From the Inside Flap
"A wonderful translation, full of contemporary insight yet luminous with eternal truth."—Jacob Needleman
The Yoga Sutras were cast in their present form in India around the third century b.c. Yoga is from the Sanskrit root meaning "union," and a sutra is a thread or aphoristic verse. The basic questions "Who am I?" "Where am I going?" "What is the purpose of life?" are asked by each new generation, and Patanjali's answers form one of the oldest and most vibrant spiritual texts in the world. He explains what yoga is, how it works, and exactly how to purify the mind and let it settle into absolute stillness. This stillness is our own Self. It is the indispensable ground for Enlightenment, which is the ultimate goal of all our aspirations.
Alistair Shearer's lucid introduction and superb translation, fully preserving Patanjali's jewel-like style, bring these ancient but vital teachings to those who seek the path of self-knowledge today.
Bell Tower's series, Sacred Teachings, offers essential spiritual classics from all traditions. May each book become a trusted companion on the way of truth, encouraging readers to study the wisdom of the ages and put it into practice each day.
From the Back Cover
"A wonderful translation, full of contemporary insight yet luminous with eternal truth."--Jacob Needleman
The Yoga Sutras were cast in their present form in India around the third century b.c. Yoga is from the Sanskrit root meaning "union," and a sutra is a thread or aphoristic verse. The basic questions "Who am I?" "Where am I going?" "What is the purpose of life?" are asked by each new generation, and Patanjali's answers form one of the oldest and most vibrant spiritual texts in the world. He explains what yoga is, how it works, and exactly how to purify the mind and let it settle into absolute stillness. This stillness is our own Self. It is the indispensable ground for Enlightenment, which is the ultimate goal of all our aspirations.
Alistair Shearer's lucid introduction and superb translation, fully preserving Patanjali's jewel-like style, bring these ancient but vital teachings to those who seek the path of self-knowledge today.
Bell Tower's series, Sacred Teachings, offers essential spiritual classics from all traditions. May each book become a trusted companion on the way of truth, encouraging readers to study the wisdom of the ages and put it into practice each day.
About the Author
ALISTAIR SHEARER did postgraduate work in Sanskrit at the University of Lancaster, after studying literature at Cambridge. He has practiced and taught meditation for many years. He currently divides his time between lecturing and writing on the sacred art of Hinduism and Buddhism, teaching meditation courses, and leading cultural tours to the Indian subcontinent each winter. His latest publications include The Spirit of Asia and Buddha: The Intelligent Heart.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
1 The Settled Mind
1.And now the teaching on yoga begins.
2.Yoga is the settling of the mind into silence.
3.When the mind has settled, we are established in our essential nature, which is unbounded consciousness.
4.Our essential nature is usually overshadowed by the activity of the mind.
5.There are Wve types of mental activity.
They may or may not cause suVering.
6.These Wve are:
understanding,
misunderstanding,
imagination,
sleep,
and memory.
7.Understanding is correct knowledge based on direct perception, inference, or the reliable testimony of others.
8.Misunderstanding is the delusion that stems from a false impression of reality.
9.Imagination is thought based on an image conjured up by words, and is without substance.
10.Sleep is the mental activity that has as its content the sense of nothingness.
11.And memory is the returning to the mind of past experience.
12.These Wve types of mental activity are settled through the practice of yoga and the freedom it bestows.
13.The practice of yoga is the commitment to become established in the state of freedom.
14.The practice of yoga will be Wrmly rooted when it is maintained consistently and with dedication over a long period.
15.Freedom is that triumphant state of consciousness that is beyond the inXuence of desire.
The mind ceases to thirst for anything it has seen or heard of; even what is promised in the scriptures.
16. And supreme freedom is that complete liberation from the world of change that comes of knowing the unbounded Self.
17.The settled mind is known as samadhi.
In samprajnata samadhi, the settled state is accompanied by mental activity:
Wrst on the gross level,
then on the subtle level,
then a feeling of bliss,
and Wnally the sense of pure "I-AM-ness."
18.After the repeated experience of the settling and ceasing of mental activity comes another samadhi.
In this only the latent impressions of past experience remain.
19.This is the nature of existence for beings without gross physical bodies and for those who are absorbed in the womb of all life awaiting rebirth.
20.For others this samadhi is preceded by trust, perseverance, recollection, tranquillity, and wisdom.
21.It is near for those who ardently desire it.
22. Yet even among them there are degrees--mild, moderate, and intense.
23.It can also come from complete surrender to the almighty Lord.
24.The Lord is a unique being who exists beyond all suVering.
Unblemished by action, He is free from both its cause and its eVects.
25.In Him lies the Wnest seed of all knowledge.
26. Being beyond time, He is the Teacher of even the most ancient tradition of teachers.
27.He is expressed through the sound of the sacred syllable OM.
28.It should be repeated and its essence realized.
29.Then the mind will turn inward and the obstacles that stand in the way of progress will disappear.
