These first two sutras are still about our efforts and their effects towards the goal of yoga.
Y.S. 1. 21 Tivra samveganam asannah
The rate of our progress is relative to the rate at which we practice and our enthusiasm for the work.
Y.S. 1. 22 Mrdu madhya adhimatravat tato’pi visesah
The various forms of devotion are mild, middle and intense. The more intense the faith, the closer the goal.
The next couple of sutras talk about devotion to a higher power. These can be difficult for a lot of people because the word god (ishvara) is used. This is not the same god, or being, of Christianity or Judaism. Ishvara is more of a primordial source, a state of consciousness from which everything in the universe emanates, a state of “is-ness” called Purusha in Sanskrit.
Swami Satchidananda explains god this way: “In other words, he is all knowing. He is knowledge itself. The cosmic knowledge is called the supreme soul or purusha. How can we imagine or visualize it? Imagine a circle. You can see the space within it nd the space outside it. The inner space is finite and the outer is infinite. If you accept the existence of a finite space you have to accept an infinite one. Without infinite there can be no finite. The moment you say, “I am a man,” there must be a woman. If you say “left” there must be a right. The thought of one implies the thought of the other. We feel that our minds are limited and finite. So, there must be a source of infinite knowledge beyond that. “
Y.S. 1. 23 Isvara pranidhanad va
Devotion and surrendering to a higher power will lead to Samadhi
Patanjali recognizes that attempt to change our mind to a state of yoga is fraught with obstacles that vary in potency. But for those who have either an inborn faith in god (ishvara) or are able to develop it over the years, the state of yoga can be achieved.
Y.S. 1. 24 – Klesa karma vipaka asayaaih aparamrstah purusa visesa isvarah
Consciousness is not affected by causes, reactions, pain or karma (Hint – but our ego is!) I’ll talk more about this in the next group of sutras.