A History of Indian Philosophy, Volume 1Dasgupta, Surendranath
Religion
A History of Indian Philosophy, Volume 1
Dasgupta, Surendranath
Hindu philosophy; India -- Religion
Of the Pâtañjala school of Sâ@mkhya, which forms the subject of
the Yoga with which we are now dealing, Patañjali was probably
the most notable person for he not only collected the different
forms of Yoga practices, and gleaned the diverse ideas which
were or could be associated with the Yoga, but grafted them all
on the Sâ@mkhya metaphysics, and gave them the form in which
they have been handed down to us. Vâcaspati and Vijñâna
Bhik@su, the two great commentators on the _Vyâsabhâ@sya_, agree
with us in holding that Patañjali was not the founder of Yoga,
but an editor. Analytic study of the sûtras brings the conviction
that the sûtras do not show any original attempt, but a
masterly and systematic compilation which was also supplemented
by fitting contributions. The systematic manner also
in which the first three chapters are written by way of definition
and classification shows that the materials were already in
existence and that Patañjali systematized them. There was
no missionizing zeal, no attempt to overthrow the doctrines of
other systems, except as far as they might come in by way of
explaining the system. Patañjal is not even anxious to establish
the system, but he is only engaged in systematizing the facts
as he had them. Most of the criticism against the Buddhists
occur in the last chapter. The doctrines of the Yoga are
described in the first three chapters, and this part is separated
from the last chapter where the views of the Buddhist are
__________________________________________________________________
[Footnote 1: The Yoga writer Jaigî@savya wrote "_Dhâranâs'âstra_" which
dealt with Yoga more in the fashion of Tantra then that given by Patañjali.
He mentions different places in the body (e.g. heart, throat, tip of the
nose, palate, forehead, centre of the brain) which are centres of memory
where concentration is to be made. See Vâcaspati's _Tâtparya@tîkâ_ or
Vâtsyâyana's bhâ@sya on _Nyâya sûtra_, III. ii. 43.]
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criticized; the putting of an "_iti_" (the word to denote the conclusion
of any work) at the end of the third chapter is evidently to
denote the conclusion of his Yoga compilation. There is of course
another "_iti_" at the end of the fourth chapter to denote the
conclusion of the whole work. The most legitimate hypothesis
seems to be that the last chapter is a subsequent addition by a
hand other than that of Patañjali who was anxious to supply
some new links of argument which were felt to be necessary for
the strengthening of the Yoga position from an internal point of
view, as well as for securing the strength of the Yoga from the
supposed attacks of Buddhist metaphysics. There is also a
marked change (due either to its supplementary character or
to the manipulation of a foreign hand) in the style of the last
chapter as compared with the style of the other three.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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