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Yoga Darsana of Patanjali A Reading
Madhu Prabakaran
🔑"Yoga Darsana of Patanjali: A Reading" by Madhu Prabakaran delves into the Yoga Sutras, focusing on Samadhi Pada, the first chapter of the Yoga Sutras. This work explores the foundational principles of yoga, including the methods to achieve a meditative state of mind and the ultimate union with the divine. It highlights the steps to control the mind and the senses to realize true self-awareness, shedding light on ancient yogic philosophy and practices as laid out by the sage Patanjali.🔑
1. Spelt here is the quintessence of yoga.
2. Turning mental modifications inward, towards the source, is yoga.
3. Thus, one settles with originary disposition.
4. Contrary to inward modifications, world process modification are externally directed.
5. Five folds of modifications draw mind either towards inward tranquillity or towards
external afflictions.
6. The fivefold afflicting modifications are by: cognition, discrimination, imagination,
deep sleep or remembrance.
7. The fivefold liberative modifications are guided by the combination of: direct
experience, inference, scriptural testimony, sequential cognition or proof.
8. False cognition is nurtured by habitual perception.
9. Verbal knowledge does not liberate one from false cognition.
10. We are free from false cognition while we are in deep sleep state.
11. Memory preserves false cognition.
12. Dispassion is a means to restrain false cognition.
13. Practice dispassion to restrain false cognition.
14. Accelerate the practice with uninterrupted devotion.
15. The practice leads one to right awareness that in turn relives one from false cognitions
and its cravings.
16. When the practice intensifies, we overcome our fixity to gunas, as we approach the
void aspect of the Purusha, the source.
17. As the practice matures, we attain serene tranquillity crossing across the stages of
curiosity to know, reflexiveness, bliss, and a sense beyond identities.
18. As the practice nears perfection, except latent impressions, all other cognitions are
stilled.
19. So long as the latent cognitions are not stilled, we are born into existence through
cycle of births and deaths.
20. Total cessation of cognition comes with the practice of faith, determination,
mindfulness and meditation.
21. For the intensely keen, the salvation is imminent.
22. Proportionate to their intense pursuit sooner or later the salvation is achieved.
23. Some achieve it by their devotion to Eswara.
24. Eswara is Purusha as being uncliched by afflictions or their fruitions.
25. Eswara is the seed of the omniscience par excellent.
26. Eswara is the primary guru of all gurus since the ancient; Eswara is unconstrained
by time.
27. OM the seed syllable connotes Eswara.
28. Eswara is the seed syllable existing as a special being.
29. The grace of Eswara the impediments for salvation dissolves into absence.
30. Disease, idleness, doubt, delusion, negligence, indulgence, misapprehension, inertia,
and wavering are the impediments.
31. The distractions cause suffering, dejection, restlessness, and disharmonious breathing.
32. To resist infirmity practice fixing attention to the ultimate witness within.
33. The attention results as we practice amity, compassion, complacency and equanimity.
34. Or it is achieved by attention to breath.
35. Or by experiencing tranquil bliss of transcendence.
36. Or by experience of luminous joy of painlessness.
37. Or by freedom from desires.
38. Or by the knowledge of aware, dream, deep sleep and yonder aspect of existence.
39. Or by the preferred practice of meditation.
40. Experiencing the bliss from the minutest to the grandeur of existence and beyond
them.
41. As the cognitions cease, mind assumes crystal transparency overcoming distinctions
of cognizer-cognized & cognizing, and thereby experiencing the pristine stillness of
the ultimate source.
42. Thereby word -meaning -& idea are comingled, and remain indistinct.
43. Tranquil mind dissolves into the self of the void, shines forth bereft of cognitions in
its own right.
44. This is samadhi, being one with the source, having or bereft of subtle awareness.
45. Thus, the noumenal unmanifest is experiences even when one encounters the
extremities of phenomenal existence.
46. Such is the subjective experience of omniscience.
47. Upon attaining the expertise to remain in that state, we emit the lucidity of our
cardinal existence.
48. Therein occurs harmonising wisdom.
49. Such an experience of knowing is distinct from inferential cognition of a subject
perceiving an object.
50. Such is the unmediated knowing, unobstructed by residues of mediated inferences.
51. As we are free from our identity of knower, we merge into the act of knowing, as the
live seed loses its shell of distinctness.
