Yoga Sutras, Patanjali. Chapter 4: Kaivalya Pāda

 


janma auṣadhi mantra tapaḥ samādhijāḥ siddhayaḥ
The mystic skills are produced
through taking birth in particular species,
or by taking drugs, or by reciting special sounds,
or by physical bodily austerities or
by the continuous effortless linkage of the attention
to a higher concentration force, object or person.

jātyantara pariṇāmaḥ prakṛtyāpūrāt
The transformation from one category to another
is by the saturation of the subtle material nature.

nimittaṁ aprayojakaṁ prakṛtīnāṁ
varaṇabhedaḥ tu tataḥ kṣetrikavat
The motivating force of the subtle material energy
is not used except for the disintegration of impediments,
hence it is compared to a farmer.

nirmāṇacittāni asmitāmātrāt
The formation of regions within the mento-emotional energy,
arises only from the sense of identity
which is developed in relation to material nature.

pravṛtti bhede prayojakaṁ cittam ekam anekeṣām
The one mento-emotional energy
is that which is very much used
in numberless different dispersals of energy.

tatra dhyānajam anāśayam
In that case, only subtle activities
which are produced from the effortless linkage of the attention
to a higher reality are without harmful emotions.

karma aśukla akṛṣnaṁ yoginaḥ trividham itareṣām
The cultural activity of the yogis
is neither rewarding nor penalizing,
but others have three types of such action.

tataḥ tadvipāka anuguṇānām
eva abhivyaktiḥ vāsanānām
Subsequently from those cultural activities
there is development according to corresponding features only, bringing about the manifestation of the tendencies
within the mento-emotional energy.

jāti deśa kāla vyavahitānām api ānantaryaṁ smṛti saṁskārayoḥ ekarūpatvāt
Even though circumstances are separated
by status, location and time,
still the impressions which form cultural activities
and the resulting memories, are of one form
and operate on a timeful sequence.

tāsām anāditvaṁ ca āśiṣaḥ nityatvāt
Those memories and impressions are primeval,
without a beginning.
The hope and desire energies are eternal as well.

hetu phala āśraya ālambanaiḥ saṅgṛhītatvāt
eṣām abhāve tad abhāvaḥ
They exist by what holds them together
in terms of cause and effect, supportive base and lifting influence. Otherwise if their causes are not there,
they have no existence whatsoever.

atīta anāgataṁ svarūpataḥ
asti adhvabhedāt dharmāṇām
There is a true form of the past and future,
which is denoted by the different courses of their characteristics.

te vyakta sūkṣmāḥ guṇātmānaḥ
They are gross or subtle, all depending on their inherent nature.

pariṇāma ekatvāt vastutattvam
The actual composition of an object
is based on the uniqueness of the transformation.

vastusāmye cittabhedāt tayoḥ vibhaktaḥ panthāḥ
Because of a difference
in the mento-emotional energy of two persons,
separate prejudices manifest
in their viewing of the very same object.

na ca ekacitta tantraṁ ced vastu
tat apramāṇakaṁ tadā kiṁ syāt
An object is not dependent
on one person’s mento-emotional perception.
Otherwise, what would happen
if it were not being perceived by that person?

taduparāga apekṣitvāt cittasya vastu jñāta ajñātam
An object is known or unknown,
all depending on the mood and expectation
of the particular mento-emotional energy of the person
in reference to it.

sadā jñātāḥ cittavṛttayaḥ tatprabhoḥ
puruṣasya apariṇāmitvāt
The operations of the mento-emotional energy
are always known to that governor
because of the changelessness of that spirit.

na tat svābhāsaṁ dṛśyatvāt
That mento-emotional energy is not self-illuminative
for it is rather only capable of being perceived.

ekasamaye ca ubhaya anavadhāraṇam
It cannot execute the focus of both at the same time.

cittāntaradṛśye buddhibuddheḥ
atiprasaṅgaḥ smṛtisaṅkaraḥ ca
In the perception of mento-emotional energy
by another such energy,
there would be an intellect
perceiving another intellect independently.
That would cause absurdity and confusion of memory.

