Ashtanga Yoga of the Yoga Sutras

The Hatha Yoga Pradipika is a classical text describing Hatha Yoga. It is said to be the oldest surviving text on Hatha Yoga. Swami Swatmarama, a disciple of Swami Goraknath, wrote the text in the 15th century CE, drawing upon previous texts and his own experiences.

Traditional Hatha Yoga is intended to lead to Raja Yoga, the Royal Yoga, the goal of which is the highest state of consciousness known here as Samadhi. Raja Yoga is summarized in the Yoga Sutras and is also known as Ashtanga Yoga, referring to the eight rungs which are outlined there.

The eight rungs of Ashtanga Yoga are summarized in the Yoga Sutras. The attached Resources include:

1. A file listing the specific sutras which outline the eight rungs Ashtanga Yoga
2. A complete translation of all of the sutras of the Yoga Sutras
3. A complete translation plus commentary on all of the sutras
4. A one-page summary of the sutras to be used as a checklist of sections you have reviewed
5. A list of several suggested books on the Yoga Sutras

When translated poorly or misunderstood, Nirodhah can sound like the suppression or repression of thoughts and emotions, which is definitely not what Yoga is about. Rather, it has to do with a process more like coordinating and setting aside what is not significant or not-self (2.5). It means finding the jewel of Truth that is underneath or behind all of the other activities in the mind-field. This comes through a self-training program dealing with the relationships, senses, body, breath, and mind. Ultimately, the meaning of nirodhah, and thus, of Yoga itself begins to emerge experientially through doing the practices.

Vrittis are operations, activities, fluctuations, modifications, changes, or various forms of the mind-field (chitta).

The word drastuh means seer or witness. The word seer does not give you a theological or metaphysical description or definition of who you are. This is one of the beautiful qualities of Yoga and the Yoga Sutras. There is nothing in the word seer to believe or not believe. By saying that the seer rests in its true nature after transcending the many forms of thought patterns in the mind field (1.3), one can simply do the purifying practices and personally experience the results. In English translations, the word drashtuh is often given meanings such as Self, Soul, or Atman. This provides some clarity or speculation of the nature of this seer, but it is useful to remember that Patanjali is not actually telling you what is the nature of your true self, but that the seer will be experienced in itself, in its true nature, whatever or however that is ultimately experienced and described by each person

Keep practicing: One of the most important principles of living yoga meditation is that of continuing to practice without a break. Often a meditator gets started, practices for a few weeks or months, and then stops for a while due to some life situation. Then, he or she starts over again. While it is good to start again, it is better to choose a level of practice that you know you can maintain without a break. If, for example, you try to practice 2-3 hours per day when you are well aware you do not consistently have that much time in your current lifestyle, it is a set up for breaking practice. It's far better to choose an amount of time that you can consistently practice.

Develop attitude: The attitude satkara contains the principles of devotion, sincerity, respect, reverence, positiveness, and right choice. As you choose your proper level of practice, and decide to do that daily, the attitude will come more easily. It is like having a little flame of desire in the heart for the fruits of meditation, and then slowly starting to experience those benefits. That little flame starts to grow slowly and consistently into a burning desire to guide your life in the direction of spiritual realization.

It all rests on attention: Throughout the science of Yoga meditation attention is a critical principle to practice. This sharp, clear, assiduous attention (asevitah) is essential if you are to develop the attitude of conviction for practices over a long time, and without a break as described in this sutra. "Attention, attention, attention!" is the formula to follow, though done in loving kindness towards yourself

Two core principles: Practice (abhyasa, 1.13) and non-attachment (vairagya, 1.15) are the two core principles on which the entire system of Yoga rests (1.12). It is through the cultivation of these two that the other practices evolve, by which mastery over the mind field occurs (1.2), and allows the realization of the true Self (1.3).

1. Abhyasa/Practice: Abhyasa means having an attitude of persistent effort to attain and maintain a state of stable tranquility (1.13). To become well established, this needs to be done for a long time, without a break (1.14). From this stance the deeper practice continues to unfold, going ever deeper towards the direct experience of the eternal core of our being.
2. Vairagya/Non-attachment: The essential companion is non-attachment (1.15), learning to let go of the many attachments, aversions, fears, and false identities that are clouding the true Self.

They work together: Practice leads you in the right direction, while non-attachment allows you to continue the inner journey without getting sidetracked into the pains and pleasures along the way.

Supreme Non-attachment: Gradually, non-attachment expands to the depth of the subtlest building blocks (gunas) of ourselves and the universe, which is called paravairagya, supreme non-attachment (1.16). Eventually the three gunas resolve back into their cause during deep meditation, leading to final liberation (4.13-4.14, 4.32-4.34)

Nine kinds of distractions come that are obstacles naturally encountered on the path, and are physical illness, tendency of the mind to not work efficiently, doubt or indecision, lack of attention to pursuing the means of samadhi, laziness in mind and body, failure to regulate the desire for worldly objects, incorrect assumptions or thinking, failing to attain stages of the practice, and instability in maintaining a level of practice once attained.

