sutras

Question 1

1.2

Answer 1

1.2 yoga-citta-vritti-nirodha

Yoga is the cessation of the movements of the mind stuff.

(Or yoga calms the chaos of the conflicted mind)

Citta, the mind
Vrtti, fluctuation, state
nirodhah, restraint, control

One interpretation is to take this as a detailed explanation of how to practice the discipline of yoga. That following this ‘spiritual science’ man can transcend the Karmic Wheel of birth, death and rebirth. Another understanding is the importance of the concept of ‘now’. We exist in the ‘here and now’. Our breath is our living mantra of the present moment. Is there anything more sacred? The practice of yoga controls the breath. Breath controls the mind which in turn dampens down the sympathetic nervous system response allowing us to be supported in a state of balance. A balanced mind leads to yogic consciousness, allowing us to be present in the moment and connected with the sacred breath. And so the cycle continues.

Question 2

1.1

Answer 2

1.1 atha yoganusananam

And now the teachings of yoga begin

Presupposes that there were teachings before this.

Question 3

1.3

Answer 3

1.3 tada-drastu-svarupe-avasthanam
Then the seer abides in his/her own true nature.

Tada, then at that point
Drastuh, the see, possessive case of drashtr, “seer, perceiver, pure witness”
Svarupe, in it’s own real essential nature
Avasthanam, abiding, remaining, being absorbed in

Sutra 1.3 assures the reader that the cessation of all thoughts does does entail the cessation of purusa, consciousness. Quite the converse, once freed from it’s associations with the states of the mind, the soul can abide in the highest state of pure consciousness, Samadhi.

Yoga means to yoke and bring together all our various parts. At times it can mean bringing together opposing forces, your Yin Yang aspects, such as the shadow and the ego. Integration of the opposite aspects grants us more qi. This surge of qi can lead to epiphanies, internal shifts and the possibility to transcend the judgements which create our paradigm. Dropping our judgements allows us to move through our internal labyrinth leading us to the greater whole. Through the practice of yoga the veil that separates us from our world view, falls away. We are the universe within, a macrocosmic orbit, circulating within the macrocosm. Yoga allows us to reconnect with the rhythms of the universe, making us One again.

Question 4

1.4

Answer 4

Vrtti-sarupyam itaratra 1.4

Otherwise, the other times, [the seer] is absorbed in the changing states [of the mind]

Vrtti, fluctuation
Sarupyam, identification
Itaratra, otherwise, at other times, elsewhere, everywhere other than in samadhi; any time other than when the mind is not still.