Yoga and modern man “Birth is a gift from God to man, and a lived life is a gift from man to God” Tikhoplav V. and Tikhoplav T. Now yoga classes have become very popular, even fashionable, but to understand the complexity Yoga systems have become even more complex than before. The numerous literature on this issue does not answer the main question: “What is yoga: a system of exercises or a mystical philosophy?” “Yoga is the path to God,” this is how the author of the book “Crown of Life,” yoga master Kirpal Singh, characterizes it. Kirpal Singh was elected three times to the post of president of the brotherhood of religions, practiced “Sound Current” yoga and, as a great scientist, was able to give a deep analysis and overview of the philosophy of yoga as it has come down to us from the hoary past, but to this day remains the cornerstone of the ancient wisdom of India. The yoga system is a training consisting of intense and solitary meditation combined with physical exercises and postures that serve to organize and control the mind and pranas so as to make them work in a certain way that can help subdue the senses. As such, yoga is meant to purify the body and mind and paves the way for the vision of heavenly bliss. Prayer also plays an important role in yoga realization. Both the rational will and the wavering mind then cease their individual work and become calm, thereby freeing the soul to shine in its own true and innate light. Yogic exercises usually give health, strength and longevity and help to some extent to overcome disease, decrepitude and early death. One can also gain psychic and supernatural power by controlling Nature and its laws. Thanks to the heightened senses, yogis can hear and see at great distances, penetrate into the past, present and even into the future, transmit thoughts and create miracles. Many modern scientists, more of a Western way of thinking, when first encountering yoga, tend to declare it a carefully developed method of self-hypnosis . This attitude is completely unscientific, although it often flaunts itself in the garb of science. It is usually the result of prejudice, born of ignorance or superficial knowledge of the subject. It is natural for us to try to classify as superstition phenomena that are unfamiliar to us, that do not correspond to our usual way of thinking and ideas about life, because to study, understand, test and accept them will require effort and perseverance of which most of us are incapable. It is possible that some of the so-called yogis may justify the label of “self-hypnotists.” But those few who truly deserve the name of yogis are too modest to seek advertising, and in no way resemble escapists, neurotics, escaping reality. They invariably display an unusually subtle knowledge of life in all its complexity and diversity, and this knowledge, together with their humility, makes any conversation about self-deception completely impossible, inappropriate and even ridiculous. Looking for the unchangeable behind the changing, the real behind the phenomenal, of course, does not mean engaging in “self-hypnosis.” Perhaps behind this there is a spirit of inquiry, exceptional in its sincerity and integrity, which will not be satisfied with anything less than absolute truth, and to practice the self-denial necessary for this is the most difficult. Therefore, over time, as knowledge gradually destroys ignorance, the former philistine inertia disappears. The new development of the natural sciences contributed greatly to this process, for by discovering that everything in the physical universe is relative and that matter is not matter in itself but ultimately a form of energy, it confirmed, at least at the lowest level of the yogic concept, understanding of the world inherent in the yoga system, giving it a scientific basis, which was previously doubted. Yoga classes were difficult at all times and required enormous effort and time, which modern people do not have at all. The fundamentals of yoga require8 904 373 3229