The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
With commentary by Swami Mantrananda

According to the ancient Yoga Sutras, a person can attain various amounts of Self Realization.  Some of this Self Realization is called the Liberation of the Spirit, as separate from the Karmic Self that the student often carries.  How does one get started in this pursuit?  According to most modern teachers of Yoga at the "Yoga Club", all you do is sit in meditation posture and be quiet for a time.  This is probably exactly correct.  A good place to begin is to quiet the mind.  After quieting the mind the student tries other methods that lead to Liberation.  Many students seek other attainments besides liberation, and the Yoga Sutras talk about many of these attainments.

Part One: 51 Sutras on Concentration

[1] Meditation is the Primary Yoga. This must include the relationship of Meditation to the mind.

Comments: Meditation actually means sitting in a meditation posture to a Yogi. Consequently, the Yogi assumes that you will sit in a half lotus posture or easy posture for any meditation method that you attempt. After you learn how to sit in the various meditation postures, a Yogi will eventually also try the method of keeping the mind still. Probably, Christians, Muslims, and everyone who meditates will actually try to keep the mind still and calm. We might say that this Yoga Philosophy of Patanjali is the most used method. The problem is that when a Yoga student reads the Yoga Sutras, they do not know this. Even High School Students have to sit still in a chair; they probably attain a moderate amount of “yoga” by the time the get out of High School. These students will say they are not any type of Yogi, or Christian, or anything like that. In other words, very few people have understood the relationship of meditation stillness to the mind. They have missed the whole subject. Even Patanjali seems to have missed it in the same way. Consequently, you must read the comments on each sutra. Then you will find that most people have performed some type of yoga, and they will claim that they have not. Swami Mantrananda says to be a Yogi, and claim that you are to learning about the mind. You are a person that is with God, Meditation is the Primary Yoga. This must include the relationship of Meditation to the mind.

[2] Meditation is the restriction of the fluctuations of the mind stuff.

Comments: After a person has found a place to meditate, and learned the meditation posture, then they are sure to be happy about the next step, which is to still the mind. There is no indication how easy these steps really are to take. Perhaps they are easy steps. This means that you will succeed. There are many fears when starting meditation practices. Never restrict the mind, is probably what we believe, it must expand. This is false. The mind loves to be still, we call it the restriction of the fluctuations of the mind stuff. In addition, new people to meditation are afraid that “the fluctuations of the mind stuff” must be restricted because they are bad. This is false. The fluctuations of the mind are daily applications of the mind. When we learn to meditate, we take rest from the daily applications of the mind. Thus, the person meditation will eventually rest in their own nature.

[3] During meditation as restriction of the fluctuations of the mind stuff, the seer abides in his own nature.

Comments: The meditation Yogi rests in his own nature every time. This may last from one second to one hour. Consequently do not worry. What every meditation student begins to worry about is this, “your meditation is better than my meditation” and this made me jealous. Other students believe they have mastered meditation in one second, so they are better than you are. Hello Christmas is coming and so are your presents. Always look forward to meditation like a child looks to Christmas. Other people get bigger Christmas presents than you do, it must be that way. Ask you Guru, Swami Mantrananda, why your Christmas presents were not good enough. Give up jealousy is the way of all religious practices in the whole world. With these simple meditation techniques, you will soon experience these types of truths. Even in the simple life of a Yogi, others will be jealous of your simple life. Most Yogis will not know that this has happened to them.

[4] At other times, the seer takes the same form as the fluctuations of the mind.

Comments: “The fluctuations of the mind stuff” sounds like a negative thing. This is false. The fluctuations of the mind stuff are the daily applications of the mind. Everything you have learned in school will be part of them. Every job in the world is the way the mind is used. When a person sees the entire world, and the massive education system, the jobs and employment market, then they will cherish the heart of Yogi, and take time to meditate. Then the seer will have rested in meditation and will again enjoy the world as a very big world. The applications of the mind will be everywhere in the world. The Yogi will learn to enjoy to whole meaning. The Yogi begins to enjoy the whole meaning of the world by understanding the fivefold fluctuations of the mind.

