Or, [this previously mentioned state is attainable] from devotion to the Lord.

Bryant Commentary:

Patañjali here states that the goal of yoga can be attained by the grace of God, Īśvara. In this sūtra, the theistic element of the sūtras is encountered for the first time. The theistic, or Īśvaravāda, element in Indic thought stretches back at least to the late Vedic period; īśvara, from the root iś, to have extraordinary power and sovereignty, is already used six times by the Atharvaveda in circa 1000 B.C.E. and refers in the oldest texts to a personal but unnamed god. It is the term preferred in philosophical discourse concerning the existence of a personal god. In partial contrast to the term bhagavān, Īśvara is often concerned more with a philosophical category in these contexts than with specific divine personal supreme beings such as Viṣṇu, Śiva, and Kṛṣṇa,who all lay claim to the title Īśvara in Purāṇic and epic texts. Of the six schools of traditional thought that stem from this period, five—Nyāya, Vaiśeṣika,123 Vedānta, Yoga, and Sāṅkhya—were or became theistic. Sāṅkhya, although often represented as nontheistic, was in fact widely theistic in its early expressions and continued to retain widespread theistic variants outside of the classical philosophical school thereafter, as evidenced in the Purāṇas (for example, Bhāgavata third canto).124 Yoga has always been theistic: As Feuerstein and others have enjoined emphatically, “The popular academic notion that the conception of God was interpolated into classical Yoga is completely unfounded” (1974, 90).

In his commentary, Vyāsa asks rhetorically whether there is any other effective way to attain samprajñāta–samādhi without delay. As Patañjali indicates in this sūtra, devotion to God is such an option. This notion of attaining a vision of the self by the grace of God goes back to the Upaniṣads (Katha II.20; Śvetāśvatara III.20). Reflecting Patañjali’s undogmatic and nonsectarian sophistication, Īśvara–praṇidhāna, devotion to God, may not be the exclusive or mandatory way to attain realization of the self (given the particle vā, or, in this sūtra), it is clearly favored by him. One of the earliest references to being granted, by a supreme being, the boon (prasāda) of perceiving the puruṣa (ātman) occurs in the Kaṭha Upaniṣad: “Greater than the great, smaller than the small, is the ātman situated in the heart of beings. One without desires and free of sorrows sees the majesty of the self by the grace of the Creator” (II.20). Etymologically praṇidhāna means to place oneself down, prostrate, submit, etc., and while not a common term, means devotional submission (for example, Gītā XI.44). Devotion to God, according to Vyāsa, involves a particular type of devotion, bhakti–viśeṣa; simply by the yogī’s longing, God bestows his grace upon the yogī. When this happens, the fruits of samādhi become quickly available. As Rāmānanda Sarasvatī puts it, God turns toward the yogī as a result of such devotion and says, “Let this that he desires be his!” Vācaspati Miśra considers such special devotion to consist of submission to the Lord with body, mind, and word. Bhoja Rāja, with an eye on the Gītā’s “desireless action,” adds that it entails devoting all one’s actions to the Lord, desiring no fruit for oneself. Hariharānanda describes this state as feeling the existence of God in the innermost core of the heart and considering everything to be done by the Lord. As one meditates on the Lord in this way, and loses interest in everything else, one becomes free from ego, and the mind becomes concentrated and calm.

Śaṅkara states that this sūtra describes bhakti, the yoga of devotion, where the Lord reaches out to the yogī who is fully devoted to him, indeed, comes face-to-face with him, and bestows his grace upon him in accordance with how the yogī has meditated upon him. Thus, in line with the Yoga tradition’s prioritization of experience, one can attain a direct vision of God, by his grace. This grace, through which samādhi and the goals of yoga are attained, is effortless and imparted by the Lord’s omnipotence. Along the same lines, Vijñānabhikṣu states that by meditating on the Lord with love, the yogī earns the Lord’s favor. He quotes a number of scriptures stating that knowledge of God is the cause of liberation and, indeed (and here Vijñānabhikṣu is reflecting the position of the bhakti traditions), knowledge of Īśvara is more important even than knowledge of the puruṣa self. Consequently, the path of devotion for Vijñānabhikṣu (and for the overall Yoga tradition) is the best means of attaining samprajñāta–samādhi, since it does not require one to be solely dependent on one’s own steam and resources in the intense application noted in the previous sūtras.

