The Essence of Yoga according to Patanjali. A Spiritual Discourse w/Sudha Mataji 2/17/19

Yoga is the experience of inner consciousness through the quieting of the distractions of the mind. When we experience inner consciousness, which we can call peace, we are experiencing our true self. When we are experiencing and identifying with the distractions of the mind, and peace is largely absent, we are suffering. It is then that we are believing the distractions to be reality. The distractions of the mind can be called thoughts. Thoughts either bring about pain or they don’t. There are five types of thoughts: correct knowledge, false knowledge, imagination, sleep, and memory. The way to experience our inner consciousness and quiet the distractions of the mind is through practice and detachment. Practice is steadfast effort to quiet the mind. Practice must be continued over a long period of time with little to no interruption and with great enthusiasm in order for it to be effective. Detachment is the practice of letting go of our desires and our attachments, especially perhaps the unhealthy ones. The most excellent experience of inner consciousness and vast supreme consciousness happens when we are unaffected unattached and undistracted by the three qualities of nature - lethargy, passion and balance, which are what promote our thoughts to become painful.