[5] The daily fluctuations of the mind are fivefold, and are either painful or non-painful.

Comments: At this point in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, a student begins to wonder how Patanjali knew this amazing insight into the mind. Students have a chance to wonder about this insight and that is all. Proceed with meditation and understanding the mind is the way of Yoga. The amazing insight of Patanjali about the mind is the light of yogic insight.

[6] There are five daily applications of the mind. These are real cognition, unreal cognition, imagination, deep sleep, and memory.

Comments: During the last fifty years, many intelligent Psychology professors, Philosophy professors and just about anyone has read the Patanjali Yoga Sutras. Some of these people have understood them and others cannot. The mental training that they have taken prevents them form understanding such things. To some extent, every field of study that in college is about one or more of these applications of the mind. For example, Science is about real cognition. Social Work is about unreal cognition. The Arts are about imagination. Sports help people attain deep sleep. Most college courses rely on memory. There may be no other categories than these five.

[7] Consider real cognitions as your perceptions, your verbal cognitions and inference.

Comments: The Yogi is only dealing with everyday life. We see real things everywhere, and speak a language that is for everything. When a person gets to college, they will take courses in real cognitions. These are probably Science courses, Scientific method, and learn more about the language.

[8] Unreal cognition is the knowing of the unreal. This can include illusory perceptions.

Comments: For a college student who wants to major in the areas of unreal cognition, perhaps they could study the Arts, or some Psychology, Social Work and Acting. Perhaps much of college education is to warn people of the unreal and the illusory. However, if you take creative writing, you will love to be creative and use illusory ideas and unreal events in your stories.

People have the ability to make up unreal cognition for you. Some of this is on Television. Science Fiction Movies on Television and in the Theater are in this category. They are about false ideas, false planets, and illusory perceptions. My suggestion is to stay away from Science Fiction Movies of all kinds. This will give your brain the ability to take its time handling real life and real meditation. We could probably count on our fingers the number of Science Fiction Movies that our brain is willing to take in, however, people often will “go for it” and be like a mouse that died of taking in the whole cheese. Unfortunately, we do not know the capacity of our brains.

[9] Imagination gives us an unsatisfactory account of reality. Imagination is still a part of human expression.

Comments: During meditation, the Yogi is attempting to stay away from continuous use of imagination. Later in the Yoga Sutras Patanjali gives methods to use the imagination for various types of meditation.

Some commentaries on the Yoga Sutras want to say Imagination is only an unsatisfactory account of reality. However, suppose that you are training to be an artist, the Mona Lisa painting, really is art, and a part of human expression. Thus, the Mona Lisa may not represent the person as a camera now represents the person. Some people are part of the imagination of humanity evolving. They may prefer Art and Imagination most of the time. Others want to stay with the real. The real could be boring to some people.

[10] Deep sleep is considered the absence of though waves, or dreamless sleep.

Comments: People, who read this sutra, wonder if meditation will give you deep sleep. This is doubtful that meditation is going to overhaul your life in two shakes of a lamb’s tail, and give you deep sleep. Rather, we know believe that athletes get some deep sleep and that the best way to stay physically fit and healthy and have deep sleep. It is to do some athletic training all our life. This includes sports and recreational activities. However, scientists probably believe that almost everyone gets some deep sleep. Yogis are interested in all five modifications of the mind.

[11] Memory is of experiences, without modifying them.

Comments: A meditating Yogi may have a great deal of interest in his own memory. Thus, when you are meditating and stilling the mind, an experience that is happy to remember may come up in your consciousness. This memory may take up all your time. The meditating yogi eventually must pull their mind away from this joy and be still for a while. This is a possible way of dealing with this type of memory.

