Old School Yoga

In the original text of the Yoga Sutras, the two sutras presented here come after yama and niyama have been defined. Old School Yoga presents them first in order to emphasize the purpose of yama and niyama, which is eliminating impurities in the crystal of consciousness. This refers to a metaphor used elsewhere in the Sutras, in which the yogi’s understanding is said to reflect the reality of the object of concentration like a transparent crystal that reflects the color of nearby objects. The impurities are like blemishes in the crystal that must be removed in order for the crystal to reflect the object without distortion.

The cleansing and polishing process is yama and niyama, and these sutras teach us about the impurities that we need to remove.

Sutra 2.33

Vitarka bādhane pratipakṣa-bhāvanam

• Vitarka = thinking, reasoning, reflecting
• bādhane = oppressing, disturbing
• pratipakṣa = contrary, adverse
• bhāvanam = creating, manifesting; contemplation

Disturbing thoughts [should be countered by] cultivating the opposites.

Sutra 2.34

Vitarkā hiṁsa-adayaḥ kṛta-kārita-anumoditā lobha-krodha-moha-pūrvakā mṛdu-madhya-adhimātrā duḥkha-ajñāna-ananta-phalā iti pratipakṣa-bhāvanam

• Vitarkā = thoughts, thinking
• hiṁsa-adayaḥ = harmful
• kṛta = done, performed
• kārita = caused to be done or effected
• anumoditā = approval, assent
• lobha = greed, avarice
• krodha = anger
• moha = delusion, infatuation;
• pūrvakā = preceded by, preceding; arising from
• mṛdu = mild
• madhya = middle, central
• adhimātrā = excessive, inordinate
• duḥkha = sorrow, grief, unhappiness
• ajñāna = ignorance
• ananta = endless, infinite, eternal
• phalā = result, fruit, consequence, effect
• iti = so, thus, in this manner
• pratipakṣa = the opposites
• bhāvanam = manifesting or bringing into being

Harmful thinking arising from infatuation, anger, and greed; whether done, caused to be done, or approved; whether mild, medium, or excessive; results in unending ignorance and sorrow, therefore, the yogi should cultivate the opposites.

Perspective

Here, Patanjali is explaining why the yogi practices yama and niyama. The impurities that the yogi seeks to eliminate are those harmful thoughts and actions arising from lust, anger, and greed. Elimination is desired because the harmful activities inevitably come to fruition as unending ignorance and sorrow. If the yogi engages in things such as violence, lying, stealing, etc., his life is bound to be beset by trouble and sorrow. In these conditions, calming of the citta-vrrti is impossible.

It must be understood that the undesireable conditions resulting from harmful activities are due to the natural forces of karma. They are not thought of as punishments meted out by an offended god. Karma is thought of as operating like the laws of physics, every action has an equal and opposite reaction.

Patanjali brings out the point that the yogi cannot avoid the unwanted results by simply not getting his own hands dirty. The individual will reap the rewards of his/her actions whether he/she is the perpetrator, the mastermind, or simply approves. Similarly, reducing the level of participation to just a little bit will not be sufficient. The crystal should be polished to the greatest possible extent.

The means of elimination is manifesting or bringing into being their opposites. The opposites are yama and niyama. The manifesting of yama and niyama in the life and thinking of the yogi is the first step in the elimination of impurities. Intermediate and advanced steps are described elsewhere in the Sutras.