The Yoga Sutra (YS) defines a worldview and spells out exercises of yoga practice. That is, it spells out a system—really systems—of practices framed by a metaphysics. The Yoga philosophy of the YS is distinct from, for example, the theism of the Bhagavad Gita, though the Gita also advocates yoga practices. As we have discussed (in the first section of chapter 5 in particular), the supreme good according to the YS is a rupture separating an individual conscious being, purusha, from nature, prakriti. To explain this possibility, which it calls aloneness (kaivalya), it presents a metaphysical dualism of an infinite plurality of such individual conscious beings, on the one hand, and a single nature, on the other. That is to say, its dualism may be interpreted as an explanation of how liberation from nature (prakriti) is possible. It is so because in reality the individual conscious being (purusha) is already liberated.
Thus, in addition to its delineation of yoga practices in the style of a how-to book or meditation manual, the YS attends to questions about reality, especially about the relation of consciousness to nature. There is also an intermediate level of psychological theorizing, which models various cognitive and motor functions. The psychology constitutes a bridge between the practice teachings and the metaphysics of Yoga, and, as I have argued (chapter 2), is valuable despite the inadequacy of the YS’s brand of dualism.
The textual and commentarial tradition is discussed in the last section of chapter 1. Although the commentary by Vyasa (see figure 1A) fixes a classical reading, probably many of the sutras were formulated in distinct philosophical settings other than his and Patanjali’s. Modern commentators sympathetic to traditions of Indian spirituality try to restore a sense of the sutras outside the systematic interpretations of classical commentators—with some success, in my opinion. Furthermore, some classical philosophers, such as the tantric Abhinava Gupta (c. 950), also read the aphorisms differently than Vyasa and his followers.
A telltale tension in the text concerns the theory about God, the Lord (ishvara), in connection with practice teachings of bhakti (love and devotion to God). As discussed in chapter 5, here theory seems to undermine practice, and many classical theists find value in the psychological and yogic teachings of the YS while rejecting its theology. God, according to the YS (or, more precisely, according to the classical Yoga interpretation of the text by commentators, beginning with Vyasa in the fifth century), is the archetypal liberated conscious being, never sullied by contact with the world (although somehow also the primeval teacher). This is a very different notion from that of the Gita, where the Supreme Being is conceived along lines a lot closer to the theology of Western religions.
Indologists have seen the YS as a compilation of distinct texts. Classical commentators, in sharp contrast, presuppose its unity. Modern yoga sympathizers, such as B.K.S. Iyengar (1993), Georg Feuerstein (1979), and Swami Satyananda Saraswati (1976), not only try to restore an original “experiential” or “phenomenological” sense but also, in the case of Iyengar in particular, import much traditional folklore in their commentaries. My method has been to try to learn from everyone.
The text is taken from the critical edition of the first chapter and Vyasa’s commentary by P. Maas and, for the remainder of the text, from a critical edition of two important commentaries by V. Karnatak.1 The transliteration of the YS text into roman characters follows the standard indological rules and not the phonetic schema (without diacritics) used here elsewhere than with full sentences. Sanskrit words used in the translation are, as always, defined in the glossary. See p. 163 in this book for an explanation of the translation style. In general, my reading expands on the ideas of a paper, “The Conflict of Voluntarism and Dualism in the Yoga-sutra,”2 which is summarized in chapter 2, the third section.
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
Salutations to Patanjali!
oṃ namo namaḥ.
samādhi-pāda
1.1. atha yogânuśāsanam.
Now instruction in yoga.3
1.2. yogaś citta-vṛtti-nirodhaḥ.
Yoga is the stilling of fluctuations of thought and emotion (chitta).4
1.3. tadā draṣṭuḥ sva-rūpe ’vasthānam.
Then the seer (the conscious being, purusha) rests in its true form.
1.4. vṛtti-sārūpyam itaratra.
At other times, fluctuations are identified with.
1.5. vṛttayaḥ pañcatayyaḥ kliṣṭâkliṣṭāḥ.
Fluctuations are of five types, and are detrimental or nondetrimental (to the practices of yoga).5
1.6. pramāṇa-viparyaya-vikalpa-nidrā-smṛtayaḥ.
The five are knowledge sources (and knowledge), the opposite, thought and imagination, sleep (and dreaming), and memory.
1.7. tatra pratyakṣânumānâgamāḥ pramāṇāni.
Among these, the knowledge sources (along with the veridical awarenesses to which they give rise) are perception, inference, and testimony (including scriptural tradition).
1.8. viparyayo mithyā-jñānam atad-rūpa-pratiṣṭham.
The opposite to the knowledge sources amounts to misapprehension indicating that something is what it is not.6
1.9. śabda-jñāñânupātī vastu-śūnyo vikalpah.
Thought and imagination (vikalpa, the third item on the list of five), which are devoid of real objects, are dependent on words and concepts.
1.10. abhāva-pratyayâlambanā vṛttir nidrā.
Sleep (along with dreaming) comprises the mental fluctuation whose object is a stream of ideas about things not present.
1.11. anubhūta-viṣayâsampramoṣaḥ smṛtiḥ. Memory is not letting experienced objects get away.
1.12. abhyāsa-vairāgyābhyāṃ tan-nirodhaḥ.
Restriction of them (all five types of fluctuation) is accomplished through practice and disinterestedness.
1.13. tatra sthitau yatno ’bhyāsaḥ.
Practice is effort to hold fast the restriction.
