Book Two · On Practice (Sādhana Pāda)

2.1 Discipline, study of the self, and devotion to the Lord constitute yoga in action.

2.2 Its purpose is to cultivate absorption and to thin the afflictions.

2.3 Ignorance (avidya), I-am-ness (asmita), attachment, aversion, and clinging to life are the afflictions.

2.4 Ignorance is the field for the others, whether dormant, weakened, interrupted, or fully active.

2.5 Ignorance is taking the impermanent for permanent, the impure for pure, suffering for happiness, and what is not the Self for the Self.

2.6 I-am-ness is the seeming identity of the power of seeing with the power by which it sees.

2.7 Attachment rests upon pleasure.

2.8 Aversion rests upon pain.

2.9 Clinging to life flows by its own force and is deeply rooted even in the wise.

2.10 In their subtle form, these are to be undone by returning them to their source.

2.11 Their active fluctuations are to be removed through meditation.

2.12 The store of karma has its root in affliction and is experienced in lives seen or yet unseen.

2.13 While the root remains, its fruition is birth, length of life, and experience.

2.14 These bring delight or torment, according as their cause is virtue or vice.

2.15 To one who discerns, all is suffering, because of suffering born of change, distress, and latent impressions, and because the fluctuations of the qualities conflict.

2.16 The suffering yet to come is what must be avoided.

2.17 The union of the seer and the seen is the cause of what must be avoided.

2.18 The seen has the nature of illumination, activity, and stability; it consists of the elements and the senses, and serves both experience and liberation.

2.19 The stages of the qualities are the particular, the nonparticular, the merely marked, and the unmarked.

2.20 The seer is pure seeing alone, yet, though pure, it witnesses the contents of the mind.

2.21 The very nature of the seen exists for the seer's sake.

2.22 Though it ceases for one whose purpose is fulfilled, it does not cease altogether, since it remains common to others.

2.23 Union is the means by which the powers of owner and owned become known in their true nature.

2.24 Ignorance is its cause.

2.25 When ignorance ends, union ends: this is release, the liberation (kaivalya) of the seer.

2.26 Unwavering discernment is the means of release.

2.27 For such a person, insight reaches its final ground in seven stages.

2.28 By practicing the limbs of yoga, impurity is destroyed and knowledge shines forth, culminating in discernment.

2.29 The eight limbs are restraints (yama), observances (niyama), posture (asana), breath control (pranayama), withdrawal of the senses (pratyahara), concentration (dharana), meditation (dhyana), and absorption.

2.30 Nonviolence, truthfulness, not stealing, chastity, and nonpossessiveness are the restraints.

2.31 Unbounded by birth, place, time, or circumstance, these form the great vow, universal in scope.

2.32 Purity, contentment, discipline, study of the self, and devotion to the Lord are the observances.

2.33 When troubling thoughts arise, cultivate their opposites.

2.34 Thoughts of violence and the like, whether enacted, instigated, or approved, whether born of greed, anger, or delusion, and whether mild, moderate, or intense, bear endless suffering and ignorance as their fruit: thus cultivate the opposite.

2.35 When one is firmly established in nonviolence, hostility falls away in one's presence.

2.36 When one is firmly established in truthfulness, actions come to depend on one's word for their fruit.

2.37 When one is firmly established in not stealing, every treasure comes near.

2.38 When one is firmly established in chastity, vigor is gained.

2.39 When nonpossessiveness becomes steady, knowledge of how births come about arises.

2.40 From purity comes distaste for one's own body and freedom from contact with others.

2.41 And there come clarity of being, serenity, one-pointedness, mastery of the senses, and fitness for seeing the Self.

2.42 From contentment comes unsurpassed happiness.

2.43 From discipline, through the destruction of impurity, come the perfections of body and senses.

2.44 From study of the self comes communion with one's chosen deity.

2.45 From devotion to the Lord comes perfection of absorption.

2.46 Posture is steady and easeful.

2.47 It is attained by relaxing effort and becoming absorbed in the infinite.

2.48 Then the pairs of opposites no longer disturb one.

2.49 When this is established, breath control is the interruption of the movements of inhalation and exhalation.

2.50 It may be outward, inward, or suspended; measured by place, time, and number, it grows long and subtle.

2.51 A fourth transcends the sphere of outward and inward breath.

2.52 Then the veil over the light is thinned.

2.53 And the mind becomes fit for acts of concentration.

2.54 Withdrawal of the senses occurs when, detached from their objects, they seem to take on the very form of the mind.

2.55 From this comes supreme mastery of the senses.

2.1 Discipline, study of oneself, and dedication to the Lord make up yoga in action.

2.2 Its purpose is to develop absorption and weaken the afflictions.

2.3 The afflictions are ignorance (avidya), I-am-ness, attachment, aversion, and clinging to life.

2.4 Ignorance is the ground for the others, whether they are dormant, weak, interrupted, or fully active.

2.5 Ignorance means mistaking what is temporary, impure, painful, and not the Self for what is lasting, pure, pleasant, and the Self.

