Why Yoga ?

Yoga is a way of life and enables us to have multidimensional approach to life. The human body is not the aim of yoga but is considered means of going beyond physical form of body. Unbalanced state of cause and effect result in ill health. Equilibrium of two is the basic aim of Yoga. A healthy body, therefore may be called as the foundation of Yoga.

Yoga is both an art and science. It can alone save the modern man from personal determination and circumstantial frustration. In other words the practice of 'Yoga' postulates keeping the body healthy and the mind calm and peaceful. Health is our birth-right, and to remain healthy, it is not necessary to depend upon any health centre, physician or medication. It is entirely in our hands to keep healthy. However, in the present-day conditions keeping good health is becoming more and more difficult, and diseases are proliferating. All sorts of evils have crept into our society. Utter selfishness, cut-throat competition, murders, communal riots, rampant corruption... all these are attributable to the progressive degeneration of the human body and mind. Certain yogic principles have to be observed for maintaining sound health. If we follow these principles and regularly practice Yoga and Yogasanas it would not be a problem to enjoy full strength and vigour.

Healthy means to know our inner self. It signifies equilibrium and self-control. If there is a key to life, it is Yoga. Our energy gets drained in the search for materialistic comforts. The whole atmosphere today is surcharged with tension and various types of polution. We tend to blame the elements for our physical disorders and mental tension. If we catch a bad cold or fever, we blame it on the weather fogetting that the whole process of health generates from within ourselves. Nature has made our physical structure perfect and complete and invested this mechanism with the capability of keeping itself in good health. If any foreign matter sneaks into our body and gets stuck up there, we call it 'disease'. All the present and future ailments can be ascribed to this factor. If we take reasonably good care of our body and do not let any harmful matter remain inside, we shall never fall ill. Yogasanas are extremely beneficial in this respect. The science of Yoga is the science of Cosmos. The Yogic Art is Cosmic Art. When you achieve Yoga, you find pure consciousness in action and good health, resistance power, etc. When the heart works normally through the circulation of blood, it gets the blood purified by the lungs and keeps the digestive system in order; the various glands function and maintain the balance of body; and the mind works calmly and keeps the body functioning through the intricate nervous system. In case of illness it does become inevitable to resort to medication, but health is regained only through the intrinsic strength of the inner organs. Medicine helps when the body mechanism functions properly.

If medicine could by itself give health, man could remain healthy, especially now when science has made incredible strides and medicines have been discovered for all sorts of diseases, and new techniques of treatment have been evolved. But this has not happened: diseases have proliferated and the mind has become more and more miserable. Increasing dependence of man on medicine is, therefore, counter-productive.

This, however, is not to say that immense benefits cannot be derived for scientific innovations and new methods of treatment. All that is needed is that we look within, and with a little introspection learn that it is only through the natural ways like the Yogic exercises, regulated life-style, etc., that we can keep ourselves in fine shape.

Yoga is a great dynamo of power which you have to tap to become a master of yourself and the world. The greatest power and energy is within you, not without you. Yoga is fully capable of giving the humanity physical and mental health. When one is sound of mind and body, one is one's own self. And when we are the master of ourselves, we do not have to indulge in vices like deception, vulgarity or obscenity or telling lies. Indeed, we can maintain serenity even under the worst kind of provocation.