Sadhana Pada
1. Kriya yoga, the yoga of action, consists of austerity, and scriptural observance in
commitment with the special being Eswara.
2. It is a practiced for equipoise and the relief from afflictions.
3. Nescience, self-obsession, cravings, aversions and death anxiety are five types of
afflictions.
4. Nescience is the nurturing field for other four afflictions, which however, could be
dormant, attenuated, counteracted, or fully activated.
5. By nescience we take the transient, distorted, suffering and identity to be pleasant
and mistake it to be our self.
6. Blurred by nescience, the nature of the seer is misperceived with our social or
personal identity
7. Attraction to pleasures gets [the nescient] craving for them.
8. Aversion to displeasures pushes them to repulsion.
9. Inclination for living creates fear of death
10. As the nescience fades off as the affliction is eliminated by the potential subtilty
of their originary state.
11. Dyana [as it realizes potential subtilty] stills mental modifications [, the
consequence of afflictions]
12. Latent impressions of foregone afflictions act as vehicles that take them to the
cyclical births and rebirths in visible and invisible life forms.
13. So long as the latent impressions are not rooted out, they fructify as birth, life span
and resultant experiences.
14. Afflictions as virtue and vice traverse through life spans as pleasures and pains.
15. The wise apprehend, the consequences of gunas and virthies endowed by
afflictions trap one into anguish and tarnish.
16. The potential anguish and tarnish can be discarded before they fructify.
17. As the distinction between seer and seen dissolve the potentials of afflictions.
18. As we glow with the Kriya yoga practice, elements and faculty of sensation, lead
us into clear cognition and freedom.
19. Qualia (guna) is hierarchically ordered as noumenal (alingani), phenomenal (linga
mantra), undifferentiated (avishesha), and differentiated (vishesha).
20. Seer by the power of seeing (buddhi) accesses qualia at its different hierarchies.
21. The pursuit of self is to know beyond the apparent.
22. Seer is the seen. Till we realize this, there is distinction between seen and the seer.
23. Being in tune (samyoga) with the source is achieved through gaining mastery of
the self-owner over the apparent self.
24. The lack of attunement accelerates the need for the attunement.
25. When the lack dissolves, the seer attains liberation.
26. Uninterrupted discriminative discernment thus activates liberation.
27. Thus, they gain total communion with the ultimate, the seventh fold of wisdom.
28. As we progress in practicing yoga as it is instructed, step by step, the impediments
for greater awareness fades off, consequently, wisdom arises as the lamp of and
shines forth, until we attain the complete discriminative discernment.
29. The eight-fold part of yoga are: abstentions, observances, posture, merging breath
into its source, the prana, withdrawing the senses from their afflictions, retaining
mind at the source, experiencing that state meditatively, and merging
indistinguishably with the source.
30. Of these the abstentions are from violence, theft, continence and indulgence.
31. The practitioners should observe of universal principles of righteousness
irrespective of their contingencies of birth, status, place, privileges, periods, age,
or time.
32. Be - clean, contented, ascetic, contemplative of scriptures, committed to Eswara.
These are five niyamas to be observed.
33. Counterpoise and resist habits that lead us towards negligence of yama or niyama.
34. Do not cultivate habits of hatred, self-obsession, greed, anger, or delusion. If we
do not cull them off as soon they come as thoughts, they would manifest as action
and also as material reality.
35. Commitment to ahimsa ends hostilities.
36. Practice Kriya yoga truthfully, that would confirm salvation.
37. Steal not, by the claims of me or mine. As we do not steal, the treasures attend
upon us.
38. Continence enhances vigour.
39. As we steadily refrain from covetousness, we are endowed with the capacity to
manage our births and future incarnations towards the salvation.
40. Be clean, thereby we shall avoid the unclean.
41. clean minds attain stillness and conquer sense afflictions and thereby emerge
qualified for self-realisation.
42. Through contentment, the clean gain unexcelled bliss.
43. Elimination of impurities through ascetic practice leads to mastery over body and
mind.
44. Through the study of scriptures and japa we attain concert with our chosen deity.
45. Through devotion to Eswara, samadhi is attained.
46. Sit steady in comfortable posture.
47. Absorption with the infinite when intensifies the posture becomes relaxed and
perfected.
