Philosophy

The philosophy of yoga comes from the ancient Vedas (four sacred scriptures of India) and is known as Vedanta. Vedanta literally means the end of knowledge. ‘Veda’ means knowledge and ‘anta’ means end. It is the knowledge of our real Self. Vedanta proclaims that our body and mind is not essentially who we are; our real Self is in fact Spirit; in Sanskrit the word used is Brahman.

To realise that we are Brahman is not a matter of doing something. Knowledge-of-Brahman is not an achievable goal; not something to attain. To achieve something we must be without it in the first place; and we are never without our true nature. We are always Brahman, we just don’t know it.

We are ignorant of our true nature, so our work lies in removing ignorance. The only thing that can remove ignorance is knowledge and the means of knowledge is Vedanta.

One of the most well known texts of Vedanta is the Bhagavad Gita, where Lord Krishna imparts to Arjuna the Knowledge-of-Brahman. In the dialogue Lord Krishna speaks of two life-styles to remove ignorance.

The first life-style is called Karma Yoga. Karma means action and it becomes yoga when we have a certain attitude towards action. The attitude is:

“…perform action expecting results; act so that you can achieve what you desire; plan and execute your work; but if the result is totally contrary to your expectations in spite of all your wishing and willing, don’t react and call yourself a failure.”

(Swami Dayananda, 2008:53, from The Teaching of the Bhagavad Gita)

Such an attitude is possible when we understand that while we are free to choose our actions, we are not free to choose how they turn out. There are universal laws governing the results of action that we cannot change. If we jump out of a tall tree we cannot change the law of gravity and start flying.

When we understand that our actions will not always produce the results we desire and that these results are out of our control we calm down mentally. A calm mind is necessary to understand the knowledge of Vedanta.

The second life-style is called Jnana Yoga; a life of Sannyasa where one no longer has obligations to fulfil, and commits his/her life completely to the Knowledge-of-Brahman.

The life of sannyasa takes a lot of commitment, and so Lord Krishna explains that most people need to choose a life of Karma Yoga first. Karma Yoga gradually prepares the mind for the dedicated pursuit of Jnana Yoga.

Philosophy Classes

The philosophy classes involve interactive group discussion on the principles of Vedanta.

Contact Caitanya Yoga if you are interested in a Hatha Yoga or Philosophy class at your place of employment. Corporations can greatly benefit from the practice and knowledge of Yoga.