Yoga-sutras (with Vyasa and Vachaspati Mishra)
by Rama Prasada | 1924 | 154,800 words | ISBN-10: 9381406863 | ISBN-13: 9789381406861
The Yoga-Sutra 2.33, English translation with Commentaries. The Yoga Sutras are an ancient collection of Sanskrit texts dating from 500 BCE dealing with Yoga and Meditation in four books. It deals with topics such as Samadhi (meditative absorption), Sadhana (Yoga practice), Vibhuti (powers or Siddhis), Kaivaly (isolation) and Moksha (liberation).
Sūtra 2.33
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of Sūtra 2.33:
वितर्कबाधने प्रतिपक्षभावनम् ॥ २.३३ ॥
vitarkabādhane pratipakṣabhāvanam || 2.33 ||
vitarka—of the thoughts of sin. bādhane—on the troubling of. pratipakṣa—to the contrary, bhāvanam—habituation.
33. Upon thoughts of sin troubling, habituation to the contrary.—84.
The Sankhya-pravachana commentary of Vyasa
[English translation of the 7th century commentary by Vyāsa called the Sāṅkhya-pravacana, Vyāsabhāṣya or Yogabhāṣya]
[Sanskrit text for commentary available]
When during the practice of the restraints and observances sinful thoughts give trouble, the mind is to be habituated to the contrary ideas. When thoughts of the sins of causing injury to others and other sins appear in the mind of this devotee of wisdom, such as, I shall kill the evil-doer,’ ‘I shall tell lies,’ ‘I shall appropriate this man’s wealth,’ ‘I shall spoil this man’s wife,’ ‘Why should I not possess the things which this man possesses.’ When he is touched by the high fever of these sins, which tend to push him along the wrong path, he should habituate himself to think upon the contraries of such sins. He should entertain such ideas as these—Being burnt up as I am in the fires of the world, I have taken refuge in the practice of Yoga, giving as it does protection to all living beings. Were I to take up the sins, having once given them up, I should certainly be a dog in my conduct. As the dog licks up his own vomit, so should I be acting, if I were to take up again what I have once given up.’ This should be applied to other aphorisms also.—84.
The Gloss of Vachaspati Mishra
[English translation of the 9th century Tattvavaiśāradī by Vācaspatimiśra]
There are many obstacles in the way to good things. Thus obstruction being possible, the aphorism teaching the remedy thereof is introduced:—When these restraints and observances, &c.‘The aphorism is, ‘Upon thoughts of sin troubling, habituation to the contrary.’ In the Commentary explaining the sins there is nothing difficult to understand.—83.