DIGITAL & PRINT-ON-DEMAND ISSUE 20 SPRING 2015

NMARPA
Categories of Indian Thought
 NMARPA
Categories of Indian Thought
ISSUE 20 SPRING 2015

JASON BIRCH 4 THE YOGATRVAL

Publishers & Founding Editors And the Hidden History of Yoga
ROBERT MOSES & EDDIE STERN
DR. ROBERT E. SVOBODA 14 EXCERPT FROM AGHORA II: KUNDALINI
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ROBERT & SATYA MOSES 74 DEVOTION AT LORD JAGANNATH
RATH YATRA
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2 ISSUE SPRING 3
 THE YOGATRVAL
AND THE HIDDEN HISTORY OF YOGA1

JASON BIRCH

Kamcrya performing the

three locks in Padmsana.

T HOSE WHO HAVE ATTENDED AN

Agayoga class in the tradition of
Pattabhi Jois are probably familiar with
The name Yogatrval can be
understood as: A String of Stars on Yoga.
Each verse of this short text is likened to a
no mental activity, no breathing and
no positional consciousness. That is to
say, Rjayoga is something beyond the
at least one verse of the Yogatrval, shining star, which illuminates the topic common experience of I and mine.
whether they know the name of the of yoga. Its first verse acknowledges the The Yogatrval puts it this way:
text or not. Pattabhi Jois would chant importance of the teacher, who transmits
the first verse of the Yogatrval at to the student the liberating knowledge ahamamatvdi vihya sarva
the beginning of a morning class, and that extinguishes the suering of worldly rrjayoge sthiramnasnm | Sri. K. Pattabhi Jois and Sri R. Sharath Jois chanting the first verse of the Yogatrval
many of his students continue to do this life. na drat nsti ca dyabhva before class at the Puck Building, New York Jesse Gordon
before their yoga practice: In the Yogatrval, the means to s jmbhate kevalasavid eva ||16||
liberation is the practice of Haha yoga practices such as concentration a system of yoga called Rjayoga, which
vande gur cararavinde and Rjayoga. Its Hahayoga consists "Having left behind everything and meditation become redundant. it says is the king (rja) of all yogas.
sandaritasvtmasukhvabodhe | of physical techniques; in particular, beginning with the states of I It omits the first seven auxiliaries
nireyase jgalikyamne the three locks (mla, uyana3 and and mine, those whose minds na dilakyi na cittabandho of agayoga. In fact, the author
sasrahlhalamohantyai ||1|| jlandhara). These locks are applied are steady in the sacred [state of ] na deaklau na ca vyurodha | considers these auxiliaries and the
during breath retentions (kumbhaka) Rjayoga are neither observers nor na dhradhynapariramo v techniques of Hahayoga to be not just
"I pay homage to the gurus lotus and, as a result of this practice, objects of observation. Only an samedhamne sati rjayoge ||14|| ineectual practices, but hindrances on
feet, which have revealed the the Hahayogin is able to immerse isolated awareness prevails." the path to attaining samdhi.
knowledge of the bliss of ones own the mind in an internal resonance "There are no gazing points, no fixing In eect, the Amanaska says that
self. Unsurpassed, [these lotus-feet] (ndnusandhna). The main dierence between Haha of the mind [on a meditation object], there is little point in trying to master
act like toxicologists2 for curing the In contrast to this, Rjayoga is simply and Rjayoga is that the latter is beyond no time or place, no [deliberate] dicult postures, breathing exercises
