than fifty years, I may have to practice for several more lifetimes to reach perfection in the subject. Therefore, the explanation of the most abstruse sutras lies yet beyond my power.
It is said that once Lord Visnu was seated on Adisesa, Lord of serpents, His couch, watching the enchanting dance of Lord siva. Lord Visnu was so totally absorbed in the dance movements of Lord siva that His body began to vibrate to their rhythm. This vibration made Him heavier and heavier, causing Adisesa to feel so uncomfortable that he was gasping for breath and was on the point of collapse. The moment the dance came to an end, Lord Visnu’s body became light again. Adisesa was amazed and asked his master the cause of these stupendous changes. The Lord explained that the grace, beauty, majesty and grandeur of Lord siva’s dance had created corresponding vibrations in His own body, making it heavy. Marvelling at this, Adisesa professed a desire to learn to dance so as to exalt his Lord. Visnu became thoughtful, and predicted that soon Lord siva would grace Adisesa to write a commentary on grammar, and that he would then also be able to devote himself to perfection in the art of dance. Adisesa was over-joyed by these words and looked forward to the descent of Lord siva’s grace.
Adisesa then began to meditate to ascertain who would be his mother on earth. In meditation, he had the vision of a yogini by the name of Gonika who was praying for a worthy son to whom she could impart her knowledge and wisdom. He at once realized that she would be a worthy mother for him, and awaited an auspicious moment to become her son.
Gonika, thinking that her earthly life was approaching its end, had not found a worthy son for whom she had been searching. Now, as a last resort, she looked to the Sun God, the living witness of God on earth and prayed to Him to fulfil her desire. She took a handful of water as a final oblation to Him, closed her eyes and meditated on the Sun. As she was about to offer the water, she opened her eyes and looked at her palms. To her surprise, she saw a tiny snake moving in her palms who soon took on a human form. This tiny male human being prostrated to Gonika and asked her to accept him as her son. This she did and named him Patañjali.
Pata means falling or fallen and añjali is an oblation. Añjali also means ‘hands folded in prayer’. Gonika’s prayer with folded hands thus bears the name Patañjali. Patañjali, the incarnation of Adisesa, Lord Visnu’s bearer, became not only the celebrated author of the Yoga Sutras but also of treatises on Ayurveda and grammar.
He undertook the work at Lord siva’s command. The Mahabhasya, his great grammar, a classical work for the cultivation of correct language, was followed by his book on Ayurveda, the science of life and health. His final work on yoga was directed towards man’s mental and spiritual evolution. All classical dancers in India pay their homage to Patañjali as a great dancer.
Together, Patañjali’s three works deal with man’s development as a whole, in thought, speech and action. His treatise on yoga is called yoga darsana. Darsana means ‘vision of the soul’ and also ‘mirror’. The effect of yoga is to reflect the thoughts and actions of the aspirant as in a mirror. The practitioner observes the reflections of his thoughts, mind, consciousness and actions, and corrects himself. This process guides him towards the observation of his inner self.
Patañjali’s works are followed by yogis to this day in their effort to develop a refined language, a cultured body and a civilized mind.
The book is divided into four chapters or padas (parts or quarters), covering the art, science and philosophy of life. The 196 sutras are succinct, precise, profound, and devout in approach. Each contains a wealth of ideas and wisdom to guide the aspirant (sadhaka) towards full knowledge of his own real nature. This knowledge leads to the experience of perfect freedom, beyond common understanding. Through ardent study of the sutras, and through devotion, the sadhaka is finally illumined by the lamp of exalted knowledge. Through practice, he radiates goodwill, friendliness and compassion. This knowledge, gained through subjective experience gives him boundless joy, harmony and peace.
As with the Bhagavad Gita, different schools of thought have interpreted the sutras in various ways, placing the emphasis on their particular path towards Self-Realization, whether on karma (action), jñana (wisdom) or bhakti (devotion). Each commentator bases his interpretations on certain key or focal themes and weaves around them his thoughts, feelings and experiences. My own interpretations are derived from a lifelong study of yoga, and from experiences gained from the practice of Asana, pranayama and dhyana. These are the key aspects of yoga which I use to interpret the sutras in the simplest and most direct way, without departing from traditional meanings given by successive teachers.
The four chapters or padas of the book are:
1 Samadhi pada (on contemplation)
2 Sadhana pada (on practice)
3 Vibhuti pada (on properties and powers)
4 Kaivalya pada (on emancipation and freedom)
The four padas correspond to the four varñas or divisions of labour; the four asramas or stages of life; the three guñas or qualities of nature and the fourth state beyond them (sattva, rajas, tamas and guatita) and the four purusarthas or aims of life. In the concluding sutra of the fourth pada, Patañjali speaks of the culmination of purusarthas and gunas as the highest goal of yoga sadhana. These concepts must have been wholly understood in Patañjali’s time, and therefore implicit in the earlier chapters, for him to speak of them explicitly only at the very end of the book.
The ultimate effect of following the path laid out by Patañjali is to experience the effortless, indivisible state of the seer.
The first pada amounts to a treatise on dharmasastra, the science of religious duty. Dharma is that which upholds, sustains, and supports one who has fallen or is falling, or is about to fall in the sphere of ethics, physical or mental practices, or spiritual discipline. It appears to me that Patañjali’s whole concept of yoga is based on dharma, the law handed down in perpetuity through Vedic tradition. The goal of the law of dharma is emancipation.
If dharma is the seed of yoga, kaivalya (emancipation) is its fruit. This explains the concluding sutra, which describes kaivalya as the state which is motiveless and devoid of all worldly aims and qualities of nature. In kaivalya, the yogi shines in his own intelligence which sprouts from the seer, atman, independent of the organs of action, senses of perception, mind, intelligence and consciousness. Yoga is, in fact, the path to kaivalya.
Dharma, the orderly science of duty is part of the eightfold path of yoga (astanga yoga), which Patañjali describes in detail. When the eight disciplines are followed with dedication and devotion, they help the sadhaka to become physically, mentally and emotionally stable so that he can maintain equanimity in all circumstances. He learns to know the Supreme Soul, Brahman, and to live in speech, thought and action in accordance with the highest truth.
Samadhi Pada
The first chapter, samadhi pada, defines yoga and the movement of the consciousness, citta vrtti. It is directed towards those who are already highly evolved to enable them to maintain their advanced state of cultured, matured intelligence and wisdom. Rare indeed are such human souls who experience samadhi early in life, for samadhi is the last stage of the eightfold path of yoga. Samadhi is seeing the soul face to face, an absolute, indivisible state of existence, in
