The Patanjali Yoga Sutras and Its Spiritual Practice

by Tony Nguyen

Overview

When people see the word yoga, many think only of poses, meditations, and chants. They do not understand the philosophical set of beliefs on which it is based. In The Patanjali Sutra and Its Spiritual Practice, author Tony Nguyen broadens the understanding to create a more complete experience.

Nguyen focuses on the philosophy of Maharishi Patanjali, the great expounder of the authoritative classical yoga school of thought, or darsana, of Hinduism and the author of the Yoga Sutras. Nguyen also responds to the relationship between theory and practice in the classical yoga system. The Patanjali Sutra and Its Spiritual Practicediscusses:

the basic philosophical view of Patanjalis Yoga Sutras, focusing on explanation and interpretation of the relationship between purusa and prakrti;
the samkhya and yoga systems, which are related to Patanjalis yoga doctrines and the similarities and differences between them; and
spiritual practice.

Nguyen offers a host of information to help practitioners enhance their spiritual journey through yoga.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781504302425
Publisher:	Balboa Press AU
Publication date:	06/15/2016
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	176
File size:	308 KB

About the Author

Tony Nguyen was born in 1962 in Vietnam and escaped the communist regime in 1980. He spent more than three years in Palawan, Philippines, as a refugee. He resettled in Australia in 1983. Now retired, he lives in Melbourne.

Read an Excerpt

The Patanjali Yoga Sutras and Its Spiritual Practice

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By Tony Nguyen

Balboa Press

Copyright © 2016 Tony Nguyen
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-5043-0241-8

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CHAPTER 1

The Philosophical View of Patanjali's Classical Yoga

Many scholars have attempted to define yoga, but it is not easy to do so. The word yoga is derived from the root yuj, meaning "to link together" or "to bring under the yoke." It is related to the Latin words jungere and jugum, which in English means "yoke."

Worthington adds that Sutras have a great influence on the development and practice of the yoga system since the author, Patanjali, first wrote them. The Yoga Sutras are thus penetrating to the mind of every practitioner of this method. The sutras are concise and include all the main practices of yoga in four small books or chapters. Thus, in a "mystic" form yoga is symbolled or represented a union between Purusa and Prakriti. Indian teaching of these instructions to would-be yoga devotees are not an inclusive system. The sutras are simply hints and suggestions, and for this reason, it is always customary for devotees to be guided by teachers or gurus.

Abadhuta Nityapadananda says that the "guru is the spiritual Master and Guide. He is a man of God-realization and is a soul of Enlightenment." Gurus may write commentaries on each sutra to clarify or simplify its meaning. In like manner, this work will present and comment on each sutra and its concept so that the meaning may be immediately apparent to readers on first reading.

Eliade adds, yoga is used as a technique of "asceticism" and is a method of meditation. Asceticism and meditation are used differently in several traditional and mystic practices in India. In order to understand the position of Patanjali's treatise on the classical yoga system in the history of Indian thought, we have to analyse the principles of this treatise (angas) and many others in detail. Furthermore, practicing yoga is a pre-condition to united to the real Atman. In other words, deliverance cannot take place unless one has first detached oneself from the mundane life, for otherwise, one would never find oneself again. Even in its mystic form, however, yoga symbolizes or represents a union between purusa and prakrti. Yoga implies a prior detachment from the material world and an emancipation with respect to the world. Thus, the emphasis was placed on a person's effort to bring his or her self-discipline in order to achieve concentration of the mind.

A yogi begins his or her spiritual life by renouncing the world (family and society) and accepting the guidance of his or her spiritual master. And thus, a Yogi should devote him or herself to overcoming the human condition and also endeavour to "die to this life." It is at this moment that a yogi can see the importance of the initiation process of his or her spiritual practice.

The process of initiation is meant to transfer spiritual energy between master and disciple from mind to mind and heart to heart, regardless of distance. Once Master has seen the disciple's photographs or knows the disciple's name, then master will arrange the time and place to transfer a spiritual power. Indeed, yoga has a great position in Indian philosophy as it is expounded in Patanjali's treatise, the Yoga Sutras, as well as in its commentaries. A darsana is not a system of philosophy as defined in Western thought but rather a point of view, understanding, vision, experience or doctrine.

