Yoga Sutras of Patanjali-Introduction

The first formal exposition on Yoga was written somewhere between 300 B.C.E. and 300 C.E. and is titled The Yoga Sutras of Pantanjali. This is a short, concise work of 196 sutras or aphorisms in four chapters and to this day is considered the foundation of yoga philosophy. The practice of yoga existed long before this but was first put into writing by Pantajali, an Indian scholar who also wrote some important works on medicine and grammar.

The Yoga Sutras (YS) describe yoga, obstacles, the formal eightfold path and liberation. In the west most people would expect the YS to be about yoga postures but there are only three sutras about postures. As yoga becomes more popular and more practitioners get involved it is inevitable that the American Yogi delves more deeply into the philosophy of yoga.

The first sutra, chapter 1, sutra 1(1.1), Atha yoga anusasanam, Now the exposition of Yoga. Patanjali doesn't say my invention, he's simply stating that he's is writing down a system that is already in tact.

The second sutra(1.2)jumps right into the meat and potatoes of yoga with one of the most often quoted sutras: Yogas chitta vritti nirodah, which means: Yoga is the restraint of the fluctuations of the mind. This is a definition as well as the technique. The next sutra (1.3) is: Tada drastuh svarupe avasthanam, Then the Seer abides in its own nature. The fourth (1.4) is: Vritti sarupyam itaratra, At other times the Seer assumes the forms of the fluctuations of the mind. To summarize yoga is achieved by quieting the mind. When the mind is quiet the true self (seer) which in yoga philosophy is self aware, unchanging and the silent witness to life, rests in its own nature. When it isn't quiet (the mind) the seer gets wrapped up with the drama of the mind and identifies with the ever changing phenomena of the world.

This is a natural process to be able to function as a human being. As children we begin to define ourselves by the externalization of consciousness. However we begin to forget that experience of being more than what our 5 senses connect us to. In meditation we direct the awareness back inward and start exploring what is there when the thoughts quiet down. This is yoga according to Patanjali. Parmahansa Yogananda (1893-1952) used a movie theater for a metaphor of the Seer. As we sit and watch a movie the events in the movie might be joyful, sad, or scary. We might identify with the movie and go through the emotional ups and downs of the protagonist but if we remember that it is just a movie then we are comforted during the scary parts and don't identify with the sorrow. In life if we have a regular meditation practice then this works in the same way as with the movie. We have a direct experience of Self other than the ups and downs of daily experience. We are not cold and removed but just not overwhelmed by the fluctuations of life.

Stay tuned for more on the YS.