Yoga Sutras and the World of the Human Mind

By Vedanta Society, San FranciscoReligion & Spirituality Spirituality

Yoga Sutras and the World of the Human Mind episodes

February 16, 2019 11 – How to Begin and How to Continue Yoga-Sadhana | Patanjali Yoga Sutras | Swami Tattwamayananda
Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. Vairagya, dispassion begins to arise when we acknowledge the changeability of all empirical experience. We are able to begin when we practice good actions to neutralize negative inherited tendencies, Samskaras. According to the Bhagavad Gita, fear of failure can be overcome by reminding ourselves that all good actions yield good tendencies, which will bear fruit either in this life or carry us forward in the future lives. To be able to continue, we must have constant communion with spiritual ideas through good company and study. Verses I.12, I.13
1 hr 11 min
February 16, 2019 10 – Karmashaya: Turning Away from the Senses and Changing Your Destiny | Patanjali Yoga Sutras | Swami Tattwamayananda
Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. Swami explains the individual dimension of Karmashaya, which constitute the sum total of all of the impressions you have accumulated from previous actions. Then the cosmic dimension of Karmashaya is explained according to Mimamsa philosophy. Vyasa famously compares the mind to a river that either flows towards auspiciousness or negativity. Abhyasa and Vairagya, practice and dispassion are explained as the way to free oneself from the tyranny of the senses. Verses: II.12, I.12, I.15
1 hr 20 min
February 16, 2019 9 – What We Want to Do and What the Mind Allows Us to Do | Patanjali Yoga Sutras | Swami Tattwamayananda
Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. Swami begins by reviewing the five stages of mental concentration. He then graphically describes the common problems faced by most spiritual seekers at the Viskhipta stage. The seeker swings between restless and concentrated states. The formation and characteristics of inherited Vrittis are discussed. The five types of Vrittis are reviewed. Sublimating desires for something higher is recommended. Practice, Abhyasa, and Dispassion, Vairagya are then explained in that context. Verses: I.2, I.5, I.12
57 min
February 16, 2019 8 – Yamas: The Universal Ethical Disciplines | Patanjali Yoga Sutras | Swami Tattwamayananda
Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. Swami begins by briefly explaining the eight stages to reach the highest goal, Asamprajnata Samadhi. The fundamental cycle of Karma, Vritti, Samskara, Vasana, Sankalpa is reviewed. He then emphasizes the universal ethical disciplines, Yamas: non-violence, Ahimsa, truthfulness, Satya, non-stealing, Asteya, continence, Brahmacharya, and non-covetousness, Aparigraha. Verses: I.18, II.29, II.30
57 min
February 16, 2019 7 – Controlling Vrittis with One Vritti | Patanjali Yoga Sutras | Swami Tattwamayananda
Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. Swami explains the Yogachara Buddhist notion of momentariness of experience. He then explains the cycle of action, Karma, mental modification, Vritti, and then strong potent tendency, Samskara. By gathering the mind into one great modification, the diversity of conflicting Vrittis can be controlled. This is called Samprajnata Samadhi. Finally, the important disciplines of non-receiving, Aparigraha, and self-study, Svadhyaya are discussed. Verses: I.12, I.13, I.14, I.15, I.16, I.17
53 min
February 16, 2019 6 - Cyclic Creation in Sankhya Philosophy | Patanjali Yoga Sutras | Swami Tattwamayananda
Lecture by Swami Tattwamyananda. Swami begins by reviewing the importance of love for the end to be attained to sustain practice, Abhyasa. Then, he explains in brief the Sankhya system's division of creation into an inactive consciousness, Purusha, and the active unconscious material, Prakriti. From Prakriti, the mental and physical universe evolve. Then, they involve back into Prakrti in a cycle. The three gunas – sattva, rajas, and tamas – of Prakriti are also explained. Verses: I.12, I.13, I.14, I.15, I.16
54 min
February 16, 2019 5 – Real Meaning of Citta Vritti Nirodha | Patanjali Yoga Sutras | Swami Tattwamayananda
Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. After a brief review of the 5 types of subtle mental tendencies, Vrittis, repeated practice, Abhyasa, is explained. Along with that, Vairagya, dispassion and the dimensions of practice are explained. Then, the common misconception that Citta Vritti Nirodha refers to a complete cessation of all thought is corrected. The real meaning of Citta Vritti Nirodha is complete freedom from all obsessive mental tendencies, Vrittis, and therefore a transcendence of the slavery to the mind and senses. Verses: I.2, I.12, I.13, I.14
1 hr 4 min
February 16, 2019 4 – Nothing is Lost: Lord Krishna’s Assurance | Patanjali Yoga Sutras | Swami Tattwamayananda
Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. The fundamental concept of Samskaras, deep-rooted mental tendencies we are born with, is explained. Lord Krishna’s assurance in the Bhagavad Gita that no spiritual effort is lost is explained in the light of inherited Samskaras from previous lives. All good deeds and thoughts, Karmas, add to our spiritual bank balance. Only by repeated effort, can negative Samskaras be countered by positive Samskaras. Verses: I.6, I.10, I.11, I.12
1 hr 5 min
February 16, 2019 3 – Distinguishing Valid Knowledge | Patanjali Yoga Sutras | Swami Tattwamayananda
Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. The five stages of mental concentration are elaborately explained. The three major tools of epistemology, Pramana, accepted in Yoga are explained. False and imaginary knowledge are also distinguished and the method of countering false knowledge with valid knowledge is explained. Verses: I.2, I.5, I.6, I.7, I.8, I.9
1 hr 1 min
February 16, 2019 2 – Concentrating the Mind | Patanjali Yoga Sutras | Swami Tattwamayananda
Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. The five stages of mental concentration are explained. The components of the mental system, Antahkarana, are also explained. The varying sets of epistemological tools accepted by different schools of Indian Philosophy are also given. Finally, the Yogic conception of God and its relevance is emphasized. Verses: I.2, I.3, I.4, I.5, I.6
1 hr 11 min

