सत्वशुद्धिसौमनस्यैकाग्र्येन्द्रियजयात्मदर्शनयोग्यत्वानि च।। ४१।।

सत्व,शुद्धि – purification, सौमनस्य – cheerfulness, एकाग्र्य – one pointedness, इन्द्रिय – senses, जय – control, आत्म – Self, दर्शन – direct seeing, योग्यत्वानि – qualification, fitness, च – and

Upon purification of the mind, (one attains) cheerfulness, one-pointedness, sense control and fitness to perceive the Self.

Previous सूत्र was focused on body शौचम् while this सूत्र refers to शौचम् of the mind. Mind purification essentially means the mind has attained सत्व. And a सत्व mind tends to become cheerful which, in turn, gives ability to be focussed. This, in turn, leads to sense control since sense disturbance is caused by रजस् & तमस्. When a योगी reaches this state, he becomes qualified or fit to perceive the पुरुष. हरिहरानन्द says that cheerfulness arises when the mind has given up the obstacles of arrogance, pride and attachment and becomes aloof towards the body and material possessions. This feeling of happiness which is inherent in the सात्विक potential of the mind, is necessary for mental one-pointedness viz in turn a pre-requisite for realizing आत्मा.

RK: What is the value of cheerfulness if it gives nobody pleasure except yourself.   🤔🤔

UB: As is said here, cheerfulness sets the stage for something higher. When one has acquired सत्वगुण, it means one is friendly towards all. When keeps away prejudices, attachments, etc aside and one has an open mind towards all situations. It is a state when one is clear in his or her perception of people and situations. This clarity of mind keeps mind cheerful. If you remember Ch 6,there is a श्लोक which says that one who is evolved does not fear anyone else but “no one else also fears such a person”. Given this, I am not clear on the words “it gives nobody pleasure except yourself”

VB: Never understood why such extreme examples have to be given

UB: Because all the many simple examples given since the last two months have not generated any reaction – so once in a while, one has to spice up the conversation 😊😊. Or example may be taken as a simple way to explain why the body idea of our identity is soooooooooo difficult to get rid of and only extreme actions will make us understand this. Or just as the ten day Vipasana course at Igadpuri tells participants to not talk at all for ten days and while those who go there know this, but when they actually do this, they struggle soooo much that many drop out in a day or two unable to cope up with such silence

PA: I thought that it was a unique and unparalleled example of the strength shown by the Yogini to say no to the king and also showed her commitment towards her higher goal of attaining the ultimate goal of being in Self and not be caught in duality. We cannot compare today’s world where a women can easily say No to a man with those days where this was a king. In a way this was a No and what a lesson for the king !!!! Even the lure of material opulence and a luxurious life could not sway her because she knew the impermanent nature of these joys and also knew the taste of the ultimate bliss of being with One. It’s once again comes to the example of UB that of you have scaled Everest or say K2 then the local hills will not give you the same thrill and joy. Just a perspective of happiness which one is looking for and depending upon ones goal one puts the efforts accordingly. 

The taste for the higher automatically lets go of the taste for the Lower. Of course the ultimate gift descends with grace but yes we have to put in the efforts. So we try so hard as if it’s all in our control and we surrender as if nothing is in our control. It’s like we plan as if we live forever but we live as if this is the last day we have.

UB: 👍 That’s correct PA – the king thought he experienced what he thought was “love at first sight” while the Yogini told him that it was “lust at first sight”. Had he really “loved” her, he should have still married her but ran away when there was clash between his idea of “her” and her own idea of “her” 😊😊😊

PA: Yes at least being with her ( a true saint) would have been inspired to pursue the right path and truly admired and worshiped the women and would have been thankful to her to have his eyes opened up.

संतोषाद् अनुत्तम: सुखलाभ: ।।४२।।

संतोषाद् – from contentment, अनुत्तम: – the highest, सुख – happiness, लाभ – the attainment 

From संतोष, the highest happiness is attained

Says व्यास here “Whatever happiness there may be in enjoyment in this world and whatever greater happiness may exist in स्वर्ग, they do not amount to 1/16th of happiness from the cessation of desire”. विज्ञानभिक्षु says that when hankering is removed, चित्त becomes content (संतोष), सत्व becomes undisturbed and highest happiness which is inherent in the nature of सत्व manifests. This सात्विक संतोष does not depend on external objects but is inherent in the चित्त when it is tranquil and contended.

