Dear users, today we are going to provide Patanjali Yoga Sutras PDF for all of you. The Yoga Sutras are the main scripture of Yoga Philosophy. It is one of the six philosophies and a treatise on Yogashastra. Before 3000 years, the Yoga Sutras was composed by Guru Patanjali. Thorugh our post, you can get the full patanjali yoga sutras pdf in english by vivekananda.
The Patanjali Guru was an incarnation of Sheshnag, a sage of ancient India and the king of serpents, who is considered the author of many important Sanskrit scriptures. Of these, the Yogasutra is his greatest work, which is the original scripture of Yoga Darshan. There are 3 main scriptures which were composed by Patanjali in Indian literature.
Patanjali wrote his Commentary on Panini’s Ashtadhyayi, which he named Mahabhashya. Their period is believed to be some 200 BC. In the Yoga Sutras, there is a law to concentrate the mind and merge it with God. According to Patanjali, yoga is to prevent the tendencies of the mind from becoming fickle (Chittavrutti Nirodhah). If you want to know more information about Patanjali Yoga Sutra Book PDF in English you can read this article till the end.
Patanjali Yoga Sutras PDF: The Story of Patanjali
- The Yoga Sutras were composed by a man named Patanjali. There is not much known about him, except that he was presumably Indian and lived somewhere between the second and fourth century BC.
- Patanjali is also credited with writing the Mahabhasya, a treatise of Sanskrit grammar and a commentary on Charaka Samhita, the basic text of Ayurveda. Whether they are the same or different people remains a scholastic argument.
- According to Hindu mythology, Lord Vishnu is the maintainer of the Universe, sleeps between creations, resting on the great multi-headed serpent Anantha, floating on the Ocean of Consciousness.
- When Shiva Nataraj woke Vishnu with his dance of creation, Anantha asked to be born as a great teacher. Shiva granted his wish and he was born as Patanjali in the palm of the great Yogini, Gonika.
- In ancient times, most teachings were done orally and students learned by way of sutras. The word sutra comes from the same root as the medical term suture, meaning to connect or hold together.
- When the teacher expounded on a piece of knowledge, the student would be given a short phrase that would later remind him/her of the greater body of material. This was somewhat the equivalent of modern-day cue cards.
- The challenge now is that even knowing the sutras, you can never be certain as to the greater meaning.
- A further story says that Patanjali himself wrote down the sutras on palm leaves but a goat ate half of them before he took the remainder to the Himalayas. Perhaps this is the origin of modern-day “goat yoga.”
Patanjali Yoga Sutras have been translated and commented on by many people over the years.
The three versions which I use as a reference are:
- The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali by Alister Shearer
- How To Know God by Swami Prabhavananda and Christopher Isherwood
- The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali by Sri Swami Satchidananda
Patanjali Yoga Sutras PDF: Translation and Commentary by Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami
1 Samādhi pāda (Meditative Absorption)
Commentary
The first chapter is about the deepest forms of meditation which are called samadhi.
Sutra 1.1
atha yogānuśāsanam normal text italics
Now, the exposition of yoga. normal text
Commentary
In Hindu scripture, the earliest usage of the term “yoga” as applied to spiritual endeavour has the meaning of “the control of the mind and senses.” That is the sense in which the term “yoga” is used in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras
Sutra 1.2
yogaścittavṛttinirodhaḥ
Yoga is the restraint of mental activities.
Commentary
Our minds are generally busy with one type of mental activity or another. We are remembering events from the past, thinking about current tasks or theorizing about possible future events. The practices of yoga are designed to enable us to eliminate these mental activities altogether.
Sutra 1.3
tadā draṣṭuḥ svarūpe ‘vasthānam
Then awareness abides in its essential form.
Commentary
When mental activity is restrained, the soul’s faculty that witnesses thoughts, naturally turns in on itself. And it remains temporarily aware only of itself until thoughts again arise.
Sutra 1.4
vṛtti sārūpyamitaratra
At other times awareness takes on the form of the mental activities.
Commentary
It is the nature of the witness consciousness of the soul that is not only observes mental activities but also identifies with those activities. A simple example is an idea of experiencing happiness. We say “I am happy.” Awareness has taken on the form of happiness.
Sutra 1.5
vrittayaḥ pañcatayaḥ kliṣṭākliṣṭāḥ
There are five types of mental activities, and they are either detrimental or conducive to the practice of yoga.
Commentary
The study of scripture, and sattvic thoughts, are an example of thoughts that are conducive to the practice of yoga. Thoughts of attraction to a worldly object, a rajasic thought, are detrimental to the practice of yoga.
Sutra 1.6
pramāṇa viparyaya vikalpa nidrā smṛtayaḥ
They are correct knowledge, misconception, imagination, sleep and memory.
Commentary
This five-fold division of mental activities provides a useful categorization system for analyzing and subsequently restricting one’s thoughts.
Sutra 1.7
pratyakṣānumānāgamāḥ pramāṇāni
Correct knowledge is based on perception, inference and testimony.
Commentary
The first source of correct knowledge is that we can perceive something directly and correctly. For example, we see a building on fire. We’re perceiving the fire; that’s a correct perception. If it was a larger fire it could be at a distance and we could perceive the smoke. We could infer that there’s a fire. This is using inference to obtain correct knowledge. We could also meet someone we trust who tells us that there’s a fire over there. We’re getting knowledge based upon valid testimony which is the third source.
Sutra 1.8
viparyayo mithyājñānamatadrūpapratiṣṭham
Misconception is false knowledge not based on the actual appearance of something.
Commentary
For example, in a dimly lit street we see an object and think it is a snake when it is actually a rope. The object exists, but we have misinterpreted its nature.
Sutra 1.9
śabdajñānānupātī vastuśūnyo vikalpaḥ
Imagination is following verbal knowledge that is devoid of an actual object.
