An Interpretation by
WILLIAM Q. JUDGE
Assisted by
JAMES HENDERSON CONNELLY
The Path,
21 Park Row, New York
1889.
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Patañjali as an incarnation of Adi Sesha
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pre·cept: a rule or principle prescribing a particular course of action or conduct.
aph·o·rism: a concise statement embodying a general truth, or astute observation.
Some time around the beginning of the Common Era, a spiritual master by the name of Patanjali wrote down a collection of precepts and aphorisms that have come to be known as the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. These sutras form the foundational text of Yoga, and have greatly influenced Yoga philosophy and practice. To many people, Yoga is nothing more than some form of exercise, but it is much more than that. Yoga refers to physical and mental disciplines which aim to help one cultivate body, mind, and spirit. It is divided into several major branches, one of which is Raja Yoga. Raja Yoga was first described in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, and is concerned primarily with the cultivation of the mind using meditation to further one's acquaintance with the reality behind the "movie" of life in which each of us is involved.
In essence, the aphorisms of Patanjali can be regarded as a collection of instructions and principles that, when used as a guide and applied, can help you to heighten your awareness, broaden your perspective, and deepen your experience of life. The aphorisms can help you along a path where you ultimately achieve liberation from the confines of the physical life drama you keep creating for yourself. Although, the key to reaching this emancipation requires one to become a student of a master or adept who can explain and exemplify the sutras. In and of themselves, the sutras are merely words, words, words, but it is the master or adept that embodies them and brings them to life.
The sutras were originally written in Sanskrit and have been translated and interpreted by many throughout the years. Some translations and interpretations are more easily understood than others. This ebook features an interpretation of the sutras by William Quan Judge who co-founded the Theosophical Society, an organization formed in 1875 to investigate the nature of the universe and humanity's place in it. The Aphorisms of Patanjali, an interpretation by William Q. Judge, was first published in 1889 and is now in the public domain.
This Book is Laid upon the Altar
of Masters' Cause,
and is Dedicated to Their Servant
H. P. Blavatsky.
All concern for its Fruits or Results
is Abandoned:
They are left in Charge of Karma
and the Members of
the Theosophical Society.
This edition of Patanjali's Yoga Aphorisms is not put forth as a new translation, nor as a literal rendering into English of the original.
In the year 1885 an edition was printed at Bombay by Mr. Tookeram Tatya, a Fellow of the Theosophical Society, which has been since widely circulated among its members in all parts of the world. But it has been of use only to those who had enough acquaintance with the Indian system of philosophy to enable them to grasp the real meaning of the Aphorisms notwithstanding the great and peculiar obstacles due to the numberless brackets and interpolated sentences with which not only are the Aphorisms crowded, but the so-called explanatory notes as well. For the greater number of readers these difficulties have been an almost insurmountable barrier; and such is the consideration that has led to the preparation of this edition, which attempts to clear up a work that is thought to be of great value to earnest students.
It may be said by some captious critics that liberties have been taken with the text, and if this were emitted as a textual translation the charge would be true. Instead of this being a translation, it is offered as an interpretation, as the thought of Patanjali clothed in our language. No liberties have been taken with the system of the great Sage, but the endeavor has been faithfully to interpret it to Western minds unfamiliar with the Hindu modes of expression, and equally unaccustomed to their philosophy and logic.
About Patanjali's life very little, if anything, can be said. In the Rudra Jamala, the Vrihannandikeswaraand the Padma-Purana are some meager statements, more or less legendary, relating to his birth. Ilavrita-Varsha is said to have been his birthplace, his mother being Sati the wife of Angiras. The tradition runs that upon his birth he made known things past, present and future, showing the intellect and penetration of a sage while yet an infant. He is said to have married one Lolupa, whom he found in the hollow of a tree on the north of Sumeru, and thereafter to have lived to a great age. On one occasion, being insulted by the inhabitants of Bhotabhandra while he was engaged in religious austerities, he reduced them to ashes by fire from his mouth.
That these accounts are legendary and symbolical can be easily seen. Ilavrita-Varsha is no part of India, but is some celestial abode. The name of India proper is Bharata Varsha. "In it and nowhere else do the four ages or Yugas — Krita, Treta, Dwapara and Kali — exist. Here devotees perform austerities and priests sacrifice. In this respect Bharata is the most excellent division; for this is the land of works, while the others are places of enjoyment." In the Bhagavat-Purana it is said: "Of the Varshas, Bharata alone is the land of works; the other eight (including Ilavrita-Varsha) are places where the celestials enjoy the remaining rewards of their works." As Bharata-Varsha is a division of Jambudwipa, and known as India, and the other Varshas are for celestials, it follows that the account of Patanjali's birthplace cannot be relied upon in a material sense. It may be the ancient method of showing how great sages now and then descend from other spheres to aid and benefit man. But there is also another Patanjali mentioned in the Indian books. He was born in India at Gonarda, in the east, and from there be went to reside temporarily in Kashmir. Prof. Goldstucker has concluded that this later Patanjali wrote about 140 B.C. His writings were commentaries upon the great grammarian Panini, and it is in respect to the Sanskrit language that he is regarded as an authority. He must not be confounded with our Patanjali; of the latter all that we have is the Philosophy set forth in the Aphorisms.
In regard to the systems of Yoga, the following by a writer on the subject will be of interest:
"The Yoga system is divided into two principal parts — Hatha and Raja Yoga. There are many minor divisions which can be brought under either of these heads. Hatha Yoga was promoted and practised by Matsendra Nath and Goraksh Nath and their followers, and by many sects of ascetics in this country (India). This system deals principally with the physiological part of man with a view to establish his health and train his will. The processes prescribed to arrive at this end are so difficult that only a few resolute souls go through all the stages of its practice, while many have failed and died in the attempt. It is therefore strongly denounced by all the philosophers. The most illustrious Sankaracharya has remarked in his treatise called Aparokshanubhuti that 'the system of Hatha Yoga was intended for those whose worldly desires are not pacified or uprooted.' He has strongly spoken elsewhere against this practice.
"On the other hand, the Raja Yogis try to control the mind itself by following the rules laid down by the greatest of adepts."
Patanjali's rules compel the student not only to acquire a right knowledge of what is and what is not real, but also to practice all virtues, and while results in the way of psychic development are not so immediately seen as in the case of the successful practitioner of Hatha Yoga, it is infinitely safer and is certainly spiritual, which Hatha Yoga is not. In Patanjali's Aphorisms there is some slight allusion to the practices of Hatha Yoga, such as "postures," each of which is more difficult than those preceding, and "retention of the breath," but he distinctly says that mortification and other practices are either for the purpose of extenuating certain mental afflictions or for the more easy attainment of concentration of mind.
In Hatha Yoga practice, on the contrary, the result is psychic development at the delay or expense of the spiritual nature. These last named practices and results may allure the Western student, but from our knowledge of inherent racial difficulties there is not much fear that many will persist in them.
This book is meant for sincere students, and especially for those who have some glimmering of what Krishna meant, when in Bhagavad-Gita he said, that after a while spiritual knowledge grows up within and illuminates with its rays all subjects and objects. Students of the mere forms of Sanskrit who look for new renderings or laborious attempts at altering the meaning of words and sentences will find nothing between these covers.
It should be ever borne in mind that Patanjali had no need to assert or enforce the doctrine of reincarnation. That is assumed all through the Aphorisms. That it could be doubted, or need any restatement, never occurred to him, and by us it is alluded to, not because we have the smallest doubt of its truth, but only because we see about us those who never heard of such a doctrine, who, educated under the frightful dogmas of Christian priestcraft, imagine that upon quitting this life they will enjoy heaven or be damned eternally, and who not once pause to ask where was their soul before it came into the present body.
Without Reincarnation Patanjali's Aphorisms are worthless. Take No. 18, Book III, which declares that the ascetic can know what were his previous incarnations with all their circumstances; or No. 13, Book II, that while there is a root of works there is fructification in rank and years and experience. Both of these infer reincarnation. In Aphorism 8, Book IV, reincarnation is a necessity. The manifestation, in any incarnation, of the effects of mental deposits made in previous lives, is declared to ensue upon the obtaining of just the kind of bodily and mental frame, constitution and environment as will bring them out. Where were these deposits received if not in preceding lives on earth — or even if on other planets, it is still reincarnation. And so on all through the Aphorisms this law is tacitly admitted.
