Here’s one man who has impressed me so much. Nobody knows who he was or much details about him. His work is compiled under a pseudonym. His work on Yoga is what I consider the best and many others do. When there is a such brilliant piece of work written by someone, the natural tendency for people many centuries ago was to associate this person with some divine powers. Hence Patañjali was known as reincarnation of Adisesa, the serpent used by Vishnu during meditation. Adisesa provides sthiram and sukham. Vishnu also has Garuda the eagle to take him anywhere he wants. The serpent and the eagle are such opposite forces, but they coexist here for Vishnu. The reasoning why Adisesa was chosen for Vishnu’s support for meditation was that Adisesa was associated with a mature personality who has gone through a lot in life. Adisesa is also supporting the Earth on his head and taking care of Vishnu, who has an important job to perform as the Preserver of the Universe. Vishnu needs a strong support and wisdom as a guide in Adisesa. A lot of stories are symbolic in Hinduism. Kausthub Desikachar writes Patañjali Unplugged, an interesting article on Patañjali .
Yoga Sutra says Īśvara is the teacher of teachers. Īśvara is a fine object of meditation and how important it is for this object to be flawless. When you constantly meditate on something, it simply has to be perfect. For one imbibes the qualities of the object of meditation. I have searched long and hard to have a guru. But, Patañjali will be my guru and Īśvara. Human beings don’t cut it for me. Here’s the prayer to Patañjali as taught by KYM.
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