SAMADHI PADA
now; herewith (of) Yoga expounding; exposition (teach-
ing).
- Now, an exposition of Yoga (is to be made).
Generally, a treatise of this nature in Samskrta begins with a Sutra which gives
an idea with regard to the nature of the undertaking. The present treatise is an ‘exposi-
tion’ of Yoga. The author does not claim to be the discoverer of this Science but
merely an expounder who has tried to condense in a few Sutras all the essential
knowledge concerning the Science which a student or aspirant ought to possess. Very
little is known about Patanjali. Although we have no information about him which can
be called definitely historical, still according to occult tradition he was the same per-
son who was known as Govinda Yogi and who initiated Samkaracarya in the Science
of Yoga. From the masterly manner in which he has expounded the subject of Yoga in
the Yoga-Sutras it is obvious that he was a Yogi of a very high order who had personal
knowledge of all aspects of Yoga including its practical technique.
As the method of expounding a subject in the form of Sutras is peculiar and
generally unfamiliar to Western students having no knowledge of the Samskrta lan-
guage, it would perhaps not be out of place to say here a few words on this classical
method which was adopted by the ancient Sages and scholars in their exposition of
some of the most important subjects. The word Sutram in Samskrta means a thread and
this primary meaning has given rise to the secondary meaning of Sutram as an apho-
rism. Just as a thread binds together a number of beads in a rosary, in the same way the
underlying continuity of idea binds together in outline the essential aspects of a sub-
ject. The most important characteristics of this method are utmost condensation consis-
tent with clear exposition of all essential aspects and continuity of the underlying
theme in spite of the apparent discontinuity of the ideas presented. The latter charac-
teristic is worth noting because the effort to discover the hidden ‘thread’ of reasoning