delusion that is the poison [known the practice of samdhi, a profound all techniques. In other words, once the stopping of the breath, nor the eort and meditation techniques when the
as] transmigration." state of meditation in which there is Rjayogin has achieved samdhi, other of concentration (dhra) and goal of these techniques, samdhi,
meditation (dhyna), when Rjayoga otherwise known as the no-mind state
1
I would like to thank Eddie Stern for encouraging me to write this article and for his valuable comments on it. Thanks also is flourishing." (amanaska), can be achieved easily by
to Jacqueline Hargreaves, James Mallinson, Mark Singleton and Elizabeth De Michelis for their many helpful comments on mbhav Mudr.
early drafts of this article. The illustration of mbhav Mudr and figures 1 and 2 are by Jacqueline Hargreaves. Figures 1 and It is likely that Haha and Rjayoga The yogin who is practising this
2 contain images by Febrian Anugrah. began as separate traditions. Much of Mudr is described as gazing outwards name and other technical vocabulary
2
The term jgalika is usually spelt jgulika in Sanskrit texts and it is often translated as snake doctor. For example, in Sures the Yogatrvals teachings on Rjayoga (bahirdi) with eyes half open, half common to both texts suggest that the
Chandra Banerjis A Companion to Sanskrit Literature (1989, p. 427), jgulika is defined as a snake doctor; dealer in anti- appear to derive from those of the closed, while directing the mind inwards Amanaska influenced the author of
dotes of poison. Also, Monier-Williams dictionary defines jgulika as a snake charmer. However, in the Yogatrvals first earliest extant Rjayoga text called the to an internal focal point (antarlakya). the Yogatrval.4 For this reason, the
verse, jgalika is being used metaphorically to describe gurus who can cure a poison called Hlhala. Rather than a snake Amanaska, which can be dated to the The Yogatrval teaches this technique Yogatrval was probably composed
poison, Hlhala probably refers to either the mythological poison produced at the churning of the ocean and swallowed by twelfth century. The Amanaska teaches and calls it Amanaskamudr. This sometime after the twelfth century.
iva (thereby causing the blueness of his neck) or some plant-based poison. Therefore, it appears that the guru is being likened
to a doctor who specializes in the general treatment of poisons (i.e., a toxicologist) rather than a snake doctor or charmer. This 4
Other similarities between the Yogatrval's and the Amanaskas Rjayoga include descriptions of samdhi as devoid of wak-
is somewhat supported by a Sanskrit commentary on the Yogatrval called the Yogabhvaprakik, which glosses jgalika ing, sleep, life and death; the mention of the eyes becoming still, the breath stopping and the mind being free from both inten-
as a viavaidya (i.e., a poison specialist or toxicologist), and so does the Amarakoa (1.8.510). tional (sakalpa) and discursive (vikalpa) thought in the no-mind state; the use of the simile of a 'lamp in a windless place' in
3
There are two dierent spellings of this bandha in the Yogatrval: uyana and uya. The dierence is due to the metre of regard to the yogin in the no-mind state; the reference to detachment (udsnat); and the use of the compounds sahajmanaska
the verses. In manuscripts of the Hahapradpik and Datttreyayogastra, this bandha is usually spelt uyna or uiyna. and yoganidr as synonyms for samdhi.
4 ISSUE SPRING 5

