Introduction

Yoga-like practices were first mentioned in the ancient Hindu text known as Rigveda.^[7] Yoga is referred to in a number of the Upanishads.^[8][9][10] The first known appearance of the word "yoga" with the same meaning as the modern term is in the Katha Upanishad,^[11][12] which was probably composed between the fifth and third centuries BCE.^[13][14] Yoga continued to develop as a systematic study and practice during the fifth and sixth centuries BCE in ancient India's ascetic and Śramaṇa movements.^[15] The most comprehensive text on Yoga, the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, date to the early centuries of the Common Era;^{[16][17][note 1]} Yoga philosophy became known as one of the six orthodox philosophical schools (Darśanas) of Hinduism in the second half of the first millennium CE.^{[18][web 1]} Hatha yoga texts began to emerge between the ninth and 11th centuries, originating in tantra.^[19][20]

Two general theories exist on the origins of yoga. The linear model holds that yoga originated in the Vedic period, as reflected in the Vedic textual corpus, and influenced Buddhism; according to author Edward Fitzpatrick Crangle, this model is mainly supported by Hindu scholars. According to the synthesis model, yoga is a synthesis of non-Vedic and Vedic elements; this model is favoured in Western scholarship.^[21][22]

The term "yoga" in the Western world often denotes a modern form of Hatha yoga and a posture-based physical fitness, stress-relief and relaxation technique,^[23] consisting largely of asanas;^[24] this differs from traditional yoga, which focuses on meditation and release from worldly attachments.^[23][25] It was introduced by gurus from India after the success of Swami Vivekananda's adaptation of yoga without asanas in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.^[26] Vivekananda introduced the Yoga Sutras to the West, and they became prominent after the 20th-century success of hatha yoga.^[27]

HISTORY

There is no consensus on yoga's chronology or origins other than its development in ancient India. There are two broad theories explaining the origins of yoga. The linear model holds that yoga has Vedic origins (as reflected in Vedic texts), and influenced Buddhism. This model is mainly supported by Hindu scholars.^[66] According to the synthesis model, yoga is a synthesis of indigenous, non-Vedic practices with Vedic elements. This model is favoured in Western scholarship.^[67]

Speculations about yoga began to emerge in the early Upanishads of the first half of the first millennium BCE, with expositions also appearing in Jain and Buddhist texts c. 500 – c. 200 BCE. Between 200 BCE and 500 CE, traditions of Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain philosophy were taking shape; teachings were collected as sutras, and a philosophical system of Patanjaliyogasastra began to emerge.^[68] The Middle Ages saw the development of a number of yoga satellite traditions. It and other aspects of Indian philosophy came to the attention of the educated Western public during the mid-19th century.

Goals

The ultimate goals of yoga are stilling the mind and gaining insight, resting in detached awareness, and liberation (Moksha) from saṃsāra and duḥkha: a process (or discipline) leading to unity (Aikyam) with the divine (Brahman) or with one's self (Ātman).^[56] This goal varies by philosophical or theological system. In the classical Astanga yoga system, the ultimate goal of yoga is to achieve samadhi and remain in that state as pure awareness.

According to Knut A. Jacobsen, yoga has five principal meanings:^[57]

1. A disciplined method for attaining a goal
2. Techniques of controlling the body and mind
3. A name of a school or system of philosophy (darśana)
4. With prefixes such as "hatha-, mantra-, and laya-, traditions specialising in particular yoga techniques
5. The goal of Yoga practice^[58]