The idea behind reading Yogasutra was to go deeper into the culture I was born into - and understand it beyond the everyday platitudes of how the Indian culture knew xyz back in the day. I feel I was pushed into reading western philosophy through its general higher availability and voice in public discourse / pop culture and my peer set, but now might be a good time to choose a new direction.
The history of the text itself is hard to ascertain fully. It might’ve been written anytime b/w 500 BC to 200 AD and who exactly was Patanjali (and whether it was a singular author) is unknown. For the longest time, Indian scriptures were passed on orally and hence there is little merit to trying to dig deep into the roots and veracity of what is passed on to us.
Nevertheless, there are two layers of subjectivity to this. In all translations and commentaries of the Yogasutra, there appears to be some dissonance by way of definitions and inferences - this is the first layer of subjectivity. The second is what I picked and chose from it. Hence happy to debate / stand corrected wherever. Sources include -
Original text
Ved Vyasa’s commentary on Yogasutra
Osho’s commentary
Swami Vivekanand’s commentary
The book contains 4 parts :
Samadhi Pada - meaning of thought, samadhi, and basic definitions of Yoga
Sadhana Pada - intro to the 8 limbs of Yoga and discussion on the first 5
Vibhuti Pada - discussion on the last 3 limbs of Yoga
Kaivalya Pada - the ultimate goal of Yoga
This post deals with 1 and 2.
(#denotes personal remarks)
Summary of tenets / beliefs
Patañjali assumes a basic dualistic framework that distinguishes persons from the natural world. In summary :
Everyone at their core is Purusa (Person) - an untainted, clear, piece of cosmic energy
Our mind is cluttered by our past sanskara (sub-conscious impressions) and hence we are not able to see the person / purusa inside of us
Through the practice of yoga we will declutter our sanskara, understand our true self and reside in in it
As a result, this presupposes reincarnation as well as carry forward of imprints / learnings across births. Life after death in Indian dualism can be both a) In a supernatural world (need to read more about this) or b) in a subtle form waiting to be transmigrated to a gross physical body.
The ultimate outcome of Yoga is Kaivalya (more in Book 3 and 4)
How is this different from western dualism?
Typically, Western dualisms (Plato in Republic) see mind as a feature of persons, different from the natural world. A living person is therefore a mixture of mind (or “soul”) + matter. Yoga counts minds as a feature of the natural world, and a living person essentially as the purusa inside them.
Verbatim sutras
The attempt here has been to cast the sutras into a narrative, although the writing isn’t such that it follows one topic/question after the other in a logical fashion.
Book 1 : Samadhi Pada
This sutra is the neatest summary of the objective of the path Patanjali is to prescribe. The reason that morality is so important for Patañjali is that it reflects the true nature of persons, abstracted from the contingencies of their natural circumstances. Yoga, then, in constraining thought, aims to make thought (and therefore also one’s behaviour) reflect the true nature of the person. For Patanjali, to misunderstand one’s true self is to identify one’s nature with the changing character of thought.
This control of the character is beyond just mental control and requires constraining many other aspects of our lives, which Patanjali goes on to describe. As the topic is about constraining thought, Patanjali goes on to describe the character of thought and knowing.
Pramana (described here as “epistemic states”) literally means proof. Acc. to Patanjali, there are 5 ways of knowing or proving something as in the sutra :
Knowledge : In the next sutra, patanjali describes knowledge to come from either (empirical) perception, inference / logic and the vedic scriptural tradition. Later in Book 1, sutra 49, Patanjali describes yoga to come from empirical perception / experience
Illusion : Perceptual error
Verbal error : Like perceptual error, arises out of words. When words don’t track real objects
Sleep : Acc. to Patanjali in Book 1, sutra 38, Sleep can help us uncover our sanskaras through dreams. Or can help us imagine a new world / state
Memory : “active effort to prevent loss of experienced content”. This is in one sense therapeutic. Because Patanjali believes that there is active effort to hold on to our past content, it implies that we can renounce / stop paying active attention to our bad sanskaras / habits and heal
Patanjali again stresses the need for deliberate effort (uses “abhyas”) in the practice of Yoga and abiding in the Purusa :
Patanjali pre-empts any confusion between truly abiding in the purusa and temporarily feeling that one is abiding in purusa. There are 3 ways that can lead to this temp sense :
Intellectual inquiry and reasoning (Sutra 17) : In some sense, this is the modern-day “Flow” state - hence the usage of the words “Vitarka” and “Vichara”
Death
Immersing oneself in faith or remembrance: This seems to be a slight nod to “Bhakti” as a path to success in Yoga. Hence, the usage of “Shraddha”
In subsequent sutras, Patanjali defines the meaning of isvara in his system. He believes that even Purusas are different, and the supreme purusa is isvara. The supreme purusa is devoid of any past sanskara. Unlike in Vedanta (in Purusa Sukta), Patanjali doesn’t designate isvara as the creator of the world.
