To reconstruct the origins of Yoga in early India by mere linguistics or philology will give yoga a truly limited perspective. The latest archeological discoveries make us fumble in the dark to how the early inhabitants of the Indian peninsula defined yoga, not to mention how they practiced it. Despite the above, from textual sources and archeological discoveries it is plausible to assume that yoga existed in the early Vedic times. Yet it is impossible to know exactly how it was practiced and in what way they perceived it, below I will present an overview of the textual sources, archeological discoveries about ancient India and an inquiry into what the texts are saying with reference to yoga.
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The Vedas is the most ancient body of text preserved in the world. The famous Indologist Max Müller dated them to be around 1500 BCE, but lately recent scholarship start to predate this with several millenniums. The Vedas are divided into the Samhitas, Brahmanas and the Aranyakas. The Samhitas (collection of texts) composed in metric verse, are divided into four sections known as the Rg Veda (RV), Yajur Veda (YV), Sama Veda (SV) and Atharva Veda (AV). The earlier RV is the most ancient one and also the predominant textual bulk of the later two. The AV appears to be of a different origin and is known as the book of sorcery and healing. The mantras (sacred formulas) found within these books were part of the sacrificial culture of the Åryans and employed within daily prayers, rites of passage and elaborate rituals.
Subsequent to these four books, also included in the body of texts known as the Vedas, are the Brahmanas and Aranyakas (forest treatises), the earlier written in prose discussing the technical aspects of the rites and rituals, and the later is composed by people who lived in the forest away from society and dedicated their time in pursuit of higher aspects of meditation and particular rituals. Some of the principle[1] Upanißads are also included into this section, but many of the later ones are subsequent.
The Vedas were the religious intellectual property of the Åryans, a group of people that transmigrated down through the Indian peninsula. What distinguished them from other people were their sacrificial culture that set them apart from other inhabitants of the Indian peninsula that they conquered, made their slaves or absorbed into their own tradition. In India today there are as many as 200 languages, what is interesting to observe is that Sanskrit became the lingua franca of the educated elite (2nd century BCE - 2nd century CE) and the standard language employed in literature, science, law and the arts. The termination of the Vedic period is set to be around 400 BCE when the famous grammarian Påñinî defined the rules of Classical Sanskrit. In his groundbreaking work A߆adhyåyî, Vedic Sanskrit is referred to as an archaic dialect and hence all subsequent works on Sanskrit is known as Classical Sanskrit.
What was there in India prior to the Åryan invasion is subject to much discussion, but with reference to yoga, suffice to mention is the archeological excavations of the Indus Valley civilization (3000 - 1500 BCE) headed by Sir John Marshall in 1921. This archeological discovery pointed to the existence of a sophisticated culture proficient in shipbuilding, agriculture, metallurgy, statecraft, and urban planning. They had their own script (yet not deciphered), sophisticated tools and may have been practitioners of some kind of religious worship due to the many figurines found suggestive of Goddess worship. Concerning the origins of yoga, one discovery is of particularly interest, namely “the paΩupati zeal”, where a figurative person is seated in a yogic posture surrounded by various animals. Some scholars have suggested this to be a prototype of Lord ¸iva or Rudra, also known as “the Lord of animals”. Noteworthy is that the respective figure is seated in the mülabandhåsana posture, which is an advanced yogic seating posture[2], which is suggestive of a person of extraordinary control/strength.
Concerning the origins of yoga it is noteworthy to observe that there is no reference to yogic exercises in the Vedas, as we know them from the eight limbs of Pata•jali (2nd century CE). In the Bråhmanas there is reference to the ten predominant våyus (airs) and later in the Årañyakas there is indeed much reference to nididhyåsana, which may be translated as profound and repeated meditation. From this we may assume that meditative practices were being employed, but the specific reference to them is first mentioned in the later Upanißads (a topic for next week). For the later part of this entry I will now highlight some of the textual passages that are suggestive of yoga being practiced in the body of text known as the Vedas.
Within the ›gVeda (RV), the principle sacrificial hymns of the Åryans, there is scarce reference to the word yoga. When the word yoga is used it is normally to employ the yoking of an ox or horses to a plow or chariot. The word yoga is also associated with the word kßema and then it has to do with acquisition and preserving of wealth. There is no mentioning of the word yogi, but the word kéΩin (RV 10:136) may allure to it, since it implies a longhaired mystic, supposedly engaged in meditative practices. In the Black Yajur Veda there is a famous passage known as the Rudra PraΩna where Lord Rudra (also equated to be ¸iva) is worshipped with plural epithets like paΩupati (lord of animals) m®tyu•jaya (conqueror of death), sarveΩvara (lord of all) suggestive to his universal competence and omnipresence. In the Atharva Veda, Lord Gañeßa (the elephant headed god) is praised and worshiped with many epithets, one in particular is worth mentioning here: “the one who is always meditated upon by the yogis”. Although the AV is often referred to as an independent origin of the Åryan tradition, we can certainly not neglect its reference to the word yogis
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.The earlier part of the RV is a polytheistic religion that make sacrifices to various gods such as Indra, Agni, Varuña, Mitra˙ etc. While mantras are being recited, the priest pours oblations of ghee etc. into the fire as offering to the gods, who in return is supposed to bestow prosperity, sons, livestock and good health upon men. In the later part of the RV we see monotheistic tendencies arising. Here questions are being asked such as “to what god shall we offer our oblations?” (RV 10:121). This Hirañyagarbha sükta (lit “the golden womb) is the first speculative verse regarding the essence of the single principle that stirred this universe into existence and even what gave rise to the other gods. The same thoughts are also reflected in the famous Purußa sükta (RV 10:90) where the cosmic person (Purußa) is attribtuted to be the originator of the universe and everything that came inot being. Later in the Upanißad this spark of creation and the manifest essence of the universe is equated to be Brahman and the inmost essence of man defined as åtman. These two later principles cannot be known through the mind, intellect nor senses, but rather experienced directly in the heart. This later experience is a transcendence of phenomenal knowledge and rather a coming into being of what is ultimately real and ceasing to be of what is ultimately not real.
Enough for now, we’ll continue next week with an inquiry into the early Upanißads.
[1] B®hadårañyaka, Chandogya and Ka†ha Upanißad.
[2] For those familiar with the tradition of yoga taught by Pattabhi Jois, it is the first posture of the Advanced B sequence, or what is also referred to as the 4th series.