mantra; and the third one is related with Bhakti. This Bhakti is
also two types - in one, one offers the fruits of his Karm to Bhagavaan, while
in the other one, one offers the whole Karm to Bhagavaan. Between them the
second one is better. (3) Gyaan Yog -
Aatmaa (soul) is of two types Par Aatmaa and A-Par Aatmaa. Par Aatmaa is
Param Brahm and is Nir-Gun; and A-Par Aatmaa or A-Par Brahm is said to be
"with Ahankaar" - that is Jeev Aatmaa. To know them as one is called
"Gyaan Yog". Who follows it is called Gyaan Yogee. (4) Sanyaas Yog -
Who renounces the world and worldly pleasures and meditates upon Brahm is
called Sanyaas Yog. Whoever follows this style of life to attain Bhagavaan
is called Sanyaasee. (5) Bhakti Yog -
Who adopts the path of Bhakti to attain Bhagavaan, that is called Bhakti Yog.
To meditate upon Vaasudev, considering only one Parameshwar as his Swaamee
(Lord), leaving his selfishness and pride, with Shraddhaa and Bhakti, is
called Bhakti Yog. (6) Ashtaang Yog
(see below) - Because it consists of eight parts that is why it is called
Ashtaang Yog. Its eight parts are - Yam, Niyam, Aasan, Praanaayaam, Pratyaahaar,
Dhaaranaa, Dhyaan, and Samaadhi. (see below) (7) Dhyaan Yog -
To concentrate one's mind on Brahm in meditation is called Dhyaan Yog. (8) Saankhya Yog -
As Gyaan Yog.
(9) Raaj Yog -
In this Yog one tries to control his life air within the body. (10) Mantra Yog -
When people recite any specific Mantra many many times, it is called Mantra Yog.
It may involve the softly spoken repetition of a prayer or Mantra for one's own
meditation, or it may be the congregational singing of spiritually uplifting
songs, prayers, or the sacred names of the Supreme Being. It all involves the
same process, but in the Eastern tradition it is called Mantra Yog because it is
the easy process of focusing our minds on the Supreme, which helps spiritualize
our consciousness. Man means the mind, tra means deliverance. Therefore, a
spiritual Mantra is the pure sound vibration for delivering the mind from
material to spiritual consciousness. This is the goal of any spiritual path.
Although all spiritual traditions have their own prayers or Mantra, the Vaidik
Mantra are especially powerful and effective in uniting us with the spiritual
realm.
To attain Moksh, the three
paths - Bhakti Yog (the path of Devotion), Karm Yog (path of dedicated action) and Gyaan
Yog (the pursuit of knowledge) are not mutually exclusive. To each one of them, the other
two are complimentary. Unless the quantity and quality of thoughts are modified ,the direction
of thought can not be changed. All the three paths are to be practiced in synthesis. Each
one of us have to discover for ourselves our main path and also realize that the other two
can not be totally eliminated. Once success is attained in controlling the mind by following
the paths as above, success in meditation will be assured. And it is through meditation
alone Moksh or Self-realization can be attained.
(3) Yog in Indian Astrology
Conjunction of Planets
Conjunctions of Several others (1) Choodaamani Yog
- If solar eclipse is on Sunday, or lunar eclipse is on Monday, it is called
Choodaamani Yog. Bathing and donating during that time give eternal fruits. Ashtaang Yog 1 - Yam
-
[Five Yam to practice Yog - (1) Brahmcharya - abstinence, (2) Ahinsaa -
non-violence, (3) Satya - truth, (4) A-Steya - not to steal or rob, and
(5) A-Parigraha - not collecting anything even for emergency] [According to
Bhaagvat Puraan, 11/16,
there are 12 types of Yam - (1) Ahinsaa, (2) Satya, (3) A-Steya, (4) Asang -
not being attached to worldly pleasures, (5) Lajjaa - feeling shame, (6) A-Parigraha,
(7) Being Aastik - theist, (8) Brahmcharya, (9) Maun - not speaking or being quiet,
(10) Stability, (11) Forgiveness, and (12) Being Fearless.] 2 - Niyam
-
Being contented with whatever is available is called Santosh (contentment). A
discontented man is never happy anywhere. Shauch (cleanliness) is of two types -
external and internal. Cleaning the body from outside is called external cleaning
and purifying ones thought and mind is called internal cleaning. Who are internally
clean and they do Yagya, those Yagya are useless. Whose heart and mind are clean
and if they behave according to Dharm, then its result is immortal and makes one
happy. When a man develops strong Bhakti by doing constant Poojaa; by prayer by
heart, speech and action; and by hearing His stories, the same is being told as
Vishnu's Poojaa. Sandhyaa is also to be done at both times.
Thus I told you about Yam and Niyam, if somebody's heart and mind has become
clean by these processes is considered to attain Moksh, so one should practice
Aasan after stabilizing one's mind by Yam and Niyam.
[According to Bhaagvat
Puraan, 11/16 Niyam are also 12 - (1) Shauch - cleanliness of inside and
outside of the body, (2) Jap, (3) Tap, (4) Havan, (5) Shraddhaa, (6) Hospitality, (7)
My Worship, (8) Teerth Yaatraa (traveling in holy places or pilgrimage), (9) To do
good to others, (10) Santosh - contentment; and (11) Service to Guru. These are
useful for both Sa-Kaam and Nish-Kaam Saadhak.]
