Yoga Sutras, Introduction to Chapter 2

Greetings yogis and yoginis,
We return to Jacksonville after celebrating my in-laws' 50th wedding anniversary! My parents had theirs January of 2001. Swami Vishnudevananda said in my teacher training that being married is a type of karma yoga-the yoga of good actions.

The second chapter of the Yoga Sutras (Y.S.) is called Sadhana Pada or the chapter on practice. Carrera in his commentary says, "Sadhana, the term used to designate spiritual practices, is derived from the root sadh, [to go straight to the goal,] and is generally translated as [the means to liberation.]" The first chapter, advanced in content, introduced the goal of yoga, meditation techniques, and detailed explanations of samadhi (meditative absorption). In chapter two Patanjali backs up a bit and builds a foundation for practice. Right out of the gate he talks about kriya yoga, the yoga of practice, then introduces the five kleshas or afflictions. This is the predicament of human beings according to yoga.
It sounds a lot like Buddha's four noble truths-the gist of both being that life as we know it is suffering, which comes from ignorance of our true nature, and by doing yoga it doesn't have to be that way. Eventually he (Patanjali) lists the eight limbs of yoga, the classic system of approaching life in a comprehensive systematic manner. The first five limbs are discussed in detail (bahiranga or external limbs). The last three limbs (antaranga or internal limbs) are dealt with in Chapter Three. Another key concept introduced in this chapter is viveka or the concept of discrimination or discernment. The yogi uses viveka to differentiate between the real and the unreal, the permanent and the ephemeral, purusha (divine Self) and Prakriti (creation, nature). There are fifty-five sutras in this chapter and I will try to cover them at a pace that is both instructional and fun.