Sanskrit and the Yoga Sutras

The “certainty of freedom” is a striking concept. Although the concept of spiritual freedom expressed through a word such as “liberation” exists in the English language, the actual meaning as we hear it is quite abstract, somehow foreign to the...

Sanskrit: a Sacred Model of Language, Part 2

                The primary characteristic of a sacred language is that the purpose for which it’s being used is discovering one’s own true nature. Sanskrit is so highly developed and refined as a tool for serving...

Sanskrit: a Sacred Model of Language, Part 3

From the perspective of Yoga, all life ultimately merges into samadhi. It could be said that samadhi is the essence of yoga, In the Yoga Sutras, samadhi is defined, “tad evaathamaatraanirbhaasam-svaruupa-shuunyam iva samaadhih” that (consciousness, engaged...

Sanskrit, Sattva and Purusha

From Patanjali’s perspective in his Yoga Sutras, there is ultimately one problem in life; not perceiving the difference between the transparent, luminous and reflective quality (guna) of the mind with its perceptual field known as sattva, and my true nature as...

Resources: Dictionaries/Pronunciation Guides

There are many good online resources for looking up Sanskrit words, finding books on the subject and finding help with pronunciation. We’ve listed some of the best and classic resources on the language. Dictionaries/Pronunciation Guides 1. The Monier-Williams Online...