Now here is something I could contemplate the rest of my life.

” What is it you are hanging on to? How long will you continue this play, this drama? What is happening? Hmm?”

– Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Founder of the Art of Living Foundation

Meditation and it’s relevance to the 8 limbs of yoga are important topics to understand. At first we gain an intellectual understanding so we can direct our practices, eventually the practices lead to experiences beyond the intellect. This subject is explored in the page Meditation and 8 Limbs, this is a post.

“Meditation is something I think most people have heard of, however, the meaning of this word isn’t as widely known. Meditation is a spontaneous state, most of the time when people say they are meditating they are not. They are not even concentrating, they are trying to develop their ability to concentrate. This is a very important point for two reasons, one it allows us to see where we are on the yogic path, and the other because it helps us understand what we are trying to achieve.“

I found some quotes by Socrates at zenhabits.net, and as they are all very yogic and brilliant I thought I would share them.

“Be as you wish to seem.”

“I know that I am intelligent, because I know that I know nothing.”

“Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel”

“He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have”

“The beginning of wisdom is the definition of terms” ”

“Wisdom begins in wonder.“

I just received the first official newsletter from the K Pattabhi Jois Ashtanga Yoga Institute, at the end was the following quote that I wanted to share.

“If you only read books, you only have book knowledge. You have to have practical experience by practicing the yamas and niyamas, and asana in the correct method, with correct breathing and correct gazing, in your daily life. This is how you realize the meaning of yoga—how you realize who you are.”

R. Sharath (taken from the offical www.kpjayi.org January 2009 newsletter)

Why would you want to have more than one copy of the yoga sutras? In the past I have mentioned that I find it beneficial to have more than one copy of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, and certainly I have seen other people comment on this. That isn’t to say that I don’t gravitate to 1 version more, it’s just that sometimes a different version has an interesting perspective, better explained or easier to understand for a given sutra than in other translations. There are times two or more versions have excellent translations of a particular sutra, and yet the commentary might explain it in a different way that complements the other version. So it isn’t just that one version can be better, they can both be very good and complimentary.

Let me be specific on this, II.32 lists the 5 niyama’s along with a brief description for each, where as II.40 looks into the first niyama. In TKV Desikachar version he translates the first niyama in II.32 as; “Cleanliness, or keeping of our bodies and our surroundings neat and clean“, where as Sri Swami Satchidananda says; “Purity“. I accept that the niyama sutra (II.32) is only listing what the niyamas are, and in this case II.40 tackles the first niyama in more detail, but even II.40 is more understandable to me in TKV Desikachar version. Desikachar has provided a practical description, one that doesn’t take much thinking about to put into practice, and yet, the second needs more thought and the commentary to be referred to before you can make a start at trying to apply it to your life.

In contrast lets look at I.33, TKV’s version has an excellent description; however, Sri Swami Satchidananda’s version has an ok description but a fantastic commentary. For me, both versions are complementary, together they provide a more complete picture of the sutras than just one does. I have to confess to owning several more than 2 versions of the yoga sutras for similar reasons, to keep things fresh and to gain many perspectives on the one center of wisdom, and also to clarify something that’s not fully understood. There are examples in Satchidanand’s version which are more undstandable to me than TKV’s.

Personally out of the 6 or so versions of the sutras I own, I reference the two discussed here more than the others, having said that I also like Swami Vivekananda translation, it has some good commentaries. So become settled in one version first, and then start exploring a few others, obviously you dont’ want to many, and some you may pass on or sell. But find a few copies that work well together and you will find studying the sutras more interesting and engaging. In fact it’s interesting to note that study of books like these which involves study of one self, is the fourth niyama II.44. This is an example where the description in both books for the fourth niyama in II.32 and II.44, work very well together, and at the same time stand on their own.

I hope this helps explain why it is worth investing in several translations. You might like to look at the general book list to see the versions I currently own, although there are a few missing from this list because I haven’t read them yet.

Copyright © 2009 Russell Smithers

The new page Philosophy, Introduction and Practice (see quote below) uses the yoga sutras as the backdrop to look at yoga in the wider context, and the sutras then provide the starting point for the practical aspects of applying the philosophy. It also explains how to put the philosophy into practical daily use. Some of the concepts near the end will be looked at in more detail in later posts.

“The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali is an interesting subject to become acquainted with because yoga is about transforming oneself, and the sutras are of tremendous help with self improvement. Where do you start? Pick up any translation of the yoga sutras and you will see why I pose this question, so I wrote a quick start guide. ” from Philosophy, Introduction and Practice

Introduction

This article is more of an investigation on my part into the Yoga Sutras to give an over view. It might be useful to others, but it is not intended as an article in isolation, you must study the yoga sutras your self to under stand them properly. See the general book list for books to read. In this discussion we look at parts 1 and 2 of the yoga sutras, known as I and II, numbers after these relate to the sutras(stanza, thread) in that section. So I.1 is the first sutra, where as II.1 is  the first sutra of part 2 (II). I have used part of one translation for part I and part of another translation for part II, this is because I felt it more appropriate. You may like to read a short description of the sutras which explains why several translations are useful.

Portion on Contemplation – Sri Swami Satchidananda (Part 1 of the Yoga Sutras)

Yoga says that there are those who are born into a state of yoga and do not need the practices required of a yogi, and there are the rest of us who need to practice in order to become free. This is sutra I.1 of the yoga sutras. The sutras go on to say that restraining the modifications of the mind (Sutra I.2.) is the method to become free and attain a state of yoga.  I.5 lists the five mental modifications and these can be painful or painless, which are in I.6 listed as; right knowledge, misconception, verbal delusion, sleep and memory.

