Rāja yoga ("royal yoga", "royal union", also known as classical yoga and aṣṭānga yoga) is concerned principally with the cultivation of the viewer's (ṛṣih) mind using a succession of steps, such as meditation (dhyāna, dhyana) and contemplation (samādhi, samadhi). Its object is to further one's acquaintance with reality (viveka), achieve awakening (moksha) and eventually enlightenment, kaivalya.
Rāja yoga was first described as an eightfold or eight-limbed (aṣṭānga, ashtanga) path in the Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali, and is part of the Samkhya tradition.
In the context of Hindu philosophy Rāja Yoga is known simply as yoga. Yoga is one of the six orthodox (āstika, existing) schools of Hindu philosophy and forms an integral part of the spiritual practices of many Hindu traditions.
The term Rāja Yoga is a retronym, introduced in the 15th-century Hatha Yoga Pradipika to distinguish the school based on the Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali from the more current school of hatha yoga expounded by yogi Swatmarama.
Read more about Rāja Yoga: Concept, Practice, Eight Limbs of Ashtanga Yoga
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“Depend upon it that, rude and careless as I am, I would fain practice the yoga faithfully.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)