SAMADHIPADA: SUTRAS 12 - 16
YOGA SUTRA OF PATANJALI & ITS COMMENTARIES
Edwin Bryant

At the beginning of the text (i.2), Patanjali defined yoga as citta vrtti nirodha, ‘the restraint of the vrttis, the changing states of the mind.’ Having explained what constitutes a vrtti, he now turns his attention to nirodha, ‘restraint;’ how, exactly, are the vrttis to be restrained? In this sutra he identifies two ingredients necessary for such restraint: practice and dispassion (renunciation). Vijnanabhiksu quotes the Gita here: “The mind is undoubtedly fickle and difficult to control, O Arjuna, but it can be controlled by abhyasa-vairagyabhyam, practice and dispassion” (VI.35). These are the same two ingredients indicated by Patanjali in this sūtra. As was seen in I.6, Patanjali’s typical method is to introduce a list in one sutra, and then explain the items on this list in the subsequent sutras, so his definitions of practice and dispassion follow in the next sutras.

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