Sūtra 1.30-32 [Cittavikṣepa—Obstacles on the path of Yoga]

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of sūtra 1.30-32:

व्याधि-स्त्यान-संशय-प्रमादालस्याविरति-भ्रान्तिदर्शनालब्धभूमिकत्वानवस्थितत्वानि-चित्तविक्षेपास्तेऽन्तरायाः ॥ १.३० ॥
दुःखदौर्मनस्याङ्गमेजयत्वश्वासप्रश्वासा विक्षेपसहभुवः ॥ १.३१ ॥
तत्प्रतिषेधार्थमेकतत्त्वाभ्यासः ॥ १.३२ ॥

vyādhi-styāna-saṃśaya-pramādālasyāvirati-bhrāntidarśanālabdhabhūmikatvānavasthitatvāni-cittavikṣepāste'ntarāyāḥ || 1.30 ||
duḥkhadaurmanasyāṅgamejayatvaśvāsapraśvāsā vikṣepasahabhuvaḥ || 1.31 ||
tatpratiṣedhārthamekatattvābhyāsaḥ || 1.32 ||

(30) Sickness, incompetence, doubt, delusion, sloth, non-abstention, erroneous conception, non-attainment of any Yogīc stage, and instability to stay in a Yogīc state, these distractions of the mind are the impediments. (31) [Symptoms:] Sorrow, dejection, restlessness of body, inhalation and exhalation rise from (previous) distractions. (32) For their stoppage (i.e. of distractions) practice of (concentration on) a single principle should be made.

Ancient and Modern interpretation:

[Full title: Cittavikṣepa and Vikṣepasahabhuva—Obstacles on the path of Yoga]

Vyāsa has explained^[1] each of these impediments as arising with the fluctuations of the mind. When there are no fluctuations of the mind, the impediments do not arise.

1) Vyādhi (sickness) is of the humors, secretions and organs of the body. When the body ails, effort at Yoga or concentration cannot be made fully. Bodily illness should be removed by wholesome and measured diet to be taken only after the food previously consumed is digested.

2) Styāna (incompetence) is listlessness of the mind preventing the yogī from contemplation. Constant vīrya (enthusiasm) removes listlessness.

3) Saṃśaya (doubt) prevents constant vīrya. Doubts can be removed listening to the instructions of learned, by contemplation and by being in the company of calm and sure minded preceptor.

4) Pramāda (delusion) is to be engaged in worldly affairs through forgetfulness instead of practicing concentration.

5) Ālasya (sloth) is disinclination to engage oneself in devotional practice because dullness of body and mind. In sloth, the mind due to preponderance of tamas remains torpid. Moderation in diet, wakefulness and enthusiasm can overcome sloth.

6) Āvirati (hankering after objects) can be removed through remaining aloof from worldly affairs and giving up interest therein.

7) Bhrāntidarśana (erroneous view) is not knowing what is to be abandoned, or removed, to consider lower stages as higher stages and vice versa. Swāmī Dharmamegha Araṇya says^[2] ‘Progress in Yoga comes gradually; hoping to reach the goal in no time is also a kind of erroneous conception’

8) Alabdhabhūmikatva (inability to find a footing or non-achievement of a stage) can be overcome by persistent efforts of the will. The failure to attain a footing in the next stage can cause distraction and disturb the perfect equanimity of the mind.

9) Anavasthitattva (instability or unsteadiness) is an impediment where a yogī though proceeds to the next stage of concentration is unable to retain it for long. The yogī reverses to earlier stage.

The nine impediments or obstacles, which essentially are due to the inherent unsteadiness of the mind, cause vikṣepa (distractions), and hinder the progress of the yogī in the practice of dhāraṇā, dhyāna and Samādhi. The antidote as per puruṣa is Īśvarpraṇidhāna, special devotion to God, which enable yogī to develop sāttvika intellect and gradually gain power to resist the impediments.

From the nine impediments or obstacles arise duḥkha (sorrow), daurmanasya (dejection), aṅgamejayatva (shaking of the body), śvāsapraśvāsa (hard breathing). These are the symptoms of a distracted condition of the mind.Osho says, sorrow is of three kinds - ādhibhautika (inflicted by other creature/s), ādhidaivika (through natural causes and calamities) and ādhyātmika (arising within oneself). Sorrow is that which upsets those who try for its removal. When wished for things do not happen or when desires are not fulfilled, it leads to dejection. Disturbance to the equilibrium of the body leads to shaking of the body. The hard breathing is also associated with the distracted state of the mind. The four disturbances do not appear when the mind is calm and peaceful.

