Question 4 - The Tree of Yoga Flashcards
1 – What is the complete name of our roots?
Dakshinacharatántrika - Niríshwarasámkhya Yôga.
2 – What is our trunk of Yôga?
It is the Pre-Classical Yôga, the most ancient.
3 – Which eight branches of Yôga were the first to appear from the oldest trunk? Name
them in order.
Ásana Yôga, Rája Yôga, Bhakti Yôga, Karma Yôga, Jñana Yôga, Laya Yôga, Mantra Yôga, Tantra Yôga.
4 – Should Hatha Yôga be on the list as one of the first eight branches of Yôga? Explain.
It cannot take part, since the first branch to appear was from the Pre-Classical period and Hatha Yôga appeared around 4,000 years later, during the XI century of the Christian era.
5 – Is there a logical reason for some authors to quote seven and not eight ancient Yôgas?
Yes, there is: since the majority of the authors are from brahmáchárya lineage, or strongly
influenced by it - they omit details concerning Tantra Yôga as one of the first and most
important ancient Yôgas.
6 – What is SwáSthya Yôga?
SwáSthya Yôga is the name of the systematisation of the Ancient, Pre-Classical Yôga (Dakshinacharatántrika - Niríshwarasámkhya Yôga).
7 – Where is SwáSthya Yôga placed in the tree of Yôga?
After its systematisation, the name SwáSthya Yôga was placed as the very trunk of Pre-Classical Yôga.
8 – Is it correct to state that all other branches of Yôga sprung from SwáSthya?
Such a statement is not correct, because they appeared before the codification.
9 – Where is Classical Yôga placed in the tree of Yôga?
The trunk of Classical Yôga is only a subdivision of a branch of Pre-Classical Yôga.
10 – What are the roots of Classical Yôga?
Sêshwarasámkhya – Brahmáchárya.
