Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

By Mark Madison

The Yoga Sutra of Patanjali has long been shrouded in mystery and confusion. That's because
existing translations rely on confusing language and outdated interpretations. The process can be
so frustrating that it seems that only yoga instructors or dedicated gurus are committed to
studying this ancient text, the Yoga Sutra.
This guide is intended to teach you how to be the leader in your own spiritual journey. By
modernizing and simplifying the sutras, this guide makes it easy for you to know exactly how the
sage Patanjali conceptualized yoga and the path to realization. Before you know it, you'll be
inspired to start meditating, fostering positivity, and dispelling the toxic elements in your life.
The guide is broken down into three chapters packed with helpful tips and information:
• Chapter One gives you the history of the Yoga Sutra and how it has changed from the time
Patanjali wrote the sutras to today.
• Chapter Two provides the full 196 sutras in simple language so that you can easily your own
spiritual journey toward enlightenment. This chapter also includes new commentary to give
you insight on what each sutra means.
• Chapter Three brings the practice to your mat by encouraging you to make the Yoga Sutras
your own. You'll be invited to write an intention and explore which sutras will be best for
your yoga journey. When you make the sutras work for you, you'll be that much closer to
enlightenment.
Many of the guides out there for the Yoga Sutra are just as confusing as reading this ancient text
in the original Sanskrit. With those other guides, you often find yourself having to re-word the
sutras in a language you understand.
But, here, you won't be bogged down by dense, hard-to-understand language or outdated
phrasing. Everything in this guide has been mindfully written and organized so that you can get
the most out of this life-changing yogic journey. What else makes this guide so special? Here are
a few other ways this guide stands out among the others:

• The format allows you to read through the entire translation of a section before reading the
author's. That means you get the opportunity to formulate your own interpretations before
reading someone else's.
• The sutras are repeated throughout the chapter so that you can naturally become familiar with
them instead of having to memorize them.
• Definitions of complex ideas are simplified and weaved into the text so that you don't have
to reference back to a glossary.
Why are these aspects so important for your journey towards enlightenment? Well, the more that
you're able to take the wheel and genuinely gain the knowledge of the sages, the more you'll be
inspired and empowered to stay committed to your yoga practice.
But that's not the only advantage. These intentional formatting and language choices make the
Yoga Sutra more enjoyable. Because who ever said that the philosophy of yoga had to be a bore?
You can achieve enlightenment and enjoy the process with this guide!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mark Madison
• Release date: Jan 1, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393029007

Book preview

Yoga Sutra of Patanjali

A Complete Guide with Translations and Commentary

Mark Madison

Copyright © 2018 by Mark Madison

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1: The Historic Roots

Patanjali

The Yoga Sutra

Yoga Today

Summary

Chapter 2: The Translated Books

Book One: Contemplation or Concentration

Commentary

Sutras 1.1 to 1.11

Sutras 1.12 to 1.22

Sutras I.23 to I.29

Sutras I.30 to I.41

Sutras I.42 to I.51

Book Two: Discipline and Practice

Commentary

Sutras II.1 to II.11

Sutras II.12 to II.16

Sutras II.17 to II.27

Sutras II.30 to II.45

Sutras II.46 to II.51

Sutras II.52 to II.55

Book Three: Progress and Results

Commentary

Sutras III.1 to III.8

Sutras III.9 to III.14

Sutras III.15 to III.20

Sutras III.21 to III.26

Sutras III.27 to III.34

Sutras III.35 to III.38

Sutras III.42 to III.49

Sutras III.50 to III.56

Book Four: Freedom or Liberation

Commentary

Sutras IV.1 to IV.10

Sutras IV.11 to IV.17

Sutras IV.18 to IV.26

Sutras IV.27 to IV.30

Chapter 3: Setting Out on Your Journey

Setting the Intention

Writing Goals

Conclusion

Introduction

Yoga sutra. What a loaded phrase. For some, it means health and exercise. For others, it means enlightenment and spirituality. For other still, any mention of sutra conjures up ideas of sexuality and exploration. For many, the phrase rings a bell of mysticism, novelty, foreignness.

