Reflective Asana & Pranayama
Kriya Yoga: The Yoga of Action/Practice
Sutras II.1 & II.2
[Note: See the post on bibliographyfor full references to works cited]
In the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, only four explicitly mention the practice of physical postures, or asana. All 55 of the sutras in Chapter II (called Sadhana Pada) describe the way of yoga practice and can be applied to asana and pranayama (limbs three and four of classical Patanjali yoga).
In the broadest sense all the 195 sutras are relevant to practice (though Sadhana Pada is the most practical discussion).
B. K. S. Iyengar’s Light on the Yoga Sutras [LOS] takes this view, and emphasizes the application of all the sutras to practice. In Sadhana Pada there are 55 sutras on practice, referred to as “kriya yoga” or the yoga of action.
Sadhana Pada begins with a definition of the essential elements of practice and of their purpose.
Kriya yoga is defined in sutra II.1 [BKS/LOYS]:
II.1. Tapah svadhyaya Isvarapranidhanani kriyoyogah
“Burning zeal in practice, self-study and study of scriptures, and surrender to God are the acts of yoga.”
Bryant’s translates this as: “Kriya yoga, the path of action, consists of self-discipline, study, and dedication to the Lord.”
In other words, the yoga of physical practice consists of
Discipline/zeal (Tapas)
Study & knowledge of self (Svadyaya)
Devotion (Isvarapranidahanani)
The translation of Isvara as Lord or God is often taken as evidence that Patanjali includes a particular divine being in yoga. This is a matter of long discussion, but there is no need for practitioners to adopt any particular notion of a higher power. Yoga practitioners may understand the term simply as “devotion,” belief in a higher power, or the broader belief that one’s practice is for a higher purpose than one’s own needs. It is in this sense that some yoga traditions have the custom of dedicating the merit of their practice to purpose outside themselves. For example, meditators may practice in the spirit of “Lokah samastha sukinho bhavantu” – “May all creatures be free and happy.”
This is only one example. The intention of the practice is that of the practitioner alone. It does not require a particular religious belief.
Mr. Iyengar extends his notion of asana practice and suggests that kriya yoga encompasses all the major paths of yoga, including karma yoga, bhakti yoga and jnana yoga [LOYS: 102-103]: the path of action (karma-marga) is the discipline (tapas) of the body, senses and mind. The path of knowledge (jnana-marga) is the study of the self (svadhyaya) from the skin to the core and back again. The path of love of God (bhjakti-marga) is surrender (pranidhana) of all to God [LOYS: 103].
Bryant says that practice (abyasa) and dispassion (vairagya) can be achieved through the means of tapas, svadhyaya and Isvarapranidhanini, which will increase the balance of sattva over rajas and tamas. (p. 169). Pracitioners in early stages may practice with energy (rajas) or inertia (tamas), but need to develop clarity and serenity (implied in sattva). Kriya yoga is the means for these practitioners. “Practice and dispassion…require a predominance of sattva and so are difficult for the active and outgoing mind that is still under the influence of rajas and tamas. For such a temperament, the means outlined in this sutra produce the required purity of mind…. Once the mind is more sattvic, it is more capable of remaining fixed in practice and dispassion” [p. 172]
As a Sanskrit scholar, Bryant says that kriya and karma are closely associated in the ancient language of yoga. Karma yoga is also a yoga of action, recommended in the Bhagavad Gita as the following of one’s duty and good works for their own sake rather than with attachment to the outcome. Devotion to a higher power is the most important motivation – not attachment to outcomes.
Additional posts will discuss (1) “practice sutras” from Chapters 1 and 2, including the four that explicitly discuss asana, (2) and the role of practice in “attenuating” the afflictions/distractions of the mind.