1.14. sa tu dīrgha-kāla-nairantarya-saṃskārâsevito dṛḍha-bhūmih.
But that effort becomes firmly established when its mental (or memory) dispositions (samskara) become habitual through long and continuous practice.
1.15. dṛṣṭânuśravika-viṣaya-vitṛṣṇasya vaśīkāra-saṃjnā vairāgyam.
Disinterestedness is the consciousness of being in control (of appetites), on the part of someone who has no thirst for objects directly perceived or reported.7
1.16. tat-param puruṣa-khyāter guṇa-vaitṛṣṇyam.
Superior to that is (the absolute disinterestedness of) lack of desire for (manifest or unmanifest) phenomena (guna, qualities) because of perception of the purusha (true person).8
1.17. vitarka-vicārânandâsmitā-rūpânugamāt samprajñātaḥ.
Samadhi (yogic trance or enstacy) has two forms, one of which is supported by wisdom in accordance with reasoning, discrimination, bliss, and sense of identity (“I-amness”).
1.18. virāma-pratyayâbhyāsa-pūrvakaḥ saṃskāra-śeṣo ’nyaḥ.
The other, in which only mental dispositions (samskara) remain, is preceded by effort to hold steady ideas intent on contentment.
1.19. bhava-pratyayo videha-prakṛti-layānām.
Disembodied yogins and those merged with nature attain samadhi through being intent on birth (i.e., just by being born).
1.20. śraddhā-vīrya-smṛti-samādhi-prajñā-pūrvaka itareṣām.
Others attain it through faith, energy, remembering (i.e., meditation), and wisdom deriving from samadhi.
1.21. tīvra-saṃvegānām āsannaḥ.
It settles in for those who are exceptionally intense.
1.22. mṛdu-madhyâdhimātratvāt tato ’pi viśeṣaḥ.
Even among those (who are exceptionally intense), there are differences: the barely so, the moderately so, and the extremely so.
1.23. īśvara-praṇidhānād vā.
Or, (restriction occurs) from opening to (devotion to, meditation on, pranidhana) the Lord.9
1.24. kleśa-karma-vipākâśayair aparāmṛṣṭaḥ puruṣa-viśeṣa īśvaraḥ.
By “Lord” is meant a particular conscious being (purusha) who (unlike us) is untouched by obstacles to enlightenment or by stores of ripening karma.
1.25. tatra niratiśayaṃ sarvajña-bījam.
The seed of omniscience (present in everyone) is unsurpassed in the Lord.
1.26. sa pūrveṣām api guruḥ kālena anavacchedāt.
He is the guru even of the ancient teachers in not being limited by time.
1.27. tasya vācakaḥ praṇavaḥ.
The Lord is indicated by the syllable om.
1.28. taj-japas tad-artha-bhāvanam.
(Devotional yoga consists in) repetition of om and enlivening its meaning.
1.29. tataḥ pratyak-cetanâdhigamo ’ntarāyâbhāvaś ca.
From that comes understanding of inward consciousness as well as negation of obstacles.
1.30. vyādhi-styāna-saṃśaya-pramādâlasyâvirati-bhrānti-darśanâlabdha-bhū-mikatvânavasthitatvāni citta-vikṣepā antarāyāḥ.
Obstacles are illness, listlessness, doubt, heedlessness, laziness, nonabstention, wrong outlook, and failure to attain a certain level or to stay there. They make the chitta unsteady.
1.31. duḥkha-daurmanasyâṇga-mejayatva-śvāsa-praśvāsā vikṣepa-sahabhuvaḥ. Symptoms of unsteadiness include pain, bad mood, shaky limbs, and uneven in-and out-breaths.
1.32. tat-pratiṣedhârtham eka-tattvâbhyāsaḥ.
For the purpose of checking them, practice should be maintained within a single system (or, by a single principle, eka-tattva).
1.33. maitrī-karuṇā-muditôpekṣāṇāṃ sukha-duḥkha-puṇyâpuṇya-viṣayāṇām bhāvanātaś citta-prasādanam.
Calming illumination of the mind (chitta) is furthered through practicing (or, enlivening), toward objects pleasant, painful, virtuous, and full of vice, (respectively the balancing attitudes of) friendship, compassion, gladness, and indifference.10
1.34. pracchardana-vidhāraṇābhyāṃ vā prāṇasya.
Or, it (calming illumination, stilling of the chitta) can be brought about by controlled exhalation and holding of the breath (i.e., by pranayama).
1.35. viṣayavatī vā pravṛttir utpannā manasaḥ sthiti-nibandhanī.
Or, (it arises from) the advent of sense-object-centered activity binding the sensuous mentality.11
1.36. viśokā vā jyotismatī.
Or, (it arises with) activity that is free from sorrow and luminous (such as concentration on the heart center or the center between the eyebrows).
1.37. vīta-rāga-viṣayaṃ vā cittam.
Or, when the mind (chitta) contemplates beings who have transcended passion.12
1.38. svapna-nidrā-jñānâlambanaṃ vā.
Or, (another means is) the mind brought to knowledge of sleep and dreams.
1.39. yathâbhimata-dhyānād vā.
Or, from meditation in accordance with (an individual’s) proclivities.
1.40. paramâṇu-mahattvânto ’sya vaśīkāraḥ.
The (self-)control of the yogin extends from the smallest atom (of his body) to the largest magnitude (known in meditation).
1.41. kṣīṇa-vṛtter abhijātasya iva maṇer grahītṛ-grahaṇa-grāhyeṣu tat-stha-tad-añjanatā samāpattiḥ.
