अनुभूतविषयासंप्रमोष: स्मृति: ।।११।।

अनुभूत – experienced, विषय – sense objects, असंप्रमोष – not slipping away, retention, स्मृति – memory

स्मृति is the retention of (images of) sense objects that have been experienced.

व्यास states that स्मृति is dependent on other वृत्ति conveyed earlier. Therefore, वाचस्पति मिश्र suggests that स्मृति has been given as last of the five वृत्ति. As noted, every object that has been experienced forms a संस्कार and an imprint, called as प्रत्यय gets formed on our चित्त. While प्रत्यय represents a single imprint from a single experience, वृत्ति may be seen as flow or sequence of multiple प्रत्यय. And once a certain प्रत्यय is no longer of interest to the चित्त, it converts itself into a latent संस्कार. स्मृति thus consists of retrieval of latent संस्कार or reactivation of imprints of the sense objects that one has experienced or recognized in the past.

चित्त may be seen as a lake and संस्कार as pebbles at the bottom of the lake. When चित्त is pervaded by सत्व, the pebbles are clearly visible, if pervaded by रजस्, the visibility becomes choppy while if pervaded by तमस्, the pebbles become impossible to perceive. स्मृति is of two types as per व्यास – real or recollection of events as they happened and imagined as in dreams. भोजराजा mentions that संस्कार activated in dreams do so as they have been vivid events when they happened. But given that we often witness fantasies in our dreams, this is owing to clustering of the multiple संस्कार or superimposition of multiple संस्कार with another. Thus, स्मृति operates both in the waking world and dream world and may operate clearly owing to सत्व within us or in an erroneous manner owing to रजस् & तमस् present within us.

To revert to earlier सूत्र, each of these वृत्ति may be क्लिष्ट or अक्लिष्ट (meaning harmful or beneficial). निद्रा is very helpful since it freshens up the body but excessive निद्रा is harmful. If स्मृति is that of a योग text that we may have read and followed earlier, it is अक्लिष्ट while if our स्मृति is tuned towards pleasure or entertainment, then it becomes क्लिष्ट from अध्यात्म lens. One can look at all वृत्ति and see that all of them can be both क्लिष्ट or अक्लिष्ट. However, one must note that whether beneficial or harmful, योगी must restrain वृत्ति for attaining to the goal of समाधि as will be clarified in the following सूत्र.

Before we proceed further, it may be useful to reflect on the idea of वृत्ति with a साधक lens. To a question – “What is mind?”, the conventional answer is given as “mind thinks”, or “mind is a flow of thoughts”, “mind processes information”, etc. Elsewhere, मनस् is seen as a seat of emotions or that which coordinates information from the senses and pass these on to the बुद्धि. These are useless answers from a साधक lens. योगी interest is to evolve to his or her higher nature and not remain in the zone of व्यवहार. वृत्ति may thus seen as natural flow in which movements within चित्त occur. And once we know how चित्त works or behaves or processes information, such clarity over flow patterns of चित्त will enable a साधक to regulate this flow into a direction favourable for योग. The five वृत्ति represents all aspects that are used by चित्त to do its work – any aspect of work by a चित्त can be tied back to one of these five वृत्ति.

So what does चित्त do as it engages in experiences on a day to day basis? चित्त cognizes using प्रमाण at some times as well as cognizes incorrectly viz विपर्यय at other times (maybe driven by prejudice, laziness, etc). At the other times, it resorts to imagination viz विकल्प and it also stores what it learns & retreives such learning viz स्मृति. Last, it also takes full rest in state of deep sleep. Natural orientation of चित्त is to be driven by one of these वृत्ति at all times. Therefore, just as sharpness of a knife can be used to cook delicious food for the family or to harm another, the वृत्ति also needs to be regulated towards knowing पुरुष rather than remaining within the domain of प्रकृति. If usage of any वृत्ति is to move towards पुरुष, it becomes a अश्लिष्ट वृत्ति while if such a वृति keeps it at प्रकृति zone only, then it is a क्लिष्ट वृत्ति.