Note clearly that संतोष is not a state of तमस् – lazy people cannot use this सूत्र as an excuse to do nothing and say they are contended. A योगी is hugely ambitious – he is seeking the highest, most difficult and ultimate सूक्ष्म स्थिति. And this cannot happen if the mind is not tranquil and prepared well to soar higher. So we may see संतोष as a state where one has complete inner clarity about oneself and the direction of life that they are working towards. Thus, no matter what objects they possess or do not possess, their inner clarity is untouched by the noise outside. And therefore, being in a state of संतोष, they are prepared well to get deeper into योग.

कायेन्द्रियसिद्धिरशुद्धिक्षयात् तपस: ।।४३।।

काय – body, इन्द्रिय – senses, सिद्धि: success, अशुद्धि – impurities, क्षयात् – from the removal, तपस: – from तप

From तप, on account of the removal of अशुद्धि, the perfection of body and the senses manifests.

तप is translated as austerity or discipline. And why discipline? To increase stamina. And why more stamina? To bear a greater burden of responsibility than what a normal person requires to bear. तपस्या helps getting rid of अशुद्धि – as per भोजराजा & रामानन्द सरस्वती, अशुद्धि refers to क्लेश. हरिहरानन्द describes तप as subjection to the limitations of body such as hunger, thirst and other cravings. तप involves performing sleep control, उपवास, practicing ब्रह्मचर्य, etc. As body enhances its stamina levels, mind remains calmer when the योगी gets into deeper states of योग where the limitations of the body & mind do not distract the योगी to abandon efforts towards gaining समाधि.

Mother not eating food till kids finish eating is तपस्या. Serving parents is तपस्या. Serving a wider community beyond family is तपस्या. CEO going through long hours of work for benefit of company and its stakeholders is तपस्या. Once one connects with the higher purpose of an action, तपस्या is no longer a burden; else it becomes a “ritual” which one wants to rebel against 😊. Taking greater burden involves engaging with conflicts – and to still stick to धर्म despite these conflicts is तपस्या. तपस्या thus requires willpower and over time, a person who has indulged in तपस्या necessarily gains सिद्धि which is a by-product of योग too.

In पुराण, numerous ऋषि or even राक्षस undertake severe तपस्या to gain सिद्धि. तपस्या for सिद्धि is not same as तपस्या for ज्ञान. रावण did तपस्या of ब्रह्मा and so have others like ध्रुव – but their interest was certainly not ज्ञान. But whether to attain सिद्धि of the प्राकृतिक kind or ज्ञान of the पुरुष kind, तप is necessary. Without तप, one cannot attain success in sports, career or any other vocation. Acts of तपस्या like उपवास, doing नित्यक्रिया (like पूजा, मौनव्रतम्, etc) which have attainment of सिद्धि as the end goal will certainly help cultivate a life of discipline. But पतंजलि is not interested in तपस्या oriented to सिद्धि only. People doing कर्म prescribed by शास्त्र need to orient their तपस्या in a deeper manner – this will be conveyed in their next posting.

Note: हरिहरानन्द notes that those who pursue ज्ञानयोग do not develop any सिद्धि because they cultivate त्याग & विवेक rather than तपस्या. And since a ज्ञानी is not interested in gaining any सिद्धि, they avoid तपस्या as accepted by a योगी. But really speaking, even a real योगी will not be interested in सिद्धि except to use these to further their आध्यात्म goals.

PK: 👍👌👌👌.. seems like doing your karm to the best of one ‘s ability / for the greater good and 

UB: Yes – key point about Tapasya is strengthening of body and sense organs. And to strengthen these requires a purpose. And if one connects with the higher purpose, then senses get focussed and stretched in difficult situations. Such exertion of the body and senses for a higher purpose, for greater responsibility is Tapasya.

HB: How is Siddhi defined? Is it really ability to create anything from nothing ? I wonder why yogi wouldn’t want siddhi ?

UB: Simple meaning of सिद्धि is success. It can range from passing exams to higher level Siddhis like becoming invisible. The next section is called as Siddhi section where the question raised by you will be answered. Siddhis are meant to be a digression for one who is seeking the highest. We will cover this in the next Section

There is regularity or discipline in nature. प्रात: & संध्या happen without fail, भूमि keeps revolving regularly, ऋतु happen regularly, नदी flows into सागर continually, etc. तपस्या means bringing some form of regularity or discipline. And discipline brings power. People who walk daily, people who get up early daily, sleep on time, eat only twice a day, etc seem to be better placed than those who are inconsistent and we may describe such disciplined people as akin to a तपस्वी. But the तपस्या for योग cannot be akin to तपस्या for भोग – it has to have a much higher purpose. रावण acquired a lot of तपोबल but this बल got exhausted owing to भोग orientation – hence, he perished eventually. Note – regularity in fulfilling of काम like watching movie every Friday or Sunday dining in a restaurant is no तपस्या😂.

