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TheYoga Sutras of Patañjali (IAST: Patañjali yoga-sūtra) is a compilation "from a variety of sources"[1] of Sanskritsutras (aphorisms) on the practice ofyoga – 195 sutras (according toVyāsa andKrishnamacharya) and 196 sutras (according to others, includingBKS Iyengar). TheYoga Sutras were compiled in India in the early centuries CE by the sagePatanjali, who collected and organized knowledge about yoga from Samkhya, Buddhism, and older Yoga traditions,[2][3][4][5] and possibly another compiler who may have added the fourth chapter.[a] He may also be the author of theYogabhashya, a commentary on theYoga Sutras, traditionally attributed to the legendary Vedic sageVyasa,[6] but possibly forming a joint work of Patanjali called thePātañjalayogaśāstra.[5]
TheYoga Sutras draw from three distinct traditions from the 2nd century BCE to the 1st century CE, namelySamkhya,Buddhism traditions, and "various older ascetic and religious strands of speculation."[7] TheYoga Sutras built on Samkhya notions ofpurusha andprakriti, and is often seen as complementary to it. It is closely related toBuddhism, incorporating some of its terminology.[b] While there is "an apparent lack of unity and coherence,"[8] according to Larson there is a straightforward unity to the text, which focuses on "one-pointed awareness" (ekagrata) and "content-free awareness" (nirvikalpa samadhi); the means to acquire these, namely kriya yoga ("action yoga") andashtanga yoga (eight-limb yoga); the results acquired from the attainment of these levels of awareness; and the final goal of yoga, namelykaivalya and liberation.[9]
TheYoga Sutras is best known for its sutras onashtanga yoga, eight elements of practice culminating insamadhi. The eight elements, known as limbs, areyama (abstinences),niyama (observances),asana (yoga posture),pranayama (breath control),pratyahara (withdrawal of the senses),dharana (concentration of themind),dhyana (meditation) andsamadhi (absorption or stillness). When the mind is stilled (vritti nirodha)kaivalya ("isolation") can be attained, the discenrment ofpurusha (pure consciousness, self, the witness-consciousness) as distinct fromprakriti (nature, the cognitive apparatus and the instincts).
The contemporary Yoga tradition holds theYoga Sutras of Patañjali to be one of the foundational texts of classicalYoga philosophy.[10][11] However, the appropriation – and misappropriation – of theYoga Sutras and its influence on later systematizations of yoga has been questioned byDavid Gordon White,[12] who argues that the text fell into relative obscurity for nearly 700 years from the 12th to 19th century, and made a comeback in the late 19th century due to the efforts ofSwami Vivekananda, theTheosophical Society and others. It gained prominence as a classic in the 20th century.[12]
The colophons of manuscripts of theYoga Sutras attribute the work toPatanjali,[13][14][15][16] though according to Larson chapter 4 is a later addition, and cannot be attributed to Patanjali.[17][a]
The identity of Patañjali has been the subject of academic debate, because an author of the same name is credited with the authorship of the classic text on Sanskrit grammar namedMahābhāṣya, that is firmly datable to the second century BCE. Although some scholars argue that this is the same Patanjali who authored theYoga Sutras, the two works are completely different in subject matter, andIndologistLouis Renou has shown that there are significant differences in language, grammar and vocabulary.[18] Before the time ofBhoja (11th century), no known text conflates the identity of the two authors.[c]
The text has been variously dated to be between 500 BCE and 450 CE, but latter dates are more commonly accepted by scholars.[21][22]
Philipp A. Maas assessed Patañjali'sPātañjalayogaśāstra's date to be about 400 CE, based on synchronisms between its arguments and those ofVasubandhu, on tracing the history of the commentaries on it published in the first millennium CE, on the opinions of earlier Sanskrit commentators, on the testimony of manuscript colophons and on a review of extant literature.[23][24] This dating for thePātañjalayogaśāstra was proposed as early as 1914 by Woods[25] and has been accepted widely by academic scholars of the history of Indian philosophical thought.[26][27][22]