The person whose mental fluctuations have become attenuated achieves samapatti, yogic balance, with respect to things subjective, sensational, and objective, like a polished jewel that takes on the color of that on which it lies.13
1.42. tatra śabdârtha-jñāna-vikalpaiḥ saṃklrnā savitarkā samāpattiḥ.
The type of samapatti, yogic balance, called the higher rational, savitarka samapatti, has verbal and other cognitions blended in.
1.43. smṛti-pariśuddhau sva-rūpa-śūnyä iva artha-mātra-nirbhāsā nirvitarkā. The type of samapatti, yogic balance, called beyond the rational, nirvitarka samapatti, occurs after the memory has been purified, (the chitta) shining in pure awareness of whatever object, devoid of self-consciousness, as it were.
1.44. etayā eva savicārā nirvicārā ca sūkṣma-viṣayā vyākhyātā.
This explains both types of mental balance no matter how subtle the content.
1.45. sūkṣma-viṣayatvaṃ ca ā-liṅga-paryavasānam.
Content can be subtler and subtler until it is the unmanifest (i.e., nature undifferentiated).
1.46. tā eva sabījaḥ samādhiḥ.
All these (stages and types of mental balance) are called samadhi with seed, sabija.
1.47. nirvicāra-vaiśāradye ’dhyātma-prasādaḥ.
After becoming expert in nondiscursive mental balance and samadhi, the spiritual opens its light.
1.48. ṛtam-bharā tatra prajñā.
“Truth-conscious,” ritam-bhara (bearing the divine mind, in tune with the cosmic order), is the yogin’s wisdom and awareness (prajna) there.14
1.49. śrutânumānābhyām anya-viṣayā viśeṣârthavattvāt.
Its object and scope is other than that of the wisdom of scripture and reasoning, since its purpose (or value, artha) is unique (or, since its objects are absolute particulars).
1.50. taj-jaḥ saṃskāro ’nya-saṃskāra-pratibandhī.
The mental disposition created by this state blocks the firings of other mental dispositions.
1.51. tasya api nirodhe sarva-nirodhān nirbījaḥ samādhiḥ.
When it too is checked, there is seedless samadhi, since all have been checked.15
sādhana-pāda
2.1 tapaḥ-svâdhyāyêśvara-praṇidhānāni kriyā-yogaḥ.
(The second limb of ashtanga yoga—see below, 2.32—the niyamas, include what is called) Kriya yoga, which consists of asceticism (tapas), self-study (in the light of a yogic text), and opening to (or meditation on) the Lord.
2.2. samādhi-bhāvanârthaḥ kleśa-tanūkaraṇârthaś ca.
(It is practiced) to enliven samadhi as well as to attenuate afflictions (klesha).
2.3. avidyā-asmitā-rāga-dveṣâbhiniveśāḥ pañca kleśāḥ.
Spiritual ignorance, I-identification, liking, disliking, and the proclivity to remain in one’s own form (or, clinging to life) are the five afflictions (klesha).
2.4. avidyā kṣetram uttareṣāṃ prasupta-tanu-vicchinnôdārāṇām.
Spiritual ignorance is the field for the others (to flourish) in degrees from dormancy and attenuatedness to suppression or expression outright.
2.5. anityâśuci-duḥkhânātmasu nitya-śuci-sukhâtma-khyātir avidyā.
To be spiritually ignorant is to mistake the noneternal, impure, painful, and nonself for the eternal, pure, delightful, and true self.16
2.6. dṛg-darśana-śaktyor ekâtmatā ivâ asmitā.
I-identification is the distinct powers of the seer (the conscious being, purusha) and the seeing (nature, prakriti) seeming one and the same.
2.7. sukhânuśayī rāgaḥ.
Liking follows pleasure.
2.8. duḥkhânuśayī dveṣaḥ.
Disliking follows pain.
2.9. sva-rasa-vāhī viduṣo ’pi tathā rüḍho ’bhiniveśaḥ.
Proclivity to remain in one’s own form (clinging to life) is sustained by its own relishing, being self-perpetuating even for the learned.
2.10. te pratiprasava-heyāḥ sūkṣmāḥ.
Subtle (though they be in their disturbances), these afflictions can be banished by countermeasures.
2.11. dhyāna-heyās tad-vṛttayaḥ.
These detrimental fluctuations can be banished through meditation.
2.12. kleśa-mūlaḥ karmâśayo dṛṣṭâdṛṣṭa-vedanīyaḥ.
(Action-inducing) karmic latencies, which are to be experienced in the current or a future birth, are rooted in afflictions.
2.13. sati mūle tad-vipāko jāty-āyur-bhogāḥ.
So long as the root endures, its fruit will endure, the (triple) fruit, namely, of birth, life, and enjoyment.
2.14. te hlāda-paritāpa-phalāḥ puṇyâpuṇya-hetutvāt.
These three bring joy or suffering according to moral merit or lack thereof (in accumulated karmic latencies).17
2.15. pariṇāma-tāpa-saṃskāra-duḥkhair guṇa-vṛtti-virodhāc ca duḥkham eva sarvaṃ vivekinaḥ.
And because of conflicting fluctuations of qualities, there is suffering in change, in anxious, feverish states of mind, and in mental dispositions (samskara). Thus the person of discriminating judgment sees all as suffering.18
2.16. heyaṃ duḥkham anāgatam.
Future suffering is to be banished.