From these obstacles, there are four other consequences that also arise, and these are: 1) mental or physical pain, 2) sadness or dejection, 3) restlessness, shakiness, or anxiety, and 4) irregularities in the exhalation and inhalation of breath

Questions about the Foundation Principles, derived from the first major section of the course. These questions are intended to be extremely easy and to serve only as reminders, not to 'test' you to see if you 'pass' the course.

Non-injury or non-harming (ahimsa), truthfulness (satya), abstention from stealing (asteya), walking in awareness of the highest reality (brahmacharya), and non-possessiveness or non-grasping with the senses (aparigraha) are the five yamas, or codes of self-regulation or restraint, and are the first of the eight steps of Yoga.

Cleanliness and purity of body and mind (shaucha), an attitude of contentment (santosha), ascesis or training of the senses (tapas), self-study and reflection on sacred words (svadhyaya), and an attitude of letting go into one's source (ishvarapranidhana) are the observances or practices of self-training (niyamas), and are the second rung on the ladder of Yoga.

The posture (asana) for Yoga meditation should be steady, stable, and motionless, as well as comfortable, and this is the third of the eight rungs of Yoga.

Once that perfected posture has been achieved, the slowing or braking of the force behind, and of unregulated movement of inhalation and exhalation is called breath control and expansion of prana (pranayama), which leads to the absence of the awareness of both, and is the fourth of the eight rungs.

Pratyahara is the withdrawal of the senses (indriyas) of cognition and action from both the external world and the images or impressions in the mind field (2.54). The senses are said to follow the mind in the same way the hive of bees follows the queen bee. Wherever she goes, they will follow. Similarly, if the mind truly goes inward, the senses will come racing behind. Pratyahara is rung 5 of the 8 rungs.

Concentration (dharana) is the process of holding or fixing the attention of mind onto one object or place, and is the sixth of the eight rungs.

The repeated continuation, or uninterrupted stream of that one point of focus is called absorption in meditation (dhyana), and is the seventh of the eight steps.

When only the essence of that object, place, or point shines forth in the mind, as if devoid even of its own form, that state of deep absorption is called deep concentration or samadhi, which is the eighth rung.

Questions about the Eight Rungs, derived from the second major section of the course. These questions are intended to be extremely easy and to serve only as reminders, not to 'test' you to see if you 'pass' the course.

Samyama: Samyama is the collective practice (3.4) of concentration (dharana, 3.1), meditation (dhyana, 3.2), and samadhi (3.3), which are the sixth, seventh, and eighth of the eight rungs of Yoga.

• Purpose of the first five rungs: The primary purpose of all the preparation work and the first five rungs of Yoga is to build this tool called samyama.
• Samyama is for subtler practice: This tool is the means of reaching the ever subtler levels of non-attachment, which was introduced near the beginning of the Yoga Sutras as one of the primary practices (1.12-1.16). Samyama is applied to numerous objects, which are outlined throughout the remaining sutras of Chapter 3 (3.17-3.37, 3.39-3.49).
• Like the surgeon's scalpel: Samyama is like the surgeon's scalpel, the razor sharp tool of discrimination (2.26-2.29) that is used for the deep introspection, which eventually uncovers the jewel of the Self, in the core of our being. Once the inner light dawns through samyama (3.5), it is used to examine the stages of subtle objects (3.6), whether normally veiled or far away (3.26). The finest discrimination finally leads to liberation (4.26).

Going past avidya or ignorance: This process of discrimination allows the yogi to gradually move past the many forms of the four types of ignorance or avidya, which are: (1) regarding that which is transient as eternal, 2) mistaking the impure for pure, 3) thinking that which brings misery to bring happiness, and 4) taking that which is not-self to be self. (2.5

There are five kinds of coloring (kleshas): 1) forgetting, or ignorance about the true nature of things (avidya), 2) I-ness, individuality, or egoism (asmita), 3) attachment or addiction to mental impressions or objects (raga), 4) aversion to thought patterns or objects (dvesha), and 5) love of these as being life itself, as well as fear of their loss as being death.