अभ्यासवैराग्याभ्याम् तन्निरोध: ।।१२।।

अभ्यास – practice, वैराग्याभ्याम् – वैराग्य viz dispassion, objectivity or detachment, तत् – their, निरोध: – controlled, restrained

(The वृत्ति states of mind) are stilled by (cultivating) अभ्यास and वैराग्य.

VI.35 of श्रीमदभगवद्गीता offfers अभ्यास & वैराग्य as a solution to fickleness of the mind; these two are described as two wings of a bird in विवेकचूडामणि. Why are these two so important in all the शास्त्र? Details in subsequent सूत्र.

तत्र स्थितौ यत्नोsभ्यास: ।।१३।।

तत्र – of these (अभ्यास & वैराग्य), स्थितौ – in the manner of steadfastedness, यत्न: – effort, अभ्यास – practice

Of these, अभ्यास is the effort undertaken to bring about a stable and tranquil state

व्यास defines concentration or one-pointedness as the peaceful flow of the mind when it has become freed from its fluctuating stages or वृत्ति. The effort to secure एकाग्रता is अभ्यास (from योग lens). Enthusiasm and vigour needs to be associated with यत्न (effort). व्यास refers to need for साधना stating that नित्यकर्म help in the idea of अभ्यास (since repetition on a daily basis and continuing them despite distractions signals the intent of the mind to attain to the higher goal of योग) .

स तु दीर्घकालनैरन्तर्यसत्कारासेवितो दृढभूमि: ।।१४।।

स – it (अभ्यास), तु – but, दीर्घ – prolonged, काल – period of time, नैरन्तर्य – continuous, सत्कार – reverence, अासेवित: – attended to, cultivated, practiced, दृढभूमि: – firm ground

अभ्यास becomes firmly established when it has been cultivated uninterruptedly and with reverence over a prolonged period of time.

Continuous साधना is inevitable for one in the path of योग. Gita VI.45 says “Through effort and restraint, cleansed of all impurities, the योगी who has cultivated perfection over multiple lives, eventually attains the supreme destination”. Continuous practice ensures that the mind is not overwhelmed by the ingrained habits of the mind driven by pre-existing संस्कार. वाचस्पति मिश्र calls these संस्कार as ‘highway robbers’ which impel the mind outward into the sensory realm. While often the सत्व aspect of the mind that facilitates peace and calm is overcome by रजस् & तमस्, if one maintains one’s अभ्यास, the mind eventually becomes steadfast and concentrated.

Famous analogy used by tradition is to correlate चित्त with a garden, सत्व with a beautiful bed of fragrant and attractive flowers, रजस् & तमस् with weeds and pests. Gardener may be compared with a योगी who has to continually maintain the garden by removing the weeds and protecting from the pests; if left unattended, all work is immediately undone. The रजस् & तमस् संस्कार are never eliminated but remain in a latent state and thus can get activated at any moment – therefore, the need for engaging in योग with reverence and on a continuous basis is an inevitable requirement. Use of the word सत्कार (reverence) is interesting here – “Love what you do” is probably another way of explaining this. If one takes to साधना because parents did it or गुरू said so or on account of fear or superstition rather than driven by conviction as to its efficacy, such an अभ्यास will not have सत्कार as an ingredient and is thus likely to yield sub-optimal results.

द्रष्टानुश्रविकविषयवितृष्णस्य वशीकारसंज्ञा वैराग्यम् ।। १५।।

द्रष्टा – visible, perceptible, अनुश्रविक – heard about (from वेद), विषय – sense objects, वितृष्णस्य – from one who is freed from craving, वशीकार – subdue, exert control, संज्ञा – consciousness वैराग्यम् – dispassion, detachment

वैराग्यम् is the controlled consciousness of one who is without craving for sense objects, whether these are actually perceived or described (in शास्त्र)

व्यास defines वैराग्यम् as a state where craving for sense objects is absent. व्यास adds that such a वैराग्यम् precludes an inclination either to accept or reject such objects, even if they are available. व्यास makes another key point – वैराग्यम् also involves disinterest to overtly reject what is available. Overt rejection contains a hidden attachment to those very objects that is being overcompensated for. Real वैराग्यम् is thus disinterest in the sense objects whether they are present or absent. भोजा adds – we should have control over the sense objects rather than them having a hold on us.

