INTRODUCTION:

To understand the purpose of yoga, we have to pay attention to its various aspects.

1. Improvement in physical health:

The first objective of yoga is to improve physical health. It includes asanas (physical postures) to keep the body strong, flexible and healthy. Various yoga asanas strengthen different parts of the body and improve blood circulation, digestion, muscle strength and respiratory system. This maintains energy balance in the body and increases immunity. Diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity can also be cured by regular yoga practice.

Mental peace and balance:

The second main objective of yoga is to achieve mental peace and balance. Due to the hustle and bustle and stress of modern life, man becomes victim of mental disturbance and anxiety. In yoga, the mind is calmed through meditation and pranayam (breathing exercises).

Meditation is a process which concentrates the mind and reduces the disturbance of thoughts. Breathing is controlled through Pranayama, which reduces mental stress and gives peace to the mind.

2. Spiritual Development:

Another important objective of yoga is enlightenment and spiritual development. It is the process of raising the soul above the body and mind, in which the individual recognizes his true self. Various practices of yoga, such as meditation, pranayama and samadhi, help in understanding the connection between the soul and the universe. It is considered to be the union of a person's soul with God, which is called 'Yoga'. In this situation the person becomes free from ego, hatred and illusion and experiences unity.

3. Internal balance and overall development:

The aim of yoga is to bring balance in the internal and external life of a person. It develops self-discipline, restraint, and patience. Yoga makes a person aware of his own weaknesses and strengths and inspires him to live a disciplined life. By practicing yoga, one can control negative emotions, such as anger, jealousy, and fear, and live life with a positive attitude.

4. Sensitivity towards society and environment:

The ultimate objective of yoga is to make a person more sensitive towards society and environment. Through yoga, a person develops respect and harmony not only towards himself, but also towards the people and nature around him. Its practice teaches a person a sense of love, compassion and empathy, making him a part of a responsible and sensitive society.

The basic objective of yoga is to integrate the individual consciousness with the universal consciousness, thereby promoting a feeling of unity and inner peace. Physical Health: By practicing yoga asanas, a person increases flexibility, strength and balance, and improves overall physical health. Mental clarity: Yoga involves mindfulness and meditation, which helps reduce stress, increase focus and promote mental peace. Emotional balance: By combining breath with movement and introspection, yoga helps manage emotions, and promotes a sense of emotional stability and resilience. Spiritual Development: Beyond the physical and mental aspects, yoga serves as a path of spiritual development, giving individuals the opportunity to explore within themselves and rise above the limitations of the ego. Despite its profound benefits, misconceptions about yoga persist. Yoga is a purely physical exercise: Although yoga involves physical asanas, it also includes much more, including breathing exercises, meditation and spiritual exploration. Yoga is only for the flexible: Yoga is inclusive and adaptable. It's not about being flexible, but about accepting where you are in your practice and progressing at your own pace. Yoga is associated with a specific religion: Although yoga has its roots in Hinduism, it is a holistic practice that is open to people of all religions and beliefs. Yoga is only for certain age groups: Yoga is suitable for people of all ages and fitness levels, and there are modifications to suit different needs. Yoga is a profound journey that goes beyond physical activities. It is a path toward holistic well-being, which includes mental clarity, emotional balance, and spiritual growth. By understanding its true essence, embracing its diverse aspects and removing misconceptions, one can harness the transformative power of yoga in one's life. Embrace yoga not just as a practice but as a way of life, promoting harmony and unity within yourself and with the world around you.

The biggest difference between yoga and science is that the aim of yoga is to know extrasensory things and the aim of science is to know sensory things. It is also true that by knowing the extrasensory subjects, we also know the perceptible subjects, and with the help of Yoga Anubhuti, it is possible and easy to know both the perceptible and transcendental subjects. However, the main objective of Yoga Darshan is self-discovery, hence the miracles of Yoga cannot be presented to the general public spontaneously. A yogi's attention is not towards worldly things. Yogi man does not want to come in front of the world and show his magic. Because its goal, the path to self-discovery, is closely related to a specific philosophical doctrine. For all these reasons, yogis do not like to come in front of the public. But if a person goes to these Yogis with genuine curiosity, then the Yogis also consider it their duty to show him the true path.

The basic element of the scientific thought system is that we can neither accept nor reject anything without testing it. To accept or reject something without examining it is to show an unscientific attitude. Those who object to the things of Yoga, it is appropriate for them to test themselves on the things of Yoga. To expect without testing is to show foolishness. Swami Vivekananda had challenged the scholars of America and said that there is no need to believe in the things of Yoga. Whether one believes in God or not, whether one accepts the principles of Yoga or not, nothing special comes from believing or not, Yoga claims that by following the path of Yoga, everyone will automatically realize that Yoga Are the things said true or baseless? Fortunately for us, even today there are such yogis present in our country who can prove the truth of what is said in yoga.

The basic essence of Yoga philosophy is that with the help of concentrated mental power and through the means and activities like Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama etc., a person can advance his progress in an impossible way. The senses of humans are the means of acquiring knowledge. The power of our senses is limited; hence our knowledge is also very narrow and incomplete. With the invention of machines in the scientific world, we increase the power of our senses in an immeasurable way. In this way humans acquire a lot of power to manipulate machines. And we start dominating the external nature a lot. But man is not able to have special control over his nature in this way. Through the practice of Yoga, man establishes dominance over his own nature as well as over external nature. With the help of yoga, man completely transforms the power of his senses. By transforming his personality, man is able to see the world in an indescribable form. As a result of Yoga Sadhana, biological progress of man is accomplished very quickly. The evolution of living beings is also taking place according to simple natural laws. Its progress is so slow that even in thousands of years the result of progress cannot be seen. But with the help of Yoga Sadhana, we can speed up this process of progress so much that we can complete the work of hundred-thousand Vatsaras in just ten to twenty years. The biggest proof of these things is that any person can test all these things by following the path of Yoga. With the help of yoga any person can transform his nature.

