Con this book, ‘yoga’ has been recognised as verso word sopra common usage, and as such has not been italicised

Introduction to ‘Enlightened Living’

There are many spiritually elevated people durante the world, but not many levitating yogis: and the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali Maharshi are meant puro elevate the spirit of every man, not puro teach him how esatto levitate. The attempt in this little book has been to expose that gospel, esatto avoid technicalities, and to relate the whole yoga philosophy esatto the ordinary and simple daily life of everyone.

There are very many excellent translations of the Sutras: this, however, is an interpretative translation. There are several scholarly and erudite commentaries, too: this is definitely not one of them. This book is not meant for the research scholar but for one who is con search of truth which shall free him from self-ignorance.

The incisive language of the Sutras cannot be preserved in translation. An extraordinary feature of the Sutras is the avoidance of direct commandments, dogmatic assertions and the use of active voice. Whereas every effort has been made to retain the structure of the text, in a few cases (for example, in Sutra I. 49) slight changes have had to be made to sustain the easy flow of thought. (The words which represent the translation of the text are underlined.)

Anyone who translates a text which is durante the Sanskrit language is confronted by two difficulties: (a) not all languages have concise words or phrases which accurately convey the exact sense per which the Sanskrit word is used per the text; and (b) the Sanskrit word itself has verso number of meanings, and it is easier to choose the correct meaning when the word is used durante a structurally complete prose or verse, than when it occurs mediante the Sutras. From a cursory glance at the very many available translations of the Sutras it is easy sicuro see that each one has translated some Sutras differently, without being unfaithful preciso the text.

Some translators, eager esatto build per ‘philosophical system’ on the foundation of the Sutras have treated some words durante the https://datingranking.net/it/connecting-singles-review/ text as proper names of specific philosophical categories. Such verso treatment inevitably limits the understanding of the purport of the text. The text itself seems puro use two or more words esatto refer preciso a scapolo factor: for example, samadhi and samapattih are used synonymously. There is a danger of regarding words as names: for then they create forms or images which perpetuate ignorance while creating an illusion of knowledge. This pitfall has been avoided durante this book, and the actual meaning of the words has been sought, regardless of how the ‘philosophical system’ has classified them. When this is done, it is discovered that there is verso continuous and smooth flow per the sequence of the Sutras. (Where the text clearly warrants another meaning, such an alternative meaning has also been given: examples are II. 30, II. 36 and IV. 31).

This is clearly the gospel of enlightened living, neither an escape from life nor per hallucinatory ‘light’

The gospel of yoga suggests not verso withdrawal nor an escape from the world but the abandonment of the mental conditioning which creates a division between the ‘me’ and ‘the world’ (including the world of psychological experiences). Meditation is the vigorous search for the true identity, of the ‘me’, not verso psychic jugglery nor per technique for deep relaxation. Seen from this angle, the fundamental categories of yoga (citta, and nirodha – vide I. 2), take on verso character completely different onesto the one that prevails in the minds of most practicants of yoga: it is hard sicuro translate citta and vritti, and the student has sicuro discover the meaning sopra himself as Patanjali’s message saturates his whole being. Nirodha does not imply suppression, restraint or control con the usual (and brutal) connotations of those words, but verso vigilantly watchful understanding of the movements of thought per the mind-which is stillness of verso different kind.