Saturday, February 14, 2009

Great Vows YS II - 31


Yoga Sutra II- 31 - JATI DESA KALA SAMAYANAVACCHINNAH SARVABHAUMA MAHAVRATAM - These Great Vows are universal, not limited by class, place, time or circumstance.

Swami Satchidananda says of this sutra that "Patanjali calls these [ non-violence, truthfulness, non-stealing, continence, and non-greed] the maha vratam, or great vows, because they can never be broken by any excuse: not time, place, purpose, social or caste rule, not by winter, summer, morning or evening, or by this country or that nationality. Theses points are for whole-time, dedicated Yogis; and so for them, Patanjali allows no excuses. For people who aren't that one-pointed toward the Yogic goal, these vows can be modified according to their position in life."

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