History of Yoga Full Film English

[Music] [Applause] [Music] humans have accomplished wonders on earth our penetrating vision is unveiling the mysteries of nature we are endlessly watching the world around us the seers of the openessheads carefully studied this attribute of human nature thousands of years ago they observed that all our sensory organs open outwardly hence by nature we are bound to always seek outwards as a result our mind and intellect always remain entangled in the external world the changes of the world keep us oscillating between pleasure and pain modern scientific accomplishments have failed to give us lasting happiness [Music] but the sages of ancient india invented a unique technique of keeping the mind free and peaceful [Music] this technique is documented in the yoga sutras of patanjali the yoga sutras are like the compilation of answers of an inquiring mind it opens with the aphorism now begins the exposition of yoga the question arises what is yoga yoga is the cessation of the changing modes of chitta consciousness the next question one may ask what is the benefit of practicing yoga through yoga the seer abides in his own self does that mean we dwell in some other form throughout our lives we identify ourselves with the changing modes of chitta consciousness do we live in changing modes of consciousness throughout our lives do we never ever know our own true self what a tragedy it would be that we know the whole world and not know our own self so what is our real nature patanjali describes the layers that cover the self and provides techniques to uncover them who was patanjali what was the nature of yoga shastra which he propounded what was the nature of yoga before patanjali what form did it take after patanjali [Music] is the history of yoga linked to the history of religion and faith or is it the story of an honest effort by man to conquer disease old age and death [Music] we seek the answers with our journey into india's 6 000 years of known history [Music] the story of philosophy on which the indian mind is based is a story of india itself [Music] it is generally believed that patanjali was from the nag tribe he was the writer of three treatises [Music] yoga sutras and ayurveda he eliminated the impurities of the mind through grammar he eliminated the impurities of speech and through his composition on ayurveda the ailments of the body if it is true that all these three shastras were composed by a single man patanjali then we can say he was certainly an extraordinary genius here is the famous fort of chittor which finds a small connection with sage patanjali in his composition on grammar patanjali gives an illustration madhyamika is being surrounded by the greeks maltemaker was the ancient name of chittor greek warriors surrounded the fort of chittor between 184 to 148 bc this illustration suggests that patanjali may have lived during the time of king pusha mithrashong also an inscription on the rock edict says that patanjali performed a yagya for king pushimitra very little else is known about his life [Music] amazingly the yoga sutras that patanjali wrote could be fitted onto one single page this is his complete work on yoga which was later elaborated by maharishi vyas it is not known when the tradition of yoga came into existence but on the basis of sankey philosophy patanjali compiled the sutras with precise classifications sequences and logic in the history of mankind patanjali is perhaps the first one who demystified the elements of consciousness and arranged them scientifically ancient indians had applied a unique technique for seeking knowledge here the experimentation testing and observation were not performed externally but inside the human body and mind it was believed all that exists in the human body the same exists in the universe so for requiring knowledge the use of telescope microscope or chemicals was not required instead the observer himself became like a telescope and a microscope it was believed that if the chitta consciousness of the observer is focused pure and peaceful his vision would also become clear and focused the process of concentrating the chitta consciousness is yoga therefore yoga in india left its mark on many philosophies arts and sciences but the concentration in yoga has a specific purpose the way ayurveda cures the diseases of the body the same way yoga alleviates the disease of the mind suffering there are four chapters in yoga sastra the first is this chapter is meant for highly evolved practitioners here various techniques and progressive dimensions of yogic concentrations are mentioned after prolonged practice of concentration with total detachment the state of self-realization is attained the wisdom of the state is called it is beyond the intellect in fact it removes the impressions of intellect this state of samadhi cannot be achieved through ordinary wisdom so the ordinary person has to start with yoga from the second chapter [Music] here eight limbs of yoga are explained sequentially restraint discipline posture regulation of breath withdrawal concentration meditation and samadhi yamas are five non-violence truth non-stealing non-possession and celibacy neymars are also five cleanliness contentment austerity recitation and reverence for god patanjali saw god as a means for the cessation of the mind he did not see god as the creator destroyer or operator of the universe he was just a unit of consciousness which is free from the bondages of nature prakriti the theory of yoga is sankya which is atheist in nature the priests of those times opposed it and tried to infuse elements of religion into it religion demands faith but yoga is entirely existential experiential and experimental the seeker by controlling and regularizing his daily conduct through yum and name sits in an arson arson is a comfortable and pleasant posture of the body the body should not move the vision should either be on the tip of the nose or the center of the eyebrows or at a target point [Music] when one practices an arson for several hours the body becomes steady and the chitter consciousness is rested in the infinite on acquiring stability the seeker then regulates the breath and when the breath becomes subtle that is pranayama pranayama purifies the mind and also cleanses the channels of energy by making the breath subtler the most hype active mind can also be controlled after pranayama the practice of withdrawing the mind from external objects and focusing it inwardly is practiced our life is nurtured through the sensory experiences of speech touch vision taste and smell known as ahar the reversal of this process by withdrawing the senses from the external and taking a heart from within is known as pratyahar the inner journey of yoga begins from here when the mind gets intermittently stabilized at any one point that is known as dharna the point of concentration can either