48. Consequently, nothing impedes, not even bodily strains.
49. When this is accomplished the linkage with the ultimate ensures perfected breath
flow and it becomes effortless pranayama.
50. Pranayama, thus becomes perfect enough to overcome the dualities of place, time
or counts, and thereby it becomes long and subtle.
51. This is the fourth and ultimate state of pranayama that traverses us beyond the
external and internal distinctions, integrating us with the ultimate prana, the
source.
52. Thence weakened the veil over illumination.
53. Thus, we are equipped to be fit for Dharana, the total connection.
54. This is how the subject-object duality is overcome, senses become redundant as
we dissolve into the primordial indistinct Self. This is pratyahara.
55. This is total immersion of our senses into the highest state.
Vibhuti Pada
1. Fixing mind to a space is dharana.
2. Continuous flow of attention to that space is dyana.
3. When the space alone shines-forth forgetful of our separate existence, then that
is samadhi.
4. Dharana, Dyana & Samadhi combined together is samyama, the holy
communion.
5. Our insights are conditioned by the character of our communion.
6. Gradually it spreads and dominates the field of our existence.
7. Together, they form into the eight limbs that we discussed earlier.
8. As long as the communion is with the spaces identified they are external to the
nirbija, seedless samyama.
9. Nirbija samadhi happens as we are not subjected to modification by anything
else other than the source.
10. Mastery over the moments of mind creation leads us to experience the
uninterrupted stream of the source consciousness, leaving no impressions on
our mental field.
11. Nirbija samadhi is the flow of evolution into the originary stream of being,
stilling the concentrations otherwise
12. Nirbija Samadhi too is one pointed, but in the realm of the source, outside the
realms of mind-games.
13. Senses form into entities by their tendentious becoming through acquiring the
nature, quality, spatio-temporal states, and their development.
14. The originary tranquillity (santa), the emergent characteristics (udita) and the
yet not manifested (avyapadѐsya) are their formative, existing and potential
characteristics
15. Its succession order, transition, tendencies and their impetus
16. The evolution of the three-fold (dharana, dyana & samadhi) as it is attained,
manifests and leads to further perceptual tendencies
17. Into words, meanings ideas that interact with each other and converge into
differentiations by the processes of convergence or divergence into all possible
forms of sounds, words, speeches, ideations, matter and beings.
18. By direct perception of the impressions accumulated through births that still
has its momentum
19. By examining how our personality complex emerged through convergence with
the others, we attain the knowledge of the formative trajectory of our mind and
its inclinations.
20. However, not that we bring forth our past life alive, but understand our
formative trajectory using our perceptive power.
21. Thus, we perceive using the perspective resources beyond our current
perceptual apparatus.
22. Karma fruitions within contextual lived reality, where as communion happens
at the realms beyond the birth death cycles.
23. Communion with friendliness, give mastery and strength of friendliness.
24. Communion with strength aspect makes on solidly strong with elephantine
strength.
25. Communion with inner-light through light on conceded knowledge not that
easily traced otherwise.
26. Communion with the sun brings forth knowledge of the universal architecture
that manifests as an order of planetary members.
27. Communion with the moon helps us to recognize how we are influenced by
planetary orders or movements.
28. Communion with the polestar endows the knowledge about formation and
movement of stars.
29. Communion at the navel plexus gives control over our body system.
30. Communion at the cervical plexus triggers cessation of hunger and thirst.
31. Communion at the wind pipe below the chin to the cerebral aqueduct in the mid
brain (kurma nadi), we experience mental calmness, and the body becomes
perfectly steady in yogic postures.
32. Communion at the crown light of our head, the hole continues from mid brain
to the top of our skull enhances our faculty to receive wisdom from immortal
siddhas.
33. Communion enhances direct intuitive wisdom (pratibha) from the ultimate on
anything that concerns.
34. Through communion at the heart centre (anahata) we gain mastery over our
mind-personality-complex and its thought processes.
35. The communion with the essential self (purusha) which is the ultimate self of
the existence itself, we gain mastery over our essential self. The worldly
experience, though appear disconnected from the natural physical or mental
existence, the communion with the essential self, the purusha, serves the
shadow existence of our apparent self and its physical or mental extensions, to
find its purpose and meaning.
