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Editorial
Insights from Vedic Wisdom for Future Research in Yoga
Modern science has been empirically discovering
the subtle laws of nature, both internal and external.
Although the journey has been long and paced, the
changes that it has brought in our world are remarkable.
Discovery of new laws of quantum mechanics in the
early 19th century brings the reminiscences of the deep
human quest to understand the subtle nature. In this
journey toward understanding the subtle, can a support
from the well‑admired theories of the ancient wisdom
be of any use? Ancient Indian wisdom is one such
source that can give directions to numerous researches
in many modern disciplines. Yoga is one such branch
of knowledge from ancient Indian culture that is being
now perceived as a panacea for many modern‑day
crises. Even though utility of ancient wisdom is well
acknowledged by scientists, its implementation appears
to be weakly evident. How do we mend this gap
between ancient wisdom and modern science effectively,
especially in yoga?
Science develops with observation, proposing theories
and experimentation. Theories in science are a gradual
development of ideas of eminent scientists over a period.
Unlike this, in yoga, already the core concepts are well
documented. To summarize the whole content of yoga
text, it can be said that yoga describes the process of
transformation to reach our highest potential. Having got
a sound theoretical basis of yoga, as elucidated in the
ancient yoga texts, should there not be profound growth
in yoga research on the empirical front? We, however,
observe that majority of the researches done in yoga is
of applied nature. Substantial work needs to be done
to understand the underlying science of yoga, applying
modern scientific methodology as much as possible and
if necessary innovate new methods to investigate some
of the challenging aspects of yoga. Easier said, the task
of integration of modern and the ancient knowledge
systems is challenging.
Challenges and possible solutions to integration
Some of the challenges in integration are as follows:
(1) Nonavailability of scholars who can expose us of
ancient wisdom, in a language that modern scientists
can understand. Most of the Vedic scholars are hidden
in their traditional courtyards.  (2) Lack of deeper
enthusiasm among modern researchers to understand
the depth of yogic philosophy and its practices. Number
of instances where yoga is poorly interpreted and
presented exemplifies this.  (3) Lack of interdisciplinary
fundamental research to scientifically validate some of
the proclaimed tenets of yoga.
© 2018 International Journal of Yoga - Philosophy, Psychology and Parapsychology | Published by Wolters Kluwer - Medknow
Possible solution can be discovered by (1) bringing
people, both Vedic scholars and modern scientists on a
common platform, and initiate a number of dialogues, to
discuss various aspects of the yoga research. (2) Develop
new breed of human resource with a refined skill to
understand ancient wisdom and to execute research
with modern methodology. (3) Create an infrastructure
of conducting interdisciplinary research in yoga. These
efforts will lead to successful integration and enable the
development of new models, theories, and paradigms
to guide future research in yoga. The utility of such
models to understand mechanisms has been earlier
highlighted.[1] The development of such models is
necessary as it provides a framework for understanding
how yoga works and also providing direction to how it
can be applied for various real‑world problems.
Example of model to field application
One such model from Vedic literature is the concept of
five sheaths model of human existence or traditionally
known as pancha kosha model [Figure 1]. According to
this, our human existence is not only restricted to the
physical body, the annamaya kosha, but also other subtle
layers such as pranamaya kosha (bioplasmic sheath),
monomaya kosha (emotional sheath), vijnanamaya
kosha (wisdom sheath), and anandamaya kosha
(bliss sheath).
The Integrated Approach of Yoga Therapy (IAYT),[2]
that is, used to address various psychosomatic ailments
is also based on this. According to this model, if there
are any imbalances at the level of physical body, then
making suitable corrections at subtler level, will lead
to a significant change in the physical level as well.
Originally, this model appears in Taittiriya Upanishad,[3]
to elucidate the nature of our existence. However,
this model can be utilized and applied to therapy.
Another model that comes from the famous text,
Yoga Vashistha,[4] also supports this view that making
a suitable correction at subtler levels corresponding
changes can be made at grosser level:
आधिक्षये चाधिभवाः क्षीयन्ते व्याधयोऽप्यलम ्।
ādhikṣaye cādhibhavāḥ kṣīyante
vyādhayo’pyalam | 15.3.33
(The Essence of Yogavaasishtha, p. 263)
According to this, even the physical ailments emerging
out of mental affliction are removed, once those mental
afflictions are removed. Hence, the root cause of the
problem which is called aadhi has to be addressed,
and it is understood to be present in manomaykosha,
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Nagendra: Vedic insights for yoga research
Figure 1: Pancha Kosha Model
that sheath which lacks discriminatory ability. Once
that is addressed, the reverse action of healing starts
to percolate down to pranamayakosha, and ultimately
annamayakosha, the physical body. It is also known from
modern science that many of the psychosomatic diseases
that included many NCDs, the mind play an important
role in diseases progression. If we use this pancha kosha
model and start working at the subtler level which is
easier to manipulate, the results seen are rapid and
durable. This has also been our clinical experience for
the past five decades. Thus, models derived from ancient
texts were utilized to develop a robust therapy system
called IAYT. In order to further focus on the effect, some
advanced yogic practices were developed exclusively
for each of these koshas, such as cyclic meditation for
annamayakosha; Pranic Energization Technique for
pranamayakosha; Mind Sound Resonance Technique,
Mind Imagery Technique, Mind EMotion Technique
for manomayakosha; VIjnana SAdhana Koushala for
vijnanamayakosha, and ANanda AMrita Sinchana for
anandamayakosha. These techniques have been further
studied empirically, mostly trying to understand its
clinical utility, and now, it is time to understand the
integrated fundamental mechanism that holds the whole
model. Efforts are being taken to further the research in
this direction.
60 International Journal of Yoga ‑ Philosophy, Psychology and Parapsychology  ¦  Volume 6  ¦  Issue 2  ¦  July‑December 2018
Conclusion
This journal strongly encourages contributions that bring
out the rich wisdom of ancient science by proposing good
models that can be subjected to further experimentation
and validation. Such models should become a part of
common parlance among yoga researchers so that we
grow in our understanding of our system in a complete
way.
HR Nagendra
Chancellor, Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana,
19, Eknath Bhavan, Gavipuram Circle, K.G. Nagar,
Bengaluru ‑ 560 019, Karnataka, India. 
E‑mail: chancellor@svyasa.edu.in
References
1. Srinivasan T. Models and mechanisms in yoga research. Int J
Yoga 2012;5:83‑4.
2. Nagarathna R, Nagendra HR. Integrated Approach of Yoga
Therapy for Positive Health. Bangalore: Swami Vivekananda
Yoga Prakashana; 2008.
3. Gambhirananda  S. Taittiriya Upanisad. Kolkata: Advaita
Ashrama; 1979.
4. Jnanananda B. The Essence of Yogavāsistha. 1st ed. Pondicherry:
Samata Books; 1982. p. 263.
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DOI: 10.4103/2347-5633.246335
How to cite this article: Nagendra HR. Insights from vedic wisdom for future
research in yoga. Int J Yoga - Philosop Psychol Parapsychol 2018;6:59-60.