be an object real or abstract or a thought when dharna gets prolonged it becomes dhyana when dhyana gets extended further it results in samadhi [Music] samadhi is the purest and steady state of being [Music] patanjali was not the discoverer of yoga where did it all begin traditionally it is believed that sankya is the oldest philosophy of india the mahabharat also describes sankhya and yoga as sanatan philosophies that which have been in existence forever but who was the first yogi [Music] the name that resonates from the farthest end of indian thought is that of sage kapil the originator of sankhya the greatest achiever of yoga in the gita yogi krishna declares amongst the highest achievers i am kapil people believe that no one ever perfected yoga like sage kapil but there are problems regarding the historical evidence of kapil's existence therefore let us begin the history of yoga from here the figure of this 5 000 year old seal appears to be that of a yogi in meditation with respect to time and geographical area the indus valley was the oldest and largest civilization on earth evidence of this yogi seal is found all over its biggest settlements the early form of shiva is described as the pashupathi which is supposed to be the horn deity so a lot of scholars believe that perhaps not this pashupati or the lord of beasts but probably was worship all of the all over the region professor singh suggests that the animals depicted in the seal are marutgans and the human figure is pashupati lord of the beasts to describe the seal he refers to these mantras of the regvid where pashupati is named as foreign surprisingly the animals mentioned in these mantras of the rigveda are the same as depicted [Music] you can easily visualize in these twilight eyes because here on the sarapa bust the shambhavi mudra is clearly visible is also in this mantra the animals are shown with emotions of excitement as if these children want to seek the attention of their fathers it is wearing so many bangles and if you see it from side probably it is a woman the scholar who points out this says that during the harappan period mainly the cult was that of the mothers this statue was created two thousand years after the harappa civilization here also the mother goddess is shown with three faces and seated in a yogic arsenal in the present time also women of this area wear similar bangles there is one you know female figure in pound almost all over the you know harappan region and uh sometimes the female figurines shown with lot of you know with exaggerated organs excursion i'm doing now in fact in the gagar basin i did the work at a site called farmana which is close to rotha we have found the you know harappan graveyard which is spread over an area of roughly three and a half hectare now much larger than symmetry found at harappa and we are applying in fact most recent scientific techniques for analysis what we have observed so far that the women were impatient or very buried in the center of the symmetry and they were buried with their all their ornaments intact whereas you know in case of the males in bed sometimes you know the fractional bones are found there are no ornaments only few parts so they were very you know evidence indicating that they were in the center part and with all their you know paraphernalia and buried along with that that shows that you know the perhaps the status of the woman was really good in the society that time if we consider the role of women at the center of harappa civilization and this seal to be that of mother goddess then there is a strong possibility that harappa society was matriarchal [Music] the legendary 19th century indian philosopher and writer bankim chandra chatterjee writes the sound of the drummers of the durga festival reminds us of the sankhya philosophy what made him think so let's understand sankhya the philosophy of yog the ancient text state that sankhya and yog are one if sank hears the theory yog is its practice sankhya means accurate knowledge coincidentally sankhya also means numbers to put it simply it is a philosophy of the elements of nature in which the conscious entity is entangled for the disentanglement of the self the sankhya philosophers used to meditate on the elements of nature sankhya considers two basic constituents in every living being primal nature and conscious entity primal nature is known as prakriti prakriti is the equilibrium of three basic elements satwa raj and the conscious entity is known as purusha meaning limits or boundary and sha meaning restfulness each purusha residing in the body boundary is a restful unit of consciousness purusha is not one but many prakrathi is a single entity that extends throughout the universe and is very powerful [Music] there are three root characteristics in this world static action and light there is something in this world which creates resistance and brings stagnancy this is known as tamas in this world everything is active this activeness of the world is known as rajas [Music] the third one which illuminates the world and the self and brings enlightenment to them is known as sattva sattva raj are the three fundamental units of prakriti poets have spoken of them in white red and black sattva raj and thumb are always found together the primordial state in equilibrium is known as prakriti any imbalance among them results in a transformation known as vikrati the world that we see around us is the vikrathi or transformation of prakriti in the process of evolution the three elements of prakriti are transformed into 24 elements of nature here purusha is totally detached and inactive observer sankhya considers prakriti as the sole creator only prakrati creates this world prakrati is also symbolized as a conceiver and a dancer [Music] and is often compared with the personality of a woman professor deepi chatopadhya suggests that the concepts of sankhya yoga and tantra may have originated from the rituals principles and fabric of the matriarchal societies of that time [Music] wearing bangles this mother goddess is seated in a yogic asana this shows that sankhya and yoga were an integral part of the matriarchic society of harappa when the lifestyle of the harappa people has studied one finds that yam and nium of yoga were practiced by these people the most astonishing fact about this civilization is its abstinence from violence for almost 2000 years the yum of yoga brings self-discipline and it seems that civil discipline was natural to these people because amazingly there is no evidence of centralized authoritarian rule there's no evidence of king or queen you know we don't have any palaces in pattern there are you know levels probably no it was control or maybe administered by a group of people like you know that is in a sort of a democracy in fact you know that the airports are introduced the democracy in this country has survived without