1
‘A Psychological Understanding of the Yogasūtra of Pātānjali (verses 1 to 6)
from the Sā
ṁ
khya and Advaita
Ved
ānta perspectives’
SECTION ONE
I. INTRODUCTION
a. Purposes of the study
This dissertation centres on the well known Hindu text, Yogasūtra written by Pātānjali (c second-third century CE), the exponent of the one of the six darśana-s (schools) of Hinduism – the Classical school of Yoga. This text consists of 195 highly condensed aphorisms which set of the principle and practice of Classical Yoga. Yogasūtra is sometimes referred to as ‘Ashtānga Yoga’ due to the ‘eight limbs’ set out by Pātānjali In the text, as the eight fundamental practices of Yoga.
This text of Pātānjali has a highly practical content with a starting point in the common day to day inner experience of human beings, a psychological basis for Yoga practice. The conviction behind undertaking this study is that a thorough and detailed examination of this psychological base of the Yogasūtra reveals a coherent Science of Mind and is crucial to answering some basic questions
about it: 1. What is the structure and content of the psychological dimension of the Yogasūtra and how does it make our understanding human nature1
1
It is to be noted that the view of human nature taken here is cognate with that presented in the Hindu philosophies. This nature and the human condition is described in various sections of this work.
2 This thesis will argue that what Pātānjali has presented in the terse aphorisms of the Yogasūtra is a ‘Science of the Mind’ which can be overlaid with philosophical and metaphysical frameworks that interpret it from different perspectives2
The thesis of this work, then, is that the Yogasūtra as a system of thought is a Science of Mind with a systematic deconstruction of the citta or empirical phenomenal consciousness, into its constituent elements and an elaboration of the causal relationships between these elements. It is to be noted that the concept of citta in the Yogasūtra does not exactly map onto the concept of mind in its current usage in the Western tradition. The notion of citta is explored in detail in the subsequent sections to illustrate this. Pātānjali is focused on the phenomena of the mind and practical methods of dealing with these rather than metaphysical speculations about the nature of the mind which gives further strength to the thesis. The propositions of this science can be set out as follows:
. One of the reasons that interest in Yogasūtra has persisted for 2,000 years is that text is complex and multifaceted. There are a variety of useful and interesting ways to approach and interpret it. Despite this abundance of interpretations, the present study will look at the Yogasūtra from an atypical perspective. In this dissertation, it is proposed to interpret the Yogasūtra as a ‘Science of Mind’ and the psychological understanding which this approach gives.
This is not to say that there have been indications of this approach in previous works although a systematic exposition of the verses from this perspective is a neglected approach. However the highly practical approach for dealing with the mental processes which Pātānjali takes in his text, justifies looking at the categories of Yoga through a psychological science of mind. Certain themes in the Yogasūtra that are often ignored stand out more prominently and become more intelligible when we examine the text from the perspective of Yoga as a Science of Mind. For example, this allows a clearer understanding of the interrelationships between the key psychological elements and their underlying processes.
2
3
• The subject matter of this science is the phenomenal human experience within the human condition and identity and the awareness of this experience is made possible by the purușa or pure consciousness
• The normal state of waking consciousness is undergoing constant mental modifications.
• These modifications occur in the citta which is the antahkaraņa or inner instrument.
• These modifications can be traced to their root causes.
• Various techniques are available to deal with these modifications resulting in their restraint, and realisation of one’s true Self
To support the claim that the Yogasūtra is a Science, we need to examine the underlying concept of science. The traditional view of the Western paradigm of science can be simply describe as having these major features: a definable subject; theory construction: an attempt to explain observed phenomena; hypothesis testing: making specific predictions based on the theoretical constructs and testing these through empirical methods; and discovery of general laws or principles for the defined subject matter.
Staal, who has studied the ancient Indian science of ritual and grammar, points out, present to varying degrees, four features as characteristics of science3
1. It contains in part a ‘body of statements, rules, theorems, or theories which aim at the true description and analysis of some part of the world’. These require, not necessarily for all of them, an ‘empirical adequacy’ which can be established by tests, verifications or
falsifications directly, indirectly or in principle. :
3
4 2. There are ‘abstract statements’ that go beyond the data, and may be hypothetical,
postulated or even speculative and such statements may include predictions. These statements complement and extend the empirical adequacy.
3. There needs to be ‘a degree of consistency’ in this ‘entire edifice of descriptions and generalisations. Contradictory statements cannot be regarded as final.
4. There is a ‘methodology of argument’ which examines the statements and viewpoints to reach a generally acceptable conclusion. Abstract statements may be arrived at through such a process.
These characteristics will be demonstrated in this study at many different points which support the argument that the Yogasūtra can be considered as a science. The Indian disciplines which include grammar and ritual, were called śastra, translated as ‘science’ and it is in this vein that the Science of Mind can been called ‘Citta Śāstra’. Pātānjali present in the Yogasūtra a body of statements and rules which establishes an empirical adequacy. Even in the first few sūtra-s we can see that he speaks of the rule of cessation of the modifications of the mind leading to the ‘seer’ abiding in it itself and if the cessation is not effected, there is continuation of the modifications. There are abstract statements such as the five causes of suffering ‘kleśa-s’ which go beyond the experience of suffering itself to hypothesising about their causes. There is also a consistency and coherence seen in the various elements and principles of the science of mind and which is demonstrated in a detailed examination of the these and their relationships in section two of this work. There is an underlying methodology which is evident in the presentation of the sūtra-s and which confirms to the rules of observation and logic.
5 ‘psychological dimension of Yoga is still a fairly untraveled territory awaiting a farsighted explorer’4. There have been some attempts at a psychological perspective of Yogasūtra by practitioners and teachers (e.g. Abhedānanda5, Akhilānanda6, Chidānanda7
,) or academics like Coward8 who have focussed on a narrow psychological perspective. There have been other works which have ventured into the field of psychotherapy and mental health (e.g. Pal9, Rama10
These few tentative studies from the psychological perspective in general lack scrupulous analysis of the context in which the psychological concepts appear. Such an approach is required which not only situates the understanding within the framework of the Pātānjali ’s Science of Mind, but also
contextualises the concepts to formulate a coherent psychological model, which is the second purpose of the study.
).
The third reason for undertaking such a work is to secure a foundational basis for other studies in the realm of phenomenological studies of consciousness particularly in the field of Positive Psychology11. There are common areas of in the fields of Yoga as a science of mind and Positive Psychology which are rich, fertile and timely fields for exploration.
