Verse 6.1 - Classification of Yoga

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of Tattvartha sūtra 6.1:

कायवाङ्मनःकर्म योगः ॥ ६.१ ॥

kāyavāṅmanaḥkarma yogaḥ || 6.1 ||

The activity (kriyā or karma) of the body (śarīra), the speech (vacana), and the mind (mana) is ‘yoga’. (1)

Hindi Anvayarth:

अन्वयार्थ: [कायवाङ्मनः कर्म] शरीर, वचन और मन के अवलम्बन से आत्मा के प्रदेशों का संकल्प होना सो [योगः] योग है।

Anvayartha: [kayavanmanah karma] sharira, vacana aura mana ke avalambana se atma ke pradeshom ka samkalpa hona so [yogah] yoga hai |

Explanation in English from Ācārya Pūjyapāda’s Sarvārthasiddhi:

The souls (jīva) and the non-souls (ajīva) have been expounded. Now the next category, influx (āsrava) of karmas, is expounded.

The words body (śarīra), etc., have already been explained. ‘Karma’ and ‘kriyā’ are synonyms. The activity of the body (śarīra), the speech (vacana), and the mind (mana) is called ‘yoga’. The vibration in the space-points (pradeśa) of the soul (ātmā) is yoga.

Depending on the cause, yoga is threefold:

1. bodily-activity (kāyayoga),
2. speech-activity (vacanayoga) and
3. thought-activity (manoyoga).

These are elaborated as follows.

Bodily-activity (kāyayoga) sets vibration in the space-points (pradeśa) of the soul (ātmā) on assimilation of one of the seven kinds of karmic-matter-fit-to-turn-into-body (kāyavargaṇā)^[1], consequent on destruction-cum-subsidence of the energy-obstructive (vīryāntarāya) karmas.

Speech-activity (vacanayoga) sets vibration in the space-points (pradeśa) of the soul (ātmā) by the mode (paryāya) of speech, on attainment of the capacity for speech due to rise of the physique-making name-karma (śarīra nāmakarma) on assimilation of the karmic-matter-fit-to-turn-into-speech (vacanavargaṇā), consequent on destruction-cum-subsidence of the energy-obstructive (vīryāntarāya) and sensory-and-words-covering (matyakṣarāvaraṇa) karmas.

Thought-activity (manoyoga) sets vibration in the space-points (pradeśa) of the soul (ātmā) on the availabilty of the internal cause of destruction-cum-subsidence of the energy-obstructive (vīryāntarāya) and quasi-sense-covering (noindriyāvaraṇa) karmas and the external cause of assimilation of the karmic-matter-fit-to-turn-into-thought (manovargaṇā).

Know that the vibration in the space-points (pradeśa) of the soul (ātmā) of the Omniscient-with-vibration (sayogakevalī) due to the three kinds of the karmic-matter-fit-to-turn-into-karmas (vargaṇā) also is ‘yoga’, even though his energy-obstructive (vīryāntarāya) and knowledge-obscuring (jñānā-varaṇa) karmas have been destroyed.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Bodily-activity (kāyayoga) is of seven kinds depending on the specific karmic-matter-fit-to-turn-into-body (kāyavargaṇā):

1. audārika kāyayoga,
2. audārika-miśra kāyayoga,
3. vaikriyika kāyayoga,
4. vaikriyika-miśra kāyayoga,
5. āhāraka kāyayoga,
6. āhāraka-miśra kāyayoga, and
7. kārmaṇa kāyayoga.

(see ‘Vasunandi Śrāvakācāra’, verse 39, p. 47-48).