What is Yoga?🔗

When we asked Paramahamsa for his definition of yoga, his answer was; When we say 'union', it is like an end product which in a sense it is. But that word does not convey the intensity and vibrancy of that ultimate state of existence. So I feel 'uniting' would be a better way of explaining the word yoga. Yes, yoga does not actually mean 'union.' Yoga means 'uniting.' Uniting is a high energy process and one of intense enthusiasm. Conversely, the word 'union' does not have intense enthusiasm and union is not a process. Yoga means uniting. It's a continuous process and be very clear, the process never ends. Enlightenment is not the end. Enlightenment is the ultimate but it is not the end. Yoga is meant to be the intense process constantly happening in your Being.'

In modern society, especially in the West, when we consider yoga, we immediately associate it as being a series of yoga asana (postures), physically executed to promote strength, flexibility and balance in the body. Yoga is more or less promoted as a physical form of exercise to attain optimum fitness with some breathing techniques and some meditation practices thrown in to maintain its exotic flavor. That's all, nothing more and nothing less. This is like using a precious diamond as a marble!

Paramahamsa says, ‘You cannot reduce yoga to a physical exercise. Meditation cannot be reduced to something that can provide you with a little bit of peace. No! These practices have much deeper and sacred meanings.'

Yoga is a great science. It is one of the six basic systems of Indian thought which together are called darshana. The word darshana is derived from the Sanskrit word drs which means 'to see.' This implies that the knowledge of yoga was derived through the process of meditation or internal seeing. It also implies that as a practice, yoga is a tool that we use to look within ourselves, to see where we come from, to realize what we are.

In very broad terms, yoga is a means to unite with our Higher Self. It means to