Adyar Pamphlets

An Introduction to the Study of Yoga...

No. 170

An Introduction to the Study of Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali

by: George C. Williams
First Appeared as two articles in ol. II of the !heosophical "aga#ine The New California and then pu$lished in a pamphlet form in 1%&'. Pu$lished in 1&(( !heosophical Pu$lishing )ouse* Adyar* +hennai ,"adras- India !he !heosophist .ffice* Adyar* "adras. India !)/.S.P)Y does* in point of fact* preach a new gospel. It has $een re0uired to ad1ance a 1alid reason why the world should discard its accepted rules of li1ing and ta2e up this new one* and the re0uirement has $een fully met. !here is in !heosophy a new gospel* a new rule of conduct* a new hope for humanity. !his new thing is not a new code of morals3 were that all !heosophy could offer* it could offer nothing* for the moral law of 4esus +hrist cannot $e impro1ed upon. It is not the gospel of the $rotherhood of man3 that doctrine has $een the dream of the world for ages 5 !heosophy cannot ma2e it any less a dream. It is not e1en* as many ha1e supposed and asserted* the culti1ation of the psychical powers in man 5 how many* thin2 you* of the weary plodders through this 1ale of tears could $e gi1en new courage $y this 1ery 1ague and ungraspa$le proposition of the psychical powers in man 6 .ne here and one there may $e found who understands* and understanding* desires to possess* $ut in proportion to the great humanity* they are as four7lea1ed clo1ers in a field of grass. No* it is not this3 it is none of these that furnishes the hope and the inspiration.It is a new doctrine 5 a Page !" new gospel* for which the world is only now* for the first time* prepared8 it is the gospel of indi1idual self7de1elopment. !heosophy teaches that man is his own creator 5 a$solutely his own creator. !here is no 9od who will stretch out an omnipotent arm in his $ehalf. !here is no fate sa1e such as he himself decrees. !here is no chosen people. :hate1er we desire to $e that we can $e if we will 5 nothing can hinder. !heosophy says to e1ery man8 ;Place your mar2 upon any pea2 of human greatness 5 the loftiest 5 and* if you will $ut clim$* you shall surely reach the goal<. No empty figure of speech is the e=pression8 ;)e aims too low who aims $eneath the stars<. !he ethereal ne$ulae of infinite wisdom can $e e=plored $y e1eryone of us3 it $ut re0uires that we should learn how to approach the fight. In that most poetical of all things in the /nglish language 5 the fifth act of !he "erchant of enice* >oren#o e=claims to his sweetheart 4essica8 >oo2* how the floor of hea1en Is thic2 inlaid with patines of $right gold3 !here?s not the smallest or$ which thou $ehold?st @ut* in its motion li2e an angel sings3 A A A A Such harmony is in immortal souls3 @ut whilst this muddy 1esture of decay Both grossly close it in* we cannot hear it.< Page #" Page 1

Adyar Pamphlets

An Introduction to the Study of Yoga...

No. 170

Aye* there 1i$rates in each human soul a mighty paeon of immortal wisdom and immortal power* could we $ut listen to its 1oice 5 and we can. It is in the peculiarity of this doctrine of self7de1elopment that !heosophy differs from all creeds. .ther systems of thought say8 <@e 1irtuous* $e good* and an omnipotent Cudge will reward you therefor<. !heosophy says8 ;Wisdom is the all essential thing3 $e 1irtuous* $e good* $ecause 1irtue and goodness assist you to $ecome wise3 $ut remem$er* that no one e1er $ecomes wise simply $y $eing good<. .ther systems say8 ;Dely upon prayer3 rely upon the grace of a higher power<. !heosophy says8 ;In the gathering of wisdom you must rely upon yourself alone<3 it says* that not only can you not gather wisdom from the outside* $ut that such outside assistance* if attempted* would of itself* defeat the 1ery o$Cect sought to $e o$tained. It is not 2nowledge that is re0uired3 it is wisdom. A man may pac2 his head with all that lies $etween the co1ers of all the encyclopedias* and yet $e incapa$le of a single intellectual thought. !he graduate* fresh from the Eni1ersity of +alifornia* has an immensely greater store of 2nowledge than had >eonardo Ba inci* $ut how 1ast is the difference $etween them in the 0uality of mindF !he one has cho2ed his memory with a little uncertain informatIon3 the other had wisdom. Bo not misunderstand me as saying that one should not o$tain 2nowledge3 Page $" 2nowledge is a necessary thing* nay* the road to wisdom is through the gateway of 2nowledge* $ut 2nowledge alone is of no greater use to a man?s true de1elopment than an assortment of pigments would $e to an em$ryo painter who* as yet* has ne1er handled a $rush. !he colours are there* the $rush is there* the can1as is there* $ut the soul of the painter has not $een trained to create the images of $eauty. :hat* after all* is the meat of this 1ast system of philosophy 6 It is* in $rief* this8 !heosophy teaches that the mind functions through three distinct states. First* there is that condition of the mind in which it is presided o1er and controlled $y the emotions. As we desire* as we hope* as we lo1e* as we hate* as we suffer* as we enCoy* so do our minds respond. !hese emotions are the only inspiration for the only $eginnings of our thoughts. .ur thoughts ta2e their rise in them3 are controlled $y them3 are o$scured $y them. +reatures of impulse and of sensation* we are manacled to error as Andromeda was chained to the roc2* and* li2e Andromeda* we are at the mercy of the dragon. !he second and higher state is that in which the mind is not controlled $y the emotions. In this state the mind reasons always from cause to effect* from proposition to proof* from premises to conclusion. Such a mind approaches e1ery su$Cect of contemplation a$solutely uncoloured* uncontrolled and uno$scured $y any emotion. :ith such a Page %" mind* the wish is ne1er father to the thought* $ut the thought is always directed solely to the disco1ery of truth* let that truth $e what it may. Such is the mind of the true philosophy and of the true scientist. )ow 1ast is the difference $etween this sort of mind and one that is a sla1e to the emotionsF )ow great an ad1antage it has in the search after truthF !he one is the mind of a )u=ley or a Spencer3 the other is that of the hod7carrier* content with his treadmill life* or that of him who de1otes all his time and all his energy to the pleasures of sense. @ut* although a mind go1erned $y reason is greater than a mind go1erned $y emotion* it is yet far from $eing a perfect mind. It is still chained to the senses. Sight* hearing* touch* taste and smell are still the gateways to such a mind. It has no other a1enues through which to o$tain information or $y which to recei1e inspiration. It may reason e1er so clearly from premises to conclusion3 $ut suppose the $lundering senses ha1e gi1en it a wrong premise upon which to $ase its reasoning 6 :hat will it do in case the senses do not gi1e it any premises at all 6 Such a mind is still incomplete. It is still su$Cect to limitations. It needs a further li$eration* and that li$erty is found in the third and highest state. Page G

