The Yoga Tradition

by Georg Feuerstein

  Comments: The will-to-live (abhinivesha) is the impulse toward individuated existence. As such it is a primary cause of suffering and, according to Yoga, must be transcended.

  These [causes-of-affliction], [in their) subtle [form], are to be overcome by the [process of] involution (pratiprasava). (2.10)

  Comments: The basic building blocks of Nature (prakriti) are the three types of constituents (guna). namely the dynamic principle (rajas), the principle of inertia (tamas), and the principle of lucidity (sattva). Their combined interaction creates the entire manifest cosmos. Liberation is conceived as the reversal of this process, whereby the manifest aspects of the primary constituents (guna) resolve back into the transcendental ground of Nature. This process has the technical designation of “involution” (pratiprasava).

  The fluctuations of these [causes-of-affliction]) are to be overcome through meditation (dhyâna). (2.11)

  The causes-of-affliction are the root of the “action deposit,” and [that] may be experienced in the visible [i.e., present] birth or in an unseen [i.e., future birth]. (2.12)

  Comments: The technical term karma-âshaya (“action deposit”) refers to the karmic load of the individual, that is, the store of subliminal activators (samskâra) that give rise to and define the person.

  [As long as] the root exists, [there also is] fruition from it: birth, life, and experience (bhoga). (2.13)

  These [three] have delight or distress as results, according to the causes, [which may be] meritorious or demeritorious. (2.14)

  Because of the sorrow [inherent] in the transformations (parinâma) [of Nature], in the pressure (tâpa) [of existence], and in the activators (samskâra) [residing in the depths of consciousness], and on account of the conflict between the fluctuations of the constituents (guna) [of Nature]— to the discerner all is but suffering (duhkha). (2.15)

  Comments: The concept of “transformation” is crucial to Yoga philosophy. It is an elaboration of the common experience that everything undergoes constant change. Only the transcendental Self is eternally stable. For the discerning yogin (vivekin) the finite world of perpetual change is one of suffering, or sorrow, because change signals inevitable loss of what is desirable and gain of what is undesirable and hence unhappiness.

  What is to be overcome is future sorrow. (2.16)

  The correlation (samyoga) between the Seer [i.e., the transcendental Self] and the Seen [i.e., Naturel is the cause of what is to be overcome. (2.17)

  Comments: The relationship between the transcendental Self and the world, including the mind (which is a part of Nature rather than an aspect of the Self), is experientially real enough. But it is not ultimately real. For Self and Nature are eternally distinct. The apparent correlation (samyoga) between the transcendental Subject and the experienced objective world is due to spiritual ignorance (avidyâ) and must be overcome.

  The Seen [i.e.. Nature] has the character of brightness, activity, or inertia; it is embodied in elements and sense organs, [and it serves] the purpose of experience (bhoga) or emancipation (apavarga). (2.18)

  Comments: Nature, in the form of the human mind, comprises two tendencies. On one hand, it is designed for experiences, implying an egoic subject that experiences desirable or undesirable events. On the other hand, it also permits processes that lead to the transcendence of all experiences and of the ego. Why this should be so is explained through the doctrine of the three qualities (guna), or constituents, of Nature. While the qualities of activity (rajas) and inertia (tamas) tend to maintain the ego-illusion, the preeminence of the lucidity factor (sattva) creates the precondition for the event of liberation. Hence the yogin seeks to cultivate sattvic conditions and states.

  The levels of the constituents (guna) [of Nature] are the Particularized, the Unparticularized, the Differentiate, and the Undifferentiate. (2.19)

  Comments: The human body-mind is a particularized form of Nature. The sensory potentials (e.g., sound, sight, hearing, etc.), as well as the sense of individuality (Patanjali’s I-am-ness, or asmitâ) belong to the unparticularized level of cosmic manifestation. Still more subtle is the level of the first differentiated form to emerge out of the undifferentiated ground of Nature. The most that can be said about it is that it exists and that the sattva constituent predominates in it. Beyond that abides the transcendental Witness-Consciousness or Self.

  The Seer, [which is] the sheer [Power of] seeing, although pure, apperceives the ideas [present in consciousness]. (2.20)

  The self [i.e., essence] of the Seen [i.e., Nature] is only for the sake of that [Seer, or transcendental Self]. (2.21)

  Comments: This aphorism reiterates the point made above (2.18) that Nature serves the purposes of the Self. The realm of Nature can be used either to indulge in experiences or to catapult oneself beyond all conditional states of existence into Self-realization.

