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80-516: Prakriti (Sanskrit: प्रकृति) is an early Indic concept meaning "making or placing before or at first, the original or natural form or condition of anything, original or primary substance". The term is discussed by Yāska (~600 BCE) in Nirukta , and is found in numerous Hindu texts . It connotes "nature, body, matter, phenomenal universe" in Hindu texts. According to Dan Lusthaus, In Sāṃkhya puruṣa signifies

160-448: A "transformative catalyst or guide for aiding the yogin on the path to spiritual emancipation". Whereas the purusa (spirit, or true self) of the yogin is bound to the prakriti – the material body subject to karmas and kleshas, the special purusa called Isvara is immaterial and ultimately free. Patanjali defines Isvara (Sanskrit: ईश्वर) in verse 24 of Book 1, as "a special Self/Spirit (पुरुषविशेष, puruṣa-viśeṣa )." } This sutra adds

240-521: A Lord...." The Bhagavad Gita , one of the chief scriptures of Hinduism, is considered to be based on this synthetic Samkhya-Yoga system. The Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali is a foundational text of the Yoga philosophy school of Hinduism. While there are differences between Buddhist tenets and the views presented in the Yoga Sutras, scholars have noted striking similarities between Patanjali's Yoga Sutras and

320-525: A composite of various traditions. The levels of samādhi taught in the text resemble the Buddhist jhanas . According to Feuerstein, the Yoga Sutras are a condensation of two different traditions, namely "eight limb yoga" (aṣṭāṅga yoga) and action yoga ( Kriya yoga ). The kriya yoga part is contained in chapter 1, chapter 2 sutras 1–27, chapter 3 except sutra 54, and chapter 4. The "eight limb yoga"

400-481: A few centuries after Patanjali and his "Hindu-izing" commentary subverted Yoga Sutras' original "Buddhist" teachings; while the majority scholarly view disagrees with this view. Scholars also note differences between the conceptual frameworks of the Yoga Sutras and those in Buddhist texts. Robert Thurman writes that Patañjali was influenced by the success of the Buddhist monastic system to formulate his own matrix for

480-401: A late date] are problematic." Michele Desmarais summarized a wide variety of dates assigned to Yogasutra, ranging from 500 BCE to 3rd century CE, noting that there is a paucity of evidence for any certainty. She stated the text may have been composed at an earlier date given conflicting theories on how to date it, but latter dates are more commonly accepted by scholars. The Yoga Sutras are

560-402: A later 4th or 5th century AD commentator (as opposed to the ancient mythic figure). Vyasa is, however, not the only commentator on the text. Another well-known commentator on the Yoga Sutras is Vachaspati Mishra , who had also written commentaries on other schools of Indian philosophy such as Vedanta, Samkhya, Nyaya, and Mimamsa. After Vyasa, it is believed that Vachaspati Mishra’s commentary

640-691: A wife desiring her husband. The meaning of Speech, is its fruit and flower. — Yaska, Nirukta 1.18-1.20 A central premise of Yaska was that man creates more new words to conceptualize and describe action, that is nouns often have verbal roots. However, added Yaska, not all words have verbal roots. He asserted that both the meaning and the etymology of words are always context dependent. Words are created around object-agent, according to Yaska, to express external or internal reality perceived by man, and are one of six modifications of Kriya (action) and Bhava (dynamic being), namely being born, existing, changing, increasing, decreasing and perishing. A sentence

720-682: Is Purusha meaning Self or consciousness, the others being Prakriti (primal nature), Buddhi (intellect or will), Ahamkara (ego), Manas (mind), five buddhindriyas (sensory capabilities), five karmendriyas (action-capabilities) and ten elements. The second part of the Sutras, the Sadhana, also summarizes the Samkhya perspectives about all seen activity lying within the realm of the three Gunas of Sattva (illumination), Rajas (passion) and Tamas (lethargy). The Yoga Sutras diverge from early Samkhya by

800-412: Is a collection of words, a word is a collection of phonemes, according to Nirukta scholars of Hindu traditions. The meaning of Vedic passages has to be understood through context, purpose stated, subject matter being discussed, what is stated, how, where and when. The only basic Nirvacana shastra (Nirukta-related text) that has survived from ancient times into the modern era is the one by Yaska, and it