This guide is not intended to perpetuate the somewhat misguided interpretations of yoga sutra that have ridden the wave of popularity in the Western World. You won’t be taught, here, how to find the perfect yoga mat or which yoga style will give you the best yogi body. Instead, this guide’s purpose is to provide you with a clear, succinct explanation of the original teachings of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra.

This is a guide for those of you who, whether you have an established yoga practice or are just starting out, are interested in the true origins of this ancient tradition. You’re here to get to the root of yoga, the original intent, the core foundation. If you’re dedicated to making yoga an integral part of your life, you’ll find that understanding these early teachings will greatly enrich your practice by instilling a sense of humility, empowerment, and pride. You’ll both foster your curiosity and gain wisdom. You’ll challenge yourself and be invited to celebrate your accomplishments. And most importantly, you’ll appreciate the deep waters of a practice that has become part and parcel of the New Age health trend of our era.

No bells and whistles. No commercial interests. No nonsense.

Just yoga, the way it was originally written.

In this guide

There are many ways to approach the teachings of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra. Some authors choose to simply translate the work and let the teachings speak for themselves. Others choose to translate and interpret the work so that today’s audience can better understand the teachings as they were meant at the time they were written. In this guide, I will try my best to find a balance between those two options. On the one hand, I think that reading the translated text and coming to your own conclusions is a powerful process. On the other hand, providing commentary can give you a deeper understanding of the text and allow you to better integrate the teachings into your life.

It is the fine line between reading a Shakespeare play in his style and watching a modern interpretation of it. By reading the original, you gain an appreciation for artistry, but you might not connect personally with the text. Because while Shakespeare may have written about universal topics like love, trust, and betrayal, the language and the characters don’t have much to do with our day and age. By watching a modern-day take, though, the story becomes real for you. You don’t have to analyze the words or consider things like historical and cultural location. Finally, by doing both, you understand clearly what Shakespeare meant to convey, what he wanted you to feel. It is both an academic and personal experience.

So, with that said, what can you expect to find in this guide? Well first, the history. Chapter One will give you a snapshot of where and when the Yoga Sutras were written as well as their place in the larger philosophical tradition. Nothing too lengthy here, just enough to give you a basic understanding of the cultural conditions in which the original text was written and understood. In Chapter One, we’ll also discuss how the practice has developed into the yoga we know today. There are, of course, advantages and drawbacks to the changes that yoga has undergone over the years, so we’ll be sure to touch on them.

Chapter Two is the juicy part: the books of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra. In these sections, you’ll get some snapshots of the original text but more importantly, you’ll be able to read the translations. After reading through the text, you’ll be invited to make your own interpretations before reading my commentary. I encourage this format - text and translation first, commentary second - to give you more autonomy over how you read the books. Many authors translating these texts are so eager to provide the reader with their unique, amazing commentary, that it can be difficult to know what was original and what is new. With this clear distinction, you’ll be able to separate the old and the new and take what works best for you.

A quick note on the layout of the sutras: it will seem slightly repetitive. When the Yoga Sutra was written, yoga had existed as a largely oral practice in which the teachings of the sages were memorized and passed down through generations. This wasn’t just a matter of lacking the necessary tools to put the practice of yoga into writing. It also allowed the student to become

intimately familiar with the philosophy of yoga. In the section in which I translate the original text, then, I will offer you first the entire book sutra by sutra, and then again, in smaller selections, when I go through my commentary. The benefit of this is that you have multiple opportunities to read the sutras, first as an entire piece and then in smaller digestible portions. I encourage you to really take the time to reread each sutra as you see it. Each reading will potentially open up new understandings.

I realize that this guide could end right there, with the translated bits and pieces of commentary. But you’re likely here because you want to make these teachings a part of your lifestyle. Reading Chapter One and Two, then, is just the start. Chapter Three, with sections on setting your intention and working through challenges, is really going to be where wisdom and practicality come together. What makes this guide complete, in other words, is that you’ll not only have the knowledge base of yoga sutra, but you’ll also have a plan to allow yoga sutra to change your life.

At the end of this guide, you won’t just be one of those students sweating it out in a Hot Yoga class because