  Although [the Seen] has ceased [to exist] for him whose purpose has been accomplished, it has nevertheless not ceased [to exist altogether], because [it is still] common experience (sâdhâranatva) for others [who are unenlightened]. (2.22)

  The correlation (samyoga) [between the Seer and the Seen] is the reason for the apprehension of the essential form of the power of the “owner” (svâmin) and that of the “owned” (sva). (2.23)

  The cause of that [correlation] is ignorance (avidyâ). (2.24)

  With the disappearance of that [ignorance] the correlation [also] disappears; this is [total] cessation. the aloneness (kaivalya) of the [sheer Power of] seeing. (2.25)

  The means of [attaining] cessation is the unceasing vision of discernment (vivekakhyâti). (2.26)

  For him [who possesses the unceasing vision of discemment]. there arises, in the last stage, wisdom (prajnâ) [that is] sevenfold. (2.27)

  Comments: According to Vyâsa’s Yoga-Bhâshya, the seven aspects of this wisdom are the following insights: (1) That which is to be prevented, namely future suffering, has been successfully identified; (2) the causes of suffering have been eliminated once and for all; (3) through the “ecstasy of restriction” (nirodha-samâdhi) complete cessation of all contents of consciousness has been achieved: (4) the means of cessation, namely the vision of discernment (viveka-khyâti). has been applied; (5) sovereignty of the higher mind (called buddhi) has been achieved; (6) the constituents (guna) have lost their foothold and, “like rocks fallen from the edge of a mountain,” incline toward dissolution (pralaya), that is, full resorption into the transcendental ground of Nature; (7) the Self abides in its essential nature, undefiled and alone (kevalin).

  Through the performance of the limbs of Yoga, and with the dwindling of impurity, [there comes about] the radiance of wisdom (jnâna), [which develops] up to the vision of discernment. (*2.28)

  Discipline (yama), restraint (niyama), posture (âsana). breath control (prânâyâma), sense-with- drawal (pratyâhâra), concentration (dhâranâ), meditation (dhyâna), and ecstasy (samâdhi) are the eight limbs [of Yoga]. (*2.29)

  Nonharming, truthfulness, nonstealing, chastity, and greedlessness are the restraints. (*2.30)

  [These are valid] in all spheres, irrespective of birth, place, time, and circumstance, [and they constitute] the “great vow” (mahâ-vrata). (*2.31)

  Purity, contentment, asceticism, study, and devotion to the Lord are the disciplines. (*2.32)

  For the repelling of [unwholesome] notions (vitarka), [the yogin should pursue] the cultivation of [their] opposite. (*2.33)

  [Unwholesome) notions, [such as] harming and so on, whether done, caused to be done, or approved, whether arising from greed, anger, or infatuation, whether modest, middling, or excessive—[these have their] unending fruition in ignorance (avidyâ) and suffering (duhkha); thus, [the yogin should devote himself to] the cultivation of their opposite. (*2.34)

  When [the yogin] is grounded in [the virtue of] nonharming (ahimsâ), enmity ceases in his presence. (*2.35)

  When grounded in truthfulness (satya), action [and its] fruition depend [on his will). (*2.36)
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  When grounded in nonstealing (asteya), all [kinds of] treasures appear [before him]. (*2.37)

  When grounded in chastity (brahmacarya), [great] vitality is acquired. (*2.38)

  When steadied in greedlessness, [the yogin secures] knowledge of the wherefore of [his] births. (*2.39)

  Through purity [he gains] distance (jugupsâ) from his own limbs, [and he also acquires the desire for] noncontamination by others. (*2.40)

  [Furthermore,] purity of the sattva [constituent of his being], gladness, one-pointedness, mastery of the sense organs, and the capability for Self-vision (âtma-darshana) [are achieved]. (*2.41)

  Through contentment (samtosha) unexcelled joy is gained. (*2.42)

  Through asceticism (tapas), on account of the dwindling of impurity, perfection of the body and the sense organs [is acquired]. (*2.43)

  Through study (svâdhyâya) [the yogin establishes] contact with the chosen deity (ishta-devatâ). (*2.44)

  Comments: In many schools of Yoga, the practitioner is encouraged to cultivate a ritual relationship to the Divine in the form of Shiva, Vishnu, Krishna, Kâlî, or some other traditional figure, which then becomes the yogin s chosen deity.