[12] Practice and detachment still the fluctuations of the mind.

Comments: The fluctuations of the mind during meditation are often joyful or painful, either way; it is good to practice detachment from them repeatedly during meditation. We have succeeded during each meditation. Then a student of meditation may be interested to know if they have succeeded in this 100%. This is not a good question. The student of meditation will live one more day and the mind will experience the world repeatedly. Then you will sit for meditation and have to set aside all these experience anew. We may be starting over every day. If you miss a year of meditation, you may find yourself one year. Try to understand the fantastic abilities of the mind, simply meditate daily.

[13] The practice of meditation is the steadfast effort to still the fluctuations of the mind.

Comments: Many people meditate for years. A yogi may be far away from the initial practices of meditation. People think these practices are for beginners and now they are advanced and very smart. This Yoga Sutra says it is good to remember how to still the fluctuations of the mind. Sit down and do it again on a regular basis. It is the nature of life to keep us away from simple meditation methods. You will see Yogis and Gurus all over the countries that claim they are masters of meditation more than you are. They are the ultimate guru warriors; they can communicate with the porpoise. These ultimate new age heroes use the greatest modern hyper-drive meditation methods in the world. They are light years ahead of the sad world. They have invented the meditation wheel to sell to you. They will explain the modern ultimate guru enhanced meditation. You will be transcendent and appreciate ten universes. Consequently, believe Swami Mantrananda, your mother probably took your cloths to the cleaners, instead of these New Age gurus, that are good enough. The practice of meditation is the steadfast effort to still the fluctuations of the mind.

[14] The firm foundation for restraining the fluctuations of the mind stuff is long-term practices.

Comments: When we think of long-term practices, what is goes through our mind? There are people in almost all religions that have been doing some type of religious practices for ten to thirty years. What are these practices? Are not Yogis and mediators like everyone else. Perhaps we are like children. All Catholics must go to Rome and Assisi to learn about the true church. Swami Mantrananda did these things, so he is a fool, like anyone. Swami Mantrananda loved Assisi and the life of St. Francis as much as anyone did. These are not meditation in a room with your eyes closed. We may not be restraining the fluctuations of the mind. Swami Mantrananda probably increased the fluctuations of the mind, and still remembers all that Holy Italy stuff at time. Swami Mantrananda is not really a Catholic. Rather, as this Sutra suggests, the long-term practices of a yogi that meditate are not holy pilgrimages to hot countries. You do not have to see “the rock” if you are a Muslim. Just meditate is good enough for long-term practices. The firm foundation for restraining the fluctuations of the mind stuff is long-term practices.

[15] An important practice is renunciation, which gives detachment from desires.

Comments: Many people do not know what renunciation is about. However, we are studying Yoga and Yoga students in various ways consider Meditation, thus renunciation. Usually Yoga students find various practices of Yoga that are part of Astanga Yoga as types of renunciation. In addition, Yoga Students make up their own renunciations. For example, a Yoga student may renounce watching television one hour a day and begin doing Yoga one hour a day. In a sense this is not what other people call renunciation. However, it is a good start. This sutra says that renunciation can give us detachment from our desires. Anything that a Yoga student does with renunciation is possibly okay. The more you read about Yoga and Meditation, the more you will understand the concept of renunciation.

[16] Renunciation helps one to begin to perceive the soul.

Comments: Spiritual people tend to make you a bad person because they have extreme and wonderful renunciation and you do not. This is part of the false ideas that spiritual people create on other people. No one really knows anything about how as any measure of renunciation. Look at it this way; many people have perception of the soul. Therefore, these people must have practiced some renunciation that you do not know about. This Yoga Sutra could be about anyone. Believe Swami Mantrananda, many people have perceived the soul. This perception gave them some happiness. Some of these people share their happiness; others do not have to share this happiness. This Yoga Sutra says very little about what we must renounce.

[17] Practice and detachment develop four types of realization. These are self-analysis, synthesis, bliss and the experience of pure being.

