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The fundamental principle of Yoga is to unite. The word 'Yoga' itself comes from the Sanskrit root 'yuj', meaning to join. So, what is being joined? The individual self, the Jīvātmā, is to be united with the supreme self, the Paramātmā. This is the union. The entire spiritual journey, the entire Sādhanā, is aimed at achieving this union. The state of separation is the state of bondage. The state of union is the state of liberation, of Mokṣa. Now, what is the nature of this union? It is not a physical union. It is a union of consciousness. It is the realization that the consciousness within me and the supreme consciousness are not two, but one. This is the essence of the Mahāvākyas, the great pronouncements of the Upaniṣads: "Ahaṁ Brahmāsmi" – I am Brahman; "Tat Tvam Asi" – That thou art. The entire process of Yoga is to remove the obstacles that create the illusion of separation. These obstacles are within our own mind. They are our desires, our aversions, our attachments, our ego. The Yoga Sūtra of Patañjali begins by defining Yoga as "Yogaḥ citta-vṛtti-nirodhaḥ" – Yoga is the cessation of the modifications of the mind-stuff. When the waves of the mind settle down, the true nature of the self, which is ever united with the divine, is revealed. This journey is described through various paths: the path of knowledge (Jñāna Yoga), the path of devotion (Bhakti Yoga), the path of selfless action (Karma Yoga), and the path of meditation and mind control (Rāja Yoga). But the destination is the same: the dissolution of the sense of 'I' and 'mine', the dropping of the veil of Māyā, and the direct experience of oneness. In that state, the Yogi dwells. As the Bhagavad Gītā says: "Yadā viniyataṁ cittam ātmany evāvatiṣṭhate। Nispṛhaḥ sarvakāmebhyo yukta ity ucyate tadā॥" (When the disciplined mind rests in the Self alone, free from longing for all objects of desire, then it is said to be in Yoga.) This is the goal. To move from Dvaita, duality, to Advaita, non-duality. From the many to the One. This is Yoga.