Yoga is the essence of both physical and spiritual. Yoga is a philosophical doctrine

Modern people today again come to realize the importance of everything spiritual. Exhausted by constant worries and stresses, they just need a breath of fresh air, a source of peace and inspiration.

And yoga philosophy can become this source, allowing you to gradually discover the true path to liberation. And awareness of one's own essence with further disclosure of the hidden inner potential.

Understanding yoga in a philosophical sense

For many people philosophy yoga becomes an incredible discovery, saving from constant anxiety and stress, helping to openly see the main thing in life. But one should not think that yoga is reduced to the usual performance of asanas.

In a philosophical sense, it helps to find the shortest path to liberation, to reveal one's own potential and open the true path to the inner essence.

Therefore, the basic principles of yoga are reduced to achieving a harmonious fusion of the human soul with the body. In a deeper understanding, it means unity with the Supreme. In general, the foundations of yoga are not very systematized, and its individual aspects are spelled out in detail in various ancient sources - the Vedas.

And according to numerous sources, for the first time the philosophy that entered the foundations of yoga was described precisely in the works of Patanjali. In the classical sense, yoga includes two main categories - Purusha (spirit) and Prakriti (matter). Together they allow us to consider and combine the external and inner world each person.

The philosophical theory of yoga is multifaceted, and its main goal is to gradually achieve the state of Nirvana in the form of a complete reunion with the Creator. In the modern world, there are a number of different yogic directions that can effectively help in achieving Nirvana.

It is also worth noting that the philosophical teaching of yoga also works in the case when a person has little knowledge in this area or practically does not believe in the power of the teaching. And such an approach is quite justified for a modern person who seeks to get more material, rather than spiritual, in the learning process.

Purusha and Prakriti

For those who find it difficult to understand what the essence of yoga is, it is necessary to study various sources of information and first try to realize what Purusha (spirit) and Prakriti (matter) are. It is the spiritual and material components that are the main basis of everything that exists in the world.

According to the teachings, Prakriti consists of three main forces:

• peace - Guna Sattva;
• degradation - Guna Tamas;
• movement - Guna Rajas.

But the true essence of the spiritual component in yoga philosophy is very difficult to imagine. It has no specific form, and its location is outside the material world.

Purusha also has real consciousness, but in matter it is completely absent. And its incarnation is the ancient god Inshvara, although other deities are also known.

Having studied the basics of philosophical teaching, one can realize the unity of the material and the spiritual, which forms everything that exists on Earth. And outside the framework of space and time, since yoga implies continuous processes of change occurring in material structures. And the spiritual basis remains completely unchanged, because it is not subject to time.

2) Yoga is one of the systems of Hindu philosophy, which was created by the sage Patanjali and recorded by him in the Yoga Sutras (Aphorisms of Yoga) around the 2nd century BC. e.

Yoga of Patanjali is both a philosophy and a practical method, which includes 8 steps of human perfection:

1. Pit - regulation of external conditions

2. Niyama - regulation of internal conditions

3. Asana - comfortable and stable position body

4. Pranayama - perception of the movement of energies in the body

5. Pratyathara - control of the perception of feelings

6. Dharana - the ability to direct our mind

7. Dhyana - the ability to perceive what we seek to understand

8. Samadhi - the ability to become and be what we intended to understand.

The philosophy of the Yoga Sutras is closely related to ancient philosophy Sankhya, the main sources of which are the great Indian epic "Mahabharata" and "Sankhya Sutras" by the sage Kapila.

According to the main provisions of this philosophy, there are two independent substances: Purusha (the contemplator, the source of consciousness) and Prakriti (matter, nature). It is their interaction that leads to the emergence of all the phenomena of this world, from the most subtle to the most dense. Every man, being a product of nature, contains within himself the source of true knowledge. But getting involved in the games of nature, he loses the purity of perception of the Contemplator and becomes dependent on the conditions of the external world.

Only a return to inner comprehension allows a person to gain peace, equanimity, experience a blissful state of freedom and learn to manage his life based on a true understanding of the essence of things and phenomena of this world.

To achieve this higher state of consciousness, one must calm and balance the qualities of nature in the body, mind and senses. This is the aim of the first five steps of Patanjali yoga. The first five steps are the regulation of the 5 primary elements of nature (Earth, Water, Fire, Air, Ether (Space)). When the elements of nature in a person are balanced, a person is able to consciously control the unconscious and subconscious spheres of his psyche, that is, his animal nature.

