Patañjali
Encyclopedia
Patañjali is the compiler of the Yoga Sūtras
, an important collection of aphorisms on Yoga
practice. According to tradition, the same Patañjali was also the author of the Mahābhāṣya, a commentary on Kātyāyana
's vārttikas (short comments) on Pāṇini's Aṣṭādhyāyī as well as an unspecified work of medicine (āyurveda).
In recent decades the Yoga Sutra has become quite popular worldwide for the precepts regarding practice of Raja Yoga
and its philosophical basis. "Yoga" in traditional Hinduism
involves inner contemplation, a system of meditation
practice and ethics
.
In addition to the Mahābhāṣya and Yoga Sūtras, the 11th-century commentary on Charaka
by the Bengali scholar Cakrapāṇidatta, and the 16th c. text Patanjalicarita ascribes to Patañjali a medical text called the Carakapratisaṃskṛtaḥ (now lost) which is apparently a revision (pratisaṃskṛtaḥ) of the medical treatise by Caraka. While there is a short treatise on yoga in the medical work called the Carakasaṃhitā (by Caraka), towards the end of the chapter called śārīrasthāna, it is notable for not bearing much resemblance to the Yoga Sūtras, and in fact presenting a form of eightfold yoga that is completely different from that laid out by Patañjali in the Yoga Sūtras and the commentary Yogasūtrabhāṣya.
The tradition that holds that all three works are by the same author is summed up in this verse from the beginning
of Bhoja's Rājamārttanda commentary on the Yoga Sūtras:
bhakti
tradition. It is claimed that Patañjali is an incarnation of Ādi Śeṣa
, who is the first ego-expansion of Viṣṇu
, Sankarshana. Sankarshana is part of the so-called caturvyūha, the fourfold manifestation of Vishnu. Patañjali is considered an incarnation of God defending the yoga. He is called Maharshi.
In one popular legend, Patañjali was born to Atri
and his wife Anasuya
(this would make him go back to the time of the creation by Brahma
). According to this tradition, Anasuya had to go through a stern test of her chastity
when the Trimurti
themselves came as Bhikshuks and asked her for Bhiksha
. She passed their test by accepting them as her children and fed them. She got the boon where all the three Murti
s will be born to them. They were Soma Skandan or Patañjali, Dattatreya
, and Durvasa
.
Shaiva Siddhanta
tradition from around 10th c. AD holds that Patañjali learned Yoga along with seven other disciples from the great Yogic Guru
Nandhi Deva, as stated in Tirumular's Tirumandiram (Tantra 1).
Translation
The ancient Kali Kautuvam also describes how Patañjali and Vyagrapada gathered along with the gods in Thillai near Chidambaram
to watch Shiva
and Kali
dance and perform the 108 mystic Karana
s, which formed the foundation for the system of Natya Yoga
. He has also written Charana Shrungarahita Stotram on Nataraja
.
This Tamil tradition also gives his birth place in South Kailash, possibly the modern day Thirumoorthy hills
near Coimbatore
. Some other traditions feel that his being born in Bharatavarsha - the part of the ancient world corresponding to South Asia - is beneath his godlike status, and that he must have been born in the Jambudvipa
, the mythical center of the universe.
Patañjali as Siddha
is also mentioned by the goldsmith-sage Bogar:
This tradition also holds that Patañjali was a master of dance.
of Patanjali Maharishi is believed to be in Tirupattur Brahmapureeswarar Temple
(30 km from Trichy), where Lord Brahma installed 12 Shiva Lingams and worshipped Lord Shiva to get back his Tejas.
Shankaracharya's guru had told Shankaracharya that Patanjali was reincarated as Govinda Bhagavatpada and was meditating in a cave somewhere in the state of samadhi.
, and the Gitā identifies three kinds of yoga.
The Yoga Sūtras codifies the royal or best (rāja) yoga practices, presenting these as a eight-limbed system (ashtānga). The philosophic tradition is related to the Sankhya school. The focus is on the mind; the second sutra defines Yoga - it is the cessation of all mental fluctuations,
all wandering thoughts cease and the mind is focused on a single thought
(ekāgratā). The eight limbs or the Ashtānga Yoga
propounded here are
In contrast to the focus on the mind in the Yoga sutras, later traditions of Yoga such as the Hatha yoga
focus on more complex asanas or body postures.
. He, according to the Iyengar
adept, biographer and scholar Kofi Busia, acknowledges the ego
not as a separate entity. The subtle body linga sarira he would not regard as permanent and he would deny it a direct control over external matters. This is not in accord with classical Sankhya and Yoga.
