Rama Prasada – Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
The aphorisms of Patanjali on the Yoga Sutras are contained in
four chapters and are nearly two hundred in number. The author of
the aphorisms is said to be the same Patanjali who wrote the famous
commentary on Panini’s aphorisms. Another work is also attributed to him the
great work on Medicine. If so, he was not only a great Grammarian
and a great Philosopher, but a Great Physician. He prescribed for the
body, mind and spirit all three. The age of Patanjali is now generally
fixed at three centuries before Christ.The word Yoga comes from a Sanskrit root which means ” to go to
Rama Prasada
trance, to meditate.” Others however derive it from a root which means
to join; and Yoke in English is said to be the same word as Yoga. Both
roots are feasible in the case of the root to join, Yoga would mean the
science that teaches the method of joining the human soul with God.
