The Meaning of Yoga
It is common to associate the word Yoga with a
system of physical postures and meditation. But Yoga
in its original form has a deep spiritual significance
which is lost in today’s body-centered world.
The Sanskrit word Yoga comes from the verb root
Yuj, which means to link or to connect. When we
talk about linking or connection, an obvious question
arises: to connect what with what? The very word
“connection” implies that there must be two different
entities separated from one another, and they need to
be connected. The ancient Vedic text Bhagavad Gita
explains that these entities are the individual
consciousness and the universal Supreme
consciousness. Some may call this universal
consciousness an all-pervading energy, whereas most
theists consider this Supreme consciousness to be
God. The Vedic philosophy combines these two
apparently contradictory concepts very beautifully. It
explains that there is definitely an all-pervading
universal energy. But the very existence of energy
implies that there also exists a possessor and
controller of the energy – the energetic – who is an
intelligent being. Our individual consciousness or
energy is a manifestation of the spirit soul inside our
body, and this soul is a part of the Supreme Soul or
the Supreme Energetic or God. The purpose of Yoga
is to connect the individual energy with the universal
energy, or put another way, to connect the individual
being to its source – the Supreme Being.
Yoga or divine union with the Supreme does not
mean that we merge into the Supreme and become
one with Him. Bhagavad Gita explains that we do
become one, but in quality and not in quantity. This
oneness is spiritual, not physical. For example, the
perfect realization of sugar is not becoming sugar,
rather tasting its sweetness. Similarly, the perfect
divine union means that we do not lose our
individuality, but we become united with the...