The Yoga Sutra of Patanjali are the basis of yoga and they are a delightful confluence of philosophy and practice. The central ideas of yoga like dhyAna, prANAyAma, avidyA, samAdhi etc, have influenced the entire body of inner exploration of our sages. In addition to the vedic tradition, these ideas find a place in the Buddhist, Jain and Shakta traditions. In fact, there is no area of spiritual sAdhanA that is not influenced by the essential principles of yoga. This timeless text has been an extraordinary guidepost for seekers over millennia and is full of wisdom that is urgently needed in our quest for a more humane and compassionate way of life. The insights into human processes that are contained in the Yoga Sutra, the Sankya Karika, the Upanishads and the Gita are fascinating. Individual processes and dynamics of group interaction can be understood based on these insights if these are used as a mirror to reflect on to oneself, instead of trying to “understand and comprehend” these texts.

The course involves engaging with the Yoga Sutra in a self-reflective manner and seeing how it applies to one’s own life and choices being made. It is not intended to be an academic or didactic teaching of the sutra, but a dialogic facilitation of self-driven learning in the light of the wisdom the text offers.