30.These obstacles are:
illness,
fatigue,
doubt,
carelessness,
laziness,
attachment,
delusion,
the failure to achieve samadhi,
and the failure to maintain samadhi.
They are distractions from the path of yoga.
31.Such distractions make the body restless, the breathing coarse, and the mind agitated.
They result in suVering.
32.But they can be eliminated if the mind is repeatedly brought to a single focus.
33. The mind becomes clear and serene when the qualities of the heart are cultivated:
friendliness toward the joyful,
compassion toward the suVering,
happiness toward the pure,
and impartiality toward the impure.
34.Or through the practice of various breathing exercises.
35.Experience of the Wner levels of the senses establishes the settled mind.
36.So does experience of the inner radiance that is free from sorrow.
37.So does being attuned to another mind that is itself unperturbed by desire.
38.So does witnessing the process of dreaming or dreamless sleep.
39. So does any meditation that is held in high esteem.
40.The sovereignty of the mind that is settled, extends from the smallest of the small to the greatest of the great.
41.As a Xawless crystal absorbs what is placed before it, so the settled mind is transparent to whatever it meets--the seer, the process of seeing, or the object seen.
This is samapatti--the state of mental absorption.
42.The Wrst stage of absorption is when the object of attention is gross, and its name and other thoughts are mingled together in the mind.
43.The second stage is when the memory is puriWed and the mind is quiet enough to be absorbed in the object of attention.
44.In the same way the third and fourth stages of absorption are explained: these occur when the object of attention is subtle.
45.The range of subtle objects includes all the levels of creation, extending to the limit of the gunas.
46.These levels of samadhi are concerned only with external objects.
47.But on reWnement of the fourth stage of absorption, there is the dawning of the spiritual light of the Self.
48.This level is ritambhara, where consciousness perceives only the truth.
49. The knowledge gained through ritambhara is qualitatively diVerent from that gained in the usual way through testimony and inference. The former means is intuitive and sees things as they are in their totality, whereas the latter means is partial.
50.The impression born of ritambhara prevents the accumulation of further latent impressions.
51.And when even the latent impression of ritambhara has been brought to a settled state, then all activity ceases and nirbija samadhi--the unbounded consciousness of the Self--alone remains.
2
treading the path
1.PuriWcation,
reWnement,
surrender.
These are the practical steps on the path of yoga.
2.They nourish the state of samadhi and weaken the causes of suVering.
3.The causes of suVering are Wve:
ignorance of our real nature,
egoism,
attachment,
aversion,
and the fear of death, which makes us cling to life.
4.Ignorance of our real nature is the source of the other four, whether they be dormant, weak, suspended, or fully active.
5.Ignorance is the failure to discriminate between the permanent and the impermanent, the pure and the impure, bliss and suVering, the Self and the
non-Self.
6.Egoism, the limiting sense of "I," results from the individual intellect's attributing the power of consciousness to itself.
7.Attachment is clinging to pleasure.
8.Aversion is clinging to pain.
9.And the fear of death is a spontaneous feeling, deeply rooted in us all, no matter how learned we may be.
10.The subtle causes of suVering are destroyed when the mind merges back into the unmanifest.
11.The gross eVects of suVering are discarded through meditation.
12.The impressions of past action, stored deep in the mind, are the seeds of desire.
They ripen into action in seen and unseen ways--if not in this life, then in a future one.
13. As long as action leaves its seed in the mind, this seed will grow, generating more births, more lives, more actions.
14.In these too, the fruit of wrong action is sorrow, the fruit of right action is joy.
15.Life is uncertain, change causes fear, and latent impressions bring pain--all is indeed suVering to one who has developed discrimination.
16.But the suVering yet to come should be averted.
17.The cause of suVering is that the unbounded Self is overshadowed by the world.
18.The world is the play of the gunas --the universal energies of light, motion, and mass.
They take form as the elements and the senses.
The purpose of the world is to provide us with experience and thus to lead us to liberation.
19.The gunas operate on various levels:
gross,
subtle,
causal,
and unmanifest.
20.But the Self is boundless.
It is the pure consciousness that illumines the contents of the mind.
21.It is only for the sake of the Self that the world exists.
22.Although the limitations of the world disappear for one who knows the Self, they are not destroyed, because they continue to exist for others.
23.The Self is obscured by the world in order that the reality of both may be discovered.
24.It is ignorance of our real nature that causes the Self to be obscured.
25.When ignorance is destroyed, the Self is liberated from its identiWcation with the world.
This liberation is Enlightenment.
26.Ignorance is destroyed by the undisturbed discrimination between the Self and the world.
27.There are seven stages in the growth of this wisdom.
28.The distinction between pure consciousness and the world is revealed by the light of knowledge, when the nervous system has been puriWed by the practice of yoga.
29.There are eight limbs of yoga:
yama --the laws of life,
niyama --the rules for living,
asana --the physical postures,
pranayama --the breathing exercises,
pratyahara --the retirement of the senses,
dharana --steadiness of mind,
dhyana --meditation,
samadhi --the settled mind.
