Surreal! I keep finding the strangest stuff. Here is a rendition of the Yogasutra’s translated and conveyed by Master Djwhal Kuhl to Alice Bailey.
Fernando Tola and Carmen Dragonetti
Over the years I have collected many translations of the Yogasutras in english. I have a copy of ‘The Yogasutras of Patanjali on Concentration of Mind’ by Fernando Tola and Carmen Dragonetti (1987). Both are professors from National universities in Peru and Argentina. Considered among the foremost indologists of their countries, both professors have done an indepth job of cataloging various translations of the Yogasutras and logically working their argument regarding what they feel are wrong translations or mis-renderings of the sutras.
This deductive system makes sense, and I too tend to go about understanding Indian philosophical texts in a similar way, and I find myself disagreeging with both the authors in a few areas.
For example, in Samadhi Pada – Sutra 2, the authors go to considerable lengths to establish what their translation of the term ‘Nirodha’ is. They term it restraint, as opposed to inhibition by Taimini, restriction by Woods or hindering by Ballantyne. I prefer to call it cessation. (My argument for this translation is here.)
Similarly in the third Sutra of the same section, the authors recall Samkya philosophy of Prakriti and Purusha to establish that draṣṭṛ (see-er) is actually referring to the Purusha inherent in every person. I felt that they are reading too much into the sutra and that such a complex explanation is hardly neccessary. The term, draṣṭṛ is clearly in the same sense as draṣṭhti. Seer- and Seeing. Or as in draṣṭṛ-dṛśyayoh. The see-r and the seen. Perhaps the authors felt the need to back Patanjali in the centuries old Samkya and Advaita arguments on duality. All said, this translation of draṣṭṛ is misleading.
My arguments aside, I enjoyed the analytical and logical breakdown of each Sutra alongside other commentators and their translations. While this may not be the most unbiased version available, it is certainly useful for academic research or as a single guide to various different translations of the Yogasutras.
