The first sutra of the Yoga Darshana, that is Patanjali Yoga Sutras, is a declaration, is an announcement about the beginning of the knowledge of Yoga. That is how the first sutra begins. In the first chapter, Samadhipada, and the first sutra goes like this,
अ॒थ योगानु॑शास॒नम् ॥ १.१॥
Atha yoga anushasanam - There is a lot of descriptions, commentaries on the first word, the Atha itself.
There are various dimensions and meanings given for the word Yoga. And similarly, lot of description and explanations and expositions were available for Anushasanam. But Maharshi Patanjali, as we know, that he packs entire meaning completely in a simple but powerful sentences called as sutras, and the first word is the Athaha. Number of sutra literatures, many of them begin with this word Atha. So it is traditionally taken that beginning a text, beginning a description, beginning a discipline of knowledge with the word Atha is very auspicious. Mangalakara. That's why the word Atha is used. But apart from it, Atha literally means now. Means now, let us begin. That is how the word Atha goes. And when Patanjali uses the word Atha, it means the knowledge and the science of Yoga and the entire discipline of Yoga is there, was there earlier. That means the knowledge of Yoga, the practice of Yoga is available prior to Maharshi Patanjali.
It was available as we know that the word Yoga is found in the Rig Veda. The Shvetashvatara Upanishad deals elaborately with the practices of Yoga. Bhagavad Gita is there.Ramayana is there. And number of texts were available with the word Yoga. Maharshi Patanjali, when he says the word Atha, it means the tradition, the flow of the knowledge of Yoga and the continuity of the knowledge of the Yoga. Taking that into consideration, he says NOW. Now signifies that prior to it, there are various disciplines, various dimensions, various expositions of Yoga.
Atha also means that it is fresh. The teaching of the Yoga is fresh in the sense Atha conveys, signifies it is a revised exposition, a revised teaching, a revised edition which encompasses whatever was available at the time. That is how the word Atha is taken. Though as I repeat again, the word literally means now.
Then the second word is Yoga. Normally, commonly it is expounded, it is explained that Yoga is joining. And the word joining is taken from the root of the word Yoga, which is Yuj (युज्). But surprisingly this word Yuj has four different dimensions. Normally the word युज्यते अनेन इति योगः (yujyate anena iti yogaḥ), that word yujyate is taken from युजिँर् dhatu. But we should be very clear, it will be surprising to many of us that Maharishi Patanjali uses this word Yoga not from युजिँर् dhatu but युज समाधौ (yuja samādhau). Yuj means samādhau, samadhi. As I just said that out of the four dimensions, one dimension is the samadhi. So in Patanjali Yoga Sutra, first sutra, when we say Yoga it is the samadhi.
The famous or the original, the first commentator on the Patanjali Yoga Sutra, Vyasa and a vivarna, an explanation on Vyasa's commentary by none other than Adi Shankaracharya repeats this, conveys that in Atha Yoga Anushasanam, Yoga is not yujyate but Yoga is samādhau, samadhi, which is quite right because the entire knowledge of Yoga, when Maharishi Patanjali handles it in the future sutras he presents samadhi as samprajnata and asamprajnata and the various dimensions, various depths and layers which also shows that samadhi is not the end of it. So let us be clear though it is surprising that yujyate anena iti is not the correct meaning conveyed by Patanjali but Patanjali conveys the meaning by using the word yoga as samadhi. So Atha Yoga means now samadhi, the knowledge of samadhi.
Anushasanam is the word used Anushasanam is literally taken as a text, a text book, a grantha, a adhikarana means the book of yoga it is or book on yoga or a book on the knowledge of yoga, adhikarana it is and Anushasanam it is Anu is the word always used as following which implies next Shasanam is another beautiful word in Sanskrit which means that it lays down and Anushasanam is following which also signifies that there was a continuous flow of the knowledge of yoga and now it follows that, it is a continuation continuity of the knowledge of yoga, continuity of the discipline of yoga but generally we understand it is translated, presented or popularized that Anushasanam is a discipline disciplining the mind, disciplining the body a physical and a mental discipline that is called as text yoga but let us be clear that is not the meaning Patanjali conveys here, the Anushasanam means text, content and that is how and it is a revised content which also means that it is eliminating all the unnecessary ideas prevalent earlier and it is a value added comprehensive containing knowledge so Anushasanam signifies that and surprisingly this word Anushasanam and Atha both conveys that Maharshi Patanjali hinting that he is not the originator of yoga, he is not the beginner of yoga, he is not the author of yoga which all of us feel that Patanjali is the author of yoga beginner of yoga, he is the originator of yoga discoverer of yoga by this first sutra Athayoga Anushasanam, all such concepts, all such ideas have been kept aside and Athayoga Anushasanam signifies, conveys the meaning of the first sutra of Athayoga Anushasanam is simply that now begins revised exposition that is the meaning of Athayoga Anushasanam and we shall conclude by saying that Atha is now, yoga is samādhau and Anushasanam is the text's exposition and that is how we should understand the meaning of the word Athayoga, meaning of the sutra Atha Yoga Anushasanam and the second sutra is the definition of what is yoga and that is the second sutra which we shall take up again.
Om Shanti Shanti Shanti.
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः||
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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