This experience of reality is not emotional happiness or a subjective fancy, but would rather be the response of the whole personality, the integrated innermost self to the central reality.

Nevertheless, the yoga system is about coextensive affirmations with human experience, which attempts to interpret as a whole. The purpose is to take ignorance, delusion, and suffering away from people, to encourage them to develop their pure minds, and in the end to allow them to realize the Buddha Nature, innermost self, true self, or pure consciousness (Purusa).

According to Georg Feuerstein, classical yoga is one of the six darsanas and is one of the six Indian orthodox system philosophies. We should note that in this context, orthodox means that it is tolerated by the system of these spiritual masters. This classical yoga of Patanjali represents the culmination of the long development of yoga practice and the samkhya schools of thought that existed in early Christian times. It was Patanjali's philosophy that came to be acknowledged as the authoritative system of yoga. Thus, yoga was highly influential at a certain time, as can be deduced from many references to it in the texts of other philosophical systems. Feuerstein adds, our knowledge of classical yoga is based almost entirely on the yoga Sutras attributed to Patanjali and the commentaries written on them.

Patanjali did not claim to invent a system of philosophy but merely to set down the yoga doctrines that induce certain philosophical, psychical, and psychological states. The Yoga Sutras are simply containing well-proven ideas and practices. Together they form a systematic treatise concerned with defining the most important aspects of the theory and practice of yoga.

The Patanjali Yoga Sutras consist of four books or chapters. The first book (samadhi-pada) contains fifty-one sutras (aphorisms) dealing with the basic principles of yogic ecstasy, or pre-concentration. The second (sadhana-pada) contains fifty-five sutras dealing with the principle of discipline, or "realization." The third book (vibhuti-pada) contains fifty-six sutras that provide guidance for practising the "marvellous powers." The fourth and final book (kaivalya-pada) has only thirty-four sutras and may be a later addition. It deals with illumination and liberation and recommends that the yogi practise for his or her freedom from all limitations and attachments – that is, the isolation or liberation of the Buddha Nature or immortal-self. Patanjali's text was repetitive, often uncertain, and sometimes lacking in harmony between the different parts. Thus, the sutras have been grouped into four books or chapters that each emphasize a particular meaning and concept. This allows readers to more easily access the sutras.

Furthermore, Feuerstein indicates that it is impossible to tell whether Patanjali was responsible only for the composition of the classical yoga, or kriya-yoga, section of the Yoga Sutras or whether he was indeed the author of the whole text, as we consider him to be today. Regardless, the most important feature of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras are expressed in the kriya-yoga section, and the tradition of the eight-limb yoga has become identified with classical yoga.

It is commonly believed that no matter what school of yoga one follows, the great eight precepts or limbs from which yoga's doctrine is outlined apply. One must follow these steps for success. The eight precepts, are yama, or internal purification through moral training preparatory to yoga; niyama, or cleanness, contentment, mortification, study, and worship of God; asana, or postures used for the purpose of meditation; pranayama, or breath control; prathyahara, or making the mind introspective; dharana, or concentration; dhyana, or meditation; and samadhi, the highest super-conscious state. Five of these limbs are exterior precepts concerned with the physiological body, pranayama (breath control or vital force), and the ethical state of mind. The other three are inner precepts concerned with insight, introspections such as meditation, concentration, and the state in which the yogi will realize his or her purusa. These three limbs very much affect the long-term development of the mind.

Eliade suggest, yoga is a system that was prevalent in ancient scripture and is perhaps to refer to a six-fold system of yoga (sadanga yoga) for the purpose of practice. The system does not simply remove the impurities of both body and mind but also helps the mind by removing all obstacles that stand in the way of knowledge. Thus, two objectives have been emphasized: disassociating the impurities (viyogakarana) and removing the obstacles, which obstruct the mind's course to the attainment of perfection. When the impurities are removed by practising yoga, the mind will become pure. So then, yoga is an evolutionary process of refining human beings at all levels, and this process is called purification.