Edwin Bryant surveyed the major commentators in his translation of theYoga Sūtras.[28] He observed that "Most scholars date the text shortly after the turn of the Common Era (circa first to second century), but that it has been placed as early as several centuries before that."[29] Bryant concluded that "A number of scholars have dated theYoga Sūtras as late as the fourth or fifth century CE, but these arguments have all been challenged [...] All such arguments [for a late date] are problematic."[30]
Michele Desmarais summarized a wide variety of dates assigned to Yogasutra, ranging from 500 BCE to 3rd century CE, noting that there is a paucity of evidence for any certainty. She stated the text may have been composed at an earlier date given conflicting theories on how to date it, but latter dates are more commonly accepted by scholars.[21]
Scholars hold that theYoga sutras and theYogabhasya, a commentary on the sutras, were written by one person, and form an integral work.[23][24][31] According to Philipp A. Maas, based on a study of the original manuscripts, Patañjali's composition was entitledPātañjalayogaśāstra ("The Treatise on Yoga according to Patañjali") and consisted of bothSūtrasandBhāṣya.[23] According to Maas and Wujastyk, Patanjali compiled yoga from older traditions inPātañjalayogaśāstra, and added his own explanatory passages to create the unified work that, since 1100 CE, has been considered the work of two people.[5] The practice of writing a set of aphorisms with the author's own explanation was well known at the time of Patañjali, as for example in Vasubandhu'sAbhidharmakośabhāṣya (that, incidentally, Patañjali quotes). These research findings change the historical understanding of the yoga tradition, since they allow us to take the Bhāṣya as Patañjali's very own explanation of the meaning of his somewhat cryptic sūtras.[23][d] This commentary is indispensable for the understanding of the aphoristic and terse Yoga sutras, and the study of the sutras has always referred to theYogabhashya.[6]
While theYogabhashya was probably written by Patanjali,[32] it has traditionally also attributed to the legendary Vedic sageVyasa who is said to have composed theMahabharata.[e] Thebhasya has also been attributed by some to Vindhyavasin (late 4th century CE), who reinterpreted the samkhya-philosophy due to his knowledge of Buddhist philosophy;[33] his reinterpretation is closely related to theYogabhasya, which builts on this reinterpretation.[34]
TheYoga Sutras are a compilation of sutras from various traditions and sources,[1][3][4][5] with "an apparent lack of unity and coherence."[8]
Larson notes that Yoga, Buddhism, Jainism and Ajivika share related origins,[35] and argues that theYoga Sutras draw from three distinct traditons from the 2nd century BCE to the 1st century CE, namely "(1) one or moreSamkhya traditions, (2) one or more Buddhist traditions, and (3) an emerging philosophical Yoga tradition that is compiling various older ascetic and religious strands of speculation."[7] Patanjali's Yoga Sutras may be a "hybrid formulation, a conflation" of these three traditions.[36] From the old Samkhya philosophy the Yoga Sutras adopt the "reflective discernment" (adhyavasaya) ofprakrti andpurusa,[37] its metaphysical rationalism, and its threeepistemic methods to gaining reliable knowledge.[36] From Buddhism the sutras adopt thenirodhasamadhi philosophy, the pursuit of altered states of awareness and an ontology of 'naive realism' (Sarvastivada) or representationalism (Yogacara). Like Samkhya, the Yoga sutras are physicalist or materialist, but unlike Samkhya, "it rigorusly rejects any notion of substantive transcendence."[36] The third stream that the Yoga Sutras conflate are elements of older traditions ofascetic meditation, including "thekriya yoga sections of Book Two (YS II.1-27), theyoganga sections of Books II and III (YS II.28-III.55), somekarma yoga sections in Book IV (YS IV.7-13), and various sutras having to do with the issue of God (isvara-pranidhana).[2] According to Larson, "many of these strands come probably from contexts such as theMoksadharma andBhagavadgita portions of the epic, some passages from the earlyPuranas, the socalled middle verseUpanisads (Katha,Svetasvata andMaitri, and from oral traditions of regional teachers and any number of localasramas.[38]
