Conference “Yogasutra: Pantanjali’s aphorisms on Yoga” by the scholar Dr. Oscar Pujol

New Delhi - On the occasion of the International Yoga Day 2021, the Embassy of the Dominican Republic in India organized an online conference titled “Yogasutra: Pantanjali’s aphorisms on Yoga” by the renowned Spanish scholar Dr. Oscar Pujol. 

Addressing an audience of Dominican yoga practitioners and teachers, Dr. Pujol presented the context and the main philosophical concepts of a text considered seminal by all schools of Yoga. His talk also elaborated on the transformations that have taken place from Patanjali’s vision to the present-day practice of yoga, strongly characterized by a concentration on its physical aspects.

More than sixty people attended the talk which ended in a lively question and answer session moderated by H.E. David Puig. In his introductory remarks, Ambassador Puig highlighted the importance of Yoga in the relations and exchanges between India and the Dominican Republic.  He stated that the community of yoga practitioners of the Dominican Republic is one of the most robust and vital links between the two nations. 

Dr. Pujol is one of the most respected Sanskrit scholars of the Spanish speaking world. His numerous works include a Spanish-Sanskrit and a Catalan-Sanskrit dictionary. Since its publication, in 2016, his translation from Sanskrit to Spanish of the Yogasutra of Patanjali has been reprinted in various occasions. Presently, Dr. Pujol is the Director of the Instituto Cervantes in New Delhi, an institution he helped establish and launch in 2007.