A presente dissertação de mestrado consiste numa tradução comentada, do sânscrito para o português, daquele que é considerado pelos estudiosos e pela tradição cultural da Índia como o mais antigo e mais importante tratado de Yoga preservado até o presente: o Yogasutra. O texto, composto por volta do século II a.C., reflete certamente práticas culturais bem mais antigas e, de acordo com a tradição sânscrita, seus 194 enunciados concisos ou sutra reúnem todos os principais aspectos do sistema do Yoga, tal como conhecido pelos nomes de Rajayoga ou Yogadarçana. Além do mais, o sistema do Yoga codificado por Patañjali está indissociavelmente ligado a outro sistema conhecido como Samkhyadarçana, com o qual mantém um diálogo constante através de referências intertextuais e no qual encontra seus fundamentos teóricos. A primeira parte de nosso trabalho consiste numa revisão dos principais aspectos do universo cultural do texto (a Índia antiga) e destes sistemas em análise. A tradução que segue é dividida em quatro capítulos principais, exatamente como exposto por Patañjali, mas os enunciados sânscritos de cada capítulo foram por nós divididos em grupos temáticos aos quais foram atribuídos títulos, bem como extensos comentários. Além de nossa tradução, as interpretações que oferecemos a estes enunciados sânscritos baseiam-se não apenas no tradicional comentário sânscrito de Vyasa, o YogabhaLya, mas também nos tratados do Samkhya, sobretudo o Samkhyakarika e o khyapravacanasutra. Neste sentido, nosso objetivo foi trazer à superfície de nossa exposição a unidade teórica subjacente a estas duas escolas tradicionalmente “gêmeas" do Samkhyayogadarçana, tal como concebida pela cultura da Índia. Também com este propósito organizamos e expusemos, no decorrer de nossos comentários, mais de uma centena de enunciados originais (sutra) e comentários destes tratados do Samkhya. Elaboramos, ainda, um glossário com todo o vocabulário do Yogasutra, que elenca as raízes sânscritas dos termos, as nossas propostas de tradução para o português e o número dos enunciados nos quais os termos pertinentes são referidos nos tratados sânscritos. Esta foi nossa tentativa de transformar os principais aspectos culturais e contextuais do Yogasutra num “todo" significativo e coeso, com o auxílio metodológico das atuais teorias da lingüística, sobretudo a análise do discurso e a semiótica aplicada aos estudos culturais. / The present work, entitled “The Yogasutra, of Patañjali – translation and analysis of the text, based on its contextual, intertextual and linguistic aspects", consists of a commented translation, from sanskrit to portuguese, of a text which is considered by scholars and also by India’s cultural tradition as the oldest and the most important treatise on the subject of Yoga that has been preserved up to the present: the Yogasutra. The text, which was composed probably around the 2nd century b.C., certainly reflects much older cultural practices, and according to sanskrit tradition its 194 concise sentences or sutra fully comprehend the main aspects of the system of Yoga as known by the names of Rajayoga or Yogadarçana. Moreover, the system of Yoga as codified by Patañjali has an unbreakable connection with another system known as Samkhyadarçana, with which it maintains a constant dialogue by means of intertextual references, and in which it finds its theoretical foundations. The first part of our work consists of a review of the main aspects of this text’s cultural background (ancient India) and the systems in analysis. The translation that follows is divided in four main chapters, exactly as exposed by Patañjali, but the sanskrit sentences within each chapter have also been divided by us in thematic groups to which titles have been given, as well as extensive commentaries. Besides the translation itself, the interpretations we offer to these sanskrit sentences are based not only on Vyasa’s traditional sanskrit commentary, the YogabhaLya, but also on the Samkhya treatises, mainly the Samkhyakarika and the Samkhyapravacanasutra. In this sense, our objective has been bringing to the surface of our exposition the underlying theoretical unity of these traditionally “twin" schools of Samkhyayogadarçana, as conceived by Indian culture, and for this purpose we have also organized and exposed, throughout our commentaries, more than a hundred original sentences (sutra) and commentaries of these Samkhya treatises. A glossary of the whole vocabulary of the Yogasutra, together with their sanskrit roots, our portuguese translations and the numbers of the sentences where the words are referred to in sanskrit treatises, has also been prepared. This has been our attempt to turn into a meaningful and cohesive “whole" the main cultural and contextual aspects of the Yogasutra with the help of modern linguistic theories such as intertextuality, as well as discourse analysis and semiotics applied to cultural studies.