Although much of the aphorisms in the Yoga Sutra possibly pre-dates Patanjali, it is clear that much is original and it is more than a mere compilation. The clarity and unity he brought to divergent views prevalent till then has inspired a long line of teachers and practitioners up to the present day in which B.K.S. Iyengar
is a known defender. With some translators he seems to be a dry and technical propounder of the philosophy, but with others he is an empathic and humorous witty friend and spiritual guide.
You can find Patanjali Siddar's Jeeva Samaadhi Rameshwaram , South most part of Tamilnadu
The ("great commentary") of Patañjali on the of is a major early exposition on Pāṇini, along with the somewhat earlier Varttika by Katyayana
. Here he raises the issue of whether meaning ascribes to a specific instance or to a category:
This discussion arises in Patanjali in connection with a sutra (Pāṇini 1.2.58) that states that a plural form may be used in the sense of the singular when designating a species (jAti).
Another aspect dealt with by Patanjali relates to how words and meanings are associated - Patanjali claims shabdapramâNaH - that the evidentiary value of words is inherent in them, and not derived externally - the word-meaning association is natural. The argument he gives is that people do not make an effort to
manufacture words. When we need a pot, we ask the potter to make a pot for us.
The same is not true of words - we do not usually approach grammarians and ask them to manufacture words for our use. [27]
This is similar to the argument in the early part of Plato
's Cratylus
, where morpheme
s are described as natural, e.g. the sound 'l' is associated with softness.
These issues in the word-meaning relation (symbol
) would elaborated in the Sanskrit linguistic tradition, in debates between the Mimamsa
, Nyaya
and Buddhist schools over the next fifteen centuries.
element (dhvani, audible part) can be long or short, but the sphoTa remains unaffected by individual speaker differences. Thus, a single letter or 'sound' (varNa) such as k, p or a is an abstraction, distinct from variants produced in actual enunciation.
This concept has been linked to the modern notion of phoneme
, the minimum distinction that defines semantically distinct sounds. Thus a phoneme is an abstraction for a range of sounds. However, in later writings, especially in Bhartrihari (6th c. AD), the notion of sphoTa changes to become more of a mental state, preceding the actual utterance, akin to the lemma
.
Patañjali's writings also elaborate some principles of morphology
(prakriyā). In the context of elaborating on Pāṇini's aphorisms, he also discusses Kātyāyana
's commentary, which are also aphoristic and sūtra-like; in the later tradition, these were transmitted as embedded in Patañjali's discussion. In general, he defends many positions of Pāṇini which were interpreted somewhat differently in Katyayana.
The text of the had diversified somewhat in the late Sanskritic tradition, and the nineteenth-century orientalist Franz Kielhorn produced the first critical edition and developed philological criteria for distinguishing Kātyāyana's "voice" from Patañjali's. Subsequently a number of other texts have come out, the 1968 text by S.D. Joshi and J.H.F. Roodbergen often being considered definitive.
Patanjali also writes with a light touch. For example, his comment on the conflicts between the orthodox Brahminic (Astika) groups, versus the heterodox, nAstika groups (Buddhism
, Jainism
, and atheists) seems relevant for religious conflict even today: the hostility between these groups was like that between a mongoose
and a snake
. He also sheds light on contemporary events, commenting on the recent Greek
incursion, and also on several tribes that lived in the Northwest regions of the subcontinent.
, believes that the Transcendental Meditation
technique taught by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
is derived from Patañjali's Yoga. The TM-Sidhi Program
is claimed to be based directly on the theory and practice of the Yoga sutras using a technique of Sanyama
.
Actual lineal traditions of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali bear no similarity to the neo-Hindu
Transcendental Meditation "sidhi" program, which cultivates yogic siddhis. Traditionally, cultivation of yogic siddhis is considered a primary impediment to Enlightenment or Cosmic Consciousness (Skt.: turiyatita) and are disallowed in the Shankaracharya tradition for this reason.
Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
The Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali are 194 Indian sūtras that constitute the foundational text of Rāja Yoga. Yoga is one of the six orthodox āstika schools of Hindu philosophy, and Rāja Yoga is the highest practice....
