Chapter ThreeCLASSICALYOGA AS A
RELIGIOUSTHERAPEUTIC
Among world religious traditions, classical or P ̄atañjala Yoga is outstand-
ing as a comprehensive system of psychophysical healing and religious lib-
eration. Yoga accounts for the human body/mind and spirit so as to guide
practitioners in ethics, health, and progress toward enlightened embodi-
ment. As a religious path, Yoga offers a means for attaining the ultimate
soteriological aim: mokÓsaor freedom from samsÓ ̄ara, the cycle of rebirth
and suffering. Yoga calls liberation kaivalya—‘independence’—realization
of one’s true nature—Self-nature as consciousness, independent of materi-
ality (realizationconnoting both ‘understanding’ and ’achievement’). In
this chapter, I cast Yoga’s philosophical and religious foundations, along
with its eight a ̇ngas(‘limbs’ or components) of practice, as a system of re-
ligious therapeutics with five areas, as shown on the top of the next page.
This model of Yogic religious therapeutics is based on analysis of the
Yoga-sutras ̄ of Patañjali (c. second/third century c.e.), along with its
commentaries the Yoga-bha ̄Ósyaof Vy ̄asa (c. fifth/sixth century c.e.) and
the Tattva-vai ́sarad ̄ ̄ıof V ̄acaspati Mi ́sra (ninth century c.e.). Since the
Yoga teachings are available in broad-ranging texts and detailed com-
mentaries in the original Sanskrit and in translation, access to Yoga’s
principles, procedures, and potential has been available from ancient
times, and will continue to be available in the future. Consonant with the
Indian tradition’s emphasis on spiritual instruction by a guru ̄ , a teacher
who is a master of a given tradition, direct guidance in the practice of
Yoga is available through the efforts of many teachers in India and
throughout the world. Understanding and practice go hand in hand in
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