Yoga is a divine science of life revealed to enlightened sages in Meditation. The meaning of the Sanskrit word "yoga" varies. "Yoga can be defined as "discipline," "the way," or most commonly, "yoke," as in "unite" (Mcdougall I6). The earliest evidence of yoga activity was found during excavations at Mohenjo Daro in the Indus Valley (Worthington 9). A number of stone sculptures showing figures in yogic postures were found at this site, thought to date from around 300BC. These yogic postures, excavated from the Indus valley resemble Lord Shiva and Parvathi performing various Asanas and practicing meditation. According to mythical tradition, Shiva is said to be the founder of yoga and Paravati the first disciple. Yoga is first mentioned in the vast collection of scriptures called the Vedas, portions of which date from at least 2500 BC, but it is the Upanishads which form the later part of the Vedas that provide the main foundation of yoga teaching. According to the Indian mythology, two main epics were written one of them being Mahabharata, by Sage Vyasa which contains the Bhagavad Gita. Lord Vishnu incarnated as Krishna, Instructs the warrior Arjuna in Yoga to help him to achieve liberation by fulfilling one's duties in Life. Yoga has a long history and spiritual disciplines which comprise the belief of Hinduism, a religion that has withstood the test of time. .
Yoga originated from the Upanishads. Upanishad literally means "sitting together" and refers to the intimacy between a teacher and his disciple" (Yeats-Brown 38). The Upanishads contain the highest wisdom. The Upanishads emphasize the importance of meditation and other yoga practices, so that their wisdom becomes clear. The Upanishads were written at different times, over a time span of at least a thousand years; however they are very much associated with the period around the fifth and sixth century before the birth of Christ.