By Clif High - July 22, 2023
Clif’s Yoga Sutras - Part 1
Not your mama’s stretchy pants!
There are lots of books about yoga. More being produced every day. There are some ancient books in Sanskrit about Yoga. What is quite remarkable is that, at the core of the yoga literary source in Sanskrit is one book, “Patanjal’s Yoga”, that is completely unlike any other yoga book, ancient or modern.
Patanjali’s Yoga book has not a single word about breathing, stretching, or any asana. In this way, that it is titulary about yoga, but contains no words involved with our modern understanding of it, Pantanjali’s Yoga has a similar nature to the Torah/Old Testament, at the center of a religion, which has no mention of ‘god’ within it, and only discusses space alien invaders called the “Elohim”, and how to survive, as a human, in their presence.
Patanjali’s work on Yoga is, in my opinion, not only similar in this nature to the Torah, but like it, only deals with the space aliens technology, and its ‘mind-to-machine’ interface.
Truly Patanjali’s Yoga is a book about Yoga, that is ‘union’. Our modern understanding of the art and practice of Yoga, brought to the West in the 1800s, is flawed. Long acknowledge by its practitioners, as well as scholars, as being a ‘remnant system’, with “obviously missing components’, Yoga is being characterized by our modern understanding as a physical culture system for health, which is not as intended by ancient authors writing to us from the descending side of the Yugas.
Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras are revered by most, if not all, Yoga systems existent today, much the same as the Torah/Old Testament is revered as a religious book. As with the Torah/Old Testament, most, perhaps 99%, of all the people in the Yoga world, have never read the book. Just as most Jews (99%?) cannot read Hebrew, nor could grok the context of the Torah/Old Testament, most Yoga adherents cannot read Sanskrit, nor could understand the context covered in Patanjali’s Yoga.
Translations of Patanjali’s yoga sutras abound. Every generation seems to produce yet another. These books are quite simply translated Sanskrit for the 195 sutras (aphorisms) that Patanjali collected, and are created by their authors as supporting the volumes of commentary that seeks to make sense of the sutras. All of these authors put their efforts into ‘explanatory’ texts that work diligently to tease some sense of reason from these sutras as a system of yoga. Mostly these commentaries always fail to provide any ‘enlightenment’ about their content. Just as there is no language in the Torah/Old Testament about religion, either Judaism, nor Christianity, there are no words in the Yoga Sutras that discuss yoga, as we grasp the concept today.
It is my contention that as the Torah/Old Testament is a book describing humans’ interactions with the Elohim, a group of Space based, non human, alien conquerors, the Yoga Sutras are a collection of ancient instructions on how to interact with the technology of these Space Alien Conquerors. In both cases, these volumes are mislabeled, and misunderstood, by the general public, as well as the adherents of the religions based on these non-religious texts.
Many, global Yoga traditions have temples, statues, and other honorifics devoted to ‘Patanjali’, despite the total lack of ability to blend his Yoga Sutras into their school of Yoga, nonetheless Patanjali and his collection of Sutras, are held as a cornerstone for all schools of thought about Yoga.
Investigations into the Yoga Sutras reveal that Patanjali is label applied to the person that collected and transmitted these instructions, he did not write them. Also the person was very likely not named ‘Patanjali’ as that is a descriptive that literally can be translated as “honorable (one from the) pathan/patan region of India.”
There are repeated references to Patanjali, as a man, describing his collecting and commenting on books and source material that was ancient in his day, those many (unknown) thousands of years back. There are reasons to suspect that our Patanjali collected his Yoga Sutras perhaps as much as 5,000 years before our current ‘authorities’ on ancient matters would allow. Without regard to its real antiquity, the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali are acknowledged by most all, as being a ‘remnant’ of a system from a ‘previous Age’.
As stated, most Yoga adherents, though they may be aware of it by title, have never read Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. I have had a copy for 53 years. Without doubt, this, expensive at the time, book is the most intriguing purchase I have ever made. It was incredibly disappointing to finally obtain a copy as it was not easily available in the mid last century in USA. Upon opening it, this touted ‘ultimate guide to yoga’, disappointment was instant. It was not a book on yoga. At all. Despite the efforts of the commentaries to the contrary. They failed. It was clearly not about yoga. Yet it was quite fascinating as it was also, just as clear, that this was about something important, a complete system of something important, and that it was almost, and nearly, but not quite, comprehensible. That is to say, that in spite of the total lack fo application to Yoga, the sutras were quite clearly a set of very meaningful instructions to humans that were preserved through the millennia with great effort as they were important. Somehow.
This exploration of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras is undertaken with the understanding, produced by yet another ancient document, not about Yoga, but about, other aspects of the human mind, that the Yoga Sutras are a misinterpreted, misunderstood, book of instructions on how to interact with the mind-to-machine interface technology of the Space Alien Conquerors who have influenced much of our many civilizations over these last 12,000 years.
