The Sanskrit word yoga is derived from the root yuj means to
bind together, hold fast or yoke, which also governs the Latin
iungere and iugum, and the French joug and so on. Yoga signifies
a union of the individual soul with the Supreme Spirit. It is an
old Indian practice, imparting that the man's bondage results
identification of the soul with the body and that his liberation
is attained through the knowledge of their separateness. Some
kinds of yoga are the 1) karma yoga 2) jnana yoga 3) dhiyan yoga
4) mantra yoga 5) laya yoga 6) bhakati yoga 7) surta shabda yoga
and 8) hatha yoga. In short, yoga is an ancient form of mental
discipline and physical exercise. Fixity of one-pointed
concentration is the key feature of yoga. The Muslim mystics
also took deep interest in the tradition of the hatha yoga that
greatly resembles to the Sufic tariqa in Islam. For
illustration, Qadi Ruknuddin Samarkand lived at Lakhnauti in
Bengal during the rule of Sultan Alauddin Mardan (1207-1212). He
translated an Indian work on