The Baghavad Gita, Yoga Sutras Of Patanjai, And The Hatha

The Baghavad Gita, Yoga Sutras of Patanjai, and the Hatha Yoga Pradipika are all considered to be revolutionary texts. Their teachings depart from earlier traditions and propose many approaches to enlightenment. Through their definition of yoga or their philosophical goals, each contain some similarities as well as aspects that make each of them unique. The epic text of the Bhagavad Gita defines yoga as the skill of union with the ultimate reality or the absolute. The work comes to us in the form of dialogue between Lord Sri Krishna and the princely warrior Arjuna, which occurs just before the onset of the devastating Mahabharata war. The Yoga Sutras by Patanjali also define yoga as a union of the parts of ourselves, and sutra means†¦show more content†¦This first step is that the student is ready to listen. Then the student ruminates on what the guru says. Then finally the student gets meaning from the gurus teachings based on his concentration and meditation on it. Upanishad means â€Å"to sit near† which represents the relationship between the guru and the student. In the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, the system was first associated with the Nath Yogis, but also connected to other yogis lineages of the time. The Naths recruited without the regard to caste or religion and took many muslims, sufi fakirs and dasnamyi into th eir fold. Here, yoga is meant for the good of all creatures, and a true Yogi was always desirous of benefitting as many men as possible He will find a true and earnest student who will not trifle with this knowledge. Each of these texts represent the importance of Upanishadic learning. The dialogue of the Gita goes through a series of concepts such as the body/soul distinction, the principle of nonattached action, the virtues of discipline (yoga) and meditation. Jhana yoga is the first stage where a person acquires the knowledge of the inner self through study and contemplation and becomes aware of the importance of realizing his true self and achieving salvation. After acquiring knowledge, he turns to karma yoga to discharge his responsibilities towards himself. The