36. From the purusha, the essential self, emerged subtleties of intuitive wisdom
(pratibha), capacity to listen (sravana), differentiation and touching the other
(vedana), perceptive faculty (adarsha), faculty to taste (aswata), olfactory
capacity to smell (vartah), by which the illusion of the ‘other’ is solidly
constructed, which the communion with purusha resolves.
37. The outgoing sense perceptions create impediments to samadhi.
38. Attachments and repulsions are made of outgoing sense impressions, and they
weaken our contact with our essential self. As the connections are loosened and
relaxed they form mindsets and they in turn set us to be cycled through
processes of births and deaths, until stilled.
39. The attachments and repulsions vibrate our vital airs accordingly, thus,
regulating and calming down their impulses and vibrations, we gain mastery
over our tendencies of attractions and repulsions. The mastery over the udana
vital air let us rise above and levitate rising above mud, water or other entities.
40. By mastery over the equalising the vital air, samana we attain radiance.
Likewise, the benefits of mastery over other vital airs.
41. By the practice of communion with the bodily faculty like hearing, we gain the
capability to listen the inner voice, thus we attain greater convergence with the
purusha.
42. The communion with the bhootas like akasha, the ether, we attain lightness of
feather and fly through the air.
43. Thus, in communion with our formless aspect, beyond our identities, we
overcome the covering that limits our illuminative character.
44. By communion with our gross nature, which is founded upon its corresponding
subtility, we obtain mastery over the subtler elements that constitute them.
45. Indeed, there is no limit to our existence, we attain mystical powers such as
anima, lahima etc., thus we attain perfection.
46. Our human existence thus can be perfected to its beauty, charm, strength,
hardness, and its power of thunderbolt.
47. The communion with our faculty to know we achieve mastery over our I-ness,
self-constitution, purposive existence and senses.
48. Thus, our mind process gains momentum towards the greater understanding,
senses become sharper, thus we gain mastery over our primordial state of
existence.
49. Once the discernment between our intellect and the omniscient purusha is
achieved we experience mastery over the omniscience.
50. The indifference towards even to achieve the absolute bliss of omniscience
happen to us as the seed for our desire for self-propagation is totally
annihilated. Thus we attain kaivalya, the supreme liberation.
51. In that state, we would disregard even the invitation from the celestial beings
for their association with us, as they may revive the undesirable disconnect
from the ultimate.
52. Being in communion with moments and sequences generate gnosis born out of
discernment.
53. Through this practice, we overcome biases that misguide us by our birth, caste,
distinctive marks, location, separation, union, comparison, and thereby we
attain the right awareness.
54. Such a gnosis is transcendental and it includes all, by all means, beyond the
orders of succession or that born out of discerning intellect.
55. The absolute liberation is total communion with our essential self, the purusha.
Kaivalya Pada
1. Past life acquaintance, medicinal herbs, mantra incantations, austerity or
meditative absorption serve as instrumental cause that removes impediments for
liberation.
2. What is left unfulfilled in previous births acts as the creative impetus towards
liberation.
3. Farmers break the barriers for plant growth, and so those who are determined for
liberation work towards removing impediments so that the prakruti does her job
to unite the aspirant with purusha.
4. Obstructions and impediments come from mind-stuff fortified by ego-senses.
5. Ego-sense is the dominant mind among multiplicity of mental afflictions that
define the personality complex.
6. Of these multiple minds, when a mind created out of meditation (dyana) takes the
lead the aspirant could be relived from stored impressions and their latency.
7. Yogi is not guided by dark and fair aspects of afflicted minds. Others are
obstructed by the guna-complex: tamas, rajas and satva afflictions.
8. Karma and its fruitions as afflictions lay their trajectory for further manifestations
and sequences of birth-death cycles.
9. Births though separated by time, place or type of births, they have uninterrupted
flow of connection drawn from subliminal impressions.
10. Life is timelessly eternal. Hence there is a natural tendency to realise it. The
tendency manifests as desire for release from subliminal impressions that afflicts
life forms through various births.
11. Samskaras as subliminal impressions are held together by continuing motives,
habituations, and afflictions. With the caseation of that which holds the
samskaras, they would cease.
12. Time is a movement from memory to liberation. Time exists as samskaras exist,
and as the liberation is not attained. Time ceases for those who attained liberation.