citeḥ apratisaṁkramāyāḥ tadākārāpattau svabuddhisaṁvedanam
The perception of its own intellect occurs
when it assumes that form in which there is no movement
from one operation to another.

draṣṭṛ dṛśya uparaktaṁ cittaṁ sarvārtham
The mento-emotional energy which is prejudiced by the perceiver and the perceived, is all evaluating.

tat asaṅkhyeya vāsanābhiḥ citram
api parārthaṁ saṁhatyakāritvāt
Although the mento-emotional energy is diverse
by innumerable subtle impressions,
it acts for the sake of another power
because of its proximity to that other force.

viśeṣadarśinaḥ ātmabhāva bhāvanānivṛttiḥ
There is total stopping
of the operations of mento-emotional energy
for the person who perceives the distinction
between feelings and the spirit itself.

tadā hi vivekanimnaṁ kaivalya prāgbhāraṁ cittam
Then, indeed,
the mento-emotional force is inclined towards discrimination
and gravitates towards the total separation
from the mundane psychology.

tat cchidreṣu pratyayāntarāṇi saṁskārebhyaḥ
Besides that, in the relaxation of the focus,
other mind contents arise in the intervals.
These are based on subtle impressions.

hānam eṣāṁ kleśavat uktam
As authoritatively stated, the complete removal of these
is like the elimination of the mento-emotional afflictions.

prasaṁkhyāne api akusīdasya sarvathā
vivekakhyāteḥ dharmameghaḥ samādhiḥ
For one who sees no gains in material nature,
even while perceiving it in abstract meditation,
he has the super discrimination.
He attained the continuous effortless linkage of the attention
to higher reality which is described
as knowing the mento-emotional clouds of energy
which compel a person to perform
according to nature’s way of acting for beneficial results.

tataḥ kleśa karma nivṛttiḥ
Subsequently there is stoppage of the operation
of the mento-emotional energy
in terms of generation of cultural activities
and their resulting afflictions.

tadā sarva āvaraṇa malāpetasya
jñānasya ānantyāt jñeyam alpam
Then, because of the removal of all mental darkness
and psychological impurities,
that which can be known through the mento-emotional energy, seems trivial in comparison to the unlimited knowledge available when separated from it.

tataḥ kṛtārthānāṁ pariṇāmakrama samāptir guṇānām
Thus, the subtle material nature, having fulfilled its purpose,
its progressive alterations end.

kṣaṇa pratiyogī pariṇāma
aparānta nirgrāhyaḥ kramaḥ
The process, of which moments are a counterpart,
and which causes the alterations,
comes to an end and is clearly perceived.

puruṣārtha śūnyānāṁ guṇānāṁ
pratiprasavaḥ kaivalyaṁ
svarūpapratiṣṭhā vā citiśaktiḥ iti
Separation of the spirit
from the mento-emotional energy (kaivalyam)
occurs when there is neutrality
in respect to the influence of material nature,
when the yogi’s psyche becomes devoid
of the general aims of a human being.
Thus at last, the spirit is established in its own form
as the force empowering the mento-emotional energy.

Yoga sutras esquema 1

the nine distractions for the mind (Patanjali)

Obstacles are to be expected: There are a number of predictable obstacles (1.30) that arise on the inner journey, along with several consequences (1.31) that grow out of them. While these can be a challenge, there is a certain comfort in knowing that they are a natural, predictable part of the process. Knowing this can help to maintain the faith and conviction that were previously discussed as essential (1.20).

