Patanjali Yoga Sutras – The Discipline of Yoga
‘Atha yogashushanam’, the first line of Muni Patanjali yoga sutras, means “discipline of yoga”. This is not about yoga disciplines that mean ‘types of yoga’. This is the discipline for achieving the Aim of Yoga: The Union.
Table of Contents
Discipline of Yoga vs Types of Yoga
There are many schools of yoga, each teaching that there are many disciplines of yoga. They mean types of yoga. Yoga has been reduced to stretching exercises these days. The aim of yoga is the union of the seeker with the Ultimate.
Some schools of yoga say there are four types of yoga. There are four disciplines of yoga: Raja yoga, karma yoga, bhakti yoga, and jnana yoga. However, these are not the disciplines of yoga as explained by Patanjali yoga sutras. They are the methods to reach God or the Supreme Knowledge. Swami Vivekananda has called them paths to reach God. They are not disciplines of yoga.
The Discipline of Yoga – According to Muni Patanjali
The first thing to know about meditation is that a person is the reflection of his thoughts and emotions. The person does not know the real himself or herself until the thoughts and emotions subside. Muni Patanjali spoke only about one discipline of yoga: Not straying away from the path to reach the Ultimate.
Swami Vivekananda gave an example of a lake to explain Chitta and Vrittis. We spoke about it in the previous posts. Just to recap, Chitta is the material that powers the mind. Consider a mind as a lake and vrittis as disturbances. These disturbances are thoughts and emotions that cloud our view. When the vritties are restrained, the person can see the real himself or herself. For that to happen, the person should acknowledge and recognize the thoughts occurring inside their mind.
When the mind is calm, and no disturbances are there, the real self is visible. It takes time to control the thoughts, and no one can control them entirely. Even if stronger thoughts and emotions are controlled, subtle thoughts and impressions of the world remain in the mind. Still, it is desirable to get a view of real self by controlling at least the gross thoughts. It is possible to completely restrain thoughts but very few have the patience to practice that much.
Controlling the thoughts can be done by concentration on something or by total devotion to God. Controlling the thoughts won’t come in a week or two. It takes time and is based on how a person practices yoga. Some people sit for 15 minutes a day, some sit for an hour or two, and there are some that practice yoga all the time. There is no rule as to how much to practice. Anyone can practice as much as their body allows. This is the basic thing specified by Patanjali yoga sutras.
Types of Thoughts
According to Muni Patanjali’s yoga sutras, there are five types of thought streams. They can be divided into two broad categories: painful thoughts and non-painful thoughts. The thought streams could be one or more of the following five:
- Right knowledge
- Wrong knowledge
- Fancy
- Sleep, and
- Memory
Right knowledge comes from inference, reasoning, and tradition. The inference is the observation of things to deduce things/truth. The reasoning is the ability to think between right and wrong so that the person can keep the truth and reject the wrong. Tradition is about learning from reliable sources such as scriptures that have stood the test of generations.
Wrong knowledge could be something based on wrong notions or false information. It also takes the form of wrong beliefs that one may have been fed from their childhood. Reasoning and discrimination help in sorting out truth from fake knowledge.
Fancy can also be called imagination. There are times when we imagine things that are not there. It happens to every human that they mentally construct false situations and get anxious about them. An example could be imaginary communication – when you are about to meet someone and start thinking about all you would say and what all the other person might say. All that is fancy.
Sleep is a state where the impressions in the mind subside for the duration of the sleep. It is not a permanent change in impressions because when the person wakes up, they go back to their regular thought process. In other words, the change in mind during sleep has no solid foundation.
Memory is thought reflections from the past. Most people keep on remembering things from the past. In many cases, memory impressions are just fake. People, instead of remembering the actual event, tend to analyze and mix up memories to create a new one. The above five types of thought processes are hindrances to yoga (meditation).
As such, a person is the sum of the above type of thought processes. These thought processes need to be restrained if a yogi wants to see their real self. This is one aspect of the discipline of yoga, as explained in Muni Patanjali’s yoga sutra.
Controlling the Thought Streams
Controlling the thought streams is a challenging task that seems impossible. When a person is trying to concentrate, the thought streams mentioned above make it difficult for them. The aspiring yogi should be able to identify and restrain those impressions. It comes with practice. It may become irritating – trying to control thoughts and memories; the key to success is patience and practice.
Remember that the practice should be steady. The aspiring should practice for long every day. They should practice daily and without interruptions. As explained in the previous blog, yogis should find a secluded place at home or somewhere else to practice and keep it pure. Devoted, persistent, lengthy practice helps in controlling the thought streams, emotions, and imaginations.
For faster results, the aspiring yogis should renounce the desires of both the seen and unseen. By “seen”, I mean something that a person saw and craves for. By “unseen”, I mean the things a person has heard of and wants to see it himself/herself or wants it for self. By shunning the desires towards both such things, it becomes easier to focus on God. This accelerates the journey of yoga and helps in faster union of self with the God.
A subtle modification of meditation (yoga) talks of cognitive meditation. This is achieved by keeping a watch on the thoughts and impressions going through the mind and using willpower to control (calm) them. Identifying and removing thoughts of all types is possible so that only subtle impressions remain.
Yoga Discipline – Don’t get swayed by Divine Powers
Aspiring yogis need to be cautioned about the special powers they may gain while practicing yoga of union (meditation). Some people might feel a cool breeze over their heads; some may see dreams that later turn into reality; others may get some other type of power. It is not recommended that aspiring yogis should practice for such powers. They should be ignored, and yogis should continue meditation until they can feel one with the God, or Ultimate Knowledge.
