ABSTRACT
In the ancient Hindu tradition, scholars followed the 'great sayings' style. It consisted of choosing an important word or a phrase or a significant statement from the philosophical or religious text around which the entire commentary was written. This system was used in the writing of commentaries on the Bhagavad Gita as well as the Yoga Sutras. In the second Sutra, Patanjali tells us that Yoga is chitta vritti nirodha, meaning that Yoga is the total control or elimination of all mental fluctuations. Patanjali accepts the Samkhya view of human nature. According to the Samkhya philosophy, our psychophysical organism consists of three gunas or components, which are sattva, rajasa and tamasa. The sattvic person has a predominance of the sattva quality. Sattva means light or bright, and its predominance in an individual inclines him or her towards contemplation or meditation.
