Citi is remembered as that subtle force which gathers together all actions, preparing them for the soul’s experience and enjoyment. Smṛti is the power of remembrance, and Saṃvit is that by which all things are known. Khyāti is the faculty that reveals or makes things known, manifesting in many ways through knowledge and related means. Īśvara is the supreme Lord over all principles, the One who knows everything. Mati is that by which one thinks, weighs, and considers, O best among the wise. The faculty that enables one to understand meaning is called buddhi, the intellect. The clarity and purity of this intellect are achieved through the practice of breath-control; by mastering the breath, one restrains all faults—this discipline is called yama. Sin and impurity are destroyed through the practices of dhāraṇā (concentration) and pratyāhāra (withdrawal of the senses). By regarding sense-objects as poison, the aspirant should meditate on the virtues that are not tainted by pride or lordliness. Through samādhi, the best of ascetics should nourish and increase their wisdom; having attained the right state, one should practice the eight limbs of yoga in their proper order. Having prepared suitable seats for the accomplishment of yoga, the knower of the self does not perceive the vision of yoga at the wrong time or in improper circumstances. Whether it be in the practice of fire rituals, in water, on a heap of dry leaves, in a place haunted by creatures, in a cremation ground, a ruined cowshed, or at a crossroads, in noisy or frightening places, amid ant-hills, in impure locations, among wicked people, or where mosquitoes and pests abound—one should avoid these places for yoga practice. One should not undertake yoga where there is bodily pain or mental disturbance. Instead, seek a well-concealed, auspicious, and pleasant place—perhaps a cave in a mountain, a field, a hidden spot, a delightful forest, or an auspicious place at home—solitary and free from creatures. The place should be absolutely pure, well-plastered, beautifully decorated, shining like the inside of a mirror, and fragrant with black aloe wood. It should be adorned with various flowers, splendid with canopies above, rich with fruits and tender leaves at the base, and furnished with sacred grass and blossoms. Seated properly in such a place, let the aspirant diligently practice the limbs of yoga, first bowing with reverence to the teacher, then to Bhava, the Goddess, and to Vinayaka. The knower of yoga should unite with yoga in the presence of the lords of yogis and their disciples, assuming the svastika, bound, lotus, or half-lotus postures. Sitting with both knees even, or with one knee as well, steady and firm, drawing both feet together, with mouth closed, eyes restrained, chest upright, protecting the vital organs with the heels, and likewise safeguarding the generative organ. Let the head be slightly raised, the teeth not touching, the gaze fixed at the tip of the nose, not glancing in any direction. Covering tamas (darkness) with rajas (activity), and rajas with sattva (purity), and then, established in sattva, one should meditate on Shiva. With unwavering concentration, meditate on the supreme, pure form expressed by Om, radiant like the flame of a lamp, within the pericarp of the lotus. Or, the wise may meditate below the navel on the supreme lotus, three fingers in size, with eight or five petals, as appropriate. Likewise, contemplate the triangular figure, the region of fire, the lunar, and the solar, each with their respective powers—solar, lunar, and fiery, in due order. Place the fiery, then the solar, then the lunar, in this arrangement below the fire region, along with the fourfold group of dharma and the rest. Above this mandala, contemplate the three gunas in order, and, established in sattva, meditate on Rudra encircled by his own power. One should practice meditation properly at the navel, at the throat, between the eyebrows, at the center of the forehead, or on the crown of the head. Contemplate Shiva in the various lotuses—the two-petalled, sixteen-spoked, twelve-spoked, ten-spoked, six-sided, or four-sided—in the proper order. Whether the place appears golden like a palace, pure white, shining like twelve suns, or like the disc of the moon, or resembles a flash of lightning, meditate there on the Supreme Lord; or, with focused mind, on a fiery hue or a circle like lightning. In a place shining like the tip of a diamond, resembling a ruby, or in a blue-red disc, the yogi should continue his meditation. Meditate on Maheshvara in the heart, on Sadashiva in the lotus of the navel, on the moon-crested Lord at the forehead, and on Shankara himself between the eyebrows. In the divine, eternal place, meditate on Shiva—pure, partless Brahman, supremely peaceful, and of the very nature of knowledge. He is without characteristics, indescribable, subtler than the subtle, auspicious, without support, inconceivable, and free from origin and destruction. He is liberation, nirvana, the highest and unsurpassed good, immortal, imperishable Brahman, wondrous and beyond rebirth. He is great bliss, supreme bliss, the bliss of yoga, free from affliction, devoid of acceptance and rejection, subtler than the subtle—Shiva. That Shiva, consisting of knowledge, is self-known and unknowable, supreme, beyond the senses, without appearance, the highest reality, beyond even the highest. Free from all limitations, attainable through meditation and inquiry, nondual, and established beyond darkness—He is the Supreme. Thus, one should contemplate Mahadeva in the mind or in the lotus of the heart, or Sadashiva at the navel—the all-pervading Lord, the essence of all gods. Within the body, meditate on Shiva, the Lord who is pure knowledge and all-pervading, by the path of Kanyasā or by the method of upward movement, on Shankara. Step by step, by the path of Kanyasā, or by the middle path, O virtuous one, or by the highest method, the wise should practice with kumbhaka (breath retention). Concentrated in the heart or navel, the wise should exhale thirty-two times, having abandoned inhalation and exhalation, and practice kumbhaka, O best of the twice-born.