Comments: This Yoga Sutra shows us that detachment leads the Yoga student to four types of self-realization. Many people want bliss and this is promised to many yoga students by their teachers. Thus, many Yoga and meditation students do find bliss. However, it may be difficult to say if this bliss is the result of detachment.

In addition, this Yoga Sutra says that soon we will experience more self-analysis as the outcome of detachment. This may happen even as the result of any meditation practices. It may also happen to people that are not involved in mediation or Yoga. Self-analysis is a mater of understanding our self.

This Yoga Sutra also says that detachment will result in synthesis. This synthesis is very simple, because synthesis is knowledge of our own life and the meaning of your own life. This comes to someone who has meditated and found detachment. The world may not pay you money for this attainment. However, many important people wish they had this simple knowledge.

This Yoga Sutra says that the student of Yoga will get a chance to experience pure being. This may have happened to almost all Meditation students even with a little practice of meditation. However, this reward may not make a Yogi glow in the dark, or self-realized or anything. Simply, you have experienced pure being and that is a good thing. The world will not let you make a big deal out of this. Consequently, tell no one about these experiences. Maybe your Grandmother and Grandfather have experienced some of these states during the course of their life. They also will not be able to say much about these at all. Thus, we must not worry about this Sutra very much. Continue with meditation throughout your life is the best way.

[18] Continued practice of meditation eventually gives the Yogi an experience of the void. However, our conscious mind is not “pure” and hidden impression start springing up after such experiences of the void.

Comments: Yoga Philosophy considers an experience of the void as a good experience. However, Western Philosophy probably does not like the void experience. Therefore, without a doubt, you have learned in school that the void experience is to be avoided. The void experience is linked with loneliness. The school system believes that you will be unhappy if you go looking for the void experience. Yogis know that the school system believes this and try not to worry about it. Even Buddha found the void experience, but found that he could not speak much about it. The experience is simple, you might find the void experience and it could be good.

Because the training of most civilizations is negative with regard to the void experience, it becomes obvious that you will confront these negative impulses outside of you and inside of you. This will be negative as usual. Do not worry; all people in sports are positive. Just be involved in sports more. In fact, sports may be the best method so far that Western Civilization has used to overcome the void experience. We are not depressed, we are going to play golf on the weekend and watch sports.

[19] Other experience of the person who meditates may be bodiless feelings or feelings of merging with nature. Some of these experiences could make a person feel lonely.

Comments: Do not worry about lonely feelings. Instead, look at the world of people. To many people, they seem alienated and lonely. The list of things that is wrong with the people in the world could be very long. Consequently, the person who meditates is simply still human and experiences loneliness like anyone. In fact, the person that learned meditation may experience some loneliness. The positive outcome of this is that a Yogi can become a healer. This is what many people who meditate have become.

[20] Mastery of meditation begins when the student pursues it with trust, confidence, vigor, and the power of absorption. Then they will not experience the lonely and complacent feelings very much.

Comments: This Sutra says that these lonely feelings are easier to experience and are normal. This is because they are wearing out. Soon these negative impulses are gone. Learn to see and believe in the positive, it is all around us. There are sports to take in. Begin reading about Yoga Philosophy, finding new classes to attend, get married again, or whatever you need. The negative and the lonely are not going to stay with you very long.

[21] When a Yogi practices meditation intensely and vigorously, they believe that the goal of self-realization is near.

Comments: This Sutra recommends that some people must practices intensely for a time. However, few people can do this for a long period. This method is also like people in sports. Some of these head coaches become head coaches because the have thought about their sport intensely and vigorously. Therefore, it is also true of Meditation and Yoga and Spirituality. The next Sutra explains how most people must adjust their Meditation practices.

[22] A Yogi may practices meditation in a mild way, with medium intensity, or with high intensity.

