Samadhi Pada

The karmas bear fruits of pleasure and pain caused by merit and demerit.
—Sadhana Pada: Sutra 14.

By the practice of the eight limbs of Yoga, the impurities dwindle away and there dawns the light of wisdom, leading to discriminative discernment.
—Sadhana Pada: Sutra 28.

After chapter one describes the different kinds of thought forms, practices to control them and the different kinds of samadhis culminating in the highest experience of nirbija samadhi, the second chapter follows it up with practical ways of attaining that state.

In 55 sutras, the Sadhana Pada establishes the aim of yoga as being the control of the chitta vrittis (thought processes) to attain the highest union or 'yoga'. It prescribes the practice of Karma and Ashtanga Yoga as a means of achieving this union. This Pada identifies ignorance (avidya) and other obstacles to meditation as a major cause of our inability to naturally merge with the Absolute, and to this end it advices the eradication of all such kleshas by practicing the eight limbs of yoga and benefiting from their advantages.

It might be relevant here to mention the fact that Indian philosophy involves more of perception and understanding as opposed to the Western 'love of knowledge' (philosophy). The Sanskrit word for philosophy, 'darshan' literally means 'to see' or 'to perceive'. In such a case, the philosopher takes on the role of a 'spectator' and having perceived the patterns of the 'spectacle' before him, prepares to merge with it and obliterates the subject/object dichotomy between the 'perceiver' and the 'perception'. And it is practices such as Kriya Yoga and Ashtanga Yoga, which forces the yogi or seeker into action. Thus, far from being a passive 'spectator', the true philosopher and yogi actually gains mastery over the Divine Spectacle, which is our entire existence!

The practice of these three (dharana, dhyana, and samadhi) upon one object is called samyama.

By the mastery of samyama comes the light of knowledge.
Its practice is to be accomplished in stages.

—Vibhuti Pada: Sutras 5-7.

The 56 sutras of the third chapter focus on the achieved union and its result. The term 'vibhuti' denotes manifestation or residue and this Pada delineates all the accomplishments, which come as the result of regular yoga practices. They are also sometimes called the siddhis, or powers, which have become matured with practice. The practices, which have been stressed in the Vibhuti Pada are the final three limbs of Ashtanga Yoga: dharana (concentration), dhyana (meditation), and samadhi (contemplation), the amalgamated practice of which is known as samyama.

This chapter deals with the subtle states of awareness and advanced techniques of practicing samyama. The various kinds of knowledge or siddhis that might be obtained by practicing this yogic technique are also described. The Pada brings home the fact that knowledge is power and states the techniques of utilizing such potency for the best possible results.

The discriminative knowledge that simultaneously comprehends all objects in all conditions is the intuitive knowledge, which brings liberation.

When the tranquil mind attains purity equal to that of the Self, there is Absoluteness.

—Vibhuti Pada: Sutras 56-57.

Only the minds born of meditation are free from karmic impressions.
—Kaivalya Pada: Sutra 7.

Since the desire to live is eternal, impressions are also beginningless.
The impressions being held together by cause, effect, basis and support, they disappear with the disappearance of these four.
—Kaivalya Pada: Sutra 11-12.

Kaivalya, which is the ultimate goal of yoga, means solitariness or detachment. The 34 sutras of the fourth chapter deals with impressions left by our endless cycles of birth and the rationale behind the necessity of erasing such impressions.

It portrays the yogi, who has attained kaivalya, as an entity who has gained independence from all bondages and achieved the absolute true consciousness or ritambhara prajna described in the Samadhi Pada.

…Or, to look from another angle, the power of pure consciousness settles in its own pure nature.
—Kaivalya Pada: Sutra 35.