Etymology...

  YOGA CONTINUIT...In Vedic Sanskrit, yoga (from the root yuj) means "to add", "to join", "to unite", or "to attach" in its most common literal sense. By figurative extension from the yoking or harnessing of oxen or horses, the word took on broader meanings such as "employment, use, application, performance" (compare the figurative uses of "to harness" as in "to put something to some use"). All further developments of the sense of this word are post-Vedic. More prosaic moods such as "exertion"

There are very many compound words containing yoga in Sanskrit. Yoga can take on meanings such as "connection", "contact", "union", "method", "application", "addition" and "performance". In simpler words, Yoga also means "combined". For example, guṇáyoga means "contact with a cord"; chakráyogahas a medical sense of "applying a splint or similar instrument by means of pulleys (in case of dislocation of the thigh)"; chandráyoga has the astronomical sense of "conjunction of the moon with a constellation"; puṃyoga is a grammatical term expressing "connection or relation with a man", etc. Thus, bhaktiyoga means "devoted attachment" in the monotheistic Bhakti movement. The term kriyāyoga has a grammatical sense, meaning "connection with a verb". But the same compound is also given a technical meaning in the Yoga Sutras (2.1), designating the "practical" aspects of the philosophy, i.e. the "union with the supreme" due to performance of duties in everyday life^[22]

According to Pāṇini, a 6th-century BCE Sanskrit gramm

Statue of Shiva in Bangalore,Karnataka, India, performing yogic meditation in the Padmasana posture.                , "endeavour", "zeal", and "diligence" are also found in Indian epic poetry.^[21]arian, the term yoga can be derived from either of two roots, yujir yoga (to yoke) or yuj samādhau (to concentrate).^[23] In the context of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the root yuj samādhau(to concentrate) is considered by traditional commentators as the correct etymology.^[24] In accordance with Pāṇini, Vyasawho wrote the first commentary on the Yoga Sutras,^[25] states that yoga means samādhi (concentration).^[26]

According to Dasgupta, the term yoga can be derived from either of two roots, yujir yoga (to yoke) or yuj samādhau (to concentrate).^[23] Someone who practices yoga or follows the yoga philosophy with a high level of commitment is called ayogi (may be applied to a man or a woman) or yogini (traditionally denoting a woman).^[27]

Goal of Yoga[edit]

The ultimate goal of Yoga is moksha (liberation), although the exact definition of what form this takes depends on the philosophical or theological system with which it is conjugated.

According to Jacobsen, "Yoga has five principal meanings:^[28]

1. Yoga as a disciplined method for attaining a goal;
2. Yoga as techniques of controlling the body and the mind;
3. Yoga as a name of one of the schools or systems of philosophy (darśana);
4. Yoga in connection with other words, such as "hatha-, mantra-, and laya-," referring to traditions specialising in particular techniques of yoga;
5. Yoga as the goal of Yoga practice."^[28]

According to David Gordon White, from the 5th century CE onward, the core principles of "yoga" were more or less in place, and variations of these principles developed in various forms over time:^[29]

1. Yoga as an analysis of perception and cognition; illustration of this principle is found in Hindu texts such as theBhagavad Gita and Yogasutras, as well as a number of Buddhist Mahāyāna works;^[30]
2. Yoga as the rising and expansion of consciousness; these are discussed in sources such as Hinduism EpicMahābhārata, Jainism Praśamaratiprakarana;^[31]
3. Yoga as a path to omniscience; examples are found in Hinduism Nyaya and Vaisesika school texts as well as Buddhism Mādhyamaka texts, but in different ways;^[32]
4. Yoga as a technique for entering into other bodies, generating multiple bodies, and the attainment of other supernatural accomplishments; these are described in Tantric literature of Hinduism and Buddhism, as well as the Buddhist Sāmaññaphalasutta;^[33]

White clarifies that the last principle relates to legendary goals of "yogi practice", different from practical goals of "yoga practice," as they are viewed in South Asian thought and practice since the beginning of the Common Era, in the various Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain philosophical schools.^[34]

Schools of Yoga[edit]

The term "yoga" has been applied to a variety of practices and methods, including Jain and Buddhist practices. In Hinduism these include Jnana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Karma Yoga, Laya Yoga and Hatha Yoga.

The so-called Raja Yoga refers to Ashtanga Yoga, the eight limbs to be practiced to attain samadhi, as described in theYoga Sutras of Pantajali.^[35] The term raja yoga originally referred to the ultimate goal of yoga, which is usuallysamadhi,^[36] but was popularised by Vivekananda as the common name for Ashtanga Yoga.^{[37] .....IT WILL BE CONTINUER.}