In order to understand the system expounded in this book it is also necessary to admit the existence of soul, and the comparative unimportance of the body in which it dwells. For Patanjali holds that Nature exists for the soul's sake, taking it for granted that the student believes in the existence of soul. Hence he does not go into proof of that which in his day was admitted on every hand. And, as he lays down that the real experiencer and knower is the soul and not the mind, it follows that the Mind, designated either as "internal organ," or "thinking principle," while higher and more subtle than the body, is yet only an instrument used by the Soul in gaining experience, just in the same way as an astronomer uses his telescope for acquiring information respecting the heavens. But the Mind is a most important factor in the pursuit of concentration; one indeed without which concentration cannot be obtained, and therefore we see in the first book that to this subject Patanjali devotes attention. He shows that the mind is, as he terms it, "modified" by any object or subject brought before it, or to which it is directed. This may be well illustrated by quoting a passage from the commentator, who says: "The internal organ is there" — in the Vedanta Paribhasha — "compared to water in respect of its readiness to adapt itself to the form of whatever mold it may enter. 'As the waters of a reservoir, having issued from an aperture, having entered by a channel the basins, become four-cornered or otherwise shaped, just like them; so the manifesting internal organ having gone through the sight, or other channel, to where there is one object, for instance a jar, becomes modified by the form of the jar or other object. It is this altered state of the internal organ — or mind — that is called its modification.'" While the internal organ thus molds itself upon the object it at the same time reflects it and its properties to the soul. The channels by which the mind is held to go out to an object or subject, are the organs of sight, touch, taste, hearing, and so on. Hence by means of hearing it shapes itself into the form of the idea which may be given in speech, or by means of the eye in reading, it is molded into the form of that which is read; again, sensations such as heat and cold modify it directly and indirectly by association and by recollection, and similarly in the ease of all senses and sensations.
It is further held that this internal organ, while having an innate disposition to assume some modification or other depending upon constantly recurring objects — whether directly present or only such as arise from the power of reproducing thoughts, whether by association or otherwise, may be controlled and stilled into a state of absolute calmness. This is what he means by "hindering the modifications." And just here it is seen that the theory of the soul's being the real experiencer and knower is necessary. For if we are but mind, or slaves of mind, we never can attain real knowledge because the incessant panorama of objects eternally modifies that mind which is uncontrolled by the soul, always preventing real knowledge from being acquired. But as the Soul is held to be superior to Mind, it has the power to grasp and hold the latter if we but use the will to aid it in the work, and then only the real end and purpose of mind is brought about.
These propositions imply that the will is not wholly dependent on the mind, but is separable from it; and, further, that knowledge exists as an abstraction. The will and mind are only servants for the soul's use, but so long as we are wrapped up in material life and do not admit that the real knower and only experiencer is the soul, just so long do these servants remain usurpers of the soul's sovereignty. Hence it is stated in old Hindu works, that "the Soul is the friend of Self and also its enemy; and, that a man should raise the self by the self."
In other words there is a constant struggle between the lower and the Higher Self, in which the illusions of matter always wage war against the Soul, tending ever to draw downward the inner principles which, lying midway between the upper and the lower, are capable of reaching either salvation or damnation.
There is no reference in the Aphorisms to the will. It seems to be inferred, either as well understood and admitted, or as being one of the powers of soul itself and not to be discussed. Many old Hindu writers hold, and we incline to the same view, that Will is a spiritual power, function or attribute constantly present in every portion of the Universe. It is a colorless power, to which no quality of goodness or badness is to be assigned, but which may be used in whatever way man pleases. When considered as that which in ordinary life is called "will," we see its operation only in connexion with the material body and mind guided by desire; looked at in respect to the hold by man upon life it is more recondite, because its operation is beyond the ken of the mind; analyzed as connected with reincarnation of man or with the persistence of the manifested universe throughout a Manvantara, it is found to be still more removed from our comprehension and vast in its scope.
In ordinary life it is not man's servant, but, being then guided solely by desire, it makes man a slave to his desires. Hence the old cabalistic maxim, "Behind Will stands Desire." The desires always drawing the man hither and thither, cause him to commit such actions and have such thoughts as form the cause and mold for numerous reincarnations, enslaving him to a destiny against which he rebels, and that constantly destroys and re-creates his mortal body. It is an error to say of those who are known as strong-willed men, that their wills are wholly their servants, for they are so bound in desire that it, being strong, moves the will into action for the consummation of wished for ends. Every day we see good and evil men prevailing in their several spheres. To say that in one there is good, and in the other evil will is manifestly erroneous and due to mistaking will, the instrument or force, for desire that sets it in motion toward a good or bad purpose. But Patanjali and his school well knew that the secret of directing the will with ten times the ordinary force might be discovered if they outlined the method, and then bad men whose desires were strong and conscience wanting, would use it with impunity against their fellows; or that even sincere students might be carried away from spirituality when dazzled by the wonderful results flowing from a training of the will alone. Patanjali is silent upon the subject for this reason among others.
The system postulates that Ishwara, the spirit in man, is untouched by any troubles, works, fruit of works, or desires, and when a firm position is assumed with the end in view of reaching union with spirit through concentration, He comes to the aid of the lower self and raises it gradually to higher planes. In this process the Will by degrees is given a stronger and stronger tendency to act upon a different line from that indicated by passion and desire. Thus it is freed from the domination of desire and at last subdues the mind itself. But before the perfection of the practice is arrived at the will still acts according to desire, only that the desire is for higher things and away from those of the material life. Book III is for the purpose of defining the nature of the perfected state, which is therein denominated Isolation.
Isolation of the Soul in this philosophy does not mean that a man is isolated from his fellows, becoming cold and dead, but only that the Soul is isolated or freed from the bondage of matter and desire, being thereby able to act for the accomplishing of the aim of Nature and Soul, including all souls of all men. Such, in the Aphorisms, is clearly stated to be the purpose. It has become the habit of many superficial readers and thinkers, to say nothing of those who oppose the Hindu philosophy, to assert that Jivanmuktas or Adepts remove themselves from all life of men, from all activity, and any participation in human affairs, isolating themselves on inaccessible mountains where no human cry can reach their ears. Such a charge is directly contrary to the tenets of the philosophy which prescribes the method and means for reaching such a state. These Beings are certainly removed from human observation, but, as the philosophy clearly states, they have the whole of nature for their object, and this will include all living men. They may not appear to take any interest in transitory improvements or ameliorations, but they work behind the scenes of true enlightenment until such times as men shall be able to endure their appearance in mortal guise.
The term "knowledge" as used here has a greater meaning than we are accustomed to giving it. It implies full identification of the mind, for any length of time, with whatever object or subject it is directed to. Modern science and metaphysics do not admit that the mind can cognize outside of certain given methods and distances, and in most quarters the existence of soul is denied or ignored. It is held, for instance, that one cannot know the constituents and properties of a piece of stone without mechanical or chemical aids applied directly to the object; and that nothing can be known of the thoughts or feelings of another person unless they are expressed in words or acts. Where metaphysicians deal with soul they are vague and appear to be afraid of science, because it is not possible to analyse it and weigh its parts in a balance. Soul and Mind are reduced to the condition of limited instruments which take note of certain physical facts spread before them through mechanical aids. Or, in ethnological investigation, it is held that we can know such and such things about classes of men from observations made through sight, touch, sense of smell and hearing, in which case mind and soul are still mere recorders. But this system declares that the practicer who has reached certain stages, can direct his mind to a piece of stone, whether at a distance or near by, or to a man or class of men, and by means of concentration, cognize all the inherent qualities of the objects as well as accidental peculiarities, and know all about the subject. Thus, in the instance of, say, one of the Easter Islanders, the ascetic will cognize not only that which is visible to the senses or to be known from long observation, or that has been recorded, but also deeply seated qualities, and the exact line of descent and evolution of the particular human specimen under examination. Modern science can know nothing of the Easter Islanders and only makes wild guesses as to what they are; nor can it with any certainty tell what is and from what came a nation so long before the eye of science as the Irish. In the ease of the Yoga practitioner he becomes, through the power of concentration, completely identified with the thing considered, and so in fact experiences in himself all the phenomena exhibited by the object as well as all its qualities.
