अथ योगानुशासनम्

atha yogānuśāsanam

Now, the discipline of yoga is explained.

The word "atha" signals an auspicious beginning. Yoga is presented as a systematic discipline (anuśāsana), not mere philosophy — it demands practice and direct experience.

योगश्चित्तवृत्तिनिरोधः

yogaś citta-vṛtti-nirodhaḥ

Yoga is the cessation of the fluctuations of the mind.

This is the central definition. Citta (mind-stuff) has vṛttis (waves/modifications). Yoga is their complete stilling — not suppression, but transcendence into pure awareness.

तदा द्रष्टुः स्वरूपेऽवस्थानम्

tadā draṣṭuḥ svarūpe ''vasthānam

Then the seer abides in its own true nature.

When the mind is still, consciousness (the draṣṭṛ, the witness) rests in its own form — pure, undistorted awareness. This is the goal of yoga.

वृत्तिसारूप्यमितरत्र

vṛtti-sārūpyam itaratra

At other times, the seer identifies with the fluctuations.

When the mind is active and uncontrolled, consciousness mistakenly identifies with thoughts, emotions, and sensory impressions — this is the root of suffering.

वृत्तयः पञ्चतय्यः क्लिष्टाक्लिष्टाः

vṛttayaḥ pañcatayyaḥ kliṣṭākliṣṭāḥ

The fluctuations are fivefold — painful or non-painful.

All mental modifications fall into five categories. Each can be either afflicted (kliṣṭa, producing suffering) or non-afflicted (akliṣṭa, leading toward freedom).

प्रमाणविपर्ययविकल्पनिद्रास्मृतयः

pramāṇa-viparyaya-vikalpa-nidrā-smṛtayaḥ

They are: right knowledge, misconception, imagination, sleep, and memory.

The five vṛttis: valid cognition (pramāṇa), error (viparyaya), conceptualization (vikalpa), deep sleep (nidrā), and memory (smṛti).

प्रत्यक्षानुमानागमाः प्रमाणानि

pratyakṣa-anumāna-āgamāḥ pramāṇāni

Direct perception, inference, and authoritative testimony are the sources of right knowledge.

Valid knowledge arises from three sources: direct sensory experience, logical reasoning, and the testimony of trusted scripture or realized teachers.

विपर्ययो मिथ्याज्ञानमतद्रूपप्रतिष्ठम्

viparyayo mithyā-jñānam atad-rūpa-pratiṣṭham

Misconception is false knowledge based on a form that is not real.

Error occurs when we perceive something as other than what it truly is — like mistaking a rope for a snake. This is the fundamental ignorance yoga seeks to dispel.

शब्दज्ञानानुपाती वस्तुशून्यो विकल्पः

śabda-jñāna-anupātī vastu-śūnyo vikalpaḥ

Imagination is knowledge based on words alone, without any real object.

Vikalpa is purely conceptual — it follows verbal knowledge but has no corresponding reality. Abstract ideas, fantasies, and verbal constructs all fall here.

अभावप्रत्ययालम्बना वृत्तिर्निद्रा

abhāva-pratyaya-ālambanā vṛttir nidrā

Sleep is the fluctuation based on the absence of content.

Deep sleep is not the absence of mind but a specific mental state. The mind takes "non-existence" as its object. Even this must be transcended in yoga.

अनुभूतविषयासम्प्रमोषः स्मृतिः

anubhūta-viṣaya-asampramoṣaḥ smṛtiḥ

Memory is the retention of experienced objects.

Memory is the mind holding onto past impressions without distortion. It colors present perception and creates the continuity of personal identity.

अभ्यासवैराग्याभ्यां तन्निरोधः

abhyāsa-vairāgyābhyāṃ tan-nirodhaḥ

These fluctuations are stilled by practice and non-attachment.

The two pillars of yoga: abhyāsa (sustained, dedicated practice) and vairāgya (dispassion, letting go). Both are needed — effort and surrender working together.

तत्र स्थितौ यत्नोऽभ्यासः

tatra sthitau yatno ''bhyāsaḥ

Practice is the effort to remain steady in that state.

Abhyāsa is the persistent, wholehearted effort to maintain the state of mental stillness. It is not occasional — it is a way of life.

स तु दीर्घकालनैरन्तर्यसत्कारासेवितो दृढभूमिः

sa tu dīrgha-kāla-nairantarya-satkāra-āsevito dṛḍha-bhūmiḥ

That practice becomes firmly grounded when continued for a long time, without interruption, and with devotion.

