Having meticulously built up the overarching "goal" of Yoga in Book One on Samãdhi, that is, of bringing the noise within the mind, which is caused by internal and external challenges, into a sense of tranquility by various means, ultimately leading to the stillness of the Self, Patañjali then switches gears quite significantly with Book Two. The sea change of thought that we see in Book Two, nominally known as the section on Sãdhana, or Practice, is specifically one from Theory to Praxis. In other words, we know the "What?" of Yoga, now we move onto the practicality of "How?"
How do we then become a Yogi according to Patañjali? That is the question that is answered in the following 55 sutras. Moreover, it is a highly relevant to our modern world's problems and challenges, no less than it was centuries ago. The advice given in the following sutras are about the human condition, irrespective of Time, Place, Age or Gender. These are things that as humans, we shall all face at one time in our lives or another. Some of us more, some of less so, but we shall all experience obstacles. This then is a guidebook to help get past them. And, I stress, it is "a" guidebook, not "the" guidebook. It is not for everyone, and we shall find different paths and different guidebooks or shall forge our own paths and write our own guidebooks.
The healthiest way to proceed through Book Two then is merely to take it as good advice.
So, let's turn the page and begin.
The chapter (and, again, the chapter sections have been interpolated later and are not original, so far as we know) starts with:
tapah-svãdhyãya-ishvara-pranidhãnãni kriyã-yogah 2.1
Or,
Kriyã Yoga is comprised of austerity (discipline), self-study and reverence for Ishvara.
Very straightforward as this is a mere listing of the three components of Kriyã Yoga, or the Yoga of Action according to Patañjali. Right away we see that the topic is moving from the introspective navel-gazing of Book One to action.
Tapah, or austerity, is traditional associated with rites and rituals, but can also mean something more akin to (self)-discipline. We are reminded here of the necessity for Abhyãsa, or diligent practice that we read about in Book One. Tapah is a form of this Abhyãsa as it also carries a sense of reverence with it, which is then extended to Ishvara-pranidhãna, or reverence/devotion towards Ishvara, whom/which we have also already seen as the ambiguous symbol for a universal Higher Power. The trinity then here is made complete with Sva-Adhyãya, or Self-study. This three-fold reverence then can be seen at the social level with tapah, the personal with svãdhyãya and the universal with Ishvara-pranidhãnani.
As such, it is important than for the aspiring Yogi to not only be aware of the Self, but also the world and ultimately universe at large. It is very easy to lose track of this when one pursues something so personal as Yoga, or any other quest for self-realization, and so right away, with the Yoga of Action, we are advised to not put on the blinders that come with such quests, but rather put it all into context. If we act, we do not merely act for ourselves, but, like the metaphor of the stone being thrown into the still water, the ripples extend out to society and throughout the Universe. Keeping this in mind, we can continue with our Sãdhana, putting our spiritual money with our theoretical mouth is.
Moving onto 2.2 then, we read:
samãdhi-bhãvana-arthah klesha-tanu-karana-arthash-ca 2.2
Giving us,
The goal/purpose (of Kriyã Yogah) is for bringing about samãdhi and for making the klesha's (obstacles/afflictions) weak.
In other words, we do Kriyã Yoga to bring about full integration or synthesis (samãdhi) of our practice and to lessen the effects of the obstacles in life that plague us on a daily basis.
In the Bhagavad Gita, according to Krishna's advice to Arjuna, there are also a variety of ways to pursue the path of Yoga, more specifically, with three main types of Yoga being: Karma (Action), Jñãna (Wisdom) and Bhakti (Devotion). These map nearly perfectly onto Patañjali here with the pairings: Tapah-Karma, Svãdhyãya-Jñãna and Pranidhãna-Bhakti, echoing the multivalent nature of the path and practice.
So, we are ready to start our journey. There is a destination (yes, there is, despite modern/Western denial of that with Yoga...it is not as willy-nilly, freestyle as is often taught) and now there is a map that we can use.
