Yoga

Lord Shiva is considered by many to be the symbol or embodiment of supreme consciousness while Pavrati represents supreme knowledge and is the one responsible for all creation, the mother of the whole universe.

According to mythical tradition Lord Shiva is said to be the founder of yoga and Parvati his first disciple. Many statues have been discovered in the archaeological excavations in the Indus Valley at Harappa and Mohenjodaro, now part of modern day Pakistan, of deities resembling Lord Shiva and Pavrati performing asanas and involved in meditation practice. Before the Aryan civilisation began to flourish on the Indian subcontinent these areas were were the dwelling place of a people who lived in the pre-vedic age.

The force of energy is known as kundalini shakti and this cosmic force is present and lies dormant in all beings. Pavrati imparted her secret knowledge of liberation in the form of tantra out of love and compassion for her children. Yoga techniques have their roots in tantra and the two cannot be separated, just like consciousness, Shiva cannot be separated from energy, shakti.

The very first step in tantra is to be aware of the limitations of the mind and body and also to be aware of their capacities. The next step is to practice techniques to expand the consciousness and and liberate energy thereby transcending limitations and achieving the experience of a higher reality.

Tantra is a combination of the words tanoti and trayati, these meaning, respectively, expansion and liberation. Tantra is the way to break free from the bondage of the world while still living and being present in it.

At the beginning of human civilisation, as man began to realise his spiritual potential, yoga arose as techniques evolved to harness and develop this potential. In some ancient traditions Yoga was thought of as a divine gift revealed to the sages so mankind would realise its divine nature.
However, the very essence and birth of yoga has been explained by many different symbols, analogies and languages.

Gurus would pass on yoga techniques by word of mouth to their students and disciples and they were kept secret or exposed to the normal populace. This meant that there was a clear understanding of the meaning and aim of the practices and yogis could guide sincere aspirants along the correct path and remove any confusion, misunderstanding that arose.

In the sixth century BC the ideals of meditation, ethics and morality were brought to the fore by Lord Buddha. The preparatory practices of yoga became ignored. Indian thinkers, however, began to realise the limitations of this viewpoint.

Gorakhnath wrote books on hatha yoga. He was the chief disciple of Matsyendranath who founded the Nath cult and taught that the body and its elements need purifying before practicing meditation.

Of course, the history of yoga is an extremely deep and complex subject and this article has only touched the surface on this fascinating subject which must be studied by any serious present day yoga practitioner.