Comments: This settles the subject down. It is okay to practice in a mild way. Very few Yogis practice with high intensity. Very few people even have time for medium and high intensity Yoga and Meditation. At this point, the Yoga Sutras change directions. Perhaps there are other and better ways to be spiritual. Surrender to God is one of these for many people.

[23]The mind can also be stilled by surrender to God.

Comments: Surrender to God is best for some people. Everything seems dry to these people until they surrender to God and find everything they need.

[24] God is considered the Supreme Being, free from conflicts, and unaffected by actions, cause and effect.

Comments: Yogis and all religious people talk about God. They do not have to agree with each other. Yogis believe that God is the Supreme Being, free from conflicts, and unaffected by cause and effect. Each religion of the world will probably interpret the same idea and tell people to believe in these ideas about God. God is not the Dark Force to follow, which is what it means. Thus, God likes humanity to practice morality. This is the conclusion about talking about God at all. Remember, Buddha tried not to talk about God. Buddha talked about morality most of the time. Therefore, the result is the same. We are with God to stay out of trouble.

[25] God is considered the source of all knowledge.

Comments: This part of the Yoga Sutras sounds a lot like Christianity. God knows everything is basically, what Christians teach their children. If you believe this, you will eventually rely on God to save you. This however, may not be the real meaning of this Sutra. Even the Christians will say it does not really mean this. To some extent, God gave us a brain and we must use it to Meditate and practice Yoga. This Sutra is like the beginning of stories that we tell children about God.

[26] God is also considered the Supreme Teacher, unbound by time.

Comments: This Sutra gives the student more confidence that God will direct our life and help us control destiny. All the other meditation methods did work, however, there is so much in life to understand, know one is able to do this through meditation or Hatha Yoga or strict discipline. God must help us in every way.

[27] God is represented by the sacred words for God in each religion.

Comments: The Hindu faith believes in the significance of OM and other sacred words. Christians use the name of Jesus and Mary. Repeated prayers in any religion, end up being meditation on sacred words.

[28] The sacred words, called mantras, are repeated in meditation to realize their significance.

Comments: Patanjali believes that the sacred meditation words, such as Om Namah Shivaya are connected to God. Thus, a person of the Hindu faith has many mantras that are rationally connected to God.

[29] Meditation on God, as the sacred mantras, helps one master the inner self.

Comments: Many people never try to still the mind, and enter Mantra Meditation from the very beginning. Instead of stilling the mine, they use repetition of the sacred words. The Yoga Sutras also use the repetition of sacred words. The inner self and God are connected.

[30] The obstacles to attaining meditation repose in the self are many. They are disease, inertia, doubt, head-trips, and laziness, sensuality, giving up, and engaging in slander.

Comments: Now that Meditation is easy to master, the Yoga Sutras reminds us that we are all going to fall victim to some disease during our life. The common cold is enough to hurt us. This makes many Yogis practice health food as a way of staying healthy. Next, people get into inertia. This means that they were not born doing Yogic exercises and practices and eventually put some of them aside. Because of this, Yogis join groups to keep going and help each other. Doubt is another obstacle to attaining meditation. Doubt about the spiritual path is everywhere. Sometimes a person will feel doubt because they have returned to normal and others say they are “no good really.” Other people have doubt of their own worth as well and we listen to them. Next, people have head-trips. They go off on a tangent. Whatever happens? It is not Yoga. Laziness, sensuality, giving up, and engaging in slander are all things that happen around people as well as to each person on the spiritual path.

[31] Other important distractions to reaching the goal of meditation are sorrow, despair, unsteadiness of the body, and irregular breathing.

Comments: Any of these distractions will eventually happen to anyone, they are normal. Consider that these also affect sports people as well as Yogis and Meditation Masters. Then they can be dealt with through single-minded effort.

[32] These distractions can be prevented by single-minded effort.

Comments: We are not sure what these efforts are, but they are the same for sports people. Think about the problem and apply yourself to solving the problem.

