Solve these mysteries before you can do it with peace of mind

There are many myths about yoga in the world today. There are several myths about this ancient practice that have become accepted as fact. In the words of world-renowned yogi Sadhguru, it is time to get back to the roots and restore yoga to its original form.

Does Yoga Originate from Hinduism?

To say yoga is a Hindu thing is like saying gravity is a Christian thing. Just because the law of universal gravitation was proposed by Newton, and Newton happened to live in a Christian culture, does that make gravity a Christian thing? Of course not!

Yoga is a skill and anyone who wants to learn it can do so.

The science of Yoga is labeled as Hinduism by a few ignorant people because this science and technology developed and flourished in the Hindu culture. Naturally, it has been associated with the Hindu way of life. The word 'Hindu' comes from the word 'Sindhu', the name of a river. This culture developed from the banks of the Sindhu or Indus River and hence it was called Hindu. Hinduism is not an "ism", not a religion, it is just a geographical and cultural identity.

Yoga became popular all over the world in the last century?

Today, although there are various ways to practice yoga and it has been distorted into a mess, at least the word "yoga" is becoming popular all over the world. There has never been an organized entity to spread it, but it has survived because yoga has consistently played a unique role in promoting human welfare throughout human history.

Millions of people are practicing yoga today, but what culture did it originate from? Who founded it? This story is long, and its ancient features have become blurred over time. In yoga culture, Shiva does not exist as a god, but is known as Adiyogi (the first yogi, that is, the founder of yoga). It was he who first sowed the seeds of yoga in people's hearts.

Shiva's first teachings were to his wife Parvathi. His second group of teaching objects were his seven earliest disciples. On the banks of KantiSarovar at Kedarnath, Shiva taught Yoga in detail to his seven disciples. This is the oldest yoga class in the world.

Many years later, the dissemination of the science of yoga was completed, and seven fully enlightened people emerged - the famous seven saints who are widely revered in Indian culture. Shiva passed on seven different aspects of yoga to these seven saints, forming the seven basic forms of yoga. Yoga remains in these seven distinct forms to this day.

The seven sages were sent in seven different directions to spread yoga, through this dimension of yoga, humans can evolve and transcend their limitations and instincts.

One saint went to Central Asia, one to the Middle East and North Africa, one to South America, one stayed there with Shiva, one went to the Himalayan foothills, one went to East Asia, and one went all the way south to the Indian subcontinent. Time has destroyed the original appearance of many things, but if we observe these regional cultures carefully, we can still catch a glimpse of the traces of what these saints did. The holy relics are still alive, but they are covered with different cultural colors and forms. Their faces have changed in many ways, but these traces are still vaguely visible.

Is yoga just about being able to do extraordinary poses?

When we say the word "yoga", most people on this planet only think of asanas. Among the many areas explored by yoga science, the areas involved in yoga actually include all aspects of life, but the mainstream view in the world today only chooses the physical aspect to represent yoga. In fact, in the yoga system, asanas are only of little importance. Of the 200 verses in the Yoga Sutras, only one is devoted to yoga postures. Yet somehow, in our modern times, this one verse has acquired importance that transcends all others.

In many ways, this is a clear indication of where the world is heading. The whole journey of the modern world is just like this: from the deep dimension, that is to say the spiritual realm, to the physical realm. This is exactly what we want to reverse. We want humans to begin their journey in the body but keep moving towards the inner essence.

Fortunately I don’t have the ability to get depressed, otherwise I would really get depressed when I see how people all over the world practice Hatha Yoga and think that’s what yoga is. All the techniques you see about yoga are just related to the body, however, you have to breathe life into it, otherwise it will not be alive. That is why traditionally great importance is placed on a living guru, through whom yoga is kept alive. Yoga is an extremely subtle system that manipulates your system to take it to an entirely different level. Yoga is about reaching your higher nature. Every asana, every mudra, every breathing method - everything - is for this purpose.

How many yoga study guides do you need?

If you go into any large bookstore, you will find at least 15-20 different books on yoga. How to learn yoga in 7 days, how to become a yogi in 21 days… Many people have done themselves great harm by learning yoga through books. Yoga looks simple, but when you practice it, you will find that it is a very subtle thing. Be sure to have a full understanding of yoga and practice it under proper guidance. Without this premise, practitioners may encounter great trouble. A book can inspire you, but it cannot be used to teach practice.

Does yoga only require you to practice it every morning and evening?

Yoga is not something you do in the morning or at night. It is a way of being. Your whole being has to become yoga. If you only practice in the morning and evening, and spend the rest of the time entangled in worldly matters - this is not yoga, it is just yoga practice.

There is no aspect of life that can be excluded from the yoga process. If your life becomes yoga, then you can do anything. You can run a household, you can go to work, you can run a business, you can do whatever you want to do, no problem - as long as your way of being becomes yoga. In every aspect of life, you can use it to bind yourself or you can use it to liberate yourself. If you are using it to bind yourself, we call it karma; if you are using it to liberate yourself, we call it yoga.