The Bible and the Yoga Sutras

Sutra's 22-33

2009-12-17T10:44:00.000-08:00

Sutra 22

The relationship with nature ceases for emancipated beings, its purpose having been fulfilled, but its processes continue to affect others.

In other words, nature (sin, ego, intelligence, senses of perception, etc...) does not stop around us even when we are not being affected.

I have not experienced this emancipation or union with God. I feel lucky to have glimpses and times of grace. However, when I read this sutra it makes sense for those saints that do live in God’s constant grace. Even though they are focused, it does not mean that all those around them are not affected by nature.

If we could all live sinless lives, not affected by our senses and emotions, but just in love with God no matter the circumstances around us, don’t you think the Israelites or even Adam and Eve would have? We are sinners. Very few get to live on earth emancipated from nature, in total connection with God. This is why we need Jesus, he did this from birth to resurrection. He is our example. But more, he died to let us keep trying to learn to manage our thoughts, awareness, and senses. Without Jesus, relationship with God would be lost. Living outside of nature's impact is very hard. Only with God’s grace is it possible.

I think the Bible agrees that even if someone (Jesus) lives and is not affected by nature, those around him still are.

Sutra 23

The conjunction of the seer with the seen is for the seer to discover his own true nature.

Seer: being the soul, or for Christians, I believe the Holy Spirit

Seen: being our perception of self, our human/flesh nature, even our sinful nature

This sutra is saying that in soul (Holy Spirit), is present to help us discover our true purpose- to be in relationship with God.

Iyengar commentary says “ if this association is fed by ignorance, it leads the master towards enjoyment, desire, and ailments and binds him. But if non-attachment is developed, it leads to detachment and renunciation. If the master maintains constant watchful awareness of his consciousness, associates with nature without attachment and remains a witness, nature leads its owner, the soul, to freedom.”

Again, the sutras are coming from a relationship with self, how to overcome this obstacle of relating to and through things, rather than from our source God. Jesus teaches to love God above all and love each other as Christians. If we learn to relate to everything from and with love, unattached, then maybe we can live more as God teaches and more like Christ did.

“Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, said unto Peter and to the rest of the Apostles, men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. Then they that gladly received his word were baptized and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. And all that believed were together, and had all things common; and sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart” (Acts 2:36-46)

Acts stood out to me because after the thousands asked and received forgiveness from their sins and accepted Jesus as their redeemer, the Holy Spirit began to act within them. They then showed their detachment from the ways of this world, by giving up their possessions and trusting God to provide for them. They ate and taught of the greatness of Jesus from house to house with gladness, and singleness of heart. To me singleness of heart means, they only focused on Jesus and his teachings, which was only possible after they accepted Jesus’ gift and lived by the Holy Spirit’s leading. I think it is a beautiful example of the seer at work in this sutra. History provides ground to back up the rest of this sutra, although the Holy Spirit worked wonders with these lucky souls, around them was war and sin.

Sutra 24

Lack of spiritual understanding is the cause of the false identification of the seer with the seen.

In Iyengar's commentary he restates the importance for us to understand that the mingling of nature (the seen, our flesh selves) and the soul ( Holy Spirit, God) can either lead to emancipation and union with God or can stop our progress all together as we focus on OUR desires and emotions.

It is very important that we understand God’s word, to live by the Bible. God has given us this great book to explain his relationship with us. He does not focus on who we are, but explains who he is in relation to us and how we can be in his grace. It is important for us all to remember that our spiritual understanding (avidya) comes from God rewarding our will, our intention to follow his law and live by his word. In order to do that it is important to study the Bible and his law daily. For God gives us knowledge. Here are three examples of the importance of knowing and following God's word.

"He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures." Luke 24:45

"But He turned and said to Peter, 'Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.'" Matthew 16:23

“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.
“But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall. ” Matthew 7:24-27

I think that Sutra 24 and the Bible agree. When we focus on the desires of man and not the desires of God, we remain shackled to the earth. However, when we focus on God’s word and gain spiritual understanding, we progress away from sin and towards God.

Sutra 2: 25

The destruction of ignorance through right knowledge breaks the link binding the seer to the seen. This is kaivalya, emancipation.

As you probably already know, unless you have been living and graced by the contemplative life for a long while, we are more prone to living focused on human issues (finances, family, chores, work etc…) than naturally turning our mind to God. This sutra is saying that when we have mastered this ignorance and set our focus on God, through right knowledge of his word, we are no longer bound to nature. In other words, we are emancipated from the flesh and walking with God and the Holy Spirit, which in yoga, is freedom. As Christians, attaining freedom in Christ and emancipation from fleshly desires and emotions is living in love.

⁷Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. ⁸Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. ⁹God's love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. ¹⁰In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. ¹¹Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. ¹²No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us. ¹³By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. ¹⁴And we have seen and do testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Savior of the world. ¹⁵God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God. ¹⁶So we have known and believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. ¹⁷Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world. ¹⁸There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. ¹⁹We love because he first loved us. ²⁰Those who say, "I love God," and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. ²¹The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also. (1 John 4:7-21)

One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?" "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' (NIV, Mark 12:28-30)

The second is this, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these. (NRSV, Mark 12:31)

Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself." Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. (NIV, Romans 13:8-10)

I also think God agrees with this sutra although it is he that gives us love, and he who gives us understanding. It is up to us to master our will and learn to live in love and God in all situations. I imagine doing this would give great peace and love to our hearts all the time and create freedom in our hearts and souls.

Sutra 26

The ceaseless flow of discriminative knowledge in thought, word and deed destroys ignorance, and the source of pain.

Iyengar puts it best, "The seeds of false knowledge are to be burnt up through uninterrupted yogic practices to maintain an unbroken flow of discriminative intelligence".

This is meditation, and mantra. Many psalms reflect on the importance of constant thought drawn to God, and love; the importance of prayer spread out through every day. This is Christian contemplation, where even when we are not studying the Bible, we are in constant focus on God. In yoga, this practice is called Bhakti yoga, the path of devotion, and the study of scripture is called Jnana yoga. The practice of concentration and contemplation are also important in the eightfold path of yoga in Dharana and Dhyana. Both are important to practice constantly so we do not get trapped in earthly desires, emotions, or in other words, in sin.

"Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.
He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither..." Psalm 1:1-3

Sutra 27

Through this unbroken flow of discriminative awareness, one gains perfect knowledge which has seven spheres.

There are seven frontiers to be integrated between the seen (nature, flesh) and the seer (soul, Holy Spirit). They are: the body, the senses, energy, mind, intellect, consciousness, and the soul. According to this sutra, each has its own individual identify. Through our will to meditate on God, God will give us awareness of this sevenfold awareness/ knowledge. In Iyengar's book it states, “According to Patanjali, the seven states (spheres) of conscious awareness are: emerging consciousness, restraining consciousness, sprouted or individualized consciousness, tranquil consciousness, attentive consciousness, fissured or rent consciousness and ripe or pure consciousness.” He goes on to give many other variations of these seven states of consciousness. He sums it up by saying a simple description of the seven spheres is “knowledge of body, knowledge of energy, control of the mind, stability in intelligence, knowledge gained by experience, absorption of various flavors that life offers, knowledge of the self.” To sum up Iyengars words, when we learn to control our body, energy, mind (both movements within and judgment), and therefore master acting rightly in all situations, we become luminous. From this luminosity or righteousness, we have total awareness of our core being (Holy Spirit) and supreme knowledge, and surrender ourselves to God’s will completely.

