Maharishi Pathanjali, the founder and Father of yoga is said to be a great sage, master avatar, great philosopher, physician, grammarian. In one of his best work “Yoga Sutras” (aphorisms) compiled various aspects of Yoga and is still considered to serve as the basis of yogic techniques.
Maharishi Pathanjali hailed from the district of Gonda in Uttar Pradesh in India, somewhere between 200 B.C. and 200 A.D Maharishi compiled 195 sutras, which serve as a framework for integrating Yoga into the daily routine and leading an ethical life.
His 84 yogic postures effectively enhance the efficiency of the respiratory, circulatory, nervous, digestive and endocrine systems and many other organs of the body.
According to Patanjali, within the human body there are channels called Nadi & centres called chakra. If these channels & centres are tapped, energy hidden in the body can be released. This energy is called kundalini. He prescribed the control of life breath as the means to control the body, mind and soul leading to good health and inner happiness.
He advocated eight-fold path of Yoga, known as “Ashtanga Yoga” for the all-round development of the human personality through the following disciplines :
1.Yama – following non-violence and truth.
2.Niyama – development of personal conduct and behaviour of man.
3.Asana – practice of physical postures.
4.Pranayama – control of breath.
5.Pratyahara – control of our senses from exterior objects.
6.Dharana – concentration.
7.Dhyana – meditation. It is a higher level of concentration
8.Samadhi : or super consciousness is a higher level of meditation. It helps in attaining self-realization, which is the ultimate aim of Yoga.
Other discipline touching different aspects of human life includes Hathyoga (physical exercise), Gyanayoga or Dhyana yoga (exercise for the mind & intellect), Karmayoga (disciplined action in daily life)
Other works of the Sage are Naatiya Sastra and Varma Kalai. Maharishi Patanjali will forever be remembered and revered as a pioneer in the science of self-discipline, happiness and self-realization.
