[toggle title=”Read: The Kailya Pada”]
KAIVALYA PĀDA
vastu sāmye citta bhedāt tayor vibhaktaḥ panthāḥ
prasaṁkhyāne ’py akusīdasya sarvathā viveka khyāter dharma meghaḥ samādhiḥ
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[toggle title=”Read: The Sadhana Pada”]
II. SĀDHANA PĀDA
तपःस्वाध्यायेश्वरप्रणिधानानि क्रियायोगः॥१॥
tapaḥ iśvara praṇidhānāni kriyā yogaḥ
1. Austerity, self-study, and dedication to Īśvara are Kriyā Yoga.
समाधिभावनार्थः क्लेशतनूकरणार्थश्च॥२॥
samādhi bhāvanārthaḥ kleśa tanūkaraṇārthaś ca
2. [One engages in Kriyā Yoga] for the purpose of cultivating samādhiand diminishing the afflictions.
अविद्यास्मितारागद्वेषाभिनिवेशाः क्लेशाः॥३॥
3. avidyāsmitā rāga dveṣābhiniveśāḥ kleśāḥ
Ignorance, I-am-ness, attraction, aversion, and desire for continuity are the afflictions.
अविद्याक्षेत्रमुत्तरेषां प्रसुप्ततनुविच्छिन्नोदाराणाम्॥४॥
4. avidyā kṣetram uttareṣāṁ prasupta tanu vicchinnodārāṇām
Ignorance is the cause of the others, whether dormant, diminished, interrupted, or fully active.
अनित्याशुचिदुःखानात्मसु नित्यशुचिसुखात्मख्यातिरविद्या॥५॥
5.anityāśuci duḥkhānātmasu nitya śuci sukhātmakhyātir avidyā
Ignorance is seeing the non-eternal as eternal, the impure as pure, suffering as pleasure, and the non-self as self.
दृग्दर्शनशक्त्योरेकात्मतेवास्मिता॥६॥
6. dṛg darśana śaktyor ekātmatevāsmitā
I-am-ness is when the two powers of Seer and Seen [appear] as a single self.
सुखानुशयी रागः॥७॥
7. sukhānuśayī rāgaḥ
Attraction is clinging to pleasure.
दुःखानुशयी द्वेषः॥८॥
8. duḥkhānuśayī dveṣaḥ
Aversion is clinging to suffering.
स्वरसवाही विदुषोऽपि तथारूढो भिनिवेशः॥९॥
9. svarasavāhī viduṣo ‘pi tathā rūḍho ‘bhiniveśaḥ
Desire for continuity, arising even among the wise, is sustained by self-essence.
ते प्रतिप्रसवहेयाः सूक्ष्माः॥१०॥
10. te pratiprasava heyāḥ sūkṣmāḥ
These subtle [afflictions] are to be avoided by a return to the origin.
ध्यानहेयास्तद्वृत्तयः॥११॥
11. dhyāna heyās tad vṛttayaḥ
The fluctuations [generated by those afflictions] are to be avoided by meditation.
क्लेशमूलः कर्माशयो दृष्टादृष्टजन्मवेदनीयः॥१२॥
12. kleśa mūlaḥ karmāśayo dṛṣṭādṛṣṭa janma vedanīyaḥ
The residue of karma, rooted in affliction, is felt in seen or unseen existence.
सति मूले तद्विपाको जात्यायुर्भोगाः॥१३॥
13. sati mūle tad vipāko jāty āyur bhogāḥ
While the root exists, there is fruition of it as birth, duration, and experience.
ते ह्लादपरितापफलाः पुण्यापुण्यहेतुत्वात्॥१४॥
14. te hlāda paritāpa phalāḥ puṇyāpuṇya hetutvāt
These fruits are joyful or painful according to whether the causes are meritorious or demeritorious.
परिणामतापसंस्कारदुःखैर्गुणवृत्तिविरोधाच्च दुःखमेव सर्वं विवेकिनः॥१५॥
15. pariṇāma tāpa saṁskāra duḥkhair guṇa vṛtti virodhāc ca duḥkhaṁ eva sarvaṁ vivekinaḥ
For the discriminating one, all is suffering, due to the conflict of the fluctuations of the guṇas and by the sufferings due to pariṇāma, sorrow, and saṃskāra.
