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The Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali

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The Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali The Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjai TRANSLATED WITH A NEW COMMENTARY BY SWAMI PRABirtA ANDA AND CHRISTOPHER 0 . SI AMAKISA MA 1 SI AMAKISA MA OA MYAOE MAAS - IIA PUBLISHED BY © THE PRESIDENT SRI RAMAKRISHNA MATH MADRAS-600 004 FIRST PUBLISHED , BY VEDANTA SOCIETY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 2-MC 2 82 PRINTED IN INDIA PHOTOCOMPOSED AT AUROPHOTOSE'TTERS, PONDICHERRY rntd t O O OSE ESS, Mdr2 UISES O E It th rt plr tht prnt t r rdr th Indn Edtn f t n Gd b S rbhvnnd. h Enlh trnltn f tnjl Y Str rnll pblhd b th dnt St, Sthrn Clfrn fr th bnft f Wtrn rdr h d nt n Snrt nd t r ntrtd n Indn phl hh plb th dpth f th hn nd. S rbhvnnd h h t h rdt h ld xptn `Srd hvd Gt, th d f Gd, `rd f vn v nd th Srn n th Mnt rdn t dnt h tn pl pn n th b t prnt th phlph nd prt f Y n nnthnl, ptdt phrl tht n b ndrtd nd njd b ll nrn nd. r th bnft f r Indn rdr hv ddd l th txt f tnjl Str n vnr. W r r tht th ll fnd th b nntl hlpfl n thr ptl prt. W r thnfl t S rbhv nndj nd th dnt St, Sthrn Clfrn fr nd prn t brn t th Indn dtn. Sr rhn Mth UISE Mdr600 004. CONTENTS Translators' Foreword The Yoga Aphorisms of Patanfali I YOGA A IS AIMS 1 II YOGA A IS ACICE 57 I OWES 112 Iv. IEAIO 135 Words Explained and Subjects Discussed in the Text 151 lf. A t 2ggrt: M.A. ASAOS OEWO aaais Yoga Suas (Aoisms ae o e oigia eosiio o a iosoy u a wok o comiaio a eomuaio eeeces o yoga acices--siiua is- ciies a eciques o meiaio wic eae a ma o aciee uiie kowege o e Goea—ae o e ou aeay i e Kaa Sweaswaa aiiiya a Maiayai Uaisas ey may ceuies eaie Iee e yoga ocie may e sai o ae ee ae ow om e- isoic imes Wa aaai i was o esae yoga iosoy a acice o e ma o is ow eio u wa was is eio? A wo was aaai? ay ayig is kow aou im Some auoiies eiee a ee wee acuay wo aaais oe a gammaia a e oe e auo o e Suas Oes ey is As o e ae o e Suas e guesses o scoas ay wiey agig om e ou ceuy B.C. o e ou ceuy A.D. e simes meaig o e wo sua is "ea" A sua is so o seak e ae ea o a eosiio e asoue miimum a is ecessay o o i ogee uaoe y a sige "ea" o eaoaio Oy esseia wos ae use Oe ee is o comee seece-sucue ee was a goo easo o is meo Suas wee comose a a eio we ee wee o ooks e eie wok a o e memoie a so i a o e eesse as esey as ossie aaais Suas ike a oes wee iee o e eae a eaie e acie eaces wou eea a aoism y ea a e ocee o amiy i wi ei ow co- vi PATANJALI YOGA S RAS nt, fr th bnft f thr ppl. In ntn th nt, l, r rzd, trnrbd t ltr dt, nd th prrvd fr . In th trnltn hv nt nl prvdd ntr bt xpndd nd prphrd th phr thlv, tht h n b n ntllbl ttnt n th Enlh ln. Crtn thr trnltr hv bn nlln t t th lbrt, nd hv thrfr ffrd vrn f th txt hh pprxtl ltrl, bt rpt pr fr ltr nt. It nnt b ndrtd t ll ntl t ntr h bn rfll tdd. W blv tht th nd f trnltn h bd phll fft n th rdr. n, t frt ln, nbl t nthn f th phr thlv, h pt t dd tht th hl bjt t dfflt fr h. Enh dfflt xt n n th td f phlph. It h bn r nt t nr th nnrl. Or ntr nl r n r. vr, hv flld th xplntn f th t nnt nttr, hj nd . W hv l td frntl fr th brllnt nd dpl nttv nt f S vnnd. h nt r d xtpr drn th Cl n tnjl hh th S hld n th Untd Stt r thn fft r . h r rttn dn b h tdnt, nd r nldd n h b n Raja Yoga. Sn , prr t tnjl, rnll rndd n dnt phlph, hv ntrrptd th phr, I thrht, fr dntt vpnt. In th dffr fr tnjl hlf, h fllr f Snh phlph. t th r rl thnl dffrn, nd t bt nt t nt n th t trnl, lt th rdr b nfd. h r brfl xplnd t pprprt pnt n r ntr. In nrl, hv hd t prnt n th b prtl d t th prtl lf n d tht n b d b th TRANSLATORS' FOREWORD vii devotees of any religion—Hindu, Christian, or other. We have therefore avoided dwelling much on its metaphysical and occult aspects. The study of these may fascinate some types of mind, but it is ultimately sterile and may even be dangerous if carried to ex?ess. It was suggested to us, while vve were working on the book, that we should introduce into it a comparison of yoga and modern Western psychology. Such a