Languages

Articles The Yoga Sutras Now begins instruction with regard to what happens when intent is set toward unity of individual awareness with universal consciousness. Union ends suffering brought about by movement of the mind. In order to discern its true nature, the mind must abide in stillness. Otherwise, the mode of life conforms to the movements. The five kinds of movements are destructive or creative. Some are created by the inherent tendencies, some are not. They consist of upward thoughts, downward thoughts, dreaming, sleep and memory. Clear perception, logical inference and direct cognition lead to upward thoughts. Downward thoughts are unreal and temporary; their forms are not stable. Dreams follow the call of imagination; they are devoid of Reality. The movement of the mind to a state with no content is called sleep. Memory is the movement of the mind that holds sensory and mental experiences in place. The movements still through approach and detachment. Of these two, approach is the attempt to find stability. Through persistence, the habit of approach is firmly established. Mastering detachment of consciousness cuts off taste for the seen, the heard and the experienced. That Supreme Fullness creates indifference to even the gunas, the impersonal forces of Nature. In considering the procedure, it is seen that bliss comes through escaping the egoism of form by developing accurate knowledge. Remnants of impressions have no support when the former habit of thought ends. When thought aligns with being, the mind is absorbed in its original source; the body stops. The energy of faith applied to persistently remembering samadhi gives mastery over what the former limited knowledge accepted as Real. By passionate commitment, one is soon seated in union. In the midst of possessing intense desire, unite it to gentleness. Distinguish between passion and violence. Or, union comes by surrender to the Lord. The Lord, as the Supreme Being, is beyond conflict with the fundamental tendencies, actions and their consequences, which ripen in the seat of feelings. As that is so, the omniscient Source cannot be surpassed. Without limit or cessation, reaching throughout time, that very Word has poured forth; since always, it is the Teacher. The sound of that Word is OM. Constant meditation on that Word causes it to be formed in the mind. From focus constantly turned within, the mind’s activity stops, in union with the Self. The ego uses many tools, none of them new: sickness, inflexibility, doubt, dissolute behavior, sloth, continuing to indulge self-destructive habits. The distraction they create is the ground in which they flourish, through inattention to the Self. Movement of the mind causes suffering, which grows mighty as it feeds upon itself; deranged or interrupted breath gives victory to despair. One purpose of moving toward the essence that is the One is to negate these tools. Bringing into harmony friendliness, kindness and joy; making no distinction between pleasure and pain or good and evil: this displays clarity of consciousness. Or, union can be accomplished by mastering exhalation and retention of the breath. Or, the mind is no longer caught in the rolling nature of the physical world when it bonds to the knowledge that the Kingdom is carried within. Or, by focus on the celestial light, sorrow is abandoned. Freedom from desire is the Kingdom, or pure consciousness. Or, infinite knowledge requires waking from the budding state to become the Self. Or, deep meditation creates that which is longed for. Through an enlightened intellect, a wise man gains dominion over everything, for he finds the Transcendent within himself. In consequence of movement’s ceasing, the mind becomes like a pure crystal. In that state, the Knower, the Known and the Process of Knowing unite. It is as if being is anointed. Then, there is no more confusion of thoughts about the difference between sound, purpose and meaning. The purpose appears without need for effort when attention is fully centered within. Memory completely purified experiences the true form of the Self as if it were a void. This in itself brings behavior into conjunction with the Supreme Spirit; the Kingdom is conquered, separating action from need for any thought. And he who knows himself as the Supreme Self possesses the unmanifest, the Kingdom that is more than just a resting place. Know that Samadhi alone is the Universal Seed. From clearness of intellect, all of life is enhanced. In living as the Supreme Spirit, there is no need for thought. Herein is discernment that enables transcendence: divine truth is carried within oneself. The purpose of both kinds of knowledge—direct cognition and inference—is to reach the place of non-distinction (samadhi), which is completely other, beyond the influence of the senses. Impressions sprung from that consciousness contradict all other impressions. Thus, samadhi is born from surrender into the Self, by which both the roots and the effects of pain are annihilated. Austerity, study of the Self, and willingness to surrender to the Lord are daily acts of commitment arising from the intent to unite. By these habits, the afflictions are weakened and knowledge of samadhi stabilized. The afflictions are: ignorance, ego, attachment, aversion and obstinacy. Ignorance is the birthplace and