हेयं दुःखमनागतम्॥१६॥
16. heyaṁ duḥkham anāgatam
The suffering yet to come is to be avoided.
द्रष्टृदृश्ययोः संयोगो हेयहेतुः॥१७॥
17. draṣṭṛ dṛśyayoḥ saṁyogo heya hetuḥ
The cause of what is to be avoided is the confusion of the Seer with the Seen.
प्रकाशक्रियास्थितिशीलं भूतेन्द्रियात्मकं भोगापवर्गार्थं दृश्यम्॥१८॥
18. prakāśa kriyā sthiti śīlaṁ bhūtendriyātmakaṁ bhogāpavargārthaṁ dṛśyam
The Seen has the qualities of light, activity, and inertia, consists of the elements and the senses, and has the purposes of experience and liberation.
विशेषाविशेषलिङ्गमात्रालिङ्गानि गुणपर्वाणि॥१९॥
19. viśeṣāviśeṣa liṅga mātrāliṅgāni guṇa parvāṇi
The distinct, the indistinct, the designator, and the unmanifest are the divisions of the guṇas.
द्रष्टा दृशिमात्रः शुद्धोऽपि प्रत्ययानुपश्यः॥२०॥
20. draṣṭā dṛśimātraḥ śuddho ‘pi pratyayānupaśyaḥ
The Seer only sees; though pure, it appears intentional.
तदर्थ एव दृश्यस्यात्मा॥२१॥
21. tad artha eva dṛśyasyātmā
The nature of the Seen is only for the purpose of that (puruṣa).
कृतार्थं प्रति नष्टमप्यनष्टं तदन्यसाधारणत्वात्॥२२॥
22. kṛtārthaṁ prati naṣṭam apy anaṣṭaṁ tad anya sādhāraṇatvāt
When [its] purpose is done, [the Seen] disappears; otherwise it does not disappear due to being common to others.
स्वस्वामिशक्त्योः स्वरूपोपलब्धिहेतुः संयोगः॥२३॥
23. sva svāmi śaktyoḥ svarūpopalabdhi hetuḥ saṁyogaḥ
Confusion (saṃyoga) results when one perceives the two powers of owner [puruṣa] and owned [prakṛti] as (one) self form.
तस्य हेतुरविद्या॥२४॥
24. tasya hetur avidyā
The cause of it is ignorance.
तदभावात् संयोगाभावो हानं तद् दृशेः कैवल्यम्॥२५॥
25. tad abhāvāt saṁyogābhāvo hānaṁ tad dṛśeḥ kaivalyam
From the absence [of ignorance], confusion ceases; [this is] the escape, the isolation from the Seen.
विवेकख्यातिरविप्लवा हानोपायः॥२६॥
26. viveka khyātir aviplavā hānopāyaḥ
The means of escape is unfaltering discriminative discernment.
तस्य सप्तधा प्रान्तभूमिः प्रज्ञा॥२७॥
27. tasya saptadhā prānta bhūmiḥ prajñā
The preparatory ground for this wisdom is sevenfold.
योगाङ्गाऽनुष्ठानादशुद्धिक्षये ज्ञानदीप्तिराविवेकख्यातेः॥२८॥
28. yogāṅgānuṣṭhānād aśuddhi kṣaye jñāna dīptir ā viveka khyāteḥ
From following the limbs of Yoga, which destroy impurity, the light of knowledge arises, leading to discriminative discernment.
यमनियमासनप्राणायामप्रत्याहारधारणाध्यानसमाधयोऽष्टावङ्गानि॥२९॥
29. yama niyamāsana prāṇāyāma pratyāhāra dhāraṇā dhyāna samādhayo ‘ṣṭāv aṅgāni
Precepts, observances, postures, control of breath, inwardness, con- centration, meditation, and samādhi are the eight limbs.
अहिंसासत्यास्तेयब्रह्मचर्यापरिग्रहा यमाः॥३०॥
30. ahiṁsā satyāsteya brahmacaryāparigrahā yamāḥ
जातिदेशकालसमयानवच्छिन्नाः सार्वभौमा महाव्रतम्॥३१॥
31. jāti deśa kāla samayānavacchinnāḥ sārva bhaumā mahāvratam
When not limited by birth, place, time, or circumstance in all occasions [these constitute] the great vow.