Vyāsa explains that for achieving elimination of distractions of the mind, it should be fixed on one principle in practice. The mind can become single pointed only when it is withdrawn from various objects and set only on one object. Important aspect to be noted here is that there is no indication of object of contemplation but only the quality of contemplation here. Object may be Īśvara or anything else, but it should be the sole object of concentration. When an object is contemplated upon as a single object, then such a concentration is called the meditation on one principle. Such practice is opposed to fluctuations and by it, the fluctuations of the mind are removed. The same rule would apply to the contemplations of other principles.

Osho says:

Disease, languor, doubt, laziness, sensuality, delusion, impotency and instability are the obstacles that distract the mind.Anguish, despair, tremors and irregular breathing are the symptoms of a distracted mind.To remove these, meditate on one principle.

Osho explains each of the impediments in the sādhanā.

1) Vyādhi (sickness):

Disease means dis-ease. It is non-rhythmic way of inner bioenergy. When this discomfort or dis-ease continues, sooner or later it affects the body. Osho explains this phenomenon through the example of Kirlian photography, where a person’s aura is photographed. This photograph of the aura can very clearly establish the inner health of a person. The disturbances in his energy body can be clearly seen. Disease therefore is some disturbance in the body aura, in the bioenergy, in the electricity of the body. It can be cured through ‘ OM ’For reaching the God, which is the farthest point to reach, one must be healthy and be very high on energy. The mind must also be healthy. Disease makes the body low on energy. The disease is to be eradicated from its roots. Here Osho equates the methods used in Āyurveda, where the various methods of catharsis are used. This is very different from Allopathic methods of disease suppression. Osho also advocates that the followers of Yogīc principles should never visit an allopath.

Importantly, the method of ‘ OM ’ chanting for disease removal is a very mild one and was suitable for the population at the time of Patañjali. In the modern chaotic and stressful times, Osho advises more dynamic and chaotic methods.

2) Styāna (languor or incompetence):

The second obstacle is languor which means a very low energy effort. To achieve something, the efforts should be high on energy. Such people can talk, but will never do anything to progress themselves. Osho says^[3] such person can become a minister, a priest or a paṇḍita.

Why the energy becomes low? Because there are leakages in the body’s system. Its like a bucket with a hole. Everyday even though you fill the bucket full, it always gets empty because it leaks. How to stop such leakage? Energy leakage is a problem for bioenergetics. The body leaks energy from the fingers of the hand, from the feet, from the eyes. Energy does not leak from the head because it is round and complete. Anything round helps to preserve. That’s why Yogīc postures such as padmāsana or siddhāsana or various mudrās make the body round and prevents energy leakages. When the energy keeps on flowing within the body without leaking, the languor disappears.

3) Saṃśaya (doubt):

The third obstacle is saṃśaya. Osho explains this as doubt-against certainty, against decisiveness. The doubt is against self-confidence He is indecisive, when he does not have trust in himself. Then such a person cannot be on the path of Yoga. Osho advises^[4] to drop all doubts by thinking all possibilities and then deciding on the way by choosing one. Make a decision and be with it thereafter. Doubt exists through cooperation of the mind because mind gives the energy to doubts. Doubt is representative of a chaotic mind. Repeating ‘ OM ’ and meditating on it helps to become silent, peaceful and decision becomes easier. A calm mind is decisive.

4) Pramāda (carelessness or delusion):

The fourth obstacle is pramāda–carelessness. A state of hypnosis. A walking Zombie as Osho prefers to call it. This state arises due to continuously being in hypnosis brought about by happenings around us and we, losing our sense of awareness for the same. Osho cites^[5] the example of Hitler in his autobiography Main Kampf that if you repeat a lie continuously, it becomes truth. In such a state of carelessness, one does stumble when one moves. Like a drunkard. Chanting of ‘ OM ’ and meditating on it improves the awareness. It becomes a dehypnotizing force. Swāmī Vivekānanda, when asked about the difference between chanting of OM and hypnosis replied, ‘Chanting of ‘ OM ’ is de-hypnosis; it is moving in the reverse gear.’ When one chants and meditates on ‘ OM ’, he becomes silent. A silent mind is careful. A careful mind is difficult to hypnotise.

