Procuring Mental Health Through Yoga and Meditation: A Study of Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtras

The article attempts to bring forth the philosophico-spritual wisdom of mental health compiled in the ancient Sanskrit text, the Yoga Sūtra by Patañjali. Yoga is one of the six major orthodox schools of the Indian philosophical system—Vaiseṣika, Nyāya, Sāṃkhya, Yoga, Mīmāmsā, and Vedānta. In the present epoch, globalisation has affected human life negatively due to rapidly changing lifestyles, causing several psychophysical errs in one’s personality. This has led to mental health issues as a prime concern to be studied across the globe. In the Indian knowledge system, Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtras postulate insights for procuring mental health through certain yogic and meditative practices—eight-limbs (Aṣtānga Yoga), essentially applicable for body-mind control. Keeping this in mind, the paper analyses the principles of yoga and meditation laid in the Yoga Sūtra, contextualising various psychophysical traits of human personality. The summation of the paper accentuates the significance of Yoga and meditation for a healthier practice and the well-being of human life and society at large.