The Cause of Suffering and the Way to End It - Insights from the Yoga Sutra

About the Presentation

It has been said that Theosophy contains shallows that a child may play in, and depths that could drown a giant. In the Patañjali Yoga Sūtras we plunge into the deeper end of the pool, dealing as this text does with truths and techniques taking the aspirant all the way to the final goal: transcendental awareness, samādhi, or union.

The present talk will provide an outline of this core treatise on yoga, focusing especially on the way in which Patañjali treats the mental processes that stand in the way of awareness and liberation. Understanding the structure of ordinary consciousness is prerequisite to freeing ourselves from its inherent limitations; limitations which can be very destructive, as may be seen on the daily news.

Each of the great religions treats of suffering and salvation. The Patañjali Yoga Sūtras provides us with the nuts and bolts of the religious life in a uniquely practical way, which I believe is largely applicable to all faiths.

Dara Tatray is the President of the Adelaide Theosophical Society. Previously, she served at the national headquarters of the TS in Australia in various capacities - National President, National Secretary, Editor of Theosophy in Australia, and national lecturer. She holds a PhD in the History and Philosophy of Science (UNSW 2006) and has a long-standing love of Advaita Vedānta and the perennial philosophy, especially through the works of Ramana Maharshi, Jiddu Krishnamurti, Patañjali, and Helena Blavatsky.

Image: Joga Pradīpikā (nineteenth century) British Library public domain

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