Yoga Sutras Of Patanjali Flashcards
When did Patanjali author the Yoga Sutras?
400 BC - 200 CE
Techniques could be 3000 BCE
What did Patanjali name his Yoga sutras?
Pātañjalayogaśāstra
The treatise on Yoga according to Patanjali
What are the four chapters of the yoga sutras and what do they deal with?
- Samadhi Pada: Contemplation
- Sadhana Pada: Practice
- Vibhuti Pada: Powers / Manifestations
- Kaivalya Pada: Liberation
What are the 8 limbs of Patanjali’s ‘Ashtanga Yoga’?
- Yama - Ethical standards
- Niyama - Self Disciplines
- Asana - Meditation posture
- Pranayama - Expansion of breath / prana
- Pratyahara - withdrawal of senses
- Dharana - Concentration
- Dhyana - Meditation
- Samadhi - Deep absorption
What are the five yamas?
1) Ahimsa: non-violence, non-harming, non-injury
2) Satya: truthfulness, honesty
3) Asteya: non-stealing, abstention from theft
4) Brahmacharya: walking in awareness of the highest reality, continence, remembering the divine, practicing the presence of God
5) Aparigraha: non-possessiveness, non-holding through senses, non-greed, non-grasping, non-indulgence, non-acquisitiveness
What are the five Niyamas?
1)Shaucha: purity of body and mind
2) Santosha: contentment
3) Tapas: training the senses, austerities, ascesis
4) Svadhyaya: self-study, reflection on sacred words
5) Ishvara pranidhana: surrender; (ishvara = creative source, causal field, God, supreme Guru or teacher; pranidhana = practicing the presence, dedication, devotion, surrender of fruits of practice)
What are the fruits of being firmly established in Ahimsa (non violence) ?
As a Yogi becomes firmly grounded in non-violence (ahimsa), other people who come near will naturally lose any feelings of hostility.
What are the fruits of Satya (truthfulness)?
For one who increasingly practices honesty or truthfulness in actions, speech, and thoughts, his or her will is naturally fulfilled.
What are the fruits of asteya (non-stealing)?
When non-stealing (asteya) is established, all jewels, or treasures present themselves, or are available to the Yogi. In other words, when the heart is pure, all means will come.
What are the fruits of brahmacharya?
When walking in the awareness of the highest reality (brahmacharya) is firmly established, then a great strength, capacity, or vitality (virya) is acquired.
What are the fruits of Aparigraha (non-possessiveness) ?
When one is steadfast in non-possessiveness or non-grasping with the senses (aparigraha), there arises knowledge of the why and wherefore of past and future incarnations.
What are the fruits of Saucha (cleanliness & purity)?
Through cleanliness and purity of body and mind (shaucha) comes a purification of the subtle mental essence (sattva), a pleasantness, goodness and gladness of feeling, a one-pointedness with intentness, the conquest or mastery over the senses, and a fitness, qualification, or capability for self-realization.
What are the fruits of Santosha (contentment)?
From an attitude of contentment (santosha), unexcelled happiness, mental comfort, joy, and satisfaction is obtained.
What are the fruits of tapas?
Through training of the senses / discipline (tapas), there comes a destruction of mental impurities, and an ensuing mastery or perfection over the body and the mental organs of senses and actions
What are the fruits of Svadhyaya (Self study/ scriptures)?
From self-study and reflection on sacred words (svadhyaya), one attains contact, communion, or concert with that underlying natural reality or force.