The last three steps are possible only with the successful mastering of the first five and allow you to achieve higher states of deep insight into the essence of all the phenomena of the world.

In the Middle Ages, based classical yoga Patanjali develops a special type of yogic practice called Hatha Yoga. One of the translations of the term "hatha" is "sun and moon". In essence, these are two energies that are manifested in the body in two channels: the left - Ida (property of the lunar channel) and the right - Pingala (property of the solar channel).

Ida governs mental energy and corresponds to the parasympathetic response in the body (passivity, relaxation). Pingala is associated with vital energy and corresponds to the sympathetic reaction in the body (activity, tension). The main task of hatha yoga is to balance these two energies in the body and keep them in a clear balance.

This makes it possible to balance the qualities of nature in the body and promotes the passage of energy through the central channel - Sushumna. It is this energy that is used to awaken higher forms of consciousness.

Hatha Yoga uses the concept of chakras - special energy centers in the human body, each of which is associated with a certain level of consciousness. The lower chakras are responsible for the unconscious plane of existence, the middle ones for subconscious mechanisms, the upper ones for consciousness, the seventh chakra - sahasrara connects a person with superconsciousness. If the higher chakras in the human body remain closed, the person is under the influence of the unconscious and subconscious layers of his psyche all his life, not being able to consciously control his body, mind and feelings.

The first 7 steps of Patanjali's yoga correspond to the 7 chakras in the human body, and the 8th step corresponds to the chakra, which is located above the head.

Hatha Yoga is an exact sequence of certain actions that brings different types of people into the same state: tranquility of the qualities of nature in the body, feelings, mind (the first five chakras). This makes it possible to divert energy from external stimuli to the inner world to provide a process of deep understanding.

When the body, feelings and mind are calmed, the energy rises freely through the central channel - Sushumna, awakening all chakras, from the lowest to the highest, and a person has the opportunity to comprehend the higher principle, which by nature is the entire manifested world. As a result, a person leaves the power of external circumstances and becomes the ruler of his life, gains freedom.

That is why the Yoga of Patanjali is very often called "Raja Yoga", which translates as "Royal Yoga" or "Yoga of the Kings".

The philosophy of yoga in a broad sense can be called the ancient doctrine of the spiritual self-improvement of man, which came to us from the civilization of the Aryans and developed into the form known today in the religious philosophical schools ancient and medieval India.

Yoga is one of the darshans, the six orthodox (following the spiritual tradition of the Vedas) philosophical schools of India. Its theories and principles are set forth in the fundamental work of this school, the Yoga Sutra, and commentaries on this work. We know almost nothing about the author of the Yoga Sutra, Patanjali. In India, he has long been considered a great teacher, yogi and philosopher, who lived in the II century. BC. However, today most scholars agree that, in terms of content and terminology, the Yoga Sutra should be attributed to the 2nd century AD.

Patanjali was not the person who invented the teachings of yoga. We find the origins of the yoga outlined by him in the oldest monument of world culture - the Vedas, the sacred texts of India (II millennium BC). Patanjali acted as a systematizer of this teaching.

Coming directly to the philosophy of classical yoga, we single out two fundamental categories that include all being, all that exists. These are Purusha and Prakriti - spiritual and material substances.

Prakriti (matter) is everything that we see, hear, touch or are able to feel in any other way. This is everything that the most advanced instruments can register, from the smallest particles to space-scale objects. The concept of Prakriti contains the entire universe, all physical objects and energy fields.

Purusha is understood as the eternal Spirit, the spiritual principle. Purusha is the highest part of being. There are no forms characteristic of Prakriti in Him, therefore it is impossible to imagine Him. He is conscious, while matter is unconscious. It is not necessary, however, to identify Purusha with the doctrine of God familiar to Westerners. Purusha is devoid of any personal attributes. The god of classical yoga - Ishvara - is a manifestation of Purusha, but He does not create the world and does not control it. Besides Him, there are other gods in the Spirit, but Ishvara is the highest among all spiritual beings. It also has the most important property for yoga philosophy to connect and separate Purusha and Prakriti.

