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Patanjali Yoga Sutra #3

Tada Drashtuh Svaroope-vasthanam Then, the seer (Purush) abides in is own nature. This sutra simply states that after prakriti is fully separated, and chitta also dissolves, then the consciousness (purush) still stays, absorbed with its own nature.  This looks too obvious in first look to waste a full sutra on. However, there are many schools of thought that believe that once the object of awareness (prakriti) is removed, the purush ceases to exist (in Buddhism), or becomes unconscious (nyaya and vaisheshika schools).To counter these, Patanjali takes an upfront stand. That said, there is  question of - so what. what's the point of abiding in own nature? how do prakriti and purush come together in a the first place, vs being forever separate? The answer usually is - don't worry about all this. It won't change anything. Focus on the known challenges in the path of yoga.
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Patanjali Yoga Sutra #2

Yoga-s-chitta-vratti-nirodhah Yoga is to still the modifications of 'chitta'. With the very first meaningful sutra, Patanjali hits hard with a dense sutra, showing that he means business. He puts out the definition of Yoga, which is deep and profound, and the students can refer back to, as they learn about it more.  Let's take the easier words first. Vratti translates to modifications. Basically if something is in one state, and ends up changing in some way, then the change is 'Vratti'. Nirodhah represents resisting to stop something. So, if resistance is against all changes, then if successful, there is absolutely no change, reaching 'stillness'.  'Chitta' is the more nuanced one here, and needs more background. In Sankhya system, the ultimate reality has 2 distinct parts - 1) Prakriti (the material world), and 2) Purush (awareness / consciousness). As they both interact, they evolve. In the beginning, purush acquires 3 evolutes - 1) Buddhi (int
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Patanjali Yoga Sutra #1

Atha Yoganushasanam Now, the discipline of yoga [begins]. It is common for hindu texts to open with a sentence that serves as a title of subject or chapter that is about to be taught. The first word Atha marks the beginning, in a somewhat sacred way. The second word, Yoga , basically places a name to the subject. When Patanjali researched, and collected the knowledge from various forms of yoga to compile as yoga sutras, he found an unorganized and scattered set of practices. Patanjali draws a line in the sand on the unified name to be used going forward.  Yoga is usually meant to mean 'union' - a union of body and mind and soul etc. However, the purpose of yoga, according to Patanjali, is not to unite, but to identify and separate out the various parts which has gotten mixed up over time. Etymologically, it could go back to 'yuj', which means 'to discern', and fits better with where Patanjali is headed. The third word, Anushasanam , translates to 'disciplin
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