Ajay Kumar: Created a new article

2023-09-07T15:20:23Z

Created a new article

New page

{{Short description|Highest state of yoga and synonymous term for Patanjali's system of yoga}}
{{italic title}}
{{about|Raja Yoga, the path of meditation according to the [[Three Yogas|Four Yogas (Hinduism)]]|the scriptures from which Raja Yoga was derived|Yoga Sutras of Patanjali|the concept from which the Yoga Sutras were derived|Yoga (philosophy)}}
{{EngvarB|date=March 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2015}}

In [[Sanskrit]] texts, '''''Rāja yoga''''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|r|ɑː|dʒ|ə|_|ˈ|j|oʊ|g|ə}}; राजयोग) was both the goal of [[yoga]] and a method to attain it. The term also became a modern name for the practice of yoga<ref name=jasonbirch/>{{sfn|Mallinson-1|2011}} in the 19th-century when [[Swami Vivekananda]] gave his interpretation of the [[Yoga Sutras of Patanjali]] in his book ''[[Raja Yoga (book)|Raja Yoga]]''.<ref name=vivekarajayoga>Swami Vivekananda, ''Raja Yoga'', {{ISBN|978-1500746940}}</ref> Since then, Rāja yoga has variously been called '''[[Ashtanga (eight limbs of yoga)|aṣṭāṅga yoga]]''', '''royal yoga''', '''royal union''', '''sahaja marg''', and '''classical yoga'''.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/national/worlds-largest-meditation-centre-in-hyderabad/article30643824.ece | title=World's largest meditation centre coming up in Hyderabad | date=24 January 2020 }}</ref>

==Etymology and usage==
Rāja (Sanskrit: राज) means "chief, best of its kind" or "king".<ref>[http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/tamil/index.html rAja] Monier-Williams' Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon, Germany</ref> Rāja yoga thus refers to "chief, best of yoga".

The historical use of the term ''Rāja yoga'' is found in other contexts, quite different from its modern usage. In ancient and medieval Sanskrit texts, it meant the highest state of yoga practice (one reaching ''samadhi'').{{sfn|Mallinson-1|2011}} The ''[[Hatha Yoga Pradipika]]'', for example, states that [[Hatha yoga]] is one of the ways to achieve Rāja yoga.

Rāja yoga is discussed in the ''[[Yogatattva Upanishad]]''.<ref>{{cite book |last= Ayyangar |first=TR Srinivasa |title=The Yoga Upanishads |url=https://archive.org/stream/TheYogaUpanishads/TheYogaUpanisadsSanskritEngish1938#page/n301/mode/2up |year=1938 |publisher=The Adyar Library |page=301}}</ref> It is then mentioned in a 16th-century commentary on a specific step in the ''[[Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali]]''.<ref name=jasonbirch/> The medieval era Tantric work ''[[Dattātreyayogaśāstra]]'' explains in 334 shlokas the principles of four yogas: [[Mantra]] yoga, Hatha yoga, [[Laya yoga]] and Raja yoga.<ref>Antonio Rigopoulos (1998), Dattatreya: The Immortal Guru, Yogin, and Avatara, State University of New York Press, {{ISBN|978-0791436967}}, page 62</ref> [[Alain Daniélou]] states that ''Rāja yoga'' was, in the historic literature of Hinduism, one of five known methods of yoga, with the other four being ''Hatha yoga'', ''Mantra yoga'', ''Laya yoga'' and ''Shiva yoga''.<ref name=alaindanielou>Alain Daniélou (1991), Yoga: Mastering the Secrets of Matter and the Universe, {{ISBN|978-0892813018}}, Chapters 1-12</ref> Daniélou translates it as "Royal way to reintegration of Self with Universal Self ([[Brahman]])".

The term became a modern [[retronym]] in the 19th-century when [[Swami Vivekananda]] equated raja yoga with the Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali.<ref name=jasonbirch/>{{sfn|Mallinson-1|2011}}<ref name=vivekarajayoga/> This meaning is different from that in the ''Hatha Yoga Pradīpikā'', a text of the [[Nath|Natha sampradaya]].{{sfn|Mallinson-2|2011}}

The method of meditation followed under [[Sahaj Marg]], also called Heartfulness follows Raja Yoga system of practice. This system is in practice formally since 1945 under the name Shri Ram Chandra Mission (SRCM). <ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/national/worlds-largest-meditation-centre-in-hyderabad/article30643824.ece | title=World's largest meditation centre coming up in Hyderabad | date=24 January 2020 }}</ref>