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No. 170

In this highest state the mind is not only not o$scured $y the emotions* nor made su$Cect to the senses* $ut it* in addition* is not compelled to Page &" reason out conclusions. It 2nows directly. It concludes $y intuition. It is almost impossi$le for such as we to understand such a mind. !he only men that I can recall in history who had reached this high mental state were 9autama @uddha* 4esus +hrist* and :illiam Sha2espeare. !hese three minds were not limited $y time nor o$scured $y error. !he whole scheme of !heosophy* then* is to ele1ate the mind from this first condition of emotional and sensational ser1itude in which nearly all of us are $ound* to the third uno$scured* untrammelled condition of 9od7li2e power. !his is the scheme of the present system3 when man2ind has reached that stage* it will then find still further heights to clim$3 there is* perhaps* no end to progress. @ut we ha1e no present concern with such distant speculations. Although !heosophy insists that each man shall achie1e his own sal1ation* it does not lea1e man2ind in a trac2less wilderness without a guide. It points out the way so clearly that none can go astray. It merely insists that each one shall wal2 o1er the road for himself. It says8 ;SeeF yonder mountain top is the goal of your present am$ition. !he trail is there3 it winds plainly to the summit. )ere are charts showing all the difficult places and how to surmount them. )ere are full descriptions of all the sights and sounds and sensations that might lure you from the path. 9o. Start upon Page '" the road. :hen you grow so weary that you can no longer clim$* the sweet and merciful Angel of Beath will come and gi1e you rest for ten thousand years3 and when you awa2en from that long sleep you will ha1e a new and greater power to clim$. You need ne1er $e in one moment?s dou$t as to the way* you will always ha1e the strength to mo1e onward* $ut you cannot ride the Courney upon a sumpter mule3 your own feet must carry you e1ery step and e1ery mile<. !heosophy ad1ances two $road doctrines which show the possi$ility and the practica$ility of this high degree of indi1idual de1elopment. !he first of these is the doctrine of reincarnation3 the second is the doctrine of the septenary constitution of man. !hat this single life is wholly inade0uate to our full de1elopment* and also that there are within our souls higher and still higher powers awaiting that full de1elopment* are $eliefs inherent in the $reast of e1ery man* did he $ut permit himself to loo2 with candour at his own heart. !heosophy teaches that we ha1e not only one* $ut thousands of li1es3 that each life is an ad1ance upon the preceding one3 that where we lea1e off in our self7de1elopment in one life* we $egin the ne=t to that e=tent already de1eloped3 that death is* in 1ery truth* only a larger sleep 5 a sleep stretched from a single night into some thousands of years* and that the only purpose of these many li1es and Page (" these many deaths is ad1ancement. !heosophy teaches that man2ind is composed not only of the physical 5 the matter which we can see and touch* $ut also of si= other su$stances $esides3 that man is* in fact* a 1ery comple= $eing* and contains latent within him powers of the most stupendous sort. It is the purpose of the scheme of life to $ring these powers out. :hat could $e more inspiring than these doctrines 6 :hat greater than the thought that within us are the potentialities of the highest self7de1elopment* and that we shall $e gi1en the opportunities and the time to ma2e these potentialities li1ing facts 6 :hat more inspiring than the thought that some day we shall $ecome as one for whom the mists of ignorance ha1e $een wholly rolled aside3 and that we shall ha1e gained such wisdom as to 2now the truth3 that for us there shall $e no error3 nay* that we shall $e Page (

Adyar Pamphlets
incapa$le of error* as a 9od.

An Introduction to the Study of Yoga...

