Who is Patanjali?🔗

There is complete uncertainty as to who Patanjali was. Some think of him as the divine incarnation of the serpent Ananta, who supports the whole universe and is simultaneously the bed of Lord Vishnu. Factually, next to nothing is known about him. It is believed that he was born in south Bharat, in the holy town of Chidambaram, a place very deeply associated with Nataraja, the dancing expression of Lord Shiva. Hindu tradition identifies him with a famous grammarian of the same name who lived in the second century B.C.E.

The reason for this confusion is that Bharat has known of several other Patanjali's. The name Patanjali is said to be given to Ananta because he wanted to teach Yoga on earth and fell (pat) from heaven, onto the palm (anjali) of Gonika, his mother.

Notwithstanding his origin, Patanjali is credited with the compilation of the great book, the Yoga Sutra. It is an exceptionally open and profound work on the nature of consciousness. It is considered more universal than any other book because it focuses only on the mind, its qualities, influences, fluctuations and the resultant disturbances that are obstacles on the path of the discovery of the Self. It clearly outlines the means to transcend the mind and live in the heightened state of awareness called samadhi. Because the mind is common to all of humankind, these sutras are, therefore, of interest to all.

A sutra is a style of writing, which has very few words, yet is full of essence, affirmative, universal in context and yet free from all ambiguity. These sutras, these aphorisms on Yoga are scientific, straightforward and to the core. This is the greatest book ever presented to mankind. Millions of books and many styles of Yoga have stemmed from this one book. The Yoga Sutra is so complete that not one single word more can be added to it.

Patanjali did not belong to any isms (religions). Patanjali was a saint and a scientist rolled into one. He declared universal truth for the benefit of all mankind. He left behind a strong energy, a strong understanding and a strong way for people to experience universal consciousness. Patanjali has either directly or indirectly influenced every spiritual master on planet Earth. One such Master was Raghupathi Yogi, from the small temple town of Tiruvannamalai, in south Bharat.