शौचसंतोषतपःस्वाध्यायेश्वरप्रणिधानानि नियमाः॥३२॥
32. śauca santoṣa tapaḥ svādhyāyeśvara praṇidhānāni niyamāḥ
Purity, contentment, austerity, self-study, and dedication to Īśvara are the observances.
वितर्कबाधने प्रतिपक्षभावनम्॥३३॥
33. vitarka bādhane pratipakṣa bhāvanam
When there is bondage due to deliberation, the cultivation of the opposite [is prescribed].
वितर्का हिंसादयः कृतकारितानुमोदिता लोभक्रोधमोहपूर्वका मृदुमध्याधिमात्रा दुःखाज्ञानानन्तफला इति प्रतिपक्षभावनम्॥३४॥
34. vitarkā hiṁsādayaḥ kṛta kāritānumoditā lobha krodha moha pūrvakā mṛdu madhyādhimātrā duḥkhājñānānanta phalā iti pratipakṣa bhāvanam
Deliberations about violence and so forth, whether done, caused, or approved, consisting in lust, anger, or delusion, and whether mild, medium, or intense, have as their endless fruits suffering and ignorance; thus cultivation of opposites [is prescribed].
अहिंसाप्रतिष्ठायां तत्सन्निधौ वैरत्यागः॥३५॥
35. ahiṁsā pratiṣṭhāyāṁ tat saṁnidhau vaira tyāgaḥ
When in the presence of one established in non-violence, there is the abandonment of hostility.
सत्यप्रतिष्ठायां क्रियाफलाश्रयत्वम्॥३६॥
36. satya pratiṣṭhāyāṁ kriyā phalāśrayatvam
When established in truthfulness, [there is] correspondence between action and fruit.
स्तेयप्रतिष्ठायां सर्वरत्नोपस्थानम्॥३७॥
37. asteya pratiṣṭhāyāṁ sarva ratnopasthānam
When established in nonstealing, [whatever is] present is all jewels.
ब्रह्मचर्यप्रतिष्ठायां वीर्यलाभः॥३८॥
38. brahmacarya pratiṣṭhāyāṃ vīrya lābhaḥ
When established in sexual restraint, vigor is obtained.
अपरिग्रहस्थैर्ये जन्मकथंतासंबोधः॥३९॥
39. aparigraha sthairye janma kathaṁtā saṃbodhaḥ
When steadfast in non-possession, there is knowledge of “the how” of existence.
शौचात् स्वाङ्गजुगुप्सा परैरसंसर्गः॥४०॥
40. śaucāt svāṅga jugupsā parair asaṁsargaḥ
From purity arises dislike for one’s own body and non-contact with others.
त्त्वशुद्धिसौमनस्यैकाग्र्येन्द्रियजयात्मदर्शनयोग्यत्वानि च॥४१॥
41. sattva śuddhi saumanasyaikāgryendriya jayātma darśana yogyatvāni ca
And purity of sattva, cheerfulness, one-pointedness, mastery of the
senses, and fitness for the vision of the self [arise].
संतोषादनुत्तमसुखलाभः॥४२॥
42. santoṣād anuttamaḥ sukha lābhaḥ
From contentment, unsurpassed happiness is obtained.
कायेन्द्रियसिद्धिरशुद्धिक्षयात्तपसः॥४३॥
43. kāyendriya siddhir aśuddhi kṣayāt tapasaḥ
From austerity arises the destruction of impurity and the perfection of the body and the senses.
स्वाध्यायादिष्टदेवतासंप्रयोगः॥४४॥
44. svādhyāyād iṣṭa devatā saṁprayogaḥ
From self-study arises union with the desired deity.
समाधिसिद्धिरीश्वरप्रणिधानात्॥४५॥
45. samādhi siddhir īśvara praṇidhānāt
Perfection in samādhi [arises] from dedication to Īśvara.
स्थिरसुखमासनम्॥४६॥
46. sthira sukham āsanam
Āsana is steadiness and ease.
प्रयत्नशैथिल्यानन्त्यसमापत्तिभ्याम्॥४७॥
47. prayatna śaithilyānanta samāpattibhyām
From [it arises] relaxation of effort and endless unity.
ततो द्वन्द्वानभिघातः॥४८॥
48. tato dvandvānabhighātaḥ
Thus, there is no assault by the pairs of opposites.
