Part I – The River of Yoga: A Journey Through Time, Thought, and Transformation

Tracing the historical flow of yoga from ancient Vedic roots to its modern global presence.

Jun 04, 2025

Yoga is like a sacred river.

It starts as a gentle stream in the ancient Ṛgveda and grows stronger over time, flowing through centuries of wisdom, practice, and devotion. The word “Yoga” comes from the Sanskrit root yuj, meaning “to join” or “to unite”

“yujyate anena iti yogaḥ”
That by which [the self] is joined is called Yoga.

Along the way, it gathers knowledge from sages, experiences from seekers, and the spirit of many cultures. From old rituals and quiet meditation to modern yoga poses and scientific research, yoga keeps growing and spreading wider and going deeper. This river of yoga hasn’t just flowed through time, infect, it has crossed countries and cultures. Today, people practice yoga all over the world ranging from homes, schools, hospitals, studios, temples, and even offices. But to truly understand yoga, we need to go back to where it all began, explore its hidden roots, and see how it has shaped both our inner lives and the world around us.

Source of the River: What Yoga Can Teach Us

Yoga is one of India’s most enduring gifts to the world. It is a timeless path that helps bring balance, peace, and unity within. Though the word “Yoga” first appears in the ancient Ṛgveda, it was sage Patañjali who gave it clear structure and meaning in his famous work, The Yoga Sūtrās, where he laid out its ideas, practices, and language. Yoga’s journey flows through the rich cultural and spiritual history of India.

Its roots can be found in the traditions of the ancient Sindhu-Sarasvatī (Indus Valley) civilization. From there, it draws strength from the spiritual teachings of the Vedas and Upaniṣads, and continues through the philosophies of Buddhism and Jainism. It is woven into the stories of the Mahābhārata and Rāmāyaṇa, and is embraced by many spiritual paths including Śaiva, Vaiṣṇava, and Tāntrika traditions.

Traditionally, yoga was never just a set of exercises, it was a deep spiritual practice meant to guide seekers toward higher awareness and self-realization. Today, this ancient river continues to grow and evolve. Yoga has become part of modern education and healthcare systems. It’s taught in schools and universities, supported by research centres and wellness programs. Institutions like Aligarh Muslim University have even developed formal courses for studying yoga, both in theory and in practice.

Around the world, Indian spiritual teachers have spread its message, inspiring people from all walks of life. At the same time, yoga has grown into a global industry worth nearly $40 billion, showing just how relevant and impactful it remains in today’s fast-paced world.

Hidden Streams: Yogopaniṣads & the Inner Science

As the great river of yoga flowed deeper into the heart of the Vedic tradition, it began to shape subtler, more hidden streams quiet yet powerful currents of inner wisdom. Among these are the Yoga-Upaniṣads, a collection of texts often overlooked, yet brimming with distilled insight. Like underground springs feeding the broader current, these sacred writings offer a profound but lesser-known contribution to the yogic tradition, exploring the ethical, spiritual, psychological, and physiological dimensions of the inner path.

While the Principal Upaniṣads ponder vast metaphysical truths, the Yoga-Upaniṣads turn their gaze inward with remarkable focus. They speak directly to the needs of the practicing yogi by decoding the mysteries of breath and prāṇa, the nature of the mind and its stillness, the vibration of sacred sound, the flow of subtle energies, the art of concentration, and the ultimate goal of liberation. This is where the river of yoga, once philosophical and poetic, becomes a science of the soul viz. clear, structured, and spiritually exact.

There are 20 known Yoga Upaniṣads, each one a luminous thread in the intricate tapestry of yoga-sādhanā. Together, they form a sacred map by guiding the seeker not through abstract debate, but through the lived experience of transformation. These texts remind us that Yoga is not merely something we practice, but something we embody, it is a way of being, refined through quiet discipline and inner exploration.

