The Yoga sutras of Patañjali
by Edwin F. Bryant · first published 2009
55% recommend45% neutral
Why HN recommends it
It is a core primary text on yoga philosophy and meditation, offering the source material behind modern yoga and a grounding in classical Indian thought beyond the physical practice.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
From the Publisher: A landmark new translation and edition. Written almost two millennia ago, Patanjali's work focuses on how to attain the direct experience and realization of the purusa: the innermost individual self, or soul. As the classical treatise on the Hindu understanding of mind and consciousness and on the technique of meditation, it has exerted immense influence over the religious practices of Hinduism in India and, more recently, in the West. Edwin F. Bryant's translation is clear, direct, and exact. Each sutra is presented as Sanskrit text, transliteration, and precise English tr
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…Realism by Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati. See also my previous comments on Samkhya starting here - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41477432 2) For Patanjala Yoga Sutras (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoga_Sutras_of_Patanjali) which lays out the framework of Ashtanga Yoga first see Bon Giovanni's succinct translation here (pdf) - https://www.starcenter.com/patanjali.pdf Then for a detailed study start with Edwin Bryant's translation…
on “The Legend of Holy Sword: An Immersive Experience for Concentration Enhancement” ↗…my other comment on this thread with some links to articles that might interest you. - http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3264078 Krishnamurti has a lot to say about meditation, I also recommend the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the Bhagavad Gita (Jack Hawley translation is very thorough, it's subtitled A Walkthrough for Westerners) and lastly The Upanishads (the one with commentary by Eknath Easwaran is excellent.)
on “Tuning out: How brains benefit from meditation” ↗…"Discipline" which if adopted can effect change. First off, DON'T quit your job without having another already lined up. "A Bird in Hand is worth two in the Bush" and all that. The "Discipline" comes from the "Yoga Sutras of Patanjali" which you can freely adapt to your life, like so; - Yamas - Regulate your interaction with the external environment. Change what you can and ignore (completely from your mind) what you can't. Make…
on “Ask HN: How to take first steps to escape burnout?” ↗There are lots of english translations of "Patanjali Yoga Sutras" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoga_Sutras_of_Patanjali#Trans...) To see how succinct they are, read Bon Giovanni's translation at https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/yogasutr.htm If you are new to the subject start with Swami Vivekananda's Raja Yoga which…
on “Images of Hatha Yoga from the Joga Pradīpikā (19th Century)” ↗Read Patanjali Yoga Sutra. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoga_Sutras_of_Patanjali
on “Penniless Yogi Baba Ramdev Controls a Billion-Dollar Corporation” ↗The Science Of Yoga by I. K. Taimni - A commentary on Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. This might fall more on the religious side for many people but the author as well as the original scripture has nothing to with Gods in Hindu religion and describes how we perceive our reality and how…
on “Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost everything?” ↗…1) The Samkhya Karika : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samkhyakarika - This sets up a Worldview (i.e. a Model) with the main concepts of Purusha (The Experiencer) and Prakriti (The Experienced). 2) The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoga_Sutras_of_Patanjali - Pay particular attention to the concepts Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi. 3) The Vijnana Bhairava Tantra : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vij%C3%B1%C4%81na_Bhairava_Tan...…
on “Ask HN: What exactly is a mindfulness meditation?” ↗…die, is born out of a feeble mindset, forced by an extremely materialistic society. You can go deeper and find something invaluable. Read into philosophy (not the depressing kind), read books like the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Bhagavad Gita, Upanishadas. Learn about sāṁkhya, nyāya, vedānta. It can give your life a whole new meaning and direction. It doesn't have to be this way, your current mental imprints want you to believe…
on “The hikikomori in Asia: A life within four walls” ↗…supernatural claims to benefit from them. A great starting point can be Shinzen Young's The Science of Enlightenment and/or Sam Harris's Waking Up. After that, you might look into Why Buddhism is True or The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali or Mindfulness in Plain English. The Healthy Gamer Youtube channel also has great videos going into this and how they tie into psychology. David Chapman's https://meaningness.com/ is also pretty great.
on “Procrastination and the fear of not being good enough” ↗…the ultimate aim of yoga is spiritual, and there are multiple paths to reach the same experience. [1] https://www.quora.com/What-does-the-word-yoga-mean-in-Sanskr... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoga_Sutras_of_Patanjali
on “India's oldest yogini: V Nanammal, 98” ↗This is a bizarre theory. The Bhagavad Gita, which is quite ancient, describes Yoga in great detail, especially Chapter 6, for example [1]. Not to mention Yoga Sutras of Patanjali [2]. Of course, modern Hatha Yoga might have some new poses. But the practice of Yoga itself is quite old, and has been prevalent in India for a long time. (I am not commenting on place of origin, since…
on “McMindfulness: How mindfulness became the new capitalist spirituality” ↗…I've written is nothing that I've thought of be myself. I've tried to describe the goal of traditional yoga, which really contradicts a lot of the modern interpretations. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoga_Sutras_of_Patanjali
on “Meditation study shows changes associated with awareness, stress (2011)” ↗Just an info: Focusing mind at the gut level is not specific to Zen meditation but is instead part of Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoga_Sutras_of_Patanjali) from which all these techniques are derived from. Specifically it is focusing on the 7 centres of energy called Chakras. The gut level thing you…
on “Our microbiome challenges our concept of self” ↗…interpret that material culture is shaped by the conceptual wrappers we use to describe it using whatever variant of monkey vocalizations we use to communicate with each other. This is also discussed in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (1200 years before Marx, why Indian philosophy gets no credit is beyond me but I appreciate it immensely thus credit it whenever I can), as is the next step that will take some other harebrained virtue…
on “The language you speak changes your perception of time” ↗…Sciences. A practical realization of the above Worldview is provided by the Ashtanga Yoga school of Patanjali (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashtanga_(eight_limbs_of_yoga) and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoga_Sutras_of_Patanjali) The Greek schools of philosophies (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greek_philosophy and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellenistic_philosophy) also have much to offer here though their focus is…
on “Ask HN: If technology is so good for the world, why are we becoming less happy?” ↗