Predictable Obstacles (1.30)
Illness	Dullness		Doubt
Negligence	Laziness		Cravings
Misperceptions	Failure		Instability
Companions to those Obstacles (1.31)
Mental and physical pain		Sadness and frustration
Unsteadiness of the body		Irregular breath

One-pointedness is the solution: There is a single, underlying principle that is the antidote for these obstacles and their consequences, and that is the one-pointedness of mind (1.32). Although there are many forms in which this one-pointedness can be practiced, the principle is uniform. If the mind is focused, then it is far less likely to get entangled and lost in the mire of delusion that can come from these obstacles (1.4).
Remember one truth or object: Repeatedly remember one aspect of truth, or one object (1.32). It may be any object, including one of the several that are suggested in the coming sutras (1.33-1.39). It may be related to your religion, an aspect of your own being, a principle, or some other pleasing object. It may be a mantra, short prayer, or affirmation. While there is great breadth of choice in objects, a sincere aspirant will choose wisely the object for this practice, possibly along with the guidance of someone familiar with these practices.

PATANJALI—PHILOSOPHER AND YOGIN Georg Feuerstein

Most yogins, like most ordinary people, do not have an intellectual bent. But yogins, unlike
ordinary people, turn this into an advantage by cultivating wisdom and the kind of psychic and
spiritual experiences that the rational mind tends to deny and prevent. And yet there always have been
those Yoga practitioners who were brilliant intellectuals as well. Thus, Shankara of the eighth century

C.E. is not only remembered as the greatest proponent of Hindu nondualist metaphysics, or Advaita
Vedânta, but also as a great adept of Yoga. The Buddhist teacher Nâgârjuna, who lived in the second
century C.E., was not only a celebrated Tantric alchemist and thaumaturgist (siddha) but also a
philosophical genius of the first order. In the sixteenth century C.E., Vijnâna Bhikshu wrote profound
commentaries on all the major schools of thought. He was a noted thinker who greatly impressed the
German pioneering indologist and founder of comparative mythology Max Muller. At the same time
he was a spiritual practitioner of the first order, following Vedântic Jnâna-Yoga.
Similarly, Patanjali, the author or compiler of the Yoga- Sûtra, was obviously a Yoga adept who
also had a great head on his shoulders. As Yoga researcher Christopher Chappie wrote:
Some have said that Patanjali has made no specific philosophical contribution in his presentation
of the yoga school. To the contrary, I suggest that his is a masterful contribution communicated
through nonjudgmentally presenting diverse practices, a methodology deeply rooted in the
culture and traditions of India.1
The Yoga of Patanjali represents the climax of a long development of yogic technology. Of all the
numerous schools that existed in the opening centuries of the Common Era, Patanjali’s school was the
one to become acknowledged as the authoritative system (darshana) of the Yoga tradition. There are
numerous parallels between Patanjali’s Yoga and Buddhism, and it is unknown whether these are
simply due to the synchronous development of Hindu and Buddhist Yoga or are the result of a special
interest in Buddhist teachings on the part of Patanjali. If Patanjali lived in the second century C.E., as
is proposed here, he may well have been exposed to the considerable influence of Buddhism at that
time. But perhaps both explanations apply.
Disappointingly, we know next to nothing about Patanjali. Hindu tradition identifies him with the
famous grammarian of the same name who lived in the second century B.C.E. and authored the Mahâ-
Bhâshya. The consensus of scholarly opinion, however, considers this unlikely. Both the contents and
the terminology of the Yoga-Sûtra suggest the second century C.E. as a probable date for Patanjali,
whoever he may have been.3
In addition to the grammarian, India knows of several other Patanjalis. The name is mentioned as a
clan (gotra) name of the Vedic priest Âsurâyana. The old Shata-Pata-Brâhmana mentions a Patancala
Kâpya, whom the nineteenth-century German scholar Albrecht Weber wrongly tried to connect with
Patanjali.4 Then there was a Sâmkhya teacher by this name whose views are mentioned in the Yukti-
Dîpikâ (late seventh or early eighth century C.E.). Possibly another Patanjali is credited with the
Yoga-Darpana (“Mirror of Yoga”), a manuscript of unknown date. Finally, there was a Yoga teacher
Patanjali who was part of the South Indian Shaiva tradition. His name may be referred to in the title of
Umâpati Shivâcârya’s fourteenth-century Pâtanjala- Sûtra, which is a work on liturgy at the Natarâja
temple of Cidambaram.
Hindu tradition has it that Patanjali was an incarnation of Ananta, or Shesha, the thousand-headed
ruler of the serpent race that is thought to guard the hidden treasures of the earth. The name Patanjali
is said to have been given to Ananta because he desired to teach Yoga on Earth and fell (pat) from
Heaven onto the palm (anjali) of a virtuous woman, named Gonikâ. Iconography often depicts Ananta
as the couch on which God Vishnu reclines. The serpent lord’s many heads symbolize infinity or
omnipresence. Ananta’s connection to Yoga is not difficult to uncover, since Yoga is the secret
treasure, or esoteric lore, par excellence. To this day, many yogins bow to Ananta before they begin
then- daily round of yogic exercises.
serpent lord, Ahîsha, is saluted as follows:
May He who rules to favor the world in many ways by giving up His original [unmanifest] form
—He who is beautifully coiled and many-mouthed, endowed with lethal poisons and yet
removing the host of afflictions (klesha), who is the source of all wisdom (jnâna), and whose
circle of attendant serpents constantly generates pleasure, who is the divine Lord of Serpents:
May He, the bestower of Yoga, yoked in Yoga, protect you with His pure white body.
Whatever we can say about Patanjali is purely speculative. It is reasonable to assume that he was a
great Yoga authority and most probably the head of a school in which study (svâdhyâya) was regarded
as an important aspect of spiritual practice. In composing his aphorisms (sûtra) he availed himself of
existing works. His own philosophical contribution, as far as it can be gauged from the Yoga-Sûtra
itself, was modest. He appears to have been a compiler and systematizer rather than an originator. It is
of course possible that he has written other works that have not survived.

