The Importance and Relevance of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras
This is the first of a three-part presentation on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali that James gave at an Iyengar Yoga National Convention held at Maroochydore in February 2023.
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali is a philosophical treatise on the nature of the mind, human suffering, and a systematic approach toward attaining complete spiritual freedom. It is the classical text that is mostly drawn upon for yoga related matters. In this blog post we look at why the Yoga Sutras are given such preeminence and what benefit there is, as Iyengar yoga practitioners, in studying them.
Importance of the Yoga Sutras
Why are the Yoga Sutras considered so important? What about other classical texts, such as the Bhagavad Gita or the Hatha Yoga Pradipika? What is it about the Yoga Sutras that makes them so special?
Before the time of Patanjali, which was around the 4th or 5th century of the Common Era, numerous disparate strands of yoga existed in India. There is evidence of yoga being practised up to a thousand years before Patanjali’s time, and there were all sorts of yogic methods and ideas circulating for hundreds of years before the Yoga Sutras were written. These were woven together and codified by Patanjali (largely as a response to the increasing influence of Buddhism) to create a comprehensible system called Yoga. So Patanjali is considered to be the compiler of the Yoga Sutras, the systematiser of yoga - he was not the founder of yoga.
Over the centuries, India’s exploration of Ultimate Reality (or the Truth, or what life is all about) has come to be represented by six darsanas, or systems of philosophy. These six systems are known as Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Mimamsa, Vedanta, Sankhya and Yoga. Each of these darsanas has a root text upon which that philosophical system is based. For the Yoga darsana that root text is the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. It is considered to be the main text, the foundation text, upon which the whole system of Yoga is based - and this is why it is considered so important and given so much authority and distinction.
What makes Yoga unique and separates it from the other darsanas is its reliance on experiential methods, or direct perception, to perceive Ultimate Reality. The other darsanas use alternative methods, such as intellectual penetration or scriptural interpretation. In Iyengar yoga our ‘experiential method’ is our daily asana & pranayama practice.
From this then the question could be postulated - why study the Yoga Sutras if Yoga relies on experiential methods, such as our asana and pranayama practice, over scriptural interpretation and intellectual analysis? Why not just practice asana and pranayama?
Why study the Yoga Sutras?
As Iyengar yoga practitioners what value is there in studying a text from a very different culture that was written such a long time (about 1500 years) ago?
i. The Yoga Sutras are the well-spring of Iyengar Yoga
First and foremost, the Yoga Sutras are the wellspring of Iyengar yoga practice. What makes Iyengar yoga so rich and profound is the fact that the method is deeply steeped in the philosophy of the Yoga Sutras. If we take a look at many of the rules and concepts that we work with in our practice of Iyengar yoga - things like establishing a solid foundation; cultivating the intelligence of the body; intensity of expression in asana presentation; working from the periphery to the core; the importance of inversions; posing and reposing, balancing active and restorative practice; the consideration given to the therapeutic aspect of yoga; the development & use of props; establishing asana before introducing pranayama - all of these ideas have their basis in the philosophy of the Yoga Sutras. The Yoga Sutras really are the bedrock of Iyengar yoga. So then, as practitioners of Iyengar yoga, is there not an implicit obligation that we develop an understanding of the Yoga Sutras?
ii. Understanding asana and pranayama within a broader philosophical context helps sustain our practice over the long term.
Having a practice of asana and pranayama is not enough to get us onto the mat each day or to maintain our interest. In the beginning we tend to practise yoga, from a philosophical standpoint, for fairly mundane reasons - physical exercise, improved health or stress management. As our practice matures deeper reasons naturally are sought for it to be sustained on a daily basis over the long term. Even though these deeper reasons can be found through the dedication of a daily practice in of itself, the study of the Yoga Sutras can help facilitate this process.
In his commentary on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali BKS Iyengar provides an interesting opinion on abhyasa - abhyasa being, along with vairagya, one of the two pillars of the practice that is explained by Patanjali in the first chapter. Abhyasa translates as practice, and vairagya translates as renunciation.
Iyengar describes abhyasa as mechanical repetition, which needs to be employed in the beginning, he says, to create stability; but that this needs to be transformed, as maturity of intelligence is developed, into what is called anusthana (mentioned by Patanjali in the second chapter). Mr Iyengar writes that abhyasa conveys a sense of mechanical repetition, whereas anusthana implies devotion, dedication, a religious attitude: ‘Repeated effort made with a thorough understanding of the art and philosophy of yoga…... is not a mechanical practice but a religious and spiritual one.’ In order for our practice to be sustained over the long term some type of transition, from abhyasa (as it is described by Iyengar in this instance), to anusthana - whereby a devoted aspect is cultured & supported by an understanding of its philosophy - needs to take place in order for it to become a meaningful lifelong pursuit.
iii. The study of spiritual texts, plays an integral role in our yoga practice, as it forms part of the concept known as svadhyaya.
