Yoga was born in India. Rishi Patanjali created the Yoga Sutras. Yoga Sutras are the basic texts of Yoga which are created in the form of Sutras or threads or poems in Sanskrit which are weaved with a lot of care and beauty. The Yoga Sutras were written by Rishi Patanjali during the Mauryan period in the 3rd century BC. In spite of being the writer of such an important piece of work, very little is known about Rishi Patanjali. In fact his identity is a matter of debate amongst present day scholars.
The Yoga Sutras of Rishi Patanjali are the most authoritative set of works on Yogasanas available in recent times. Over the years many different schools of Yoga have been formulated and many different techniques have also formed, but the time tested Yoga Sutras are the best texts about Yoga available. When they were originally formulated, there were no printing methods available. As a result the Yoga Sutras have been passed down generations in the form of poems that were memorized by Yoga practitioners. This method of passing knowledge was called as Shruti (listening) and Smruti (remembering) method.
The Yoga Sutras of Rishi Patanjali were written to elaborate upon the complex process of using practical methods for the awakening and expanding upon the faculties of intellect, mind and the quality of consciousness.
The 196 Yoga Sutras of Rishi Patanjali are structured around four basic principles and hence divided into four parts as follows:
1. Samadhi Pada – About Contemplations
2. Sadhana Pada – About Spiritual Disciplines
3. Vibhuti Pada – About Divine Powers
4. Kaivalya Pada – About Realizations
Indian classical texts are extremely terse and self contained. Hence the creations of Patanjali about Yoga are called as Sutras or threads. This is to indicate that many threads or Sutras get together and create a single fabric of philosophy.
More about the Yoga Sutras of Rishi Patanjali in the next post.
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November 27th, 2009 | Tags: 
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