तपस्या of पतंजलि is for पुरुष प्राप्ति viz a drive to attain a state of पूर्णत्वम् or universality. For उपासना purpose, one may see movement of सूर्य, भूमि, नदी, etc as तपस्या done continually for the benefit of others and draw inspiration from them. Similarly, a तपस्वी will do अन्नदान on every पर्व to the needy, does सेवा in a गुरुद्वार to benefit others, does स्वाध्याय to pass on the benefit of teaching to others, does नित्यपूजा/ उपवास/ do जागरण/ chant स्तोत्र daily with the intent of “लोका समस्ता: सुखिनो भवन्तु”. And such a तपस्या done consistently taking responsibility for ALL (all life forms) expands our identity towards universality making us fit to attain पुरुष स्थिति.

“If one wants to experience the bliss of universality, one has to be ready to discharge the burden of universality”. To take responsibility for the universal, within the constraints of our body, mind and location, becomes essential for a योगी. So analyze the नित्यकर्म prescribed by the धर्मशास्त्र by connecting such कर्म with पुरुष attainment – these will then no longer be seen as “rituals”. And to perform such नित्यकर्म like सूर्य even when there is a lack of time, money, etc., and not giving-in to तमस् & रजस् tendencies of the body and mind is real तपस्या – such a तपस्या will bring strength and depth to our character to attain ज्ञान.

स्वाध्यायाद् इष्टदेवतासंप्रयोग: ।।४४।।

स्वाध्यायाद् – from स्वाध्याय, इष्टदेवता – देवता of one’s liking, संप्रयोग – connection 

From स्वाध्याय (of शास्त्र), a connection with one’s देवता is established.

When reading our शास्त्र (वेद, इतिहास, पुराण…), we must make distinction between देवता which comes under प्रकृति as a limited specific force or power of ईश्वर, इष्टदेवता which is a personal expression of ईश्वर that we have deep affinity towards and the परमात्मा viz the universal सत्चिदानन्द स्वरूप that controls प्रकृति and is separate from it – these three concepts are distinct and have a unique purpose and we must not translate all three using the same word “god”. It is technically wrong to state that त्यागराजा or तुलसीदास are रामभक्त – they are actually ईश्वरभक्त whose इष्टदेवता is राम.

Within the उपनिषद, one sees देवता being associated with forces within us (hearing, vision, locomotion, etc) as well as similar aspects at a universal level (sound, heat, liquidity, etc). In the संहिता part of the वेद, one comes across देवता like इंद्र, वरुण, etc each associated with granting of certain powers to the ones who seek them. Essentially, universal forces that bring about integration in working of the universe are देवता and these work as forces of integration within us too. And since same देवता present within us also operate at an universal level, should there is a problem that we experience (sight, hearing, etc), शास्त्र have prescribed मंत्र within the वेद where one may invoke the देवता present within the universe, establish a connection and then use such a connection to remedy their working within us.

ईश्वर is निर्गुण, निराकार, निर्विकल्प, अरूप, etc that is separate from प्रकृति. ईश्वर is expressed within the universe as its विभूति (Ch 10 of the Gita). In the इतिहास / पुराण texts, this निराकार ईश्वर, out of कृपा for a भक्त takes a certain form or have taken अवतार for re-establishment of धर्म. Various such forms include गरुड, दुर्गा, नृसिंह, राम, etc and the शास्त्र have श्लोक / मंत्र dedicated to such forms.

Whatever the trigger, our family and/or our own संस्कार, some of us are lucky to develop a connect with a particular इष्टदेवता. Through स्वाध्याय of the शास्त्र related to such an इष्ट that provide the पद्धति that one needs to adopt – lifestyle to lead, मंत्र to chant, etc to attain our इष्टदेव, a योगी gains access or gets success in having दर्शन of his or her इष्टदेवता. And दर्शन may not mean seeing a certain form alone – instead, the attributes that we see in our own इष्ट become our own कर्म and conduct owing to continuous contemplation of our इष्टदेव through स्वाध्याय. And when such a merger of identity happens through भक्ति of our इष्ट, a योगी gains confidence and gets inspired to pursue योग at a deeper level.

समाधिसिद्धिरीश्वरप्रणिधानात् ।। ४५।।

समाधि, सिद्धि: – perfection, ईश्वरप्रणिधानात् – भक्ति of ईश्वर 

From submission to ईश्वर comes perfection of समाधि

पतंजलि is very clear in this सूत्र. ईश्वरप्रणिधान or भक्ति to ईश्वर is a necessary नियम to attain पुरुष – this is not optional. This echoes a line in कठोपनिपद् which says “By the कृपा of ईश्वर, one attains the glory of आत्मा”. We may thus see पतंजलि advocating a theistic approach to attain समाधि. One needs to however note that ईश्वरप्रणिधान alone is not enough and needs to be backed by traits listed in other अङ्ग of योग too.