Commentary
Fantasy is one form of imagination. If you have ever visited Disneyland, it has a separate realm called Fantasyland featuring characters such as Mickey Mouse and Tinker Bell who are pure make-believe. They are nonexistent.
Sutra 1.10
abhāvapratyayālambanā tamovrittirnidrā
Sleep is the mental activity based on the absence of other mental content.
Commentary
The Sutra is, of course, referring to deep sleep or dreamless sleep and what is experienced in it.
Sutra 1.11
anubhūtaviṣayāsaṃpramoṣaḥ smṛtiḥ
Memory is the retention of experienced objects.
Commentary
As many mental activities, vrittis, are of the nature of memory, this is an important category to learn to identify and restrain.
Sutra 1.12
abhyāsavairāgyābhyām tannirodhaḥ
The restraint of these mental activities is achieved through practice and dispassion.
Commentary
If the question was asked, how do we make progress in restraining these five activities, a common answer given would be practice. This Sutra is pointing out that in addition to practice, the other important component is dispassion. In other words, the reason many of these mental activities are occurring is because of our our attraction toward someone or something.
Sutra 1.13
atra sthitau yatno ‘bhyāsaḥ
Practice is the exertion to achieve steadiness in the state of restraint.
Commentary
The Sutra is defining what we’re trying to do. The point of yoga is to sit with a controlled mind without losing control. You want to achieve steadiness. Practice is the effort to achieve that.
Sutra 1.14
sa tu dīrghakālanairantaryasatkārādarāsevito dṛḍhabhūmiḥ
But this practice becomes firmly grounded only after it has been cultivated uninterruptedly and with devotion for a long time.
Commentary
This Sutra is stating that we will be successful if we do the practice with devotion and consistently for long periods of time. It is not a quick process, but rather takes time.
Sutra 1.15
dṛṣṭānuśravikaviṣayavitṛṣṇasya vaśikārasamjñā
Dispassion is the knowledge of mastery of one who is without thirst for objects that are seen or heard about.
Commentary
Progress in yoga is not possible if our mind is constantly externalized by objects or people to whom it is strongly attracted whether actually seen or simply heard about. Some commentators consider what is heard to mean what is described in scripture such as the heavenly worlds.
Sutra 1.16
tatparaṃ puruṣakhyāterguṇavaitṛṣṇyam
The supreme state of dispassion is the non-thirsting for the gunas which arises from the perception of the purusha.
Commentary
When the spiritual awakening takes place of the purusha experiencing its own nature, there is a natural loss of interest in all of prakriti’s manifestations. This is called paravairagya—the supreme state of dispassion.
Sutra 1.17
vitarkavicārānandāsmitārūpānugamātsaṃprajñātaḥ
Samadhi that is accompanied by vitarka, vichara, ananda or asmita is samprajnata.
Commentary
In ordinary perception the subject and the object are always distinct. The distinguishing factor of the perspective of samadhi is the experiential identification of the subject and object.
Sutra 1.18
virāma pratyayābhyāsapūrvaḥ saṃskāraśeṣo ‘nyaḥ
The other, asamprajnata samadhi, follows the former upon the practice of the notion of cessation and has only samskaras as residuum.
Commentary
In these two Sutras Patanjali is introducing the focus of the chapter which is on samadhi. Samadhi is the ultimate goal of the practice of yoga, the highest attainment. Here he is introducing samadhi in a simple way. More information is given later on in the chapter.
In samprajnata samadhi when all mental activity is restricted without gross or subtle objects or even ananda and asmita present, that samadhi becomes asamprajnata. In other words, the approach to the deepest samadhi is by giving up something you are already experiencing rather than by attaining something new.
Sutra 1.19
bhavapratyayo videha prakṛtilayānām
The samprajnata samadhi of those who have merged into prakriti and of those who are bodiless is due to the notion of becoming.
Commentary
This Sutra describes the samadhi of yogis who have opted for attainments rather than renunciation. Comparing Sutras 18 and 19 it can be seen that opting for attainments is found in the phrase bhava pratyaya “notion of becoming” whereas attainment of samadhi has the phrase virama pratyaya “notion of cessation.”
Sutra 1.20
ṣraddhāvīryasmṛtisamādhiprajñāpūrvaka itareṣām
The asamprajnata samadhi of the others is preceded by faith, energy, mindfulness, samprajnata samadhi and mystical insight.
Commentary
The qualities of faith, energy and mindfulness can lead to samprajnata samadhi and mystical insight which then can lead to asamprajnata samadhi.
Sutra 1.21
tīvrasaṃvegānāmāsannaḥ
Asamprajnata samadhi is near to those who are intensely committed to their practice of yoga.
Commentary
Committed is a translation of samvega. Hariharananda gives this explanation: “The word ‘Samvega’ is a technical term in the science of Yoga. We find it in Buddhist literature also. It means not only detachment, but also aptitude combined with a feeling of reverence in devotional practice and the resultant ardor to hasten forward. It is like gathering momentum as you proceed. Endowed with latent impression of detachment and full of enthusiasm and energy, when the devotee constantly engages himself with intensity in attaining the path of liberation, he acquires momentum as he advances.”
Sutra 1.22
mṛdumadhyādhimātratvāttato ‘pi viśeṣaḥ
Even among these, there is a further differentiation of intense commitment into degrees of modest, medium and extreme.
Commentary
This further differentiation among yogis influences how imminent the attainment of samadhi is.
Sutra 1.23
īśvarapraṇidhānādvā
Or asamprajnata samadhi is near through devotion to Ishvara.
Commentary
Commentator Vyasa explains: “Through a special kind of devotion called Isvara-pranidhana, on the part of the devotee, Isvara inclines towards him and favors him with grace for fulfillment of his wish. From such grace also a Yogin obtains samadhi and its result, the attainment of the state of liberation, becomes imminent.”
