YSP-Sutras2.01-2.20

Chapter 2 – Sadhana Pada

Author Abbreviations

  • [HA]: Hariharananda Aranya
  • [IT]: I. K. Taimni
  • [VH]: Vyasa Houston
  • [BM]: Barbara Miller
  • [SS]: Swami Satchidananda
  • [SP]: Swami Prabhavananda
  • [SV]: Swami Vivekananda

Sutra II.1

तपःस्वाध्यायेश्वरप्रणिधानानि क्रियायोगः॥१॥

tapaḥ svādhyāy-eśvarapraṇidhānāni kriyā-yogaḥ ॥1॥

[HA]: Tapas (Austerity Or Sturdy Self-Discipline—Mental, Moral And Physical), Svadhyaya (Repetition Of Sacred Mattras Or Study Of Sacred Literature) And Isvara-Pranidhana (Complete Surrender To God) Are Kriya-Yoga (Yoga In The Form Of Action).

[IT]: Austerity, self-study and resignation to Isvara constitute preliminary Yoga.

[VH]: [BM]: The active performance of yoga involves ascetic practice, study of sacred lore, and dedication to the lord of Yoga.

[SS]: Accepting pain as help for purification, study of spiritual books, and surrender to the Supreme Being constitute Yoga in practice.

[SP]: Austerity, study, and the dedication of the fruits of one’s work to God: these are the preliminary steps toward yoga.

[SV]: Mortification, study, and surrendering fruits of work to God are called Kriyâ-yoga.


Sutra II.2

समाधिभावनार्थः क्लेशतनूकरणार्थश्च॥२॥

samādhi-bhāvana-arthaḥ kleśa tanū-karaṇa-arthaś-ca ॥2॥

[HA]: For Bringing About Samadhi And Minimising The Klesas.

[IT]: (Kriya-Yoga) is practiced for attenuating Klesas and bringing about Samadhi.

[VH]: [BM]: It’s purpose is to cultivate pure contemplation and attenuate the forces of corruption.

[SS]: They help us minimize obstackes and attain samadhi.

[SP]: Thus we may cultivate the power of concentration and remove the obstacles to enlightenment which cause all our sufferings.

[SV]: (It is for) the practice of Samadhi and minimising the pain-bearing obstructions.


Sutra II.3

अविद्यास्मितारागद्वेषाभिनिवेशाः क्लेशाः॥३॥

avidyā-asmitā-rāga-dveṣa-abhiniveśaḥ kleśāḥ ॥3॥

[HA]: Avidya (Misapprehension About The Real Nature Of Things), Asmita (Egoism), Raga (Attachmant, Dvesa (Aversion) And Abhinivesa (Fear Of Death) Are The Five Klesas (Afflictions).

[IT]: The lack of awareness of Reality, the sense of egoism or ‘I-am-ness’, attractions and repulsions towards objects and the strong desire for life are the great afflictions or causes of all miseries in life.

[VH]: [BM]: The forces of corruption are ignorance, egoism. passion, hatred, and the will to live.

[SS]: Ignorance, egoism, attachment, hatred, and clinging to bodily life are the five obstacles.

[SP]: These obstacles—the causes of man’s sufferings—are ignorance, egoism, attachment, aversion, and the desire to cling to life.

[SV]: The pain-bearing obstructions are — ignorance, egoism, attachment, aversion and clinging to life.


Sutra II.4

अविद्याक्षेत्रमुत्तरेषां प्रसुप्ततनुविच्छिन्नोदाराणाम्॥४॥

avidyā kṣetram-uttareṣām prasupta-tanu-vicchinn-odārāṇām ॥4॥

[HA]: Avidya Is The Breeding Ground For The Others Whether They Be Dormant, Attenuated, Interrupted Or Active.

[IT]: Avidya is the source of those that are mentioned after it, whether they be in the dormant, attenuated, alternating or expanded condition.

[VH]: [BM]: Ignorance is the field where the other forces of corruption develop, whether dormant, attenuated, intermittent, or active.

[SS]: Ignorance is the field for the others mentioned after it, whether they be dormant, feeble, intercepted, or sustained.

[SP]: Ignorance creates all the other obstacles. They may exist either in a potential or a vestigial form, or they may have been temporarily overcome or fully developed.

[SV]: Ignorance is the productive field of all these that follow, whether they are dormant, attenuated, overpowered, or expanded.

 


Sutra II.5

अनित्याशुचिदुःखानात्मसु नित्यशुचिसुखात्मख्यातिरविद्या॥५॥

anityā-aśuci-duḥkha-anātmasu nitya-śuci-sukha-ātmakhyātir-avidyā ॥5॥

[HA]: Avidya Consists In Regarding A Transient Object As Everlasting, An Impure Object As Pure, Misery As Happiness And The Not-Self As Self.

