The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali—Integral Yoga Pocket Edition

Translation and Commentary by Sri Swami Satchidananda

• Publisher: Integral Yoga Publications
• Year: 2015
• ISBN:
  9781938477249
• Topic: Filosofia
• Subtopic: Filosofia orientale

This pocket edition offers a convenient format for this ageless guide and companion to the student on the Yogic path. Includes the full text of this classic Yoga work, along with brief commentary from a revered master of Raja Yoga.

Book 1

Samadhi Pada

Portion on Contemplation

This begins our study of Raja Yoga, or Ashtanga (eight-limbed) Yoga as it is sometimes called. The Yoga Sutras as expounded by the sage Patanjali Maharishi comprise the first and foremost scripture of Yoga. It was Patanjali who carefully coordinated yogic thought and explained it to his students. As he expounded these thoughts, his students jotted them down in a sort of shorthand using just a few words that came to be called the sutras.

The literal meaning of the word sutra is “thread,” and these sutras are just combinations of words threaded together—sometimes not even well-formed sentences with subjects, predicates, and so on. Within the space of these two hundred short sutras, the entire science of Yoga is clearly delineated: its aim, the necessary practices, the obstacles you may meet along the path, their removal, and precise descriptions of the results that will be obtained from such practice.

1Now the exposition of Yoga is being made.

2The restraint of the modifications of the mind-stuff is Yoga.

In this sutra, Patanjali gives the goal of Yoga. For a keen student this one sutra would be enough because the rest of them only explain this one. If the restraint of the mental modifications is achieved, one has reached the goal of Yoga.

3Then the Seer (Self) abides in Its own nature.

You are the true Seer. You are not the body nor the mind. You are the Knower or Seer. You always see your mind and body acting in front of you. You know that the mind creates thoughts; it distinguishes and desires. The Seer knows that but is not involved in it.

To understand that eternal peaceful You, the mind must be quiet; otherwise, it seems to distort the truth. If I explain this through an analogy, it will probably be easier to understand.

Have you seen your own face? You have to say no because it is the face that sees. The face itself is the seer or the subject. What it sees in the mirror is its image. If the mirror is corrugated, curved, concave, or convex, will you be able to see your true face? No. It will appear to be awful—too big or too high or full of waves. Will you be worried seeing this? No. You will immediately know something is wrong with the mirror. You are seeing a distorted reflection. Only if the mirror is perfectly smooth and clean will it give you the true reflection.

In the same way, the Seer, or true you, reflects in the mind, which is your mirror. Normally you can’t see the true Self because your mind is colored. If the mind is dirty, you say, “I am dirty.” If it’s polished and shining: “I am beautiful.” When the mind ceases to create thought forms or when the chitta is completely free from vrittis, it becomes clear and you see your true Self.

4At other times [the Self appears to] assume the forms of the mental modifications.

5There are five kinds of mental modifications, which are either painful or painless.

6They are right knowledge, misconception, verbal delusion, sleep, and memory.

7The sources of right knowledge are direct perception, inference, and scriptural testimony.

8Misconception occurs when knowledge of something is not based upon its true form.

9An image that arises on hearing mere words without reality [as its basis] is verbal delusion.

10That mental modification supported by cognition of nothingness is sleep.

11When a mental modification of an object previously experienced and not forgotten comes back to consciousness, that is memory.

12These mental modifications are restrained by practice and non-attachment.

13Of these two, effort toward steadiness of mind is practice.

14Practice becomes firmly grounded when well attended to for a long time, without break and in all earnestness.

The first qualification for practice is that it should be done for a long time. Unfortunately, we just want the result immediately. If I ask you to repeat a mantra and say that you will become more peaceful and realize beautiful things within, you will go back home, repeat it for three days, and then call me: “I’ve repeated it for three days but nothing happens. Maybe this is not a suitable mantra for me. Can you give me a different one?” So, Patanjali says, “for a long time.” He doesn’t say how long.

And then it should be without break. I often hear, “Oh, I’ve been practicing Yoga for the past ten years but I’m still the same.” “How often?” “Oh, off and on.” So it must be continuous practice also.

And the last qualification is “in all earnestness.” That means with full attention, with the entire application of your mind, and with full faith in your achievement. Even when you want something or somebody on the worldly level, you will be after it day and night. You don’t sleep, you don’t even eat—you are always at it. If this quality is necessary to achieve even worldly success, how much more so for success in Yoga. So let us not be like little children who sow a seed today and dig it up tomorrow to see how much the root went down. We need all these three qualities: patience, devotion, and faith.

15The consciousness of self-mastery in one who is free from craving for objects seen or heard about is non-attachment.