Figure 1: The fourfold system of yoga in the Datttreyayogastra
and the Amaraughaprabodha.
Haha and Rjayoga were combined this fourfold scheme was that the dullest
in other medieval yoga texts that students were taught Mantrayoga, the
were probably written only one or most gifted, Rjayoga, and those in
two centuries after the Amanaska. between, Laya and Hahayoga. In this
Examples of such texts include the system, Mantra, Laya and Hahayoga
Datttreyayogastra (12-13th c.) and were auxiliary practices aimed solely
the Amaraughaprabodha (14th c.). These at the achievement of samdhi (i.e.,
texts combined Haha and Rjayoga in Rjayoga). However, presumably,
a hierarchical relationship, along with one could dispense with Hahayoga
Mantra and Layayoga. The idea behind altogether and achieve samdhi by
practising Mantra or Layayoga.
Furthermore, it appears that neither
Mantra, Laya nor Hahayoga were of
any use to those gifted students who
could readily achieve samdhi. This
fourfold system is depicted in figure 1.
The Yogatrval changed this fourfold
hierarchical relationship in a subtle
yet very significant way. It omitted
Mantrayoga and integrated Layayoga
with Haha, thereby creating a system in
which Hahayoga was the sole means to
Rjayoga for all practitioners, regardless
of their capabilities. In doing so, the
physical practices of Hahayoga became
indispensable for achieving samdhi in
this system. This new relationship is
seen in figure 2.
The fifteenth-century Hahapradpik
adopted a scheme similar to the twofold
system.5 The author of this text stated
explicitly the mutual dependence of
Haha and Rjayoga as follows:
haha vin rjayogo
rjayoga vin haha |
na sidhyati tato yugmam
nipatte samabhyaset ||2.76||
"Without Hahayoga, Rja
is not accomplished, and
without Rjayoga, nor is Haha.
Therefore, the yogin should practice
both until the final stage [of yoga is
attained]."
The Yogatrval describes a process
whereby the three locks (bandha) are
practised during deliberate breath
retentions (kumbhaka) to bring about
a special type of breath retention called
Kevala Kumbhaka. Unlike deliberate
breath retentions that are performed
by holding the breath according to
ones capacity (yathakti), Kevala
Kumbhaka is a spontaneous cessation
of the flow of the breath, along with
all sensory and mental activity. In
the Yogatrval, Kevala Kumbhaka is
the central mechanism that connects
Figure 2: The twofold system of yoga in the Yogatrval
Haha and Rjayoga. This explains
why nearly one fifth of its verses are
devoted to describing this special type
of breath retention.
The similarities between the
Yogatrval and the Hahapradpik
seem extensive enough to suggest
that one influenced the other. In fact,
both texts share a verse on immersing
the mind in the internal resonance
(ndnusandhna):
sadivoktni sapdalaka-
layvadhnni vasanti loke |
ndnusandhnasamdhim eka
manymahe mnyatama laynm
||2||6
Rjayoga, samdhi, unman,
One hundred and twenty-
five thousand concentration
[techniques7] of meditative absorp-
tion (laya), which were taught by iva
[still] remain in the world. We think
the samdhi that is brought about by
immersing [the mind] in the internal
resonance (nda) is the principal and
most venerable of [all the techniques
of] meditative absorption.
Seeing that the author of the Haha-
pradpik compiled his work from earlier
yoga texts, it is likely that he borrowed
and slightly modified the above verse
from the Yogatrval. If this is the
case, the Yogatrval must have been
written before the fifteenth century.
The Hahapradpiks borrowing from
the Yogatrval is further suggested
by the similar teachings of these two
texts on Kevala Kumbhaka, immersing
the mind in the internal resonance
(ndnusandhna) and mbhav Mudr.
Reading the Yogatrval in
conjunction with yoga texts of the
same era sheds much light on its
terminology and content. Apart
from what I have mentioned above,
another striking example is the usage
of various words for samdhi in the
Yogatrval. The terms manonman,
unman, sahajmanaska, turya and
yoganidr appear to have the same
meaning as rjayoga and samdhi.
This is also the case in the Amanaska
and the Hahapradpik, the latter of
which explicitly states that these terms
are to be understood as synonyms
(ekavcaka):
rjayoga samdhi ca
unman ca manonman |
amaratva layas tattva
nynya para padam ||
amanaska tathdvaita
nirlamba nirajanam |
jvanmukti ca sahaj
tury cety ekavcak ||4.3-4||
manonman, amaratva, laya, tattva,
nyunya, para-pada, amanaska,
advaita, nirlamba, nirajana,
jvanmukti, sahaj and tury [all]
say the same thing.

