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manifest dimension, and that there is a higher awareness beyond the material world, then that is the beginning of the discovery of the Self.
Yoga is not something which is different and distinct from human life, it is part and parcel of human life. It is the process of spontaneous and natural evolution which we call yoga. But as we become more involved in the manifest world, in the world of the senses, in the world of ego, in the world of manas and buddhi and chitta, we subject ourselves to the pains that the manifest world throws at us. These different pains manifest in our body in the form of imbalance, illness, disease. The world 'disease' is a very important word. 'Ease' means to be comfortable. When there is disturbance in the natural ease of the human personality, then that disturbance is known as disease. So disease is nothing, whether it be physical, emotional or psychological or even spiritual, but a state of disharmony within the human personality, within the human physical and psychological structure, and this state of disease has to be eradicated.
How to eradicate it? The only way to eradicate disease and to again obtain total harmony of the personality, to develop an integrated personality, is to adopt a method of self-observation and self-purification, a method which rebalances and reharmonizes the physiological structure, the psychological structure, and the spiritual aspirations. Therefore, the practices of yoga, such as ashtanga yoga, raja yoga, karma yoga, bhakti yoga and many other yogas, were developed by the seers who
knew that future generations would have to face this intricate problem. It is this tradition of yoga which has been preserved as an integral part of the Indian culture, and, therefore, today the credit goes to India for again bringing the light of yoga to the world.
Yoga is a world culture. The whole world has inherited it, but the credit goes to the Indian culture for preserving this great knowledge against the test of time. Gradually, as human life became more and more disorganized and unbalanced, the great Indian saints had to come out from their caves in the Himalayas and spread this knowledge of yoga across the oceans and continents for the welfare and upliftment of mankind. India gets the credit, but the knowledge of yoga is universal. Please do not forget this, because this is a process of self-discovery.
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