To make it possible to admit all this, it is first required that the existence, use and function of an ethereal medium penetrating everywhere, called Astral Light or Akasa by the Hindus, should be admitted. The Universal distribution of this as a fact in nature is metaphysically expressed in the terms "Universal Brotherhood" and "Spiritual Identity." In it, through its aid, and by its use, the qualities and motions of all objects are universally cognizable. It is the surface, so to say, upon which all human actions and all things, thoughts and circumstances are fixed. The Easter Islander comes of a stock which has left its imprint in this Astral Light, and carries with him in indelible writing the history of his race. The ascetic in concentration fixes his attention upon this, and then reads the record lost to Science. Every thought of Herbert Spencer, Mill, Bain, or Huxley is fastened in the Astral Light together with the respective systems of Philosophy formulated by them, and all that the ascetic has to do is to obtain a single point of departure connected with either of these thinkers, and then to read in the Astral Light all that they have thought out. By Patanjali and his school, such feats as these relate to matter and not to spirit, although to Western ears they will sound either absurd, or if believed in, as relating to spirit.
In the things of the spirit and of the mind, the modern schools seem, to the sincere student of this Philosophy, to be woefully ignorant. What spirit may be is absolutely unknown, and indeed, it cannot yet be stated what it is not. Equally so with mental phenomena. As to the latter there is nothing but a medley of systems. No one knows what mind is. One says it is brain and another denies it; another declares it to be a function, which a fourth refuses to admit. As to memory, its place, nature and essential property, there is nothing offered but empiric deductions. To explain the simple fact of a man remembering a circumstance of his early youth, all that is said is, that it made an impression on his mind or brain, with no reasonable statement of what is the mind nor how or where the brain retains such vast quantities of impressions.
With such a chaos in modern psychological systems, the student of Patanjali feels justified in adopting something which will, at least, explain and embrace the greater number of facts, and it is to be found in the doctrines again brought forward by the Theosophical Society, relating to man as a Spirit; to a Spirit in nature: to the identity of all spiritual beings, and to all phenomena presented for our consideration.
New York, 1889.
WILLIAM Q. JUDGE.
The Sanskrit particle atha, which is translated "assuredly," intimates to the disciple that a distinct topic is to be expounded, demands his attention, and also serves as a benediction. Monier Williams says it is "an auspicious and inceptive participle often not easily expressed in English."
In other words, the want of concentration of thought is due to the fact that the mind — here called "the thinking principle" — is subject to constant modifications by reason of its being diffused over a multiplicity of subjects. So "concentration" is equivalent to the correction of a tendency top, diffuseness, and to the obtaining of what the Hindus call "one-pointedness," or the power to apply the mind, at any moment, to the consideration of a single point of thought, to the exclusion of all else.
Upon this Aphorism the method of the system hinges. The reason for the absence of concentration at any time is, that the mind is modified by every subject and object that comes before it; it is, as it were, transformed into that subject or object. The mind, therefore, is not the supreme or highest power; it is only a function, an instrument with which the soul works, feels sublunary things, and experiences. The brain, however, must not be confounded with the mind, for the brain is in its turn but an instrument for the mind. It therefore follows that the mind has a plane of its own, distinct from the soul and the brain, and what is to be learned is, to use the will, which is also a distinct power from the mind and brain, in such a way that instead of permitting the mind to turn from one subject or object to another just as they may move it, we shall apply it as a servant at any time and for as long a period as we wish, to the consideration of whatever we have decided upon.
This has reference to the perfection of concentration, and is that condition in which, by the hindering of the modifications referred to in Aph. 2, the soul is brought to a state of being wholly devoid of taint of, or impression by, any subject. The "soul" here referred to is not Atma, which is spirit.
This has reference to the condition of the soul in ordinary life, when concentration is not practised, and means that, when the internal organ, the mind, is through the senses affected or modified by the form of some object, the soul also — viewing the object through its organ, the mind — is, as it were, altered into that form; as a marble statue of snowy whiteness, if seen under a crimson light will seem to the beholder crimson and so is, to the visual organs, so long as that colored light shines upon it.
For instance, the terms "a hare's horns" and "the head of Rahu," neither of which has anything in nature corresponding to the notion. A person hearing the expression "the head of Rahu" naturally fancies that there is a Rahu who owns the head, whereas Rahu — a mythical monster who is said to cause eclipses by swallowing the sun — is all head and has no body; and, although the expression "a hare's horns" is frequently used, it is well known that there is no such thing in nature. Much in the same way people continue to speak of the sun's "rising" and "setting," although they hold to the opposite theory.
This is to say that in order to acquire concentration we must, again and again, make efforts to obtain such control over the mind that we can, at any time when it seems necessary, so reduce it to an unmoved condition or apply it to any one point to the exclusion of all others.
The student must not conclude from this that he can never acquire concentration unless he devotes every moment of his life to it, for the words "without intermission" apply but to the length of time that has been set apart for the practice.
That is — the attainment of a state of being in which the consciousness is unaffected by passions, desires, and ambitions, which aid in causing modifications of the mind.
The sort of meditation referred to is a pondering wherein the nature of that which is to be pondered upon is well known, without doubt or error, and it is a distinct cognition which excludes every other modification of the mind than that which is to be pondered upon.
(1) The Argumentative division of this meditation is a pondering upon a subject with argument as to its nature in comparison with something else; as, for instance, the question whether mind is the product of matter or precedes matter.
(2) The Deliberative division is a pondering in regard to whence have come, and where is the field of action, of the subtler senses and the mind.
(3) The Beatific condition is that in which the higher powers of the mind, together with truth in the abstract, are pondered upon.
(4) The Egoistic division is one in which the meditation has proceeded to such a height that all lower subjects and objects are lost sight of, and nothing remains but the cognition of the self, which then becomes a stepping-stone to higher degrees of meditation.
The result of reaching the fourth degree, called Egoism, is that a distinct recognition of the object or subject with which the meditation began is lost, and self-consciousness alone results; but this self-consciousness does not include the consciousness of the Absolute or Supreme Soul.
It is remarked here by the commentator, that "in him who has Faith there arises Energy, or perseverance in meditation, and, thus persevering, the memory of past subjects springs up, and his mind becomes absorbed in Intentness, in consequence of the recollection of the subject, and he whose mind is absorbed in meditation arrives at a thorough discernment of the matter pondered upon."
It is said that this profound devotedness is a pre-eminent means of attaining abstract meditation and its fruits. "Ishwara" is the Spirit in the body.
The utterance of OM involves three sounds, those of long au, short u, and the "stoppage" or labial consonant m. To this tripartiteness is attached deep mystical symbolic meaning. It denotes, as distinct yet in union, Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva, or Creation, Preservation, and Destruction. As a whole, it implies "the Universe." In its application to man, au refers to the spark of Divine Spirit that is in humanity; u, to the body through which the Spirit manifests itself; and m, to the death of the body, or its resolvement to its material elements. With regard to the cycles affecting any planetary system, it implies the Spirit, represented by au as the basis of the manifested worlds; the body or manifested matter, represented by u, through which the spirit works; and represented by m, "the stoppage or return of sound to its source," the Pralaya or Dissolution of the worlds. In practical occultism, through this word reference is made to Sound, or Vibration, in all its properties and effects, this being one of the greatest powers of nature. In the use of this word as a practice, by means of the lungs and throat, a distinct effect is produced upon the human body. In Aph 28 the name is used in its highest sense, which will necessarily include all the lower. All utterance of the word OM, as a practice, has a potential reference to the conscious separation of the soul from the body.
Any accepted truth which one approves is here meant.
The chief occasions for distraction of the mind are Covetousness and Aversion, and what the aphorism means is, not that virtue and vice should be viewed with indifference by the student, but that he should not fix his mind with pleasure upon happiness or virtue, nor with aversion upon grief or vice, in others, but should regard all with an equal mind; and the practice of Benevolence, Tenderness, and Complacency brings about cheerfulness of the mind, which tends to strength and steadiness.
These two aphorisms (42-43) describe the first and second stages of meditation, in the mind properly intent upon objects of a gross or material nature. The next aphorism has reference to the state when subtile, or higher, objects are selected for contemplative meditation.
"Meditation with its seed" is that kind of meditation in which there is still present before the mind a distinct object to be meditated upon.
It is held that there are two main trains of thought; (a) that which depends upon suggestion made either by the words of another, or by impression upon the senses or mind, or upon association; (b) that which depends altogether upon itself, and reproduces from itself the same thought as before. And when the second sort is attained, its effect is to act as an obstacle to all other trains of thought, for it is of such a nature that it repels or expels from the mind any other kind of thought. As shown in Aph. 48, the mental state called "non-argumentative" is absolutely free from error, since it has nothing to do with testimony or inference, but is knowledge itself, and therefore from its inherent nature it puts a stop to all other trains of thought.
