Hello Folks,
I am sorry that the Yoga Sutras re-cap was delayed this week.
Last week we covered Sutras 10-12:
The panchavrittis are the five activities in the field of citta. They are the categories of how we cognize experiences in different ways. Thus far we have covered right cognition, wrong cognition, and imagination. Last week we finished the five activities with:
Dreamless sleep (nidra) is a vritti that has the absence of content (of waking and dreaming) as its experience 1.10
Remembrance (smriti) is a vritti which is the non-letting go of experienced objects 1.11
We also briefly covered the two practices that lead to a stilling of the mind:
Through abhyasa and vairagya (practice and non-attachment) nirodhah (is attained) 1.12
This Friday we will discuss Sutras 13-16, which discuss the definitions of practice and non-attachment, picking up from where we finished last week.
For those who wish to learn to chant the Sutras, here are two good versions on YouTube:
Memorizing texts is a traditional way of learning, and a highly effective one, because you internalize the text and meditate on the meaning as you repeat them. You form a personal relationship with the text, and over time, it begins to reveal itself to you. Inner meanings make themselves apparent, and those inner learnings stay with you for life.
Reading is good, memorizing is better, learning by heart is the best way of all.
For those who would like to do additional reading or compare translations:
1. This website has a comparison of seven translations of each sutra, side by side.
2. This article on Sankhya from the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy is excellent
Since this email is so late, it will be short! The next one will go out on Monday.
Thank you, and I look forward to seeing you in class on Friday, 12pm, on Zoom!
Best,
Eddie