Beginning in the early 20th century, scholars have dissceted the sutras into the constitutive layers.[39] Book I consists of two texts, I.1 or I.2 to I.16 or I.22, the remainder of the book forming a second text. Book II.1-27 is the Kriya yoga text, while Book II.28-III.55 describesastanga yoga. Hauer regards Book IV as one text, treatingnirmanacitta ("individual mind"), while Deusse discerns four "appendices," namely IV.1-6 (nirmanacitta, "individual mind"), IV.7-13 (karman, action, andvasana, subtle traces), IV.14-23 (vastu, reality,citta, mind, andpurusa) and IV.24-33 (kaivalya, release).[40]
Frauwallner discerns two main traditions, namely the astangha yoga of Book II and III, which aims to attain "mental alertness and clarity," and the "way of suppression of mental functioning" of Book I. Frauwallner rejects Book IV as a later addition.[41]
According to Feuerstein, presupposing an inherent homegeinity of the text,[42] theYoga Sutras are a condensation of two different traditions, namely "eight limb yoga" (aṣṭāṅga yoga) and action yoga (Kriya yoga).[43] Thekriya yoga part is contained in chapter 1, which forms an introduction, chapter 2sutras 1–27, chapter 3 exceptsutra 54, and chapter 4.[3] The "eight limb yoga" is described in chapter 2 sutras 28–55, and chapter 3 sutras 3 and 54.[3] According to Feuerstein, the Yoga sutras main component is the Kriya yoga, with astangha yoga forming a "long insert or quotation of an 'Eight-limbed Yoga'portion."[42] While Larson is appreciative of Feuerstein's attempt to treat the Yoga sutras as an unifirm text, he also notes that "it is doubtfull that most researchers would concede that the YS overal centers onkriyayoga."[44] Scholars seem to agree, though, that theyoganga-portion, the eight-limb yoga, is a distinct unit, though there is no agreement as how far it extends into Book III.[44]
Larson takes into account theYogabhasya and Vacaspatimitra's commentaries when describing the basic structure of the Yoga sutras. Book I describes levels of awareness relevant for yoga, namely "one-pointed or content-filled awareness and suppressed or content-free awareness, and the means for attaining these levels of awareness: 'practice' (abhyasa) and 'renunciation' (vaitagya). Book II treats practical exercises "needed to train those who have not yet reached" those levels of awareness; these exercises include kriya yoga and the first five limbs of astangha yoga. Book III describes the results acquired from the attainment of these levels of awareness, resulting fromdharana,dhyana andsamadhi. Book IV treats the final goal of yoga, namelykaivalya, content-free or seedless samadhi, and liberation.[9]
A well-known commentary on theYoga Sutras was written byVachaspati Mishra, who had also written commentaries on other schools of Indian philosophy such as Vedanta, Samkhya, Nyaya, and Mimamsa. After Vyasa, it is believed that Vachaspati Mishra’s commentary is the "next most authoritative."[45] Other commentators includeBhoja Rāja,Vijñānabhikṣu, and Rāmānanda Sarasvatī. Vijñānabhikṣu, according to Bryant, wrote the "most insightful and useful commentary after that of Vyasa's." Bhoja Rāja and Rāmānanda Sarasvatī's commentaries follow the previous commentaries, without expanding much on what their predecessors have said.Hariharānanda Āraṇya, in contrast to the above figures, is a modern commentator on the text. Bryant explains that, even though "his is a standpoint exposed to Western thought", it is still "thoroughly grounded in tradition".[46]
Patañjali divided hisYoga Sutras into four chapters or books (SanskritPada), containing in all 196 aphorisms, divided as follows:[47][48]
Book 1,Samadhi Pada,[49][50] contains 51 sutras. TheYogabhashya states that 'yoga' in theYoga Sutras has the meaning of 'samadhi'.[f] Samadhi is a state of direct and reliable perception (pramāṇa) where "the seer" (Purusha, pure consciousness, the Self) abides in itself. Samadhi is the main technique the yogi learns by which to calm the workings of the mind, whereafter Kaivalya, the isolation of 'the seer' from the impurities of the mind, is attained. The author describes yoga and then the nature and the means of attainingsamādhi.