It seems useful to present a synopsis of the theistic element in the sūtras at this point. Īśvara occurs in three distinct contexts in the Yoga Sūtras. The first, beginning with this sūtra, is in the context of how to attain the ultimate goal of yoga—the cessation of all thought, samprajñāta–samādhi, and realization of puruṣa. Patañjali presents dedication to Īśvara as one such option, and his discussion of Īśvara begins with this sūtra and continues to I.28 (or perhaps, indirectly, up to I.33). It is important to note vā, or, in this sūtra, indicating that Patañjali presents devotion to Īśvara, the Lord, as an optional rather than an obligatory means of attaining samādhi (although some commentators state that puruṣa cannot detach itself from prakṛti without the grace of Īśvara).

The only information Patañjali gives concerning the nature of God is provided in the next few sūtras. In I.24, he states, “The Lord is a special soul.” He is untouched by the deposits of saṁskāras, fructification of karma karma, or the obstacles to the practice of yoga, the kleśas of II.3: nescience, ego, attachment, aversion, and the will to live. Sūtra I.25 informs the reader that “in him, the seed of omniscience is unsurpassed,” and, in sūtra I.26, that “He was also the teacher of the ancients, because he is not limited by Time.” Given the primary context of the sūtras, fixing the mind on an object without deviation, sūtras I.27–28 specify how Īśvara is to be meditated upon: “The name designating him is the mystical syllable oṁ,” and “its repetition and the contemplation of its meaning [should be performed].” As a result of this devotional type of meditation comes the realization of the inner consciousness and freedom from all obstacles.

The second context in which Patañjali refers to Īśvara is in the first sūtra in Chapter II: “Kriyā–yoga, the path of action, consists of self-discipline, study, and dedication to the Lord.” The following two sūtras inform us that by performing such kriyā–yoga, samādhi is attained and the obstacles to this (the kleśas) are weakened. Finally, Īśvara surfaces again in a third context in II.32, where the niyamas are listed. The niyamas, which are the second limb of the eight-limbed path of yoga, consist of cleanliness, contentment, austerity, study and, as in the other two contexts, Īśvara–praṇidhāna, devotion to Īśvara (thus, the three ingredients of kriyā–yoga are all niyamas). The various benefits associated with following the yamas and, ethics and morals, are noted in the ensuing sūtras of the chapter, and II.45 states that the benefit from the niyama of devotion to God is the attainment of samādhi. This is the final reference to Īśvara in the text.

These, then, are the gleanings that can be extracted from Patañjali’s characteristically frugal sūtras. From the first context, we learn that the highest samādhi can be attained by dedication to Īśvara, a claim Patañjali will repeat in the third section. This suggests that Īśvara has the absolute power to manipulate the laws of nature; to circumvent the normal procedures required for practitioners to fix their mind, by removing the obstacles to yoga; and somehow to pluck the devoted yogī from his or her material embeddedness simply by an act of grace. We learn that Īśvara is a special puruṣa insofar as he has never been touched by karma and saṁskāras and the kleśas, in short, by the normative influences and conditions to which all puruṣas in the world of saṁsāra are subject. In other words, Īśvara has never been subject to saṁsāra. He is an eternal being, since he is untouched by time, and thus he taught the ancients. This indicates that Īśvara is concerned with the well-being of the souls in this world and actively involved in their upliftment by promoting knowledge. He makes himself available in the form of the repetition of the sound oṁ, which should be recited, Patañjali seems to imply, in a devotional mood (since its meaning, which should be contemplated, is the subject of devotional surrender).

In the second context in which the term is used, Patañjali briefly alludes to the three ingredients of a practice he terms kriyā–yoga, which is a more action-based aspect of yoga than the intense meditational regimen outlined in Chapter I. Here, devotion to Īśvara is mandatory, in contrast to the meditational path, where it is optional, as a means of attaining samādhi. Finally, in the third context in II.32, Patañjali again lists Īśvara–praṇidhāna as a niyama, a mandatory prerequisite for the higher stages of yoga. Moreover, he notes that from this practice, samādhi is attained. Again this is significant, because all the boons mentioned as accruing from the other yamas and niyamas (there are ten in all) represent prākṛtic, or material, attainments—vitality, knowledge of past lives, detachment, etc. It is only from Īśvara–praṇidhāna, the last item on the list of yamas and niyamas, that the ultimate goal of   is achieved, samādhi.