No. 170

!he whole of theosophical literature* and the whole of occultism* is designed to assist in this self progress. !here is a perfect mass of instruction. !he mind of the neophyte is stupefied with the sea of it. !here are all sorts and conditions of philosophers e=pounding it in all languages and all ages. .ut of the whole of them there is one who stri2es the 2eynote of the wor2 of self7de1elopment. )is name is PatanCali. PatanCali was a )indu sage who li1ed some hundred or two hundred years $efore +hrist. )is Page )" philosophy is one of the most remar2a$le outputs of the human mind* for he shows how a man can* $y ta2ing thought* find out 9od. PatanCali points out how one may* $y indi1idual* unaided* positi1e effort* lift the mind from its de$ased ser1itude to the emotions and the senses* to that almost omnipotent power of 2nowing truth $y intuition. )is system is 1ery simple3 $ut* li2e all e=alted and simple truth* immensely difficult to grasp. PatanCali taught that $y* concentrating the mind upon a single thought* to the e=clusion of all other thoughts* and $y holding the mind upon that thought* you compelled these higher 0ualities of the mind 5 the occult* lofty* hidden 0ualities of the mind* to come to the rescue* so to spea2* and illumine the understanding. )e taught that when one ac0uired this faculty of mental concentration in perfection* it was only necessary to concentrate the mind upon any pro$lem to comprehend it at once. !o concentrate the mind upon a single thought to the total e=clusion of all other thoughts seems* at first glance* a 1ery simple and a 1ery easy thing to do* and yet* I am morally certain* there is not a single reader of this article e0ual to the tas2. It is a mental operation of the most titanic proportions. /=periment and see. Shut yourself up in your room and endea1our to hold your mind to a single thought for half an hour without permitting any other thought to come into your consciousness. You will simply fail. Page *+" I presume that I ought to go more into detail and e=plain more fully what this e=traordinary mental process of concentration actually is. @utt really* when I ha1e said that it is the fastening of the mind upon a single thought to the e=clusion of all other thoughts I ha1e* in point of fact* told the whole story. !o such as ha1e not gi1en this process a careful study* I can merely say that to understand this thing you must attempt to do it* and you must gi1e to the analysis of the process* long and careful attention. I will merely add that it is* $y long odds* the most difficult of all the tas2s to which the human mind can $e put. @ut it will accomplish the desired result3 this is $eyond all 0uestion. It will ele1ate the mind to a state of tremendous power. And it is possi$le to do it. It merely re0uires a great deal of self discipline and a great deal of time in which that self discipline may $e applied. !his time is supplied $y reincarnation. :hat sort of discipline is re0uired 6 I will tell you. It is a discipline calculated to de1elop to the full a certain peculiar power of the mind itself. !he mind is the monarch of man2ind* $ut there is a power $ehind the throne that is the monarch of the mind. !his power is the human will.

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:hat is the will 6 Bid you e1er see2 to analyse* to grasp* to dissect* to understand the human will 6 It is of the mind* and yet it is apart from the mind. It is o$edient to the mind* and yet it is the Page **" master of the mind. !he more I see2 to understand the human will* the further it recedes from my comprehension. I only 2now that it e=ists* and I 2now that it is capa$le of such a mar1elous de1elopment as to set it up as master o1er all the world. !he peculiar great 0uality of the will* which ena$les it to perform these wonders* is its steadfastness 5 its a$ility to hold the mind to one thing unmo1ed. Persistence is the greatest power in nature. You can fiddle down a $ridge if you $ut fiddle long enough upon a single proper note. A constant dropping of water will wear away a stone. Nature and man2ind ali2e yield o$edience to the unchanging mind. "o$ility cannot resist immo$ility. It is in recognition of this truth that the ma=im was coined8 ;/1erything comes to him who waits<. !his su$lime mastery of the human will o1er the human mind is descri$ed $y Sha2espeare $etter than anyone else has succeeded in descri$ing it. Sha2espeare always descri$es things $etter than any other thin2er. In the third act of 4ulius +aesar* in the scene where the Doman Senate headed $y @rutus* as2s that the decree of $anishment against +im$er $e re1o2ed* +aesar replies8 I am constant as the northern star* .f whose true fi=?d and resting 0uality !here is no fellow in the firmament. !he s2ies are painted with unnum$er?d spar2s Page *!" !hey all are fire* and e1eryone doth shine3 @ut there?s $ut one in all doth hold his place3 So in the world3 ?tis furnished well with men* And men are flesh and $lood* and apprehensi1e Yet* in the num$er* I do 2now $ut one* !hat unassaila$le holds on his ran2* Ensha2ed of motion3 and* that I am he* >et me a little show it 5 e1en in this3 !hat I was constant +im$er should $e $anish?d* And constant do remain to 2eep him so.< !he scheme of life* then* is self7de1elopment. !he time for this self7de1elopment is gi1en $y repeated incarnations. !he de1elopment itself consists simply in calling into play those tremendous inner powers latent in e1ery man. !hese great powers are called into life $y the positi1e effort of mental concentration3 and mental concentration* in turn* is only rendered possi$le $y an e=alted de1elopment of the human will. )ow* then* shall the will $e de1eloped 6 AhF this is the root of the whole pro$lem. It is the 0uestion of 0uestions. It is upon this roc2 that all the philosophers ha1e split. !he )indus* after PatanCali had passed away* adopted a negati1e sort of de1elopment. !hey said8 ;Since the emotions o$scure the mind and pre1ent concentration* we will 2ill out the emotions<. !hey did not rise to the su$lime truth that the emotions were meant to $e at once the trainers and the ser1ants of the Page *#" will* $ut they said8 we will 2ill the emotions that the mind may $e uno$scured. !hey adopted a system of li1ing calculated to 2ill the emotions and they succeeded in 2illing 5 themsel1es. For* in all Page H