Book 2,Sadhana Pada[49][50] contains 55 sutras.Sadhana is the Sanskrit term for "practice" or "discipline," aiming at preparing and calming the mind.[54] Here the author outlines two systems of Yoga:Kriyā Yoga andAṣṭāṅga Yoga ('Eightlimbed Yoga'). Both are outer or preparatory aspects, which precede the true aim of yoga, namely the development of one-pointedness and samadhi capable of the discriminative discernment of the Seer (consciousness) from the objects desires of common consciousness.[54]
Kriya yoga, orbhakti-centeredkarma yoga,[55] are action-oriented practices, more specific ritual or worship acts, aimed to develop thesattva-qualities of the mind, as a preparation forabhyasa (practice [of samadhi]) andvairagya (dispassion, renunciation).[56] though Larson notes that most scholars would not agree with this assessment.[57] According to Feuerstein,Kriyā Yoga is the main component of the Yoga Sūtras,[42] Others see it as a preparation forAṣṭāṅga Yoga (with three special elements of the Niyamas (2nd limb)). It consists of:[58]
While comparable to karma-yoga, it is broader than the karma-yoga of the Bhagavad Gita, as it also includesbhakti in the form ofīśvara praṇidhāna, andjnana-yoga, in the form ofsvādhyāya.[59]
Aṣṭānga Yoga is the yoga of eight limbs, meaning the elements of the practice. In chapter 2, five "indirect aids" for purification and aiding insight are outlined:
Besides insight into pure awareness (purusha),samyama gives 'supra-normal powers' (Sanskrit:siddhi), as the yogi gains access to and unites with the tattvas, the constituents ofprakriti.[62] The text warns (III.38) that these powers can become an obstacle to the yogi who seeks liberation.
Book 4,Kaivalya Pada,[49][50] containing 34 sutras, is often regarded as an extraneous addition.Kaivalya is "isolation" of the Seer from the contents of the mind so it is no longer disturbed by the movements of the mind. It stands for emancipation or liberation, and is used where other texts often employ the termmoksha (liberation). The Kaivalya Pada describes the process of liberation and the reality of the Seer.
1.2. Yoga is the inhibition of the modifications of the mind.
1.3. Then the Seer is established in his own essential and fundamental nature.
1.4. In other states there is assimilation (of the Seer) with the modifications (of the mind).
According to Bryant, the purpose of yoga is liberation from suffering, by means of discriminative discernment. The eight limbs are "the means of achieving discriminative discernment," the "uncoupling of puruṣa from all connection with prakṛti and all involvement with the citta." Bryant states that, to Patanjali, Yoga-practice "essentially consists of meditative practices culminating in attaining a state of consciousness free from all modes of active or discursive thought, and of eventually attaining a state where consciousness is unaware of any object external to itself, that is, is only aware of its own nature as consciousness unmixed with any other object."[63][64]
While the Samkhya school suggests thatjnana (knowledge) is a sufficient means tomoksha, Patanjali suggests that systematic techniques/practice (personal experimentation) combined with Samkhya's approach to knowledge is the path to moksha.[web 1] Patanjali holds thatavidya, ignorance is the cause of all five kleshas, which are the cause of suffering andsaṁsāra.[web 1] Liberation, like many other schools, is removal of ignorance, which is achieved through discriminating discernment, knowledge and self-awareness. TheYoga Sūtras is the Yoga school's treatise on how to accomplish this.[web 1]Samādhi is the state where ecstatic awareness develops, state Yoga scholars, and this is how one starts the process of becoming aware ofPurusa and true Self. It further claims that this awareness is eternal, and once this awareness is achieved, a person cannot ever cease being aware; this ismoksha, thesoteriological goal in Hinduism.[web 1]
Book 3 of Patanjali'sYogasutra is dedicated to soteriological aspects of yoga philosophy. Patanjali begins by stating that all limbs of yoga are a necessary foundation to reaching the state of self-awareness, freedom and liberation. He refers to the three last limbs of yoga assamyama, in verses III.4 to III.5, and calls it the technology for "discerning principle" and mastery ofcitta and self-knowledge.[65][66] In verse III.12, the Yogasutras state that this discerning principle then empowers one to perfectsant (tranquility) andudita (reason) in one's mind and spirit, through intentness. This leads to one's ability to discern the difference betweensabda (word),artha (meaning) andpratyaya (understanding), and this ability empowers one to compassionately comprehend the cry/speech of all living beings.[67][68] Once a yogi reaches this state ofsamyama, it leads to unusual powers, intuition, self-knowledge, freedoms andkaivalya, the redemptive goal of the yogi.[67]