2.17. draṣṭṛ-dṛśyayor saṃyogo heya-hetuḥ.
That which is to be banished is caused by a conjunction of the seer (the conscious being) and that to be seen (nature).
2.18. prakāsa-kriyā-sthiti-śīlaṃ bhūtêndriyâtmakaṃ bhogâpavargârthaṃ dṛśyam.
What is to be seen (i.e., nature) is characterized by the (three qualities or strands) of intelligence, activity, and dullness or inertia (sattva, rajas, and tamas); it includes the gross elements and the sense organs, and has as its raison d’être enjoyment for, or liberation of, the conscious being.
2.19. viśeṣâviśeṣa-liṅga-mātrâlingāni guṇa-parvāṇi.
The (three) qualities (nature comprises) are expressed in distinct stages, that is to say, stages where predominate individuals, general forms, subtle forms, and the trans-subtle.
2.20. draṣṭā dṛśi-mātraḥ śuddho ’pi pratyayânupaśyaḥ.
The seer (the conscious being), although pure (i.e., although pure consciousness), appears to see through thoughts and ideas.
2.21. tad-artha eva dṛśyasya ātmā.
Only for the sake of the seer is the seen in its essence.19
2.22. kṛtârthaṃ prati naṣṭam apy anaṣṭaṃ tad-anya-sādhāraṇatvāt. Although destroyed (for the liberated) yogin whose purpose is accomplished, nature is not destroyed for others (who are not liberated), because she is common to everyone.
2.23. sva-svāmi-śaktyoḥ sva-rūpôpalabdhi-hetuḥ saṃyogaḥ.
The conjunction (of the conscious being and nature) causes perception of the true nature of the powers of the owned (nature) and of the owner (the conscious being).20
2.24. tasya hetur avidyā.
Spiritual ignorance is its cause (i.e., the reason the conjunction endures).
2.25. tad-abhāvāt saṃyogâbhāvo hānaṃ tad-dṛśeḥ kaivalyam.
When spiritual ignorance is no longer, the conjunction is no longer. This is the relinquishment, the aloneness (kaivalya, i.e., the summum bonum) of the seer (the conscious being).
2.26. viveka-khyātir aviplavā hānôpāyaḥ.
Unbroken practice of discriminative discernment is the way to that relinquishment.
2.27. tasya saptadhā-prānta-bhūmiḥ prajñā.
For such a yogin, sevenfold wisdom and insight (prajna) are the boundary of his attainment.
2.28. yogâṇgânuṣṭhānād aśuddhi-kṣaye jñāna-dīptir ā-viveka-khyāteḥ.
By practice of the limbs of yoga (ashtanga yoga), impurity is attenuated. Cognition is illuminated up to discriminative discernment.
2.29. yama-niyamâsana-prāṇâyāma-pratyāhāra-dhāraṇā-dhyāna-samādhayo ’ṣṭāv aṅgāni.
Ethical restraints, personal constraints, asanas, breath control, withdrawal of the senses from their objects, (and three stages of meditation) dharana (concentration in movement), dhyana (meditation proper), and samadhi are the eight limbs of yoga.
2.30. ahiṃsā-satyâsteya-brahmacaryâparigrahā yamāḥ.
The restraints (yama) are nonharmfulness (noninjury, ahimsa), truthfulness, nonstealing, sexual restraint, and nonpossessiveness.
2.31. jāti-deśa-kāla-samayânavacchinnāḥ sārvabhaumā mahā-vratam. These practiced universally, irrespective of station and circumstance of time and place, constitute the “great vow.”
2.32. śauca-santoṣa-tapaḥ-svâdhyāyêśvara-pranidhānāni niyamāḥ.
The personal constraints (niyama) are cleanliness, contentment, asceticism (tapas), self-study (in the light of a yogic text), and opening to the Lord (or, meditation on the Lord).
2.33. vitarka-bādhane pratipakṣa-bhāvanam.
In order to check disturbances one should enliven counterattitudes.21
2.34. vitarkā hiṃsâdayaḥ krta-kāritânumoditā lobha-krodha-moha-pūrvakā mṛdu-madhyâdhimātrā duḥkhâjñānânanta-phalā iti pratipakṣa-bhāvanam. Disturbances are a feeling of injuriousness and so on, perhaps actually acted out, perhaps caused to be acted out, or perhaps simply approved of and acknowledged. Their symptoms or precursors are greed, anger, confusion, and they come in slight, middling, and extreme intensities. Their fruits are endless suffering and ignorance.—This thought itself is an enlivening of a counterattitude.
2.35. ahiṃsā-pratiṣṭhāyāṃ tat-sannidhau vaira-tyāgaḥ.
When nonharmfulness (ahimsa) is firmly established, then in the person’s presence all animosity disappears.
2.36. satya-pratiṣṭhāyāṃ kriyā-phalâśrayatvam.
When truthfulness is firmly established, then what has been said becomes the basis for action and results (i.e., promised and foretold results come about).
2.37. asteya-pratiṣṭhāyāṃ sarva-ratnôpasthānam.
When refraining from stealing is firmly established, all jewels come near.22
2.38. brahmacarya-pratiṣṭhāyāṃ vīrya-lābhaḥ.
When sexual restraint is firmly established, (great) energy and vitality are gained.
2.39. aparigraha-sthairye janma-kathantā-sambodhaḥ.
Upon achieving steadiness in nonpossessiveness, the yogin or yogini comes to know the how and the why—the meaning—of his or her birth.23
2.40. śaucāt svâṅga-jugupsā parair asaṃsargaḥ.
