Lonely_Planet_Asia_-_September_-_October_2016

YOGI’S INDIA

70 MARCH/APRIL 2016

THE CRADLE

India is an assault on the senses, challenging you with

contemplate who you are and where you stand in the

Najiah Ramlee uncovers what it takes to be a yogi here

I

ndia, the largest democracy in the

world is also the world’s second

largest nation with 1.25 billion

people calling it home. Seemingly a

homogeneous market at first glance, this

nation of 29 states and 7 union territories is

so diverse it is almost shocking. Nearly all of

the world’s religions are represented here,

while 22 different languages are officially

recognised with many others being spoken

across the country. India has had its share of

foreign rule as well that spans over 1,100

years, with the British claiming 300 and the

Mughals 800. This hotbed of various

influences allowed for the shaping of Indian

society as we see it today.

There is no concrete history of the birth of

yoga – many of the sacred texts and

teachings were transmitted orally and were

considered secret for many years, so not

much was preserved in writing. While the

Indus-Sarasvati civilisation of northern

India is widely credited with yoga’s

beginnings over five millennia ago, some

historians believe that it may possibly be as

ancient as 10,000 years old.

Pre-classical yoga was slowly refined and

developed by the Brahmans and Rishis

(mystic seers), who documented their

practices and beliefs in the Upanishads. Out

of its over 200 scriptures, the most renowned

is the Bhagavad-Gîtâ, composed around 500

BC. The Upanishads taught that excellence

could only be achieved through the sacrifice

of the ego via self-knowledge, action (karma

yoga) and wisdom (jnana yoga). In classical

yoga, there is an “eight limbed path”

containing the steps and stages towards

obtaining Samadhi or enlightenment.

In contrast, post-classical and modern

yoga rejected the ancient teachings in favour

of embracing the physical body as the true

path to achieving enlightenment; the yoga

masters created a system of practices

designed to rejuvenate the body and prolong

life, and developed a new form of practice

called Tantra Yoga (what we refer to today as

Hatha Yoga), consisting radical techniques

to cleanse the body and mind to free

ourselves from the binds of our physical

existence.