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Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras - Different Perspectives
YogaLondon on 30 September, 2010 |

Many translations of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali have been made, each offering their own unique perspective on Ashtanga Yoga. It is important that as you study this text you discover meanings that ring true for you, rather than simply memorizing the text by rote.

Swami Satchitananda and Osho both offer translations of the Yoga Sutras, which give slightly different flavours to the teachings.

Now the instruction of Yoga is being made.
The restraint of the modifications of the mind stuff is yoga.
Then the Self abides in His own nature.
At other times the Self appears to assume the forms of the mental modifications.
-Swami Satchitanada

Now the discipline of yoga.
Yoga is the cessation of the mind.
Then the witness is established in itself.
In the other states there is identification with the modifications of the mind.
-Osho

Satchitananda: Now the instruction of Yoga is being made.
Osho: Now the discipline of yoga.
Satchitananada calls the Sutras the “Instructions of Yoga,” while Osho refers to them as the “Discipline of Yoga.” The word ‘instruction’ gives the idea of a pathway to be followed while ‘discipline’ emphasises the effort that needs to be made to master the self. But both agree that the Sutras are not merely philosophy to be understood but something to be acted out.

Satchitananda: The restraint of the modifications of the mind stuff is yoga
Osho: Yoga is the cessation of the mind.
Satchitananda states that it is the fluctuations of the mind that need to be stopped. Thoughts in the mind are like ripples in water which distort your view. If you can stop the ripples (stop the thoughts) then you will be able to see through the water clearly at what lies beneath.

Osho offers the idea that the mind is merely a process or an activity. So in much the same way as you might say I am reading or I am eating, you can say I am minding. If you eliminate the ‘minding’ you will see the true self.

In both translations the illusion is that we think of the mind as being a concrete thing, something real and substantial just like an arm or a leg. Whether it is by stopping the ripples in the mind or ceasing to ‘mind’ all together, our concept of the mind needs to change if we are to follow the path of Ashtanga Yoga. Indeed the only thing keeping you from enlightenment is the fluctuations of the mind.