The idea behind yoga is that we need to focus on the positive aspects that will lead us to freedom, this is achieved through I.7 where the sources of “right knowledge” are listed as; direct perception, inference and scriptural testimony. And we are told in I.12 that “these mental modifications are restrained by practice and non-attachment”, and that  “of these two, effort toward steadiness of mind is practice.” (I.13)

Sutra I.14. states that when “practice becomes firmly grounded when well attended to for a long time, without break and in all earnestness”, which means that unless we attend to regular sustained practice we will not make much progress, however when we do sustain our practice eventually “… all the obstacles disappear and simultaneously dawns knowledge of the inner Self” (I.29). Obstacles to practice (I.30) are distractions of the mind stuff which are “disease, dullness, doubt, carelessness, laziness, sensuality, false perception, failure to reach firm ground and slipping from the ground gained …”.

The one sutra that is easy to remember and most helpful on the yogic j is I.33, which states “by cultivating attitudes of friendliness toward the happy, compassion for the unhappy, delight in the virtuous,and disregard toward the wicked, the mind stuff retains its undisturbed calmness” see also I32 and I.34 to I38

Sadhanapadah (Practice) – TKV Desikachar (Part 2 of the Yoga Sutras)

“The practice of yoga must reduce both the physical and mental impurities. It must develop our capacity for self examination and help us to understand that in the final analysis, we are not the masters of everything we do.” (II.1). “Then, such practices will be certain to remove the obstacles to clear perception” (II.2). II.3 lists these obstacles as;  misapprehension, false identity, excessive attachments, unreasonable dislikes and insecurity, where misapprehension is the root of the other obstacles (II.4).

II.10. Warns us that “when the obstacles do not seem present, it is important to be vigilant”; because, while “obstacles prevail, they will affect every action” (II.13). While these obstacles are present the results of our actions will be either painful or beneficial in depending if the obstacles are present or not (II.14).

Reassuringly II.25 tells us that “as misapprehension is reduced there is a corresponding increase in clarity. This is the path to freedom”, so  it might then seem obvious but we are told that “this is a gradual process” (II.27), and this is why regular and sustained practice is required to make progress, something I have proved for myself. By the way, yoga is all about proving things for yourself and not idly taking some ones word for it.

So what is practice? There are 8 areas of practice which are known as the 8 limbs or ashtanga. These limbs are named in sutra II.29 as; Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi. Of these I think the first 4 are external and the final four are internal, this means that some practices use the external outward world and the senses to progress, and the internal ones exclude external sensations and the senses.

The thing with yoga and treading the path as it were, is that there is subtly at every corner, at first you can be blind to some aspect of yoga, and one day you will have a realization about something and your knowledge or wisdom will grow, and secondly, there is the practices which can be very subtle to perfect even though potentially very simple. To be a fully realized yogi you need to have mastered all eight limbs. The internal limbs are not accessible  until the lower 4 limbs have been mastered. So there is no shortcut, you work on the Yamas, Niyams and Asana, as you make progress on these limbs, the breathing can be tackled (Pranayama) and then Pratyahara and so forth. Check out Dharana Darshan and some of the other books like autobiogrphy of a yogi on the book list under the heading Delve Deeper.

The first limb as detailed in II.30 is yama and this is further subdivided into; Consideration, right communications, non covetousness, moderation in all our actions and absence of greed. It is with this first limb that it becomes apparent that yoga practice is a moment by moment daily practice. It’s outside the scope of this article to go into these in more depth, but spending some time per day on any one aspect of the yama’s or niyama’s for some time revels insights, best to read the commentaries on them first. This is where having several translations of the yoga sutras (see book list) come in handy. The niyamas are listed in sutra II.32. and are; Cleanliness, contentment, removal of impurities, study and actions done in the spirit of service. So attend to the niyamas with the same method as in the yamas, pick which ever feels most appropriate,and I can assure you the ones that seem easy are not.

Fortunately sutra I.33 from the first part of the sutras helps us considerably with our practice, in a few short lines it sums up yoga in a way that we can remember and keep with us daily. This sutra is wonderfull to remind yourself of in difficult times, especially if you can apply some basic breath awareness and control. You might like to compare the following quote with the translation by Sri Swami Satchidananda (above), again easy to see why having several versions of the sutras is handy.

I.33 “In daily life, we see around us people who are happier than we are and people who are less happy. Some may be doing things worthy of praise and others may be causing problems. What ever be our usual attitudes towards such people and their actions, if we can be happy for those who are happier than ourselves, compassionate towards those who are not as happy, pleased with those whose activities are praiseworthy and remain undisturbed by the errors of others, our minds will be very tranquil“

TKV Desikachar in Reflections on Yoga Sutra-s of Patanjali

I have proved to myself that keeping this one sutra in mind, and trying to behave as directed, does indeed help sustain a tranquil mind. And why is this important? Because in order practice yoga our state of mind plays a large role in our success, just as does our diet and other factors. In this translation although there is commentary on the various sutras, there is no commentary on this one; however, some of the others do have commentary on this sutra. The one I like most so far is the one in Sri Swami Satchidananda translation of the sutras, I recommend you read it.

Copyright © 2009 Russell Smithers