@Ramya
Ramya V
@Ramya · 2:20

"Yoga is the stilling of the mind.."Author Vasudev Murthy on Patanjali's Yoga Sutras & the Practice of Enlightenment.

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I would love to start off by asking you to share a little bit about the origin of the Yoga Sutras and why it is important for any asina practitioner to be aware of the significance of Patanjali's yoga Sutras

#authorinterview #yoga #mentalwellness #spirituality #patanjali #askanauthor

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@Vmurthy88
Vasudev Murthy
@Vmurthy88 · 3:47
But for a yogi, for someone who claims to be doing yoga, I think it's very important to be aware of all the eight limbs of yoga and try to work on them concurrently to the extent possible, after at least starting with Yama, Nyama, Yama, as of course social behavior, niyama's, personal behavior. Then we go into taking care of our body. Then we look into the way breath has to be managed, then we look at how senses are to be managed and controlled
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@Ramya
Ramya V
@Ramya · 1:02
It is also very interesting to note that there is no reference, as you said, to a supreme god in the sutras, but only to a universal consciousness. Potentially defines this universal consciousness as an entity which is beyond space and time. So the focus of the supreme Utras is more on controlling one's thoughts and accordingly disciplining one's mind. I'm not sure if I got this right, but I would love to have your take on this
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@Vmurthy88
Vasudev Murthy
@Vmurthy88 · 3:45

@Ramya

So ramya. This is a very, very challenging set of philosophies, but it's so rewarding, it's so wonderful to go through it. And it makes you wonder how you've taken your identity to be fundamentally the sum of experiences that the senses hand over to you. In this context, the whole business he starts with saying yoga is the stilling of the mind. And as he develops this idea further, we realize that the mind is being constantly assaulted by various kinds
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@Ramya
Ramya V
@Ramya · 0:33
So much food for thought in there was. Thank you. Thank you so much for that reply. Yoga DC is a subject that brings about emotional stability. But when there is an emotional want or a sense of dissatisfaction or an emptiness of heart, it becomes really difficult for one to maintain. Equanimity, could you tell us how the knowledge received from yoga practice could be better applied in emotionally challenging life situations?
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@Vmurthy88
Vasudev Murthy
@Vmurthy88 · 4:08

@Ramya

Fair thing for anyone who's going through some mental distress, you know, to be, to be said that it can be easily addressed in just one little sentence. No. The whole practice of yoga starts with the mellowing of the mind. And he talks about Kriya yoga. He talks about, you know, certain kinds of observances, you know, being truthful, believing in ahansa, et cetera, et cetera
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@Ramya
Ramya V
@Ramya · 0:25
Thank you for that. Vasudev I think I'll leave you with one final question. What is spiritual liberation, according to Patanjali? And what is that one thing that you can recommend to help someone become more awake and aware of their potential? And what one thing can they actually get started with? Any practical tips that you could share? Jazz
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@Vmurthy88
Vasudev Murthy
@Vmurthy88 · 5:00

@Ramya

That very thing ahimsa, which is the very first thing in the first stage of yoga, which is Yamaha, which means avoiding hurting people physically or with words or anything like that. Now, this is not easy. I'm making it sound easy, but I know that as we travel through life, it is really difficult to do so because we think we take everything personally. Our ego rebels, our ego wants to guard the sense of identity
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@Ramya
Ramya V
@Ramya · 0:43

Thank you for an illuminating session - Yoga Sutras Simplified https://amzn.eu/d/diIgG6q

Thank you so much for this illuminating conversation, Vasudev. I can't tell you how deeply introspective this has been and I really appreciate the profound insights in your responses. I think you've given me a lot of food for thought and maybe I will go back to your book today as I think about it
article image placeholderYoga Sutras Simplified
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@Wordsmith
Sreeja V
@Wordsmith · 1:56

@Vmurthy88

And I know that for a fact, that the real application of yoga can help one bring in equality and in life and, of course, the process of moving right from the physical to the realm of the spiritual and to be going within, deep inside within and to know the self. It's a beautiful journey, of course. And I was curious to know how your journey with yoga actually began and how did you embark on this journey? What sort of brought you closer to yoga?
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@Vmurthy88
Vasudev Murthy
@Vmurthy88 · 2:05

@Wordsmith

Though when I was in college, my dad did try to send me to a yoga class. But at that time I think I was just not ready for it. Anyway, fast forward. Then I came back to India and then I joined this yoga institute here in Bangalore. And that was very, very transformative. But again, I have to tell you that even at that age I don't really think I've had the maturity and any kind of good sense to fully appreciate the meaning of yoga
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