, an important collection of aphorisms on Yoga
Yoga
Yoga is a physical, mental, and spiritual discipline, originating in ancient India. The goal of yoga, or of the person practicing yoga, is the attainment of a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquility while meditating on Supersoul...
practice. According to tradition, the same Patañjali was also the author of the Mahābhāṣya, a commentary on Kātyāyana
Katyayana
Kātyāyana was a Sanskrit grammarian, mathematician and Vedic priest who lived in ancient India.-Works:He is known for two works:...
's vārttikas (short comments) on Pāṇini's Aṣṭādhyāyī as well as an unspecified work of medicine (āyurveda).
In recent decades the Yoga Sutra has become quite popular worldwide for the precepts regarding practice of Raja Yoga
Raja Yoga
Rāja Yoga is concerned principally with the cultivation of the mind using meditation to further one's acquaintance with reality and finally achieve liberation.Raja yoga was first described in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, and is part of the Samkhya tradition.In the context of Hindu...
and its philosophical basis. "Yoga" in traditional Hinduism
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
involves inner contemplation, a system of meditation
Meditation
Meditation is any form of a family of practices in which practitioners train their minds or self-induce a mode of consciousness to realize some benefit....
practice and ethics
Ethics
Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...
.
Authorship
Whether the two works, the Yoga Sutras and the Mahābhāṣya, are by the same author has been the subject of considerable debate. The authorship of the two is first attributed to the same person in Bhojadeva's Rajamartanda, a relatively late (10th c.) commentary on the Yoga Sutras, as well as several subsequent texts. As for the texts themselves, the Yoga Sutra iii.44 cites a sutra as that from Patanjali by name, but this line itself is not from the Mahābhāṣya. This 10th century legend of single-authorship is doubtful. The literary styles and contents of the Yogasūtras and the Mahābhāṣya are entirely different, and the only work on medicine attributed to Patañjali is lost. Sources of doubt include the lack of cross-references between the texts, and no mutual awareness of each other, unlike other cases of multiple works by (later) Sanskrit authors. Also, some elements in the Yoga Sutras may date from as late as the 4th c. CE, but such changes may be due to divergent authorship, or due to later additions which are not atypical in the oral tradition. Most scholars refer to both works as "by Patanjali", without meaning that they are by the same author.In addition to the Mahābhāṣya and Yoga Sūtras, the 11th-century commentary on Charaka
Charaka
Charaka, sometimes spelled Caraka, born c. 300 BC was one of the principal contributors to the ancient art and science of Ayurveda, a system of medicine and lifestyle developed in Ancient India...
by the Bengali scholar Cakrapāṇidatta, and the 16th c. text Patanjalicarita ascribes to Patañjali a medical text called the Carakapratisaṃskṛtaḥ (now lost) which is apparently a revision (pratisaṃskṛtaḥ) of the medical treatise by Caraka. While there is a short treatise on yoga in the medical work called the Carakasaṃhitā (by Caraka), towards the end of the chapter called śārīrasthāna, it is notable for not bearing much resemblance to the Yoga Sūtras, and in fact presenting a form of eightfold yoga that is completely different from that laid out by Patañjali in the Yoga Sūtras and the commentary Yogasūtrabhāṣya.
The tradition that holds that all three works are by the same author is summed up in this verse from the beginning
of Bhoja's Rājamārttanda commentary on the Yoga Sūtras:
Hagiography
In the Yoga tradition, Patañjali is a revered name and has been deified by many groups, especially in the ShaiviteShaivism
Shaivism is one of the four major sects of Hinduism, the others being Vaishnavism, Shaktism and Smartism. Followers of Shaivism, called "Shaivas," and also "Saivas" or "Saivites," revere Shiva as the Supreme Being. Shaivas believe that Shiva is All and in all, the creator, preserver, destroyer,...
bhakti
Bhakti
In Hinduism Bhakti is religious devotion in the form of active involvement of a devotee in worship of the divine.Within monotheistic Hinduism, it is the love felt by the worshipper towards the personal God, a concept expressed in Hindu theology as Svayam Bhagavan.Bhakti can be used of either...
tradition. It is claimed that Patañjali is an incarnation of Ādi Śeṣa
Shesha
In Hindu tradition, Shesha or Sheshanaag is the king of all nagas, one of the primal beings of creation, and according to the Bhagavata Purana, an Avatar of the Supreme God known as Sankarshan. In the Puranas, Shesha is said to hold all the planets of the Universe on his hoods and to constantly...
, who is the first ego-expansion of Viṣṇu
Vishnu
Vishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....
, Sankarshana. Sankarshana is part of the so-called caturvyūha, the fourfold manifestation of Vishnu. Patañjali is considered an incarnation of God defending the yoga. He is called Maharshi.
