1. Sutra 2.1: तपःस्वाध्यायेश्वरप्रणिधानानि क्रियायोगः
Transliteration: Tapah-svadhyaya-ishvara-pranidhanani kriya-yogah
Meaning: Kriya Yoga consists of austerity (tapas), self-study (svadhyaya), and devotion to Ishvara (ishvara-pranidhana).
Real-Life Example: Someone practices fasting (tapas), reads spiritual texts (svadhyaya), and prays daily (ishvara-pranidhana), fostering inner calm.
Exercise: For one day, practice a small austerity (e.g., skip a meal or limit screen time), read a spiritual passage, and spend 5 minutes in prayer or gratitude. Journal how these actions affect your mind.

2. Sutra 2.2: समाधिभावनार्थः क्लेशतनूकरणार्थश्च
Transliteration: Samadhi-bhavana-arthah klesha-tanu-karana-arthash cha
Meaning: Kriya Yoga is practiced to cultivate samadhi and to weaken the afflictions (kleshas).
Real-Life Example: A person meditates daily to find peace (samadhi) and notices their anger (a klesha) diminishes through practice.
Exercise: Meditate for 5 minutes, focusing on your breath. Note one negative emotion you’ve felt recently. Reflect on how meditation could weaken it and journal your thoughts.

3. Sutra 2.3: अविद्यास्मितारागद्वेषाभिनिवेशाः क्लेशाः
Transliteration: Avidya-asmita-raga-dvesha-abhiniveshah kleshah
Meaning: The afflictions are ignorance, egoism, attachment, aversion, and fear of death.
Real-Life Example: Someone feels jealous (attachment) of a colleague’s success due to comparing themselves (egoism), stemming from ignorance.
Exercise: Identify one klesha you’ve experienced today. Write a reflection on how it arose and its impact. Meditate for 5 minutes to observe it without judgment.

4. Sutra 2.4: अविद्या क्षेत्रमुत्तरेषां प्रसुप्ततनुविच्छिन्नोदाराणाम्
Transliteration: Avidya kshetram uttaresham prasupta-tanu-vicchinna-udaranam
Meaning: Ignorance is the field for the other afflictions, which may be dormant, attenuated, interrupted, or fully active.
Real-Life Example: A person’s fear of failure is dormant until a new challenge activates it due to ignorance of their true nature.
Exercise: Reflect on a situation where a klesha surfaced. Trace it to ignorance. Journal your insights and meditate for 5 minutes on your true self.

5. Sutra 2.5: अनित्याशुचिदुःखानात्मसु नित्यशुचिसुखात्मख्यातिरविद्या
Transliteration: Anitya-ashuchi-duhkha-anatmasu nitya-shuchi-sukha-atma-khyatir avidya
Meaning: Ignorance is mistaking the impermanent, impure, painful, and non-self for the permanent, pure, pleasurable, and self.
Real-Life Example: Someone clings to a job for security, only to suffer when it ends, revealing ignorance of impermanence.
Exercise: Identify something you view as permanent. Meditate for 5 minutes on its impermanence. Journal how this shift feels.

6. Sutra 2.6: दृग्दर्शनशक्त्योरेकात्मतेवास्मिता
Transliteration: Drig-darshana-shaktyor ekatmata iva asmita
Meaning: Egoism is the identification of the seer with the instrument of seeing (mind-body).
Real-Life Example: Someone feels pride in achievements, equating worth with success, showing ego identification.
Exercise: When you feel pride or insecurity, ask, “Who is experiencing this?” Meditate for 5 minutes, observing thoughts without identifying. Write about it.

7. Sutra 2.7: सुखानुशयी रागः
Transliteration: Sukha-anushayi ragah
Meaning: Attachment arises from experiences of pleasure.
Real-Life Example: After a delicious meal, someone craves it again, feeling restless until they eat it.
Exercise: Notice a pleasure you crave. For one day, reduce indulgence in it. Meditate for 5 minutes on letting go and journal your observations.

8. Sutra 2.8: दुःखानुशयी द्वेषः
Transliteration: Duhkha-anushayi dveshah
Meaning: Aversion arises from experiences of pain.
Real-Life Example: Someone avoids public speaking due to past embarrassment, letting aversion control choices.
Exercise: Identify something you avoid due to pain. Take a small step toward it. Meditate for 5 minutes on aversion and journal insights.

9. Sutra 2.9: स्वरसवाही विदुषोऽपि तथारूढोऽभिनिवेशः
Transliteration: Svarasavahi vidusho api tatha-rudho abhiniveshah
Meaning: Fear of death, flowing naturally, persists even in the wise.
Real-Life Example: A knowledgeable person feels anxious about aging, showing the universal fear of death.
Exercise: Reflect on a fear of loss or change. Meditate for 5 minutes, visualizing acceptance of impermanence. Write about the shift.

