Chapter 1: Samadhi Pada: what yoga is

अथ योगानुशासनम्

atha yogānuśāsanam

Now begins the teaching of yoga. The word 'now' marks a fresh start: the instruction is offered to one who is ready and has sought it.

योगश्चित्तवृत्तिनिरोधः

yogaścittavṛttinirodhaḥ

Yoga is the stilling of the movements of the mind (chitta). When the waves of thought settle, yoga is present.

तदा द्रष्टुः स्वरूपेऽवस्थानम्

tadā draṣṭuḥ svarūpe'vasthānam

Then the Seer, the pure witnessing Self, abides in its own true nature, no longer coloured by the mind.

वृत्तिसारूप्यं इतरत्र

vṛttisārūpyaṃ itaratra

At other times, the Seer appears to take the form of the mind's movements, mistaking each passing thought for itself.

वृत्तयः पञ्चतय्यः क्लिष्टा अक्लिष्टाः

vṛttayaḥ pañcatayyaḥ kliṣṭā akliṣṭāḥ

The movements of the mind are of five kinds, and each may be afflicting (klishta), feeding bondage, or non-afflicting, helping towards freedom.

प्रमाणविपर्ययविकल्पनिद्रास्मृतयः

pramāṇaviparyayavikalpanidrāsmṛtayaḥ

The five movements are right knowledge (pramana), error, imagination, sleep and memory. Every thought the mind has falls under one of these.

प्रत्यक्षानुमानागमाः प्रमाणानि

pratyakṣānumānāgamāḥ pramāṇāni

Right knowledge comes from three sources: direct perception, inference, and the testimony of a trustworthy authority such as scripture (agama).

विपर्ययो मिथ्याज्ञानम् अतद्रूपप्रतिष्ठं

viparyayo mithyājñānam atadrūpapratiṣṭhaṃ

Error is false knowledge, resting on a form that does not belong to the thing, as when a rope is taken for a snake.

शब्दज्ञानानुपाती वस्तुशून्यो विकल्पः

śabdajñānānupātī vastuśūnyo vikalpaḥ

Imagination (vikalpa) follows from mere words and has no real object behind it, such as speaking of 'the horn of a hare'.

अभावप्रत्ययालम्बना वृत्तिर्निद्रा

abhāvapratyayālambanā vṛttirnidrā

Sleep is the movement of the mind that rests on the experience of absence, the cognition of nothingness; it too is a vritti, since one later recalls having slept well.

अनुभूतविषयासंप्रमोषः स्मृतिः

anubhūtaviṣayāsaṃpramoṣaḥ smṛtiḥ

Memory is the holding of an object once experienced, so that it is not lost from the mind.

अभ्यासवैराग्याभ्यां तन्निरोधः

abhyāsavairāgyābhyāṃ tannirodhaḥ

These movements are stilled by steady practice (abhyasa) and by dispassion (vairagya), the two wings of the discipline.

तत्र स्थितौ यत्नोऽभ्यासः

tatra sthitau yatno'bhyāsaḥ

Of these, practice is the effort to remain established in that stillness of mind.

स तु दीर्घकालनैरन्तर्यसत्कारासेवितो दृढभूमिः

sa tu dīrghakālanairantaryasatkārāsevito dṛḍhabhūmiḥ

Practice becomes firmly grounded when it is kept up for a long time, without a break, and with reverence and devotion.

दृष्टानुश्रविकविषयवितृष्णस्य वशीकारसंज्ञा वैराग्यम्

dṛṣṭānuśravikaviṣayavitṛṣṇasya vaśīkārasaṃjñā vairāgyam

Dispassion is the mastery of one who no longer thirsts for objects, whether seen in this world or heard of in scripture, such as the joys of heaven.

तत्परं पुरुषख्यातेर्गुणवैतृष्ण्यं

tatparaṃ puruṣakhyāterguṇavaitṛṣṇyaṃ

The highest dispassion is freedom from thirst even for the gunas themselves, which arises from knowing the Purusha, the pure Self.

वितर्कविचारानन्दास्मितारूपानुगमात्संप्रज्ञातः

vitarkavicārānandāsmitārūpānugamātsaṃprajñātaḥ

Samadhi with awareness of an object (samprajnata) is accompanied by gross reflection, subtle reflection, bliss, and the sense of pure 'I am'.

