Subject: Yoga Philosophy overview

From: [email-masked]
Date: 10 Feb 1995 16:22:00 -0500

What follows below is a brief overview of "Yoga philosophy" taken from the
course calender of the Renaissance Naturopathic Centre (Toronto, Canada): 
 
Yoga Philosophy  A02 

If you bring forth what is inside you, what you bring forth will save you. 
If you do not bring forth what is inside you, what you do not bring forth
will destroy you. 
 
          Jesus the Nazarene 

In an effort to understand the universe, we must necessarily begin by
understanding the nature of mind.  It is through the mind that sensory
impressions of the world are synthesized into a coherent reality.  The mind
is a storehouse of acquired models of reality as well as a means to
apprehend the universe without reference to such models.  In order to
appreciate something we must be able to suspend judgment and let the thing
speak for itself.  Through this approach we can move away from having our
mind controlled by the various schools of thought propagated in human
history.  Without this, our lives are caught in the world of appearances
which have become established as reality by way of personal, societal and
cultural biases and blind-spots. 
 
Institutions such as personality, society, organized religion, politics and
so on are all derived from the mind in so far as they first emerged as
ideas of how things are or should be.  In order to understand the universe
all preconceived ideas about reality need to be suspended.  One who strives
for this is known as a  yogi .  Her/his approach is to first become aware
of the subtle dynamics of mind which if unchecked, result in the creation
of erroneous beliefs about the nature of the universe, and subsequently a
chaotic world.  Such subtle mental dynamics can only be perceived when
great attention is focused upon them; with intention and practice, they
come to be in the forefront of awareness.  Gradually, one learns to
powerfully focus attention on any chosen object so that the ideas and
emotions which arise concurrently do not greatly interfere with the
observation. 
 
In time, one may gain mastery of this process which enables a clear
discernment of the nature of the object of perception without heaping upon
it meanings which are at best erroneous and at worst destructive.  Yoga has
always been a very practical approach to disentangle human affairs and its
current mystification reflects a lack of understanding rather than insight.

There is a vast literature on Yoga which recapitulates the above view; a
view which has been in existence since the first strivings to understand
the universe.  The first comprehensive exposition of this view was written
by a man known as Patanjali who lived in India sometime between fourth
century B.C. and third century A.D.  The Yoga Sutras (aphorisms) of
Patanjali are an exceptionally clear account of the process by which one
may come to a true understanding of the universe.  Patanjali speaks of the
nature of mind, the process of recognizing the universe for what it is, the
obstacles in living out this process, measures to rid the obstacles and the
state at the end of the process.  The practise of physical postures (Hatha
Yoga) is only one aspect of this process and according to Patanjali if
performed without the other aspects outlined, its value is no more than of
gymnastics.  The amount of emphasis on physical postures or other aspects
depends upon the nature of the individual. 

This course is a detailed study of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali with
reference to various authoritative commentaries written over the past 2000
years.  The objective of this course is to enable individuals to understand
the nature of Yoga. 

Renaissance Naturopathic Centre (Toronto, Canada) 

I have also posted separately, overviews of Taoist (Chinese) Medicine,
Taoist Yoga philosphy  and Ayurvedic (Indian) Medicine.