Until the connection of Spirit and matter, the latter is in an unmanifested state. This means that the universe does not exist, and the three main properties or forces (gunas) of Prakriti are in balance. Guna sattva is responsible for the principle of clarity, rajas - for the principle of movement, activity, tamas - for the principle of rest, inertia. When the Spirit and matter are united, Purusha, as a conscious principle, begins to control Prakriti in a certain sense, to cause changes in it. The gunas begin to interact with each other in many combinations and, passing through certain stages, form the objective world in all its forms. In this case, the first product of the interaction of the gunas becomes Buddhi-Mahat. This important concept of yoga philosophy denotes the ideal basis of all future universe. In the course of further evolution through a series of stages, five primary elements are formed: ether, air, fire, water, earth, of which all objects consist.

Unlike Prakriti, Purusha is not subject to change. Therefore, we can say that he is outside of time and space.

Now consider the teachings of classical yoga about man. Here it is necessary to understand an idea that is unusual for the consciousness of modern Western man. In the anthropology of yoga, the inner world of a person corresponds to the outer being. Man is considered as a microcosm, which is identical in its structure to the macrocosm external to him. Thus, man is also the result of the union of Purusha and Prakriti.

Purusha in a person is pure consciousness, his Spirit, his true Self. Yoga assumes the existence of many “small parts” of Purusha, individual souls that manifest through different beings in Prakriti. Our true self is eternal and unchanging. It is conscious and directs all processes in the sphere of Prakriti. The model of the connection of Purusha and Prakriti in a person is often compared to two people lost in the forest. One of which is without legs (Purusha) and the other is blind (Prakriti). It is clear that, having united, they will be able to begin to get out of the forest. Purusha, interacting with Prakriti, fills the individual buddhi of a person, the matrix of all his mental phenomena, with the ability to self-consciousness. Therefore, we, not knowing about Purusha, are aware of ourselves in our mental activity.

So, having considered the main philosophical categories of classical yoga, we move on to the theory of liberation, the central teaching about the meaning of human existence, for which the Yoga Sutra and its commentaries were written. Liberation is the separation in man of Spirit and matter, Purusha and Prakriti. Why is such a division necessary? The fact is that a person in his usual state does not know his true Self and identifies himself, at best, with his individual buddhi. But the ability of buddhi to be aware of itself is nothing more than an illusion, because only Purusha has true consciousness. We always say to ourselves: “I walk, I feel, I think”, etc., thereby limiting our being to the framework of Prakriti. As we already know, any manifestations of Prakriti are only consequences of the interaction of the gunas. They are changeable and no form is eternal. We, identifying ourselves with our psyche, become attached to its manifestations and to the forms of the objective world. All our suffering comes from this attachment. Attachments give rise to desires and expectations in relation to the world around us and to ourselves. But the world is changing - people close to us grow old and die, the things done do not bring former satisfaction, negative emotions replace positive ones, any pleasures always end. We want a constant feeling of satisfaction, but this is not achievable, and, as a rule, the more pleasure we get from something, the greater the disappointment later. Moreover, striving for the forms of Prakriti gives existence to our karma.

Karma is a causal relationship generated by a person and other beings. By our attraction to one form or another of Prakriti, we determine what we will be in the future. For example, if we tend to be kind and honest, we want to be judged according to these virtues, which in turn creates our desire to be the same in the future. Aspirations leave, figuratively speaking, imprints (vasanas) in our individual buddhi. Every moment we do something, feel, think, adding more and more new imprints. After physical death, our spiritual essence is embodied in another body (reincarnation), and the vasanas are preserved, determining our future life. As long as our adherence to the forms of Prakriti remains, more and more imprints are added to the buddhi, which ensures the next births. Thus, we are in a series of rebirths (the wheel of samsara), eternally suffering in the changing world of Prakriti.

Liberation from suffering is possible, and the pursuit of it is the highest possible goal of existence. Through the practice of yoga and philosophical reflections, a person gradually, better and better, realizes his higher being, Purusha, achieves complete spiritual dispassion, ceases to strive internally for anything in the material world. Then his karma is no longer created, and he comes to the separation of Spirit from matter, leaves the circle of samsara and achieves absolute liberation. Such a person will no longer be born, but he will probably still continue to live in his present life, being in an unceasing awareness of himself as an eternal and unchanging Spirit. This is the state of a god in essence equal to Ishvara. This being cannot be described in words, but it is difficult to imagine being better than that in which there is not even the very potential for suffering or any dissatisfaction, and at the same time there is full awareness.

