Ill (a) The Vedic Yoga and its synthesis was not lost, in spite of an increasing tendency towards ritualism and development of an emphasis on Karmakanda, reflected so prominently in the Brahmanas. The luminous seed of the Veda continued to sprout, and we find in the Upanishads a fresh stir of yogic search and reconfirmation of Vedic methods and Vedic realisations, even new formulations, deeper subtilisation and clearer elaboration. In respect of the element of jnana Yoga, there came to be even a culmination, justifying the tradition which regards Upanishads as Jnanakanda and as Vedanta, the crown of the Veda. It is true that in the later Upanishads there is an over- e

Pre content This book is addressed to all young people who, I urge, will study and respond to the following message of Sri Aurobindo: "It is the young who must be the builders of the new world, —not those who accept the competitive individualism, the capitalism or the materialistic communism of the West as India's future ideal, nor those who are enslaved to old religious formulas and cannot believe in the acceptance and transformation of life by the spirit, but all those who are free in mind and heart to accept a completer truth and labour for a greater ideal. They must be men who will dedicate themselves not to the past or the present but to the future. T

Significance of Indian Yoga (An Overview) I A momentous feature of Indian culture is characterised by a powerful, current of three affirmations. There is, first, the affirmation that the truths of the physical and supra- physical realities can be best grasped, known and possessed by us through faculties which lie above the ranges of physical senses and rational intelligence. Secondly, it is affirmed that these faculties can be developed by pursuit of assured methods resulting from the principles, powers and processes that govern the experiences and realisations of the highest possible objects of knowledge. And, finally, there is the affirmation that science, philosophy

APPENDIX Significance of The Veda in The Context of Indian Religion And Spirituality The four Vedas (Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda and Atharva Veda) are samhitas, collections or compilations of selections made by Veda Vyasa. There was evidently at that time a larger body of compositions, and since they spoke of the old and new Rishis1 and of 'fathers' (pitarah), it may safely be inferred that there was at that time a tradition of generations of Rishis. Presumably there was a pre-Vedic tradition too, since the Vedic compositions included in the four Vedas indicate a high level of development of poetic quality and spiritual experience, which can come about only through a

II (a) 6When and how Yoga began to grow and develop is not known. But when we come to the Veda,' the most ancient extant composition of the world, we find in it quite a developed system, self-conscious and self-assured, of human psychology and of the methods and processes by which the psychological operations can be subtilised, recombined and heightened or else newer and higher operations can be generated and made active for their highest possible effectivity. Goals are known and fixed, and the path to reach those goals has been hewed and commonly known among the Rishis. Veda even declares that the Path was discovered by the human forefathers, pitaro manushyah. Ac

Notes and References ' It is believed that in its original condition Veda was one, but it was Rishi Vyasa who divided it into collections, Samhitas, Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda, and Atharva Veda. The antiquity of the Veda has been a subject of discussion and dispute. But it is acknowledged that it is the oldest available record in the world. '2-Rig Veda (7?VJ, X.67.1. 3 The Angirasa legend and the conquest or recovery of the Sun and the Dawn are frequent subjects of allusion in the hymns of the Rig Veda. See in particular, 1.62; VI. 17.3; Vtl.90.4; VII.98.6; see also VI.60.2; VI.44.22; VI.62.11; 1.93.4; IV.50.4-5; Vl.73.1; VI.66.8; VI.54

Bibliography Altekar, A.S., Education in Ancient India, Indian book Shop, 1934, Banares. Cultural Heritage of India, The Ramakrishna Mission, Institute of Culture, 1982, Calcutta, Vol. 6. Dandekar, R.N., Vedic Bibliography, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, 1986, Poona, 4 Vols. Das Gupta, S.N., A History of Indian Philosophy, Motilal Banarasi dass, 1988, Delhi, 5 Vols. Das Gupta, S.N., Yoga as Philosophy and Religion, Motilal Banarasi dass, 1987, Delhi. Das Gupta, S.N., Yoga Philosophy in Relation to other Systems of Indian Thought. Motilal Banarasidass, 1974, Delhi. Dayanand Saraswati (Swami), Satyartha Prakash, tr. Durga Prasad. Hiriyanna,

IV (a) Beginning with the Veda or the pre-vedic age, Indian Yoga has continued to live uninterruptedly, and there have been in later periods greater clarities, deeper profundities, subtler precisions, effective specialisations, and even variations and enlargement of objectives and methods. It is true that the highest altitudes arrived at in the Veda and the Upanishads have not been surpassed. But this is as it ought to be. For Yoga is a quest of the highest and permanent Truth or Reality and if they are truly discovered they can only remain perennial. At the same time. Yoga has not been looked upon as a closed book; and hundreds of Yogas have been developed; there have ev

v (a) The next great synthesis after the Gita is that of the Tantra.79 The literature concerned with the Tantra Shastra or Agamas appears to have been written and completed very largely during the Gupta period, although the traditions, practices and even texts are considered to have existed from very early times. A number of Agamas, such as those of Jainism and Buddhism and others are not in harmony with the Vedas, yet most of the Agamas are in consonance with the Vedas. Of these latter, there are three categories, those in which the object of worship and realisation is Vishnu (known also as Pancharatra or Bhagavata), those in which the object of worship and realisation is

VI (a) It is possible to look upon Yoga as a means of escape from the world and its life. It may be argued that the world- existence is a cosmic illusion or that it is born out of cosmic ignorance and desire, and that there is no issue in it except to find out the quickest means to come out of this sorrowful world-existence. In fact, extreme forms of Yoga have preached asceticism and world-negating attitudes. In these cases, Yoga has become divorced from life and some kind of antagonism between yoga and life has been conceived and practised. These extreme forms of Yoga have been exclusive in character, and where yoga and life do not meet, there can be no question of any s