5
The dierence between the twofold system of the Yogatrval and the Hahapradpik is that the latter integrated Layayoga 6
Cf. Hahapradpik 4.66 (rdinthena sapdakoilayaprakr kathit jayanti | ndnusandhnakam ekam eva manymahe
with both Haha and Rjayoga. For example, the Layayoga technique of lying on the ground like a corpse until the mind mukhyatama laynm).
dissolves (cittalaya) becomes a Hahayogic posture called avsana in the Hahapradpiks first chapter, whereas the Layayoga 7
The meaning of avadhnni as literally concentrations can be found in Abhinavaguptas Tantrloka (2.12). Jayarathas com-
practice of Ndnusandhna is described in the Hahapradpiks fourth chapter, which is on Rjayoga. mentary glosses avadhna as, one-pointedness on a particular object of attention (pratiniyatvadheyaviayaniham ekgryam).

6 ISSUE SPRING 7
 Medieval discourse on Rjayoga
does not mention dierent levels of
samdhi as seen in Buddhism and
Patajalis Yogastra. Rjayoga texts
consistently described samdhi as the
stone-like state of complete inactivity;
mental, respiratory and physical. Like
meditating ascetics in the Mahbhrata,
the Rjayogin in samdhi is sometimes
said to be lifeless like a piece of wood or,
according to the Yogatrval, as still as a
lamps flame in a windless place:
cittendriy ciranigrahea
vsapracre amite yamndr | famous akarcrya. In my opinion,
nivtadp iva nicalg the Yogatrval was not composed
manonmanmagnadhiyo bhavanti
||18||
"When the movement of the breath
has stopped because of the prolonged
restraint of the mind and senses, the
bodies of the best yogins become
unmoving, like the flames [of lamps]
in a windless place, and their minds
immersed in the no-mind [state] of
mind."
As I have mentioned above, the
connections between the Yogatrval,
the Amanaska and the Hahapradpik
indicate that the Yogatrval was
probably written between the twelfth
and fifteen centuries. However, the
colophon8 of at least one manuscript
and several printed editions attribute
the Yogatrvals authorship to the
great Advaitavedntin philosopher,
akarcrya, who is generally
believed to have lived in the eighth
century. Colophons are not a certain
indication of authorship, for they
may be composed and modified after
the text was written. In this case, a
sectarian claim to the Yogatrval
could have prompted someone to they also fashioned new systems of yoga
compose colophons that attributed out of simpler methods of meditation
the text to akarcrya. Terminology and more physical techniques than are
such as tma, turya, etc., which is found in older traditions of Tantra.
reasonably common in Tantras and Generally speaking, tantric yoga is
medieval yoga texts of this time but usually characterised by complex
also prominent in Advaitavedntin meditative practices that integrate
texts, could have been used to justify elaborate metaphysics and doctrine
the attribution. It is also possible with visualisation.9 The complexity of
that the author was a yogin by the tantric yoga contrasts sharply with the
name of akara and, at some more simple meditation techniques of early
recent time, a scribe embellished Haha and Rjayoga texts, such as
his name in the colophon with the mbhav Mudr and ndnusandhna.
honorific titles reserved for the The shift towards physical practice,
doctrinal simplicity and stone-
like samdhi (as opposed to gnostic
before the twelfth century because its meditation techniques10) suggest that
technical terminology, such as Rja Haha and Rjayoga were influenced
and Hahayoga, is absent in Sanskrit by older ascetic traditions. Indeed,
works written before this time, the emphasis on retaining semen
including the famous commentaries (bindudhraa) and the physical
and works widely attributed to the techniques peculiar to Hahayoga,
great Advaitavedntin philosopher. such as the three locks (bandha) and
inversions (vipartakara), is absent in
T HE TWELFTH TO THE FIFTEENTH
century was a remarkable time
in the history of yoga. It saw the
earlier Tantras.
Nonetheless, the label ascetic does
not capture the ingenuity of early Haha
emergence and advance of physical and Rjayoga systems, which omitted
yoga techniques and the supremacy of extreme ascetic practices such as sitting
the practice of samdhi as the means amid five fires, standing on one leg for
to liberation in yoga traditions. Early twelve years, lying on a bed of nails or
Haha and Rjayoga traditions created holding the arms up until they wither
simple soteriological systems, which away. Some of their texts denounce
were based solely on the practice of yoga aicting the body (kyaklea), and those
(rather than ritual, gnosis or devotion). who would practise headstand are advised
In doing so, they omitted the doctrinal against fasting, which is a moderate form
and ritualistic complexity of earlier of asceticism that has been acceptable to
tantric and philosophical traditions. most orthodox Hindus.
These yoga traditions incorporated Hahayoga, the yoga of force (haha),
some of the techniques and terminology was a yoga that could force certain
found in earlier Tantras. However, it is changes to occur. For example, it could
misleading to refer to medieval Haha force downward moving vitality (i.e.,
and Rjayoga as types of tantric yoga apnavyu) to rise.11 Nonetheless, An Ascetic in Bound Lotus Sitting in a Circle of Smouldering Fires.
because, not only did their early texts the diculty of its techniques was
omit tantric ritual and doctrine, but probably a matter of ones perspective.

