YOGA Book Review

Yoga
Sutras
Patanjali

Yoga
Yajnavalkya

Bio
Yogi

Hatha
Yoga
Pradipika

Magic &
Mystery
In Tibet

Krishna
macharya

The Bliss of Inner Fire: Heart Practice of the Six Yogas of Naropa

Tummo
Yoga

Arahant

Yoga
Makaranda

Work in Progress

Aug 8-???, 2023

Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

Author: Sri Swami Satchidananda
ISBN-10: 1938477073
ISBN-13: 978-1938477072
Genre: Yoga, Eastern Religion, Spirituality, Philosophy
Pages: 272 pages
Country: India
Publisher: Integral Yoga Publications
Publication date: September 14, 2012)
Rating: (5 out of 5 stars)

Foreword
As a general rule, I try to finish my current book (Yoga Yajnavalkya) before moving on to another book. But I was hitting an impasse with Yajnavalkya. I had to do something equally productive that excites me. Luckily, the one book I couldn't find free on the internet, I finally found - The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.

It is my intention to learn from this book what I can add to my practice. It is not my intention to go deep into the rabbit hole of scholarly / intellectual domain of yoga - I'll leave that to the academics. As far as concepts go, it's enough that I learn the fundamental cornerstones to ground my practice.

Classic Yoga Reference
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali have been the classic reference and standard in the practice of Raja Yoga - yoga of the mind (other types of yoga are Hatha Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Karma Yoga and Bhakti Yoga). Beyond asana, this book underscores the importance of ethics/morality (Yama / Niyama) and meditation. In this book, Sri Swami Satchidananda gives his commentary.

Who is Sri Swami Satchidananda?
Sri Swami Satchidananda (1914-2002) comes from a long established lineage dating back to Shankaracharya (Shankaracharya > Patanjali > Vishwananda > Sivananda Saraswati > Satchidananda). He had many teachers along the way until he met Swami Sivananda who became his guru. He taught Integral Yoga - a holistic synthesis of all of man's aspects (body, mind, spirit, environment, etc.). In other interpretations, Integral Yoga is the synthesis of all the yoga traditions. In 1966, he was invited to the West by pop-culture icon, Peter Max. Satchidananda is best remembered at the Woodstock Festival in 1969 for giving a speech in front of all the hippies in attendance.

Swami Satchidananda at Woodstock

Introduction
While yoga nowadays is practiced for fitness, the real essence of Raja Yoga is mastery of the mind. This book explores that through the experience of sages, seers and saddhus through milennia.

Sutra translates to 'thread' - thus the sutras are the distilled essence yoga. By itself, it is not comprehensible, thus the commentary of wise men to make it understandable and relevant to people of today. There are less than 200 sutras divided into 4 sections:

4 Sections of the Yoga Sutras

Contemplation - Samadhi Pada, the theory of yoga and description of the most advanced states of Samadhi
Practice - Sadhana Pada, doing the practice on the first 5 limbs of yoga
Accomplishments - Vibhuti Pada, practice on the last 3 limbs including all powers and accomplishments awaiting the yogi
Absoluteness - Kaivalya Pada, discussing yoga from a more cosmic and philosophical point of view

Yoga was already in existence long before Patanjali. But he was the one who codified it into an accessible practice for the masses. The sutras is perhaps the earliest known text on yoga - thus, the Yoga Bible.

There are many books on Patanjali's Yoga Sutras. What makes this book unique is that Satchi didn't write this book as a written commentary for publication. This book is a compilation of his lectures and teaching in front of students and disciples, as he answered their questions and inquiries related to Raja Yoga. Thus, the book has a conversational feel with lots of analogies to make the abstract more concrete.

I: Samadhi Pada
Portion on Contemplation It's unusual to start this book on Samadhi, when it should be the pinnacle. However, perhaps it sets the goal in mind to establish that at this point.

THE SUTRAS

1. Now the exposition of Yoga is being made.
Practice...don't intellectualize yoga. It's a practice!

2. Restraining the runaway-thoughts is Yoga.
If you can control the mind, then the yoga objective is met - so it's about controlling the mind and not letting it run loose. Citta is the totally of the mind. But the mind has many layers - the intellect, the part that desires, etc. (e.g., when the mind is still but you smell durian, your desires are stirred up and now you want that durian and will act on it. At that point, the mind has been derailed). The world is based on your perception. Other people will see the same thing but their perception will be different. You see the glass is half full, but somebody will see it as half empty - but you're both looking at the same glass. Thus, reality as you see it, is not absolute - you just made it about you. E.g. 2, the guards are just as much prisoners as the inmates within the same prison walls, but both see their lot differently. This is the reason why yoga makes no attempt to change the outside world, but the world inside you.

3. Then the Seer (Self) abides in Its own nature.
You are the Knower and the Seer. You are not the body or mind. For the Seer to see its true self, the mind must be still...in the same way that if you want to see a perfect image of your face, the mirror has to be flawless, otherwise, you only see distortion.

4. At other times the Self appears to be the runaway-thoughts.
We identify ourselves as the father, the son, the rich guy, the handsome guy, the fit guy, the intelligent one, etc. But all these things are not permanent and will go away. When all of that goes away, what is left? What's left is the same thing that is left with everyone else.

Everything is energy and the underlying consciousness behind that energy is the same consciousness that envelopes all of us - thus we are all the same...people, plants, animals and inanimate objects. When we internalize that, then we see everything as an extension of ourselves...thus we cannot hurt anyone or hurt the planet - that is yoga.