विज्ञानभिक्षु states that वैराग्यम् arises specifically from perceiving the defects of indulging in the objects of the senses. Tradition is clear on this point that sensual desires cannot somehow disappear on their own since imprints of past experiences reside in the चित्त as संस्कार anyway and will always remain latent waiting for an opportunity to express themselves as desires.

Tradition has an account of ऋषि Saubhari whose desire for पुरुष was so intense that he did ध्यान at the bottom of a river under water for many years – once however, he opened his eyes, saw fish mating and his inner संस्कार got awakened intensely and he came out, married a woman and had a family leaving his ध्यान orientation completely. This is why वाचस्पति मिश्र says that the power of वैराग्यम् comes not from being free of desires but from being indifferent to them. Not suppress but sublimate through ज्ञान.

विज्ञानभिक्षु refers to stages of वैराग्यम् – first by making an effort to break राग, next by attempting to attain वैराग्यम् towards certain objects, next when detachment has been attained from all external objects – begin to target internal attachments (attachment to honour, respect or dislike for dishonour or disrespect). For a योगी, what is the use of austere & simple living outside but huge craving for fame and recognition inside? व्यास refers to those desires that are द्रृष्ट (or seen) or अनुश्रविक (like heaven in the वेद) or सिद्धि described later in the योगसूत्र too. The moment one gives up cravings for all these kinds of desires, one has truly attained the state of वैराग्यम्. This is why material religiosity available in the कर्मकांड section of the वेद was seen as wasteful in the उपनिषद् and benefits like heaven, etc were seen as temporal and thereby not worth aspiring for.

On last point – in सूत्र literature, general principle is that a first item mentioned on a list carries more importance than subsequent items – thereby, among the five वृत्ति, प्रमाण is the most critical. And here, since अभ्यास is mentioned first, this one may be seen as more important than वैराग्यम् since by अभ्यास, the by-products of detachment and वैराग्य arises spontaneously (e.g., if one decides to get up early to do नित्यपूजा, वैराग्य for excessive निद्रा arises by default). Translation of वैराग्यम् as renunciation gives wrong connotation – when one is playing, there is वैराग्य for eating, when one is studying, वैराग्य for watching TV is essential, when one is pursuing a career, there is वैराग्य towards indulging in family fun, etc. If the love for pursuit of any goal is strong, वैराग्य towards other pursuits is automatic (and essential) even in daily life – so is the goal of समाधि as per योग school.

I have received an interesting question from another group. This person told me that अभ्यास is always focussed on cultivating वैराग्य. So वैराग्य is the end goal of spiritual efforts and अभ्यास cannot be primary. My take is that this is where if we listen to Swamijis who are deep into ascetic traditions too much, they tend to over-emphasize on वैराग्य and increase our guilt in living a normal life pursuing normal desires. Better to be careful in following such Gurus literally.

अभ्यास is not for cultivating वैराग्य but to know the goal of पुरुष better. We do नित्यपूजा to cultivate love for the Divine. We read शास्त्र to cultivate love for the Divine. We indulge in सत्संग, do Bhajan, listen to कीर्तन or read पुराण to cultivate love for the Divine (or Self). Now, if we do अभ्यास of this more and more, our वैराग्य for the lower intensifies automatically. Just वैराग्य for the lower without cultivation of अभ्यास for the Higher is a wasted effort since we are then neither here nor there. Mere “giving up” without sufficient understanding of the Higher is silly and in fact counterproductive. Listen more to non-ascetic Gurus on such matters 😂😂

तत्परं पुरुषख्यातेर्गुणवैतृष्ण्यम् ।।१६।।

तत् – that (वैराग्यम्) परं – higher, पुरुष, ख्याते: – knowledge, perception गुण, वैतृष्ण्यम् – indifference

Higher than वैराग्यम् is indifference to the गुण (themselves). This stems from perception of the पुरुष.