Once again the Bible focuses on God’s relationship with us and this sutra focuses on our relationship to self, In order to overcome the flesh. For this sutra I agree, in order to do what God says we have to master our own will, however, since God does not explain 7 spheres of consciousness in the Bible I am not sure if this is how he made us. For me to be able to discern this sutra I am going to have to continue mastering my will, with God’s grace. From meditation experience I can say that I believe I have experienced these layers of consciousness within myself. Which is why in yoga I study asana (body), pranayama (breath or energy), mediation, and scripture study and try to bring all this awareness into my daily life, always asking God for guidance and praying for him to help me surrender and hear his will. In 1 Corinthians 9 Paul writes about being a servant of God. He states the importance of whole self awareness and how through God's grace and for God’s glory comes the only way to maintain this awareness.

1 Corinthians 9 Paul writes:

15 But I have made no use of any of these rights, nor am I writing these things to secure any such provision. For I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of my ground for boasting. 16 For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! 17 For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward, but if not of my own will, I am still entrusted with a stewardship. 18 What then is my reward? That in my preaching I may present the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel.

19 For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. 20 To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. 21 To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. 23 I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.

24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. 25 Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. 27 But I discipline my body and keep it under control, [2] lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

Sutra 28

By dedicated practice of the various aspects of yoga impurities are destroyed, the crown of wisdom radiates in glory.

First lets review the 8 limbs for yoga. There are many different branches of yoga, but the limbs are the same for everyone according to Patanjlai, no matter which branch you are drawn to practice. The limbs are:

Yama and Niyama’s (for Christians our ten commandments)

asana: awareness of body

pranayama: awarenes of breath or energy

pratyahara: awareness of the senses and sensory transcendence (for Christians- awareness of our sinful natures and mastery of will to follow God’s commandments)

Dharana: concentration (meditaion on God’s word, nature, sin etc..)

Dhyana: contemplation (meditation on God)

Samadhi: union with God living in full awareness

This sutra says that when we practice yoga’s limbs with dedication and love, God will grace us with his presence. We will live for and with God on earth. In his commentary, Iyengar also states that “ this wisdom and achievement keep us innocent and free of pride.” For when practicing yoga we know that it is God that is giving us his grace, not us achieving it. For Christians practicing yoga this should be easy for we already know in all of life we can be filled with gratitude to Jesus, and in yoga practice it is no different. I keep being drawn to the fact that we have to seek God at all times. This passage from Psalm 119 stands out:

"How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word.
With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments!
Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You." Psalm 119:9-11

Sutra 29

Moral injunctions (yama) fixed observances (niyama), posture (asana) regulation of breath (pranayama), internalization of senses towards their source (pratyahara), concentration (dharana), meditation (dhyana) and absorption of consciousness in the self (samashi) are the eight constituents of yoga.

This speaks only of yoga. These are the 8 limbs or constituents of yoga. The Bible says nothing about yoga practice, good or bad.

Sutra 30

Non-violence, truth, abstention from stealing, continence, and absence or greed for possessions beyond one’s need are the five pillars of yama.

These are the five pillars of yama. Does the Bible agree that we should not be filled with hate or violence? That we should not lie, that we should not steal, or have sex out of wedlock? And lastly, does the Bible tell us not to be greedy? Yes, the Bible agrees with all of these. These are the included in both our 10 commandments and as warnings from God as the seven deadly sins.

The seven deadly sins, more properly called the seven capital sins, are the sins to which we are most susceptible because of our fallen human nature. They are the tendencies that cause us to commit all other sins. They are called "deadly" because, if we engage in them willingly, they deprive us of sanctifying grace, the life of God in our souls. The seven deadly sins are pride, covetousness (also known as avarice or greed) , lust, anger, gluttony, envy, and sloth. Of these, in our yamas is avoiding greed, anger, and lust. The last 5 commandments also talk against violence, unfaithfulness, lying, and greed.

You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s." ( Exodus 20)

I believe God and the Bible agree that we should follow our yamas.

Sutra 31

Yamas are the great, mighty, universal vows, unconditioned by place, time and class.

Yes God wants us all to follow these laws, or they would not be written in the Bible. I agree that they are not conditioned on time, because Moses, and Jesus both addressed them.

Yes the Bible and this Sutra agree.

Sutra 32

Cleanliness, contentment, religious zeal, self-study and surrender of the self to the supreme Self or God are the niyamas.

Yamas are seen as the universal social practices; niyamas are individual practice.

Cleanliness : In the Bible cleanliness has a lot of meanings, before Jesus to be unclean meant much more than to be dirty. It meant you were an outcast from your community. Even worse, you may have been left to die. But after Jesus, cleanliness comes to mean two things- clean in mind and clean in body. Here are a few passages to speak of both. Being clean of mind and clean in our actions mean much more than having clean feet and not smelling in God’s world.

· 15 When you spread our your hands in prayer, I will hid my eyes form you; I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood; 16 Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean;
remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil, Isaiah 1:16

· 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9

· Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.” John 7:24

To be clean is to be right with God, to be humble, and ask forgiveness from our sins. This is only possible through the Lord Jesus Christ. We are so lucky to have him. Live a clean life in Christ. Confession is very important as is righteous practice.

Contentment: Yes the Bible agrees we need to be content with what we need, not what we have or what we want.

· 5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5

· 11 Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. Philippians 4:11-12

· 6 Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, 7 for we brought nothing into the world, and [1] we cannot take anything out of the world. 8 But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. 1 Timothy 6:6-8

Religious zeal: Yes, we should have zeal and be on fire for God. It is important to study God’s word, for those who do not study cannot know it. But it is equally if not even more important to follow God’s word for those who are educated in it.

17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. James 4:17

I agree that religious zeal is important, being regular in study and prayer is what God wants us to do.

Self study and then surrender of the self to God:

The Bible focuses on the importance of us to surrender to God’s commands, and his leading through Jesus and the Holy Spirit. The entire book emphasizes this. Self-mastery or the mastering of our will is also illustrated throughout, the importance to follow God’s will not our won. Self-study is spoken against, however because it leads only to self-centeredness. But to know our own sinful nature as individuals and to overcome our own desires is important. As Christians, we need to remember to ask for God’s grace and live in gratitude for without Jesus none of this would be possible. Refer back to 1 Corinthians 9 in sutra 27.

From this study I believe God would agree that living the niyamas is right.

Sutra 33

Principles which run contrary to yama and niyama are to be countered with the knowledge of discrimination.

This sutra is saying that if someone is feeling anger, then he/she should cultivate joy instead. If someone is violent then they should cultivate non-violence. Going against ones natural tendencies in order to do what is right. Without this awareness of our sinful nature, and our will to practice what it right in God’s eyes in every situation, we will have no foundation.