2.6 I-am-ness is treating the power of seeing and the power by which one sees as though they were one self.

2.7 Attachment follows pleasure.

2.8 Aversion follows pain.

2.9 Clinging to life flows on by itself. It is strong even in the wise.

2.10 These afflictions, when subtle, must be removed by taking them back to their source.

2.11 Their active fluctuations must be removed through meditation.

2.12 The store of karma is rooted in the afflictions. Its effects are felt in this life or another.

2.13 As long as that root remains, its results are one's kind of birth, length of life, and experiences.

2.14 Those results bring pleasure or pain according to whether the actions that caused them were good or bad.

2.15 To a discerning person, everything brings suffering: things change, they cause distress, they leave latent impressions, and the fluctuations of the qualities conflict with one another.

2.16 Suffering that has not yet come can be prevented.

2.17 Its cause is the connection between the seer and what is seen.

2.18 What is seen consists of the elements and the senses. Its nature is clarity, activity, and stability, and it exists for experience and release.

2.19 The stages of the qualities are the particular, the nonparticular, the merely indicated, and the unmanifest.

2.20 The seer is nothing but seeing. Though pure, it looks through the mind's perceptions.

2.21 The very nature of what is seen exists for the seer's sake.

2.22 It ceases to exist for one who has fulfilled that purpose, but it still exists because others share in it.

2.23 The connection allows both the owner and what it owns to recognize the nature of their powers.

2.24 Ignorance causes that connection.

2.25 When ignorance is gone, the connection is gone. That is release; for the seer, it is liberation (kaivalya).

2.26 The way to release is steady insight that distinguishes the seer from what is seen.

2.27 For such a person, insight reaches its final stage in seven steps.

2.28 By practicing the limbs of yoga, impurities fade and knowledge shines out, until one clearly distinguishes the seer from what is seen.

2.29 The eight limbs (ashtanga) are restraints (yama), observances (niyama), posture (asana), breath control (pranayama), withdrawal of the senses (pratyahara), concentration (dharana), meditation (dhyana), and absorption.

2.30 The restraints are not harming, truthfulness, not stealing, sexual restraint, and not grasping at possessions.

2.31 They form a universal, great vow, not limited by social class, place, time, or circumstance.

2.32 The observances are cleanliness, contentment, discipline, study of oneself, and dedication to the Lord.

2.33 When harmful thoughts trouble you, cultivate thoughts opposed to them.

2.34 Thoughts of harm and the like may be acted on, caused in others, or approved. They may arise from greed, anger, or confusion and may be mild, moderate, or intense. Recognize that they lead to endless suffering and ignorance; this is how to cultivate opposing thoughts.

2.35 When a person is firmly established in not harming, hostility disappears in that person's presence.

2.36 When a person is firmly established in truthfulness, actions depend on that person for their results.

2.37 When a person is firmly established in not stealing, all treasures come to that person.

2.38 When a person is firmly established in sexual restraint, that person gains strength.

2.39 When a person is firm in not grasping at possessions, that person understands how births come about.

2.40 Cleanliness brings a dislike of one's own body and an unwillingness to make bodily contact with others.

2.41 It also brings purity of mind, cheerfulness, focus, control of the senses, and readiness to see the Self.

2.42 Contentment brings unsurpassed happiness.

2.43 Discipline destroys impurities and brings power to the body and senses.

2.44 Study of oneself brings contact with one's chosen deity.

2.45 Dedication to the Lord brings mastery of absorption.

2.46 Posture is steady and comfortable.

2.47 This comes by relaxing effort and becoming absorbed in the infinite.

2.48 Then opposing pairs of conditions no longer cause harm.

2.49 Once posture is established, breath control means interrupting the movement of inhaling and exhaling.

2.50 It may involve breathing out, breathing in, or holding the breath. Measured by place, time, and number, it becomes long and subtle.

2.51 A fourth kind goes beyond the sphere of external and internal breath.

2.52 Then the covering over the light is worn away.

2.53 And the mind becomes fit for concentration.

2.54 Withdrawal of the senses occurs when they no longer meet their own objects but seem to take on the nature of the mind.

2.55 Then the senses come under complete control.