comparison has already been attempted by various writers, and some interesting points of similarity and dissimilarity in theory and technique have been noted. But, from our view at least, the comparison in itself seems neither fair nor valid. Yoga psychology is a finished product. Western psychology is still developing and along several divergent lines; continually producing new theories and discarding old ones. If one says categorically: "Western psychology hol&this view...," one is always in danger of being reprimanded for inaccuracy. We may, however, make one statement safely. The majority of Western psychotherapists do not, as yet, recognize the existence of the Atman, the Godhead within man; and do not, therefore, attempt to help their patients achieve the union of perfect yoga. As for those psychotherapists, now becoming quite numerous, who take a serious interest in yoga, many of them would no doubt state their position somewhat 0.s follows: "We can help our patients to a certain point—to an adequate degree of adjustment on the psychological level. ayond that, we're not ready to go. We recognize the possibility of a higher, spiritual integration, but we prefer not to make it a part of our therapy, because we believe that the t should be kept separate. If a patient wants spiritual integration, we can only send him to a yoga teacher or a minister of religion. Where we leave off, yoga begins." And there, for the present, the problem rests. In conclusion, we must gratefully acknowledge the per- Viii PATANJALI YOGA SUTRAS mission given us to quote from the following books. Erwin Schrodinger's What is Life? published by the Cambridge University Press; the volume containing The Way of a Pilgrim and The Pilgrim Continues His Way, translated by R. M. French and published by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, of London; the Bhagavad-Gita, trans- lated by the present authors and published by New American Library, and the following works published by the Vedanta Press of Hollywood: Shankara's Crest-Jewel of Discrimination (Prabavananda-Isherwood), The Eternal Companion (Pra- bhavananda), and the Upanishads (Prabhavananda-Man- chester). I YOGA A IS AIMS I1 i-1, I I 11 1 is is e egiig o isucio i yoga Basically, yoga means "union." It is the Sanskrit ancestor of the English word "yoke." Hence, it comes to mean a method of spiritual union. A yoga is a method—any one of many—by which an individual may become united with the Godhead, the Reality which underlies this apparent, ephemeral uni- verse. To achieve such union is to reach the state of perfect yoga. Christianity has a corresponding term, "the mystic union," which expresses a similar idea. Bhoja, one of the classical commentators on these aphor- isms, defines Patanjali's use of the word yoga as "an effort to separate the Atman (the Reality) from the non-Atman (the apparent)." One who practises yoga is called a yogi. thTeNtl-frekTWIET: ti it 2. Yoga is e coo o oug-waes i e mi According to Patanjali, the mind (chitta) is made up of three components, manas, buddhi, and ahamkara. Manas is the recording faculty which receives impressions gathered by the senses from the outside world. Buddhi is the discriminative faculty which classifies these impressions and reacts to them. Ahamkara is the ego-sense which claims these impressions for its own and stores them up as individual knowledge. For example, manas reports: "A large animate object is quickly approaching." Buddhi decides: "That's a bull. It is angry. It 2 PATANJALI YOGA SUTRAS wants to attack someone." Ahamkara screams: "It wants to attack me, Patanjali. It is 1 who see this bull. It is I who am frightened. It is /who am about to run away." Later, from the branches of a nearby tree, ahamkara may add: "Now I know that this bull (which is not I) is dangerous. There are others who do not know this; it is my own personal knowledge, which will cause me to avoid this bull in future." God, the underlying Reality, is by definition omnipresent.
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