"Meditation without a seed" is that in which the brooding of the mind has been pushed to such a point that the object selected for meditation has disappeared from the mental plane, and there is no longer any recognition of it, but consequent progressive thought upon a higher plane.
END OF THE FIRST BOOK.
What is here meant by "mortification" is the practice laid down in other books, such as the Dharma Shastra, which includes penances and fastings; "muttering" is the semi-audible repetition of formulae also laid down, preceded by the mystic name of the Supreme Being given in Aph. 27, Book I; "resignation to the Supreme Soul," is the consigning to the Divine, or the Supreme Soul, all one's works, without interest in their results.
i.e. It is the confounding of the soul, which really sees, with the tool it uses to enable it to see, viz., the mind, or — to a still greater degree of error — with those organs of sense which are in turn the tools of the mind; as, for instance, when an uncultured person thinks that it is his eye which sees, when in fact it is his mind that uses the eye as a tool for seeing.
There is in the spirit a natural tendency, throughout a Manvantara, to manifestation on the material plane, on and through which only, the spiritual monads can attain their development; and this tendency, acting through the physical basis common to all sentient beings, is extremely powerful and continues through all incarnations, helping to cause them, in fact, and re-producing itself in each incarnation.
The past cannot be changed or amended; that which belongs to the experiences of the present cannot, and should not, be shunned; but alike to be shunned are disturbing anticipations or fears of the future, and every act or impulse that may cause present or future pain to ourselves or others.
The "diverse " are such as the gross elements and the organs of sense; the "non-diverse," the subtile elements and the mind; the "once resolvable," the intellect, which can be resolved into undifferentiated matter but no farther; and the "irresolvable," indiscrete matter.
The commentator adds: "Nature in energizing does not do so with a view to any purpose of her own, but with the design, as it were, expressed in the words 'let me bring about the soul's experience.'"
That which is meant in this and in the preceding two aphorisms is that the conjuncture of soul and body, through repeated reincarnations, is due to its absence of discriminative knowledge of the nature of the soul and its environment, and when this discriminative knowledge has been attained, the conjuncture, which was due to the absence of discrimination, ceases of its own accord.
The import of this — among other things — is that the man who has attained to the perfection of spiritual cultivation maintains his consciousness, alike while in the body, at the moment of quitting it, and when he has passed into higher spheres; and likewise when returning continues it unbroken while quitting higher spheres, when re-entering his body, and in resuming action on the material plane.
It is not meant here that a student practising continence solely, and neglecting the other practices enjoined, will gain strength. All parts of the system must be pursued concurrently, on the mental, moral, and physical planes.
"Covetousness" here applies not only to coveting any object, but also to the desire for enjoyable conditions of mundane existence, or even for mundane existence itself.
By properly uttered invocations — here referred to in the significant phrase "inaudible mutterings," the higher powers in nature, ordinarily unseen by man, are caused to reveal themselves to the sight of the Yogi; and inasmuch as all the powers in nature cannot be evoked at once, the mind must be directed to some particular force, or power in nature — hence the use of the term "with one's favorite Deity."
For the clearing up of the mind of the student it is to be observed that the "postures" laid down in various systems of "Yoga" are not absolutely essential to the successful pursuit of the practice of concentration and attainment of its ultimate fruits. All such "postures," as prescribed by Hindu writers, are based upon an accurate knowledge of the physiological effects produced by them, but at the present day they are only possible for Hindus, who from their earliest years are accustomed to assuming them.
By "pairs of opposites" reference is made to the conjoined classification, all through the Hindu philosophical and metaphysical systems, of the opposed qualities, conditions, and states of being, which are eternal sources of pleasure or pain in mundane existence, such as cold and heat, hunger and satiety, day and night, poverty and riches, liberty and despotism.
Aphorisms 49-50-51 allude to regulation of the breath as a portion of the physical exercises referred to in the note upon Aph. 46, acquaintance with the rules and prescriptions for which, on the part of the student, is inferred by Patanjali. Aph. 50 refers merely to the regulation of the several periods, degrees of force; and number of alternating recurrences of the three divisions of breathing — exhalation, inhalation, and retention of the breath. But Aph. 51 alludes to another regulation of the breath, which is its governance by the mind so as to control its direction to and consequent influence upon certain centers of nerve perception within the human body for the production of physiological, followed by psychic effects.
END OF THE SECOND BOOK.
This is called Dharana.
This is called Dhyana.
This is called Samadhi.
We have no word in English corresponding to Sanyama. The translators have used the word restraint, but this is inadequate and misleading, although it is a correct translation. When a Hindu says that an ascetic is practising restraint according to this system in respect to any object, he means that he is performing Sanyama, while in English it may indicate that he is restraining himself from some particular thing or act, and this is not the meaning of Sanyama. We have used the language of the text, but the idea may perhaps be better conveyed by "perfect concentration."
This "discerning power" is a distinct faculty which this practice alone develops, and is not possessed by ordinary persons who have not pursued concentration.
[See note to Aph. 2, Book I.] The student is to know that after he has overcome the afflictions and obstructions described in the preceding books, there are other modifications of a recondite character suffered by the mind, which are to be got rid of by means of Sanyama. When he has reached that stage the difficulties will reveal themselves to him.
See Aph. 17, Book I.
It is very difficult to put this aphorism into English. The three words translated as "characteristic property, distinctive mark or use, and possible change of use" are Dharma, Lakshana, and Avastha, and may be thus illustrated: Dharma, as, say, the clay of which a jar is composed, Lakshana, the idea of a jar thus constituted, and Avastha, the consideration that the jar alters every moment, in that it becomes old, or is otherwise affected.
The third class above spoken of has reference to a tenet of the philosophy which holds that all objects may and will be finally "resolved into nature" or one basic substance; hence gold may be considered as mere matter, and therefore not different — not to be separately denominated in final analysis — from earth.
See Aphorism 4, where "Sanyama" is explained as the use or operation of attention, contemplation, and meditation in respect to a single object.
Another great difference between this philosophy and modern science is here indicated. The schools of today lay down the rule that if there is a healthy eye in line with the rays of light reflected from an object — such as a human body — the latter will be seen, and that no action of the mind of the person looked at can inhibit the functions of the optic nerves and retina of the onlooker. But the ancient Hindus held that all things are seen by reason of that differentiation of Sattwa — one of the three great qualities composing all things — which is manifested as luminousness, operating in conjunction with the eye, which is also a manifestation of Sattwa in another aspect. The two must conjoin; the absence of luminousness or its being disconnected from the seer's eye will cause a disappearance. And as the quality of luminousness is completely under the control of the ascetic, he can, by the process laid down, check it, and thus cut off from the eye of the other an essential element in the seeing of any object.
The ancient commentator differs from others with regard to this aphorism, in that he asserts that it is a portion of the original text, while they affirm that it is not, but an interpolation.
Karma, resultant from actions of both kinds in present and in previous incarnations, produces and affects our present bodies, in which we are performing similar actions. The ascetic, by steadfastly contemplating all his actions in this and in previous incarnations (see Aph. 18), is able to know absolutely the consequences resultant from actions he has performed, and hence has the power to calculate correctly the exact length of his life.
"Brahmanda" here means the great system, called by some "universe," in which this world is.
There are two inferences here which have nothing to correspond to them in modern thought. One is, that there is a light in the head; and the other, that there are divine beings who may be seen by those who thus concentrate upon the "light in the head." It is held that a certain nerve, or psychic current, called Brahmarandhra-nadi, passes out through the brain near the top of the head. In this there collects more of the luminous principle in nature than elsewhere in the body and it is called jyotis — the light in the head. And, as every result is to be brought about by the use of appropriate means, the seeing of divine beings can be accomplished by concentration upon that part of the body more nearly connected with them. This point — the end of Brahmarandhra-nadi — is also the place where the connexion is made between man and the solar forces.
Hridaya is the heart. There is some disagreement among mystics as to whether the muscular heart is meant, or some nervous center to which it leads, as in the case of a similar direction for concentrating on the umbilicus, when, in fact, the field of nerves called the solar plexus is intended.
"Practice enjoined," see Aph's 36-37.
As this philosophy holds that the mind, not being the result of brain, enters the body by a certain road and is connected with it in a particular manner, this aphorism declares that, when the ascetic acquires a knowledge of the exact process of connecting mind and body, he can connect his mind with any other body, and thus transfer the power to use the organs of the occupied frame in experiencing effects from the operations of the senses.