And, again, keeping in mind that the best way to continue on this journey with Patañjali is to see how we can make this relevant in today's world, and to seek out any good advice he may have to offer us. An open mind can take one quite far...
Onwards. The vastness of Self-discovery awaits...
How do we then become a Yogi according to Patañjali? That is the question that is answered in the following 55 sutras. Moreover, it is a highly relevant to our modern world's problems and challenges, no less than it was centuries ago. The advice given in the following sutras are about the human condition, irrespective of Time, Place, Age or Gender. These are things that as humans, we shall all face at one time in our lives or another. Some of us more, some of less so, but we shall all experience obstacles. This then is a guidebook to help get past them. And, I stress, it is "a" guidebook, not "the" guidebook. It is not for everyone, and we shall find different paths and different guidebooks or shall forge our own paths and write our own guidebooks.
The healthiest way to proceed through Book Two then is merely to take it as good advice.
So, let's turn the page and begin.
The chapter (and, again, the chapter sections have been interpolated later and are not original, so far as we know) starts with:
tapah-svãdhyãya-ishvara-pranidhãnãni kriyã-yogah 2.1
Or,
Kriyã Yoga is comprised of austerity (discipline), self-study and reverence for Ishvara.
Very straightforward as this is a mere listing of the three components of Kriyã Yoga, or the Yoga of Action according to Patañjali. Right away we see that the topic is moving from the introspective navel-gazing of Book One to action.
Tapah, or austerity, is traditional associated with rites and rituals, but can also mean something more akin to (self)-discipline. We are reminded here of the necessity for Abhyãsa, or diligent practice that we read about in Book One. Tapah is a form of this Abhyãsa as it also carries a sense of reverence with it, which is then extended to Ishvara-pranidhãna, or reverence/devotion towards Ishvara, whom/which we have also already seen as the ambiguous symbol for a universal Higher Power. The trinity then here is made complete with Sva-Adhyãya, or Self-study. This three-fold reverence then can be seen at the social level with tapah, the personal with svãdhyãya and the universal with Ishvara-pranidhãnani.
As such, it is important than for the aspiring Yogi to not only be aware of the Self, but also the world and ultimately universe at large. It is very easy to lose track of this when one pursues something so personal as Yoga, or any other quest for self-realization, and so right away, with the Yoga of Action, we are advised to not put on the blinders that come with such quests, but rather put it all into context. If we act, we do not merely act for ourselves, but, like the metaphor of the stone being thrown into the still water, the ripples extend out to society and throughout the Universe. Keeping this in mind, we can continue with our Sãdhana, putting our spiritual money with our theoretical mouth is.
Moving onto 2.2 then, we read:
samãdhi-bhãvana-arthah klesha-tanu-karana-arthash-ca 2.2
Giving us,
The goal/purpose (of Kriyã Yogah) is for bringing about samãdhi and for making the klesha's (obstacles/afflictions) weak.
In other words, we do Kriyã Yoga to bring about full integration or synthesis (samãdhi) of our practice and to lessen the effects of the obstacles in life that plague us on a daily basis.
In the Bhagavad Gita, according to Krishna's advice to Arjuna, there are also a variety of ways to pursue the path of Yoga, more specifically, with three main types of Yoga being: Karma (Action), Jñãna (Wisdom) and Bhakti (Devotion). These map nearly perfectly onto Patañjali here with the pairings: Tapah-Karma, Svãdhyãya-Jñãna and Pranidhãna-Bhakti, echoing the multivalent nature of the path and practice.
So, we are ready to start our journey. There is a destination (yes, there is, despite modern/Western denial of that with Yoga...it is not as willy-nilly, freestyle as is often taught) and now there is a map that we can use.
And, again, keeping in mind that the best way to continue on this journey with Patañjali is to see how we can make this relevant in today's world, and to seek out any good advice he may have to offer us. An open mind can take one quite far...
Onwards. The vastness of Self-discovery awaits...
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