The Philosophy of Yoga (Yoga
Sutra 1.40)
By Suneel Sundar
parmanu paramamahattvantah asya vasikarah
"Mastery of contemplation brings the power to extend from the finest
particle to the greatest."
At last! Patanjali has taken the previous seven
sutras describing the various ways that one tames his own
consciousness (citta-vrtti). The methods are cultivating correct
attitudes (I.33), practicing control of the breath (I.34), absorption in a
sacred object (I.35), contemplating one’s own inner light (I.36), reflecting
on and emulating the illumined sages who have walked the earth (I.37),
examining the sleeping mind while awake (I.38), or bringing one’s attention
wholly to any auspicious object (I.39). These means have the same
result. The yogi masters his whims, and puts the intelligent will
to control his consciousness.
Having done so, Patanjali writes in 1.40, the purified mind
may then penetrate deeply to study the smallest atom,
the entire universe, and all in between. Any of these meditations
carry the practitioner to this end. None is wrong, though one
is correct: that which the aspirant practices diligently and
ardently. One cannot hope to control the mind through meditation if
one cannot control the mind in meditation.
Great are the rewards of this practice, and difficult the
journey. Yet the means are varied, and accessible to all.
Paraphrased from:
Light on the Yoga Sutras of
Pantanjali
B.K.S Iyengar
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