4 G. Feuerstein, The Philosophy of Yoga, (Vermont: Inner Traditions Publications, USA, 1996)
5
Swami Abhedānanda, The Yoga Psychology,( Calcutta: Ramakrishna Vedānta Math, 1960)
6Swami Akhilānanda, Hindu Psychology: Its Meaning for the West
, (Routledge , New York, 1965)
7Swami Chidānanda, The Philosophy, Psychology
, and Practice of Yoga, (The Divine Life Society, India, 1984)
8
Harold Coward, Yoga and Psychology: Language, Memory, and Mysticism, (SUNY Press, NY, 2002)
9
Kumar Pal, Yoga and Psycho-Analysis: A Comparative Study of Psychotherapy, Academy of Learning Series, vol. 1. (Dr. Bhagavan Das Memorial Trust, New Delhi, 1966)
10Swami Rāma, Rudolph Ballentine, and Swami Ajaya,
Yoga and Psychotherapy: The Evolution of Consciousness, Glenview, (The Himalayan International Institute , Illinois, 1976)
11
6
b. Scope of study
The scope of study is quite focussed in the sense that it deals with the first six verses of a specific text – the Yogasūtra of Pātānjali (see Appendix A). It also deals with a specific aspect of these verses, the psychological dimension of the Science of Mind. What do we mean by a ‘psychological’ understanding? The cognitive, volitional, and affective aspects of the human experience are what will be explored in this perspective. In other words, what are the mental structures and processes which are set out by Pātānjali in his Science of Mind for the practitioner to understand and deal with, on his journey to realising his true nature.
The primary source of the study is the original Sanskrit text written by Pātānjali , the main bhāșya or commentary by Vyāsa and the subcommentary (vivaņra) on this bhāșya by Śaṁkara the
Yogasūtrabhāșya vivarņa. The primary and secondary sources are classified and listed in the bibliography.
c. Limitations of study
This study will not attempt to situate the psychological model in the Yogasūtra within the modern paradigms of western psychology. It will focus on the self contained model of the operations of the mind and its underlying structures and functions as set out by Pātānjali .
The study does not go into the debates within the Sāṁkhya or Yoga philosophy and metaphysics nor does it enter into the philosophical and metaphysical debates between the two. It does not attempt to look at other aspects of Yoga such as its historical development, comparison with other
presentations of Yoga in the Hindu traditions unless it is relevant to the main argument of the Yogasūtra as a Science of Mind.
7 Science of Mind and its application deal with the preparation of the mind to reach these states of concentration, meditation and meditative absorption.
II. Literature Review
a. Introduction
Although fundamental questions concerning human existence have been asked in all cultures – about the purpose of life, nature of the self, and of the world – Indian philosophy has an evolved and sophisticated quest for answering these questions. The philosophy and metaphysics of India is essentially about the search for Truth, the ultimate Reality, the nature of the True Self, and for the knowledge and practice that makes it possible to experience these directly. Indian philosophy is not only concerned with the immediate experience of life in all its dimensions, but has been
characterised by a search for Reality and Truth that transcends space and time12
b. Schools of Indian Philosophy
. The Vedas, which were composed in the sacred language of Hinduism Sanskrit, are a substantial body of literature considered as revelation (śruti).
The substantial amount of literature of the Veda was open to analysis and interpretation. The search for the fundamental questions about the self, the world and reality, continued in various traditions and commentaries and thus came into existence a vast amount of literature. The need to systemise this literature on the one hand and to justify traditions by their proponents on the other, led to the development of the main six orthodox schools of thought in Hinduism. There were also the
heterodox schools such as the Buddhist, which challenged the Vedic tradition and developed along atheistic lines.
12
8 The six schools of thought are also called the saddarśana or ‘six views’. The term darśana is derived from the Sanskrit root dŗś. ‘to see’, and can be considered an equivalent of the word ‘philosophy’. Each darśana believed that it was interpreting the Veda in the correct way and pointed out the errors in the thought of the other schools. Common to all darśanas was the idea that ignorance of the reality kept the human being in a cycle of reincarnation and suffering in countless lives. The presentation of the nature and means to the knowledge of Reality were the differentiating features of the schools. The realisation of the knowledge was not only the means to liberation from the cycle of birth and death but also the link between the microcosm of the individual and the macrocosm of the creation. The three schools which we will concern with in this study are the schools of Sāṁkhya , Yoga and Vedānta.
c. The Yogasūtra of Pātānjali : The Classical School of Yoga
i. Introduction
Pātānjali (c200 – 300 CE) is the reputed author of the classical formulation of the Yoga darśana in the Yogasūtra, a ‘truly climatic event’13
in the development of Yoga philosophy and practice. There were of course other schools of Yoga in existence at that time but Pātānjali became recognised as the authority of the darśana. Little is known about the author and Feuerstein expresses frustration about the almost complete lack of knowledge about him14
There are also many translations and commentaries on the Yogasūtra starting with the classical commentary of Vyāsa (Yogabhāșya c650 – 850 CE), based on a Sankhya metaphysic which has influenced many of the subsequent commentaries and studies over the centuries. There are also sub-commentaries based on the main commentary of Vyāsa: 1. Vācaspati Misrā who wrote the
.
13
I Whicher, Yoga Darśana, A Reconsideration of Classical Yoga, (Delhi, D K Printworld, , 2000), p 41
14
9 Tattvavaisāradi in the middle of the ninth century; 2. Viābhiksu who wrote the Yogavartikā in the beginning of the twelfth century and Śaṁkara in the eight century wrote the
PātanjalaYogasūtrabhāșya vivarna. Other important commentaries on the Yogasūtra were written by Bhoja Rajā in the eleventh century namely Rājamartanda and Maniprabhā by Rāmānanda Sarasvati in the seventh century. Our intention is to focus on two of these commentaries by Vyāsa and Śaṁkara to elucidate the psychological dimensions from their respective traditions and demonstrate that the underlying Science of Mind is evident in both these traditions.
ii. Yogasūtra: Structure and Outline
Pātānjali composed the Yogasūtra at a time of ‘intense debate and ongoing philosophical
speculation in India’15. In his composition, he created a homogenous framework of theory and practice that could stand up to and apart from the rival traditions. The text itself was composed in sūtra style which is a style adopted in the source books of the orthodox schools within Hinduism. ‘Sūtra’ literally means a thread and conveys the meaning in a highly condensed form. A sūtra
composition is ‘a work comprised of mostly simple, pithy aphoristic statements that taken together provide one with a ‘thread’ linking together all the noteworthy ideas representative of that
traditional perspective’16
The Yogasūtra itself consists of 195 sūtras distributed over four chapters:
. A brief look at the structure of the Yogasūtra illustrates that a large proportion of the verses are concerned with the mind and the psychological dimensions of the human condition.
• Chapter One: Samādhi-Pada: comprises of 51 sūtras on the ‘core psychological concepts and principles’ of Yoga
15
I Whicher, YogaDarśana, A Reconsideration of Classical Yoga, p43
16
10
• Chapter Two: Sādhana-Pada: comprises of 55 sūtra-s on ‘practice in the Science of Mind’ of Yoga
• Chapter Three: Vibhuti-Pada: comprises of 55 sūtra-s on ‘attainment of the powers of the mind through practice’ of Yoga
• Chapter Four: Kaivalya-Pada: comprises of 34 sūtra-s on ‘state of aloneness’ or liberated state
The first four sūtra-s of the text can be considered as the foundational ones for the entire darśana. For our purpose we choose to include verses five and six as the basis of elaborating on Science of Mind and the roots of human suffering in relationship to these foundational ideas in the first four verses. Philosophically the third sūtra is of utmost importance as it identifies the true nature of the pure immortal consciousness or purușa and the abidance in this identity through the practice indicated in second verse of cessation (nirodha) of the modifications (vŗtti) of the mind (citta ). A more detailed analysis of the verses in the commentaries of Vyāsa and the sub-commentary of San Śaṁkara will be taken up in section III of this work.
c. Yoga Psychology
i. Introduction
11 Psychology (1985). Although these mention Pātānjali in their writing, none of them deal with the
Yogasūtra as a Science of Mind.