Thus we can conclude that Patañjali is definitely promoting a degree of theistic practice in the Yoga Sūtras. Although in the first context commencing with the present sūtra, Īśvara–praṇidhāna, devotional surrender to God, is optional as a means of attaining samādhi, Patañjali does direct six sūtras to Īśvara, which is not insignificant given the frugality of his sūtras. This devotional surrender is not optional in the second context, kriyā–yoga. Since it is likewise not optional in the third context as a niyama, which is a prerequisite to meditational yoga, Patañjali seems to be requiring that all aspiring yogīs be devotionally oriented in the preparatory stages to the higher goals of yoga, and although in the higher, more meditational stages of practice they may shift their focus of concentration to other objects (I.34–38)—even, ultimately, to any object of their pleasing (I.39)—they would be best advised to retain Īśvara as object thereafter, since this special puruṣa can bestow perfection of samādhi, which other objects cannot (II.45).

Another way of putting this is that any object can serve as the focus of meditation, but only one object can, in addition to this function, accelerate the attainment of samādhi. Therefore, one would be hard-pressed to find a rationale to pick some other object that does not have this ability. Who would not opt for two for the price of one? To my reading, then, Patañjali, while not blatantly demanding that yogīs maintain their devotion to Īśvara in the higher stages of their meditations, does seem to be discreetly, or perhaps not even so discreetly, promoting it. I envision Patañjali as being too sophisticated a thinker and practitioner to be insistent about this dimension of the tradition, and too delicate about the sensitivities of the nontheistic orientations of other yogī practitioners on the horizons of his day to be dogmatically exclusivistic. But he is clearly recommending submission to God as the best and most expedient path.

When Kṛṣṇa was asked by Arjuna who is superior, those worshipping him with devotion or those trying to fix their minds on their own self (by their own prowess), Kṛṣṇa replied that the devotee is the best of those engaged in yoga (yuktatama), even though those whose minds are fixed on the individual self also attain him (XII.1–4):

The difficulty of those whose minds are attached to the ātman is greater [than those who fix their minds on Kṛṣṇa in devotion]. The path of the impersonal ātman is attained with difficulty by embodied beings. But those who, meditating on Me [Kṛṣṇa], worship Me, considering Me to be the Supreme, and renouncing all actions in Me, with undeviating Yoga, for those whose thoughts are immersed in Me, it is I who quickly become the deliverer from the ocean of death and transmigration. (XII.5–7)

Patañjali, like the Gītā, is not denying that the ātman can be attained by self-effort, but he is clearly favoring a theistic approach.

The optionality noted above is expressed in the Sanskrit particle vā, or, in this sūtra. There has been some discussion among modern scholars as to what the “or” relates to, that is, Īśvara–praṇidhāna devotion to God, is being presented here as an alternative to what? Some have argued that the “or” of the Īśvara-praṇidhāna of this sūtra is being presented as an alternative to the abhyāsa, practice, and vairāgya, dispassion, of I.12.129 While this is not the view of the traditional commentators considered here, it does seem to reflect at least one traditional source. The Muslim traveler al-Bīrunī, who relied on an unknown commentary (that may not be much later than Vyāsa’s), takes it in the former sense. He structures his representation of the Yoga Sūtras in a question-and-answer format, which, although it takes on a mildly Islamic flavoring in the segments dealing with Īśvara, is nonetheless remarkably faithful to his sources:

QUESTION 11: Is there a way to liberation other than the two ways, namely habituation and asceticism [abhyāsa, practice, and vairāgya, dispassion]?
ANSWER: [Liberation] may be attained by devotion. This is constituted by withdrawal from the body and [directing oneself] towards knowledge, certainty, and sincerity in the heart, and towards praise, exaltation, and laudation with the tongue, and action with the limbs. God alone and nothing else is aimed at in all these, so that succour should come from Him with a view to achieving eternal bliss.