Theepistemology in Patanjali's system of Yoga, like theSāmkhya school of Indian philosophy, relies on three of sixPramanas, as the means of gaining reliable knowledge.[69] These includedPratyakṣa (perception),Anumāṇa (inference) andSabda (Āgama or Āptavacana, word/testimony of reliable sources).[70][71][72]
Patanjali's system, like the Samkhya school, considersPratyakṣa orDṛṣṭam (direct sense perception),Anumāna (inference), andŚabda orĀptavacana (verbal testimony of the sages or shāstras) to be the only valid means of knowledge orPramana.[70] Unlike few other schools of Hinduism such asAdvaita Vedanta, Yoga did not adopt the following threePramanas:Upamāṇa (comparison and analogy),Arthāpatti (postulation, deriving from circumstances) orAnupalabdi (non-perception, negative/cognitive proof).[71]
Of the threepramanas that it accepts as valid,pratyakṣa (perception) is the most important according toYoga Sutras. It is superior to the other two sources because testimony (sabda) and inference (anumāna) are ultimately dependent on a prior perception. Bryant distinguishes Yoga school from theVedānta,Nyaya andMīmāṃsā in their prioritizing of differentpramanas. TheMīmāṃsā school prioritizes testimony and theNyaya school prioritizes inference. TheVedānta school has as its main source testimony from theUpaniṣads, whereas the Yoga school ascribes supreme authoritativeness to "direct, personal experience". Bryant argues that because of its favoring of direct experience theYoga Sutras will "remain a perennial source of interest to the empirical dispositions of the modern world".[72]
The metaphysics of Patanjali is built on the samedualist foundation as the Samkhya school.[web 1] The universe is conceptualized as of two realities in Samkhya-Yoga schools:Puruṣa (consciousness) andprakriti (mind, cognition, emotions, and matter). It considers consciousness and matter, self/soul and body as two different realities.[73][74]Jiva (a living being) is considered as a state in whichpuruṣa is bonded toprakriti in some form, in various permutations and combinations of various elements, senses, feelings, activity and mind.[75] During the state of imbalance or ignorance, one of more constituents overwhelm the others, creating a form of bondage. The end of this bondage is called Kaivalya, liberation, ormoksha by both Yoga and Samkhya school.[76] The ethical theory of Yoga school is based onYamas andNiyama, as well as elements of theGuṇa theory of Samkhya.[web 1]
Patanjali adopts the theory ofGuṇa from Samkhya.[web 1] Guṇas theory states that threegunas (innate tendency, attributes) are present in different proportions in all beings, and these three aresattva guna (goodness, constructive, harmonious),rajas guna (passion, active, confused), andtamas guna (darkness, destructive, chaotic).[77][78] These three are present in every being but in different proportions, and the fundamental nature and psychological dispositions of beings is a consequence of the relative proportion of these threegunas.[web 1] Whensattva guna predominates in an individual, the qualities of lucidity, wisdom, constructiveness, harmony, and peacefulness manifest themselves; when rajas is predominant, attachment, craving, passion-driven activity and restlessness manifest; and when tamas predominates in an individual, ignorance, delusion, destructive behavior, lethargy, and suffering manifest. The theory underpins the philosophy of mind in the Yoga school of Hinduism.[web 1]
Patanjali differs from the closely related non-theistic/atheistic Samkhya school by incorporating what some scholars have called a "personal, yet essentially inactive, deity" or "personal god" (Ishvara).[79][80][81][82] Hindu scholars such as the 8th centuryAdi Sankara, as well as many modern academic scholars describe Yoga school as "Samkhya school with God."[80][83][84]
TheYogasutras of Patanjali use the termIsvara in 11 verses: I.23 through I.29, II.1, II.2, II.32 and II.45. Ever since the Sutra's release, Hindu scholars have debated and commented on who or what isIsvara? These commentaries range from definingIsvara from a "personal god" to "special self" to "anything that has spiritual significance to the individual".[80][85] Whicher states that while Patanjali's terse verses can be interpreted both as theistic or non-theistic, Patanjali's concept ofIsvara in Yoga philosophy functions as a "transformative catalyst or guide for aiding the yogin on the path to spiritual emancipation".[86] Whereas the purusa (spirit, or true self) of the yogin is bound to the prakriti – the material body subject to karmas and kleshas, the specialpurusa calledIsvara is immaterial and ultimately free.
