Vedic Yoga: the Oldest Form of Yoga

Note: "Vedic Yoga" is the main term used by David Frawley (Pandit Vamadeva Shastri) for his yogic approach based upon the Vedas, but it is a broad term, as vast as the Vedas and can refer to any sincere yogic application of the Vedic mantras. 

Yoga is a comprehensive set of spiritual practices designed to enable us to realize the greater universe of consciousness that is our true nature. The term Yoga means to unite, coordinate, harmonize, work, or transform. It refers to the linking all aspects of our being, from the physical body to our highest intelligence, with the true or universal Self that dwells within the heart. This process occurs in different forms and stages relative to the condition of the individual and variations of time, place and culture. Vedic knowledge is that knowledge of the Divine or higher Self that the practice of Yoga is seeking to realize. Veda is spiritual wisdom and Yoga is its application.

Yoga has developed over many thousands of years and has evolved into many branches and types. For this reason the older basis of Yoga in the Vedas is not understood by many people today. Today Yoga has been reduced, particularly in the West, to its physical or asana side, and little of the greater tradition is understood. Even in India the Vedic basis of the tradition is seldom given proper attention.

Yet as we move into a new planetary age, such older spiritual traditions are beginning to resurface in the collective mind. As we move forward we must comprehend our origins and reclaim our ancient spiritual heritage. The Vedas contain keys to the perennial wisdom of humanity. The Vedas proclaim that we are all children of light, children of the seers, who have wandered far. In order for us to evolve in consciousness we must revitalize the seeds of our higher evolution that the ancient sages planted within us millennia ago. Hence the relevance of the Vedas must continue to grow and is crucial to the emergence of a new spiritual global culture.

The American Institute of Vedic Studies aims at researching the original Vedic Yoga. In this regard it follows the teachings of Ganapati Muni, the chief disciple of the great South Indian sage Ramana Maharshi, and Ganapati's disciple, Daivarata Vaishvamitra, whom Maharishi Mahesh Yogi once brought to the West and called a great modern Rishi. This Yoga is also connected with the work of the great modern seer-poet Sri Aurobindo, who based his integral Yoga on a Vedic model, and Kapali Shastri, an important disciple not only of Aurobindo but of Ganapati Muni.

The Vedic Yoga is part of an integral tradition that includes classical Yoga, spiritual (not sexual) Tantra and Vedanta, as well as Ayurveda and Vedic Astrology. The Vedic Yoga through Ganapati Muni connects to the Dasha Mahavidya or the Ten Great Forms of the Goddess. It has special affinities with Samkhya and Yoga cosmology and with non-dualistic forms of Vedanta, such as taught by Ramana Maharshi.

There are several other modern Vedic teachers who have contributed to this inner revival of Vedic knowledge including Swami Dayananda Sarasvati of the Arya Samaj, Swami Gangeshwarananda, Pandit Satvalekar, and Jagannatha Mishra, another important disciple of Sri Aurobindo. Their work also has relevance here.