There probably is no Text that has been as misinterpreted as Patanjali‘s Yoga Sutra, barring the exception of Srimad Bhagavd Gita.
We have charlatans ranging from Chandra Swamy,Baba Ramdev to our own Sri Sri Ravi Sankar,Nithyananda.
These frauds have some funny names like Sudarshana Kriya.
Nothing can be further from the Text of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra.
Yoga Sutra has to be read in original.
I have been thinking for quite some time now to reproduce the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali with The Text and a strict translation.
The first lines till the line before the last was written on 5 June 2012.
Normally I write as I feel straight without writing on MS Word, edit and post to WordPress.
If, in the middle, I felt like not proceeding, I delete the post and that’s it.
In this case I do not know why I did not delete the post.
This morning i decided to write on Yoga Text and as I started writing in my normal way, I noticed had a draft made already!
I had just returned from visiting the temples in South India(20 temples in 5 days), which included a Tirupattur, where the only Temple of Brahma exists(there is a post on this under Hinduism,Bhakthi).
This Temple has the Jeeva Samadhi of Patanjali(Vyakrapada).
Is this a coincidence?
Onto the subject.
Many sites are available on Patanjali and I am not planning to write on the Life of Patanjali.
My intention is to write a Text explanation, with out any color, of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra.
As many know there are Four ways to realize the Self or God in Hinduism.
But the path to realization need not necessarily be through only these.
As Lord Krishna says in The Bhagavad Gita ,these are some of the ways the learned(look, who is calling others ‘learned’),but one should and is free to choose what suits him best’
Ramanana Maharishi also echoed the same.
The Four paths are.
Gnana Yoga, The Path of Knowledge
Karma Yoga, The Path of Action.
Bhakti Yoga, The path of Devotion or Surrender and
Raja Yoga, The path of Consciousness Managemet.
Patanjali explains the Raja Yoga by his Sutras, Aphorisms.
There are 196 Sutras .
These appear under Four Chapters.
1.Samadhi Pada, explains the different Samadhis or the Super States that one can attain by practising Dhyana( there is no word in Sanskrit that is used to mean ‘ Super Natural,Super State when it tries to explain Philosophy for in Hinduism nothing in the Universe is Super Natural; every thing is Natural).
2.Sadhana Padam, contains details thre Rules for Yoga.
3.Vibhuti Pada has Benefits, results and the super powers one would acquire by practicing Yoga.
4.Kaivalya Pad, which describes the Liberation of the Soul.
One important point has to be borne in mind.
Patanjali’s Yoga is not some thing one should learn by Text Book .
One has to learn it from a Guru and this Guru is definitely not the self advertises masters of Yoga however famous they are.
If your thirst and yearning for Yoga is intense you will have a Guru reaching out for you.
Please read my post on ‘Upadhyaya, Acharya and Guru”
Sutra 1.
Atha: Yoganusaasanam.
“This. is., is precept of Yoga’
What is Yoga?
Yoga means ‘Union’ or more correctly Reunion.
Union is with the Reality from which we delude that we are different.
Yoga seeks to take us to this original State.
Related:
http://ramanisblog.in/2013/04/12/brahmas-temple-forms-the-base-of-a-triangletirupattur/
https://ramanisblog.in/2011/07/05/guru-acharyaupaadhyaayar-kanchi-periyavar/
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