Yoga has been practiced since ancient times and has a long cultural history as a result.
Thanks to the missionary fossil that is still alive. It is the result of the efforts of the Hindu early swamis, whose expressions have entered a new period of India's culture of blossoming in our century, both in India and beyond.
- Hundreds of thousands of Westerners practice some kind of Yoga today, but they may not necessarily understand the original objectives and reasons of the practice.
- To a great degree, this is due to their widespread lack of knowledge of Yoga's complex past.
- As a result, this article s devoted to laying out the key stages in Yoga's lengthy and complicated history.
History is essential for comprehending the world, particularly human civilization.
- More importantly, history teaches us about ourselves since our ideas and attitudes are heavily influenced by the society to which we belong.
- We are who we are not just because of our own personal histories, but also because of human civilization's collective histories.
No reality is more important to our self-awareness than history, according to German philosopher and psychiatrist Karl Jaspers.
- It teaches us to see man in his highest potentials and in his imperishable creations, it shows us the broadest horizon of mankind, it brings us the contents of tradition upon which our lives are built, it shows us standards by which to measure the present, it frees us from unconscious bonds to our own age...
- When we look at our current situation in the context of history, we may get a deeper understanding of it.
- It's difficult to fathom arriving at a true awareness of Yoga's spiritual riches or practicing it meaningfully and effectively without a thorough knowledge of its historical development.
A study of Yoga's history provides a more comprehensive picture than most popular books on the topic.
Learning about the history of Yoga is more than just an intellectual exercise; it really aids our self-awareness and, as a result, our attempts to break free from the confines of the ego-personality.
- The parts that follow will show some of the grandeur of the Yoga tradition, which has yielded a vast amount of knowledge about the human condition.
- Of fact, it is difficult to encapsulate all that scholarship has revealed in a few hundred pages.
- Indeed, no one has tried to combine all of the available material, which would require fluency in many languages (particularly Sanskrit and Tamil) as well as encyclopedic knowledge.
- As a result, the more modest aim of this essay will be to build a basic framework for our understanding of Yoga.
We saw how Hinduism's history may be easily divided into nine eras, spanning over 8,000 years from the Pre-Vedic Age to the Modern Age.
- It will be useful to keep that schema in mind while you read more of yoga's evolution.
- Because yogic concepts and practices are not exclusive to Hinduism but may also be found in Buddhism and Jainism, various histories might be written.
- However, considering Hinduism's preeminent role in the formation of India's civilisation, this would simply add to the complication.
- As a result, the development of Yoga is described in the following parts from the perspective of Hinduism, but I have included brief sections on Buddhism and Jainism.
- These two traditions are discussed in order of their respective dates:
- After the Upanishads comes Jainism, which is followed by Buddhism.
You may also want to read more about Kundalini Yoga here.
You may also want to read more about Yoga here.
You may also want to read more about Yoga Asanas and Exercises here.
You may also want to read more about Hinduism here.
Be sure to check out my writings on religion here.