World Yoga Day: A day of Yoga, or merely a day of Yogāsanas?

Today is observed as “Yoga Day.” Through the efforts of the present Government of India, International Yoga Day has come into being, and yoga is now being demonstrated and practiced in countries across the world. BrahmBodhi welcomes this global awakening, yet draws attention to a subtle but important point: in the form in which it is presently observed, it is not truly a Yoga Day, but rather a Yogāsana Day.

Yogāsana is only the first step

In the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, yogāsana is only the first step toward Yoga. It prepares the body, makes it healthy and strong, and renders it suitable for prolonged meditation and samādhi. It is extremely beneficial for the physical health of all, and to that extent the present-day celebrations of Yoga Day do real good in the world.

But the practitioner is then expected to gradually understand what the next step is, if one truly wishes to attain Yoga. What is this Yoga toward which the first step of yogāsana leads? It is here that the Bhagavad Gita takes over from where the Yoga Sutras begin.

What Lord Krishna means by Yoga

Lord Krishna explains the meaning of Yoga in many ways in the Bhagavad Gita. One of the most well-known definitions is:

“Yoga is skill in action.” BrahmBodhi raises an obvious question : does this mean that if a person cooks food, he should cook it skillfully so that it turns out well? If an engineer constructs a building with great expertise, does that engineering become Yoga? Is this what “skill in action” really means?

It is not. Performing any work skillfully is certainly a key to worldly success. The Lord Himself acknowledges this elsewhere in the Gita:

“By remaining devoted and diligent in one’s own work, a person attains great success.” That principle is true, but it is not the meaning of “Yogaḥ karmasu kauśalam.”

The real skill : acting without binding consequences

What the Lord really means, BrahmBodhi explains, is something far deeper : how should actions be performed so that they do not produce binding consequences? The fruits of every action — good or bad — must eventually be experienced; and to experience them, the soul must take birth again and again. As long as karmic fruits remain unexperienced, liberation cannot be attained.

The Gita itself warns the seeker beforehand that rebirth is not something to be casually embraced:

“Rebirth is an abode of suffering.” Once birth is taken, sorrow inevitably follows, and liberation remains unattained — for liberation means freedom from the very cycle of birth and death.

Both good and bad karma keep us bound

Consider an example. If a person performs many acts of charity and service, good karmic fruits — puṇya — are produced. Some of those fruits may be enjoyed in this life, while those that remain must be experienced in future births. To enjoy those remaining good results, the soul must be born again; and once birth is taken, suffering inevitably follows.

Likewise, if a person has caused suffering, harmed others, or committed wrongful acts, many negative consequences — pāpa — are created. Some may be experienced in this very life, while the remainder are carried forward into future births.

Thus, whether one performs virtuous actions or sinful actions, in both cases liberation is obstructed. Mere good behaviour, by itself, does not free the soul; it only ensures a better next life within the cycle of saṁsāra.

The path of Yoga as the Gita teaches it

True Yoga, in the Gita’s sense, is the art of acting in such a way that no binding karma is generated at all. BrahmBodhi summarises this path in five inseparable steps :

• Do your duty (karma) — never abandon prescribed action.
• Do it selflessly (niṣkāma bhāva) — without craving for personal reward.
• Without attachment (anāsakti) — neither to the work nor to its fruits.
• Offer it to the Lord (īśvara-arpaṇa) — every action surrendered to Him.
• No binding results (no karma-bandha) — and therefore freedom from rebirth.

This is what the Lord describes as the real skill of Yoga — the skill by which one acts fully and rightly in the world, and yet remains untouched by its karmic residue. When bhakti, jñāna, karma and dhyāna are all transformed into this offering to the Lord, they converge into Yoga and lead the soul to union with God and liberation.

Yogāsana is the first step; Yoga is the ultimate goal

BrahmBodhi’s appeal on this World Yoga Day is therefore simple. By all means celebrate yogāsana — prepare the body, cultivate physical health and discipline. But do not stop there. Move from yogāsana to Yoga as the Bhagavad Gita teaches it : from physical posture to inner steadiness; from skillful work to surrendered work; from bondage through karma to freedom in the Lord.

Yogāsana prepares the body. Yoga, in the Gita’s sense, frees the soul. Hari Śaraṇam.