Namaste, Welcome to SAM-VAD (Together In Conversation), Last week we began with some excerpts from this monumental work, ‘The YOGA SŪTRAS of Patañjali’ which is Translated from the Sanskrit by Edwin F Bryant (WITH INSIGHTS FROM TRADITIONAL COMMENTATORS) and I will continue to do so this week as well.
Edwin F. Bryant received his Ph.D. in Indology from Columbia University. He has taught at Columbia University and Harvard University and since 2001has been professor of Hindu religion and philosophy at Rutgers University.
I briefly spoke about what ‘Sũtras’ mean etymologically and what concepts like ‘sattva’ & ‘Citta’ encapsulate in themselves. Once again I will speak briefly about them today and briefly share about another term Vŗtti.
The Yoga Sũtras contains about 1200 words in 195 sũtras indicating that they are constructed to be a manual requiring unpacking. That the sũtras, or aphorisms, are in places cryptic, esoteric, and incomprehensible in their own terms points to the fact that they were intended to be used in conjunction with a teacher.
The term sũtra (from the Sanskrit root sũ, cognate with sew) literally means a thread and essentially refers to a terse and pithy philosophical statement in which the maximum amount of information is packed into the minimum number of words.
Citta encapsulates buddhi, intelligence; is the aspect of citta that produces, among other things, the functions of thought connected to judgement, discrimination, knowledge, ascertainment and will (from budh, to wake up, be aware of).
It also encapsulates Ahamkara,or ego, produces the function of thought related to self-awareness, self-identity and self-conceit (the personal pronoun aham means I, and kãra, the doer).
It also encapsulates Manas,the mind, is the aspect of citta that engages in the function of thought especially related to organizing sensory input and directing the senses; it imposes a conceptual structure on the chaotic field or raw sensations, recognizing and identifying sensual impetuses and categorizing them (from man, to think, believe).
Now I will briefly speak about ‘Vŗttis’.
‘Vŗttis’; they refer to any permutation or activity of the mind, in other words, any sequence of thought, ideas, mental imaging, or cognitive act performed by either the mind, intellect, or ego, or any state of the mind at all including deep sleep.
The verbal root vŗt means to revolve, turn, proceed, move and underscores the always active, sequential, rambling aspect of the mind.
We conclude here today and will be back with some more excerpts next week.
You can buy your copy from any of the bookstores near you or via any on-line portal selling books or also by clicking the following link:
The YOGA SŪTRAS of Patañjali (Excerpt II) – Translated from the Sanskrit by Edwin F Bryant
(WITH INSIGHTS FROM TRADITIONAL COMMENTATORS)
Before we close today;
Let us remember: Our life experience would ultimately amount to whatever we had paid attention to. Attention: is important and most of the times we are so indifferent to it. It is as fundamental as food; and we go blundering about, seeking ways to assuage the craving, instead of learning how to provide ourselves with what we need, sensibly and calmly. We feed the hunger blindly. Once the mechanism is brought to our attention and we begin to study it, it is as if a veil has been stripped off ordinary life, and we become freer in our action and choices.
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