16When there is non-thirst for even the gunas (constituents of Nature) due to the realization of the Purusha (true Self), that is supreme non-attachment.

17Samprajnata samadhi is accompanied by reasoning, reflecting, rejoicing, and pure I-am-ness.

18By the firmly convinced practice of the complete cessation of the mental modifications, the impressions only remain. This is the other samadhi [asamprajnata samadhi].

19Those who merely leave their physical bodies and attain the state of celestial deities, or those who get merged in Nature, have rebirth.

20For the others, this asamprajnata samadhi could come through faith, vigor, memory, contemplation and/or by discernment.

21To the keen and intent practitioner this [samadhi] comes very quickly.

22The time necessary for success further depends on whether the practice is mild, medium, or intense.

23Or [samadhi is attained] by devotion with total dedication to God (Isvara).

24Isvara is the supreme Purusha, unaffected by any afflictions, actions, fruits of actions, or by any inner impressions or desires.

25In Isvara is the complete manifestation of the seed of omniscience.

26Unconditioned by time, Isvara is the teacher of even the most ancient teachers.

27The word expressive of Isvara is the mystic sound OM. [OM is God’s name as well as form.]

There are hundreds and thousands of names for God but none of them conveys the exact idea of God. They may give a picture of one aspect of God, but not the fullness. God is, was, and always will be—without beginning or end, infinite, and omnipresent. For such a great One, there should be a name that conveys those same ideas.

The name “chair” can remind you of a chair, but you can’t sit on it. But God’s name should not only denote the fullness of God and itself represent God, it should also bring God to you. And such a name cannot be anything but OM.

Let us see why it is so. The name OM can be split into three letters: A, U, and M. Every language begins with the letter A or “ah.” A is pronounced by simply opening the mouth and making a sound. That sound is produced in the throat where the tongue is rooted. So audible sound begins with A. Then, as the sound comes forward between the tongue and the palate up to the lips, U or “oo” is produced. Then closing the lips produces the M. So the creation is A, the preservation is U, and the culmination is M. A-U-M includes the entire process of sound, and all other sounds are contained in it.

After the verbal sound ends there is still a vibration. That is the unspoken, or anahata sound, which is always in you even before saying the A and after finishing M. It is heard only when all the other sounds cease. Even thinking creates a sound, because thought itself is a form of speaking. By thinking, you distort the original sound that transcends the beginning, continuation, and end of the OM sound. To listen to that sound you have to keep your mind quiet, stop the thinking process, and dive within.

OM represents God in the fullest sense. It has the power to create everything. If you make an apple out of clay, paint it beautifully, and put it on a table with a real apple, an ordinary person cannot see the difference between the clay apple and the real one. They look alike and have the same name. But if you plant them both, your clay apple will not create an apple tree, but the real one will. The true apple has that creative capacity within itself because the seed is there.

Likewise, other words are just like the clay apple, while the seed word OM has the creative capacity to manifest the entire world. The entire world evolves from that and goes back into that again. That is why God’s name should be OM. It is a variation of this OM that we see as the “Amen” or “Ameen” which the Christians, Muslims, and Jews say.

28To repeat it with reflection upon its meaning is an aid.

Here we come to the practice of japa. It’s a very powerful technique, and at the same time, it’s the easiest, simplest, and the best. Almost every religion advocates the repetition of God’s name because all the prophets, sages, and saints experienced and understood its greatness, glory, and power.

In the Hindu system, a mystic word or mantra is given to the student to repeat. The meaning of mantra is “that which keeps the mind steady and produces the proper effect.” Its repetition is called japa. So Japa Yoga is communion with God through the repetition of holy names. In the Catholic religion you see japa of Hail Mary practiced with the aid of the rosary. In the Greek Orthodox Church they repeat, “Lord Jesus, have mercy on me” continuously. In Tibetan Buddhism japa is a predominant practice also.

We say it is the easiest because you need not go to a particular place or have a particular time for it. It is not somewhere outside you, but always within. Wherever you are, your mantra is with you. To worship a form you have to have a picture or image and a place to keep it. But in mantra practice it is always in your heart, the most sacred place, because it is your beloved.

And that’s why your mantra is to be kept sacred and secret. You don’t even reveal it to others, lest you lose the reverence for it. By repeating it constantly, a part of the mind gets linked to that. It is like going down into a tunnel with a life-rope tied around the waist and one end of the rope fixed to a peg outside the tunnel. Whenever there is any danger, you can just shake the rope and get pulled out.

In the same way, a part of your mind is tied to God through your mantra while the other part is engaged in worldly pursuits. You dive deep to get all the pearls you want to gather: name, fame, money, position, friends, anything you want. You need not stay away from anything as long as you do not lose hold of the rope. Sensible climbers see to that first, and even pull...