In my view, it is unfeasible that devotion can be construed as an alternative to the practice and dispassion of I.12, as no Indic (Hindu, Buddhist, or Jain) soteriological tradition promotes practice or dispassion as optional, not even the much misrepresented tantric traditions. The vā of this sūtra is best read as an option to the self-reliance of the immediately preceding sūtras I.20–22. Thus, one can apply faith, vigor, memory, samādhi absorption, and discernment under one’s own steam, or apply these in devotion to God, which, can expedite the process.

The succeeding section on Īśvara will be followed by additional options for supports that can be used for stilling the mind, all using the particle vā.

Tapas (Austerity Or Sturdy Self-Discipline—Mental, Moral And Physical), Svadhyaya (Repetition Of Sacred Mattras Or Study Of Sacred Literature) And Isvara-Pranidhana (Complete Surrender To God) Are Kriya-Yoga (Yoga In The Form Of Action).

Yogic action has three components—discipline, self-study, and orientation toward the ideal of pure awareness.

The practical means for attaining higher consciousness consist of three components: self-discipline and purification, self-study, and devotion to the Lord.

Austerity, self-study and resignation to Isvara constitute preliminary Yoga.

Taimini Commentary:

The last three of the five elements of Niyama enumerated in II-32 have been placed in the above Sutra under the title of Kriya-Yoga. This is rather an unusual procedure and we should try to grasp the significance of this repetition in a book which attempts to condense knowledge to the utmost limit. Obviously, the reason why Tapas, Svadhyaya and Isvara-Pranidhana are mentioned in two different contexts lies in the fact that they serve two different purposes. And since the development of the subject of self-culture in Section II of the Yoga-Sutras is progressive in character it follows that the purpose of these three elements in II-l is of a more preliminary nature than that in II-32. Their purpose in II-32 is the same as that of the other elements of Niyama and has been discussed at the proper place. What is the purpose in the context of II-l? Let us see. 

Anyone who is familiar with the goal of Yogic life and the kind of effort it involves for its attainment will realize that it is neither possible nor advisable for anybody who is absorbed in the life of the world and completely under the influence of Klesas to plunge all at once into the regular practice of Yoga. If he is sufficiently interested in the Yogic philosophy and wants to enter the path which leads to its goal he should first accustom himself to discipline, should acquire the necessary knowledge of the Dharma-Sastras and especially of the Yoga-Sastras and should reduce the intensity of his egoism and all the other Klesas which are derived from it. The difference between the outlook and the life of the ordinary worldly man and the life which the Yogi is required to live is so great that a sudden change from the one to the other is not possible and if attempted may produce a violent reaction in the mind of the aspirant, throwing him back with still greater force into the life of the world. A preparatory period of self-training in which he gradually assimilates the Yogic philosophy and its technique and accustoms himself to self-discipline makes the transition from the one life to the other easier and safer. It also incidentally enables the mere student to find out whether he is sufficiently keen to adopt the Yogic life and make a serious attempt to realize the Yogic ideal. There are too many cases of enthusiastic aspirants who for no apparent reason cool off, or finding the Yogic discipline too irksome, give it up. They are not yet ready for the Yogic life.

Even where there is present the required earnestness and the determination to tread the path of Yoga it is necessary to establish a permanent mood and habit of pursuing its ideal. Mere wishing or willing is not enough. All the mental powers and desires of the Sadhaka should be polarized and aligned with the Yogic ideal. Many aspirants have very confused and sometimes totally wrong ideas with regard to the object and technique of Yoga. Many of them have very exaggerated notions with regard to their earnestness and capacity to tread the path of Yoga. Their ideas become clarified and their capacity and earnestness are tested severely in trying to practise Kriya-Yoga. They either emerge from the preliminary self-discipline with a clearly defined aim and a determination and capacity to pursue it to the end with vigour and single-minded devotion, or they gradually realize that they are not yet ready for the practice of Yoga and decide to tune their aspiration to the lower key of mere intellectual study.

This preparatory self-discipline is triple in its nature corresponding to the triple nature of a human being. Tapas is related to his will, Svadhyaya to the intellect and Isvara-Pranidhana to the emotions. This discipline, therefore, tests and develops all the three aspects of his nature and produces an all-round and balanced growth of the individuality which is so essential for the attainment of any high ideal. This point will become clear when we consider the significance of these three elements of Kriya-Yoga in dealing with II-32.