वैराग्यम् can take two forms – one towards sense objects including those seen and unseen and a higher level of वैराग्यम् stemming from indifference to the very गुण themselves. As all may be aware, गुण of प्रकृति are the subtle stuff from which all objects are made, physical or mental since mind, matter and everything else other than पुरुष is imbued with गुण. व्यास states here that this higher and ultimate level of वैराग्यम् stems from पुरुष-ख्याति, awareness of पुरुष itself. Complete loss of interest in ALL things material can realistically take place only when योगी has attained something far superior.

If one is inspired to climb Everest, one does not have to develop वैराग्य towards life on Earth. One develops love to be on the peak and once this love consumes you, one will automatically start training to acclimatize oneself to life on top of Everest – similarly, once पुरुष-ख्याति (call it knowledge of the Divine or yearning to attain freedom, etc) develops, the pace of अभ्यास & वैराग्य become quickened or intense. No more convincing becomes necessary and our साधना is no longer accompanied by inertia.

वाचस्पति मिश्र conveys the idea using technical terms – first, when influence of रजस् & तमस् have been eliminated, the mind’s natural quality of सत्व can manifest without disturbance. सत्व is by nature pure, transparent, luminous and insightful and when it is maximized, the filtering that is done by रजस् & तमस् are eliminated and the mind is able to discriminate clearly on the differences between पुरुष & गुण. This natural discrimination is the highest function that a सात्विक चित्त can perform and manifests when other types of knowledge have faded away.

वाचस्पति मिश्र then says that ultimately a योगी must transcend even attachment to the सात्विक recognition of difference between the गुण & पुरुष. विज्ञानभिक्षु adds that even elevated and ultimate ज्ञान can be transitory and therefore defective since pure सत्व is also a गुण and unstable by nature since the त्रिगुण are always in a state of flux. Therefore, upon attaining the highest awareness of परुष’s own nature, the pure mind checks and restrains itself and awareness of पुरुष becomes disassociated with all types of knowledge whatsoever – this is the highest state of वैराग्यम् because it is dispassion towards the most subtle aspect of matter viz गुण while वैराग्यम् in the previous सूत्र was towards more gross aspects of प्रकृति viz gross physical objects and subtler internal thoughts.

One may remind themselves of a वार्ता between याज्ञवल्क्य & मैत्रेयी here captured in बृहदारण्यक उपनिषद. Once family responsibilities were fully discharged, याज्ञवल्क्य decided to leave the house permanently after distributing wealth and property between the two wives – मैत्रेयी & कात्यायनी. While कात्यायनी was happy, मैत्रेयी was puzzled and asked याज्ञवल्क्य that no one gives up something unless they are seeking something better than what they are giving up. So she asks याज्ञवल्क्य as to the nature of this higher seeking that made याज्ञवल्क्य give up wealth and property. What follows is one of the most profound conversations where याज्ञवल्क्य tells मैत्रेयी about पुरुष and why working to attain this is the highest goal for all. And when one thus attains पुरुष ख्याति as conveyed by पतंजलि here, all else falls away easily.

What I will send tomorrow will require slow reading – it is a complex idea of states of समाधि that will be conveyed.

वितर्कविचारानन्दास्मितारूपानुगमात् संप्रज्ञात: ।।१७।।

वितर्क – absorption with physical awareness, विचार – absorption with subtle awareness, आनन्द – absorption with bliss, अस्मिता – absorption with sense of I-ness, रूप – form, अनुगमात् – accompanied by, संप्रज्ञात: – type of समाधि state (which still uses the mind and an object for ध्यान)

The concentration (समाधि) called right knowledge (संप्रज्ञात) is that which is followed by reasoning (वितर्क), discrimination (विचार), bliss (आनन्द), unqualified ego (आनन्द).

संप्रज्ञात समाधि is a lower form of समाधि. This सूत्र presents altered states of consciousness far beyond those of conventional awareness and thus beyond the ability of conventional words or labels to describe these states. Any translations given here thereby suffer from weaknesses as these are subjective experiences of योगी which are difficult to describe. Key point to note is that each of these successive states of समाधि have an आलम्बना (support) albeit more subtle than the previous state.