In one popular legend, Patañjali was born to Atri
Atri
This article is about the sage named Attri. See also the gotra named Atri. For the Italian city, see Atri, AbruzzoIn Hinduism, Attri or Atri is a legendary bard and scholar and was one of 9 Prajapatis, and a son of Brahma, said to be ancestor of some Brahmin, Prajapatis, kshatriya and Vaishya...
and his wife Anasuya
Anasuya
Anusuya Anusuya Anusuya (IAST: Anasūyā, sanskrit:अनसूया Sati Anasuya, also referred as अनुसूया or Sati Anusuya, in Hindu mythology, was wife of the sage Atri and mother of Dattatreya who is considered by some Hindus (in western India) to be an incarnation of the Divine Trinity Brahma, Vishnu and...
(this would make him go back to the time of the creation by Brahma
Brahma
Brahma is the Hindu god of creation and one of the Trimurti, the others being Vishnu and Shiva. According to the Brahma Purana, he is the father of Mānu, and from Mānu all human beings are descended. In the Ramayana and the...
). According to this tradition, Anasuya had to go through a stern test of her chastity
Chastity
Chastity refers to the sexual behavior of a man or woman acceptable to the moral standards and guidelines of a culture, civilization, or religion....
when the Trimurti
Trimurti
The Trimurti is a concept in Hinduism "in which the cosmic functions of creation, maintenance, and destruction are personified by the forms of Brahmā the creator, Vishnu the maintainer or preserver, and Śhiva the destroyer or transformer," These three deities have been called "the Hindu triad" or...
themselves came as Bhikshuks and asked her for Bhiksha
Bhiksha
Bhiksha is food obtained by asking for alms. Bhiksha signifies a Hindu tradition of begging for alms with the purpose of self-effacement or ego-conquering....
. She passed their test by accepting them as her children and fed them. She got the boon where all the three Murti
Murti
In Hinduism, a murti , or murthi, or vigraha or pratima typically refers to an image which expresses a Divine Spirit . Meaning literally "embodiment", a murti is a representation of a divinity, made usually of stone, wood, or metal, which serves as a means through which a divinity may be worshiped...
s will be born to them. They were Soma Skandan or Patañjali, Dattatreya
Dattatreya
Dattatreya or Datta is a Hindu deity encompassing the trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, collectively known as Trimurti. The name Dattatreya can be divided into two words - "Datta" and "Atreya" referring to the sage Atri, his physical father.Various Hindu sects worship him differently...
, and Durvasa
Durvasa
In Hindu mythology, Durvasa , or Durvasas, was an ancient sage, the son of Atri and Anasuya. He is supposed to be an incarnation of Shiva. He is known for his short temper. Maledictions or curses he gave in his rage ruined many lives. Hence, wherever he went, he was received with great reverence ...
.
Tamil Shaivite legend
Regarding his early years, a TamilTamil people
Tamil people , also called Tamils or Tamilians, are an ethnic group native to Tamil Nadu, India and the north-eastern region of Sri Lanka. Historic and post 15th century emigrant communities are also found across the world, notably Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius, South Africa, Australia, Canada,...
Shaiva Siddhanta
Shaiva Siddhanta
Considered normative tantric Saivism, Shaiva Siddhanta provides the normative rites, cosmology and theological categories of tantric Saivism. Being a dualistic philosophy, the goal of Shaiva Siddhanta is to become an ontologically distinct Shiva . This tradition was once practiced all over India...
tradition from around 10th c. AD holds that Patañjali learned Yoga along with seven other disciples from the great Yogic Guru
Guru
A guru is one who is regarded as having great knowledge, wisdom, and authority in a certain area, and who uses it to guide others . Other forms of manifestation of this principle can include parents, school teachers, non-human objects and even one's own intellectual discipline, if the...
Nandhi Deva, as stated in Tirumular's Tirumandiram (Tantra 1).
Nandhi arulPetra Nadharai Naadinom
Nandhigal Nalvar Siva Yoga MaaMuni
Mandru thozhuda Patañjali Vyakramar
Endrivar Ennodu (Thirumoolar) Enmarumaame
Translation
We sought the feet of the LordLordLord is a title with various meanings. It can denote a prince or a feudal superior . The title today is mostly used in connection with the peerage of the United Kingdom or its predecessor countries, although some users of the title do not themselves hold peerages, and use it 'by courtesy'...
who graced Nandikesvara
The Four NandhisFour KumarasThe Four Kumāras or Catursana are the four sons of Brahma from the Puranic texts of Hinduism named Sanaka, Sanatana, Sanandana and Sanatkumara....