The [[Brahma Kumaris]], a new religious movement, teaches a form of meditation it calls "Raja yoga" that has nothing to do with either the precepts of Hatha Yoga or Patañjali's ''Yoga Sūtras''.<ref name=jasonbirch>[[Jason Birch]] (2013), Råjayoga: The Reincarnations of the King of All Yogas, ''International Journal of Hindu Studies'', Volume 17, Issue 3, pages 401–444</ref>

Modern interpretations and literature that discuss ''Raja yoga'' often credit Patañjali's ''Yogasūtras'' as their textual source, but many neither adopt the teachings nor the philosophical foundations of the Yoga school of Hinduism.<ref name=jasonbirch/> This mixing of concepts has led to confusion in understanding historical and modern Indian literature on Yoga.{{sfn|Mallinson-1|2011}}{{sfn|Mallinson-2|2011}}

==History==
[[File:Swami Vivekananda 1896.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Swami Vivekananda]] equated raja yoga with the [[Yoga Sutras of Patanjali]].<ref name=vivekarajayoga/>]]

===In Shaivism ===
{{main|Samadhi}}

The [[Shaivism|Shaiva]] Yoga text, ''Amanaska'', dated from the 12th century CE or earlier, is a dialogue between [[Vamadeva]] and the deity [[Shiva]]. In the second chapter, the text mentions Raja yoga. It states that it is so named because it enables the yogin to reach the illustrious king within oneself, the supreme self.<ref>Jason Birch (2013), The Amanaska: King of All Yogas, Ph.D. Dissertation, Oxford University</ref> Raja yoga is declared as the goal where one experiences nothing but the bliss of the undisturbed, the natural state of calm, serenity, peace, communion within and contentment.<ref name=jasonbirch/>

The Raja yoga goal and state are synonymous with various terms, such as ''Amanaska'', ''Unmani'' and ''Sahaj''.<ref>Gerald James Larson and Karl H. Potter (2011), The Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies: Yoga: India's philosophy of meditation, Volume XII, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120833494}}, pages 364, 366</ref> The ''[[Hatha Yoga Pradipika]]'' (literally, ''A Little Light on Hatha Yoga'') asserts this as follows,<ref name=hathyoga/>

{{Quote|
<poem>
'''राजयोगः समाधि'''श्च उन्मनी च मनोन्मनी <nowiki>| अमरत्वं लयस्तत्त्वं शून्याशून्यं परं पदम || ३ ||
अमनस्कं तथाद्वैतं निरालम्बं निरञ्जनम | जीवन्मुक्तिश्च सहजा तुर्या चेत्येक-वाचकाः || ४ ||
सलिले सैन्धवं यद्वत्साम्यं भजति योगतः | तथात्म-मनसोरैक्यं समाधिरभिधीयते || ५ ||
यदा संक्ष्हीयते पराणो मानसं च परलीयते | तदा समरसत्वं च समाधिरभिधीयते || ६ ||
तत-समं च दवयोरैक्यं जीवात्म-परमात्मनोः | परनष्ह्ट-सर्व-सङ्कल्पः समाधिः सोऽभिधीयते || ७ ||</nowiki>

'''Raja yoga''', samadhi, unmani, manonmani, amaratva, laya, tatva, [[Śūnyatā|sunya]], asunya, parama pada,
amanaska, [[advaita]], niralamba, niranjana, [[jivanmukti]], sahaja and turiya denote the same state of being.
Just as with salt dissolved in water becomes one with it, so the union of [[Atman (Hinduism)|Atman]] and ''Manas'' (mind) is denominated samadhi,
When the breath becomes exhausted, and mind becomes ''Praliyate'' (still, reabsorbed), they fuse into union called samadhi.
This equality, this oneness of the two, the living self and the absolute self, when all ''Sankalpa'' (desire, cravings) end is called samadhi.
</poem>
|Hath Yoga Pradipika, 4.3 - 4.7|<ref name=hathyoga>Sanskrit and English: [https://archive.org/stream/HathaYogaPradipika-SanskritTextWithEnglishTranslatlionAndNotes#page/n153/mode/2up Hath Yoga Pradipika], Pancham Singh (Translator), {{oclc|897482}}, pages 154-155; '''Modern Translation (English):''' GW Briggs (2009), Gorakhnāth and the Kānphaṭa Yogīs, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120805644}}, page 343</ref>}}

