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The next three sutras 46, 47 and 48 are considered to be important sutras because they are concerned with the āsanas, the aṅga, especially the 46 and the 47. So the sutra 46 is
स्थिरसुख॑म् आस॒नम् ॥ २.४६॥
Sthirasukham āsanam.
Very simple, just three words but Maharishi Patanjali has packed up, concised entire gamut of āsanas.
Generally this sutra is considered as a definition of āsana. What is an āsana? The meaning of the āsana, the definition. It is said as sthira sukham āsanam - Sthiram, sukham, āsanam. Sthira is stability. Sukha is pleasant, comfortable. Āsanam is the posture, āsana. So a posture or āsana is to be stable and comfortable - sthira sukham āsanam.
Though the words are simple, but understanding, practicing and interpretations are very very important. Maharishi Patanjali does not give any list of āsanas. He does not give how to practice āsanas, of various āsanas.
Generally what is invoked popularly, which we see so many varieties of practices of āsanas. Standing postures, sitting postures, prone postures, supine postures, balanced postures, top seater postures, advanced postures, advanced āsanas - varieties, varieties, thousands of āsanas. In fact, Gheraṇḍa Saṁhitā says, as many species, so many āsanas. But Maharishi Patanjali does not list, specify, give anything. We should be very clear in this particular dimension. All these āsanas, which we practice, which we learn, which we teach, they are all connected with the Haṭha Yoga. Maharishi Patanjali, I will repeat it, we should know that, has not listed any āsanas. But somehow, āsanas became so popular, that it has got identified with yoga. Or in fact, yoga has become identified only with āsanas. Yoga practice means āsana practice. Yoga teaching means āsana teaching. Yoga student means āsana student. Yoga instructor means āsana instructor. The physical bodily exercises have been made so popular, given so much importance, that the relevance of the yoga philosophy, the crux and the core of the yoga philosophy, many times we feel it's not presented properly. It was overlapped. It got hidden by this undue importance to the āsanas and equating it with the yoga. Because āsanas are connected to the body, it is to be done by the body. It is to be practiced with the body. So the importance given to the body, the same importance is being given to the practices of the body. Sometimes, seeing the competitions, the physical exercises competitions, as yoga competitions, āsana competitions, yogāsana competitions, so much of confusion. In fact, so much of wrong has been propagated, or is being getting propagated.
Maharshi Patanjali is very clear in using this particular sutra. Āsanam, sthira sukham āsanam. Ās is to sit. Āsana, the word āsana comes from this particular root ās. Ās means to sit. To sit. It can be just to sit, or a material on which we sit, or a mat, or a bench, or a chair. But that material, a tool, on which we sit, that is āsana. Or just sitting is āsana. But on both the sides, āsana means, conveys, contains sitting. This is also important.
So various postures which we do, standing postures, standing āsanas, supine postures, prone postures, varieties of postures which we do, which are not in sitting, non-sitting, strictly speaking, may not be, or cannot be called as āsanas. Because the word āsana contains ās, means to sit. See the depth of the sutra. And other thing is sthira and sukha. Physical and mental steadiness. Mānasika sthiratvam, śārīraka sthiratvam. The physical and at the mental level. The steadiness. Mind should be steady. Not just body is steady in a sitting posture. Mind also has to be steady. And not just steady, it has to be comfortable, pleasant, sukham. No discomfort should be there. If any āsana, if the practitioner feels any discomfort, and not steady, unsteadiness, strictly speaking, as per this definition of the Patanjali Sutra, that cannot be considered as an āsana.
But, very beautiful suggestion, within the sutra, by practice one can eliminate discomfort and gain sukha. It is a thing which is to be experienced. But still, sticking to the point, it is the āsana. So be in a posture as long as one can be sthira and sukha. Because there is no time frame, time line is mentioned in any of the yoga texts. Innumerable yoga texts which we find in the society, in the market. All the Haṭha Yoga books, all the Saṁhitās, wherever there is a mention of the āsanas, strictly speaking, nobody has mentioned any time frame, how much an āsana should be maintained. In the modern books, if somebody says you maintain 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 6 minutes, there are people who stood on the śīrṣāsana for about 2 hours. Nothing happened. Doctors will be stunned. But, what is the limit? How much time we can maintain steadiness and comfortably, comfortably steady, without any discomfort. That is the limit.
So, we should be very clear in understanding what is āsana, as it is a definition of the āsana. Of course, because nowadays the practice, so many we see everywhere, yoga identifying with āsana, āsana identifying with the yoga. A lot of teachers, instructors are there, practitioners are there. There is no antagonism with the Haṭha Yoga. But, yoga darśana, yoga sūtras, and Maharishi's concept should be clearly understood for the truth of the practice of āsana. Let us see the further dimensions, benefits of the āsana practice.Om Śāntiḥ Śāntiḥ Śāntiḥ.
To Be Continued.. ---------------------------------------
These are transcription of session delivered by Vice-President of Vivekananda Rock Memorial & Vivekananda Kendra, Sri M. Hanumantha Rao Ji.
Audio Link - https://youtu.be/o7pSJOnJsGw?si=MENQHVut3Bprqq-d
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मुक्तसंग्ङोऽनहंवादी धृत्युत्साहसमन्वित:।
सिद्धयसिद्धयोर्निर्विकार: कर्ता सात्त्विक उच्यते ॥१८.२६॥
Freed from attachment, non-egoistic, endowed with courage and enthusiasm and unperturbed by success or failure, the worker is known as a pure (Sattvika) one. Four outstanding and essential qualities of a worker. - Bhagwad Gita : XVIII-26
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