The practice of yoga has exploded worldwide. Even in India, the home of Yoga, the youth are embracing it with new vigour. But how many of us know the true meaning and purpose of yoga beyond the physical practise of Asans? Did you know that the earliest yogic textbook - the Yoga Sutras - was compiled 2500 years ago by the great sage Maharishi Patanjali, who is the father of modern yoga? The origins of yoga however can be traced back 1000s of years prior to Patanjali. He merely compiled this great handbook - the yoga sutras - which is a guide to taming the mind. He also outlined the 8 limbs of yoga or Ashtanga, and asans or postures are only one of those limbs.
Our guest this week on Buzz by the Bay is Simone Preuss. She not only has a profound understanding of the sutras but she also teaches this important text at the reputed Yoga institute in Mumbai. She is a German national who has made India her home. Interestingly for centuries now western scholars have taken a deep interest in Indian philosophy and made significant contributions towards the study of Sanskrit texts. This interview is an introduction to the Yoga Sutras - a text with 4 chapters and 195 sutras or aphorisms. It takes years to do an in-depth study of the text but this discussion will throw some light on what yoga really is.
Watch the full interview by Anushka Jagtiani on Buzz by the Bay on the Free Press Journal Youtube channel.
Q: We associate yoga with the physical practice of asans - but Patanjali has outlined 8 limbs or Ashtanga, and asans are the 3 rd limb. why do people only focus on asans?
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Ans: Asans are popular because of the 8 steps Of the 8 steps asans are the most visible the most visual. If I want to post something on my Instagram and I do a difficult asan, that's something that people can look at. But let's say I am doing Pranayama (breath control), and I am sitting and doing my breathing exercises it's not that interesting. You can't post about it. Or even the first two steps of yoga - Yamas (restraints) and Niyamas (observances), that say don't be violent, don't steal, don't hoard things, practice cleanliness, contentment, self-discipline, etc. These are not visual elements of yoga.
Q: What was the true purpose of asans according to Maharishi Patanjali?
Ans: Patanjali was very clear - he said once your Yamas (restraints) and Niyamas (observances) have been mastered then you can start with you asan practise. He said Asans are only there to make the body stable enough to take the higher steps. Pranayam is even higher than asans. It's the 4th step in Ashtanga (8 limbs of yoga). For doing pranayama we need a stable posture. that's why asans come first. In Patanjali's time (200 BCE) did they have these crazy asans, like headstand etc? No they didn't even have that. Asans were considered meditative postures - like sukhasasn, padmasan.
Q: Coming on to the first sutra - Atha Yoga Anushasanam - what does that translate into?
Ans: It translates into a very simple sentence, which is, 'now the study or discipline of yoga begins' which is the literal translation. But it doesn't do it justice. When we look at the first word - Atha or Now, it's a correct translation but back then people understood that it marks an auspicious beginning. So by placing that word as the first word of a text - they were asking for an auspicious or successful beginning or journey. Also indicating that now is the right time. Forces have come together for this to happen. They were also saying that teacher and student a both ready. Anushasanam is the discipline of yoga. That Anu means following of tradition. This is where Patanjali tells us that listen, I am the compiler of the yoga sutras, I am not the author.
Q: Coming to the second sutra - Yogas Chitta Vritti Nirodha - which is the definition of yoga. Could you simplify it for us?
Ans: What Patanjali says is that yoga is the complete stoppage of the fluctuations of the mind. What are these fluctuations? They are not only thoughts - these fluctuations happen every time the mind takes a different turn. Being able to control and shut off the fluctuations at will, is yoga. Vrittis are fluctuations, Chitta is mind or more accurately personality complex, and Nirodha is complete stoppage.
