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Like a fence that has been painted and repainted numerous colours
over its lifetime, the 195 aphorisms (stra) of the Yoga Stra have
been interpreted many different ways over the centuries. Such a long
and complex history can make it difficult to understand its ethical
framework, which nonetheless continues to intrigue those interested
in yoga. In seeking a historical understanding of this work, all
commentaries and translations play a valuable role, and the
superiority of one interpretation of an aphorism may give way to
another as soon as the historical context changes.
It seems that very few people are aware that the Yoga Stra is
part of a larger work known as the Ptajalayogastra (4th 5th
centuries CE), which consists of the stras and the insightful
commentary called the Bhya. Philipp Maas groundbreaking work
(2013) proves beyond reasonable doubt that the Ptajalayogastra
is the work of one author.2 The strongest evidence for this is that both
the Yoga Stra and Bhya were quoted as a single work called the
Ptajalayogastra by various medieval authors, the earliest being
the eighth-century poet named Mgha (Maas 2013: 57). Some of
these authors cite Patajali (i.e., iti patajali) when quoting passages
of the Bhya, which indicates that they believed that Patajali was
the author of the entire Ptajalayogastra.3
There is also evidence in the text itself that supports the view that
a single author composed the Ptajalayogastra. For example,
verbs in the first person are sometimes used to introduce new topics.
Also, the Yoga Stra and Bhya often depend on one another
syntactically. In one case, a pronoun in a stra (2.27) refers back to an
earlier passage in the Bhya (Maas 2013: 62-63).
Why has this been overlooked by so many for so long? The
confusion appears to have arisen from the opening verse of
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that the eager student of this yoga would ask, what exactly must I do
to abide by the Yamas and Niyamas? If one confines oneself to a
literal translation of the Yoga Stra, such a question will remain
impossible to answer.
This is one reason why a commentary on the Yoga Stra is so
important. In fact, all modern publications on this gnomic work
translate and interpret it with a significant amount of additional
explanation. The explanation may derive from a written commentary
on the stra, the spoken views of teachers (often called an oral
tradition if such views transmit the teachings of a lineage of teachers)
or the translators own personal knowledge of yoga. In our opinion, it
is impossible to understand the Yoga Stra without supplying
essential information from elsewhere. Therefore, it is highly unlikely
that the Yoga Stra was ever intended as an independent literary
work.
Some scholars remain unconvinced that one person composed and
compiled both the Yoga Stra and Bhya. The most common
argument against a single authorship of the Ptajalayogastra is
that there are some contradictions between certain stras and the
commentary. Underlying this argument is the question; if one person
wrote the whole work, how could such contradictions exist? However,
it is clear that the Ptajalayogastra is a composite work. In fact,
its author was aware that some stras are older than others (Maas
2013: 62). Therefore, the author most probably composed some stras
and compiled others from elsewhere, weaving them together,
sometimes imperfectly, with the commentary. Nonetheless, it is also
the case that better explanations of these so-called contradictions
will be found when scholars who are historically and philogically
orientated begin to study the Ptajalayogastra as a unified work,
since this was the understanding of its author.
If one accepts that there is a single authorial intention behind the
Yoga Stra and Bhya, then it is clear that the Yamas and Niyamas
have been explained in a well-structured manner within the
framework of the Ptajalayogastra. The discussion proceeds as
follows:
1. The Five Yamas
(2.30 Stra)
(2.30 Bhya)
(2.32 Stra)
(2.32 Bhya)
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Being cooked in the terrifying embers of transmigration, I go to
refuge in the moral code of yoga (yogadharma) by giving to all
beings freedom from the fear [of being harmed]. Having forsaken
[these] temptations and accepting them again, I am the same as
someone who behaves like a dog.
If medieval Indian views on the behaviour of dogs are not clear to the
reader, further clarification is provided:
Just as a dog is a licker of its own vomit, so am I [who] accepts
again [that which] was abandoned.
This poignant image of undignified behaviour is intended to
discourage a person from breaking their resolve to follow the Yamas
and Niyamas. This mental castigation also seems to insinuate that
eating regurgitated hindrances might leave a rather bitter taste in
ones mouth. This simile is not new to our culture, for it is found in the
Old Testaments Book of Proverbs (26.11) in a somewhat similar
context; As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his
folly.
After the advice on how one can overcome hindrances to the
Yamas and Niyamas, the author sets out the powers gained by those
who succeed in upholding these guidelines. One can read the next
eleven stras (2.35 45) and their commentary as a single discourse
on the powers. By way of example, here are the benefits of the first
three Yamas (2.35 37):
If [ones practice of] non-violence is steadfast, hostility is
relinquished in ones presence. [In this case, hostility is
relinquished] by all living beings. If [ones practice of] truthfulness
is steadfast, it unifies ones [verbal] actions with their results. [For
example,] if [one says to someone,] be virtuous, [that person]
becomes virtuous. [If one says,] you will obtain heaven, [that
person] obtains heaven. Ones speech becomes efficacious. If [ones
practice of] not stealing is steadfast, one has access to all riches. [In
fact,] riches everywhere become available to one.