I believe not only must we follow these principles but more importantly have discrimination when we read anything that is not from the Bible. Look at life through the discernment eyes of God’s word. What would love do?

· ⁷Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. ⁸Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. ⁹God's love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. ¹⁰In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. ¹¹Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. ¹²No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us. (1 John 4:7-14)

I think the teachings of Jesus in the Bible agree with the basic concepts of this sutra and the yamas and niyamas.

Sutra's 15-21

2009-12-17T10:41:00.000-08:00

Sutra 15

The wise man knows that owning to fluctuations, the qualities of nature, and subliminal impressions, even pleasant experiences are tinged with sorrow, and he keeps aloof of them.
The 3 characters of intelligence that are talked about in this sutra are: Luminosity (sattva) vibrancy (rajas) and Inertia (tamas) this sutra states “that pure inner peace can be reached by acquiring the right knowledge that will weed out the roots of pain and pleasure.”

When I first read this sutra I focused on the aspect of reaching inner peace with the right knowledge. Through the Bible I found many psalms and Proverbs that echoed this truth. They are too long to write out here so please grab your Bible and look them up and see if you hear what I hear, one is Psalm 119 another is Proverbs 22-29. What I understand it wisdom is found only in following and living Gods commandments. IF we do this both pleasures and pains are ever changing and we attach to neither for our focus is always on God and his commandments. As Christ shepherds us we surrender to wherever he leads. Proverb 20:24 “A man’s steps are directed by the Lord, how then can anyone understand his own way.” There are many stories including the passages I mention above where God is telling us not to be attached to riches, food, or even joy, for God takes and gives to both good and bad people throughout our lives.
The second time I focused on this sutra I focused on the pleasant experiences even being tangles with sorrow. Take a moment and think about how many good people you know that are not “living on easy street.” Possessions can be blessings, but they can’t take the place of God, and when they do take the highest priority, they can become curses. Another example of things feeling good yet not being good for our highest good following in God’s commands, excess, eating, drinking, partying all feel good at the time but disconnect us from focusing on God. I notice when I have put my focus on feeling good, rather than being good in my own life, I end up feeling disconnected and deviating from God’s chosen path for me. It tends to be a much harder and depressed road for me. Yet when I listen, live in balance and don’t over indulge in the feel good life, I am much happier, more confident, and peaceful.
As Christians it is our responsibility to know and follow Gods commands, then no matter if we are suffering or experiencing many blessings we know we are living righteously. This brings trusting, peace, a sense of calm to our spirits. So Read your commandments again and focus on them. Do you love God above everything else in your life? Do you love your neighbor as you would yourself? Being happy no matter what is looked at as a moral obligation by some and I think it is wise, as a Christian and a yogi I am practicing being happy even when I am feeling those earthly fluctuations of nature. In Yoga tradition we realize how this body and life are just temporary and Heaven is our goal. To be with and sit with God, to do this God teaches to know and live by his laws to love his son and trust the Holy Spirit to guide us; all this will give peace to our souls.

Sutra 16

The pains which are yet to come can be and are to be avoided.

I believe I touched a lot on this sutra in Sutra 15. By choosing to stay focused on what is important, us living moral and virtuous lives. Living and meditating on God and his commandments as the Bible instructs. We can and do follow God’s directions better I believe. This does not mean we will not experience hardship or sorrowful events in our lives, or experience blessings and easy times. However, as we practice this contemplation and stay connected to God all these exterior happenings do not affect us as they would someone without Jesus, someone that is not consciously living for Christ, in tune with God’s commands. So to avoid pains that are yet to come, we have to pick up our cross and walk with it daily. Since “a man’s steps are directed by the Lord” Proverbs 20:24 the only way to avoid undue pains is to listen with a quiet sober heart, mind. This may mean we have to at times give up instant pleasures and walk down the road less traveled while loving your neighbor as yourself and letting God be the judge.
For the sake of this study, the Bible agrees with this Sutra, but we can not overcome the obstacles without first training ourselves to be aware of God word at all times.

2 Peter 1:3 says “that as we grow in our knowledge of God, through his divine power he gives us everything we need for life and godliness. Jesus relied on the Word of God alone to overcome obstacles, including the devil. God's Word is alive and powerful (Hebrews 4:12), useful for correcting us when we are wrong and teaching us what is right (2 Timothy 3:16). So, it makes sense for us to carry God's Word in our hearts through memorization, to be ready to face any problem, every difficulty, and whatsoever challenge that life can send our way. Which would help us to experience less pain and more peace, even during painful trials in our lives.
Here is another example from 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (KJV) of how God is the avoidance of pain rather than making them go away… “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

Surta 17
The cause of pain is the association or identification of the seer (atma) with the seen (prakrti) and the remedy lies in their dissociation.
This sutra according to Iyengar is stating that “inner harmony is disturbed when the mind lets itself be lured into indiscriminately sampling the world in phenomena.”
In other words when we label what is happening around us as good/bad, evil, blessed and then attach ourselves to that definition. This sutra builds onto sutras 15 and 16. The seen is our ego our attached mind, the part of us that wants to eat our cake and not gain weight. The part of us that in high school knew the whole world would fall apart if X,Y or Z did not happen, and when it didn’t made it mean something else. The seer is the soul, the part of us that is God breathe (as God breathed into Adams nostrils and gave him life) as Christians, thanks to Jesus, we have God’s gift the Holy Spirit which is actively communicating within us, creating the Holy Trinity together being the seer with us. The united or complete seer God as father, Jesus both flesh and father, and the Holy spirit as communicator and energy. Training ourselves to be quiet in meditation and open to listen and read Gods word is very important in order to achieve this dissociation.
We are not the bodies; they are lent to us by God. The Bible tells us not to worry about our food, clothes etc… to let God handle that. We are to study Gods word, to meditate on his commandments and live by them, to trust in Jesus Christ and listen to the Holy Spirit within us. Great teachers all have illustrated their hardships and challenges in their stories throughout the Bible while meditating on God and his commands. Abraham, Daniel, David, Moses, Paul etc…. all lived lives filled with both great blessings and hardships, although some lost their lives for God they all are with him now eternally. If they had attached to their hardships or blessings, don’t you think they would have been mad or boastful towards God, breaking his commands? Yoga teaches us to use mantra to train our minds to focus steadily on God and his commands. This is something we have to practice, pray for God’s grace to allow us to focus and not stray. It is hard, yet it is also what God wants; for us to not judge each other, or our surroundings, or attach to what happened yesterday, not to feel boastful or proud of what we have done or not done. God simply wants us to know him through his story the Bible and our own disassociation with our worries and bodies. Here are a few examples of passages that tell us how to live for God and how not to give into our temptations but to love.
Luke 6:37 "Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.”
Corinthians 13:4-8a, 13 - Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. 7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never ends... 13 And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.
Galatians 5:16-26 - Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. (the flesh as I see it is the seen nature, our egos our human desires, the feel goods but end bad actions)
By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, competing against one another, envying one another.
I believe the Bible does teach us to learn to control the desires of the flesh by focusing on the Holy Spirit and not labeling or even paying attention to those desires.

