Sunday, May 8, 2011

Back to Yoga

The Hindu American Foundation (HAF) has launched a “Take back Yoga” campaign with the aim of educating people on the historical fact that Yoga originated from Hinduism. While a significant number of the world’s population practice Yoga, they seldom associate it with the religion.

A series of articles have appeared in key newspapers and magazines debating the issue. The HAF side proclaiming that Yoga has deep Hindu roots was argued by Aseem Shukla, to which Deepak Chopra responded by dismissing the case with his article “Sorry, your patent on yoga has run out”. The debate has spilled over to Christians questioning if they should practice Yoga if it is an alien religion that interferes with their faith.

I agree with HAF that Yoga, specifically Hatha Yoga (postures etc.), does have Hindu roots. However, the debate in general has ignored some fundamental facts about “Yoga”, as both the proponents and opponents of the “Take back Yoga” campaign have seemed to not quite fully grasp the true meaning of the term “Yoga” in the original source texts. I will attempt to explain what Yoga originally meant in Hinduism, and how the popular modern practice of Yoga, known as Hatha Yoga, fits into the religion.

The earliest references to the term “Yoga” appear in the Upanishads, which are the antecedent portions of the scriptures known as the “Vedas” among Hindus. An example is the Katha Upanishad:

Steady restraint over the senses they regard as yoga.”[Katha Upanishad 2.3.11]

Since the Katha Upanishad is one of the principal scriptures of what is now known as “Hinduism”, certainly the most ancient references to the term “Yoga” appear in the Hindu religion.

Yoga as a religious-philosophical school began with the Yoga Sutras, a set of brief aphorisms on the topic of Yoga written by the sage Patanjali. The Yoga Sutras contain the first systematic arrangement and study of the fundamental principles of Yoga. It would not be incorrect to say that all later development of “Yoga” owes much to the Yoga Sutras, as the codification of Yoga is traced to this text.

I will now utilize an important but relatively obscure book that can shed much light into the recent discussions on Yoga: the Jivan-mukti-viveka (“Wisdom of Living Liberation”, abbreviated as JMV). This book is often attributed to a medieval monk known as Vidyaranya (sometimes not agreed to be the author by some modern scholars). No matter who the author was, the JMV is revered as a great book in the Hindu tradition. For instance, H.H. Chandrashekhara Bharati, a past pontiff of the esteemed Sringeri monastery in South India, has quoted the JMV as an authority in his writings, revealing his high regard for the text.

There is a doctoral dissertation on the JMV by Robert Alan Gooding of the University of Texas at Austin, which can be downloaded from a link on his homepage. There is also a translation of the JMV by Swami Moksadananda. I will use both these texts, but with my own personal translation, to discuss Yoga in Hinduism.

(I must caution that the JMV is a very serious text and may not be intelligible to the casual reader.)

The JMV quotes many verses from the Yoga Sutras, including the verse at the very beginning that defines Yoga:

Yoga Sutra Verse 1: Henceforth begins instruction in Yoga.
Yoga Sutra Verse 2: Yoga is restraint of mental modifications.

The second statement provides a concise but precise definition of Yoga as the way to restrain mental modifications. The JMV then explains with examples the methods or means of restraining mental modifications.

The JMV shows the way to rid one’s mind of anger:

“To remove the anger that one feels towards another:
If you are angry with him who harms you, then why not be angry with anger itself which hinders the attainment of all the four objects of life (Purusharthas) Virtue, Wealth, Pleasure and Salvation?
Even if the anger is successful in punishing the offender, it destroys the virtue, fame and wealth of the angry one. If the anger is vain, it torments the body of the one who is afflicted by anger.
How can anger, which is beneficial neither in this life nor the next, take shelter in the minds of the wise?”

The method of removing hatred according to the JMV:

“…hatred burns the heart all the time. When one … feels compassion for all miserable creatures then the hatred towards the enemy etc. dissolves and the mind becomes pure. Great men show the manner it is done by saying the prayer: 'Let all be happy and free from diseases; and achieve good of their lives, and may none suffer pain.'”