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truth* what the )indu system of Yoga practices has succeeded in 2illing* is the will power 5 the 0uality of force3 and the a$sence of this will power has caused the decay of the )indu people. In see2ing to e=plain this decadence a great deal has $een said a$out the law of cycles. I do not agree with this e=planation. !he simple truth has $een that the returning /gos* see2ing a further ad1ancement along the lines of a de1eloped will* did not find congenial soil among the )indu people* and turned aside to newer and more heroic nations. I $elie1e* to the $ottom of my soul* that it is possi$le for the American people* if they $ut pursue the proper course of national li1ing* to progress and e1er progress while the solid earth holds this nation here. !o the winds with your fatalistic law of cyclesF !here are no cycles that can resist the power of the human soul. )ow can the will $e de1eloped 6 )ow does the oa2 grow strong 6 @y warring with the rough winds. It is the unresisting grass that the whole world tramples under foot. If you wish to de1elop the will* go out into the world and fight it. Bo you wish to $e master of yourself 6 Arouse* to the 1ery full* all the emotions and Page *$" all the desires that could master you* and then su$due them. I>o1e* hate* hope* enCoy* $e am$itious3 $ut culti1ate the strength to put these emotions aside with a wa1e of the hand. See2 out the most $eautiful temptations 5 and turn your $ac2 upon them. Plunge into the wildest dissipations* and suddenly drop them. Set for yourself a certain goal 5 see2 to do or to $e something8 place the mar2 high up 5 far off* the higher and the farther the $etter3 then set yourself towards reaching it. Ne1er turn aside3 ne1er falter3 ne1er lose courage3 $ut mo1ing always resolutely on* 2eep up the struggle until you grasp success. Ne1er permit another will to o1erride your own. >isten to reason3 $e open to con1iction 5 for stu$$ornness* which is an attri$ute of the emotions and not of the reason* is not will7power 5 $ut ne1er permit what another may thin2* or do or threaten* to ha1e force enough to change your mind. Ne1er yield to that mysterious thing called mental force. :hate1er you do and whate1er you thin2* do it and thin2 it $ecause it is your own Cudgment to do and to thin2 in that particular way. I do not mean that you shall com$at e1erything $lindly* as a $ull would. !he strong oa2 $ends $efore the storm. @ut when the strain is o1er the oa2 springs erect again. So you* appearing to gi1e way* should hold in your heart the uncon0uera$le will which yields not Page *%" at all. )old to one purpose and to one resol1e through years* when all the hori#on shows not a $eam of hope that* that purpose and that resol1e may come to fruition. Bo all of this* not for the sa2e of the results of each particular doing* $ut as a training for the will. Bo it all as an e=ercise* as the pianist plays the scales to ma2e the fingers lim$er. .ut of all this will come mar1elous powers of will. And of it all will come a mar1elous self7 control. !hen* indeed* will you $e a$le to force up out of their hidden ca1erns the latent powers of the mind. !hen* indeed* will you $egin to feel rushing through your soul the first thrillings of that mighty wisdom that shall ma2e you as a 9od. Page *'" AN IN!D.BE+!I.N !. !)/ S!EBY .F Y.9A AP).DIS"S .F PA!AN4A>I .N/ of the most e=traordinary $oo2s in the world is The Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali. PatanCali was a )indu Sage* whose $irth and death are indefinitely fi=ed as occurring some time $etween one hundred Page J

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No. 170

and fi1e hundred years $efore +hrist. !he original manuscript of this little 1olume is* therefore* more than two thousand years old. !his is one of the most remar2a$le $oo2s in the world* $ecause it points out* with infalli$le directness* the means $y which a man may transform himself into a god. I use the word ;9od< in this connection for the reason that it con1eys to our :estern mind* accustomed to the idea of the 4ewish 4eho1ah* a $etter conception of the powers ac0uired through this 2nowledge* than could any other word in the /nglish language* for he who masters the wisdom contained in this little $oo2 contacts the heart of all 2nowledge and o$tains control o1er the hidden forces of nature. Such Page *(" powers we ha1e $een accustomed to $elie1e to $e possessed $y 9od alone. !he 1olume is small. A$out one7third of the space $etween the co1ers is occupied $y an introduction and an appendi=. .f the four chapters into which the $oo2 proper is di1ided* one is* in my opinion* unmista2a$ly an interpolation. +hapter two* or @oo2 two as it is here designated* presents so sharp a contrast to the first* the third and the fourth chapters 5 is so plainly the output of a fee$ler mind* conscious of its own wea2ness and see2ing a way to reach the altitude* of the maCestic sweep of thought of the first and master mind 5 that this chapter could not ha1e come from the same godli2e mental power as did the other three. "uch of the space de1oted to the three genuine chapters is ta2en up with foot7notes* and the type of the te=t proper is large3 so that* in reality* less than half of the contents is the wor2 of PatanCali himself 5 not more than enough to fill half a column of an ordinary newspaper3 and yet* small as the space occupied $y the printed record of this far7reaching wisdom* it might $e still further condensed. It might $e compressed into a single word 5 ;+oncentration<. !here are two processes of the human mind a$out which the maCority of people ha1e the most erroneous conception. .ne of these is mental concentration. !he other is the faculty of dramatic Page *)" construction. !he reason for this is that $oth are occult faculties. !he mind of the true Yogi* and the mind of the true dramatist* perform operations* so unli2e the operations of the ordinary mind* that ordinary minds are una$le to concei1e of the e=istence of such processes* let alone understanding them. @efore e=plaining the nature of concentration* I must first disa$use the reader?s mind of the idea commonly held* as to what concentration is. In the first place the /nglish word ;concentration<* as we understand it* does not descri$e the mental process e=pressed $y the Sans2rit word ;sanyama<. :e choose the word ;concentration< only $ecause it is the $est /nglish word to use. !he word ;restraint< has also $een used3 $ut ;restraint< is e1en a worse translation. "ental concentration* then* does not mean putting thoughts into the mind* it means putting thoughts out of the mind. In $oth ordinary and philosophical language it means single7pointedness* $ut the process of o$taining that single7pointedness* or rather the sort of single7pointedness o$tained* is wholly different when considered from the two standpoints. If we permit the wings of an army to represent thoughts* we would say in ordinary language* that a man concentrated his thoughts* as a general concentrates his army* $y $ringing all the wings together. In occultism* we would say* that concentration is o$tained when the wings are marched off* one $y one* until $ut a single wing Page !+" remained. !o carry the simile further* the su$di1isions of the thought 5 the $rigades* the regiments* the corporal?s guards of this wing Ifor upon a close analysis it will $e found that thoughts ha1e su$di1isionsK should $e dispersed until the Page 7