Hiranyagarbha

Western Yoga enthusiasts often regard Patanjali as the father of Yoga, but this is misleading.
According to post-classical traditions, the originator of Yoga was Hiranyagarbha. Although some texts
speak of Hiranyagarbha as a Self-realized adept who lived in ancient times, this notion is doubtful.
The name means “Golden Germ” and in Vedânta cosmomythology refers to the womb of creation, to
the first being to emerge from the unmanifest ground of the world and the matrix of all the myriad
forms of creation. Thus, Hiranyagarbha is a primal cosmic force rather than an individual. To speak of
him—or it—as the originator of Yoga makes sense when one understands that Yoga essentially
consists in altered states of awareness through which the yogin tunes into nonordinary levels of
reality. In this sense, then, Yoga is always revelation. Hiranyagarbha is simply a symbol for the
power, or grace, by which the spiritual process is initiated and revealed.
Later Yoga commentators believed that there was an actual person called Hiranyagarbha who had
authored a treatise on Yoga. Such a work is indeed referred to by many other authorities, but this does
not necessarily say anything about Hiranyagarbha. The most detailed information about that scripture
is found in the twelfth chapter of the Ahirbudhnya-Samhitâ (“Collection of the Dragon of the Deep”),
which is a work of the medieval Vaishnava tradition. According to this scripture, Hiranyagarbha
composed two works on Yoga, one on nirodha-yoga (“Yoga of restriction”) and one on karma-yoga
(“Yoga of action”). The former apparently dealt with the higher stages of the spiritual process, notably
ecstatic states, whereas the latter is said to have been concerned with spiritual attitudes and forms of
behavior.
There may well have been a work on Yoga of this nature, and if it did exist, it might even have
antedated Patanjali’s compilation. In any case, Hiranyagarbha’s work is not remembered to have been
a Sûtra, though it is quite possible that other Sûtras on Yoga existed prior to Patanjali’s composition.
It is a fact, however, that Patanjali’s Yoga-Sûtra has eclipsed all earlier Sûtra works within the Yoga
tradition, perhaps because it was the most comprehensive or systematic.