Sutra 1.24
kleśakarmavipākāśayairaparāmṛṣṭaḥ puruṣaviśeṣa īśvaraḥ
Ishvara is a special purusha because he is unaffected by the kleshas, karma and its fruition and by stored samskaras.
Commentary
Though Ishvara is a purusha as are ordinary humans, Ishvara is distinct. Two distinctions are mentioned in this Sutra. The first is not being affecting by the five kleshas which are ignorance, identification with I-am-ness, attraction, aversion, and clinging to life. Karmas can each be divided into two categories: arabdha, “begun,” “undertaken,” karma that is ripening; and anarabhda, “not commenced,” “dormant,” seed or stored karma. Ishvara is not affected by either.
Sutra 1.25
atra niratiśayaṃ sarvajñabījam
In Him the seed of omniscience is unsurpassed.
Commentary
This Sutra points out a further distinction which is related to knowledge. Whereas the ordinary purusha is in the process of increasing its knowledge, Ishvara is in the state of knowing everything—sarvajnana.
Sutra 1.26
sa eṣa pūrveṣāmapi guruḥ kālenānavacchedāt
Ishvara was also the guru of those who lived earlier by virtue of His temporal continuity.
Commentary
This Sutra is pointing out that the original source of knowledge concerning yoga is Ishvara, not a human being. One of the common representations of Ishvara as teacher is the murti of Dakshinamurti in which Lord Siva is depicted sitting under a banyan tree, silently teaching four rishis at His feet.
Sutra 1.27
tasya vācakaḥ praṇavaḥ
His symbol is the pranava.
Commentary
As knowledge at its deepest level is omniscience, and is a description of Ishvara, sound at its deepest level is the AUM, the primal sound and is also an accurate description of Ishvara.
Sutra 1.28
tajjapastadarthabhāvanam
Perform japa of the pranava while contemplating on its meaning.
Commentary
There are a number of meanings attributed to the mantra AUM. One of them can be chosen to keep in mind while performing japa of the mantra. For example, AUM is explained in the the Mandukya Upanishad as standing for the whole world and its parts, including past, present and future.
Sutra 1.29
tataḥ pratyakvetanādhigamo ‘pyantarāyābhāvaśca
Thence follows the attainment of inner consciousness and also the disappearance of the obstacles.
Commentary
The simple practice of chanting AUM takes one into higher states of consciousness. Being in a higher state, many of the obstacles mentioned in the next Sutra are not present.
Sutra 1.30
vyādhi styāna saṃśaya pramādālasyāvirati bhrāntidarśanālabdhabhūmikatvānavasthitatvāni cittavikṣepāste’ntarayaḥ
Sickness, apathy, doubt, carelessness, laziness, sensual indulgence, false perspective, non-attainment of the stages of yoga and instability in these stages are the distractions to the mind and are the obstacles.
Commentary
The obstacles tend to be present when an individual is uninspired about his or her yoga practice. The Sutras coming up give eight different practices for uplifting oneself to a higher state of consciousness in which the obstacles naturally fall away.
Sutra 1.31
duḥkha daurmanasyāṅgamejayatva śvāsa praśvāsā vikṣepa sahabhuvaḥ
Sorrow, dejection, trembling limbs and ordinary inhalation and exhalation accompany these distractions.
Commentary
This Sutra points out that being in an uninspired state not only affects one emotionally and mentally in a negative way but physically as well.
Sutra 1.32
tat pratiṣedhārtham eka tattvābhyāsaḥ
In order to counteract these distractions, one should practice concentrating on a single subject.
Commentary
This practice for overcoming the obstacles works easiest if the subject chosen to concentrate upon is one that the individual really enjoys. It is easy to concentrate on what we enjoy and that concentration soon leads to upliftment.
Sutra 1.33
maitrī karunā muditopekṣānāṃ sukha duḥkha punyāpunyā viṣayānam bhāvanātaś citta prasādanaṃ
The projection of friendliness, compassion, gladness, and equanimity respectively towards the joyful, sorrowful, meritorious and non-meritorious calms the mind.
Commentary
Projecting friendliness, compassion and gladness to the people we interact with is a practice that uplifts us spiritually. And in the process not to let interaction with a non-meritorious person upset us, is where equanimity fits in.
Sutra 1.34
pracchardana vidhāranābhyāṃ vā prāṇasya
Or by exhaling and restraining the breath.
Commentary
Pranayama, regulation of breath is a standard way in for quieting the mind. Breath and mind are interrelated. The mind can easily be calmed by regulating the breath.
Sutra 1.35
viṣayavatī vā pravṛttir utpannā manasaḥ sthiti nibandhanī
Or focus on a sense object arises and this causes steadiness of the mind.
Commentary
Examples would be a particularly beautiful sight or a captivating smell can uplift our state of mind.
Sutra 1.36
viśokā vā jyotiṣmatī
Or when experiencing thoughts that are sorrowless and illuminating.
Commentary
The practice of vichara can give rise to mystical insights and thus the distractions naturally fall away.
Sutra 1.37
vīta rāga viṣayaṃ vā cittam
Or when the mind has as its object those who are free from desire.
Commentary
Same idea as the last Sutra.
Sutra 1.38
svapna nidrā jñānālambanaṃ vā
Or when the mind is resting on the wisdom arising from dreams and sleep.
Commentary
Again the same idea.
Sutra 1.39
yathābhimatadhyānādvā
Or through a meditation of one’s inclination.
Commentary
This is the idea that we would choose a meditation that we would find interesting and would easily lead to upliftment.
Sutra 1.40
paramāṇuparamamahattvānto ‘sya vaśīkāraḥ
His mastery extends from the most minute to the greatest magnitude.
Commentary
An advanced adept of yoga can successfully focus on objects from the smallest to the largest.
Sutra 1.41
kṣīṇavṛtterabhijātasyeva maṇergrahītṛgrahaṇagrāhyeṣu tatsthatadañjanatā samāpattiḥ
When mental activities have dwindled, the mind’s stability on and coalescence with the object of meditation, like pure crystal, whether it be the grasper, the grasping or the grasped, is called samapatti.