Sutra 18

Nature, its three qualities, sattva, raja,s and tamas, and its evolutes, the elements, mind, senses of perception and organs of action, exist eternally to serve the seer, for enjoyment or emancipation.
The Bible and Sutra begin to shift focus here. The surtas begin to explain more about human nature and overcoming the flesh. While the Bible explains Gods relationship with humans while not focusing on human nature other than to state it is sinful by nature.

After the fall of Adam and Eve we all became sinners separated from God. God’s goal to be in relationship with us is illustrated throughout the Bible. Yoga’s goal also is to have relationship with him.
I believe as Christians studying yoga as a discipline this juncture is where yogis can become self centered. Analyzing the human nature of sin, attachment, pain, pleasure, judgment etc… while trying to solve it ourselves is almost pointless. The Bible speaks of self master as a must, and in doing so we as Christians are responsible to know the difference between earthly things and heavenly things, and to choose the loving actions when living our lives. I believe this passage really outlines how God wants us to control behavior, yet not be self focused in doing so. We do not overcome our earthly passions alone our sin dates back to generations long forgotten, today God’s grace and strength through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit at work within us, like you said before, is our tool to be in constant communion, which will help us not to fall into sin. (I have made the parts bold that I think really stand out for this sutra.)
Colossians 3:1-17 - So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory. Put to death, therefore, whatever in you is earthly: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry). On account of these the wrath of God is coming on those who are disobedient. These are the ways you also once followed, when you were living that life. But now you must get rid of all such things--anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive language from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator. In that renewal there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all! As God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.
James 3:13--4:4 - Who is wise and understanding among you? Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not be boastful and false to the truth. Such wisdom does not come down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, devilish. For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. 18 And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace. 4:1 Those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from? Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you?

I agree that these virtues and attributes of nature Patabi Jois wrote about the senses, mind, intelligence and ego all contribute to sin. And when we master not listening to our desires and cravings but instead follow God’s commands to love, live in unity, be tender and humble of mind then we do reach emancipation from earthly living and are closer to God. He promises it too. Therefore I think Sutra 18 agrees with the Bible, but it is not our strength that can overcome this nature, but our focus on Christ. When we can see the outside world good and bad from the stand point that we not of this world but of God’s Holy Body, we can enjoy life without being attached to it. I can see where the Bible is telling us this too.

Sutra 19
The guna’s generate their characteristic division and energies in the seer their stages and distinguishable and non distinguishable differentiable and not differentiable.
To really understand what the Sanskrit means and what this sutra maybe in relation to Christianity and the Bible I had to take it word for word. Iyengar explains “To release ourselves from the confines of nature, we have to be familiar with its geography and its divisions, and with how these are affected and changed by the guna’s (qualities of nature satva, rajas and tamas) so that we can understand the internal rules that govern nature in all its forms, however subtle.”
This sutra is also addressing the analysis of the progressive layers of manifestation from the most specific and distinguished to the undifferentiated and universal. I will try to cover all of this as I go through each Sanskrit word.

Before I break it sankirt word (with Iyengars definition) to compare to the Bible. It is important to understand that the Bible teaches about sanctification, becoming more like God. I think it is important to think of these stages less like stair steps and more like gifts, because only through faith can we know God and follow him.
Philippians 2
1If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. 3Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6Who, being in very nature[a] God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7but made himself nothing, taking the very nature[b] of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross! 9Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 12Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. 14Do everything without complaining or arguing, 15so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe 16as you hold out[c] the word of life—in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing. 17But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. 18So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.”
With this truth in mind I will look at this sutra more closely.
Visesa : the art of distinguishing or discriminating, a state of being especial a mark

This I see as the Mark of being a Christian or the mark of the beast a way for us to see the things made of God and the things made of the flesh or the devil. Or this could be the our commandment to love.
John 13:31-35
When he had gone out, Jesus said, ‘Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him,* God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, “Where I am going, you cannot come.” 34I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.’
Avisesa : uniform, alike, without any difference, unspecified state.
To be uniform in Christ, to follow his commands to be part of this Holy Body of Christ. A body is without difference, it is uniform, and worldwide. This maybe being a part of the Christian Church, the unified body of Christ.
Lingamatra: indicator, mark, sign, (chief mark or indication of prakrti, that is , the cosmic intelligence _mahat) phenomenal, directly apprehended, observed.
The indicator that sets a Christian apart from everyone else is the gift of God’s grace, the Holy Spirit that comes over us after we have confessed our sins and put our faith in Jesus or as some believe after baptism. Both the prayer of salvation and baptism are calls to God to enter is Holy Church and act as a mark or a sign/statement to everyone else that you are committed to Jesus Christ and living by his teachings. The Holy Spirit itself is cosmic intelligence, our direct communication from God to us. For Christians that maybe Lingamatra. "that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." (Romans 10:9)

Alingani: without mark, without sign, non-primary matter, or unevolved matter, unknown and unknowable substance or thing as it is in itself, the nonmenal.
Without a mark maybe non believers. People that live by their own rules not God’s commandments. To be lead by matter and material possessions, those people that are living for themselves or earthly belongings. Those who do not know scripture or God, maybe at the stage of alingani. Accepting that part of us, even as believers as long as we are living on earth is going to be drawn to self, drawn to matter help us love those who do not know better or are still unwilling to explore spirit for themselves.
Gunaparvani: changes in qualities
Thinking about the stages this sutra suggested draws me to the stages of Christianity. From New believers and born again Christians, to Clergy men, pastors, and other holy men and women of our faith. Life is always changing, our walk with God is always growing, the only constant in God’s ways, our understanding of his ways deepens as we better understand how to control our earthly desires.
From breaking this sutra down, even though it is explaining how we have stages in our spiritual life. I believe as Christians we do have stages ones we can recognize outwardly and ones only God can see. So I believe this Sutra and the Christian walk do agree. I did not find any specific passages that express this in a concise manner, but you can read how a new believer walks into deeper faith with God and see for yourself. Maybe you have even experience his Grace helping you grow in your own life.

Sutra 20
The seer is pure consciousness. He witnesses nature without being reliant on it.

When I focus on this sutra, and pray about where to begin looking for links within the Bible. I am let to focus on the Holy Spirit. The “seer” is all aspects of God including the Holy Spirit, that is not flesh and not reliant on nature. Iyengar even alludes to this stating that this sutra is describing the nature of the soul. “Intelligence clouds consciousness in such a way that it come to identify itself as the true seer and forgets the soul. But if intelligence can keep its power of discernment, conscious too will remain uncolored.”
Wisdom comes from God. (I Corinthian 2:12-14) "We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned"
The more we live through the spirit and surrender to God’s will not our own we are not affected by nature. I think the Bible and this sutra are in agreement.

