Patanjali Yoga Sutra for systematic learning of Yoga

Описание: In December 2025, I was honoured to be presented with a Patañjali Murti by the Prime Minister of India. Patañjali is an authority in Ayurveda, Grammar and Yoga. We begin our yoga practice by invoking the great sage:
योगेन चित्तस्य पदेन वाचां मलं शरीरस्य च वैद्यकेन ।
योऽपाकरोत्तं प्रवरं मुनीनां पतञ्जलिं प्राञ्जलिरानतोऽस्मि ॥
With yoga he purified the mind, with grammar he refined speech, and with medicine he cleansed the body. I bow with folded hands to Patañjali, the foremost among sages.
Tradition holds that Patañjali is an incarnation of Ādiśeṣa, who appeared on Earth to show humanity the path to Yogeshwara — the Supreme Consciousness.
Why Are We Here to Learn Yoga?
If we are here to learn yoga, we must first ask:
• Why should we learn yoga?
• Who is the authority in yoga?
• What qualifies that authority?

Patañjali answers these questions through his 195 Yoga Sūtras, systematically arranged in four chapters — a masterful progression from definition to liberation.
1. Samādhi Pāda — Where Yoga is Defined
Patañjali begins by declaring that without discipline, we cannot make inroads into the path of yoga. Discipline requires dhṛti — the ability to remain steady, focused, and undistracted.
What is yoga? He declares:
योगश्चित्तवृत्तिनिरोधः
Yogaś citta-vṛtti-nirodhaḥ
Yoga is the mastery (stilling) of the modifications of the mind.
Today, mental health is a global concern. Humanity is drifting away from mastery of the mind. When the mind is imbalanced, there is no yoga — only chaos in life. Yoga is no longer optional; it is the need of the hour.
Interestingly, Patañjali describes samādhi even before giving techniques. Because you must know the destination before beginning the journey. Samādhi Pāda sets the philosophical compass.
2. Sādhana Pāda — The Path of Practice
Once the goal is clear, Patañjali gives the method. He introduces Kriyā Yoga, the amalgamation of:
• Tapas (discipline)
• Svādhyāya (self-study)
• Īśvara-praṇidhāna (surrender to the Divine)

Then he explains: योगाङ्गानुष्ठानादशुद्धिक्षये ज्ञानदीप्तिराविवेकख्यातेः ॥ 2.28
Through dedicated practice of the eight limbs of yoga, impurities are destroyed: the light of knowledge shines, leading to discriminative wisdom.
When impurities are there one’s life journey becomes hazy and without insight. Insight without practice remains theoretical.
The eightfold path of practice consists of:
• Yama – outer discipline
• Niyama – inner discipline
• Āsana – posture
• Prāṇāyāma – regulation of breath
• Pratyāhāra – withdrawal of the senses
• Dhāraṇā – concentration (stabilizing the mind)
• Dhyāna – meditation
• Samādhi – complete absorption or establishment in truth

These eight limbs form a progressive and integrated path — moving from ethical foundation to ultimate realization.
wers.
• Fourth: Realize freedom beyond the mind.

The Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali should be interpreted in the light of the Bhagavad Gītā. Without that broader spiritual context, there is a risk of misunderstanding the purpose of yoga and becoming derailed in practice