तस्मिन् सति श्वासप्रश्वासयोर्गतिविच्छेदः प्राणायामः॥४९॥
49. tasmin sati śvāsa praśvāsayor gati vicchedaḥ prāṇāyāmaḥ
Being in this, there is control of breath, which is the cutting off of the motion of inbreath and outbreath.
बाह्याभ्यन्तरस्तम्भवृत्तिर्देशकालसंख्याभिः परिदृष्टो दीर्घसूक्ष्मः॥५०॥
50. bāhyābhyantara stambha vṛttir deśa kāla saṁkhyābhiḥ paridṛṣṭo dīrgha sūkṣmaḥ
Its fluctuations are external, internal, and suppressed; it is observed according to time, place, number, and becomes long and subtle.
बाह्याभ्यन्तरविषयाक्षेपी चतुर्थः॥५१॥
51. bāhyābhyantara viṣayākṣepī caturthaḥ
The fourth is withdrawal from external and internal conditions [of breath].
ततः क्षीयते प्रकाशावरणम्॥५२॥
52. tataḥ kṣīyate prakāśāvaraṇam
Thus, the covering of light is dissolved.
धारणासु च योग्यता मनसः॥५३॥
53. dhāraṇāsu ca yogyatā manasaḥ
And there is fitness of the mind-power for concentrations.
स्वविषयासंप्रयोगे चित्तस्य स्वरूपानुकार इवेन्द्रियाणां प्रत्याहारः॥५४॥
54. svaviṣayāsaṁprayoge citta svarūpānukāra ivendriyāṇām pratyāhāraḥ
Inwardness of the senses is the disengagement from conditions, as if in imitation of the own-form of the mind.
ततः परमा वश्यतेन्द्रियाणाम्॥५५॥
55. tataḥ paramā vaśyatendriyāṇām
Then arises utmost command of the senses.
[toggle title=”Read: The Samadhi Pada”]
SAMĀDHI PĀDA
1. atha yogānuśāsanam
Attend to these teachings on Yoga.
2. yogaś citta vṛtti nirodhaḥ
Yoga is the restraint of the fluctuations of the mind.
.
3. tadā draṣṭuḥ svarūpe ‘vasthānam
Then, the Seer abides in its own form.
4. vṛtti sārūpyam itaratra
Otherwise there is conformity with the fluctuations.
5. vṛttayaḥ pañcatay yaḥ kliṣṭākliṣṭāḥ
Five [types of ] fluctuations exist, afflicted or nonafflicted.
6. pramāṇa viparyaya vikalpa nidrā smṛtayaḥ
Correct cognition, error, imagining, sleep, and memory.
7. pratyakṣānumānāgamāḥ pramāṇāni
Correct cognitions arise from perception, inference, and truthful testimony.
8. viparyayo mithyā jñānam atad rūpa pratiṣṭham
Error, or false knowledge, has no foundation in form.
9. śabda jñānānupātī vastu śūnyo vikalpaḥ
Imagining is the result of words and knowledge that are empty of an object.
10. abhāva pratyayālambanā vṛttir nidrā
The sleep fluctuation depends on an intention of non-becoming.
11. anubhūta viṣayāsaṁpramoṣaḥ smṛtiḥ
Memory recalls previously experienced conditions.
12. abhyāsa vairāgyābhyāṁ tan nirodhaḥ
Restraint arises through practice and release from desire.
13. tatra sthitau yatno ‘bhyāsaḥ
Practice requires effort and stability.
14. sa tu dīrgha kāla nairantarya satkārāsevito dṛḍha bhūmiḥ
It becomes firmly grounded when carefully attended to for a long period of time without interruption.
15. dṛṣṭānuśravika viṣaya vitṛṣṇasya vaśīkāra saṁjñā vairāgyam
Release from desire results in the harmony of mastery in one who thirsts not for conditions seen or heard.
16. tat paraṃ puruṣa khyāter guṇa vaitṛṣṇyam
That highest [release]—thirstlessness for the guṇas—proceeds from the discernment of puruṣa.
17. vitarka vicārānandāsmitānugamāt saṁprajñātaḥ
Awareness arises from association with deliberation, reflection, bliss, and I-am-ness.
18. virāma pratyayābhyāsa pūrvaḥ saṁskāra śeṣo ‘nyaḥ
[On a more subtle level] the other [state] has saṁskāra only and is preceded by practice and the intention of cessation.
