“The more we understand ourselves, others and the differences, the easier our path becomes. Obstacles become play things.” – Russell Smithers (November 2009)

Copyright © 2009 Russell Smithers

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

The effects of practice are felt most over an increasing length of time spent attending to your practice. This is something I can now see for myself, for those of you who follow the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali you will know this is Sutra I.14.

So how then do I see this in my own life, proving for myself the path of yoga to be fruitful?

Firstly I have seen it emerging  within me during the years of my yoga practice. Little bit by little bit, obstacles falling by the way side freeing me up. This is a lesson in non-attachment as much as it is about staying with your own yoga practice, see Sutras II.30, II.32 and II.37 (although probably others too).

The other way I see it is when I see how others take their happiness from things external to themselves, and how that all goes horribly wrong for them when their expectations are not met. I am reminded of how more and more I am going within to that which is unchanging, to that which is not dependent on the external world. The longer I practice the bigger the chasm between my reactions (or lack of reaction) to external events in comparison to others. The difference in how external things affect me in comparison to how they effect others becomes a more obvious indicator of progress on the path.

Along the way I have found as Gregor Maehle discusses in his book “Ashtanga Yoga: Practice and Philosophy“, that studying the Yoga Sutras, Upanishads and other  yogic/spiritual texts are in balancing a daily asana practice. The two help each other, in fact Gregor says that these are “two sides of the same coin”.

Copyright © 2008 Russell Smithers