Comment:
Patanjali is returning to the topic of samadhi and providing further details on the vitarka and vichara stages of samprajñata samadhi.
To the phrase like pure crystal, some translators add the phrase which takes on the reflection and color of proximate objects. If you place a red flower in front of a pure crystal, the shape and color of the flower will show in the crystal. This is what happens to the mind in this practice. It is filled only with the idea of the red flower. The mind and the flower have coalesced.
The coalescence has three aspects to it which are the subject, the process of experience and the object experienced. These are known respectively as grasper, grasping and grasped.
Sutra 1.42
tatra śabdārthajñānavikalpaiḥ saïkīrṇā savitarkā samāpattiḥ
That samapatti in which there is intermixed a gross object’s name, the object itself and conceptual knowledge of the object is called savitarka.
Commentary
The commentators use a cow as an example. “When in the mind of a yogin engrossed in the thought of a cow, there is the mingling of the word (cow), the object meant (the animal itself) and the idea of the cow , it is called savitarka samapatti.”
Sutra 1.43
smṛtipariśuddhau svarūpaśūnyevārthamātranirbhāsā nirvitarkā
On the purification of memory which has become, as it were, empty of its essence and when the object alone shines forth, that samapatti is called nirvitarka.
Commentary
Eventually the cogitation process is transcended and the knowledge of the object remains without the words. This Sutra is describing the nirvitarka stage of the process. It is also explained as taking the object out of time and space or becoming the object.
Sutra 1.44
etayaiva savicārā nirvicārā ca sūkṣmaviṣayā vyākhyātā
In the same way, samapatti of subtle objects is described as savichara and nirvichara.
Commentary
The second type, vichara, is focused on an internal or mental object. First is the savichara stage of the process. Eventually the reflection is transcended and the knowledge of the object remains. This is the nirvichara stage of the process.
Sutra 1.45
sūkṣmaviṣayatvaṃ cāliïgaparyavasānam
And the subtle objects terminate in the undifferentiate.
Commentary
This Sutra is indicating that any subtle object can be traced back to its ultimate source which is the undifferentiate.
Sutra 1.46
tā eva sabījaḥ samadhiḥ
These are the samadhis that are with object.
Commentary
The four types of samapatti given all have an object which is the focal point of the practice. Savitarka and nirvitarka utilize gross objects. Savichara and nirvichara utilize subtle objects.
Sutra 1.47
nirvicāravaiśāradye ‘dhyātmaprasādaḥ
When there is lucidity in nirvichara samadhi, there is clarity of the inner being.
Commentary
The translators explain that the word for lucidity, vaisharadya, refers to the extraordinary brightness of the autumnal sky of north India.
Sutra 1.48
ṛtaṃbharā tatra prajñā
In that state, mystical insight is truth-bearing.
Commentary
This knowledge is considered truth-bearing in that it discloses the contemplated object as it is, in a flash of insight and without any mental distortions.
Sutra 1.49
śrutānumānaprajñābhyāmanyaviṣayā viśeṣārthatvāt
The scope of this mystical insight is distinct from the insight gained from scripture and inference owing to its particular purposiveness.
Commentary
The particular purposiveness is explained in the next Sutra.
Sutra 1.50
tajjaḥ saṃskāro ‘nyasaṃkārapratibandhī
The samskaras born from that mystical insight obstruct the other samskaras.
Commentary
Samskaras are imprints left on the subconscious mind by experience. However, they are also activators, constantly propelling consciousness into action. In this regard they are described as subliminal activators. The idea here is that through practice of nirvichara samapatti a new samskara has been created that is more powerful than others and that it is of the nature to draw us inward in deep meditation rather than outward into external activities.
Sutra 1.51
tasyāpi nirodhe sarvanirodhānnirbījaḥ samādhiḥ
When these are restrained, the entire mind is restrained and samadhi is then without object.
Commentary
When the impulse to go deeply within is replaced by simply being deeply within, the resulting samadhi is described as objectless.
2 Sādhana-pāda (Practice)
Commentary
The second chapter is about sadhana,“effective means of attainment”, and refers to specific religious disciplines. The purpose of the practice is twofold—achieving samadhi and lessening the five wrong cognitions.
Sutra 2.1
tapaḥsvādhyāyeśvarapraṇidhānāni kriyāyogaḥ
Kriya yoga is comprised of austerity, self-study and devotion to Ishvara.
Commentary
In modern Hindu teachings, the most common use of the term kriya yoga is to refer to a breathing technique, pranayama. Here, however, the term kriya yoga simply means the “yoga of action.” Kriya can have the sense of religious action and therefore kriya yoga could also be rendered in English as “the yoga of religious action.”
The concept of austerity, tapas, may bring to mind images of yogis in the Himalayas living in a cave or bathing in the winter in the freezing waters of the Ganges. Though tapas does include these intense practices, it also includes easier ones that can be done by all. A simple form of tapas is sacrifice. Sacrifice is the act of giving up to a greater power a cherished possession be it money, time, intelligence or a physical object to manifest a greater good.
The commentators describe self-study, svadhyaya, as recitation (japa) of the sacred syllable AUM and other similar mantras and as the study of the sacred lore on liberation. (moksha shastra).
Though yoga as taught today tends to altogether leave out the concept of the Personal God, Ishvara, the Yoga Sutras give worship of and cultivating devotion to Ishvara a place of importance.
Sutra 2.2
samādhibhāvanārthaḥ kleśatanūkaraṇārthaśca
This yoga has the purpose of bringing about samadhi and attenuating the kleshas.
Commentary
Though the grammar of this Sutra gives the initial impression that the two goals of bringing about samadhi and weakening the kleshas are separate from one another, on further reflection it can be seen that to achieve samadhi it is necessary to first attentuate the influence of the kleshas. Thus another way of stating the purpose of kriya yoga is that it is the “yoga of purification” through religious observances.
