Swami Satyadharma Saraswati - Yoga Darshana Upanishad: Ancient Insight into the System of Ashtanga Yoga (Yoga Upanishads Book 3)

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Swami Satyadharma Saraswati

Ruth Perini

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Yoga Upaniad Series Volume 3

Yoga Darana Upaniad

Ancient Insight into the System of Aga Yoga

Original Sanskrit text with

Transliteration, Translation and Commentary

Swm Satyadharma Saraswat

Sannys rimukti (Ruth Perini)

Dedication

To all friends, practitioners and teachers of yoga,

and to all seekers of spiritual wisdom,

regardless of time or place, creed, gender, age or race

CONTENTS

Introduction

Invocation

FIRST SECTION: Aga yoga is the sdhana of the jivanmukta.

Datttreya, avatar and illumined teacher

The worthy disciple

The disciples request

The eight limbs of yoga

The ten yamas, or yogic disciplines

Ahis, non-violence

Satyam, truth

Asteya, honesty

Brahmacarya, abstinence

Day, kindness

Arjavam, straight-forwardness

Kam, patience

Dhti, equanimity

Mithra, moderate diet

auca, cleanliness

The way to know supreme consciousness

SECOND SECTION: Knowledge of The Ten Niyamas, inner disciplines

Ten niyamas

Tapas, austerity

Santoa, contentment

stikya, faith in the higher reality

Dna, giving freely

Worship of wara

Vednta ravana, hearing the knowledge of truth

Hr, remorse or shame

Mati, faith in the vedic teaching

Japa, repetition of the mantra

THIRD SECTION: Nine sanas

Nine major sanas

Swastiksana, the auspicious pose

Gomukhsana, the cow face pose

Padmsana, the lotus pose

Vrsana, the hero pose

Sihsana, the lion pose

Bhadrsana, the gracious pose

Muktsana, liberated pose

Mayursana, the peacock pose

Suksana, the easy pose

Benefits of mastering sana

FOURTH SECTION: The Subtle Body

Center of fire and triangle of akti

Root of the ns

Enumeration of the ns

Brahma and suumn ns

Kualin

Location of the major ns

Termination of the major ns

Ten pras

Functions of the pras

Deities relating with the ns

Lunar and solar movement in the ns

Uttaryan and dakiyan

Equinox and eclipse

Inner pilgrimage places

Vision of iva within oneself

Absorption in Brahma

FIFTH SECTION: Pryma

Purification of the ns

N odhana pryma

Signs of n purification

Purification of the Self

SIXTH SECTION: Aspects of Pryma

Description of pryma

Pryma with praava

Benefits of the practice

Components of pryma

Perfection of pryma

Pryma eradicates disease

amukhi mudr controls pra

Signs of the conquest of vyu

Dawning of vairagya and removal of disease and sin

SEVENTH SECTION: Pratyhra

Description of pratyhra

Pratyhra by focusing on pra

Benefits of pratyhra

Pratyhra by focusing on pra (method 2)

Pratyhra according to vednta

EIGHTH SECTION: Dhra

Paca bhta dhra, concentration on the five elements

Dhra on the Self

NINTH SECTION: Dhyna

Meditation on Brahma with attributes

Meditation on Brahma without attributes

Fruits of Meditation

TENTH SECTION: Samdhi

Nature of samdhi

Only Brahma remains

Epilogue

APPENDICES

Sanskrit text

Pronunciation Guide

Continuous Translation

About the Author

About the Translator

Introduction

Veda is a Sanskrit word meaning knowledge. In the context of the Vedas, it means revealed knowledge which is ruti , heard from within, not taught. These ancient spiritual texts or hymns, through which we can learn much of the perceptions and insights of the early vedic seers, are grouped into four samhitas or collections: Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sma Veda and Atharva Veda . They were revealed to enlightened beings 3,000 to 4,500 years ago or more (the Rig-Veda contains astronomical references describing occurrences in 5,000 to 3,000 BCE), and transmitted orally by the sages from generation to generation within brahmin families.

The four Vedas were considered to be divine revelations, and each word was carefully memorised. This was to ensure accurate transmission, but also because each syllable was considered to have spiritual power, its source being the supreme, eternal sound. This was a mammoth task, as there are 20,358 verses in the four Vedas, approximately two thousand printed pages. They were composed in fifteen different metres, which demanded perfect control of the breath. Georg Feuerstein describes them as a composite of symbol, metaphor, allegory, myth and story, as well as paradox and riddle and their composers as recipients and revealers of the invisible order of the cosmos [with] inspired insights or illumined visions1.

Rig Veda

The Rig Veda is the oldest spiritual text in the world and still regarded as sacred, containing 1,028 hymns or songs of 10,589 verses in praise of the divine ( rig or ric meaning praise). Each hymn is recognised as a mantra , a sacred sound vibration, which releases energy from limited material awareness, thus expanding the consciousness . It is also the earliest surviving form of Sanskrit. The illumined seers composed the hymns while established in the highest consciousness, thus able to commune with luminous beings of the higher realms. There are about 250 hymns in praise of Indra , the divine force behind the ocean, heavens, thunder, lightning, rain and the light of the sun; 200 of Agni , born of the Sun, becoming the god of sacrificial fire, and over 100 of Soma , who gives immortality, and who is connected to the Sun, Moon, mountains, rivers and oceans. Others are dedicated to Varuna , who protects cosmic order; the Ashvins , supreme healers; Ushas , goddess of the dawn; Aditi , goddess of eternity; and Saraswati , goddess of the Vedas and of music and the arts.

Yajur Veda

The hymns of the Yajur-Veda, Veda of Sacrifice, consist of sacrificial formulas or prayers, including those of an internal or spiritual nature, which are chanted by the adhvaryu (priest), who performs the sacrifice. About a third of its 1,975 verses are taken from the Rig Veda . The rest are original and in prose form.

Sma Veda

The Sma Veda , Veda of Chants, gives instructions on the chanting of vedic hymns. The majority of its 1,875 verses are from the Rig Veda; only 75 verses are original. Many of the hymns were sung by special priests during sacrificial rites. Some are still sung today.

Atharva Veda

The Atharva Veda, named after the seer Atharvan, whose family were great seers in vedic times, contains 731 hymns of 5,977 verses, about one fifth of which are from the RigVeda . Much of the Atharva Veda consists of magical spells and charms for gaining health, love, peace and prosperity, or taking revenge on an enemy. Possibly for this reason, the Atharva Veda was either not accepted by the orthodox priesthood, or not given the same standing as the other Vedas.

The vedic people and their culture

The vedic people lived for over 2,500 years mainly along the banks of the Saraswati River, which was located in Northern India between the modern Ravi and Yamuna Rivers down to what is now the desert of Rajasthan. The Saraswati River dried up in about 1,900 BCE due to tectonic upheavals. Other areas of habitation included the Ganges River and its tributaries, rivers in Afghanistan (previously called Gandhara), the Himalayas and Mount Kailash in Tibet.

The vedic people had a complex multi-tiered view of the universe, in which humankind, nature and the divine are intertwined and interrelated. They had a deep knowledge of the oceans, mountains, deserts and forests of the physical world, as well as of the subtle worlds of deities and different levels of consciousness. People lived in cities or villages or were nomads, and were fully engaged in worldly life. They were an agrarian people, yet also had herds of cattle, horses and camels. Cities were constructed of stone, bricks and metal. They built chariots and ships. They were skilled workers in gold, metal, clay, stone, wood, leather and wool, and showed a very high standard in arts, crafts, astrology, medicine, music, dance and poetry.