The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (Edwin F. Bryant)
“Must†Reading for Patanjalites
[My 4-star Amazon review (NDA) of “The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali: A New Edition, Translation, and Commentary†by Edward F. Bryant.]
If you are a serious student of the Yoga Sutras, Professor Edwin F. Bryants the “Yoga Sutras of Patanjali†is a text you should read, along with Swami Hariharananda’s Ananda’s “Yoga Philosophy of Patanjali†(see my five-star review). If you are new to Patanjali, I suggest you start your journey into the Yoga Sutras with “How to Know God: The Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali†by Christopher Isherwood and Swami Prabhavananda (see my four-star review). I have also reviewed a number of other translations/commentaries of the Yoga Sutras – versions by Swami Satchidananda (see my three star review), Cliff Hartranft (see my two-star review), Charles Johnston (see my four-star review), and Mukunda Stiles (see my two-star review).
Even though I’m an expert in the Yoga Sutras, having practiced and taught this Classical, or Raja, Yoga in addition to having studied multiple versions, I’m not a fan of this Yoga (which I consider inferior to many other Eastern spiritual Dharmas, such as nondual Kashmir Shaivism, Tibetan Buddhist Dzogchen, Adi Da’s Daism, and Ramana Maharshi’s Advaita Vedanta). Nonetheless, I consider it an important tradition to study because of the unique insights it provides regarding the mechanics and psychology of consciousness and mind in the Self-realization process.
Professor Bryant’s the “Yoga Sutras of Patanjali†has much to recommend it, and its features are listed on the book’s back cover: “An introduction on Yoga from before Patanjali through the Vedic period, as well as Yoga in the Upanishads, Mahabarata, and Sankhya. A discussion of Patanjali in relation to Indian philosophy. The history of the commentaries on the Yoga Sutras. Succinct chapter summaries. An appendix of the sutras for use in reference, study, and chanting. A Sanskrit pronunciation guide. A glossary, endnotes, and bibliography. An index of key terms.†In addition to these features, Bryant’s writing is fluid and agreeable, and though scholarly, does not reek of acadamese. It will be accessible to those with college-level reading skills and a desire to ponder the meaning of the multitude of Sanskrit terms he employs and elaborates.
What isn’t there to like about Bryant’s book? Plenty from my perspective. But because this is just a review and not a book, I can only touch upon some of the issues I have with this 600-page tome:
1) The Word Index in the physical book doesn’t cut it. It only includes Sankrit terms, and not non-Sankrit ones, such as Buddhism. Hence, when I wanted to review what Bryant says about Buddhism (and he says plenty), there was no way to easily locate this information. For this reason, if I could go back in time, I would buy the Kindle version instead of the paperback.
2) Although Bryant devotes a good deal space to comparing/contrasting Patanjali with Buddhism, he doesn’t really understand Buddhism, and limits his consideration to perverted versions of original, or Pali, Buddhism. If Bryant understood what Gautama Buddha taught, he’d know that the Buddha’s anatta teaching rejects all that is not-Self; hence it points to the same Self as Patanjali.
3) In goosestep with contemporary Buddhism writers, Bryant doesn’t capitalize the term “self†when it refers to the Atman, or Purusa. This is egregious, because it fails to distinguish between the empirical self and the metempirical Self.
4) Bryant’s definitions and explanations of many key Sankrit terms are lacking. For example, he doesn’t clarify what vasanas are (he reductively describes them as “clusters of samskarasâ€) and how they function to “sprout†as mind. He fails to elaborate the important distinction between the “antahkarana†and “cittaâ€; in fact, “antahkarana†is not even included in his Word Index. He talks about the Heart as the the seat of the soul and as a chakra, but doesn’t broach the subject of the distinction between the Hridayam and the Ajna chakra.
5) Bryant’s descriptions of the various samadhis identified by Patanjali are unimpressive, to say the least. And he doesn’t have a clue about the most important Samadhi (the one that confers full en-Light-enment) – Dharmamegha Samadhi, which he (probably parroting Swami Sivananda) defines as “cloud of virtue.†In reality, Dharmamegha Samadhi refers to the full descent of the Dharma Cloud (Shaktipat or the Sambhogakaya) into the Heart-center, which results in the severing of the Heart-knot and Self-realization.
6) Although Bryant freely uses the term “esoteric†in his discourse, his exegesis of Patanjali, though teeming with information and analysis, does not qualify as profound. For example, though he freely contrasts Patanjali with Buddhism and Advaita Vedanta, he fails to do so with nondual Kashmir Shaivism, the foremost Yoga Dharma. A truly deep commentary of Patanjali would include a consideration of the relation between Shakti and prakriti. Because Bryant doesn’t consider Shakti, or Divine Power, in the Self-realization project, he gropes when he attempts to explain and reconcile the worship of Ishwara with the non-theistic meditation practices prescribed by Patanjali.
In my estimation, Patanjali was not a fully en-Light-ened sage. The fact he had an Ishta-Devata (a form of God he worshipped) bespeaks of someone on the path, not Self-realized guru. Although all serious Yoga students should read Patanjali, they should also read the Indic spiritual teachings that eclipse his “Classical Yoga.†I suggest four Patanjali-eclipsing texts to begin with (each of which I have reviewed and given five stars): “Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi,†“Sri Ramana Gita,†“The Philosophy of Sadhana: With Special Reference to the Trika Philosophy of Kashmir,†and “The Doctrine of Recognition: A Translation of Pratyabhijnahrdayam†(available inexpensively as a Google ebook).
To sum, despite my criticisms of Bryant’s commentary, his “Yoga Sutras of Patanjali†provides a wealth of information and analysis, and, along Swami Hariharananda Aranya’s text, qualifies as “must†reading for all serious students of Patanjali.
