Description
Introduction to Patanjali Yoga Sutra:
Even though yoga has been mentioned in various ancient texts, including the Vedas, Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, etc, the credit for putting together a formal, cohesive philosophy of yoga goes to Sage Patanjali. In his Yoga Sutras, Patanjali has provided the very essence of the philosophy and teachings of yoga in a highly scientific and systematic exposition. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (YSP) are one of the six darshanas of Hindu schools of philosophy and a very important milestone in the history of Yoga. The book is a set of 195 aphorisms (sutras), which are short, terse phrases designed to be easy to memorize. Though brief, the Yoga Sutras is an enormously influential work that is just as relevant for yoga philosophy and practice today as it was when it was written. The sutras are divided into four chapters (pada) as follows:
- Samadhi Pada: The first chapter provides a definition and the purpose of yoga. Various approaches that can be used to achieve the objectives of yoga are provided.
- Sadhana Pada: The second chapter contains the practical approach to achieving the goals of yoga. In this chapter, the author gives a description of the eight limbs of yoga called Ashtanga Yoga, which is how the yoga sutras are sometimes referred to.
- Vibhuti Pada: The third chapter focuses on some of the supernatural powers that an adept yogi may be able to attain.
- Kaivalya Pada: In the fourth chapter the nature of the mind and mental perceptions, desire, bondage, and liberation, and what follows it are discussed.