Udana is the name given to one of the so-called "vital airs." These, in fact, are certain nervous functions for which our physiology has no name, and each one of which has its own office. It may be said that by knowing them, and how to govern them, one can alter his bodily polarity at will. The same remarks apply to the next aphorism.
[This effect has been seen by the interpreter on several occasions when in company with one who had acquired the power. The effect was as if the person had a luminousness under the skin. — W. Q. J.]
The word Akasa has been translated both as "aether" and "astral light." In this aphorism it is employed in the former sense. Sound, it will remembered, is the distinctive property of this element.
[See note on Isolation in Book IV.]
In this Patanjali speaks of ultimate divisions of time which cannot be further divided, and of the order in which they precede and succeed each other. It is asserted that a perception of these minute periods can be acquired, and the result will be that he who discriminates thus goes on to greater and wider perception of principles in nature which are so recondite that modern philosophy does not even know of their existence. We know that we can all distinguish such periods as days or hours, and there are many persons, born mathematicians, who are able to perceive the succession of minutes and can tell exactly without a watch how many have elapsed between any two given points in time. The minutes, so perceived by these mathematical wonders, are, however, not the ultimate divisions of time referred to in the Aphorism, but are themselves composed of such ultimates. No rules can be given for such concentration as this, as it is so far on the road of progress that the ascetic finds the rules himself, after having mastered all the anterior processes.
Such an ascetic as is referred to in this and the next aphorism, is a Jivanmukta and is not subject to reincarnation. He, however, may live yet upon earth but is not in any way subject to his body, the soul being perfectly free at every moment. And such is held to be the state of those beings called, in theosophical literature, Adepts, Mahatmas, Masters.
END OF THE THIRD BOOK.
The sole cause of permanent perfections is meditation performed in incarnations prior to that in which the perfection appears, for perfection by birth, such as the power of birds to fly, is impermanent, as also are those following upon incantations, elixirs and the like. But as meditation reaches within, it affects each incarnation. It must also follow that evil meditation will have the result of begetting perfection in evil.
This alludes to the possibility — admitted by the Hindus — of a man's being altered into one of the Devas, or celestial beings, through the force of penances and meditation.
This is intended to further explain Aphorism 2 by showing, that in any incarnation certain practices [e.g. those previously laid down] will clear away the obscurations of a man's past Karma, upon which that Karma will manifest itself; whereas, if the practices were not pursued, the result of past meditation might be delayed until yet another life.
The aphorism applies to all classes of men, and not to bodies assumed by the ascetic; and there must always be kept in view the doctrine of the philosophy that each life leaves in the Ego mental deposits which form the basis upon which subsequent vicissitudes follow in other lives.
The three kinds of work alluded to are (1) pure in action and motive; (2) dark, such as that of infernal beings; (3) that of the general run of men, pure-dark. The 4th is that of the ascetic.
This is to remove a doubt caused by Aphorism 8, and is intended to show that memory is not due to mere brain matter, but is possessed by the incarnating ego, which holds all the mental deposits in a latent state, each one becoming manifest whenever the suitable bodily constitution and environment are provided for it.
In the Indian edition this reads that the deposits remain because of the "benediction." And as that word is used in a special sense, we do not give it here. All mental deposits result from a desire for enjoyment, whether it be from a wish to avoid in the next life certain pain suffered in this, or from the positive feeling expressed in the desire, "may such and such pleasure always be mine." This is called a "benediction." And the word "eternal" has also a special signification, meaning only that period embraced by a "day of Brahma," which lasts for a thousand ages.
This aphorism supplements the preceding one, and intends to show that, although the deposits will remain during "eternity" if left to themselves — being always added to by new experiences and similar desires — yet they may be removed by removing producing causes.
The "three qualities" are Sattwa, Rajas, Tamas, or Truth, Activity, and Darkness: Truth corresponding to light and joy; Activity to passion; and Darkness to evil, rest, indifference, sloth, death. All manifested objects are compounded of these three.
Hence, through all the changes to which the mind and soul are subject, the spiritual soul, Ishwara, remains unmoved, "the witness and spectator."
The self-knowledge spoken of here is that interior illumination desired by all mystics, and is not merely a knowledge of self in the ordinary sense.
The mind is merely a tool, instrument, or means, by which the soul acquires experiences and knowledge. In each incarnation the mind is, as it were, new. It is a portion of the apparatus furnished to the soul through innumerable lives for obtaining experience and reaping the fruit of works performed. The notion that the mind is either knower or experiencer is a false one, which is to be removed before emancipation can be reached by soul. It was therefore said that the mind operates or exists for the carrying out of the soul's salvation, and not the soul for the mind's sake. When this is fully understood, the permanency of soul is seen, and all the evils flowing from false ideas begin to disappear.
The commentator explains that, when the ascetic has reached the point described in Aphorism 25, if he bends his concentration toward the prevention of all other thoughts, and is not desirous of attaining the powers resulting just at his wish, a further state of meditation is reached which is called "cloud of virtue," because it is such as will, as it were, furnish the spiritual rain for the bringing about of the chief end of the soul — entire emancipation. And it contains a warning that, until that chief end is obtained, the desire for fruits is an obstacle.
This is a step further than Aphorism 53, Book III, where it is stated that from discrimination of ultimates of time a perception of the very subtle and recondite principles of the universe results. Here, having arrived at Isolation, the ascetic sees beyond even the ultimates, and they, although capable of affecting the man who has not reached this stage, are for the ascetic identical, because he is a master of them. It is extremely difficult to interpret this aphorism; and in the original it reads that "the order is counterpart of the moment." To express it in another way, it may be said that in the species of meditation adverted to in Aphorism 53, Book III, a calculative cognition goes forward in the mind, during which, the contemplator not yet being thoroughly master of these divisions of time, is compelled to observe them as they pass before him.
This is a general statement of the nature of Isolation, sometimes called Emancipation. The qualities before spoken of, found in all objects and which had hitherto affected and delayed the soul, have ceased to be mistaken by it for realities, and the consequence is that the soul abides in its own nature unaffected by the great "pairs of opposites" — pleasure and pain, good and evil, cold and heat, and so forth.
Yet it must not be deduced that the philosophy results in a negation, or in a coldness, such as our English word "Isolation" would seem to imply. The contrary is the case. Until this state is reached, the soul, continually affected and deflected by objects, senses, suffering, and pleasure, is unable to consciously partake universally of the great life of the universe. To do so, it must stand firmly "in its own nature"; and then it proceeds further — as is admitted by the philosophy — to bring about the aim of all other souls still struggling on the road. But manifestly further aphorisms upon that would be out of place, as well as being such as could not be understood, to say nothing of the uselessness of giving them.
END OF THE FOURTH BOOK.
May Ishwara be near and help those who read this book.
OM
As printed in the Bombay Edition of 1885.
Aph. 1. — Now, then, the exposition of yoga or Concentration [is to be made].
Aph. 2. — Concentration (yoga) is the hindering of the modifications of the thinking principle.
Aph. 3. — Then [i.e. at the time of Concentration] it [the Soul] abides in the form of the spectator [without a spectacle].
Aph. 4. — At other times [than that of Concentration] it [the Soul] is in the same form as the modifications [of the internal organ — § 2. b. and 5],
Aph. 5. — The modifications [of the internal organ] are of five kinds, [and they are either] painful or not painful.
Aph. 6. — [The modifications of the internal organ are] evidence [or right notion], misconception, fancy, sleep, and memory.
Aph. 7. — The evidences [§6.] are Perception, Inference, and Testimony.
Aph. 8. — Misconception is a wrong notion, not staying in the [proper] form of that [in respect whereof the misconception is entertained].
Aph. 9. — A fancy is [a notion] devoid of a thing [in reality corresponding thereto], following upon knowledge [conveyed] by words.
Aph. 10. — Sleep (1) is that modification [of the internal organ] which depends on the conception of nothing. 1. Dreamless Sleep.
Aph. 11. — Memory is the not letting go of an object that one has been aware of.
Aph. 12. — The hindering of these [modifications of the internal organ — § 2 — is to be effected] by means of exercise and dispassion.
Aph. 13. — 'Exercise' is the [repeated] effort that it [ — viz. the internal organ — ] shall remain in its [unmodified] state.