energy source of all subsequent afflictions, whether they are dormant or expanded. By means of appropriate daily habits, they are weakened and overcome. In ignorance, mistaking impermanent form for the eternal Self, impurity is declared as purity, suffering as happiness. The ego seems to have the power of accurate perception, but discernment belongs to the One Spirit. Attachment is the direct result of experiencing pleasure. Aversion is the direct result of experiencing pain. The instinct for self-preservation, which has grown up even in the wise, produces tenacity concerning mundane life. The subtleties of these afflictions are avoided by returning awareness to the Source. That avoidance is set in motion by Resonance. The root of karma comes by afflictions, which, seen or unseen, are never still. Thus, their origin can be known as the mind. That being so, consequent experience of life already exists in that root, which matures and gives birth to the perception of pleasure and pain. Therefore, correct or incorrect understanding causes the consequence that follows: joy or grief. When perception is transformed through tapas, painful impressions are recognized as nothing other than interpretations of the constantly-moving fundamental forces opposing each other; and thus the whole of suffering is set aside. In that way, the suffering which has not yet come is avoided. Identification with perceptions is the state of being that causes pain. It is cast off by discernment. The visible world arises by the impersonal forces of nature acting according to their innate tendencies, and is experienced by the senses. The purpose of all this is liberation. The whole measure of existence —whether manifest or unmanifest, whether extraordinary or undistinguished—is woven together by the gunas, like a body. When Intellect is united with the power of seeing, the seen is perceived accurately, and the full measure is cleansed. Thereby, whatever is seen is revealed as nothing other than the Self. Then, the infinite essence of mutable form is understood. That awareness empowers the self to master its identity as the True Form of the Self. The only cause of suffering, then, is ignorance. Thus, from ceasing to identify with what is unreal, that is to say, by abandoning all perceptions, attachments are severed. Discernment that the vessel is filled to overflowing causes abandonment of perceptions. That is the final step in the perfection of wisdom. Practice of the spheres of Union wears away the impure; discrimination, or knowledge, leads to the splendor of wisdom. The eight spheres of Union are: the five inner disciplines, the five outer disciplines, postures, breathing, withdrawal, focus, resonance and samadhi. The inner disciplines are harmlessness, truthfulness, non-stealing, enlivening of Brahman, and non-grasping. Through the disciplines, the unbounded is found in the midst of form, place and time as the universal Source. The outer disciplines are: purity, contentment, useful boundaries, study of the Self, and surrender to the Lord. When doubts oppress, move awareness to opposing thoughts. Merciless violence comes from doubts about what was previously done, caused to be done, or approved of through greed, anger and delusion. From the subtlest form to the most intense, endless suffering is the fruit of ignorance. Therefore, form opposing thoughts. In the presence of stability in non-violence, hostility is abandoned. From stability in truthfulness, words manifest instantaneous fruits. From stability in non-stealing, the whole treasure of the universe presents itself. By stability in self-restraint, heroic power is acquired. In the stability of non-grasping, questioning of existence ends in perfect understanding. By purity, which is a sphere of the Self, one is protected throughout the farthest reaches from the results of sensual attachment. This victory brings joy and is possible because the soul discerns union. Contentment results in consummate joy. Through tapas, the body is set free from destruction by impurities, and becomes a perfect companion for Evolving Consciousness. From the study of the Self, the desire for complete union with divinity is accomplished. The experience of samadhi is perfected by ishvara pranidhana (surrender to the Lord). Practice of postures enhances stability with ease. Carelessness prevents knowing the Endless as one’s identity. Perseverance, the willingness to begin a practice and continue to completion, is required. Then, the pairs of opposites no longer inflict injury. In the full experience of the Self, inhaling and exhaling go away. The need for breath no longer exists. The need for the common practices, both inner and outer, end when the Intellect is directed for a long time to see only the intangible. The Fourth State is beyond anything perceptible by the senses, whether inner or outer. Therefore, obstruction to the Light is destroyed. And the mind is supported in suitability for union. The ego’s kingdom falls apart when thought is fixed on the True Form of the Self. By withdrawal of the senses from external objects, it (thought) takes on that same power. Therefore, by persistence all the senses come to serve the Supreme purpose. Focus is consciousness fastened to a point. Resonance is unbroken direction of focus to that one point. That being so, the reward