{"id":62,"date":"2012-10-27T15:14:28","date_gmt":"2012-10-27T15:14:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.meredithwwatts.com\/yogablog\/?p=62"},"modified":"2012-10-30T07:41:54","modified_gmt":"2012-10-30T07:41:54","slug":"reflective-asana-pranayama-comments-on-the-invocation-to-patanjali","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.meredithwwatts.com\/yogablog\/reflective-asana-pranayama-comments-on-the-invocation-to-patanjali\/","title":{"rendered":"The Invocation to Patanjali: Comments & Discussion"},"content":{"rendered":"

Reflective Asana & Pranayama
\n<\/strong><\/span><\/h1>\n

The Invocation to Patanjali<\/strong><\/span><\/h1>\n

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These comments and discussion accompany the class “Reflective Asana & Pranayama.”\u00a0 For translation and commentary from a widely-circulated interview with Geeta Iyengar, see the “The Invocation to Patanjali: Translation and\u00a0\u00a0 Comments from Geeta Iyengar<\/em>.”<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0The Invocation to Patanjali is centuries old and is chanted in many yoga traditions including that of B. K. S. Iyengar.\u00a0 It is not a prayer, but an \u201cinvocation\u201d that honors the Patanjali who codified the practice of yoga in 196 aphorisms or sutras.\u00a0 As Bryant points out, Patanjali produced the \u201cfirst systematized treatment\u201d on yoga (The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali<\/em>, 2009: xxiv)<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0There is debate as to whether the sutras are theistic and invoke a particular deity, but most translations allow the use of a non-specific \u201chigher power\u201d rather than a particular entity.\u00a0 As Bryant says, Patanjali\u2019s sutras do not constitute \u201can overtly sectarian text in the sense of prioritizing a specific deity or promoting a particular type of worship\u2026therefore\u2026it can be and has been appropriate and reconfigured by followers of different schools and traditions\u2026\u201d (p. xviii)<\/span><\/p>\n

Regardless of the various meanings that may be given by different yoga traditions, many primarily see the invocation as a secular invocation of the spirit of yoga, a commitment to practice, and an affirmation of the yoga community<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Text of the Invocation<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The transliteration: the Sanskrit sounds in English<\/span><\/p>\n

Yogena cittasya padena vacam<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Malam sarirasya ca vaidyakena<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Yopakarottam pravaram muninam<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Patanjalim<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n


\n<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Pranjalir anato\u2019smi<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0Abahu purusakam<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0Sankhacakrasi dharinam<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0Sahasra sirasam svetam<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0Pranamami patanjalim<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0Hari Om
\n<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0The first verse or stanza (sloka<\/em> in Sanskrit) describes the contributions of sage Patanjali to the art and science of yoga, including the yoga sutras which codify in 196 aphorisms (sutras) the practice of classic yoga.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0The second sloka<\/em> is a statement of the symbolic appearance of Patanjali as portrayed in statues in Mr. Iyengars Pune center and elsewhere — holding a conch shell and disc, sheltered by a cobra of a thousand hoods.\u00a0 Practitioners for whom this imagery does not resonate may wish to focus simply on the sounds and resonance of the invocation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0The sutras do not constitute a religious text but a concise presentation of the practice of yoga.\u00a0 Its origins are understood to be 2000 to 2500 years ago often estimated to be about 150-200 BCE), as much as a half century before the origins of Christianity and about the same time as the origins of Buddhism.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

According to Kofi Busia (www.kofibusia.com\/ptanjali\/patanjali.php<\/span><\/a>), Patanjali may have lived as early as the 4th<\/sup> century BCE or as late as the 6th<\/sup> century CE.\u00a0 He estimates that around 250 BCE seems the most likely period of the life of the historical Patanjali, but that other contributors may have made additions later in the tradition of Patanjali\u2019s name.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0The invocation has different meanings for all of us.\u00a0 To me it is a reminder of the statue in the Iyengar center in Pune, and of the tradition of practice as we sang the invocation in Mr. Iyengar\u2019s studio.\u00a0 It links me to the tradition of yoga as taught by Mr. Iyengar and based in the sutras of Panjali.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Above all, the invocation provides a <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Moment of centering and expression of community<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 A time to prepare the mind for practice<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 An expression of gratitude for the art and science of yoga<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Reflective Asana & Pranayama The Invocation to Patanjali   These comments and discussion accompany the class “Reflective Asana & Pranayama.”\u00a0 For translation and commentary from a widely-circulated interview with Geeta Iyengar, see the “The Invocation to Patanjali: Translation and\u00a0\u00a0 Comments … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-62","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.meredithwwatts.com\/yogablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.meredithwwatts.com\/yogablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.meredithwwatts.com\/yogablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.meredithwwatts.com\/yogablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.meredithwwatts.com\/yogablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.meredithwwatts.com\/yogablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":73,"href":"https:\/\/www.meredithwwatts.com\/yogablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62\/revisions\/73"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.meredithwwatts.com\/yogablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.meredithwwatts.com\/yogablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.meredithwwatts.com\/yogablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}