In our first session devoted to Life on Life we looked a the Introduction and Chapter 1 and discussed Sūtras I.2, I.3, I.12, I.13, I.14, 2.28, 2.29, I.48, and I.50.
Some of these sūtras we encountered in our earlier study sessions and as we move through Light on Life, you may start to observe how the sūtras and topics start to weave an elaborate tapestry of ideas and concepts. Each chapter of the book builds upon another taking the reader deeper into a concept by relating it to another.
At the heart of understanding for chapter 2 are the kosas (sheaths of being) and the gunas (qualities of nature). The kosas are divided into 7 layers each moving deeper towards the Soul.* Light on Life focuses on the first five of the kosas – annamaya kosa (physical body), prānamāya kosa (physiological body), manomaya kosa (psychological body), vijñānamaya kosa (intellectual body), and ānandamaya kosa (bliss/divine body). Chapter 2 of Light on Life focuses on stability, the physical body, the annamaya kosa, which is easily accessed through the third limb of ashtanga yoga – āsana which we spent some time with when we started this blog last year.
The gunas are divided into three forces: tamas (inertia), rajas (vibrancy) and sattva (luminosity). Each of these forces are in dynamic balance within each of the aforementioned kosas. Connection can be made from the gunas with the levels of practitioner – mrdu (mild), madhya (moderate) and adhimātratvāt (ardent) – YS. 1.22.
The kosas and the gunas are not the only concepts that are present in the chapter – look closely – you’ll see mentions of other concepts that we’ll delve into in the coming chapters. We encourage you to read a chapter along with your copy of the sūtras and go back and read a previous chapter before moving forward. This is one of the reasons that we’re taking our time to move through the book to begin to understand and reflect on the connections and depths of Yoga Sūtras through the words of Mr. Iyengar.* For those of you who like visual aids, Light on the Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali Table 11, p. 141 has a great graphic of the kosas as they relate to the layers of consciousness.
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