  Through devotion to the Lord (îshvara-pranidhâna) [comes about] the attainment of the [supraconscious] ecstasy. (*2.45)

  Posture (âsana) [should be] stable and comfortable. (*2.46)

  [The correct practice of posture is accompanied] by the relaxation of tension and the coinciding [of consciousness] with the infinite. (*2.47)

  Thence [comes] unassailability by the opposites (dvandva) [found in Nature, such as heat and cold]. (*2.48)

  When this is [achieved], breath control, [which is] the cutting off of the flow of inhalation and exhalation [should be practiced]. (*2.49)

  [Breath control is] external, internal, or fixed in its movement, [and it is] regulated by place, time, and number; [it can be either] protracted or contracted. (*2.50)

  [The movement of breath] transcending the external and the internal sphere is the “fourth.” (*2.51)

  Comments: This obscure aphorism has invited different interpretations. It probably refers to a special phenomenon that occurs in the state of ecstasy (samâdhi), where breathing can become so reduced and shallow that it is no longer detectable. This state of suspended breath can last for prolonged periods.

  Thence the covering of the [inner] light disappears. (*2.52)

  And [the yogin acquires] mental fitness for concentration. (*2.53)

  Sense-withdrawal is the imitation as it were of the essential form of consciousness [on the part] of the sense organs by separating them from their objects. (*2.54)

  Thence [results] the supreme obedience of the sense organs. (*2.55)

  III. Vibhûti-Pâda (“Chapter on Powers”)

  Concentration (dhâranâ) is the binding of consciousness to a [single] spot. (*3.1)

  The one-directionality (ekatânatâ) of the ideas [present in consciousness] with regard to that [object of concentration] is meditation (dhyâna). (*3.2)

  That [consciousness], shining forth as the object only as if empty of its essence, is ecstasy (samâdhi). (*3.3)

  The three [practiced] together [in relation to the same object] are [what is known as] constraint (samyama). (*3.4)

  Through mastery of that [practice of constraint there comes about] the flashing-forth of wisdom (prajnâ). (*3.5)

  Its progression is gradual. (*3.6)

  [In regard to] the previous [five limbs of Yoga], the three [parts of the practice of constraint] are the inner limbs (antar-anga). (*3.7)

  Yet, they are outer limbs (bahir-anga) [in regard to] the seedless [ecstasy]. (*3.8)

  [When there is] subjugation of the [subliminal] activators (samskâra) of emergence and the manifestation of the activators of restriction—[this is known as] the restriction transformation, which is connected with consciousness at the moment of restriction (nirodha). (3.9)

  The calm flow of that [consciousness is effected] through activators [in the depths of consciousness], (3.10)

  The dwindling of “all-objectness” (sarva-arthatâ) and the arising of one-pointedness (ekâgratâ) is the ecstasy transformation of consciousness. (3.11 )

  Then again, when the quiescent and the uprisen ideas [present in consciousness] are similar, [this is known as] the one-pointedness transformation of consciousness. (3.12)

  Comments: Here Patanjali tells us that the one-pointedness of the ecstatic state is due to a succession of similar contents of consciousness. Ideas flash up momentarily, and their similarity gives us the impression of continuity.

  By this are [also] explained the transformations of form, time-variation. and condition [with regard to] the elements (bhûta) ]and] the sense organs. (3.13)

  Comments: This is a difficult aphorism. Vyâsa, in his Yoga-Bhâshya, offers the following illustration: The substance clay may appear as either a lump of clay or a water jar. These are its external forms (dharma), and the change from the one to the other form does not affect the substance (dharmin) itself: The clay remains the same, but the lump or jar do not have a spatial existence only, they are also placed in time. Thus, the water jar is the present time-variation of the clay. Its past time-variation was the lump of clay. Its future time-variation will presumably be dust. But, again, throughout these transformations in time, the substance remains the same. Time is a succession of individual moments (kshana), which imperceptibly alter the condition of the water jar; this is the well-known process of decay, or aging. The same applies to consciousness (citta).