A most important practice in Yoga: Cultivating self-awareness of the five kleshas is one of the most important foundation practices in the entire science of Yoga. Note that in Chapter 1 of the Yoga Sutra, the first four sutras describe or define Yoga, and that the very next sutra (1.5) introduces the concept of the many levels of thought patterns being either klishta (colored) or aklishta (uncolored). Now, in this current sutra (and Kriya Yoga in general), the concept is expanded, describing the nature of the five individual kleshas. In Kriya Yoga, the gross level of coloring is dealt with (2.1), while the next few sutras begin the process of dealing with the subtler colorings (2.10-2.11, 2.12-2.25). It works in stages, first reducing the gross, and then the subtle. To be aware of the practice of self-awareness or witnessing of the kleshas of our own mind is a very useful thing to do

The 8 rungs are for discriminative enlightenment: The reason for practicing the eight rungs of Yoga (2.29) is to develop attention as the tool for discriminative knowledge, which is the means to discriminative enlightenment and liberation. It means using razor-like attention (3.4-3.6) to separate the seer and the seen (2.17), so as to break the alliance of karma (2.12-2.25), and to get past the four mistakes of ignorance, or avidya (2.24-2.25), which are: 1) confusing the temporary for the eternal, 2) the impure for the pure, 3) misery for happiness, and 4) the false self for the true Self (2.5). Resulting from this systematic discrimination, the seer or Self is eventually experienced in its true nature (1.3).

Discerning three aspects of an object: To understand the principle of discernment presented in these current sutras it is critically important to recall and understand the three aspects of an object described in Sutra 1.42, which have to do with the name of the object, the specific object, and the underlying essence.

Discrimination allows subtler introspection: This one-pointed attention and discrimination, which comes from the practice of the eight rungs, is used for examining, exploring, and attenuating the colorings of the subtle impressions of the mind field (2.10), so as to go beyond, inward to the pure, eternal center of consciousness.

The first 5 rungs sharpen the razor: If it is razor-like attention that is the tool for discrimination, then it is the first five rungs of the Yoga Sutras which are honing the edge of that razor. Then, the finer, sharpened tool is the last three rungs, which are concentration, meditation, and samadhi, which are collectively called samyama (3.4)

The three processes of dharana, dhyana, and samadhi, when taken together on the same object, place or point is called samyama. Through the mastery of that three-part process of samyama, the light of knowledge, transcendental insight, or higher consciousness (prajna) dawns, illumines, flashes, or is visible. That three-part process of samyama is gradually applied to the finer planes, states, or stages of practice. (tasya bhumisu viniyogah)

The finer states naturally come forward: When the practice of samyama is applied to the finer states, the subtler aspects naturally reveal themselves during the deeper practices. It does not necessarily mean that you will know the details of those ahead of time. Rather, the inner journey itself reveals the subtler aspects.

The finer states are set aside: As those finer states come forward, they are explored with the razor-sharp attention of samyama, and are set aside (3.38) through the process of discrimination (2.26-2.29). They are each seen to not be the truth, reality, or eternal Self that is being sought (1.3). This is an ever finer application of the process of non-attachment (1.15-1.16).

Stages are usually not skipped: Typically, the stages are experienced one after the other, as they reveal themselves, without skipping any of the stages of subtle experience along the way.

We need not experience all the stages: Even though the subtle states naturally come forward in a systematic order, it is not essential that we seek out and experience each and every one of the stages. If one is practicing the higher practices, such as with AUM and Ishvara (1.23-1.29), it is not necessary to seek out the lower practices, such as the psychic powers from the subtle realm. The sage Vyasa explains that samyama may not be needed on all of the stages because proficiency might be attained through the gift of grace. He points out that, "Yoga is to be known by Yoga, and Yoga itself leads to Yoga." Through the higher practices, along with grace or gift of higher consciousness, God, or guru, both the lower and higher revelations may come without going step by step through the subtle stage

When you are not doing the Yamas and Niyamas: What do you do when you are not acting, speaking, or thinking in the way you know you want, when not following the suggestions by the Yamas (2.30) and Niyamas (2.32)? For example, you want to practice ahimsa, which is non-harming. But what do you do when you have a harmful, or angry attitude towards somebody else? The suggestion is to go in the opposite direction, which means reminding yourself to go away from that the anger. This is further described in the next sutra (2.34).

What does opposite direction mean?: When thinking of anger or hatred, for example, it can seem that one should cultivate love, which is a good idea. However, you may have noticed how hard it is to cultivate love for one with whom you are intensely angry. The word opposite is used here to suggest that rather than going into, or getting caught up in that anger, we move away from it, in the opposite direction, which is not quite the same as saying we should cultivate love. Recall the foundation principle that consciousness wraps itself around the thought patterns in the mind field (1.4), and that this is the cause of suffering. When we unwrap our attention from those thought patterns (1.2), we rest in our true nature (1.3). This is the meaning of moving in the opposite direction; it means moving away from the entanglement of the negative. By moving away, we naturally experience the love. While the example of ahimsa (non-injury) and love were used here, the same principle applies to the other Yamas (2.30) and Niyamas (2.32) as well.

When acting, speaking, or thinking against your values: The Yamas and Niyamas give superb suggestions for living and being. However, the most important suggestion is on what to do when you are not acting, speaking, or thinking in the way you know you want, when not following the suggestions by the Yamas and Niyamas. For example, you want to practice ahimsa, which is non-harming. But what do you actually do when you have angry emotions towards somebody else?

