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When a man becomes steadfast in his abstention from harming others, th — Patañjali

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"When a man becomes steadfast in his abstention from harming others, then all living creatures will cease to feel enmity in his presence"
Patañjali
Patañjali
Patañjali
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Patanjali was the name of one or more author(s), mystic(s) and philosopher(s) in ancient India. His name is recorded as an author and compiler of a number of Sanskrit works. The greatest of these are the Yoga Sutras, a classical yoga text. Estimates based on analysis of this work suggests that its author(s) may have lived between the 2nd century BCE and the 5th century CE.

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"Patañjali wrote when theism was at a low ebb. In modern self-presentations of Hinduism, you would not know that it was ever anything else than devotional-theistic... Nowhere does Patañjali say that “union” is sought with God nor with anything else. On the contrary, the stated goal of his system is kaivalya, “isolation, separation”, the very opposite of “union”, and equivalent with the notion kevala of the atheistic Jaina system. Patañjali accommodates the devotee yet avoids burdening the unbeliever with a requirement to believe.... The proper and intended meaning of yoga in Patañjali’s system is the one suggested by its English cognate “yoke”, viz. “subjection, disciplining, control, restraint”.... Unfortunately, in his word-for-word explanation, Chapple forgets his own translation of this definition and explains yoga as “union, connection, joining”, without problematizing this common interpretation. With this, I must find fault, even if it is the majority view by far."
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