Exploring Patanjali's Philosophical Foundations of Yoga

Get the app

Patanjali’s Eight Limbs of Yoga

Vedic Worldview

chevron_right

notes

CHAPTER

Exploring Patanjali's Philosophical Foundations of Yoga

This chapter explores the ancient teachings of Patanjali, highlighting the philosophical foundations of yoga beyond mere physical postures. The host emphasizes the significance of proper pronunciation and clarifies the essence of the Yoga Sutras and the eight limbs of yoga.

00:00

Transcript

chevron_right

Play full episode

chevron_right

Transcript

Episode notes

Jai Guru Deva.

We just wanted to remind you that you currently have two opportunities to spend some quality time with Thom at his upcoming retreats in Sedona, Arizona, from May 22-26, and Gerringong, Australlia from June 25-29.

These retreats are your chance to get away to rexperience deep rest, industrial-strength stress release, quality company, and higher states of consciousness.

Most importantly, you'll have close-up access to Thom at his famous lectures and Q&A sessions.

Whether you are troubled by the changes the world is experiencing right now, or simply looking to fast-track your evolution, quality time with Thom is the ideal opportunity to tap into the wisdom you need at this time.

Thom looks forward to seeing you in Sedona or Gerringong!

Find out more at thomknoles.com/retreats. That's thomknoles.com/retreats.

One could easily spend a lifetime exploring Vedic literature and still barely scratch the surface in terms of the wisdom that’s available to us. Between the four Vedas, Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Atharva Veda and Yajur Veda, the Upanishads, the Brahma Sutras, the six schools of Vedic philosophy, and countless other written and oral texts or translations, there’s no shortage of avenues to explore.

And even if you could absorb them all in a lifetime, you’d probably need to reread them to understand them from a more evolved point of view.

Fortunately, the Vedic worldview is that all this wisdom is experiential, and we can shortcut the process of attaining wisdom through “knowledge of the Knower.”

Thom provides an example of this in this assessment of Patanjali's Eight Limbs of Yoga, a subset of The Yoga Sutras.

Thom clarifies that the piecemeal approach of trying to check off the eight limbs through our actions in order to attain the state of Yoga, is a misguided approach to take, and that practicing Vedic Meditation provides an express route that accelerates our personal evolution.

Episode Highlights:

[00:45] The Yoga Sutras

[02:36] Ashta Anga

[03:44] Yoga - Unification

[06:27] Samadhi

[07:39] The Simultaneous Arrival of Balance

[09:57] 1. Yama and Its Five Qualities

[13:21] Outcomes vs Causes

[15:05] 2. Niyama and Its Five Observances

[20:18] 3. Asana - The Sequential Elaboration of Limbs

[23:32] Asana for Transcendence

[24:51] 4. Pranayama - Administration of Breath