The means to eliminate pride:

“…one who has pride must think, “One day, my pride will be humbled [and cause me distress]”. [We have seen that] the pride of many scholars has been humbled in debates…”

One may try to act in the world in such a manner as to avoid all criticism, which although is not a bad quality, is not in the realm of possibility, and is therefore to be removed as per the JMV:

“'I will behave in such a way so that no one criticizes me, and everyone will praise me' constitutes the worldly tendency. This is impure, since it is impossible to accomplish. Even Rama and his wife Sita – the mother of the world and paragon of feminine virtue – were scandalized; what to say of others? People freely speak ill of each other referring to their local peculiarities…With this in view it is said: ‘None can satisfy the people, they always speak ill of others…a forgiving person is deemed as feeble, a strong man is thought of as a bully, absorbed in contemplation one is looked upon as a thief and a handsome man is deemed lustful. There is no way to please everybody, so one should look after one's own good. What can loquacious people do?’”

These are among the several techniques advocated in the JMV for the removal of bad qualities in one’s mind, replacing the non-virtuous thoughts (e.g. anger, hatred, pride, seeking to avoid criticism) with virtuous ones (e.g. calm temper, compassion, humility, seeking one’s own good). There are other suggestions given by the JMV for eliminating jealousy, remorse, etc.

The JMV considers a cogent objection to such a practice of the removal of bad qualities:

Objection: The bad qualities in one’s mind are infinite. Hence all practice of [removing them from one’s mind] is futile.
Reply: Not so. A person’s mind cannot have infinite bad qualities, just as a person’s body cannot have all possible diseases…Therefore each person should examine his or her own mind and remove those bad qualities that one finds there.”

It may appear to some that the practice of removing bad qualities in one’s own mind is not sufficient to calm the mind, so perhaps one must resort to harsher means such as Asanas (Hatha Yogic postures), Pranayama (Breath Control), etc. But the JMV steers the student clear of that way:

"There are two ways to bring home an animal that has strayed away. The first way is to pet the animal and offer it green grass (to eat – it is here assumed that the said animal is an herbivore), and the second way is to shout at the animal and beat it. Similarly, there are two ways to still the mind – the first is by gently convincing the mind to view friend and foe with equanimity, and the second is to make manly effort in breathing and mental function. The first way of Soft-Yoga (Mridu Yoga) quickly leads the mind to tranquility; the second way of Hard-Yoga (Hatha Yoga) accomplishes the result very slowly.”

Here at last we have a contrast between the “Soft-Yoga” that stresses on friendliness, compassion, etc. as methods to restrain the mind and the “Hard-Yoga” that is practiced by means of breath-control and firm concentration. The first method of Soft-Yoga or Mridu Yoga is the primary intent of the most ancient Hindu scriptures, while the second way has become the more widespread modern meaning of Yoga, which is “Hard-Yoga” or Hatha Yoga.

The method of Soft-Yoga occurs frequently in the Yoga Sutras of sage Patanjali:

Yoga Sutra Verse 33: By cultivating friendliness towards (pleasant) happiness, compassion towards misery, gladness towards virtue and indifference towards vice, the mind becomes pure.

The above methods in the Yoga Sutras involve leading one’s mind gently along the way of good thoughts, which is completely supported by the JMV, as it quotes this verse from the Yoga Sutras.

The JMV considers Soft-Yoga as markedly superior to Hard-Yoga:

"Using Hard-Yoga (Hatha Yoga) to control the mind when Soft-Yoga (Mridu Yoga) suffices, is like using a magic ointment to see in the dark when the lamp suffices."

The JMV admits that the goal can be reached via Hard-Yoga, but only that it is not the natural way. Soft-Yoga remains the more preferred and commendable way.

