Yoga is not a belief system or a religion or even a philosophy; it is an methodology for systematically expanding the conscious
mind. Yoga is the Science for overcoming the
self-destructive and limiting beliefs and internal programs that keep individual
life bound to the experiences of the Waking State of
Consciousness – the state in which life is alternately happy and sad, loving and hating, healthy and sick. When the world hears and understands this Teaching, all age old problems which have seemed so intractable for centuries will melt away with graceful and perfect solutions. There is no problem, mental, emotional, physical, societal, or environmental that can withstand the wholly beneficial power of Infinite Mind. When the world hears and understands this Teaching, World Peace will be assured for all ages to come. Global health, happiness and progress will be achieved for all future time.
The peace lies forever beyond the power of any words to describe, beyond the ability of the mind even to contemplate. It can, however, be experienced—this is the purpose of the Yoga Sutras, of Yoga in general. This
experience is a fourth major state of consciousness, pure consciousness, and gives deeper rest than that of sleep. The experience of this is not
enlightenment but it is required to grow into enlightenment. The Yoga Sutras are a description of the nature of enlightenment.
Sutra literally means “thread”. The Sutras are very short and concise statements. Yoga Sutras are the threads that together constitute the tapestry of Yoga. Yoga means to join together. Yoga is the science of joining together the individual self with the universal self into the state of nonchanging Unified Consciousness, full enlightenment. The mind is quickly absorbed by the experience of the Infinite when it has the use of valid techniques for the growth of consciousness; it is never a laborious, difficult or slow process. As the growth of consciousness proceeds, every area of life develops—heart, mind, body, environment.
Patañjali, who lived some five centuries before the birth of Christ, revitalized very important
knowledge and was commonly considered to be the Teacher of the first Śankaracharya.