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In this series of four sessions we will discuss the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, which is today considered one of the most important foundational spiritual texts of modern yoga (and one that remains a staple of yoga teacher trainings). This book consists of 196 aphorisms (‘sūtra’ in Sanskrit) arranged into four chapters (‘pada’) that are a compilation of material derived from much older traditions.
The Yoga Sutras were very widely translated and commented on in the medieval period but slipped into obscurity during the 12th-19th centuries, until they were rediscovered and popularized by Swami Vivekananda, The Theosophical Society and others.
Given the acknowledged importance of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali today, surely we must have reached some consensus by now on when this work was written, by whom, its meaning and purpose, and its relevance to modern students of yoga? Surprisingly, however, the answers to many of these questions remain far from clear.
Join us for a monthly session where we will cover:
Session 1 (28th September)
Context and content
Session 2 (26th October)
Books 1 (Samadhi) and 2 (Practice)
Session 3 (23rd November)
Books 3 (Powers) and 4 (Isolation)
Session 4 (28th December)
Synthesis and conclusions