any you know you know any threat so this is again the important contribution in part of the happens in spite of being peace loving these people were not careless about their self-defense here stands a strong fortification the wall of the harappa city of dhulavira we do not do not know why such a strong fortifications were made because we do not have any evidence of violence we do not have very good evidence about the offensive implements or defensive implements used by the or produced by the harappans or used by the europeans and at none of the sites we have any evidence of any violence at all so in a way they were peace-loving people that's what you know we can conclude the spirit of non-violence is the first step towards evolution and this is the first lesson of yoga and the second lesson is to keep the body strong and clean cleanliness is the first name of yoga the body is cleansed by the process of dhati nati and bathing even today bathing has great significance in indian culture the biggest structure of harappa towns are their bathing pools people gave great importance to clean and hygienic environs we can certainly say that you know the harappan cities were very very clean because the drainage system that they you know they introduced inside the you know cities were perfectly hygienic every household we find the evidence of bathroom and some of the big houses in either the front courtyard or in the back courtyard we find the harappan whales the bathrooms are connected to the drainage system so the entire network was connected to the main drainage and a main drainage was taken outside the fortification they did not allow any dirty water to be sprayed within the cities when we talk about the contribution of the harappan to the world history this is the contribution that you know this they were the first people inside the world to develop cities and they have taught the world how to develop you know well-planned modern cities the third limb of patanjali's yoga is asan the hathaogic arsons of the medieval period are so difficult that they are not included in patanjali's definition of asans bhadrasana is among the best four arsons of hatha yoga patanjali is silent on these but interestingly some difficult hatha yogic asanas are clearly visible in these five thousand year old harappa terracotta figurines therefore it is wrong to believe that hatha yoga originated in the medieval period by the time these terracotta figures were formed in a yogi kasana series yoga had already made considerable progress by that time because the god himself is shown in a yogic posture the impression of hatha yoga is on the seals yam and nyam are part of their lifestyle the status of women indicates the sankhya philosophy these are the indisputable marks of yoga in the harappa civilization [Music] with the decline of the harappa civilization india moved from the prehistoric period to historical times when the readable literature of the vedas came into being there are four vedas each of which has many brahmana subtexts related to each brahmana texts there are the aranyaks and most famously the upanishads fixing the time period for this vast literature has remained a difficult task itself has different layers earlier in later portions still sober thinking now accepts that rugueda can be dated from anywhere between 2000 to 3000 bc at least the time of decay of the harappa culture by natural calamities and the time of the writing of the rigveda seemed to overlap the geographical location of both these civilizations is also about the same the description of the ideal city of the rigveda matches with the map of the harappa city of dholavira there are many similarities between the harappa and vedic cultures but was the rigveda begun by the people of harappa a definite answer cannot be given but let us investigate this in the context of yoga the prakriti of sankhya is the central core of indian rational thought whereas the prakriti of rigveda is more like a poem from the heart a poem that is full of knowledge mysteries and wonder to understand the emotions aspirations and songs of humans four thousand years ago rigveda is the only document the rigveda has been declared a world heritage document by unesco the seers of the rigveda were attuned with prakriti it seems here as of yoga as a means to connect one's mind with the forces of nature but as against the harappa culture rigvedic society is patriarchic the act by which the supreme purush or prajapati created the world is known as yagna in yagna purusha sacrifices his essence into fire just as man procreates by sacrificing his semen into vedhi or the womb sacrifice is nothing else but the creation myth by sacrificing himself purusa created the world so every person imitates that particular great act and he goes on imitating so that he becomes one with him the creator here vedic mantras are sung with the same intonation accent and rhythm as were sung by the ancestors thousands of years ago [Music] [Applause] by simply repeating something you cannot gain it no it becomes more mechanical so a point was there that is why the brahmanas came that is what is the secret of the sacrifice so every act was being explained and why this is to be done because then it ultimately supports the meaning which is the ultimate meaning of the sacrifice or symbolism of the sacrificial acts you can say so then so after the karma gyana was more emphasized there was a stage when that had to be emphasized then to marriage but i am not realized brahman by simply reading by simply repeating words cannot do that and that is why it was realized that the brahman is to be realized through foreign [Music] a the language of veda [Music] elements of yoga are found all over its literature in the rigveda hiranya garb is considered as a primal propounder of yoga the fierce and wild character of rudra of rigveda remained throughout the later centuries with yogi shiva [Music] the character and behavior of the case in munis of the rigveda remind us of the later hatha yogis they are called bhatrasnamuni indicating nadi shuddhi and other pranayamas ashta chakranavadwara devanam purayodhiya innumerable references of technique and philosophy of yoga are found in the atharva veda brahmans and arenakas but the first revelation of the word yoga in its classical sense appears in the theatria operation and the cut of rishad in qatar prison it is yama the king of death who reveals the supreme knowledge and yoga together the human desire of going beyond death is natural ever since our birth and is also the quest of yoga upanishads are also called vedanta the end portion of the vedas chronologically they were also written at the end of the vedas the upanishads will be something like 7th century bc and as i explained to you that there are two phases the upanishads this is a term newly coined this is not a subscript term these upanishads can be placed in