8
A colophon is a brief statement about the texts author, name and, sometimes, its date. Colophons are usually placed at the end Some physically demanding postures probably derive from ancient ascetic traditions.
of each chapter and the end of the text itself. For example, Bound Lotus pose (baddhapadmsana) is described in some of the ear-
9
I am aware of two earlier tantric works which are exceptions to this. They are known as the Vijnabhairavatantra and the liest Haha texts (e.g., Vivekamrtaa 8, Gorakaataka 59-60, Hahapradpik
Svabodhodayamajar. They teach simple contemplative practices without much doctrine and metaphysics. Their emphasis on 1.46) as well as more recent ones. However, extreme acts of asceticism such as sitting
dissolving the mind (cittalaya) suggests they may have inspired later Layayoga traditions. amid smouldering cow dung fires are not included among the practices of medieval
10
On the dierences between ascetic and gnostic meditative practices, see Johannes Bronkhorst, Two Traditions of Meditation in Haha texts. Photo: James Mallinson, Haridvar, 2010
Ancient India. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1993.
11
See Datttreyayogastra 144, rgadharapaddhati 4416 and Yogabj 116: Having pressed the anus with the heel, the [yo-
gin] should forcibly contract apnavyu, so that [this] vyu goes upwards repeatedly. (guda pry tu sampya vyum
kucayed balt | vra vra yath cordhva samyti samraa).