From cleanliness comes aversion (or indifference) to one’s own body and non-contact with others.
2.41 sattva-śuddhi-saumanasya-ekāgryêndriya-jayâtma-darśana-yogyatvāni ca.
(Other results are:) The yogin or yogini becomes fit for, and capable of, sattvafication (sattvic transformation), (unshakeable) cheerfulness, concentration (one-pointedness of mind), and sight of the self.
2.42. saṃtoṣād anuttamaḥ suḥkha-lābhaḥ.
From (firm establishment of) contentment, unparalleled pleasure is gained.
2.43. kāyêndriya-siddhir aśuddhi-kśayāt tapasaḥ.
Powers (siddhis) of the organs of action result from asceticism (tapas), which destroys imperfections.
2.44. svâdhyāyād iṣṭa-devatā-saṃprayogaḥ.
From self-study (in the light of a yogic text, svadhyaya) comes contact with one’s preferred divinity, ishta-devata.
2.45. samādhi-siddhir īśvara-praṇidhānāt.
The siddhi of samadhi comes from opening to (or meditation on) the Lord.24
2.46. sthira-sukham āsanam.
Postures (asana) should be firm but easy (comfortable). 25
2.47. prayatna-śaithilyânanta-samāpattibhyām.
(Postures become perfect) in relaxation of effort or by the mental balance, samapatti, called the infinite (or, the serpent Ananta, Without End).26
2.48. tato dvandvânabhighātaḥ.
From that (mastery of asanas), a person becomes impervious to dualities (of hot and cold, hunger and satiety, happiness and sorrow, etc.).
2.49. tasmin sati śvāsa-praśvāsayo gati-vicchedah prāṇâyāmaḥ.
An asana practice in place, “breath control,” pranayama, involves checking (holding voluntarily) the in-breath and the out-breath (for regular intervals).
2.50. bāhyâbhyantara-stambha-vṛttir deśa-kāla-saṃkhyābhiḥ paridṛṣṭo dīrghasükṣmaḥ.
Three types of pranayama practice are the outer (e.g., using one’s fingers to close and open nostrils and counting), the inner (e.g., without use of props), and the suppressed (an advanced practice). Modulated by location (within the body, from the abdominal muscles to the nose), time (i.e., duration of each of the three factors), and number (i.e., proportional time being spent on each breath as well as number of repetitions), the breath is to be both protracted (i.e., deepened, slowed) and made subtle (practically soundless).
2.51. bāhyâbhyantara-viṣayâkṣepś caturthaḥ.
A fourth type transcends both the external and internal focuses.
2.52. tataḥ kṣīyate prakāśâvaraṇam.
From that (mastery of pranayama), the lid covering the light (above the head) is diminished.27
2.53. dhāraṇāsu ca yogyatā manasaḥ.
And (then) the mind (manas, the internal organ of sense) becomes ready for dharana, concentration (in movement) (limb number six).
2.54. sva-viṣayâsaṃprayoge cittasya sva-rūpânukāra iva indriyāṇāṃ pratyāhāraḥ.
(Limb number five) “pulling back,” pratyahara, is the disconnection of the sense organs from their objects as if in imitation of the talent of the chitta, “feeling and thought” (to be still).
2.55. tataḥ paramā vaśyatā indriyāṇām.
From that comes utter control of the sense organs.
vibhūti-pāda
3.1. deśa-bandhaś cittasya dhāraṇā.
Concentration (in movement, dharana) is binding the chitta down to the spot (of movement).
3.2. tatra pratyaya-eka-tānatā dhyānam.
Of the three (stages of meditation), meditation (dhyana) is a single ideational focus.
3.3. tad eva artha-mātra-nirbhāsaṃ sva-rūpa-śūnyam iva samādhih.
Samadhi is illumination of an object as object only, bereft, as it were, of its being anything other than an object of consciousness.28
3.4. trayam ekatra saṃyamaḥ.
The three together are called conscious identification (samyama).
3.5. taj-jayāt prajñā-ālokah.
Through its mastery comes the light of wisdom and insight (prajna).
3.6. tasya bhūmisu viniyogaḥ.
It is to be applied to different spheres (subtle objects as well as gross ones).29
3.7. trayam antar-aṅgam pūrvebhyaḥ.
The three together are internal to the first five limbs.30
3.8. tad api bahir-aṇgam nirbījasya.
But, just as with the first five, these three are external to seedless samadhi.
3.9. vyutthāna-nirodha-saṃskārayor abhibhava-prādurbhāvau nirodha-ksana-cittânvayo nirodha-pariṇāmaḥ.
The restriction transformation correlates with chitta in a moment of conquest of stimulating mental dispositions (samskara) and the arising of mental dispositions of restriction.
3.10. tasya praśānta-vāhitā saṃskārāt.
That transformation is borne along tranquilly because of mental dispositions (restriction) (becoming dominant).
3.11. sarvârthatā-ekâgratayor kṣaya-udayau cittasya samādhi-pariṇāmaḥ.
The transformation of chitta called the samadhi transformation occurs when distraction has become attenuated and one-pointedness (ekagrata) has become natural for the chitta (the natural state of the mind).
3.12. tataḥ punaḥ śāntôditau tulya-pratyayau cittasya ekâgratā-pariṇāmaḥ.
After that, there is the transformation of chitta called the one-pointedness transformation. It occurs when the ideative contents disappearing and appearing are identical.31
3.13. etena bhūtêndriyeṣu dharma-laksanâvasthā-parināmā vyākhyātāh.
