10 Most Popular Yoga Sutras Explained

Yoga Journal’s archives series is a curated collection of articles originally published in past issues beginning in 1975. This article first appeared in the November-December 1997 issue of Yoga Journal.

When I was a child, summer was an endless progression of days filled with infinite time to pursue whatever seemed interesting to me and the gang of kids who gathered each morning on our street. Some days it was swimming; others it was selling lemonade or building a fort. But the most unrealistic and romantic project was the attempt to dig a very big hole, the classic “dig to China” endeavor that all kids seem to try at some point.

The present task I have set myself is just as impossible. The 195 verses of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras form an exquisitely sophisticated map of consciousness; to attempt to isolate the 10 most important seems as foolish as digging to China. Nevertheless, I have found the following sutras central to the study of yoga, and hope that this introduction will inspire you to study the entire text in the depth it both requires and deserves.

What Are The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali?

Different scholars date the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali anywhere from 200 B.C.E. to 300 C.E., although the system they describe is far more ancient. The author of the Yoga Sutras is also shrouded in mystery. There is even some debate as to whether “Patanjali” was a single writer, a fictitious name, or a combination of several writers.

Traditionally, Patanjali is considered to have been a Sanskrit scholar, teacher, and physician who codified the extant wisdom of yoga into a book of four chapters written in the form of terse sentences known as sutras (literally, “threads”). (The English word “suture” is related to the Sanskrit “sutra,” a link that underscores the concept that the verses were stitched together like beads on a string.)

The Sutras evolved in a time when oral teaching was important and written teachings were rare. Sutras were meant to be chanted or sung-some yoga sects chanted the entire 195 sutras before each meal. And the brevity of the sutras underscores the fact that a teacher was considered essential to elaborate upon the depth of the wisdom presented.

10 Yoga Sutras to Learn and Understand

When studying the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali the most important thing is not who wrote them, or even how they are presented, but what they teach us about ourselves and how we function as human beings. The following are ten of the most well-known sutras, and they can be classified as relating to the heart of yoga, to how we can change our minds, and living your yoga.

1. Atha yoga anushasam (Chapter 1, verse 1)

“Now the discipline of yoga (is being presented).”

This is not a mere introduction along the lines of “Once upon a time,” but an important statement about the essence of yoga. In its most simple and pure form, yoga brings us deeply into the present, into the now. Now is the heart of the teachings of yoga and thus the very first word of the Yoga Sutras.

Only now are the conditions right. The teacher is now available and willing to teach. And the student is now prepared to undertake the difficult and sometimes very demanding discipline—another word that was not chosen lightly—of classical yoga.

2. Yoga citta vritti nirodhah (Chapter 1, verse 2)

“Yoga is the resolution of the agitations of the mind.”

This is the most famous verse in the entire Yoga Sutras, and rightly so, for it is the definition upon which the entire text turns.

Citta or cittam is usually translated as “mind-stuff;” in broad terms, the entire sphere of the conscious and unconscious mind, including thoughts, sense perceptions, emotions, desires, and impulses. This citta, according to Patanjali and others, is by its very nature expressed as vritti, continual agitations that are the root of our avidya, or lack of understanding about both who we really are and what reality is. Our consciousness is in constant fluctuation and agitation.

Yoga is both the means of calming these agitations, and the state we achieve when they have been calmed.

3. Tada drashtuh svarupe vasthanam (Chapter 1, verse 3)

“Then the seer abides in its own nature.”

This sutra is based on the fundamental concepts of purusha and prakrti. Purusha is universal consciousness or spirit, immutable and untouchable. Prakrti is matter, as in the constantly unfolding, evolving, and changing body of the universe. Purusa and prakrti are the yin and yang of yoga philosophy, expressed in the universe and in the individual.

When one is in the state of yoga, “the seer (drashtuh) abides in its own form.” In other words, the purusha that already exists within us shines out. It is no longer hidden by the agitations of prakrti, which have been resolved through the practice.

In order to create a statue, a sculptor merely removes all the stone that is not the statue; nothing is added to the stone. Likewise, the practice of yoga is not about adding anything to the practitioner. Instead, yoga removes the agitations from the citta, freeing purusha to shine out undimmed.

4. Abhyasa vairagyabhyam tan nirodhah (Chapter 1, verse 12)

“By practice and detachment these [the agitations of the mind] can be stopped.”

In one of his most practical verses, Patanjali names methods for calming the citta vrittis, thus allowing the practitioner to enter the state of yoga. Abhyasa is determined action or practice. Vairagyabhyam is surrender or supreme detachment. All the practices of yoga fall into one of these categories.

Determined action is discipline, focus, one-pointedness. The practitioner of yoga must apply herself in order to still the agitations of the mind. But letting go of attachment to achieving the goal is also an important part of the formula.

