Yoga Sutras 1.1 - 1.4

The first four Sutras in the first section, I. Samadhi Pada, define Yoga.

How to read the following Sutras:
First, the italicized phrase is the actual Sutra, as you can see they read like poetry.
Then each word of the Sutra is broken down and translated.
Finally, the Sutra is translated. There are numerous translations and in-depth dissertation on the Sutras.

Sutra 1.1
atha yoga anusasanam

atha: now, a prayer, a blessing
yoga: joining, union, deep meditation, concentration
anusasanam: instruction, teaching, introduction


Now, the teachings of yoga

With prayers for divine blessings, now begins as exposition of the sacred art of yoga.

This introductory Sutra suggests that after our many actions in life, now we are finally ready to pursue the depths of self-exploration, the journey directly to the center of consciousness, Ataman or Self, our eternal and True identity.

Sutra 1.2
yogah cittavrtti nirodhah

yoga: union
citta: sum total of mind, consciousness (mind + intellect + ego)
vrtti: state of mind, fluctuations in mind
nirodhah: process of ending, to cease, to still


Yoga is the cessation of movements in the consciousness.

Yoga is to still the pattering of consciousness.

Yoga is the ability to direct and focus mental activity.

In a systematic process of meditation, you gradually move your attention inward, through all the levels of your being, gaining mastery along the way.

Sutra 1.3
tada drastuh svarupe avasthanam

tada: then at that time
drastuh: the soul, the seer, pure awareness
svarupe: in essence, in own form or nature
avasthanam: rests, abides, dwells, resides, radiates


Then, the seer dwells in his own true splendor

With the attainment of a focused mind, the inner being establishes itself in all its reality.

As a result of having done the process of nirodhah, described in Sutra 1.2, the true Self stands alone, unencumbered by our many false identities, described in Sutra 1.4. The process is not one of attaining something we do not have, but of removing the clouds, so to see the light that is already there.

Sutra 1.4
vrtti sarupyam itaratra

vrtti: fluctuations in mind
sarupyam: conformity, identification
itaratra: otherwise, at other times


At other times, the seer identifies with the fluctuating consciousness.

Otherwise, we identify with the activities of the mind.

When we do not experience pure consciousness or the rest of time, the mind flows towards our sensory experiences, memories and fantasies. The pure consciousness mistakenly takes on the identity of those thought patterns. We incorrectly come to think that who we are is one and the same as these thoughts.