I.23 ईश्वरप्रणिधानाद्वा

īśvara-praṇidhānād vā
īśvara-praṇidhānāt vā

“Or, [nirodha is near] from the act of turning to the source (īśvara).”

This most concise and crystalline of all the sūtras both reflects back to the “nearness” described in I.21 and introduces a new theme. It is the ultimate nature of yogic endeavor. By the process of removal that is nirodha, the practitioner goes in, to the root of experience and to the beingness within. The willingness to make that turn in and to identify with the primordial “I” brings the nearness. It is a kind of surrender; it itself facilitates nirodha.

Īśvara-praṇidhāna is an important concept in Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtras; it occurs four times (I.23, II.1, II.32, II.45), and in the next six sūtras (I.24-29) its meaning unfolds. Praṇidhāna (from pra-, “towards,” + ni-, “under”, + dhā, “to place”) is the act of devotion, of dedication, as one would place an offering at an altar. It might also be understood to be a placing of one’s support, as in the sense of locating where one’s support comes from.

But who or what is īśvara, according to  Patañjali? The word īśvara (from īś, “to own,” +   vṛ, “to choose”) as an adjective means powerful, capable, and the noun refers to one who is the owner, a rich person, a king or queen. It is, in this context, commonly translated as the Lord or as God. Yet who is God? What is God? In his powerful book The Shaking of the Foundations, the twentieth-century theologian Paul Tillich proposes that the investigation of who we are, the journey to our deepest layers, is expressed by the word God. And yet, he says, the word is unimportant:

The name of this infinite and inexhaustible depth and ground of all being is God. That depth is what the word God means. And if that word has not much meaning for you, translate it, and speak of the depths of your life, of the source of your being, of your ultimate concern, of what you take seriously without any reservation.  –Paul Tillich

Patañjali speaks of the “infinite and inexhaustible”  in the following sūtras.

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“The idea of sudden awakening is to be found in all mystical approaches…. Patañjali says that there is an intensity which can be described only by sudden turning towards God. There cannot be any action more intense and swift than this. This is turning in a new direction in the course of one’s spiritual endeavour. God in this context is the Ultimate Reality or the Ultimate Principle of Life.” –Rohit Mehta, Yoga, The Art of Integration, p. 44-45

“[Īśvara-praṇidhāna] is the most theistic of all aspects of yoga. Īśvara is Divinity in a general and nondenominational sense. What it definitely does not mean is using the ego to second-guess the will of God. It is, on the contrary, the surrender, through meditation (dhyāna) and devotion (bhakti), of the ego itself.” –B.K.S. Iyengar, Light on Life, p. 261

“And in the Gita we read: ‘Whatever your action, food or worship;/ Whatever the gift that you give to another;/ Whatever you vow to the work of the spirit:/ Lay these also as offerings before me.’ This kind of devotion requires, perhaps, a special temperament. It is not for everybody. But to be able to feel it is a very great blessing, for it is the safest and happiest way to liberation.” –Swami Prabhavananda and Christopher Isherwood, How to Know God, p. 53

Questions:
• Does devotion assist you in your practice? Surrender?
• How has your personal sense of Divinity developed over time? How do you feel about the word “God”?
• Have you experienced “a sudden turning in a new direction”? Would you describe this as an awakening?