,
Sivayoga Muni, Patañjali, Vyaghrapada and I (Thirumoolar)
We were these eight.
The ancient Kali Kautuvam also describes how Patañjali and Vyagrapada gathered along with the gods in Thillai near Chidambaram
Chidambaram
Chidambaram is a fast growing industrial city in Eastern part of Tamil Nadu and the taluk headquarters of the Cuddalore district. It is located in 58 km from Pondicherry, 60 km from Karaikal, and 240 km south of Chennai by rail...
to watch Shiva
Shiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
and Kali
Kali
' , also known as ' , is the Hindu goddess associated with power, shakti. The name Kali comes from kāla, which means black, time, death, lord of death, Shiva. Kali means "the black one". Since Shiva is called Kāla - the eternal time, Kālī, his consort, also means "Time" or "Death" . Hence, Kāli is...
dance and perform the 108 mystic Karana
Karana dance
Karanas are the 108 key transitions in the classical Indian dance described in Natya Shastra. Karana is a Sanskrit verbal noun, meaning "doing"...
s, which formed the foundation for the system of Natya Yoga
Natya Yoga
Natya Yoga may refer to:* Bharata Natyam, classical dance form in India* Natya Yoga, dance yoga practiced in Classical Indian musical theatre* Natya Yoga, first practiced by Narada, a divine sage from the Vaisnava tradition of Hinduism...
. He has also written Charana Shrungarahita Stotram on Nataraja
Nataraja
Nataraja or Nataraj , The Lord of Dance; Tamil: கூத்தன் ;Telugu:నటరాజ is a depiction of the Hindu god Shiva as the cosmic dancer Koothan who performs his divine dance to destroy a weary universe and make preparations for god Brahma to start the process of creation...
.
This Tamil tradition also gives his birth place in South Kailash, possibly the modern day Thirumoorthy hills
Thirumoorthy Hills
Thirumoorthy Temple is situated at the foot of the Thirumoorthy hills or Thirumoorthi hills adjoining the Thirumoorthy dam. The scenic beauty of the Anamalai hill range of Western Ghats, includes the cascading water to the Thirumoorthy reservoir from the Panchalingam Falls. A perennial stream flows...
near Coimbatore
Coimbatore
Coimbatore , also known as Kovai , is the second largest city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is a major commercial centre in Tamil Nadu and is known as the "Manchester of South India"....
. Some other traditions feel that his being born in Bharatavarsha - the part of the ancient world corresponding to South Asia - is beneath his godlike status, and that he must have been born in the Jambudvipa
Jambudvipa
Jambudvīpa is the dvipa of the terrestrial world, as envisioned in the cosmologies of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, which is the realm where ordinary human beings live...
, the mythical center of the universe.
Patañjali as Siddha
Siddha
A Siddha सिद्ध in Sanskrit means "one who is accomplished" and refers to perfected masters who, according to Hindu belief, have transcended the ahamkara , have subdued their minds to be subservient to their Awareness, and have transformed their bodies into a different kind of body dominated by...
is also mentioned by the goldsmith-sage Bogar:
It was my Grandfather who said, "Climb and see."
But it was Kalangi Nathar who gave me birth.
Patañjali,Viyagiramar,and Sivayogi Muni all so rightly said,
"Look! This is the path!" - Bhogar 7000 (translation by Layne Little)
This tradition also holds that Patañjali was a master of dance.
Patanjali Samadhi
The Jeeva SamadhiJeeva Samadhi
In Kundalini Gnanam Jeeva Samadhi is a person imbued with eternal life force.In this concept, by spiritual practices, life is not allowed to go out of the body. The seed cells in the body never get damaged. Such a person stops the functions of the body after completion of his or her mission by his...
of Patanjali Maharishi is believed to be in Tirupattur Brahmapureeswarar Temple
Brahmapureeswarar Temple
The Brahmapureeswarar Temple is a Hindu Temple located in Tirupattur, Tiruchirapalli India. Some believe that a person can change his fate by seeking the blessings of Lord Brahma at Sri Brahmapureeswarar Temple, Thirupattur....
(30 km from Trichy), where Lord Brahma installed 12 Shiva Lingams and worshipped Lord Shiva to get back his Tejas.
Shankaracharya's guru had told Shankaracharya that Patanjali was reincarated as Govinda Bhagavatpada and was meditating in a cave somewhere in the state of samadhi.