A presente dissertação de mestrado consiste numa tradução comentada, do sânscrito para o português, daquele que é considerado pelos estudiosos e pela tradição cultural da Índia como o mais antigo e mais importante tratado de Yoga preservado até o presente: o Yogasutra. O texto, composto por volta do século II a.C., reflete certamente práticas culturais bem mais antigas e, de acordo com a tradição sânscrita, seus 194 enunciados concisos ou sutra reúnem todos os principais aspectos do sistema do Yoga, tal como conhecido pelos nomes de Rajayoga ou Yogadarçana. Além do mais, o sistema do Yoga codificado por Patañjali está indissociavelmente ligado a outro sistema conhecido como Samkhyadarçana, com o qual mantém um diálogo constante através de referências intertextuais e no qual encontra seus fundamentos teóricos. A primeira parte de nosso trabalho consiste numa revisão dos principais aspectos do universo cultural do texto (a Índia antiga) e destes sistemas em análise. A tradução que segue é dividida em quatro capítulos principais, exatamente como exposto por Patañjali, mas os enunciados sânscritos de cada capítulo foram por nós divididos em grupos temáticos aos quais foram atribuídos títulos, bem como extensos comentários. Além de nossa tradução, as interpretações que oferecemos a estes enunciados sânscritos baseiam-se não apenas no tradicional comentário sânscrito de Vyasa, o YogabhaLya, mas também nos tratados do Samkhya, sobretudo o Samkhyakarika e o khyapravacanasutra. Neste sentido, nosso objetivo foi trazer à superfície de nossa exposição a unidade teórica subjacente a estas duas escolas tradicionalmente “gêmeas” do Samkhyayogadarçana, tal como concebida pela cultura da Índia. Também com este propósito organizamos e expusemos, no decorrer de nossos comentários, mais de uma centena de enunciados originais (sutra) e comentários destes tratados do Samkhya. Elaboramos, ainda, um glossário com todo o vocabulário do Yogasutra, que elenca as raízes sânscritas dos termos, as nossas propostas de tradução para o português e o número dos enunciados nos quais os termos pertinentes são referidos nos tratados sânscritos. Esta foi nossa tentativa de transformar os principais aspectos culturais e contextuais do Yogasutra num “todo” significativo e coeso, com o auxílio metodológico das atuais teorias da lingüística, sobretudo a análise do discurso e a semiótica aplicada aos estudos culturais. / The present work, entitled “The Yogasutra, of Patañjali – translation and analysis of the text, based on its contextual, intertextual and linguistic aspects”, consists of a commented translation, from sanskrit to portuguese, of a text which is considered by scholars and also by India’s cultural tradition as the oldest and the most important treatise on the subject of Yoga that has been preserved up to the present: the Yogasutra. The text, which was composed probably around the 2nd century b.C., certainly reflects much older cultural practices, and according to sanskrit tradition its 194 concise sentences or sutra fully comprehend the main aspects of the system of Yoga as known by the names of Rajayoga or Yogadarçana. Moreover, the system of Yoga as codified by Patañjali has an unbreakable connection with another system known as Samkhyadarçana, with which it maintains a constant dialogue by means of intertextual references, and in which it finds its theoretical foundations. The first part of our work consists of a review of the main aspects of this text’s cultural background (ancient India) and the systems in analysis. The translation that follows is divided in four main chapters, exactly as exposed by Patañjali, but the sanskrit sentences within each chapter have also been divided by us in thematic groups to which titles have been given, as well as extensive commentaries. Besides the translation itself, the interpretations we offer to these sanskrit sentences are based not only on Vyasa’s traditional sanskrit commentary, the YogabhaLya, but also on the Samkhya treatises, mainly the Samkhyakarika and the Samkhyapravacanasutra. In this sense, our objective has been bringing to the surface of our exposition the underlying theoretical unity of these traditionally “twin” schools of Samkhyayogadarçana, as conceived by Indian culture, and for this purpose we have also organized and exposed, throughout our commentaries, more than a hundred original sentences (sutra) and commentaries of these Samkhya treatises. A glossary of the whole vocabulary of the Yogasutra, together with their sanskrit roots, our portuguese translations and the numbers of the sentences where the words are referred to in sanskrit treatises, has also been prepared. This has been our attempt to turn into a meaningful and cohesive “whole” the main cultural and contextual aspects of the Yogasutra with the help of modern linguistic theories such as intertextuality, as well as discourse analysis and semiotics applied to cultural studies.