Yoga Upaniṣads are like Illuminating Currents. Each of them is like a gleaming droplet in the sacred river of Yoga, self-contained, yet reflecting the entire sky of yogic wisdom. Together, they guide the seeker through subtle realms of consciousness, breath, sound, and stillness. These are:

Advayataraka-upaniṣad
Revealing the non-dual light of inner vision.
Amṛtanāda-upaniṣad
Exploring the immortal sound that awakens the soul.
Amṛtabindu-upaniṣad
Teaching the essence of mind control and meditative absorption.
Kṣurikā-upaniṣad
Describing the yogic ‘razor’ that cuts through illusion.
Tejobindu-upaniṣad
Illuminating the inner fire and its transformation.
Triśikhibrāhmaṇa-upaniṣad
Presenting the threefold structure of yogic realization.
Darśana-upaniṣad
Offering insight into yogic disciplines and inner vision.
Dhyānabindu-upaniṣad
Guiding the seeker through the art of meditation.
Nādabindu-upaniṣad
Focusing on the inner sound (nāda) as a gateway to liberation.
Pāśupatabrāhma-upaniṣad
Integrating yogic ideas with the Śaiva tradition.
Brahmavidyā-upaniṣad
Centered on the knowledge of the Supreme Brahman.
Maṇḍalabrāhmaṇa-upaniṣad
Describing subtle body geometry and esoteric practices.
Mahāvākya-upaniṣad
Reflecting on the great declarations of the Vedas.
Yogakuṇḍalinī-upaniṣad
Delving into the awakening and ascent of Kuṇḍalinī energy.
Yogacūḍāmaṇi-upaniṣad
Portraying the ‘Crest-Jewel’ of yogic wisdom.
Yogatattva-upaniṣad
Systematically outlining the essence (tattva) of Yoga.
Yogaśikhā-upaniṣad
Teaching the ‘peak’ or pinnacle of yogic science.
Varāha-upaniṣad
Blending metaphysics, devotion, and yogic knowledge.
Śāṇḍilya-upaniṣad
Explaining the principles of Rāja Yoga in depth.
Haṁsa-upaniṣad
Exploring the inner movement of prāṇa and the symbolism of the ‘Haṁsa’ (swan).

These sacred texts are less known but deeply transformative and each one being a hidden stream flowing into the vast, timeless river of yoga. While each of these texts invites its own deep contemplation, taken together, they offer a rare and invaluable glimpse into the living tradition of yoga about how it was practiced, refined, and revered through the ages.

These hidden streams do more than guide technique as they call us inward. They invite us to dive beneath the surface of modern interpretations and reconnect with yoga as a sacred science viz. a holistic path that weaves together body, breath, mind, and consciousness in pursuit of inner freedom.

The Confluence: The Deeper Meaning of Yoga

As the timeless river of yoga flows onward, it reaches a profound confluence, a sacred meeting point where language, philosophy, and spiritual purpose merge into one powerful current. At this juncture, the waters slow, deepen, and invite the seeker to pause, reflect, and look inward. At its deepest level, yoga signifies the union of the Jīvātman (the individual self) with the Paramātman (the universal Self). This is not merely a philosophical idea, but a lived and transformative experience. Just as a river seeks the ocean, the yogic path draws the soul toward its origin in infinite consciousness.

Among the ancient seers, sage Patañjali stands as a luminous figure who gave form and clarity to this inner journey. His yoga sūtras gathered centuries of yogic wisdom and shaped them into a precise, elegant system. These aphorisms form the bedrock of classical yoga, offering both direction and depth. While some western scholars date the Yoga Sūtras to around 2000 BCE, traditional Indian lineages often trace them to even earlier epochs, aligning with a much older oral heritage.

Yet, the essence of yoga is not confined to any one text. In the Bhagavad Gītā and the Upaniṣads, yoga is revealed as a complete path of inner transformation, a spiritual evolution that reaches far beyond physical postures or meditative techniques. It is a disciplined refinement of consciousness itself. As the practitioner rises above the pulls of ignorance, desire, and fear, they begin to dwell in a higher state of awareness, marked by satya (truth), śānti (peace), and viveka (discernment).

At the centre of this journey lies the cultivation of manas (subtle mind). In yoga, the mind is not just to be controlled, but awakened. Through breath, discipline, contemplation, and devotion, the seeker gradually aligns with their truest nature. And in this alignment, yoga reveals itself not as something we do, but something we become that is a flowing state of harmony, clarity, and sacred presence.

Carving the Path: Patañjali and the Eightfold Stream

The river of Yoga has long shaped and been shaped by the spiritual landscape of Bhārata (India). As it flowed through the ages, it absorbed insights from diverse philosophies, cultures, and seekers, continually deepening in meaning and application. Much like a great river winding through varied terrain, yoga’s journey reflects a dynamic unfolding of human consciousness that is forever evolving yet rooted in the eternal.

