Saturday, October 4, 2008

Yoga

Some aspects of Yoga have been dealt with in an earlier post .
However , it is being dealt with again here in the series of the Six orthodox systems of philosophy for continuity.
Yoga accepts most Samkhya epistemology including the 25 principles and adds one more ie Ishwara or God. Yoga applies the Samkhya to everyday life as mentioned in the Svetasvatara Upanishad , "Samkhya is knowledge , Yoga is practice" .
Yogic practice consists of the eight steps mentioned earlier .
In Yogic philosophy, the Supreme being is eternal ,all pervading and and omniscient and is able to bring about the association of the principles of Prakriti ( later regarded as feminine ) and Purusa ( later regarded as Masculine) which results in the unfolding of the cosmic process . The same Being brings about the dissolution of the universe by seperating the two forces . For centuries yoga taught that there are many levels of consciousness than is generally realised , ( which western philosophy has discovered recently ) and that only when these levels are actually experienced , can man achieve his full physical and psychical potential .
Devotion to God is often considered to be a part of yogic practice, and is believed to be the best means to attain concentration , mind control and the purification of consciousness ,which prepare the way for liberation .

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