विरामप्रत्ययाभ्यासपूर्वः संस्कारशेषोऽन्यः

virāmapratyayābhyāsapūrvaḥ saṃskāraśeṣo'nyaḥ

The other samadhi (asamprajnata) follows the practice of the cause of cessation; in it only latent impressions (samskaras) remain, with no object before the mind.

भवप्रत्ययो विदेहप्रकृतिलयानां

bhavapratyayo videhaprakṛtilayānāṃ

For the bodiless beings and those merged in Prakriti, such a state arises from the nature of their birth, not from practice; it is not yet final freedom.

श्रद्धावीर्यस्मृतिसमाधिप्रज्ञापूर्वक इतरेषां

śraddhāvīryasmṛtisamādhiprajñāpūrvaka itareṣāṃ

For others it comes through faith, vigour, mindfulness, concentration and discerning wisdom, each step leading to the next.

तीव्रसंवेगानां आसन्नः

tīvrasaṃvegānāṃ āsannaḥ

It is near for those whose eagerness is intense, who press forward with great urgency.

मृदुमध्याधिमात्रत्वात्ततोऽपि विशेषः

mṛdumadhyādhimātratvāttato'pi viśeṣaḥ

Even among the intense there is a difference, since the effort may be mild, middling or extreme.

ईश्वरप्रणिधानाद्वा

īśvarapraṇidhānādvā

Or samadhi is attained through surrender to Ishvara, the Lord, offering oneself and one's actions to Him.

क्लेशकर्मविपाकाशयैरपरामृष्टः पुरुषविशेष ईश्वरः

kleśakarmavipākāśayairaparāmṛṣṭaḥ puruṣaviśeṣa īśvaraḥ

Ishvara is a special Purusha, untouched by afflictions, by actions, by their fruits, and by the latent store of impressions.

तत्र निरतिशयं सर्वज्ञबीजं

tatra niratiśayaṃ sarvajñabījaṃ

In Him the seed of all-knowing reaches its utmost; nothing surpasses His knowledge.

पूर्वेषां अपि गुरुः कालेनानवच्छेदात्

pūrveṣāṃ api guruḥ kālenānavacchedāt

He is the Guru even of the most ancient teachers, because He is not limited by time.

तस्य वाचकः प्रणवः

tasya vācakaḥ praṇavaḥ

The word that expresses Him is the Pranava, the sacred syllable Om.

तज्जपस्तदर्थभावनम्

tajjapastadarthabhāvanam

Its repetition (japa) should go with meditation on its meaning, dwelling on Ishvara whom it names.

ततः प्रत्यक्चेतनाधिगमोऽप्यन्तरायाभावश्च

tataḥ pratyakcetanādhigamo'pyantarāyābhāvaśca

From this comes realisation of the inner Self and the removal of obstacles on the path.

व्याधिस्त्यानसंशयप्रमादालस्याविरतिभ्रान्तिदर्शनालब्धभूमिकत्वानवस्थितत्वानि चित्तविक्षेपास् तेऽन्तरायाः

vyādhistyānasaṃśayapramādālasyāviratibhrāntidarśanālabdhabhūmikatvānavasthitatvāni cittavikṣepās te'ntarāyāḥ

The obstacles that scatter the mind are illness, dullness, doubt, carelessness, sloth, craving for sense objects, false perception, failing to reach a stage, and failing to hold it once reached.

दुःखदौर्मनस्याङ्गमेजयत्वश्वासप्रश्वासा विक्षेपसहभुवः

duḥkhadaurmanasyāṅgamejayatvaśvāsapraśvāsā vikṣepasahabhuvaḥ

Sorrow, dejection, trembling of the limbs, and disturbed in-breath and out-breath accompany these distractions.

तत्प्रतिषेधार्थं एकतत्त्वाभ्यासः

tatpratiṣedhārthaṃ ekatattvābhyāsaḥ

To prevent these obstacles, one should practise concentration on a single principle, returning the mind again and again to one chosen object.

मैत्रीकरुणामुदितोपेक्षाणां सुखदुःखपुण्यापुण्यविषयाणां भावनातश्चित्तप्रसादनम्

maitrīkaruṇāmuditopekṣāṇāṃ sukhaduḥkhapuṇyāpuṇyaviṣayāṇāṃ bhāvanātaścittaprasādanam

The mind becomes clear and calm by cultivating friendliness towards the happy, compassion for the suffering, gladness for the virtuous, and indifference towards the wicked.