19. bhava pratyayo videha prakṛti layānām
The ones absorbed in prakṛti and free from the body still have an intention of becoming.
20. śraddhā vīrya smṛti samādhi prajñā pūrvaka itareṣām
Of the others it is preceded by faith, energy, mindfulness, samādhi, and wisdom.
21. tīvra saṃvegānām āsannaḥ
The strongly intense ones are near.
22. mṛdu madhyādhimātratvāt tato ‘pi viśeṣaḥ
Hence, the distinctions of mild, moderate, and ardent.
23. īśvara praṇidhānād vā
Or from dedication to Īśvara.
24. kleśa karma vipākāśayair aparāmṛṣṭaḥ puruṣa viśeṣa īśvaraḥ
Īśvara is a distinct puruṣa untouched by afflictions, actions, fruitions, or their residue.
25. tatra niratiśayam sarvajña bījam
There the seed of omniscience is unsurpassed.
26. sa pūrveṣām api guruḥ kālenānavacchedāt
Due to its being unlimited by time, it is the teacher of the prior ones.
27. tasya vācakaḥ praṇavaḥ
Its expression is praṇava (oṁ).
28. taj japas tad artha bhāvanam
Repetition of it [results in] cultivation of its purpose.
29. tataḥ pratyak cetanādhigamo ’pyantarāyā bhāvaś ca
Thus, inward-consciousness is attained and obstacles do not arise.
30. vyādhi styāna saṃśaya pramādālasyāvirati bhrānti darśanālabdha bhūmi katvānavasthitatvāni citta vikṣepās te ‘ntarāyāḥ
These obstacles, distractions of the mind, are: sickness, dullness, doubt, carelessness, laziness, sense addiction, false view, losing ground, and instability.
31. duḥkha daurmanasyāṅgamejayatva śvāsa praśvāsā vikṣepa sahabhuvaḥ
A suffering, despairing body and unsteady inhalation and exhalation accompany the distractions.
32. tat pratiṣedhārtham eka tattvābhyāsaḥ
For the purpose of counteracting them, there is one principle: practice.
33. maitrī karuṇā muditopekṣāṇāṃ sukha duḥkha puṇyāpuṇya viṣayāṇāṃ bhāvanātaś citta prasādanam
Clarification of the mind [results] from the cultivation of friendli-ness toward the happy, compassion for those who suffer, sympa- thetic joy for the good, and equanimity toward those who lack goodness.
34. pracchardana vidhāraṇābhyāṃ vā prāṇasya
Or by expulsion and retention of breath.
35. viṣayavatī vā pravṛttir utpannā manasaḥ sthiti nibandhanī
Or steady binding of the mind-power arises in the activity of being absorbed with a condition.
36. viśokā vā jyotiṣmatī
Or having sorrowless illumination.
37. vīta rāga viṣayaṃ vā cittam
Or [in a] mind in a condition free from attachment.
38. svapna nidrā jñānālambanaṃ vā
Or resting on a knowledge [derived] from dream or sleep.
39. yathābhimata dhyānād vā
Or from meditation as desired.
40. paramāṇu parama mahattvānto ‘sya vaśīkāraḥ
Mastery of it extends from the smallest to the greatest.
41. kṣīṇa vṛtter abhijātasyeva maṇer grahītṛ grahaṇa grāhyeṣu tat stha tad añjanatā samāpattiḥ
[The accomplished mind] of diminished fluctuations, like a precious (or clear) jewel assuming the color of any near object, has unity among grasper, grasping, and grasped.
42. tatra śabdārtha jñāna vikalpaiḥ saṁkīrṇā savitarkā samāpattiḥ
Savitarkā unity is the commingling by imagining of word, purpose and knowledge.
43. smṛti pariśuddhau svarūpa śūnyevārtha mātra nirbhāsā nirvitarkā
Nirvitarkā is when memory is purified, as if emptied of its own form and the purpose alone shines forth.
44. etayaiva savicārā nirvicārā ca sūkṣma viṣayā vyākhyātā
Similarly explained are savicārā and nirvicārā, which are subtle conditions,
45. sūkṣma viṣayatvaṁ cāliṅga paryavasānam
And the subtle condition terminates in the undesignated.
46. tā eva sabījaḥ samādhiḥ
These are samādhi with seed.
