There's no denying that the desire to learn Yoga springs from man's search for spirituality, to find the true meaning of life. From time immemorial, men have quenched this thirst by drinking from the fountain of Yoga. Although Yoga is the path to attainment of the divine, it is not a dogma in the real sense.
Yoga has always been an important part of Hindu religious teachings in India. According to the Upanishads, Yoga symbolizes the joining together of the soul with the ultimate consciousness. The spiritual release that the true practice of Yoga bestows on the practitioner supports the religious beliefs of the existence of a supreme power. While religious traditions have waxed and waned over the centuries, the practice of Yoga has endured unabated. In fact, it has grown in acceptance across the globe and across cultures. This demonstrates that Yoga reaches beyond the teachings of religion. Being the purest of spiritual paths, it does not diminish the value of any other religion.
Paradoxically, the reason for Yoga's persistent historical success is also due to its stolid independence from dogma. It is a purely scientific, methodological system that has a strong focus on the unity of mind and body. It is a collection of physical exercises, free from religious rituals and creeds. It embraces all of humanity regardless of any belief system.
Since antiquity, Yoga stood for austerity and meditation. It developed into a system that allowed for the practitioner to control his body and mind. It trained him to meditate with a deep focus on a fixed object, whether that object is a God, a symbol or anything at all. Yoga is a combination of psychosomatic exercises that aim to deliver a spiritual experience. In this sense, it can be view as an empirical science.
Yoga sets out to prove the existence of a supernatural state by using the body as the laboratory where this experiment is performed. It helps the practitioner in his quest to unravel the mystery of his existence. Yoga does not claim to be the ultimate revelation. As the practitioner immerses himself deeper into the practice of Yoga, he may get closer to the Truth.
Yoga proves that through assiduous application of mind and body, a man can quench his spiritual thirst. By attuning one's mind, one is able to perceive the consciousness that lies beyond the grasp of one's senses. It is immaterial whether this consciousness is God, Christ, Allah, Buddha or some nameless Prime Force.
Jacob Sayed is a marketing communications professional, an award winning commercial copywriter, scriptwriter and freelancer. He writes on a variety of subjects as diverse as marketing, finance, investing, health and sports. You may contact him at
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