I’d like to know where could be found thе text considered as original,also when and where has been discovered this text,and every other information regarding it’s history.In case someone has seen and read it,he would obviously realise that the previously made translations couldn’t be based on that same text.If somebody has been seriously interested in the original text,he would understand also that the text has been subject to many changes depending on the preferences of the translator,sometimes without any logical reasoning.
Dear Patanjali,
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali have been a major component of my yoga training with Mukunda Stiles. We completed a discussion of the entire text in the course of yoga teacher training, and return to the Sutras as a guide for the range of practices offered in Yoga. He has spent most of his adult life investigating and exploring various translations of the text as well as directing his own and his student’s sadhana based upon the principles and guidance found therein. I would recommend that you post in the Mukunda Stiles Q&A forum for guidance both academic and spiritual. A nice overview of the history and intent of the Sutras can be found in the Introduction to his translation (see below)
I have read 4 translations of the Yoga Sutras into the English and have enjoyed reflecting on the nuances of meaning which appear. ( Yoga Sutras of Patanjali as interpreted by Mukunda Stiles; Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali by BKS Iyengar; translations and commentary found in The Heart of Yoga by Desikachar; Discipline of Freedom by Barbara Stoler Miller)
Nuances of meaning are inherent in the translations for 2 reasons in my understanding. The first of which is that in Sanskrit words can have multiple meanings, which allows for several levels of meaning to be presented. The second, that various meanings of words and meaning can be apparent or hidden depending upon the reader’s mental state. (This is true as well in English) I have found for my own sadhana that reflections upon one or more sutras and comparisons between texts can spark insights which have been very helpful to my spiritual growth. Further, in the tradition of yoga training between teacher/student, the sutras were intended to be studied in the company of the teacher. Deskiachar, for example, spent years reading and rereading the Sutras with his father Krishnamacharya, each time gaining a greater understanding. Desikachar’s work is steeped in his assimilation of the Sutras. The assistance of a teacher who has experience of the conditions and states described is important both to encourage an understanding of what is written, but perhaps more importantly, to shed light on how these human conditions (dukha or suffering, avidya or ignorance, the play of the gunas in our constitution and personal perception) are experienced in the container of our personal psyche and physical body.
I would highly recommend having a look at any of the texts listed above. Most contain further reading and references to resource texts. Thanks for your inquiry, and please let’s discuss this further!
Namaste,
Chandra
Like all ancient documents, there is controversy as to interpretation of the ancient dialect into modern language as well as foreign language to English. I am not aware of there being an original (first edition) of the Yoga Sutras. I suspect there are like the Bible many more recent texts copied from the original during its early history. I would suggest you contact Georg Feuerstein at Yoga Research and Education Center mail@yrec.org to ask further about the historical variations on the Yoga Sutras. He is the most scholarly of the Yoga researchers.