The Yoga Sutras, a Four-Step Path to a Calm Mind

A manual of aphorisms rather than a narrative

The Yoga Sutras present themselves as a sequence of 196 very short aphorisms, sutras, literally "threads," arranged in four chapters called pada. This condensed format, sometimes reduced to a few words in Sanskrit, was not originally meant for independent reading: each sutra served as a memory aid, expanded orally by a teacher for students. This is the founding text of the Yoga school of philosophy, one of the six orthodox schools of classical Indian thought, alongside Samkhya, whose conceptual framework it largely takes over. The word yoga itself comes from the Sanskrit root yuj, meaning to join or to yoke: here it designates a discipline of the mind, not only a physical practice in the sense the word often carries today.

Patanjali, an uncertain attribution

The text is attributed to a certain Patanjali, but his identity remains uncertain: several ancient authors bore this name, and nothing proves he is the same Patanjali credited elsewhere with a treatise on Sanskrit grammar. The dating of the Yoga Sutras is likewise disputed among specialists, with proposals ranging from the second century BCE to the fifth century CE depending on the author consulted. This uncertainty is not unique to this text: it affects much of ancient Sanskrit philosophical literature, transmitted orally before being fixed in writing. The text was also accompanied very early on by commentaries, one of the oldest surviving of which is attributed to an author named Vyasa; it is largely these commentaries that made it possible to unpack the meaning of such brief sutras.

A discipline organized in four parts

The text is organized in four chapters. The first defines the goal of yoga and the nature of the mind. The second details a gradual practice, with its obstacles and its means; this is where the limbs of the practice are presented, from conduct toward others to meditative absorption, in an order moving from the most external to the most internal. The third addresses capacities attributed to advanced practice. The fourth deals with final liberation. This structure sets the Yoga Sutras apart from the other corpora presented here: unlike the Gita's narrative, unlike the Dhammapada's scattered maxims, unlike the Upanishads' dialogues, this is a built progression, conceived as a path in stages.

What the thoughts gathered here say

The definition of yoga itself opens the text and recurs in the thoughts gathered on this site.

(Yogah citta-vritti-nirodhah) Yoga is the stilling of the waves of the mind.Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

Several thoughts address qualities to cultivate rather than techniques, notably contentment.

(Santosha) From contentment is born a happiness beyond compare.Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

One method recurs repeatedly for dealing with disturbing thoughts: not fighting them head-on, but calling up their opposite.

When troubling thoughts assail you, cultivate their opposites.Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

Other thoughts in the collection address posture, described as steady and comfortable rather than rigid, and breathing as a way to calm the mind.

Reading the Yoga Sutras today

The aphoristic format of the Yoga Sutras is especially well suited to fragmented reading. A single sentence, read on its own, keeps its full meaning, unlike a chapter of the Gita, which belongs to a continuous argument. You can read a thought as something to try during the day, for instance noticing a disturbing thought without fighting it, simply calling up its opposite instead. The text assumes no particular physical practice: it speaks first of the mind, with posture occupying only one aphorism out of a hundred and ninety-six. It can be read without equipment and without preparation, the way one reopens a notebook to find an idea already come across, at another point in the day or the week.

The 15 thoughts in this collection

The number is the day of the year on which each thought appears on the home page.

• Yogah citta-vritti-nirodhah
  “Yoga is the stilling of the waves of the mind.”
  Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
• “Then the seer abides in its own nature.”
  Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
• “Practice becomes steady when it is cultivated over a long time, without interruption, with devotion.”
  Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
• Sthira-sukham asanam
  “Posture should be steady and at ease.”
  Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
• “Cultivate friendliness toward the joyful, compassion toward those who suffer, joy toward the virtuous, equanimity toward all.”
  Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
• “In the presence of one established in non-violence, hostility subsides.”
  Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
• “Established in truth, one sees their words bear fruit.”
  Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
• Santosha
  “From contentment is born a happiness beyond compare.”
  Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
• “Self-study leads to an encounter with one's own light.”
  Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
• “When troubling thoughts assail you, cultivate their opposites.”
  Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
• “The difficulty yet to come can be avoided by today's vigilance.”
  Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
• “When breath grows calm, the mind grows calm.”
  Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
• “What veils the inner light thins through practice.”
  Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
• “Concentration is the anchoring of the mind in a single place.”
  Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
• “From mastery over the senses comes a joy that nothing outward can give.”
  Yoga Sutras of Patanjali