The Aṣṭāṅga Path: This eightfold path acts like a guiding compass and one of the most transformative milestones gifted to us by sage Patañjali. It charts a systematic course from ethical living to spiritual liberation:

Yama
Ethical restraints (non-violence, truth, non-stealing, moderation, non-possessiveness)
Niyama
Personal observances (purity, contentment, discipline, self-study, surrender)
Āsana
Mastery of physical posture
Prāṇāyāma
Regulation and expansion of the breath
Pratyāhāra
Withdrawal from sensory distractions
Dhāraṇā
One-pointed concentration
Dhyāna
Sustained meditation
Samādhi
Complete absorption in pure awareness

This system provides a comprehensive inner map from ethical grounding to the summit of spiritual awakening just as a river follows a natural progression from its mountain source to the ocean.

The Evolution of Yoga: Historical Currents

Yoga’s history can be understood as five major phases, each adding depth and direction to its flow:

Vedic Period

The earliest layer of yogic wisdom appears in the Vedas, the most ancient spiritual texts known to humankind. The Ṛgveda, filled with hymns and praises of the Absolute, along with the Yajurveda, Sāmaveda, and Atharvaveda, form the bedrock of spiritual inquiry. During this era, yoga emerged as a contemplative path, grounded in spiritual discipline and meditative insight. Key yogic streams of the time include:

Mantra Yoga
Using the vibration of sacred sounds to awaken consciousness
Prāṇa Yoga
Channeling life force through breath control
Dhyāna Yoga
Deep meditation anchored in dhī, the discerning intellect

The Maitrāyaṇī Upaniṣad introduced a sixfold system known as Ṣaḍaṅga Yoga:

Prāṇāyāma
Breath control
Pratyāhāra
Withdrawal from sensory distractions
Dhyāna
Focused meditation
Dhāraṇā
Mental concentration
Tarka
Disciplined inquiry
Samādhi
Unity with higher consciousness

Pre-Classical Period

This period is marked by the emergence of great epics and philosophical dialogues. The Bhagavadgītā, composed around 5000 BCE, presents yoga as a flexible, multi-faceted path tailored to different temperaments:

Karma Yoga
The path of selfless action
Bhakti Yoga
Devotion and surrender to the Divine
Jñāna Yoga
Inquiry into truth and Self
Rāja Yoga
Mastery over the inner world

Each chapter of the Gītā is itself called a Yoga, reflecting the diversity of paths that all ultimately lead to the same goal viz. spiritual union.

Classical Period

This era saw the formalization of Yoga in Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtras (c. 2nd century BCE). With its 196 concise aphorisms, the sūtras create a foundational structure for classical Rāja Yoga, a path that emphasizes inner sovereignty and detachment from the fluctuations of the mind. The ultimate goal is Kaivalya, or liberation that is the freedom from the cycle of birth and death (saṁsāra).

Buddha and Jaina Traditions

Buddhism
Gautama Buddha (563–483 BCE) emphasized Dhyāna (meditation) as a central path to awakening. His Eightfold Path led to the practice of Vipassanā, a deep meditative inquiry into impermanence (aniccā), suffering (duḥkha), and non-self (anattā).
Jainism
Jain yogic thought focused on Pratyāhāra (control of the senses) and Cintana (contemplative inquiry). Jain sages emphasized Ahiṁsā (non-violence) and Tapas (austerity), aligning closely with the discipline and rigor of yogic living.

Modern Currents: Yoga In the Contemporary Flow

As the river of yoga enters the modern world, it flows into new dimensions ranging from scientific exploration, psychological insight, intercultural dialogue to global wellness. Though the terrain has shifted, the essence of the current remains unchanged. It is a movement toward integration, inner clarity, and the evolution of consciousness.

Śrī Aurobindo (1872–1950)
His vision of Integral Yoga (Pūrṇa Yoga) represents a powerful expansion of this flow. Rather than isolating individual paths, he harmonized knowledge, devotion, action, and meditation. He called them as facets of one divine movement. At the heart of his teaching is the idea of complete surrender to a higher force, which gradually transforms the entire being viz. mind, life, and body into an expression of the divine consciousness.
Śrī Ramakrishna Paramahaṁsa (1836–1886)
A luminous master of Bhakti Yoga, he offered a deeply compassionate path grounded in love and surrender. He taught through experience, not theory demonstrating that all spiritual paths, regardless of tradition, ultimately lead to the same divine ocean. His life became a living testament to the truth that the Divine is both immanent and infinitely approachable.
Swāmī Vivekananda (1863–1902)
Vivekananda, Ramakrishna’s disciple, carried this wisdom beyond India’s borders, igniting a spiritual awakening across the modern world. With a powerful voice rooted in Vedānta, Vivekananda taught that liberation can be pursued through any of the four principal Yogas (Karma, Bhakti, Jñāna, Rāja).

