Yoga and Mysticism

The Word “yoga” enjoys a great prestige value. It is frequently associated with the acquisition and exhibition of supernatural forces. Yoga is commonly regarded as a form of “ancient art which is combined with a set of religious beliefs and a strange, mysterious, and practical discipline. To the orthodox Hindu mind, it represents something very high, beyond the ken of the man on the street- indeed, something very auspicious and to be achieved only by virtue gathered over many past lives. It is amazing fact that, even in the land of yoga, superstitious and fanciful notions of the subject seem to have wide currency. The philosophy of yoga is perhaps one of the least known of its aspects. The reasons for this profound ignorance are not far to seek.