HOW DID THIS DOCTRINE COME ABOUT?

 

 

How did this doctrine originate? Who is its author? Maybe a certain wise man created it and bequeathed it to his disciples? The ways of yoga have been trampled down for thousands of years, and they are very different from the western civilizations. The yogic system does not have one author, just as folk folklore does not have one. The author of Yoga is everyone and no one, or rather, the people.

 

Why exactly in India did this doctrine emerge? Probably due to the favorable climatic conditions and fertile nature, which disposed the inquisitive mind of the Hindu to observation and analysis.

 

The teachings of the yogis as a whole are the summation of the experience of the great adepts (all-knowing), whose fiery eyes penetrated into the most intimate and revealed there such truths that will long remain hidden to the uninitiated gaze. The insight of only one adept was not acknowledged until it was confirmed by another. Thus, from age to age, this great science, the beginning and the end of human knowledge, took shape.

 

Philosophical ambition helped to seek explanations for the many mysteries of nature, to systematize them and draw conclusions. Observing animals in their natural environment, their habits, their ways of relaxation, their behavior during illness, the ancient Hindu sages made important generalizations for themselves. Man was the main object of observation (more often self-observation); he lived close to nature, strictly following its laws.

 

Spiritual leaders of ancient peoples, turning over the wise book of nature, accumulated great experience, carefully guarding it, and secretly passed it on to trusted disciples.

 

The elemental forces of nature have always displaced man to thinking, maybe the silence of the mountains. the solitude of man among the wilds of the Himalayas contributed to a special mindset of ancient hermits, which made it possible to look at existence differently, maybe that is how the basis of this teaching - concentration of the mind - was born.

 

Now we are slowly learning the story of the Hindu ascetics. They secluded themselves in the silence of the forests, in the wilds of the jungle for many, many years, and immersed themselves in a contemplative life. They strained and ennobled their minds, concentrated their thought and gradually restrained their inferior nature, forced themselves to contemplate the Supreme with rapt attention. Their consciousness became more and more intense and capable of perceiving the higher vibrations without danger to the balance of the brain. But it might have been different. The human being was coming out of the animal state, gradually losing his animal instincts, "stifling" them with consciousness and moving away from nature. And maybe only in one part of the world, present-day India, were these natural instincts somehow preserved, leading to a special kind of mind capable of powerful concentration and analytical generalization.

 

Deeply cognizant of the essence of man, concentrating on his individual manifestations, the ancient Hindus sought out special body positions that were supposed to ensure man's healthy existence. Their exercises are essentially static, without repetition or individual movements. This peculiarity was probably determined by the special climatic conditions. The hot climate and searing sun excluded dynamic exercises, as they are accompanied by a large amount of heat production and increase the body temperature. At the same time performance of static exercises (asanas) requires insignificant expenditure of energy. This static nature of asanas has proven to be exceptionally effective on all structures of the body. Long and persistent training and deep comprehension of results every time added something and discarded something which could not stand the test.

 

Ancient Teachers jealously guarded the secrets of their science, for they knew that wide popularization would lead to its degeneration. Perhaps this is why Yoga has existed for thousands of years.

 

Yoga was encoded with special symbolism and was only passed on to selected students, so you will often encounter the requirement to perform certain exercises in secret. The ancient sage PATANJALI, who lived in the second century B.C., through persistent, painstaking work with ancient texts, collected and systematized the most important of the great science of yoga and gave the world a one-of-a-kind work called "Yoga Sutra. This is the only work bequeathed to future generations, which tears away the veil of mystery that shrouds the teachings of yoga. But Patanjali expounded his sutras in the language, level of knowledge and categories of the modern world, so his thoughts were hard to reach an ordinary man. And so a new devotee of Suomi Vivekananda (The Great) appeared, who commented on Patanjali's work in an accessible form. It took him all his life. С. Vivekananda went to Narvikalpa-Samadhi at the age of 40.

 

Whoever has carefully studied the yogic system has seen that it is an exact science, but one that requires enormous strength.

 

We can only admire the great power and intuition of the insight of the ancient Indian rishis. who created such a vast, slender science that has stood the test of time.

 

Yoga is no longer a secret; it is studied, popularized and practiced in many countries around the world. The ancient teachings are no longer the domain of only a narrow circle of inhabitants of the Himalayan ashrams. Being purified of fabrications and stratifications, it is increasingly becoming international.

 

Today this teaching is like the great cultural monuments that stand immortal before mankind and influence only those who strip themselves of all preconceptions and appear ready to perceive its actions.