THE CODIFICATION OF WISDOM—THE YOGA-SÛTRA
Patanjali gave the Yoga tradition its classical format, and hence his school is often referred to as
Classical Yoga. He composed his aphoristic work in the heyday of philosophical speculation and
debate in India, and it is to his credit that he supplied the Yoga tradition with a reasonably
homogeneous theoretical framework that could stand up against the many rival traditions, such as
Vedânta, Nyâya, and not least Buddhism. His composition is in principle a systematic treatise
concerned with defining the most important elements of Yoga theory and practice. Patanjali’s school
was at one time enormously influential, as can be deduced from the many references to the Yoga-
Sûtra, as well as the criticisms of it, in the scriptures of other philosophical systems.
Each school of Hinduism has produced its own Sûtra, with the Sanskrit word sûtra meaning literally
“thread.” A Sûtra composition consists of aphoristic statements that together furnish the reader with a
thread which strings together all the memorable ideas characteristic of that school of thought. A sûtra,
then, is a mnemonic device, rather like a knot in one’s handkerchief or a scribbled note in one’s diary
or appointment book. Just how concise the sûtra style of writing is can be gauged from the following
opening aphorisms of Patanjali’s scripture:
1.1: atha yogânushâsanam (atha yoga-anushâsanam) “Now [commences] the exposition of Yoga.”
1.2: yogashcittavrittinirodhah (yogash citta-vritti- nirodhah)
“Yoga is the restriction of the whirls of consciousness.”
1.3: tadâ drashthuh svarûpe’ vasthânam (tada drashthuh sva-rûpe’ vasthânam)
“Then [i.e., when that restriction has been accomplished] the ‘Seer’ [i.e., the transcendental Self]
appears.”
Of course, such terms as citta (consciousness), vritti (lit. “whirl”), and drashtri (“seer”) are
themselves highly condensed expressions for rather complex concepts. Even such a seemingly
straightforward word as atha (“now”), which opens most traditional Sanskrit treatises, is packed with
meanings, as is evident from the many pages of exegesis dedicated to it in some of the commentaries
on the Yoga-Sûtra.
In his monumental History of Indian Philosophy, Surendranath Dâsgupta made the following
observations about this style of writing:
The systematic treatises were written in short and pregnant half-sentences (sûtras) which did not
elaborate the subject in detail, but served only to hold before the reader the lost threads of
memory of elaborate disquisitions with which he was already thoroughly acquainted. It seems,
therefore, that these pithy half-sentences were like lecture hints, intended for those who had
direct elaborate oral instructions on the subject. It is indeed difficult to guess from the sutras the
extent of their significance, or how far the discussions which they gave rise to in later days were
originally intended by them Our knowledge of Pâtanjala-Yoga is primarily, though not entirely, based on the Yoga-Sûtra. As we
will see, many commentaries have been written on it that aid our understanding of this system. As
scholarship has demonstrated, however, these secondary works do not appear to have come forth from
Patanjali’s school itself, and therefore their expositions need to be taken with a good measure of
discrimination.
Turning to the Yoga-Sûtra itself, we find that it consists of 195 aphorisms or sutras, though some
editions have 196. A number of variant readings are known, but these are generally insignificant and
do not change the meaning of Patanjali’s work. The aphorisms are distributed over four chapters as
follows:
1. samâdhi-pâda, chapter on ecstasy
— 51 aphorisms
2. sâdhanâ-pâda, chapter on the path
— 55 aphorisms
3. vibhûti-pâda, chapter on the powers
— 55 aphorisms
4. kaivalya-pâda, chapter on liberation
— 34 aphorisms
This division is somewhat arbitrary and appears to be the result of an inadequate reediting of the
text. A close study of the Yoga-Sûtra shows that in its present form it cannot possibly be considered an
entirely uniform creation. For this reason various scholars have attempted to reconstruct the original
by dissecting the available text into several subtexts of supposedly independent origins. These efforts,
however, have not been very successful, because they leave us with inconclusive fragments. It is,
therefore, preferable to take a more generous view of Patanjali’s work and grant the possibility that it
is far more homogenous than Western scholarship has tended to assume.
As I have shown in my own detailed examination of the Yoga-Sûtra, this great scripture could well
be a composite of only two distinct Yoga lineages. On the one hand there is the Yoga of eight limbs or
ashta-anga- yoga (written ashtângayoga), and on the other, there is the Yoga of Action ( kriyâ-yoga). I
have suggested that the section dealing with the eight constituent practices may even be a quotation
rather than a later interpolation. If this were indeed correct, the widespread equation of Classical Yoga
with the eightfold path would be a historical curiosity, since the bulk of the Yoga-Sûtra deals with
kriyâ-yoga. But textual reconstructions of this kind are always tentative, and we must keep an open
mind about this as about so many other aspects of Yoga and Yoga history.
The advantage of the kind of methodological approach to the study of the Yoga-Sûtra that I have
proposed is that it presumes the text’s homogeneity or “textual innocence” and thus does not do a
priori violence to the text, as is the case with those textual analyses that set out to prove that a text is
in fact corrupt or composed of fragments and interpolations. At any rate, these scholarly quibbles do
not detract from the merit of the work as it is extant today. Now, as then, the Yoga practitioner can
benefit greatly from the study of Patanjali’s compilation.

