3. Yoga in the Vedas (1500–800 BCE)

Waves of migration of people from what is now southern Russia who called themselves 'Arya' (meaning 'noble') first reached South Asia some time after the demise of the Indus Valley culture, between 1900 and 1500 BCE.

These people rode horses, were nomadic for many centuries, and kept cattle. They did not construct buildings, only makeshift shelters. At the centre of their cultural life was the performance of ritual ceremonies around fireplaces. Domestic ceremonies were performed daily, while ceremonies known as 'sacrifices' that sometimes lasted several days were periodically performed.

Classes of priests from particular families (who became known as Brahmans) very exactly chanted and recited holy, oral texts known as Veda, which gradually enlarged with the incorporation of new hymns, reaching its final form (as four texts) around 800 BCE. Other texts, including the Upanishads were added subsequently.

In the Vedas there is no concept of metaphysical karma or of reincarnation or rebirth: after death one went either to the land of the gods or to the land of the fathers The concepts of metaphysical karma and reincarnation only began appearing in Brahmanical culture after about 800 BCE.

The gods of Vedic culture were typically invoked for long life, health, children (particularly sons), and victory in battle against their enemies. Among the main gods, to whom the bulk of Vedic hymns were addressed, were Agni (god of fire), Indra (chief of the gods) and Soma (who is also both an intoxicating drink and a plant).

The identity of Soma has been discussed for many decades by scholars. However, arguably, based on textual references, Soma was prepared from a mixture of two plants, which resulted in a form of ayahuasca, a very powerful psychedelic potion. There is evidence of its use in South America since the early centuries BCE by indigenous Indians. Since the 1920s, several South American Christian churches have been established that use ayahuasca in their ceremonies.

In the ritual texts of Vedas, the term yoga occurs, but in a merely prosaic sense referring, for example, to the yoking of horses to wagons; there is no occurrence in the Veda of the term being used in the sense of a spiritual discipline.

Between around 800 BCE and 200 CE, another class of texts known as Upanishads were composed; twelve (or thirteen) Upanishads (which are usually referred to as the ‘classical’ Upanishads) were subsequently appended to one or another of the four Vedas.

These texts, although incorporated as a part of the Veda, are not texts used for ritual; they are partly poetic and have a philosophical component: questions, for example, about the destiny of the soul, about liberation, or about the end of suffering, are often framed in the form of dialogues between a sage or a Brahman and a king.

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