the later period wherein rudra is identified with the first principle this is very significant because some of the proto-yoga things practices which are which are understood in the arena and um portions of the veda as a whole they are also presupposed by buddhism by buddha and to some extent by mahavira gautam buddha was born in the 6th century bc in lumbini in the foothills of the himalayas his father king shuddhodhan provided him with all the luxuries for his enjoyment and pleasure but when he discovered the problems of old age death and disease everything changed at the age of 29 leaving behind his wife and son the prince left home in search of the reality of life he went deep into the forest where yogi's and ascetics used to practice there in vaishali he met two yogis adar khalam and rudrak but unconvinced by them he went into isolation to perform rigorous penance so intense was his determination that he put his life in extreme danger but later he abandoned this rigorous practice and arrived at this place and resting his back on the trunk of this people tree sat in padmasana he resolved let my body perish but i will not leave this asan without knowing the ultimate reality here the asana finds its ultimate expression as propounded by patanjali he may also have practiced samudra where the tongue touches the palate which is a form called ketchuri mudra of medieval hatha yoga at last on the full moon day of the month of vaishak he attained nirvana buddha then sat in one arson for seven long days enjoying the bliss of liberation [Music] patanjali has described it as ananda nougat samadhi then through inhalation and exhalation he meditated upon pratikya samud this is known as patanjali's with samadhi [Music] he then arose walked and stood here motionless this place later came to be known as anime without blinking the ice for seven continuous days motionless without blinking his eyes he gazed upon his place of enlightenment in hatha yoga this practice of the blank case is known as thratak and has great significance buddha's enlightenment proceeded patanjali by 300 years as we see here the precise use of asana dhyana and samadhi siddharth one of the greatest yogis of india said i saw the ancient path and traversed upon it having used the doctrines and techniques of the time buddha marched ahead he believed that the concept of the immortal soul of the upanishads would not eliminate the sufferings of man and also that the concept of the immortal purusha of sankhya would not wipe away the tears of man his doctrine of dharma proclaims come and see not to believe from before but to believe after seeing and when you have seen already where is the need to believe but there are some fundamental questions that cannot be answered but only realized lord buddha called them that which is inexplicable perhaps this is the greatest leap of spirituality towards science seeing is believing and not believing is seeing [Music] religion with blind faith and a conditioned mind is the greatest obstacle to spiritual evolution in the name of religion or faith man kills fellow human beings with no remorse the aftermath of such mass murders is the shedding of copious tears by widows and orphans that would be greater than the waters of seven oceans the buddha was compassion incarnate and his greatest compassion is in not forcing us to believe anything his religion gives freedom in the beginning and liberates man in the end in spite of all the differences the hindus have accepted the buddha the great shakyamuni as an incarnation of their god vishnu his meditation techniques of the passana gave new dimensions to pranayama is a unique experiment of pratyahar dharna and dhyana it is the world's most practiced technique for attaining enlightenment [Music] about two centuries after buddha emperor ashok engraved the buddha's teachings on rocks and installed pillars and inscriptions all over his empire ashoka was passionate about buddhism the empire of ashoka was the biggest ever in india these boundaries were never conquered by the mighty forces of the mughals or the british his vast empire remained intact even after he abandoned the policy of war and embraced the policy of compassion it is astonishing that the land which is caught in the storm of violence today was once ruled by the principles of compassion and non-violence today it may seem impractical that non-violence can be the policy of a nation but 2500 years ago someone had shown the path [Music] emperor ashok got these caves carved at barabara for the ajivikas the non-believers they were also used by other practitioners these superbly polished granite caves are testimony to the many secret practices of yoga they are perhaps the oldest epitome of indian secularism emperor chandragupta grandfather of ashok was the follower of sanatana hindu dharma and chanakya chandragupta's legendary guru was an orthodox brahmin later in life chandragupta embraced jainism and moved to south india at shravan belgola in his memory this place is known as chandragiri he became a disciple of the great jain monk this episode is engraved here in those days it was not uncommon for members of one family to practice different religions also people could embrace different religions during their lifetime this liberal culture of india made the yoga sutras of patanjali neutral for all religions and sects however these sutras show the influence of two shraman traditions the yam and the name are influenced by jainism whereas meditation and samadhi have the imprints of buddhism the jain tradition is older than the buddhist its first thirdhankar rishibdev is also mentioned in the vedas rishabdev was a perfected soul equally respected by jains and hindus [Applause] rishabh means bull and reminds us of pashupati lord of the beasts it is quite likely that the concept of shiva and rishibdev may have originated from the same source rishibdev is also known as adinat the first and primal yogi the first yogi of hatha yoga is also called adinath the word naath occurs with the names of many this ankaras and the word nath is also used by hatha yogis in both these traditions naath means swami conqueror of the senses tirthankaras are called jinn because of their victory over the senses in india it is believed that to conquer self is far more difficult than conquering a war blissful is the one who is liberated liberated is the one who has conquered the senses to keep the passionate mind the governor of the senses under control is a difficult task this asan meant for physical penance is known as parvat asan or coyote it is also the original tarasin patanjali has defined asan as that state in which the body remains comfortably steady for a long time the standing posture has steadiness but no comfort most of the jain feed thunkers are shown in the standing posture tadasana leaving the sitting posture sukhasana here stands bahubali the son of rishabdev