Yoga Sutras, Patanjali. Chapter 2: Sādhana Pāda:

tapaḥ svādhyāya Īśvarapraṇidhānāni kriyāyogaḥ
Austerity, study of the psyche,
profound religious meditation on the Supreme Lord

is the dynamic kriya yoga practice.

samādhi bhāvanārthaḥ kleśa tanūkaraṇārthaś ca
It is for the purpose of producing
continuous effortless linkage of the attention
to a higher concentration force and for causing
the reduction of the mental and emotional afflictions.

avidyā asmitā rāga dveṣa abhiniveśaḥ pañca kleśāḥ
The mental and emotional afflictions
are spiritual ignorance, misplaced identity,
emotional attachment, impulsive-emotional disaffection
and the strong focus on mundane existence,
which is due to an instinctive fear of death.

avidyā kṣetram uttareṣāṁ
prasupta tanu vicchina udārāṇām
Spiritual ignorance is the existential environment
for the other afflictions, in their dormant, reduced,
periodic or expanded stages.

anitya aśuci duḥka anātmasu nitya śuci
sukha ātma khyātiḥ avidyā
Spiritual ignorance is exhibited when what is temporary,
impure, distressful and mundane, is identified
as being eternal, pure, joyful and spiritual respectively.

dṛg darśanaśaktyoḥ ekātmatā iva asmitā
Mistaken identity occurs when the supernatural vision
and what is seen through it seems to be identical.

sukha anuśayī rāgaḥ
Craving results from a devoted attachment to happiness

duḥkha anuśayi dveṣaḥ
Impulsive emotional disaffection results
from a devoted attachment to distress.

svarasavāhī viduṣaḥ ’pi tatha rūḍho ‘bhiniveśaḥ
As it is, the strong focus on mundane existence,
which is due to the instinctive fear of death,
and which is sustained by its own potencies,
which operates for self preservation,
is developed even in the wise man.

te pratiprasavaheyāḥ sūkṣmāḥ
These subtle motivations are to be abandoned
by reverting their expressions backwards.

dhyānaheyāḥ tadvṛttayaḥ
Their vibrational modes are to be abandoned or ceased
by the effortless linkage of the attention
to a higher concentration force or person.

kleśamūlaḥ karmāśayaḥ dṛṣṭa adṛṣṭa janma vedanīyaḥ
The psychological storage of the impressions
left by performance of cultural activities
which is itself the cause of the mental
and emotional distress, is experienced
in realized and non-realized births.

sati mūle tadvipākaḥ jāti āyuḥ bhogāḥ
In the case aforementioned, there exists the resulting effects
which manifest as a particular species of life
with certain duration of body and type of experiences
gained in that form.

te hlāda paritāpa phalāḥ puṇya apuṇya hetutvāt
They produce happiness and distress as results,
on the basis of merit and demerits.