Sutra 21
Nature and intelligence exist solely to serve the seer’s true purpose, emancipation.
When Eve took that bite from the apple and Adam followed they broke Gods law and God put them out. After this humanity has suffered a great loss, this separation from God, has brought great suffering to humanity. However, God’s only goal is to be in relation with us for us and him to be together again like it was in the beginning before the fall of Adam and Eve. He has given us eyes to see and ears to hear and obstacles to overcome in his name, wisdom from the Bible and the Holy Spirit to draw us toward him, away from nature (the desires of the flesh). He has sent his only son Jesus Christ to be killed and resurrected so our debt could be paid and he could pull us even closer to his side. I believe this sutra to be in alignment with the Bible stories; God (the seer) did design nature and intelligence to serve his purpose to draw us ever closer to once again live within his Kingdom. If emancipation means freedom from earthly desires, ego, pride and the rest and freedom to live with and glorify God forever than yes I believe he has set it all up, for his true purpose relation with his creation.

Sutra's 11-14 and Bible Study

2009-10-22T11:19:00.000-07:00

Sutra 11

The fluctuation of consciousness created by gross and subtle afflictions are to be silenced by meditation. (Patanjali Sutras by Iyengar)

There are many passages to quote from the Bible that tell us to focus only on God, His great works, His grace, His Spirit, and worry about nothing else. In Christian contemplative meditation, the student sits in silence clearing all thoughts from the mind and emptying his thoughts to the space that separates us from God. We are also warned in the Bible not to be boastful or proud of our knowledge, but to be humble and loving to everyone who comes close to us even prisoners and the poor. Our conscious and unconscious thoughts truly get in the way of being in love, which is what God wants. To read more about meditation, Psalm 119 is full of wisdom that explains the challenges and grace that come when meditation on God. Training our mind to focus on God and His commands is a full time job; we are prone to sin by nature. Yet, this is not an excuse to sin, but a challenge to train and will our minds through meditation and study to follow God’s commands with all our heart and walk in his light. I believe meditation is a great way to train the mind away from it’s fluctuations and toward God. I think the Bible and this sutra are in agreement.

Sutra 12

The accumulated imprints of past lives, rooted in afflictions, will be experienced in present and future lives

As Christians, we do not believe in past lives or future lives. So this sutra does not align with Christian beliefs. However, when reading into what Iyengar states in his description of what Patanjali is stating, he focuses more on the universal law of karma. The Bible does talk about cause and effect. One example is our commandment, ‘Do unto your neighbor as you would have done unto yourself.’ In Ezekiel 33: 9 “But if you warn the wicked man to turn from his ways and he does not do so , he will die for his sin, but you will be saved yourself” Here we are saved for our good acts, and also punished for our wicked acts, cause and effect, or karma.

The life after death we do believe in is the eternal life with Christ in heaven when we are raised upon His returning. John 5:25-30 expresses this belief and the effects of leading a sinful life. Jesus says:

I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man. Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out-those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned. By myself I can do nothing. I judge only as I hear and my judgment is just for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.

Now who can say it better than Jesus himself? Yes, our actions now affect our future.

As Christians, we believe a person has only one life. Many prayers and consequences given by God in the Bible are on behalf of generations past and generations yet to come. This is a clue to me that we are all tied together through time. When we act, it affects ourselves personally as well as the Church as a whole-past, present, and future.

The Bible both agrees and disagrees with this sutra.

Sutra 13

As long as the root of actions exists, it will give rise to class of birth, span of life and experiences.

This sutra too relates to Karma. Again, we do not believe in past lives, so our actions today will not affect our class of birth. Only God knows that. I believe our span of life is a mixture of human will and God’s divine plan. No one knows when they are going to pass, but we all know it will happen eventually. In Sutra 11, the Bible only agrees that our actions today do have cause and effect on our experiences in this life and in the life to come. Other than that this sutra goes against what God teaches.

Sutra 14

According to our good, bad or mixed actions, the quality of our life, its span, and the nature of birth experienced as being pleasant or painful.

Again, Patanjali is focusing on Karma yoga and actions that cause pain or pleasure in one’s lifetime. Since he pressed this point three times, I have had time to contemplate and study about good and evil actions, and the importance of following God’s commands. In the gospels of Luke, John, and Mark, as well as many of Peters letters, neither they nor Jesus state (that I can find) that we can live a life of evil and sin and not be punished/judged for it. They all say to follow God’s commands, to love each other and serve God with all our hearts. They all say that the Holy Spirit lives within each of us (as believers of Jesus Christ) and we have free will to live by his commandments or ignore them. In Matthew 4 Jesus himself was tempted by Satan, Jesus had to choose good from bad, his own actions, his quality of life. He knew that choosing the father God would end up with him being rejected by the people crucified, yet he told Satan 4:10 “Away from me, Satan! For it is written Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.”

In Luke 14:25-35, the Bible tells us to weigh our actions (choices) even when choosing to be a disciple of Jesus. Everything has a cost and we all have free will. Read Luke 14:25-35 to sum it up. We must be willing to drop everything including all human comforts, our families, and our own lives to be true disciples of God. This poses the question: If we do less than this, do we deserve nothing for our good works? God gives us the free will to choose our own actions and to choose Him over our own lives. Like the great servant Job, at any moment you maybe used for a greater purpose in God’s great plan. Sometimes that is very difficult, painful, or even deadly. But as Christians, we have the promise that all who serve God with a whole heart will be rewarded in heaven.

So no matter how perfect you think you are as a Christian, we all sin. No matter how much you think you deserve for your good behavior, you may suffer greatly for your faith in Jesus. Yet, we are all to strive to be in control of our human frailties and live in Jesus’ light following Gods commands with a joyous heart, no matter what is going on in our mortal lives. This is faith, this is yoga, and this is being a servant of God.

The Bible agrees and disagrees with Sutra’s 11-14 because there is cause and effect. How much pain or pleasure we experience as servants in God’s greater plan is not determined by how good we behave, but by how well we hold onto our faith and connect with his Holy Spirit.

Sutra's 9 and 10

2009-07-23T16:48:00.000-07:00

It has been quite a while since I posted a blog, on the yoga Sutra’s. I would make up a lot of excuses, why I have not done as my heart (the Holy Spirit) has told me but the truth is I am scared. Scared of looking like I know what I am talking about, because I don’t. I am just following the Word best I can match it to the Sutras of Patanjali, to see where they differ. I may find everything if I listen to spirit, but on my own accord I know nothing. I also am not the best at writing which is intimidating all by itself, knowing that anyone around the world can read my blog at anytime is scary. However, I am called to put these two great books, one of yoga and one from God side by side and with my fear in hand. Today I am beginning again to do just that.
We left off on the 9th sutra which says: Self preservation or attachment to life is the subtlest of all afflictions. It is found even in wise men.
The Bible does agree with this, God says time and time again that we will cling to life to material positions and even worse sinful behavior. He says to lean on him, focus on him and even more important always keep following him. Luke 9:23-25 stands out to me quoting Jesus saying “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.”
After meditating on this I understand it as saying we cling to our lives yet we should not, for our very lives are not ours to cling too, God gave us life and only he can take it away. If we really want to live we must stop believing our life is ours to live and live life for Christ, for our life is his.
Another fabulous passage and promise from God that should take away our need to cling and pull us towards God is John 8:51 Jesus says “I Tell you the truth, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.” Since our great saints and profits have all died in flesh, Jesus must be speaking about our spirits, which indicates to me there is more to life than my flesh.

