As we move through the second section of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, we encounter the eight limbs of yoga. The first of these limbs—the yamas—is a set of disciplines that describe how yogis should behave. If you look closely at the yamas, you may notice they are a lot like some of the Ten Commandments. The […]
There are 196 verses in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. The verses are divided into four sections, and it’s not until we are close to halfway through these verses that we encounter the eight limbs of yoga. The second second of the Yoga Sutras is about the spiritual discipline. In sutra 2.28, Patanjali tells us to practice yoga! […]
In the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali makes a few statements about the seer and the seen that are confusing at first glance. The seer is us and the seen is our perception of reality. Sutra 2.21 tells us, The seen exists only for the seer. Patanjali seems to be suggesting that the only reason there are things […]
Before we can transcend suffering and reach enlightenment, we need to understand why we suffer. In the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali explains this in verses that describe the nature of the material universe. Specifically, he reveals the three aspects of human nature—called the three gunas—that govern our experience. By giving us this yogic look at nature, […]