Psychology in the Indian traditions draws on a variety of sources and interpretations and has a wider scope than in the West17
The existential quest, from the point of view of the Indian traditions, is to overcome suffering and in the process to raise the person to higher levels of awareness and achievement. The Science of Mind in Pātānjali ’s Yogasūtra not only to provide an understanding of the nature of person, the causes and consequences of her conduct but also to explores the methods and means of transforming the person in pursuit of perfection in being, certainty in knowing and happiness in feeling. We will look at these aspects in detail in the following sections.
. It is contained within the larger framework of philosophy and metaphysics and contains postulates related to epistemological and ontological perspectives and at the same time practical formulations for the discipline and control of the mind and behaviour. This is all within the soteriological context of achieving the true purpose of human existence – liberation from the cycles of birth and death.
ii. Psychological understanding of the Yogasūtra
When we speak about the ‘psychological’ understanding we mean in the first place the mental constructs, experience and phenomena which occur in the human being. Pātānjali , within a common assumptive base with the Sāṁkhya , outlines the nature, processes and products of the function of the citta . This is the starting point for the Yogin to understand what the nature of this citta is and what the psychological means are by which one can cease (nirodha) its fluctuations (vŗtti
-s). Here we also consider the ego identity, the various components of the citta and the underlying causes of the modifications with which it is afflicted.
17
12 Feuerstein cautions against the ‘compartmentalisation’ of the homogenous structure of Yoga theory into divisions of ‘psychology’, ‘ethics’ or ‘philosophy’18
For our purposes, we will look at the most significant psychological concepts in the first six verses in the Yogasūtra and build a coherent model within the overall metaphysic of Classical Yoga as We will also consider the model from a different perspective of the Advaita Vedānta metaphysic through the sub-commentary of Śaṁkara on the Yogasūtra, An analysis of the semantic, psychological and philosophical content of these key concepts will allow us to create a detailed picture of the
psychological being as envisaged by Pātānjali . Three of the concepts have been briefly introduced in the section above.
. In a way this approach is an ‘artificial means of promoting the analysis and understanding’ from a particular perspective. It is true that there is a prominent element of a psychological orientation in Yoga and there have been comparisons with western psychological theories and procedures but this can only be considered as ‘conditional’. As mentioned in the first section, however, a comprehensive psychological understanding of Yoga is a relatively untraveled territory and of significant value.
d. Summary
The Yogasūtra of Pātānjali formulates a systematic and coherent Science of Mind. The support for this thesis is based on a close and rigorous analysis of the overall conceptual framework of the text and a detailed look at the key psychological concepts. The first six verses provide these foundational concepts of the Yogasūtra Science of Mind and further support to the thesis will be given by looking at the logic of the psychological dimensions of the human condition especially the nature and causes of suffering. Finally, a consideration of the Yogasūtra based on two commentaries, one from a dualistic and another from a monistic tradition will further illustrate the underlying Science of Mind.
18
13
III. Methodology
a. Introduction
The main method will involve a close, detailed reading and conceptual analysis of the key terms in the first six verses of the Yogasūtra. This will be based on looking at the root meanings of the Sanskrit word and then examining the connotations for each word with philological rigour. The mapping of these concepts in this manner will elucidate the elements of the Science of Mind in Pātānjali ’s text. Those verses in the Yogasūtra which provide important linkages to the overall
framework will also be taken into account. In this way it is proposed to build up a psychological understanding of these key verses.
b. The tradition of commentaries and the sūtra style
One of the unique features of Indian philosophy and theology is that most of the writing is in the form of commentaries and sub commentaries of the sacred texts19
19
G Feuerstein, The Yogasutra of Patanjali, a new translation and commentary, (Wm Dawson and sons,UK,1989), pxii
. Over the centuries these commentaries would make a substantial body of literature related to a particular text. The
Yogasūtra of Pātānjali as noted above is a case in point. This is written in the sūtra (literally ‘thread’)
style which highly condensed aphorisms which summarise the essentials of the school of thought. This is perhaps one way in which the oral tradition was maintained with the memorisation of the sūtra literature for passing from the teacher to the disciple. The commentary (bhāșya), or an
14 Whiteman20 has noted that the sūtra style is characterised by the lack of verbs but not verbal
adjectives or nouns and the omission of prepositions. The meaning to the string of nouns and adjectives of the verses is therefore dependant on the construction of the compounds. He sets out the categories of Sanskrit two word compounds. This has a bearing on the exegesis of the verses as an understanding of the structure of the sūtra style of writing allows the consideration of the limits and scope of interpretation.
SECTION TWO
I. THE SCIENCE OF MIND (CITTA ŚĀSTRA21
a. Introduction
) AND THE PSYCHOLOGICAL UNDERSTANDING OF
YOGASŪTRA
Pātanjali’s Yoga deals primarily with the functioning of human mind and it is in the second verse of the Yogasūtra that he immediately defines the nature and purpose of Yoga. The mind can be seen as an instrument which manifests the dynamic interplay, samyoga, between the purușa (dŗśtr) and prakŗiti (dŗśya or ‘the seen’). The mind therefore is of great significance in two ways: firstly, in
determining how the world and self are cognised and experienced and secondly, as an instrument for removing ignorance about the ‘true reality’ of one’s identity from which arises a misidentification with the limited ego and consequent suffering.
This entanglement of the purușa with the prakŗiti in the citta or mind , its nature and the mental processes, is the basis of the ‘psychological’ understanding of the person and the human
predicament. Citta is the single most important psychological concept employed in Classical Yoga.
20
J Whiteman, Aphorisms on Spiritual Method, The Yogasutras of Patanjali in the Light of Mystical Experience, (Colin Smythe, London, 1993), p98
21
15 We will begin with the detailed examination of this concept, and its principles as the primary starting point of Pātānjali ’s Science of Mind.
b. Citta , its nature, structure and functioning
We will translate the word ‘citta ’ as the ‘mind’. There are various translations of citta in the literature such as ‘mind’, ‘mind-stuff’, ‘mind-complex’, ‘psyche’, ‘consciousness’ and ‘awareness’22. One of the reasons for this variety is that Pātānjali himself does not provide an explicit definition of the term although the meaning can be ascertained from its 22 occurrences in verses of the
Yogasūtra. Feuerstein states that it is impossible to ‘find a single label for it (citta ), in English’23
. Koelman states that citta is ‘not a separate evolute of prakŗiti ’ being the same as its components. These components consist of the ‘antahkarņa’ (inner instrument) consisting of the buddhi, manas, and ahaṁkāra. According to Dasgupta it stands for ‘all that is psychical in man’. Feuerstein calls citta an ‘umbrella term’ which denotes all functioning of the mind, the ‘entire mental machinery’24 Citta is the past participle of the verbal root cit which is translated as: ‘to observe’, ‘perceive’, ‘to
appear’, ‘to shine’, ‘to be conscious of’, ‘to understand’ and ‘to know’. The term cit itself is employed in the Vedānta and Yoga to mean the absolute transcendental consciousness, or pure awareness, or the Self (ātman). In contrast to this citta represents the phenomenal consciousness which includes the ordinary level of awareness, the conscious mental processes and the unconscious mind at the deeper level. The relationship between the two is stated by Whicher:
.
