History of Yoga : Tracing the Origins and Evolution of this Ancient Practice

Yoga is an ancient philosophy that took birth in India. It is believed to have existed from time immemorial, probably at the dawn of human civilisation. In the history of yoga, lord Shiva is considered the first yogi and guru and hence the name Adiyogi or Adiguru is attributed to him, which means yoga as a practice is as old as the earliest yuga. It was probably practiced in isolation and only at the dawn of civilisation, it came to be known to many.

Image: Mohenjo-Daro Seal No.420, popularly known as the Pashupati seal. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Yoga developed as a philosophy and practice in stages and the whole temporal journey of yoga can be broadly divided into four time periods. The pre - Vedic period, the Vedic period, the classical period, and the post-classical period.

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History of Yoga : The Pre Vedic period (around 3300 BCE)

Indus / Saraswati Valley civilisation reveals the prevalence of yoga through the ‘soapstone seals’ depicting Pashupatinath in Yogic posture.

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History of Yoga : The Vedic period (1500 to 1000 BCE)

Vedas emerged as a source of Knowledge par excellence. Upanishads, part of Jnana Kanda of Vedas, propound the path of Jnana yoga. One can only speculate through sparsely noticeable sections, about some practices that may be forerunners of later yogic techniques.

Katha Upanishad ( 3rd century BCE) in its 6th chapter explains the condition in which the senses are held still and the mind becomes indestructible as Yoga.

Mahabharatha (1st - 3rd CE) under the section Moksha Dharma (12th chapter) probably reveals the oldest systematization of Yogic science. The Bhagavad Geeta, part of Mahabharatha is a treatise on yoga and is also named Moksha sadhana grantha.

Image: Mahabharata - Geeta - Kurukshetra. Source: Hindigodslatestwallpapers

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History of Yoga : The Classical period (between 500 BCE and 800 CE)

The Shramanas (500 BCE ) -

This time period saw the rise of a new group of renunciant ascetics, in the region of the Greater Maghadha Dynasty, to the east of present-day Prayagraj in Utter Pradesh state in India. They aimed at practices that would lead to ending the Birth - Death cycle and the karma-driven sufferings in one's life by annihilating the karmic traces. Their practices were independent of Vedic knowledge. These groups included the Buddhists, Jains, and Aajivakas. The ultimate aim was to attain Moksha or Nirvana.

This period also witnessed a systematic codification of yoga. Rishi Patanjali presented the YOGA SUTRAS an excellent text, which put an end to the hitherto incoherent ideas, beliefs, and techniques which were often in conflict with one another. Patanjali’s Ashtanga yoga comprises 8 limbs of practice, ranging from 1.Yama, 2.Niyama, 3.Asana, 4.Pranayama practices for the lowest level of students (called Arurukshu ). Kriya yoga, comprising of Tapah, Swadhyay, and Ishwari Pradhan ( which are part of Niyamas too), for mid-level students ( called yanjana ), 5.Pratyahara, a step that bridges the first 4 limbs to the last three limbs called Antaranga yoga comprising 6.Dharana, 7.Dhyana and 8.Samadhi for the highest level of students ( called Yogaarudha). The last three limbs of Ashtanga yoga also form the basis of Raja yoga.

Level	Limbs of Ashtanga Yoga	Practices	Relationship to Raja Yoga
Lowest Level (Arurukshu)	1. Yama	-
	2. Niyama	-
	3. Asana	-
	4. Pranayama	-
Mid Level (Yanjana)	-	Kriya Yoga : Tapah, Swadhyay, Ishwari Pradhan
Bridging Step	5. Pratyahara
Highest Level (Yogaarudha)	6. Dharana		Basis of Raja Yoga
	7. Dhyana		Basis of Raja Yoga
	9. Samadhi		Basis of Raja Yoga

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History of Yoga : The Post Classical period between 800 CE and 1700 CE

This period witnessed the practice of Tantra yoga, a body-centric practice that was in no way connected to the Vedic source of knowledge. Hatha Yoga, a body-centered system of yoga to attain spiritual connection, a refined and softer derivative of radical Tantra yoga, also emerged during this period. Hatha yoga Pradipika by Swami Swatmarama ( 1500 CE) is a classical text on Hatha yoga, where four limbs of chaturanga yoga, namely Asana, Pranayama, Mudra/ Bandhas and Nadanusandhana are explained in 4 chapters respectively.

Rishi Gheranda (1700 CE) authored Gheranda Samhita, another classical text on Hatha yoga. It is a seven-limb manual and is called Saptanga yoga.

