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JDH
USA
331 Posts |
 Posted - Nov 17 2010 : 12:30:58 AM
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I have begun reading a book of the Yoga Sutras with commentary, and I'm drowning in Sanskrit. I'm hoping that somebody has the same version and can discuss it here. If not, I am hoping still to discuss some of the yoga philosophy that is in the commentary, particularly the Sanskrit terms and their translation into what they mean in my personal reality. I know there are some well-read yogi's on this board. It might take many many posts, so please bear with me. It would be a valuable resource to me, as well as the whole community to have these things well defined. This is the version I am reading:
Yoga Philosophy of Patanjali - Containing his yoga aphorisms with Vyasa's commentary in Sanskrit and a translation with annotations including many suggetions for the practice of yoga - by Samkhya-yogacharya Swami Hariharananda Aranya rendered into English by P.N. Mukerji
To be found here on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Yoga-Philosop...p/0873957296
I selected this version based on searching recommendations on these forums. Now, on to the Sanskrit!
I will ask about the terms in order as they come up, andhopefully before long I will have a basic understanding of all of them. Starting with the first Sutra's commentary.
Samadhi (concentration) is a feature of the mind in all its 5 habitual states. Ksipta (restless), Mudha (stupefied), Viksipta (distracted), Ekagra (one-pointed), and Niruddha (arrested).
So there are 5 states of the mind, can anybody expand on these a little more? Give a good definition? What would be examples of the 5 states in my day to day life? Or in reference to AYP?
There are some further descriptions in the annotations by the translator, but they fall short for me. If all my mental experiences are divided into 5 groups, I'd like to know where the lines are.
And, what is meant by Samadhi? Is this concentration such as the concentration I do when I am working at my job? Or studying for a test? Is it any and all form of concentration including the simplest mundane task such as going to the bathroom? Or is there some special quality to it? |
Edited by - JDH on Nov 17 2010 01:03:45 AM |
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BuddhiHermit
United Kingdom
84 Posts |
Posted - Nov 17 2010 : 12:31:24 PM
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What Sanskrit terms mean in my personal reality is going to be different for every one of us.
Mental experiences are NOT divided into 5 groups, but can still be thought of in those terms for the sake of convenience.
Looking for dividing lines in the mind would be a great exercise in stillness. You might have more luck looking for Red Robins building nests at the centre of a black hole. The danger here is that you miss the real while looking for the fictional. Consider the dividing line between a lake, and the air, and a person standing half in the lake - on which side of the dividing line does he belong?
My interpretations are:
Ksipta (thinking, feeling, imagining), Mudha (drunk, drugged, sleepy, lack of oxygen), Viksipta (multitasking, doing while thinking of something else), Ekagra (focussed on one thing/thought/feeling/sound... At work this can be when you are so totally absorbed, that you lose track of time), Niruddha (absence or supression of any mental movement)
If you read further, you will find Samadhi defined at various levels within the sutras. It may prove useful to read the whole thing first, then come back and ask further.
Namaste |
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JDH
USA
331 Posts |
Posted - Nov 17 2010 : 3:31:47 PM
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Thank you Buddhihermit, those were very helpful expansions on those definitions. Along with the descriptions in the text that is makign much better sense. I am actually further into the sutras, but I will take your advice and with-hold some questions until I've seen them more in context.
One idea I've already come across several times, and am yet still confused about, is the three Gunas, which are Sattva, Tamas, and Rajas. I understand these as:
Sattva, awareness.
Tamas, change.
Rajas, darkness.
Sometimes they are talked about as states of mind, and other times are talked about as though they were the foundations of reality. It is also said they are usually out of balance, but in equilibrium at enlightenment. But what are they? |
Edited by - JDH on Nov 17 2010 3:40:04 PM |
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BuddhiHermit
United Kingdom
84 Posts |
Posted - Nov 17 2010 : 6:04:28 PM
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I would have said:
Sattva - Balance / Consciousness
Rajas - Outgoing Force/energy (Action) / Joy / Ananda
Tamas - Static / Materiality (Inaction, Inertia) / Space /Emptiness
These are considered to be 3 possible constituents derived from awareness. The general idea is that the Primordial Oneness (Purusha) has 3 identifiable properties. Also : Brahma, Shiva, Vishnu, and Sat/Chit/Anand.
Prakriti: The Goddess, The material, energetic, mental, & psychic universe is usually described using 4 constituents.
It does all vary according to which tradition you follow.
Namaste
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Edited by - BuddhiHermit on Nov 18 2010 12:42:02 PM |
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Clear White Light
USA
229 Posts |
Posted - Nov 17 2010 : 10:50:10 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by JDH
If all my mental experiences are divided into 5 groups, I'd like to know where the lines are.
They're not divided; Unless of course you're schizophrenic. ;)
Seriously though, the yoga sutras are merely an attempt to define that which is inherently undefinable. These concepts are about as real as the lines drawn on a map that divide one country from another. It may be a well accepted model, but it is just a model nonetheless. |
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JDH
USA
331 Posts |
Posted - Nov 18 2010 : 10:54:30 AM
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Thank you, Buddhihermit.
That they are the 3 constituents make sense. I am rather confused which of the Gunas are which - but I will take them in general to mean the 3 basic elements of existence, and the extent to which they are reflected/present in all things, including the mind. Whether they be called Rajas, Tamas, and Sattva. Or the Void, Consciousness, and the Manifested World. Or zero, one, and the many. You are right that the more I read, the more the Sanskrit terms are falling into place.
Thanks, CWL, I understand that it is the author's distinction. I am finding the Yoga Sutras (especially the commentary as well) to be an excellent read so far. |
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BuddhiHermit
United Kingdom
84 Posts |
Posted - Nov 18 2010 : 12:50:50 PM
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In general parlance, you will find Rajas always referred to as being energetic, and Tamas as being related to manifest material, hence it's association with inertia.
Sattva seems not to have a quality as such, but usually refers to the transcendence to the next level up.
See also Thesis, Antithesis, and Synthesis.
I really think the main use would be as applied to states of being, and models that talk of being on this plane of being, or the next.
It's a lot of fun, building these models, and just when you have a really good one sorted out in your head, you have an experience of the Divine, and then see all those concepts turn empty.
I enjoy them, but have yet to find them of any real use as applied to the path.
Namaste |
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cosmic
USA
821 Posts |
Posted - Nov 18 2010 : 1:08:14 PM
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The gunas can also be seen as the forces that move us through life, or towards different states of consciousness:
Sattva impels us to perform evolutionary/holy/wise actions. (Leading to more awareness)
Rajas impels us into activity of any sort (Neutral, can go either way)
Tamas impels us to not take action (Leading to more ignorance)
This is just one way to look at the gunas.
The more yoga stuff you read, the more the Sanskrit terms and concepts will start to "click". I never tried to learn any of this, but just started grokking it through a lot of passive reading  |
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