‘The citta itself is not sentient. Only purușa or pure consciousness is Self-luminous and “shines forth” unalloyed and unabated. Its “light” can be understood to be being “reflected”
22
Monier Williams online dictionary a
23
G Feuerstein, The Philosophy of Yoga, p58
24
16 or “mirrored” in insentient prakŗiti (i.e. the human mind), creating various self-reflective stages of the mind’25
The experience of the contents of one’s own mind (Cognition, conceptualisation, volition and intention) becomes possible when the transcendent consciousness (cit) assumes the form of the mind (see YS IV.22
.
26). Thus the mind can be considered as the result of the conjunction of the purușa
and prakŗiti and undergoes continuous modifications (vŗttis) or ‘whirls’ of consciousness27
Pātānjali’s concept of citta thus emphasises the ‘homogeneity or integral psychological constitution
of the human personality as well as the processes (e.g., cognitive, affective, etc.) of empirical consciousness’
. These vŗttis or modifications are described in detail in the next section.
28
. It is a ‘comprehensive concept that can be seen as embracing the various processes of the ontological categories of buddhi (intellect), ahamkara (I-ness) and manas (lower mind), and yet as reflected consciousness in total, it is a non-structural, ahierarchical concept which cannot be reduced to any one or more of the above evolutes’29
25
I. Whicher, The Integrity of the Yoga Darsana, p92
. It is important to note that manas (which can be translated as ‘lower mind’ or ‘mind-organ’) occurs three times (I.35, II.53 and III.48) in the Yogasūtra and is associated with the senses and their control. The term buddhi occurs only twice (IV.21 and 22) and which denotes its two aspects of cognition and ‘will’ which is of primary
importance in Yoga. The manas receives, synthesises and assimilates the sense impressions, bringing the external world of objects in contact with the sense of self (ahamkāra), and it is the buddhi (intellect) or the higher mental function which transforms and acts upon these precepts. The buddhi
26citer
-apratisamskramaayaas-tad-aakaara-aapattau-sva-buddhi-samvedanam: when the unchanging transcendental-awareness assumes the shape of that (mind), experience of one’s own cognitions (becomes possible).
27
I. Whicher, The Integrity of the Yoga Darsana, p92
28
Ibid., p93
29
17 either reifies the sense interpretations of the manas or it can become ‘free-functioning as a vehicle of liberation by attaining knowledge’30. It is through the discriminating and will power of the buddhi that the vŗttis of the citta can be restrained (nirodha). The vŗttis exist not only in the waking state but also in the dream and deep sleep state. Man is aware only of these modifications and unaware of the pure consciousness or purușa and the essential task of man according to Pātānjali is to restrain the modifications so that he can become aware of his real self31. According to
Chennakesavan, from the empirical standpoint, the purușa is know only through the limiting adjuncts of the mind with which it becomes identified and this condition exists as long as the individual is in the state of ignorance (avidyā)32
An analysis by Feuerstein of the concept of citta , includes the idea that it is ‘suffused with and in a certain way structured by countless ‘subliminal activators’ (samskāras) which form ‘traits’ (vāsanā -s) and it is they that feed the fluctuations (vŗtti)’
.
33
In summary, Pātānjali in his Science of Mind, develops a sophisticated concept of the mind which gives a remarkable psychological understanding of the individual. The mind represents a system of dynamic relations which have their mainstay in the complex physical-psychological organism. The functioning elements of the citta as indicated above, includes the manas which ‘translates the sensory data into concepts through the buddhi. The deeper layer, formed by the samskāras (depth memory), is the storage centre for the past mental activity belonging to this life and all other past
. Here we see an important connection between the deeper layers unconscious citta , which shape its contents. The whole process of the
development of these activators and consequent effects in the conscious mind are discussed in detail in section below.
30
Ibid., p 94
31
B. Kuppuswamy, Elements of Ancient Indian Psychology,( Konak Publishers, , India, 1990), p 51
32
S. Chennakesvan, Mind in Indian Philosophy, (Vasanta Press, India, 1998), p 34
33
18 lives. The citta is activated and energised by this deeper layer of traits or vāsanā s (formed from the samskāras), which make it turn towards sensory experience. The transactional processes thus set up in externalisation of the citta in turn leads creation of more subliminal-activators (samskāras) which then continue to create modifications in the citta. This whole process can be simply depicted in the following illustration (Diagram 1):
We will now consider the modifications of the mind which give a detailed psychological understanding of the content of human experience as described in Pātānjali’s Science of Mind.
II. MODIFICATIONS OF THE CITTA : THE VŖTTI-S
According to Pātānjali the mind is subject to constant modifications which are a result of the interaction of the sensory input and the ‘subliminal-activators’. The functioning of the mind takes place though these modifications (vŗtti-s) that ‘give form to our perceptions, thoughts, emotions and so forth’34
34
I. Whicher, The Integrity of the Yoga Darsana, p109
19 root, vŗt, which has the meanings of ‘to turn, whirl, revolve, roll, proceed’35
The most significant modifications indicated by Pātānjali are of five kinds and are now taken in detail.
. Various translations have been given for this term of the Yogasūtra: ‘fluctuations’, ‘modifications’, ‘acts and functions’, ‘transformations’ etc. For our purpose we will employ the term modifications as it captures many of the nuances of the term. Again there is difficulty in finding a single label in English for vŗtti.
a. Varieties of Vŗttis
The sixth sūtra lists the five categories of modifications which occur in the citta : valid cognition (pramāņa), misconception (viparyaya), conceptualisation (vikalpa), sleep (nidrā) and memory (smrti). The word is used ten times (I.2, 4-5, 10, 41; II.11,15,50: III.43 and IV.18) in the Yogasūtra. Feuerstein contends that this is a technical term and he refers to the definition give by Bhoja in his commentary36
i. Pramāņa
.
This is the type of vŗtti which refers to the means of knowing or valid cognition. It allows for the understanding of something which is fully manifested and verified through one of the three avenues, perception (pratyakșa), inference (anumāna) and valid testimony (āgama)37. These refer to sources
of correct knowledge and give the traditional breakdown of the cognitive process as: prāmtir (the cognising subject); prameya ( the cognised object); pramāņa ( the instrument of cognition); prama (cognition) and pramāņya (valid cognition)38
35
Monier-Williams online dictionary
. The experience of objects of the world such as people,
36
Tookaram Tatya, The Yoga philosophy: being the text of Patanjali, with Bhoja Raja's commentary, (Theosophical Society, India, 1885) Raja Bhoja wrote a commentary, Raja-Martanada, on the Yogasutra. He defines vritti as ‘forms of
modifications with a reciprocal relationship between them’.
