स्थान्युपनिमन्त्रणे सङ्गस्मयाकरणं पुनर् अनिष्टप्रसङ्गात् ।।५१।।

स्थानि – celestial beings, उपनिमन्त्रणे – upon the invitation, सङ्ग – attachment, स्मय – smile/ conceit, आकरणं – not performing, पुनर् – again, अनिष्ट – undesirable ,प्रसङ्गात् – inclination, attachment

If solicited by celestial beings, (the योगी) should not become smug, because the tendency towards undesirable consequences can once again manifest.

श्रीरामायण, महाभारत and पुराण are replete with episodes where the देवता solicit योगी to इंद्रलोक – some fall for such allurements but some like विश्वामित्र, शरभंग, etc reject such offers and move on towards the Highest. Clearly, one needs to be aware of the precise nature of such an allurements before one reads about such events in these texts – योगीs are fully aware but if they still are able to reject them, then they indeed are a ज्ञानी.

पतंजलि gives a warning here to a योगी. And while the योगी must not just turn down the allurements, he must also not be smug about turning them down. If he does so, he will fail to realize that he is grasped by the hair by यमा, says व्यास. Forgetfulness of पुरुष (अविद्या) is very hard to overcome and is always on the lookout for a weak spot to reactivate the क्लेश and undesirable outcomes will ensue.

व्यास here names four classes of योगी – first is प्रथम कल्पिका whom he describes as one in whom “light” is dawning (विज्ञानभिक्षु equates this to a योगी who has attained सवितर्क समाधि). Second is मधु भूमिका who has attained ऋतंभरा insight (see 1.48) (equated to निर्वितर्क समाधि). Third is प्रज्ञा ज्योति: where the योगी has control over the elements and senses and knows all that has to be known and has been known (see योगी described at III.49 meaning all attainments prior to असंप्रज्ञात समाधि). Last is अतिक्रान्त भावनीय whose sole aim is to dissolve the mind back to प्रकृति (seven-fold insight given in II.27 applies to a योगी at this state). Celestials approach a योगी who is at stage 2 viz मधु भूमिका – first is seen as not worthy of allurements while those at stage 3 & 4 will find allurements useless.

Idea of “Time” is the focus of the next सूत्र – sharing some random layman views to set the context. “Universe is beginning-less” – so declare the शास्त्र. To most of us, this sounds ridiculous. Everything has to have a start time including ईश्वर – how can one conceive of a state where there is no time? But while state of no-time is difficult to conceive of, even a lay mind does experience time as a relative idea. When we are lost in a beautiful painting or a vast ocean in front of us or standing in front of a stunning landscape, we lose the sense of time – time flies. A single gaze of श्रीरमण at His आश्रम led to some of his visitors experience समाधि स्थिति and when out of that state, they realized that many hours had already passed away. श्रीरामकृष्ण परमहंस used to often get into समाधि for days till someone forced him out of that state and brought him back into the world.

Time passes slowly when we are in deep pain. At the other end, there is no experience of time in deep sleep. Thus, even using basic अनुमान, one can see that whenever the mind is intensely experiencing (meaning ego is highest) a situation, time is “felt” strongly but at times where mind steps back, time is not ” experienced”. “Weekends get over fast, weekdays are long” – is uttered by those who hate their jobs 😊. In the weekends, they are at home with people they love and when one is in happiness and love, there is no experience of time. Time flies in such happy moments.

In a crude way, we can state that wherever there is “movement” (like coming out of the house), time begins from that moment (like Week begins on a Monday in modern India while Week began on a Sunday in ancient India 😊). We experience time when there is movement but where there is no movement (like at home), time does not “appear” to exist (for those living in happy homes 😊).

Can we extend this further to state that where there is no mind, there is no movement (we discussed that mind is after all nothing else but a “flow” of thoughts, a movement). And where there is no movement, there is no time. Movement of Sun, Earth and Stars gives us a way to measure time. Time is thus an abstract concept and not a real thing. For any experience of any kind, one does not need time. When we are immersed in an experience that we love like a game of chess or carrom, we lose sense of time.

