Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
The Yoga Sutras are a collection of aphorisms attributed to the Indian sage Patanjali. They are regarded by most as the first genuine codification of Yoga into a system of spiritual practice. The Sutras are divided into four pada, or books, containing 195 sutras, or aphorisms. They are divided as follows:
The Books (Pada)
I. Samadhi Pada (51 sutras)
Samadhi refers to a blissful state where the yogi is absorbed into the One. The author describes yoga and then the means to attaining samadhi. This chapter contains the most famous verses: "Atha yoga anusasanam" ("Yoga begins with discipline") and "Yogas citta vritti nirodha" ("Yoga is control of citta vrittis" - i.e., thoughts and feelings).
II. Sadhana Pada (55 sutras)
Sadhana is the Sanskrit word for "practice". Here the author outlines two forms of Yoga: kriya yoga (action yoga) and ashtanga yoga (eightfold yoga).
Kriya yoga, sometimes called karma yoga, is reflected in the philosophy of the Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 3, where Arjuna is encouraged to act without attachment to the results of action. It is the yoga of selfless action or as some have observed, of service.
A definition of ashtanga
ashtanga ("eight-limbed") yoga consists of the following aspects:
1. *The five yamas (abstentions; the word means "restraint"). These are also found in Jainism; Buddhism has a similarly-conceived list.
- (1) Ahimsa (abstention from violence, himsa)
- (2) Satya ("truth", abstention from lying)
- (3) Asteya (abstention from theft)
- (4) Brahmacharya (abstention from sexual activity)
- (5) Aparigraha (abstention from possessions)
2. The five niyamas ("observances"):
- (1) Shaucha ("{purity")
- (2) Santosha ("contentment")
- (3) Tapas ("heat", i.e., austerities, self-mortification)
- (4) Svadhyaya ("self-contemplation")
- (5) Ishvarapranidhana "surrender to the Creator")
3. Asana ("seat"). The term which is now generally translated as "physical postures" originally referring to seated postures.
4. Pranayama (control of prana, the vital breath or "life force")
5. Pratyahara ("withdrawal" of the mind from the senses, or the senses from objects)
6. Dharana (concentration, i.e., fixing the attention on a single object)
7. Dhyana (meditation)
8. Samadhi (equipoise)
III. Vibhuti Pada (55 sutras)
Vibhuti is the Sanskrit word for "power" or "manifestation". This book describes the higher states of awareness and the techniques of yoga to attain them.