[IT]: Avidya is taking the non-eternal, impure, evil and non-Atman to be eternal, pure, good and Atman respectively.

[VH]: [BM]: Ignorance is misperceiving permanance in transience, purity in impurity, pleasure in suffering, an essential self where there is no self.

[SS]: Ignorance is regarding the impermanent as permanent, the impure as pure, the painful as pleasant, and the non-Self as Self.

[SP]: To regard the noneternal as eternal, the impure as pure, the painful as pleasant and the non-Atman as the Atman-this is ignorance.

[SV]: Ignorance is taking the non-eternal, the impure, the painful, and the non-Self, as the eternal, the pure, the happy, and the Atman or Self (respectively).

 


Sutra II.6

दृग्दर्शनशक्त्योरेकात्मतेवास्मिता॥६॥

dr̥g-darśana-śaktyor-ekātmata-iva-asmitā ॥6॥

[HA]: Asmita Is Tantamount To The Identification Of Purusa Or Pure Consciousness With Buddhi.

[IT]: Asmita is the identity of blending together, as it were, of the power of consciousness (Purusa) with the power of cognition (Buddhi).

[VH]: [BM]: Egoism is ascribing a unified self to the organs and powers of perception, such as the eye and the power to see.

[SS]: Egoism is the identification, as it were, of the power of the Seer (Purusha) with that of the instrument of seeing [body-mind].

[SP]: To identify consciousness with that which merely reflects consciousness—this is egoism.

[SV]: Egoism is the identification of the seer with the instrument of seeing.

 


Sutra II.7

सुखानुशयी रागः॥७॥

sukha-anuśayī rāgaḥ ॥7॥

[HA]: Attachment Is that (Modification) Which Follows Remembrance Of Pleasure.

[IT]: That attraction, which accompanies pleasure, is Raga.

[VH]: [BM]: Passion follows from attachment to pleasure.

[SS]: Attachment is that which follows identification with pleasurable experiences.

[SP]: Attachment is that which dwells upon pleasure.

[SV]: Attachment is that which dwells on pleasure.

 


Sutra II.8

दुःखानुशयी द्वेषः॥८॥

duḥkha-anuśayī dveṣaḥ ॥8॥

[HA]: Aversion Is That (Modification) Which Results From Misery.

[IT]: That repulsion which accompanies pain is Dvesa.

[VH]: [BM]: Hatred follows from attachment to suffering.

[SS]: Aversion is that which follows identification with painful experiences.

[SP]: Aversion is that which dwells upon pain.

[SV]: Aversion is that which dwells on pain.

 


Sutra II.9

स्वरसवाही विदुषोऽपि तथारूढोऽभिनिवेशः॥९॥

svarasavāhī viduṣo’pi tathārūḍho’bhiniveśaḥ॥9॥

[HA]: As In The Ignorant So In The Learned The Firmly Established Inborn Fear Of Annihilation Is The Affliction Called Abhinivesa.

[IT]: Abhinivesa is the strong desire for life which dominates even the learned (or the wise).

[VH]: [BM]: The will to live is instinctive and overwhelming, even for a learned sage.

[SS]: Clinging to life, flowing by its own potency [due to past experience], exists even in the wise.

[SP]: The desire to cling to life is inherent both in the ignorant and in the learned. This is because the mind retains impressions of the death experience from many previous incarnations.

[SV]: Flowing through its own nature, and established even in the learned, is the clinging to life.


Sutra II.10

ते प्रतिप्रसवहेयाः सूक्ष्माः॥१०॥

te pratiprasava-heyāḥ sūkṣmāḥ ॥10॥

[HA]: The Subtle Klesas Are Forsaken (i.e. Destroyed) By The Cessation Of Productivity (i.e. Disappearance) Of The Mind.

[IT]: These, the subtle ones, can be reduced by resolving them backward into their origin.

[VH]: [BM]: The subtle forces of corruption can be escaped by reversing their course.

[SS]: In subtle form, these obstacles can be destroyed by resolving them back into their primal cause [the ego].

[SP]: When these obstacles have been reduced to a vestigial form, they can be destroyed by resolving the mind back into its primal cause.

[SV]: The fine Samskaras are to be conquered by resolving them into their causal state.

 


Sutra II.11

ध्यानहेयास्तद्वृत्तयः॥११॥

dhyāna heyāḥ tad-vr̥ttayaḥ ॥11॥

[HA]: Their Means Of Subsistence Or Their Gross States Are Avoidable By Meditation.

