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The problem of translation and commentary

This is a very short introduction to the art and science of yoga, and in reality many volumes could be written about its essence and purpose. However the aim here is not to publish a research paper but to lay the groundwork for a personal interpretation of the yoga-sutra of Patanjali. This is a considerable task because each of the 185 aphorisms of Patanjali is exactly that – an aphorism which has a depth of meaning far beyond its shortness of length. An interpretation then has two stages. The first is a translation from Sanksrit to a contemporary language. That this is not simple is proved by the fact that translators through the ages differ substantially on the nuances of each aphorism. For example, one of the first aphorisms is “chitta vritti nirodhah”. The following examples of translation by different authors show well how difficult it has been to arrive at a definitive version:

• Yoga is the ability to direct and focus mental activity
  - B Bouanchaud, The Essence of Yoga

• Yoga is the ability to direct the mind exclusively toward an object and sustain that direction without any distractions
  - Patanjali's Yogasutras, translated by TKV Desikachar

• Yoga is the restriction of the fluctuations of consciousness
  - Yoga-Sutra of Patanjali, in pages 288-310 of Georg Feuerstein, The Yoga Tradition

• Yoga is the suppression of the modifications of the mind
  - Swami Hariharananda Aranya, Yoga Philosophy of Patanjali (translated by P.N. Mukerji)

• Yoga is the restraint of mental modifications
  - Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and Charles A. Moore (eds.), A Sourcebook in Indian Philosophy, pages 453-485

• The restraint of the modifications of the mind-stuff is yoga
  - The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, translation and commentary by Sri Swami Satchidananda

• Yoga is the inhibition of the modifications of the mind
  - IK Taimni, The Science of Yoga

It is thus clear that there is no real consensus. But what is perhaps more important than arguing over the exactness of the translation is to clarify what the aphorisms mean. The yoga-sutra is first and foremost a practical handbook. So it stands to reason that the only way to be able to understand an aphorism is, firstly, to practice yoga oneself. Till then, no amount of scholarly commentaries, including this one, will make full and complete sense. 

– Ashish Nangia
April 18, 2004

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Yoga-Sutra
Yoga – An Introduction 
Questions of Self & Consciousness  
The Seer and the Self  
Another Perception of Reality   
The Question of Truth and Yogic Practice   
Pramana-Viparyaya-Vikalpa-Nidra-Smrtayah 

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