Five sources of all our miseries

अविद्यास्मितारागद्वेषाभिनिवेशाः क्लेशाःavidya-asmita-raga-dwesha-abhiniveshah kleshah image credit : Istockphoto These principles of Patanjali are not only applicable to yogic life, but also to worldly goals. Patanjali says that there are only five sources of all our miseries. There are five and only five sources. All our miseries can be brought under these five categories. First one is … Continue reading Five sources of all our miseries →

Eight Limbs of Yoga

यमनियमासनप्राणायामप्रत्याहारधारणाध्यानसमाधयोऽष्टावङ्गानि॥२९॥Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana, Samadhi - are the eight limbs (Yogasutras - 2:29) image credit : unsplash The first section of the Patanjali Yoga-sutras was Samadhi Pada . It describes the ultimate destination of Yoga. After 'where to go', logically speaking 'how to go there' should be told. The second section of … Continue reading Eight Limbs of Yoga →

Defining Yoga

After going thorough my previous posts in this BlogChatterA2Z series, the reader by now must have got some idea about yoga. Now it is time to explore the formal definitions of yoga. According to Maharshi Patanjali: योगश्चित्तवृत्तिनिरोधः - Yogaschittabritti Nirodhah If the reader is clear about the Sanskrit words chittah, britti and nirodhah, there is … Continue reading Defining Yoga →

Begin with the end in view

अर्जुन उवाच: स्थितप्रज्ञस्य का भाषा समाधिस्थस्य केशव।स्थितधीः किं प्रभाषेत किमासीत व्रजेत किम्।। Arjuna asked: O Keshava ! How would you define a sthitaprajna who is established in samadhi? How does he talk? How does he sit? How does he walk? The ancient text on yoga which is most talked about is The Yoga-sutras of Maharshi … Continue reading Begin with the end in view →

Yogavashistha – the path of pure knowledge

Without giving the right context it is difficult to talk about spiritual traditions of India. That is also the difficulty one faces when planning to write any short article on spirituality. First of all spirituality and religion are not the same thing. As Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar says, 'Religion is the banana peel and … Continue reading Yogavashistha – the path of pure knowledge →

of ignorance

In Yogasutras, Maharishi Patanjali talks of five causes of misery - avidya, asmita, raga, dwesha and avinibesha. Avidya which means ignorance as well as wrong knowledge comes first. It is in fact the cause for other succeeding four causes, which means the primary cause of any kinds of misery is avidya. Avidya is the primary … Continue reading of ignorance →