Sutra 2.3
avidyāsmitārāgadveṣābhiniveśāḥ kleśāḥ
Ignorance, I-am-ness, attraction, aversion, and clinging to life are the five kleshas.
Commentary
These five kleshas can all be attenuated by the practice of kriya yoga. Ultimately, the kleshas can be completely obliterated through the experience of dharma megha samadhi.
Sutra 2.4
avidyā kṣetramuttareṣāṃ prasuptatanuvicchinnodārāṇām
Ignorance is the field of the other kleshas, whether dormant, attenuated, intercepted, or activated.
Commentary
Commentators indicate the kleshas are dormant in a baby, attenuated by yogic practices, intercepted when one temporarily blocks another, or fully activated in an average person who is not even trying to control them.
Sutra 2.5
anityāśuciduḥkhānātmasu nityaśucisukhātmakhyātiravidyā
Ignorance is the seeing of that which is eternal, pure, joyful and the soul in that which is ephemeral, impure, sorrowful and not the soul.
Commentary
In common usage “ignorance” refers to not knowing how to do something such as being ignorant about caring for dairy cows. Ignorance of the type mentioned in this Sutra is different. It is referring to looking at something and totally mistaking its nature.
Sutra 2.6
dṛgdarśanaśaktyorekātmatevāsmitā
I-am-ness is the identification as it where of the powers of vision and visioner.
Commentary
Visioner, of course, is the purusha. The powers of vision is referring to our intellect, buddhi.
Sutra 2.7
sukhānuśayī rāgaḥ
Attraction is that which rests on pleasant experiences.
Commentary
Of course, an individual is attracted to a multitude of objects and individuals not previously experienced. What this Sutra is saying is that one’s strongest attractions are based on memories of having experienced pleasure.
Sutra 2.8
duḥkhānuśayī dveṣaḥ
Aversion is that which rests on sorrowful experiences.
Commentary
When the concept of being detached is initially thought about, it would be common to focus solely on lessening our attachment to what we consider pleasurable. However, strong attachments also exist to our memories of what caused us suffering, such as mistreatment from our parents. It is necessary to also detach from these memories of suffering.
Sutra 2.9
svarasavāhī viduṣo ‘pi samārūḍho ‘bhiniveśaḥ
Clinging to life, flowing along by its own momentum, is rooted thus even in sages.
Commentary
This Sutra is pointing out that the dread of death is found in everyone, even the wisest of men.
Sutra 2.10
te pratiprasavaheyāḥ sūkṣmāḥ
These kleshas in their subtle form are overcome by the process of involution within the individual.
Commentary
Involution takes place when kaivalya, liberation, is achieved.
Sutra 2.11
dhyānaheyāstadvṛttayaḥ
The mental activities produced by these kleshas are overcome through meditation.
Commentary
When the tendency to a worldly activity is present in our thoughts, it can be overcome through insights generated in meditation.
Sutra 2.12
kleśamūlaḥ karmāśayo dṛṣtādṛṣṭajanmavedanīyaḥ
The kleshas are the root source of the stored karma, and this may be experienced in the present visible birth or in an unseen future birth.
Commentary
The kleshas are also the causes of our actions that relate to worldly pursuits. All such actions create a karma.
Sutra 2.13
sati mūle tadvipāko jātyāyurbhogāḥ
So long as this root source exists, there also is fruition from it of one’s class, life span and life experiences.
Commentary
This Sutra is stating that our karma determines our birth status, span of life and experiences in that life.
Sutra 2.14
te hlādaparitāpaphalāḥ puṇyāpuṇyahetutvāt
These are pleasant or unpleasant as the fruit of meritorious and non-meritorious actions respectively.
Commentary
This is the traditional explanation of the law of karma. The karmic reaction created by meritorious actions are pleasant experiences in the future. The karmic reaction created by nonmeritorious actions are unpleasant experiences in the future.
Sutra 2.15
pariṇāmatāpasaṃskāraduḥkhairguṇavṛttivirodhācca duḥkhameva sarvaṃ vivekinaḥ
Men of discrimination see sorrow in all experience, whether from the sorrow of impermanence, from the anguish coming from samskaras or from the gunas causing conflicting mental activities.
Commentary
An ordinary person focuses on the initial enjoyment that comes from experiences. A wise man, however, looks at it from the opposite point of view which is that all experiences eventually lead to sorrow.
Sutra 2.16
heyaṃ duḥkhamanāgatam
That which is to be overcome is sorrow that is yet to come.
Commentary
This is accomplished by acting free from the influences of the kleshas.
Sutra 2.17
draṣṭṛdṛśyayoḥ saṃyogo heyahetuḥ
The identity of awareness, the experiencer, with what is experienced is the cause of that which is to be overcome.
Commentary
The idea of awareness, the experiencer, mistakenly identifying with what is experienced is found in a number of Sutras each of which gives emphasis to a different aspect of this phenomena. This Sutra brings out the aspect of the core cause of the pattern of not understanding the true nature of actions based in ignorance, I-am-ness, attraction, aversion and clinging to life can all be traced to the mistaken identify of the experiencer for what is experienced.
Sutra 2.18
prakāśakriyāsthitiśīlaṃ bhūtendriyātmakaṃ bhogāpavargārthaṃ dṛśyam
What is experienced has the character of brightness, activity, and inertia. It is embodied in the elements and the sense organs. Its purpose is to provide both experience and liberation.
Commentary
Brightness (sattva), activity (rajas), inertia (tamas) is referring to the three gunas. Note the dual nature of the world: experience and liberation. Each purusha needs a certain amount of experience in the world before it is ready to transcend the world through achieving liberation.
Sutra 2.19
viśeṣāviśeṣaliṅgamātrāliṅgāni guṇaparvāni
The levels of the gunas are the particularized, the unparticularized, the differentiate and the undifferentiate.