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indi1isi$le 5 the single pri1ate* remains* $efore perfect concentration is o$taina$le. If* in ordinary language* we say that we concentrate our minds upon a certain pro$lem* we are understood as ta2ing under consideration all the aspects of that pro$lem. In occult language we are understood as ta2ing under consideration a single aspect only. Application is not concentration. !o ha1e concentration one must ha1e application8 $ut one may ha1e a$undance of application without the slightest trace of concentration. .ne may $e a$le to apply the mind to a pro$lem for hours consecuti1ely* and yet not $e a$le to concentrate it upon a pro$lem for a single moment of time. PatanCali defines concentration as ;hindering the modifications of the thin2ing principle<. Pro$a$ly e1eryone has heard or read the e=pression ;thought forms<3 dou$tless $y many this has $een supposed to $e a mere figure of speech 5 a flowery turned sentence* designed to gi1e grace to an otherwise $ald statement8 $ut* indeed* such is not the case. !here are thought7forms* as real and as definite* and occupying space Cust as truly as the physical forms we see and touch3 although* Page !*" to $e sure* they are not so fi=ed and hea1y of motion. :hen we dream* do we not create thought forms6 Are the things the dreamer sees mere nothings 6 Assuredly not. !hey are real. !hey occupy space. !hey are matter3 of an ethereal and attenuated sort* $ut matter ne1ertheless. !hey are matter of the same consistency as the matter composing the mind 5 not the $rain* $ut the mind 5 and they are called into $eing and dispersed $y the $usy mind itself. It is a doctrine of occult science that the mind takes on the form of anything it contemplates. It* in fact* ma2es itself into a counterpart of the thing. For the time $eing* it is the thing on another plane of e=istence. :hen you thin2 of a thing* therefore your mind shapes itself into the form of that thing. :hen you change your thought your mind changes its shape. No matter how rapidly your thoughts change* your mind changes Cust as rapidly. It is $eing continually modified. +ontinually and rapidly indeed* with tremendous rapidity 5 with the rapidity of thought. /1ery moment of wa2ing life* the mind is continually creating hundreds of these thought7forms and continually dispersing them again* ne1er holding one long enough to get ac0uainted with it* so to spea2* $ut instantly supplanting it $y another* and yet another and so on while life lasts. !hese are the modifications of the thin2ing principle. It is for the purpose of hindering these modifications that Page !!" concentration is practised. +oncentration is holding the mind to one form. Suppose the mind instead of constantly creating these millions upon millions of thought7forms* instead of flitting from thought to thought and ne1er resting on anyone* instead of dissipating and scattering its energies upon a multitude of things* instead of ne1er halting long enough to really grasp the meaning of what it is that it is contemplating3 suppose* instead* it should hold one thought7form firmly $efore it* unconfused $y any other* not only an instant* not only a second* not only a minute* $ut an hour* a day. Suppose the mind was so trained $y years* $y li1es of systematic and intelligent direction* as to ena$le it to do this* what would happen then 6 Suppose the mind could shape itself into one shape and 2eep that shape for hours together* what would $e the grand result 6 AhF assuredly* we are now approaching the 1ery mysteries of .ccultism. In order that the reader may easily understand what follows* I shall $e o$liged to recall to his mind certain $asic philosophic teachings and shall assume that he $elie1es them to $e true* or rather that they ha1e $ecome a part of his conscious e=perience. It will $e necessary for me to ma2e a $ald statement of each one of these doctrines so that they may $e fresh in the reader?s memory as we proceed to further e=amine this mar1elous process of the human mind* set forth $y PatanCali* Page !#" for* as yet* I ha1e Page %