he remains standing in tadasana for such a long time that the creepers climbed all over his body the moral conduct of jain aspirants goes beyond the limits of bodily suffering patanjali defined yama as vrat self-discipline if anyone practices them religiously for life these rats become mahavrats supreme self-discipline perhaps under the influence of jainism patanjali called yama mahavrat the supreme self-discipline [Music] the world hails the hero the vir who shows prowess in the battlefield but india calls the conqueror of the self mahavir the greatest hero non-violence is the supreme dharma this may be the core ideal of jainism but surprisingly is not found in any of their ancient texts [Music] brother slashed the chest of his brother to color the hair of his wife with blood but the outcome of that horrifying war was non-violence is the supreme dharma this great saying is found in the mahabharata it is said the one who has not known the mahabharat has not known india there is no knowledge like sankhya and no power like yoga this saying is also found in the mahabharata the mahabharat in its core is a story of a family conflict the enormity and dreadfulness of this war has deeply influenced the mindset of generations of indians the bhagavad-gita is part of the mahabharata further revolutionized yogg here yoga moves out of the caves and jungles and is used as an indispensable tool to tackle the harsh realities of life yoga is considered essential even to win a war the most horrendous of all acts in life [Music] the gita is not a philosophical text on yog but an inspirational poem the composer of gita is passionate about yog each chapter concludes with the word yoga all the 25 elements of sankhya philosophy and the eight limbs of yog are expounded in its eighteen chapters in chapter six even the technique of yog is described the first five centuries a.d are known as the classic age in indian history in the field of science philosophy and literature during this time a yogi named vyasa wrote a commentary on patanjali's yoga sutra which came to be known as vyasa bhasya today this commentary is the best way to understand the yog sutras of patanjali this was also the time when buddhism attained its height from here on the older hindiana buddhism was expanded by the mahayana school of thought this term was used when yoga and meditation techniques were incorporated into buddhism the shadow yoga of buddhism consists of six steps they all have the depth and influence of buddhist philosophy the introduction of tantra in buddhist philosophy was brought about by asang and nagarjun nagarjun the promulgator of sunyawad was also the master of alchemy he was probably the chancellor of nalanda university it is believed he had discovered many facts about the blood circulation system and blood cells he was also exploring the secret of longevity by rejuvenating the body with the help of alchemy iron gets rusted but not gold the body also decays with the rust of old age while seeking to convert iron into gold the sages must have also explored the possibility of a longer life it is not known whether they were successful in turning iron into gold but the people of that era certainly succeeded in producing an iron which has not rusted till today yoga also set a goal of keeping the human body free from the rust of old age and making it strong as a diamond like vajra vajrayana philosophy of buddhism begins with the text gohya samaj tantra the author of this text was asang of the yogacar branch in the fifth century emerged another great scholar acharya buddha gosh who wrote the treatise of the meditation technique of mahayana is far more standardized and complex [Music] meditation on breath meditation on happiness meditation on various parts of the body meditation on four higher planes of consciousness meditation on ten forms of knowledge although monks used to live in these caves for performing rituals some caves were exclusively meant for meditation through deep meditation the monks sought to conquer their natural animal instincts to attain higher human values these dark caves were the lighthouses of indian society the elevation of indian consciousness has a long story which has traversed through these dark caves even today there are terrorizing attacks from across the northwest borders but india has never attacked in revenge this is not from cowardice a natural aversion towards violence was instilled by our ancestors through their immense will and example [Music] people generally ask what to meditate about and what to meditate upon this treatise describes 112 ways of meditation the vigyan bharava written in the 8th century belongs to the chev philosophy of kashmir many of its 112 ways or dharnas are free from any religion belief or sect the practice of concentrating on the tip of a mountain or on a barren desert helps the practitioner to focus his vision on nothingness when the mind is devoid of the support of an object the modifications of chitta consciousness change into nothingness there is joy in touch sight smell and taste and also in music the yogi in a trance of singing can immerse himself in blissfulness and his chitter consciousness experiences extraordinary vigor in such a state the outer objects disappear and only the noah remains [Music] in love the state of ecstasy is considered equal to the bliss of brahma the supreme in this state the duality of male and female get annihilated and only the high state of bliss remains meditating upon this blissfulness the chit of the practitioner gets intensely concentrated this meditation technique is explained at length in tantra and is depicted here in these sculptures and paintings the history and literature of tantra is vast the literal meaning of the word tantra is expanse but it is difficult to find a single definition of tantra it is said that tantra does not believe in the ethical bindings of yoga and that tantrics embrace many practices from which yogis abstain but in reality it is incorrect to say that tantra practitioners are unethical or without character [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] tantra is inspired by the power of procreation of a female not its carnal pleasures the importance of sexuality is emphasized in tantra only because it is related to our birth [Music] our entry into this world is a wondrous miracle and its origin is the female body yog stands against death and birth always defeats death therefore yog bows before the one who gives birth the procreator and the act of procreation [Music] these bronze idols are among the best sculptures in the world in spite of modern techniques today's craftsmen would find it hard to convey these expressions in their work there is evidence that the craftsmen used to meditate upon the deity first and then transform their experiences into their work of art here art has a dual purpose for the craftsman it is a test of