Yoga Sūtras
The Yoga tradition is much older, there are references in the MahābhārataMahabharata
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
, and the Gitā identifies three kinds of yoga.
The Yoga Sūtras codifies the royal or best (rāja) yoga practices, presenting these as a eight-limbed system (ashtānga). The philosophic tradition is related to the Sankhya school. The focus is on the mind; the second sutra defines Yoga - it is the cessation of all mental fluctuations,
all wandering thoughts cease and the mind is focused on a single thought
(ekāgratā). The eight limbs or the Ashtānga Yoga
Ashtanga Yoga
Ashtanga Yoga may refer to:*Raja Yoga or Yoga, the classical system described in the Yoga Sutras by Patanjali *Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga, a system of yoga developed by Pattabhi Jois...
propounded here are
- YamaYamasYamas, and its complement, Niyamas, represent a series of "right living" or ethical rules within Hinduism and Yoga. These are a form of moral imperatives, commandments, rules or goals...
, ethics, restraint and ahimsāAhimsaAhimsa is a term meaning to do no harm . The word is derived from the Sanskrit root hims – to strike; himsa is injury or harm, a-himsa is the opposite of this, i.e. non harming or nonviolence. It is an important tenet of the Indian religions...
, - NiyamaNiyamaNiyama generally denotes a duty or obligation adopted by a spiritual aspirant , or prescribed by a guru or by scripture...
, cleanliness, ascetism, etc. - AsanaAsanaAsana is a body position, typically associated with the practice of Yoga, originally identified as a mastery of sitting still, with the spine as a conduit of biodynamic union...
, posture - PrānāyamaPranayamaPranayama is a Sanskrit word meaning "extension of the prana or breath" or more accurately, "extension of the life force". The word is composed of two Sanskrit words, Prāna, life force, or vital energy, particularly, the breath, and "āyāma", to extend, draw out, restrain, or...
, breath-control - PratyahāraPratyaharaPratyahara or the 'withdrawal of the senses' is the fifth element among the Eight stages of Patanjali's Ashtanga Yoga, as mentioned in his classical work, Yoga Sutras of Patanjali composed in the 2nd century BCE....
, sense-withdrawal - DhāraṇāDharanaDhāraṇā is translated as "collection or concentration of the mind ", or "the act of holding, bearing, wearing, supporting, maintaining, retaining, keeping back , a good memory", or "firmness, steadfastness, ... , certainty"...
, concentration - DhyānaDhyana in HinduismAccording to the Hindu Yoga Sutra, written by Patanjali, dhyana is one of the eight limbs of Yoga, ....
meditation, and - SamādhiSamadhiSamadhi in Hinduism, Buddhism,Jainism, Sikhism and yogic schools is a higher level of concentrated meditation, or dhyāna. In the yoga tradition, it is the eighth and final limb identified in the Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali....
, oneness in quality of jivaatma and Paramatma (but eternal difference in quantity) with the Pranava of the IshvaraIshvaraIshvara is a philosophical concept in Hinduism, meaning controller or the Supreme controller in a theistic school of thought or the Supreme Being, or as an Ishta-deva of monistic thought.-Etymology:...
.
In contrast to the focus on the mind in the Yoga sutras, later traditions of Yoga such as the Hatha yoga
Hatha yoga
Hatha yoga , also called hatha vidya , is a system of yoga introduced by Yogi Swatmarama, a Hindu sage of 15th century India, and compiler of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika....
focus on more complex asanas or body postures.
Relevance of his contribution to the science of yoga
Patañjali defended in his yoga-treatise several ideas that are not mainstream of either Sankhya or YogaYoga
Yoga is a physical, mental, and spiritual discipline, originating in ancient India. The goal of yoga, or of the person practicing yoga, is the attainment of a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquility while meditating on Supersoul...
. He, according to the Iyengar
Iyengar
Iyengar or Ayyangar is a caste given to Hindu Brahmins of Tamil origin who follow the Visishtadvaita philosophy propounded by Sri Ramanujacharya. They are found mostly in Tamil Nadu as they are generally native to the Tamil Nadu state of the Republic of India...
adept, biographer and scholar Kofi Busia, acknowledges the ego
Ego (religion)
In psychology, 'Ego' is presumed as one of the three parts of psychic apparatus defined by Sigmund Freud's structural model. It is also defined by various religions across the world where slight differences also occur in their conceptions...
not as a separate entity. The subtle body linga sarira he would not regard as permanent and he would deny it a direct control over external matters. This is not in accord with classical Sankhya and Yoga.
