Yoga and myths of modern world

Ancient Indian scriptures stipulated certain conditions for any new aspirants to practice Yoga. They described the type of country one should live, the food, the climate, the rule of law etc.They suggested that if these conditions were not met then, ‘practicing yoga’ was a futile exercise. The purpose of these conditions were based on the fact that yoga involves four stages of developments namely, moral, physical, mental and spiritual and the environment should be conducive to achieve these changes.Moeover, the yoga practice was an integral part of Hindu religion and it was based on the fact that human beings can achieve a spiritual integration with the universal creative divine force in a practical way. These may be viewed as ‘Metaphysical concepts’ by Western countries but those few yogis were able to transcend the physical body and achieve such integration. They were able to survive in ‘suspended animation’ for days together, which today medical world may not accept as a ‘possibility’. But these incidents have been observed by scientists and recorded. In ‘astanga yoga’ (eight stage yoga) the first two stages are moral, namely Yama and Niyma.This is the fundamental requirement for any aspirant to start the practice of yoga. The second stage is physical, Pranayama and Asana. The third is mental Pratihara, Dharna, and Dyana and the final stage is spiritual, Samadhi. Unfortunately, yoga has been interpreted in our modern world as a kind of physical exercise’ and ‘yoga institutes’ commercialized such concepts. In reality, it is only about ‘yoga asana’, the physical postures. Of course each and every asana posture offers certain health benefits to various organs in human body and longevity. But this is only small portion of the big story called ‘Raja yoga’. One has to go back thousands of years in history of ancient India to visualize the environment in which Yoga was practiced. Kings were ruling smaller area of lands (hundreds of kingdoms in ancient India), morals, ethics, rule of law, justice were matters of critical importance for kings and citizens. The population was very thin and the king had a direct access his citizens. They had small army; religious rituals and temple worships were practiced daily. Gods and Goddesses were the main focus of attention for all. The priests were treated with great respect and reverence. Mysticism was accepted as a part of yoga and revered. India was one of the richest and civilized societies in the ancient world. Indus valley civilization was known as the ‘cradle of civilization’ and Sanskrit scriptures opened ways for rise of religions like Buddhism and Jainism. In our modern scientific world, the concept of yoga has been completely misunderstood. For example, yoga stipulates strict vegetarian diet. I can hardly image how many people can practice Vegetarian in our modern life. But one can understand the value of vegetarian diet only by practicing it. My own experience shows that such a diet can completely change one’s personality over the years. It subdues ones emotions and instincts drastically and such as change will reflect in one’s personality. I always wonder how people are struggling with their weights, anger managements and behaviors in their everyday life. Diet, personality and behavior are closely inter-connected. A simple vegetarian food can solve the problems of obesity and anger management. This is precisely why Yoga stipulates certain conditions, because, one’s body, mind and spirit are inseperable.Only with a focused mind and dedication, an aspirant of yoga can achieve integration with divinity in real life. Questioning such integration with a rational mind is a futile exercise. To achieve integration, one should have faith and such faith can come only by practice and realizing its value. Once you realize the value then you have realized the truth of yoga and nothing will change you after. I practice science as well as spirituality, and I fully understand the clear demarcation between these two. Rational mind has its limitations and it cannot go beyond a point. But spiritual practice can take you where science fails to take. This is my personal experience. The reason why people are unable to achieve such divine integration in our modern world is because the first two aspects of yoga (Yama and Nyama) morals and ethics are not practiced. True yogis are ‘extinct species ‘in our modern world.