10. Sutra 2.10: ते प्रतिप्रसवहेयाः सूक्ष्माः
Transliteration: Te pratiprasava-heyah sukshmah
Meaning: These subtle afflictions are to be eliminated by reversing their origin.
Real-Life Example: Through meditation, someone dissolves anger by focusing on their true self.
Exercise: Meditate for 5 minutes, observing a subtle klesha. Trace it to its root. Journal how this reduces its power.
How to Use These Teachings

11. Sutra 2.11: ध्यानहेयास्तद्वृत्तयः
Transliteration: Dhyana-heyah tad-vrittayah
Meaning: The mental fluctuations caused by the afflictions are eliminated through meditation.
Real-Life Example: Someone who feels jealous meditates daily, observing thoughts without attachment, reducing jealousy’s intensity.
Exercise: Meditate for 5 minutes, focusing on a klesha you’ve noticed recently. Observe its patterns without engaging. Journal how this affects the klesha’s grip.

12. Sutra 2.12: क्लेशमूलः कर्माशयो दृष्टादृष्टजन्मवेदनीयः
Transliteration: Klesha-mulah karma-ashayo drishta-adrishta-janma-vedaniyah
Meaning: The reservoir of karma, rooted in the afflictions, is experienced in present or future lives.
Real-Life Example: Harsh words driven by anger create relationship tension, leading to regret now or later, reflecting karmic consequences.
Exercise: Reflect on a klesha-driven action. Write about its consequences. Meditate for 5 minutes on acting with awareness to reduce karmic seeds.

13. Sutra 2.13: सति मूले तद्विपाको जात्यायुर्भोगाः
Transliteration: Sati mule tad-vipako jati-ayur-bhogah
Meaning: As long as the root (kleshas) exists, karma ripens into birth, lifespan, and experiences.
Real-Life Example: Attachment to wealth drives overwork, leading to stress and health issues, shaping life’s experiences.
Exercise: Identify a klesha influencing your actions. Journal how it might shape future experiences. Meditate for 5 minutes on letting go.

14. Sutra 2.14: ते ह्लादपरितापफलाः पुण्यापुण्यहेतुत्वात्
Transliteration: Te hlada-paritapa-phalah punya-apunya-hetutvat
Meaning: Karmic results bring joy or suffering, depending on whether actions were virtuous or unvirtuous.
Real-Life Example: Helping a neighbor brings joy, while gossiping leads to guilt or conflict.
Exercise: List one virtuous and one unvirtuous action from the past week. Reflect on outcomes. Meditate for 5 minutes on virtuous actions and journal intentions.

15. Sutra 2.15: परिणामतापसंस्कारदुःखैर्गुणवृत्तिविरोधाच्च दुःखमेव सर्वं विवेकिनः
Transliteration: Parinama-tapa-samskara-duhkhair guna-vritti-virodhach cha duhkham eva sarvam vivekinah
Meaning: To the discerning, all is suffering due to change, anxiety, latent impressions, and conflicting gunas.
Real-Life Example: A vacation brings joy but anxiety about its end, showing even pleasure is fleeting.
Exercise: Reflect on a pleasurable experience and note underlying anxiety. Meditate for 5 minutes on accepting change. Journal how this shifts your view.

16. Sutra 2.16: हेयं दुःखमनागतम्
Transliteration: Heyam duhkham anagatam
Meaning: Suffering that has not yet come can be prevented.
Real-Life Example: Practicing mindfulness prevents future conflicts from overreacting.
Exercise: Identify a habit that could lead to suffering. Plan to address it. Meditate for 5 minutes on this intention and journal your commitment.

17. Sutra 2.17: द्रष्टृदृश्ययोः संयोगो हेयस्य कारणम्
Transliteration: Drashtri-drishyayoh samyogo heyasya karanam
Meaning: The cause of suffering is the association of the seer with the seen.
Real-Life Example: Feeling worthless after failure, identifying with performance rather than the true self, causes pain.
Exercise: When upset, ask, “Am I this emotion, or the observer?” Meditate for 5 minutes on being the observer. Journal how this reduces suffering.

18. Sutra 2.18: प्रकाशक्रियास्थितिशीलं भूतेन्द्रियात्मकं भोगापवर्गार्थं दृश्यम्
Transliteration: Prakasha-kriya-sthiti-shilam bhuta-indriya-atmakam bhoga-apavarga-artham drishyam
Meaning: The seen has qualities of illumination, activity, and stability, consists of elements and senses, and exists for experience and liberation.
Real-Life Example: Enjoying nature’s beauty but realizing its impermanence through yoga moves one toward liberation.
Exercise: Observe a natural object for 5 minutes, noting its qualities. Meditate on its role in experience versus liberation. Journal insights.

