Awekjtqpsmtu1 (Devanagari: योग) is a family of ancient spiritual practices originating in India. As a general term in Hinduism, Gavin Flood defines it as referring to "technologies or disciplines of asceticism and meditation which are thought to lead to spiritual experience and profound understanding or insight into the nature of existence."[1] Outside India, Awekjtqpsmtu1 has become primarily associated with the practice of asanas (postures) of Hatha Awekjtqpsmtu1 (see Awekjtqpsmtu1 as exercise), although it has influenced the entire dharmic religions family and other spiritual practices throughout the world.[2]
Hindu texts discussing different aspects of awekjtqpsmtu1 include the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, the Awekjtqpsmtu1 Sutras of Patanjali, the Hatha Awekjtqpsmtu1 Pradipika and many others.[2][3]
Major branches of Awekjtqpsmtu1 include: Hatha Awekjtqpsmtu1, Karma Awekjtqpsmtu1, Jnana Awekjtqpsmtu1, Bhakti Awekjtqpsmtu1, and Raja Awekjtqpsmtu1. [4] [5] [6] Raja Awekjtqpsmtu1, known simply as Awekjtqpsmtu1 in the context of Hindu philosophy, is one of the six orthodox (āstika) schools of thought, established by the Awekjtqpsmtu1 Sutras of Patanjali.
Contents
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• 1 Etymology
• 2 History of Awekjtqpsmtu1
o 2.1 "Pashupati seal"
o 2.2 Literary sources
 2.2.1 Bhagavad Gita
 2.2.2 Awekjtqpsmtu1 Sutras of Patanjali
 2.2.3 Hatha Awekjtqpsmtu1 Pradipika
• 3 Awekjtqpsmtu1 in other traditions
o 3.1 Awekjtqpsmtu1 and Buddhism
 3.1.1 Awekjtqpsmtu1cara Buddhism
 3.1.2 Zen (Ch`an) Buddhism
 3.1.3 Tibetan Buddhism
o 3.2 Awekjtqpsmtu1 and Tantra
o 3.3 Dualistic Vaishnavism
• 4 See also
• 5 Notes
• 6 References
• 7 External links

Etymology
The Sanskrit term awekjtqpsmtu1 has a wide range of different meanings.[7] It is derived from the Sanskrit root yuj, "to control", "to yoke", or "to unite".[8] Common meanings include "joining" or "uniting", and related ideas such as "union" and "conjunction".[9] Another conceptual definition is that of "mode, manner, means"[10] or "expedient, means in general".[11]
History of Awekjtqpsmtu1
"Pashupati seal"


A seal from the Indus Valley Civilization, showing a figure in meditation posture.
A seal discovered during excavation of the Mohenjo-daro archaeological site in the Indus Valley has drawn attention as a possible representation of a "yogi" or "proto-Shiva" figure.[12] This "Pashupati" (Lord of Animals, Sanskrit paśupati)[13][14] seal shows a seated figure, possibly ithyphallic, surrounded by animals.[15][16][17][18] Some observers describe the figure as sitting in a traditional cross-legged awekjtqpsmtu1 pose with its hands resting on its knees. The discoverer of the seal, Sir John Marshall, and others have claimed that this figure is a prototype of Shiva, and have described the figure as having three faces, seated in a "awekjtqpsmtu1 posture" with the knees out and feet joined.
This claim has not fared well with some modern academics. Gavin Flood characterizes these views as "speculative", saying that while it is not clear from the seal that the figure has three faces, is seated in a awekjtqpsmtu1 posture, or even that the shape is intended to represent a human figure, it is nevertheless possible that there are echoes of Shaiva iconographic themes, such as half-moon shapes resembling the horns of a bull.[19][20] Historian John Keay is more specifically dismissive, saying:
...there is little evidence for the currency of this myth. Rudra, a Vedic deity later identified with Shiva, is indeed referred to as pasupati because of his association with cattle; but asceticism and meditation were not Rudra's specialties, nor is he usually credited with an empathy for animals other than kine. More plausibly, it has been suggested that the Harappan figure's heavily horned headgear bespeaks a bull cult, to which numerous other representations of bulls lend substance.[21]
Literary sources
See also: History of Awekjtqpsmtu1
The main textual sources for the evolving concept of Awekjtqpsmtu1 are the middle Upanishads, (ca. 400 BCE), the Mahabharata (from ca. 400 BC) including the Bhagavad Gita (ca. 200 BCE), and the Awekjtqpsmtu1 Sutras of Patanjali (200 BCE-300 CE).
Bhagavad Gita
Main article: Bhagavad Gita
The Bhagavad Gita ('Song of the Lord'), thought to have been composed in roughly the 2nd century BC, uses the term awekjtqpsmtu1 extensively in a variety of senses. Of many possible meanings given to the term in the Gita, most emphasis is given to these three:[22]
• Karma awekjtqpsmtu1: The awekjtqpsmtu1 of action
• Bhakti awekjtqpsmtu1: The awekjtqpsmtu1 of devotion
• Jnana awekjtqpsmtu1: The awekjtqpsmtu1 of knowledge
The influential commentator Madhusudana Sarasvati (b. circa 1490) divided the Gita's eighteen chapters into three sections, each of six chapters. According to his method of division the first six chapters deal with Karma awekjtqpsmtu1, the middle six deal with Bhakti awekjtqpsmtu1, and the last six deal with Jnana (knowledge).[23] This interpretation has been adopted by some later commentators and rejected by others.