37 G. Feuerstein, The Yoga
-sutra of Patanjali, a New Translation and Commentary, This is indicated in verse I.7 ‘prataksya-anuman-agamah pramanani’
38
20 animals, trees, earth etc., through any of the three means, belong to the category of pramāņa modifications.
ii. Viparyaya
This type of vŗtti is termed the ‘error’ and occurs when the understanding, or the thought, does not correspond with reality, thus apprehending something other than the reality. The most fundamental ‘error’ is the misconception about existence itself. Thus Vyāsa in his commentary on this term equates it to another basic notion in the Yogasūtra – ignorance or ‘avidyā’. This ignorance is not to be understood as a mere lack of knowledge but a fundamental absence of awareness of the Self as one’s true identity and therefore false knowledge. Feuerstein says of avidyā that it is the cause of ‘the fatal epistemic dichotomisation into subject and object which Yoga seeks to remove’39. Avidyā as it were, conceals the cit or pure consciousness of the purușa by establishing a false identity. Whicher puts this in the context of suffering and dissatisfaction (duḥkha) when he says that avidyā ‘gives rise to the incorrect understanding that one’s identity is defined within the limits of the individualised psycho-physical being or personality complex and not according to the unbounded nature of the purușa or spiritual Self’40
Whicher considers that Vyāsa’s description of the afflictions (kleśa-s) cuts through the ‘stereotyped opposition between emotive/affective and rational/cognitive. This brings forth and integral view of . Thus it is the conjunction of the ‘seer’ (purușa ) and ‘seen’ (prakŗiti ) which is the cause of all suffering and avidyā is the primary affliction which is the origin of all other afflictions, including the mistaken identity of the limited ego-self or ‘I-am-ness’ (asmitā). The object of Yoga praxis is the ultimate transcendence of all afflictions including the ‘root’ affliction of mistaken identity.
39
Ibid., p62
40
21 the mind’41
iii. Vikalpa
. The systematic exposition of Pātānjali’s Science of Mind goes beyond the dichotomies of mind and matter, subject and object and affection and cognition.
The third type of vŗtti is vikalpa or ‘conceptualisation’ and it is the apprehension arising out of verbal knowledge only but whose referents are not things but words and ideas (YS I.9). It does not
necessarily have to be an error but can be an ‘imaginary’ cognition. Thus translations of vikapla as hallucinations or fancy do not acknowledge the importance of ‘ideation’ in meditative concentration – focussing on an idea to the exclusion of all others. Whicher defines vikapla as that vŗtti which follows ‘language, knowing of words, and the knowledge provided by words, and is productive of the same where no actual thing is its referent’42
iv. Nidrā
. The constant conceptualisation of reality through language is the ‘most powerful obstacle preventing us from experiencing reality as it really is.
The fourth type of modification is sleep or nidrā. This is translated as ‘the modification based on upon the apprehension of non-becoming/absence’43 and ‘a fluctuation founded on the presented-idea of the non-occurrence (of other contents of consciousness)’44. Here Vyāsa considers that sleep is not simply the absence of mental activities such as cognition45. This is demonstrated by the fact that we are able to recollect whether one has slept well or badly. By sleep here Vyāsa means the state of dreamless sleep.
41
Ibid., p 111
42
ibid., p 115
43
ibid., p 116 (YS I.10 ‘abhavapratayayalambana vrittr nidra’)
44
G. Feuerstein, The Yoga-sutra of Patanjali, p 33
45
22
v. Smŗti
This is the last modification classified by Pātānjali as memory or smŗti. It is defined as ‘recollection of contents (conditions/objects) experienced’46 and as ‘remembering’ as ‘the non-deprivation of the experienced object’47. The genesis of smŗti can be considered in this way: cognition carries with it the representation of the object as well as the process of apprehension. Thus the object of experience (grahya) and the instrument and process of experience (grahaņa) is contained in cognition which then generates an impression (samskāra) stored in karmic storehouse (asya). It is from this impression that memory arises again as a mental fluctuation. When the original cognition is reproduced in the form of memory, the memory is identical to the samskāra as well as the
experience itself which was the manifesting cause of the samskāra. The memory is then triggered by some other manifesting cause or similar cognition at another time48. There is a constant drawing on the ‘memory bank’ as it were, by buddhi (intellect) to make sense of the presenting experience and this results in modification of the mind related to memory. Vyāsa comments that the representation of the process of cognition relates primarily to the buddhi particularly the process which makes possible the awareness the ‘I know the object’49
Bhattacharya connects all the vŗttis: ‘Presentation of the content that is known as real is pramāņa, of a content that is known as unreal is viparyaya, and of a content that appears as real even when it is known as unreal is vikapla; while presentation of content as presentation – i.e. presentation as presentation is Smŗti and presentation of the absence presentation is nidrā’
.
50
.
46
I. Whicher, The Integrity of the Yoga Darsana, p117
47
G. Feuerstein, The Yoga-sutra of Patanjali, p 33
48
I. Whicher, The Integrity of the Yoga Darsana, p117
49
Hariharananda Aranya, Yoga Philosophy of Patanjali, p 33
50
23
b. Psychological significance of the modifications
The innumerable mental modifications that take place moment to moment can be put into any of the five categories enumerated by Pātānjali . These include ‘the cognitive conditions, mental, emotive and affective content, processes and activities, in fact any act or content of consciousness, self-identity, or mode of consciousness operating in the mind itself’51 These activities in the citta are all highly significant for the practice of Yoga as they contribute to the continued entanglement of the purușa with prakŗiti and generate the mistaken identity with the prakŗiti instruments of the body,
mind and intellect which keeps the yogin bound. These modifications are of an afflicted (klișța) nature. However, there are modifications which are of the non-afflicted kind (aklișța) which take the yogin towards liberation52
The normal range of psychological functioning is comprised in the five types of vŗttis consisting of ‘three modes of everyday transactions’, including things (pramāņa), mental content and objects which are remembered, conceptualised, erroneous or absent as in sleep
.
53
c. Kleśa, Klișța, Aklișța
. All these are related to the sense of self identity which becomes the possessor of the modifications. When this happens, the purușa or the pure consciousness or the knower of the modification, is forgotten, veiled or
concealed and there arises the afflicted condition of the individual resulting in suffering.
These three related concepts are central to Yoga psychology and are derivatives of the root ‘kliș’ meaning ‘to torment, be troubled’. Kleśa means the ‘cause of affliction’ which Zimmer states as ‘anything which, adhering to man’s nature, restricts or impairs its manifestation of its true essence’54
51
I. Whicher, The Integrity of the Yoga Darsana, p120
. Koelman offers another explanation of kleśa:
52
Liberation in Classical Yoga refers to the freedom from the false notion of oneself as the ego-identity
53
I. Whicher, The Integrity of the Yoga Darsana, p.119
54
24 ‘Man is born with certain psychological habits, congenital psychical passions that bind him to cosmic conditions. They blind him, prevent him from discovering what his genuine Self is, make him attached to cosmic life and its allurements, afflict his existence with an endless chain of woes, enmesh him more and more in the net of conditioned existence, and hinder his liberation’55
Pātānjali distinguishes five types of kleśa: nescience (avidyā), ‘I-am-ness’ (asmitā), attachment
(rāga), aversion (dveșa), and the will-to-live (abhinivesa) .
