Shankara on the Yoga Sutras Second Part: Means

Second Part: MEANS

(Śaṅkara:)

Now the Second Part, on the means, is begun. Right vision (samyagdarśana) is the means to Transcendental Aloneness (kaivalya). The yogic means are only means to right vision through yoga, and as this Part is mainly concerned with them, it is called the Part of the Means.

Then the Third Part, concerned mainly with the glories which attend on one who has been devoted to the practice of the yogic means, is called the Part of Glory.

The Fourth Part, which deals mainly with Transcendental Aloneness, attained by the one who is detached from all yogic powers and glories in total renunciation, is called the Part of Transcendental Aloneness.

The First Part, which at the beginning explained samādhi principally, was called the part of Samādhi.

In this connection the commentator says: The yoga for a concentrated mind has been described, meaning one unconcerned with action. The seedless samādhi was described, attained through higher detachment and practice of the idea of stopping, by a yogin who has already attained steadiness by practising the various means such as meditation on friendliness and compassion (I.33 and following). (Now he turns to) how one of extravertive mind may become steady in yoga. The sūtra-s now turn to how even one of changeable (vikṣipta, I.1) mind may become capable of samādhi.