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hindu-liberationWe're still mapping where this idea was first discussed. Key passages and related ideas below.

The Eight Limbs (Aṣṭāṅga-Yoga)

Eight rungs from how you live to the stillest depth of the mind.

The eight limbs are the famous step-by-step ladder of Patañjali's yoga: ethical restraints (yama), observances (niyama), posture (āsana), breath-control (prāṇāyāma), withdrawal of the senses (pratyāhāra), concentration (dhāraṇā), meditation (dhyāna), and absorption (samādhi). Each prepares the next, moving from how one lives outwardly to the deepest stillness of the mind. It is the practical core of the Yoga school.

Key passages(8)

Yoga-sūtra · Patañjali

Very high

Gheraṇḍa-saṃhitā · (attributed to Gheraṇḍa)

Very high

Gītārtha-saṃgraha · Yāmunācārya (Ālavandār)

High

Haṭhayoga-pradīpikā · Svātmārāma

High

Vivekacūḍāmaṇi · Śaṅkara (traditionally ascribed; authorship doubted)

High

Haṭhayoga-pradīpikā · Svātmārāma

High

Aṣṭāvakra-gītā · Aṣṭāvakra

Moderate

Tantrasāra · Abhinavagupta

Moderate