56
. Ignorance of one’s true nature, nescience is the ‘nurturing ground of all other types of kleśa’57. The kleśa principle in Pātānjali ’s Science of
Mind is described by Feuerstein as that which is said to ‘circumscribe the fact that every organism, on attaining self-consciousness, finds itself in the existential situation where it has become aware of its own self-awareness but has become confused as to the true nature of this awareness, and the organism is, as it were, compelled to act out a false identity’58
55
G. Koelman, Patanjali Yoga: From Related Ego to Absolute Self, (Papal Anthenaeum, Poona, 1970) . This false identity resulting from asmitā, the affliction of individuation, leads to the ongoing misidentifications of the selfhood and the
modifications of the mind. The primary affliction of ignorance is the root of the other three kleśa-s. The attachment (rāga) and aversion (dveșa), the ‘emotive core’ of the kleśa, signify the affective dimension of the vŗtti. The impressions created by pleasurable experiences give rise to a state of attachment which leads to efforts towards attainment of the object of pleasure or desire. The aversion or dveșa is produced with a recollection of painful experiences, as a result of such past impressions. In general, there is a movement towards attainment of sukha (pleasure) and away from duḥkha (suffering/pain).
56
Hariharananda Aranya, Yoga Philosophy of Patanjali, YS II.3,
57
G. Feuerstein, The Philosophy of Yoga, p 64
58
25 The Science of Mind lays down the causes of afflictions, kleśa, which govern the mind of the
individual and these compulsive forces of attachment and aversion cannot be removed unless asmitā is subdued. For the yogin, the bringing into awareness of these kleśa and their effects in
terms of the self-identity and modifications and their attenuation through Yoga practice, is the objective. The principle of the kleśa is an important foundation in the psychological understanding of the system of thought in Pātānjali ’s Yoga as it points out the frame within which the mistaken phenomenal identity arises with accompanying attachments, aversions and the desire for
perpetuation of life or fear of extinction. Pātānjali gives the prescription to overcome these kleśa in verse II.10, ‘These (causes of affliction), in their subtle form are to be overcome by the process-of – involution’. This process is described by Feuerstein as dissolving the consciousness through the prolonged practice of the various stages of meditation59.
Pātānjali classifies the vŗtti, or modifications, as either ‘afflicted’ (klișța) or ‘nonafflicted’ (aklișța).
This is an important classification which points to the soteriological function of the vŗtti. Those modifications which result in entrenching the mistaken identity further and continuation of kleśa are the afflicted modifications. The law of karma applies to the individual ‘if and only if the modifications of the mind are rooted in afflictions’60. According to Whicher, ‘klișța-vŗtti refer to mental activity that helps maintain the power and influence of the kleśa; and the aklișța refers to mental activity that facilitates the dissolution of the kleśa’61
59
G Feuerstein, The Yoga-sutra of Patanjali, p65
. An example of the non-afflicted type of vŗtti is a valid cognition of the pratyakśa type which leads to the higher perception of the true nature of both purușa and prakŗiti .
60
I. Whicher, The Integrity of the Yoga Darsana, p121 (YS II.12); The law of karma basically states that each action has a reaction and if the actions are carried out with an ego sense, these will create further impressions leading to strengthening of ego identity and continuation of the cycle of birth and death
61
26 In summary we can see that the key concepts of citta , vŗtti and kleśa describe the principles of operating processes of the mind in the mistaken phenomenal ego identity of the individual which results in duḥkha or suffering.
III. CAUSES, CONDITIONS and CONSEQUENCES
Pātānjali ’s Yogasūtra is a systematic exposition of the Science of Mind, its definitions, principles and the basis of practice. The nature of the mind, citta , its functioning and the modifications of the mind, the different types of modifications and their causes were examined in the previous sections. We now consider the deeper layer of the mind, where the ‘subliminal-activators’ are located and which shape the modifications as they occur in the mind.
a. Karman
The word karman (or karma) means action in general and corresponds to the ‘deterministic forces or fate as determined by the quality of one’s being, including past lives and one’s present
embodiment’62. The accumulated karma is often spoken of as ‘storehouse’ consisting of both good and bad karma which combine and mature in one’s life63
In Pātānjali ’s Yogasūtra, the mind is the receptacle for the effects of karma and the dynamics of karma and its fruits are set out in verses II.12-14. The principle is that as long as karma is under the influence of ignorance (avidyā), it is associated with affliction (kleśa) including a mistaken ego identity. The five afflictions outlined in the section above provide the ‘motivational framework’ for
. Karma is thought of as a mechanism that maintains the worldly existence (samsāra) arising from spiritual ignorance of the immortal, true Self and which leads to a mistaken ego-identity resulting in repeated births of suffering and
dissatisfaction (duḥkha).
62
I. Whicher, The Integrity of the Yoga Darsana, p97
63
27 the person in the ordinary conditional existence (samsāra) living with a mistaken identity. These kleśa are the root of the residue of karma, the karma-asaya (action-deposit) in the subconscious
mind. The effects of this deposit are not only felt in this life but also in the future lives. As long as the actions are rooted in the ignorance of one’s true nature, they are considered as afflicted actions which cause repeated consequences in situations or births. When the actions carried out are meritorious (puņya), they produce joyful results, otherwise unmeritorious (apuņya) actions result in painful or distressing experiences. Every action leaves an impression or samskāra in the deeper layer of the mind where it awaits expression in more volitional activity.
b. Samskāra
The root word kr which gives rise to the stem kara when prefixed with sam- gives the meaning of ‘ritual action, training, embellishment’ to the word samskāra. In the Yoga literature and elsewhere it is translated as ‘impression’. Feuerstein translates it as ‘subliminal-activator’ thus ‘stressing its dynamic nature’64
The samskāra-s are continuously formed as a result of the mental activities and transactions of the individual with the external world. Every mental activity including thought, feeling and intention could be considered as an expression of the subconscious pool of samskāra-s. This conception of a pool of subconscious impressions which are dynamically involved in the phenomenal experiences of the individual is another key term in Pātānjali’s Science of Mind as it not only explains the underlying causes of the modifications in the mind, but asserts the continuity of this pool of impressions from one life to the next in the wheel of samsāra.
.
In YS III.9, Pātanjali states that ‘(Regarding) the impressions of emergence and cessation, when that of emergence (i.e. extrinsic self-identity) is overpowered, there follows a moment of (the condition of) cessation of mind. This is the transformation (termed) cessation’65
64
G.Feuerstein, The Philosophy of Yoga, p 68
. Also in the next verse,
65
28 Pātānjali says: ‘From the impression (samskāra) of this (moment of cessation) there is a calm flow
(in the mind)’66
When there is a repeated practice of certain actions and by creation of like-impressions, they create propensities and inclinations in a certain direction. In other words the accumulations of related similar impressions create a flow of volitional and intentional activity in a certain direction and there is propensity towards a particular type of experience. The samskāra-s thus become organised into various configurations which are known as vāsanā -s or ‘traits’.
. Thus samskāra not only is of psychological significance but also play a role in liberation from the limited phenomenal ego and the cycle of birth and death.
c. Vāsanā
Vāsanā is a derivative of the root vas, ‘to dwell, abide, remain’ and occurs only twice in the
Yogasūtra (IV.8 and 24). As mentioned above, vāsanā -s are related impressions which organise into
inclinations and tendencies observed as personality traits. The impressions that combine into these patterns (vāsanā ) are the substance of the karmic residues which accumulate in the subconscious pool (karmasaya). The vāsanā -s incline the thoughts, feelings, attitudes and mental tendencies and give momentum towards certain choices and these in turn ‘expose one to situations that are then credited with or blamed for one’s fortune or misfortune’67. In other words past actions stored in the residue of karma continue to have an effect on the present actions even if not remembered.
