In the Yoga Sūtras, Patañjali presents yoga as a precise discipline whose purpose is nothing less than the stilling of the mind and the realization of spiritual freedom. This is encapsulated in the famous definition: “yogaḥ citta-vṛtti-nirodhaḥ,” yoga is the cessation of the fluctuations of the mind. When these mental movements subside, the seer, or pure consciousness (puruṣa), abides in its own nature, no longer confused with the changing contents of experience. Yoga thus aims at a radical inner quietude, where thoughts, emotions, and sensory impressions no longer dominate awareness.

This inner stillness is not an end in itself, but the doorway to what Patañjali calls kaivalya, often translated as isolation, aloneness, or liberation. In this state, pure consciousness stands apart from prakṛti, the realm of nature and mental modifications, fully disentangled from identification with them. The practitioner comes to discern the distinction between the seer and what is seen, between the unchanging witness and the ever-changing field of experience. When this discernment is complete and stable, consciousness rests in its own essential nature, free from entanglement and bondage.

Patañjali presents this goal as attainable through a systematic path, commonly known as the eight limbs of yoga (aṣṭāṅga yoga). Ethical restraints (yama) and observances (niyama) prepare the ground; postures (āsana) and breath control (prāṇāyāma) steady the body and vital energies; withdrawal of the senses (pratyāhāra), concentration (dhāraṇā), meditation (dhyāna), and absorption (samādhi) refine and focus the mind. Through these progressive disciplines, the fluctuations of the mind are gradually quieted, and the subtle impressions that bind consciousness lose their force. The culmination of this process is the full realization of kaivalya, where the seer abides in unalloyed freedom.