It has happened to many that they got special powers and then were frightened by the changes to the body and mind. So much so that they stopped practicing and came back into the mainstream. One can master such powers, but it takes another route. The best method is to ignore such special powers and keep the focus on God.
If interested, yogis may practice regulating such divine powers so that they can master them, but it may deviate the yogis from the main purpose of yoga which is the union of the soul with the Ultimate. Muni Patanjali’s yoga sutras say their practice of yoga should be consistent.
Devotion to God is the only Discipline of Yoga
There are multiple methods to speed up your progress in yoga. Besides time given to practice every day, one can expedite their progress with devotion towards God. In God, the eternal knowledge lies. Since time is not a factor for God, the Supreme is teacher of everyone. From the start of time, God has been the teacher for anyone who approached Him for knowledge.
It is desirable that you pray to God before starting practice for the day. The devotion towards God helps you maintain discipline of yoga. You will have a schedule for practice and a proper place to practice meditation. It also helps in concentration as you would be repeating some mantra.
Om is said to be the sound of the Universe that invokes God – irrespective of the religion the yogi follows. Om is synonymous to God. One should repeat the word OM while practicing yoga. That’d help in keeping the self, focused while giving you a feeling that you are moving in the right direction under the guidance of the God. The word OM should be said without opening the mouth. Simply repeat the word using your vocal cords but not opening the mouth. That might create a slight sound coming from the throat. It is known as Bhramar yoga (Bhramar refers to bee) since the voice is a bit related to that of humming.
Patanjali Yoga Sutras – Obstacles in Yoga
Repeating the mantra OM with an emphasis on its meaning helps in removing obstacles that a yogi may face during practice. The meaning of OM is God. The aspiring should be conscious that they are praying to God with each breath they inhale and exhale.
According to Muni Patanjali yoga sutras, the known obstacles for an aspiring yogi during practice are as listed below:
- Diseases
- Inertia
- Doubts over their practice; yogis often wonder whether they are going on the right path; they are, irrespective of the methods they use; only the speed of results vary, based on the type of meditation they are using and the amount of time they are putting in every day
- Laziness also hinders practice
- Lack of enthusiasm – the more enthusiastic a yogi is, the more they will practice and that will affect how soon they get to the Ultimate; at the same time, patience is also required
- Sensuality
- A wandering mind
- Lack of focus on God
- Instability – practicing with interruptions is not good; a yogi should practice daily
With the above obstacles, come pain, frustration, nervousness, and shaken faith. Often yogis would be frustrated with not being able to keep their minds concentrated. It is not expected of anyone that they’ll be concentrating properly from day one. It often takes weeks to focus the mind on OM. It takes time to identify the thoughts and emotions coming up in mind; it takes time to remove these thoughts and emotions after identifying them so that the mind can focus again on OM.
Overcoming the Obstacles in Path of Yoga
To overcome the obstacles in yoga, one must place faith in God. Muni Patanjali says people should believe in one truth. That one truth is OM. Yogis should fix their mind over OM and follow it, asking God to give them the power for overcoming the obstacles – whatever they may be.
Certain other things that make the mind pure and healthy are virtuous deeds. Forgive your enemies and those who wronged you. Show compassion towards other people, especially the suffering. Solitude is preferred for yogis but if you must get social, join places where they focus on things essential for a yogi: meditation clubs, religious communities etc. Try not to hate anything – any virtue or vice in a person. Such things bring calmness to mind.
Deep breathing also helps in calming down the mind. Too much deep breathing can, however, can create a shortage of carbon dioxide in the body, making it dizzy. When things start appearing wrong, start deep breathing – repeating OM if possible. It often happens that no matter how much we try, we cannot forgive or forget some things.
The best method is to ignore such thoughts that produce negativity. Thoughts must be rejected anyway when you are practicing yoga so there is no harm in rejecting them even when you are not sitting and meditating.
The Discipline of Yoga – Supreme Wisdom
When thoughts subside, and the mind becomes calm, it is akin to a crystal. Whatever light falls on the crystal, the crystal turns to that color. Once the mind is calm, yogis can seek wisdom – being one with God.
Some yogis stop practicing once their mind is calm though still the subtle impressions of world remain in the mind. They procure divine powers. They are the ones we call angels, demi-gods, etc. Then there are yogis who do not give up even after the mind is calm. They become one with the Supreme God. Their minds are connected to the heavenly mind. Such yogis can obtain supreme wisdom. Things will be clear to them. Answers will come automatically. They can see the future as good as they can see the past. Nothing in the world can disturb their serenity of mind.
This alone is the discipline of Yoga: The Union. Keeping the mind on God and not getting swayed away by the good and bad fruits of yoga is the key to success in yoga according to the Patanjali yoga sutra. Now read about the discipline of the spirit for yoga. Do read our article on what is yoga.
Download the Yoga Sutras in English PDF
You can also download Muni Patanjali Yoga Sutras English PDF. It is a summary of the Yoga Sutras by Patanjali in PDF form that you can consult whenever you want. For ease of reading, it doesn’t contain Sanskrit verses.
Want mental peace? Stay grounded in God.
Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for wisdom from sage Ved Vyas, sage Vashishtha, Swami Vivekananda, and others. Get a Free PDF of the Chapterwise Summary of the Bhagavad Gita upon signup. Click the button below for details.
We all need some spiritual therapy to live better. Receive daily spiritual nuggests only on Hinduism Online Group Therapy on the Telegram app. Preview and join now. Click the button below. It's free.
