Classical Yoga · compiled by Patanjali
Yoga Sutras 1.3
Then the Seer rests in its own nature
तदा द्रष्टुः स्वरूपेऽवस्थानम्॥
Then the Seer abides in its own true nature.
What this verse points to
The sutra that immediately follows the definition, and it answers the obvious question: what happens then? Nothing is gained. The Seer simply rests as what it already was, once it stops being coloured by the mind's activity.
"Then" is doing a lot of work. Not later, not as a reward — the resting is simultaneous with the settling.
Sit with it
After the breath steadies, stop directing attention anywhere and notice what is already looking.
About the Yoga Sutras
The Yoga Sutras are 196 terse aphorisms compiled by Patanjali, organised into four books: samadhi (absorption), sadhana (practice), vibhuti (attainments), and kaivalya (liberation). The style is deliberately compressed — each sutra is a memory-thread meant to be unpacked by a teacher — and the text is the foundational statement of the eight-limbed (ashtanga) path.
References to this text are given as book.sutra — here, 1.3.