#10) subtlest afflictions are to be minimized and eradicated by a process of involution.
If you recall from Sutra 3-9 the five main afflictions are ignorance, egoism, lust, malice and attachment to life. These afflictions all pull us away from God; making us rely more on ourselves. This sutra states that to eradicated these afflictions we must by a process of involution or turning inward on oneself, by being involved. Some may understand this as paying more attention to self, trying to master and control ones behavior and thoughts. However, I see it as going inward to know the Holy Spirit within us, to be involved with God at every moment and learning to let go our human habits. There is a large spiritual movement today both inside and out side of the yoga community that believes that a human being can become one with God; some call it enlightened. This topic is controversial and one of the subjects that I am fearful to get into however, it is a subject that has to be addressed in these sutra’s.
From a Christian perspective, because Jesus died for my sins, and sent us the Holy Spirit, I am already one with God. Do to Gods Grace, I do not have to overcome my afflictions, I have to repent, control my will and learn to focus on God wholly. In this sense I am one with God . How you may ask? God is unity, One holy being, but he interacts with us three ways, one as the observer God or father, one as the communicator, Jesus and third as the ever living energy, the Holy Spirit. So you may say I am enlightened. Does that mean that I am perfect? By all means no, I am human. But with the Holy Spirit within me, while using disciplines of yoga, I am learning to focus and be present enough to walk with and in Christ, instead of living in my human afflictions.
We have covered the five afflictions over the past 5 sutras, I think we can all agree that over coming these afflictions will bring us closer to understanding God and ourselves. We also know that when we give in to these afflictions our life is worse for it, we sin more, we suffer deeper and we grow further away from our source Jesus Christ, God and the Holy Spirit. The Bible does agree with Sutra #10 in my opinion.

Sutra Part 2 sutras 3-8

2008-09-22T13:48:00.000-07:00

Sutra 2:3 Avidya Asmita raga dvesa abhinivesah klesah.

This sutra itself describes the 5 conscious afflictions with Patanjali’s says are: ignorance or lack of spiritual wisdom, ego, pride or the sense of “I”, attachment to pleasure and aversion to pain, fear of death and clinging to life.

I went though the Bible and looked up each of these 5 afflictions to see what, if anything God had to say about them specifically. The Bible agrees, that all who are ignorant in the Lord will be lost. It is said over and over again we are to draw close to the Lord in everything we do as believers. In Corinthians 15:34 specifically states ( I summarize) as believers it is our responsibility to come to our senses, be grateful that we are not ignorant, and bring Christ to those who do not know him, while living as examples of his loving nature. The Bible continuously teaches us to be full of Christ and not of ourselves. That in Christ alone we have eternal life. God directs all of mans steps. He teaches us though our pains and pleasures, and with Christ we need not fear death or cling to life. Pride is one of the 7 deadly sins, which makes up the ego and selfishness, God states that these ways are against his laws and will only result in more separation from him. We are instructed as Christians to continuously focus and study his teachings. God wants to have deep relationship with all his children, which would fill us with wisdom and humble regard for his gifts. I think the Bible agrees with Sutra Part2:3.

Sutra Part2:4 Avidya ksetram uttaresam prasupta tanu vicchinna udaranam.

Lack of true knowledge is the source of all pains and sorrows whether dormant, attenuated, interrupted or fully active.

Patanjali states that true knowledge is spiritual knowledge, so I have based my reflections upon this truth.

The Bible says how important it is to have both relationship with and knowledge of God and his word. Romans 11:33-36 NIV states the reward and importance of this sutra. “ Oh, the depths of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments and his paths beyond tracing out! Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor? Who has even given to God that God should repay him? For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be all the glory forever! Amen.” When we spend time learning about and getting to know God he blesses us and when we are separate from him we are lonely, empty.

Another great passage about how our lack of Gods will, will effect our lives comes from Ephesians 5:9:15-18 “Be very careful, then, how you live not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil Therefore do not be foolish but understand what the Lord’s will is. Do not get drunk on wine which leads to debauchery. In stead, be filled with the Spirit.” Again I believe that the Bible and Sutra 2:4 are in agreement.

Sutra Part 2:5 anitya asuci duhkha anatmasu nitya suci sukha atma khyatih avidya

This sutra states that we naturally make mistakes; we mistake the transit for the permanent, what is impure for what is pure, that which is not the self, for the self.

These are all bad habits and the Bible agrees. Romans 14:23 “But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.”

The Bible also states many times over how we should not be attached to our flesh bodies or our daily lives but only to the Holy Spirit and eternal life. Again Matthew 10:28 “ Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both the soul and body in hell.” Only through Jesus is there eternal life. Our flesh or the reality of our day to day circumstances matter less than the spiritual war going on around us; our relationship with Jesus and our will to live for Him is the only thing that is truly pure. Again I think that the Bible and Surta 2:5 are in agreement, we do confuse our individual selves and our daily routines for important when God says that we should not even worry about those things or even what we will eat or wear but have Faith in God to take care of us.

Sutra 2:6 drk darsanasaktyoh ekatmata iva asmita

Egoism is the identification of the seer with the instrumental power of seeing.

The Bible defines prophets as “seers” where this sutra states there are two the seer and the seen, when these two blend they create our reality. Here is one passage that stands out to me about how we should live in our daily reality. Matthew 6:25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important then food and the body more important than clothes.”

The sutra explains the Ego and seer as the since of “I” mentality which I believe is the thought that we have individuality. The Bible states in 1 Corinthians 12:27 “Now you are the body of Christ and each of you is a part of it.” As Christians are no longer individuals but are to live as one, thinking of each other first; Love your neighbor as yourself.

The Bible says that we are all one, and that our body is just a transport not a destination, as long as we know we are not an individual; but an individual part of Gods body. I find that in Yoga the belief agrees that we are all one but we differ on the individually, in the Bible we are all one and are all individuals parts together representing God's bride. In yoga it seems that each person is separate and through meditation and transition each individual can realize they are all the same. For Christians we already have this knowledge, it is just a matter of living as God says for His greater good, to love each other as we do him, but even more we are all important cells in his great body.

Sutra 2:7 sukha anusayi ragah

Pleasure leads to desire and emotional attachment.

The Bible again agrees with this sutra it is summed up in Proverbs 21:17 “He who loves pleasure will become poor; whoever loves wine and oil will never be rich”

And again in Titus 3:3 “At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared he saves us not because of righteous things we had done but because of his mercy.”

Sutra 2:8 duhkha anusayi dvesah

Unhappiness leads to hatred.

Our first commandment is to Love. I did not find anything spacific about unhappiness. However, much like pain and sorrow, God uses hatred to teach or warn us at differnet times in our lives. God hates sin, divorce and wickedness, robbery and iniquity. (Isa. 61:8 and Mal 2:16) Then God teaches us with his laws, Lev. 19:17 "Do not hate your borother in your heart".

