Yoga as a way of purification and enlightenment in İndian religions

Yoga as a particular practice in the Indian religions is one of the essential elements of Indian culture and civilization. Archaeological researches revealed that yoga practices existed before 2000 B.C. There are some references to yoga in Vedic hymns and Upanishads. In the Epic period, especially from the beginning of Bhagavadgita, it became the only way of purification and enlightenment in Hinduism. Acceptance of Hindu gods, Shiva and Vishnu, as a yogi shows how important yoga is in Hindu religious life. In Hinduism, yoga is very important with respect to the meaning of life and ultimate salvation and it also comprises of several stages, as in the stratification of social life. Even though Buddha, who lived at the period of first Upanishads, refused the Vedic teachings, discovered the way of enlightenment comprising of four noble truths and eightfold path which is the basis of Buddhism by converting yoga techniques that he learned from Hindu masters. In the Buddhist tradition, yoga and meditation practices were developed in two main flows as samatha/samadhi and vipassana. It could be said that yoga, due to Buddhism, spread all over the world, especially in the Southeast Asia and the Far East. Jainism, which is earlier to Patanjali's yoga system, substantially overlaps classical yoga in terms of the basic moral principles. Jain tradition is remarkable for its giving importance to the technique of yoga, and its contribution to the development of these practices. Yoga techniques are also accepted as one of the instruments of the enlightenment and salvation in Sikhism appeared in Indian sub-continent.Patanjali, as a yogi and a scientist in the second B.C., gave a philosophical dimension to the practice of yoga by integrating it with Samkhya metaphysics. He, in Yogasutra, made yoga practices an eight-stage system and additionally included the concept of God to yoga. In the classical texts dealt with the technique of Yoga, it is put forward that the necessary conditions for a successful yoga practice and the gains to be achieved by yoga. In this study, yoga is examined/discussed with its religious, philosophical and cultural dimensions on the basis of Indian religious traditions, sacred texts, and classical and contemporary interpretations of these texts. Keywords: Yoga, Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism, Samkhya, Yogasutra, Purification, Enlightenment