[IT]: Their active modifications are to be suppressed by meditation.

[VH]: [BM]: One can escape the turnings through meditation.

[SS]: In the active state, they can be destroyed by meditation.

[SP]: In their fully developed form, they can be overcome through meditation.

[SV]: By meditation, their (gross) modifications are to be rejected.

 


Sutra II.12

क्लेशमूलः कर्माशयो दृष्टादृष्टजन्मवेदनीयः॥१२॥

kleśa-mūlaḥ karma-aśayo dr̥ṣṭa-adr̥ṣṭa-janma-vedanīyaḥ ॥12॥

[HA]: Karmasaya Or Latent Impression of Action Based On Afflictions, Becomes Active In This Life Or In A Life To Come.

[IT]: The resevoir of Karmas which are rooted in Klesas brings all kinds of experiences in the present and future lives.

[VH]: [BM]: Subliminal intention formed in actions, rooted in the forces of corruption, is realized in present or potential births.

[SS]: The womb of karmas (actions and reactions) has its root in these obstacles, and the karmas bring experiences in the seen [present] or in the unseen [future] births.

[SP]: A man’s latent tendencies have been created by his past thoughts and actions. These tendencies will bear fruits, both in this life and in lives to come.

[SV]: The Receptacle of works has its root in these pain-bearing obstructions, and their experience is in this visible life, or in the unseen life.

 


Sutra II.13

सति मूले तद्विपाको जात्यायुर्भोगाः॥१३॥

sati mūle tad-vipāko jāty-āyur-bhogāḥ ॥13॥

[HA]: As Long As Klesa Remains At The Root, Karmasaya Produces Three Consequences In The Form Of Birth, Span Of Life And Experience.

[IT]: As long as the root is there it must ripen and result in lives of different class, length and experiences.

[VH]: [BM]: As long as this root exists, actions ripen into births, a term of life, and experience in the world.

[SS]: With the existence of the root, there will be fruits also: namely, the births of different species of life, their life spans and experiences.

[SP]: So long as the cause exists, it will bear fruits—such as rebirth, a long or a short life, and the experiences of pleasure and of pain.

[SV]: The root being there, the fruition comes (in the form of) species, life, and expression of pleasure and pain.

 


Sutra II.14

ते ह्लादपरितापफलाः पुण्यापुण्यहेतुत्वात्॥१४॥

te hlāda paritāpa-phalāḥ puṇya-apuṇya-hetutvāt ॥14॥ 

[HA]: Because Of Virtue And Vice These (Birth, Span And Experience) Produce Pleasurable And Painful Experiences.

[IT]: They have joy of sorrow for their fruit according as their cause is virtue of vice.

[VH]: [BM]: These actions bear joyful or sorrowful fruits according to the actor’s virtue or vice.

[SS]: The karmas bear fruits of pleasure and pain caused by merit and demerit.

[SP]: Experiences of pleasure and of pain are the fruits of merit and demerit, respectively.

[SV]: They bear fruit as pleasure or pain, caused by virtue or vice.

 


Sutra II.15

परिणामतापसंस्कारदुःखैर्गुणवृत्तिविरोधाच्च दुःखमेव सर्वं विवेकिनः॥१५॥

pariṇāma tāpa saṁskāra duḥkhaiḥ guṇa-vr̥tti-virodhācca duḥkham-eva sarvaṁ vivekinaḥ ॥15॥

[HA]: The Discriminating Persons Apprehend (By Analysis And Anticipation) All Worldly Objects As Sorrowful Because They Cause Suffering In Consequence, In Their Afflictive Experiences And In Their Latencies And Also Because Of The Contrary Nature Of The Gunas (Which Produces Changes All The Time).

[IT]: To the people who have developed discrimination all is misery on account of the pains resulting from change, anxiety and tendencies, as also on account of the conflicts between the functioning of the Gunas and the Vrttis (of the mind).

[VH]: [BM]: All life is suffering for a man of discrimination, because of the sufferings inherant in change and its corrupting subliminal impression, and because of the way qualities of material nature turn against themselves.

[SS]: To one of discrimination, everything is painful indeed, due to its consequences: the anxiety and fear over losing what is gained; the resulting impressions left in the mind to create renewed cravings; and the constant conflict among the three gunas, which control the mind.

[SP]: But the man of spiritual discrimination regards al these experiences as painful. For even the enjoyment o present pleasure is painful, since we already fear it loss. Past pleasure is painful because renewed craving! arise from the impressions it has left upon the mind And how can any happiness be lasting if it depends only upon our moods? For these moods are constantly changing, as one or another of the ever-warring gunas seizes control of the mind.

