COURSE | YOGA PHILOSOPHY

Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali

with Dr. Edwin Byrant

Tuesdays from Oct 20 - Dec 15 @ 6 pm ET

This course will undertake a close reading of yoga as presented in the traditional Hindu sourcebook on the subject, the 3rd century Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali, where it is defined as “the stilling of all states of mind” (i.e. meditative practices). The Yoga Sūtras is the classical text on meditative practice accepted as authoritative by all the orthodox Hindu schools, and our reading of it will be informed by the primary commentaries that have elaborated on the source text over the centuries prior to the colonial period. We will thus read the most important sections of the Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali yoga and engage it through pre-modern perspectives. In other words, we will encounter what yoga has meant in Indian traditions for two millennia prior to being transplanted to the West.

In this course, students will:

Gain a deeper understanding of the primary commentaries of the Yoga Sūtras.
Read and unpack the most important sections of the text.
Engage with the Yoga Sūtras through pre-modern perspectives.
Encounter what yoga has meant in Indian traditions prior to being transplanted to the West.
Cover the important concepts of the Yoga Sūtras and how its metaphysical underpinnings differ from other classical yogic texts.

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