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Every article needs to be balanced. This page has barely any criticism. In fact, what I added is one of the few critical sentences.
WP cares about balance. So should you, RegentsPark. I know you don’t even bother to address me by name.
Instead of an arrogant why do we care? I ask you to engage on a factual editorial level.
Reverting is easy- you have reverted my addition of sourced material and language improvements three times without any engagement on the facts.
This is edit warring. In fact, you like the other editor have reverted objective linguistic improvements. The present tense is inappropriate for dated statements, as you should know.--Wuerzele (talk) 00:51, 9 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]
@Wuerzele: Balance is fine but why do we care about a psychiatrist's comments on Yoga? I don't see any point in including this in the article. Please note that it is incumbent on you to seek consensus if your edits are reverted. Also, apologies for not addressing you by name. I didn't think it necessary because I assumed you would be watching this article. RegentsPark (comment) 01:00, 9 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]
"Antonia Baum" is not notable enough to have her own Wikipedia page, so her opinion is WP:UNDUE and irrelevant to the article. WP:BALANCE does not bind here. And calling others arrogant wouldn't help your cause either. --WikiLinuz {talk} 01:20, 9 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]
As for the 'past tense', it suggests different states of affair in comparison to the specific years added, where this is not the intention of the text. And regarding edit-warring: that's precisely what Wuerzele is doing. Joshua Jonathan -Let's talk!03:32, 9 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Not done: as you have not requested a specific change in the form "Please replace XXX with YYY" or "Please add ZZZ between PPP and QQQ". More importantly, you have not cited reliable sources to back up your request, the website you have linked to is a blog, not something from a reliable publisher with a reputation for fact-checking. - Arjayay (talk) 11:04, 5 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Not done - No WP:RS source was offered for either topic. This is the section on potential health effects, which neither describes yoga as a sport nor indicates any weight loss effect. Zefr (talk) 01:34, 13 September 2024 (UTC)[reply]
@Stormbird:kaivalya is the classical definition of yoga. Yoga sutras of Patanjali, as quoted in the body of the article:
1.2. yogas chitta vritti nirodhah – "Yoga is the calming down the fluctuations/patterns of mind" 1.3. Then the Seer is established in his own essential and fundamental nature. 1.4. In other states there is assimilation (of the Seer) with the modifications (of the mind.
Citing primary sources selectively is not sufficient to challenge the removal of the content.
The content in dispute that you added to the article:
“aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciousness untouched by the mind (Chitta) and mundane suffering (Duḥkha).”
This statement sounds Buddhist and is actually based on a Buddhist technique and philosophy.
The following content, which I prefer, better reflects Wikipedia's policies:
“In Indian traditions, yoga is a practice of spiritual and ascetic discipline aimed at controlling the mind and body, ultimately seeking spiritual purification and self-awareness, leading to samadhi (absorption) or the union of the soul with the absolute or the Divine.” [Note that samadhi is a common goal in Buddhism, Jainism, and Hinduism.]
"yogas chitta vritti nirodhah – Yoga is the calming down the fluctuations/patterns of mind",
However, the first sentence is not the place to debate or translate very complex concepts we need a more readable and neutral version as per WP:LEAD and WP:First paragraph. And Stormbird's version is more concise and readable as per WP guidelines.
But, lets try to develop a balance between detailed accuracy and summarized readability.
In my readings, kaivalya is more often mentioned in Jainism than Hinduism, and it has been importanty mentioned by Patanjali Yoga Sutras, but still it may not be needed in first few sentences.
The first sentence is the place to introduce the topic, also when it may seem complex. The EB-article on kaivaya doesn'teven mention Jainism. And why would you drop "untouched by the mind"? It's an essential element.
Regarding [[:samadhi] as "unification with the Divine"," as proposed by Stormbird, that's but one understanding, and not the most accurate one. And remember that both Hinduism and (some strands of Buddhism) teach that we already are, or are unseparated from, the Divine, but are not aware of it. We and the Divine are not two different things, but one; and we already are united with it. Note also that most descriptions stop short with "samadhi," but miss the essential next part: recognising Purusha, the witness-consciousness, as one's essential or true 'identity'. That's what stilling the mind and samadhi is about: recognizing who or what you really are, when you're not hindered by thoughts and desire. Joshua Jonathan - Let's talk!04:13, 22 September 2024 (UTC)[reply]
@RogerYg@Joshua Jonathan The version I suggested, based on how Oxford's Premium Dictionary defines yoga, doesn't say that samadhi is the union of the soul and the divine, as Joshua says. It simply says that the goal of yoga in Indian religions is self-purification and self-knowledge, leading to either samadhi or the union of the soul with the Absolute. This is a better way to describe yoga in an encyclopedic way than what the current version says. Yoga is not just about calming the mind (as in Buddhism), it is also about controlling the physical body.
We should avoid using complex and technical phrases like recognizing a detached witness-consciousness untouched by the mind (Chitta), and go by how scholars generally describe yoga. In yogic traditions, yoga is generally thought of as a means of attaining samadhi, or union with the ultimate principle or God. How Patanjali or the Mahabharata or the Upanishads define yoga is a topic reserved for the body of the article.
Here are some scholarly entries on yoga:
"In general, the purpose of Yoga is to attain Union with Brahman."[1]
"[Yoga] Term used for a number of Hindu disciplines to aid the union of the soul with God.[2]
"The term yoga is derived from the Sanskrit for “joining” or “yoking.” As a discipline, it takes many forms leading to extreme focusing of one's physical and mental powers and to consciousness raising and liberation ( Moksha ) from samsara or—ultimately and ideally—to a “joining” with Brahman."[3]
This is the most important view on the subject of yoga and should be given its due weight in the lead section.
“In Indian traditions, yoga is a practice of spiritual and ascetic discipline aimed at controlling the mind and body, ultimately seeking spiritual purification and self-awareness, leading to samadhi (absorption) or the union of the soul with the absolute or the Divine.”
The WP:LEAD summarizes the article. We have a section on Yoga#Definitions in classical texts; the 'classical' definition given in the lead is based on this section. Before you add a 'general' definition to the lead, you should first try to gain consensus for a 'general' definition in the body of the article. Such a section should certainly also mention that scholars have widely diversely views on such a 'general' definition, given the wide range of traditions. Regarding the sources you provided:
MacShane (1964): Buddhists, but also Saivists, will certainly disagree that 'union with Brahman' is the goal of yoga. See, for example, Karen O'Brien-Kop, Rethinking 'Classical Yoga' and Buddhism: Meditation, Metaphors and Materiality, p.1;
Oxford World Encyclopedia: yoga is not limited to Hinduism;
World Mythology, Oxford Universty Press (2005), union with Brahman: see MacShane.