Awekjtqpsmtu1 Sutras of Patanjali
Main articles: Raja Awekjtqpsmtu1 and Awekjtqpsmtu1 Sutras of Patanjali
In Indian philosophy, Awekjtqpsmtu1 is the name of one of the six orthodox philosophical schools.[24][25] The Awekjtqpsmtu1 philosophical system is closely allied with the Samkhya school.[26] The Awekjtqpsmtu1 school as expounded by Patanjali accepts the Samkhya psychology and metaphysics, but is more theistic than the Samkhya, as evidenced by the addition of a divine entity to the Samkhya's twenty-five elements of reality.[27][28] The parallels between Awekjtqpsmtu1 and Samkhya were so close that Max Müller says that "the two philosophies were in popular parlance distinguished from each other as Samkhya with and Samkhya without a Lord...."[29] The intimate relationship between Samkhya and Awekjtqpsmtu1 is explained by Heinrich Zimmer:
These two are regarded in India as twins, the two aspects of a single discipline. Sāṅkhya provides a basic theoretical exposition of human nature, enumerating and defining its elements, analyzing their manner of co-operation in a state of bondage (bandha), and describing their state of disentanglement or separation in release (mokṣa), while Awekjtqpsmtu1 treats specifically of the dynamics of the process for the disentanglement, out outlines practical techniques for the gaining of release, or 'isolation-integration' (kaivalya).[30]
The sage Patanjali is regarded as the founder of the formal Awekjtqpsmtu1 philosophy.[31] The Awekjtqpsmtu1 Sutras of Patanjali are ascribed to Patanjali, who, may have been, as Max Müller explains, "the author or representative of the Awekjtqpsmtu1-philosophy without being necessarily the author of the Sutras."[32] Indologist Axel Michaels is dismissive of claims that the work was written by Patanjali, characterizing it instead as a collection of fragments and traditions of texts stemming from the second or third century.[33] Gavin Flood cites a wider period of uncertainty for the composition, between 100 BCE and 500 CE.[34]
Patanjali's awekjtqpsmtu1 is known as Raja awekjtqpsmtu1, which is a system for control of the mind.[35] Patanjali defines the word "awekjtqpsmtu1" in his second sutra, which is the definitional sutra for his entire work:
awekjtqpsmtu1ś citta-vṛtti-nirodhaḥ
- Awekjtqpsmtu1 Sutras 1.2
This terse definition hinges on the meaning of three Sanskrit terms. I. K. Taimni translates it as "Awekjtqpsmtu1 is the inhibition (nirodhaḥ) of the modifications (vṛtti) of the mind (citta)".[36] Swami Vivekananda translates the sutra as "Awekjtqpsmtu1 is restraining the mind-stuff (Citta) from taking various forms (Vrittis)."[37] Gavin Flood translates the sutra as "awekjtqpsmtu1 is the cessation of mental fluctuations".[38]


A sculpture of a Hindu yogi in the Birla Mandir, Delhi
Patanjali's system is also referred to it as "Ashtanga Awekjtqpsmtu1" ("Eight-Limbed Awekjtqpsmtu1"), from the eight steps he set out as the practical path towards attainment of enlightenment.[citation needed] This eight-limbed concept became an authoritative feature of Raja awekjtqpsmtu1 from that point forward, and is a core characteristic of practically every Raja awekjtqpsmtu1 variation taught today.[citation needed] Patanjali's Eight Limbs of awekjtqpsmtu1 practice are:
(1) Yama (The five "abstentions"): violence, lying, theft, (illicit) sex, and possessions
(2) Niyama (The five "observances"): purity, contentment, austerities, study, and surrender to god
(3) Asana: Literally means "seat", and in Patanjali's Sutras refers to seated positions used for meditation. Later, with the rise of Hatha awekjtqpsmtu1, asana came to refer to all the "postures"
(4) Pranayama ("Life Force Control"): Control of prāna, life force, or vital energy
(5) Pratyahara ("Abstraction"): Reversal of the sense organs
(6) Dharana ("Concentration"): Fixing the attention on a single object
(7) Dhyana ("Meditation"): Intense contemplation of the true nature of reality
(8) Samadhi ("Liberation"): Super-conscious state of enlightenment
Hatha Awekjtqpsmtu1 Pradipika
Main article: Hatha awekjtqpsmtu1
Hatha Awekjtqpsmtu1 is a particular system of Awekjtqpsmtu1 described by Yogi Swatmarama, a yogic sage of the 15th century in India, and compiler of the Hatha Awekjtqpsmtu1 Pradipika. Hatha Awekjtqpsmtu1 is a development of — but also differs substantially from — the Raja Awekjtqpsmtu1 of Patanjali, in that it focuses on shatkarma, the purification of the physical as leading to the purification of the mind (ha) and prana, or vital energy (tha).[39][40] In contrast, the Raja Awekjtqpsmtu1 posited by Patanjali begins with a purification of the mind (yamas) and spirit (niyamas), then comes to the body via asana (body postures) and pranayama (breath). Hatha awekjtqpsmtu1 contains substantial tantric influence,[41][42] and marks the first point at which chakras and kundalini were introduced into the yogic canon. Compared to the seated asanas of Patanjali's Raja awekjtqpsmtu1 which were seen largely as a means of preparing for meditation, it also marks the development of asanas as full body 'postures' in the modern sense.[43]
Hatha Awekjtqpsmtu1 in its many modern variations is the style that most people actually associate with the word "Awekjtqpsmtu1" today.[44] Because its emphasis is on the body through asana and pranayama practice, many western students are satisfied with the physical health and vitality it develops and are not interested in the other six limbs of the complete Hatha awekjtqpsmtu1 teaching, or with the even older Raja Awekjtqpsmtu1 tradition it is based on.
