Yoga and science

What is the attitude of yoga to science?

Yoga’s attitude to science is very respectful. Yoga is not a substitute for science and does not contradict it. The common sense and logic are absolutely necessary in yoga as well as in science. But unlike the science, first of all yoga invites people to observe ethics, while they explore the world and to try not to harm any living being. Although probably there is some knowledge in yoga, that modern science hasn't reached yet and which can be treated as superlogic. But yoga declares that superlogic never goes against common sense but complements it, brings ethic and kindness in it.

Does yoga contradict science? Many things, which yoga is talking about are unknown to science.

No, there is no contradiction. Actually there is much common to yoga and science. The subject of both yoga’s and science’s research is a human being and the Universe. Both yoga and science hold sacred the common sense in this research. Both in science and yoga an experiment and the result are the criteria to verify any theory. In yoga it is called the second yoga principle.

At the same time there are a lot of differences between yoga and what we call modern science. The most significant is that yoga follows so called the first yoga principle. Its essence lies in the fact that yogi will try to avoid harming any living beings without an emergency during self discovering or discovering of the Universe.

The only thing that could affect scientist’s research is indirect influence of cultural surrounding of the scientist. But this influence can be very different. For example, in Nazi Germany or in Japan savage experiments on humans took place while in other countries it was unacceptable. Certainly, sometimes humanity has to make this kind of experiments to save more living beings. But sometimes even if it’s possible to get the same result without harming living beings, scientists don’t care.

Doctors at least give the Hippocratic Oath that says: “Don’t harm”. In fact, scientists are not limited with any dogmas in their research, some of them even are proud of it and call it deeper impartiality. So you can call yogi a person who is following the first yoga principle or a principle of humanism and kindness. Any person who had developed its intelligence at least a little can be called a scientist even if it’s a maniac, a sadist or a cold-blooded killer. Before scientific world was intolerant to this kind of persons, but now science looks more like intellectual craft, where a fast result without any responsibility for the consequences is the most important thing. Before immorality and falsification was a shame and a scientist was an example of fairness, humanism and incorruptibility, but now you can meet shady persons using their intellect in fighting for the place under the sun like wild animals. This kind of scientists writes confusing articles to earn some money.

Yogis rather refuse to get any knowledge than to harm any living being without an emergency. Of course, the same like in science you can meet pseudo yogis in yoga, which are hiding behind yoga to reach their own goals unrelated to yoga. But unlike science in yoga the principles of humanism are proclaimed.

The second crucial difference between science and yoga is choosing of a reference point for perception. For the scientist, this is an external point also called objective reality. This means that all experiments carried out in order to confirm any theory would give the same results from the point of view of outside observer. For yogi, such a reference point is his/her Superior Self, as only then yogi is able to make researches, which may last even for several lifetimes. The result has to be repeatable from this particular reference point. At the same time that part of the result, which can be seen from the outside by other observers has to be repeatable outside like it is for scientists. Thus, the scientists’ reference point is a kind of a special case of the reference point in yoga. Due to this difference, the science and the yoga interpret the same occurances differently.

For example, contemporary science recognizes only four types of interaction: weak, strong, electromagnetic and gravity. Consciousness is described by scientists as a product of these interactions. In yoga consciousness is considered as an independent phenomenon, which does not depend on energy. But the energy also is a fruit of the single entity called Prana. And there are plenty of other similar differences.

Great share of yoga knowledge have probably disappeared, and today we have only small part of it left. That’s why sometimes it is so difficult to understand some thesis of yoga. That is why so many mistakes come up, which are picked up and wide-spread by mass media as different kind of „gospel by yogis”. This seriously harms image of yoga in opinion of serious scientists, who sometimes see yoga as obscurantism. Unfortunately, poor position of practically disappearing yoga can hardly go worse.

Finally, science as such is only three to four hundred years old, whereas history of yoga goes back several thousands of years. This means, that contemporary scientists just did not have enough time to re-discover large share of yoga knowledge. This may also be a reason why yoga and science seem to be so different.

Is it possible to explain setup and structure of yoga exercises from the point of view of contemporary science?

Logic knowledge is knowledge, which may be verified with logics, or our sophisticated intellect, which searches and checks knowledge based on principles of logics. Logics itself is nothing more than a law of cause and consequences, where nothing happens by itself, but everything is caused by some reason (which is not always obvious) and leads to definite consequences (effects).
In yoga, the law of cause and effect is called the law of Karma. illogical knowledge, or nonsense, cannot stand against logical knowledge and just disappears. The fact, that cause goes first and effect follows and not vice versa, is caused by linear stream of time. That is why logic and stream of time are connected to each other. But we cannot talk about time without space, objects and appearances occurring in this space. Space and objects or appearances in this space are related to the idea of energy. Or – more general idea, which in yoga is called Shakti. So, we can talk about logical knowledge only in that part of our Universe, where space and time are existent.

Now imagine that in our Universe there are some parts or structures, which are beyond space and time. Then we come close to idea of super-logic knowledge. In other words, this knowledge is not illogical nonsense, but at the same time it cannot be understood using ordinary logics.

Тhe third type of knowledge recognised in yoga is Superior-logic knowledge. Superior-logic knowledge is considered to be a kind universal knowledge, whereas logical knowledge is just a particular case of superior-logic knowledge.

Formally, illogical knowledge or nonsense, is considered to be a false knowledge. In yoga, self-exploring system is based on Superior-logical knowledge, which is a basis for logical knowledge, or ground for all yoga exercises and techniques. But there is one difficulty: from the point of view of logics, illogical knowledge and superior-logical knowledge may look the same. The only way to make a difference between them is to actively implement logics. All illogical will fall apart affected by logics, but superior-logic knowledge will remain untouched. Logic is powerless against superior-logic. Yoga superior knowledge has nothing in common with nonsense.
If you face an obscurantist, preaching doubtful knowledge and presenting that as a heaven revelation, you may ruin his/her theory by applying logics. The highest does not contradict the common, but expands it. If you face the superior knowledge, logics cannot harm it, but will come closer to intuitive understanding of these superior laws. Thus, for all yoga statements and exercises logic grounds may be found, which will comfort our mind with its logics, but this explanation will still remain incomplete from the point of view of superior logics.
You should also bear in mind, that when talking about knowledge we also have to talk about a person dealing with this knowledge. Any set of letters bears a piece of information only if there is a human knowledge existent, which lights this set of letters and interprets them.
In other words, there is no knowledge without consciousness. Every object lighted with consciousness discloses all information on itself to the consciousness – this is an essential quality of consciousness. According to yoga, consciousness is not a product of our intellect, but a substance on itself. Consciousness is not a product of intellect, but it just uses the intellect for its functioning. When the consciousness operates through out ordinary intellect in conditions of space and time, we are dealing with logics, or logical knowledge. If during yoga practice we learn to direct our consciousness not through ordinary structures of our intellect, but to the structures of our superior intuition, which are beyond space and time, then we will be able to get superior knowledge.