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gi1en no ade0uate conception of his meaning and can only do so $y the light of these principles. I shall do no more than merely state them. !here is not a single indi1idual reader who may not* in time* $y mastering and applying the 2nowledge contained in this little $oo2* ele1ate his intellect to the le1el of a :e$ster* a Sha2espeare* a "ahatma* aye* a 9od. I ta2e it* that none are so de1oid of am$ition that they would not de1ote many a long hour* if finally they could $e shown the way to ac0uire this tremendous power. !hat way is surely set forth here. !he first of these doctrines is the doctrine of reincarnation. PatanCali assumes that his pupils accept this law* Cust as a modern astronomer assumes that his pupils accept the law of gra1itation. !he feature to which I wish to specially call attention is the way in which the law of mental progress operates through successi1e reincarnations. !o whate1er e=tent a man de1elops his mind in one life* to Cust that e=tent does he $egin the ne=t with a mind already de1eloped. )is mental training in one life is shown in the ne=t in the shape of results. :hat are the ;$orn< musicians and orators and painters and poets 6 "erely the results of hard wor2 in former incarnations. Not a single effort at mental de1elopment is thrown away. lf you do not see the results in this incarnation you surely will in some following one. Page !$" Another doctrine which PatanCali assumes to $e thoroughly understood and accepted $y his pupils is the doctrine of the uni1ersality of consciousness. Some time ago* !homas A. /dison* the eminent in1entor* surprised the world $y announcing as his $elief that e1ery molecule of matter possessed a consciousness of its own. !he world hailed this announcement as a new theory set forth for the first time $y the wi#ard of the phonograph3 $ut indeed* "r. /dison merely repeated a truth so old that two thousand years ago* PatanCali too2 it for granted that all his pupils 2new all a$out it* and hence he did not go to the trou$le of restating the doctrine. Study the flame in a gas Cet. :hat is it that ma2es the atoms of car$on and the atoms of o=ygen rush together with so fierce a lo1e as to $urst into aflame 6 /=amine a piece of e$ony. :hat is it that ma2es the molecules of matter composing it hang together with so firm a grip* that the $lows of an a=e or the ripping of a saw are necessary to tear them asunder 6 It is consciousness. !he same consciousness which in man in another form ma2es of him an intelligent and a sentient $eing. I will merely call the reader?s attention to certain phases of this doctrine3 assuming that he accepts them* as did the pupils of PatanCali. !he consciousness of the indi1idual man is not the sum of the consciousness of all the molecules composing his $ody. !he indi1idual man has an Page !%" indi1idual consciousness. /ach molecule in a manLs $ody has a consciousness of its own* man* the indi1idual* has a consciousness of his own* yet the one is not the sum of all the others* $ut is a distinct thing. +arry the same thought higher. A community of men has a consciousness of its own* and yet this consciousness is not the sum of the individual consciousness of all men in that community* $ut is distinct in itself. So a nation has a consciousness which is not a sum of all communal consciousnesses* $ut is a distinct national consciousness. So a race has a consciousness of its own* the uni1erse has a consciousness of its own* and a$o1e the consciousness of the uni1erse 5 $ut let us stop. >et us frame this thought in other terms. >et us call consciousness* soul. !hus* then* there is an atomic soul* an indi1idual soul* a national soul* a race soul* a soul of the world* a soul of the uni1erse 5 and here we pause. Suppose there could $e de1ised a process of de1elopment which should so e=pand the indi1idual human consciousness that it would ta2e in all the rest6 Suppose that the indi1idual man should $e a$le to $e conscious not only of that which is telegraphed to him $y his indi1idual senses 5 his eye* his ear 5 $ut Page &

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An Introduction to the Study of Yoga...

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that he should $e conscious of all that the atom is conscious of* of all that e1ery other indi1idual is conscious of* of all that the community is conscious of* of all that the Page !&" nation is conscious of* the race* the world* the uni1erse 6 Suppose that there was a way to so e=pand the mind 5 and there surely is 5 suppose there was such a way* what sort of men would such de1eloped ones $ecome 6 :here is the 2nowledge that could $e withheld from such a mind 6 And yet this is precisely what PatanCali places within the reach of you and me. It is precisely an e=pansion of this sort that is o$tained $y the dramatist* though to a limited e=tent. )e e=pands his consciousness until it is one with the consciousness of an audience. A third doctrine which PatanCali assumes his pupils understand and accept is the doctrine of the septenary constitution of man. I* also* shall assume that you understand and accept this doctrine. It is necessary* howe1er* to freshly call to mind the attri$utes of three of man?s se1en principles. !hese three are the fourth* the fifth and the si=th. !hey are called in Sans2rit the Mama Dupa* the "anas and the @uddhi principles. In /nglish they are termed the animal soul* the human soul and the spiritual soul. !hese three principles constitute the mind. It is through these three principles that man?s indi1idual consciousness functions. !he entire purpose of !heosophy 5 the whole scheme of this occult wisdom 5 this 2nowledge* Cealously guarded through the centuries $y the few* from all $ut the few 5 the a$solute o$Cect of this secret doctrine is to ele1ate the functioning Page !'" of the indi1idual consciousness from the fourth principle* where it now functions in the maCority of man2ind* to the si=th* from the animal soul to the spiritual soul. !his is the thing which will ena$le the indi1idual consciousness to e=pand into the uni1ersal consciousness* and this is the thing which PatanCali teaches us how to do. !he fourth principle 5 or animal soul 5 is the seat of the desires* of the emotions* of lo1e and hate* of pleasure* of pain. :hen consciousness functions through this principle it is o$scured $y these emotions. )ow often do we hear the e=pressionN N!he wish is father to the thought 6 < :ith the maCority of man2ind the wish is always father to the thought* and hence the thought is ne1er un7o$scured. It is ne1er a thought dealing with a$stract truth. It is upon this fourth principle that the dramatist plays. )e appeals to consciousness through the emotions. A play is not addressed to the head* $ut to the heart. !here is this essential point a$out a play* howe1er* which distinguishes it from all other things. It is addressed to the emotional consciousness* not of an indi1idual* $ut of an audience3 which is a 1ery different thing. !he fifth principle. "anas 5 the human soul 5 is the seat of the thin2er. It is that in us which reasons* which argues from cause to effect* from premise to conclusion. :ith an indi1idual who has ele1ated the functioning of his consciousness Page !(" from the fourth to the fifth principle the wish is ne1er father to the thought. )e approaches all su$Cects of contemplation with a mind wholly free from preCudice or desire. )e see2s merely to 2now the truth* regardless of what the truth may $e3 in see2ing the truth his mind is uno$scured. :hat are our )u=leys and our Spencers 6 "erely men who ha1e ele1ated their consciousness from the fourth to the fifth principle. /ach one can do the same. !he si=th principle 5 the spiritual soul 5 has $een called the ;2nower<. :hen the consciousness functions through this principle the mind is no longer o$scured $y the emotions and the senses* nor is it o$liged to o$tain 2nowledge $y the slow and painful process of reasoning from cause to effect. It knows direct. !his process is $est e=pressed $y the word ;intuition<. I ha1e heard intuition defined as the Page 10