Svadhyaya is one part of the three components of kriya yoga (explained by Patanjali at the start of the second chapter), as well as one of the five niyamas within the eight limbs of astanga yoga. BKS Iyengar says ‘Svadhyaya is the repetition of sacred mantras and the study of spiritual sacred texts in order to comprehend one's own self.’ This goes to show that, according to Patanjali’s system, having a dedicated asana/pranayama practice is not enough in of itself. At some point some investigation into its philosophy does need to take place.
iv. The study of the Yoga Sutras allows us to sharpen the cultivation of viveka, or critical discernment, which is an essential aspect of yoga practice.
Viveka is the ability to differentiate between the real and the unreal; the capacity to see things as they really are, to see the Truth - something we begin to hone in our asana practice by measuring left and right, discerning the energy being generated in different parts of our body, and learning to spread our awareness evenly throughout. The more we start to investigate the message of the spiritual texts, such as the Yoga Sutras, the more we come to realise how our perceptions of the world are tainted by our transitory feelings or biases, and how it is necessary to correct and/or transcend them in order to see more clearly. In some ways this is moving towards this concept of viveka.
v. Although the Yoga Sutras seem lofty and impenetrable, they can be made relatable to our own practice.
Most yoga practitioners are familiar with the eight limbs of astanga yoga mentioned in the second chapter of the Yoga Sutras and how our asana and pranayama practice fall into the category of the third and fourth limb of this system, but there are many other aspects of the sutras that can be made relatable to our own yoga practice, and this is something that BKS Iyengar would often draw parallels with. To give one example - in the first chapter, Samadhi Pada, which is directed towards highly realised practitioners, Patanjali writes about four levels of what is called samprajnata samadhi, a very advanced level of absorption where the object of contemplation evolves from a gross to subtle object. These four levels are called vitarka, vicara, ananda and asmita. Iyengar writes in his commentary on this sutra (1.17): ‘When we begin to practise asana, our method is largely hit or miss, ‘let me try this; let me try that'. It is a process of trial and error based on conjecture. That is the nature of vitarka. It is adventurous rather than calculating but it does not forget its errors; we then evolve to the stage we may call vicara, in which a body of experience has been built up from investigation, mature consideration and dawning discrimination. As our asanas ripen, we reach a stage when skin-consciousness moves towards the centre of being, and the centre radiates towards the periphery. Movement is at once centripetal and centrifugal. This integrity brings bliss: ananda. Finally, when the conscious mechanism by which we consider and perform asana comes to an end, the process reaches a resting point. The asana then rests only on the inner self which is in poise: the only support is asmita.’
When we are able to equate what we have experienced in our practice with what is written about in the spiritual texts, providing a philosophical underpinning to what we are doing, makes it more meaningful.
vi. Is the purpose of the Yoga Sutras not just as relevant today as it was when they were composed?
The Yoga Sutras is a text concerned with human suffering, particularly mind-created suffering (or dukha), and offers a system of practice for eradicating this.
Although the outer historical, cultural, political, etc circumstances of India 1500 years ago, when the Yoga Sutras were composed, are very different from today, has the inner human condition really changed? Do we not as human beings have the same desire for happiness and the removal of discomfort, pain and suffering as people had back then?
The Yoga Sutras describes our inner landscape, and, it certainly could be postulated, is just as relevant today - if not even more so - due to our highly distracted minds and distorted sense of reality. This misunderstanding of who and what we really are, this misperception of reality is known as avidya, or ignorance.
If Patanjali was writing about distracted minds back in his time we can only wonder what he would think of the level of distraction with our modern technology and the consumer-based society that we are living in today! The Yoga Sutras addresses this human condition incredibly effectively and is just as relevant today as it was back then.
In this post the importance of the Yoga Sutras has been explained, and the six points above have made a convincing case as to why delving into the Yoga Sutras is a worthwhile pursuit for Iyengar yoga practitioners!
Interested in learning more about the Yoga Sutras? Check out our monthly Yoga Study Group sessions.
James Hasemer
James Hasemer is the Founder and Director of Central Yoga School and a Senior Iyengar Yoga Teacher, Assessor, and Moderator. He is also currently a Teacher Director on the Iyengar Yoga Australia Board.
References
[1] Light On The Yoga Sutras Of Patanjali, BKS Iyengar, 1993
[2] The Yoga Sutras Of Patanjali: A New Edition, Translation And Commentary, Edwin F Bryant, 2009
[3] Learning the Yoga Sutras with Clarity and Rigour, Srineet & Prashant Iyengar (audio)