FB Discussions - World Yoga Day

There is the Ashtanga Yoga.

The first step, before the Asanas and the Dhyana (or meditation), is Yama - including satya (truth), ahimsa (non-violence), asteya (non possession), aparigraha (non stealing) and brahmacharya (restraint of all senses). And the Niyamas.

Without these steps being set in practice, and Asanas, Dhyana will fail. But for a society wanting quick-fix, they are offered meditation courses.

(via Sunny Narang)

"I do not care whether there is a World Yoga Day or not . Yoga is not an exercise .
Taking Mantra Uccharan and Om from Yoga is like taking "Our Father in Heaven , Holy be thy name " away in all the Christian schools in India , who then are "inhibiting Hinduism" . I said that prayer every day in assembly .

This is like saying please remove the word "Allah Hu" from qawwalis as they inhibit other religions and propagate Islam .

According to Pāṇini, a 6th-century BCE Sanskrit grammarian, the term yoga can be derived from either of two roots, yujir yoga (to yoke) or yuj samādhau (to concentrate).In the context of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the root yuj samādhau (to concentrate) is considered by traditional commentators as the correct etymology. In accordance with Pāṇini, Vyasa who wrote the first commentary on the Yoga Sutras,states that yoga means samādhi (concentration).

Someone who practices yoga or follows the yoga philosophy with a high level of commitment is called a yogi (may be applied to a male or a female) or yogini (traditionally denoting a female).

The ultimate goal of Yoga is moksha (liberation) though the exact definition of what form this takes depends on the philosophical or theological system with which it is conjugated.

Yoga as an analysis of perception and cognition; illustration of this principle is found in Hindu texts such as the Bhagavad Gita and Yogasutras, as well as a number of Buddhist Mahāyāna works;
Yoga as the rising and expansion of consciousness; these are discussed in sources such as Hinduism Epic Mahābhārata, Jainism Praśamaratiprakarana;