There exists some confusion with regard to the meaning of the Samskrta word Kriya, some commentators preferring to translate it as ‘preliminary’, others as ‘practical’. As a matter of fact Kriya-Yoga is both practical and preliminary. It is preliminary because it has to be taken up in the initial stages of the practice of Yoga and it is practical because it puts to a practical test the aspirations and earnestness of the Sadhaka and develops in him the capacity to begin the practice of Yoga as distinguished from its mere theoretical study however deep this might be.

Burning zeal in practice, self-study and study of scriptures, and surrender to God are the acts of yoga.

Iyengar Commentary:

For Patañjali, the practice of yoga is the ‘yoga of action’, kriyayoga, composed of tapas, self-discipline, svadhyaya, self-study and Isvara pranidhana, surrender to God.

Tapas is the blazing desire to burn away the impurities of body, senses and mind. Svadhyaya is the repetition of sacred mantras and the study of spiritual sacred texts in order to comprehend one’s own self. Isvara pranidhana is surrender of one’s body, mind and soul to God through love for Him.
Most commentators consider that this pada is intended for novices, and not for those who have already reached a high level of spiritual evolution. This is surely untrue, as sadhana is meant for both. The argument that it is only for those still roaming aimlessly in the world of pleasure does not take account of the fact that this wandering is merely a sign of a fluctuating consciousness, which may remain a problem even for evolved souls. By following the precepts of kriyayoga, all aspirants may learn to live in unshakeable serenity regardless of circumstances.

From this pada onwards, both beginner and evolved soul learn how to stabilize the mind. Its instructions enable the evolved soul to progress more rapidly towards the goal of purity and emancipation.

The disciplines of purifying man’s three constituents, body, speech and mind constitute kriyayoga, the path to perfection. Our bodies are purified by self-discipline (tapas), our words by Self-study (svadhyaya) and our minds by love and surrender to Him (Isvara pranidhana).

This sutra represents the three great paths: karma, jñana and bhakti. The path of action (karma-marga) is the discipline (tapas) of body, senses and mind. The path of knowledge (jnana-marga) is the study of the self (svadhyaya) from the skin to the core and back again. The path of love of God (bhakti-marga) is surrender (pranidhana) of all to God.

Sadhana pada identifies the source of all these paths. The first represents life, the second wisdom. The third, through the surrender of ego, brings the humility that leads to the effulgent, sorrowless light of Isvara, God.
”

Excerpt From
Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
B. K. S. Iyengar
https://books.apple.com/us/book/light-on-the-yoga-sutras-of-patanjali/id538108384
This material may be protected by copyright.

Accepting pain as help for purification, study of spiritual books and surrender to the Supreme Being constitute Yoga in practice.

Satchidananda Commentary:

Using the Sanskrit terms, Kriyā Yoga comprises tapas, svādhyāya and Īśvara praṇidhāna. Tapas is often misunderstood, because it gets translated as “mortification” or “austerity, ” when it actually stands for something different here. Tapas means “to burn or create heat.” Anything burned out will be purified. The more you fire gold, for example, the more pure it becomes. Each time it goes into the fire, more impurities are removed.

But how can this burning process be effected with our mental impurities? By accepting all the pain that comes to us, even though the nature of the mind is to run after pleasure. We will actually be happy to receive pain if we keep in mind its purifying effects. Such acceptance makes the mind steady and strong because, although it is easy to give pain to others, it is hard to accept without returning it. Such self-discipline obviously cannot be practiced in our meditation rooms, but only in our daily lives as we relate with other people.

Tapas also refers to self-discipline. Normally the mind is like a wild horse tied to a chariot. Imagine the body is the chariot; the intelligence is the charioteer; the mind is the reins; and the horses are the senses. The Self, or true you, is the passenger. If the horses are allowed to gallop without reins and charioteer, the journey will not be safe for the passenger. Although control of the senses and organs often seems to bring pain in the beginning, it eventually ends in happiness. If tapas is understood in this light, we will look forward to pain; we will even thank people who cause it, since they are giving us the opportunity to steady our minds and burn out impurities.

