Yoga-sutras (with Vyasa and Vachaspati Mishra)
by Rama Prasada | 1924 | 154,800 words | ISBN-10: 9381406863 | ISBN-13: 9789381406861
The Yoga-Sutra 3.11, English translation with Commentaries. The Yoga Sutras are an ancient collection of Sanskrit texts dating from 500 BCE dealing with Yoga and Meditation in four books. It deals with topics such as Samadhi (meditative absorption), Sadhana (Yoga practice), Vibhuti (powers or Siddhis), Kaivaly (isolation) and Moksha (liberation).
Sūtra 3.11
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of Sūtra 3.11:
सर्वार्थतैकाग्रतयोः क्षयोदयौ चित्तस्य समाधिपरिणामः ॥ ३.११ ॥
sarvārthataikāgratayoḥ kṣayodayau cittasya samādhipariṇāmaḥ || 3.11 ||
sarvārthatā—of all pointedness, ekāgratā—one pointedness, of these two. kṣaya—the destruction (of all pointedness). udaya—the rise (of one pointedness) these two respectively of the previous two. cittasya—of the mind. samādhi-pariṇāmaḥ—the trance modification.
11. The trance modification of the mind is the destruction and rise of all-pointedness and one-pointedness, respectively.—117.
The Sankhya-pravachana commentary of Vyasa
[English translation of the 7th century commentary by Vyāsa called the Sāṅkhya-pravacana, Vyāsabhāṣya or Yogabhāṣya]
[Sanskrit text for commentary available]
All-pointedness is a characteristic of the mind. One-pointedness is also a characteristic of the mind. The destruction of all-pointedness is its disappearance. The rise of one-pointedness is its appearance. The mind puts on both these characteristics. This mind then following along both these characteristics of destraction and manifestation which make its very nature, inclines towards, contemplation. This is, the trance modification of the mind.—117.
The Gloss of Vachaspati Mishra
[English translation of the 9th century Tattvavaiśāradī by Vācaspatimiśra]
Now the author shows the state of the mental change towards Cognitive trance, ‘The trance modification of the mind is the disappearance and rise of all-pointedness and one-pointedness respectively.’
All-pointedness means distractedness. It cannot be destroyed; hence its destruction is only its disappearance. Nothing which exists is destroyed. Rise is appearance. The disappearance and birth of the characteristics of all-pointedness and one-pointedness which are of the very nature of the mind, means that the disappearance is to be of all-pointedness, and the appearance is to be of one-pointedness. The mind following these too becomes inclined towards trance. The meaning is that it becomes qualified by the trance condition which is achieved gradually by the latter condition becoming the former.—11.