빠딴잘리 요가경에 나타난 인간의 본성과 삶의 목적 = The Basic Assumptions about Man' s Nature and the Goal of Life according to Patanjali' s Yoga Sutra

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This theoretical study aims to examine the several basic assumptions that Patan～jali`s Yoga Su￣tra has adopted about the nature of man and the goal of life. The Yoga Su￣tras are considered the foundation of all Yoga practice and Yoga psychology. People have been practicing Yoga for centuries in order to obtain the physical and psychological benefits that arise out of this discipline. Despite the increasing interest of contemporary Western psychology in the practice of Yoga, comparatively little has been written about its philosophical aspect. It is the purpose of this paper to make explicit theoretical points of Yoga`s view about man and his life. Patan～jali assumed that man consists of two separate elements; Purus??a and Prakr??ti. The Purus??a is the pure and essential consciousness. Prakr??ti is the term used to designate everything else in the universe aside from the Purus??a, mainly the natural or material world. According to Patan～jali, the cause of all mental pain and anguish is avidya, lack of understanding the distinction between Purus??a and Prakr??ti. This wrong identification with man`s material nature as opposed to one`s Purus??a, that is Avidya￣, should be removed by the right knowledge to obtain the absolute happiness and freedom free from all the pain and suffering. Hence the true goal of life is to escape from pain which are yet to come by means of destroying Avidya￣. As the Avidya￣ is the fundamental cause of other sufferings, one`s whole life should be devoted to the effective and practical ways to root it out. The philosophical presuppositions of Patan～jali about man and man`s life seems to be metaphysical and mystical, not deserving of serious scientific comment. But he deals with human sufferings and the practical means to overcome them in a systematic way. His theoretical assumptions helps us to gain an understanding of Yoga psychology`s principles of mental health, psychological disturbance, and therapeutic change.