The importance of three of the Niyamas is reinforced at the
beginning of the Ptajalayogastras second chapter in a basic
system of yoga called Kriyyoga (2.1). It consists of asceticism (tapas),
self-study (svdhyya) and the worship of vara
(varapraidhna). The inclusion of asceticism in both systems of
Kriy and Agayoga as well as the prohibitions against sex and
possessing goods in the Yamas denote the ancient world of Indian
renunciation, out of which Buddhism and Jainism emerged. Some
scholars have demonstrated Buddhisms direct influence on the
Ptajalayogastra8 and noted the similarities of the latter with
Jainism, at least insofar as the significance of non-violence and the
description of the Yamas as a great vow.9 However, the
Ptajalayogastra was not composed for Buddhists or Jains, so the
obvious question is, for whom was it intended?
The author of the Ptajalayogastra most frequently addresses
male Brahmins, the priestly caste of India.10 Brahmanical religion
flourished at this time under the rule of the Gupta empire (3rd 6th
CE). At the centre of this religion was the performance of sacrificial
rites in accordance with Vedic scripture. Strictly orthodox Brahmins
censured those who renounced these rites. They believed that their
duty was to be a householder. Social responsibilities and raising a
family were important to them. However, it is clear in two passages of
the Ptajalayogastra that its audience was not Brahmin
householders, but Brahmin renunciants (yati, sannysin), who
renounced social and familial responsibilities in order to pursue the
arduous path of gaining liberation through yoga. The path of this yoga
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was arduous because asceticism was at the heart of it. In fact, the
Ptajalayogastra (2.1) states that its yoga cannot be
accomplished by one who is not an ascetic (tapasvin).
Why might Brahmin householders renounce? Following Vedic
injunctions and performing the required rituals throughout their lives
guaranteed liberation only after death. However, by renouncing and
undertaking Patajalis yoga, those who mastered Samdhi could
attain liberation in this lifetime.
If one reads closely the Ptajalayogastra without a modern
interpretation, the influence of Indian asceticism can be seen
throughout the work, from the definition of yoga (cittavttinirodha) as
a seemingly catatonic state of physical and mental inactivity to the
notion of liberation as a persons true identification with a completely
passive, unchanging and eternally witnessing monad (purua). The
ascetic flavour of Patajalis yoga might seem inappropriate to most of
todays yoga practitioners whose life largely concerns family, work and
coping with the modern economy. In a busy world, many people are
attracted to yogas potential for increasing their physical flexibility,
relieving stress and improving overall health.11 Yet, how many people
might be attracted to yogas potential for attaining a stone-like state
of stillness? Surely the most ambitious marketing guru would struggle
to sell catatonic yoga.
The Yamas and Niyamas seem to appeal to modern yoga
practitioners who seek guidance in a morally ambiguous world.
Nonetheless, a strict interpretation of Ahim is an exacting ideal for
householders, most of whom have little time to pause to think of a
dogs dietary habits when about to displace some ants from the
kitchen sink. And how much more might a householder want to
embrace sustained celibacy (brahmacarya) in any strict sense of the
word?
In the second part of this article (to be published in the next issue),
we will discuss examples of how medieval commentators
reinterpreted Patajalis Yamas and Niyamas for different audiences
such as householders, and how these perspectives can provide some
insight into the teachings of modern gurus.
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6 Kcchra, Cndryaa and Sntapana are described as fasts
facts in the book of
Manu (e.g., Manusrti 11.208 13).
7 See Bhojadeva's Rjamrtaa on stra 2.33: the vitarka are obstacles to
yoga ([...] vitark yogaparipanthina [...]).
8 For recent information on this, in particular textual parallels between the
Ptajalayogastra and Vasubandhus Vibh, see Dominik Wujastyks
talks, The Earliest Accounts of sana in the Yoga Literature, Vog, April 2015
and Some Problematic Yoga Sutras and their Buddhist Background, Vienna
2013 (both available on his page at academia.edu).
9 For example, see the crgastra, the first book of which is generally
ascribed to the second or third century BCE and prescribes the proper
behaviour (cra) of a Jain. As far as we are aware, no one has yet found
textual parallels between the Ptajalayogastra and an early Jain text. So,
whether Jainism directly or indirectly influenced Patajalis yoga, as opposed
to some other ramaa tradition whose scriptures are now lost, remains
uncertain.
10 For references and a more thorough discussion on the words Brhmaa,
yati and sannysin in the Ptajalayogastra see Philipp Maas, Der Yogi
und sein Heilsweg im Yoga des Patajali, in Karin Steiner (ed.), Wege zum
Heil(igen). Sakralitt und Sakralisierung in hinduistischen Traditionen.
Wiesbaden 2014: Harrassowitz, 65-90.
11 http://www.yogajournal.com/press/yoga_in_america. Thanks to Phil Lemke
for this reference.
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