his meditation and for the viewer the potential for the art to permeate his heart therefore the creation of a sculpture is also a means and a goal for meditation pantry says unless you become divine yourself you cannot truly worship divinity divinity in the human body can be brought about by the practice of the yoga technique of dharna dharna brings divinity to the body part by part this process of tantra is called nyas science foreign indian humanism elevates a human being to the level of a deity western humanism developed by opposing religion therefore it has become devoid of spirituality and ended up with materialism but in india yog helped develop humanism with spiritualism therefore even the progressive mind finds peace in it the experiences of meditation are beyond the senses to be immersed in meditation one has to transcend the intellect because the intellect cannot describe these experiences fifteen hundred years ago an unknown yogi created an astounding sculpture here the experiences of spiritual serenity and grandeur have been personified in this cave this is the expression of the pure infinite state of being the pinnacle of yogic experience a state of mind that remains unmoved even by the end of the world [Music] [Music] taking the limitations of the human face the three-dimensional reality of creation existence and destruction have been expressed on these rocks that which scriptures failed to convey a shaiva yogi unveiled on this rock [Music] it's a masterpiece and a placid image in front on one side is the agora aspect the fierce form of shiva on the other side you know the polar opposite the what you call the uma that is connected with uh the female aspect so all this is combined and the fourth phase we cannot see but you know you have to visualize that there would have been a fourth face and the fifth face which is always invisible which only the yogis can see that also that is the ishana face he must have been some sort of a yogi he must have also you know in his dhyana he must have conceived these things and there is an image of shiva's yogi also in elephanta as you enter from the north entrance in kashmir a lot of literature is found on the share philosophy chef texts are called aagam argam has four chapters the four feet of shiva represent these four chapters after the 10th century many upanishads were written exclusively on yog in yogg tattoo four types of yoga are described [Music] the yolk that was popular at this time cannot be appreciated without the understanding of the kundalini kundalini is that primordial power of nature which lies dormant deep within the spiritual realm of the human body the three coils of kundalini represent the three basic elements of sankhya and the half coil signifies the transcendent state of chitta consciousness this power is not physical hence it cannot be seen even by a microscope the nature of kundalini is pranic kundalini is the primordial form of prana inside the body prana in simple terms is energy or force of the body the prana flows through 72 000 channels called nadis the three major nadis exist in the spinal cord ira pingala and sushmana these words are not found in ancient sanskrit literature the word prana can be traced in vedic literature but the concept developed more in the tamil region these are all the words which you could not convert them in sanskritized this originality this this type of words you cannot see in any languages at all the entire body is primarily governed by five types of pranas they are prana apan saman vyan and udan in the central part of kundalini only two pranas flow one is pran and the other is upon when the kundalini lies dormant the movement of these two pranks are in opposite directions moves upward anapan moves downward the flow is either in the right or the left nadi but at certain times it is in both when asan pranayam mudra and bandha are performed this knot in the navel is released and pran meets upon and together they enter the central nadi sushma the pressure of both makes the kundalini rise upward penetrating through the chakras of the body with this movement the dormant physical mental and spiritual energies are awakened in the chakras the concept of chakras may have been inspired by the discovery of vital points in the human body by ayurveda the medieval period hatha yogis of north india could have adopted them from the tamil siddhas of the south the shape of chakra is conceived in the form of a lotus in india the concept of existence is like a lotus floating serenely in a deluge the symbol of the world is the lotus ironically the symbol of detachment from the world is also a lotus and the best posture for yogis is also the lotus posture according to ancient indian thought the origin of the universe is from sound that primordial sound is still resonating in different layers of our consciousness foreign [Music] [Applause] around 1000 a.d some extraordinary temples were built in a circular shape similar to the chakras at the center of the temple there is one deity on the circumference there are several attached to each deity is an animal similar to the chakras of kundalini these deities are called yoginis and these temples are known as the yogini temple [Music] hear the grace and contours of the asana seemed to have transcended even the imagination of the sculptor but invaders in medieval times disfigured their faces and destroyed their beauty many expressions of yogic experiences are now lost forever although the yoginis of these temples are divine yogic deities a cult of women yoginis also existed during this time [Music] [Music] during the harappa civilization it was shown that women were probably the center of yoga but with the passage of time they gradually disappeared from the scene of yog the 64 yogani sect seems to be the last remnant of their existence [Music] sankhya believes that every unit of consciousness is an independent entity and since it is detached and pure it also has divinity therefore in india it is believed that there are as many gods as there are people this is the height of spiritual democracy and knows its existence to the philosophy of yoga [Music] but among the presence of millions of gods and goddesses in india the eminence that lord shiva enjoys is enormous there are shiva temples all over the country for the last five thousand years shiva has been worshiped in different forms from mount kailash in tibet to rameshwaram in the south the hindu mind is influenced by lord shiva on his journey in time and space shiva never abandoned the yogic form in all his temples we find the kundalini of hatha yoga at the base of the spinal cord the kundalini lies dormant in this way the way in which the many manifestations of lord shiva have inspired indian literature art and society has no parallel in dedication to the first yogi lord shiva stands the magnificent kandaria mahadev temple of kajurahu in the