Patanjali definesIsvara (Sanskrit: ईश्वर) in verse 24 of Book 1, as "a special Self/Spirit (पुरुषविशेष,puruṣa-viśeṣa)."[87][g]} This sutra adds the characteristics ofIsvara as that special Self/Spirit which is unaffected (अपरामृष्ट,aparamrsta) by one's obstacles/hardships (क्लेश,klesha), one's circumstances created by past or one's current actions (कर्म,karma), one's life fruits (विपाक,vipâka), and one's psychological dispositions/intentions (आशय, ashaya).[89][90]
TheYoga Sutras incorporated the teachings of many other Indian philosophical systems prevalent at the time. According to Zimmer, Samkhya and Yoga are two of several schools of philosophy that originated over the centuries that had common roots in the pre-Aryan cultures and traditions of India.[91][h][i] Yet, the orthodox Hindu philosophies ofSamkhya,Yoga,Vedānta, as well as the non-orthodoxNastika systems of Jainism and Buddhism can all be seen as representing one stream of spiritual activity in ancient India, in contrast to theBhakti traditions andVedic ritualism which were also prevalent at the same time. TheVedanta-Sramana traditions, iconolatry and Vedic rituals can be identified with theJnana marga,Bhakti marga and theKarma marga respectively that are outlined in theBhagavad Gita.
TheYoga Sutras are built on a foundation ofSamkhya philosophy, and are generally seen as the practice while Samkhya is the theory. The influence of Samkhya is so pervasive in the Sutras that the historianSurendranath Dasgupta went so far as to deny independent categorization to Patañjali's system, preferring to refer to it asPatanjala Samkhya, similar to the position taken by the Jain writerHaribhadra in his commentary on Yoga.[95] Patañjali'sYoga Sutras accept the Samkhya's division of the world and phenomena into twenty-five tattvas or principles, of which one isPurusha meaning Self or consciousness, the others beingPrakriti (primal nature),Buddhi (intellect or will),Ahamkara (ego),Manas (mind), fivebuddhindriyas (sensory capabilities), fivekarmendriyas (action-capabilities) and ten elements.[96][97] The second part of the Sutras, the Sadhana, also summarizes the Samkhya perspectives about all seen activity lying within the realm of the threeGunas ofSattva (illumination),Rajas (passion) andTamas (lethargy).[98]
TheYoga Sutras diverge from early Samkhya by the addition of the principle ofIsvara or God, as exemplified by Sutra 1.23 – "Iśvara pranidhãnãt vã", which is interpreted to mean that surrender to God is one way to liberation.[96][99]Isvara is defined here as "a distinct Consciousness, untouched by afflictions, actions, fruitions or their residue".[100] In the sutras, it is suggested that devotion toIsvara, represented by the mystical syllableOm may be the most efficient method of achieving the goal of Yoga.[101] This syllable Om is a central element of Hinduism, appearing in all theUpanishads, including the earliestChandogya andBrihadaranyaka Upanishads, and expounded upon in theMandukya Upanishad.[102]
Another divergence from Samkhya is that while the Samkhya holds that knowledge is the means to liberation, Patañjali's Yoga insists on the methods of concentration and active striving. The aim of Yoga is to free the individual from the clutches of the matter, and considers intellectual knowledge alone to be inadequate for the purpose – which is different from the position taken by Samkhya.[96]
However, the essential similarities between the Samkhya and Patañjali's system remained even after the addition of theIsvara principle,[103] withMax Müller noting that "the two philosophies were in popular parlance distinguished from each other as Samkhya with and Samkhya without a Lord...."[104] TheBhagavad Gita, one of the chief scriptures of Hinduism, is considered to be based on this synthetic Samkhya-Yoga system.[105][106]
TheYoga Sūtras of Patañjali is a foundational text of theYoga philosophy school of Hinduism.[10][11]
While there are differences between Buddhist tenets and the views presented in the Yoga Sutras, scholars have notedstriking similarities between Patanjali's Yoga Sutras and the teachings in Buddhist texts.[107][108][109] The levels of samādhi taught in the text resemble the Buddhistjhanas.[110][111]
