Yoga Sutras on God

Sutras l.23-1.27 discuss Ishwara (God). Summing up the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (Y.S.) up to this point, the goal of Yoga is quieting the mind so that the yogi can experience her true identity as pure consciousness. This quieting of the mind is achieved by practice and nonattachment. Some types of meditative absorption involve some knowledge from direct experience of the object of focus. Another deeper type involves transcending even the sense of I-am-ness. With an intense practice this samadhi isn't far off. Practice can vary according to the intensity and the amount of practice done. The aspirant is served well by having the qualities of faith, strength, mindfulness, cognitive samadhi and discriminative insight.

1.23:Ishwara pranidhanaat va, Or (samadhi is attained) by devotion with total dedication to God (Ishwara).

Now Patanjali introduces another path to liberation, devotion to God. Until this sutra the only methodology involved conscious effort to quiet the mind. Devotion-pranidhana in Sanskrit-literally means to place or hold in front of. Carrera in his commentary on the Y.S. says "This sutra speaks to countless devotees who are devoted to their faith and who sincerely worship, pray, and attend church, synagogue, or temple. They do not need to learn about mantras, Prakriti, buddhi, or vrittis to achieve liberation. To be devoted to God in any form is a valid path in Raja Yoga."
I will discuss this topic further in sutras 2.32 and 2.45.

1.24:Klesa, karma, vipaka, asayair, aparamrishtah, purushaviseshah, ishwara, Ishwara is the supreme Purusha, unaffected by any afflictions, actions, fruits of actions, or any inner impressions of desires.

Patanjali begins his description of Ishwara. 'The supreme Purusha' tells us that Ishwara (God) is like us, a supreme unit of divine consciousnes. 'Unaffected by any afflictions' explains that unlike us Ishwara is not subject to the five klesas(afflictions)(sutra 2.3). 'Actions, fruits of actions, or any inner impressions of desires' points out that Ishwara is beyond karma, therefore not subject to further consequences of actions or impressions, not on the cycle of evolution.

1.25:Tatra niratisayam sarvajna bijam, In Ishwara is the complete manifestation of the seed of omniscience.

Another quality of God is given, omniscience.

1.26:Sah purvesham api guru kalena anavachchedat, Unconditioned by time, Ishwara is the teacher of even the most ancient teachers.

Not subject to time, this all knowing deity is the teachers' teacher. In the context of Indian culture a true guru is a very lofty title. To be the guru of the gurus is the supreme source of knowledge.

1.27:Tasya vachakah pranavah, The expression of Ishwara is the mystic sound OM.

Om in Sanskrit is called the pranavah mantra, Carrera calls it,"the hum of prana".
In 1964 two engineers at Bell Labs in Princeton, New Jersey, were trying to clean up the reception on one of their receivers for satellite transmission of signals but no matter what they couldn't get rid of this incredibly low-level hum on their receiver.
The two engineers Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson were baffled and consulted with experts down the road at Princeton University who were trying to set up equipment to prove the validity of the Big Bang Theory, that the universe began approximately 15 million years ago. They thought that a background noise should be able to be detected that would be audible from all parts of the universe and from all directions. Penzias and Wilson beat them to the punch and ended up winning a Noble Peace prize in physics in 1978 for their work. This sound can be confirmed by one's own experience in meditation. This is the sacred sound OM. From Ezekiel 43:1&2 "Afterwards he brought me to the gate, even the gate that looketh towards the east: and behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east; and his voice was like the noise of many waters; and the earth shined with his glory."
Also in the bible, (John 1.1), In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.