8 ISSUE SPRING 9
 On the one hand, Jain ascetics and teachings are for women, as well as have excluded people of dierent
many wandering renunciants must those people who are completely creeds. They oered a minimalist system
have seen Hahayoga as childs play or, attached to sense objects, those fallen of yoga for attaining liberation. The
perhaps, they thought it was asceticism from caste and those who do extremely only essential requirement was that one
watered down for the masses. On the reckless actions.13 The explicit inclusion practised the methods of these yogas,
other hand, the physical practices of women here has much to do with having learnt them from a guru. The
of Hahayoga would have seemed the fact that they were excluded from Yogatrvals emphasis on practice and
strenuous and dicult for gnostics certain religious activities in orthodox its omission of complex metaphysics,
who believed that liberation could Hinduism. For example, women were doctrine, ritual and extreme asceticism
be attained through listening to the generally prohibited from learning the is in keeping with this.
Upaniads, contemplative techniques Vedas, using vedic mantras, renouncing The emphasis on practice (abhysa)
and the like. society to become ascetics and so on. is at the heart of Haha and Rjayoga
In order to appeal to a wide audience, Some other yoga texts such as the texts, which frequently reiterate the
early Haha and Rjayoga traditions ivasahit and Yogayjavalkya importance of practice for attaining the
combined tantric and ascetic techniques reveal that householders, women and goals of yoga. For example,
within a radically simplified doctrinal members of the lowest orthodox caste
framework. As an early Haha text made (dra) were among their audience. avismtya guror vkyam
clear: Though most texts do not identify the abhyaset tad aharniam ||
people for which their teachings were eva bhaved ghavasth
brhmaa ramao vpi intended, explicit prohibitions against satatbhysayogata |
bauddho vpy rhato thav | teaching a particular group of people anabhysena yogasya vth
kpliko v crvka are absent. gohy na sidhyati ||
raddhay sahita sudh || The inclusivity of these yoga tasmt sarvaprayatnena
yogbhysarato nitya traditions is further indicated by the yogam eva samabhyaset |14
sarvasiddhim avpnuyt |12 marginal role of theism in their texts.
Though the teachings are presented Having remembered the teachings
"Whether a Brahmin, ascetic, within either a aiva or Vaiava of the guru, one should practise
Buddhist, Jain, skull-bearer (kplika) framework, the theistic elements are [yoga] night and day. In this way, the First Folio of a Manuscript of the Yogatrval at the Prja Phal Maal, Wai.
or materialist; one who is wise, has very much in the background, so [second] stage [of yoga called] the
confidence [in the teachings of Haha much so that a texts orientation may pot arises through constant practice. and unintentional thought have been Gheraasahit are failing to advance describe hundreds of sana. When this
and Rjayoga] and is devoted to the not always be clear to the reader. The Without the practice of yoga, all is cut away and whose network of karma our knowledge in any significant way. textual evidence is edited, translated
practice of yoga, will always obtain Yogatrval is a good example of such in vain. It is not accomplished by has been completely uprooted. The omission of texts such as the and published, only then will more
success in all things. minimal theism. In one verse, iva is socialising. Therefore, with every Yogatrval in secondary sources is proof complete histories of yoga be written.
mentioned as the first teacher of the eort, one should practise only yoga. SCHOLARSHIP ON HAHA AND of the premature attempts at writing the The other part of the answer consists
The strategy of attracting a wide many methods of absorption (laya) and, RJAYOGA IS IN ITS INFANCY history of Hahayoga. Various other of the influence of European physical
