śucau deśe pratiṣṭhāpya
sthiram āsanam ātmanaḥ
nāty-ucchritaḿ nāti-nīcaḿ
cailājina-kuśottaram

tatraikāgraḿ manaḥ kṛtvā
yata-cittendriya-kriyaḥ
upaviśyāsane yuñjyād
yogam ātma-viśuddhaye

Translation

To practice yoga, one should go to a secluded place and should lay kusa grass on the ground and then cover it with a deerskin and a soft cloth. The seat should be neither too high nor too low and should be situated in a sacred place. The yogi should then sit on it very firmly and practice yoga to purify the heart by controlling his mind, senses and activities and fixing the mind on one point.

samaḿ kāya-śiro-grīvaḿ
dhārayann acalaḿ sthiraḥ
samprekṣya nāsikāgraḿ svaḿ
diśaś cānavalokayan

praśāntātmā vigata-bhīr
brahmacāri-vrate sthitaḥ
manaḥ saḿyamya mac-citto
yukta āsīta mat-paraḥ

Translation

One should hold one’s body, neck and head erect in a straight line and stare steadily at the tip of the nose. Thus, with an unagitated, subdued mind, devoid of fear, completely free from sex life, one should meditate upon Me within the heart and make Me the ultimate goal of life.

yuñjann evaḿ sadātmānaḿ
yogī niyata-mānasaḥ
śāntiḿ nirvāṇa-paramāḿ
mat-saḿsthām adhigacchati

Translation

Thus practicing constant control of the body, mind and activities, the mystic transcendentalist, his mind regulated, attains to the kingdom of God [or the abode of Krishna] by cessation of material existence.

nāty-aśnatas tu yogo ’sti
na caikāntam anaśnataḥ
na cāti-svapna-śīlasya
jāgrato naiva cārjuna

Translation

There is no possibility of one’s becoming a yogi, O Arjuna, if one eats too much or eats too little, sleeps too much or does not sleep enough.

yuktāhāra-vihārasya
yukta-ceṣṭasya karmasu
yukta-svapnāvabodhasya
yogo bhavati duḥkha-hā

Translation

He who is regulated in his habits of eating, sleeping, recreation and work can mitigate all material pains by practicing the yoga system.

yadā viniyataḿ cittam
ātmany evāvatiṣṭhate
nispṛhaḥ sarva-kāmebhyo
yukta ity ucyate tadā

Translation

When the yogi, by practice of yoga, disciplines his mental activities and becomes situated in transcendence—devoid of all material desires—he is said to be well established in yoga.

yathā dīpo nivāta-stho
neńgate sopamā smṛtā
yogino yata-cittasya
yuñjato yogam ātmanaḥ

Translation

As a lamp in a windless place does not waver, so the transcendentalist, whose mind is controlled, remains always steady in his meditation on the transcendent self.

yatroparamate cittaḿ
niruddhaḿ yoga-sevayā
yatra caivātmanātmānaḿ
paśyann ātmani tuṣyati

sukham ātyantikaḿ yat tad
buddhi-grāhyam atīndriyam
vetti yatra na caivāyaḿ
sthitaś calati tattvataḥ

yaḿ labdhvā cāparaḿ lābhaḿ
manyate nādhikaḿ tataḥ
yasmin sthito na duḥkhena
guruṇāpi vicālyate

taḿ vidyād duḥkha-saḿyoga-
viyogaḿ yoga-saḿjñitam

Translation

In the stage of perfection called trance, or samadhi, one’s mind is completely restrained from material mental activities by practice of yoga. This perfection is characterized by one’s ability to see the self by the pure mind and to relish and rejoice in the self. In that joyous state, one is situated in boundless transcendental happiness, realized through transcendental senses. Established thus, one never departs from the truth, and upon gaining this he thinks there is no greater gain. Being situated in such a position, one is never shaken, even in the midst of greatest difficulty. This indeed is actual freedom from all miseries arising from material contact.

sa niścayena yoktavyo
yogo ’nirviṇṇa-cetasā
sańkalpa-prabhavān kāmāḿs
tyaktvā sarvān aśeṣataḥ
manasaivendriya-grāmaḿ
viniyamya samantataḥ

Translation

One should engage oneself in the practice of yoga with determination and faith and not be deviated from the path. One should abandon, without exception, all material desires born of mental speculation and thus control all the senses on all sides by the mind.

sanaih sanair uparamed
buddhya dhrti-grhitaya
atma-samstham manah kritva
na kincid api cintayet

Translation

Gradually, step by step, one should become situated in trance by means of intelligence sustained by full conviction, and thus the mind should be fixed on the self alone and should think of nothing else.