History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v7.c94.116

v7.c94.116

Though Sāṅkhya greatly influenced all works dealing with the evolution of the world in its various aspects, it did not enjoy that great esteem among all sorts of people in India that the Yoga system enjoyed and still enjoys. The word yoga is derived from the root 'yuj' to join or to unite (of *rudhādi* class). The germs of yoga can be traced back to the Ṛgveda. Ṛgveda V. 81. 1 (a verse in praise of Savitṛ) reads 'wise men, priests and sacrificers concentrate their minds and join their prayers to the wise, the great (Savitṛ), who knows all (prayers)'. Another Vedic²²⁷¹ verse also speaks of concentrating the mind. The word 'yoga' occurs frequently in the Ṛgveda in several shades of meaning. Sāyaṇa in many passages takes 'yoga' to mean 'acquiring what is not already possessed' (as in Ṛg. I 5. 3). In Ṛg. I. 18. 7 God Sadasaspati (Agni) is said to pervade the prayers (or thoughts) of sacrificers. In Ṛg. I. 34 9 it means 'yoking' (kadā yogo vājino rāsabhasya yena yajñaṁ nāsatyopayāthaḥ'. The word 'yoga' is often used with the word *kṣema* (separately as in Ṛg. VII. 54. 3, VII. 86. 8) or as a compound (as in Rg. X. 166. 5 'Yogakṣemam va ādāyāham bhūyāsamuttamah'). There is a great distance or gap between the meaning of the word yoga in the Ṛgveda (even in the verses about concentrating the mind) and its meaning in some of the Upaniṣads and in classical Sanskrit. In Ṛg. X. 136. 2-3 there is mention ²²⁷² of *munis*, sons of Vātaraśana, who wore dirty and tawny garments and who say in verse 3 'we being in ecstasy (or wild bliss) owing to our way of life as munis resort to winds; mortals! you look on our bodies only'. This shows that even in those ancient times, some people practised *tapas*, did not care what clothes they wore and thought they (i. e. their souls) would be merged in the wind (that is, the souls are formless and could not be seen). In Ṛg. VIII. 17. 14 Indra is said to be a friend of munis and muni is also a friend of every god in Ṛg. X. 136. 4. But as to *yatis* the position was rather different. The word *yati* occurs several times in the Ṛgveda but in most cases that word has no certain connection with the meaning of 'ascetic'. In Ṛg. VIII 3. 9 'by which (says brahmā priest) wealth was given to Bhṛgu from the yatis and by which you helped (or protected) Praskanva'; here Indra seems to be opposed to yatis. In Ṛg. VIII. 6. 18 the poet says 'O valiant Indra! listen to my prayer alone from among the yatis and Bhṛgus that praised thee'. Here Sāyaṇa explains 'yatayaḥ' as 'Aṅgirasaḥ'. In any case 'yatis' are here shown to be devotees of Indra. But in other Saṁhitās it is said that Indra threw 'yatis' to the wolves or hyenas.²²⁷³ Later on, however, the meaning of *yati* seems to have changed. In these Saṁhitā passages 'yatis' appear to be persons hostile or alien to the Vedic rites, but what they did to deserve slaughter by Indra is not clear. In Atharvaveda II. 5. 3 Indra is said to have killed Vrtra as he did in the case of yatis. Some of the Upanisads, however, show that 'yati' was a person who had given up worldly affairs, practised yoga and endeavoured after the knowledge of Ātman and realized Brahma; vide Mundaka Up III. 1. 5 (yaṁ paśyanti yatayaḥ kṣīṇadoṣāḥ) and III. 2. 6 (sannyāsayogād-yatayaḥ śuddhasattvāḥ). Some like Hauer in 'Die Anfrange der Yoga-praxis', 1922 pp. 11 ff) hold that the Vrātyas of Atharvaveda XV were ecstatics of the kṣatriya class and forerunners of Yogins.