वितर्क समाधि may be seen as ability to concentrate on an object, say tip of a nose or chosen देवता. विचार समाधि may be seen as ability to concentrate on more subtle aspects of matter like the तन्मात्रा (sound, smell, touch etc) or five building blocks of matter (आकाश, अग्नि, वायु, etc). विज्ञानभिक्षु explains that when one focuses on ईश्वर like श्रीविष्णु in one of Its artistic rendition in a gross manner, it may be called as वितर्क and one is able to focus on a subtle aspect of श्रीविष्णु such as love or compassion, then it is akin to विचार समाधि. The third and fourth stages are much more subtle aspects of ध्यान and need some explanation.

Hindu traditions refers to three components of ज्ञान – knower or subject of ज्ञान viz गृहितृ, instruments of ज्ञान viz ग्रहण and object of ज्ञान viz ग्राह्य. As per वाचस्पति मिश्र, since the first two stages refer to concentration on an object that is external to the one doing ध्यान, they may be referred to as ग्राह्य. In the third stage, the योगी transfers awareness from the ग्राह्य to the organs of the senses themselves viz ग्रहण. The focus is on the powers behind the sensual abilities of seeing, touching, smelling, tasting and hearing rather than the gross physical organs of eye, skin, etc. चित्त now becomes aware of mechanisms of cognition, the instruments of the senses. Commentators state that while तमस् & रजस् are the aspects of ध्यान in the first two states, in the आनन्द state, mind becomes immersed in the सत्व prevalent in this state of awareness. And since सत्व represents ज्ञान, light, lucidity, etc., the योगी experiences आनन्द though one must not confuse the आनन्द at this stage to the आनन्द of the पुरुष.

Next, by involuting awareness further and penetrating the inner organ of ध्यान to its more essential nature, one transcends even the instruments of ज्ञान and arrive at अहंकार. अस्मि refers to “I am” while ता refers to “ness” and अस्मिता समाधि refers to focus on the प्राकृतिक covering that is most subtle and closest to the पुरुष. To chart a path again as per भोजराजा, having penetrated the constituents of external object of ध्यान through its gross and subtle elements in the first two stages, enter into a state of contemplating the powers behind every organ of cognition in the third, awareness penetrates चित्त further absorbing चित्त’s feature of बुद्धि, the grasper or ग्रहितृ viz the closest covering of the पुरुष.

बुद्धि in this highly सात्विक state is so pure that it reflects the consciousness of पुरुष back to itself. योगी thus becomes aware of पुरुष itself as pure चैतन्यम् (consciousness) by means of its reflection in the बुद्धि just as a bright moon can be seen clearly on the clear water of a clean lake. Here, the योगी becomes aware of ‘I-am-ness’ in the sense of a true subject of awareness “the source of my awareness is पुरुष ” and चित्त gains genuine absolute ज्ञान of the real source and identity of the consciousness pervading it. In आनन्द समाधि, the mind was aware that “I am blissful”, in अस्मिता stage, योगी is simply experiencing a state of “I am”. This state is still within the realm of प्रकृति since बुद्धि and अहंकार are a feature of प्रकृति only and चित्त is still being used to channel awareness (though the object of awareness in the last stage is पुरुष itself rather than an external manifestation of प्रकृति). The पुरुष at this stage is still not fully autonomous and extricated from its appropriation by the mind.

Key to connect with today’s सूत्र is to know सूक्ष्मता hierarchy as per वेद and how awareness levels of a योगी need to become more and more सूक्ष्म to attain success. A simple hierarchy is given below (I may be wrong on order of 1/2 items below)

1. Most स्थूल is sense object like a cow, table, chair, etc.

2. सूक्ष्म than sense object is कर्मेन्द्रिय (hands, legs, etc)

3. सूक्ष्म than कर्मेन्द्रिय is ज्ञानेन्द्रिय (eyes, ears, etc)

4. सूक्ष्म than is ज्ञानेन्द्रिय is प्राण (respiration, digestion, etc)