880-560: Is an example from the opening verse of his commentary on the Ganesha Sahasranama . The opening verse includes Gaṇanātha as a name for Ganesha . The simple meaning of this name, which would have seemed obvious to his readers, would be "Protector of the Ganas", parsing the name in a straightforward way as gaṇa (group) + nātha (protector). But Bhaskararaya demonstrates his skill in nirukta by parsing it in an unexpected way as

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960-555: Is based on Yamas and Niyama , as well as elements of the Guṇa theory of Samkhya. Patanjali adopts the theory of Guṇa from Samkhya. Guṇas theory states that three gunas (innate tendency, attributes) are present in different proportions in all beings, and these three are sattva guna (goodness, constructive, harmonious), rajas guna (passion, active, confused), and tamas guna (darkness, destructive, chaotic). These three are present in every being but in different proportions, and

1040-590: Is characterized by traits like hankering, power, and various forms of movement and creative activity. Tamas is marked by qualities such as ignorance, delusion, lethargy, and disinclination toward constructive activity. These psychological attributes reveal the nature of the gunas in Yoga. Nirukta Divisions Sama vedic Yajur vedic Atharva vedic Vaishnava puranas Shaiva puranas Shakta puranas Nirukta ( Sanskrit : निरुक्त , IPA: [n̪iɾuktɐ] , "explained, interpreted")

1120-437: Is considered as a state in which puruṣa is bonded to prakriti in some form, in various permutations and combinations of various elements, senses, feelings, activity and mind. During the state of imbalance or ignorance, one of more constituents overwhelm the others, creating a form of bondage. The end of this bondage is called Kaivalya, liberation, or moksha by both Yoga and Samkhya school. The ethical theory of Yoga school

1200-648: Is described in Bhagavad Gita as the "primal motive force". It is the essential constituent of the universe and is at the basis of all the activity of the creation. In Vishishtadvaita Vedanta , Prakṛti is one of the six substances ( dravya ) . The guṇas (qualities) are the attributes of primordial Nature ( Prakṛti ), and not its constituents, unlike Sāṅkhya . These qualities are inseparable from Prakṛti , but not identical with it and inextricably related to Ishvara . Prakṛti in Vishishtadvaita Vedanta

1280-637: Is described in chapter 2 sutras 28–55, and chapter 3 sutras 3 and 54. There are numerous parallels in the ancient Samkhya , Yoga and Abhidharma schools of thought, particularly from the 2nd century BCE to the 1st century AD, notes Larson. Patanjali's Yoga Sutras may be a synthesis of these three traditions. From the Samkhya school of Hinduism, Yoga Sutras adopt the "reflective discernment" ( adhyavasaya ) of prakrti and purusa (dualism), its metaphysical rationalism, and its three epistemic methods to gaining reliable knowledge. From Abhidharma Buddhism's idea of nirodhasamadhi , suggests Larson, Yoga Sutras adopt

1360-530: Is eternal, and once this awareness is achieved, a person cannot ever cease being aware; this is moksha , the soteriological goal in Hinduism. Book 3 of Patanjali's Yogasutra is dedicated to soteriological aspects of yoga philosophy. Patanjali begins by stating that all limbs of yoga are a necessary foundation to reaching the state of self-awareness, freedom and liberation. He refers to the three last limbs of yoga as samyama , in verses III.4 to III.5, and calls it

1440-583: Is firmly datable to the second century BC. Although some scholars argue that this is the same Patanjali who authored the Yoga Sutras , the two works are completely different in subject matter, and Indologist Louis Renou has shown that there are significant differences in language, grammar and vocabulary. Before the time of Bhoja (11th century), no known text conflates the identity of the two authors. Philipp A. Maas assessed Patañjali's Pātañjalayogaśāstra 's date to be about 400 CE, based on synchronisms between its arguments and those of Vasubandhu , on tracing

