As we (hopefully) covered enough relevant history surrounding the amazing document known as the Yoga Sutras in part one, we want to bring attention now to the actual substance of this core yogic text. However, before moving on, into any specific contents of this masterpiece, we wish to observe overall nature of the work. Why is it considered so important? Important enough, at least, that over the two millennia (and some change) that is has been around, it has survived. Reflect on the fact that humans have a brutal history, and often, conquering nations would destroy much of the cultural heritage in their newly acquired territories. History has been re-written countless times, and so much of our creative arts may have been lost due to ruthless wakes of destruction. The good news is that enough people of all ranges of diversity have seemingly agreed to the intrinsic value of certain pieces of literature or human expression. This is the nature of scripture - written bodies of wisdom that have been collected over time, carefully preserved, and passed down, generation to generation, as the most important of all keepsakes. A very useful note to consider when we are examining texts for their validity or authority as something worth reading.
With that in mind, we have this book, Yoga Sutras, which is a collection of 196 verses all designed as sutras, in a way that one could memorize them and recite them like a long poem. We ought to nickname the author, Patanjali, and call him "Master P". This semi-legendary figure was indeed a great sage, and we are thankful for the success of his mission, as he was the first to codify the core philosophies of Yoga into one canon. If we tried to summarize the Bible into a poem, a poem that misses none of the main points, and can be memorized.... then we might begin to see the ingenuity of his work.
At it's essence, this book serves as a sort of manual for [human] consciousness. We know that the word yoga first appeared (in the Rig Veda) far earlier than this text , so it is technically not the origin of yogic philosophy, however it may certainly be the first time we find such a unique combination of technical, practical, and theoretical yogic wisdom wrapped up succinctly in one place. It seems obvious, but it is worth mentioning that humans have been grappling with the nature of our existence since the dawn of time. Questions such as: why are we here? How did we get here? Where did all of this come from? What are we supposed to do? Who am I?
We can only imagine what went on in the minds of the early humans who had first discovered fire and began to gather around it to revel in its warmth, protection, and the countless other blessings that mastery of the elements offered us. Think about that for a second. What sort of changes had to happen in the brains of these ancient ancestors when they no longer had to sleep with one eye open, or could otherwise gather safely together around a central object after the sun had set? Consider this is a symbolic sort of way. Once the noise of the outer world reduces its volume, and it is just you and your environment, imagine what sort of spiritual inquiries arise? We are no different than our ancient ancestors - but our fires have definitely grown in size and complexity. We still value the organizing pattern of a central hearth, or an altar, or an otherwise sacred space in which we can gather and reflect. The modern version of this in most homes is the kitchen, but let's not make the mistake to assume that a mundane kitchen is less sacred than any other central hub for gathering.
And I guess that's the idea of the the Yoga Sutras. Master P wanted to disclose all the most relevant information related to our human condition, and give it to us around the central concept of yoga. Which just means "union". The main principle here is that our natural state of being is one of yoga, or union with our surroundings. It is claimed that if one adheres to the guidelines in this text, one can ultimately experience union with the entire cosmos. All this is based around the fact that man has evolved a fancy brain which allows him to separate himself from nature, and thus act out of selfish impulses, and these impulses lead to suffering; but before this fancy brain, we have the natural man. Man existing within nature, operating in the flow of reality, and not apart from it. So this begs the question - how do we get around the whole mess happening in our brains, and return to the promised state of union with all things? (Insert Adam & Eve reference here.... this Biblical myth is telling us the same thing, only with a different story).
Maybe we can unpack some of this mystery by getting into the actual details of the book, starting with the very first line:
Atha yoga anushasanam (Sanskrit) Now, the teachings of yoga. (English) —Yoga Sutra 1.1
Master P starts his book with the very first word of the first line being atha. Which means - "now". There are some other translations of the latter part of this sentence, but atha clearly comes first and clearly means now. How genius. This great sage knew that the teachings of yoga were eternal, as they deal with every human's fundamental nature, and that yoga could only ever exist "in the now". To fully experience ourselves as interwoven into the cosmic fabric of existence, we cannot seek union with something imagined in the past or future, which are both fabrications of our limited human mind. For yoga to occur, it has to occur NOW. Anything else is not yoga.
What implications does this have for us, practically? Well, for one, it is helpful to remember that the concept of yoga as union is referring more so to a state of being, rather than somewhere to arrive through striving. Think of it this way: we cannot strive to fall asleep. If we try too hard, we simply will not fall asleep! It is the same with yoga, and the cool thing is that most people have experienced the natural state of yoga arising in their lives more than one time. Think of the all times we lost track of time doing something we loved, or noticed that we were holding the breath when witnessing something beautiful like a sunset. The state of yoga arises when the conditions are right. This is a fundamental principle and extremely important to remember as we proceed. And it can only ever happen NOW!
With all that being said, where do we go from here? The practicality of just the first line in the Yoga Sutras is enough that it can be the entire teaching, so we will pause in our discussion and let the first sutra do its work on our consciousness. Remember that yoga means union, and that it is our conditioned mind that causes us to forget our union with all things. When we begin to be fully present, we step outside of the conditioned mind - because our mind is only ever conditioned by the past or future. But there is a mind beyond the mind. The locus of awareness that illuminates our reality without commentary, is part of a higher Mind, in that when we observe without judgment and operate from a place of inner silence, where yoga is an ever-abiding reality, we find ourselves in the flow of life without actually being too invested in it. It is operating without attachment to any outcome. This is the divine wisdom that we have within us, as it is our inherent nature. When we learn to live by this sacred truth, the world opens up to us in a whole new way. How we perceive the world is according to precisely what we choose to perceive. If we decide to perceive something beyond our limited human comprehension, we are knocking on the door of something far more expansive, far more creative, and far more intelligent than we consider ourselves to be. To be in yoga with this, is to allow life to work its magic through us, for us. To be in resistance to this, is to be trapped in the mundane mind, full of thoughts about yesterday and tomorrow and other worries all using "I" as the locus.
It is through practice that we train to have the Universe as the locus. By using the body, mind, and breath in specific ways, we can reverse engineer the mental hang-ups that have created knots of psychic tension in our body and have caused us to forget our true nature. In the end, we discover that it was ourselves we are looking for all along. That all answers to all questions come from the same Source - an inner source. To go beyond the mind into the flow of Universal intelligence - that is what we believe Patanjali was hoping to transmit in his work, and this is exactly what we hope to share through our writings and teachings at BTGY. Stay tuned for part 3!
May all sincere seekers awaken to the truth of their own being. OM.
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