===As a type of yoga===
Some medieval Indian texts on Yoga list Rajayoga as one of many types of yoga.<ref name=jasonmedievallist/> For example, the 17th-century Sarvanga yoga pradipikå, a Braj-bhashya commentary by Sundardas, teaches three tetrads of Yogas. The first group is [[Bhakti yoga]], Mantra yoga, [[Kundalini yoga|Laya yoga]], and Carcha yoga; the second is [[Hatha yoga]], Raja yoga, Laksha yoga, and [[Ashtanga (eight limbs of yoga)|Ashtanga yoga]]; the third is [[Samkhya]] yoga, [[Jnana yoga|Jñana yoga]], Brahma yoga, and Advaita yoga. Of the twelve, Sundardas states that Rajayoga is the best yoga.<ref name=jasonmedievallist>Jason Birch (2013), Råjayoga: The Reincarnations of the King of All Yogas, ''International Journal of Hindu Studies'', Volume 17, Issue 3, pages 415-416</ref>

===As the yoga system of Patanjali===
{{main|Yoga Sutras of Patanjali|Ashtanga (eight limbs of yoga)}}
[[File:patanjali.jpg|upright|thumb|right|[[Patanjali|Patañjali]] statue (traditional form indicating [[Kundalini energy|Kundalini]] or incarnation of [[Shesha]])]]
One meaning of Raja yoga is as a modern retronym introduced by Swami Vivekananda, when he equated raja yoga with the [[Yoga Sutras of Patanjali]].{{sfn|Mallinson-1|2011}}<ref name=jasonbirch/><ref name=vivekarajayoga/> After its circulation in the first half of the 1st millennium CE, many Indian scholars reviewed it, then published their ''Bhāṣya'' (notes and commentary) on it. Together, they form a canon called the ''Pātañjalayogaśāstra'' ("The Treatise on Yoga of Patañjali").{{sfn|Maas|2006}}<ref>Larson, p. 21–22.</ref>

According to Axel Michaels, the ''Yoga Sutras'' are built upon fragments of texts and traditions from ancient India.{{sfn|Michaels|2004|p=267}} According to Feuerstein, the ''Yoga Sutras'' are a condensation of two different traditions, namely [[Ashtanga (eight limbs of yoga)|"eight limb yoga" (ashtanga yoga)]] and action yoga (''[[Kriya Yoga school|kriya yoga]]'').{{sfn|Feuerstein|1978|p=108}} The ''kriya yoga'' part is contained in chapter 1, chapter 2 verse 1-27, chapter 3 except verse 54, and chapter 4.{{sfn|Feuerstein|1978|p=108}} The "eight limb yoga" is described in chapter 2 verse 28-55, and chapter 3 verse 3 and 54.{{sfn|Feuerstein|1978|p=108}}

There are numerous parallels in the ancient [[Samkhya]], Yoga and [[Abhidharma]] schools of thought, particularly from the 2nd century BCE to the 1st century AD, notes Larson.<ref name=l4345>Larson, pp. 43-45</ref> Patanjali's Yoga Sutras may be a synthesis of these three traditions. From the Samkhya school of Hinduism, Yoga Sutras adopt the "reflective discernment" (''adhyavasaya'') of ''prakrti'' and ''purusa'' (dualism), its metaphysical rationalism, and its three [[epistemology|epistemic]] methods to gaining reliable knowledge.<ref name=l4345/> From Abhidharma Buddhism's idea of ''nirodhasamadhi'', suggests Larson, Yoga Sutras adopt the pursuit of an altered state of awareness. However, unlike Buddhism, which believes that there is neither self nor soul, Yoga is physicalist and realist, like Samkhya, in believing that each individual has a self and soul.<ref name=l4345/> The third concept that Yoga Sutras synthesizes into its philosophy is the ancient [[Sannyasa|ascetic]] traditions of isolation, meditation and introspection, as well as the yoga ideas from the 1st millennium BCE Indian texts such as [[Katha Upanishad]], [[Shvetashvatara Upanishad]] and [[Maitri Upanishad]].<ref name=l4345/>