1520-449: Is from the 14th-century. Yaska, in his famous text titled Nirukta , asserts that Rigveda in the ancient tradition, can be interpreted in three ways - from the perspective of religious rites ( adhiyajna ), from the perspective of the deities ( adhidevata ), and from the perspective of the soul ( adhyatman ). The fourth way to interpret the Rigveda also emerged in the ancient times, wherein

1600-416: Is held in place. In Chapter 13 verses 19-23, Krishna discusses the eternal nature of both prakriti and purusha, as well as their distinction. You should understand that both prakriti (matter) and purusha (spirit) have no beginning. You should also know that all transformations and the gunas have their origin in prakriti . In the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali , prakriti is described as encompassing

1680-465: Is limited above by the eternal manifestation ( nityavibhuti ) whereas it's infinite in Sāṅkhya . According to Dvaita Vedanta , Prakṛti is the material cause ( Satkaryavada ) of the world. Prakriti is closely associated with the concept of Maya within Hindu texts. In Jainism the term " Prakriti " is used in its theory of Karma , and is considered "that form of matter which covers the perfections of

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1760-542: Is not a dictionary, a genre of texts that developed in later centuries and was called a Kosha in Sanskrit. Yaska's Nirukta extensively refers to the Nighantu . The three commentaries on Yaska's Nirukta text are by Hindu scholars named Durgasinha (also known as Durga) who likely lived before the 6th-century CE, Skanda-Mahesvara who may be two scholars who probably lived before the 5th-century CE, and Nilakantha who probably

1840-477: Is often seen as complementary to it. It is closely related to Buddhism , incorporating some of its terminology. Samkhya , Yoga and Vedanta , as well as Jainism and Buddhism, can be seen as representing different manifestations of a broad stream of ascetic traditions in ancient India, in contrast to the Bhakti traditions and Vedic ritualism which were prevalent at the time. The contemporary Yoga tradition holds

1920-506: Is one of the six ancient Vedangas , or ancillary science connected with the Vedas – the scriptures of Hinduism . Nirukta covers etymology , and is the study concerned with correct interpretation of Sanskrit words in the Vedas. Nirukta is the systematic creation of a glossary and it discusses how to understand archaic, uncommon words. The field grew probably because almost a quarter of words in

2000-415: Is only aware of its own nature as consciousness unmixed with any other object." While the Samkhya school suggests that jnana (knowledge) is a sufficient means to moksha , Patanjali suggests that systematic techniques/practice (personal experimentation) combined with Samkhya's approach to knowledge is the path to moksha. Patanjali holds that avidya , ignorance is the cause of all five kleshas, which are

2080-426: Is simply called Nirukta . Three bhasya (commentaries) on Yaska's Nirukta have also survived. Additionally, a related work that is extant and is more ancient than the 5th-century BCE Nirukta by Yaska, is the Nighantu which is a lexicographic treatise. The Nighantu is a glossary or compilation of words in the Vedas, and is an example text of Abhidhanashastra (literally, science of words). However, Nighantu

2160-599: Is still open on this issue. Patañjali divided his Yoga Sutras into four chapters or books (Sanskrit Pada ), containing in all 196 aphorisms, divided as follows: The metaphysics of Patanjali is built on the same dualist foundation as the Samkhya school. The universe is conceptualized as of two realities in Samkhya-Yoga schools: Puruṣa (consciousness) and prakriti (mind, cognition, emotions, and matter). It considers consciousness and matter, self/soul and body as two different realities. Jiva (a living being)

2240-410: Is the "next most authoritative." Other commentators include Bhoja Rāja , Vijñānabhikṣu , and Rāmānanda Sarasvatī. Vijñānabhikṣu, according to Bryant, wrote the "most insightful and useful commentary after that of Vyasa's." Bhoja Rāja and Rāmānanda Sarasvatī's commentaries follow the previous commentaries, without expanding much on what their predecessors have said. Hariharānanda Āraṇya , in contrast to

2320-668: Is the conscious witness in every living being, while Prakriti is the manifest world. In Hindu cosmology, Prakṛti is the feminine aspect of existence, the personified will and energy of the Supreme (Brahman); while in Shaktism , the Goddess is presented as both the Brahman and the Prakṛti . In Samkhya-Yoga texts, Prakriti is the potency that brings about evolution and change in the empirical universe. It

