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The basic text of the Yoga philosophical school, the Yoga Sutras
of Patańjali (2nd century B.C.), is a systematization of one of
these older traditions. Patańjali divides the practice of yoga into
eight stages:
Yama, or restraint from
vice, and Niyama, or observance of purity and virtue, is
the moral foundation for practice and removal of disturbance of
uncontrolled desires. Asana, or posture, and Prana Yama,
or breath control, calms the physical body, while Pratyahara,
or withdrawal of the senses, detaches the mind from the external
world. Internal control of consciousness is accomplished in the
final three stages: Dharana, or concentration, Dhyana,
or meditation, and Samadhi. It is through such practices
that Yogis acquire miraculous powers, which must ultimately be renounced
to attain the highest state.
In Samadhi the subject-object
distinction and one's sense of an `individual self’ disappears in
a state usually described as one of supreme peace, bliss, and illumination.
A common feature of different traditions of yoga is one-pointed
concentration on a chosen object, whether a part of the body, the
breath, a mantra, a diagram, a deity, or an idea.
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