In the seventeenth chapter of the Bhagavad Gītā, Lord Kṛṣṇa [Krishna] talks about tapasya. He says, “Those who practice severe austerities not enjoined by the scriptures; who are given to hypocrisy and egoism, impelled by the forces of lust and attachment; who are senseless; who torture all the elements in the body and Me also who dwells in the body; know thou these to be of demoniacal resolves.” In the name of tapasya people sometimes practice all sorts of self-torture. In the East there are sādhus (ascetics) who lie on beds of nails or keep one arm raised in the air so the arm gets thinner and thinner and finally decays. These are all just forms of self-torture. Lord Kṛṣṇa himself says these people are demons because they disturb the pure Self who dwells within their bodies. Self-discipline is an aid to spiritual progress, whereas self-torture is an obstacle.

Lord Kṛṣṇa divides the true austerities into three groups: physical, verbal and mental. He classifies worship, purity, straightforwardness, celibacy and non-injury as the austerities of the body. Many people immediately come to the conclusion that physical tapasya is not suitable for them. The moment they hear the word “celibacy” they become dismayed. But brahmacarya, or celibacy, means control, not suppression, of the sex desire or sex force. If the mind can be filled with sublime thoughts by meditation, mantra repetition, prayer, study of scriptures and contemplation of the sexless, pure Self, the sex desire will be devitalized by the withdrawal of the mind. On the other hand, suppression of sexual desire will attach you to it again and again, producing wet dreams, irritability and mental restlessness. So the mind should be purified first; then it is easy to control the senses. Strict control over the senses alone will lead to difficulties instead of spiritual progress.

The next tapas is austerity of speech. Speech should bring tranquility and be truthful, pleasant and beneficial. As the Vedic teaching goes, “Satyam bruvat priyam bruvat.” “Speak what is true, speak what is pleasant.” And one should not speak what is true if it is not pleasant, nor what is pleasant if it is false. If something is true and unpleasant, we should make it more pleasant by presenting it in a proper way. And mental austerity is described by Śrī Kṛṣṇa as serenity of mind, goodheartedness, self-control and purity of nature.

Next comes svādhyāya, or study. This means study that concerns the true Self, not merely analyzing the emotions and mind as the psychologists and psychiatrists do. Anything that will elevate your mind and remind you of your true Self should be studied: the Bhagavad Gītā, the Bible, the Koran, these Yoga Sūtras or any uplifting scripture. Study does not just mean passing over the pages. It means trying to understand every word— studying with the heart. The more often you read them, the more you understand. For thousands of years, so many people have been studying the Bible. Every day, thousands of people read this same book. On the other hand, we have millions and millions of books that, after we read them once, we throw away as trash. We don’t exhaust the Bible even after reading it hundreds of times. Each time we read it we see it in a new light. That is the greatness of the holy scriptures. They are that way because they were created by holy prophets who experienced the truth. Each time we read these works we elevate ourselves to see a little more.

It is something like going to the Empire State Building. When you look out of a first floor window you see something. From the second floor, you see a little more; from the third floor, still more. But when you finally reach the hundred and first floor and look over the balcony, you see something completely different.

Similarly, in reading the scriptures, we slowly rise up, expanding and enlarging the mind. The more we elevate the mind, the better our understanding is. But only when we become prophets ourselves will we fully understand the scriptures. That is nature’s law. If you want to understand me fully, you must become me. Otherwise, you can understand me only according to your own capacity. In the same way, God cannot be understood by books alone. God can only be understood when you become God. A Tamil proverb says, “Only a saint knows a saint. Only a snake knows the leg of another snake.” You cannot exactly understand how a snake crawls unless you become a snake. We can hear things, study, form our own opinions, use our imagination, but nothing can equal experience.

Many people simply become walking libraries. They have thousands of books recorded in their brains like computers, but that doesn’t mean they have actually experienced the Self. The Self cannot be known by theory alone. By merely thinking, no one has ever understood the One that is beyond the mind. Only when you transcend the mind can you understand it. This is where Yoga differs from most other psychological approaches. They usually believe you have to understand everything with the mind and that beyond it you cannot understand anything. They stop there, but Yoga claims there is a knowledge possible without the mind. All that you know through the mind is limited and conditioned. How is the limited mind to understand the Unlimited One? Only by transcending it and getting into the unlimited.