A river must have both banks and water. With no banks to give it direction and shape, water only creates a swamp. Banks with no water form only a dry gulch. With the banks of abhyasa and the water of vairagyabhyam, a river of awareness is born.

5. Maitri karuna mudita upekshanam sukha duhkha punya apunya visha-yanam bhavanatash citta prasadanam (Chapter 1, verse 33)

“Mind becomes purified by cultivation of feelings of amity, compassion, goodwill, and indifference respectively toward happy, miserable, virtuous, and sinful creatures.”

This verse is important not just for what it says but also for what it implies. Obviously the verse is discussing ways that the mind can enter the state of yoga in which the vrittis are pacified. But what is more intriguing about this verse is that it is one of the few that overtly discuss the yoga practitioner’s relationship with others as an elemental part of practice.

This verse makes clear that Patanjali considers relationships important and relevant to spiritual evolution.

Patanjali suggests that we cultivate friendship toward the happy, compassion toward the miserable, goodwill toward the virtuous, and indifference toward those who are sinful. By cultivating friendship toward the happy we learn through their example what it is to be content. By cultivating compassion toward the miserable we can learn compassion for our own misery. Practicing goodwill toward the virtuous can help us to overcome our natural tendency toward jealousy. Indifference toward the sinful keeps us from judging and hating others. Clearly, Patanjali expects the practice of yoga to be carried far beyond the meditation cushion.

6. Yatha abhimata dhyanadva (Chapter 1, verse 39)

“Or by contemplating on whatsoever thing one may like [the mind becomes stabilized].”

In this section of Chapter 1, Patanjali lists a number of ways that the mind can become stabilized. The final entry in the list is this verse, which underscores that it is the process of concentration and meditation that makes something yoga practice, not the specific object or technique that we focus on.

Sometimes yoga students become more and more narrow in their definition of yoga. They feel that their approach—or the approach of their teacher—is the best and only way. In this verse Patanjali makes it clear that we can choose whatever object we wish to focus on to bring the mind to stability. Each of of us has a natural attraction to some aspect of life or yoga practice. If we can practice from the heart, that natural attraction will draw us into deeper practice.

7. Tapah svadhyaya ishvara pranidhanani kriya yogah (Chapter 2, verse 1)

“Self-discipline, self-study, and devotion are yoga in the form of action.”

The word tapah or tapas—derived from the Sanskrit word tap, which means “to burn”—is usually translated as austerity or discipline. I prefer to translate it as “consistency.” To me, there is no greater discipline than consistency. We practice the postures, breathing, and meditation of yoga regularly, regardless of whether we want to, whether it is exciting, or whether we have a teacher. Tapas means continuing to practice regardless of the external circumstances.

Svadhyaya is self-study: being aware of the words we speak, the thoughts we have, the things we do. Self-study can be practiced all the time, eventually even during dreams. Self-study is not hard to practice. Rather, remembering to practice svadyaya is the difficult part. We get lost in the swirling currents of ego, and forget to reflect on what we are actually doing.

Ishvara pranidhanani is the surrender of all the fruits of practice to your chosen deity—however you visualize a greater power beyond yourself. The choice of deity is not important; what is important is that we learn to let go of all benefits and failures that are related to practice. This letting go focuses the practitioner on the process of practice rather than on the goals of practice.

8. Avidya asmita raga dvesha abhiniveshah panca kleshah (Chapter 2, verse 3)

“Ignorance, egoism, attachment, aversion, and fear of death are the five afflictions.”

Living with clarity is prevented by the active interference of the five kleshas or afflictions, of which the first, avidya or ignorance, is the most troublesome. Avidya translates as “not seeing the true nature of reality” —not just the ignorance of facts, but rather a very deep vritti that keeps us from knowing the Self.

In Vedanta philosophy, the equivalent term to avidya is maya, the great illusion. Avidya is the root of all the other kleshas. In the state of yoga, the veil of illusion parts and we can directly comprehend reality as it is, purely, without any intervening thought or judgment.

The next klesha is asmita, or egoism. Patanjali makes an important distinction between ego (ahamkara) and egoism (asmita). Many beginning students of yoga think that the point of spiritual practice is to destroy the ego. The destruction of the ego is a state of mental illness, not enlightenment. You can have a functioning ego and still be a totally present being. The klesha or affliction is asmita, or egoism, the attachment to the ego and its perception of reality. Having a functioning healthy ego is not the problem. According to Patanjali, the problem is the unexamined attachment to whatever the ego wants.

The next two kleshas are deeply related. The first is raga (strong desire) and the second is desa (strong aversion). Both are actually a form of attachment; one is a positive attachment and the other is a negative attachment. It is the strong attachment, whether positive or negative, that Patanjali warns the practitioner about in this verse. Pay attention to strong swings of your emotional pendulum, because you are likely to be drawn away from the practice of yoga when you’re feeling particularly ebullient or depressed.