pariṇāma tāpa saṁskāra duḥkaiḥ guṇavṛtti
virodhāt ca duḥkham eva sarvaṁ vivekinaḥ
The discriminating person knows
that all conditions are distressful
because of circumstantial changes, strenuous endeavor, impulsive motivations, clashing aspects
and the vibrational modes of the mento-emotional energy.

heyaṁ duḥkham anāgatam
Distress which is not manifested is to be avoided.

draṣṭṛdṛśyayoḥ saṁyogo heyahetuḥ
The cause which is to be avoided is the indiscriminate
association of the observer and what is perceived.

prakāśa kriyā sthiti śīlaṁ bhūtendriyātmakaṁ bhogāpavargārthaṁ dṛśyam
What is perceived is of the nature
of the mundane elements and the sense organs
and is formed in clear perception, action or stability.
Its purpose is to give experience or to allow liberation.

viśeṣa aviśeṣa liṅgamātra aliṅgāni guṇaparvāṇi
The phases of the influences of material nature
are those which are specific, regular, indicated or not indicated.

draṣṭā dṛśimātraḥ śuddhaḥ api pratyayānupaśyaḥ
The perceiver is the pure extent of his consciousness
but his conviction is patterned by what is perceived.

tadarthaḥ eva dṛśyasya ātma
The individual spirit who is involved in what is seen,
exists here for that purpose only.

kṛtārthaṁ prati naṣṭam api
anaṣṭaṁ tadanya sādhāraṇatvāt
It is not effective for one to whom its purpose is fulfilled
but it has a common effect on the others.

sva svāmiśaktyoḥ svarūpa upalabdhi hetuḥ saṁyogaḥ
There is a reason for the conjunction of the individual self
and his psychological energies. It is for obtaining
the experience of his own form.

tasya hetuḥ avidyā
The cause of the conjunction is spiritual ignorance.

tad abhāvāt saṁyogā abhāvaḥ hānaṁ taddṛśeḥ kaivalyam
The elimination of the conjunction which results
from the elimination of that spiritual ignorance
is the withdrawal that is the total separation
of the perceiver from the mundane psychology.

vivekakhyātiḥ aviplavā hānopāyaḥ
The method for avoiding that spiritual ignorance
is the establishment of continuous discriminative insight.

tasya saptadhā prāntabhūmiḥ prajñā
Concerning the development of his discriminative insight,
there are seven stages.

yogā ṅgānuṣṭhānāt aśuddhikṣaye
jñānadīptiḥ āvivekakhyāteḥ
From the consistent practice of the parts of the yoga process,
on the elimination of the impurity,
the radiant organ of perception becomes manifest,
until there is steady discriminative insight.

yama niyama āsana prāṇāyāma pratyāhāra
dhāraṇā dhyāna samādhayaḥ aṣṭau aṅgāni
Moral restrains, recommended behaviors, body posture,
breath enrichment, sensual energy withdrawal,
linking of the attention to higher concentration forces or persons, effortless linkage of the attention
to higher concentration forces or persons,
continuous effortless linkage of the attention
to higher concentration forces or persons,
are the eight parts of the yoga system.

ahiṁsā satya asteya brahmacarya aparigrahāḥ yamāḥ
Non-violence, realism, non-stealing, sexual non-expressiveness
which results in the perception of spirituality (brahman)
and non-possessiveness, are the moral restraints.

jāti deśa kāla samaya anavacchinnāḥ
sārvabhaumāḥ mahāvratam
Those moral restraints are not to be adjusted
by the status, location, time and condition.
They are related to all stages of yoga, being the great commitment.

