of ignorance that covers our intelligence. To achieve this union, the
sadhaka has to look both within as well as looking out to the frame of
the soul, the body. He has to grasp an underlying law or else he will re
main in Nature's thrall and Soul will remain merely a concept. Every
thing that exists in the macrocosm is to be found existing in the
microcosm or individual.The Eight Petals of YogaThere are eight petals of yoga that reveal themselves progressively to
the practitioner. These are external, ethical disciplines (yama), internal
ethical observances (niyama), poses (asana), breath control
(pranayama), sensory control and withdrawal (pratyahara), concen
tration (dharana), meditation (dhyana), and blissful absorption
(samadhi). We call these the petals of yoga as they join together like the
petals of a lotus flower to form one beautiful whole.
As we journey through the interior sheaths (kosa) of the body,
from the exterior skin to the innermost self, we will encounter and ex
plore each of the eight petals or stages of yoga described in the Yoga
Sutras. For the seeker of Truth, these stages remain as important today
as they were in the days of Patanjali. We cannot hope to understand
and harmonize the sheaths without the precepts and practices provided
in the eight petals. I will mention them here briefly, but they will be dis
cussed more fully in the following chapters.
The yoga journey begins with the five universal moral command
ments (yama). We learn in this way to develop control over our actions
in the external world. The journey continues with five steps of self
purification (niyama). These relate to our inner world and senses of
perception and help us to develop self-discipline. We will discuss these
throughout the book, but initially they serve to curb our behavior to
ward others and toward ourselves. These ethical precepts are always
with us from the beginning to the end of the yo�a journey, for the
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