WHY YOGA? A Cultural History of Yoga by Madsen Børge

Author:Madsen, Børge [Madsen, Børge]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: reference, non fiction, history
Publisher: MadZen Press
Published: 2013-12-02T05:00:00+00:00

From Ways of Liberation to Salvation

The different styles of yoga discussed in the Gita are often divided into following headings: jnana- (knowledge), karma- (action), bhakti- (devotion) and ascetic-meditative yoga. The path of all these yoga styles in the end all leads to Krishna and the immortality of the soul. Studying each yoga style one realises that the authors continuously draw on diverse and often opposing discourses of liberation, Brahmin ritualism and monotheism. These are often - by generation after generation of authors - mixed with each other in such a way that the texts now and then lose consistency and line of argument (Malinar 2007). This means that in the end it can be difficult to tell the styles apart – a problem which is not made easier by the fact that the text repeats itself over and over again.

In the end, the overall message is clear: all yogas – paths or disciplines - lead to god if we surrender and always perform yoga with Krishna in mind. However, we are warned that yoga without god in mind leads nowhere. The most supreme form of yoga according to the Gita, therefore has to be bhakti-yoga – the yoga of love and devotion:

“Not by study of the scriptures, or by austerities, nor by gifts or sacrifices, is it possible to see me as you have done. Only by tireless devotion can I be seen and known, only thus can a man become one with me O Arjuna! He whose every action is done for my sake, to whom I am the final goal, who loves Me only and hates no one – O my dearest Son! Only he can realize me” (11.53-55)

So in the very end, despite all the yogas discussed, any type of yoga not based on the love for Krishna is deemed futile. Behind the face of multitude and tolerance the reader in other words finds monopoly: One god, one path. Krishna towards the end of the Gita demands submission and love and if he gets that, he rewards:

“Of all yogins, he who loves Me with faith and whose inner self is absorbed in Me – him I deem to be most yoked.”

This theistic yoga flags a significant distinction from most previous discourses on yoga and release. Most of them have been based upon an assumption of release through humans’ self-effort. Self-effort was an essential part of the karma discourse: you create – no matter what you do or not do - your own future and eventual release. Now we are told that human efforts alone will not suffice. God’s grace is also required:

“Verily, those who surrender their actions to Me, who muse on me, worship Me, and meditate on Me alone, with no thought save of me (12.6). O Arjuna! I rescue them quickly from the ocean of life and death, for their minds are fixed on me (12.7). … Verily those who love the spiritual wisdom as I have taught, whose faith never fails, and who concentrate their whole nature on Me, they indeed are my most beloved (12.

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