2400-508: Is the theory. The influence of Samkhya is so pervasive in the Sutras that the historian Surendranath Dasgupta went so far as to deny independent categorization to Patañjali's system, preferring to refer to it as Patanjala Samkhya , similar to the position taken by the Jain writer Haribhadra in his commentary on Yoga. Patañjali's Yoga Sutras accept the Samkhya's division of the world and phenomena into twenty-five tattvas or principles, of which one

2480-530: Is to free the individual from the clutches of the matter, and considers intellectual knowledge alone to be inadequate for the purpose – which is different from the position taken by Samkhya. However, the essential similarities between the Samkhya and Patañjali's system remained even after the addition of the Isvara principle, with Max Müller noting that "the two philosophies were in popular parlance distinguished from each other as Samkhya with and Samkhya without

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2560-428: Is used, it can either have a supportive or hindering effect on the evolution of the soul. Tamas is commonly associated with inertia, darkness, insensitivity. Souls who are more Tamasic are considered imbued in darkness and take the longest to reach liberation. In Samkhya, prakriti , comprising the three gunas , exists in equilibrium before the cosmos manifests, neutralizing each other's properties. Samkhya argues that

2640-483: The Sāṅkhya and Yoga philosophical literatures, it is contrasted with Purusha (spirit, consciousness), and Prakriti refers to "the material world, nature, matter, physical and psychological character, constitution, temper, disposition". According to Knut Jacobsen , in the dualistic system of the Samkhya school, " Purusha is the principle of pure consciousness, while Prakriti is the principle of matter", where Purusha

2720-475: The Bahuvrīhi compound gaṇana + atha meaning "the one the enumeration ( gaṇanaṁ ) of whose qualities brings about auspiciousness. The word atha is associated with auspiciousness ( maṅgalam )." This rhetorical flourish at the opening of the sahasranama demonstrates Bhaskaraya's skills in nirukta at the very beginning of his commentary on a thousand such names, including a clever twist appropriate to

2800-561: The Bhakti traditions and Vedic ritualism which were also prevalent at the same time. The Vedanta - Sramana traditions, iconolatry and Vedic rituals can be identified with the Jnana marga, Bhakti marga and the Karma marga respectively that are outlined in the Bhagavad Gita . The Yoga Sutras are built on a foundation of Samkhya philosophy, and are generally seen as the practice while Samkhya

2880-572: The Bhāṣya was in fact Patañjali's own work. The practice of writing a set of aphorisms with the author's own explanation was well known at the time of Patañjali, as for example in Vasubandhu's Abhidharmakośabhāṣya (that, incidentally, Patañjali quotes). These research findings change the historical understanding of the yoga tradition, since they allow us to take the Bhāṣya as Patañjali's very own explanation of

2960-550: The Nirukta field of study are also called Nirvacana shastra . A critical edition of the Nighantu and the Nirukta was published by Lakshman Sarup in the 1920s. The critical edition by Lakshman Sarup places it between 700 and 500 BCE, i.e., before Gautama Buddha . Nirukta (Sanskrit), states Monier-Williams, means "uttered, pronounced, explained, expressed, defined, loud". It also refers to

3040-512: The Nyaya school prioritizes inference. The Vedānta school has as its main source testimony from the Upaniṣads , whereas the Yoga school ascribes supreme authoritativeness to "direct, personal experience". Bryant argues that because of its favoring of direct experience the Yoga Sutras will "remain a perennial source of interest to the empirical dispositions of the modern world". Patanjali differs from

3120-547: The Yoga Sutras is often closer to "Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit, the Sanskrit of the early Mahayana Buddhist scriptures, than to the classical Sanskrit of other Hindu scriptures". He adds, historical evidence suggests that yoga philosophical systems influenced, and were influenced by, other philosophical systems in India such as early Buddhism and Jainism. White mentions controversies about the Yoga Sutras. A significant minority of scholars, notes White for example, believes that Vyasa lived