is nothing other than samadhi, the True Form of the Self in full measure, appearing as if it were a void. The three (Focus, Resonance, Samadhi) are held together through concentration of the mind, or samyama. Through that comes victory, the transcendental wisdom of heaven. Coming from that transcendental wisdom, union is apparent in the states of existence. The qualities of these three limbs are more subtle than the preceding ones. Thus, the exterior is known as united to the Self-existent. Awakening annihilates the pain of duality in the twinkling of an eye. Full consciousness follows union of exterior and interior and stops the obstruction of happiness caused by the variableness of physical life. That interweaving stops the flow from previous impressions. The whole purpose of being one-pointed is to prevent duality’s arising, by the maturing of samadhi. After this however, life is free from passions, the result of discerning that inner and outer are equal. Uninterrupted attention to evolution establishes this state of consciousness. By this consequence of evolving consciousness stabilizing through full surrender, Reality is established as truth. One whose passions are subdued as a consequence of following the correct path has risen to the level of indefinable truth. Uninterrupted progress in possessing the state of being Inexhaustible comes from complete surrender of suffering into the Inexhaustibleness. Full surrender comes by samyama. One who goes into the unknown comes to higher knowledge. Discernment, which is eternally seated above the confusion of sound with sense (name with essence), separates them by means of samyama. Thus, the whole of that which exists is made to resound by wisdom. By intuitive perception, the impressions created in previous lives are surrendered to wisdom. The result of having understanding is wisdom beyond thought. And that which is not turned toward objects of sense is beyond the reach of the senses. The eye is caught by and holds to that which is visible. By samyama on that which is beyond the realm of the senses, the form of the body with its drives and feelings is as if magically contained and arrested. In union with the Infinite, the material world becomes invisible. Because of this (samyama), it is said that the objects of sense, which began with sound, disappear. By samyama, the Infinite is experienced, even in form; and that is the ultimate means for ending action. This end of action is the only security against misfortunes, even the severest ones. Friendship toward the intentions or designs leads to strengthening. To the hand of the noble-minded, strength. The power of beholding, fixed on the intangible, reveals what was hidden. In wisdom, what was separated is united. By samyama on the sun comes knowledge of the world. By samyama on the moon comes wisdom about the proper ordering of the universe Attention fixed on the Pole Star brings knowledge about the course of the soul through numerous lives and forms. By samyama on the navel chakra comes wisdom relating to the body and the orderly arrangement of parts of the whole. By samyama on the hollow of the throat, hunger and thirst cease to control. Tranquility comes by samyama on the tortoise tube. When celestial light fills the skull, the inward eye opens to see the Perfected Ones. The splendour of this light pervades the entirety. Mind subject to the heart is harmony. From samyama on the quality of absolute purity, which exists in both universal and individual soul, that is to say, by turning inward to the place of non-distinction for a purpose of unmixed purity, comes enjoyment of the Supreme purpose: knowledge of one’s own self as the Supreme Being. From that come intuition, revelatory knowledge, prophecy, and the ability to see clearly, which is full enjoyment of the Eternal Self. Eagerness to acquire magical powers can awaken misfortune. Loosed from bondage of identifying with the body and its usual practices, the highest Identity is gained, enabling consciousness to come and go. From mastery of the upward-moving vital breath that manifests levitation, one avoids contact with water, mud, thorns and other impediments. From taking mastery over sam-ana, blazing radiance pervades all. By samyama, binding together the act of hearing and the ether, comes sacred knowledge. By samyama, binding together awareness of the body and the ether, which is lighter than a tuft of cotton, the body attains that lightness of being. Beyond all these powers is that which is not subject to rules or dependent on form for its existence. Samyama on that removes the veil covering the light of Consciousness. From samyama on the true form of the Self, the significance of all Being is known, bestowing mastery over every aspect. From that, first comes the power to make the body small as an atom, then immunity to attack or injury. Qualities which define the Ocean of Consciousness are beauty, unopposed power, and eternal endurance. These become the qualities of the body. Then, the pairs of opposites no longer inflict injury. And from that mastery over unevolved nature, swift as thought, causeless being is attained. Knowing that the quality of purity of the Supreme Self belongs to the full measure of being/becoming, even that which appears to be different, one gains the knowledge presiding over the whole. By