Aph. 14. — But this [exercise — § 13 — ] is a firm position observed out of regard [for the end in view, and perseveringly adhered to] for a long time unintermittingly.
Aph. 15. — Dispassion is the consciousness of having overcome one's desires, — [this consciousness being that] of him who thirsts after neither the objects that are seen [on earth] nor those that are heard of [in scripture].
Aph. 16. — This [viz. 'dispassion,'] carried to the utmost is indifference regarding the 'qualities' [i.e. everything else than Soul], and this indifference arises from a knowledge of Soul [as distinguished from the 'qualities']. [See Lecture on the Sankhya §49.]
Aph. 17. — [Meditation — of the kind called] that 'in which there is distinct recognition' [arises, in its fourfold shape,] from the attendance of (1) 'argumentation' (vitarka), (2) 'deliberation' (vichara), (3) 'beatitude' (ananda) and (4) 'egoism' (asmita).
Aph. 18. — The one [kind of meditation just described] is preceded by the exercise of thought in the shape of repose; — the other [ — independent of any fresh antecedent — ] is in the shape of the self reproduction [of thought, after the departure of all objects].
Aph. 19. — Of [the meditative state attained to by the two classes of aspirants, technically called] 'the unembodied and resolved into Nature,' the world is the cause.
Aph. 20. — [In the practice] of others this [Meditation] is preceded by Faith, Energy, Memory, Meditation, and Discernment.
Aph. 21. — [The attainment of the state of abstract Meditation is] speedy in the case of the hotly impetuous.
Aph. 22. — Through the 'mild,' the 'medium,' and the 'transcendent' [nature of the methods adopted] there is thence also a distinction [among the ascetics who adopt the methods].
Aph. 23. — Or by profound devotedness towards the Lord, [the ascetic may attain to the state of abstract Meditation].
Aph. 24. — The Lord is a particular Spirit (Purusha) untouched by troubles, works, fruits, or deserts.
Aph. 25. — In him does the germ of the omniscient become infinite.
Aph. 26. — He is the preceptor even of the first, for he is not limited by time.
Aph. 27. — His name is Glory.
Aph. 28. — Its repetition [should be made and also] reflection on its .signification.
Aph. 29. — Thence comes the knowledge of the rightly intelligent [Spirit], and the absence of obstacles.
Aph. 30. — Sickness, languor, doubt, carelessness, laziness, addiction to objects [of sense], erroneous perception, failure to attain any stage [of abstraction], and instability [in the state when attained], — these distractions of the mind are obstacles [in the way of the ascetic].
Aph. 31. — Grief, Distress, Trembling, and Sighing, are accompaniments of the distractions.
Aph. 32. — For the prevention thereof let one truth be dwelt upon.
Aph. 33. — Through the practising of benevolence, tenderness, complacency, and disregard towards objects [i.e. persons who are respectively in possession] of happiness, grief, virtue, and vice, the mind becomes purified.
Aph. 34. — [Or, he may combat distraction] by forcibly expelling and by restraining the breath.
Aph. 35. — Or a sensuous immediate cognition, being produced, may serve as a cause of the steadiness [of the mind].
Aph. 36. — Or a luminous [immediate cognition, being produced,] free from sorrow, [may serve as a cause of the steadiness of the mind].
Aph. 37. — Or the thought, taking as its object some one devoid of passion, [may find what will serve as a cause of the steadiness of the mind].
Aph. 38. — Or the dwelling on knowledge [that presents itself] in dream, or in sleep, [may serve as a cause of the steadiness of the mind].
Aph. 39. — Or [the steadying of the mind may be affected] by pondering anything that one approves.
Aph. 40. — His mastery extends to the atomic and to the infinite.
Aph. 41. — To that mind whose 'modifications' [ — all save that there remains some one object of meditation — ] have disappeared, there occurs, as [occurs] to a noble gem [ — e. g. rock-crystal, when brought into conjunction with a coloured substance — ], when intent on any one out of these — viz. — the perceiver, the perception, and the perceivable, — a tinging thereby.
Aph. 42. — This [change of the mind into the likeness of what is pondered — § 41 — ], when mixed up of the fancy of the 'word,' the 'meaning,' and the 'knowledge,' is [technically termed] the 'argumentative.'
Aph. 43. — On the clearing off of the memory [of the word and the sense attached to it by convention], the [mental] display only of the thing itself as if of something indefinite [and no longer referred to any term — no longer regarded as being what is meant by the word 'cow,' or what is meant by the word 'horse,' etc. — ], this [affection of the mind which no longer reflects a mixed object of thought — § 42 — ] is that which is called [technically] the 'non-argumentive.'
Aph. 44. — Just by this [mental affection under the two aspects explained in Aphorisms 42 and 43], that which is [technically termed] 'deliberative' (sa-vichdra), and [that termed] 'non-deliberative' (nirvichdra), where the object [pondered, — instead of being gross as in these two preceding cases — ] is 'subtile,' has been [sufficiently] explained ; [ — the distinction between this pair, out of the four referred to at § 41 f., being the same as that between the other pair].
Aph. 45. — And 'the having a subtile object' ends with the Indissoluble.
Aph. 46. — These themselves constitute 'Meditation with its seed' [§17. b.]
Aph. 47. — When wisdom has come, through the 'non-deliberative' [mental affection], there is spiritual clearness.
Aph. 48. — In that case there is knowledge which holds to the truth.
Aph. 49. — [This kind of knowledge differs] from the knowledge due to testimony and inference because the object of these two is not particulars but generals.
Aph. 50. — The train [of self-reproductive thought] resulting from this puts a stop to other trains.
Aph. 51. — On the removal of this also, since there is removal of all [the mental modifications], the Meditation is 'without a seed.'
Aph. 1. — The practical [part of] Concentration is mortification (tapas), muttering (swadhyaya), and resignation (pranidhana) to the Lord.
Aph. 2. — It is for the purpose of establishing meditation and for the purpose of extenuating afflictions.
Aph. 3. — The afflictions are Ignorance, Egoism, Desire, Aversion, and Tenacity [of mundane existence].
Aph. 4. — Ignorance is the field of the others, whether they be dormant, extenuated, intercepted, or simple.
Aph. 5. — Ignorance (avidya) is the notion that the uneternal, the impure, evil, and what is not soul, is [severally] eternal, pure, joy, and soul.
Aph. 6. — Egoism (asmita) is the identifying of the power that sees with the power of seeing.
Aph. 7. — Desire is what dwells on pleasure.
Aph. 8. — Aversion is what dwells on pain.
Aph. 9. — Continuant through its self-reproductive property, even on the part of the wise, attachment to the body is 'Tenacity of life'.
Aph. 10. — These, when subtile, are to be evaded by an antagonistic production.
Aph. 11. — Their 'modifications' [ — when the 'afflictions' modify the mind by pressing themselves upon the attention — ] are to be got rid of by meditation.
Aph. 12. — The stock of works, whose root is the 'afflictions,' is what is to be had fruition of in this visible state, or in that unseen.
Aph. 13. — While there is the root, fructification is rank, years, and enjoyment.]
Aph. 14. — These have joy or suffering as their fruits, accordingly as the cause is virtue or vice.
Aph. 15. — And, to the discriminating, all is grief simply, since the modifications due to the Qualities are adverse [to the summum bonum] through the vexations of the various forms [of Nature], and of anxiety and impressions self-continuant.
Aph. 16. — What is to be shunned is pain not yet come.
Aph. 17. — The cause of what is to be shunned is the conjunction of the seer with the visual.
Aph. 18. — The visual [ — including the visible — ] whose habit is illumination, action, and rest, and which consists of the Elements and the Organs, is for the sake of experience and emancipation.
Aph. 19. — The divisions [of condition] of the Qualities are (1) the diverse, (2) the non-diverse, (3) the merely [once] resolvable, and (4) the irresolvable.
Aph. 20. — The 'seer' [soul] is vision simply, though pure, looking directly on ideas.
Aph. 21. — For the sake of it alone is the entity of the visible.
Aph. 22. — Though it has ceased to be, in respect of him who has effected what is required, it has not ceased, [in regard to all], because it is common to others besides him.
Aph. 23. — The conjunction is the cause of the apprehension of the actual condition of the natures of the possessed and the possessor.
Aph. 24. — The cause thereof is what is to be quitted — viz. Ignorance.
Aph. 25. — The 'quitting' consists in the surcease of the conjunction, on that [Ignorance]; — this is the isolation of the soul.