[33] By cultivating habits of friendliness, compassion, joy, and indifference toward happiness and misery, and virtue and vice respectively, the student of meditation becomes favorable disposed, serene and benevolent.

Comments: Patanjali suggest that we try cultivating favorable habits. This sounds like modern psychology and acting skills as well. Actors are often seen in as having favorable Shakti and love through practice.

Now Patanjali suggest various other methods of meditation that can all be tried by each student. They all give success. In addition, the student will be happy to do more than just sit still in meditation.

[34] Some students of meditation are more disposed to use the control of breath to overcome distractions.

Comments: The control of breath is called pranayama and most Yogis and Meditation teachers give some instruction in breathing exercises. No matter how much people use them, they only give some help to a student of Yoga and Meditation.

[35] Other students of meditation try to maintain concentration on an object of beauty to overcome distractions.

Comments: Use flowers as an object of beauty to meditate on. Many people have tried this.

[36] Or, a student of meditation may gain inner stability by contemplating a luminous, sorrow less, effulgent light.

Comments: Sometimes a student of meditation does know what a luminous, sorrow less; effulgent light is, consequently, this meditation cannot be done. What happens to many students of meditation is that at some time during their life, they do know what this light is, and can do this meditation.

[37] Or, a student of meditation may contemplate their Guru, or a living enlightened person.

Comments: Many students of meditation see their Guru weekly of even monthly. Because of these meetings, they spontaneously meditate on their Guru. This is normal for people who have a Guru. Christians also do some of this; they go to church and see the priest every week. This is a type of contemplation of him in robes and reading from holy books. The priest is also an enlightened person, thus these weekly church goes are doing this type of meditation.

[38] Or, the student of meditation may contemplate the dream and dreamless sleep as its object of study.

Comments: This method of dream study is not for everyone, however, one of my Gurus gave us this method and we tried to remember our dreams in the morning and contemplate them. No one has proven the value of these dream studies. Modern Psychology also fell short when trying to understand dreams. Consequently, if you study your dreams and meditate on them, you probably cannot tell anyone about it, because no one will support you for this.

[39] Or, the student of meditation can meditate according to his own predilection.

Comments: Finally, a student of meditation does whatever kind of meditation that they want to do. Perhaps you will now begin to appreciate the Christians, who seem to do some of this meditation to begin with. However, meditation must bring good results, within the limits of morality of Yoga. To meditate on horrible things is not meditation. Doing such things, will break meditation down and lead us away from self-realization.

[40] After doing these practices, the master of meditation begins to understand the finest particle to the greatest.

Comments: Because of all these meditation practices, a student begins to be a master of meditation and understands the spectrum of life.

[41] The meditating Yogi realizes that the knower, the instrument of knowing and the known are experienced as one, himself, the seer. This happens through the power of the mind to be clear, without modifications for a time.

Comments: The Yogi eventually experiences state of “oneness”. Both Science and Religion call these experiences different names. Hindu Monistic philosophy calls this a state of unity. The difference between you and the experience vanishes for a time. This could happen in Airplane pilots. The amount of concentration to land a plane can be 100 percent. These pilots can have the same unity experiences when landing the plane. They probably get use to it and take a breather after they land the plane. If this is true, it is not really considered a religious experience or a very fantastic one at that. Suppose many people have the experience of “oneness” in their life. Probably it is hard to check these out and see if the experience was considered spiritual or just a “good high state of awareness.”

[42] With this power of the mind, the Yogi begins to understand the meaning of words and their content. This becomes a special knowledge.

Comments: The older a person gets, the more they understand the meaning of language and the various ways that it is used. However, a Yoga and Meditation student learn a new glossary of terms and do not know what these words mean. You might have to experience these words and their meaning as Yoga. Then people will say the same thing about a Yogi and Mediation student. The older a person [yogi] gets, the more they understand [yoga].