Whicher states that ‘within the vāsanā inhere the qualities of past action and of the fruits that are to ripen in due time, that is, in the present or future life’68
Thus karma in this way is the mechanism by which the ego identity and its phenomenal existence is maintained. For the ordinary person this unending cycle of afflicted action carried out in ignorance and craving, creating latent residue and together with the fruits of these actions, gets caught in the
.
66
Ibid.,, YS III.10, p101
67
Ibid.,, p102
68
29 samsāra of repeated birth and death. For the yogin on the other hand, there is a practical Science of
Mind, through study and practice of which, the samskāra are diminished resulting in reduction of the modifications. The yogin gets established in a state of inner calm, no longer enslaved by samsāra.
Vyāsa in the Yogabhāșya emphasises the relationship between samskāra, vāsanā and memory:
‘Just as the experiences, so also the samskāra-s. And these (samskāras) correspond to the vāsanā-s. Just as the vāsanā-s (so also) the memories, as memories are from samskāra-s which are separated (from them) by birth, place and time, And from memories again there are samskāra-s69
In summary, the concepts of karma, samskāra and vāsanā give the underlying mechanisms of the modifications of the mind in Pātānjali ’s Science of the Mind. We will now consider the experience of suffering in the individual when all these conscious and subconscious factors are in operation in the mind.
.
d. Roots of human suffering and methods of relieving suffering
In sūtra II.15 Pātānjali says that to a person of discrimination, vivekinah, everything is suffering. He analyses this situation as arising from ‘the continual transformation (of the world ground), (in) the anguish (and in) the subliminal-activators and on account of the conflict between the movements of the primary-constituents’70. Pātānjali argues here that the experiences of pleasure, happiness and joy are deceptive in that not only are they fleeting as a result of constant changes in prakŗiti but also because of the inherent conflict of the modes of nature71
69
Hariharananda Aranya, Yoga Philosophy of Patanjali, IV.9, p358
. While others under the influence of past impressions and actions and their mistaken ideas of ‘me’ and ‘mine’, continue to experience sorrow
70
G.Feuerstein, The Yogasutra of Patanjali, p 68
71
30 and repeated births, the yogin through right knowledge and Viveka (discrimination), perceives the impermanence of pleasure and joy, and escapes the ‘eternal flow of misery’ 72
In his Science of Mind Pātānjali then gives us the psychological understanding of the root of human suffering and gives in detail the means of removing the fundamental causes of suffering to gain release from the limited mistaken identity to establish oneself in one’s true Self. We will now look at the practice of Yoga, referring to the third key term in sūtra I.2 i.e. nirodha or cessation.
which is life.
IV. YOGA PRAXIS: NIRODHA
a. Science of Mind and Practice
Pātānjali has set out the Science of Mind in a systematic way in the Yogasūtra and we have looked at
the key concepts and their relationships within the context of the activities of the mind. The
modifications occurring in the citta are determined by the complex interaction of the instruments of the senses, memory and the subconscious factors of samskāra-s, vāsanā-s and the pool of karma (karmasaya) which have their roots in the kleśa (afflictions). All of these interact to bring about five types of modifications in the mind which are the experiential basis of the individual. The individual is by nature an extrinsic, phenomenal entity which results from the samyoga (conjunction) of the fundamental principles of two realities: the pure materiality (prakŗiti ) and pure consciousness (purușa), and is rooted in ignorance (avidyā) of its true nature which is pure consciousness. This avidyā, which is the root cause of afflictions (kleśa) gives rise to phenomenal experience of
existential suffering. The purpose and method of Yoga is to overcome the modifications of the mind and ‘achieve ‘emancipation’ from the afflictions which characterise our everyday modes perception, experience (bhoga) and livelihood’73
72
Ibid., p 146
.
73
31 Thus the practice of yoga which is the ‘mastery of the mind’, takes place through nirodha or
cessation of the modifications (vŗtti) of the mind (citta ) (YS I.2). Since nirodha is central to yoga praxis, it is a key term to be understood in the Science of Mind. Cessation involves many different forms of practice and includes all levels of the individuality, from the gross physical to subtler ‘prāna’ (vital breath), together with psychological and the spiritual. There are techniques for different levels of development of the practitioner as well as different conditions and situations. These techniques are depicted in the diagram which gives the schema of the Science of Mind as expounded by Pātānjali (see Annex B).
It can thus be seen that Pātānjali’s Yoga is a serious investigation into the structures and functions of the mind and an analysis of how the mind can be controlled to bring about the cessation of its constant modifications. From the diagram (Annex B) it can be seen that the individual has basically two pathways in response to his/her existential condition. She can continue living in the mistaken identification thereby perpetuating the cycle of samskāra, vāsanā , actions, and reactions which create further samskāra. The individual is then subject to suffering in the present life and actions result in consequences which unfold in future lives thus continuing to turn the wheel of samsāra – the cycle of birth and death. On the other hand, the individual has the choice of using the powers of the mind, through using the faculty of discrimination, to bring the modifications to cease and thereby experiencing ultimately the true identity of pure consciousness74
The eightfold method of practice is give by Pātānjali in Chapter Two (Sādhana Pada or stage of practice) starting from verse II.28. These are given as Yama (restraints), Niyama (observances), Āsana (physical posture), Prānayama (breath control), Pratyāhara (withdrawal of senses), Dhāraņa (concentration), Dhyāna (contemplation, meditation) and Samādhi (absorption, ecstasy, enstasy). When one systematically practices aștanga yoga, there occurs the destruction of impurities at the
.
74
32 gross and subtle levels and ‘an increasing light of knowledge up to the discriminative discernment between the seer and the seeable’75
In this eightfold method Pātānjali sets out a reversal of the prakŗiti process of material evolution and manifestation of the world, the subsequent ‘entanglement’ of the pure consciousness (purușa ) through the process of ‘samyoga’ to give rise to the phenomenal individuality. There is a conscious process by the yogin to remove the egoic content of each action, thought, feeling, intention and volition, thereby removing the rāga (attachment) and dvesa (aversion) towards the world of names and forms.
.
b. Abhyāsa (Practice) and Vairāgya (Dispassion)
According to Vyāsa in his commentary on the Yogasūtra, there is a close interdependence between the abhyāsa and vairāgya the former representing the positive pole of practice and the latter the negative pole of dispassion76
This shows how Pātānjali’s Science of Mind is able to interweave the psychological, ethical and soteriological dimensions to construct a technology of mastering the mind and unfold the true identity of the individual.
.The river of the mind, according to Vyāsa, flows in both directions, one ending in Kaivalya or liberation through Viveka or discrimination and the other ending in repeated births in the wheel of samsāra. Dispassion reduces the flow towards the sense-objects and discrimination opens ‘the floodgate of discriminative knowledge’. The nirodha of mental modifications requires both means for the mind to flow towards the high ground of liberation.
