Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtras are the classical work of the Yoga School of thought, one of the Six Darśanas studied in the Bhakti Tirtha course. They focus on how to attain direct experience and realization of the puruṣa, or the individual self. As the classical treatise on the Vedic understanding of the mind and consciousness and on techniques of meditation and self-realization, it has exerted immense influence over the religious practices of Hinduism in India and, more recently, in the West. For Vaiṣṇavas, the Yoga Sūtras are especially helpful in understanding the first two chapters of Bhakti-rasāmṛita-sindhu.
You should have one desire, and that is that you want prema. Then you should work to fulfill that desire, no matter what obstacle comes your way. Stay focused and fixed on this goal. Make this your resolve. Every morning take a deep breath in, and then push all of the air out out of your lungs. And just when you feel like you are about to die, resolve mentally, ‘I want Krishna prema – nothing else.’ Do this five times each morning and also five times at night before sleeping.