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recalling to the mind of 2nowledge ac0uired $y e=periences in former incarnations. !his definition is manifestly incorrect. Such a mental process is not intuition* it is memory. It is a recollection of things stored in the memory $efore this life $egan* $ut it is none the less an effort of the memory. Intuition is the o$taining a truth without the aid of the senses* the reasoning powers or of the memory. It is direct 2nowledge. )ow can such a thing $e 6 !he answer is 1ery plain. @y e=panding the indi1idual consciousness until it ta2es in all consciousness. Page !)" :hen this is done one does not thin2 of the uni1erse* one thin2s with the uni1erse. !his is what results from ele1ating the functioning of consciousness to the si=th principle and this is precisely what PatanCali shows us how to do. A dramatist is a man who has succeeded in so ele1ating his consciousness in respect to one su$Cect* namely* that of dramatic construction. Sha2espeare was unmista2a$ly $orn with his consciousness so ele1ated. Sardou and our own @ronson )oward ha1e succeeded in so ele1ating their consciousness during this life7time. !his mental operation which a dramatist does in fact perform* is to 2now intuiti1ely what effect the lines he is now writing will ha1e* when acted* upon the emotional consciousness of an audience not yet in e=istence. !his 2nowledge must $e a$solutely true. It must $e truth itself8 for if he ma2es a single genuine mista2e in playing upon the emotional consciousness of this audience not yet assem$led* his play is a failure. !his is the reason so few people succeed in writing plays. !he system of philosophy the !heosophical Society is now engaged in spreading $efore the world is called ;occult< largely $ecause the race of Sages* or perhaps I might say "ahatmas* who are the custodians of this splendid wisdom* ha1e $een in the ha$it of gi1ing out only half truths to their pupils* always reser1ing the 2ey to the 2nowledge they imparted* until the chela or pupil was Page #+" surely fitted to recei1e the full and e=alted truth. !he really occult part of this 2nowledge is occult* $ecause it cannot $e understood e=cept $y the de1eloped inner man. It is* in 1ery truth* hidden to the ordinary mind3 $ut the term ;occult< has $een gi1en to the whole scheme of this philosophy for the reason I ha1e mentioned. !he epithet might well $e applied to the information contained in this $oo2. PatanCali has* indeed* followed the custom of his fellow Sages3 and while his aphorisms spea2 fully of concentration and of what concentration will do* they are a$solutely silent as to how to call into $eing the tremendous mental power necessary to the practice of concentration. PatanCali has shown his pupils a certain complicated ma#e in the centre of which is placed e1erything the most am$itious could desire to dream of possessing* and has said to them8 ;@eholdF In the 1ery middle of this la$yrinth are all things necessary to ma2e men great* rich* powerful* immortal and happy. It can $e entered only $y a certain path called +oncentration. !he plan of this pathway you must disco1er for yourself. 9o* find the 2ey to this la$yrinth and all within is yours3 $ut if you find it not* and if you attempt this passage without the 2ey* you shall $e lost in the endless ma#e<. !he )indu people ha1e $een trying for centuries to find a short and easy way through this la$yrinth and they ha1e failed. !hey ha1e made as great a Page #*" failure of it* as our churches ha1e made of the teachings of +hrist. !he practice of the modern Indian Yogi comes a$out as near the practice of PatanCali* as the Spanish In0uisition comes to +hrist healing the sic2. Imagine a man preparing himself to $e transformed into a god $y sitting in a certain position on a $unch of a certain 2ind of grass* drawing the air into his lungs through the left nostril* retaining it in his lungs for a certain time and then letting it out through the right nostril3 $eing careful all the while to mentally repeat the letter ;A< si=teen times while drawing in the $reath through the left nostril* the letter ;E< forty times while holding the $reath in the $ody* and the letter ;"< thirty7two times while e=haling the $reath through the right nostrilF !his is called practicing ;PrOnOyOma<* and is supposed to $e indispensa$le to Page 11

