Category: Art as Therapy

tatah pratyak cetana adhigamo py antaraya abhavas ca

Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, 1.29

tatah = From this
pratyak = inner
cetana = self
adhigamo = aquiring
py = also
antaraya = obstacles
abhavas = disappear
ca = too

The sun is representing the inner self and the clouds are the obstacles clearing away.
There is also a clear road ahead for the driver and their mini 🙂

taj japah tad artha bhavanam

Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, 1.28

taj = that (OM)
japah = repetition
tad = that (OM)
artha = meaning
bhavanam = reflection

This is an abstract one where the bright colours represent everyday life and the paler background represents the palatable peace you feel when chanting and meditating on OM, it also represents the fact that it is always there too.

tasya vacakah pranavah

Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, 1.27

tasya = his
vacakah = word
pranavah = Om

Om is sometimes described as the primordial sound of the universe which creation emerged from. In the drawing the flowers and leaves are emerging from the Om 🙂

sa purvesam api guruh kalena anavacchedat

Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, 1.26

sa = he (she/they/god)
purvesam = antecedent
api = even
guru = guru
kalena = by time
anavacchedat = without interruption

I tried to draw god being inside and outside of time and space

tatra niratisayam sarvajna bijam

Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, 1.25

tatra = in that (god)
niratisayam = unsurpassed
sarva = all
jna = knowledge
bijam = seed

The circle with a dot inside is to represent the soul of god and the colours are to represent us as refracted rays of the white light of god.

klesa karma vipaka asayaih aparamrstah purusa visesa isvarah

Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, 1.24

klesa = afflictions
karma = actions, causes
vipaka = the fruits of actions
asayaih = impressions
aparamrsthah = untouched
purusa = Self, Atman, Consciousness, Spirit
visesa = special
isvarah = God

The grass, the sky and the sun all seem to me to be a bit like this – untouched by impressions, actions and afflictions.

ishvara pranidhanadva

Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, 1.23

ishvara = god
pranidhana = devotion / surrender / contemplation
va = also

While thinking of what to draw for this one, I was trying to explain what it means to my son Dan and said something like “When you try to work hard to reach illumination by doing good, meditating, study, etc and it doesn’t work or you just can’t work out what to do or practice, you can just leave it up to god.” He said “Why don’t you draw those?” (pointing to the yuzu on the table) and went on to explain it was because we didn’t expose them to sunlight which is what makes them turn yellow, yet they turned yellow anyway.
So perhaps there is hope for all of us!

mrdu madhya adhmatratvat tato’pi visesah

Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, 1.22

mrdu = mild
madhya = medium
adhmatrartvat = intense
tato = from these
‘pi = also
visehah = kinds

The three birds are to represent the three kinds of intensity mentioned in this sutra for the ways to illumination.
Maybe one isn’t better than the other, there are just many ways 🙂

tivra samveganam asannah

Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, 1.21

tivra = vigorous
samvaganam = enthusiasm, passion
asannah = brings nearer

This one seems to say that if there is vigorous enthusiasm then you will get nearer to illumination. The fire is to represent vigorous enthusiasm and the people (and dog) around the fire are illuminated by it.

sraddha virya smrti samadhi prajna purvaka itaresam

Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, 1.20

sraddha = faith
virya = vigour
smrti = memory
samadhi = contemplation
prajna = wisdom
purvakah = precedes
itaresam = for the others

Did a slightly abstract drawing, where I tried to include aspects of faith, vigour, memory, contemplation and wisdom.

bhava pratyayo videha prakrti layanam

Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, 1.19

bhava = birth
pratyayo = cause, seed
videha = bodiless beings
prakrti layanam = merged with nature

I drew a picture of mount Fuji to represent the feeling when you see something beautiful and it takes your breathe away and you disappear for a moment and only the beautiful view exists – maybe that’s touching the edge of merging with nature.