Three conditions make practice unshakable: long duration (dīrgha-kāla), consistency without breaks (nairantarya), and reverential attitude (satkāra). No shortcuts exist.

दृष्टानुश्रविकविषयवितृष्णस्य वशीकारसंज्ञा वैराग्यम्

dṛṣṭa-anuśravika-viṣaya-vitṛṣṇasya vaśīkāra-saṃjñā vairāgyam

Non-attachment is the mastery over craving for objects seen or heard about.

Vairāgya is not mere renunciation — it is the conscious mastery over desire. It applies to both worldly pleasures and even heavenly promises described in scripture.

तत्परं पुरुषख्यातेर्गुणवैतृष्ण्यम्

tat paraṃ puruṣa-khyāter guṇa-vaitṛṣṇyam

The highest non-attachment is freedom from the guṇas, born of the knowledge of puruṣa.

Supreme vairāgya transcends even the three guṇas (sattva, rajas, tamas). It arises when one realizes the Self (puruṣa) as entirely distinct from nature (prakṛti).

वितर्कविचारानन्दास्मितारूपानुगमात् सम्प्रज्ञातः

vitarka-vicāra-ānanda-asmitā-rūpa-anugamāt samprajñātaḥ

Cognitive samādhi is accompanied by reasoning, reflection, bliss, and sense of self.

Samprajñāta samādhi has four progressive stages: gross analysis (vitarka), subtle analysis (vicāra), bliss (ānanda), and pure I-am-ness (asmitā). Each is deeper than the last.

विरामप्रत्ययाभ्यासपूर्वः संस्कारशेषोऽन्यः

virāma-pratyaya-abhyāsa-pūrvaḥ saṃskāra-śeṣo ''nyaḥ

The other samādhi is preceded by the practice of cessation, and only latent impressions remain.

Asamprajñāta samādhi: all mental content ceases, only saṃskāras (deep impressions) remain. This is the threshold of liberation — consciousness without object.

भवप्रत्ययो विदेहप्रकृतिलयानाम्

bhava-pratyayo videha-prakṛti-layānām

For those merged in nature or disembodied, it arises from the continuity of existence.

Some beings attain a samādhi-like state through merging with prakṛti or leaving the body — but this is not true liberation, as the seeds of return remain.

श्रद्धावीर्यस्मृतिसमाधिप्रज्ञापूर्वक इतरेषाम्

śraddhā-vīrya-smṛti-samādhi-prajñā-pūrvaka itareṣām

For others, it is preceded by faith, vigor, memory, absorption, and wisdom.

The path for sincere practitioners requires five qualities: faith (śraddhā), energy (vīrya), mindfulness (smṛti), concentration (samādhi), and discriminative wisdom (prajñā).

तीव्रसंवेगानामासन्नः

tīvra-saṃvegānām āsannaḥ

For those with intense ardor, it is near.

The more intense one''s dedication and longing, the closer samādhi becomes. Passion for liberation accelerates the path.

मृदुमध्याधिमात्रत्वात्ततोऽपि विशेषः

mṛdu-madhya-adhimātratvāt tato ''pi viśeṣaḥ

There is further distinction according to mild, moderate, or intense practice.

Even among ardent seekers, there are gradations. The degree of effort and surrender determines the speed of progress.

ईश्वरप्रणिधानाद्वा

īśvara-praṇidhānād vā

Or by devotion to the Lord.

Surrender to Īśvara (the divine) is presented as an alternative path to samādhi. Bhakti — complete self-offering — can accomplish what years of technique alone may not.

क्लेशकर्मविपाकाशयैरपरामृष्टः पुरुषविशेष ईश्वरः

kleśa-karma-vipāka-āśayair aparāmṛṣṭaḥ puruṣa-viśeṣa īśvaraḥ

Īśvara is a special puruṣa untouched by afflictions, actions, results, or latent impressions.

God in yoga philosophy is not a creator but the eternally free consciousness — never entangled in karma or suffering. This is the ideal the yogī moves toward.

तत्र निरतिशयं सर्वज्ञबीजम्

tatra niratiśayaṃ sarvajña-bījam

In that one is the unsurpassed seed of all-knowingness.

Īśvara contains omniscience in its fullest form. All knowledge exists as potential within the divine — this is the source from which all wisdom flows.