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Appendix [a]
PHILOSOPHY
1. Recap on Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras Chapter 2
2. Patanjali - an in-depth study of Chapter I, using the Tutor’s choice of translation. Study
to use the following themes, taken from “The Essence of Yoga” by Bernard Bouanchaud (or
edition chosen by tutor):
I.1-I.4
What is yoga?
I.5-I.11
What is mind?
I.12-I.29
How can we attain the yoga state?
I.30-I.31
What difficulties might we encounter?
I.32-I.39
How can we overcome them?
I.40-I.51
What does yoga bring us?
Assignment Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras Worksheet
Learning Outcome: learners will:
1. Understand Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras
Assessment Criteria: learners can:
1.1 Explain the significance of the first 4 verses of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras
1.2 Identify, consider and explain key aspects of Patanjali’s system
P/R
Complete questions 1 and 6 and one question from questions 2-5
Question 1
Chapter 1, v1-4 – the first four verses of the Yoga Sutra are said to capture the substance and meaning of the
whole text. Explain your understanding of the first 4 verses.
Write here
The first four verses of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras (PYS) tell us directly and succinctly what the remaining text
explores in greater subtlety and detail. They tell us what yoga is, what it is for, and the state in which we
might find ourselves if we do not embrace yoga.
Verse 1, atha yoganusanam, “Now is set forth an authoritative teaching on yoga” [1] is unambiguous.
This is an authoritative text; Patanjali has studied the influential yoga texts, such as the Vedas, to a depth
that allows him to go on to teach us. I think the word anusanam is important here, it is variously
translated as “teaching” (Bouanchaud), “instruction” (Desikachar) or “exposition” (Satchidananda). This
tells us that the Yoga Sutras are more than a philosophical text, but are a guide to understanding and
living that philosophy in our daily lives, and that practise and direct experience are key to understanding
the teaching.
Verse 2, yogas citta vrtti nirodhah, “Yoga is the ability to direct and focus mental activity” [2] again seems
simple, clear and direct. This verse is the basis for the rest of the sutras, and here Patanjali is telling us
what is the ultimate aim of yoga: to still the mind. However, when we look more deeply, citta has a very
broad meaning and encompasses psyche, intelligence, thought, sentiment, emotion [3], everything that
we can possibly consider to be “mind-stuff” [4]. This shows us two things: that Patanjali’s yoga system is
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ultimately a yoga of the mind, and that the ability to direct and focus the mind in all its aspects may not
be as simple to achieve as it might first have seemed.
In verse 3, tada drastuh svarupe vasthanam, “With the attainment of focused mind, the inner being
establishes itself in all its reality” [5], Patanjali subtly introduces both the concept of something other
than the outward expression of ourselves, drastuh, the “inner being” (sometimes translated as “the
seer” [6]), and a reality, svarupe, (“own nature” [7], “true form” [8]) that is beyond our day-to-day
existence. Here we begin to become aware of the idea that true understanding comes not from our
interactions with the material outer world, but from an exploration of the untainted inner world. When
the mind is focused and still, the inner light of pure consciousness reflects only itself and nothing else,
and we come to know our svarupe, our true reality; we come to Self-realisation. Without this stillness of
the mind “our essential nature is…overshadowed by the activity of the mind” (verse 4 [9]).
In verse 4, vrtti sarupyam itaratra, “Otherwise, we identify with the activities of the mind” [10], Patanjali
is laying the foundations of the idea that our true Self is not the concept of what or who we think we are
in our unrestrained “outer” minds, and that these vrttis, the activities of the mind, are in fact distractions
and falsehoods that create a veil of ignorance and misconception that keep us from finding our inner
truth. When our minds are turned towards the outer world made up of thinking, feeling, seeing, doing
and perceiving, etc, we are looking in the wrong direction to find truth, we are simply reinforcing the
external constructs and beliefs, the samskaras, that distract us from true Reality.
So, very simply, Patanjali is telling us in the first four sutras that we must restrain and control (nirodhah)
the activities of the mind (citta vrtti) in order to find our true nature and the true nature of all things, to
achieve the pure state of yoga.
Tutor’s comments
Question 2
Consider chapter 1 vs 12-16
Define and explain the qualities of abhyasa and vairagyah, giving personal reflections on what they
mean to you, both on and off the mat.
Write here
Chapter 1, verses 12 to 16 explain the concept of nirodhah, the restraining, stilling, and controlling of the
mind. Patanjali gives two definite methods for achieving this state in verse 12:
Abhyasa vairagyabhyam tannirodhah, “The restriction of these movements of the mind is achieved
through regular practice, and through renunciation” [11]. Abhyasa means “regular” [12], “repeated” [13]
or “persevering” [14] practice, and vairagyah means “renunciation” [15] or “detachment” [16].
