In a mystical land, where yoga is the way of life, there lived a young yogi named Siddharth. He had always been fascinated by the teachings of yoga and was determined to master it. The story begins with Siddharth reciting the first sutra, "OM. Now begins instruction in yoga." Siddharth learns that yoga is the restraint of the modifications of the mind. He understands that if he can control his thoughts and emotions, he can attain enlightenment. However, he struggles with self-identification with the mental modifications, which causes him pain.
The mental modifications are fivefold and are painful or pleasurable. Siddharth learns about correct cognition, misconception, fantasy, sleep, and memory. Correct cognition is based on direct perception, valid inference, and verbal testimony. Misconception is illusory knowledge based upon what is other than itself. Fantasy, empty of substance, is engendered by words and concepts. Sleep is the modification engendered by the abeyance and absence of mental contents. Memory is the not letting go of an object or image of subjective experience.
Siddharth learns that the restraint of these mental modifications comes from assiduous practice (abhyasa) and through dispassionate detachment (vairagya). He practices continuously to abide in a steady state. He realizes that this is indeed firmly grounded when it is persistently exercised for a long time, without interruption, and with earnest, reverential attention and devotion.
As Siddharth's practice deepens, he experiences cognitive contemplation accompanied by reasoning, deliberation, bliss, and awareness of pure being (asmita). He also experiences another sort of contemplation that comes through previous practice, the cessation of all mental contents, residual potencies alone remaining.
Siddharth's ultimate goal is to achieve Samadhi, a state of meditative absorption. He learns that Samadhi can be achieved through various means, such as the expulsion and retention of breath (prana), dwelling on insights gained in dreams and dreamless sleep, meditating on that which is deeply desired, or constantly practicing one truth or principle (eka-tattva).
Siddharth faces numerous obstacles on his path to enlightenment. He experiences hindrances that cause mental distractions such as disease, dullness, doubt, heedlessness, indolence, addiction to sense-objects, distorted perception, failure to find a footing, and instability in any state. These distractions are accompanied by sorrow, depression, bodily restlessness, and spasmodic breathing.
However, Siddharth perseveres and practices friendliness, compassion, gladness, and indifference respectively towards happiness, sorrow, virtue, and vice. He also gains insights into the subtle elements (sukshma-vishaya) and realizes that they extend up to the noumenal, primordial and undifferentiated (alinga). He attains the utmost purity of the non-deliberative state and experiences the dawning of spiritual light, the gracious peace, and luminosity of the supreme Self.
Finally, Siddharth achieves direct cognition (prajna), which carries and holds the unalloyed Truth. On the stoppage of even that, all else being eliminated, there arises meditation without a seed (nirbijah Samadhi). In this state of Samadhi, Siddharth attains enlightenment and becomes one with the universe.