===Islamic period===
In early 11th century, the Persian scholar [[Abū Rayḥān al-Bīrūnī|Al Biruni]] visited India, lived among Hindus for 16 years, and with their help translated several significant Sanskrit works into Arabic and Persian. One was Patanjali's Yogasutras.<ref name=sptg>S Pines and T Gelblum (Translators from Arabic to English, 1966), Al-Bīrūni (Translator from Sanskrit to Arabic, ~ 1035 AD), and Patañjali, [https://www.jstor.org/stable/611180 Al-Bīrūnī's Arabic Version of Patañjali's ''Yogasūtra''], ''Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies'', Vol. 29, No. 2 (1966), pages 302-325</ref>{{sfn|White|2014}}<ref>Hellmut Ritter, [https://www.jstor.org/stable/1579273 al-Bīrūnī's übersetzung des ''Yoga-Sūtra des Patañjali''], Oriens, Vol. 9, No. 2 (Dec. 31, 1956), pages 165-200 (in German)</ref> Along with generally accurate translations, Al Biruni's text has significant differences from Yogasutra manuscripts discovered in India during the 19th century. Al Biruni's record has helped modern scholars establish that Patanjali's ''Yogasutras'' manuscript existed in India in many versions, each with multiple commentaries by Hindu scholars. Some of these versions and commentaries are either lost or undiscovered.<ref name=sptg/> Al Biruni's translation preserved many of the core themes of Yoga philosophy of Hinduism; however, certain sutras and analytical commentaries were restated, making them more consistent with Islamic monotheistic theology.<ref name=sptg/><ref>Philipp Maas (2013), A Concise Historiography of Classical Yoga Philosophy, in Periodization and Historiography of Indian Philosophy (Editor: Eli Franco), Sammlung de Nobili, Institut für Südasien-, Tibet- und Buddhismuskunde der Universität Wien, {{ISBN|978-3900271435}}, pages 53-90, {{oclc|858797956}}</ref> Al Biruni's version of Yoga Sutras reached Persia and Arabian peninsula by about 1050 AD.

In Indian [[Timeline of Indian history#13th century|historical timeline]], marking with the [[Delhi Sultanate|arrival of Islam]] in India in twelfth century, further development and literature on Yoga philosophy of Hinduism went into decline.{{sfn|White|2014|pp=6-9}} By the sixteenth century, Patanjali's Yoga philosophy was nearly extinct.{{sfn|White|2014|pp=6-16}} Yoga was preserved by [[sadhu]]s (ascetics, [[sannyasa|sannyasi]]s) of India. Some of the Hindu yoga elements were adopted by [[Sufi]] sect of Muslims in India.<ref>Bonnie G. Smith et al (2012), Crossroads and Cultures, Volume I: To 1450: A History of the World's Peoples, Macmillan, {{ISBN|978-0312442132}}, page 428</ref><ref>Jean Filliozat (1991), Religion, Philosophy, Yoga: A Selection of Articles, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120807181}}, pages 215-230, 293-303</ref> The Sufi Muslims at times adopted and protected the Yoga tradition of Hindus during the Islamic rule of India, and at other times helped the persecution and violence against those Hindus.<ref>Jamal Malik (2008), Islam in South Asia: A Short History, Brill Academic, {{ISBN|978-9004168596}}, pages 185-186</ref> The Mughal Emperor [[Akbar]], known for his syncretic tolerance, was attracted to and patronized Yoga philosophy of Hinduism.<ref>David White (2014), [https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt6wq06f The ''Yoga Sutra of Patanjali'' - A Biography], Princeton University Press, {{ISBN|978-1-4008-5005-1}}, pages 146-152</ref>

==Comparison with Buddhism==

The yoga scholar [[Stephen Cope]] identifies the following similarities between Raja yoga and [[Buddhism]]. He notes that the two philosophies are not the same, but are strikingly similar, having shared a long period of interchange up to about 500 CE.<ref name="Cope 2006">{{cite book | last=Cope | first=Stephen | author-link=Stephen Cope | title=The wisdom of yoga : a seeker's guide to extraordinary living | url=https://archive.org/details/wisdomofyogaseek00cope | url-access=registration | publisher=Bantam Books | location=New York | year=2006 | isbn=978-0-553-38054-5 | oclc=64098584 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/wisdomofyogaseek00cope/page/276 276-278]}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Aspects<ref name="Cope 2006"/> !! [[Raja yoga]]<ref name="Cope 2006"/> !! [[Buddhism]]<ref name="Cope 2006"/>
|-
| Primary problems
| colspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | [[Duhkha]] (suffering) Seeing reality clearly
|-
| Problem-solving method 1: Cultivate skilful behaviours || [[Yamas]] (restraints), [[Niyama]]s (observances) || [[Sila (Buddhism)|Sila]] (ethical practices)
|-
| Problem-solving method 2: Cultivate concentrated states || [[Dharana]] (concentration), [[Dhyana in Hinduism|Dhyana]] (meditation) || [[Samadhi (Buddhism)|Samadhi]]
|-
| Problem-solving method 3: Use states to explore self || [[Samyama]] (i.e. dharana, dhyana, samadhi) || [[Vipassana]], other insight practices
|-
| View of ordinary reality || 4 Erroneous Beliefs — permanence, — reality of body, — that suffering is happiness, — that body/mind is true self || [[Three marks of existence|3 Marks of Existence]], obscured by error: — [[anicca]] (impermanence) — [[anatta]] (no-self) — [[duhkha]] (suffering)
|-
| The end of suffering || [[Kaivalya]] (emancipation) || [[Nirvana]] ("unbinding" of constructions)
|-
| Shared concepts
| colspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | [[nirodha]] (cessation) [[Kleshas (Hinduism)|klesha]] (affliction) [[karma]] (action) [[samvega]] (urgency) [[Prajna (Hinduism)|prajna]] (intuitive wisdom) [[Samskara (Indian philosophy)|samskara]] (unconscious pattern) [[maitra]]/[[Maitrī|metta]] (loving-kindness)
|-
| Shared approaches
| colspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | Direct investigation of reality (not [[metaphysics]]) using self-study, self-reliance, self-liberation
|}