He emphasized that each individual can choose the path that resonates with their nature or blend them, as all ultimately lead to the same truth. From the Ṛgveda’s hymns to Patañjali’s aphorisms, from Buddhist Vipassanā to Jaina austerities and through the luminous teachings of modern sages, Yoga has remained a civilizational current, constantly flowing, forever adapting, yet always anchored in its original aim viz. liberation, unity, and the unfolding of the highest human potential. Today, as Yoga is embraced across the globe, it continues to offer not just methods for wellness, but a timeless invitation to remember who we truly are, and to live from that sacred center.

Swāmī Vivekananda at the 1893 Parliament of Religions
In this iconic moment from Chicago, Swāmī Vivekananda stands before the world, beginning his speech with the words “Sisters and Brothers of America.” The crowd’s response was a standing ovation—an emotional wave that marked the arrival of Indian spiritual wisdom on the global stage. His powerful message of unity, tolerance, and the divinity of the soul rippled across continents, planting seeds that would shape the future of modern yoga and Vedānta in the West.

The River Within: Yoga As a Path to Integration

Modern life can feel fragmented. The body is often treated like a machine, the mind becomes restless and overrun with distraction, and many of us feel disconnected from nature, from each other, and even from ourselves. This is more than stress. It’s a kind of spiritual drought, a slow drying up of connection, meaning, and wholeness.

Yoga is the returning river.

It does not push or demand. It flows gently but powerfully, restoring coherence where life has grown scattered. It reminds us that integration is not a luxury that is our natural state. Yoga is the ancient path that allows us to return to this flow, to reconnect the many parts of ourselves into a living, breathing whole. Here are some ways the river of yoga nourishes the modern human experience:

Nurture and Nourish: Like a river that revives the land, yoga cultivates the inner terrain of vitality and self-awareness. Ancient practices teach us that we are not separate from the earth but intimately linked. As we move toward International Yoga Day 2025, this is an invitation to turn inward to care for the body with gentleness and the mind with kindness. In doing so, we become better stewards of the world around us.
Sustained Awareness and Inner Dialogue: A river doesn’t rush—it moves with purpose and presence. Yoga helps us reclaim this rhythm, fostering an unbroken stream of awareness. As B.K.S. Iyengar beautifully said, “Each pore of the skin should act like an eye.” Through this refined attention, even the mind’s inner chatter can be softened, rewired, and transformed into insight.
Emotional Balance: Emotions, like tributaries, feed the river of the self where some arrive calmly, others in torrents. Yoga does not demand we suppress them but teaches us to observe and ride their flow without being overwhelmed. With consistent practice, we return again and again to a centre of inner peace viz. a calm from which compassion and resilience naturally arise.
Food as Nourishment: Rivers sustain life, and so does food. But yoga reminds us that true nourishment is more than nutrients. It is awareness, gratitude, and connection. Eating becomes an act of sacred relationship with nature when we slow down and honour the life-force within our meals. Mindful eating is yoga in action.
Stress Management: When rivers encounter boulders, they don’t resist in fact, they adapt. Likewise, yoga trains us to meet stress with presence, not panic. Through breath, rest, and gentle movement, we shift from reactivity to response, carving new, healthier channels for our energy to flow.
Relationships: A river never flows alone. It nourishes and connects all it touches. In the same way, yoga teaches us that meaningful relationships are not based on control or expectation, but on flow, respect and ahiṁsā (non-violence). Grounded in ethical awareness, our interactions become more honest, more spacious and more alive.
Wisdom in Speech: Still waters reflect clearly. Likewise, yoga cultivates inner stillness that gives rise to conscious speech, a language that builds bridges instead of barriers. When our words emerge from awareness rather than reaction, they carry the power to heal, guide, and connect.
Touch as Connection: Long before language, there was touch that is the silent, primal river of human connection. In yoga, practices like mudras and nyāsās remind us that simple gestures can hold sacred meaning. Even placing the hand on the heart becomes an act of self-honouring and shared humanity.

Yoga is not abstract, it is lived, felt and embodied. It offers direction, continuity and meaning. Yoga becomes the riverbed through which these sacred current flows, inviting us to remember, to return, and to reintegrate our lives with something eternal.

In a fragmented world, yoga offers a way home.
It is not just exercise or philosophy.
It is a living, flowing invitation to be whole again.

