2.The Essence of यग (yoga)

2.1.The history of यग (yoga)

यग [yoga] which is practised under many socio-spiritual forms around the world admits also many different significations. One of the most popular comes from its Sanskrit root 'yuj' which can be translated as 'concentration' or 'union'.
First, यग [yoga] was not a philosophical system at all. यग [yoga] was initially a traditional practice associated with certain supernatural powers. Secondly, this practice has been systematized into the yoga-sutras by a writer known as पञजत [Patañjali] around 450 before Christ. पञजत [Patañjali] is not the inventor but the editor of यग [yoga]. He collected the different forms of यग [yoga] practices, the diverse ideas which were or could be associated with the यग [yoga], grafted them all on the सखय [sāṃkhya] metaphysics, and gave them the form we know today. The yogasutras which consist of 185 terse aphorism are divided into four chapters.

Chapter – I	Chapter - II	Chapter - III	Chapter - IV
Samadhi	Sadhana	Vibhuti	Kaivalya
Superconsciousness	The Means to achieve Yoga	The powers of Yoga	Absolution

 

The hypothetical supernatural powers are still central in the yoga-sutras and it is only later that the cessation of all mental activities has been taken as the highest ideal of the yogic practices.
Isn’t it astrange and paradoxical goal for a philosophy ? We will now try to understand what the reasons are to stop mental activities.

 

2.2. ततवतततनरध

[citta-vṛtti-nirodha]

“Its purposes are to disarm the causes of suffering and achieve integration.”
Patanjali, CH-II, The Yoga Sutra

The purpose of यग [yoga] is to suppress pleasures and desires which are identified as the cause of all sorrows and pains around the world. Pleasures and pains are considered to be the fruit of a wrong perception and knowledge of the true nature of objects. Thereby, यग [yoga] is nothing but a practical philosophy aiming to help the self to reach happiness by renuncing the senses and the world of illusion also called मय [māya] thanks to the cessation of all the mind’s disturbances.