19. Sutra 2.19: विशेषाविशेषलिङ्गमात्रालिङ्गानि गुणपर्वाणि
Transliteration: Vishesha-avishesha-linga-matra-alingani guna-parvani
Meaning: The stages of the gunas are the specific, non-specific, defined, and undefined.
Real-Life Example: A meditator perceives a flower, its energy, essence, and formless prakriti, understanding nature’s layers.
Exercise: Meditate for 5 minutes on an object, moving from its form to its subtle essence. Journal how this reveals reality’s layers.

20. Sutra 2.20: द्रष्टा दृशिमात्रः शुद्धोऽपि प्रत्ययानुपश्यः
Transliteration: Drashta drishi-matrah shuddho api pratyaya-anupashyah
Meaning: The seer is pure consciousness, though it appears to perceive through the mind’s modifications.
Real-Life Example: Observing thoughts in meditation, someone realizes they are the awareness behind them, not the thoughts.
Exercise: Meditate for 5 minutes, watching thoughts arise and pass. Focus on being the observer. Journal how this reinforces pure consciousness.

21. Sutra 2.21: तदर्थ एव दृश्यस्यात्माTransliteration: Tad-artha eva drishyasya atma
Meaning: The essence of the seen (prakriti) exists solely for the purpose of the seer (purusha).
Real-Life Example: A sunset sparks joy and inspires meditation on the true self, fulfilling prakriti’s purpose.
Exercise: Observe a pleasing object for 5 minutes. Reflect on how it serves your spiritual growth. Meditate on being the seer and journal insights.

22. Sutra 2.22: कृतार्थं प्रति नष्टमप्यनष्टं तदन्यसाधारणत्वात्Transliteration: Krita-artham prati nashtam api anashtam tad-anya-sadharanatvat
Meaning: For one who has fulfilled its purpose, the seen ceases to exist, yet remains for others due to its common nature.
Real-Life Example: A liberated yogi no longer craves success, but others still pursue it, as the world remains relevant to them.
Exercise: Reflect on a former attachment. Meditate for 5 minutes on how the world serves others’ journeys. Journal how this shifts your view.

23. Sutra 2.23: स्वस्वामिशक्त्योः स्वरूपोपलब्धिहेतुः संयोगःTransliteration: Sva-svami-shaktyoh svarupa-upalabdhi-9c0d1e2f3a4bhetuh samyogah
Meaning: The association of the seer and seen enables realizing the true nature of both.
Real-Life Example: Meditation reveals thoughts as separate from the true self, clarifying consciousness.
Exercise: Meditate for 5 minutes, observing a thought as “seen” and yourself as “seer.” Journal how this distinguishes your true nature.

24. Sutra 2.24: तस्य हेतुरविद्याTransliteration: Tasya hetur avidya
Meaning: The cause of this association is ignorance (avidya).
Real-Life Example: Anxiety about job loss stems from identifying with the role due to ignorance of the true self.
Exercise: Identify a false identification. Meditate for 5 minutes on your true self. Journal how this reduces ignorance’s impact.

25. Sutra 2.25: तदभावात्संयोगाभावो हानं तद् दृशेः कैवल्यम्Transliteration: Tad-abhavat samyoga-abhavo hanam tad drisheh kaivalyam
Meaning: With the absence of ignorance, the association ceases, leading to liberation (kaivalya).
Real-Life Example: Yoga helps someone not identify with emotions, experiencing inner freedom.
Exercise: Meditate for 5 minutes, letting go of a false identification. Visualize freedom as awareness. Journal how this feels.

26. Sutra 2.26: विवेकख्यातिरविप्लवा हानोपायःTransliteration: Viveka-khyatir aviplava hanopayah
Meaning: Unwavering discriminative discernment (viveka-khyati) is the means to liberation.
Real-Life Example: A meditator recognizes thoughts as temporary, maintaining awareness of their true self.
Exercise: Meditate for 5 minutes, labeling thoughts as “seen” and yourself as “seer.” Journal how this strengthens clarity.

27. Sutra 2.27: तस्य सप्तधा प्रान्तभूमिः प्रज्ञाTransliteration: Tasya saptadha pranta-bhumih prajna
Meaning: Wisdom unfolds in seven stages, culminating at the highest level.
Real-Life Example: A yogi progresses from understanding suffering to realizing their true self, moving toward liberation.
Exercise: Reflect on your spiritual growth. Meditate for 5 minutes on your next step toward wisdom. Journal progress and insights.