On Yoga Sutras’ Five Translations
March 13, 2018
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A long time ago when I was just starting my study of yoga – guess it was 1986 or 1987 – one of my groupmates
A long time ago when I was just starting my study of yoga – guess it was 1986 or 1987 – one of my groupmates
This unscheduled article has been induced by my short post on Facebook. A couple of days ago my sight was caught by an ad of
They traditionally believe that the word “yoga” was not used in Vedas, at least in the context of designating a system of esoteric psycho-practices as
In the course of gearing up for my big lecture on Yoga Sutra I had come across a dramatic story that even Wikipedia mentions in
The succeeding lines of Yoga Sutras (namely, all remaining lines of the section) are dedicated to cognition. So I shall lay down a few considerations
Summing up the block of seven lines that Patanjali dedicated to exercising the state of mind wholeness (chitta-prasadanam), I shall try to explain why this
Thorough analysis of primary sources assumes concurrent study of authentic commentarial works. Thus in the process of writing my commentary to every new sutra I
They have once again asked me: why in general read ancient texts, the more so commentaries on them? Why a person like me, a modern
We have analyzed sutra 1.40 in the context of cognitive aspect proposed by Vyasa. But there can be a different view on techniques the sutra
Many people are looking for kitschy miracles but turn their blind eye to the major one The sutra 1.40 been quoted out of context gave
The next line of Yoga Sutra (1.40) dwells on siddhis – at least this is what most of modern commentators think – so I shall
The subject of Tantra has definitely captured the attention, so I’ve created some intrigue. In order not to keep the reader in suspense I shall
In his developing the subject of chitta stabilization techniques Patanjali offers another group of methods, namely – the mechanisms of dreams interpretation. The corresponding sutra
In the recent articles of the blog I have wandered a little off the point of Yoga Sutras’ text sequential analysis in favor of sharing
The word “nirvana” must be familiar to every more or less educated person living. It has been assimilated by every language – this is what
I’d like to add a few words to my penultimate post on own one’s Way and personal Dharma. I guess the reader has already got
The next case of Krakow conference that I would like to share is the unusual double report made in form of a discussion between two
The next report that I would like to refer to was made by Keith Edward Cantú from the University of California, Santa Barbara and explored
The next report that I would like to give my special consideration to was made by a person who is believed to be a living
I’ve made up my mind to write a number of articles dedicated to lectures given at Yoga Darsana, Yoga Sadhana conference in Krakow. I believe
The next sutra can be well understood in the context of the previous ones, and it complements the earlier sutra 1.35 in terms of logic.
In the next lines Patanjali proceeds with methods of chitta stabilization and bringing together that, as you might remember, have been already said to include
The next line of Yoga Sutras does not involve any difficulty for translation, as well as for commentary and understanding. प्रच्छर्दनविधारणाभ्यां वा प्राणस्य ॥
As it has been said earlier, maitri – “amicability” – comes as one of the yogi’s basic features. Yet most people, especially those brought up
In his next sutra Patanjali offers a totally different and very original approach to the issue of restoring the integrity of chitta that is grounded
Having laid down the criteria of chitta scattering (chitta-vikshepa) in shloka 31, Patanjali dedicated further 8 shlokas (32 to 39) to methods aimed at withstanding this
The subject of chitta scattered character (chitta-vikshepa) that we have investigated in the previous articles allows returning to a more thorough consideration of the term
There is a direct link between the theme of Chitta-vikshepa and another fundamental subject that Yoga and other esoteric systems have in their arsenal, namely
In the previous article dedicated to psychosomatics in Yoga Sutras I draw reader‘s attention to the association between the state of “chitta-vikshepa” – the scattering of
The next line of Yoga Sutras has also been in a way neglected by commentators, probably due to the fact that its translation is rather
The next two sutras of Patanjali, the lines 1.29 и 1.30, are dedicated to the so-called barriers in yoga: ततः प्रत्यक्चेतनाधिगमोऽप्यन्तरायाभावश्च ॥ २९॥1.29. tataḥ pratyakcetanādhigamo’pyantarāyābhāvaśca व्याधिस्त्यानसंशयप्रमादालस्याविरति-भ्रान्तिदर्शनालब्धभूमिकत्वानवस्थितत्वानि
In addition to and in confirmation of the foregoing I shall adduce a popular article in which they give the results of the latest speech
The following two lines of Yoga Sutras are dedicated to mantras and power of the sound. तस्य वाचकः प्रणवः ॥२७॥ 1.27. tasya vachakah pranavah तज्जपस्तदर्थभावनम्