By what has already been said, three further transformations are explained with respect to both the material elements and the sense organs: the chitta’s becoming transformed in its properties, the dharma transformation, its becoming transformed in its (temporal) character, the lakshana transformation, and its becoming transformed in its state or condition, the avastha transformation.
3.14. sāntôditâvyapadesya-dharmânupātl dharmī.
The property bearer (i.e., the chitta as a substance) takes shape according to its properties: quiescent, active, and unmanifest.
3.15. kramânyatvaṃ pariṇāmânyatve hetuḥ.
Which transformation occurs is determined by differences in interval and sequence.32
3.16. pariṇāma-traya-saṃyamād atītânāgata-jñiānam.
From samyama (conscious identification) with respect to the triad of transformations comes knowledge of the past and future.
3.17. śabdârtha-pratyayānām itaretarâdhyāsāt saṃkaras tat-pravibhāga-sam-y amāt sarva-bhuta-ruta-jnānam.
Because of wrong projections among objects, meanings, and ideas, there is (psychological) confusion. From samyama on their division comes knowledge of all creatures’ cries (the language of beasts).33
3.18. saṃskāra-sākṣāt-karaṇāt pūrva-jāti-jñānam.
Through direct acquaintance with mental dispositions (samskara) comes knowledge of previous births.
3.19. pratyasya para-citta-jñānam.
From samyama on ideas (or ideative currents) comes knowledge of other minds (the chitta of others).
3.20. na ca tat sālambanaṃ tasya aviṣayībhūtatvāt.
That does not include the substratum or representational nature of the other’s chitta (e.g., the language employed), since that is outside the range of samyama.
3.21. kāya-rūpa-saṃyamāt tad-grāhya-śakti-stambhe cakṣuḥ-prakāśâsaṃprayoge antar-dhānam.
By performing conscious identification (samyama) on the body’s visible form, another’s power to grasp it is suspended, there being a break between the light (necessary for perception) and the operation of the other’s visual organ: (hence comes the siddhi of) invisibility.34
3.22. sopakramaṃ nirupakramaṃ ca karma tat-saṃyamād aparânta-jñānam ariṣṭebhyo vā.
Karma ranges from active to dormant. From samyama on it comes knowledge of (time of) death. Or, time of death may be known from unfavorable symptoms or signs.
3.23. maitry-âdiṣu balāni.
From samyama on friendliness and so on come powers (of friendliness and so on).
3.24. baleṣu hasti-balâdīni.
From samyama on powers come such powers as the strength of an elephant.
3.25. pravṛtty-āloka-nyāsāt sūkṣma-vyavahita-viprakṛṣṭa-jñānam.
From casting the higher light on any effort, the object of the effort is known, whether subtle, hidden, or distant.
3.26. bhuvana-jñānaṃ sūrye saṃyamāt.
Knowledge of the cosmic becoming comes from samyama on the sun.35
3.27. candre tārā-vyūha-jñānam.
From samyama on the moon (or lunar sphere) comes knowledge of (i.e., cognitive opening to) the multitudes of stars.36
3.28. dhruve tad-gati-jñānam.
From samyama on the pole star comes knowledge of their movement.
3.29. nābhi-cakre kāya-vyuha-jñānam.
From samyama on the navel chakra comes knowledge of the members of the body.
3.30. kaṇṭha-kūpe kṣut-pipāsā-nivṛttiḥ.
From samyama on the well in the throat come cessation of hunger and thirst.
3.31. kūrma-nāḍyāṃ sthairyam.
With it on the tortoise duct (kurma-nadi at the throat) comes steadiness.37
3.32. mūrdha-jyotisi siddha-darśanam.
With it on the light at the crown of the head comes vision of the perfected ones (siddhas).
3.33. pratibhād vā sarvam.38
Or, from luminous samyama, anything.
3.34. hṛdaye citta-saṃvit.
With it on the heart, awareness of the chitta.
3.35. sattva-puruṣayor atyantâsaṃkīrṇayoḥ pratyayâviśeṣo bhogaḥ parârthatvāt svârtha-saṃyamāt puruṣa-jñānam.
Enjoyment (everyday experience, bhoga) is constituted by no (awareness of) distinct ideative streams of sattva and the conscious being (purusha), which are (in reality) absolutely unmixed. Since sattva exists to serve the other (purusha), knowledge of the conscious being (the purusha) comes from samyama on that which is for its own sake (or, not for anything else).
3.36. tataḥ prātibha-śrāvaṇa-vedanā-darśâsvāda-vārtā jāyante.
From that come luminous (or supranormal) hearing, touch, sight, taste, and smelling.39
3.37. te samādhāv upasargā vyutthāne siddhayaḥ.
These powers or siddhis (wonders or miracles), according to the ordinary human consciousness, are obstacles to samadhi.
3.38. bandha-kāraṇa-śaithilyāt pracāra-saṃvedanāc ca cittasya para-śarīrâveśaḥ.
From loosening the connecting causes along with awareness of the (subtle) passageways (of chitta), the chitta can enter another body.40
3.39. udāna-jayāj jala-paṅka-kaṇṭhakâdiṣv asaṇga utkrāntiś ca.
From mastery of the udana (a form of prana or psychic energy, up-breath) comes lack of (injurious) contact with water, mud, thorns, etc., as well as levitation.
3.40. samāna-jayāj jvalanam.
