Stilling the Body, Stilling the Mind: The Yogasūtra of Patañjali Flashcards
Yoga Darśana
= philosophical school (darśana) that takes as its source text, the Yogasūtra of Patañjali, hence called Pātañjalayoga, or the Yogadarśana
In this sense, Yoga differs from other traditional daraśnas or systems of Indian philosophy. E.g> Sāṅkhya, Vedānta, Mimāṃsā, Nyāya, and Vaiśeṣika
So called “Classical Yoga”, many traditional commentaries, not one single interpretation
Intro to the Yogasūtra
Patañjali 4/5th century CE
Systematizer of “Classical Yoga”
Yogasūtra - 195 sūtras
“textual minimalism”
dense, cryptic, aphorisms
sūtras to be “unpacked” by a guru or commentator, “zip files” to be “unzipped”
the nature of the mind, human suffering, and a systematic approach toward attaining complete spiritual freedom or the “isolation” of pure consciousness (kaivalya)
strongly influenced by Buddhism, and Jainism
aimed primarly at male, Brahmin, ascetics
Who was Patañjali?
Brahmin intellectual
Yoga practitioner? Likely
1 Patañjali, or 3 Patañjalis?
- Author of an important grammatical commentary (Mahābhāṣya)
- Author of an Āyurvedic treatise
- Author of the Yogasūtra
Many Patañjalis
By at least the 13th century in South India, Patañjali would come to be identified in temple iconography as Ādiśeṣa, the divine serpent
Story of Goṇika, and the folk “etymology” of his name: pat = to descent, añjali = hands in namaskarā mudrā
Over time, Patañjali came to be understand as the 3-in-1 Patañjali, and as Ādiśeṣa himself - thus ascribing divine origin to the Yogasūtra itself
Today, in Iyengar Yoga classes, an invocation to Patañjali is often chanted that invokes this tradition of Patañjali, verse can be traced back to King Bhoja’s 11th cent commentary
Dating and Authorship
2 layers of text: sūtra, and bhāṣya (commentary). traditionally ascribed to Vyāsa
1 author or 2? Philipp Maas has posited single authorship of Patañjali for both sūtra and bhāṣya
Together the text is known as the Pātañjalayogaśāstra
Many of the mss- colophons read: Pātañjalayogaśāstra sāṅkhyapravacana “Patañjali’s yoga treatise, the exposition of sāṅkhya”
Ideas from Buddhism (eg Vasubandhu) that feature in the bhāṣya
Consensus: c. 4-5th century
Whether root text and commentary were written by 1 or 2 persons, nonetheless their reading together became standard and authoritative
Yoga and Sāṅkhya
“Both the followers of Sāṅkhya and those of Yoga praise their own way as the best.. The followers of Yoga rely on experimental methods, and those of Sāṅkhya on scriptural interpretation. I consider both these views true: Followed according to their instructions both lead to the ultimate goal (MhB 12.289.7). In the BG we sill see this place out as the difference between Karmayoga and Jñānayoga
“The knowers of truth see that Sāṅkhya and Yoga are one” (MhB 12.304.4)
25 tattvas of classical Sāṅkhya
- Puruṣa (consciousness, the witness)
- Prakṛti. the guṇas:
sattva (goodness, compassion, calmness and positivity),
rajas (activity, chaos, passion and impulsivity, potentially good or bad),
tamas (darkness, ignorance, dullness, laziness, lethargy and negativity)
- unmanifest, primordial “matter”; the witnessed - Buddhi (first principle of individuation; intellect; will; characterized by the eight bhāvas, or predispositions)
- Ahaṅkāra (self-identity, ego)
- Manas (mind)
6-10. Five buddhīndriyas (senses of cognition): hearing, touching, seeing, tasting, smelling
11-15. Five karmendriyas (senses of action): speaking, grasping, moving, excreting, procreating
16-20. Five tanmātras (subtle elements): sound, touch, form, taste, smell
21-25. Five mahābhūtas (gross elements): space, wind, fire, water, earth
Structure of the Text
- Samādhi Pāda: The Chapter on Mental Absorption
- Sādhana Pāda: The Chapter on Practice
- Vibhūti Pāda: The Chapter on Yogic Power
- Kaivalya Pāda: The Chapter on Independence
1.2
Yoga is the stilling of the fluctuations of the mind
5 types of vṛttis
(fluctuations)
valid means of knowledge, misconception, imagination, sleep, memory
3 pramāṇas
(literally means “proof” and “means of knowledge”, pramana are the means which can lead to knowledge)
direct perception, inference, tradition
How to tame your vṛttis
Their vṛttis restraint is accomplished through repeated practice and dispassion
In that regard, practice is the effort in remaining steadfast
That practice, moreover, when cultivated for a long time, without interruption and preformed with reverence, becomes a firm ground
Dispassion is the controlled consciousness for one who lacks desire for sense-objects, whether seen directly or revealed in scriptures
Higher than that, from discernment of the Self, arises the lack of desire for the guṇas
Devotion to the Lord
Or the vṛttis are stilled dut to devotion to the Lord
The Lord is a special Puruṣa, untouched by the kleśas, karma, their ripening or their depositories
In Him, the seed of omniscience is unsurpassed
He is also the techer of the ancients, for He is unobstructed by time
His sonic expression is OṂ
Repetition of that OṂ, resting in its meaning
From that, there is the acquisition of inner-consciousness, and also the absence of obstacles
The obstacles to Yoga
Sickness, sloth, doubt, carelessness, laziness, incontinence, false perception, not obtaining a firm ground, and instability - these distractions of the mind are the obstacles
Suffering, ill-mindedness, trembling of the limbs, irregular inhalation and exhalation accompany the distractions
In order to prevent them, practice fixing the mind on a single object (eka-tattva)
Fixing the mind on a single object
Through the cultivation of friendliness towards those who are happy, compassion towards those who are suffering, joy towards those who are virtuous, and equanimity towards those who are nonvirtuous, there is the calming of the mind
Or…
exhale and retention of breath, or various mental activities, knowledge from dreams or sleep, or
the mind is steadied through meditation on an object as one wishes
