System of yoga (religious discipline) traditionally ascribed to Patanjali (1st c.
C.E.?). This author is believed to be different than the grammarian Patanjali,
who wrote the Mahabhashya commentary on Panini’s Sanskrit grammar.
Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras are the basis
for the Yoga school of Indian philosophy, one of the six schools. By the early
centuries of the common era (approximately 100–300 C.E.), the Yoga school
had become paired with the Samkhya
school. In this pairing, Samkhya provided the theoretical and metaphysical
explanations for the bondage and liberation of the soul, while Yoga laid out the
concrete path for ending bondage and
gaining liberation.
Ashtanga yoga is made up of eight
parts, known as “limbs” (anga):
restraints (yama), observances (niyama),
bodily postures (asana), restraint of
breath (pranayama), withdrawal of the
senses (pratyahara), concentration
(dharana), meditation (dhyana), and
trance (samadhi).
Patanjali’s system is an eight-step
program for self-transformation, which
begins by cultivating certain wholesome behavioral patterns (yama and
niyama). From there one progresses to
development and control of the mind,
which is considered a more subtle and
internalized practice. It culminates in a
mystic insight that brings liberation,
which in its original articulation is
described as yogic aloneness (kaivalya)
because Samkhya is atheistic.
Patanjali’s path shows general similarities to another well-known program
for self-transformation, the Buddha’s
eightfold path. Although both Patanjali
and the Buddha are credited with originating their particular paths, it is likely
that they both drew from an existing
yogic tradition and shaped it to fit their
own assumptions.
Although Samkhya metaphysics
have long been discredited, the techniques of the Yoga school are still vitally
important in modern Hindu religious
life. Many modern Hindu movements
stress yoga practice as a means of spiritual discipline, purification, and selfawareness. For further information see
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and Charles
65
Ashtanga (“eight-limbed”) Yoga
A. Moore (eds.), A Sourcebook in Indian
Philosophy, 1957.