śauca saṅtoṣa tapaḥ svādhyāya īśvarapraṇidhānāni niyamāḥ
Purification, contentment, austerity
and profound religious meditation on the Supreme Lord
are the recommended behaviors.

vitarkabādhane pratipakṣabhāvanam
In the case of the annoyance produced by doubts,
one should conceive of what is opposite.

vitarkaḥ hiṁsādayaḥ kṛta kārita anumoditāḥ lobha krodha moha pūrvakaḥ mṛdu madhya adhimātraḥ duḥkha ajñāna anantaphalāḥ iti pratipakṣabhāvanam
Doubts which produce violence and related actions,
which are performed, caused to be done or endorsed,
and which are caused by greed, anger and delusion,
even if minor, mediocre or substantial,
cause endless distress and spiritual ignorance as the results. Therefore, one should consider the opposite features.

ahiṁsāpratiṣṭhāyāṁ tatsannidhau vairatyāgaḥ
On being firmly established in non-violence,
the abandonment of hostility occurs in his presence.

satyapratiṣṭhāyāṁ kriyāphalāśrayatvam
On being established in realism,
his actions serve as a basis for results.

asteyapratiṣṭhāyāṁ sarvaratnopasthānam
On being firmly established in non-sealing,
all precious things wait to serve a yogin.

brahmacaryapratiṣṭhāyāṁ vīryalābhaḥ
On being firmly established in the sexual non-expressiveness, which results in the perception of spirituality, vigor is gained.

aparigrahasthairye janmakathaṁtā saṁbodhaḥ
In being consistent in non possessiveness, there is manifested
the reason and the correct perception regarding one’s birth.

śaucāt svāṅgajugupsā paraiḥ asaṁsargaḥ
From purification comes a disgust for one’s own body
and a lack of desire to associate with others.

sattvaśuddhi saumanasya ekāgra indriyajaya
ātmadarśana yogyatvāni ca
Purification of the psyche results in benevolence,
the ability to link the attention to one concentration force
or person, conquest of the sensual energy, vision of the spirit
and fitness for abstract meditation.

saṅtoṣāt anuttamaḥ sukhalābhaḥ
From contentment, the very best in happiness is obtained.

kāya indriya siddhiḥ aśuddhikṣayāt tapasaḥ
Austerity, resulting in the elimination of impurity
produces perfection of the body and sensual energy.

svādhyāyāt iṣṭadevatā saṁprayogaḥ
From study of the psyche, comes intimate contact
with the cherished divine being.

samādhisiddhiḥ īśvarapraṇidhānāt
From the profound religious meditation
upon the Supreme Lord comes the perfection
of continuous effortless linkage of the attention to that Divinity.

sthira sukham āsanam
The posture should be steady and comfortable.

prayatna śaithilya ananta samāpattibhyām
It results in relaxation of effort and the meeting with the infinite.

tataḥ dvandvāḥ anabhighātaḥ
From then on, there are no botherations
from the dualities like happiness and distress, heat and cold.

tasmin satiśvāsa praśvāsayoḥ gativicchedaḥ prāṇāyāmaḥ
Once this is accomplished, breath regulation,
which is the separation of the flow of inhalation and exhalation,
is attained.

bāhya ābhyantara stambha vṛttiḥ deśa kāla
saṁkhyābhiḥ paridṛṣṭah dīrgha sūkṣmaḥ
It has internal, external and restrictive operations,
which are regulated according to the place, time
and accounting, being prolonged or hardly noticed.

bāhya ābhyantara viṣaya ākṣepī caturthaḥ
That which transcends
the objective external and internal breath regulation
is the fourth type of pranayama.

tataḥ kṣīyate prakāśa āvaraṇam
From that is dissipated, the mental darkness which veils the light,

dhāraṇāsu ca yogyatā manasaḥ
... and from that, is attained the state of the mind
for linking the attention
to a higher concentration force or person.

svaviṣaya asaṁprayoge cittasya svarūpāanukāraḥ
iva indriyāṇāṁ pratyāhāraḥ
The withdrawal of the senses is as it were,
their assumption of the form of mento-emotional energy
when not contacting their own objects of perception.

tataḥ paramā vaśyatā indriyāṇām
From that accomplishment, comes the highest degree
of control of the senses.

Yoga Taravali&Yoga Sutras sanskrit audio