3 - Aasan
- 4 - Praanaayaam
-
Jeev's right nerve is called Pingalaa whose Devtaa is Soorya. This is called
Pitri Yoni. In the same way the Jeev's left nerve is Idaa whose Devtaa is
Chandra Dev. This is called Dev Yoni also. And in the middle of these there is
Sushumnaa nerve. This is very subtle and very hidden. Its Devtaa is Brahmaa Jee.
One should exhale air from his left nostril, and inhale from right nostril.
Exhaling process is called Rechak, and inhaling process is called Poorak. When
one fills the air in his body and doesn't release it, sits like a filled pitcher,
it is called Kumbhak. When the air is neither inhaled, nor it is exhaled and one
sits just like that, it is called Shoonyak. One should control this Praan gradually
otherwise serious diseases can attack. 5 - Pratyaahaar
- 6 - Dhaaranaa
- 7 - Dhyaan
- 8 - Samaadhi
-
Now I tell you about another Dhyaan. Bhagavaan exists in Pranav (Aum). One
should imagine Him like this. In Aum (see its
image) Akaar is the form of Brahmaa Jee, Ukaar is Vishnu's form and
Makaar is Rudra's form, and the mark above it represents Paramaatmaa. Who
do Jap of Pranav they become free from all kinds of sins.
System of Philosophy Yog was only one of six schools of classical Hind Philosophy that emerged
in this era and that continued to be studied throughout India to this day.
The Saankhya school, closely related to Yog may also antedate the Aarya's
conquest, though its oldest surviving text, Ishvar Krishna's "Saankhya
Verses", dates only to about the 2nd century AD. This philosophy analyzes
the world as consisting of 25 basic principles, 24 of which are matter (Prakriti
or nature) and the 25th one being "Spirit", or "Self"
(Purush). There is no Divine creator in this system. All matter is eternal,
uncaused, but basically three-fold in its qualities, or strands or attributes
(Gun) - Sat (truthful), Rajas (passionate), and Tamas (dark). Whichever of
these qualities dominates will determine the "nature" of things and
people, virtuous or noble, strong and bright, or inert, dull, mean, cruel, and
so forth.
The 24 forms of matter evolve from "Prakriti",
Purush stands alone, however, there are an infinite number of such
"men", all equal, each of which unites with the feminine
gender "Prakriti". The ultimate salvation of Purush lies in
his recognition of separateness and distinction from Prakriti, allowing
the Spirit or soul to cease suffering and attain freedom. Four Other Philosophies
Nyaaya means analysis and it is the Hindu system of logic which
teaches salvation through knowledge of some 16 categories of reasoning
and analysis, including syllogism, debate, refutations, disputations and
argument of every sort. This Nyaaya system is more elaborate than the
Greek, its typical 5-part example being - (1) the hill is on fire, (2)
because it is smoky, (3) whatever is smoky is on fire, as in kitchen,
(4) so with the hill, (5) therefore, the hill is on fire. Not only do
Hindu logicians insist on a middle example, they also caution against no
fewer than five kinds of fallacious middles, making Nyaaya the world's
most intricate and elaborate system of logical analysis.
The Vaisheshikaa (individual characteristics) school of Hindoo
philosophy is sometimes called India's "atomic" system, for its
basic premise is the unique character of each element of nature. The
material universe emerges from the molecular interaction of the atoms that
make up earth, water, air, and fire. There are, however, There are,
however, non-atomic Dravya ("substances") as well, such as soul
and mind, or time and space, to help explain whatever the atomic theory
may leave inexplicable. Salvation in this school, is achieved through
perfect knowledge, following which the "self" is released from
matter and rebirth. The
Poorv-Meemaansaa (early inquiry) school was based entirely on the study of
Rig Vaidik ritual and sacred texts. For these Hindoo fundamentalists, salvation
was equated with the precise performance of the Som sacrifice, since everything
prescribed in the Ved must be taken literally as eternal truth. This system
attracted fewer and fewer adherents over time.
Vedaant (end of Ved) derives its inspiration from Upanishad speculation
rather than Rig Vaidik sacrifice, and is alternately called "Uttar-Meemaansaa"
(later inquiry). It has been Hinduism's most influential philosophical system,
developing many subsidiary branches and attracting people of all ages, of all
places, and of all religions. Through the monistic principle of Brahm, Vedaant
philosophy seeks a reconciliation of all seeming differences and conflicts in
Hindoo scriptures. The greatest Vedaant teacher was
Shankar (c 780-820)
or Aadi Shankaraachaarya, a South Indian Braahman whose school of unqualified
monism developed the idea of our world as Maayaa (illusion), the one reality being
Brahm, whose name was also Aatmaa. During his brief career, he wandered from his
home, Keral, to the Himaalaya, established many Math (religious centers) and became
a saintly teacher, only second to Buddha. The other one was
Raamaanuj (c 1025-1137
AD) who viewed Brahm as a Divine being. Rejecting Maayaa, he stressed the
importance of Bhakti, by which he meant intense love, devotion and meditation
to God, as the sure path to Moksh. |
Created by Sushma Gupta on 3/15/06
Contact: sushmajee@yahoo.com
Updated on
12/07/12