The Confluence: Vedānta and the Ascent of Realization

As the river of yoga climbs toward its source, it begins to merge with the vast, open sky of Advaita Vedānta that is the philosophy of non-duality. This is not a departure from the path, but its natural culmination. Yoga refines the seeker and vedānta reveals what has always been true. In this sacred ascent, every breath, posture, and silence become preparation for the final recognition that is the self and the Absolute are one.

At the heart of this integration lies the towering presence of Ādi Śaṅkarācārya. Far from separating yoga from vedānta, Śaṅkara saw them as intimately connected. His teachings recognize yoga as the means of inner purification, clearing the mind, steadying the senses and awakening the inner sight. Only when the field is calm can the highest truth be reflected clearly. The mahāvākyas (great declarations of the Upaniṣads) express this timeless realization:

Tat tvam asi - That Thou Art
Ahaṃ brahmāsmi - I am Brahman
Ayam ātmā brahma - This Self is Brahman

These are not poetic phrases to be memorized, but truths to be seen directly. Yoga is the disciplined climb that allows this vision to dawn. In his short but potent text, the Yoga Tarāvalī, Śaṅkara offers a bridge between practice and realization. Through tools like prāṇāyāma, mudrās, bandhas, mantra, nāḍī purification and deep meditation, he outlines how the seeker prepares the subtle body and mind for higher knowledge.

These are not ends, but openings. Indian philosophical systems are called Darśanas, meaning not just “views” but sight that is the lived seeing of reality. Darśana is insight that transforms. In this light, yoga is the clearing of the channel, the refinement of the seeker’s inner river, so it may rise and dissolve into the sky of pure self-awareness. When the current is still and clear, the ocean is revealed as having always been within.

”manaḥ-buddhy-ahaṅkāra-cittāni nāham cid-ānanda-rūpaḥ śivo'ham śivo'ham”
— Ādi Śaṅkarācārya
I am not the mind, intellect, ego, or memory
I am pure consciousness and bliss; I am Śiva, I am Śiva.

The Gentle Flow: Yoga & The Art of Slowing Down

In today’s fast-moving world, rushing has become the norm. We’re swept along by endless tasks, digital noise, and the pressure to stay constantly engaged. This relentless pace fragments our attention, strains the nervous system, and keeps us from truly being. Yet rivers do not rush to show their strength. Their power lies in their steadiness, their grounded flow.

Yoga, in its deepest essence, mirrors this wisdom. It invites us to slow down, not as an escape from life, but as a return to presence. In that slower rhythm, something begins to soften, tension eases, clarity emerges, and a more spacious self begins to awaken. Practices like āsana and prāṇāyāma become far more effective when approached with gentleness and patience. While there is value in dynamic movement, the deepest transformations arise from slow, mindful engagement.

Like water flowing over stone, it is persistence, not pressure, that brings lasting change. The body responds best when guided with care, the breath becomes medicine when offered in rhythm, and the mind begins to settle when no longer forced. In a world urging us to go faster, yoga offers a radical invitation viz., pause, breathe, listen. Healing does not come from doing more, but from doing less with full presence. In this quieter current, the real work begins that is a return to self, to stillness and to wholeness.

Supported Stillness: The Precision of Iyengar Yoga
B.K.S. Iyengar demonstrates the art of slowing down—using props to support an intense backbend, he creates the conditions for stillness, precision, and prolonged exploration. Like a river patiently shaping stone, yoga reveals its deepest power through presence and persistence.

Converging Currents: Yoga & The Unity of Science

The human being is far more than a mere body. Beneath our physical form flows a profound confluence of mind, intellect, and soul. The very word Yoga meaning “to join” or “to unite” encapsulates the timeless truth that individual consciousness and universal consciousness are ultimately one. There exists no real separation between "us" and "them." All life emerges from a shared source and moves together through the same current of existence. This insight transcends spiritual understanding alone. It invites a holistic vision where science and spirituality meet.

Classical physics, during Newton’s era, portrayed the universe as a mechanical, orderly, yet fragmented system. Simultaneously, Western philosophy, shaped by Descartes, reinforced a dualism separating mind and matter. But rivers do not divide reality in fact, they connect it. Over a century ago, pioneering Indian scientist Jagadish Chandra Bose revealed the physiological continuity binding plants, animals, and humans. His experiments uncovered a unified responsiveness across all life forms pointing to consciousness as a phenomenon that cannot be confined to a single species. He is renowned not only for his groundbreaking work in physics and plant physiology but also for his philosophical and scientific demonstrations that hinted at the unity of all life that is a concept sometimes summarized as "all is one”.

