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[Full title: The Concept and Content of Patanjali Yogadarsana (1): Meaning and purpose of Yoga]

Sage Patanjali has included in his first chapter the basic understanding, definition and meaning of Yoga, various vrttis or hurdles and fluctuations of our mind, ways to train mind, various mehods to purify and stabilise it, varieties of solutions to control vrttis, practice and dispassion, meaning and types of samapattis (state of absorption).

The very first aphorism takes us to the internal world of Yoga discipline. The second sutra itself takes us towards the journey of spirituality by giving the principle of practical value and defining the essential nature of Yoga just in four words as the inhibition of the modifications of the Mind^[1].

Here, these modifications (cittavrttis ) are to be controlled through Yoga practices suggested by Patanjali. The words citta and vrtti are explained later. The last word in this definition of Yoga is nirodha that is derived from niruddham which means restrained or controlled or inhibited. These meanings are applied in different stages of spiritual journey of Yoga. Restraint is involved in the initial stages, control in more advance stages and inhibition or complete suppression in the last stage. Thus, the definition explains us all the stages of progress, a Yoga practitioner passes unfolding his consciousness.

If he can control all these vrttis, then there is an abiding in the essential nature of the seer. He resumes to the pure, original form^[2].

When cessation of modifications of citta is achieved, citta becomes like a perfect mirror in which purusa is reflected in his natural pure state. For this spiritual journey, he has to start following ethical disciplinary practices. Then, he will learn and practice the primary lessons in the stage of kriyayoga and also taking full control over the body with various postures. He tries to control his mind starting with the practice of pranayama and then, to the fullest extent in the practices of dharana and dhyana, suppresses the seeds of samprajnata in the stage of sabija samadhi and finally the stage of nirbija samadhi in which he inhibits all modifications of citta and passes beyond the realm of prakrti into the world of reality.^[3] But whenever, one is not established in one’s own essential nature, one identifies himself with the modifications of citta.

Yoga is also explained as a discipline and mental process through which the union or merger of individual soul with universal soul or human soul with the divine reality takes place.^[4] But, Patanjali has followed Samkhya principles in defining Yoga as knowing and isolating self as purusa from prakrti by attaining samadhi state through practice of various spiritual practices . Thus, the aim is to delink purusa from prakrti or �viyoga rather than Yoga�. As per mystic tradition, Yogic freedom from miseries is like “spiritual divorce�.

Maharshi Badarayana Vyasa’s commentary on Patanjala Yogasutras defines Yoga as Yogasamadhih^[5]. Samadhi is total absorption. It is also complete integration of all levels of human personality. According to Swami Vivekananda’s commentary on Patanjala Yogasutras (2. 25)^[6] explain that Yoga is a process of evolution of human consciousness resulting into divine consciousness.

Summarising all these, it could be concluded that Yoga is a way of life, a science of personality development and a path to liberation.

Footnotes and references:

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[1]:

yogaścittavṛttinirodha� || Patanjali Yoga Sutra, 1.2

[2]:

I.K.Taimni, The Science of Yoga,The Theosophical Publishing House, Chennai, 2005, Patanjali Yoga Sutra 1.3

[3]:

Ibid. pp.15-16

[4]:

Ibid. pp.12-13

[5]:

Bengali Baba, Yogasutra of Patanjali with the commentary of Vyasa, Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Pvt.Ltd. Delhi, 2005, p.1

[6]:

Swami Vivekananda, Raja Yoga, Advaita Ashrama, Culcutta, 1982, p.200