ईश्वर is expressed as सत्-चित्-आनन्द स्वरूप. सत् stands for that which exists. And what is it that “exists” – that viz available for experience may be explained as existing. So a chair exists, a mobile exists, etc since these are objects I can use and even I exist since I can experience life. शास्त्र goes one level up and it sees only those to be called as सत् which exist eternally – all else is a mere temporary manifestation. So ear-ring, bracelet, etc cannot be सत् while gold can be सत्. Looking at “Time”, past and future cannot be seen as सत् since they are imaginary and not available for experience now. What is available for experience is only the present moment and thus the only the present moment can be seen as सत्.

Now, when you and me pursue कर्म that appeals to our स्वभाव meaning we take up work aligned to our aptitude, it becomes easier to immerse ourselves in such experiences. We may live them as if there is no yesterday or tomorrow 😊. However, our identification with our body and mind will trigger संस्कार and we will be pulled out of our happy state by the world (day ends, hunger troubles, spouse fights 😊, etc) and we are caught again in the grip of time. But ईश्वर is not bound by time because ईश्वर is eternal. And since no limitations trouble ईश्वर, ईश्वर as an eternal subject enjoys all experiences and immerses Itself in the bliss of experiences eternally (in a state of timelessness).

And for a साधक who has taken the path of योग, an essential साधना will mean living in every moment that life throws at us fully. Only living like this, we may get a peek into the state of पुरुष who is in an आनन्द mode or a zone of pure object-less experience where there is no time, no space and no object other than आत्मा revelling in its पु़ूर्णत्वम्. Journey of योग being a return journey back to our original state cannot happen until we understand that which touches us daily viz time. Once we know it, we can get rid of it and with removal of this obstruction, we can reach home. With this kiddish background by me 😊, let us get into the सूत्र and its commentary tomorrow.

क्षणतत्क्रमयो: संयमादविवेकजं ज्ञानम् ।। ५२।।

क्षण – moment, तत् – its, क्रमयो: – sequence ,succession, संयमाद् – from performing संयम on, विवेक – discrimination, अजं – born of, ज्ञानम्

By performing संयम on the moment, and its sequence, one attains knowledge born of discrimination

Creation of physical universe means presence of an object in creation and the first step in this objectification is that of an अणु viz the smallest particle of प्रकृति. विज्ञानभिक्षु adds here that अणु is itself composed of गुण (everything in प्रकृति is a modification of गुण) though it may not be “physical” in the way we perceive physicality. क्षण refers to the smallest measure of time and is described as equivalent of time taken for अणु to move from one point to the next point. By क्रम, पतंजलि refers to succession of such क्षण.

व्यास says here that notions such as hour, day, night, etc have no metaphysical reality – there are simply concoctions of mind created for social utility purposes. As per सांख्य, what Time really consists of is motion and it is ultimately motion of अणु in प्रकृति. Such time as per movement of Sun is movement of अग्नि अणु and to the apparent motion of this conglomeration of अणु in the sky, we apply labels as year, etc.

व्यास now says that the only metaphysical reality corresponding to the notion of time is the motion of अणु. He then adds that there is no reality to the past or future. Two moments of अणु cannot exist simultaneously since an अणु can only move from one क्षण to the next which is a क्रम. An अणु can never be perceived in its previous location and next location simultaneously and this क्रम can only be viewed progressively. Traditional lens therefore sees that there is only one moment in all reality viz the present.

हरिहरानन्द adds here that reality is that which exists and existence refers to that which is present. And terms like past and future actually refer to that which we cannot perceive since they are not present. One can however say that past and future are inherent in the present and therefore the entirety of reality is compressed or encapsulated in each moment. पतंजलि thus says here that true विवेक dawns when a योगी does संयम on क्षण and their क्रम, true knowledge of reality born of विवेक arises. And this reality embodies past and future too which is nothing else other than succession of क्षण.

