Friends who have participated in formal yoga practice know that before a complete set of practice, no matter which school of yoga it is, there is usually an opening chant and an end chant. One of the purposes of the opening chanting and the ending chanting is for a sense of ritual, so that practitioners realize that the exercises they have done are meaningful and sacred, and they should be grateful to the sages. In addition, the opening chanting has the effect of improving concentration and concentration, while the closing chanting also has the effect of relaxation, reflection and self-affirmation.
In the opening chanting of several genres, one name is sung: Patanjali. So, who is this Patanjali? What does he do? Why do different schools of yoga revere him so much?
To understand Patanjali, we must first understand how yoga came about. On the land of ancient Indian civilization, the books of all the wisdom of Indians have grown, namely: Rig Veda, Soma Veda, Yajur Veda and Athava Veda Four Vedas. From these four most basic Vedas, thousands of books of various disciplines have been born. Among them is the Upanishads. The Upanishads mentioned practice: to control or control the mind, breath and body through practice, this is the original appearance of yoga, which is commonly referred to as Raja Yoga.
Later, yoga was gradually accepted, recognized and practiced by the Indian people, and more and more people began to practice yoga, so that there were many factions of yoga practitioners, and yoga was given different meanings by practitioners. Until the third century BC, a great sage, Patanjali, integrated all the different ideas about yoga in the world and created an equally great work: the Yoga Sutras.
Patanjali's Yoga Sutras outline several ways in which bliss or yoga can be achieved, the most well known of which is the eight limbs of yoga. It includes: external control (human behavior to the outside world, such as not stealing, not greedy, etc.), internal control (human behavior to oneself, such as: not lying, not cold violence, etc.), asana, breath control, restraint Sensation, concentration, meditation, samadhi.
With Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, many yoga practitioners have found the basis and standard of practice. Initially, people strictly followed the requirements of the eight branches, purifying their external behaviors and inner thoughts, and cultivating themselves into a "pure" person, and then starting the practice of asanas. Later, with the popularity of yoga around the world, the benefits of asana and breathing are known, accepted, and envied by many people, and more and more people practice yoga. In fact, many people can't meet the standards of "not being greedy, being punctual and trustworthy, etc." various external behaviors and internal behavioral constraints, however, this does not prevent them from joining yoga. And in the process of yoga practice, keep alerting yourself and try to get closer to that standard.
Therefore, generations of yoga practitioners, with devotion and gratitude, pay tribute to this great sage before starting yoga practice every day.
It is worth mentioning that although it is the Yoga Sutra that made Patanjali known to the world, Patanjali is not only accomplished in yoga, he is also outstanding in medicine, music and religion. a true master.