audience was stated explicitly by a in two other verses, samdhi is referred And in the Yogatrval: yoga texts remain in Indian libraries, culture and Indian traditions such
more recent Haha text called the
Hahbhysapaddhati, which
probably composed in the eighteenth
was
to as the state of Viu (viupada).
Nothing further is said of these deities,
nor their pantheons, myths, mantras
vicchinnasakalpavikalpamle
nieanirmlitakarmajle |
M UCH OF THE HISTORY OF YOGA
remains undiscovered. In
particular, a detailed and comprehensive
unedited, unstudied and unknown to
scholars and practitioners.
A good example of the rudimentary
wrestling (mallavidy) and martial
arts, as well as the innovative genius of
twentieth-century yoga gurus such as
century. The opening line of this and the devotional practices associated nirantarbhysanitntabhadr history of Rja and Hahayoga has not state of scholarship on yoga is the Kamcrya and Pattabhi Jois. Though
text claims that its teachings are for with them. s jmbhate yogini yoganidr ||25|| been written. Indeed, such a history fact that scholars are still wondering some late medieval Hahayoga traditions
anyone who is aicted by the pain of On the whole, the texts of early cannot be written until more evidence why there are so few postures (sana) practised numerous sana, their texts
transmigration (sasra), much like the Haha and Rjayoga traditions reveal The yogic sleep [of Samdhi,15] in has been made available. If one looks in medieval yoga sources compared do not mention special sequences of
Yogatrval's first verse. varying degrees of universalism. In which extraordinary happiness arises at the textual sources in most historical with the large number known at the sana, the movements called vinysa,
However, the Hahbhysapaddhati other words, they reduced the religious from ceaseless practice, blossoms in accounts of yoga that have been beginning of the twentieth century. nor the sun salutations known as
also mentions specifically that its and philosophical elements that may the yogin whose roots of intentional published in the last thirty years, very The Hahapradpik has fifteen sana sryanamaskra. In fact, the two types
few new sources have been brought to and the Gheraasahit, thirty-two, of sryanamaskra taught by Pattabhi
12
Datttreyayogastra 4142ab. This text can be dated to the 12-13th c. and is one of the earliest extant texts to teach Haha- light.16 Certainly, new observations but Kamcrya taught more than Jois are based on Kamcryas vinysa
yoga (see the article on Hahayoga by James Mallinson at https://soas.academia.edu/JamesMallinson). and theories have been advanced in two hundred. Part of the answer to format.17 Nonetheless, it is likely that
13
The opening lines of the Hahbhysapaddhati state: For those aicted by the pain of Sasra; those completely attached to regard to yogas history, but attempts to this quandary can be found in some sryanamaskra in one form or another
sense objects; women; those fallen from their caste and those who do extremely reckless actions; for their sake, this construct the history of Hahayoga with Hahayoga texts written between the is an ancient practice. Brahmnanda,
Hahbhysapaddhati, composed by Kaplakuraaka, was written [...]. (sasratpataptn || atyantaviayasaktn || only a few widely known texts such as sixteenth and eighteenth centuries. the nineteenth-century commentator
strain jtibhranm || atishasakarmakartm || tatkte || iya kaplakuraakaktahahbhysapaddhatir [...] likhyate). the Hahapradpik, ivasahit and In the aggregate, these texts list and on the Hahapradpik, knew of a rather
14
Datttreyayogastra 105cd107ab. Also see Datttreyayogastra 4142ab. (footnote 12).
15
For more information on the use of the term yoganidr as a synonym for samdhi, see: 16
The main exceptions to this are the publications of the Kaivalyadhama Yoga Institute and the Lonavla Yoga Institute.
http://theluminescent.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/yoganidra.html 17
I wish to thank Eddie Stern for pointing this out to me (p.c. 28.10.2014).