Yoga is often perceived as a kind of oriental fitness, or the teachings are shrouded in a halo of magic and mysticism. In fact, yoga is an ancient complex Indian system, the methods and practice of which help to find the harmony of soul and body. The philosophy of the system is based on a special perception of the Universe and the human role in its development. The global goal that yoga puts before every practitioner is liberation from the illusions of being and unification with Brahman - the eternal transcendental principle. If you decide to study yoga, we recommend that you also read our article.

Content:

Fundamentals of Yogi Philosophy

The philosophy of yoga calls for movement from illusion to reality, from the transient to the true and eternal.

According to the yogic concept, a person is a consciousness that has a form and is embodied in the visible world. The soul or atman itself is boundless and free from attachment and feeling. The body is mortal, it can live only for a while, after which it dies. Consciousness is eternal, after the death of the body it is embodied again in another, and thus, again and again comes to the physical world. Such an endless cycle of rebirths in Hindu philosophy is called samsara. Life in such a reality is just an illusion, dooming oneself to suffering in one way or another. You can completely get rid of worldly suffering only by destroying imaginary illusions and freeing yourself from identifying yourself with the body, thereby interrupting the chain of rebirths.

Supreme enlightenment, or absolute union with Bharman, is called the state of Samadhi. This is what yogis are trying to achieve through a combination of various practices.

The True Self of each of us experiences a state of eternal bliss and is inseparable from the primordial source of all things and concepts. Yoga philosophy calls for movement from illusion to reality, from the transient to the true and eternal.

Eight Stages of Achievement

Yoga Sutra - the first description of yoga by the sage Patanjali around the second century BC. e. The system includes 185 aphorisms, the common name of which is “Precious Rosary”. They reveal the philosophy of yoga, understand the obstacles on the path of the yogi to the highest goal. It was Patanjali who brought out the concept of the "eightfold path", which logically represents the sequence of all steps of complex practice. It is also called "the steps for the search for the soul."

• The first step is Yama. Compliance with moral precepts and rules that form interpersonal relationships;
• The second step is Niyama. Responsible for internal control and self-discipline;
• The third step is Asana. Care about physical health through a system of exercises (poses);
• The fourth stage is Pranayama. Breathing exercises, aimed at controlling and managing the flows of Prana;
• The fifth step is Pratyahara. Temperance and control of the senses;
• The sixth step is Dharana. Concentration and concentration of thoughts;
• The seventh step is Dhyana. Meditation;
• The eighth step is Samadhi. Merging with the Higher Mind or enlightenment.

The eight step system consists of the components of a happy and fulfilling life. They complement each other and are interdependent. All steps lead to a single, final goal - Samadhi. Any gaps in the cultivation of one of them will serve as an obstacle to true self-realization.

You don't have to be a hermit to practice yoga.

In yoga philosophy important role has the concept of dharma. This is such a moral and ethical code, which consists of the following principles:

1. Ahimsa (refraining from harming the body or mind);
2. Article (truthfulness and honesty in thoughts and words);
3. Asteya (refraining from stealing);
4. Brahmacharya (chastity and control over carnal urges);
5. Karuna (compassion);
6. Maitri (mercy).

There is an opinion that to practice yoga you need to go into hermitage, sit in a cave and think all the time, leaving behind all the sorrows and joys of worldly existence. This path exists, but is only one of many others. Retreat for the sake of stopping the internal dialogue and achieving Samadhi is called a sannyasin. Another, more accessible practice option for a modern person is yoga in action.

Types of yoga

In the philosophy of yoga there are seven branches of practice leading to the comprehension of truths and self-improvement. Experienced practitioners choose several styles based on their own needs, skills, and preferences.

• Raja yoga. Getting rid of samsara through meditation and prolonged concentration on one's own feelings;
• Janana Yoga or the yoga of wisdom presupposes a gradual comprehension of the laws of the Universe;
• Yoga of Karma or action. It is aimed at developing a person's karma with the help of correct actions leading to improvement;
• Bhakti. Achievement of Samadhi through prayers and religious ecstasy;
• Mantra yoga. Sound view, during the practice of which special chants and mantras are sung;
• Tantra yoga. Internal practice work with subtle energies and biofield;
• Hatha yoga or power yoga. Associated with the transformation of the physical body through the performance of asanas.

Treatment of diseases with asanas. Yoga as medicine

Some yogic schools have developed a whole system of wrong states of human consciousness, which are contrary to the laws of nature. These violations lead directly to disease. Modern medicine also has a similar course - psychoimmunology. The starting point of any illness is a distorted state of consciousness. For example, if a sore throat is caused by an unspoken opinion or the inability to explain anything to others, then a cold is a consequence of gossip and criticism towards loved ones.

