Dr Ramesh Manocha discusses the philosophy behind yoga and meditation in this excerpt from his thesis:
Systems such as yoga/meditation are designed to facilitate that vital transition from the state of mundane, every-day consciousness, primarily characterized by the subjective interference of the poorly controlled mind, to spiritual consciousness characterized by an awareness of the objective reality that exists beyond the mind. Almost as a by‑product, ideal mental and physical health become possible as the complexities of the mind are progressively resolved by the mental silence of the trans-thought experience.