Eight steps to enlightenment

Sri Anish explains that there is much more to yoga than performing a series of contorted poses. It is a way of life and a means to achieving ultimate peace.

- Sri Anish

India is the cradle of human civilisation. This land has given many gifts and has being and, undoubtedly, the science of yoga is one of the greatest gifts from India to the whole of humanity. It is a matter of great pride that, in December 2014, the UN proclaimed June 21 as International Day of Yoga.

But there are a few questions that we must ask ourselves. Do we know what yoga really is? Do we know about the tremendous power of yoga? Are we harnessing it well? Are we integrating yoga into our daily lives? Do we see it in its totality or just one part of it? Is yoga transformational for us? Do we see it as an activity or as a lifestyle?

If you do a Google search for the word 'yoga,' you'll find that the first few hundred or thousand images that Google throws up will be of people in all kinds of complex body postures called 'asanas.' To most, this is yoga-the ability and flexibility to move and maintain your body in complex postures. But is yoga only about postures? You may be surprised to know that asanas form just one small aspect of yoga.

Yoga was introduced over 3,000 years ago when Maharishi Patanjali compiled the Yoga Sutras. He wrote 196 sutras (rules), and compiled them into four padas (chapters): Samadhi Pada, Sadhana Pada, Vibhuti Pada, and Kaivalya Pada. And, out of these 196 sutras, there are only three on asanas!

I'm not sharing these facts to dilute the importance of asanas but to expand your perception of the transformational power of yoga.

'Yoga' means 'to unite'

This world of multiplicity is made up of duality. It is described as Purush and Prakriti, Shiva and Shakti, masculine & feminine, or yin and yang. These are polar opposites, typical examples being white and black, light and darkness, and knowledge and ignorance.