[SV]: To the discriminating, all is, as it were, painful on account of everything bringing pain, either in the consequences, or in apprehension, or in attitude caused by impressions, also on account of the counter action of qualities.

 


Sutra II.16

हेयं दुःखमनागतम्॥१६॥

heyaṁ duḥkham-anāgatam ॥16॥

[HA]: Pain Which Is Yet To Come Is To Be Discarded.

[IT]: The misery which is not yet come can and is to be avoided.

[VH]: [BM]: Suffering that has not yet come can be escaped.

[SS]: Pain that has not yet come is avoidable.

[SP]: The pain which is yet to come may be avoided.

[SV]: The misery which is not yet come is to be avoided.


Sutra II.17

द्रष्टृदृश्ययोः संयोगो हेयहेतुः॥१७॥

draṣṭr̥-dr̥śyayoḥ saṁyogo heyahetuḥ ॥17॥

[HA]: Uniting The Seer Or The Subject With The Seen Or The Object, Is The Cause Of That Which Has To Be Avoided.

[IT]: The cause of that which is to be avoided is the union of the Seer and the Seen.

[VH]: [BM]: [SS]: The cause of that avoidable pain is the union of the Seer (Purusha) and the seen (Prakriti, or Nature).

[SP]: This pain is caused by false identification of the experiencer with the object of experience. It may be avoided.

[SV]: The cause of that which is to be avoided is the junction of the seer and the seen.

 


Sutra II.18

प्रकाशक्रियास्थितिशीलं भूतेन्द्रियात्मकं भोगापवर्गार्थं दृश्यम्॥१८॥

prakāśa-kriyā-sthiti-śīlaṁ bhūtendriya-ātmakaṁ bhoga-apavarga-arthaṁ dr̥śyam ॥18॥

[HA]: The Object Or Knowable Is By Nature Sentient, Mutable And Inert. It Exists In The Form Of The Elements And The Organs, And Serves The Purpose Of Experience And Emancipation.

[IT]: The Seen (objective side of manifestation) consists of the elements and sense organs, is of the nature of cognition, activity and stability (Sattva, Rajas and Tamas) and has for its purpose providing the Purusa with) experience and liberation.

[VH]: [BM]: [SS]: The seen is of the nature of the gunas: illumination, activity and inertia; and consists of the elements and sense organs, whose purpose is to provide both experiences and liberation to the Purusha.

[SP]: The object of experience is composed of the three gunas—the principles of illumination (sattwa), activity (rajas) and inertia (tamas). From these, the whole universe has evolved together with the instruments of knowledge—such as the mind, senses, etc.—and the objects perceived—such as the physical elements. The universe exists in order that the experiencer may experience it, and thus become liberated.

[SV]: The experienced is composed of elements and organs, is of the nature of illumination, action and intertia, and is for the purpose of experience and release (of the experiencer).

 


Sutra II.19

विशेषाविशेषलिङ्गमात्रालिङ्गानि गुणपर्वाणि॥१९॥

viśeṣa-aviśeṣa-liṅga-mātra-aliṅgāni guṇaparvāṇi ॥19॥

[HA]: Diversified (Visesa), Undiversified (Avisesa), Indicator-Only (Linga-Matra), And That Which Is Without Any Indication (Alinga), Are The States Of The Gunas.

[IT]: The stages of the Gunas are the particular, the universal, the differentiated and the undifferentiated.

[VH]: [BM]: [SS]: The stages of the gunas are specific, non-specific, defined and undefinable.

[SP]: The gunas pass through four states—gross, subtle, primal and unevolved.

[SV]: The states of the qualities are the defined, the undefined, the indicated only, and the signless.

 


Sutra II.20

द्रष्टा दृशिमात्रः शुद्धोऽपि प्रत्ययानुपश्यः॥२०॥

draṣṭā dr̥śimātraḥ śuddho-‘pi pratyaya-anupaśyaḥ ॥20॥

[HA]: The Seer Is Absolute Knower. Although Pure, Modifications (Of Buddhi) Are Witnessed By Him As An Onlooker.

[IT]: The Seer is pure consciousness but though pure, appears to see through the mind.

[VH]: [BM]: [SS]: The Seer is nothing but the power of seeing which, although pure, appears to see through the mind.

[SP]: The Atman—the experiencer—is pure consciousness. It appears to take on the changing colors of the mind. In reality, it is unchangeable.

[SV]: The seer is intelligence only, and though pure, seen through the colouring of the intellect.