SSC CGL 2025 Tier-I · 17 September 2025, Shift 1 · English Comprehension · Question 16 of 100

We transcribed this text from the pictures on a candidate's response sheet for this shift; the answer is the key SSC colour-marked on that sheet. Solution last reviewed 13 September 2026.

Read the following passage and answer the questions based on the passage :
India’s legacy of healing practices—embodied in disciplines such as Yoga, Ayurveda, Siddha, and Unani—presents a complex synthesis of philosophy, biology, and metaphysics. Far from being static relics of the past, these systems have exhibited an evolving dynamism, continuously negotiating their space within both indigenous frameworks and global health discourses. At the heart of this healing ethos lies the idea that the human body is not an isolated physiological entity but a site of interconnected energies and rhythms. Yoga, as codified in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, is not merely a physical regimen but a holistic path aimed at harmonizing the body, mind, and spirit. In the modern era, however, it has undergone commodification, particularly in the West, where its philosophical moorings are often diluted into mere physical exercise or stress-reduction techniques. This recontextualization, while facilitating global popularity, raises questions about cultural appropriation and epistemic erosion. Traditional medicine systems such as Ayurveda view disease as an imbalance in the tridosha—vata, pitta, and kapha—principles that regulate bodily function. These systems emphasize prakriti (constitution), ahara (diet), and dinacharya (daily routine) as central to preventive healthcare. Unlike allopathy’s symptom-targeting approach, traditional Indian medicine is premised on restoring equilibrium in the body’s internal ecology. This integrative vision aligns with contemporary calls for personalized and preventive medicine, though methodological differences continue to stoke skepticism in the biomedical community. State patronage of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy) underlines a renewed institutional interest in traditional systems. However, critics caution against uncritical endorsement, citing the lack of standardized clinical trials, variability in diagnostic models, and challenges in evidence-based validation. Furthermore, pharmaceutical commercialization of Ayurvedic formulations often sidelines traditional knowledge holders, reducing centuries-old practices to marketable commodities. The interface between Yoga and traditional medicine with modern healthcare is therefore both promising and fraught. While integrative models are being explored—especially in palliative care, mental health, and chronic disease management—they require epistemic humility and regulatory rigor. The danger lies in either romanticizing these systems as panaceas or discarding them as pre-scientific relics. Ultimately, the relevance of Yoga and traditional medicine in contemporary India will depend on the country’s ability to safeguard their philosophical depth while subjecting them to transparent, rigorous scrutiny. Neither dogmatic revivalism nor dismissive scientism will suffice. What is needed is a dialogical framework where tradition and modernity co-evolve—not in opposition, but in mutual enrichment.

What tension does the passage highlight regarding the global adoption of Yoga?

(a)Lack of flexibility
(b)Loss of its philosophical essence
(c)Shortage of teachers
(d)Over-regulation by India

Answer

Why

Correct — B. The tension sits in what happened to Yoga in the West. It 'has undergone commodification', and there 'its philosophical moorings are often diluted into mere physical exercise or stress-reduction techniques.'

The next sentence sets gain against loss: 'This recontextualization, while facilitating global popularity, raises questions about cultural appropriation and epistemic erosion.'

Popularity gained, meaning thinned out: loss of its philosophical essence → option (b).

Why the others are wrong

(a)
Lack of flexibility — Lack of flexibility is the opposite of the passage's picture. It calls these systems 'Far from being static relics of the past' and credits them with 'an evolving dynamism'.
(c)
Shortage of teachers — Shortage of teachers is never mentioned. The passage's worry about Yoga abroad is what happens to its meaning, not who is available to teach it.
(d)
Over-regulation by India — Over-regulation by India is not raised. The passage asks for more 'regulatory rigor' in integrating these systems, the reverse of a complaint about too much regulation.

Concept

A tension question asks for a cost that comes with a gain. Look for a concession word; here it is while, in 'while facilitating global popularity'.

The gain is popularity. The cost sits around it: philosophical moorings diluted into exercise, cultural appropriation, epistemic erosion.

The answer restates that cost in plainer words. Options built on things the passage does not say, a teacher shortage or over-regulation, fall away.

Key facts

Commodification: turning something into a product to be bought and sold.
Epistemic means relating to knowledge, so epistemic erosion is the wearing away of a body of knowledge.
Moorings are the ropes or anchors that hold a boat in place, so philosophical moorings are the ideas that anchor a practice.
The passage says Yoga is codified in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.

Study next

Concession markers in reading passages: while, although, though, howeverPassage vocabulary: commodification, recontextualization, epistemicAuthor's-stance questions on passages that weigh both sides

Common traps

Choosing (d) because the passage mentions state patronage and regulation, when it asks for more 'regulatory rigor', not less.
Taking global popularity as the tension itself, when the passage treats popularity as the gain and the diluted philosophy as the cost.

The same passage also carries 17 Sep 2025, 09:00, English Q.17, on Ayurveda's approach to disease, and Q.19, on the author's stance on joining traditional medicine to modern healthcare.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.

Topic: Reading comprehension — all 128 SSC CGL questions on it, every solved shift.

Read the following passage and answer the questions based on the passage :
India’s legacy of healing practices—embodied in disciplines such as Yoga, Ayurveda, Siddha, and Unani—presents a complex synthesis of philosophy, biology, and metaphysics. Far from being static relics of the past, these systems have exhibited an evolving dynamism, continuously negotiating their space within both indigenous frameworks and global health discourses. At the heart of this healing ethos lies the idea that the human body is not an isolated physiological entity but a site of interconnected energies and rhythms. Yoga, as codified in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, is not merely a physical regimen but a holistic path aimed at harmonizing the body, mind, and spirit. In the modern era, however, it has undergone commodification, particularly in the West, where its philosophical moorings are often diluted into mere physical exercise or stress-reduction techniques. This recontextualization, while facilitating global popularity, raises questions about cultural appropriation and epistemic erosion. Traditional medicine systems such as Ayurveda view disease as an imbalance in the tridosha—vata, pitta, and kapha—principles that regulate bodily function. These systems emphasize prakriti (constitution), ahara (diet), and dinacharya (daily routine) as central to preventive healthcare. Unlike allopathy’s symptom-targeting approach, traditional Indian medicine is premised on restoring equilibrium in the body’s internal ecology. This integrative vision aligns with contemporary calls for personalized and preventive medicine, though methodological differences continue to stoke skepticism in the biomedical community. State patronage of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy) underlines a renewed institutional interest in traditional systems. However, critics caution against uncritical endorsement, citing the lack of standardized clinical trials, variability in diagnostic models, and challenges in evidence-based validation. Furthermore, pharmaceutical commercialization of Ayurvedic formulations often sidelines traditional knowledge holders, reducing centuries-old practices to marketable commodities. The interface between Yoga and traditional medicine with modern healthcare is therefore both promising and fraught. While integrative models are being explored—especially in palliative care, mental health, and chronic disease management—they require epistemic humility and regulatory rigor. The danger lies in either romanticizing these systems as panaceas or discarding them as pre-scientific relics. Ultimately, the relevance of Yoga and traditional medicine in contemporary India will depend on the country’s ability to safeguard their philosophical depth while subjecting them to transparent, rigorous scrutiny. Neither dogmatic revivalism nor dismissive scientism will suffice. What is needed is a dialogical framework where tradition and modernity co-evolve—not in opposition, but in mutual enrichment.