Although much of the aphorisms in the Yoga Sutra possibly pre-dates Patanjali, it is clear that much is original and it is more than a mere compilation. The clarity and unity he brought to divergent views prevalent till then has inspired a long line of teachers and practitioners up to the present day in which B.K.S. Iyengar
B.K.S. Iyengar
Bellur Krishnamachar Sundararaja Iyengar , is the founder of Iyengar Yoga, although he himself would not call it Iyengar Yoga. He is considered one of the foremost yoga teachers in the world and has been practising and teaching yoga for more than 75 years...
is a known defender. With some translators he seems to be a dry and technical propounder of the philosophy, but with others he is an empathic and humorous witty friend and spiritual guide.
You can find Patanjali Siddar's Jeeva Samaadhi Rameshwaram , South most part of Tamilnadu
The ("great commentary") of Patañjali on the of is a major early exposition on Pāṇini, along with the somewhat earlier Varttika by Katyayana
Katyayana
Kātyāyana was a Sanskrit grammarian, mathematician and Vedic priest who lived in ancient India.-Works:He is known for two works:...
. Here he raises the issue of whether meaning ascribes to a specific instance or to a category:
- kim punar AkritiH padArthaH, Ahosvid dravyam.
- Now what is 'meaning' (artha) [of a word]? Is it a particular instance (dravya) or a general shape (Akriti)?
This discussion arises in Patanjali in connection with a sutra (Pāṇini 1.2.58) that states that a plural form may be used in the sense of the singular when designating a species (jAti).
Another aspect dealt with by Patanjali relates to how words and meanings are associated - Patanjali claims shabdapramâNaH - that the evidentiary value of words is inherent in them, and not derived externally - the word-meaning association is natural. The argument he gives is that people do not make an effort to
manufacture words. When we need a pot, we ask the potter to make a pot for us.
The same is not true of words - we do not usually approach grammarians and ask them to manufacture words for our use. [27]
This is similar to the argument in the early part of Plato
Plato
Plato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the...
's Cratylus
Cratylus
Cratylus was an ancient Athenian philosopher from late 5th century BC, mostly known through his portrayal in Plato's dialogue Cratylus. Little is known of Cratylus or his mentor Heraclitus . According to Cratylus at 402a, Heraclitus proclaimed that one cannot step twice into the same stream...
, where morpheme
Morpheme
In linguistics, a morpheme is the smallest semantically meaningful unit in a language. The field of study dedicated to morphemes is called morphology. A morpheme is not identical to a word, and the principal difference between the two is that a morpheme may or may not stand alone, whereas a word,...
s are described as natural, e.g. the sound 'l' is associated with softness.
These issues in the word-meaning relation (symbol
Symbol
A symbol is something which represents an idea, a physical entity or a process but is distinct from it. The purpose of a symbol is to communicate meaning. For example, a red octagon may be a symbol for "STOP". On a map, a picture of a tent might represent a campsite. Numerals are symbols for...
) would elaborated in the Sanskrit linguistic tradition, in debates between the Mimamsa
Mimamsa
' , a Sanskrit word meaning "investigation" , is the name of an astika school of Hindu philosophy whose primary enquiry is into the nature of dharma based on close hermeneutics of the Vedas...
, Nyaya
Nyaya
' is the name given to one of the six orthodox or astika schools of Hindu philosophy—specifically the school of logic...
and Buddhist schools over the next fifteen centuries.
Sphota : An early phonemic theory?
Patanjali also defines an early notion of sphota, which would be elaborated considerably by later Sanskrit linguists like Bhartrihari. In Patanjali, a sphoTa (from sphuT, burst) is the invariant quality of speech. The noisyelement (dhvani, audible part) can be long or short, but the sphoTa remains unaffected by individual speaker differences. Thus, a single letter or 'sound' (varNa) such as k, p or a is an abstraction, distinct from variants produced in actual enunciation.
This concept has been linked to the modern notion of phoneme
Phoneme
In a language or dialect, a phoneme is the smallest segmental unit of sound employed to form meaningful contrasts between utterances....
, the minimum distinction that defines semantically distinct sounds. Thus a phoneme is an abstraction for a range of sounds. However, in later writings, especially in Bhartrihari (6th c. AD), the notion of sphoTa changes to become more of a mental state, preceding the actual utterance, akin to the lemma
Lemma (psycholinguistics)
In psycholinguistics, a lemma is an abstract conceptual form of a word that has been mentally selected for utterance in the early stages of speech production...