Commentary
The process of evolution, creation, starts at the level of the undifferentiate and works outward to finally reach the particularized. The process of involution starts at the level of the particularized and works inward to finally reach the undifferentiate.
Sutra 2.20
draṣṭā dṛśimātraḥ śuddo ‘pi pratyayānupaśyaḥ
Awareness, which is the sheer power of seeing, although pure, perceives the mind’s content.
Commentary
Awareness views the contents of the mind. In doing so, it is unchanged.
Sutra 2.21
tadartha eva dṛśyasyātmā
The essential nature of the seen is only for the sake of awareness.
Commentary
As mentioned in a previous Sutra, the “seen” provides awareness with both experience and liberation. This Sutra is emphasizing that the “seen” has no purpose in and of itself. Its purpose comes from the purusha utilizing it to gain experience and eventual liberation.
Sutra 2.22
kṛtārthaṃ prati naṣṭamapyanaṣṭaṃ tadanyasādhāraṇatvāt
Although what is seen ceases to exist for one whose purpose has been accomplished, it has nevertheless not ceased to exist altogether as for others it remains the common experience.
Commentary
In achieving moksha we rise above the realm of prakriti and its manifestations and only experience purusha. Prakriti, for the liberated, is no more but for everyone else it is still there.
Sutra 2.23
svasvāmiśaktyoḥ svarūpopalabdhihetuḥ saṃyogaḥ
The notion of identity is the means of understanding the essential nature of the power of the owner and that of the owned.
Commentary
Saying the same thing as before however this Sutra adds the idea of power, Shakti.
Sutra 2.24
tasya heturavidyā
The cause of this identity is ignorance.
Commentary
Also stated before.
Sutra 2.25
tadabhāvātsaṃyogābhāvo hānaṃ taddṛśeḥ kaivalyam
With the disappearance of this ignorance, the identity also disappears. This is total cessation of bondage, the aloneness, kaivalya, of the power of awareness.
Commentary
This is the first Sutra to give a description to what happens to awareness when it no long identifies with the seen which is that the “power of awareness is alone.”
Sutra 2.26
vivekakhyātiraviplavā hānopāyaḥ
The means of attaining cessation is the unceasing vision of discernment.
Commentary
This relates back to the earlier Sutra mentioning cessation and gives us a specific practice for achieving kaivalya which is the unceasing discrimination as to the difference between the seer and the seen. Subsequent Sutras give other methods.
Sutra 2.27
tasya saptadhā prāntabhūmiḥ prajñā
For one with this unceasing vision of discernment, there arises in the last stage mystical insight which is sevenfold.
Commentary
Commentator Vyasa gives a list of seven. There is no need to go through them all. I thought just the seventh one would be enough which is: “in the seventh state the insight reveals purusha abiding in-itself, pure and alone.”
Sutra 2.28
yogāṅgānuṣṭhānādaśuddhikṣaye jñānadīptirāvivekakhyāteḥ
When the limbs of yoga are practiced, impurities are destroyed and radiant wisdom manifests leading up to the vision of discernment.
Commentary
This begins the section on the limbs of yoga. Practice causes three events to happen: First, impurities dwindle. Second, radiant knowledge manifests. Third, the ability to discriminate between the the seer and the seen manifests.
Sutra 2.29
yamaniyamāsanaprāṇāyāmapratyāhāradhāraṇādhyānasamādhayo’ṣṭāvaṅgāni
Yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana and samadhi are the eight limbs of yoga.
Commentary
Here all eight limbs are mentioned. As there are eight limbs, Classical Yoga is also referred to as ashtanga yoga.
Sutra 2.30
ahiṃsāsatyāsteyabrahmacaryāparigrahā yamāḥ
Noninjury, truthfulness, nonstealing, divine conduct, and noncovetousness are the yamas.
Commentary
The yamas are the “ethical restraints” which are the necessary foundation for the other seven limbs. Without their practice, no sustainable progress can be made in the more advanced practices. Patanjali only has five yamas. This expands into ten by the time of the various Yoga Upanishads such as the Sandilya.
Sutra 2.31
jātideśakālasamayānavacchinnāḥ sārvabhaumā mahāvratam
These are valid in all spheres irrespective of one’s class, place, time, or circumstance, and constitute the great vow.
Commentary
This means, of course, we have to always be upholding them—no exceptions.
Sutra 2.32
śaucasaṃtoṣatapaḥsvādhyāyeśvarapraṇidhānāni niyamāḥ
Purity, contentment, austerity, self-study and devotion to Ishvara are the niyamas.
Commentary
The second limb are the religious observances. They cover a diversity of important practices. Patanjali also only has five niyamas. This expands into ten by the time of the various Yoga Upanishads such as the Sandilya.
Sutra 2.33
vitarkabādhane pratipakṣabhāvanam
For the repelling of unwholesome deliberation, one should cultivate the opposite.
Commentary
Here are two examples of cultivating opposites. The first is to replace the idea of harming someone with negative words with the idea of helping them through encouraging words. The second idea is replacing the idea of coveting what another has by finding a way to give something to them such as through hospitality.
Sutra 2.34
vitarkā hiṃsādayaḥ kṛtakāritānumoditā lobhakrodhamohapūrvakā
mṛdumadhyādhimātrā duḥkhājñānānantaphalā iti pratipakṣabhāvanam
Unwholesome deliberations, such as harming someone and so forth, whether done, caused to be done, or approved, whether arising from greed, anger or infatuation, whether modest, medium or extreme, find there unending fruition in ignorance and sorrow. This is why one must cultivate their opposites.
Commentary
Usually when karma is thought about it is in the context of an individual performing an action and that action causing a reaction in the future. This Sutra points out the subtleties that even if you don’t perform the act yourself but have caused others to do it or approved others to do it, that also creates a reaction in the future.
