यथाभिमतध्यानाद्वा ॥३९॥
पदविभाग: यथा-अभिमत-ध्यानात्, वा।
अन्वय: वा यथाभिमतध्यानात्
प्रतिपदार्थ: यथा = as / according to, अभिमत = desired / chosen / agreeable, ध्यानात् = from or by meditation (on), वा = or.
तात्पर्यम्: Or, (steadiness of mind is attained) by meditating on anything that appeals to one as good
Further context on the 39th Sutra from Patanjali’s Yogasutras
Anything that’ll help us concentrate the scattered mind into stillness can become the means for attaining the goal of Yoga. The mind will rebel if you force it to concentrate on something it finds boring, repulsive, or culturally alien. If a technique creates internal friction, it defeats the entire purpose of Yoga. So Patanjali has left it open ended by mentioning the path of Yathābhimata, which means “that which is agreeable to your specific disposition.”
Because the actual mechanism of healing is the unbroken continuity of focus (Eka-tattva-abhyāsa from 1.32), the object itself can be anything.
Sutras 1.34 through 1.39 are the various ways Patanjali offers us to stabilize the mind. He is essentially saying: Choose one. It doesn’t matter which one you pick, as long as it works for you and you stick with it. Once the scattered mind (Vikshepa) is gathered into a single, steady beam, the yogi is finally ready to experience the true power of concentration, which he describes in the very next sutra.
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