I think that hatred is a part of the human experience, much like pain and sorrow. Gods promise is that “We, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:18). One day, however, the process will be complete: “When he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2). Christ is loving and our goal is to be more Christ like, even when faced with hatred. Jesus warns us all that "hate stirs up dissension but lovers cover all wrongs" (Pr. 10:12). From this study I conclude that hate will be around us and we will exprience it. There is a time and place for hate and a purpose (Ecc. 3:8) but even when we experience hate from others or wihtin ourselves we need to practise letting it go and trusting God to handle our hardships, turning to God to fill us with love and praying for those who wrong us.

Back on Track

2008-07-10T00:39:00.000-07:00

With summer flying by it seems I have spent more time doing other things and less time in the word. For this I am sad. However, God tapped me on the shoulder and said get back in contact. So I am now looking into Sutra 6 and our struggle with giving into our senses and our enticing world. I am so happy to be back and on target. Please send in your post as soon as you are finished. You may break them up into 2 parts Sutra 3-5 and 6-9 if you would like.

Got Questions? Here are some Answers!

2008-05-23T12:59:00.000-07:00

This is a great organization for helping to find answers to questions you have regarding what the Bible tells us.

Contemplation questions Part 2 Sutras 3-9

2008-05-02T11:06:00.000-07:00

The next few sutra's focus on Patajali's 5 afflictions. When studying these afflictions, try to find how the Bible instructs us to over come them. From Sutra 2 I discovered that the 5 afflictions are much like our 7 deadly sins. Now that we are aware of our sin nature, what do we do about it?

Part 2 Sutra 2

2008-05-02T11:03:00.000-07:00

Part 2 Sutra 2 of Patajalis yoga sutra: Samadi bhavanarthah klesa tanukaranarthasca which according to Mr. Iyengar translates as follows. I break down each Sanskrit word separately, look them up in the Bible and then match common verses with the over all meaning of the Sutra. Sutra 2 is translated to mean “The practice of yoga reduces affliction and leads to samadhi.” I really enjoyed researching this sutra. Patanjali’s says we have to learn to reduce or even eliminate our afflictions, however through out the Bible God uses some afflictions to draw us ever closer to him.

Samadhi - absorption, much like profound meditation.
In my research I did not find anyplace where the Bible says not to solely focus on God. In fact with 1 Corinthians 7 it speaks about staying single rather than married to keep this single focus in verse 35 it says “ I am saying this for our own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord.” For God to put in his great book that it is better to be single and focused on him, than to be married and focused on your spouse, says that God wants all our attention on him… (absorption - profound meditation.)

Bhavana- for bringing about

Arthah - contemplating with meaning and feeling, for the purpose of…
Through out the NIV Bible I did not find the word contemplation used. God says simply to Love above all else (1 Cor. 13:3) Not to over analyze with our own minds but to learn from what life puts in front of us, through God’s eyes. When our God gives us suffering, pain, sorrow he does so in order to build our faith, to test us, giving us an opportunity to live like Jesus did and suffer as Jesus did. (1 Peter 2:19)

Klesa - translated to afflictions
To understand afflictions first I had to look up exactly what afflictions means to Patajali, the next few sutras lays them out for us beautifully. So for now I will give only brief descriptions and a little bit about what I found the Bible said about each.

1) Ignorance: Patanjali’s is teaching about spiritual ignorance, which he considers a very deep affliction. God says to know his gospel. James 1:5 says “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be give to him.” It does not say seek knowledge or wisdom anywhere but in the word of God. The Bible uses the word ignorant to explain people that do not know of God or speak ill of God. Let’s not be ignorant, keep studying the word.

2) Egoism: When someone is ignorant they also exude pride and arrogance which inflates their ego mind (the I AM ALL mind; a judgmental, labeling, thinking mind or as Beth Moore puts it the Babylonian mind) The ego is self seeking at every level, and although I did not find anything about the ego specifically, God did lead me to Philippians 2:3 “ Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humanity consider others better than yourselves.” Yes, think not of yourself, think of others, love others.

3) Lust - Pleasure seeking, greed, cravings, the MORE attitude.

4) Malice: Pain, sorrow and ultimately hatred of others, yourself and the world: I believe 3 and 4 are best outlined together, since they are so closely related in Gods word. Two years ago my pastor gave a series of sermons about the 7 deadly sins we need to over come they are lust, greed, pride, wrath, gluttony, envy, and sloth. Sound familiar to Patajali’s afflictions of lust and malice, even within his definition of ego is pride. The 7 deadly sins Matthew talks about are in chapters 5-7 if you want to learn more about what the Bible says. Ultimately God says to love, to have self control and to follow his word. I am beginning to think that to be self aware may be to know my sin nature and take control of it, replacing sinful attitudes with Gods virtues and eliminating my natural sinful behaviors when faced with a challenge.

5) Attachment: to this material world, our bodies, self preservation: Finally we have attachment Patanjali I believe is speaking mainly about our attachment to our bodies and our mortal lives. The Bible agrees with Patanjali do not be attached, for our flesh is going to be gone one day and our riches are too. Luke 17:33 says “who ever tries to keep his life will lose it and who ever loses his life will preserve it.” Likewise, Matthew 10:28 says: “Do not be attached to your body but your soul.”

Tanukaranar- for the purpose of thinning, reducing, making slender, fine: When it comes to thinning our or reducing our afflictions, I think God gives us two options. One is to know our sin nature and not give into it, have self control, reduce our sinning and live good lives. The other type of suffering pain, sorrow, grief even death is part of our human experience and throughout the Bible God uses these emotions to build faith in his disciples. One example is 1 peter 1:6 “In this you greatly rejoice (because we are saved though Jesus Christ) though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith- of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire, may be proved genuine and my result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” Another verse is 1 Peter 2:19 speaking of submission to rulers and masters. “ For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God. ….Vs 21..To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.” Which is option 2 suffering is part of life, how we deal with it is another story. Knowing that God wants me to pray and accept my hardships, for humanities greater course makes me feel a lot better about the hardships I have and will face in my lifetime. How about you? Will you use those hard times to grow closer to God?

Thah is weakening, attenuating: The knowledge of what suffering we can overcome and which kind of suffering God uses to bring us closer to him really weakens their power over me. Life is ever changing and nothing but our relationship with Jesus will last forever: not our bodies, our money, friends or opinions, not a thing.

To sum it all up, Patanjali and the Bible line up on this sutra for the most part. The one difference is that some of our suffering may be God’s way of drawing us ever closer to his kingdom. A gift to strengthen our faith, that suffering in Jesus name for Jesus I would not want to give up for the world. Draw me near oh Lord, fill my heart with love and understanding, and fill me with purpose. But the suffering I put into my own life by sinning is my responsibility to overcome myself and stop my sin nature from taking over. This is where I get to demonstrate I can be more like Jesus and less like someone who may be ignorant of his laws and virtues. If yoga can help me attain this clarity thank you God for the tool of yoga.