Sutra 2.35
ahiṃsāpratiṣṭhāyāṃ tatsannidhau vairatyāgaḥ
When a yogi is established in noninjury, all enmity is abandoned in his presence.
Commentary
This is the first of five Sutras that shows the benefit of mastering each of the yamas.
Sutra 2.36
satyapratiṣṭhāyāṃ kriyāphalāśrayatvam
When a yogi is established in truthfulness, he ensures the fruition of actions.
Commentary
The idea here is that the power of truthfulness makes easier the successful completion of a course of action.
Sutra 2.37
asteyapratiṣṭhāyāṃ sarvaratnopasthānam
When a yogi is established in non-stealing, all jewels appear for him.
Commentary
Again a benefit is given.
Sutra 2.38
brahmacaryapratiṣṭhāyāṃ vīryalābhaḥ
When a yogi is established in divine conduct, great vitality is acquired.
Commentary
Again a benefit is given.
Sutra 2.39
aparigrahasthairye janmakathaṃtāsambodhaḥ
When a yogi is steadfast in noncovetousness, knowledge comes of the wherefore of his births.
Commentary
Again a benefit is given.
Sutra 2.40
śaucāt svāṅgajugupsā parairasaṃsargaḥ
Through purity one develops a distaste for one’s body and for physical contact with others.
Commentary
This is the first of the niyama list. As with the yamas, a benefit for each is given.
Sutra 2.41
sattvaśuddhisaumanasyaikāgryendriyajayātmadarśana-yogyatvāni ca
Furthermore, purity of the buddhi, one-pointedness, mastery of the sense organs and the capability of atma darshana are achieved.
Commentary
Further benefits are listed. The last statement, fitness for atma darshana, conveys the necessity of purity for experiencing the nature of the purusha.
Sutra 2.42
saṃtoṣādanuttamasukhalābhaḥ
Through contentment unsurpassed joy is gained.
Commentary
Again the benefit is given.
Sutra 2.43
kāyendriyasiddhiraśuddhikṣayāt tapasaḥ
Through austerity, due to the removal of impurities, perfection of the body and the sense organs is gained.
Commentary
Again the benefit is given.
Sutra 2.44
svādhyāyād iṣṭadevatāsaṃprayogaḥ
Through self-study a connection is established with one’s chosen Deity.
Commentary
Svadhyaya includes repetition of mantras. This Sutra is pointing out that you will develop greater closeness to a Deity by repeating that Deity’s mantra.
Sutra 2.45
samādhisiddhirīśvarapraṇidhānāt
Through devotion to Ishvara samadhi is attained.
Commentary
This Sutra means that effort and dedication can be supplemented by the blessings or grace we receive due to our intense devotion to God. In other words, it’s not just the devotion to God, its that the devotion to God opens an individual to receiving God’s blessings, God’s grace. And it’s the grace that transforms you. Or the blessings that transform you. It’s a two step process. The more devotion you have the more open you are to grace so the more blessings you’re able to receive which in this case can help you to move toward samadhi.
Sutra 2.46
sthirasukham āsanam
Asana should be steady and comfortable.
Commentary
One’s meditation posture is directed related to how deep one’s meditation is. It is important to take time to find a posture that is comfortable. Once that has been achieved, then it is important to remain as motionless throughout the meditation as possible.
Sutra 2.47
prayatnaśaithilyānantasamāpattibhyām
Such posture can be obtained by the relaxation of effort and samapatti upon the infinite.
Commentary
Ananta samapatti is described as feeling you have the qualities of infinite space, that you extend out beyond your physical body into the surrounding environment, and then beyond that, etc. That is the visualization to focus on while at the same time simply relaxing.
Sutra 2.48
tato dvandvānabhighātaḥ
Thence comes imperturbation by the pairs of opposites.
Commentary
Once properly established in asana, the meditator is no longer affected by conditions such as heat or cold. This relates to the soon to come practice of pratyahara which is more effective if the body is properly relaxed.
Sutra 2.49
tasminsati śvāsapraśvāsayorgativicchedaḥ prāṇāyāmaḥ
When this is achieved, pranayama follows which consists of the regulation of inhalation and exhalation.
Commentary
This refers to inhaling and delaying the subsequent exhalation as well as exhaling and then delaying the subsequent inhalation.
Sutra 2.50
bāhyābhyantarastambhavṛttirdeśakālasaṃkhyābhiḥ paridṛṣṭo dīrghasūkṣmaḥ
In pranayama the movements of breath are external, internal and restrained. These are drawn out and subtle in accordance to place, time and number.
Commentary
Places denotes the location chosen in the body to remain focused upon. Time denotes the length of the inhalations and exhalations. Number stands for the number of repetitions.
Sutra 2.51
bāhyābhyantaraviṣayākṣepī caturthaḥ
The pranayama which transcends the external and internal sphere is the “fourth.”
Commentary
The result of consciously regulating the breath for a period of time leads to the stage where the breath remains regulated without needing to consciously do so. It also can slow down significantly.
Sutra 2.52
tataḥ kṣīyate prakāśāvaraṇam
Thence the covering of the inner light disappears.
Commentary
The practice of pranayama internalizes the yogi enough so that the inner light that is always there is visible.
Sutra 2.53
dhāraṇāsu ca yogyatā manasaḥ
And the fitness of the mind for dharana is gained.
Commentary
The inner light is a sign post that the mind is sufficiently internalized that the practice of concentration will come easily.
Sutra 2.54
svaviṣayāsaṃprayoge cittasvarūpānukāra ivendriyāṇāṃ pratyāhāraḥ
Pratyahara is the imitation as it were of the mind abiding in its essential nature on the part of the sense organs disuniting themselves from their objects.
Commentary
We do something similar every night when we fall asleep. The difference is that in pratyahara after closing down the senses we remain conscious.
Sutra 2.55
tataḥ paramā vaśyatendriyāṇām
Thence results supreme self-control over the sense organs.