Patanjali links abhyasa, practice, to yatno, meaning “effort” or “exertion” in verse 13, and in verse 14 he
tells us that “effort” means that abhyasa needs to be “properly performed for a long time and without
interruption” [17] for it to become firmly established – sa tu dirgha kala nairantarya satkarasevito drdha
bhumih. There is no particular duration given for “a long time”, but as Satchidananda points out, we
know how long and how much effort it takes to get something on a worldly level, “you will be after it day
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and night”, he says [18], so to achieve success on the yogic level will take even more commitment, which
he describes as practising with “patience, devotion and faith”[19]. Sutton comments that abhyasa should
be resolute and sustained and requires a great deal of dedication [20]. Patanjali is telling us that success
in nirodhah can be achieved, but that we will have to bring yoga into all aspects of our lives and work
hard to achieve it. Iyengar calls abhyasa “the path of evolution” [21] and gives yama, niyama, asana and
pranayama as the steps on this path to the discovery the Self. By embracing yama and niyama in
everything we do and think we can begin to live our yoga more fully in our lives on and off the mat,
through our relationship with the environment and others and through our relationship with ourselves.
Asana and pranayama teach us to focus our physical and mental awareness inwards, and through regular
and dedicated practise we will begin to build the physical and mental strength to calm and still our
minds.
Through dedicated practice of these first four limbs, we learn to detach from “desire for external objects
and internal spiritual objects” [22] – drstanusravika visaya vitrsnasya vasikara samjna vairagyam (verse
15). The effort and exertion that we have put into abhyasa can be turned towards vairagyah, allowing us
to detach from the desires that come with earthly living. When the mind is undisciplined and
unrestrained it is easily distracted by the senses – we see, hear, taste, feel something we like and we
want it. Whether it is a material object or a feeling or emotion that gives us pleasure, we become
consumed by that desire until it is fulfilled, but then we find it wasn’t what we wanted after all and our
desires attach themselves to something new. As yogis we know that the cravings and desires of the
senses will never be fulfilled. Because external happiness and pleasure are finite, our desires will always
lead us to crave more. This cycle can repeat over and over unless, through the practice of yoga, we are
able to detach our senses from what they seek externally. In the words of songwriter Matt Johnson: “The
only true freedom is freedom from the heart’s desires, the only true happiness this way lies” [23].
Iyengar says that when vairagyah is learned, “there is no craving for objects seen or unseen, words heard
or unheard” [24]. Iyengar’s words make me think of society’s current craving to be constantly accepted
and validated by social media. I feel that we as society have we become obsessively attached to the
random opinions of others, and that these opinions have influenced our (mis)understanding of ourselves
to a profound extent. Social media seems to be a great cause of citta vrtti and source of avidya
(ignorance), and through our need to feed our desires, we find ourselves caught between “pastures of
pleasure” when we are accepted and “valleys of pain” when we are rejected [25]. If we can detach from
the opinions of others we will no longer crave objects seen or unseen, words heard or unheard, and
begin to find freedom.
Verse 16, tat param purusa khyater gunavaitrsnyam “And supreme freedom is that complete liberation
from the world of change that comes of knowing the unbounded self” [26] reveals the perfect state of
nonattachment that can be achieved when we detach completely from worldly and spiritual desires. This
freedom comes from within and isn’t attached to or associated with something else, however noble or
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spiritual that “something else” might be. Iyengar calls vairagyah “the path of involution” [27], which I
understand as the moving inward of the mind away from external distractions and desires towards the
true inner Self. This path is made up of pratyahara, dharana and dhyana that will lead us ultimately to
samadhi. However, Satchidanada warns that even the desire for samadhi “is bondage” [28]; to reach
freedom we must detach also from the desire for freedom.
Abhyasa and vairagyah work best together as they balance and enhance each other. Carrera equates
abhyasa to treatment (of desires) and vairagyah to prevention (of desires), saying that they are
complementary approaches that help the mind become clearer, calmer and stronger [29]. Krishna
offered Arjuna this same method in the Bhagavad Gita (chapter 6, verse 35), when Arjuna was struggling
with the enormity of the task of restraining the mind; Krishna tells him that the mind “can be
conquered…through regular practice and detachment” [30]. I am also trying to take Krishna’s advice and
work with perseverance and patience to make abhyasa and vairagyah the foundation of my practice.
Tutor’s comments
Question 3
Define and explain Antaraya, PYS 1vs30. Reflect on your own obstacles to practice and how you could
overcome them.
