Patanjali's Yoga Sutras

Of the many paths leading to Self-realization, that one taught by Patanjali excels in the training of the mind: the mind examining and understanding itself down to the subtlest detail; the mind, through gradual excercises attaining great powers of concentration, comtemplation and meditation; the mind, collected and focused to a degree hardly imaginable, gathering all its powers into one point to demonstrate mastery over the physical universe.

However, as is found in all the finest spiritual teachings, Patanjali offers a training of the moral nature, as well, so that powers attained through one-pointed focus of the mind do no harm. AHIMSA -- non-injury -- is the first principle, an all-inclusive precept directed not only toward others but also toward oneself.

The four chapters of the Yoga Sutras encompass the following subjects:

CHAPTER ONE: Samadhi-Pada --Through various meditation practices, one may disengage the mind from its connections to the physical plane and experience different levels of consciousness of non-physical realms.
This chapter describes the different levels of spiritual experiences of the mind, as it ascends toward the highest level of such experiences.

CHAPTER TWO: Sadhana-Pada -- Through training of the body and moral nature, one gradually purifies the personality of its idiosyncarcies
so that it can become a vehicle capable of carrying the consciousness to higher and higher levels of spiritual experience.

CHAPTER THREE: Vibhuti-Pada -- A description of the highest focusing power of the mind and the extraordinary supernormal powers which can be attained.

CHAPTER FOUR: Kaivalya-Pada -- The ultimate goal of this yoga is to experience the sublime state of complete freedom from the effects of the physical plane, while still living in the physical body.

The Sanskrit word YOGA means literally: a state of being yoked. It usually refers, in yoga teachings, to union -- or reunion -- of your consciousness with yourself as Spirit. this “union” may additionally refer to integration of all levels of oneself -- that is, becoming conscious of and bringing into balance the physical body, the etheric body (also called the pranic body, the breath body or body of rhythmic life forces); the emotional or astral body, and the mental body.

There are many paths or methods of attaining this yoga. Five of the principle paths are:

KARMA YOGA -- the technique of remaining in touch with the spiritual worlds while engaged in the actions of daily life

JNANA or BUDDHI YOGA -- seeing and experiencing the light of the Spirit everywhere

BHAKTI YOGA -- devoted attention, service and love toward the One Life present everywhere

RAJA YOGA -- training of the mind to return to the pure and complete consciousness behind the intellectual and intuitive faculties

HATHA YOGA -- training of the body and breathing processes, to achieve consciouness of the presence of Spirit in the cells of the physical body

Though a yoga student may be inclined by temperament or talent to emphasize one of these paths, they intermingle and overlap and, ideally, should all be present to some degree as limbs of the practice

RAJA YOGA, literally, the kingly yoga, is the great contributrion of Patanjali. His descriptions of the levels of the mind read like the most modern and enlightened school of psychology. Just to read the text the student will gain clarity and objectivity in identifying the processes of the mind.

We will begin with tranlsations of verses 2, 3 and 4 of Chapter One of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. These three verses state Patanjali’s premise and imply what work is to be done to attain knowledge of the Spirit and a state of freedom from the confines of the personality. Following are translations by several different scholars of these verses, preceded by the original Sanskrit in English transliteration and the literal meaning of each word. Please note that the transliteration is approximate.)

Verse 2: YOGAH CITTI-VRITTI NIRODHAH.

YOGA -- union
CITTI -- mind-stuff
VRITTI -- moving
NIRODHAH-- cessation

Yoga is the cessation of the thinking mind.
Rammurti S. Mishra

Yoga is the cessation of movements in the consciousness.
B. K. S. Iyengar

Yoga is the suppression of the modifications of the mind.
Swami Hariharananda Aranya

Yoga is the restriction of the fluctuations of consciousness.
Georg Feuerstein

Yoga is the settling of the mind into silence.
Alistair Shearer

Verse 3: TADA DRASTUH SVARUPE AVASTHANAM

TADA -- then
DRASTUH -- the seer or spirit
SVARUPE -- in his own state
AVASTHANAM -- dwells

Then the Witness is established in its own form in pure Self-awareness, “I-am”. (Mishra)

Then the seer dwells in his own true splendor. (Iyengar)

Then the Seer abides in itself. (Aranya)

Then the Seer abides in its Essence. (Feuerstein)

When the mind is settled, we are established in our essential nature, which is unbounded Consciousness. (Shearer)

Verse 4: VRITTI SARUPYAM ITARATRA

VRITTI -- fluctuation
SARUPYAM -- identification
ITARATRA -- at other times

At other times, Consciousness, Self, identifies with transformations and changes of the mind stuff. (Mishra)

At other times the seer identifies with the fluctuation consciousness. (Iyengar)

At other times the Seer apppears to assume the form of the modification of the mind. (Aranya)

At other times there is conformity of the Self with the fluctuation of Consciousness. (Feuerstein)

Our essential nature is usually overshadowed by the activity of the mind. (Shearer)

In essence, these verses are saying that the state of yoga or union with one’s Spirit-nature is attained by stopping the incessant activity of the mind, which overshadows and obscures the presence of Spirit, to the extent that Spirit does not know itself to be different from the mind. The implication here is that if we could suspend the incessant string of words spun out by the mind as it reacts to impressions, emotions and imagination, we would automatically experience the Spirit, which is pure conscousness, free and unfettered by the limited mind of the personality.

Let us consider how the “mind” consists of bits of mental energy, like quanta of refined electrical charges. This mind-stuff has a natural desire to clump together, as if drawn by swirling centriptal forces, to form words, which then string together to form percepts, as the mind receives impressions through the senses, or from its own imagination, of whatever is the object on which it focuses. One is reminded of Eintein’s equation: E=MC square. Energy wants to condense into matter. Our work in this yoga is to reverse the process, and by stopping the mind, and holding the mental particles in even suspension, we can become aware of the presence of Spirit, whch is always there, which is silent, unmoving, without words, but may be experienced as a great field of light and pure awareness. (There will be a more thorough discussion of the experience of Spirit in the next chapter.)

Let us look at the constiuent parts of the mnd, so that we can identify and see them objectively. The three parts, or faculties, of the mind-stuff, CITTA, are:

MANAS --the intellectual, fact-gathering, mind
BUDDHI - the intuitive mind
AHAMKARA - the sense of separate identify as a personality

MANAS refers to the ability of the mind to discern individual impressions, percepts or facts, -- to perceive, through the report of the senses, size, weight, color, form, etc., of individual objects.

BUDDHI refers to the ability of the mind to perceive similarities, to form concepts, to make sense and meaning of percepts, to form theories, to think in abstractions, for example, the concept of the archetypal plane of Truth, Goodness and Beauty. BUDDHI is also called the intuitive mind, able to apprehend invisible connections between things, sometimes seeing and judging the whole of a group of individual perceptions at the level of the “wisdom of Solomon.”

AHAMKARA, literally, the “I-maker”, the ability to discern oneself as a unique entity, separate from all other entities. This can be useful for discovering and fostering your own talents, for understanding your unique temperament, for finding your unique mission in life.

These three faculties of the mind ideally work together to create a life that is meaningful, productive and satisfying. However, each of these faculties can be exaggerated. if MANAS is too predominant, one might be overly analytical; if BUDDHI is too predominant, one might form conclusions without critical anaylsis; if AHAMKARA predominates, one might lack critical analysis or the ability to feel unity or connection to others or to the spiritual worlds, and the individual personality may become self-absorbed and lonely. The balancing of these three aspects of mind is addressed by Patanjali in Chapter Two, as a preparation for entering the path to realization of the Spirit.