The Yoga Philosophy of Patanjali Contents Introduction.. ‘The Yoga Psychology of Patanjali. Who is Patanjali? A Bird’s Eye-view of Patanjalis’s Yoga Psychology. What is Yoga? Important Aphorisms of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras ‘Theories and Practice about Mind Focus (Samadhi) Obstacles that Destabilize the Mind Focus (Samadhi) . Focus 1: Mind-Object-Word Focus (Savitarka, Samprajnata)... Focus 2: Mind-Object- Essence Focus (Nirvitarka) Focus 3: Subtle-Mind-Subtle-Object Focus (Savichara) Focus 4: Subtle Memory-free, Subtle Word-free Focus (Nirvichara) Ashtanga Yoga (Eight Divisions of Yoga) Concentration (Dharana) Meditation (Dhyana). Deep Focus (Samadhi). Metaphysics and Science behind Siddhi (Supernormal) PowersIntroduction The Yoga Psychology of Patanjali ‘This document is meant not for academics and scholars, but for the common reader who is interested in the practice of yoga for his own enlightenment. Simply put yoga is union - union of the mind with the soul. The whole idea is to separate the soul from the mind. Currently they are intertwined and entangled, Predominantly one experiences only the mind with its countless thoughts and seldom experiences the soul per se. The program of Patanjali has been designed to lead the student from mind consciousness to soul consciousness. What mind and soul are will be discussed below. Who is Patanjali? Patanjali is the author of the text called Yoga Sutras (aphorisms on Yoga) whose date (200 BCE- 400 CE) and biography are both uncertain, Sometimes he is even portrayed with a human head and fish's tail below the waist, further mystifying his character. I believe that you cannot put a date on the yogis and siddhas because they can appear and disappear at will in any yuga assume a body, do some work including writing some books on medicine, mysticism, alchemy etc and disappear one day. I have personally strong connections with Patanjali in many lifetimes. In this lifetime I was attracted to him when I was 8 or 9 years old. In one his visits to the earth plane he attained Samadhi inside the Rameshwaram Siva temple. Being born in Rameshwaram, his Samadhi tomb pulled me even when I was eight year old. It took many years after that to connect with his teachings. A Bird's Eye-view of Patanjalis’s Yoga Psychology India has a very rich history of the study of human mind and consciousness dating back to times in memorium, The Vedas (15% century BCE”), the earliest existing written material from India and known as the book of knowledge or wisdom, deal extensively with the acquisition of super-consciousness mentions about yoga as a method. Patanjali is an important figure in the consolidation of the Indian psychology particularly in relation to practices to acquire the higher state of consciousness. What is Yoga? Simply put yoga is the union of the mind with the soul. Its primary goal is to end pain and suffering and give the experience of the incredible bliss of the soul. (© ila Center De. Baskaran Pils {2}Fundamentally everyone is pure consciousness (Atma/Purusa) called the soul, but the flip side of soul or purusa is the matrix of material/mundane/mind-body consciousness (prakriti), Generally speaking, we only know and experience the material mind-body consciousness composed of certain characteristics called gunas. There are three main characteristics of our material mind-body consciousness: Satva, or truth consciousness, consisting of wisdom, peace, clarity, detachment, dispassion, happiness and in general very noble and divine qualities. 2. Rajas, or energetic consciousness, consisting of creative action, ambition, ego-driven activities, motion, aggressive behavior. 3. Tamas, or ignorance-centered consciousness, consisting of sleep, lethargy, lack of motivation, lack of intelligence, unethical behavior and similar activities, Normally, consciousness of every human being is a mixture of all the three gunas or character types. Everyone is sometimes wise, sometimes energetic and sometimes foolish. In each individual's case the dominance of the gunas is a matter of degree. Satva the truth category is the purest form of material reality while rajas and tamas are corrupt forms and are responsible for the volatility of the mind and the production of fleeting thought forms. Rajas and tamas attract one towards sense objects and make a person worldly. Satva on the other hand provides the highest discrimination, called Buddhi, and suppresses rajas and tamas and helps reflect the pure soul or purusa. This is indeed the goal of yoga to be free from all content. The Buddhists, however, believe that there will be no consciousness without content from the mind. But Patanjali maintains that the soul or purusa can be aware of itself. There is an observer beyond mind who sees everything by seeing nothing. (© Pat Center, Dr. Baskaran Pd