I was wondering what was happening in India when Patanjali wrote the Yoga Sutras. First of all, India was not called India at that time. It was still known as Sanathana dharma.
The first Sutra says Yoga is open to all and there are no restrictions. This got me wondering as to how open it really was, as Yoga Sutras is written in Sanskrit and if women would practice. Sanskrit was not understood by all as it was a scholarly language. I had assumed that the only religion followed was based on the Vedas and that the so called upper caste was the only one that practiced Yoga. So, I had to read more.
Yoga darshanam(Sutras) is a follower of Sankhya darshanam written by Kapila. Sankhya was rejected subsequently by people, as Sankhya is a godless philosophy, atheistic in the truest sense. So, there must have been a lot of people that did not accept the existence of God for Sankhya to have been written and followed for a while, which is sort of weird for me to imagine India having that many atheists.
Yoga darshanam accepts the existence of God, but Patanjali keeps it optional. You can believe in God to reach Yoga or you don’t have to believe in God. Either way, the state of Yoga is within reach for everyone.
According to one of my teachers, Bhagavad Gita was not yet written at this time. I am not sure about it as another teacher said the other way around. The dates seem very controversial. I would really like it if Yoga Sutras were written first as I like it way better than Bhagavad Gita. A few concepts are common between these two works. If any of you know better, please leave comments as to which one came first and why you think so. Bhagavad Gita must have been written after Sankhya for sure, as it refers to Sankhya.
Also, these few centuries gave us Buddha, Aristotle and Plato. Yoga Sutras are dated about second century BC. I found this reference in the book Yoga and the living tradition of Krishnamacharya by TKV Desikachar and RH Cravens. But again, a different text can a give a very different date.
So, I am not able to tell if women did follow Yoga, if any other religion had a following by then. I am able to gather that there were plenty of atheists. And, that Patanjali was wooing them all, by mentioning that God is optional.
Interesting times!
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What funny errors:
> India was not called India at that time. It was still known as Sanathana dharma.
India was NEVER called “Sanatana-dharma” (see also the correct spelling) – “Sanatana-dharma” means “Eternal law” (eternal dharma, religion) – so it refers to Vedic and Brahmanic religion known today as Hinduism.
India was called “Jambu-dvipa” or “Bharata-varsha” (the modern name of India is exactly “Bharata” in Sanskrit, or “Bharat” in Hindi).
> The first Sutra says Yoga is open to all and there are no restrictions.
It doesn’t say so, nor anything close to it. It simply says: “Atha yoga-anushasanam”, which means “And now – the exposition of yoga [is being made]“. It is directed to the initiated students, as all the commentators underline, that the word “atha” (and now, here, behold) has the power of initiation.