Yoga in the Vedas
The Vedas teach us how to live a happy and fulfilled life. But what exactly are the Vedas and where did they come from? See here: http://advaita-academy.org/blogs/the-vedas/ .
The Vedas teach us that ultimate fulfilment in life is only possible when all our desires have been fulfilled and we are completely at peace within ourselves. This is only achievable if we are able to gain the happiness we all want – a happiness which is limitless in duration, quantity and quality (nitya-niratishaya-kevala-sukha – http://advaita-academy.org/blogs/laddu-bliss-and-the-meaning-of-life/). But is this ever possible to realistically achieve? The Veda boldly claims: Yes, it is. You just need to understand that this limitless happiness you seek is already you.
Like the famous story of the 10th man who is looking for the missing 10th man but doesn’t realise he himself is the 10th man until someone tells him ‘you are what you seek’; so to, we are the happiness we seek but just don’t realise it. This is exactly why we need the Veda to come along and teach us: ‘you are the limitless happiness you seek (tat tvam asi)’. Then we can realise who we truly are (Self-Realisation/Self-Knowledge) and this permanently frees us from all suffering. My true Self is discovered by me. I seemingly ‘unite’ with my true self at this point. This ‘uniting’ is the ultimate goal of life spoken of in the Veda. ‘Uniting’ with our true self enables us to enjoy that inner peace and happiness already within us.
Do you know what the word is for ‘uniting’ in Sanskrit? Yoga (Root is yuj = to unite)! Therefore, ‘Yoga’ is the goal of all living beings, according to Veda. Yoga is discovering this limitless happiness (Moksha). You may have thought that ‘Yoga’ is a word for a series of physical postures (Asanas or Hatha Yoga), but this is actually a secondary meaning of the word Yoga, not the primary meaning. Yoga is a word used differently in many contexts. But the Veda presents the ultimate ‘Yoga’ as joining with your own true happy Self via the Self-Knowledge taught in the Veda (http://advaita-academy.org/blogs/clay-pot-the-reality-of-the-universe/).
May you all become true Yogis!
Om
Aditya