Precision of translation, and appropriate context are required for an understanding of the author’s actual intent in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, much as we find with accurately translating the Torah.
The sutras below are presented with the original sanskrit, as well as a word for word translation, by ChatGPT, then the traditional translation as one may find in yoga books these days, then my commentary intended to frame the sutra, and its translation in the appropriate context.
Patanjali's Yoga Sutra 1.1:
पतञ्जलि योगसूत्राणि १.१:
अथ योगानुशासनम्॥१॥
अथ (atha) - Now
योगानुशासनम् (yogānuśāsanam) - instruction on Yoga
Traditional Translation:
"Now, the teachings of Yoga."
Commentary: The AI assisted translation is very difficult to achieve as the AI works on ‘popularity’ (basically) of words and phrases which necessarily will also bring in dominance of specific contexts. In this case, ChatGPT cannot be made to report on Patanjali’s Sutras without invoking the context of yoga, as it is currently understood, in a quasi religion viewpoint.
In this first sutra we find that the words are not as presented by ChatGPT, in that the translations, in spite of repeated prompt injections to the AI to guide it. Here we see that the word ‘atha’, translated as ‘now’, actually should be, in this context, translated as “Important”. The word “yogānuśāsanam”, should then be translated as “Union instructions”. So the totality of the sutra would be as follows:
“Important instructions on Union”. Note the more cautionary linguistic tone that emerges with this translation.
New Translation: “Important instructions on Union”
Patanjali's Yoga Sutra 1.2:
पतञ्जलि योगसूत्राणि १.२:
योगश्चित्तवृत्तिनिरोधः॥२॥
योगः (yogaḥ) - Yoga
चित्त (citta) - consciousness or mind-stuff
वृत्ति (vṛtti) - modifications or fluctuations
निरोधः (nirodhaḥ) - restraint or control
Traditional Translation:
"Yoga is the restraint of the modifications of consciousness."
Commentary: This second of the Sutras gets us into the real work involved in providing the correct context. All of these words need to be seen outside our current context of yoga as a body art, or a religious practice.
Here we start with Yoga, and translate to “union” as it refers, in the totality of the Sutras context, to making a “union” of one’s mind with the mind-to-machine interface of alien technology. In so doing, that is, shifting the context, then we can delve into “citta”, where we discover that the context is much more demanding that mere ‘consciousness’, or ‘mind-stuff’.
Citta, expresses a very sophisticated context of being the “last” of a series of mental (mind) states, that has a corresponding “body (brain)” state associated. It represents the totality of mental processes, including thoughts, emotions, perceptions, memories, and impressions. "Citta" is the subtle substance, or medium through which mental activities occur. Citta, can be thought of the long chain of processes involved in thought, but, is explicitly the final process as that is the one that determines the totality of the thought.
There are other works that go into the Citta in much more detail, thus removing it from the vague, religious context that is usually provided. The Citta, was considered, as ‘the final (active) step’ in the process of thinking. The ‘active’ component is very important in this context of mind-to-machine interface. In this instance, the sutra is specifically focusing our attention on that ‘last step (off the) edge’ of thought.
The word ‘vrtti’, in this work, is usually translated as ‘fluctuations’, or ‘disturbances’. However, that is a later context placed on the word. It’s original, and longest used context is within astronomy, where it refers to the ‘exacting position’ of a body in space. It is routinely used to signify an ‘orbit’, or an ‘orbital plane’, or a specific location within the orbit.
In mathematics, "vrtti" can be used in a variety of ways depending on the specific mathematical concept being discussed. For example, in geometry, "vrtti" can be related to a circumference or a circle's perimeter. In trigonometry, it may refer to the angular velocity or the rate of change of an angle over time. Again though, we see that ‘vrtti’ is used to denote ‘location’ of physical objects.
We also see that ‘vrtti’ is used in describing location as an aspect of time. Specifically ‘vrtti’ could be thought of in our context as the ‘coordinates of location, including Time’.
Note that our source materials, external to the Sutras, have many associations with ‘time’, and ‘temporal sequence’, as well as ‘temporal placement’ with ‘vrtti’.
Finally, the word ‘nirodhaḥ’ means ‘control’. It does not imply any form of ‘cessation’ as is usually the translation. It means ‘active control’, but further there is the implicit understanding of ‘restraining’. In our broader source materials, ‘nirodhah’ has the nuanced understanding of ‘restraining (an) active force’. The contextual view is that ‘nirodhah’ is involving a ‘dynamic (in the moment) energy/activity’ that needs to be ‘restrained/controlled’. There are implications throughout these broader works of the idea of ‘imprecise control’ leading to ‘death/loss’.
New Translation: “Union is control of Citta (to achieve) Vrtti.
A correct understanding of the Sutra, within this broader context, necessarily involves some language expansion, as we have seen over the centuries as commentators attempted to make sense of this material.