Karel Werner writes, "Patanjali's system is unthinkable without Buddhism. As far as its terminology goes there is much in theYoga Sutras that reminds us of Buddhist formulations from thePāli Canon and even more so from theSarvāstivādaAbhidharma and fromSautrāntika."[112] He adds, "upon the whole it [Patanjali's Yoga sutras] is more elaborate and summarizes the actual technique of Yoga procedures more exactly than the Buddhist exposition".[113] However, states Werner, "The Buddha was the founder of his system, even though, admittedly, he made use of some of the experiences he had previously gained under various Yoga teachers of his time. Patanjali is neither a founder nor a leader of a new movement. (...) The ingenuity of his [Patanjali's] achievement lies in the thoroughness and completeness with which all the important stages of Yoga practice and mental experiences are included in his scheme, and in their systematic presentation in a succinct treatise."[113] Werner adds that the ideas of existence and the focus on "Self, Soul" in Patajali's Yogasutra are different from the "no Self" precepts of Buddhism.[114]
According toDavid Gordon White, the language of theYoga Sutras is often closer to "Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit, the Sanskrit of the early Mahayana Buddhist scriptures, than to the classical Sanskrit of other Hindu scriptures".[115] He adds, historical evidence suggests that yoga philosophical systems influenced, and were influenced by, other philosophical systems in India such as early Buddhism and Jainism.[116] White mentions controversies about the Yoga Sutras.[107] A significant minority of scholars, notes White for example, believes that Vyasa lived a few centuries after Patanjali and his "Hindu-izing" commentary subverted Yoga Sutras' original "Buddhist" teachings; while the majority scholarly view disagrees with this view.[117]
Scholars also note differences between the conceptual frameworks of the Yoga Sutras and those in Buddhist texts.[108][109]Robert Thurman writes that Patañjali was influenced by the success of theBuddhist monastic system to formulate his own matrix for the version of thought he considered orthodox.[118] The Yoga Sutra, especially the fourth segment of Kaivalya Pada, contains several polemical verses critical of Buddhism, particularly the Vijñānavāda school of Vasubandhu.[119]
Barbara Miller also notes numerous similarities the difference between Patanjali's Yoga Sutras and teachings in Buddhist texts:
In Samkhya and Yoga, as in Buddhism and Jainism, the most salient characteristic of existence isduhkha or suffering. According to Buddhism, the origin of suffering is desire; according to Yoga, it is the connection between the observer (Purusha) with the observed (Prakrti). In both systems, the origin ofduhkha is ignorance. There are also similarities in the means of deliverance recommended by the two systems. In Buddhism, the aspirant is asked to follow the eightfold path, which culminates in right meditation orsamadhi. In Yoga, the aspirant is asked to follow a somewhat different eight fold path, which also culminates insamadhi.[108]
Miller also notes differences between Patanjali's Yoga Sutras and teachings in Buddhist texts:
..the aim of yoga meditation is conceived in terms that a Buddhist would not accept: as the separation of an eternal conscious self from unconscious matter. The purpose of Patanjali's Yoga is to bring about this separation by means of understanding, devotion and practice."[108]
According to Michele Desmarias, Patanjali's Yoga Sutras accept the concept of a Self or soul behind the operational mind, while Buddhists do not accept such a Self exists. The role of Self is central to the idea ofSaṃyoga,Citta, Self-awareness and other concepts in Chapters 2 through 4 of the Yoga sutras, according to Desmarias.[109]
Thefive yamas or the constraints of theYoga Sutras of Patañjali bear an uncanny resemblance to thefive major vows of Jainism, indicating influence ofJainism.[120][121][122] Three other teachings closely associated with Jainism also make an appearance in Yoga: the doctrine of "colours" in karma (lesya); theTelos of isolation (kevala in Jainism and Kaivalyam in Yoga); and the practice of nonviolence (ahimsa), though nonviolence (ahimsa) made its first appearance in Indian philosophy-cum-religion in theHindu texts known as theUpanishads [theChāndogya Upaniṣad, dated to the 8th or 7th century BCE, one of the oldestUpanishads, has the earliest evidence for the use of the wordAhimsa in the sense familiar in Hinduism (a code of conduct). It bars violence against "all creatures" (sarvabhuta) and the practitioner of Ahimsa is said to escape from the cycle ofmetempsychosis/reincarnation (CU 8.15.1).[123] It also names Ahimsa as one of five essential virtues].[124]