प्रच्छर्दनविधारणाभ्यां वा प्राणस्य

pracchardanavidhāraṇābhyāṃ vā prāṇasya

Or the mind is steadied by expelling the breath and holding it out, a gentle control of prana.

विषयवती वा प्रवृत्तिरुत्पन्ना मनसः स्थितिनिबन्धनी

viṣayavatī vā pravṛttirutpannā manasaḥ sthitinibandhanī

Or a heightened perception of a subtle sense object, once it arises, binds the mind to steadiness.

विशोका वा ज्योतिष्मती

viśokā vā jyotiṣmatī

Or the mind is steadied by the inner light that is free of sorrow, luminous and serene.

वीतरागविषयं वा चित्तं

vītarāgaviṣayaṃ vā cittaṃ

Or by fixing the mind on one who has gone beyond attachment, such as a great sage.

स्वप्ननिद्राज्ञानालम्बनम् वा

svapnanidrājñānālambanam vā

Or by taking as support the knowledge that comes in dreams or in deep sleep.

यथाभिमतध्यानाद्वा

yathābhimatadhyānādvā

Or the mind is steadied by meditation on whatever one finds dear and uplifting; any wholesome support that holds the mind will serve.

परमाणुपरममहत्त्वान्तोऽस्य वशीकारः

paramāṇuparamamahattvānto'sya vaśīkāraḥ

The yogi's mastery then extends from the smallest atom to the greatest magnitude; the mind can rest on anything.

क्षीणवृत्तेर् अभिजातस्येव मणेर् ग्रहीतृग्रहणग्राह्येषुतत्स्थतदञ्जनतासमापत्तिः

kṣīṇavṛtter abhijātasyeva maṇer grahītṛgrahaṇagrāhyeṣutatsthatadañjanatāsamāpattiḥ

When the movements have waned, the mind, like a flawless crystal, takes on the colour of whatever it rests on, be it the knower, the knowing or the known. This is samapatti, absorption.

तत्र शब्दार्थज्ञानविकल्पैः संकीर्णा सवितर्का समापत्तिः

tatra śabdārthajñānavikalpaiḥ saṃkīrṇā savitarkā samāpattiḥ

Absorption mixed with the notions of word, meaning and idea is called savitarka, absorption with gross reflection.

स्मृतिपरिशुद्धौ स्वरूपशून्येवार्थमात्रनिर्भासा निर्वितर्का

smṛtipariśuddhau svarūpaśūnyevārthamātranirbhāsā nirvitarkā

When memory is purified and the mind seems emptied of its own form, so that the object alone shines forth, it is nirvitarka, beyond gross reflection.

एतयैव सविचारा निर्विचारा च सूक्ष्मविषया व्याख्याता

etayaiva savicārā nirvicārā ca sūkṣmaviṣayā vyākhyātā

In the same way, absorption with and without subtle reflection (savichara and nirvichara), whose objects are subtle, is explained.

सूक्ष्मविषयत्वं चालिङ्गपर्यवसानम्

sūkṣmaviṣayatvaṃ cāliṅgaparyavasānam

Subtlety of objects extends all the way to the unmanifest (alinga), primal Prakriti that has no mark.

ता एव सबीजः समाधिः

tā eva sabījaḥ samādhiḥ

These absorptions are samadhi with seed (sabija), since they still rest on an object.

निर्विचारवैशारद्येऽध्यात्मप्रसादः

nirvicāravaiśāradye'dhyātmaprasādaḥ

When skill in nirvichara samadhi is perfected, there dawns a clear calm of the inner Self.

ऋतंभरा तत्र प्रज्ञा

ṛtaṃbharā tatra prajñā

There the wisdom is ritambhara, bearing only truth, free of any error.

श्रुतानुमानप्रज्ञाभ्यां अन्यविषया विशेषार्थत्वात्

śrutānumānaprajñābhyāṃ anyaviṣayā viśeṣārthatvāt

This wisdom differs from knowledge gained by hearing or inference, because it grasps the particular nature of things directly.

तज्जः संस्कारोऽन्यसंस्कारप्रतिबन्धी

tajjaḥ saṃskāro'nyasaṃskārapratibandhī

The impression born of this wisdom blocks all other impressions, so that old tendencies no longer arise.

तस्यापि निरोधे सर्वनिरोधान्निर्बीजः समाधिः

tasyāpi nirodhe sarvanirodhānnirbījaḥ samādhiḥ

When even that impression is stilled, everything is stilled, and there is seedless samadhi (nirbija).