Perhaps a better way to state is as follows: Control, of your mental processes, while in Union, will allow you to achieve a distant location. Noting in this translation that ‘Union’ explicitly refers to ‘while connected to the mind-to-machine interface’.
Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra 1.3
पतञ्जलि योगसूत्राणि १.३:
तदा द्रष्टुः स्वरूपेऽवस्थानम्॥३॥
तदा (tadā) - Then
द्रष्टुः (draṣṭuḥ) - of the seer
स्वरूपेऽवस्थानम् (svarūpe-avasthānam) - abides in its true nature
Traditional Translation:
"Then, the seer abides in its true nature."
Commentary: In this third sutra, the word ‘tada’, actually translates as “at that time”, which in our larger context, and as provided by other source material, is better translated as “in that location (in) time”. “Tada” is also used within astronomy and mathematics, and denotes ‘time’, and ‘temporal functions’ respectively. Note that this is NOT referencing ‘time travel’ as is thought of within our modern day context of people hopping about in a ‘time stream’. Rather this is explicitly referencing that aspect of the ‘vrtti’ which is the location as is defined as different from our current location by its distance in ‘time’. But again, this is not speaking of a ‘time stream’ in which future and past exist simultaneously, rather this is describing the temporal aspect of a physical location.
In the traditional translations, the term "drasṭuḥ" is derived from the root "dṛś" (दृश्), which means "to see" or "to perceive." In various philosophical and spiritual traditions, "drasṭuḥ" is used to denote the inner observer or consciousness that witnesses experiences, thoughts, emotions, and sensations.
In some philosophical contexts, "drasṭuḥ" may be used to refer to the transcendent self or the true nature of one's being, which remains unaffected and unchanged by the fluctuations of the mind and external circumstances. It is the aspect of oneself that is aware, conscious, and detached from the changing phenomena presented by the “Union interface/machine”.
However, the context of the “drastuh” is more complex, and is more nuanced, than is found in this traditional presentation. In the broader scope of the use of the word at its earliest appearances, we find that it is specifically referred to as the ‘witness’ who ‘sees’. So the idea of the ‘seer’, as opposed to the “mind’s eye” that is doing the ‘seeing’ is invoked. This is an important distinction as the “mind’s eye” is discussed as an ‘instrument’ within “Union” later in the material.
The actual translation of 'स्वरूपेऽवस्थानम्' (svarūpe-avasthānam) is:
'sva' (स्व) - own or one's own
'rūpe' (रूपे) - form or nature
'avasthānam' (अवस्थानम्) - abiding or dwelling
However, the deeper translations from earlier, more ancient use of these terms would have it be translated as one’s claimed, or owned, or felt, or perceived, “location (of the) space/form”, in other words, “the space (in which) one’s form (will be) located”.
New Translation: “Moved by time, the form of the seer/viewer/operator will abide in the seen location.”
When viewed from the vantage of a mind-to-machine interface, Patanjali’s Sutras on Union, are sensible, rational within their context, and need not be augmented or expanded. The commentaries of the traditional translations of Patanjali’s Sutras are entirely devoted to forming a religious context around, what may well be, a technical manual misunderstood, and misinterpreted.
When viewed in this light, the book is clearly an instruction manual for how to operate a piece of equipment, in which the context is shifted as we don’t have the machinery. It is as though a manual for DOS commands had been discovered and preserved, by recopying, for centuries past the loss of the computer that implemented the commands. Absent a physical machine, and attempting to make sense of this manual from a distant past, it can be seen that humans may make a leap that the DOS commands manual is really a set of instructions on personal mental functions. It would be the wrong leap, right out of the appropriate context of technology and into religion, but that is precisely the point here; that this has been done to Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras.
The volume of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras that we have now has 195 such sutras of gradually increasing complexity just as would be expected in a technical manual. The complexity rise within the texts, even translated in the traditional manner, as though about a quasi religious context, still shows the patterns of word use, and concept expansion, that we see in modern technical manuals. That is to say that Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, if just examined without regard to translations using a metadata literary analysis software, mimic the ‘flow’ of information in technical manuals, which is not the same, nor even near, that of actual religious texts.
There are 195 sets of instructions in Patanjali’s manual of Union. We have examined the first three in this Part 1 of Clif’s Yoga Sutras, or Clif’s Union Instructions. As we proceed, the material to translate becomes more complicated, as it builds, like all good technical manuals, on the preceding understandings already conveyed. It may be that there will be over 100 parts to this series as the complexity of the translation will necessarily increase with the source material, and the accumulation of deviance from the religion filter placed on the material.
This will be an ongoing project, so check back for updates. Probably this will take a while as some of the Sutras get into discussions about Time, and Mind, at very very very deep levels.
Don’t wait for me, however. I have other demands on my time, so will not be charging into this material exclusively. You can find everything you need to pick this up online. If you are a stern taskmaster, ChatGPT can help you out, but you have to really work past the limitations of its woke view of our common reality.
Watch out for your ‘citta’….it matters.
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