[43] With further meditation, personal memory is also cleansed, and then consciousness knows the difference between memory and intellectual illumination.

Comments: Our memory is somewhat personal, that is, we even remember our childhood. However, inherent in our language and cultural upbringing we all learn amazing intellectual ideas that are not understood right away. To understand all of them is too hard. The meditating Yogi eventually understands the main ones. His own memory is important and the intelligence of humanity is important. They are blended together. Each person becomes important and filled with illumination that may take ones whole life to go through and understand. If you want to know more about the intellectual illumination of humanity, it is in the entire college course at the biggest university in America. That is many courses. This is why the Yogi does not need to fly in an Airplane to the moon. Instead, stay home, meditate and learn the way of the Tao on this planet. There is no Tao on the moon. The Tao says that the personal memory is the little self and the intellectual illumination of humanity is the big self. The older you get the more you can experience and know the big self of intellectual illumination. There is no Tao or its meaning to study on the moon. Thus Science and the projects they have made Americans believe in has led even Yogis away from intellectual illumination. Return to the Yoga Sutras to straighten out. This Yoga Sutra is a simple statement of the Tao. With further meditation, personal memory is cleansed, and then consciousness knows the difference between memory and intellectual illumination.

[44] The meditating yogi thus finds subtle objects to consider along with the memory and intellect, such as the ego, even conditions of space and time.

Comments: The Ego is considered a subtle object in the Shankya philosophy. Only the “pure consciousness” is considered as a non-object. This type of thinking seems to be against the grain of western thinking. Consequently, even this little Sutra is very difficult to consider. In fact, some of your professors in high school teachers and college professors, at times, teach with “pure consciousness.” This means that this type of thinking is a combination of difficult and simple.

[45] All these subtle objects that eventually are contemplated, reach up to the pure consciousness.

Comments: The pure consciousness is easier to find after the Master of Meditation understands all the aspects of Yoga and Yoga Philosophy. Consequently, the student of Yoga must not give up in the study of Yoga and Meditation in all of these aspects. Eventually it is easy. What this means is that you will not be paid to be a Yogi, just movie actors in Hollywood are paid. Football players are paid. Congressional representatives are paid.

[46] These states of awareness attained through meditation are still related to the subtle objects that they are based on.

Comments: What a Yogi attains is called the powers of the self. They are called Siddha Yogis. Westerners also have attained some of these powers of the self through other means. Some of these means are in Patanjali Yoga Sutra part 2, part 3, and part 4.

[47] Eventually, the Yogi is the self-illuminating spiritual light of the self.

Comments: The conclusion of this Sutra is that the Yoga returns to a natural state, instead of he is walking around like a giant spiritual being. Some people do attain giant spiritual being, but this is a political fact and not a spiritual fact. Consequently, believe that the self-illuminating spiritual light of the self is a good attainment.

[48] This recognition of that spiritual self, helps the yogi begin to see and unfold truth.

Comments: Unfolding the spiritual truth helps one to lead a better life, within the size of life that you are already living.

[49] This type of truth and wisdom is separate from books and inference.

Comments: By applying truth and wisdom to our life, we change a little. No one can tell you how to do all of this. Do not Worry, Be Happy, if you cannot do all these wonderful spiritual things.

[50] This begins a new life for the Yogi that is generated by the spiritual light of the self.

Comments: To some extent, this is the beginning of Yoga and Meditation. Some people are changed by the spiritual light of the self as soon as they encounter meditation. Other people might even say so. On the other hand, many people believe this takes twenty years, and it still might happen mostly in twenty years.

[51] With further meditation the Yogi also finds the self as non-illuminating, without the wisdom light of the self.

Comments: This suggests that the Yogi also becomes normal instead of like Super Man flying around the world. This is the final Yoga Sutra of part one. Part one is about self-attainment and bliss. It is about meditation and the mind that one encounters as a possible obstacle to stillness. Part one is about the easy success of meditation.