Yoga & Ayurveda Blog

Many ancient philosophies had an upper hand for a period of time and then died a natural death as new ideas took the centre stage, attracting the fancy of the intelligensia. But the philosophy of Yoga has survived trials and turbulance through the ages and is still going strong. Its depth of teaching, universal application and innate ability to adapt to new thoughts, makes it appeal to changing tastes and logic.

Since Yogasūtra is soul stirring and intellectually challenging and stimulating, it has over the ages attracted the attention of many scholars.From 'Veda Vyāsa', the first known commentator {credited for the monumental task of codifying the Veda-s and authoring the Mahābhārata, Srimad Bhāgavatam and Srimad Bhagavad Gitā}, down to a host of modern day philosophers from both India and the West.

The text is taught as an 'anuśāsanam' - in the style of 'guru paramparā', moving from one generation to another through personal lessons. The student matures into a teacher and in turn hands over the teaching to the next generation. Many devoted teachers have spent their lifetime in reading, re-reading and teaching this text. The inputs from various scholars, and generations of teachers and the many dimensions of their study continues to add lustre to Yogasūtra.Its fundamental strength is its complete freedom from any bias. Religion, caste, gender, dogma, etc find no place in it, it is for all humanity.

Ancient commentaries on the text did show a slant towards religion. Sri T.Krishnamacarya, a legend and modern day father of Yoga, brought in the twin track approach to Yogasūtra when he taught his son, Sri Desikachar. Although a fierce devotee of Lord Narayana, Sri T K realised that Yoga was a method par excellence with or without religion in the picture. Thus, he opened the gates to a twin track approach to Yoga - a pure science of psychology and as a philosophy to reach God. I was fortunate to study and practice Yogasūtra under the tutelage of Sri Desikachar, who taught it as a system of practical wisdom to look at one's self and to understand and re-align one's approach to life.

Yogasūtra is one philosophy which is beyond the theory of "diminishing rate of returns". The axiom 'the more you dig the more you get' applies naturally to Yogasūtra. It seems to supply inexhaustible possibilities and newer lights every passing day. Let us dig together more and enjoy the nectar of Yogasūtra.

This blog is intended to be an interactive tool to enhance our knowledge and understanding of Yogasūtra. Sūtra-s will be picked at random for discussion with a new article being posted every fortnight. Views/comments/criticism, anything that will bring newer insights to the study are welcome. The intention is to enlarge our understanding and continue to discover newer insights into the text.

The blog will be managed by Smt Shuba who came as a student to Yoga Raksanam and is now one of our popular teachers.

By DV Sridhar at Yoga Raksanam, Chennai, India