YOGA Skt., lit. “yoke.” In Hinduism this has the sense of harnessing oneself to god, seeking union with him. Since any path to knowledge of god can be called yoga, there are in Hinduism many names for the different yogic paths that accommodate the basic makeup of individual seekers. Those Hindu paths that are best known in the West and that have been most thoroughly elaborated are: karma-yoga, selfless action; bhakti-yoga, devout love of god; rāja-yoga, the “royal yoga,” which is identical with the yoga of Patañjali, one of the six darshanas; Tantric kundalinī-yoga; jñana-yoga, the path of abstract knowledge.
In the West the term yoga usually refers to hatha-yoga, which is based on physical exercises (āsana) in conjunction with breathing exercises (prānāyāma). This “physical” yoga, however, is regarded in India only as a practice preparatory for the spiritual forms of yoga that work with various meditation techniques.
As a way to knowledge of god, yoga in its broadest sense is not confined to India. All seekers for the experience of fundamental unity (the so-called) mystical experience), whether they are Indian shamans or Christian mystics, are yogis in this sense. Thus the Tantric practices of Tibetan Buddhism are also called yoga, and its great saints (for example, Milarepa) are called yogis.
Source: The Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and Religion: Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Zen. Shambhala Publications, Inc.
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