Meaning of Yoga

Print

The relationship between a word and its meaning is eternal.

Vedic visionaries used the word yoga to denote the connection between verses and words.

Similarly, various Vedic texts including the Sutras, the Brahmanas and the Aranyakas have used the word yoga in the sense of conjunction or connection.

The word yoga is derived from two Sanskrit roots yujir yog and yuja samadhau. yujir means union.

Here yujir is used to represent the union of the individual spirit called Jivatma with the universal spirit called Paramatma . Yuj means samadhi . The ultimate aim of yoga is to attain the state of samadhi or self-realization.

Thus, the word yoga is derived from two different roots; in the ancient Vedic period, Yujir is used in a non-technical sense, and Yuj has a practical implication, i.e. to control the senses and the mind.