2nd Part Sutra 1 and the Bible research

2008-04-22T00:40:00.000-07:00

I began this study by looking up the words directly linked with Iyengar’s translations of the 1st Sutra itself. The sutra in Sanskrit is: tahah svadhyaya, Isvara pranidhanani kriyayogah.
The first word tahah means “heat, burning, shining, ascetic devotion, a burning desire to reach perfection, that which burns all impurities, and self discipline”(pg 108 Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali).
Svadhyaya means “self-study, reflection of ones own self understanding, one self from the outer sheath, the body, inwards towards the inner self” (pg 108)
Isvara means “God, Lord of all” (pg 108)
paranidhanani means “ laying on, imposing, turning on, directing upon; profound religious meditation; surrender” (pg 108)
kriyayogah translates to “yoga of action” (108).

After reading many verses from the Bible again and again I was struck with one major difference between what the Bible teaches and what this Sutra emphasizes. This difference is within the Sanskrit word svadhyaya. In the Bible I found nothing about self study... nothing about reflecting or thinking about our own body or mind. I found many times the Bible telling us to have self control, to study the gospel and to focus on God completely. Specifically it says to not be self seeking (Romans 2 7:8). I picked one verse from the Bible that sums up what God says about us looking for self understanding; Proverbs 3: 5-8 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes. Fear the Lord and shun evil; this will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.”

That difference aside the Bible says a lot about developing a burning desire for self discipline (self control). Jesus wants us to have a relationship with him more than anything; to know and trust him. Jesus also teaches about sharing his word and being to loving each other. When I looked up the English words associated with Iyengar’s translation of Tahah, paranidhanani, Isvara and kriyayogah the Bible spoke back.

As a Christain Tahah to me is Jesus. He is that which burns all imperfection, the one that is leading all of his followers to perfection (eternal life) and while we are sinning he continues help us have more self control. I found 1 John 3:3 which says “Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.” The hope this verse speaks about is the return of Christ, when are taken to live eternally as the Children of God, which to me is the perfection I seek.

1 John 3:7 is the verse that summed up paranidhanani best. I understand it to say that Christians who truly believe in Jesus, who surrender to Jesus’ plan, do so by continuing to sin less and less. It says “No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.” To know him is my goal and I hope it is yours as well. Another great verse to support sutra 1 is 2 Chronicles 30: 18-19 which says “ May the Lord, who is good, pardon everyone who sets his heart seeking God the Lord, the God of his fathers.”

I feel blessed to have Jesus. It is a beautiful feeling to have someone besides myself helping me develop self control. Without Him I would be a lost cause. Can you relate? I hope that you are proud to live for God and as he says to live for each other, not for self. I have learned to lean on our Lord who is Isvara “God, Lord of all,” receive him fully through Jesus Christ, meditate on the gospel, and have passion for Him and His word. Jesus said time and time again to spread the gospel and to live by his commands, this is kriyayogah, taking his word, living according to it to the best of our human abilities and sharing it. What more can action be?

I do not claim to be an expert on these matters, but I am compelled to engage you and learn from your thoughts as you may learn from mine. Thank you for reading my insights and blog. Here are my answers from the 2nd Part, Sutra 1 of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras and the Bible research study questions I posted.

#1) To have purity and cleanse ourselves as children of Christ we have to believe in him with all our heart and study his gospel, by living life with a loving heart and self control.

#2) The Bible said nothing about self study, it says to take care of your body because it is lent to you by God and it is the temple of the Lord (1 Cor.6:19-20) But our main focus is studying and continuing to live purely and according to his word.

#3) Yes, totally the Bible and the Sutra say to completely surrender to God and trust him with all our lives. (Matt 6:25)

I have been studying and reading about Part 2 Sutra 2 for the past week. Since I am only a student of God I am taking my time to read and study each question to the best of my ability. I hope to have my answers posted next week to Sutra 2 questions, and have the next questions posted. Please fill this blog with your insights as they come to you. I hope that you are learning about and being filled with the wisdom of Jesus. Let Him speak through the pages of his mighty book and breathe knowledge into us. Thank you for reading my findings. I hope they inspire thought and desire for more research within you. God bless you and your family.

Exploring Yoga Sutras - beginning with Part 2

2008-03-11T22:50:00.000-07:00

The following are our first series of explorations. I offer two sutras to consider, and then reflect on the impact to a Christian.

Patanjali’s yoga sutra’s, taken from BKS Iyengar’s Light on Yoga book Part 2.

2:1 Sutra : Burning zeal is practice, self-study and study of scriptures and surrender to God are the acts for yoga.

2:2 Sutra: The practice of yoga reduces afflictions and leads to Samadhi.

Questions to contemplate and look up in the Bible.

2:1 How does God tell Christians to cleanse oneself, body , mind (speech) and spirit?
What does God teach about self study (self discipline) reflecting on ones understanding of self, body innards and outer shell as well as conscious and unconscious self?
Does God say to surrender totally to him?

2:2 How does the Bible instruct us to overcome our afflictions?
Does God want us to live with our humanly pain, sorrow and grief?

You are welcome to join in on our study at anytime. There is no sign up sheet. I have been lead to study these sutras and scriptures online with all of you, for reasons I do not yet know. I am in constant prayer that my decision to make this a community study rather than a small group will be to God’s glory. As we read and study each sutra, I have come up with a few questions to contemplate and meditate on in relation to Christian faith. This part of our study we will be practicing Raja yoga, feel free to quiet yourself and let spirit teach though you. As we seek knowledge from both the Bible and the wisdom of Patanjali we will be practicing both Bhakti and Jnana yoga. I hope that God leads your Hatha practice as you dive into his word and that your commitment to him grows stronger as each session passes.

My mission is to find out where Christianity and yoga differ. Where someone who is learning about yoga and teaching yoga to others has to listen to the Bible and not the Hindu influences that stream though Patanjali’s wisdom. Also, I want to build upon the facets of yoga knowledge that we can and should embrace to live our lives closer to Jesus. I know that there is much that Patanjali teaches that can open Christians hearts and help us truly trust God with our lives and learn to better let go of our physical desires. I also know that Patanjali was Hindu and his religion is much different from Christianity. However, I also truly trust that there is one supreme being, one God, not many, and that the 3000 years of yoga history before Jesus walked the face of the earth, taught the Eastern cultures much about our bodies, our energy and minds that we here in the west have been turned away from for too long. I believe Jesus taught a great deal about these physical facts and without looking we may not have our eyes open to his true teachings on health, energy and the powers God gave us when He made man. I hope with God’s guidance and your help that I can marry this knowledge and help us all live as God created us in his image. This study is my first step and I am so humbled and honored to invite you to study these great books for this purpose and for your own.

Welcome

2008-03-11T18:18:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone and welcome to the new forum for discussing how Yoga enhances and/or conflicts with the Christian path.

In the coming weeks, you will be asked to comment and leave your thoughts on this forum, but it is important that we try to stay on topic, as this study we are beginning will be broad and in-depth.

Thank you for taking the time to participate and I look forward to hearing your comments.

Sincerely,

Antiqua