The JMV finally explains how the practice of Yoga leads to salvation:

“Those knowledgeable about the tradition (sampradaya-vit) narrate a story thus: ‘The eggs of some bird which were laid on the shore were carried away by the ocean by the flowing tide. Determined to retrieve the eggs by drying up the ocean, it started throwing out water drop by drop by its beak. Although discouraged by its friends and many other birds it did not desist, rather requested them to assist. The compassionate sage Narada, seeing them suffer in various ways, flying in and out of the ocean, was moved and sent the divine bird Garuda there. Then the frightened ocean, which started to dry up by the wind produced by the fluttering of the wings of the divine bird Garuda, returned those eggs to the bird.’
 In the same way, the Yogi obtains the Grace (anugraha) of the Supreme Lord (Ishvara) for being engaged in the Highest Virtue (parama-dharma) of untiringly restraining the mind.”

The sequence of events is:

Practice of Yoga à Grace of the Supreme Lord à Salvation

This is also helpful in clarifying that effort is crucial in obtaining the Grace of the Lord. While any effort by itself without the Lord’s Grace does not result in salvation, the Lord’s Grace is gained only by effort in Yoga. Simply put:

Zero Effort, Zero Grace.
Miniscule Effort (in Soft-Yoga), Infinite Grace.

Of course, the JMV fully recognizes that the practice of Yoga is by no means unique to any specific religion:

“Adherents of all religions, excepting the materialists, who believe in salvation are unable to disagree with the practice of Yoga. The scriptures of the Jains, Buddhists (Followers of Buddha), Vaisheshikas (Atomist school), Naiyayikas (Logical school), Shaivas (Worshippers of Shiva), Vaishnavas (Worshippers of Vishnu), Shaktas (Worshippers of Shakti or female deity), Samkhya (Enumeration school), Yoga and the like, differ in their description of salvation but agree that the way to it is Yoga. Therefore, the Master of Yoga is undisputedly honored by all.

It is commonly held that Hinduism is pluralistic and “accepts all religions”, but this only confuses the listener who wonders how the doctrines of Christianity or Buddhism or Islam can possibly be reconciled with Hinduism, as differences and contradictions abound between the various religious doctrines. In fact, Hinduism does not accept the doctrinal conclusions of other religions, however Hinduism does claim that the practice of the various religions will eventually lead to salvation so long as such practice helps remove bad qualities within one’s own mind. Since the practice of removing bad qualities in the mind is nothing but (Soft-)Yoga, the unifying factor in all religions, according to Hinduism, is the practice of Yoga.

There is hardly any dispute that the chief of Hindu scriptures, the Gita, teaches Yoga, as the dialog in the sixth chapter of the Gita indicates:

Arjuna said, “Krishna, I consider it impossible to restrain the mind which is restless and turbulent like the wind.”
Krishna replied reassuringly, “Restraint of the mind is indeed difficult, but it is possible by the regular practice of Yoga…Therefore, Arjuna, be a Yogi (तस्माद्योगी भवार्जुन).”

The definition of Yoga in the second chapter of the Gita is akin to the Soft-Yoga of the JMV: “Even-mindedness is said to be Yoga” (समत्वं योग उच्यते).

The gist of the Gita is about one ordinary man’s (Arjuna’s) struggle with perturbance of the mind, being compassionately shown the way of Yoga (being even-minded in success and failure) to obtain the Grace of the Lord (Krishna), and thereby Salvation.

References

Take Yoga Back
Bringing to Light Yoga's Hindu Roots

The theft of yoga
By Aseem Shukla
April 18, 2010

Sorry, your patent on yoga has run out
By Deepak Chopra
April 25, 2010

Hindu Group Stirs a Debate Over Yoga’s Soul
By PAUL VITELLO
November 27, 2010

'Take Back Yoga' campaign: Back where?
By Cathy Lynn Grossman
Nov 28, 2010

Yoga poses dangers to genuine Christian faith: Theologian
September 20, 2010

The Subtle Body — Should Christians Practice Yoga?
September 20, 2010

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali