The Yoga Sutras of Maharishi Patanjali

The Yoga Sutras of Maharishi Patanjali

The Yoga Sutras are important for all serious Yoga Aspirants to

study, these sutras (verses) contain timeless wisdom that can

help us to navigate our way through samsara (our experience of

the world) and ultimately find some inner peace. I hope these

pages can encourage us to keep reflecting on the true meaning

of our life and the many paths of yoga sadhana (disciplined

practice) that Yogamaharishi Patanajli reveals to us as a way to

Moksha (ultimate freedom).

This work on Yoga Sutras of Maharishi Patanjali is my simple

contemplative translation in my own understanding. There are

many translations and commentaries on Yoga Sutras. Some

of them are beautiful linguistic translations while others are

scholarly work. 

The Yoga Sutras are considered to serve as the foundation of

all yogic techniques. Maharishi Patanjali, also widely known

as the father of Yoga, compiled 195 sutras, which serve as a

framework for integrating Yoga into a daily routine and leading

an ethical life. The exact date of the compilation of the Yoga

Sutras is not known. However, it is believed that they were

written somewhere around 2000 BC. The core of Patanjali’s

teachings lie in the ‘Ashta-anga’ or eight-fold limbs of yoga.

The path shows the way to live a better life through yoga.

This practical system attempts to understand the nature of the

mind; it’s different states of being, the impediments to spiritual

growth, it’s afflictions and the methods of refining and stilling the

mind in order to attain ‘Samdhi’, which means absolute bliss,

deep joy, oneness with the super-consciousness.

The central doctrine of Yoga philosophy is that nothing exists beyond the

mind and its consciousness, which is the only ultimate reality.

The objective of this philosophy is to uproot misconceptions

about the existence of external realities from the minds of

men/women. It is believed that it is possible to reach this stage

of self-realisation through regular practice of certain yogic

meditative processes, which culminate in complete withdrawal

and detachment from all false sources of knowledge. This

inculcates an inner sense of balanced calm and tranquility.