5) Ālasya (laziness or sloth):

The fifth obstacle is ālasya—laziness. Osho explains, when one does not see a point in doing anything, because of the perception that even if you do, nothing is achieved, laziness sets in. It means that the person has lost the zest for life. It is like dust settling over all past failures, frustrations and things gone wrong. Osho says that chanting on ‘ OM ’ and meditating on it for the first time, it seems to be a fulfilling experience. For the first time, there is a certain sense of achievement in a person. A new Zest arises. Osho calls^[6] this as second birth.

6) Āvirati (sensuality or non-abstention):

The sixth obstacle is āvirati. Osho terms this as sensuality as accumulated and unused sexual energy. This unused energy gets deposited in the lower sex center and one doesn’t know how it can flow upwards. This happens because the food we eat, the water we drink from the mother nature, creates energy in the body and the same gets accumulated if not utilized gainfully. Easiest way to consume or release this accumulated energy is through sexual activity which acts as a safety release valve. However, releasing the energy back into the nature seems to be of no meaning. This creates a vicious circle of creation, release and recreation of energy through food and sensuality. This vicious meaningless circle is to be broken. The energy must go higher. The lowest must become highest and then only life will have a deeper meaning. Osho says once one starts chanting and meditating on ‘ OM ’ other centers in the body start opening and functioning. The energy flow then starts rising from the lowermost sex center to higher center like water rising from the river when it reaches a dam. The other centers in the body become dynamic forces and start functioning. Sensuality starts diminishing. One experiences the glimpses of higher ecstatic states.

7) Bhrāntidarśana (delusion or erroneous conception):

The seventh obstacle is bhrāntidarśana—delusion. Osho says^[7] delusions are created during dream stage. Dreams are needed as a means of catharsis, an inbuilt catharsis. Without dreams, hallucinations start happening. Delusion means dreaming with open eyes. One is lost during this state. Delusion will disappear when ‘ OM ’ is chanted repeatedly with mindfulness, with awareness. This happens because during creation of sound of ‘ OM ’and during meditation on it, the sādhaka is a witness and is present in the process. This forbids any dream to happen.

8) Alabdhabhūmikatva (impotency or non-attainment [of any Yogīc stage]):

The eighth obstacle is alabdhabhūmikatva. Osho terms this as impotency, a feeling of helplessness. The sādhaka feels that he is worthless. This is so because only the whole can be potent and not the part. Man is part of the whole and therefore impotent, howsoever he may want to believe otherwise. The chanting of ‘OM’ makes the person part of the whole universal sound. This affords him the sense of potency. This is nonviolent potency.

9) Anavasthitattva (instability [to stay in a Yogīc state]):

The ninth obstacle is anavasthitattva—instability. Lack of perseverance. This obstacle prevents the sādhaka for retaining the higher states and pulls him back to the lower states. It requires additional renewed efforts to reach higher state again. Chanting of ‘ OM ’ and meditating on it, prevents boredom and inculcates happiness.

The nine obstacles in the way of the sādhanā give rise to four bodily symptoms. These are–

1. Anguish: i.e. feeling of anxiety,
2. despair, i.e. feeling of despondency and sadness,
3. subtle tremors of the body energy and
4. irregular or haphazard breathing i.e. non-rhythmic pattern of breath.

These indicate distracted state of the mind or the mind which isnot centered. The chanting of ‘OM’ makes one centered. The breath become rhythmic, tremors disappear, sadness is replaced by joy and happiness and a feeling of bliss prevails.

In foregoing discussion, Osho has suggested ‘Pranav Japa’ i.e. ‘OM’ chanting for overcoming each of these obstacles.In otherwords,what Pātañjali tells as ‘ Ekatattvābhyāsa ’(practice of single principle), which according to Osho is ‘Om’-chanting with meditation on its meaning.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Araṇya, op.cit., p.70-71

[2]:

Ibid., p.72

[3]:

Osho, op.cit., p.193

[4]:

Ibid., P. 197

[5]:

Ibid., p. 200

[6]:

Ibid., p. 202

[7]:

Ibid., p.205