Patanjali  compiled the Yoga Sutras, a work which contains aphorisms regarding the practical methods-technicks and the philosophical wisdom on the practice of Raga Yoga.

It is said to have lived between  200BC  and  400AD. There is not enough information about Patanjali and some believe that he is a fictional character.

However the book is  beautiful  and sharp and i find that the understanding of it goes hand by hand with the practice of yoga and the state of  the personal development. It consists of 4 chapters (pada) and of 196 aphorisms .

• Samadhi Pada    on being absorbed in spirit
• Sadhana Pada    on being one with the spirit
• Vibhuti Pada       on higher abilities
• Kaivalya Pada     on absolute freedom

A direct translation of Sutra = Thread, string

and i find it to be a very poetic and sharp visualization of how the book is composed and  of what it conveys.