Whether one’s object of ध्यान is any object within प्रकृति or ईश्वर, one needs to do अभ्यास of other अङ्ग of योग. In fact, mastery of other अङ्ग of योग creates a mental framework that facilitates ईश्वरप्रणिधान in an effective manner. However, as it evident here, while the benefit of other अङ्ग of योग is some सिद्धि that may assist within the zone of प्रकृति, ईश्वरप्रणिधान gives the योगी access to the main goal of योग viz समाधि.

Before taking up other अङ्ग of योग, how must we view यम & नियम, the moral code of योग? प्रश्न may come up here – should पतंजलि not have proposed a more specific list of good कर्म (eg., resort to क्षमा, have दया, do अन्नदान, build hospitals/ wells) a साधक must do? That raises another प्रश्न – can we list good कर्म that are eternally good? Doing दान may seem good but if done to a lazy person or a fanatic evangelist may lead to हिंसा in society. Or doing दान for fame will enhance the रजस् (whether such दान is indeed helping the donee is ignored).

The act we do (कर्म) and state we attain after doing the कर्म (स्थिति) are distinct. Thus, two different कर्म, eating Gud or Sugar, will attain the same outcome viz sweet taste. Equally, the same कर्म, say teaching bomb making, to an army soldier will protect the nation but will promote हिंसा if taught to a criminal. यम & नियम may be seen as the end goal or स्थिति that a योगी must strive to attain after every कर्म. So, when one does दान, it should lead to अपरिग्रह, if not, then it is a wasted दान. Similarly, if practice of दम (self-control) is not leading to अस्तेय, then such दम is also wasted. Doing नित्यपूजा or such other कर्म (मंदिर visit, स्तोत्र जप, etc) must lead to तपस्या (discipline) & भक्ति.

By listing यम & नियम, पतंजलि smartly asks us to attain the mental स्थिति of यम & नियम – the choice of कर्म may be aligned to our स्वभाव. Seen this way, any कर्म becomes a धर्म if such कर्म leads to the outcome of यम & नियम, which is a pathway towards ज्ञान. A धार्मिक person will not do दान as a universal good, if the दान is धार्मिक, then he will do it. Similarly, putting a psychopath to death after a legal process is अहिंसा only if the outcome is less हिंसा in the society. Showing क्षमा towards one who is doing अधर्म is not क्षमा – it is stupidity. यम & नियम may be seen as a universal end goal for all कर्म, whether for an individual or a society at large, to assist in साधना.

स्थिरसुखम् आसनम् ।। ४६।।

स्थिर – steady, सुखम् – comfortable, आसनम् – posture

Posture should be steady and comfortable.

Much of what we call as योग today dwells on this अङ्ग of योग viz आसनम्. And while most people today pursue योग for health, पतंजलि’s interest is समाधि. पतंजलि devotes only three सूत्र to आसनम्. आसनम् means seat; various postures of योग are meant to enable a योगी to sit in a steady and comfortable manner. आदिशंकर says that mastery of postures does not produce goals of योग but helps in getting rid of क्लेश to योग – and once these are rid of, समाधि takes us to the goal of योग. विज्ञानभिक्षु quotes गरूडपुराण which expresses a similar view. Once body is steady, mind is not distracted tending to the bodily disturbances and can then focus on its higher goals.

व्यास provides 11 आसनम् in his commentary – पद्मासन, वीरासन, भद्रासन, स्वस्तिकासन, दण्डासन, सोपाश्रय, पर्यङ्क/ शवासन, क्रौञ्च निशादन, हस्तिनिशादन, उष्ट्र निशादन and सम-सम्श्ठान. व्यास adds the word “आदि” at the end of this list meaning there are other postures too. All these postures must be comfortable to the योगी and require him to remain steady while doing them. आदिशंकर says that आसनम् must be done in a quiet and pure place after performing नमस्कार to ईश्वर, ऋषि and one’s own गुरू.