Fear of death or clinging to life (abhinivesah) can interfere with our ability to remain in the present. For this reason Patanjali reminds us to be vigilant about this klesha. If we make decisions out of fear and attachment, we will not live the life we are given right now in this moment. If we are fiercely attached to life as we want it to be or fearful that life will be taken away, we stray from the moment-to-moment practice of yoga.

9. Yama niyama asana pranayama pratyahara dharana dhyana samadhayo stavangani (Chapter 2, verse 29)

“The practice of restraint, observances, posture, breath control, withdrawal from the senses, concentration, meditation, and samadhi are the eightfold path of yoga.”

The ashtanga (eight-limbed) path of yoga is at the heart of the practices presented by Patanjali. The first limb is yama, or restraints. The yamas are considered the foundation of the house of yoga. Patanjali tells us that without these yamas all other attempts at the practice of yoga will fail eventually, yet most Western yoga classes make no mention of the yamas. The yamas are ahimsa (nonviolence), satya (truth), asteya (non-stealing), brahmacharya (clarity in sexual relationships*) and aparigraha (non-greed).

Niyama, or observances, form the second limb of yoga. Three of the niyamas—tapas, svadhyaya, and isvara pranidanah-have been discussed previously in verse 1 of Chapter 2. The other two niyamas are saucha (purity), and santosha (contentment).

The yogi is taught to actively practice the yamas and niyamas before beginning the third limb—the practice of asana or posture. Although asana practice is by far the most familiar part of yoga to Westerners and is a valuable tool for self-transformation, Patanjali barely mentions it.

By asana, Patanjali simply means the balanced sitting posture that is required for meditation. The specific type of yoga that focuses on a wide variety of postures—called hatha yoga—is believed by historians to have evolved later.

Described in somewhat more detail is the fourth limb, pranayama, which involves the restraint of prana, the energy associated with breath. While pranayama is most commonly thought of as breath control, it is actually the restraint of the energy of breath, not just the actual physical breath. The yogi attempts to learn to channel and contain this energy so that it will be available to use for self-study and transformation.

Pratyahara, the fifth limb, is the conscious withdrawal of energy away from the senses. In the state of pratyahara, the practitioner still experiences input from the senses, but this input no longer agitates the mind. This limb of the eightfold path is the bridge to the so-called”mental” limbs of dharana and dhyana.

Dharana is the practice of focused attention on a chosen object. (Traditional focal points include the breath, a mantra, a chosen deity, or the energy center known as the third eye. In dhyana this focus becomes a clear, spacious awareness, which can be described as the paradox of focus without a focal point. In the practice of dhyana, the awareness rests on all things equally, without preferences. All contemplative practices involve some combination of focus (dharana) and awareness (dhyana).

The final step of the eightfold path is samadhi, the culmination of yoga, in which the practitioner rests in a state of clarity, bliss, and oneness with all that is. All sense of separation between self and the objects of perception disappears, and the practitioner realizes his or her unity with the ground of being.

If these concepts seem confusing and arcane, it is because they are. Like all the important things in life, they defy description. As all the great teachers tell us, they are best understood by experience—not by words.

10. Samtosad anuttamah sukhalabhah (Chapter 2, verse 42)

“From contentment unsurpassed happiness is obtained.”

This is one of my favorite verses, because I think it gives hope and joy. This verse asserts that happiness is indeed obtainable—a very hopeful statement to anyone past babyhood. It says that the way to happiness is to follow the path of samtosha or santosha, which translates to contentment.

Contentment is not a sissy concept: It demands of us the willingness to live fully in the present moment, the willingness to accept the failures and the successes of this very minute just as it is. In order to do this, we must become a wider container. We must let go of greed and the desire to change anything—including ourself. Most of the time, we just want “it” to be different, whether “it” is our body, our mind, our relationship, our job, or some unpleasant task. In order to be content, we must embrace perfection and imperfection equally as part of the great panorama of life.

Contentment is the ability to remain present within fact, to remain happy with the circumstances of each moment. What an important attitude with which to live! This may be the secret to life: Simply be content with hard work or no work, riches or not, difficulty or ease. If we live with contentment as Patanjali suggests, then we can live in joy regardless of what happens next.

RESOURCES

Discipline of Freedom: Yoga Sutras Attributed to Patanjali by Barbara Stoler Miller (University of California Press)

How to Know God: The Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali by Swami Prabhavananda and Christopher Isherwood (New American Library

Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali by B.K.S. Iyengar, with a foreword by Yehu-di Menuhin (HarperCollins Publishers)

The Yoga-Sutra of Patanjali: A New Translation and Commentary by Georg Feuerstein (Inner Traditions Interna-tional)

*Editor’s Note: In recent years, the concept of brahmacharya has been expanded in some translations to include self-restraint and moderation in all its forms.