47. nirvicāra vaiśāradye ‘dhyātma prasādaḥ
In skill with nirvicārā, clarity of authentic self arises.
48. ṛtambharā tatra prajñā
There the wisdom is ṛtaṃ-bearing.
49. śrutānumāna prajñābhyām anya viṣayā viśeṣārthatvāt
Its condition is different from heard or inferred knowledge because of its distinct purpose.
50. taj jaḥ saṃskāro ‘nya saṃskāra pratibandhī
The saṃskāra born of it restricts other saṃskāras.
51. tasyāpi nirodhe sarva nirodhān nirbījaḥ samādhiḥ
With even that restricted, everything is restricted and that is seedless
samādhi.
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VIBHŪTI PĀDA
1. deśa bandhaś cittasya dhāraṇā
Concentration of the mind is [its] binding to a place.
2. tatra pratyayaika tānatā dhyānam
There, the extension of one intention is meditation.
3. tad evārtha mātra nirbhāsaṃ svarūpa śūnyam iva samādhiḥ
When the purpose alone shines forth, as if empty of own form, that indeed is samādhi.
4. trayam ekatra saṁyamaḥ
The unity of these three is saṁyama.
5. taj jayāt prajñālokaḥ
From mastery of that, the splendor of wisdom.
6. tasya bhūmiṣu viniyogaḥ
Its application [occurs] in [various stages or] grounds.
7. pratyakṣānumānāgamāḥ pramāṇāni
Correct cognitions arise from perception, inference, and truthful testimony.
8. viparyayo mithyā jñānam atad rūpa pratiṣṭham
Error, or false knowledge, has no foundation in form.
9. śabda jñānānupātī vastu śūnyo vikalpaḥ
Imagining is the result of words and knowledge that are empty of an object.
10. abhāva pratyayālambanā vṛttir nidrā
The sleep fluctuation depends on an intention of non-becoming.
11. anubhūta viṣayāsaṁpramoṣaḥ smṛtiḥ
Memory recalls previously experienced conditions.
12. abhyāsa vairāgyābhyāṁ tan nirodhaḥ
Restraint arises through practice and release from desire.
13. tatra sthitau yatno ‘bhyāsaḥ
Practice requires effort and stability.
14. sa tu dīrgha kāla nairantarya satkārāsevito dṛḍha bhūmiḥ
It becomes firmly grounded when carefully attended to for a long period of time without interruption.
15. dṛṣṭānuśravika viṣaya vitṛṣṇasya vaśīkāra saṁjñā vairāgyam
Release from desire results in the harmony of mastery in one who thirsts not for conditions seen or heard.
16. tat paraṃ puruṣa khyāter guṇa vaitṛṣṇyam
That highest [release]—thirstlessness for the guṇas—proceeds from the discernment of puruṣa.
17. vitarka vicārānandāsmitānugamāt saṁprajñātaḥ
Awareness arises from association with deliberation, reflection, bliss, and I-am-ness.
18. virāma pratyayābhyāsa pūrvaḥ saṁskāra śeṣo ‘nyaḥ
[On a more subtle level] the other [state] has saṁskāra only and is preceded by practice and the intention of cessation.
19. bhava pratyayo videha prakṛti layānām
The ones absorbed in prakṛti and free from the body still have an intention of becoming.
20. śraddhā vīrya smṛti samādhi prajñā pūrvaka itareṣām
Of the others it is preceded by faith, energy, mindfulness, samādhi, and wisdom.
21. tīvra saṃvegānām āsannaḥ
The strongly intense ones are near.
22. mṛdu madhyādhimātratvāt tato ‘pi viśeṣaḥ
Hence, the distinctions of mild, moderate, and ardent.
23. īśvara praṇidhānād vā
Or from dedication to Īśvara.
24. kleśa karma vipākāśayair aparāmṛṣṭaḥ puruṣa viśeṣa īśvaraḥ
Īśvara is a distinct puruṣa untouched by afflictions, actions, fruitions, or their residue.
25. tatra niratiśayam sarvajña bījam
There the seed of omniscience is unsurpassed.
26. sa pūrveṣām api guruḥ kālenānavacchedāt
Due to its being unlimited by time, it is the teacher of the prior ones.
27. tasya vācakaḥ praṇavaḥ
Its expression is praṇava (oṁ).
