Monday 20 March 2017

Yoga and its Etymology

YOGA is a group of physicalmental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India. There is a broad variety of Yoga schools, practices, and goals in HinduismBuddhism, and Jainism. Among the most well-known types of yoga are Hatha yoga and Rāja yoga.
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The origins of yoga have been speculated to date back to pre-VediC Indian traditions, it is mentioned in the Rigveda, but most likely developed around the sixth and fifth centuries BCE,[8] in ancient India's ascetic and śramaṇa movements. The chronology of earliest texts describing yoga-practices is unclear, varyingly credited to Hindu Upanishads. The YOGA Sutras of Patanjali date from the first half of the 1st millennium CE, but only gained prominence in the West in the 20th century.[13] Hatha yoga texts emerged around the 11th century with origins in tantra.[14][15]

Yoga gurus from India later introduced yoga to the west,[16] following the success of Swami Vivekananda in the late 19th and early 20th century.[16]In the 1980s, yoga became popular as a system of physical exercise across the Western world.[15] YOGA in Indian traditions, however, is more than physical exercise; it has a meditative and spiritual core.[17] One of the six major orthodox schools of Hinduism is also called Yoga, which has its own epistemology and metaphysics, and is closely related to Hindu Samkhya philosophy.[18]
Many studies have tried to determine the effectiveness of YOGA as a complementary intervention for cancerschizophreniaasthma, and heart disease.[19][20] The results of these studies have been mixed and inconclusive, with cancer studies suggesting none to unclear effectiveness, and others suggesting yoga may reduce risk factors and aid in a patient's psychological healing process.[19][20] On December 1, 2016, Yoga was listed as UNESCO’s Intangible cultural heritage.

Etymology


Statue of Shiva in BangaloreKarnatakaIndia, performing yogic meditation in the Padmasana posture.
In Sanskrit, the word yoga comes from the root yuj which means "to add", "to join", "to unite", or "to attach" in its most common senses. By figurative extension from the yoking or harnessing of oxen or horses, the word took on broader meanings such as "employment, use, application, performance" (compare the figurative uses of "to harness" as in "to put something to some use"). All further developments of the sense of this word are post-Vedic. More prosaic moods such as "exertion", "endeavour", "zeal", and "diligence" are also found in Indian epic poetry.
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There are very many compound words containing YOGA in Sanskrit. YOGA can take on meanings such as "connection", "contact", "union", "method", "application", "addition" and "performance". In simpler words, YOGA also means "combined". For example, guṇáyoga means "contact with a cord"; chakráyoga has a medical sense of "applying a splint or similar instrument by means of pulleys (in case of dislocation of the thigh)"; chandráyoga has the astronomical sense of "conjunction of the moon with a constellation"; puṃyoga is a grammatical term expressing "connection or relation with a man", etc. Thus, bhaktiyoga means "devoted attachment" in the monotheistic Bhakti movement. The term kriyāyoga has a grammatical sense, meaning "connection with a verb". But the same compound is also given a technical meaning in the Yoga Sutras (2.1), designating the "practical" aspects of the philosophy, i.e. the "union with the supreme" due to performance of duties in everyday life
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).[24] In the context of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the root yuj samādhau (to concentrate) is considered by traditional commentators as the correct etymology.[25] In accordance with PāṇiniVyasa who wrote the first commentary on the Yoga Sutras,[26] states that yoga means samādhi (concentration).
According to Dasgupta, the term yoga can be derived from either of two roots, yujir yoga (to yoke) or yuj samādhau (to concentrate). Someone who practices YOGA or follows the YOGA philosophy with a high level of commitment is called a yogi (may be applied to a man or a woman) or yogini (traditionally denoting a woman).
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