Where DId Yoga Originate?
18/12/08 19:32 Filed in: Yoga
Here is a bit of writing we did in answer to the WikiAnswers question- “where did yoga originate?” The Answer I saw there was “india”. I thought it could use some more exposition, so I wrote the following instead and thought it would be good to post here:
Patanjali
That Yoga originated in India is a simple answer geographically, but temporally it was the more formalized and systematized understanding in the public consciousness after the publishing of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras that describe the 8 limbs or rungs of progress (up the ladder of yoga) or; asht(8)-anga(limbs) yoga that caused the general absorption of Sankhya philosophy into Yoga and Vedanta.
This is a more accurate way of saying it, rather than saying that, for example, rock-n-roll music originated in America. Rock music was popularized by Elvis Presley, even though his way was cleared by Rock Around the Clock by Bill Haley and completed by the Beatles, Rolling Stones and others subsequently.
In the same way, the strongly dualistic manner of presentation of philosophy present in Sankhya philosophy is subsumed into the larger and more encompassing Vedantic context it exists in now.
As in all cultures, it takes an event or personality behind a philosophy- the release of a book, a political event or some art form to push something to the forefront. Sage Patanjali was this for yoga, as a system, with the release of the Patanjali Yoga Sutras. Here is a book written by Swami Satchitananda, a disciple of Swami Sivananda about these Sutras:
To provide some cultural context, Yoga is a part of six systems of philosophy in India; essentially, six different ways of interpreting the Vedas:
Vaishesika and Nyaya have very large consistencies between them, although Currently, the general presentation of yoga in the world's consciousness can be described as fitting in well with a world view known as Smartism.
With the rise of Adi Shankara and Patanjali's Yoga Sutras these six views have largely been integrated into either yoga or Vedanta or both. Major forces in the rise of these yoga philosophies has been Swami Sivananda and his many influential disciples (particularly in the West), Sri Ramakrishna and his disciple Swami Vivekananda (Vedanta), and the various other more body-focused schools like the Bihar School of Yoga, The Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres, Integral Yoga, Ashtanga Yoga via Sri K. Pattabhi Jois and his guru Krishnamacharya, BKS Iyengar, etc.
Patanjali
That Yoga originated in India is a simple answer geographically, but temporally it was the more formalized and systematized understanding in the public consciousness after the publishing of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras that describe the 8 limbs or rungs of progress (up the ladder of yoga) or; asht(8)-anga(limbs) yoga that caused the general absorption of Sankhya philosophy into Yoga and Vedanta.
This is a more accurate way of saying it, rather than saying that, for example, rock-n-roll music originated in America. Rock music was popularized by Elvis Presley, even though his way was cleared by Rock Around the Clock by Bill Haley and completed by the Beatles, Rolling Stones and others subsequently.
In the same way, the strongly dualistic manner of presentation of philosophy present in Sankhya philosophy is subsumed into the larger and more encompassing Vedantic context it exists in now.
As in all cultures, it takes an event or personality behind a philosophy- the release of a book, a political event or some art form to push something to the forefront. Sage Patanjali was this for yoga, as a system, with the release of the Patanjali Yoga Sutras. Here is a book written by Swami Satchitananda, a disciple of Swami Sivananda about these Sutras:
To provide some cultural context, Yoga is a part of six systems of philosophy in India; essentially, six different ways of interpreting the Vedas:
- Yoga - the process of union of individual consciousness with universal consciousness
- Vedanta - knowledge of Self, universe and God.
- Sankhya - philosophical and largely dualistic classification of the universe
- Vaishesika - analysis and characterising of the universe
- Nyaya - logic. Essentially the 'Aristotelian logic of India', it is the fundamental logical basis upon which Indian philosophy has been built
- Purva-Mimamsa - laws of formal religion, sacrifices, etc. The emphasis here is on correct action (orthopraxy) rather than correct belief (orthodoxy).
Vaishesika and Nyaya have very large consistencies between them, although Currently, the general presentation of yoga in the world's consciousness can be described as fitting in well with a world view known as Smartism.
With the rise of Adi Shankara and Patanjali's Yoga Sutras these six views have largely been integrated into either yoga or Vedanta or both. Major forces in the rise of these yoga philosophies has been Swami Sivananda and his many influential disciples (particularly in the West), Sri Ramakrishna and his disciple Swami Vivekananda (Vedanta), and the various other more body-focused schools like the Bihar School of Yoga, The Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres, Integral Yoga, Ashtanga Yoga via Sri K. Pattabhi Jois and his guru Krishnamacharya, BKS Iyengar, etc.