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concentration. PatanCali did not teach these things* neither did +hrist in1ent the thum$7screws of the Spanish In0uisition. !hey are the product of fee$ler minds* the gropings of a degraded people 5 a people hopelessly lost in la$yrinthine error........ !he 2ey to this la$yrinth 5 the open sesame which unloc2s all these powers and e=altations of the human mind 5 is the power of the human will. !o descri$e how the will may $e de1eloped* until it reaches that titanic power necessary to the practice of concentration* would re0uire too much Page #!" space. @ut it can $e so de1eloped $oth $y you and $y me* not in one life perhaps* $ut in the course of se1eral incarnations* each of high endea1our. >et me assume the will to $e so de1eloped* and hasten on to a description of precisely what ta2es place when concentration is practised in the manner set forth $y PatanCali. >et us* in fact* ta2e up a su$Cect for concentration3 one that necessitates calling into play the higher powers of the mind. >et us ta2e one of the su$Cects set $y PatanCali himself. In Aphorism ((* @oo2 (* PatanCali says8 ;@y concentrating his mind upon the Plight in the head?* the ascetic ac0uires the power of seeing di1ine $eings<. I select this Aphorism $ecause the occult part of concentration can $est $e illustrated $y it. !o see di1ine $eings* one must 2now what the ;light in the head; is. !his is precisely what we do not 2now* and it is $ecause we cannot find out in the ordinary way that it furnishes the $est su$Cect for concentration. In a foot7note $eneath this aphorism the translator has endea1oured* in a sort of a way* to e=plain what the )indus $elie1e the light in the head to $e. It is unnecessary for me to trou$le you with this e=planation........ "y own opinion is that this aphorism is another of those half re1ealed truths of which the ancient Sages were so fond* and that the ;light in the head< is not a material thing nor a place* $ut an occult 5 a hidden power of the soul. )ow* then* Page ##" shall we find out the meaning of this e=pression 6 )ow disco1er that which cannot $e disco1ered $y search among manuscripts* nor laid $are $y logic and mathematics 6 )ow* indeed* $ut $y concentration itself 6 If concentration will de1elop the power of direct 2nowledge* then must concentration re1eal to us the meaning of e1erything* whether esoteric or e=oteric. It must re1eal the meaning of the ;light in the head<. >et us concentrate upon ;the light in the head;. :e find that this thought 5 as well as all other thoughts 5 has three su$di1isions. !here is the title 5 the words* the ;light in the head<. Ne=t there is the relati1e 0uality of the thought* i e what relation does the light in the head $ear to all other things 6 :hat part does it ta2e in the whole scheme of the uni1erse 6 )ow is it affected $y* and how does it affect other things* as for instance* the celestial $eings it ena$les us to see. !he third di1ision is the a$stract thought itself* the a$stract thing* ;the light in the head<. :e ta2e our mind then* and fasten it upon this thought to the total e=clusion of all other thoughts. And here $egins our first difficulty3 for* scarcely has the mind settled* so to spea2* well upon thought* than its immediate tendency* engendered $y the ha$its of thousands of li1es* is to fly off to some other thought 5 to permit a modification of the thin2ing principle. @ut we are supposed to ha1e de1eloped our will to the highest degree of power and to ha1e Page #$" had years of training in this wor2 of concentration3 so our mind does not respond to this first wea2 impulse* $ut is held $y the will* without difficulty* to the single thought7form until it has grown steady at the wor2. !hen comes the first great struggle of the will. !he mind has $een firmly held to this thought7form until it has identified itself with it. :e are thin2ing intensely of the ;light in the head<. :e 2now its title. :e are see2ing to grasp what relation it $ears to other things* and we stri1e to o$tain a conception of the a$stract thing itself. !here is one su$di1ision of this thought for which we ha1e no further use 5 the title* Page 1G

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the words* ;!he >ight in the )ead<. !he will now gathers all its force and pushes this useless su$di1ision from the mind so that these words no longer remain in it. !he mind is now thin2ing of a thing without a name. It has gone $eyond the powers of the ordinary mind. It is thin2ing without words. It spea2s to consciousness without a language. AhF now surely do we need our powers of willF !remendous is the struggle to hold the mind to its wor2. /1ery affliction that man can feel or 2now comes thronging to modify the fi=ed mind. Bid we e1er lo1e 6 !hen will that lo1e come $eating against the $arriers of the mind. Bid we e1er hate 6 Bid we e1er feel pleasure* or pain* or Coy* or sorrow 6 Bo we lo1e music* or art* or romantic story 6 )as poetry mo1ed our soul 6 )a1e we Page #%" friends3 ha1e we father* mother* lo1er* sister* $rother* for whom we are concerned6 Is there anything on earth or in the air that interests us 6 Is there anything in our past li1es or in our li1es to come that interests us6 If there $e 5 if these things ha1e life in our $reasts* then will they and the memory of them $eat with frightful $lows upon the $arriers of the mind* shrie2ing for recognition. @ut great as has $een the com$at* a greater is now $efore the splendid undaunted will. !he mind $egins to see that it has no need for the second su$di1ision of the thought 5 the relati1ity of the thing. :hat it needs to 2now is the thing itself. Again the wonderful will ma2es a supreme effort3 this second su$di1ision li2e the first is pushed from the mind* and the last su$di1ision* the a$solutely indi1isi$le thought7form remains. Now* indeed* is perfect concentration had. Now indeed is the mind performing a wor2 heretofore undreamed of $y man. Not only is it thin2ing without a language* $ut also it is thin2ing without a $ase* without a starting point* without a $eginning* without a premise* without preposition* without a reasoning from a cause. It is direct thought. Now* in 1ery truth* does the maCestic will need all its highest power. !he struggles heretofore ha1e $een $ut pastime compared to this. !he strain is enormous. !he clamour and the onslaught of the things which anchor man to earth 5 the emotions* the senses* the lo1es* the Page #&" hates* the pleasures* the pains 5 these things are reinforced $y the in1isi$le $eings into whose realm the am$itious mind is a$out to force its way. )ow can I descri$e their terri$le onslaught 6 )ow can I put in mere finite language things which cannot $e e1en thought in words 6 )ow con1ey through the senses* things which cannot $e percei1ed $y the senses 6 !he tas2 is $eyond my powers. !he intuition latent in the soul of the reader can $est understand the terri$le strain now $earing upon this mind and will. @ut the end is near. !he reward comes li2e a flash of light. All at once a strange power leaps into the mind. !ime and space are annihilated. >imitations are un2nown. +louds $anish from $efore the eyes of the soul3 celestial harmonies thrill the inner senses3 the mind sees all* hears all* understands all. ;!he light in the head< is 2nown.

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