ORIGIN OF YOGA

The yoga we know today was developed as a part of the tantric civilization which existed in India and other parts of the world more than then thousand years ago. In the archaeological excavations made in the Indus Valley at Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro, now in modern Pakistan, many statures have been found depicting deities resembling Lord Shiva and Shakti ( in the form of Parvathi, Shiva’s wife) performing various asanas and practising meditation. There ruins were once the dwelling place of people who lived in the pre-Vedic age before the Aryan civilization started to flourish in the Indus subcontinent. According to mythological ritual, Shiva is said to be the founder of Yoga and Parvathi, his first disciple.
Yoga arose at the beginning of human civilization when humankind first realized their spiritual potential and began to evolve techniques to develop it. The yogic science was slowly developed by ancient sages all over the world. The essence of yoga has often been shrouded in or explained by different symbols, analogies and languages. Some traditions believe that yoga was a divine gift revealed to the ancient sages so that humankind could have the opportunity to realize its divine nature.
In ancient times, yoga techniques were kept secret and were never written down or exposed to public view. They were passed on from guru to disciple by word of mouth. In this way there was a clear understanding of their meaning and aim. Through personal experience, realized yogis and sages were able to guide sincere aspirants along the correct path, removing any confusion, misunderstanding and excessive intellectual thought.
In the 6th century BC, Buddha’s influence brought the ideals of meditation, ethics and morals to the fore and the preparatory practices of yoga were ignored. However, Indian thinkers soon realized the limitations of this view. The yogi Matsyendranath taught that before taking to the practices of meditation, the body and its elements need purifying. He founded the Nath cult and the yogic pose matsyendrasana was named after him. His chief disciple, Gorakhnath, wrote books on hatha yoga in the local dialect and in Hindi.

Linus Orakles
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