30.The laws of life are Wve:
nonviolence,
truthfulness,
integrity,
chastity,
nonattachment.
31.These laws are universal.
UnaVected by time, place, birth, or circumstance, together they constitute the "Great Law of Life."
32.The rules for living are Wve:
simplicity,
contentment,
puriWcation,
reWnement,
surrender to the Lord.
33.When negative feelings restrict us, the opposite should be cultivated.
34.Negative feelings, such as violence, are damaging to life, whether we act upon them ourselves, or cause or condone them in others.
They are born of greed, anger, or delusion, and may be slight, moderate, or intense.
Their fruit is endless ignorance and suVering.
To remember this is to cultivate the opposite.
35.When we are Wrmly established in nonviolence, all beings around us cease to feel hostility.
36.When we are Wrmly established in truthfulness, action accomplishes its desired end.
37.When we are Wrmly established in integrity, all riches present themselves freely.
38.When we are Wrmly established in chastity, subtle potency is generated.
39.When we are established in nonattachment, the nature and purpose of existence is understood.
40.Simplicity destroys identiWcation with the body, and brings freedom from contact with other bodies.
41.Purity of mind, cheerfulness, mastery of the senses, one-pointedness, and readiness for Self-realization follow.
42.From contentment, unsurpassed happiness is gained.
43.By puriWcation, the body and the senses are perfected.
44.ReWnement brings communion with the desired celestial being.
45.From surrender to the Lord, the state of samadhi is perfected.
46.The physical postures should be steady and comfortable.
47.They are mastered when all eVort is relaxed and the mind is absorbed in the InWnite.
48.Then we are no longer upset by the play of opposites.
49.Next come the breathing exercises, which suspend the Xow of breath and increase the life energy.
50.The life energy is increased by regulation of the out-breath, the in-breath, or the breath in mid-Xow.
Depending upon the volume, and the length and frequency of holding, the breathing becomes slow and reWned.
51.The fourth kind of pranayama takes us beyond the domain of inner and outer.
52.Then the light of the intellect is unveiled.
53.And the mind is prepared for steadiness.
54.The senses retire from their objects by following the natural inward movement of the mind.
55.From this comes supreme mastery of the senses.
3
expansion
1.When the attention is held focused on an object, this is known as dharana.
2.When awareness Xows evenly toward the point of attention, this is known as dhyana.
3.And when that same awareness, its essential nature shining forth in purity, is as if unbounded, this is known as samadhi.
4.Dharana, dhyana, and samadhi practiced together are known as sanyama.
5.When sanyama is mastered, the light of supreme knowledge dawns.
6.But sanyama has its application at every stage of the development of this knowledge.
7.It is the heart of yoga, more intimate than the preceding limits.
8.Yet even sanyama is outside that pure unboundedness.
9.Nirodha parinama, the transformation of the bounded state, occurs when the attention moves from the rise and fall of the mind's impressions to the silence that pervades when its activity is settled.
10.This silence Xows evenly into the mind, because it becomes a latent impression itself.
11.Samadhi parinama, the transformation of the settled state, is the alternation between the mind's being one-pointed and its being unbounded.
12.And from this comes ekagrata parinama, the transformation of one-pointedness, the state in which activity and silence are equally balanced in the mind.
13.These are the transformations of the mind.
The transformations that operate in matter--transformations of quality, form, and state--are similarly explained.
14.Each object carries its past, present, and future qualities within it.
15.The diversity of matter is caused by the laws of nature which conduct evolution.
16.Sanyama on the three transformations brings knowledge of the past and future.
17.Perception of an object is usually confused, because its name, its form, and an idea about it are all superimposed upon each other.
By doing sanyama on the distinction between these three, we can understand the sound of all living beings.
18.From the direct experience of latent impressions comes knowledge of previous births.
19.And from the direct experience of its state, we can know the quality of another mind.
20.We know the quality, but not the content of the mind, because that is not within the sphere of this sanyama.
21.Sanyama on the form of the body makes it imperceptible, by breaking the contact between the eye of the observer and the light reXected by the body.
From this sanyama invisibility comes.
22.The fruits of an action may return to the doer quickly or slowly.
From sanyama on the fruit of an action comes foreknowledge of the time of death, and the understanding of omens.
23.From sanyama on friendliness, compassion, and happiness, these qualities blossom.
24.From sanyama on the strength of an elephant, or other creatures, we gain that strength.
25.By directing the inner light we can see what is subtle, hidden from view or far away.
26.From sanyama on the sun comes knowledge of the various realms of the universe.
27.From sanyama on the moon comes knowledge of the arrangement of the stars.
28.From sanyama on the pole star comes knowledge of their motion.
29.Sanyama on the navel center brings knowledge of the bodily system.
30.Sanyama on the hollow in the throat brings cessation of hunger and thirst.
31.Sanyama on the kurma nerve in the trachea brings steadiness.
32. From sanyama on the light in the head, we see the perfected ones.
33.By the clarity of intuitive perception everything can be known.
34.From sanyama on the heart comes awareness of pure mind.