Commentary
This Sutra is pointing out that the practice of pratyahara not only causes the senses to close off but gives the yogis self-control over them as well.
3 Vibhūti-pāda (Mystic Powers)
Commentary
The third chapter finishes the descriptions of the balance of the eight limbs of yoga and presents information on samyama and the attainment of certain paranormal powers.
Sutra 3.1
deśabandhaḥ cittasya dhāraṇā
Dharana is the binding of the mind to a single object.
Commentary
When the mind’s focus on a single object is uninterrupted and sustained, that is dharana or concentration.
Sutra 3.2
tatra pratyayaikatānatā dhyānam
Dhyana is the one-pointed direction of the thoughts towards the object of concentration.
Commentary
The process of meditation is often compared to the pouring of oil from one vessel to another, in a steady, unbroken stream. In dharana the flow of knowledge can be compared to a succession of similar drops of water. In dhyana the flow of knowledge is continuous like the pouring of oil from one vessel to another, in a steady, unbroken stream.
Sutra 3.3
tadevārthamātranirbhāsaṃ svarūpaśūnyamiva samādhiḥ
Samadhi is when the mind is empty of all sense of self and only the object of concentration shines forth.
Commentary
When the state of meditation becomes so deep that only the object stands by itself, obliterating, as it were, all traces of reflective thought, it is known as samadhi.
Sutra 3.4
trayamekatra saṃyamaḥ
The three practiced together on the same object is samyama.
Commentary
The idea of practicing together is to first start with dharana on the chosen object. This will eventually lead to dhyana which will finally lead to samadhi.
Sutra 3.5
tajjayātprajñālokaḥ
Through mastery of samyama there ensues the flashing-forth of mystical insight.
Commentary
Prajna, translated as mystical insight, refers to wisdom obtained from being in the state of samadhi. It is quite distinct from knowledge gained by inference or from tradition. It is based on direct perception (sakshatkara).
Sutra 3.6
tasya bhūmiṣu viniyogaḥ
Samyama is to be applied in progressive stages.
Commentary
Commentator Hariharananda states that there are four stages beginning with the objects of knowledge.
Sutra 3.7
trayamantaraṅgaṃ pūrvebhyaḥ
These three are the inner limbs in relation to the previous limbs.
Commentary
The previous five are yama, niyama, asana, pranayama and pratyahara. These comprise the external, foundational practices. Dharana, dhyana and samadhi (samprajnata) are the internal practices.
Sutra 3.8
tadapi bahiraṅgaṃ nirbījasya
Yet they are outer limbs in relation to the objectless samadhi.
Commentary
More internal than even dharana, dhyana and samprajnata samadhi is the objectless asmaprajnata samadhi.
Sutra 3.9
vyutthānanirodhasaṃskārayorabhibhavaprādurbhāvau nirodhakṣaṇacittānvayo nirodhapariṇāmaḥ
Restraint transformation is when the externalizing samskaras are subjugated by the appearance of restraint samskaras. These emerge in the mind at the moment of restraint.
Commentary
This is similar to the idea presented at the end of chapter one which focused on the samskaras generated in nirvichara samadhi. This is more general in saying that whenever restraint is employed new samskaras are generated which subjugate the externalizing (i.e. worldly) ones.
Sutra 3.10
tasya praśāntavāhitā saṃskārāt
A tranquil flow of consciousness is produced by these restraint-samskaras.
Commentary
Restraint samskaras influence the mind to be without mental activity and therefore remain in a tranquil state.
Sutra 3.11
sarvārthataikāgratayoḥ kṣayodayau cittasya samādhipariṇāmaḥ
The dwindling of all-objectness and the rising of one-pointedness is the samadhi transformation of the mind.
Commentary
This Sutra is pointing out another aspect of the influence of the restraining samskaras which is the mind’s tendency to be dispersed is lessening while its tendency to be drawn only to one object is increasing.
Sutra 3.12
tataḥ punaḥ śāntoditau tulyapratyayau cittasyaikāgratāpariṇāmaḥ
Then again when the quiescent and the uprisen thoughts are similar, this is the one-pointedness transformation of the mind.
Commentary
This Sutra is explaining what one-pointedness means. It is when our previous thought and our new thought are about the same subject.
Sutra 3.13
etena bhūtendriyeṣu dharmalakṣaṇāvasthāpariṇāmā vyākhyātāḥ
By this are also explained the transformations of form, time variation and condition with regard to the elements and the sense organs.
Commentary
These three types of change are universal and apply to mental activity as much as to material objects and the sensory receptors by which we perceive them.
Sutra 3.14
śantoditāvyapadeśyadharmānupātã dharmã
The substance is that which underpins the form of the quiescent past, uprisen present and indeterminable future.
Commentary
Dharmî is the unchanging substance, as opposed to the changeable form (dharma). This is a key element of Patanjali’s theory of transformation (parinama).
Sutra 3.15
kramānyatvaṃ pariṇāmānyatve hetuḥ
The differentiation in the sequence is the reason for the differentiation in the transformations.
Commentary
Sequence refers to the temporal succession of forms of the same substance. This sequence is broken up into infinitely short intervals.
Sutra 3.16
pariṇāmatrayasaṃyamādatãtānāgatajñānam
Through samyama on the three forms of transformation, knowledge of the past and future can be acquired.
Commentary
Identify the underlying substance of the object (dharmi) and then meditate on its transformations in form, time variation and condition.
Sutra 3.17
śabdārthapratyayānāmitraretarādhyāsātsaṅkarastatpravibhāgasaṃyamāt sarva bhūtarutajñānam
There is a natural confusion of word, object, and the idea thereof on account of their superimposition on one another. Through samyama on the distinction between them, understanding of the sounds uttered by all creatures is acquired.
Commentary
The idea is to clearly understand the difference between the word, the object and the idea thereof. Take as an example the cow. The word is cow; the object is the physical animal; the idea th