Sūtra I.5 classifies the five types of modifications of the citta as afflicted (klișța) or non-afflicted
(aklișța), the former leading to duḥkha (suffering) and the latter to leading to discernment and liberation. The conscious practice by the yogin leads away from ignorance to knowledge and emancipation through creating the right cognitive and moral conditions. Knowledge leading to
75
I. Whicher, The Integrity of the Yoga Darsana, p 190
76
33 liberation implies ‘purity and clarity of mind and is a condition arising from sattva, the illuminating constituent or power of the mind’77
These two methods of abhyāsa and vairāgya are to be practiced together as each fulfils its function in Yoga praxis. The practice requires a sense of detachment, particularly from the results as the acquisition of powers would lead to an imbalance of ego inflation. Vairāgya without practice is not only ineffective but can lead to further delusion and confusion. When the two are practiced together in a balanced way, there is concentration of mind and purpose and takes one towards nirodha of the vŗtti. Practice needs to be carried out with proper attention, over a long period of time without
interruption to be firmly grounded
. The other direction of flow of the modifications going towards ignorance implies a ‘confused or delusive sense of identity rooted in the various impurities of the mind’ which arises from tamas, the delusive constituent or power of the mind.
78. Vyāsa states that this form grounding in practice is required so
that the yogin is ‘not easily overcome by any latent impressions (samskāra) of the fluctuating kind’79
The second method of vairāgya or dispassion is defined by Pātānjali as ‘the knowledge of mastery in one who does not thirst for any object either seen or heard of’
.
80
77
I. Whicher, The Integrity of the Yoga Darsana, p173
. One of the reasons for the modifications of the citta is the externalisation of the mind and engagement with the world of objects. The samskāra and vāsanā create desires for the things, beings and happenings of the world with a tendency to repeat the experiences which are pleasurable and stop those which are painful. There is a constant rāga (attraction) and dvesa (aversion) towards external and even internal objects according to the texture of the vāsanā. The mastery for the yogin then is in consciously disengaging from everything which takes him/her away from steadiness of practice. The normal momentum of the externalisation of the mind is broken through dispassion.
78
Hariharananda Aranya, Yoga Philosophy of Patanjali, YS I.14
79
Ibid., p37
80
34 With a comprehensive programme of practice based on a systematically set out Science of Mind, the yogin reduces the modifications of the mind to a high degree. With this come the one-pointedness
(ekāgratā) of the mind which, like a powerful searchlight is able to illumine the subtlest aspects of one’s consciousness and with the practice of meditation, is able to attain absorption in the pure consciousness of purușa .
c. Preparation for Samādhi: Pratyāhara, Dhārana and Dhyāna
As long as the mind is continually activated by inner samskāra-s, vāsan-s (tendencies) modifications and agitations, it cannot attain a state inner purity and concentrated attention. In this state it flows towards asserting the identity and externalising its mental activities towards transactions with the world. The means of Yoga result in a counterflow (pratiprasava) which internalises the attention of the mind and brings clarity and purity. Thus Yoga counteracts the outward flow (vyutthāna) taking the citta towards nirodha (cessation of modifications). All the practices of Yoga prepare the ground for the true identity of the ‘seer’ or purușa to arise through the development of the subtle insight. This is done primarily through the application of the Science of Mind to the cognitive processes. Through Yoga praxis, the mind passes through five stages (bhumi-s), levels or qualities which are listed by Vyāsa as 1. Ksipta: impulsive and restless; 2. Mudha: dull and stupefied; 3. Vikșepa: distracted and changeable; 4. Ekāgra: one-pointed and concentrated and 5. Niruddha: unenslaved, mastered81
The mind is prepared for the last but one of these levels with sufficient practice of the first four of the eightfold limbs of aștanga yoga. With the fifth limb, pratyahāra, the senses become withdrawn from the objects and are freed of external stimuli, return to their source which is the mind and settle there. The distraction caused in the mind by the external world through the senses is effectively removed. Pratyahāra, derived from the root word hr, ‘to hold’ and the prefix prati, is defined in sūtra II.54 as ‘when separated from their corresponding objects, the organs follow, as it were, the
.
81
35 nature of the mind’82.This is a key term in the psychology of attention where there is a degree of sensory withdrawal or inhibition83. When the focus of attention is narrowed in its locus, the awareness of the external world through the senses is gradually diminished. With practice and proficiency, there is developed the ability for complete cessation of all sensory activity by the yogin. Initially of course the arousal of the senses is still possible especially with strong stimuli, but the control and mastery of the afferent functions becomes established. Pratyahāra thus forms ‘the bridge and is the cumulative result of the previous practices, and opens the door to one-pointed concentration’84
The continual practice and cultivation of concentration, meditation and Samadhi together constitute what is called ‘samyama’ (constraint). It is the application samayama to any object that leads to the practitioner’s ‘direct perception of it thereby yielding suprasensuous knowledge or insight (praa). The mind becomes like a clear jewel taking on the colour of the object that fuses with it
,
85
d. Summary
. This is a state of awareness where the there is unification of the subject, object and the means of perception, thereby revealing the purușa the true identity.
The Yogasūtra as a Science of Mind which identifies the elements, their relationships and principles of operations of the citta , gives a foundation for a psychological understanding of the phenomenal identity. We have looked at the key concepts and principles that form the conceptual framework for this understanding and established that there is a coherent and systematic underlying structure. The practice of Yoga is the application of these principles to bring the mind to a state of high
concentration, stability and awareness which leads to the ‘seer abiding in itself’ (YS I.3).
82
Ibid., II.54 p245
83
G.Feuerstein, The Philosophy of Yoga, p81
84
G.Koelman, Patanjali Yoga: From Related Ego to Absolute Self, p176
85
36
SECTION THREE
I. ŚAṀKARA ’S SUBCOMMENTARY ON THE YOGASŪTRA
a. Introduction
One consequence of approaching the Yogasūtra as a Science of Mind is that the principles and precepts of the science can be interpreted from different metaphysical and philosophical perspectives. The main commentary of Vyāsa – Vyāsabhāșya – is primarily from the Sāṁkhya worldview which asserts the reality of both the material world (prakŗiti) and the pure consciousness (purușa). The phenomenal empirical identity arises as a result of the ‘samyoga’ or conjunction of the two principles of purușa and prakŗiti , and knowledge of the phenomenal world occurs when the senses convey the impressions to the citta (mind) which comes into balance with the object perceived. The purușa is the real subjective ‘knower’ or ‘seer’ of the contents of the mind. Thus when purușa is associated with prakŗiti the conjunction produces knowledge and all experience – bhoga. When the knowledge is of the discriminating kind, it leads to the disassociation of the two principles which is kaivalya or liberation. Yoga then provides the practical methods of cessation of the modifications of the mind leading to the realisation of the pure consciousness as the ground reality of awareness.
It has been mentioned in Section I that one of the six darśana-s or worldviews is the Advaita
Vedānta tradition which the non-dualistic metaphysic in Hindu theology. The main proponent of this
school is Adi Śaṁkara who in lived in the 8th century. According to tradition, Śaṁkara was born in
southern India and became a renunciate at a very early age. In his mature life he travelled
