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Raja Yoga
Raja Yoga, the "royal" or sovereign
approach to yoga, is associated with yoga as a philosophical school.
Indian philosophy is traditionally classified into six
"orthodox" darshanas (schools, or points of view) -
"orthodox" meaning here a point of view which regards the
Vedas as an authoritative source. That Vedic orientation distinguishes
the yoga school from other schools of philosophy, such as the Buddhist
and Jain traditions, even while agreeing with those schools on numerous
points. The Yoga darshana is generally paired with the older Samkhya
darshana, a dualistic and non-theistic school of thought whose views of
the universe and its workings provide the theoretical framework of
Ayurveda, making Yoga and Ayurveda "sister disciplines" with
slightly different, but complementary, approaches to the problem of
relieving human suffering.
The major texts of Raja Yoga are the Bhagavad-Gita
and the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali, with Swami Svatmarama’s Hatha
Yoga Pradipika – though not usually considered a Raja Yoga text
– deserving mention.
- The Bhagavad-Gita is a section of the
epic Mahabharata. It outlines three main types of yoga: jnana,
the knowledge of knowledge or wisdom; karma, the yoga of
works and action; and bhakti, the yoga of devotion. The aim
of all three paths is the cultivation of a life of selfless action,
that is, the performance of duty (dharma) without attachment
to personal gain. The Gita identifies Yoga with Samkhya, and
emphasizes the importance of understanding the nature and function
of the gunas, the three foundational energies of the physical
universe (prakriti).
- The Yoga Sutra (3rd century
BCE - 2nd century CE) is the first systematic compilation
of yoga techniques and theory. Its compiler/editor/author, Patanjali,
is regarded in some circles as a divine incarnation. Its metaphysics
are similar to Samkhya. The goal of the Yoga Sutra is the
escape from suffering occasioned by the mistaken identification of
the individual purusha (soul, consciousness) with prakriti.
This deliverance is accomplished through the dismantling of false
identification through two related schemes. The first, kriya yoga,
the yoga of action, involving the practice of ascetic discipline (tapas),
self-cultivation (svadhyaya), and devotion to the Lord (isvara-pranidhana)
– a threefold scheme reminiscent of the one in the Gita.
The second, known as ashtanga (eight-limbed) yoga, is devoted
to the practice of a series of mahavratas, great universal
vows or practices, which Patanjali says are applicable to all
people, at all times and in all conditions. These are the famous yamas
and niyamas.
- The Hatha Yoga Pradipika (14th
– 15th century CE) is attributed to the legendary sage
Goraknatha (9-10th century CE?), who founded the school
of Hatha ("forceful") Yoga for the benefit of those unable
to aspire to Raja Yoga. (Hatha Yoga Pradipika I.I.3). This
text places far more emphasis on asana than does the Yoga
Sutra, and emphasizes physical practices - conceived of both as
psychophysiological and as symbolically devotional in nature –
which are designed to awaken and channel energies within the body.
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