The Yoga Sutras of Patanjal

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali are a sacred grouping of texts that provide the guiding light for, in my terms, how to be a good human being. It’s well known that the text was written in 500BCE and is one of the oldest texts in the world of yoga. Here is my interpretation of The Yoga Sutras

I really enjoy learning and diving into The Sutras - I think the interpretation is fascinating and the way people think or project views on to simple principles is very unique.

The Sutras are broken up into 4 Padas or books. It’s well known that the first book discusses enlightenment and what happened after the meditative state, dhyana. Book two talks about more the external or extrinsic aspects of yoga, it’s purpose and guidance. From cleanliness, movement, breathing and how we treat others, much of the second book is considered “what to do out there” in the world. Book three takes a turn inward, after the distractions of the world and mind are at ease, concentration and contemplation are what is left since the mind-body connection remains undisturbed at all times. Book four explores what happens after meditation and an independent study of the self.

“The Self” is referred to as many things in the sutras including Atman, Brahman, Purusa, manas and more. The separating of these beings is crucial to define what meditation is.

• Atman can be defined simply as The Self or the inner most self and soul.

• Brahman is the unmanifest supreme consciousness or God; this is and can be a part of attaining enlightenment.

• Purusa can be defined by the diving self which abides by all beings and the inner most conscious self.

• Manas is the thinking and organizing part of the mind. The mind is collectively called the citta and it has three parts, the other two are intelligence and ego.

My definitions are not exhaustive, more like peeling back the onion. It would appear that the second pada helps us detach from the citta, the Purusa and even atman, in order to know Brahman better. Even that phraseology is incorrect because once we realize we are “knowing” we aren’t meditating anymore. When Dharana or concentration goes totally interrupted, then dhyana can occur, It’s a tranquil peace state that lets invasive thoughts, sounds and distractions by. It comes with time and tapas or discipline to stick to it. The thought of “knowing” it actually a distraction of the mind as well.

Through various steps, Patanjali reminds us that the the sutras and yoga are there for us to find a clearer understanding of what is going on around us so we can interpret it accurately, so we can connect to our inner light, our spiritual self. The development of this ritualistic pattern takes time, dedication and retraining the conscious and unconscious negative feedback loops in favor of the positive.

Here are a few Sutras that are my favorite. I will include the direct text from The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali by Sri Swami Satchidananda and I will also provide my own interpretation or stories to accompany them.

Book 1, Sutra 2: “The restraint of the modifications of the mind-stuff is Yoga”

• I appreciate, right out of the gate, Patanjali explains very matter of factly, - yoga isn’t movement, it’s getting your mind right! Western thinking has yoga boxed into this movement definition and really, that’s a very very small part, it’s actually an eighth of the Ashtangic Yoga Pathway. I also like how the rest of the four books solely focus on “restraining the mind-stuff.” I also appreciate the word “mind-stuff” because it’s stuff - it could be intellectual thoughts, criticisms, nagging, negative self talk, day dreaming, sleep state, anything in the mind is mind-stuff and I believe we forget that.

Book 1, Sutra 14 “Practice becomes firmly grounded when we attended to for a long time, without break and in all earnestness.”

• After I read this I think “Well isn’t that the truth, of course it will!” This is the basis of “Practice makes perfect” in our mainstream Western world. Doing something with whole heart in, for a long period of time without any deviations or falling off the pattern train of course will firmly ground someone in their practice, whatever that may be. That’s why I believe habit evolution - which I am renaming “Evolving Your Rituals” is so important because once you successfully maintain them, they’re always there for you and you can come back to them like a boomerang.

Book 1, Sutras 8 & 9 “Misconception occurs when knowledge of something is not based upon its true form.” & “An image that arises on hearing mere words without any reality [as its basis] is verbal delusion”

• These two are more my favorite when it comes to how many times I was hurt because of the “he said she said” talks in high school and small towns. Essentially, “knowledge based on it’s true form” is something that you have seen with your own eyes and “verbal delusion” is the chatter or gossip people end up believing. It’s outlined in this sacred text, from thousands of years ago that A, seeing is believing and B, don’t trust hearsay.

Book 1, Sutra 30 “Disease dullness, doubt, carelessness, laziness, sensuality, false perception, failure to reach firm ground and slipping from the ground gained - these distraction of the mind-stuff are the obstacles”

• These are obstacles in our way, mostly from the mind, that prevent us from reaching out highest potential and I read them in an “oh duh” but also a slap across the face. Lack of drive can happen because you’re sick or just because you are lazy, but it sure will prevent you from greater things. Falling off your evolution train will set you back weeks or months off your diet or new positive behavior. They all go back to the sneaky mind-stuff. I dislike that Patanjali references sensuality here but there is a reason for it and that’s divulged in the yamas and more specifically, bramacharya.

Book 1, Sutra 33 “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”

• This was one of the first sutras I read. By now, you probably know I rarely read a book from front to back, cover to cover unless it’s an audio book. This Sutra was given to us on the first day of my first YTT program. I thought it was melodic and whimsy, I wish it were more poetic or someone made a song about it. Truly, attitudes of friendliness, compassion, delight and disregard are the “keys” to the locks of people with personalities like happy, unhappy, virtuous, and wicked. How much time and energy have you spent trying to make someone who is miserable happy, or even looked at someone with jealousy or greed because they attained something you wanted. In Sutra 33, Patanjali outlines the 4 basic responses to every single person you will run into in any day, and look how hard we complicate things?

Book 2, Sutra 3 “Ignorance, egoism, attachment, hatred and clinging to bodily life are the five obstacles.” [He is explaining why a dedicated practice is necessary to get into samadhi]

• I think as an ancient Sage, Patanjali knew exactly what happiness is supposed to be like and it didn’t include the rough spots in ourselves. This is the attaining Atman, the purest self without the labels and shields of armor to impress others.

Book 3, Sutra 2 “Dhyana is the continuous flow of cognition toward that object”

• I appreciate that Patanjali specifically says “This is what meditation is,” but even so, he is a little vague. Continuous flow is the same as uninterrupted and so, when concentration leads continuously down the pathways, it will dead end into dhyana, mediation. As soon as it breaks and becomes discontinuous, it’s not meditation anymore. It’s concentration again.

Book 4, Sutra 15 “Due to differences in various minds, perception of even the same object may vary”

• I feel that the whole world needs a bumper sticker made of this Sutra. Of course our minds vary, and because perception is never the same, one object may look completely different to two separate people. Take for instance a family of three, a child, a mother and a father. Let’s say the mother doesn’t like carrots, never has actually, so she doesn’t prepare them and asks for them to be taken off her meals when out to dinner. Dad on the other hand, doesn’t mind them, doesn’t bring them up, carrots are a non-issue. The child? Because the child hears mom complaining about how gross they are and always has them taken off her food, the child refuses to eat them, never has even tried them. The mother has first hand knowledge she doesn’t like them, the child has listen to “verbal delusions” as mentioned before and won’t eat them. The dad on the other hand is fine with them. Three people, three different perspectives. One carrot.

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali outline how to live a happy, healthy, purposeful life while attuning to a clear and focused mind. Understanding, purifying, stabilizing, knowing, controlling - all actionable words seen in the four padas. In the future, probably 2023, I hope to lead a course about diving into the sutras full steam ahead. If this is something that interest you, let me know!