What is the goal of yoga?

The word ‘yoga’ simply means ‘to join’. Yoga is the union of the Jeevatma with the Paramatma. The ultimate goal of yoga is Self Realisation. Yoga is about seeking one’s true Self and becoming completely free from desires and worldly attachments. Yoga, as given in our scriptures, is a spiritual journey seeking the goal of breaking free from the endless cycle of death and rebirth. Most importantly, Yoga is the goal as well as the tool to achieve this goal.

The goal of yoga seeks to eliminate sadness by removing the veil of ignorance and wrong knowledge which is the cause of our attachment to the material world. Yoga propels one towards our true Self who is beyond success and failure, pain and pleasure, happiness and sadness. Yoga results in the knowledge to discriminate between our worldly and true selves and realize the true Self by using this discriminatory knowledge.

Yoga enables achieving what was beyond our reach and consolidate what has been achieved by us at every stage in our life. The Yama and Niyama of yoga refine our behavior toward others and our own self. The practice of Asanas seeks to remove blockages at the body level so that the mind is not bogged down to pains, aches, and illness. Pranayama extends our breath to ensure that prana converges inside our body and that all the impurities are completely removed from our body and mind. Pratyahara seeks to bring the senses under the control of the mind. And then the three Angas of Dharana, Dhyana, and Samadhi seek to turn this controlled mind inward towards the Supreme Being who is eternally in a state of bliss.