The Yoga Bridge

This week I decided to try to memorize the following verses of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, as follows by May 1:

1.         atta yoganusasanam

2.         yogascittavrttinirodhah

3.        tada drastuh svarupe’vasthananam

4.       vrttisarupyamitaratra

5.       vrttayah pancatayyah klistaklistah

6.       pramana vipayaya vikalpa nidra smrtayab

7.      pratyaksa anumana agamah

8.      viparyayah mithyajnanam atadrupa pratistham

9.      sabdajnana anupati vastusunyab vikalpah

10.     abhava pratyaya alambana vrttih nidra

English translation of the above:

1.  With prayers for the divine blessings, now begins an exposition of the sacred art of yoga.

2.  Yoga is the cessation of movements in the consciousness.

3.   Then, the seer dwells in his own true splendor.

4.   At other times, the seer identifies with the fluctuating consciousness.

5.  The movements of consciousness are fivefold. They may be cognizable or non-cognizable, painful or non-painful.

6.  They are caused by correct knowledge, illusion, delusion, sleep and memory.

7.  Correct knowledge is direct, inferred or proven as factual.

8. Illusionary or erroneous knowledge is based on non-fact or the non-real.

9.  Verbal knowledge devoid of substance is fancy or imagination.

10. Sleep is the non-deliberate absence of thought-waves or knowledge.

In May, I will post a you tube video of these ten verses, chanted, then another ten for May, and so on.