With the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali does something, perhaps better than anyone else before or after him, which is to simplify the journey on the spiritual path and show that spirituality is not something vague, but it is an exact science: the science of self-realization.

He also shows us that enlightenment is not something achieved only by a select few, but that we can all immediately move towards this goal by applying a few simple rules of conduct and making a sincere effort to control the mind and perceive the true Self.