3200-400: The Yoga Sutras of Patañjali to be one of the foundational texts of classical Yoga philosophy . However, the appropriation – and misappropriation – of the Yoga Sutras and its influence on later systematizations of yoga has been questioned by David Gordon White , who argues that the text fell into relative obscurity for nearly 700 years from the 12th to 19th century, and made a comeback in

3280-402: The "uncoupling of puruṣa from all connection with prakṛti and all involvement with the citta." Bryant states that, to Patanjali, Yoga-practice "essentially consists of meditative practices culminating in attaining a state of consciousness free from all modes of active or discursive thought, and of eventually attaining a state where consciousness is unaware of any object external to itself, that is,

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3360-475: The 1st millennium BCE Indian texts such as Katha Upanishad , Shvetashvatara Upanishad and Maitri Upanishad . According to Wujastyk, referencing Maas, Patanjali integrated yoga from older traditions in Pātañjalayogaśāstra , and added his own explanatory passages to create the unified work that, since 1100 CE, has been considered the work of two people. Together the compilation of Patanjali's sutras and

3440-507: The Samkhya school, considers Pratyakṣa or Dṛṣṭam (direct sense perception), Anumāna (inference), and Śabda or Āptavacana (verbal testimony of the sages or shāstras) to be the only valid means of knowledge or Pramana . Unlike few other schools of Hinduism such as Advaita Vedanta , Yoga did not adopt the following three Pramanas : Upamāṇa (comparison and analogy), Arthāpatti (postulation, deriving from circumstances) or Anupalabdi (non-perception, negative/cognitive proof). Of

3520-461: The Sutra's release, Hindu scholars have debated and commented on who or what is Isvara ? These commentaries range from defining Isvara from a "personal god" to "special self" to "anything that has spiritual significance to the individual". Whicher states that while Patanjali's terse verses can be interpreted both as theistic or non-theistic, Patanjali's concept of Isvara in Yoga philosophy functions as

3600-530: The Vedic texts composed in the 2nd-millennium BCE appear just once. The study of Nirukta can be traced to the last centuries of the 2nd-millennium BCE Brahmanas layer of the Vedic texts. The most celebrated scholar of this field is Yāska , who wrote the Nighaṇṭu (book of glossary), the first book on this field. His text is also referred simply as Nirukta . The study of Nirukta has been closely related to

3680-582: The Vyasabhasya, is called Pātañjalayogaśāstra. The Yogabhashya is a commentary on the Yoga Sutras of Patañjali , traditionally attributed to the legendary Vedic sage Vyasa who is said to have composed the Mahabharata . This commentary is indispensable for the understanding of the aphoristic and terse Yoga sutras, and the study of the sutras has always referred to the Yogabhashya . Some scholars see Vyasa as

3760-525: The above figures, is a modern commentator on the text. Bryant explains that, even though "his is a standpoint exposed to Western thought", it is still "thoroughly grounded in tradition". Scholars hold that both texts, the sutras and the commentary were written by one person. According to Philipp A. Maas, based on a study of the original manuscripts, Patañjali's composition was entitled Pātañjalayogaśāstra ("The Treatise on Yoga according to Patañjali") and consisted of both Sūtras and Bhāṣya . This means that

3840-405: The actual technique of Yoga procedures more exactly than the Buddhist exposition". However, states Werner, "The Buddha was the founder of his system, even though, admittedly, he made use of some of the experiences he had previously gained under various Yoga teachers of his time. Patanjali is neither a founder nor a leader of a new movement. (...) The ingenuity of his [Patanjali's] achievement lies in

3920-411: The addition of the principle of Isvara or God, as exemplified by Sutra 1.23 – "Iśvara pranidhãnãt vã", which is interpreted to mean that surrender to God is one way to liberation. Isvara is defined here as "a distinct Consciousness, untouched by afflictions, actions, fruitions or their residue". In the sutras, it is suggested that devotion to Isvara , represented by the mystical syllable Om may be

4000-428: The ancillary Vedic science of Vyakarana , but they have a different focus. Vyakarana deals with linguistic analysis to establish the exact form of words to properly express ideas, while Nirukta focuses on linguistic analysis to help establish the proper meaning of the words, given the context they are used in. Yaska asserts that the prerequisite to the study of Nirukta is the study of Vyakarana . The texts of

