Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

16.95 - Audio CD

The Yoga Sutras, by the sage Patanjali, consist of 196 mantras which describe in highly compressed form the entire yogic path to spiritual enlightenment. This is not light reading! Every word counts.

This is where even a little study of Sanskrit can bring big results. It is so satisfying to understand the words directly. And to be able to hear and understand the individual words when listening to the sutras being chanted. Books such as "The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali" with translation and commentary by Sri Swami Satchidananda (ISBN 0-932040-38-1 Integral Yoga Publications, paperback $14.95) give word-by-word meanings for the Sanskrit words. So we do not need a big Sanskrit vocabulary to get started. But is surely helps to be able to read and pronounce the words correctly.

It used to be that the first thing a new yoga student was required to do was to memorize the Yoga Sutras. This was how this wisdom was passed on, especially in the times before it was written down.

The exact age of the Yoga Sutras is not known. Estimates range from 5000 BC to 300 AD. Yoga itself is likely far older. A coin from the ancient Indus Valley culture (approximately 5000 years ago) shows a figure in a seated yoga pose surrounded by birds and animals. This would identify the figure as 'Pashupati' or 'Lord of Beasts' -- one of the titles of Lord Shiva, also known as the first yogi.