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.

Texte remanié de: PhD--Bristol--University, 2005. / Bibliogr. p. 205-217.

The work undertakes an examination of Indian metaphysical theories and their relationship to ethical ideas and moral conduct, as these operate in Indian thought. Special account is taken of the samkhya, advaita and visistadvaita systems, the metaphysical conceptions presupposed in these systems, and the ethical theories proposed by them. The peculiarities characteristic of each system in terms of both metaphysics and ethics are set out and examined in terms of the vital concepts of dharma, karma and mok~a. It is demonstrated that, in the case of each system the original classical formulations, as supported by a relatively consistent dialectic through the centuries down to modern times, in fact accentuate and harden the distinctions among the systems . se fuat 1he three systems appear to be supporting distinctly differing patterns of ethical behaviours. The safukhya is seen to be supporting a somewhat simplistic model of life-denying ethics as flowing from its metaphysical premises, while the visistadvaita, with its clear accent on theism, gives the impression of a more positive attitude in ethical thought and practice. Its ethical concerns, however, are seen to be markedly individualistic in character and operation. The advaita system, with its singular peculiarity of a splitlevel theoretic orientation, is seen to vac~te between a negative withdrawal from life, and a mor-e positive concern towards life in the world. The complex character of advaita metaphysical constructs, in their relation to the more ~ractical aspects of life, are seen to be related to the operation of some stresses and tensions reflected at the individual and social levels. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Durban-Westville, 1988.

Unknown to most Western psychologists, ancient Indian scriptures contain very rich, empirically derived psychological theories that are, however, intertwined with religious and philosophical content. This article represents our attempt to extract the psychological theory of cognition and consciousness from a prominent ancient Indian thought system: Samkhya-Yoga. We derive rather broad hypotheses from this approach that may complement and extend Western mainstream theorizing. These hypotheses address an ancient personality theory, the effects of practicing the applied part of Samkhya-Yoga on normal and extraordinary cognition, as well as different ways of perceiving reality. We summarize empirical evidence collected (mostly without reference to the Indian thought system) in diverse fields of research that allows for making judgments about the hypotheses, and suggest more specific hypotheses to be examined in future research. We conclude that the existing evidence for the (broad) hypotheses is substantial but that there are still considerable gaps in theory and research to be filled. Theories of cognition contained in the ancient Indian systems have the potential to modify and complement existing Western mainstream accounts of cognition. In particular, they might serve as a basis for arriving at more comprehensive theories for several research areas that, so far, lack strong theoretical grounding, such as meditation research or research on aspects of consciousness.

Unknown to most Western psychologists, ancient Indian scriptures contain very rich, empirically derived psychological theories that are, however, intertwined with religious and philosophical content. This article represents our attempt to extract the psychological theory of cognition and consciousness from a prominent ancient Indian thought system: Samkhya-Yoga. We derive rather broad hypotheses from this approach that may complement and extend Western mainstream theorizing. These hypotheses address an ancient personality theory, the effects of practicing the applied part of Samkhya-Yoga on normal and extraordinary cognition, as well as different ways of perceiving reality. We summarize empirical evidence collected (mostly without reference to the Indian thought system) in diverse fields of research that allows for making judgments about the hypotheses, and suggest more specific hypotheses to be examined in future research. We conclude that the existing evidence for the (broad) hypotheses is substantial but that there are still considerable gaps in theory and research to be filled. Theories of cognition contained in the ancient Indian systems have the potential to modify and complement existing Western mainstream accounts of cognition. In particular, they might serve as a basis for arriving at more comprehensive theories for several research areas that, so far, lack strong theoretical grounding, such as meditation research or research on aspects of consciousness.