Write here
Tutor’s comments
Question 4
Define Kriya yoga (PYS 2 vs 1). Explain what it means to you and your personal practice.
Write here
Tutor’s comments
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Question 5.
Define yama and niyama (PYS 2 vs 29, 35-44). Explain their importance and how they can be incorporated both
on and off the mat.
Write here
Tutor’s comments
Question 6.
Choose any sutra or concept from Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. Explain why it is meaningful to you personally, both
on and off the mat.
Give at least 3 specific examples of how you could incorporate the philosophical message of this concept/sutra
into your own practice/daily living
Write here
There are many philosophical ideas in PYS that resonate with me, but the concept that is particularly
meaningful to me at the moment is the idea of avidya, ignorance, in chapter 2, verse 5:
Anityasuci duhkanatmasu nitya suci sukhatmakhyatir avidya, “Ignorance is the failure to discriminate
between the permanent and the impermanent, the pure and the impure, bliss and suffering, the Self and
the non-Self” [31].
This verse tells us that ignorance, avidya, is the inability to discriminate the impermanent, anitya, from
the permanent, nitya. Some translations of PYS give anitya as “perishable” and nitya as “imperishable”
[32]. For many generations we have used Earth’s resources as if they are permanent and imperishable.
Today we can no longer be ignorant, we now know that this is not true – Earth’s resources are finite.
However, I feel it is a greater ignorance to go on behaving in the same way towards our planet now that
we have the knowledge that its resources are impermanent and perishable. The yamas are the first step
on Patanjali’s yogic path and guide us in our relationship with our environment. The very first of the
yamas is ahimsa, non-harming. I believe that individually and collectively, and on every level from the
personal to the industrial to the political we must practice ahimsa towards our planet if we want future
generations to enjoy what we have taken for granted for so long.
Avidya is often described as the root of all suffering. To remove this root of suffering on a more personal
level, first we need to acknowledge our own avidya by recognising there is a veil of ignorance between
us and our really convincing, permanent-seeming, often comforting (often not), sense of self and our
actual inner, untouched, untainted pure Self. For many people it is difficult to accept that what we
tangibly experience through day-to-day living and that the ideas we have about ourselves that shape
every aspect of our lives are not reality, but instead create a veil of ignorance and false perception. As
yogis, however, we accept this concept as it is intrinsic to achieving the ultimate state of yoga. As yogis
we encourage ourselves to question our attitudes, habits, thoughts and actions, our samskaras, and to
question the activities of our own minds. Through this self-study (svadhyaya, one of Patanjali’s second
limb of yoga, niyama, that guide us in our relationship with ourselves) we can learn to recognise this
personal avidya or “incorrect comprehension” [33] of ourselves that can hide our inner Truth.
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Chapter 2, verse 6, takes this idea further and has a greater personal significance to me at this time:
Drg darsana saktyor ekatmatevasmita, “Individual ego-consciousness of “I”* sees mental and physical
activity as the source of consciousness” [34] (*asmita is translated as “egotism” in other editions of PYS.)
Since studying yoga philosophy I’ve come to understand that our concept of our ego-selves is (for most
of us) a false external construct built from years of identifying with the beliefs and expectations of our
families, friends, and society until this construct becomes what we regard to be “I” and “Me”. Through
the study of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras and the commentaries I have read, I know that avidya, this
ignorance, is considered the root of all suffering in the human condition, transcendent of time and place.
I know, too, that through the practice of Patanjali’s eight limbs of yoga set out in chapter 2, verse 29,
we can begin to let go of avidya and find vidya “correct understanding” [35] and come to discover our
true Self.
Despite feeling quite confident in my grasp of the concept of avidya, I get the idea intellectually, and
feeling I have a practical understanding of the route Patanjali offers to move beyond avidya and asmita,
I have recently found myself very challenged by these ideas. I was diagnosed with breast cancer in June
and this has made me really question my identity and my sense of self. I have always identified myself as
strong, fit, healthy and able, invincible even – my body has been my work tool for 17 years; I have been
able to push myself through strong physical challenges, such as Half-Ironman triathlons; I gave birth
without pain relief – these things have all helped create and sustain this sense of who and what I am,
even though on a yogic level I know that this is only an external projection and not my true inner Self.
Since being diagnosed with cancer I have felt this ego-identity shaken and have begun to feel more
vulnerable, weak, in some ways “sullied”, and perhaps that I am not invincible after all. But I know,
too, that this is not my true inner Self, either, it is just a different, unfamiliar and less comfortable
set of misconceptions.