The line 25 of Yoga Sutras compares Ishvara with a seed that contains omniscience (sarva-jnana-bidja): तत्र निरतिशयं सार्वज्ञबीजम् ॥ २५॥25. tatra niratiśayaṃ sārva-jña-bījam 25. In
I cannot stop marveling at the way how deeply, almost at the archetypic level those various aspects of ancient Indian views – yoga, philosophy, grammar
The next line of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras that we shall today consider continues the theme of Ishvara. स पूर्वेषामपि गुरुः कालेनानवच्छेदात् ॥ २६॥1.26. sa pūrveṣāmapi
In the previous article I have mentioned the Tantric concept of Purusha (Ishvara) and Prakriti in which Ishvara comes as a static “male”, passive-ordering principle
In my two previous posts I have without further ado explicated to the reader my understanding of the “ishvarapranidhana” category introduced by Patanjali. Yet an
In the previous article I have outlined my idea of ishvarapranidhana conceptually. Now I will try to consider this issue from a more “practical” point,
In the last dozen of my blog posts I have somewhat deviated from the linear and sequential expansion of the Sutra commentary. Many issues required
In this blog, as well as in other works of mine, I have more than once mentioned shamanic roots of yoga much as of other
Have you ever paid attention to the fact that allgrand classic epicsare utterly tragic and their endingsare worlds away from thosehappy-ends of Hollywoodthat we are
It was the very same period the year before that I was in Varanasi and in this blog of mine I was blissfully and deliberately
“And when these [Hindu] books were read to me letter by letter and I comprehended their contents, my conscience could in no way have me
“The Koan is the door, the answer is the key. But the basic point is not about opening the door, It is about what you
I have recalled that I have a small thing to be done for the blog. Early last year I visited Kumbh Mela and I promised
The terms hatha-yoga, karma-yoga, jnana-yoga, bhakti-yoga, laya-yoga and others are familiar to everyone and they play an important role in positioning yoga as a system.
I hope the reader remembers that in one of previous posts we have considered the category of nidra and explained why nidra had been highlighted
Here is an interesting fact: Bertrand Russell, an outstanding European thinker, has advanced an idea that is almost comparable to Patanjali’s sutra 1.16 (about samprajnya:)):
The following several sutras of Patanjali are dedicated to one’s developmental rate: तीव्रसंवेगानामासन्नः ॥ २१॥ 1.21 tivra-sanveganam asannah tivra – utmost, extreme, ultimate; sanveganam –
I would like to go back for a while to the line 1.16 in which Patanjali exposes the factors that accompany the process of comprehension
So, developing his idea, in the line 1.20: श्रद्धावीर्यस्मृतिसमाधिप्रज्ञापूर्वक इतरेषाम् ॥२०॥ 1.20. śraddhā-vīrya-smṛti-samādhi-prajñāpūrvaka itareṣām Patanjali tells that for others (itareṣām), i.e. different from those
Having set forth my interpretation of the few latest slokas of Yoga Sutras I cannot help but consider the following issue: why and where from
Following the logic I should have inserted this article after those dedicated to vritti and nirodha, but since it has occurred now I shall break
In scope of discussing sloka 1.17 about samprajna and its relation to vritti-nirodhah I’ve been asked a good question about the mechanisms of such relation,
Would it occur to anyone to invite tenders for the most ambiguously understood and intricate sloka of the Yoga Sutras, the line 1.19 would be
Inspired by watching a nice Indian series about relations between Shiva and Sati. This article for sure comes as the off-top in this part of
For those readers who in this multitude of articles might havelost the general thread and the logic of YS doctrine exposition Ishall put in remembrance
Here we shall notice that since meditation is the attempt tosearch for an answer that is not obvious to the question that is not trivial,
The word “meditation” is one of the brands that the mass consciousness has inseparably linked to yoga, spiritual practices and person’s development. And this opinion
I hope the reader remembers that the lines 1.12-1.16 were dedicated to abhyasa and vairagya. In particular, the line 1.15 gave an extensive definition of
Notwithstanding the apparent simplicity of the sloka 1.17 it has a fundamental value in scope of Patanjali’s concept of Yoga and in understanding the principles
Let us proceed with analysis of the line 1.18. विरामप्रत्ययाभ्यासपूर्वः संस्कारशेषोऽन्यः ॥ १८॥ 1.18 virāma-pratyayābhyāsa-pūrvaḥ saṃskāra-śeṣo’nyaḥ I shall draw several classical variants of its translation
Let us come back to the text of Yoga Sutras. The sloka 1.17 introduces the category of Samprajna(ta). वितर्कविचारानन्दास्मितारूपानुगमात् सम्प्रज्ञातः ॥ १७॥ 1.17 vitarka-vicāra-ananda-asmita-rūpa-anugamāt samprajñātaḥ
There is an interesting point of view that was published on the vKontakte page [a social network that is popular is CIS states – translator’s
Conceptual Mistakes in Understanding the Category of “Dharana” by Yogis of Today. A Psychologist’s Opinion Instead of drawing an epigraph I shall cite an anecdote.