Aph. 26. — The means of quitting [the state of bondage] is discriminative knowledge not discontinuous.
Aph. 27. — Of that [enlightened soul] the perfect knowledge, up to the ground of the limit, is of seven kinds.
Aph. 28. — Till there is discriminative knowledge, there is, from the practice of the things subservient to the Yoga, an illumination [more or less brilliant] of knowledge [which is operative] in the removal of impurity.
Aph. 29. — The eight things subservient [to Concentration] are (1) forbearance, (2) religious observance, (3) postures, (4) suppression of the breath (5) restraint, (6) attention, (7) contemplation, and (8) meditation.
Aph. 30. — 'Forbearance' (yama); consists of not killing, veracity, not stealing, continence, and not coveting.
Aph. 31. — These, without respect to rank, place, time, or compact, are the universal great duty.
Aph. 32. — Religious observances (niyama) are (1) purification, (2) contentment, (3) austerity, (4) inaudible mutterings, and (5) persevering devotion to the Lord.
Aph. 33. — In excluding things questionable, the calling up something opposite [is serviceable].
Aph. 34. — The 'things questionable,' killing, &c.; whether done, caused to be done, or approved of; whether resulting from covetousness, anger, or delusion; whether slight, of intermediate character, or beyond measure ; have no end of fruits [in the shape of] pain and ignorance; — hence the calling up of something opposite [is every way advisable].
Aph. 35. — When harmlessness is complete, near him, there is abandonment of enmity.
Aph. 36. — When veracity is complete, he is the receptacle of the fruit of works.
Aph. 37. — When abstinence from theft is complete, all jewels come near him.
Aph. 38. — When continence is complete, there is gain of strength.
Aph. 39. — When non-covetousness is established, there is knowledge of all about [former] states of existence.
Aph. 40. — From 'purification,' results loathing for one's own members, and non-intercourse with others.
Aph. 41. — And purity in the Quality of Goodness, complacency, intentness, subjugation of the senses, and fitness for the beholding of soul, [are fruits of 'purification'].
Aph. 42. — From contentment there is acquired superlative felicity.
Aph. 43. — The perfection of the bodily senses by the removal of impurity, [is the fruit] of austerity.
Aph. 44. — Through inaudible muttering there is a meeting with one's favourite deity.
Aph. 45. — Perfection in meditation comes from persevering devotion to the Lord.
Aph. 46. — A 'posture' is what is steady and pleasant.
Aph. 47. — Through slightness of effort and through attaining to the infinite [do 'postures,' become steady and pleasant].
Aph. 48. — Thence there is no assault by the pairs.
Aph. 49. — When this has taken place, there is regulation of the breath, a cutting short of the motion of inspiration and expiration.
Aph. 50. — But this which is (1) outer, (2) inner, and (3) steady, peculiarised by place, time, and number, is long or short.
Aph. 51. — The fourth recognises both the outer and the inner spheres.
Aph. 52. — Thereby is removed the obscuration of the light.
Aph. 53. — And the mind becomes fit for acts of attention.
Aph. 54. — 'Restraint' is as it were the accommodation of the senses to the nature of the mind in the absence of concernment with each one's own object.
Aph. 55. — Therefrom is there complete subjection of the senses.
Aph. 1. — Fixing the internal organ [Chitta,] on a place is Dharana [attention].
Aph. 2. — A course of uniform [fixed on only one object] modification of knowledge at that place [where the internal organ is fixed in Dharana] is Dhyana [contemplation].
Aph. 3. — The same [contemplation] when it arises only about a material substance or object of sense, [and therefore] is [then] like a non-existence of itself [that is like ignorance] is Samadhi [meditation].
Aph. 4. — These three [when they operate only] on one object, constitute Sanyama.
Aph. 5. — By subduing Sanyama, a discerning principle is developed.
Aph. 6. — Sanyama is to be used in the modifications [of the internal organ Chitta].
Aph. 7. — The three Yogangas [i.e. attention, contemplation, and meditation] are more interior [i.e. immediately subservient to that kind of meditation in which there is distinct recognition i.e. Samprajnatasamadhi, — See Aph. 17. Book. 1] than the first [five Togaugas, forbearance, &c.]
Aph. 8. — Those three also are exterior to the meditation without a seed [Nirbija].
Aph. 9. — Out of the two trains of self-reproductive thought, resulting from the Vyutthana and the Nirodha, when the former is subdued and the latter is manifested, and, at that moment of manifestation the internal organ [Chitta] is concerned in both of the trains, then, such modification of the internal organ is the modification in the shape of Nirodha.
Aph. 10. — A uniform flow [of modifications of the internal organ arises] from the [aforesaid] train of self-reproductive thought.
Aph. 11. — Out of the two [properties] of the internal organ — chitta — which consist of Sarvarthata [that is its comprehension of several objects] and Ekagrata [i.e. its intentness on a single point]; [when] the first is utterly destroyed and the second is manifested — [at that time the connection of the internal organ with both of the properties or the state in which it exists as Dharmi, i.e. endowed with the two properties] is the modification of the internal organ in the shape of Samadhi [meditation].
Aph. 12. — [When] the two particular states or modifications [pratyayas], the one tranquil [Santa] and the other reason [Udita], of the internal organ become equal, then its connection with both of the states is [its] modification in the shape of an intentness on a single point [Ekagrata].
Aph. 13. — By this [exposition of the modifications of the internal organs] the [three] modifications in the shape of property [Dharma], indication [Lakshana] and position [Avastha] in [or of] the Elements and organs, have been [sufficiently] explained.
Aph. 14. — A Dharmi is that which follows upon [or has] the properties in the shape of Santa [tranquil], Udita [risen] and Avyapadeshya [incapable of denomination].
Aph. 15. — The altered state of the order [of the threefold modification just defined] is indicative of the variety of the modifications [which the same Dharmi is to undergo].
Aph. 16. — A knowledge of past and future events [comes to an ascetic] from [his rendering] Sanyama — restraint — about the three modifications [just explained].
Aph. 17. — A confusedness of Shabda [an uttered sound or a word] Artha i.e. [class, quality, action, &c.] and Pratyaya [knowledge] arises from comprehending these three indiscriminately. [But when an ascetic views these separately by performing Sanyama — restraint — with regard to them, a knowledge [is produced in him] of the speech of all living beings [i.e. he has a power of understanding their speech].
Aph. 18. — A knowledge of the class [&c., experienced] in a former birth [arises] from presenting to our mind [Sakshatkarana] — the trains of self-reproductive thought — Sanskaras [of the internal organ].
Aph. 19. — The mind of other persons becomes known to [an ascetic when he performs Sanyama — restraint] with regard to the Pratyaya — knowledge — [contained in it, i.e., in the mind of other persons].
Aph. 20. — It [i.e. the mind of other persons] is not comprehended with its Alambana — support, i.e., object [to an ascetic] because it was not the object [of Sanyama which he, the ascetic, made use of in comprehending the mind].
Aph. 21. — By performing Sanyama — restraint — about form [the property] of body [defined in Aph. 11. See the Nyaya Philosophy p. 16], its power of being apprehended [by the organ of sight] being checked, and luminousness, the property of the organ of sight having no connection [with its object, i.e. the form, the result] is the disappearance of the ascetic.
Aph. 22. — By this, a concealment [Antardhana] of speech [Shabda] &c., is also stated.
Aph. 23. — An action [karma] is two-fold; one accompanied by anticipation of consequences [Sopakrama] and other destitute of it [Nirupakrama]: — from performing Sanyama — restraint — with regard to this two-fold action, a knowledge [arises in an ascetic] of the separation from [his] body — Aparanta — [i.e. death]. Or [the time of death is known] from portents [Arishta].
Aph. 24. — [Superhuman] faculties [are manifested in an ascetic by performing restraint] in benevolence, &c.
Aph. 25. — The faculties of an elephant, &c., [are manifested in an ascetic by performing restraint] in these faculties.
Aph. 26. — A knowledge of the minute, concealed and distant [objects of sense arises in an ascetic] by his throwing the light of immediate cognition — Pravritti [on them].
Aph. 27. — A knowledge of [seven] worlds [arises in an ascetic] by his performing restraint in regard to the [luminous body] the sun.
Aph. 28. — A knowledge of forms of the asterisms [arises in an ascetic] when he performs restraint with regard to the Moon.
Aph. 29. — A knowledge of the motion of the stars [arises in an ascetic by his performing restraint] with regard to the polar star [Dhruva].