Due to the fact that the disease is the cause of spiritual disturbances at a subtle level, traditional medicine with the help of chemicals and surgical methods can only eliminate superficial symptoms, while the root of the disease remains in the mind.

Yoga philosophy offers practitioners a different approach to the treatment of ailments. The system of hatha yoga suggests that each asana affects in one way or another on all systems of the body, helping to eliminate the cause of the disease. Asanas help to enter that very correct state, linking physical and mental processes.

According to the scripture, asanas were given to man by the god Shiva to achieve the health of the body and thoughts. During the performance of asanas, the body enters a certain pose, performing it both in statics and in dynamics. Assanas are classified according to postures of contemplation, inverted postures, balance postures, etc. Mental processes in the practice of asanas are directly related to muscle activity. The whole practice is accompanied by controlled three-stage breathing.

Regular performance of asanas has a therapeutic and restorative effect. Hatha yoga improves the functioning of the digestive, endocrine, respiratory, cardiovascular, nervous, excretory and musculoskeletal systems.

Below is a short list of the most popular asanas with a description of the healing effect.

One of the leading and universal postures in the practice of hatha yoga is Shavasana or corpse pose. Its implementation implies complete relaxation of the body and mind. Physiologically, properly performed Savasana can replace several hours of good sleep.

Having mastered asanas, the practitioner stands at the foot of the possibilities of regulating all processes occurring in the body. By placing his body in various postures, the yogi sends healing energy to certain organs with the help of concentration and breathing.

Yoga is a process, a series of actions, a transformation, a movement towards a goal.

Health and absolute harmony do not appear quickly - it is the result of complex work on oneself and internal transformation. Every beginner who wants to learn yoga should be prepared for self-change. When we fear change, it doesn't come. The most important thing is will, self-discipline, regular classes and a great desire to achieve a given goal.

On this moment According to statistics, yoga is practiced by more than 20 million people around the globe. What makes it so popular and relevant?

1. Yoga is the key to whole body health. She is able to revive the body, fill it with strength and energy;
2. Yoga has a positive effect on the physical, emotional and spiritual levels, connecting the soul and body into a single whole. The mind becomes clear and bright, and thoughts - clear and understandable;
3. Practitioners of yoga get rid of many diseases in a complex, contrary to what Western medicine does, curing symptoms separately and resorting to expensive drugs;
4. Yoga teaches to get involved in the flow of everyday events, while remaining internally indifferent and free from interfering fuss;
5. Regular practice instills good habits, the desire to live honestly and righteously, to fulfill one's duties and debts without thought of potential retribution, and to control one's own thoughts and feelings;
6. Yoga allows you to connect with your inner nature, gain deep knowledge of the universe, understand the laws of the world and know yourself.

It should be remembered that yoga is not an end in itself. Yoga is a process, a series of actions, a transformation, a movement towards a goal. The main idea of ​​the whole philosophy is not the result for the sake of the result, but the experience of transcendent reality. For a real yogi, it doesn’t matter what he does: he washes dishes or walks on fresh air He will always be happy. Because inner happiness does not depend on the events of the illusory world. He is free, he observes, he is simple in life and therefore happy.

yoga philosophy in a broad sense, one can name the ancient doctrine of the spiritual self-improvement of man, which came to us from the civilization of the Aryans and developed into the form known today in the religious and philosophical schools of ancient and medieval India. This article will focus on the basic philosophical concepts and concepts of this doctrine, which for almost two millennia has been for many admirers of Indian spirituality a model of wisdom that leads a person to the highest possible goal of his life.

Yoga- this is one of the darshans, six orthodox (following the spiritual tradition Vedas) philosophical schools of India. Its theories and principles are set forth in the school's seminal work, " yoga sutra”, and comments on this work. We know almost nothing about the author of the Yoga Sutra, Patanjali. In India, he has long been considered a great teacher, yogi and philosopher, who lived in the II century. BC. However, today most scholars agree that, in terms of content and terminology, the Yoga Sutra should be attributed to the 2nd century AD.