13. That which continue as samskaras have gunas as their impetus to continue in
time.
14. They are in the process of evolution towards liberation.
15. Diversity of afflictions as they have acquired and maintain in their memory keeps
them different from each other.
16. Chitta as mind has multiple origin and hence incapable of attaining liberation on
its own, unless it is connected to the substratum, the timeless witness.
17. Mind notices only what it is capable for the mind to note. There are aspects
independent of what mind can notice.
18. The immutable purusha as the master conscience is aware of the modifications the
chitta (mind) goes through.
19. Chitta (mind) being a construct it is an object; hence, it has no capacity for self- illumination.
20. It is an apparatus that cannot act as a perspective subject.
21. The apparatuses do not illuminate each other either. Had it been so there would
have been ad infinitum illuminations14
liberation as they confuse each other. Hence, relying upon mental faculty for
liberation is futile.
22. However, if the apparatus works for the citi, the originary awareness at the
substratum of beings, which is aware of itself liberation can be attained.
23. The purusha as citi, is a seer and sees everything from every possible and existing
context. The mental apparatus gains the capacity to see perfectly only when it
works as an apparatus of purusha, the omniscient witness.
24. Minds variegated by countless vasanas have no will of its own or awareness of the
purusha. Hence, unless it is linked to the awareness substratum of purusha it has
no capacity for self-realization or liberation.
25. Once, we understand the distinction between the real perceiver beneath and the
perceptual apparatus mind, confusions regarding self-inquiry ends.
26. When mind recognizes the omniscient at whose service it operates, the momentum
towards liberation begins.
27. However, even then, the acquired nescience intermittently obstructs the
discriminate awareness because of its acquired samskaras.
28. Hence, prescribed are the practices that helps removal of acquired afflictions.
29. As we learn to keep away afflictions, we realize we are not alone, but part of a
greater community that help us to attain liberation through forming a guiding clout
of dharma mega (a cloud of right path) leading us to discriminative insights.
30. Thereafter, karma and its afflictions cease to obstruct our path to liberation.
31. Removed of all afflictions we are opened up towards infinite flow of knowing
through uninterrupted, unmediated connection with the purusha conscience,
flushing out what so ever little afflictions remain.
32. Thus, accomplished is the cessation of gunas and the path to liberation is open.
33. As afflictions vanish, moments are perceived as they are witnessed by the
purusha, unaffected by acquired vasanas or afflictions.
34. Devoid of afflictions or gunas, we return to our original state of our essential
nature, which indeed is the awareness-power (citi-saktir). . Which in turn would not let any to attain 14
liberation as they confuse each other. Hence, relying upon mental faculty for
liberation is futile.
22. However, if the apparatus works for the citi, the originary awareness at the
substratum of beings, which is aware of itself liberation can be attained.
23. The purusha as citi, is a seer and sees everything from every possible and existing
context. The mental apparatus gains the capacity to see perfectly only when it
works as an apparatus of purusha, the omniscient witness.
24. Minds variegated by countless vasanas have no will of its own or awareness of the
purusha. Hence, unless it is linked to the awareness substratum of purusha it has
no capacity for self-realization or liberation.
25. Once, we understand the distinction between the real perceiver beneath and the
perceptual apparatus mind, confusions regarding self-inquiry ends.
26. When mind recognizes the omniscient at whose service it operates, the momentum
towards liberation begins.
27. However, even then, the acquired nescience intermittently obstructs the
discriminate awareness because of its acquired samskaras.
28. Hence, prescribed are the practices that helps removal of acquired afflictions.
29. As we learn to keep away afflictions, we realize we are not alone, but part of a greater community that help us to attain liberation through forming a guiding clout
of dharma mega (a cloud of right path) leading us to discriminative insights.
30. Thereafter, karma and its afflictions cease to obstruct our path to liberation.
31. Removed of all afflictions we are opened up towards infinite flow of knowing
through uninterrupted, unmediated connection with the purusha conscience,
flushing out what so ever little afflictions remain.
32. Thus, accomplished is the cessation of gunas and the path to liberation is open.
33. As afflictions vanish, moments are perceived as they are witnessed by the
purusha, unaffected by acquired vasanas or afflictions.
34. Devoid of afflictions or gunas, we return to our original state of our essential
nature, which indeed is the awareness-power (citi-saktir).
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