From mastery of the samana (abdominal or equalizing breath) comes kindling (of a psychic aura).41
3.41. śrotrâkāśayoḥ saṃbandha-saṃyamād divyaṃ śrotram.
From samyama on the connection of the organ of hearing and the ether comes divine audition.42
3.42. kāyâkāśayoḥ saṃbandha-saṃyamāl laghu-tūla-samāpatteś ca ākāśâgamanam.
From samyama on the connection of the body and the ether, and from the yogic balance (samapatti) called light cotton as well, there is traveling in the ether.
3.43. bahir akalpitā vṛttir mahā-videhā tataḥ prakāśâvaraṇa-kṣayaḥ.
Outside (the range of the body), a fluctuation, which is not imagined, is the “Great Bodiless” (state of mind) whereby the covering blocking the light (above the head) is diminished.
3.44. sthūla-sva-rūpa-sūkṣmânvayârthavattva-saṃyamād bhūta-jayaḥ.
From samyama on the gross, essential, subtle, connecting, and purposive comes mastery of the elements.
3.45. tato aṇimâdi-prādurbhāvaḥ kāya-sampat tad-dharmânabhighātaś ca.
From that, there is manifest the siddhis of minuteness (or, atomization) and so on (the eight siddhis of special bodily powers) as well as perfection of the body and nonobstruction of its functions.43
3.46. rūpa-lāvaṇya-bala-vajra-saṃhananatvāni kāya-sampat.
Perfection of the body means beauty, grace, strength, and adamantine hardness.
3.47. grahaṇa-sva-rūpâsmitânvayârthavattva-saṃyamād indriya-jayaḥ.
From samyama on the essence of grasping, egoity, connectedness, and purposefulness comes mastery of the sense organs.
3.48. tato mano-javitvaṃ vikaraṇa-bhāvah pradhāna-jayaś ca.
Thence come speed like that of the internal organ (manas), freedom from the cognitive instruments, and mastery of the root form of nature (pradhana).44
3.49. sattva-puruṣânyatā-khyāti-mātrasya sarva-bhāvâdhiṣṭhātṛtvaṃ sarva-jñātṛtvaṃ ca.
The yogin whose awareness is restricted to perception of the difference between (the strand of nature called) intelligence (sattva) and the conscious being achieves mastery over all states of (inner) being and knowledge of it all as well.
3.50. tad-vairāgyād api doṣa-bīja-kṣaye kaivalyam.
Through disinterest in that achievement arises aloneness (kaivalya) in the attenuation of the seeds of defects.
3.51. sthāny-upanimantraṇe saṅga-smayâkaraṇaṃ punar aniṣṭa-prasaṅgāt.
On being called by divinities, a yogin should not let the attention give rise to pride or attachment, since that could lead again to unwanted consequences.
3.52. kṣaṇa-tat-kramayoḥ saṃyamād viveka-jaṃ jñānam.
From samyama on moments (the units of time) and their succession (in the flow of fluctuations of chitta) comes cognition born of discrimination (of the conscious being from nature), viveka.
3.53. jāti-lakṣaṇa-deśair anyatâvacchedāt tulyayos tataḥ pratipattiḥ.
From that comes understanding by differentiation of each though identical with another with respect to type, characteristics, and place.45
3.54. tārakaṃ sarva-viṣayaṃ sarvathā-viṣayam akramaṃ ca iti viveka-jaṃ jñānam.
The cognition born of discrimination (viveka) carries to the farther shore with everything as its object in every fashion and nonsequentially.
3.55. sattva-puruṣayoḥ śuddhi-sāmye kaivalyam iti.
When the intelligence (strand, i.e., sattva) and the conscious being are equal in purity, aloneness (kaivalya) ensues.
kaivalya-pāda
4.1. janma-auśadhi-mantra-tapaḥ-samādhi-jāḥ siddhayaḥ.
Powers, siddhis, come by birth, from herbs, mantras, asceticism, and samadhi.46
4.2. jāty-antara-pariṇāmaḥ prakṛty-āpurāt.
Transformation into a different type of being (or, into another birth) comes about from a superabundance of natural potentiality.
4.3. nimittam aprayojakaṃ prakṛtīṇāṃ varaṇa-bhedas tu tataḥ kṣetrika-vat.
Practicing yoga does not impel transformations of nature. Rather, like a farmer (irrigating, weeding, etc., to let plants grow), yoga practices break up coverings or obstacles (so that one’s true nature can become manifest).
4.4. nirmāṇa-cittāny asmitā-mātrāt.
Thought and emotion (chitta) are shaped solely from egoity.
4.5. pravṛtti-bhede prayojakaṃ cittam ekam anekeṣām.
For all the great diversity of effort and action, there is chitta that directs it. That is a single (type of) thing belonging to many (people).47
4.6. tatra dhyāna-jam anāśayam.
Among these (individuated chittas belonging to different people), that born of meditation is without stores of ripening karma.
4.7. karmâśuklâkṛṣṇaṃ yoginas tri-vidham itareṣām.
Karma is neither good nor bad that belongs to the yogin. For others, it is of three types (good, bad, or a mix).48
4.8. tatas tad-vipākâṇugunānām eva abhivyaktir vāsanānām.
Mental dispositions (across births), vasana, manifest just according to the ripening (in good or bad deeds as well as in moral payback) that results from the (moral) types of karma.49
4.9. jāti-deśa-kāla-vyavahitānām apy ānantaryaṃ smṛti-saṃskārayor eka-rūpatvāt.