Some inevitable questions do arise from the सूत्र sent today morning. Is पुरुष in a state of continuous creativity (expressed as eternal dance of शिव & पार्वती) where पुरुष is experiencing आनन्द within Itself? Then what is the purpose of this continuous creativity? Some wise man said – “To know Itself better”. Personally, this expression is appealing. In this connection, how the tradition sees the name राम provides an interesting insight into the state of पुरुष too:

1. र-कार signifies चिद्, अ-कार signfies सत् and म-कार signfies आनन्द. Thus, राम stands for सत्-चित्-आनन्द परब्रह्म

2. राम घञ इति राम: – one who pervades everything and everything is in Him is राम

3. In राम, र stands for अग्नि बीज, अग्नि is ब्रह्म in the वेद representing visible aspect of ब्रह्म viz सगुण ब्रह्म, अ standing for निर्गुण ब्रह्म (this is why in the श्रीमद्भगवद्गीता, श्रीकृष्ण says that among अक्षर, He is अ-कार) and म stands for चन्द्रमा बीज being the आनन्द aspect of परब्रह्म and स्वरुप शक्ति (seen as शक्ति बीज or सीता).

There are many more such व्याख्या. Point is, पुरुष is a state where one is blissfull within itself. Then why did an अणु & क्षण come into existence? Is Creation merely an expression of ईश्वर, a सगुण manifestation or does it represent a “descent” from the state of पूर्णत्वम्? And just as we often go out of home to a movie or a restaurant (though there is no need for it), should we see Creation as an objectification of the universe where time, space and objects come about for a specific purpose post which the world folds itself back into its causal matrix? Given that पतंजलि keeps asserting again and again that प्रकृति exists only for the sake of पुरुष, once प्रकृति meets its goal, the physical world will dissolve just like we return home after the movie gets over.

But post this, will another सगुण manifestation come about or will one eternally remain in the state of निर्गुण? Or maybe one remains in निर्गुण स्थिति irrespective of whether सगुण manifestation happens or not? Texts of न्याय दर्शन, ब्रह्मसूत्र, etc should offer more details for those interested in probing further. पतंजलि interest however remains to offer प्रत्यक्ष प्रमाण – direct experience rather than excessive verbal hypothesizing. So once one absorbs the basic ideas on अणु & क्षण from various शास्त्र but simultaneously develops capability to do संयम, one will develop an interesting सिद्धि. This will be conveyed tomorrow.

जातिलक्षणदेशैरन्यतानवच्छेदात् तुल्ययोस्तत: प्रतिपत्ति: ।।५३।।

जाति – species, लक्षण – distinguishing characteristic, देशै: -location, place, अन्यता – difference. अनवच्छेदात् – not separated, तुल्ययो: – of two comparable things, तत: – from this, प्रतिपत्ति – knowledge, ascertainment

As a result of this, there is discernment of two comparable things that are not distinguishable by species, characteristics and location

In 1:40, पतंजलि had indicated that a योगी perception extends to minutest particles of physical reality. How does that come about? व्यास notes that in the unmanifest state of प्रकृति, before the creation of the manifest world, where the गुण are all latent and inactive, there are no distinct material entities, and thus nothing can be discerned. It is from the motion and interaction of the गुण (which we call Time) that matter manifests as a result of which अणु emerge and become perceptible. Thereby, the specific permutations of गुण manifesting in one अणु will differ from those manifesting in another. And thus via संयम, योगी is able to spot the difference in the position of अणु in each object and thus be able to tell the differences between similar objects.

The सूत्र first states the obvious that if one picks up two objects, say a horse & a cow, or two cows or two आमलक फल, one will be able to discern the difference between the two either because they belong to different जाति (like horse and a cow), they may have different लक्षण (like one cow may be moody while another pleasant) or they may be in a different location (like two आमलक फल are of the same जाति and लक्षण but may be distinguishable if they have different locations). But what if someone changes the location of two आमलक फल and asks a योगी whether they are the same as he saw earlier, a योगी who had done संयम on अणु & क्षण will be able to easily spot the difference between the two. This is because since the अणु are always in motion and two अणु cannot occupy the same exact space at the exact same time, योगी can perceive whether the अणु and their क्रम occupying a particular space are the same as those that were there previously, even though the cluster of अणु will be identical in जाति, लक्षण & देश.

तारकं सर्वविषयं सर्वथाविषयं अक्रमं चेति विवेकजं ज्ञानम् ।। ५४।।

तारकं – one who liberates, सर्व – everything, विषयं – object, सर्वथा – everywhere, विषयं – object, अक्रमं – without sequence, च – and, इति – thus, विवेकजं – born of विवेक, ज्ञानम्.