Patanjali was not the person who invented the teachings of yoga. We find the origins of the yoga outlined by him in the most ancient monument of world culture - Vedah(~ II millennium BC), sacred texts of India. The doctrine of the basic elements of yogic practice - concentration, contemplation, control of consciousness and the term "yoga" itself - is present in the early Upanishads(~ VI - III centuries BC), comments on the Vedas. A special place in protoyoga is occupied by the ancient epic works of India: Ramayana And Mahabharata(~ I millennium BC). The part of the Mahabharata that is called Bhagavad Gita. It contains many important parts of the teachings of yoga, there is only no systematization and classification of categories necessary for philosophy - the basic philosophical concepts. Patanjali acted as such a systematizer, summarizing and briefly formulating the ancient spiritual knowledge. The theory and practice of the Yoga Sutras has stood the test of time to the fullest extent and has earned the right to be called classical yoga.

The work of Patanjali, like many treatises of that time in India, is a collection of short sentences (sutras). For students, they may have served, as it were, as a reminder to restore the course of complex oral reasoning. However, for posterity who do not have the opportunity to personally communicate with the teacher, short sutras are often not enough. Therefore, the teaching of classical yoga that exists today was formed, in addition to the original treatise of Patanjali, by an extensive commentary literature. In this article, we focus on the Yoga Sutra and the most authoritative commentary by the philosopher Vyasa, “ yoga bhashya»(5th century AD).

Coming directly to the philosophy of classical yoga, we single out two fundamental categories that include all being, all that exists. This Purusha And Prakriti- spiritual and material substances.

Prakriti (matter) is everything that we see, hear, touch or are able to feel in any other way. This is everything that the most advanced instruments can register, from the smallest particles to space-scale objects. The concept of Prakriti contains the entire universe, all physical objects and energy fields.

Purusha is understood as the eternal Spirit, the spiritual principle. He is transcendent to Prakriti, that is, he is beyond all Nature. Purusha is the highest part of being. There are no forms characteristic of Prakriti in Him, therefore it is impossible to imagine Him. He is conscious, while matter is unconscious. It is not necessary, however, to identify Purusha with the doctrine of God familiar to Westerners. Purusha is devoid of any personal attributes. God of classical yoga Ishvara- a manifestation of Purusha, but He does not create the world and does not control it. Besides Him, there are other gods in the Spirit, but Ishvara is the highest among all spiritual beings. It also has the most important property for yoga philosophy to connect and separate Purusha and Prakriti.

Until the connection of Spirit and matter, the latter is in an unmanifested state. This means that the universe does not exist, but rather the three basic properties or forces ( guna) Prakriti are in balance. Guna sattva responsible for the principle of clarity, rajas- for the principle of movement, activity, tamas- for the principle of rest, inertia. When the Spirit and matter are united, Purusha, as a conscious principle, begins to control Prakriti in a certain sense, to cause changes in it. The gunas begin to interact with each other in many combinations and, passing through certain stages, form the objective world in all its forms. In this case, the first product of the interaction of gunas becomes Buddhi Mahat. This important concept of yoga philosophy denotes the ideal basis of the entire future universe. In the course of further evolution through a series of stages, five primary elements are formed: ether, air, fire, water, earth, of which all objects consist.

The interaction of the gunas is a continuous change, the consequences of which we observe in our ever-changing world. These modifications give us a sense of time. That is, we can say that a second is not a small time interval, but some change we observe, for example, the transition of the clock hand to the next position. According to classical yoga, time as such does not exist, there is only a moment (now) of change. Any changes are possible in some space, therefore the category of space is also characteristic of the objective world.

Unlike Prakriti, Purusha is not subject to change. Therefore, we can say that he is outside of time and space. Purusha is called the Spectator watching the unfolding picture of the change of matter.

Now consider the teachings of classical yoga about man. Here it is necessary to understand an idea that is unusual for the consciousness of modern Western man. In the anthropology of yoga, the inner world of a person corresponds to the outer being. Man is considered as a microcosm, which is identical in its structure to the macrocosm external to him. Thus, man is also the result of the union of Purusha and Prakriti.

Buddhi-Mahat is the stage of development of Prakriti and the basis of the universe. In it, as a stage in the evolution of matter, an individual Buddhi, which is the ideal basis for the human psyche. In the future, other elements of the microcosm are formed. These are the organs of perception - hearing, sight, touch, taste, smell; organs of action - arms, legs, organs of excretion and reproduction, organ of speech; the organ of the mind is the mind ( manas). So, in fact, everything that we are used to identify with ourselves, with our self - the physical body, memory, emotions, intellect, mental images, etc. - refers to matter and is potentially contained in the individual Buddhi.