In the seventeenth century CE, Shiva Samhita, whose author is not known, came into being. It is presented as a dialogue between lord Shiva and Parvati Devi. It throws light on the four paths of yoga, various energies in the body, the importance of Guru, various methods of liberation, and the means to overcome obstacles on the path of emancipation etc are dealt with, in an extensive manner.

Somewhere between 1625 and 1695 CE Hatharatnavali authored by Srinivasa Yogi is the only text which gives details of all 84 asanas, discusses Mudras extensively, and explains Pinda or Microcosm and Brahmanda or macrocosm in lucid detail.

Several texts on Shaiva Tantra, Buddhist tantras were also written during this period, informing us about the abundance of practice and refinement that happened during this rich period.

Lingayat movement ( 8 CE ) - A great social movement of equality, democracy, abolition of division within society based on birth, Kayaka (work as a means of livelihood), and Dasoha (to share the fruits of one's labor with others) - a supreme practice of Karma yoga, was witnessed in south India in the region of Kalyana Karnataka. Basavanna who rejected the exploitative Vedic practices prevalent at that time, propounded that all human beings are born equal and have the right to attain enlightenment. He along with other sharanas who believed in his principles, conveyed their teachings through simple poetry known as Vachanas. These Vachanas dealt with a wide range of subjects such as discipline, nobility, social norms, purification of the inner self, path to salvation, etc, and have had great influence over a large population across south India even to date. Basavanna showed the twin paths of Karma Yoga - selfless service and Bhakti Yoga- a path of absolute surrender and sublimation.

Image: Lingayat Movement

The Bhakti yoga movement

This movement represents the spiritual empowerment of masses across India, starting in 7 th century in south India, and spreading across the country until 17 th century. Many great saints and poets are credited to have shouldered this movement which played a pivotal role in the survival of our culture and practices over centuries despite foreign invaders attempting to destroy and dislodge us.

Sant Kabir ( 1398- 1518 )

A mystic saint and poet from Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, is a tall name in the Bhakti yoga movement. He spoke of truth residing only in the path of righteousness and denounced the wrongs in organized religions. He considered everything living and non-living as divine and advocated being passively detached from the affairs of the world. Kabir conveyed his messages in poetic form famously known as Dohes, shlokas, or Sakshi. To date, Kabir Panth, a community that believes him to be the founder of their clan, exists and they lead their lives in accordance with his teachings. His verses are also reflected in the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book of Sikhs.

Purandaradasa ( 1470-1565)

A saint, poet, and philosopher who followed Madhavacharya’s Advaita path, was born in Karnataka. He was born as a wealthy jeweler and gave up his worldly wealth and possessions to become a devotee of lord Vitthal of Pandharpur, in present-day Maharashtra. He was the founder of Carnatic music. He composed his poetry in Kannada and Sanskrit language and wrote with a pen name (Ankita nama) of Purandara vittala. Dasa Sahitya expounded through his poetry, involving his views on social reforms such as ending casteism and untouchability, encouraging gender equality, and complete surrender to the creator.

Sur das ( 1478-1584 )

Blind since birth, Surdas devoted his life to lord Krishna and authored Sur-Sagar, Sur-Saravali, and Sahitya-Lahari, he was a poet and a proponent of Bhakti Marg. He is revered as Sant Sur Das and also Bhakta SurDas.

Mirabai (1498-1547)

Mira Bai, a Rajput princess who later became the royal queen of the Mewar kingdom of Rajasthan, took to the path of devotion to Krishna and moved away from her family to follow her path of devotion. She traveled barefoot, influencing many through her poetry and singing, spreading her message through Satsang, infusing faith, courage, devotion, and love of God. Meera bhajans are a part of Bhakti yoga practice even in the present day.

Kanakadasa ( 1509-1609 )

Born into a shepherd family in Karnataka, he was a Kshatriya ( soldier) by profession. He learned tarka ( logic), Vyakarana ( Grammer), and Mimamsa ( Vedic literature) from his guru Srinivasacharya. He was wounded in the battle and as he rested to heal his wounds, his devotion to Krishna brought the lord to him in a beggar’s disguise. Once he healed himself, he spent the rest of his life writing and teaching the path of bhakti yoga. His literary work includes ‘Narasimha stotra’, ‘Rama Dhyana mantra’, and ‘Mohana tarangini’. The second supernatural occurrence in his life is there for everyone to see when lord Krishna’s idol turned backward from the door, to give Kanaka his darshan when the Udupi matt acharyas refused him entry into the temple and are famously known to be ‘Kanakana kindi’.

The paths of Jnana yoga, Bhakti yoga, Karma yoga, Hatha yoga, Kriya yoga, and Raja yoga have thus developed over centuries in India as independent, but interwoven paths to the ultimate state of Equanimity.