INTRODUCTION:- Two pandits entered the ashram to attend satsang. It was a cool, refreshing evening & large mat had been laid out on the lawn. The pandits were the first to the guru’s seat. Soon many other people arrived & whan the guru took his seat, the satsang began. Initially, the satsang was concerned with asana, pranayama & other yogic practices, but after some time the pandits said to the guru, “We’ve come here to discuss more important things; we have come to ask you about the philosophical implications of samadhi according to Patanjali”. The debate began. One pandit insisted. “Asamprajnata samadhi is surely the same as nirbeeja samadhi.” The other disagreed, “No, no you are totally wrong, they are different.” Each began to quote widely from various scriptures to prove their point of view & soon they were having quite a furious argument. SUTTA 1: Introduction to yoga. Atha yoganusaanam…. Atha: now therefore; yoga(regarding) yoga; anusasnam complete instructions. Now, therefore, complete instructions regarding yoga. Atha: We shall pause & try to find out why the author has used the world atha. He could have used atra yoganu-shasanam, which means, ‘have are instructions on yoga’, but he used the word atha. By this, it is meant that those instructions on yoga which follow will become intelligible, fruiful & also palatable to those whose hearts are pure & whose minds are at reat, otherwise not, those who have impure minds & wavring tendencies will not be able to practise what has been instructed in this shastra. Therefore, the word atha has been used in other to emphasize the necessity of qualifying oneself in karma yoga, bhakti yoga & other preparatory sysems. Yoga: The meaning of yoga follows in a subsequent sutra. Anushasanam: The actual word is shasanam, anu being a prefix to emphasize its completeness. Shasan is a word which means giving a ruling, command, order, instruction. The word shastra is developed from the word shasan. Shastra does not literally mean scripture. Shastra literally means a process of insructions & rulings. From the same word, another word has evolved-Ishwara, meaning ruler, governor, commander, & which is commonly used for God.