[My 4-star Amazon review (NDA) of “The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali: A New Edition, Translation, and Commentary†by Edward F. Bryant.]
If you are a serious student of the Yoga Sutras, Professor Edwin F. Bryants the “Yoga Sutras of Patanjali†is a text you should read, along with Swami Hariharananda’s Ananda’s “Yoga Philosophy of Patanjali†(see my five-star review). If you are new to Patanjali, I suggest you start your journey into the Yoga Sutras with “How to Know God: The Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali†by Christopher Isherwood and Swami Prabhavananda (see my four-star review). I have also reviewed a number of other translations/commentaries of the Yoga Sutras – versions by Swami Satchidananda (see my three star review), Cliff Hartranft (see my two-star review), Charles Johnston (see my four-star review), and Mukunda Stiles (see my two-star review).
Even though I’m an expert in the Yoga Sutras, having practiced and taught this Classical, or Raja, Yoga in addition to having studied multiple versions, I’m not a fan of this Yoga (which I consider inferior to many other Eastern spiritual Dharmas, such as nondual Kashmir Shaivism, Tibetan Buddhist Dzogchen, Adi Da’s Daism, and Ramana Maharshi’s Advaita Vedanta). Nonetheless, I consider it an important tradition to study because of the unique insights it provides regarding the mechanics and psychology of consciousness and mind in the Self-realization process.
Professor Bryant’s the “Yoga Sutras of Patanjali†has much to recommend it, and its features are listed on the book’s back cover: “An introduction on Yoga from before Patanjali through the Vedic period, as well as Yoga in the Upanishads, Mahabarata, and Sankhya. A discussion of Patanjali in relation to Indian philosophy. The history of the commentaries on the Yoga Sutras. Succinct chapter summaries. An appendix of the sutras for use in reference, study, and chanting. A Sanskrit pronunciation guide. A glossary, endnotes, and bibliography. An index of key terms.†In addition to these features, Bryant’s writing is fluid and agreeable, and though scholarly, does not reek of acadamese. It will be accessible to those with college-level reading skills and a desire to ponder the meaning of the multitude of Sanskrit terms he employs and elaborates.
What isn’t there to like about Bryant’s book? Plenty from my perspective. But because this is just a review and not a book, I can only touch upon some of the issues I have with this 600-page tome:
1) The Word Index in the physical book doesn’t cut it. It only includes Sankrit terms, and not non-Sankrit ones, such as Buddhism. Hence, when I wanted to review what Bryant says about Buddhism (and he says plenty), there was no way to easily locate this information. For this reason, if I could go back in time, I would buy the Kindle version instead of the paperback.
2) Although Bryant devotes a good deal space to comparing/contrasting Patanjali with Buddhism, he doesn’t really understand Buddhism, and limits his consideration to perverted versions of original, or Pali, Buddhism. If Bryant understood what Gautama Buddha taught, he’d know that the Buddha’s anatta teaching rejects all that is not-Self; hence it points to the same Self as Patanjali.
3) In goosestep with contemporary Buddhism writers, Bryant doesn’t capitalize the term “self†when it refers to the Atman, or Purusa. This is egregious, because it fails to distinguish between the empirical self and the metempirical Self.
4) Bryant’s definitions and explanations of many key Sankrit terms are lacking. For example, he doesn’t clarify what vasanas are (he reductively describes them as “clusters of samskarasâ€) and how they function to “sprout†as mind. He fails to elaborate the important distinction between the “antahkarana†and “cittaâ€; in fact, “antahkarana†is not even included in his Word Index. He talks about the Heart as the the seat of the soul and as a chakra, but doesn’t broach the subject of the distinction between the Hridayam and the Ajna chakra.
5) Bryant’s descriptions of the various samadhis identified by Patanjali are unimpressive, to say the least. And he doesn’t have a clue about the most important Samadhi (the one that confers full en-Light-enment) – Dharmamegha Samadhi, which he (probably parroting Swami Sivananda) defines as “cloud of virtue.†In reality, Dharmamegha Samadhi refers to the full descent of the Dharma Cloud (Shaktipat or the Sambhogakaya) into the Heart-center, which results in the severing of the Heart-knot and Self-realization.
6) Although Bryant freely uses the term “esoteric†in his discourse, his exegesis of Patanjali, though teeming with information and analysis, does not qualify as profound. For example, though he freely contrasts Patanjali with Buddhism and Advaita Vedanta, he fails to do so with nondual Kashmir Shaivism, the foremost Yoga Dharma. A truly deep commentary of Patanjali would include a consideration of the relation between Shakti and prakriti. Because Bryant doesn’t consider Shakti, or Divine Power, in the Self-realization project, he gropes when he attempts to explain and reconcile the worship of Ishwara with the non-theistic meditation practices prescribed by Patanjali.
In my estimation, Patanjali was not a fully en-Light-ened sage. The fact he had an Ishta-Devata (a form of God he worshipped) bespeaks of someone on the path, not Self-realized guru. Although all serious Yoga students should read Patanjali, they should also read the Indic spiritual teachings that eclipse his “Classical Yoga.†I suggest four Patanjali-eclipsing texts to begin with (each of which I have reviewed and given five stars): “Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi,†“Sri Ramana Gita,†“The Philosophy of Sadhana: With Special Reference to the Trika Philosophy of Kashmir,†and “The Doctrine of Recognition: A Translation of Pratyabhijnahrdayam†(available inexpensively as a Google ebook).
To sum, despite my criticisms of Bryant’s commentary, his “Yoga Sutras of Patanjali†provides a wealth of information and analysis, and, along Swami Hariharananda Aranya’s text, qualifies as “must†reading for all serious students of Patanjali.