4080-461: The cause of suffering and saṁsāra . Liberation, like many other schools, is removal of ignorance, which is achieved through discriminating discernment, knowledge and self-awareness. The Yoga Sūtras is the Yoga school's treatise on how to accomplish this. Samādhi is the state where ecstatic awareness develops, state Yoga scholars, and this is how one starts the process of becoming aware of Purusa and true Self. It further claims that this awareness

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4160-436: The characteristics of Isvara as that special Self/Spirit which is unaffected (अपरामृष्ट, aparamrsta ) by one's obstacles/hardships (क्लेश, klesha ), one's circumstances created by past or one's current actions (कर्म, karma ), one's life fruits (विपाक, vipâka ), and one's psychological dispositions/intentions (आशय, ashaya). The Yoga Sutras incorporated the teachings of many other Indian philosophical systems prevalent at

4240-460: The closely related non-theistic/atheistic Samkhya school by incorporating what some scholars have called a "personal, yet essentially inactive, deity" or "personal god" (Ishvara). Hindu scholars such as the 8th century Adi Sankara , as well as many modern academic scholars describe Yoga school as "Samkhya school with God." The Yogasutras of Patanjali use the term Isvara in 11 verses: I.23 through I.29, II.1, II.2, II.32 and II.45. Ever since

4320-561: The complex and purposeful nature of the world suggests that it exists for the sake of something else, particularly the conscious souls. This view suggests that prakriti , though unconscious, serves to aid the liberation of the soul, similar to how milk nourishes a calf. The Bhagavad Gita emphasize the role of prakriti as the material energy of the universe, created and controlled by God (Krishna), and its distinction from purusha in different verses. In Chapter 4 verse 6, Krishna describes prakriti as His own power, through which He manifests in

4400-518: The context of a sahasranama. Yoga Sutras of Patanjali Divisions Sama vedic Yajur vedic Atharva vedic Vaishnava puranas Shaiva puranas Shakta puranas The Yoga Sutras of Patañjali ( IAST : Patañjali yoga-sūtras) is a collection of Sanskrit sutras ( aphorisms ) on the theory and practice of yoga – 195 sutras (according to Vyāsa and Krishnamacharya ) and 196 sutras (according to others, including BKS Iyengar ). The Yoga Sutras were compiled in

4480-435: The context they were used to propose what the archaic words could have meant. Don't memorize, seek the meaning What has been taken [from the teacher's mouth] but not understood, is uttered by mere [memory] recitation, it never flares up, like dry firewood without fire. Many a one, [although] seeing, do not see Speech, many a one, [although] hearing, do not hear Her, and many a one, She spreads out [Her] body, like

4560-648: The cry/speech of all living beings. Once a yogi reaches this state of samyama , it leads to unusual powers, intuition, self-knowledge, freedoms and kaivalya , the redemptive goal of the yogi. The epistemology in Patanjali's system of Yoga, like the Sāmkhya school of Indian philosophy, relies on three of six Pramanas , as the means of gaining reliable knowledge. These included Pratyakṣa (perception), Anumāṇa (inference) and Sabda ( Āgama or Āptavacana , word/testimony of reliable sources). Patanjali's system, like

4640-423: The early centuries CE, by the sage Patanjali in India who synthesized and organized knowledge about yoga from much older traditions. The Yoga Sutras is best known for its reference to ashtanga , eight elements of practice culminating in samadhi . The eight elements are yama (abstinences), niyama (observances), asana (yoga posture), pranayama (breath control), pratyahara (withdrawal of

4720-413: The entire cosmos including its physical aspects. It is characterized by the three gunas - sattva, rajas, and tamas. However, the emphasis within the text primarily is on the psychological manifestations of these guṇas. Sattva , the purest guna , is associated with qualities like lucidity, tranquility, wisdom, discrimination, detachment, happiness, and peacefulness when expressed in the mind (citta). Rajas

4800-453: The etymological interpretation of a word, also the name of such works. The related Sanskrit noun niruktiḥ means "poetical derivation" or "explanation of a word." The field of Nirukta deals with ascertaining the meaning of words, particularly of archaic words no longer in use, ones created long ago and even then rarely used. The Vedic literature from the 2nd millennium BCE has a very large collection of such words, with nearly 25% of