The contemporary Yoga tradition holds theYoga Sutras of Patañjali to be one of the foundational texts of classicalYoga philosophy.[10][11] However, the appropriation – and misappropriation – of theYoga Sutras and its influence on later systematizations of yoga has been questioned byDavid Gordon White,[12] who has argued that the text fell into relative obscurity for nearly 700 years from the 12th to 19th century, and made a comeback in late 19th century due to the efforts ofSwami Vivekananda, theTheosophical Society and others. It gained prominence as a classic in the 20th century.[12] Its influence was reaffirmed byJames Mallinson.[125]
Before the 20th century, history indicates that the medieval Indian yoga scene was dominated by the various other texts such as theBhagavad Gita and theYoga Vasistha, texts attributed toYajnavalkya andHiranyagarbha, as well as literature onhatha yoga, tantric yoga andPashupata Shaivism yoga rather than theYoga Sutras of Patañjali.[126] Much about yoga is written in the Mokṣadharma section of the epicMahābhārata.[127] The members of the Jaina faith had their own, different literature on yoga,[128] and Buddhist yoga stems from pre-Patanjali sources.[129]
Some of the major commentaries on theYoga Sutras were written between the ninth and sixteenth century.[130] After the twelfth century, the school started to decline, and commentaries on Patanjali's Yoga philosophy were few.[130] By the sixteenth century Patanjali's Yoga philosophy had virtually become extinct.[130] The manuscript of theYoga Sutras was no longer copied, since few read the text, and it was seldom taught.[131]
According toDavid Gordon White, the popularity of theYoga Sutras is recent, "miraculously rehabilitated" bySwami Vivekananda after having been ignored for seven centuries.[132] It was with the rediscovery by a British Orientalist in the early 1800s that wider interest in theYoga Sutras arose in the West.[131] Popular interest arose in the 19th century, when the practice of yoga according to theYoga Sutras became regarded as the science of yoga and the "supreme contemplative path to self-realization" bySwami Vivekananda, followingHelena Blavatsky, president of theTheosophical Society.[133] It has become a celebrated text in the West, states White, because of "Big Yoga – the corporate yoga subculture".[132]
TheYoga Sutras of Patanjali was the most translated ancient Indian text in the medieval era, having been translated into about forty Indian languages and two non-Indian languages: Old Javanese and Arabic.[132]
By the early 21st century, scholars had located 37 editions of Patanjali'sYoga Sutras published between 1874 and 1992, and 82 different manuscripts, from various locations in India, Nepal, Pakistan, Europe and the United States, many in Sanskrit, some in different North and South Indian languages.[139][140] The numerous historical variants show that the text was a living document and it was changed as these manuscripts were transmitted or translated, with some ancient and medieval manuscripts marked with "corrections" in the margin of the pages and elsewhere by unknown authors and for unclear reasons. This has made the chronological study of Yoga school of philosophy a difficult task.[139]
Many commentaries have been written on theYoga Sutras.[j]
Medieval commentaries on the Yoga sutras include:
Countless commentaries on theYoga Sutras are available today. TheSutras, with commentaries, have been published by a number of successful teachers of Yoga, as well as by academicians seeking to clarify issues of textual variation. There are also other versions from a variety of sources available on theInternet.[k] The many versions display a wide variation, particularly in translation. The text has not been submitted in its entirety to any rigorous textual analysis, and the contextual meaning of many of the Sanskrit words and phrases remains a matter of some dispute.[144] Modern translations and interpretationsinclude:
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