Since the next lines of the Yoga Sutras text already contain the category of Samadhi used by Patanjali, at this stage it becomes fairly appropriate
So, as we have already mentioned earlier, the shloka 1.16 of the Yoga Sutras links the practice of vairagya to the category of gunas. तत्परं
In order to proceed further with interpreting the Yoga Sutra text we need to take a look at different methods of describing the psyche and
Let us step back from our reflections on gunas and return to abhyasa and vairagya. Having taken another thought about these methods I have noticed
The line 1.16 of Yoga Sutras refers to the category of “gunas”, thus in order to understand this line we need first to study out
Abhyasa and Vairagya. Is There a Third Way? Some Words about Samskaras and Tantra So here I am again on board the plane, on my
R. Kipling. Letter to the Son If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you; If
I am writing this article on board the plane on my way to India where I shall visit Kumbh Mela. I am here without my
As we have said earlier, Patanjali has singled out pramana, or “valid”, “true” knowledge, as the first vritti. However it strikes the eye here that,
Let us proceed to discussing the two latter Vrittis mentioned by Patanjali: smriti and nidra. In one of the previous sections of our forum we
Having made sense of “Drashtar” category we can come back to analyzing the category of “vritti”. Let us remember that vritti is something that a
Now that we have accumulated sufficient resource we can come closer to understanding Patanjali’s definition of Yoga as chitta-vritti-nirodha. However, for complete comprehension of this
In our previous article we have discussed the general aspects of the category of “klesha”. However I think that two of the said categories –
वृत्तयः पञ्चतय्यः क्लिष्टाऽक्लिष्टाः ॥५॥ 1.5. vṛttayaḥ pañcatayyaḥ kliṣṭā’kliṣṭāḥ The category of “klesha” by no means refers to the group of words that should be rather
So the word nirodha that at first glance seemed to be so easy to understand has turned out to come with many surprises. Let us
It is interesting that they have actualized the difference between nirodha variants in scope of classical Yoga; for instance the Sandilya Upanishad that in terms
The problem of emotional content of words cannot be ignored as an insignificant one, and even if we no longer lose our sleep over nirodhait
Probably the fewest discrepancies and variant readings have been caused by the dictionary translations of the word nirodha (निरोध). 1) curb; 2) confinement; 3) encirclement;
As I have already mentioned earlier, this line of YS has a conceptual significance for the whole subsequent understanding of the text, as well as
So let us come back to reflections about the category of vritti. We have finished at trying to figure out what was that common between
Frankly speaking, when I was starting this blog I did not want to deal here with analysis and comparison of existing translation variants, let alone
The composition of Yoga Sutras is quite organic. Neither of sections of this work can be deleted without causing detriment to the whole work since
I was surprised and pleased to see so many people interested in the subject. So I will thus without delay publish the next section.
Whenever someone suggests that you translate Yoga-Sutras using only a dictionary and without knowing enough about Sanskrit grammar – don’t fall for it! This person
Yoga Sutras of Patanjali by no means comes as the most famous and the most quoted primary source on Yoga. I know about 20 translations
It’s been ca. two thousand years since Yoga Sutras was written. Within this period the work has been translated into a good number of various