About Yoga Sutras and the World of the Human Mind

From the publisher's feed

Swami Tattwamayananda’s exposition of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras was given at the Vedanta Society of Northern California, San Francisco (founded by Swami Vivekananda in 1900) from October 10, 2014 to…

December 21, 2018 in a series of 111 lectures. These lectures include a mixture of philosophy both Eastern and Western, history, psychology, comparative theology, mysticism, classical parables, and simple everyday examples.

Patanjali was a great Indian sage who wrote major treatises on Ayurveda, Sanskrit grammar and Yoga. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali contain 195 sutras organized into four chapters. It gives a complete analysis of the mental system, how to transcend mental conflicts by linking the mind to a transcendental spiritual reality and how to become established in our true nature.

The classes are given from the viewpoint of Vedanta, one of the oldest philosophies of the world, which constitute the universal spiritual essence of the Vedas, the foundational scriptures of Hinduism. During the exposition, the Swami has drawn extensively from authentic Sanskrit commentaries and interpretative works like ‘Yoga-Bhasya’ of Vyasa, ‘Tattwa-Vaisharadi” of Vachaspati Mishra, ‘Yoga-Varttika’ of Vijnana Bhikshu, ‘Raja-Martanda’ of Bhoja Raja, ‘Yoga-Sudhakara’ of Sadashivendra Saraswati, with occasional references from ‘Yoga-Maniprabha’ of Ramananda Yati, ‘Patanjala-Yogashastra-Vivarana’ of Sri Shankara, and interpretations of Yoga-aphorisms by Swami Vivekananda and Swami Hariharananda Aranya.

“By the Vedas no books are meant. They mean the accumulated treasury of spiritual laws discovered by different persons in different times.” “The moral, ethical, and spiritual relations between soul and soul and between individual spirits and the Father of all spirits, were there before their discovery, and would remain even if we forgot them." (Paper on Hinduism, Swami Vivekananda, World's Parliament of Religions 1893)

According to this series of classes, the Yoga system of Patanjali reaches its ultimate fulfillment in the conclusions of Vedanta, that there is one all-pervading, immanent, eternal spiritual reality, which is our own true nature.

In the original text of Patanjali the order is 1. Samadhipada 2. Sadhanapada 3. Vibhutipada 4. Kaivalyapada. But in this exposition of the Yoga-sutra the speaker has followed a different order, which seems to be more logical from the standpoint of actual Yoga-sadhana, i.e., 1. Sadhanapada 2. Vibhutipada 3. Samadhipada 4. Kaivalyapada. To help beginners in the study of Yoga philosophy, the basic definitions from the first few aphorisms of Samadhipada are explained at the beginning.

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