  The “form-bearer” (dharmin) (i.e., the substance] is what conforms to the quiescent, uprisen, or indeterminable form (dharma). (3.14)

  Comments: The quiescent forms are those that have been, the uprisen forms are those that are, and the indeterminable forms are those that will be. In all cases, the substance is the same.

  The differentiation in the sequence [of appearing forms] is the reason for the differentiation in the transformations [of Nature]. (3.15)

  Through [the practice of] constraint upon the three [kinds of] transformation [comes about] knowledge of the past and the future. (3.16)

  [There is a natural] confusion of idea, object, and [signifying] word [on account of an erroneous] superimposition on one another. Through [the practice of] constraint upon the distinction of these [confused elements], knowledge of the sounds of all beings [is acquired]. (3.17)

  Through direct perception (sâkshât-karana) of activators (samskâra) [the yogin gains] knowledge of [his] previous births. (3.18)

  [Through direct perception] of [another person’s] ideas [in consciousness], knowledge of another’s consciousness [is obtained]. (3.19)

  Comments: Ordinary perception is a process mediated by the senses. But Yoga recognizes the existence of direct perception, which is based on the yogin’s conscious identification with a given object.

  But [that knowledge] does not [have as its object] those [ideas] together with their [objective] support, because [that support] is absent from [the other’s consciousness]. (3.20)

  Comments: This aphorism makes the simple point that the yogin s unmediated perception of the thoughts of another person does not give him knowledge of the objective realities on which those thoughts are based. Thus, if a person is fearful of the ocean, the yogin will perceive the person’s mental image of the ocean and understand the fear connected with it, but he will not learn anything about the ocean itself.

  Through [the practice of] constraint upon the form of the body, upon the suspension of the capacity to be perceived, [that is to say,] upon the disruption of the light [traveling from that body] to the eye, invisibility [is gained]. (3.21)

  Karma [is of two kinds]: acute or deferred. Through [the practice of] constraint thereon, or from omens, [the yogin acquires] knowledge of [his] death. (3.22)

  [Through the practice of constraint] upon [the virtues of] friendliness and so on, [he acquires various] strengths (bala). (3.23)

  [Through t
he practice of constraint] upon the strengths, [he acquires] the strength of an elephant and so on. (3.24)

  By focusing the flashing-forth (âloka) of [those mental] activities [that are free from suffering and illuminating upon any object, the yogin gains] knowledge of the subtle, concealed, and distant [aspects of those objects]. (3.25)

  Through [the practice of] constraint upon the sun, [he gains] knowledge of the cosmos. (3.26)

  [Through the practice of constraint] upon the moon, [he gains] knowledge of the arrangement of the stars. (3.27)

  [Through the practice of constraint] upon the pole star, [he gains] knowledge of its movement. (3.28)

  [Through the practice of constraint] upon the “navel wheel” (nâbhi-cakra), [he gains] knowledge of the organization of the body. (3.29)

  [Through the practice of constraint] upon the “throat well” (kantha-kûpa), the cessation of hunger and thirst [is accomplished]. (3.30)

  [Through the practice of constraint] upon the “tortoise duct” (kûrma-nâdî), [the yogin gains] steadiness. (3.31)

  Comments: According to the Yoga-Bhâshya, the “tortoise duct” is a tubelike structure found in the chest below the “throat well.” This may be one of the many pathways of the life force that comprise the subtle body.

  [Through the practice of constraint] upon the light in the head, [he acquires] the vision of the adepts (siddha). (3.32)

  Or through a flash-of-illumination (prâtibha) [the yogin acquires knowledge about] everything. (3.33)

  [Through the practice of constraint] upon the heart, [he gains] understanding of [the nature of] consciousness. (3.34)

  Experience (bhoga) is an idea [that is based on] the nondistinction between the absolutely unblended Self and the sattva. Through [the practice of] constraint on the [Self’s] essential purpose, [which is distinct from] the other-purposiveness (paraarthatva) [of Nature], [the yogin gains) knowledge of the Self. (3.35)

  Thence occur flashes-of-illumination (prâtibha) [in the sensory areas of] hearing, sensing, sight, taste, and smell. (3.36)

  These are obstacles to ecstasy [but] attainments in the externalized [state of consciousness). (3.37)