New Age practices, Yoga and Baba Ramdev

The word yoga is derived from the root yuj, which means to unite or to join together. A man who
seeks after this union is called a yogin or yogi. There are four manin division of yoga: Karma Yoga,
Bhakti Yoga, Jnana Yoga and Raja Yoga. Panini, the grammarian, explains the meaning of yoga
as union with the Supreme. Patanjali, in his Yoga Sutra, defines yoga as ‘cessation of all changes
in consciousness.’ Yoga is the science and praxis of obtaining liberation (moksha) from the material
world. It not only points the way to release, but offers a practical means of arriving there. Yoga is a
practical path to self-realization, a means of attaining enlightenment by purifying the entire being,
so that the mind-body can experience the absolute reality underlying the illusions of everyday
life. It is one of the most famous of Hinduism’s philosophical traditions, now practiced by Hindus,
Christians, agnostics and atheists alike. Yoga has many meanings and comes in many forms. It is
also based on an underlying philosophy that is linked to other schools of Hindu thought. Vedantins
interpret Yoga as return of the individual atman to the Supreme. The Yoga with which most
Westerners are familiar is Hatha Yoga, consisting of bodily exercises. The Philosophy of Yoga
is called Raja Yoga, (the royal path), or Patanjala Yoga, referring to Patanjali, the reputed author
of the Yogasutras, the basic Yoga manual. Because of its close connection with the philosophical
system of Sankhya, it is also known as Sankhya-Yoga.

“This they consider Yoga: the steady holding of the senses.” – Katha-Upanishad

“Yoga is said to be the oneness of breath, mind, and senses, and the abandonment of all states of
existence.”
– Maitrî-Upanishad

“Yoga is known as the disconnection (viyoga) of the connection (samyoga) with suffering.” – The
Bhagavad Gita

“Yoga is ecstasy (samâdhi).” – Yoga-Bhâshya

“Yoga is said to be control.” – Brahmânda-Purâna

“Yoga is the control of the whirls of the mind.” – Yoga Sutra

Today, in the west, the yoga practices are termed as “New Age” practices by those who can’t see or
don’t want to see Yoga’s integral connection with Hinduism. New terms like “Christian Yoga” have
evolved and many percieve Yoga as just a physical exercise. Yoga, which is a Sanskrit term, refers
to the mental and physical unification i.e silencing of the mind and control of the physical body,
raising of one’s individual consciousness to unite with the supreme consciousness which is denoted

as Bhraman. Such a practice also involves questioning one’s own belief through a philosophical
enquiry objective in approach i.e Jnana Yoga. But in abrahamic religions any spirit of questioning
is suppressed and one has to blindy believe. In the past, christian missionaries like Max Mueller
propogated Aryan Invasion Theory and made assumptions solely based on christian beliefs. They
could not digest that anything as advanced as Vedas could have originated before Christianity and
hence declared Vedas to be written somewhere around 1500 B.C. But with scientific dating and
Vedic evidence, Mahabharata alone seems to have occured before 5500 B.C and the exact age of
RigVeda seems to be unknown. Later because of the objections of his contemporary scholars such
as Goldstucker, Whitney and Wilson, Max Muller relented and in his own book Physical religion
(1891, pg 91) wrote : “Whether the Vedic hymns were composed in 1000 or 1500 or 2000 or 3000
BC, no power on earth will ever determine”. Therefore, the terms like Christian Yoga are nothing
but mere oxymorons.

In India, yoga practices have been greatly promoted by Yoga gurus like Baba Ramdev. A common
misconception of the people is that Yoga gurus or bhramins should not take part in politics. On the
contrary, Bhramins in vedic India were known as the protectors of the society whose role was to
maintain dharma or righteousness, educate the people on science and spirituality, do Vedic research
and practice medicine (ayurveda) etc. Teaching the society about righteousness, duty and ethics
etc ( or dharma ) itself relates to societal adminstration. The famous bhramins like Chanakya and
Donacharya also involved in politics. A person who follows the path of knowledge i.e Jnana Yoga,
for the benefit of the society, may also disseminate knowledge which is only natural. Thus, when
people state that Baba Ramdev should be only concentrating on Yoga only and not politics, they
are ignorant that Yoga calls for balance in nature and society at large. Singing the divine song,
i.e Bhagvad-Geet (or Gita), Krishna teaches Arjun about the Karma Yoga (Chapter 3), Jnana
Yoga (Chapter 4), Abhyasa Yoga (Chapter 6) etc to know one’s duties and maintain dharma in the
society.

“Living souls are prisoners
of the joys and woes of existence
to liberate them from nature’s magic
the knowledge of the brahman is necessary.
It is hard to acquire, this knowledge,
but it is the only boat,
to carry one over the river of Samsara
A thousand are the paths that lead there,
Yet it is one, in truth,
knowledge, the supreme refuge!

– Yoga Upanishad

References :
http://www.hinduwisdom.info/Yoga_and_Hindu_Philosophy.htm
Max Muller, Physical Religion 1891, Pg 91 : http://www.scribd.com/doc/31564521/Physical-
religion-Max-Muller
http://www.stephen-knapp.com/death_of_the_aryan_invasion_theory.htm
http://www.portraitofindia.com/mbdating1.htm