Jagadish Chandra Bose’s idea of the unity of all life and matter aligns deeply with Yogic philosophy, particularly the concepts found in Vedānta, Sāṅkhya and Tantra traditions. He argued for a continuum between living and non-living, suggesting a kind of universal sentience or at least reactivity. In Indian schools of philosophy, the core idea is that Brahman (the ultimate reality or universal consciousness) pervades all existence (living or non-living). The same Ātman (soul or consciousness) that resides in humans also exists in all beings and even inanimate matter.

This truth is beautifully expressed in:

“Sarvaṃ khalvidaṃ Brahma”
— Chāndogya Upaniṣad (3.14.1)
All this is indeed Brahman.

With Darwin’s theory of evolution, science gained new tools to explain biological diversity. Yet, long before this, Indian sages spoke of a subtler evolution, the evolution of consciousness itself. Śrī Aurobindo envisioned an ascent from mind to super mind, not as a rejection of science, but as an expansion, merging rational insight with spiritual awakening. Yoga becomes the sacred space where these streams converge. It bridges observation with introspection, matter with spirit, the visible with the invisible. In this unified flow, we remember our oneness and from this remembering, healing begins.

Merging With the World: Yoga & The Contemporary Flow

Like a river originating in the Himalayas and flowing across continents, yoga’s essence has travelled far beyond its land of origin. UN Secretary-General António Guterres highlights how yoga, rooted in India, has blossomed into a global phenomenon uniting people through timeless values of balance, mindfulness, and peace. In December 2014, the United Nations proclaimed June 21 as the International Day of Yoga, recognizing Yoga’s universal appeal and its profound capacity to foster healing, inner calm, and holistic well-being including body, mind, and spirit alike. Proposed by India and endorsed by an extraordinary 175 member states, this declaration marked how deeply this sacred current has touched hearts worldwide.

Each year, International Day of Yoga celebrations gather UN envoys, diaspora members, and practitioners from all walks of life. UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed noted that Yoga bridges generations and cultures, knitting millions into one shared practice. In 2023, representatives from over 135 countries practiced yoga simultaneously, setting a Guinness World Record that is a powerful testament to yoga’s unifying current. Over the last two decades, Yoga has become integral to Western culture, especially in the United States, where some 20.4 million people practice regularly.

Beyond commerce, supported by a $10 billion wellness industry, yoga’s journey tells a story of cultural diffusion and inner renewal. Like rivers adapting to new landscapes, Yoga embraces diverse expressions while preserving its core purity. Its benefits ripple outward: contentment and happiness, physical strength and flexibility, mental resilience, empathy, compassion and deep inner peace. These qualities reflect the virtues our fractured global society urgently needs. In a divided world, yoga offers coherence. Like the widening circles formed by a stream, its influence extends from individuals to families, communities and nations.

More than just postures and breathwork, yoga rests on values guiding personal conduct and collective humanity. Ethical principles such as ahiṁsā (nonviolence), satya (truthfulness), and santoṣa (contentment) serve as a compass, orienting us toward harmony with ourselves, others and Mother Earth. As rivers nourish every shore they touch, yoga gifts all humanity an invitation to live with awareness, compassion, and unity. It reminds us that we are not isolated streams, but part of one flowing presence returning always to the ocean of collective well-being.

Clearing The Waters: Yoga & The Myths That Obscure It

Just as rivers gather sediment obscuring their source, the true essence of yoga has often been misunderstood or diluted. As scholar David Gordon White notes, the yoga practiced widely today bears little resemblance to the yoga outlined in ancient texts such as the Yoga Sūtras. From its earliest roots, “Yoga” signified “joining,” “harnessing,” or “uniting” energies. In the Bhagavad Gītā, Lord Krishna presents yoga as a sacred path to liberation. The Ṛgveda uses the term to describe the yoke on a bullock, symbolizing harnessing power and direction. By the 3rd century BCE, yoga’s core principles had already been integrated within Buddhist and Jain traditions, where it denoted disciplined activity encompassing body, speech, and mind.

Over recent centuries, yoga’s flow shifted once more. Visionaries such as Swāmī Vivekananda, Śrī Aurobindo, and Paramahaṃsa Yogānanda carried Yoga’s message to the wider world channelling its wisdom into new cultural landscapes while remaining rooted in its spiritual source. Within India, the practice of Haṭha Yoga had become limited and obscured until revived by the publication of classical texts and efforts by groups like the Theosophical Society.

