yoga – union; pITha – seat or throne
yogapITha – the seat of union
Although the term yogapITha originates from classical Sanskrit texts, its concept is universal to all cultures and periods in history.
The yogapITha is where the union of the Divine Couple takes place for the purpose of amorous play. That sacred erotic dalliance is the paradigm for its profane counterpart, the sex lives of males and females in human society. While the former is pristine and eternal in nature, the latter is temporal and self-serving. The yogapITha is a throne or dais, but is also representative of a dramatic stage or a cosmic center.
One of the end results of the practice of the eastern discipline of yoga is the uniting of the male and female energies within thepractitioner (sAdhaka). Another of its end results is the reuniting of the individual soul with the Supreme Soul.
According to the philosophy of the Vaishnava school founded by Shri Chaitanya in the sixteenth century, the yogapITha is the highest realm the soul can attain to, and it has its counterparts in various manifestations, such as the heart of the individual practitioner and various sacred places on earth that are revered as being the center of the universe.
