Desh to Videsh: Yoga Journey

“Yoga is not an ancient myth buried in oblivion. It is the most valuable inheritance of the present. It is the essential need of today and the culture of tomorrow”

– Swami Satyananda Saraswati

The above mentioned quote surmises Yoga beautifully. Additionally Yoga has been defined as the discipline of true living and is envisioned to be merged in our everyday life. It is recommended for allfacets of ahuman being: the physical, cerebral, emotional, cognitive and mystical.

The expression Yoga has its lineage to the ancient Sanskrit word “Yuj” meaning unison or concord. This unity is further enriched with divine interpretation of uniting our inner world with the outer world, with the universe as a whole.

If one goes by the mythological belief, Lord Shiva is the first yogi and the founder of Yoga and Goddess Parvati his first follower and it is believed that yoga was established during tantric civilization existing some ten thousand years ago in India and rest of the world.

Yoga gained its core form when humans first realised their potential for divine connection and this is how yoga began to be experienced and developed by ancient thinkers. This sacred tradition was then passed on from Guru to disciple, rather than preserving it in the form of written texts, it was orally preserved.

However, the world has come a long way since those ancient and mythical times. It has seen technological and industrial developments that are monumental in nature. Yet, Yoga and its teachings are now more relevant than they ever were. The whole world seems to have woken up to the idea of maintaining harmony of the body, mind and soul. And the world has fixed its perceptive gaze on yoga to guide it in its quest for a higher consciousness (ease with which to function in daily life).

Yoga was always quite prevalent and still is in India. The Chinese counterpart to Yoga called Tai Chi was developed by keeping in mind the basic principles of Yoga (an Indian sage is credited with teaching the first Shaolin monks the art of fighting and has also written its first book on fighting!).

Thus, in the eastern hemisphere Yoga has flourished and branched out since a long time. There are families in India that have practiced and taught Yoga since generations. Some of them still follow the oral tradition and have not written down a single word of their extensive knowledge in centuries. Even in China, Tai Chi has been practiced in some families for generations with each generation having a master.

The western hemisphere was introduced to yoga and its benefits much later. In USA it was Swami Vivekananda and his electrifying appearance at the opening of the August Parliament of Religions on the 11^th of September, 1893 that did the deed on a very grand scale. Although Vivekananda was a believer of meditation and not postures, his introduction to Yoga served as a foundation stone on which the Americans themselves built pillars that they saw fit.

The Vedanta Society was established to carry forward Swami Vivekananda’s legacy and teachings. There is a huge surplus of Yoga and Yoga related activities in America even to this day. Statistics show that around 16 million Americans practice yoga every day! That’s how huge yoga is over there!

Europe was largely introduced to the teachings of yoga through the efforts of B.K.S Iyengar, the celebrated yoga exponent from India who learned the art from a very famous Yoga Guru called T. Krishnamacharya and developed his own way and techniques of Yoga.

Europe like America was never the same. People flocked from all regions to seek rehabilitation for ailments and injuries. Guru Iyengar helped millions of Europeans realise the potential of yoga through his teachings and he also healed quite a lot of emotional, mental, physical and spiritual pains among the people. A lot of those that came to see him never left and became his disciples. They spread his teachings far and wide. Some of his disciples have become celebrated gurus and authors in their own right!

Yoga’s story so far has been quite demure but it seemsto be set to capture the imagination of the world on an unprecedented scale. Let’s wait and watch for its prospective journey.