Modern yoga owes much to Swamī Kuvalayananda, who merged traditional Indian practices with Western physical culture and to the legendary T. Krishnamacharya, whose students like Pattabhi Jois, B.K.S. Iyengar, and Indra Devi became tributaries spreading yoga worldwide. Each teacher helped the river expand, while reflecting the radiant light of its origin. By clearing these myths, we see yoga not as a fixed system but as a living, flowing stream shaped by every generation, yet always returning to one enduring truth that is the union of body, breath, mind, and spirit.

The Sacred River of Yoga & Its Modern Meanders

Yoga is like an ancient, flowing, alive river that springs from the Himalayan heights of scriptural wisdom, flowing through the Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, Yoga Sutras, and Tantric texts. It has nourished generations, offering not just physical wellbeing, but the deep waters of spiritual liberation. But like any long-traveling river, it has now encountered new terrains like modernity, commercialization, individualism that have caused it to split, meander, and sometimes lose its original depth.

Modernized yoga, especially as practiced and marketed in the West, has significantly digressed from the scriptural foundations of traditional yoga, which are rooted in texts like the Yoga Sutras of sage Patañjali, the Bhagavad Gītā, the Haṭha Yoga Pradīpikā, and Upaniṣads. The divergence between scriptural yoga and modern yoga can be seen as tributaries branching off from the original flow where some merging again, others drying up or getting diverted. The need is felt to evaluate if the river has changed course:

From Depth to Surface: In the early flow, yoga carved deep spiritual canyons including ethics, breath, concentration and liberation. Modern branches skim the surface, focusing on āsana alone, much like a river that forgets its source and rushes outward without anchoring to its bedrock. Popular styles like Power Yoga, Hot Yoga and Vinyasa Flow heavily focus on flexibility, strength and only appearance that are not emphasized in the scriptures.
From Sacred to Secular: The ancient river carried with it the mantras, surrender to Īśvara (the immperishable supreme/absolute), and the quest for moksha. Now, some tributaries have become swimming pools, sanitized, enclosed, and repurposed for fitness goals and stress management, disconnected from the original current. Ethics and spiritual discipline are frequently sidelined.
From Flow to Fragmentation: The unity of yoga’s eight limbs has been fragmented in way that āsana commodified, meditation app-ified, prāṇāyāma, simplified. Scriptures like
Patañjali’s system includes eight limbs. Modern yoga often skips or barely acknowledges Yama, Niyama, Pratyāhāra, or Samādhi. These pieces now float like driftwood and scattered, often missing the unifying current of consciousness that once held them together.
From Charity to Commerciality: Traditional yoga is a path to self-realization and mokṣa (liberation), not a commodity. It discourages ego, attachment, and materialism. In modern times, personal branding (Instagram "yogis") often contradicts the spiritual humility espoused in texts like the Bhagavad Gītā, which speaks of renouncing ego and attachment. In fact, yoga retreats marketed as luxury vacations.
From Science to Oversimplification: Prāṇāyāma (breath control) is to be learned with discipline and guidance, as improper practice can harm the nervous system. Similarly, Dhyāna (meditation) is a disciplined inward journey, not just "relaxing with music." In modernised yoga, we get to see that Prāṇāyāma is often taught casually or incorrectly. Meditation apps and casual mindfulness can become superficial, bypassing true inner discipline and detachment.
From Respect to Appropriation: Yoga's sacred symbols, Om, bindu, mudras, once invoked with reverence, are now printed on leggings, candles, and coffee mugs, stripped of context and sacredness. Mantras are marketed as soundbites, and rituals become aesthetic backdrops. Instead of honouring the source, many appropriations repackage yoga’s spiritual heart as lifestyle décor, disconnected from the cultural, historical, and philosophical soil that gave rise to it.
From Guidance to Exploitation: In the ancient current, the word guru means “one who dispels darkness”: gu (darkness) and ru (remover). As this etymological explanation is well documented in Advayataraka Upaniṣad and Ādi Śaṅkarācārya’s commentaries. The guru was a bridge to the self, a guide who led the student from ignorance to inner light. But in the modern current, unchecked authority has broken trust. Some self-proclaimed gurus have turned from guides to gatekeepers, demanding obedience rather than nurturing discernment. Stories of emotional manipulation, financial coercion, and sexual abuse have surfaced across traditions. When power overshadows humility, the sacred relationship between teacher and student fractures, and the river of yoga must find ways to cleanse and renew itself.

But the Source Still Flows.