In Book 1, Sutra 26, Patanjali also recommends only having Isvara as the guru on the path to Yoga. He believes that success in the path to yoga needs divine grace and Isvara’s intervention can turn the karmic tide in our favor.
Patanjali uses “cetana” (literally “consciousness) in this sutra - signifying that purusas have their own consciousness / volition / will. This is significant because it is different from what Sankhya or Advaita suggest - which is that self is a passive spectator. This view is also supported by a previous sutra (not in post), which says that success in yoga is proportional to the rigor with which it is practiced.
The view that purusa has cetana is related to Patanjali’s view on ethics and the belief that deliberate moral cleansing is the only path to liberation. This also differs from Sankhya and Advaita. Sankhya Karika says that dharma or morality leads us to heaven but not to liberation. In Advaita Vedanta, dharma or ethics has to be left behind on the path to liberation, because ethics can be an evil for a serious aspirant of liberation.
Firmness of the mind is needed for yoga and illness, apathy, doubt (on the path?), negligence, sloth, non-restraint, and perspectivism (failing to process the message of the sutras) lead to scattering of the mind (”Mann vikshep”). In the next sutra, Patanjali counts depression (daurmanasya - literally frustration) as one of the symptoms of these 8 obstacles to yoga. These can be overcome by (explained in the next 9 sutras) :
A positive attitude : Literal sutra explains this as an attitude of friendliness towards the pleasant, of compassion for those who suffer, of joy for the meritorious, and of equanimity towards the unmeritorious. These 4 practices are also referred to as the Brahmavihara in Buddhism
By expulsion and retention of breath : This is Pranayama
Binding the mind into stillness to observe the contents of the mind as they arise
By willing / choosing to be free from sorrow : Visoka va jyotismati. (#At some levels, happiness is a choice)
Freeing thoughts from objects of desire (removing “raga”)
Through insights gained from sleep
Deep meditation on any object that one finds agreeable : Here Patanjali becomes religion agnostic and suggests that one find the object or deity that one is most attracted to. Patanjali eventually leads this on to “meditation on subtle objects”, which lead to samadhi.
The last of these 7 ways to bring about firmness of mind is potentially the most confusing / debated of among all the sutras in book 1. Through Sutra 41-46, Patanjali describes the stages of contemplation that a Yogi will progress through to get to the first stages of Samadhi - Sabija Samadhi (samadhi with the seed of past sanskara, which leads to rebirth)
Highly recommended reading for the next 6 sutras : Sūtra 1.41-46 [Samāpatti and Sabīja-Samādhi] [Patañjali Yoga-sūtras]
Savitarka and nirvitarka
Tarka = logic, reasoning
When a yogi starts to meditate, their contemplation is on gross objects which are thought of through words, senses, and memory. When we see or remember objects in the external world our perception triggers a combined cognition of artha, the physical form or its recalled image; shabda, the sound or name with which we communicate the object’s identity to others; and jñana (gyaan), personal or cultural information about the nature, purpose, or function of that object. E.g. One sees a rose and thinks of it as a rose with petals, thorns, a certain smell etc. This is how the Yogi first gains knowledge.
Once the Yogi loses the conventional meaning of words and their memory impressions, the true nature of gross objects reveals itself. Nirvitarka Samadhi refers to the state in which the mental alternations of shabda, artha, and jñana are suspended. The less-real components, shabda and jñana, fall away completely, while the mind is absorbed in only artha, or form, and loses its awareness of being the knower. In this state all senses are at rest and the object contemplated on is the true object. A rose is seen as a simple arrangement of atoms in a certain way. The Yogi sees, but without interpretation that is clouded by senses or memory.
Savichara and Nirvichara
Vichara = contemplation
In Savichara samadhi, the Yogi stops “thinking about” the object - there is the object and the Yogi. Because of the experiential knowledge gained in this samadhi, the yogi practicing at this level comes to view the universe as one of subtle energies and subtle forms. Nirvitarka and savichara samadhis can also make the mind more receptive to various tanmatric experiences, such as the darshan (sight) of deities or other subtle entities, the inner sounds (nada), the divine taste, the divine smell, or the inner feeling of divine touch. The next stage, nirvichara, requires relinquishing all subtle differentiation.
In the next state of nirvicāra-samadhi, even the duality of the object and the observer is dropped. The mind’s awareness of, and involvement with, the world of objects (both gross and subtle) and their tanmatric origins is cut off. The ahankara (the sense of individuality / ego) or “I-am,” stops creating its world; it turns inward, and the happiness which flows from the experience of non-identification is felt.