All of these thoughts and feelings have been going through my mind, and even though I know that “I” am
more than just my body, whether strong or vulnerable, I realise that my ego, my self-identity, has taken
quite a knock, highlighting my own avidya, that my strong beliefs about myself are untrue and can be
easily dismantled. On the flipside, my so-called new identity as “someone with cancer” is also ego and
not my true Self. This self is just as much a construct as my pre-cancer self, and that both pre- and postbreast cancer selves are the products of mistakenly seeing “mental and physical activity as the source of
consciousness”.
It is fair to say I am in a place of confusion and I am still trying to work out how I feel about all this. It has
been invaluable to have the Yoga Sutras to go back to to help me untangle my thoughts and feelings, and
then retangle them as I remember that these thoughts and feelings are transient, passing states,
perishable and impermanent. They are citta vrtti to be tamed and stilled to reach the state of yoga.
My yoga mat is also an interesting place to consider the concept of avidya. There are many styles and
traditions of yoga; there are still more teachers within each of those styles and traditions, and each of
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those teachers has their own idea of how a posture should be. However, there is only one me, only one
body that is put together in this particular, unique way. If I think about my asana practice and go back to
Desikachar’s translation of avidya as “incorrect comprehension”, it invites me to find vidya, “correct
understanding”. I take this to mean learning to understand what is right for my body in asana, to learn
from “mistakes”, and to have confidence to move away from habitual patterns and to explore new ways,
to let go of physical samskaras in my asana practice and invite openness and new understanding. This
has been especially important since having surgery in July. I have found that I have had to find different
ways of moving into and out of postures as my body adapts and recovers. I have found some postures
that were a mainstay of my practice aren’t right for me at the moment, and I am bringing ahimsa and
svadhyaya more strongly into my practice.
It would be quite easy to go on blindly with the same ways of doing things, but it would be a waste of
time; that is no longer my truth. Everything is transient and changing and perishable, especially the
physical state of my body, and every time I go on to my mat I am looking for the truth in that moment,
not in the previous practice, not in the next, but in this moment here on my mat. The only thing that
matters is the wisdom, vidya, learned through deep practice and experience.
By exploring the concept of avidya more deeply, I see that where I am in my understanding of myself in
my mind, and where I am in my understanding of myself in my body are both impermanent, transient
states. With practice I can let them simply pass without attaching to them and without giving them
identity and authority. I do not have to “become” what I feel or think or do, I can detach from these
constructs and let them go (the idea of vairagyah again), and continue to seek my true inner Self that I
know is permanent and unchanging.
Tutor’s comments
References.
[1] Bouanchaud, p4.
[13] Iyengar, p61.
[23] Johnson, M.
[32] Bouanchaud, p81.
[2, 3] Bouanchaud, p5.
[14] Bouanchaud, p18.
[24] Iyengar, p.64.
[33] Desikachar, p10.
[4] Satchidananda, p3.
[15] Sutton, p13.
[25] Iyengar, p.16.
[34] Bouanchaud, p82.
[5] Bouanchaud, p6.
[16] Iyengar, p61.
[26] Shearer, p92.
[35] Desikachar, p10.
[6, 7] Satchidananda, p6.
[17] Sutton, p.13.
[27] Iyengar, p 62.
[8] Sutton, p10.
[18, 19] Satchidananda, p19.
[28] Satchidananda, p.24.
[9] Shearer, p90.
[20] Sutton, p14.
[29] Carrera, p.35.
[10] Bouanchaud, p7.
[21] Iyengar, p.62.
[30] Easwaran, p135.
[11, 12] Sutton, p13.
[22] Bouanchaud, p21.
[31] Shearer, p.103.
Bibliography.
Bouanchaud, B. The Essence of Yoga. Rudra Press. Portland, OR. 1997.
Carrera, J. Inside the Yoga Sutras. Integral Yoga Publications. Yogaville, VA. 2006.
Desikachar, TKV. The Heart of Yoga. Inner Traditions International. Rochester, VT. 1999.
Easwaran, E. Bhagavad Gita. Shambala Publications, Inc. Boston, MA. 2004.
Hewitt, J. The Complete Yoga Book. Rider. London, 1991.
Iyengar, BKS. Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Thorsons. London, 2002.
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Satchidananda, Sri Swami. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Integral Yoga Publications. Yogaville, VA. 2015.
Shearer, A. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Bell Tower. London, 2002.
Sutton, N. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. The Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies. Oxford, 2017.
Johnson, M. True Happiness This Way Lies. From The The Dusk. 1993.
Tutor’s general comments
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Student’s reflective comments (optional).
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