5. There are five kinds of runaway-thoughts which are either painful or painless.
Vrttis or thought forms come in 5 kinds. Instead of categorizing thought-forms as painful or pleasurable, it's more accurate to call it selfish or selfless. Even anger can be selfless...showing anger to a child to keep him from misbehaving. Or love can be painful...because if we don't get what we want from it, we end up broken hearted. So seeing mental forms in terms of pain or painless is not accurate.

We cannot make our minds empty - at least not until we become expert meditators. Until then, we can just be aware to choose being the Knower (observing our thoughts without reacting to them) or the Thinker (reacting with our thoughts). By making a wise choice, we end up less stressed and perhaps even happy. The key is catching our thoughts and making that choice: Knower or Thinker.

6. (p. 56) 5 thought-forms.

Right knowledge
The sources of right knowledge are direct perception, inference and scriptural testimony.
One valid knowledge is direct experience - being there, seeing it yourself and not heresay. Another is inference - if there's only 2 of you inside an elevator and you smelled a fart, and it's not you, then it can only be the other guy - even if he denies it. Lastly, there are the sacred texts - even though we have not experienced what it's saying, we believe it because countless seers, sages and saddhus had the same experience over millenia.

Truth is truth - it will not change. The manner how it is presented may change (Christianity, Muslim, Buddhism, etc.), the words or form may change (Hail Mary, OM, etc.), but the essence remains the same (reality as we know it is an illusion). Example is you change your attire if you're going to the beach, or office or night out. But you remain the same person regardless of the clothes.

(Aug 10) Mental garbage has to be sorted out first before being disposed of - because we cling to some more than others. It's just less painful that way - cut yourself some slack too (if you decide to give away all your old clothes, there could be one you'd still like to keep).
Misconception
Misconception occurs when knowledge of something is not based upon its true form.
You might hate Trump, but half of America loves him. Hmmm. There must be something you're missing. What's the misconception?
Verbal delusion
An image that arises on hearing mere words without any reality [as its basis] is verbal delusion.
Rumours spread and destroy people's lives. Those who believed the rumour with no basis or no investigation are buying that delusion.
Sleep
That mental modification supported by cognition of nothingness is sleep.
Memory
When a mental modification of an object previously experienced and not forgotten comes back to consciousness, that is memory.
Day dreaming, dreaming or just memories...these are thought-forms.

The above are the 5 thought forms that need to be transcended. We can rise above these when we control the mind. But how do we control the mind? That's almost impossible.

12. These mental modifications are restrained by practice and non-attachment.
Keep practicing and all is coming. While practicing, be aware of these thought forms as they happen. Between practice and non-attachment, the non-attachment is more important!

13. Of these two, effort toward steadiness of mind is practice.
Make the practice a 24/7 activity...remain vigilant, be aware of your thoughts. You could set up a timer that alarms every hour...just as a reminder for you to bring awareness back.

14. Practice becomes firmly grounded when well attended to for a long time, without break and in all earnestness.
Patanjali specifies that the practice that to be for a loooong time without break - in short, 24/7. But practice with love and not feel that it's a burden or a burnout. If you feel impatience, it'll take longer (honestly, I would like to develop my Siddhis and the impatience is creeping up. I know, I should not even think about Siddhis to begin with).

15. The consciousness of self-mastery in one who is free from craving from objects seen or heard about is non-attachment.
When the eyes see something, or the ear hears something, or the nose smells something, the mind is pulled away towards it. Be aware of what's happening. But it is ok to be attached to your desires if it's about the betterment of others and not about you. The key is unattached to your selfish desires. So, if you want to establish a Vipassana center, it's ok to have that desire. Even if you desire for enlightenment, it's still about you, so it's a selfish and unworthy desire.

In nature, you see existence for the greater good...the candle that burns itself to give light, the incense that turns to ashes to it can give fragrance. If you can give something for humanity without a quest for money, it's noble and righteous (I have to take exception at this. For many years, I was teaching free yoga as my service to humanity. But people don't value it...they show up late, don't show up at all, turn to their phones, etc. Why? Because if it's free, then it must be worthless! Now, I teach yoga for a fee. Because they paid for it, they take it seriously and learn).

There are people who have been meditating for years, or go to the temples and prostrate themselves and yet nothing happens. Why? Because the mind is not focused...it still wanders while praying, while doing yoga, etc. So, the practice becomes nothing more than a mechanical ritual.

The more we possess, the more we become attached...the more we feel the need to protect what we have. People with money are good examples - they have wealth and prosperity, but they are usually worried, minds always racing, and almost invariably, they are sick and taking medication (this brings me to a dilemma...I want to establish a yoga ashram that will outlive me. But to have that means I'm tethered to it...I'm no longer as free...an attachment to my mobility).

16. When there is non-thirst for even the gunas (constituents of Nature) due to the realization of the Puruna (True Self), that is supreme non-attachment.
It would be easier to say you're no longer attached to things that catch your senses. But it's harder to be non-attached to things you have already enjoyed before - these are the samskaras that leave in imprint on your psyche.

At this point in my reading, I'm beginning to question if this extreme 'non-attachment' is for me. Sure, I understand what it means and what it entails. But I don't plan on becoming an ascetic living in a cave. I will continue to live in society and continue to have these 'basic' attachments as I continue to interact with people, events and places.

17.

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Ending Thoughts
This book is a much easier read, more 'grounded', and more relevant, but equally as compelling as the Autobiography of a Yogi and Yoga Yajnavalkya. The esoteric mysticism of Hatha Yoga Pradipika is not here. The incomprehensible hyper-literacy of Autobiography of a Yogi is absent here - just plain understandable English with compelling analogies to ground the matter.

--- Gigit (TheLoneRider)
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