In the last few sutras, Patanjali describes how the wisdom that flows through the getting to nirvichara samadhi is an antidote to latent and stored sanskara. Multiple instances of Nirvichara Samadhi can lead to Nirbijah Samadhi (seedless Samadhi). However,this is not the final Samadhi in Patanjali’s philosophy. This is a state that a Yogi will keep on moving away from and returning to until the final samadhi - dharmameghasamadhi.
Book 2 : Sadhana Pada
While the first book provided a definition of Yoga in terms of Samadhi, the second book goes deeper into what the actual practice involves. Yoga consists of 3 general practices :
Tap / Tapah / Tapas
Svadhyaya : Literally, “study of the self”
Ishvara Pranidhana : Literally, “surrender to God”
Through the above practices, a Yogi is able to, first of all, reduce their own suffering (“klesha tanu”).
Through Sutra 4-11, the causes of suffering are described in greater detail :
Ignorance (“avidya”) : This articulation of Sutra 5 captures Patanjali’s definition of ignorance best
Egotism (“asmita”): When one conflates nature / mind with purusa
Attachment (“raga”): Clinging to a pleasurable feeling
Aversion (“dveysha”) : Avoidance of a painful feeling (literally opposite of attachment)
Clinging to bodily security/fear of death
Analysis of the triggers of suffering and the defining characteristics of the above causes of suffering (savitarka -> nirvitarka -> and on..) leads to understanding them in their “subtle” form. Then any circumstance with similar defining characteristics will stop causing disturbances in the mind.
These triggers and characteristics have their roots in past lives / past karma, and that can be resolved through meditation (#do not fully ascribe to the translated view of this being meditation of an abstract or spiritual nature). This is Patanjali’s variant of Psychotherapy. The belief is that :
Distress/pain is caused by our past actions (which can be across lives) that create latent / stored impressions and produce further actions
As long as this root karma exists, it will present itself as a birth of a certain social status, a span of life, and certain experiences in life (Book II, Sutra 13)
Through meditation (Sutra 11) and discriminating between the seer / Purusa and the seen / nature (Sutra 17), we can get to the root of this karma and resolve it
Dissolution of the seer and seen relationship starts with acceptance of all that Nature gives as a learning experience and not as “retributive karma”. To view fruits of bad karma as punishment of good karma as rewards (#this is usually not explicitly articulated in pop self-help pieces), is to fail to view both as opportunities for learning and growth.
To Patanjali, Nature (“what is seen”) is acting in the Purusa’s best interest and giving opportunities for spiritual growth.
The 8 limbs of Yoga
The end of ignorance and dissolution of the difference between seen and seer is the awakening of “viveka” (discrimination) and “khyati” (knowledge) - both are common concepts in Vedic philosophy. The remainder of the Book II is spent breaking down the 3 general practices (tapa / svadhyaya/..) further into “8 limbs of Yoga” (only 5 in book 2) as below :
Yama: Asks for abstaining from harm (ahimsa), truthfulness, abstinence from theft, chastity, and unacquisitiveness
Few questions on the applicability of the rules -
Is applicability across a gradient (Book 1, Sutra 22 - Yoga can be practiced with differing vigor) or absolute?
Ans. The use of the word “vratam” (vow) - signaling necessary compliance - makes it more of an absolute than a gradient. Vratas are also consciously taken, hence this is not a universal code to live by, but a Yogic code
What is the order of precedence of the importance of rules in ambiguous situations?
Ans. Only guidance there is the order of listing the Yama rules. Ahimsa precedes everything
Through Sutra 36-39, Patanjali describes the effects of the Yama rules in slightly greater detail :
The core idea is simple - restraint ironically leads to abundance, be it in wealth, vigor, clarity, or seeing efforts materialize.
2. Niyama : Prescribes cleanliness, contentment, self-discipline (tapah), self-study and surrender to isvara
Through Sutra 40-45, Patanjali describes the effects of following the Niyama rules :
3-5 : Asana (posture), Pranayama, (breath control) and Pratyahara (withdrawl from senses)
Asana : Contrary to pop guidance on postures, there is no one posture that Patanjali prescribes while meditating. The guidance is that it should just be still (sthir) and pleasant (sukham)
Once posture is perfected, one is not troubled by the vagaries of nature (not joy/pain but more night/day, rain/heat etc)
Pranayama : Once postures are perfected, one can move to control the flow of breath. Modulations to breath can be through - internal (voluntarily pausing) / external (blocking nostrils) constraints, factoring in where the breath is in the body, duration of the breath, number of breaths
Pratyahara : Once the mind and body are under control through Asana and Pranayama, the mind is rendered fit for concentrating and withdrawing from sense objects and that is Pratyahara. The mind at this point has come to appreciate its inner life, divorced from the simulation of the senses. Unlike the previous limbs of yoga, this practice is a natural result of pranayama and asana.
This is where the Sadhana Pada ends.