ज्ञान born of discrimination is a liberator; it is everything as its object at all times simultaneously

What we call ज्ञान is fundamentally about विवेक viz the ability to discriminate. And ज्ञान is indeed the तारकं (liberater). And what is the pinnacle of ज्ञान? It is the ability to discriminate between प्रकृति & पुरुष. वेद makes a distinction between परा विद्या & अपरा विद्या and all ज्ञान falling in the domain of प्रकृति is अपरा विद्या. Equally, it is stated that even अपरा विद्या needs to be based on principles of परा विद्या. And only if अपरा is organized that way, it will take us to the परा, else, we will continue to be plagued by dualities and keep ourselves glued to the limited.

तारकं, says व्यास, suggests that the ज्ञान that liberates viz परा विद्या comes as a spontaneous flash of insight and not from teachings of books. विज्ञानभिक्षु says that books consists of words and words are always in generalities while the ज्ञान of a योगी can tell the difference between two identical अणु. योगी here knows everything. Also, past, present and future are perceived without क्रम meaning that past and future are inherent in the present moment. It is this perception which is liberating.

योग प्रदीप, says व्यास, begins with मधुमती state (referred to as मधु भौमिक in III.51 and ends with knowledge born of विवेक. वाचस्पति adds here that योग at मधु भौमिक state causes sweet bliss and hence the word मधु has been used. योग starts with मधु भौमिक state, goes through seven stages mentioned in II.27 encompassing all stages of संप्रज्ञात समाधि and all of these are parts of and lead to the ज्ञान born of विवेक, viz असंप्रज्ञात समाधि

सत्वपुरुषयो: शुद्धिसाम्ये कैवल्यम् इति ।। ५५।।

सत्व – pure intellect, पुरुषयो: – of the पुरुष, शुद्धि – purity, साम्ये – upon becoming equal, कैवल्यम्, इति – thus, it is said

When the purity of intellect is equal to that of पुरुष, कैवल्यम् ensues

कैवल्यम् comes from विवेक. बुद्धि attains the state of शुद्धिसाम्य, meaning, it has become as pure as पुरुष. And since बुद्धि on its own is inert, what is meant here is that बुद्धि now reflects पुरुष perfectly (without limiting factors of रजस् & तमस्). And due to transparency of बुद्धि, there is no more false state or experience attributable to the पुरुष since It can see Itself clearly in its original pure state.

And the ultimate विवेक of distinction between बुद्धि & पुरुष is the last cognitive act of बुद्धि – then बुद्धि ceases to function. In this stage, गुण no longer present themselves as objects to be experienced by पुरुष. With more more external objects of experience, पुरुष is now in a state of कैवल्यम्, aloneness or independent. And since awareness is eternal, and since there is no other object other than Itself of which to be aware, पुरुष now shines freely and purely in Its own light. विज्ञानभिक्षु, as a theist, states that this state entails becoming inseparable with ईश्वर.

व्यास adds that सिद्धि do not bring about कैवल्यम् – it is विवेक alone which enables कैवल्यम्. And once विवेक descends, अविद्या, referred to as अदर्शन, is dispelled. अदर्शन means non-seeing and not seeing the पुरुष or आत्मा is indeed अविद्या. The mind ignoring the पुरुष that animates it is अदर्शन. And this अदर्शन leads to accumulatation of क्लेश, accumulation of कर्म, etc. But with विवेक, दर्शन happens and one attains कैवल्यम् .

इति पतञ्जलिविरचिते योगसूत्रे तृतीयो विभूतिपाद: (thus ends the 3rd section of the योगसूत्र named as विभूति पाद)

We are at the fag end of the योगसूत्र – only 34 सूत्र left which should be concluded in about 17 / 18 days. The last section focuses on कर्म and takes up some more intricate aspects on the mind before ending with कैवल्य. By the end of 2020, you will get कैवल्यम् from me 😊. Let me give a two-day break and then continue after the break. All postings till now have been updated at http://www.adhyatmawritings.com to facilitate ease of reference. Enjoy