Ashtanga Yoga - The Intermediate Series. Mythology, Anatomy, and Practice

R O O T S
statement implies a unity of the many classes of
shastras (scriptures) and their vehicle or carrier, the
Sanskrit language. In other words, Sanskrit is
inseparable from true knowledge (vidya) of yoga
and the scriptures. It follows, then, that an
understanding of Sanskrit will give you the ability
not only to practice mantra correctly but also to
interpret shastra. With some knowledge of Sanskrit,
you will be able to determine when English
translations of Sanskrit texts are erroneous, which is
very often the case because the translators are not
mystics and yogis but scholars. You will also be able
to determine when “twilight language” is used in
scriptures — when a superficial meaning is used to
hide a deeper meaning from non-yogis. In this way
your understanding of yogic technique will be
vastly improved.
Shastra is important because it preserves much
more accurately than modern texts and teachers the
original knowledge of Vedic teaching. The original
teaching of yoga was and is contained as divine
intention in the state of shabda Brahman. From there
it was brought forth as the mantra Om, which can be
heard in meditation. The sacred syllable then broke
up into the fifty Sanskrit letters, which you can still
experience when meditating on the chakras. The
fifty letters were also used to compose the many
shastras. After that many more languages arose, and
with them greater confusion about the true meaning
of the original knowledge.
The history of the universe and the history of
human civilizations can easily be understood when
we apply to them the second law of
thermodynamics. This law states that with the
passage of time, the amount of entropy (disorder) in
the universe increases. With the amount of disorder
increasing, available energy slowly decreases until
the system becomes defunct and breaks down. This
tendency can be observed in all entities, including
the universe as a whole, galaxies, stars and planets,
civilizations, empires, religions, companies, plants,
animals, and the human body. Over thousands of
years, Indian thought and spiritual culture have
evolved according to this law.
In line with this principle, Indians believe that
Vedic civilization (and human society in general)
started from an ideal, noble, and spiritual ideal and
from there it slowly descended into disorder.
(Certainly in spiritual matters humankind has gone
downhill since the time of the Vedas. We may have
invented science and technology, but with
accelerating environmental destruction it is yet to be
seen whether coming generations will view our
presumed progress as a blessing or as a scourge.)
Accordingly, we are now in the grip of the dark age
called Kali Yuga. Kali Yuga can be recognized by
three facts: there is constant warfare in one place or
another, people are identified with their bodies and
wallets rather than with their divine selves, and,
finally, corrupt teachers and teachings abound. You
can make up your own mind whether this sounds
like an accurate description of the world we live in.
I find myself reading fewer books on yoga
written by modern authors and listening less often
to modern and contemporary teachers. Instead I rely
more and more on the original teachings encrypted
in shastra. In this day and age it is necessary for all
of us to take personal responsibility for our
spirituality and obtain the advice and teaching of
the ancient sages who lived during the Golden Age
(Satya Yuga). This advice is readily available in the
shastras.
The more shastras you have read and
internalized, the less likely you are to become lost in
the jungle of different opinions that exist in the
world today. Despite our great progress, this jungle
appears to have become denser as our history has
progressed. I recommend that you find your way
back to the original roots and sources of yoga. Try
not to read modern interpretations of the shastras,
which are creations of the Kali Yuga; instead read the
shastras in the original, direct translations. Make sure
that the direct translations include the original
Sanskrit script type (called devanagari). While
reading, keep an open mind, and when you come to
passages that do not seem to make much sense, scan
over the Sanskrit. Usually the obscurity or
ambiguity arises through the translator’s choice of
English terms. Start to develop your own alternative
choices of English terms. More often than not, there
are no direct translations of Sanskrit terms, as there
are so many more words in Sanskrit than in English.
You need to understand that each choice of an
English term constitutes an interpretation. Once you
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