Remind yourself, "This is not useful": When you know that your actions, speech, or thoughts are not what you want, the suggestion is to repeatedly remind yourself that this anger (or other example) is going in the wrong direction, and will bring you nothing but unending misery. It can be as straightforward as silently repeating the words to yourself, "Mind, this is not useful; this is going to bring me nothing but more suffering, and lead me into greater ignorance of truth. Mind, you need to let go of this."

Going in the right direction: This contrary training will gradually lead the mind in the right direction. It is done gently and lovingly with yourself; it is not suppression or repression of thoughts or emotions. This is further described in the next sutra (2.34)

What is an object?: We normally think of an object as something you can touch, or hold in your hand. However, an object need not necessarily be material in that sense.

Transition is an object: Think of a car, which is a material object. When it is driving down the road, there is the kinetic energy of motion. That motion itself is also an object of sorts; it is some-thing, though having no molecules of its own. Now, imagine that your car either accelerates or decelerates. The change, shift, or transition is, itself, a separate object, though quite related to both the car as object, and the motion as object.

Thoughts have transition: Similar to the car above, thoughts are also objects. However, the thoughts in the mind field not only interact with one another; they also come and go. Just imagine for a moment that you had mastery over that process of the coming and going of the thoughts, the transitions. With mastery over the transition process itself, you would gain tremendous insight and mastery over the thoughts themselves, as well as the subtlest inner transitions of mental process. Those subtle transitions are also objects themselves, subject to exploration and witnessing, as well as to setting aside through non-attachment (1.15).

Three subtle transitions are witnessed: You become witness not only to thoughts as we normally think of thoughts, but also to the transition process of how they are coming, being, and going.

Nirodhah: You become witness to the process of transitioning into mastery over thought patterns (nirodhah-parinamah, 3.9, 1.2), since that transition is an object.
Samadhi: You become witness to the process of transitioning into the higher state of meditation (samadhi-parinamah, 3.11), since that transition is an object.
Ekagra: You become witness to the process of transitioning into one-pointedness of mind (ekagra-parinamah, 3.12), since that transition is an object.
Mastery of transition brings mastery of thoughts: By mastering these three types of transition process, mastery can be gained over all of the particular thought patterns subject to these processes. It brings mastery over the life cycle process of the countless objects of the mind field. Samyama was introduced as the finer tool (3.4-3.6), and this process of dealing with transitions is a finer use of that tool. In this way, we come to see that purifying the mind does not mean a detailed psychological analysis of each thought, but rather, gaining mastery over the life cycle of those thoughts.

The transitions are later transcended: The inner journey of Yoga systematically encounters and then moves through layer after layer of experience, each time moving past another level of ignorance or avidya (2.5). While the mastery of the subtle transitions described in this section brings such a new level, it too is only a stage to experience. In the most subtle stages of practice, even these transitions are transcended through dharma-meghah samadhi. (4.32

Keeping it simple: A funny thing happens with Meditation—it is both very complex and utterly simple at the same time. Both the Beginning and Advanced stages have their own forms of simplicity to the process.

It is the middle ground, the Intermediate stages, where it can get confusing. In the very Beginning one simply sits, does a few basic practices, and experiences some degree of peace of mind. It seems pretty simple. Then, we start learning about philosophy and many other practices; it gets complicated, or so it seems.

The good news is that at the Advanced end of the spectrum, we return to simplicity, but of a much higher order. We come to see that all material objects are made only of fundamental elements of earth, water, fire, air, and space (and the more primal elements or gunas of sattvas, rajas, and tamas). We come to see beyond the vast contents of mind, to the fact that the instruments of mind and senses are not really so complex after all.

Soon, we come to see that all of the complexity comes down to a few simple principles, which merge into the Bindu or point of convergence, and thus to kaivalya, or liberation. We come to see that the point of convergence is one and the same with the original point of divergence. Pretty simple. Not easy to do, but simple

Dhyana (meditation) and Vichara (contemplation) are different, but complementary practices. With dhyana one suspends the inner use of language, the formation of words. With contemplation one utilizes language to ponder or reflect on principles. Gradually, however, meditation and contemplation work together and merge into one unified awareness of consciousness itself, standing alone. This was introduced here as being the drashtuh, the seer, and finally this realization leads to kaivalya, or absolute liberation, as previously discussed.

Throughout this and other courses, articles, and videos, you will see our ‘circle chart’ symbol used in a variety of ways as described in this video and in the download in Resources.

Questions about What to do with the Eight Rungs, the last of the three major sections of the Ashtanga Yoga course. These questions are intended to be extremely easy and to serve only as reminders, not to 'test' you to see if you 'pass' the course.