28. taj japas tad artha bhāvanam
Repetition of it [results in] cultivation of its purpose.
29. tataḥ pratyak cetanādhigamo ’pyantarāyā bhāvaś ca
Thus, inward-consciousness is attained and obstacles do not arise.
30. vyādhi styāna saṃśaya pramādālasyāvirati bhrānti darśanālabdha bhūmi katvānavasthitatvāni citta vikṣepās te ‘ntarāyāḥ
These obstacles, distractions of the mind, are: sickness, dullness, doubt, carelessness, laziness, sense addiction, false view, losing ground, and instability.
31. duḥkha daurmanasyāṅgamejayatva śvāsa praśvāsā vikṣepa sahabhuvaḥ
A suffering, despairing body and unsteady inhalation and exhalation accompany the distractions.
32.tat pratiṣedhārtham eka tattvābhyāsaḥ
For the purpose of counteracting them, there is one principle: practice.
33. maitrī karuṇā muditopekṣāṇāṃ sukha duḥkha puṇyāpuṇya viṣayāṇāṃ bhāvanātaś citta prasādanam
Clarification of the mind [results] from the cultivation of friendliness toward the happy, compassion for those who suffer, sympa- thetic joy for the good, and equanimity toward those who lack goodness.
34. pracchardana vidhāraṇābhyāṃ vā prāṇasya
Or by expulsion and retention of breath.
35. viṣayavatī vā pravṛttir utpannā manasaḥ sthiti nibandhanī
Or steady binding of the mind-power arises in the activity of being absorbed with a condition.
36. viśokā vā jyotiṣmatī
Or having sorrowless illumination.
37. vīta rāga viṣayaṃ vā cittam
Or [in a] mind in a condition free from attachment.
38. svapna nidrā jñānālambanaṃ vā
Or resting on a knowledge [derived] from dream or sleep.
39. yathābhimata dhyānād vā
Or from meditation as desired.
40. paramāṇu parama mahattvānto ‘sya vaśīkāraḥ
Mastery of it extends from the smallest to the greatest.
41. kṣīṇa vṛtter abhijātasyeva maṇer grahītṛ grahaṇa grāhyeṣu tat stha tad añjanatā samāpattiḥ
[The accomplished mind] of diminished fluctuations, like a precious (or clear) jewel assuming the color of any near object, has unity among grasper, grasping, and grasped.
42. tatra śabdārtha jñāna vikalpaiḥ saṁkīrṇā savitarkā samāpattiḥ
Savitarkā unity is the commingling by imagining of word, purpose and knowledge.
43. smṛti pariśuddhau svarūpa śūnyevārtha mātra nirbhāsā nirvitarkā
Nirvitarkā is when memory is purified, as if emptied of its own form and the purpose alone shines forth.
.44. etayaiva savicārā nirvicārā ca sūkṣma viṣayā vyākhyātā
Similarly explained are savicārā and nirvicārā, which are subtle conditions,
45. sūkṣma viṣayatvaṁ cāliṅga paryavasānam
And the subtle condition terminates in the undesignated.
46. tā eva sabījaḥ samādhiḥ
These are samādhi with seed.
47. nirvicāra vaiśāradye ‘dhyātma prasādaḥ
In skill with nirvicārā, clarity of authentic self arises.
48. ṛtambharā tatra prajñā
There the wisdom is ṛtaṃ-bearing.
49. śrutānumāna prajñābhyām anya viṣayā viśeṣārthatvāt
Its condition is different from heard or inferred knowledge because of its distinct purpose.
50. taj jaḥ saṃskāro ‘nya saṃskāra pratibandhī
The saṃskāra born of it restricts other saṃskāras.
51. tasyāpi nirodhe sarva nirodhān nirbījaḥ samādhiḥ
With even that restricted, everything is restricted and that is seedless samādhi.
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!e history of the physical and mental disciplines referred to collectively as “yoga” extends into the distant past of India’s religious and cultural heritage, perhaps as far back as 2,500 years or more. Yoga has played a crucial role in the development of the doctrine and practice of a range of Indian religious traditions, including Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, and its in”uence has extended out of India to touch nearly all parts of the world, especially in the past two centuries. Its manifestation as a popular mode of physical and athletic culture in Europe and the Americas in the twentieth and twenty-#rst centuries represents one chapter in a fascinating history that has seen both great change and remarkable continuity. !e goal of this work is to examine a wide range of meanings and permutations of theory and practice that are associated with the term “yoga,” and thereby bring coherence and nuance to our understanding of its historical formulations and contemporary manifestations.