.
Patañjali's writings also elaborate some principles of morphology
Morphology (linguistics)
In linguistics, morphology is the identification, analysis and description, in a language, of the structure of morphemes and other linguistic units, such as words, affixes, parts of speech, intonation/stress, or implied context...
(prakriyā). In the context of elaborating on Pāṇini's aphorisms, he also discusses Kātyāyana
Katyayana
Kātyāyana was a Sanskrit grammarian, mathematician and Vedic priest who lived in ancient India.-Works:He is known for two works:...
's commentary, which are also aphoristic and sūtra-like; in the later tradition, these were transmitted as embedded in Patañjali's discussion. In general, he defends many positions of Pāṇini which were interpreted somewhat differently in Katyayana.
Metaphysics as grammatical motivation
Unlike Pāṇini's objectives in the Ashtyadhyayi which is to distinguish correct forms and meanings from incorrect ones (shabdaunushasana), Patanjali's objectives are more metaphysical. These include the correct recitations of the scriptures (Agama), maintaining the purity of texts (raksha), clarifying ambiguity (asamdeha), and also the pedagogic goal of providing an easier learning mechanism (laghu). This stronger metaphysical bent has also been indicated by some as one of the unifying themes between the Yoga Sutras and the Mahābhāṣya.The text of the had diversified somewhat in the late Sanskritic tradition, and the nineteenth-century orientalist Franz Kielhorn produced the first critical edition and developed philological criteria for distinguishing Kātyāyana's "voice" from Patañjali's. Subsequently a number of other texts have come out, the 1968 text by S.D. Joshi and J.H.F. Roodbergen often being considered definitive.
Patanjali also writes with a light touch. For example, his comment on the conflicts between the orthodox Brahminic (Astika) groups, versus the heterodox, nAstika groups (Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
, Jainism
Jainism
Jainism is an Indian religion that prescribes a path of non-violence towards all living beings. Its philosophy and practice emphasize the necessity of self-effort to move the soul towards divine consciousness and liberation. Any soul that has conquered its own inner enemies and achieved the state...
, and atheists) seems relevant for religious conflict even today: the hostility between these groups was like that between a mongoose
Mongoose
Mongoose are a family of 33 living species of small carnivorans from southern Eurasia and mainland Africa. Four additional species from Madagascar in the subfamily Galidiinae, which were previously classified in this family, are also referred to as "mongooses" or "mongoose-like"...
and a snake
Snake
Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
. He also sheds light on contemporary events, commenting on the recent Greek
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
incursion, and also on several tribes that lived in the Northwest regions of the subcontinent.
Transcendental Meditation program and Patanjali
New Age author George D. ChryssidesGeorge D. Chryssides
Dr George D. Chryssides was a senior lecturer and Head of Religious Studies at the School of Humanities, Languages and Social Sciences of the University of Wolverhampton now working for Birmingham University....
, believes that the Transcendental Meditation
Transcendental Meditation
Transcendental Meditation refers to the Transcendental Meditation technique, a specific form of mantra meditation, and to the Transcendental Meditation movement, a spiritual movement...
technique taught by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi , born Mahesh Prasad Varma , developed the Transcendental Meditation technique and was the leader and guru of the TM movement, characterised as a new religious movement and also as non-religious...
is derived from Patañjali's Yoga. The TM-Sidhi Program
TM-Sidhi program
The TM-Sidhi program is a form of meditation introduced by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in 1975. It is based on, and described as a natural extension of the Transcendental Meditation technique...
is claimed to be based directly on the theory and practice of the Yoga sutras using a technique of Sanyama
Samyama
Samyama . Combined simultaneous practice of Dhāraṇā , Dhyāna & Samādhi . A tool to receive deeper knowledge of qualities of the object...
.
Actual lineal traditions of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali bear no similarity to the neo-Hindu
Neo-Hindu
"Neo-Hindu" refers to Hinduism-inspired new religious movements,* in India, see Hindu revivalism* in the West, see Hinduism in the West-See also:*Hindu denominations#Newer movements*List of new religious movements...
Transcendental Meditation "sidhi" program, which cultivates yogic siddhis. Traditionally, cultivation of yogic siddhis is considered a primary impediment to Enlightenment or Cosmic Consciousness (Skt.: turiyatita) and are disallowed in the Shankaracharya tradition for this reason.