5. सूक्ष्म than प्राण is मनस् (seat of emotions)

6. सूक्ष्म than मनस् is तन्मात्रा (sound, smell, etc)

7. सूक्ष्म than तन्मात्रा is बुद्धि (the most subtle cognizing principle within us which also decides)

8. सूक्ष्म than बुद्धि is अहंकार or अस्मिता (I-am-ness)

9. सूक्ष्म than अस्मिता is अविद्या

10. सूक्ष्म of all is पुरुष

विरामप्रत्ययाभ्यासपूर्व: संस्कारशेषsन्य: ।।१८।।

विराम – termination, cessation, प्रत्यय – idea, notion, thought, अभ्यास – practice, पूर्व: – previous, संस्कारशेष – remainder of संस्कार, अन्य: the other

The other समाधि (असंप्रज्ञात) is preceded by cultivating the determination to terminate (all thoughts). (In this state), only latent impressions remain.

Now, there must be, in principle, some kind of final thought or mental activity before the mind enters the state of complete inactivity. चित्त, as we discussed, represents a flow of thoughts or वृत्ति and while we have reached a state where almost all वृत्ति have been subdued/ controlled, this सूत्र refers to the last thought or cognitive act is the thought of terminating all thoughts and this is called as विराम प्रत्यय. Although the very notion of terminating all thoughts is also a thought, व्यास calls it as a notion devoid of any objective phenomenon. Since the चित्त has been throughout the journey working to subdue or negate all kinds of thoughts, it reaches a stage where it is deprived of any other object of thought and becomes independent of any support or आलम्बना. It becomes empty and all संस्कार become latent here. आदिशंकर compares विराम प्रत्यय to an ebbing flame which is still nonetheless a flame until all its fuel expires and it is turned to dust, a latent संस्कार.

Some other Groups have raised concerns in assimilating the Sutras of the last two days. I am therefore sending a picture which should help. Our multiple layers are indicated here with “Self” standing for पुरुष and everything else is “Not-Self” or प्रकृति. Meditation is a way to progress from outer layers to the inner layers and eventually culminating in the Self. M, I & E stand for मनस् (mind), Intellect (बुद्धि) and ego (अहंकार or अस्मिता). “v” stands for Vasana or संस्कार as used by पतंजलि. For the word ignorance here, पतंजलि uses the word अविद्या

Another way to use the figure I sent is that the inner aspect of our being outlives the outer aspect. Thus, when gross body is active, even the subtle body, Vasanas, अविद्या and Self are active. But when gross body is inactive (sleep), subtle body viz मन/ बुद्धि/ अहंकार remain active (in dreams), Vasanas, अविद्या and Self are active. But when both subtle and gross body is inactive (deep sleep state), Vasanas, अविद्या and Self remain active. And when a person dies, Vasanas,  अविद्या & Self remain active and become the cause of next life. Next, when Vasanas are burnt up, अविद्या will remain in highest form of संप्रज्ञात समाधि but once one attains असंप्रज्ञात समाधि, only the Self remains in its own glory. I hope this does not confuse 😀

Kamal Geeta: In line no. 6 from below, the word highest may cause some confusion as it has been used in relation to sampragyat समाधि, whereas, as we all know, asampragyat samadhi is the highest state.

UV: Thanks Kamalji – by highest form of संप्रज्ञात, I meant अस्मिता समाधि (highest of the four mentioned in yesterday’s Sutra). And yes, highest of all is असंप्रज्ञात

भवप्रत्ययो विदेहप्रकृतिलयानाम् ।।१९।।

भव – becoming, material existence, प्रत्ययो – idea, cause, विदेह – without a gross body, प्रकृतिलयानाम् – of those (entities) merged in प्रकृति

For (some), those who are without a gross body and those who are merged in प्रकृति, (the state of संप्रज्ञात is characterized) by absorption in (subtle) states of प्रकृति