4880-496: The feminine aspect of all life forms, and more specifically a woman is seen as a symbol of Prakriti . In Hinduism, the concept of Prakriti is thoroughly mentioned. According to Sanskrit scriptures, Brahma Vaivarta Purana , Devi Mahatmya and Devi Bhagavata Purana , five Hindu goddesses are considered as the complete feminine personification of Prakriti – Saraswati , Lakshmi , Parvati , Gayatri and Radha . Together these five goddesses are worshiped as Pancha Prakriti . In

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4960-525: The fundamental nature and psychological dispositions of beings is a consequence of the relative proportion of these three gunas . When sattva guna predominates in an individual, the qualities of lucidity, wisdom, constructiveness, harmony, and peacefulness manifest themselves; when rajas is predominant, attachment, craving, passion-driven activity and restlessness manifest; and when tamas predominates in an individual, ignorance, delusion, destructive behavior, lethargy, and suffering manifest. The theory underpins

5040-488: The gods mentioned were viewed as symbolism for legendary individuals or narratives. It was generally accepted that creative poets often embed and express double meanings, ellipses and novel ideas to inspire the reader. Nirukta enables one to identify alternate embedded meanings that poets and writers may have included in old texts. Many examples of the rhetorical use of nirukta occur in Bhaskararaya 's commentaries. Here

5120-458: The history of the commentaries on it published in the first millennium CE, on the opinions of earlier Sanskrit commentators, on the testimony of manuscript colophons and on a review of extant literature. This dating for the Pātañjalayogaśāstra was proposed as early as 1914 by Woods and has been accepted widely by academic scholars of the history of Indian philosophical thought. Edwin Bryant , on

5200-511: The late 19th century due to the efforts of Swami Vivekananda , the Theosophical Society and others. It gained prominence as a classic in the 20th century. The colophons of manuscripts of the Yoga Sutras attribute the work to Patanjali . The identity of Patañjali has been the subject of academic debate because an author of the same name is credited with the authorship of the classic text on Sanskrit grammar named Mahābhāṣya that

5280-591: The meaning of his somewhat cryptic sūtras. The Yogabhashya states that 'yoga' in the Yoga Sutras has the meaning of 'samadhi'. Another commentary (the Vivarana ) by a certain Shankara, confirms the interpretation of yogah samadhih (YBh. I.1): 'yoga' in Patañjali's sutra has the meaning of 'integration'. This Shankara may or may not have been the famed Vedantic scholar Adi Shankara (8th or 9th century). Scholarly opinion

5360-575: The most efficient method of achieving the goal of Yoga. This syllable Om is a central element of Hinduism, appearing in all the Upanishads , including the earliest Chandogya and Brihadaranyaka Upanishads, and expounded upon in the Mandukya Upanishad. Another divergence from Samkhya is that while the Samkhya holds that knowledge is the means to liberation, Patañjali's Yoga insists on the methods of concentration and active striving. The aim of Yoga

5440-546: The observer, the 'witness'. Prakṛti includes all the cognitive, moral, psychological, emotional, sensorial and physical aspects of reality. It is often mistranslated as 'matter' or 'nature' – in non-Sāṃkhyan usage it does mean 'essential nature' – but that distracts from the heavy Sāṃkhyan stress on prakṛti's cognitive, mental, psychological and sensorial activities. Moreover, subtle and gross matter are its most derivative byproducts, not its core. Only prakṛti acts. In Indian languages derived from Sanskrit roots, Prakriti refers to

5520-578: The other hand, surveyed the major commentators in his translation of the Yoga Sūtras . He observed that "Most scholars date the text shortly after the turn of the Common Era (circa first to second century), but that it has been placed as early as several centuries before that." Bryant concluded that "A number of scholars have dated the Yoga Sūtras as late as the fourth or fifth century CE, but these arguments have all been challenged. ... All such arguments [for

