In Sanskrit texts, Raja yoga () was both the goal of yoga and <!--possibly later, but certainly also in Sanskrit-->a method to attain it. The term was later adopted as a modern label for the practice of yoga when Swami Vivekananda gave his interpretation of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali in his 1896 book Raja Yoga. Since then, Rāja yoga has variously been called ashtanga yoga, royal yoga, royal union, sahaja marg, and classical yoga.
Etymology and usage
Raja (Sanskrit: राज) means "king, sovereign, chief, best or most excellent of its kind". The historical use of the term Raja yoga is found in other contexts, quite different from its modern usage. In ancient and medieval Sanskrit texts, it meant the highest state of yoga practice (one reaching samādhi).
The 15th century Hatha Yoga Pradipika authored by Swatmarama presents hatha yoga as a preparatory and complementary practice that leads to the state of Raja yoga:
Raja Yoga is defined in the text as:
The author also warns against exclusive reliance on physical practices:
According to Swarmarama, these verses underscore the traditional view that physical practices such as āsanas and prāṇāyāma (core to Hatha Yoga) serve to purify and stabilize the body–mind complex, preparing the practitioner for deeper meditative absorption characteristic of Raja Yoga.
Raja yoga is discussed in the Yogatattva Upanishad. It is then mentioned in a 16th-century commentary on a specific step in the Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali. Alain Daniélou states that Rāja yoga was, in the historic literature of Hinduism, one of five known methods of yoga, with the other four being Hatha yoga, Mantra yoga, Laya yoga and Shiva yoga. Daniélou translates it as "Royal way to reintegration of Self with Universal Self (Brahman)." The term became a modern retronym in the 19th century when Swami Vivekananda equated raja yoga with the Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali. The practice centres on identifying the self as a non-physical, eternal soul (atma), on the silent inner remembrance of an incorporeal Supreme Soul, and on the cultivation of seven original soul qualities—peace, love, happiness, purity, knowledge, bliss and power—as everyday virtues such as truthfulness, humility, tolerance, contentment and self-restraint within ordinary household and working life. The Brahma Kumaris use the term yoga in its older root sense of "linking", and scholars therefore present the practice as a modern devotional reworking that retains the name but not the postural or breath-control disciplines of classical Raja yoga.
Modern interpretations and literature that discuss Raja yoga often credit Patañjali's Yogasūtras as their textual source, but many neither adopt the teachings nor the philosophical foundations of the Yoga school of Hinduism. Raja yoga is declared as the goal where one experiences nothing but the bliss of the undisturbed, the natural state of calm, serenity, peace, communion within and contentment. The Hatha Yoga Pradipika (literally, A Little Light on Hatha Yoga) asserts this as follows,
As a type of yoga
Some medieval Indian texts on Yoga list Rajayoga as one of many types of yoga.
As the yoga system of Patanjali
upright|thumb|right|[[Patanjali|Patañjali statue (traditional form indicating Kundalini or incarnation of Shesha)]]
One meaning of Raja yoga is as a modern retronym introduced by Swami Vivekananda, when he equated raja yoga with the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.
According to Axel Michaels, the Yoga Sutras are built upon fragments of texts and traditions from ancient India. According to Feuerstein, the Yoga Sutras are a condensation of two different traditions, namely "eight limb yoga" (ashtanga yoga) and action yoga (kriya yoga). The kriya yoga part is contained in chapter 1, chapter 2 verse 1-27, chapter 3 except verse 54, and chapter 4. The "eight limb yoga" is described in chapter 2 verse 28-55, and chapter 3 verse 3 and 54.
There are numerous parallels in the ancient Samkhya, Yoga and Abhidharma schools of thought, particularly from the 2nd century BCE to the 1st century AD, notes Larson. Patanjali's Yoga Sutras may be a synthesis of these three traditions. From the Samkhya school of Hinduism, Yoga Sutras adopt the "reflective discernment" (adhyavasaya) of prakrti and purusa (dualism), its metaphysical rationalism, and its three epistemic methods to gaining reliable knowledge. Along with generally accurate translations, Al Biruni's text has significant differences from Yogasutra manuscripts discovered in India during the 19th century. Al Biruni's record has helped modern scholars establish that Patanjali's Yogasutras manuscript existed in India in many versions, each with multiple commentaries by Hindu scholars. Some of these versions and commentaries are either lost or undiscovered. Al Biruni's version of Yoga Sutras reached Persia and Arabian peninsula by about 1050 AD.
In Indian historical timeline, marking with the arrival of Islam in India in twelfth century, further development and literature on Yoga philosophy of Hinduism went into decline. By the sixteenth century, Patanjali's Yoga philosophy was nearly extinct. Yoga was preserved by sadhus (ascetics, sannyasis) of India. Some of the Hindu yoga elements were adopted by Sufi sect of Muslims in India. The Sufi Muslims at times adopted and protected the Yoga tradition of Hindus during the Islamic rule of India, and at other times helped the persecution and violence against those Hindus. The Mughal Emperor Akbar, known for his syncretic tolerance, was attracted to and patronized Yoga philosophy of Hinduism.
Comparison with Buddhism
The yoga scholar Stephen Cope identifies the following similarities between Rāja yoga and Buddhism. He notes that the two philosophies are not the same, but are strikingly similar, having shared a long period of interchange up to about 500 CE.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Aspects