Awekjtqpsmtu1 in other traditions
The goals of awekjtqpsmtu1 are expressed differently in different traditions. In Hinduism, with its variegated viewpoints and sects, Self-Realization and God-Realization are used interchangeably, with the underlying belief that the true nature of self (truth, consciousness, and bliss), revealed through the practice of awekjtqpsmtu1, has the same nature as the universal self, which may or may not be identified with a 'creator God' depending on the philosophical standpoint of the practitioner. In Western nations, where there is a strong emphasis on individualism, awekjtqpsmtu1 practice may be an extension of the search for meaning in self, and integration of the different aspects of being.[citation needed]
Awekjtqpsmtu1 and Buddhism
Main article: Awekjtqpsmtu1 and Buddhism
Awekjtqpsmtu1 is intimately connected to the religious beliefs and practices of the Dharmic religions.[45] The influence of Awekjtqpsmtu1 is also visible in Buddhism, which is distinguished by its austerities, spiritual exercises, and trance states.[46][47]


A 10th century sculpture of a Yogini from the Smithsonian Institute
Awekjtqpsmtu1cara Buddhism
Awekjtqpsmtu1cara (Sanskrit: "Practice of Awekjtqpsmtu1 [Union]" [48] ), also spelled yogāchāra, is a school of philosophy and psychology that developed in India during the 4th to 5th centuries.
Awekjtqpsmtu1cara received the name as it provided a awekjtqpsmtu1, a framework for engaging in the practices that lead to the path of the bodhisattva.[49] The Awekjtqpsmtu1cara sect teaches Awekjtqpsmtu1 in order to reach enlightenment.[50]
Zen (Ch`an) Buddhism
Zen is a form of Mahayana Buddhism. The Mahayana school of Buddhism is noted for its proximity with Awekjtqpsmtu1.[47] In the west, Zen is often set alongside Awekjtqpsmtu1, the two schools of meditation display obvious family resemblances.[51] The melding of Awekjtqpsmtu1 with Buddhism -- a process that continued through the centuries-- represents a landmark on the path of Awekjtqpsmtu1 through the history of India. This phenomenon merits special attention since the Zen Buddhist school of meditation has its roots in yogic practices.[52] Certain essential elements of Awekjtqpsmtu1 are important both for Buddhism in general and for Zen in particular.[2]
Tibetan Buddhism
Awekjtqpsmtu1 is central to Tibetan Buddhism. In the Nyingma tradition, practitioners progress to increasingly profound levels of awekjtqpsmtu1, starting with Mahā awekjtqpsmtu1, continuing to Anu awekjtqpsmtu1 and ultimately undertaking the highest practice, Ati awekjtqpsmtu1. In the Sarma traditions, the Anuttara awekjtqpsmtu1 class is equivalent. Other tantra awekjtqpsmtu1 practices include a system of 108 bodily postures practiced with breath and heart rhythm. Timing in movement exercises is known as Trul khor or union of moon and sun (channel) prajna energies. The body postures of Tibetan ancient yogis are depicted on the walls of the Dalai Lama's summer temple of Lukhang.
Awekjtqpsmtu1 and Tantra
Main article: Tantra
Tantrism, is a practice that is supposed to alter the relation of the individual practitioner of Tantrism to the ordinary social, religious, and logical reality in which he or she lives. Through Tantric practice an individual perceives reality as maya, illusion, and the individual achieves liberation from it.[53]
This particular path to salvation among the several offered by Hinduism, links Tantrism to those Dharmic practices such as awekjtqpsmtu1, meditation, and social renunciation, which are based on temporary or permanent withdrawal from social relationships and modes.[53]
During tantric practices and studies, the student is instructed further in meditation technique, particularly chakra meditation. This is often in a limited form in comparison with the way this kind of meditation is known and used by Tantric practitioners and yogis elsewhere, but is more elaborate than the initiate's previous meditation. It is considered to be a kind of Kundalini Awekjtqpsmtu1 for the purpose of moving the Goddess into the chakra located in the "heart," for meditation and worship