This is an abstruse सूत्र. भव means becoming or being born. While most योगी may be born as a human and thus have to resort to अभ्यास & वैराग्य as indicated earlier, certain योगी will have decoupled from their gross body states. They are referred to as विदेह here means one without a देह or body. As some of you may know, पुराण refers to 14 states of being or 14 dimensions in which life happens starting with सत्यलोक (ब्रह्मलोक) with life on Earth being the 7th dimension. Life in each successive dimension is grosser than the previous one and certain योगी attain a विदेह state and living in a dimension between सत्यलोक & Earth. Another category mentioned here is प्रकृति लय meaning while they do not have a physical body, they remain absorbed or stranded in some aspect of प्रकृति. Just to repeat, प्रकृति spans across the most subtle बुद्धि, अहंकार, मनस् to तन्मात्रा (smell, touch, etc) to grosser aspects like पञ्चभूत (आकाश, अग्नि, etc) and such योगी may still be (mis)identifying themselves with some aspect of प्रकृति though they have got rid of identification with a gross physical body.

वायु पुराण refers to beings who identify themselves as constituted by senses remain in that state for a period of ten Manus, those identifying with subtle elements, 100 Manus, those with अहंकार for a 1000 Manus, those with बुद्धि for a 10000 Manus and those with unmanifest primordial मूलप्रकृति for 100000 Manus. But despite these long time spans, such existence is not eternal and only realization of पुरुष by means of असंप्रज्ञात समाधि brings an eternality of existence.

Whatever the state, such beings are योगी only. And while they have evolved from their lower existence and they may seem to have fascinating attainments, they remain an under-achiever from the perspective of the ultimate goal of योगी viz असंप्रज्ञात समाधि. They still have their work cut out, as वाचस्पति मिश्र puts it. They are free from their चित्त वृत्ति and their minds consist only of संस्कार in a latent form. However, if and when their latent संस्कार fructify, they will be once more prone to भव, being born into an embodied existence. They will return just as frogs abound in the rainy season, says वाचस्पति मिश्र unless they develop true विवेक in their विदेह state and attain to मुक्ति from that state itself. As we saw in the 8th chapter of the Gita, some may attain to सत्यलोक and over years of ध्यान at that place, they attain their पुरुष state (called as क्रममुक्ति).

श्रद्धा वीर्य स्मृति समाधि प्रज्ञा पूर्वक इतरेषाम् ।।२०।।

श्रद्धा – conviction / faith, वीर्य – vigour, स्मृति -memory, समाधि -absorption, प्रज्ञा – discriminative intellect, पूर्वक – preceded by, इतरेषाम् – for others

For others, समाधि is preceded by श्रद्धा, वीर्य, स्मृति & प्रज्ञा

Most of us are obviously not gifted as beings mentioned in the previous सूत्र. For us therefore, if we want to attain समाधि, the journey has to start with श्रद्धा. व्यास explains श्रद्धा as clarity of mind while वाचस्पति refers to श्रद्धा as belief in the goal of the enterprise and आदिशंकर defines श्रद्धा as conviction in the word of the शास्त्र. All point to the same thing really – “I value समाधि. I value the path shown by शास्त्र. I realize that my current frame of mind is sub-optimal and I want to be on a journey to Truth. Henceforth, all my actions will be valued or evaluated only with the lens of my real goal in life viz समाधि and use of any other lens to view success in life does not appeal to me”. Such a person may be called as a साधक having श्रद्धा. व्यास says that श्रद्धा sustains like a benevolent mother and supports a योगी till the very end.

श्रद्धा then inspires energetic action called here as वीर्य. Once we are convinced of a goal, our energy levels rise and nothing stops us. Such वीर्य then produces स्मृति which is taken by व्यास to be an undisturbed mind, वाचस्पति to mean always keeping the end goal in mind while आदिशंकर to mean ज्ञान of शास्त्र that we have read/ learnt which is conducive to योग. And the final item on the list is प्रज्ञा viz ability to see things as they are, a discriminative intellect. And the discrimination we are referring to here is the distinction between प्रकृति & पुरुष. व्यास says that at this stage, the mind has accomplished its goal and fulfilled the purpose of its existence and thus no longer needs to operate. And then the complete uncoupling of the पुरुष from the mind ensues.