Part 24 - The Yoga Meditation

When the mind has become pure the chances of its being ruffled by external disturbances are greatly reduced. At such a stage the yogin takes a firm posture (āsana) and fixes his mind on any object he chooses. It is, however, preferable that he should fix it on īśvara, for in that case īśvara being pleased removes many of the obstacles in his path, and it becomes easier for him to attain success. But of course he makes his own choice, and can choose anything he likes for the unifying concentration (samādhi) of his mind. There are four states of this unifying concentration namely vitarka , vicāra , ānanda and asmitā. Of these vitarka and vicāra have each two varieties, savitarka, nirvitarka,savicāra,nirvicāra^[1]. When the mind concentrates on objects, remembering their names and qualities, it is called the savitarka stage; when on the five tanmātras with a remembrance of their qualities it is called savicāra, and when it is one with the tanmātras without any notion of their qualities it is called nirvicāra. Higher than these are the ānanda and the asmitā states.

In the ānanda state the mind concentrates on the buddhi with its functions of the senses causing pleasure. In the asmitā stage buddhi concentrates on pure substance as divested of all modifications. In all these stages there are objects on which the mind consciously concentrates, these are therefore called the samprajīiāta (with knowledge of objects) types of samādhi. Next to this comes the last stage of samādhi called the asamprajñāta or nirodha samādhi, in which the mind is without any object. By remaining long in this stage the old potencies (saṃskāras) or impressions due to the continued experience of worldly events tending towards the objective world or towards any process of experiencing inner thinking are destroyed by the production of a strong habit of the nirodha state. At this stage dawns the true knowledge, when the buddhi becomes as pure as the puruṣa, and after that the citta not being able to bind the puruṣa any longer returns back to prakṛti.

In order to practise this concentration one has to see that there may be no disturbance, and the yogin should select a quiet place on a hill or in a forest. One of the main obstacles is, however, to be found in our constant respiratory action. This has to be stopped by the practice of prānāyāma. Prāṇāyāma consists in taking in breath, keeping it for a while and then giving it up. With practice one may retain breath steadily for hours, days, months and even years. When there is no need of taking in breath or giving it out, and it can be retained steady for a long time, one of the main obstacles is removed.

The process of practising concentration is begun by sitting in a steady posture, holding the breath by prāṇāyāma, excluding all other thoughts, and fixing the mind on any object (dhāranā). At first it is difficult to fix steadily on any object, and the same thought has to be repeated constantly in the mind, this is called dhyāna. After sufficient practice in dhyāna the mind attains the power of making itself steady; at this stage it becomes one with its object and there is no change or repetition. There is no consciousness of subject, object or thinking, but the mind becomes steady and one with the object of thought. This is called samādhi^[2]. We have already described the six stages of samādhi. As the yogin acquires strength in one stage of samādhi, he passes on to a still higher stage and so on. As he progresses onwards he attains miraculous powers (vibhuti) and his faith and hope in the practice increase. Miraculous powers bring with them many temptations, but the yogin is firm of purpose and even though the position of Indra is offered to him he does not relax.

His wisdom (prajñā) also increases at each step. Prajñā knowledge is as clear as perception, but while perception is limited to certain gross things and certain gross qualities^[3] prajñā has no such limitations, penetrating into the subtlest things, the tanmātras, the guṇas, and perceiving clearly and vividly all their subtle conditions and qualities^[4]. As the potencies (saṃskāra) of the prajñā wisdom grow in strength the potencies of ordinary knowledge are rooted out, and the yogin continues to remain always in his prajñā wisdom. It is a peculiarity of this prajñā that it leads a man towards liberation and cannot bind him to saṃsāra.

The final prajñās which lead to liberation are of seven kinds, namely,

1. I have known the world, the object of suffering and misery, I have nothing more to know of it.
2. The grounds and roots of saṃsāra have been thoroughly uprooted, nothing more of it remains to be uprooted.
3. Removal has become a fact of direct cognition by inhibitive trance.
4. The means of knowledge in the shape of a discrimination of puruṣa from prakṛti has been understood.

The other three are not psychological but are rather metaphysical processes associated with the situation.

They are as follows :

5. The double purpose of buddhi experience and emancipation (bhoga and apavarga) has been realized.
6. The strong gravitating tendency of the disintegrated guṇas drives them into prakṛti like heavy stones dropped from high hill tops.
7. The buddhi disintegrated into its constituents the gunas become merged in the prakṛti and remain there for ever.

The puruṣa having passed beyond the bondage of the guṇas shines forth in its pure intelligence. There is no bliss or happiness in this Sāṃkhya-Yoga mukti, for all feeling belongs to prakṛti. It is thus a state of pure intelligence. What the Sāṃkhya tries to achieve through knowledge, Yoga achieves through the perfected discipline of the will and psychological control of the mental states.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Vācaspati, however, thinks that ānanda and asmitā have also two other varieties, which is denied by Bhiksu.

[2]:

It should be noted that the word samādhi cannot properly be translated either by “concentration” or by “meditation.” It means that peculiar kind of concentration in the Yoga sense by which the mind becomes one with its object and there is no movement of the mind into its passing states.

[3]:

The limitations which baffle perception are counted in the Kārikā as follows:

• Extreme remoteness (e.g. a lark high up in the sky),
• extreme proximity (e.g. collyrium inside the eye),
• loss of sense-organ (e.g. a blind man),
• want of attention,
• extreme smallness of the object (e.g. atoms),
• obstruction by other intervening objects (e.g. by walls),
• presence of superior lights (the star cannot be seen in daylight),
• being mixed up with other things of its own kind (e.g. water thrown into a lake).

[4]:

Though all things are but the modifications of gunas yet the real nature of the gunas is never revealed by the sense-knowledge.

What appears to the senses are but illusory characteristics like those of magic (māyā):

“(Guṇānām paramam rūpam na dṛṣṭipathamṛcchati
Yattu dṛṣṭipatham prāptam tanmāyeva sutucchakam.”

         Vyāsabhāṣya , iv. 13.