10 ISSUE SPRING 11
 strenuous practice of sun salutations,
which he believed to be inappropriate
for Hahayoga.18 His comments were
prompted by the Hahapradpiks caveat
against aicting the body (kyaklea).19
THE NEED FOR CRITICAL EDITIONS
I pay homage to the gurus lotus feet
[...] which act like toxicologists for
people in order to cure their delusion,
which is the poison [known as]
worldly life.
The first line is the same, but
the second begins with janasya ye
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE
HISTORY OF YOGA
W ITH OVER TWO THOUSAND YEARS
of tradition behind the word
yoga, there is much to learn from its
history. When modern yoga is criticized
for teaching a physical practice without
of research is the medieval
yoga traditions of India.
He has been practising
yoga for nearly twenty
years and teaches workshops
and trainings in Sydney,
Singapore, Japan, Los Angeles
and London. His work is

T HE LACK OF CRITICAL EDITIONS IS

impeding progress in scholarship
on yoga. Of the dozens of medieval
instead of nireyase, which is found
in a manuscript of the Yogatrval
at a library in Wai. Which reading
a sophisticated intellectual philosophy,
one might cite the early Haha and
Rjayoga traditions as a precedent
available on:
theluminescent.blogspot.com
and he can be contacted at:
Haha and Rjayoga texts that are still did the author intend? Though an for the eectiveness of this approach. letusconnect@hotmail.com
extant, only a few have been critically editor might speculate that the word Indeed, I suspect the author of the
edited according to modern academic nireyase (unsurpassed) has greater Yogatrval would have agreed with
standards. It is very dicult to study poetic value than janasya ye (which Pattabhi Jois statement that yoga
carefully a yoga text if the text itself for people) and is more comparable is ninety-nine percent practice and
has scribal errors and omissions. with the Yogatrvals register of one percent theory. Medieval yoga
Unfortunately, medieval yoga texts Sanskrit, such an editor could not traditions were a great inspiration to
have not been well preserved. Their make an informed decision on this Kamcrya and his students, and
manuscripts tend to be roughly copied. without examining the available theres no reason why it will not be so
Therefore, rarely can one rely on a single manuscripts and their relationship to for future yoga practitioners.
manuscript to read and understand one another. Indeed, someone may The history of yoga might also
a text. It is more a matter of using have changed janasya ye to nireyase inform us of the fate of minimalist yoga
several manuscripts of the same text in at a relatively recent time because traditions. After the sixteenth century,
order to piece together a complete and that person believed the text could Haha and Rjayoga were absorbed
reasonably coherent version. be improved this way. Moreover, by more orthodox Brahmanical
I would like to have included a regardless of whether an editor decides traditions, which integrated the
translation of the Yogatrval in this to read janasya ye or nireyase, a good teachings of earlier Haha and
edition of Nmarpa, but I am unable to critical edition will provide readers Rjayoga texts with more sophisticated
do so because there are many unresolved with the available textual evidence so philosophical and metaphysical
dierences between its printed editions. that they can judge for themselves. doctrines. This gave rise to many of
As far as I am aware, no one has Owing to problems such as janasya the so-called Yoga Upaniads and BIBLIOGRAPHY
looked at all the available manuscripts ye in the first verse, all my above other large yoga compilations such as
of the Yogatrval in order to resolve translations of the Yogatrvals the Yogacintmai. As yoga becomes Printed Editions of the
these dierences. Some editions and verses in this article are provisional. a contemporary mainstream practice, Yogatrval
manuscripts have twenty-eight verses, Academic funding for five years has history is repeating itself. Those who Yogatrval: with
others twenty-nine or thirty. And been oered to James Mallinson believe they are advancing Haha Hindi Translation and Notes
there are many textual variations. (the principal investigator), Mark yoga by combining it with some and a Preface. Bhattacharya,
The Yogatrvals first verse is a good Singleton and myself to critically edit other therapy, science, philosophy or Ram Shankar.
example of this, for a manuscript at and translate ten Hahayoga texts, religion are travelling down a well- Varanasi: Bharatiya Vidya
a library in Pune and three printed including the Yogatrval. We intend worn path. Praksan, 1987.
editions have the following reading: to consult all of the Yogatrval's
available manuscripts, of which there Jason Birch received his doctorate in rmacchakarbhagavatpdaviracit
vande gur cararavinde are at least twenty. If all goes according Oriental Studies (Sanskrit) from the Yogatrval, ed. str, Swm
sandaritasvtmasukhvabodhe | to plan, the new edition should be University of Oxford and is currently rdaynanda. Varanasi: Vraseya
janasya ye jgalikyamne completed by 2018. a visiting research fellow at the Oxford Saskta Sasthna, 1982.
sasrahlhalamohantyai || Centre for Hindu Studies. His area
The Works of Sankaracharya, vol. 16,
18
A translation of Brahmnandas comment on sryanamaskra can be found in my published article on the Meaning of haha pp. 114-23. Srirangam: Sri Vani
in Early Hahayoga, Journal of the American Oriental Society, issue 131.4 (2011), page 536, footnote 35. This article can be Vilas Press, 1910.
downloaded at: https://www.academia.edu/1539699/Meaning_of_ha%E1%B9%ADha_in_Early_Ha%E1%B9%ADhayoga
19
Caveats against aicting the body (kyaklea), occur in various Haha texts. See Amaraughaprabodha 15, Hahapradpik Manuscripts
1.64, Haharatnval 1.73 and Gheraasahit 5.31. In an auto-commentary on his Yogastra, the twelfth-century Jain schol- Yogatrval. Ms. No. 6-4 399. Siva, Lord
ar Hemacandra gave the following examples of ways of aicting the body: There are many methods for aicting the body. For Prja Phal Maal, Wai. of Yoga.
example, standing [for a long time], Vrsana, Utkauksana, lying down outstretched like a stick on one side, ascetic heating Yogatrval. Ms. No. 240-3748. Illustration by
[practices], remaining uncovered and so on. Thus it is taught in the commentary on the Tattvrthastra (kyakleo nekavidha nandrama, Pune. Satya Moses
| tadyath - sthnavrsanotkauksanaikaprvadayataayantpanprvtdni || iti tattvrthabhye).

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