==See also==
* [[Cittabhumi]]
* [[Karma yoga]]
* [[Kundalini yoga]]
* [[Shinshin-tōitsu-dō]], Japanese yoga
* [[Thelema]]
* [[Yoga (philosophy)]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
;Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

* {{Citation |last=Maas |first=Philipp A. |title=Samādhipāda: das erste Kapitel des Pātañjalayogaśāstra zum ersten Mal kritisch ediert|date=2006|publisher=Shaker|location=Aachen|isbn=3-8322-4987-7}}
* {{Citation | last=White | first=David Gordon |author-link=David Gordon White | year=2014 | title=The Yoga Sutra of Patanjali: A Biography | publisher=Princeton University Press}}
* {{cite book |last=Wood | first=Ernest |title=Practical Yoga, Ancient and Modern, Being a New, Independent Translation of Patanjali's Yoga Aphorisms |publisher=Rider and Company |year=1951}}

;Treatises on Yoga

* [[Alain Daniélou]] (1991), ''Yoga: Mastering the Secrets of Matter and the Universe'', {{ISBN|978-0892813018}}, '''Appendix D: Main Sanskrit Treatises on Yoga'''

;History

* {{Citation | last=White | first=David Gordon |author-link=David Gordon White | year=2011 | title=Yoga, Brief History of an Idea (Chapter 1 of "Yoga in practice") | publisher=Princeton University Press | url=http://press.princeton.edu/chapters/i9565.pdf}}

;Philosophy and practice

* {{Citation | last=Feuerstein | first=Georg |author-link=Georg Feuerstein | year=1978 | title=Handboek voor Yoga (Dutch translation; English title ''Textbook of Yoga'' | publisher=Ankh-Hermes}}
* {{citation |last= Larson |first= Gerald James |author-link=Gerald James Larson |title= Classical Sāṃkhya: An Interpretation of Its History and Meaning |publisher= Motilal Banarasidass |year= 1998 |location= London |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=Ih2aGLp4d1gC |isbn= 81-208-0503-8 }}
* {{citation |last= Larson |first= Gerald James |author-link=Gerald James Larson |title= The Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies: Yoga: India's philosophy of meditation |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=p6pURGdBBmIC |year= 2008 |publisher= Motilal Banarsidass |isbn= 978-81-208-3349-4 }}
* {{Citation | last=Maehle | first=Gregor | year=2007 | title=Ashtanga Yoga: Practice and Philosophy | publisher=New World Library}}
* {{Citation | last=Mallinson-1 | first=James |author-link=James Mallinson (author) | year=2011 | chapter=Hatha Yoga | title=Brill Encyclopedia of Hinduism Vol.3 | publisher=BRILL}}
* {{Citation | last=Mallinson-2 | first=James |author-link=James Mallinson (author) | year=2011 | chapter=Nāth Sampradāya | title=Brill Encyclopedia of Hinduism Vol.3 | publisher=BRILL}}
* {{cite book |last=Michaels |first=Axel |title=Hinduism: Past and Present |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jID3TuoiOMQC |year=2004 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=0-691-08952-3}}
* {{Citation | last=Whicher | first=Ian | year=1998 | title=The Integrity of the Yoga Darsana: A Reconsideration of Classical Yoga | publisher=SUNY Press}}

== External links ==
*[http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.398.8987&rep=rep1&type=pdf Yoga exercises] ''Thai Journal of Physiological Sciences'' (compares Raja yoga to other yogas)
*[https://thevani.com/dharma/bhagavad-gita/raja-vidya-yoga/ Raja Vidya Yoga : Inner Peace and Enlightenment] Describe in chapter 9 : Bhagavad Gita - Raja Vidya Yoga
{{yoga}}
{{Indian Philosophy}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raja yoga}}
[[Category:Hindu philosophical concepts]]
[[Category:Schools and traditions in ancient Indian philosophy]]
[[Category:Yoga paths]]
[[Category:Āstika]]

Rāja yoga - Revision history

JillianCogburn: improved article

Ajay Kumar: Created a new article