Yet the river of yoga is not lost. It still flows beneath the noise, waiting for seekers to trace it upstream. The scriptures are the springs, and those who approach them with humility, devotion and discipline can still drink deeply. Even modern tributaries, if redirected, can rejoin the main flow and carry others toward authentic self-realization. Just as a river may be dammed, diverted or diluted yet never fully destroyed, in the same way, yoga continues, even in its fragmented forms. But to truly experience its power, we must return to the source, listen to its ancient murmurs and let it carry us inward and towards the ocean of the Self.

Still Waters: The Mature Stage of Yoga

The mind is the root of all action. When unsettled, it stirs waves of confusion and when it is calm, it reflects truth like a still pond. Mastery of the mind becomes the key to self-realization.

"Yato yato niścarati manaś cañcalam asthiram"
— Śrīmad Bhagavad Gītā (6.26)
Wherever the mind wanders, restless and unsteady, it must be gently brought back to the Self.

This flickering is likened to a lamp buffeted by wind and unable to shine steadily. Through consistent yoga practice, the yogi gradually stills this inner current, transforming the mind into a lamp sheltered from the wind, steady and radiant. In this clarity, negative tendencies like rajas (restlessness) and tamas (inertia) dissolve, revealing a deeper luminosity. Lord Kṛṣṇa outlines four progressive degrees of mature Yoga, each deepening the yogi’s unity experience:

One whose mind is firmly established in Yoga sees equality in all beings.
One who perceives God in every being, and every being in God, knows no separation from the Divine.
One who worships with unwavering mind and oneness of heart abides fully in the Divine.
The highest yogi sees all selves as one and accepts both pleasure and pain with equanimity.

This mature stage is not a final destination but a serene merging like a river flowing into the ocean. The yogi’s current no longer flows outward in seeking instead, it turns inward, resting in the vast stillness of the Self.

Bridging Waters: Yoga & International Relations

Globalization, shaped by mechanistic views, often unites nations through economic transactions, treating the world as a marketplace. While efficient, this model over looks the deeper, human connections essential for true unity. It emphasizes commerce over transformation. Yet enlightened global thinkers are embracing a different paradigm that is one flowing from holistic well-being, shared humanity, and mutual respect.

“We should do this [yoga] before every negotiation so that we can work with a calm mind.”
— Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
His words reveal the power of inner stillness in shaping outer peace.

Like rivers connecting distant lands with quiet persistence, yoga offers a model for nations to relate with calm, clarity, and compassion. If yoga’s principles were woven into international diplomacy, a new culture could emerge rooted in empathy and ethical action rather than competition or domination. This vision envisions a global society that is nonviolent, environmentally conscious, inclusive, and free from rigid dogma. Nations would coexist not as isolated entities but as tributaries flowing together into a shared river of understanding, each distinct, yet nourishing the whole.

The convergence of yoga and science strengthens this possibility. It offers a framework where outer knowledge and inner wisdom collaborate for the common good. International Yoga Day becomes more than a celebration. It is a call to action, reminding us that yoga’s true power lies in guiding individuals and societies toward peace, harmony and interconnectedness.

Flowing into The Future

From the hymns of the Ṛgveda to the quiet depths of the Yogopaniṣads, from Patañjali’s structured clarity to Śaṅkara’s and Aurobindo’s expansive vision, the river of Yoga has flowed steadily through time. It has absorbed the voices of sages, adapted to landscapes, nourished cultures, and reached distant shores carrying the essence of union, transformation, and peace. We have traced its current through ancient philosophy, ethical foundations, meditative practice, and the dialogue between science and society. Yoga flows through still waters of self-inquiry, the rushing energy of activism, and the vast deltas of global diplomacy.

Each bend reminds us that yoga is not a fixed destination, but a dynamic unfolding. As we journey forward, yoga offers more than physical discipline. It presents a complete way of being. The foundational principles of yama (restraint) and niyama (observance) serve as stepping-stones across the river, inviting us to move with awareness, integrity and compassion. These are not imposed rules but gentle invitations to live consciously and examine our place in the world. Yoga encourages us to become our own guides. Like a river seeking its course, we navigate with honesty, humility and presence. Each moment becomes an opportunity to return to ourselves, to stillness and to clarity. Finally, yoga does not lead us away from the world it brings us fully into it. Grounded, aware and awake, we step into the current and not to control it in fact, to flow with it.

In Part II – The River of Yoga: Exploring the Inner Currents of Yogic Traditions, we will explore the diverse philosophical streams, spiritual disciplines, and evolving paths that continue to shape yoga’s inner journey today.