steadiness of focus within, the temptations of worldly attachments are avoided; there is no pride in, thus no return to, undesirable connections. Knowledge that transcends time comes from discrimination between the relative and the eternal by samyama on that uninterrupted series of moments. This gives birth to accurate perception even when forms seem comparable and differences are indistinct. And thus, the knowledge which arises from discrimination is the Liberator of everything. It encompasses all aspects however they appear, with no regard to sequence or causality. When the quality of purity of the Supreme Self is in perfect equilibrium (that is, when the perfections of the body equal those of the One consciousness) the soul is detached from further births. Perfections accompany birth of the light-bearing soma body as thoughts of praise and austerity of thought and habit liberate samadhi. One’s exterior position in life is fixed by birth. Interior transformation comes from full surrender to the Supreme Will. Exterior circumstances, then, have no inherent power to produce transformations in what is called nature, but they are like a farmer’s tools for cultivating a field. Duality arises because the mind cannot know the full measure or totality of anything. Only one consciousness exists, even though it seems to be split into many. That being so, profound Resonance consumes the fruits of action (those impressions which remain stored in the mind until they ripen). Neither good nor bad karma is crea Others are mastered instead by the 3-fold movements of desires-actions-impressions in duality. In that case, the ripened fruits of action manifest the same qualities as those of impressions remaining in the mind. Moreover, although rebirth seems to separate the time and place of actions, the sequence of memories and corresponding impressions continues without interruption. And having no beginning, they continue eternally until mastered. The undesired but inevitable fruit of perception is suffering. That dies when desire is mastered and brought to nothing. In the true form of the Self past and future are always present. Separating them is the means to establish an apparent natural order, as their natures seem to have separate qualities. That is because they are colored by the mind’s attribute of movement, in which the desired manifests from intention. From the maturing of unity, there is knowledge of the abiding essence which has no second. That abiding non-exclusive reality, which is consciousness, only seems divided into parts, as in paths. And if one Consciousness alone is not the basis of everything, what could that basis be? Perceptions are colored or not, depending on whether it is known that the real essence of everything belongs to consciousness. That which can be seen is not self-luminous. When thought aligns with being, the mind is absorbed in its Source; the body ceases. One cannot simultaneously be both innocent and holding onto memories. And in looking inward, intellect is united with consciousness. Intense dependence on what is remembered to direct life results in confusion toward Intellect. The Intellect perceives the Self underlying movements because it belongs to Pure Consciousness. When the Seer is influenced by the Seen, it attributes all manner of purposes, goals, and desires to Consciousness. That being so, the supremely glorious reward of union with Consciousness is brought about by surrendering the innumerable impressions, longings, and other movements of the mind. The Intellect abstains from regarding anything as good fortune, finding the world non-existent. Then, profound discernment that the burden of the world is no more substantial than a cloud precedes absolute unity of consciousness. That being so, the idea of separation that arose from previous impressions is recognized as illusory by the soul; this recognition unveils the Heart. As said before, having afflictions can lead to either detachment or approach. And the cloud-burden of ignorance is overthrown by knowledge of perfection, which is freely given on every hand. Discernment of Divine Truth brings samadhi. From that place, fundamental tendencies and action cease. In that case, the whole—from the infinite to the smallest—is treated as free from the least impurity. This is the desirable knowledge to be learned. From that place, the purpose of evolution is accomplished: uninterrupted order. Dissolution of identification with the body ends disputes over qualities. Letting go of all that had been grasped instantly transforms whatever was not known as Self-existent into that which is without rival or superior: Divine Order. Thus, the object of human pursuit (liberation) belongs to that which is devoid of all distinctions. Understanding returns one to the original unchanging state, which is the true nature of the Self. The following are articles you can view: Freedom from Ignorance The Treasure of Grace The Eight Spheres Yoga Sutras of Patanjali - Introduction and Text Notes Yoga Sutras of Patanjali - The Sutra's Yoga Sutras of Patanjali - Commentaries Pada I Yoga Sutras of Patanjali - Commentaries Pada II Yoga Sutras of Patanjali - Commentaries Pada III Yoga Sutras of Patanjali - Commentaries Pada IV Is Ascension for Elite Suggested Reading Recognizing your Cherub The Body of Love THE YOGA SUTRAS