Study is all right—but not for mere logic, quoting or fighting. Actually, it is only when you “quote” from your own experience that your words have weight. Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa used to say, “Forget all you have learned; become a child again. Then it will be easy to realize that wisdom.” Sometimes, learning becomes an obstacle if you don’t know what and how much to learn. So, limit your reading and put into practice what you read. Just select one or two books—anything that will remind you of your goal.

The last part of Kriyā Yoga is simple but great. It is surrendering to the Supreme Being. I understand this to mean dedicating the fruits of your actions to God or to humanity—God in manifestation. Dedicate everything—your study, your japa, your practices—to God. When you offer such things, God accepts them but then gives them back many times magnified. You never lose what you have given. Even virtuous, meritorious deeds will bind you in some form or other if you do them with an egoistic feeling. Every time you do something, feel, “May this be dedicated to God.” If you constantly remember to do this, the mind will be free and tranquil. Try not to possess anything for yourself. Temporarily keep things but feel you are just a trustee, not an owner.

Be like the mother who receives a soul, nourishes it for nine months and then lets it come out into the world. If the mother were always to keep the baby in her womb, what would happen? There would be great pain. Once something has ripened, it should be passed on. So dedication is true Yoga. Say, “I am Thine. All is Thine. Thy will be done.” Mine binds; Thine liberates. If you drop “mines” all over, they will “undermine” your life—or blow up in your face. But if you change all the “mines” to Thines, you will always be safe.

Let us all dedicate our lives for the sake of the entire humanity. With every minute, every breath, every atom of our bodies we should repeat this mantra: “dedication, dedication, giving, giving, loving, loving.” That is the best japa, the best Yoga which will bring us all permanent peace and joy and keep the mind free from the disturbances of the citta vṛttis.

 Or by devotion to Isvara.

Vivekananda Commentary:

We must again remember that this Patanjali Yoga Philosophy is based upon that of the Sankhyas, only that in the latter there is no place for God, while with the Yogis God has a place. The Yogis, however, avoid many ideas about God, such as creating. God as the Creator of the Universe is not meant by the Isvara of the Yogis, although, according to the Vedas, Isvara is the Creator of the universe. Seeing that the universe is harmonious, it must be the manifestation of one will. The Yogis and Sankhyas both avoid the question of creation. The Yogis want to establish a God, but carefully avoid this question, they do not raise it at all. Yet you will find that they arrive at God in a peculiar fashion of their own.

“ Now,” — This word here denotes undertaking. A text giving a revised critical teaching of Yoga is to be understood as having been undertaken.

Yoga is contemplation (Samadhi, trance), and it is a characteristic of the mind pervading all its planes. The planes of the mind are : —

Wandering (Ksipta) ; Forgetful (Mudha) ; Occasionally steady or distracted (Viksipta) ; One-pointed (Ekagra) ; and Restrained (Niruddha).

Of these the contemplation in the occasionally steady mind does not fall under the heading of Yoga, because of unsteadiness appearing in close sequence. That however, which in the one-pointed mind, fully shows forth an object existing as such in its most perfect form, removes the afflictions, loosens the bonds of karma and thus inclines it towards restraint, is said to be the Cognitive Trance <f?ainprajh6ta Samfidhi). And we shall explain further that this is accompanied by philosophical curiosity (vitarka), meditation (vichara), bliss (Amanda), and egoism (asmita).

When however all the modifications come under restraint, the trance is ultra-cognitive (Asamprajnata Samadhi).

~ Rāma Prasāda translation.

Yogasūtrabhāṣyavivaraṇa
or the Pātañjalayogaśāstravivaraṇa
by Śaṅkara

Patañjali Sūtra I.23

Or by special devotion to the Lord

As a result of the special devotion which is bhakti (love of God), the Lord bends down to him and rewards him according to what he has meditated on. If the yogin has meditated on it, the attainment of samādhi and its fruit is near at hand.

He explains that there is another way, Or by special devotion to the Lord. The meaning of the word Lord will be given later; here he describes devotion. It is the devotion which is bhakti, and the Lord bends down to him and rewards him. The Lord comes face to face with him and gives his grace to the yogin who is fully devoted to him, according to what the yogin has meditated upon; the grace is effortless, by the mere omnipotence of the supreme Lord. By that grace of the Lord, samādhi and its fruit are soon attainable.

Who is this Lord who is neither pradhāna nor Puruṣa?