There are so many people doing yoga just for the sake of asana…but other things like pranayam and some krijas sneak in to their practice…
I’m just wondering if is it possible to get enlightened without the desire to do so. Say, one going to the yoga classes and have no idea what he is doing ( the teacher show some kundalini rising techniques and advanced pranayam), is there a chance that one can get enlightened without knowing it??? 
Yoga simply means to bring yourself in union from that which you?ve never been separated, a completely spontaneous occurrence from as many ways as there are human beings, there is nothing personal about it; one can?t claim ownership, control, responsibility or credit for coming to a realization of true inner nature.
If someone were enlightened but didn’t know it, how enlightened would he/she really be? It seems like a contradiction to me.
'm just wondering if is it possible to get enlightened without the desire to do so. Say, one going to the yoga classes and have no idea what he is doing ( the teacher show some kundalini rising techniques and advanced pranayam), is there a chance that one can get enlightened without knowing it???
Yes, it is possible to get enlightened without even having the desire to be enlightened. Such people are explained in Yoga as having seeked enlightenment in their past lives, and their karma comes to fruition in this life. It only takes a small trigger for enlightenment to take place within them. Such as Ramana Maharishi, who became enlightened by simply asking himself “Who am I” only once.
Thank you SD for short but comprehensive post 
Enlightenment replaces the ordinary knowing. So, in a way, enlightenment is without knowing. What you ‘know’ after enlightenment is completely new (for example, multi-dimensional, non-sensory etc), is sourced from Universal Mind and not self-manufactured, is no more an obstacle in search of truth but enables it via the siddhis.
And SD is absolutely right about the spiritual legacy one carries from the past lives that apparently brings enlightenment faster.
Enlightenment unfolds. It is a function of the past legacy and present sadhana (practice). A desire does keep one going with the practice, but does not bring about enlightenment. In fact, closer to enlightenment, desire of any kind is a drag. In the final moment of enlightenment (dharma megha), even the desire for enlightenment has to vanish and yogi stands utterly thirsty under a dark cloud without desiring a drop to fall. The drop just falls, when it has to.
“There are so many people doing yoga just for the sake of asana”
This should not even be associated with yoga. It should just simply be called physical excercise, or asana practice. But if the name is changed, thousands of businesses will loose profit. The so called “yoga” that is being practiced in the West is a great distortion of what was supposed to be a science and technology towards one’s enlightenment.
“I’m just wondering if is it possible to get enlightened without the desire to do so. Say, one going to the yoga classes and have no idea what he is doing ( the teacher show some kundalini rising techniques and advanced pranayam), is there a chance that one can get enlightened without knowing it??”
It is possible to become awakened without any desire or previous training whatsoever. That is what had happened to Ramana Maharishi. Without any previous training, lying down and visualizing himself as a corpse withering away, he asked the question, “Who Am I?”. But his involvement in the question was of such intensity, that within moments he came to the breakthrough and realized his Buddhahood. But a case like Ramana Maharishi is very rare. For 99 percent of individuals, what is needed is a method - not to come to one’s enlightenment, but to come to an understanding of oneself as one is. Effort is certainly needed, but it needs to be immediate, rooted in the present - not fixated upon something to attain in the future. So “enlightenment”, should not be your concern. The more you hanker after it, the more it drifts farther and farther away.
You mentioned something about kundalini. Without the help of a master, you should really avoid any of those methods which are dealing with awakening of the kundalini - particularly when they are being taught from somebody who himself is unqualified to teach. If somebody is “qualified” to teach, what is needed is not some lousy certificate from a “Yoga Teachers Training” program, which any person can go through within three months. What is needed is direct experience, and more than direct experience, maturing one’s realization. Unless one is oneself enlightened, one should have no business transmitting methods which are intended for enlightenment to others. What you said about awakening through awakening kundalini - this kundalini energy is of such an intensity - that unless your mind and body are prepared to handle such an intensity, premature awakening can only create enormous damage and a mess out of your life. That is why all of the methods which have focused on awakening the kundalini at the base of the spine, they have always stressed the importance of a gradual progression towards this, to create a situation in the mind and body where your mind and body can handle such intense energy when it awakens. Otherwise, it would be a bit like pumping 1000 volts in a machine which can only tolerate 50 volts. So don’t tamper with these processes so carelessly.
I probably have not express my question clear … let me give an example. I asked because I recently took over yoga class in the gym previously tough by some indian dude. I was going to give them a regular asana routine, not to confuse people with “wired stuff”. But they started to present to me “special hand positions”, “magic breath exercises”, “better sleep exercises” “spinal breath” etc…they even mentioned few “cleansing procedures” they have tried at home. Obviously this things are pranayamas, kriyas, and kundalini stuff, but people have not heard what these are…
I’m just wondering that such an individual can get kudnalini rise or get enlightened, or awakened without knowing it? (how he is going to deal with it - is another topic:)
Amir, man, you sound angry:) whats wrong with practicing asanas? it seems like it require a big deal of concentration, tapas, and other things…which might eventually lead one to inquire more about yoga. asanas are great way to start…cause nowdays we want to feel some results right away, not in the distant future…
[QUOTE=CityMonk;70812]I probably have not express my question clear … let me give an example. I asked because I recently took over yoga class in the gym previously tough by some indian dude. I was going to give them a regular asana routine, not to confuse people with “wired stuff”. But they started to present to me “special hand positions”, “magic breath exercises”, “better sleep exercises” “spinal breath” etc…they even mentioned few “cleansing procedures” they have tried at home. Obviously this things are pranayamas, kriyas, and kundalini stuff, but people have not heard what these are…
I’m just wondering that such an individual can get kudnalini rise or get enlightened, or awakened without knowing it? (how he is going to deal with it - is another topic:)[/QUOTE]
You can not get kundalini without feeling it, maybe you wont understand what happened but you cant miss to feel energy.
I think, we ordinarily approach new knowledge not to enlarge ourselves to a new scale, but to retrofit that into our scale and on our terms.
This is why, you won’t find true yogis discussing and dissecting their spiritual experiences. Each experience is unique to the beholder and enabler of the next. Non-attachment has to apply truly to everything, inclding the bliss.
In an effort to compress spiritual experiences into our ordinary context, many aspects get trivialised. Kundalini is not the energy itself, it is a goddess. That is to signify that awakening the energy is not possible by efforts alone and needs blessings. This energy is not induced by Vitamins and activating it is not a sport. We are talking about pure prana, the very cosmic energy underlying all life. It is not located at the base of the spine, it is produced there. It is coiled up because the channels are clogged. It is supposed to activate chakras which are inactive starving from that energy. We remain primarily physical in awareness and keep supplying body with energy produced by defective and poor process of food metabolism. So, the receptors, channels and the creators, the real energy grid degenerates and rusts.
On the spiritual path we try to change the same. But it has to be comprehensive. Activating the source without purifying the channels will of course be dangerous. That is the reason why Sage Patanjali recommends a multi-fold practice of asana, pranayama, yama & niyama. Asanas release the awareness from physical to subtle, pranayama re-builds the power source and cleans the channels, while yama-niyama provide a firewall to prevent external and internal obstacles to the process. To say that any one of them alone is yoga is a “six blind men” syndrome. Yet, none is less important.
One may not know the whole mechanism of prana energy-grid and the awakening itself is a result of many variables including legacy of past lives, but when the new energy starts flowing its experience is unmistakable. That cannot be ‘not known’.