Due to the rapid progress of modern psychology, today scientists have started to realize that there are so many hidden powers in humans whose usage we still do not know anything about. It has definitely been understood that the power of a concentrated mind is strong. Concentrated mental power is also responsible for scientific inventions. Above all, there is no doubt that there is no other means except concentrated mental power to reveal the secrets of nature. The secret of yoga also lies in the process of solitary concentration of mental power. Scientists also concentrate the mental power but they do not know the process of that concentration. Great scientists like Einstein, Planck etc. have openly accepted the fact that at the root of scientific discovery is the power of concentrated mind.

As is known by the name of Yoga, it is to join and this is the joining of the soul with God which is known as self-realization. The biggest obstacle in this is the desires arising from mentalism which are known as desires. Being under the influence of Maya, man remains trapped in the whirlpool of these desires and this is also called the ocean of existence.

If a man invariably gives up desires and controls the senses from all sides through the mind, then his path to self-realization becomes clear. Because as long as the mind keeps running around, self-realization is not possible. In this world, being busy with lust, man moves away from self-realization and after studying in this whirlpool, he completes his life and enters another life on the basis of his deeds. Arjun had asked the same question to God that how should he control the mind? For this, God told that first of all one should have strong determination and after that one should develop deep faith in God. So that he can focus his mind on God! After this, it is possible to connect with God, the purpose of yoga, gradually and with complete faith through the intellect. The easiest way to control the mind is to religiously follow Patanjali Yoga Sutra Yamakri Niyama in life. Yamakri-- celibacy, non-violence, truth, asati and aparigraha and Niyamakri-- care, contentment, austerity, self-study and God-living rice. Non-violence by Yama means not committing mental and physical violence. Not stealing and not accumulating more than necessary is called Aparigraha. The most important thing in the rules is the purification of the mind. Through this, a person frees the mind from all kinds of experiences and memories and attains equanimity. Through self-study, he keeps studying himself all the time and can detect and control the desires that distract the mind. Thus, following the sutras mentioned in Yama Niyama is called penance. In this way, by performing penance in the form of Yama Niyama with devotion, the human soul gets connected to God and he attains salvation in the form of self-realization, which is the ultimate objective of human life.

The main objective of Yoga is to develop the individual holistically and connect him with the ultimate essence. There are many problems in every person's life. Due to these problems the person becomes sad and restless. Therefore, to avoid all these problems, a person should take help of yoga. We can express the objectives of yoga in the following parts. The aim of yoga is the physical development of a person. Yoga exercises improve breathing, digestive power and muscle activation. Due to which the efficiency of the body increases and new strength is infused. As a result, one does not feel tired quickly even after working hard. When a person gets tired of daily tasks, he completely fails mentally. At such times, a person can refresh his mind by doing comfortable asanas like Makarasana, breathing etc. Yoga contributes significantly to physical and mental development as well as social development. When people of different castes and groups meet each other during yoga activities, social feeling is awakened among them. Today man is surrounded by many types of problems due to which it is natural to develop irritability and anger in nature. The purpose of yoga is to provide man with the strength to fight these small problems so that he does not lose his balance. Yoga also helps a person to develop good conduct because without good character one cannot get close to God. Truthfulness, philanthropy, honesty and desire to help others automatically starts arising in the people associated with Yoga. The main objective of yoga is the spiritual development of a person. Through yogic activities and asanas, a person goes into deep meditation. Due to which a person finds himself closer to God. In ancient times, sages and sages used to connect their soul with God through yogic activities and yogasanas.

This compound power made them so strong that they were not affected by natural calamities. Yoga develops a sense of discipline in the senses of the body and the mind. It regulates and controls a person's life activities, diet, thoughts and behavior. Yoga fully helps in building nationalism and national character. Yoga helps in making the nation famous in sports and competitions. What is Yoga? It is the art of living. It is a spiritual practice. It is a science. It has an important place in human life. Its practice and principles give importance to life. Through it, spiritual means on the path of spiritual and physical means physical which means physical which is this. It is related to the world, development is possible, it has been discussed in the ancient Vedas also, which we have cultured, this knowledge has been considered very special since ancient times because it is described in the Vedas also. Healthy body, clean man, civilized society, this is the purpose of worthy yoga, yoga lifestyle, because if yoga is the lifestyle, then our body will remain clean and healthy, the man will also remain clean and the society itself will become civilized.

CONCLUSION:

Yoga is not just a physical exercise, but it is a holistic path to improve and bring balance in every aspect of life. Its main objective is to promote physical health, mental peace, spiritual development, internal balance and sensitivity towards society and environment. With regular practice of yoga, a person can make positive contribution to the society not only individually but also collectively. The purpose of yoga as a holistic way of life is to encourage the physical, mental, and spiritual development of the individual. It is based on ancient Indian knowledge and science, which aims to awaken the inherent powers of the individual and elevate him to the highest level.

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Received on 08.09.2024 Revised on 25.09.2024

Accepted on 10.10.2024 Published on 05.12.2024

Available online on December 31, 2024

Res. J. of Humanities and Social Sciences. 2024;15(4):325-328.

DOI: 10.52711/2321-5828.2024.00051