Thesis advisor: Catherine Cornille / This dissertation contributes to a scholarly understanding of Yoga in modern times by considering the dialectical tension between life-affirming goals in Yoga (health, balance, well-being) and the world-renouncing asceticism of the classical text, Patañjali’s Yogasūtras. In particular, I focus on the teaching tradition of the 19th century guru Tirumalai Krishnamacharya and the prominent teachers who learned from him, K. Pattabhi Jois, BKS Iyengar, and TKV Desikachar. Through a study of the classical text, historical commentators, recent scholarship, and modern teachers, I advance an understanding of the structure and general rubric of the Yogasūtras as a text that emphasizes process, the attainment of accomplishment/power, and ultimately the need for detachment from power. I further contend that this rubric may provide an insightful means for interpreting the Yogasūtras as an authoritative and informative text for Yoga in modern times. The teaching tradition of Krishnamacharya is notable for its effort to revive Yoga and the Yogasūtras within India and for an international audience. However, the core concept of detachment, while prominent throughout the Yogasūtras, appears to be at odds with the modern tradition, which emphasizes attachment oriented goals like health and well-being. Thus, I introduce a comparative study of detachment in the work of the 18th century Jesuit, Jean Pierre de Caussade, in order to further consider the dialectic between detachment, action, and love. The practice of Comparative Theology is perhaps most effective at creating a new light with which the individual can freshly examine her own tradition. The comparison between Caussade, Krishnamacharya, and the Yogasūtras highlights the role of devotion in relation to detachment and offers particular challenges and points for further consideration for the on-going tradition of Yoga in modern times. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2015. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Theology.

The mere presence of the term īśvara in Patañjali’s Yogasūtra has come to affect the meaning of both the path and the goal of Classical Yoga as well as the meaning of the term Yoga itself. The frequent translation of the term īśvara as God leads to the system of Classical Yoga to be labeled as theistic, particularly obscuring the interpretation of īśvarapraṇidhāna, a functional component of the system, as well as perpetuating a syncretic trend that has led to the popular understanding of Yoga as ‘union with the divine’. From identifying problematic hermeneutical trends and their underlying causes, as well as understanding the term within the constraints of the original text in its original Sanskrit, the term īśvara emerges as the archetype of an ultimate reality functioning as a practical and experiential tool providing the yogi with a direct glimpse of its true nature.

Dans ce mémoire, le "Connais-toi toi-même" socratique est étudié d'abord pour lui-même, ensuite à la lumière de la philosophie du Yoga telle qu'exprimée dans le Sâmkhya et les Yoga-Sûtra de Patanjali. Le lecteur peu familier avec la philosophie du Yoga y trouvera une présentation du Yoga-Sâmkhya qui lui sera très utile. On y démontre également que le Yoga-Sâmkhya propose une excellente méthode de connaissance de soi. De plus, on y découvre que certaines méthodes de connaissance de soi, populaires de nos jours ont des liens de parenté très évidents avec le Yoga. Les méthodes comparées sont les 12 étapes des Alcooliques Anonymes, les 12 sentiers de Ken Keyes et l'ANDC de Colette Portelance.

In contemporary society, distinct traditions are bleeding into one another, blurring traditional lines of inquiry and historically significant boundaries. This phenomenon frames this project and creates the context for the Yoga-Christian praxis dialogue this study constructively critiques. Unfortunately, this dialogue exhibits an Eliadean concern for essentialism and universality. I challenge this trend by juxtaposing two distinct texts, Patañjali‘s Yoga-Sūtra and Gregory of Nyssa’s Life of Moses. These texts point to the similar idea that without striving and personal transformation neither the yogic practitioner nor practicing Christian logically subsists. More importantly, however, from this point of correspondence I constructively critique the Yoga-Christian praxis dialogue by concretely engaging these texts and paying particular attention to the differences inherent in them. My comparison, then, suggests how attention to particularity points to a more authentic dialogue: what I wish to call a dialogue of distinction without separation.