**1) In the very first line of the Yoga Sutra, Master Patanjali says, “I will now review for you how we become whole,” or practice yoga. Explain the crucial importance of the verb “review.”** Master Patanjali wants to make it clear that he is only acting as a vessel, for passing the sacred knowledge of yoga on to the next generation, from his holy Teachers. He is engaging in an act which in Tibetan is called *keng-kyung* "{$=-\[w$k*,* or an act of humility at the very beginning of a scripture: “This is not something that I have written, but the knowledge of the great Masters of the past.” He is also indicating that the knowledge contained in his sutra has come from an authoritative source. This proper acknowledgement of the master-disciple relationship is a powerful karmic cause to prevent any obstacles that might prevent the Master from completing the composition of the text. **2) Discuss six different senses of the literal meaning of the word “yoga.”** (a) The word comes from the Sanskrit root *√yuj* yuj\!*,* meaning “to join.” English cognates are “yoke,” “jugular,” and “join.” The word “yoga” indicates a “joining” in many different senses. When we achieve the ultimate goal of yoga, we have reached the *union* of a body of light and an ultimately compassionate, omniscient mind. (b) In a physical sense—with reference to the inner body—we have achieved *ha-tha,* or the joining of the sun and moon channels within the central channel, which triggers the occurrence of the body of light, which can travel to all worlds to serve all people. (c) This sense has also been applied traditionally to the yogic method of *kumbhaka,* or the “capsule,” where in advanced stages of practice we achieve a union of the two forces of the rising wind and the descending wind. (d) Especially in tantra—the higher teachings—we seek to achieve a joining or combination of inner and outer methods for attaining spiritual enlightenment. An example of an outer method would be the yoga asanas or postures. An example of an inner method would be developing the Infinite Four attitudes described later in the first chapter of the Yoga Sutra. (e) Even as we practice yoga, we must attain a “joining” in the sense of *applying* ourselves to our practice in the proper way. This sense is reflected in the Tibetan word for yoga, which is *nel-jor.* *Jor* here is explained as meaning “to apply oneself,” to ones spiritual practice. *Nel* is an abbreviation of *nelmar,* which in one sense can mean “with complete accuracy” or following the traditional instructions perfectly. (f) The Tibetan word *nelma* can also refer to primordial reality—ultimate reality. In this sense, our practice of yoga must involve reaching the direct perception of ultimate reality and beings who consist of this reality, so necessary for bringing the “turnings” of the mind to a permanent stop. This sense of the word “yoga” is of course conveyed in the third verse of the Yoga Sutra, which speaks of “the seer” who “dwells in his or her own real nature.” **3) In both Sanskrit and English, quote the verse where Master Patanjali defines yoga.** “We become whole by stopping how the mind turns.” In Sanskrit: Y*ogash chitta virtti nirodhah.* yaegiíÄv\&iÄinraex\> 4) Explain what it means when we say that the mind “turns things around.” Use the example of looking at a pen in two different ways. I can look at a pen, and in one sense my perception is correct: it *is* a cylindrical object which I can use to write something with. But in another sense my perception is incorrect. Even as I look at the pen, I make certain assumptions about where it comes from, and how it works: that is, I automatically believe that it has been produced in a factory, and sold from a store, and that it writes because of the ink inside of it. All of these assumptions are simply, and totally, mistaken: this is what it means when we say that “The mind is turning things around” backwards. In fact, the pen has come to me—the pen *can only come to me*—because I have taken care of someone else. It *continues to write* or produce an effect only because I have taken care of someone else. *The very forces which hold the pen together—*the “atomic glue” which actually binds all atoms, molecules, and events themselves together—is the degree to which I have taken care of others. When I can see this automatically and naturally about the pen and all other objects, then I have achieved yoga, and stopped how the mind turns things around. **5) Discuss the concept of a spiritual “cessation,” and describe the two basic different types of cessation.** The word “cessation” in the ancient Indian spiritual traditions refers to the permanent stopping or ending of certain negative emotions or events. The first kind of cessation is one which *does not* depend upon seeing ultimate reality directly. An example would be reaching the third level of the path of preparation; once you have gotten to this level, you can no longer go to a lower realm after you die. The second kind of cessation, which is infinitely more important, can only occur through the direct perception of ultimate reality. An example would be stopping, permanently, the way the mind turns things around.