In the contemporary context, the range of ideas and practices commonly referred to as “yoga” is represented, in large part, by a constellation of transnational traditions emphasizing the physical practice of yogic posture (āsana), often without apparent connection to sectarian religious commitment or identity. The term “yoga” may bring to mind images of a room of practitioners bent into various shapes, such as the “lotus posture” (padmāsana), the “warrior pose” (vīrabhadrāsana), and the “headstand]” posture (śīrṣāsana). In this context, yoga exists as a form of nonsectarian, if not secular, body discipline or as a vaguely Indian- or Hindu-in”ected spirituality, in contrast to the more tangible sectarian doctrines and practices of mainstream institutional religion. Upon closer examination, however, it becomes evident that even the most athletic or calisthenic forms of yoga have their roots in Indian traditions that have complex philosophical and religious histories behind them. Modern yoga is the product of a process that bridged the worlds of Indian spirituality and European physical culture, laying a foundation for its extraordinary international and cross-cultural appeal. Modern yoga has been sculpted to suit modern aspirations and inclinations that are the common heritage of a cosmopolitan culture that crosses the boundaries of modern nation-states and traditional societies. !e success of yoga in the modern era is, in part, a function of the entrepreneurial spirit of its formulators who consciously sought to bridge cultural worlds in the late nineteenth to the mid–twentieth century. Such innovation remains unabated into the twenty-#rst century and is likely to stretch well into the future.
The term “yoga” is derived from the Sanskrit verbal root √yuj, which is cognate with, and roughly equivalent to, the English in#nitive verb form “to yoke.” !is meaning provides one of the most basic and universal de#nitions of yoga, as a “yoking” or disciplining of the body and mind. In explicitly theistic or monistic contexts, this yoking may also refer to the “union” of one’s innermost self or soul (ātman) with a personal deity (devatā, īśvara), a supreme self (paramātman), or an impersonal absolute reality (brahman) through devotional or contemplative practice. !ese two senses of the term, as “discipline” and as “union,” which are among a number that will be explored in this work, give a sense of the spectrum of interpretive possibilities available with respect to understanding what the Sanskrit term “yoga” means. Yoga, as such, might be conceived of as referring generically to a method of disciplining mind and body, a mode of practice not unique to any particular religious or philosophical tradition—thus making sense, for example, of the expressions “Christian Yoga” or “Jewish Yoga.” It might alternately be framed as a particular vision of achieving spiritual liberation through insight into or identity with an ultimate being or reality, such as that expressed in the Hindu Vedānta formula equating the individual self (ātman) with absolute reality (brahman). !ough a number of central concepts link together the range of de#nitions of yoga, it nevertheless varies dramatically in meaning, scope, and purpose within the various contexts in which it is found. Examining the theory and practice of yoga in its various historical situations brings to light the ways in which yoga has unique and distinctive manifestations, while at the same time illustrating how the practices of even the most thoroughly modernized forms of yoga can be, and often are, understood within conceptual frameworks established in their premodern ancestors.
Although references to yoga are pervasive in the history of Indian religion and philosophy, considerable disagreement persists among different Indian religious traditions over the degree of centrality of yoga within the spiritual path. Yoga ranges from being viewed as essential to spiritual realization, to being an aid to it, or, conversely, to being an impediment to or distraction from the goals of the religious life. Its practices have also o$en been viewed as a means to gain power or mastery over the world as much as a way to obtain spiritual knowledge or liberation. !e image of the yoga practitioner (the yogī, yogin, or yoginī) is, in many cases, deeply informed by the great powers they are said to obtain through their disciplining of body and mind. Such powers may be alternately viewed as an impediment to spiritual liberation, as indicators of spiritual progress, or as facilitating the compassionate activity of an enlightened or liberated being. In some cases, yoga has been critiqued as overly ascetic in its orientation, as a form of self-morti#cation that causes undue pain to the practitioner and thereby impedes their progress toward spiritual liberation. !e great range of understandings, interpretations, and applications of yoga in the Indian tradition are, in part, a function of these varied viewpoints on its purpose and efficacy.
