Objectives of Yoga

What is Yoga? > Objectives of Yoga

The objectives of Yoga can be interpreted in a physical, psychological, and spiritual sense, but they deal with body, mind and soul. The physical interpretation applies to the preliminary objective of Yoga, the psychological interpretation embraces the intermediate objective, while the spiritual interpretation addresses the sublime objective of liberation, which is the final goal of Yoga.

This means that there are several levels of development along the path of Yoga. An aspirant has to attain these levels step by step. Starting from the lowest level, one has to proceed gradually, mastering first the preliminary and then the intermediate level, and finally reaching the highest stage. Moreover, as one approaches completion of a particular stage, one also finds the necessary means to cover the distance to the next level. The aspirant proceeds gradually, level by level, until finally the distant goal of liberation is attained.

The first objective of Yoga to improve bodily health and physical resilience. It is through physical purity and steadiness that the foundation of mental growth is laid. Thereafter, the intermediate objective of Yoga is to increasingly harmonize and integrate one's thoughts, emotions, desires, aims, motives, reasoning, etc. Through this process, it is possible to discover the hidden potentials of the mind and the intellect. Through the unfolding of one's inherent mental and psychic abilities one can then attain the state of self-realization, the final stage of purification in which one becomes aware of the indwelling self or soul.

No matter how extensively one may purify and refine the physical body and expand the capacity of the mind, one remains incomplete without self-realization. It is through self-realization that one ultimately realizes one's whole being and becomes perfect. Spiritual growth, as such, is the ultimate objective of Yoga. In order to transcend this final stage of purification one has to first fully experience the inner self, and then merge this individual spirit with the universal self, while still in the body.

The Yogi then transcends the stage of seeing and knowing the divine in all its pristine glory to become the divine itself. Thus, it can be said that the overall purpose of Yoga is to aid and guide a person to transcend temporal limitations, and break down the barriers that separate one's individual self from the universal self.

Objectives of Yoga

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