Many writers suggest that the Patanjali lived in about the second or third century before Christ, while others believe he lived in the fifth century after Christ. We do not know. Nevertheless, according to Eliade, some Indian commentators, including the eleventh-century writer King Bhoja, have identified Patanjali with Maharishi Patanjali, the grammarian who lived in the first or second century before Christ. There is evidence to support the argument that Patanjali flourished earlier than the fifth century after Christ. Moreover, we have good reason to believe the Yoga Sutras were composed in about the first or second century before Christ as the text could well be related to an ancient idealist school, such as that found in the first Upanishads.

These controversies over the date in which Maharishi Patanjali lived and the age of the Yoga Sutras are of minor importance. The techniques and doctrines of asceticism and meditation that are outlined by Maharishi Patanjali provide a great treasury of information about the yoga systems. However, Eliade emphasizes that these Yoga Sutras were not Patanjali's invention. Rather the Sutras had been practised for many centuries before. The majority of Indian authors are satisfied to present the traditional doctrines in their own language. This can be further verified by the typical patterns that may be seen in the case of Patanjali, whose single aim was to write a practical book of very ancient techniques to be used by many generations to come. It is not easy for people to try to revise these original Yoga Sutras in order to adapt their methods to new philosophical situations.

These sutras, are systematic treatises that summarize the philosophical position of a particular school of thought and were arrived at after many generations of thinking, discussing, and practicing. They represent classical yoga and the formulation of a philosophical position. Because philosophical doctrines within the tradition changed and evolved over time, the original meanings of the sutras were in danger of being forgotten and in some cases were, in fact, lost. This has caused many ancient and modern thinkers in various traditions to compose their own commentaries on the sutras.

As mentioned earlier, commentators have usually interpreted the original texts in light of their own points of view with the intention of setting up the rules for their own schools of thought. As a result, these commentaries have given rise to new commentaries and sub commentaries, which have survived into the twentieth century in many sections of the Sutras. However, in Indian tradition, the author of such commentaries was usually given a mythical name and was identified as a "collector," a title given to some scholars in place of the name of an individual.

We will now turn to the sutras themselves, offering a short commentaries and interpreting the tradition of each of the four books. The revise of interpreting is based up on principle of the original text which was translated into English by Feuerstein, Vivekananda, Prabhavananda and Isherwood, and others writers.

The headings of these books are not original but were added by copyists. (Quotes are used as evidence and some notes are places in 'footnotes').

CHAPTER 2

The Yoga Sutras

Book One (Samadhi-Pada)

Concentration: Illuminates Its Spiritual Attention

YS I-1. Begin commencement of the exposition of yoga.

The first sutra states the subject matter and nature of Patanjali's treatise. The use of the word exposition or instruction indicates that the collection does not purport to be an original philosophical tract expounding yoga but rather a work that considers an existing body of knowledge.

YS I-2. Yoga is the restriction of the fluctuation or diversion of consciousness.

Yoga, here, stands for a particular tradition that enriches practicing yoga, but there are no laid down regulations. The kriya-yoga, or classical yoga, of Patanjali is a branch among many within this great tradition. Yoga means union between purusa and its prakrti, or positive and negative polarities. However, that which emphasizes disunion is definitely inapplicable to Patanjali's kriya-yoga; it means the disjunction of the innermost self and matter.

With respect to the Sanskrit word citta, which in English means "consciousness", Feuerstein suggests that "previous translator have proposed a variety of renderings, such as 'mind stuff', 'thinking principle' and similar horrific word"

However, today, "citta seems to convey simply, 'consciousness' and perhaps occasionally 'mind'".

Furthermore, Vivekananda suggests that a good explanation requires that we understand what citta is and what the vrttis (fluctuations) are. For instance, suppose we have eyes, but they do not see. To stimulate the eyes for visions,

First an instrument is needed. Second, there must be organs. And third, the mind must be attached to these two. Thus, when our mind sees the environment or objects around us, the mind takes those impressions further and presents them to the determinative faculty (buddhi), which reacts. Along with this reaction flashes the idea of egotism. Then a mixture of action and reaction is presented to the innermost self, the real soul, who perceives an object in this mixture.

The organs – together with the mind, the determinative faculty, and egotism, which collectively form a group called Tattva-Vaisaradi – are the internal factors. They are but various process in the consciousness called citta. The waves of thought or fluctuations in the citta rae called vrttis.