Aph. 30. — A knowledge of the particular structure of the body [arises in an ascetic who performs his restraint] with regard to the circle of the navel.
Aph. 31. — A cessation of hunger, thirst, etc. [takes place in an ascetic by performing his restraint with regard to the well of [his] throat.
Aph. 32. — A firmness [of mind takes place when an ascetic performs his restraint] with regard to the vein [called] kurma [tortoise].
Aph. 33. — [The ascetic] sees Sidhhas, the divine personages or spirits [when he performs his restraint] with regard to the light — Jyotis — of the head.
Aph. 34. — Or [the ascetic] disregarding all other instrumental causes [knows] every thing from [only] Pratibha [a knowledge called Taraka].
Aph. 35. — A knowledge about mind — Chitta [arises in an ascetic, when he performs his restraint] with regard to the internal organ — Hridaya.
Aph. 36. — From conceiving indifferently the knowledge of the person [soul] and sattva [purity or the principle of understanding, Buddhitattva — ] which are entirely different from each other, [a knowledge of joy and affliction arise and] that is enjoyment [Bhoga]. This enjoyment is another's object [Parartha], and an object different from this is the proper object [Svartha — of the principle of understanding] and from performing restraint with regard to this proper object, a knowledge of the person [arises in an ascetic].
Aph. 37. — From that, Pratibha, [Taraka a knowledge concerning all things, see Aph. 34, Book 3, and the knowledge caused by the organs] hearing, touch, sight, taste, and smell arises in [the ascetic].
Aph. 38. — These fruits are obstacles in the way of meditation and superhuman faculties [in the state of] non-meditation [Vyutthana].
Aph. 39. — The mind of [the ascetic] enters the body of others by reason of the laxity of the cause of Bandha — bondage, and by the knowledge of the process — Prachara — [of mind].
Aph. 40. — A disunion [Asanga] with and a rising [Utkranti] from water, mud, thorns, etc., [take place] by conquering the Udana, one of the vital airs.
Aph. 41. — A blazing [takes place] from conquering the air Samana.
Aph. 42. — A divine organ of hearing [is developed in the ascetic] by his performing restraint with regard to the connection between [Shrotra] the organ of hearing and [Akasa] the ether.
Aph. 43. — [A power] of walking through the air [is developed in the ascetic] by his obtaining a state of lightness like a light piece of cotton, etc., from performing his restraint with regard to the connection which a [man's] body has with air.
Aph. 44. — The external modification [of the internal organ] akalpita, thoughtless, is [called] the great incorporeal [modification, mahavideha]: therefrom [results] the destruction of the obscuration of the illumination [of intellect].
Aph. 45. — The conquering of the elements [takes place from, the ascetism [performed with regard to the five forms of the elements] gross [sthula] — nature, [swarupa], subtile [sukshma], concomitant [anwaya] and possession of objects [arthavattwa].
Aph. 46. — Therefrom spring up [three perfections i.e.] minuteness, &c., excellence of body, and non-destruction of the merits of it.
Aph. 47. — The excellence of body consists of colour, loveliness, strength, and adamantine density.
Aph. 48. — The conquering of the organs of sense result from the restraint performed with regard to perception, nature, egoism, concomitance, and possession of objects.
Aph. 49. — Therefrom spring up velocity of mind the state of modification, and the conquest of nature.
Aph. 50. — Omniscience and Supremacy over all existence arise merely [in the ascetic] who has the discriminative knowledge of the element of purity and soul.
Aph. 51. — From an indifference even to this [perfection] through the destruction of the germ of perniciousness, results isolation.
Aph. 52. — [The ascetic ought] not to form association and exhibit wonderment at the invitation of the tutelary dieties, for evil would again ensue.
Aph. 53. — Knowledge springing from discrimination results from asceticism performed with regard to the relation between moments and to their order.
Aph. 54. — Therefrom results discernment of two similar things, as there is non-discrimination by class, characteristic and place.
Aph. 55. — The knowledge springing from discrimination is [called] saving [knowledge], has all things and the entire nature of all things for its objects, and is non-successive.
Aph. 56. — On equalization of clearness of the pure quality [i.e. understanding] and soul, Isolation takes place.
Aph. 1. — Perfections are produced by birth, herbs [of mysterious virtue,] incantations, penances and meditations.
Aph. 2. — The change into another class is from the supply of natures.
Aph. 3. — The occasional is the non-efficient cause of natures : thereby there is removal of obscurations, as in the case of a husbandman [who removes the impediments to the irrigation of his fields].
Aph. 4. — The minds in the productions [ensue] from mere egoism.
Aph. 5. — In different activities of [those] numerous [minds] one mind [of the ascetic] is the moving cause.
Aph. 6. — Among these [minds produced by birth, &c.], that which springs from meditation is without subtratum.
Aph. 7. — The work of an ascetic is neither pure nor dark, and that of others is of three kinds.
Aph. 8. — Therefrom [results] manifestation of those mental deposits alone which are comformable to its fructification.
Aph. 9. — There is an immediacy among those [impressions] though intercepted by rank [in the scale of being], place and time, because the recollection and the train of self-reproductive impression are identical [that is they are not different].
Aph. 10. — They have eternity because the benediction is eternal.
Aph. 11. — As [they are] collected by cause, effect, substratum and support [therefore] on non-existence of these, non-existence of the impressions takes place.
Aph. 12. — That which is past and that which is to come does exist in its proper nature, for the course of properties is different.
Aph. 13. — These individualised and subtile [objects] consist of qualities.
Aph. 14. — Unity of thing results from unity of modification.
Aph. 15. — The course of these two [that is, the thing and the object] is distinct, for there is a diversity of thoughts regarding one thing.
Aph. 16. — An object is known or unknown to the mind inasmuch as the tint of the object is required [to it].
Aph. 17. — The modification of the mental states are always known, because the presiding spirit is not modified.
Aph. 18. — It is not self-illuminative inasmuch as it is cognisable.
Aph. 19. — Attention to two [objects] cannot take place simultaneously.
Aph. 20. — If one perception be cognisable by another then there would be the further necessity of cognition of cognition and a confusion of recollection also would take place.
Aph. 21. — The self-knowledge of cognition takes place when the intelligence [soul] which is non-transeunt acquires the shape of understanding.
Aph. 22. — The thinking principle [i.e. intellect] tinged by the knower and the knowable is the totality of objects.
Aph. 23. — Though variegated by innumerable impressions [mental deposits] it exists for the sake of another, because it operates in association.
Aph. 24. — The cessation of the [false] notion regarding the soul takes place in him who knows the difference.
Aph. 25. — Then the mind becomes deflected towards discrimination and bowed down towards [or by] Isolation.
Aph. 26. — In the intervals thereof other thoughts arise from the self-continuant impressions.
Aph. 27. — The means of the avoidance of these are explained to be as in the case of the afflictions.
Aph. 28. — If the ascetic is not desirous of fruit [or is not inert] even when the perfect knowledge has been attained, [then] the meditation, [technically called] Dharma-Megha, cloud of virtue, takes place from the entire discriminative knowledge.
Aph. 29. — Therefrom takes place removal of the afflictions and works.
Aph. 30. — Then from inflniteness of the knowledge free from the impurity of all its obscurations, the knowable appears small.
Aph. 31. — Thereupon takes place the termination of the succession of the modification of the qualities which have done what was to be done [or which have realised their end.]
Aph. 32. — The order is counterpart of the moment, perceptible in the latter end of the modification.
Aph. 33. — The re-absorption of those [qualities] void of the aim of the soul, or the abiding of the power of intelligence in its own nature, is Isolation.
If the Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali speak to you or touch you in some way, consider studying the Summum philosophy, for the two are related. "Summum" is a Latin term meaning "highest," and in the context of the Summum philosophy, means "the sum total of all creation." The Summum philosophy is based upon Principles of Nature that underlie all phenomena and form the framework of existence.
"Take advantage of Psychokinesis and learn to know, use, and apply the laws resulting from it... Rise each day and live, so far as is possible, your highest ideas and ideals." — Summum
The philosophy of Summum is introduced in the book, SUMMUM: Sealed Except to the Open Mind, which is also available in several ebook editions. This book examines the cause of creation, seven fundamental principles, and humanity's place in the matrix of Creation's formulations. It is a must read for anyone searching for a genuine understanding of Creation.
Ebook editions are available at:
"The voice of wisdom is silent, except to the open mind." — Summum