Purusha in a person is pure consciousness, his Spirit, his true Self. Yoga assumes the existence of many “small parts” of Purusha, individual souls that manifest through different beings in Prakriti. Our true self is eternal and unchanging. It is conscious and directs all processes in the sphere of Prakriti. The model of the connection of Purusha and Prakriti in a person is often compared to two people lost in the forest. One of which is without legs (Purusha) and the other is blind (Prakriti). It is clear that, having united, they will be able to begin to get out of the forest. Purusha, interacting with Prakriti, fills the individual buddhi of a person, the matrix of all his mental phenomena, with the ability to self-consciousness. Therefore, we, not knowing about Purusha, are aware of ourselves in our mental activity.

So, having considered the main philosophical categories of classical yoga, we turn to the theory release, the central doctrine of the meaning of human existence, for the sake of which both the Yoga Sutra and its commentaries were written. Liberation is the separation in man of Spirit and matter, Purusha and Prakriti. Why is such a division necessary? The fact is that a person in his usual state does not know his true Self and identifies himself, at best, with his individual buddhi. But the ability of buddhi to be aware of itself is nothing more than an illusion, because only Purusha has true consciousness. We always say to ourselves: “I walk, I feel, I think”, etc., thereby limiting our being to the framework of Prakriti. As we already know, any manifestations of Prakriti are only consequences of the interaction of the gunas. They are changeable and no form is eternal. We, identifying ourselves with our psyche, become attached to its manifestations and to the forms of the objective world. From this attachment all our suffering. Attachments give rise to desires and expectations in relation to the world around us and to ourselves. But the world is changing - people close to us grow old and die, the things done do not bring former satisfaction, negative emotions replace positive ones, any pleasures always end. We want a constant feeling of satisfaction, but this is not achievable, and, as a rule, the more pleasure we get from something, the greater the disappointment later.

Moreover, striving for the forms of Prakriti gives existence to our karma. Karma is a causal relationship generated by a person and other beings. By our attraction to one form or another of Prakriti, we determine what we will be in the future. For example, if we tend to be kind and honest, we want to be judged according to these virtues, which in turn creates our desire to be the same in the future. Aspirations leave, figuratively speaking, imprints ( vasanas) in our individual buddhi. Every moment we do something, feel, think, adding more and more new imprints. After physical death, our spiritual essence incarnates in another body ( reincarnation), and vasanas are preserved, determining our future life. As long as our adherence to the forms of Prakriti remains, more and more imprints are added to the buddhi, which ensures the next births. Thus, we are in a series of rebirths ( wheel samsara), eternally suffering in the changing world of Prakriti.

Liberation from suffering is possible, and the pursuit of it is the highest possible goal of existence. Through the practice of yoga and philosophical reflections, a person gradually, better and better, realizes his higher being, Purusha, achieves complete spiritual dispassion, ceases to strive internally for anything in the material world. Then his karma is no longer created, and he comes to the separation of Spirit from matter, leaves the circle of samsara and achieves absolute liberation. Such a person will no longer be born, but he will probably still continue to live in his present life, being in an unceasing awareness of himself as an eternal and unchanging Spirit. This is the state of a god in essence equal to Ishvara. This being cannot be described in words, but it is difficult to imagine a better being than one in which there is not even the very potential for suffering or any dissatisfaction, and at the same time there is full awareness.

In conclusion, it should be noted that the ideas of yoga can be found in all orthodox Indian philosophical schools, as well as in Jainism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Taoism, not to mention the numerous directions in yoga itself, which have grown out of their classical form.

During the period of active colonization of the East by European countries, yoga philosophy begins to make its way to the West. Scientists from Europe, America and Russia get acquainted with it. There are also Indian thinkers who popularize the teachings of yoga. The most famous of them are Ramakrishna (1836-1886), his follower Vivekananda (1869-1902), and Aurobindo Ghose (1872-1950). Philosophical basis yoga, spread in the West, has not undergone major changes, but there have been trends towards a combination of the spirituality of yoga and the achievements of Western science, as well as towards the synthesis of various religious teachings.

Yoga is becoming more and more popular in today's world. Television programs are filmed about her, they are engaged in fitness clubs, famous artists talk about her. However, having become generally accessible, yoga has largely lost its esoteric part, and people today strive to live better in this world with the help of yoga methods, without striving for the world beyond, for the innermost essence of yoga philosophy.