temples of kajuraho maya called illusion in the vedant takes the form of the powerful prakriti of sankhya [Applause] lazing around in tamagon playfully enjoying in rajogun and glowing internally in satwagon this is all prakriti her singing dancing and playing creates surges of emotion [Music] the whole ambience of the temples resonates with her presence the presence of purusha it seems is just for company here the statue of purush is an estate described in sankhya the famous thinker bankim chandra chatterjee says that it is the flag of sankhya not tantra that flies over the temples of kajurahu here on the temple walls elements of hatha yoga and tantra are cleverly hidden sitting in a beautiful lotus arsenal with his wife is the king of kajurahu his posture indicates that he did not indulge in material pleasures but was an ascetic and a practitioner of yoga in those days it was customary to hide real knowledge from the unworthy the normal mind full of passion will be mesmerized by the erotic figures but a person in quest of knowledge will see the secrets behind the forms the place where the sanctum sanctorum joins the adjacent pavilion can be called the place of union of the soul and brahma the relief depicting sexual union is installed only at this juncture [Music] code language it is not to be revealed again to the non-initiate for instance they would say that the yogi is embraced by washerwoman that is dombi now dombi is the word they use for kundalini energy so dombi is embracing the yogi in his neck that means the kundalini has arisen to the fifth chakra we shoot the chakra of the neck there is unification of the two breaths prana and apana or pingala and aida or surya and chandra so that when that unification takes place the yogi goes into the state of timelessness when non-duality where there is neither day nor night that is against sandhya [Applause] these aesthetics make extensive use of sandhya basha a language having dual meaning these yogis are called kanpata meaning pierced ears and belong to the north cult they are disciples of gorakhnath historians believe that gorakhsnath was a hath yogi who lived sometime between the 8th and 12th century and was probably born in bengal an indian folklore legend has it that he was a great hatha yogi who had prolonged his life through yoga and alchemy [Music] was a disciple of lord shiva or adinath the first and foremost yogi matsyendranath is believed to have been born into a fisherman's family in bengal or assam during the 8th and 10th century he is considered the founder of hatha yoga and is believed to be the originator of the yogini call sect of tantra this text named kol gyaan nirnay is ascribed to him today where this kamakya temple stands matsyandranath is said to have performed yogini sadhna this place was once the stronghold of yoga very few people know that the original name of this city surrounding the temples on the banks of the brahmaputra was not gowhati but yogihati the place of the yogis why matsundranath left assam and came to nepal is a legendary story whose essence is that he was a yogi who dedicated his life to the well-being of the people of nepal this is the matsyendranath temple this is the matsyandra asan developed by matsindranath and is said to be very effective in curing diabetes it was gauraknath who brought matsindranath to nepal therefore gorachnath is worshipped as the national tutelary deity of nepal there are many references to him all over the indian subcontinent much folklore surrounds matsyendranath and goraknath these people here are singing their stories [Music] gorakhnath appeared at a time when the rigidity of the caste system was at its worst brahmins had total control over knowledge but lower caste hindus were hungry for spiritual guidance gorakh prevented their mass conversion to other religions by attacking the caste system and meaningless rituals and making the teachings accessible to all bhagti the movement of social revolution through devotion is also indebted to him his teachings deeply influenced great saints like meera tadu vajid baba fareed and kabir guru nanak was also moved by his wisdom [Music] [Applause] oh [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] inspired by guruknath yogi swatma wrote hatha yoga pradipika in the 14th century a.d this text is the quintessence of hatha yoga hathiyog pradeepika mentions 84 major asanas bhadrasana which you saw on the 5000 year old harappa seal is illustrated in this book today the yoga that has become popular all over the world is really the essence of hatha yogg pradipika athyog places more emphasis on the purification of the body and its practice begins with the six steps of purification called shatkarm the importance given to the physical body by hathyog and tantra is truly unique in the history of spirituality in hatha yoga the human body is seen not as a source of suffering but an effective and reliable tool to eternal life since spiritual liberation is possible in this very birth a healthy body is considered essential towards that end yoga here is synonymous with health patanjali considered disease as an obstacle in yoga but hatha yoga became a technique for curing diseases some even consumed chemicals like processed mercury to keep the body young their motto was may the body always remain like gold [Music] it is believed that used cannabis to rejuvenate his and body the longevity with the head that is why even the kanja or the cannabis cannabis is today it is documented as a of foreign tried so many remedies to keep the body young that some people ridiculed them as the malpractices of gaurak calling it gorakh dhanda [Music] hatha yogg stands on the four pillars of asan [Music] the unstruck sound [Music] [Music] his sleeping with opened eyes has a hidden meaning whenever we sleep our eyes are closed and we are completely unaware of our surroundings however our consciousness perceives everything during sleep it even witnesses our sleep it witnesses every act and every state of prakrithi the reclining lord vishnu here is a symbol of purush a restful consciousness in every living being this idol adorns the ranganath temple in south india this temple was the center of the bhakthi or devotional movement for centuries the devotional or bhakti movement originated from the tamil region where the rich traditions of alvar and naina devotees were in existence it is said that the bhakti movement of the south was brought to the north by saint ramananda in the 13th century patanjali described god as an instrument for the cessation of the mind but in the tradition of devotion god manifested in many forms bhakti is a movement based on humanism because here the devotee is considered more important than god perhaps for this reason the bhakti movement always talked about social reforms foreign [Music] combined with the emotions of bhagti greatly influenced the teachings of kabhir yogic