What is Yoga? Yoga Sutra 1.2 Explained

Yoga Sutra 1.2 is the most famous of all the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. It gives us the answer to the very important question:

“What is Yoga?”

This sutra reveals the goal of yoga, and the rest of the book explains how to practice it.

YOGA SUTRA 1.2: YOGASCHITTA VRTTI NIRODHAH

Chitta means mind
Vrtti is translated as fluctuations or thoughts of the mind; your cached memories, habits, behaviors, and thoughts
Nirodhah means cessation or stoppage
Samadhi is the state of absorption where there is no thinker and the mind gets absorbed into an object
Yoga means union; to become one with

So translated, this Sutra means:

“Yoga is the stopping of the fluctuations of the mind.”

What is Yoga? YOGA SUTRA 1.2 GIVES US THE ANSWER

Yoga Sutra 1.2 explains that Yoga is the cessation of thoughts. Yoga is when our individual soul is in union with the universal spirit. It is the state of union that is achieved when our thoughts reach a pause and we can clearly see our oneness with consciousness.

It is like a turbulent lake that finally becomes calm. Just like you can see through to the bottom of a lake when it is still, you can see the truth of who you are when your mind’s thoughts are still.

In the same way that in deep sleep there are no thoughts and also there is no one thinking, in Samadhi (a state of intense concentration achieved through meditation) the meditator themselves disappears and merges with the object of their meditation. In Hinduism in India, yoga is regarded as the final stage at which union with the divine is achieved.

The way of the mind is to always be thinking. Some thoughts are necessary for living our lives. They enable us to do things like making plans and showing up on time.

But other thoughts can wreak havoc, like fear, anxiety, greed, anger, and jealousy. These types of thoughts come about when we don’t know the truth about what we are. We mistaken ourselves to be small people, only the sum total of our life experiences and separate from the whole.

In reality, only the mind and body are mortal. What we truly are is timeless. When we fully grasp this, dark thoughts and sorrows of the world won’t get us down anymore.

So how do we achieve a state of not thinking? Well, you can’t cease your thoughts by thinking about them.

A lake doesn’t get still from external force and effort. A lake becomes still when there is no commotion within the water due to a process of inner resolution. And just like a lake’s natural condition is to be calm, the mind’s natural condition is a peaceful state.

But all the thoughts whirling around in our minds disturb that innate peace. The way we perceive the outside world is based entirely on our thoughts. Our minds can turn any situation into heaven or hell.

So if you can control your mind through meditation and by understanding the truth of who you are, circumstances in the external world won’t affect your inner peace. This is yoga. The rest of the Yoga Sutras teach us how to do this.

Learn how to tame your mind here.

The Yoga Sutras are a collection of 196 verses written around 400 C.E. by the ancient Indian sage Patanjali. They are considered the authoritative text on yoga philosophy.

Within the Sutras, one can find a depth of wisdom on the practice of yoga, which is far more than a physical practice. The Sutras offer guidance on how to live a moral life, how to overcome core human challenges, and how to attain inner peace.

All credit for my learnings of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali go to my incredible teacher Arvind Pare. Did you find this explanation helpful? I’d love to hear! This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through them, I may receive a small commission at no cost to you. I donate 10% of all proceeds made from this blog to charity. Find out more about the charity I am supporting here.