Yoga has become immensely popular in today’s world. Millions practice yoga as a tool for making the body fitter, slimmer, healthier. They equate yoga with various postures for stretching the body. 

Actually however, such bodily stretching, technically called asana, is just one limb of one type of yoga. The word yoga means connection: essentially the connection of our present consciousness with the full reality. Among various processes for establishing this connection, one process is dhyana-yoga. Among the eight limbs of dhyana-yoga, one is asana. Therefore, to equate yoga with postures is a gross under-representation of the breadth of yoga. 

Why such misrepresentation? Because some materially-minded people stretch the truth about yoga. They present yoga as a technique for physical well-being, whereas yoga is actually a holistic way of living for all-round well-being: physical, mental or spiritual. Why do they stretch the truth about the purpose of yoga? Because they think that most people will not practice yoga at all if told the disciplines needed for achieving spiritual well-being. So they avoid telling anything that will jeopardize their flourishing yoga business. 

The Bhagavad-gita counters such misrepresentation of yoga by presenting it in the broader context of all-round well-being. The Gita’s sixth chapter describes the process of dhyana-yoga and explains how yoga practice reveals richer understandings of reality that take us to deeper levels of sublime joy. These levels include appreciating the underlying spirituality in all of reality, including in our own identity (06.28) — an understanding that frees us from various physical and psychological cravings. 

By thus practicing yoga holistically, we go beyond stretching the body and stretching the truth; we stretch our consciousness to take in the full truth beyond the body. Ultimately, we connect with the all-attractive trans-personal divinity, Krishna, and relish immortal love for him (06.47). 

Think it over:

  • How do some people use yoga to stretch the truth?
  • How does the Gita counter misrepresentations of yoga?
  • How does yoga promote our all-round well-being?

***

06.28: Thus the self-controlled yogi, constantly engaged in yoga practice, becomes free from all material contamination and achieves the highest stage of perfect happiness in transcendental loving service to the Lord.

 

To know more about this verse, please click on the image
Explanation of article:

Podcast:

Download by “right-click and save”