references appear prominently in the compositions of khabir another prominent figure of the bhagti movement is meerabai she was not influenced by hatha yoga but her chitta consciousness can be compared to the sampragyat samadhi of patanjali as patanjali says concentration is achieved if practiced with great intensity in the 8th century a.d acharya shankar wrote concentration is achieved much faster if practiced with extreme intensity the devotion of meera is a striking example of an intensely focused state of mind [Music] [Music] it was also believed that mira was named after the sufi saint mirasai the sufi tradition seeks the ultimate height of divine love meera is a shining example of that love on one hand sufis wanted hindus to discard caste discrimination and untouchability and to love allah on the other hand they opened the doors of yoga for muslims [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] m [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] is [Music] bowls are a living tradition linked to the ancient siddhas of the sheva sect and also to the naz tradition today when a bowl pays obeisance to lord shiva time completes a full circle for centuries india faced marauding invasions from across its northwest borders all these invaders were completely ignorant about the spiritual traditions engraved in indian sculptures they destroyed these precious artifacts ruthlessly which were meant to liberate the mind an irreparable loss to history when bhaktiyakilji burnt the libraries of nalanda and walabhi many buddhist monks and nuns fled across the himalayas where yog flourished again under the umbrella of tantra this is among the highest regions on earth geographical distance difficult access and harsh weather conditions keep it isolated from the rest of the world this is this is one of the oldest buddhist monasteries in this region these paintings are about a thousand years old a vajrayani monk guru naropa had practiced meditation for many years in this cave [Music] [Applause] [Music] the llamas of this region achieve remarkable control over their bodies through meditation in temperatures where a lay person may freeze these llamas wrap their bodies with a wet cloth and dry it many times over even today many monks here engage in meditation continuously for three years three months and three days [Music] while the buddhist tantra was flourishing in the himalayas the sheva yogis were propagating the tradition of hatha yogg pradeepka in the gangetic plains of india in the 17th century sage kherand composed the gheran sanhita here 84 asanas are mentioned and 32 are illustrated the total number of asanas is considered to be 8.4 million the writings on yoke techniques continued even after the ghiran sanhita in 1719 a yogi baya haribaba lived here his disciple yogi jetharam wrote a book called yogasan mala where 110 asanas are described with diagrams [Music] detachment in the midst of royal luxury is not uncommon in the land of buddha and mahavira here lived the king of jodhpur maharaja man singh was also a poet man singh composed poems on yoga and renunciation that are even sung today [Music] he built temples and monasteries for the nath yogis golden wall paintings on hathiyog adorn the inside of this temple but they are fast disappearing due to negligence many secrets of hatha yog and the science of nadis are hidden in these paintings now there is almost no one to explain them india in the 18th century experienced caste discrimination superstition and dogmatism later by the end of the 19th century the british establishment astounded the minds of indians by the charisma of their literature knowledge and science around the same time this famous kali temple was built here lived a famous priest called ramakrishna paramahansa he was one of the greatest yogis of the 19th century it is not a coincidence that he was a devotee of mother goddess who else would a yogi worship other than mother nature prakrti one of the spiritual masters of ramakrishna to the last door of complete freedom but the last door is not opening and tutapuri is perturbed [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] immersed in samadhi into the ultimate state of being free from the last support it is called asampragyat samadhi the final stage of patanjali's ashtang yoga yog which descended in such perfection that ramakrishna was a spiritual wonder he became a paramhansa legend has it that when a poor outcast was beaten with a cane the marks of injury appeared on the back of ramakrishna the doctrine of vedanta says that a single consciousness permeates all of us we are all but one consciousness we may have read it in books but it was visibly evident in ramakrishna paramahansa so far we have completed the six thousand year journey of the history of yoga alongside we have also completed yet another journey from searching for yum and nam in the lives of the peace-loving people of the indus valley we journey to the summit of assam pragyat samadhi the last support of meditation of ramakrishna has thus fallen the triangle of the noah the knowledge and the known has dissolved this is the ultimate state of being yog is the surest path which arrives at the summit of being not philosophy not even science the experiences in yoga are beyond science but they are now being quantified and verified by science this work began when vivekananda ramakrishna's greatest disciple wrote raj yog in the light of modern science his rajyogh instilled the desire for freedom in educated indians and they started demanding their political freedom the westward journey of yogg begins in 1893 when vivekananda [Music] foreign foreign is foreign the biggest challenge for yoga today is to reign in the uncontrolled mind in this era of rapid technological advancement [Music] yoga has helped control our intellect from time immemorial and has elevated our consciousness to a new height therefore we in india remind ourselves that our ancestors followed the path of yog to reach god's abode mahjong the path travelled by great men is the path today the younger generation is also aspiring to walk the same sacred bath like hatha yogis they also aspire may the body remain like gold forever [Music] i [Music] i [Music] i [Music] i [Music] i [Music] i [Music] a

Channel: Vishuddhi Films

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Keywords: History of Yoga, Patanjali Yoga, Hatha yoga, Origin of Yoga, Journey of Yoga, Development of Yoga, Benefit of Practicing Yoga, History of India, Indian Civilization, Indian Culture, What is Yoga, Sage Patanjali, Greek Invasion, Yoga Sutras, What is Asana, What is Pranayama, Harappa Seal, Pashupati Seal, 8 limbs of Yoga, How old is Rigveda, Is Gayatri Mantra related to Yoga, Vedas and Yoga, history of yoga documentary, history of yoga film, history of yoga in india

Id: JoRwXMLsVis

Length: 95min 36sec (5736 seconds)

Published: Fri Apr 01 2022