The last is the nirodha (restriction). If we realize that nirodha stand for both Process of restriction and the state of restrictedness, misunderstanding and confusion can be avoided.

YS I-3. Then the Seer or purusa remains in its essence.

This sutra may suggest a time when the mind has been concentrated, and the Seer (purusa) rests in its own unmodified state. For instance, when the waves on the surface of a pool have subsided and the water's surface becomes quiet, we see the pool's bottom clearly. With the mind, when the waves of thought are calm, our true natures will appear.

YS I-4. In other times, there is a conformity to the established practice of the innermost self with the fluctuations of consciousness.

This sutra, according to Vivekananda, suggests that at times other than the time of concentration by practitioner, the Seer (innermost self) is identified with modifications. For instance, if someone complains to me, it produces a modification, a vrtti, in my mind. I identify myself with it; as a result, I feel misery. Thus, the first four sutras can be understood as the nature of yoga, and practitioners should observe them with care.

YS I-5. The fluctuations or distractions are fivefold: afflicted or non-afflicted.

To understand this sutra, practitioners need to know the concept of klesa and means causes of affliction, which is of importance in Patanjali's kriya-yoga. Feuerstein defines klista as caused by the causes-of-affliction, while aklista means not caused by the causes of affliction. All five types of fluctuations can be either 'afflicted' or 'non-afflicted.,' he continues.

However, spiritual practitioners are necessarily responsible for the causes of the fluctuations of consciousness. Furthermore, Bangali interprets the text to mean that painful, afflicted and fluctuations directed of the causes of afflictions which is a basic principle of a growing of the "vehicle of actions." The "not painful," or non-afflicted and fluctuations are those that belong to the sphere of revelation and are unfavourable to the functions of the energies. Meanwhile, Miller claims the five kinds of fluctuations are immune to the forces of corruption.

YS I-6. There are five types of fluctuations: valid cognition, misconception, conceptualization, sleep, and memory.

Transformation and movement are, therefore, the characteristics of nature (prakrti), while the activity of consciousness responds in order to calm the fluctuations caused by affliction. Thus, the source of affliction is nature. Furthermore, the yogic practitioner cannot control this affliction but rather earns to subdue these movements, which are stored in the small section of his or her "psycho-physical organism."

YS I-7 To understand the valid cognitions based on evidence or direct perception, implication, and testimony.

According to Vivekananda, this sutra suggests that when two of our perceptions do not contradict each other, we call that proof or evidence.

There are three types of proof. The first is direct perception, which means whatever we see and feel is proof and is itself sufficient. The second is inference. This means that we see a sign, and from that sign, we come to the signified things. The third is the direct evidence presented by the yogis who have seen the truth.

We all struggle towards knowledge, but a "pure one" has gone beyond all this. Therefore, to the mind of a pure one, the past, present, and future are alike. These are the authors, the teachers of the sacred scriptures. Indeed, the scriptures are proof or evidence.

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from The Patanjali Yoga Sutras and Its Spiritual Practice by Tony Nguyen. Copyright © 2016 Tony Nguyen. Excerpted by permission of Balboa Press.
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Table of Contents

Contents

Preface, vii,
Introduction, ix,
Part I: The Basic Philosophical View of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, 1,
Chapter 1: The Philosophical View of Patanjali's Classical Yoga, 3,
Chapter 2: The Yoga Sutras, 9,
Part II: The Samkhya and Yoga Systems, 101,
Chapter 3: Prakrti and Its Natural Formation, 103,
Chapter 4: Purusa and Its Natural Formation, 109,
Chapter 5: The Relationship between Purusa and Prakrti, 114,
Chapter 6: Samkhya and Yoga: The Similarities and Differences, 117,
Chapter 7: The Application of Practical Yoga, 121,
Part III: Spiritual Practice, 125,
Chapter 8: Preparation Stage, 127,
Chapter 9: Concentration Stage, 130,
Chapter 10: Generation of Spiritual Power, 135,
Conclusion, 139,
Appendix: Original Text of the Yoga Sutras, 143,
Glossary, 155,
Bibliography, 159,
Author, 165,