I've always been fascinated with ancient Indian scriptures. I wanted to study, understand, and make use of the wealth of knowledge contained in them. At the age of fourteen, I got hold of a translation of the Yoga Sutras from my grandfather's collection of books. As I was reading. 1 found many concepts and terms difficult to understand. At the time, I assumed that this confusion was due to my poor command of Telugu (a language spoken in southern India). But, over the years, I've attempted to study other translations (in both Hindi and English), and I found them equally difficult to comprehend. This led me to think that the only way to fully understand the scriptures was to learn the language in which they were originally written-Sanskrit.

In my study of Sanskrit I met with great scholars like Dr. Ram Karan Sharma and Acharya Ananda Prakash. After studying the Yoga Sutras with their help, I realized that the difficulty in understanding was largely not due to the language itself, but rather to the many Sankhya terms used in the text that were not explained in the translations I had come across. It was only after I was introduced to the concepts of Sankhya that I could fully understand the Yoga Sutras. The verses that I had previously found boring or pointless became filled with profound insights into the workings of the mind and the world around us (prakyti).

The hurdles I faced and the difficulty in understanding the material made me think that there is a need for a more accessible way to present the Yoga Sutras. I find that when I can visualize a concept, I understand it better. Following that, I've tried to visually illustrate the difficult-to-understand concepts found in Sankhya and Yoga philosophies. Pictures can act as mnemonics while recalling a topic or an idea, and this can be very helpful while presenting the Yoga Sutras to others. As such, I hope that both students and teachers of Yoga can benefit from the explanations and illustrations presented in this book.

Healing Through Knowledge

Welcome to the readers who are inquisitive about the workings of life. This quest invariably leads to the inquiry of the mind and the universe around us which is the subject of this book.

The ultimate goal of all spiritual pursuit is to eliminate every kind of misery, and to experience our true self. The desire to attain bliss is innate to our souls. Many of our anxieties and frustrations result from misunderstandings about our mind, body, and true self. We don't understand the boundaries between the functioning of our body, of our mind, and of our core self. Instead, we often superimpose one over the other. In the simple act of raising a hand, the body carries out many intricate functions. When the arm moves, it is actually the muscles at the root of the arm-the muscles of the entire upper quadrant of that side of the body, in fact-that act to produce the effect. Simultaneously, the entire body responds to the movement in order to maintain equilibrium and poise as the arm moves. Almost all of this is completely unconscious. part of the hidden machinery of an action that seems very simple.

Likewise, during the acts of thinking, planning, and striving in the pursuit of our well-being, the mind carries out many actions that we are not aware of, and so take for granted. Knowing how the consciousness, mind, and body function gives us new perspectives and mindsets for dealing with our experiences, situations, and relation-ships. This can result in a productive change in our behaviour helping us to experience our own true self and the nature around us.

The Yoga Sütras of Patanjali presents this knowledge of the mind and of the self in a succinct body of aphorisms. These passages can be an invaluable tool for self-analysis and personal development, and can help us pursue our goals in a healthy manner without falling prey to frustrations. I hope that you benefit from reading the Yoga Sûtras, and I wish you great success and peace. M