Since remembering conforms to mental dispositions, samskaras, causal sequences of samskaras occur despite divisions of type (or birth), place, and time.
4.10. tāsām anāditvaṃ ca āśiṣo nityatvāt.
And these vasana have no beginning, since desiring is permanent.50
4.11. hetu-phalâśrayâlambanaiḥ saṃgṛhītatvād eṣām abhāve tad-abhāvaḥ.
Since desiring and vasana are connected as cause and effect, as mutual support and dependence, in the absence of the one there is the absence of the other.51
4.12. atītânāgataṃ sva-rūpato ’sty adhva-bhedād dharmāṇām.
In essence, the past and the future exist. Particular events and properties (are objects of consciousness and real) according to the different modalities or pathways (of past, present, and future).52
4.13. te vyakta-sūkṣmā guṇâtmanaḥ.
Particulars are manifest or subtle. They are of the nature (of combinations) of the strands (the three gunas).53
4.14. pariṇāma-ekatvād vastu-tattvam.
The truth or particularity of a thing is due to a unique transformation (of nature, a unique combination of gunas).
4.15. vastu-sāmye citta-bhedāt tayor vibhaktaḥ panthāḥ.
Since with regard to one and the same thing, chitta differs (on different occasions of perception, or from the perspectives of two different perceivers), the two (chitta and objects) have a distinct mode of being.54
4.16. na ca eka-citta-tantram vastu tad apramāṇakaṃ tadā kiṃ syāt.
And (to exist) a thing does not depend on a single mind or awareness (chitta). Were it not cognized by that mind, what then would it be?55
4.17. tad-uparāgâpekṣitvāc cittasya vastu jñātâjñātam.
Something remains known or unknown to a particular mind, according to its conditioning or expectations.56
4.18. sadā jñātāś citta-vṛttayas tat-prabhoḥ puruṣasya apariṇāmitvāt.
The fluctuations of mind are always known to their lord, the conscious being, the purusha, inasmuch as the purusha is unchanging.57
4.19. na tat svâbhāsaṃ dṛśyatvāt.
That (the chitta) is not self-luminous, because it is something to be perceived.58
4.20. eka-samaye ca ubhayânavadhāraṇam.
And there is no possibility of (chitta) cognizing both (objects and itself) at the same time.59
4.21. cittântara-dṛśye buddhi-buddher atiprasaṅgaḥ smṛti-saṃkaraś ca.
It would be absurd to assume that different chitta is required to grasp chitta, because of an impossible regress of one cognition after another being required (in order that any be known). This would also mean memory’s (impossibility because of) confusion.60
4.22. citer apratisamkraṃāyās tad-ākārâpattau sva-buddhi-saṃvedanam.
Self-awareness—consciousness of self and of cognition—occurs when the chitta (citi = chitta), (now) unfluctuating, assumes the form of that (the conscious being).61
4.23. draṣṭṛ-dṛśya-uparakte cittaṃ sarvârtham.
Chitta that is conditioned by both awareness of the seer and that to be seen is capable of cognizing anything.
4.24. tad-asaṃkhyeya-vāsanābhiś citram api parârthaṃ saṃhatya-kāritvāt.
Although the chitta is moved by countless deep mental dispositions (vasana), it works by unifying (diversities) for the sake of the other (the conscious being).62
4.25. viśeṣa-darśina ātma-bhāva-bhāvanā-vinivṛttiḥ.
For one who sees the distinction (between nature and the conscious being), the projection of sense of self in nature ceases.63
4.26. tadā viveka-nimnaṃ kaivalya-prāgbhāraṃ cittam.
Then the chitta, settling into deep discrimination, is carried on toward (reflecting) the aloneness, kaivalya (of the conscious being).64
4.27. tac-chidreṣu pratyayântarāṇi saṃskārebhyaḥ.
In the gaps (or weaknesses) of discrimination, other ideational presentations (i.e., distractions) may arise by force of (unexhausted) mental dispositions (samskara).
4.28. hānam eṣām kleśa-vad uktam.
These are to be banished, like the afflictions, in the ways explained.
4.29. prasaṃkhyāne ’py akusīdasya sarvathā viveka-khyāter dharma-meghaḥ samādhiḥ.
The samadhi called Cloud of Dharma occurs for a person who has no interest even in elevated awareness, whose awareness is in every way directed to discrimination (of the conscious being from nature).65
4.30. tataḥ kleśa-karma-nivṛttiḥ.
Thence afflictions and karma cease.
4.31. tadā sarvâvaraṇa-malâpetasya cittasya anantyāj jñeyam alpam.
Then, since awareness is unlimited when parted from coverings and impurities, what remains to be known is trivial.66
4.32. tataḥ kṛtârthānāṃ pariṇāma-krama-parisamāptir guṇānām.
Thence the completion of processes of transformation on the part of the strands (gunas), their purpose fulfilled.67
4.33. kṣaṇa-pratiyogī pariṇāmâparânta-nirgrāhyaḥ kramaḥ.
Process, which is relative to the units of time, is apprehensible at the end of a transformation.68
4.34. puruṣârtha-śūnyānāṃ guṇānāṃ pratiprasavaḥ kaivalyam sva-rūpa-pratiṣṭhā vā citi-śaktir iti.
Aloneness (kaivalya, the summum bonum) entails the reversal of the course of the strands of nature (gunas), now empty of meaning and value for the conscious being. Or, it may be understood as the power of consciousness returned and established in its own true self.69
Here ends the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali.
om shantih shantih shantih.