5600-580: The philosophy of mind in the Yoga school of Hinduism. 1.2. Yoga is the inhibition of the modifications of the mind. 1.3. Then the Seer is established in his own essential and fundamental nature. 1.4. In other states there is assimilation (of the Seer) with the modifications (of the mind). According to Bryant, the purpose of yoga is liberation from suffering, by means of discriminative discernment. The eight limbs are "the means of achieving discriminative discernment,"

5680-399: The pursuit of an altered state of awareness. However, unlike Buddhism, which avoids stating whether self and soul exist, Yoga is physicalist and realist, like Samkhya, believing that each individual has a self and soul. The third concept that Yoga Sutras synthesizes into its philosophy is the ancient ascetic traditions of isolation, meditation and introspection, as well as the yoga ideas from

5760-427: The senses), dharana (concentration of the mind ), dhyana (meditation) and samadhi (absorption or stillness). The main aim of practice is kaivalya , discernment of purusha , the witness-consciousness, as distinct from prakriti , the cognitive apparatus, and disentanglement of purusha from prakriti's muddled defilements. The Yoga Sutras built on Samkhya notions of purusha and prakriti , and

5840-499: The soul (jiva) and prevents its liberation". According to Samkhya and the Bhagavad Gita Prakrti or Nature is composed of the three guṇas which are tendencies or modes of operation, known as rajas (creation), sattva (preservation), and tamas (destruction). Sattva encompasses qualities of goodness, light, and harmony. Rajas is associated with concepts of energy, activity, and passion; so that, depending on how it

5920-527: The teachings in Buddhist texts . Karel Werner writes, "Patanjali's system is unthinkable without Buddhism. As far as its terminology goes there is much in the Yoga Sutras that reminds us of Buddhist formulations from the Pāli Canon and even more so from the Sarvāstivāda Abhidharma and from Sautrāntika ." He adds, "upon the whole it [Patanjali's Yoga sutras] is more elaborate and summarizes

6000-513: The technology for "discerning principle" and mastery of citta and self-knowledge. In verse III.12, the Yogasutras state that this discerning principle then empowers one to perfect sant (tranquility) and udita (reason) in one's mind and spirit, through intentness. This leads to one's ability to discern the difference between sabda (word), artha (meaning) and pratyaya (understanding), and this ability empowers one to compassionately comprehend

6080-454: The thoroughness and completeness with which all the important stages of Yoga practice and mental experiences are included in his scheme, and in their systematic presentation in a succinct treatise." Werner adds that the ideas of existence and the focus on "Self, Soul" in Patajali's Yogasutra are different from the "no Self" precepts of Buddhism. According to David Gordon White , the language of

6160-481: The three pramanas that it accepts as valid, pratyakṣa (perception) is the most important according to Yoga Sutras . It is superior to the other two sources because testimony ( sabda ) and inference ( anumāna ) are ultimately dependent on a prior perception. Bryant distinguishes Yoga school from the Vedānta , Nyaya and Mīmāṃsā in their prioritizing of different pramanas . The Mīmāṃsā school prioritizes testimony and

6240-437: The time. According to Zimmer, Samkhya and Yoga are two of several schools of philosophy that originated over the centuries that had common roots in the pre-Aryan cultures and traditions of India. Yet, the orthodox Hindu philosophies of Samkhya , Yoga , Vedānta , as well as the non-orthodox Nastika systems of Jainism and Buddhism can all be seen as representing one stream of spiritual activity in ancient India, in contrast to

6320-492: The words therein being used just once. By the 1st millennium BCE, interpreting and understanding what the Vedas meant had become a challenge, and Nirukta attempted to systematically propose theories on how words form, and then determine their meaning in order to understand the Vedas. Yaska, the sage who likely lived around the 7th–5th century BCE, approached this problem through a semantic analysis of words, by breaking them down into their components, and then combined them in

6400-424: The world. In Chapter 7 verse 4 and 5, Krishna mentions two types of prakriti : Earth, water, fire, air, space, mind, intellect, and the sense of ego comprise the eight component parts of my energy known as prakriti . This is the inferior prakriti , but you should also know about my higher prakriti , which is distinct from it. This is the element of life, O mighty one, the jiva bhuta , by means of which this world

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