permanent link: Yoga and Its Different Disciplines

As described in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the ultimate goal of Yoga is to attain Freedom or Kaivalya. This is referred to as the experience of innermost being, or simply the experience of 'Soul' or Purusa. When an individual attains this degree of awareness, he becomes free from Karmic Effect that bounds us for the continuation of reincarnation. Patanjali Sutras describes 8 disciplines of Yoga that are practiced to perceive the true nature of Soul. These 8 disciplines are –

Now-a-days, all of us are running in the search for happiness. As much as we run towards the search for happiness, we are getting succumbed into this materialistic world in exchange of running away from our own 'Self'. But we actually forgot that the true source of happiness lies in the realization of 'Self'. We are feeling distressed just because we are not close to the 'Self', our own inner being.

Our 'Self' is our inner being. It is our awareness, the ultimate source of energy, the strength of Divine Love. We are practically unaware of this subtle form of energy, though it is powerful and dynamic enough to draw our attention and make us self-aware. Unfortunately most of us are unable to fix our attention in any abstract form.

Now, we should discover the role played by spiritual yogic practices. Yoga helps you to wake up from your materialistic unconsciousness and helps you to understand the difference between real and unreal. It helps you to lead your mind to become firmly stabilize and to become one in the soul. In this way, yoga helps to get internalized with the soul's attention over itself, while expanding the vital energy or prana on an outer form. When it is awakened, the Soul or Energy realizes itself and liberates itself from the binding of birth and death.