Patanjali offers meditation as another method to quieten the mind.
Verse 2.11
ध्यान हेयाः तद्वृत्तयः ॥११॥
dhyāna heyāḥ tad-vr̥ttayaḥ ॥11॥
Their (gross) modifications are to be destroyed by meditation.
Verse 2.12
क्लेशमूलः कर्माशयो दृष्टादृष्टजन्मवेदनीयः ॥१२॥
kleśa-mūlaḥ karma-aśayo drṣṭa-adrṣṭa-janma-vedanīyaḥ ॥12॥
The accumulated imprints of past lives, rooted in afflictions, will be experienced in present and future lives.
Here, Patanjali offers meditation as another method to quieten the mind. By these means, the mind's impulses
are reduced to their subtlest point and it is compelled to rest silently in its source, the Atman.
Afflictions are of three intensities: gross (sthala) , subtle (sukshma) , and the subtlest of the subtle (sukshmatama) .
Tapas ( deep meditation) , svadhyaya ( study of one's 'self' ) and lshvara pranidhana eradicate the gross, the subtle and the subtlest afflictions respectively.
The imprints or residual impressions of one's actions, whether good or bad,
afflict one according to their degree of merit and demerit. They are the seed
of future sorrows and pleasures which we experience both in this life and
in lives to come.
Past actions are the seeds of affliction which in turn give rise to other actions,
necessitating further lives, or reincarnation. This is known as karma, or the universal law of cause and effect.
Afflictions and actions intermingle and interact, and the cycles of birth and death roll on.
Actions rooted in desire,
greed, anger, lust, pride and malice invite affliction, just as those which are free from the spokes of the wheel of desire lead towards the state of bliss.
The effects of both types of action may be visible or invisible, manifest or latent; they may surface in this life or in future lives.
Through the practices of kriyayoga tapas, svadhyaya and ISvara pranidhana - we try to remove in this life our residual karma.
This is the accumulated fruit of our actions, gathered over our past lives and in this life, in the form of visible and invisible or predetermined effects which we regard as destiny or fate.
PATANJALI YOGA SUTRAS