Yoga Sutras | Pada 2: Sadhana Pada

Pada 2: Sadhana Pada (The Chapter on Practice)

The Sadhana Pada is the most practical chapter of the Yoga Sutras. While the first pada describes the goal (samadhi), the second pada lays out the means: the path of practice that leads from bondage to liberation. In 55 sutras, it covers the obstacles to yoga (klesas), the law of karma, the eight-limbed path (astanga-yoga), and the first five limbs in detail.

Kriya Yoga

Sutra 2.1: Tapah svadhyaya isvara-pranidhanani kriya-yogah - “Austerity, self-study, and surrender to Isvara constitute kriya yoga.”

The chapter opens with the threefold practice of kriya yoga, which is intended for those who are not yet ready for the higher stages of samadhi. Kriya yoga reduces suffering and leads to samadhi:

• Tapas (austerity): Disciplined practices that purify the body and mind
• Svadhyaya (self-study): Study of scriptures and repetition of mantras
• Isvara-pranidhana (surrender to the Lord): Offering all actions to the divine

Sutra 2.2: Samadhi-bhavana-arthah klesa-tanu-karana-arthas ca - “For the cultivation of samadhi and the thinning of the afflictions.”

Kriya yoga serves two purposes: it reduces the power of the klesas and it prepares the mind for samadhi.

The Five Afflictions (Klesas)

Sutras 2.3-9 analyze the five fundamental causes of suffering:

Sutra 2.3: Avidya-asmita-raga-dvesa-abhinivesah klesah - “The afflictions are: ignorance, egoism, attachment, aversion, and clinging to life.”

1. Avidya (ignorance): The root klesa. It is the mistaking of the non-eternal, impure, painful, and non-Self for the eternal, pure, pleasurable, and Self (2.5).

2. Asmita (egoism): The identification of the seer (consciousness) with the instrument of seeing (the mind/intellect) (2.6).

3. Raga (attachment): The clinging to pleasures, arising from the memory of pleasurable experiences (2.7).

4. Dvesa (aversion): The repulsion from pain, arising from the memory of painful experiences (2.8).

5. Abhinivesa (clinging to life): The innate fear of death, present in all beings, even the wise (2.9).

Sutras 2.10-11 explain that these klesas can be thinned through kriya yoga and destroyed through samadhi. In their subtle form, they are destroyed when the mind dissolves into its cause.

The Law of Karma

Sutras 2.12-14 explain the mechanism of karma. The klesas are the root of karma; actions performed under the influence of the klesas produce results that shape future births, life spans, and experiences. The results of karma are not random but follow the moral order of the universe.

Sutra 2.15: Parinama-tapa-samskara-duhkhaih guna-vrtti-virodhat ca duhkham eva sarvam vivekinah - “To the discriminating person, all is suffering, due to the suffering of change, anxiety, and latent impressions, and due to the conflict of the gunas.”

This is one of the most important sutras: for the wise person, even pleasure is seen as suffering because of its impermanence, its attendant anxiety, and the impressions it leaves. This vision of universal suffering generates the determination to seek liberation.

Drastu and Drsya: The Seer and the Seen

Sutras 2.15-27 describe the fundamental duality that yoga seeks to transcend:

Sutra 2.17: Drastr-drsyayoh samyogo heya-hetuh - “The conjunction of the seer and the seen is the cause of what is to be avoided.”

The purpose of yoga is to break this conjunction. The drsya (the seen) consists of the elements and the senses, which serve the purpose of providing experience and liberation to the drastu (the seer).

The process of liberation involves viveka-khyati (discriminative knowledge) - the ability to distinguish between the seer and the seen at all times. When this knowledge is attained, the conjunction ceases and liberation is achieved.

The Eight Limbs (Astanga Yoga)

Sutra 2.29: Yama-niyama-asana-pranayama-pratyahara-dharana-dhyana-samadhayo ‘stav angani - “The eight limbs are: ethical restraints, observances, posture, breath control, sense withdrawal, concentration, meditation, and absorption.”

This sutra introduces the eight limbs that form the framework of classical yoga. The first five are described in the Sadhana Pada; the last three in the following pada.

The First Five Limbs

Yama (restraints): The five ethical restraints are the foundation of all yoga practice:

1. Ahimsa - Non-violence (2.35)
2. Satya - Truthfulness (2.36)
3. Asteya - Non-stealing (2.37)
4. Brahmacarya - Celibacy/right use of energy (2.38)
5. Aparigraha - Non-possessiveness (2.39)

Niyama (observances): The five personal disciplines:

1. Sauca - Purity (2.40)
2. Santosa - Contentment (2.42)
3. Tapas - Austerity (2.43)
4. Svadhyaya - Self-study (2.44)
5. Isvara-pranidhana - Surrender to the Lord (2.45)

Asana (posture): Sutras 2.46-48 describe asana as a steady and comfortable posture, achieved through relaxation and meditation on the infinite. When asana is mastered, one is no longer disturbed by the pairs of opposites (heat/cold, pleasure/pain).

Pranayama (breath control): Sutras 2.49-53 describe the regulation of breath - its inhalation, exhalation, and retention. Pranayama removes the veil covering the inner light and makes the mind fit for concentration.

Pratyahara (sense withdrawal): Sutras 2.54-55 describe the process of withdrawing the senses from their objects, so that the senses follow the mind rather than being drawn outward by sense objects. This is the highest stage of the external limbs.

Key Teachings of Sadhana Pada

The path is practical: The Sadhana Pada provides a complete, step-by-step path from the most basic ethical disciplines to advanced meditation.

Kriya yoga is for everyone: Even those who cannot yet attain samadhi can practice tapas, svadhyaya, and Isvara-pranidhana, which will thin the afflictions and prepare the mind for deeper practice.

The klesas are the root of suffering: All suffering arises from the five afflictions, of which ignorance (avidya) is the root. Removing ignorance removes suffering.

Discipline precedes freedom: The eight limbs proceed from the gross to the subtle. The ethical disciplines (yama and niyama) are not optional but foundational. Without them, higher practices are impossible.

Commentarial Tradition

Vyasa: Vyasa’s commentary on the Sadhana Pada is particularly detailed on the klesas and the eight limbs. His analysis of the five klesas and their interrelationships is the definitive treatment in the Yoga tradition.

Samkara: In his Vivarana (sub-commentary), Samkara interprets the Yoga Sutras from an Advaitic perspective. The conjunction of seer and seen, for him, is the same as the superimposition (adhyasa) that Advaita seeks to remove through knowledge.