प्रयत्नशैथिल्यानन्तसमापत्तिभ्याम् ।। ४७।।

प्रयत्न – effort, शैथिल्य – relaxation, अनन्त – the infinite (the serpent of विष्णु), समापत्तिभ्याम् – the power of thought transformation, engrossment, absorption of the mind

(Such posture should be attained) by the relaxation of effort and by absorption in the infinite

आसनम् is deemed as a success when the effort involved in initial stages comes down and the योगी gets relaxed in the आसनम्. But apart from physical relaxation, the mind needs to be focussed on the infinite (परमात्मा or ईश्वर) and rest in eternity. By meditating on eternity, body eventually feels non-existent. Thus, the योगी becomes so relaxed that the योगी ceases to be conscious of it at all and the mind can thus be directed towards ध्यान without bodily disturbance and distraction. This probably also means that doing योग without having ईश्वर as अनन्त in mind is not योग, it is merely a physical exercise like aerobics or gymnastics 😊.

Note: An interesting coincidence – अनन्त represents infinity. अनन्त is also the serpent of महाविष्णु. पतंजलि is seen as the अवतार of अनन्त. And out of 196 सूत्र, this verse comes exactly in the middle of योगसूत्र and अनन्त comes in the middle of this सूत्र and maybe this is how the पतंजलि left His signature within this text. This is similar to the most precious पञ्चाक्षरी “ॐ नम: शिवाय” that comes in the middle of श्रीरुद्रम् which in turn comes in the middle of यजुर्वेद.

ततो द्वन्द्वनभिघात: ।।४८।।

तत: – consequently, from this, द्वन्द्व – by the opposite, अनभिघात – not afflicted 

From this, one is not afflicted by the dualities of the opposites.

Transcending dualities is found in श्रीमदभगवद्गीता too – transcending heat and cold, for example. Once आसनम् is mastered, one loses all awareness of sensations of the body. The mind can be focussed elsewhere on ध्यान, a state of calmness is experienced in the body which allows for detachment from the body’s sensations such as hunger and thirst. Thus the mastery of आसनम् means being able to sit (or maintain a posture) without any disturbance to the body and mind. With this attained, we move to the fourth अङ्ग.

तस्मिन् सति श्वासप्रश्वासयोर्गतिविच्छेद: प्राणायाम: ।।५९।।

तस्मिन् – that, सति – is attained, श्वास – inhalation, प्रश्वासयो: – exhalation, गति – movement, विच्छेद: – regulation, प्राणायाम:

When that (आसनम्) is completed, प्राणायाम (follows). This consists of the regulation of the incoming and outgoing breaths.

Having attained the state of यम & नियम and stability in आसनम् , योगी is able to generate adequate सत्व in his mind. This prepares him well for success in प्राणायाम. श्वास refers to intake of air from outside while प्रश्वास refers to exhalation of air from the stomach. प्राणायाम refers to suspension or absence of both inhalation and exhalation. हरिहरानन्द adds here that प्राणायाम must be accompanied by ability to concentrate on one’s object of ध्यान. One must clear the mind of वृत्ति while doing प्राणायाम and not merely arrest the breath physically. In समाधि, breath becomes imperceptible or even wholly suspended and this step is thus an enabler to the final stage.

बाह्यभ्यन्तरस्तम्भवृत्ति: देशकालसंख्याभि: परिदृष्टो दीर्घसूक्ष्म: ।।५०।।

बाह्य – external, अभ्यन्तर: – internal, स्तम्भ – restrained, वृत्ति: – movement, देश – place, काल – time, संख्याभि: – and number, परिदृष्ट: – is manifest, दीर्घ – long, सूक्ष्म – subtle 

(प्राणायाम) manifests as external, internal and restrained movement (of breath). These are drawn out and subtle in accordance with place, time and number. 

(Note: These सूत्र require a practitioner while my words here are textual).

बाह्य refers to when there is no flow of breath after exhalation (रेचक), अभ्यन्तर when there is no flow of breath after inhalation (पूरक) and स्तम्भ simultaneous cessation of both. Adds वाचस्पति that प्राण remains within the body when it ceases to move in and out. And these three types of breath restraint are regulated by देश or place (surface area reached by breath), काल or time (duration of cessation of breath flow) and संख्य or number (number of sequences of restraint of inhalation and exhalation).

Surface area covered by breath can be external or internal. Placing a blade of grass or cotton around 12 fingers from nose and seeing the influence of breath on the grass is external while internal is measured from sole of the feet to head which can be sensed like touch of an ant.

प्राणायाम is regulated by number of क्षण (taken as quarter of time taken to blink an eye) involved in the restraint. संख्य is the number of repetitions or rounds of cycle of exhalations, inhalations and retentions in one sitting. There are specific prescriptions by commentators on the duration for holding the breath and chanting ॐ मंत्र while doing this – I will skip those details here. Essentially, over time with practice, one can increase the duration of intervals of breath restraint so that they become more and more prolonged and imperceptible in terms of the movement of air (such that the cotton placed near the nose does not even move a little).