The Project Gutenberg Etext of The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali by Charles

Johnston
Copyright laws are changing all over the world be sure to chec!
the copyright laws for your country before posting these files""
Please ta!e a loo! at the i#portant infor#ation in this header$
%e encourage you to !eep this file on your own dis! !eeping an
electronic path open for the next readers$ &o not re#ove this$
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
by Charles Johnston
'ebruary ())* +Etext ,(-(./
The Project Gutenberg Etext of The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali by Charles
Johnston
000000This file should be na#ed patan*)$txt or patan*)$1ip000000
THE YOGA SUTRAS OF PATANJALI
2The 3oo! of the Spiritual 4an2
5n 6nterpretation 3y
Charles Johnston
3engal Civil Service 7etired8 6ndian Civil Service Sans!rit Pri1e#an8 &ublin
9niversity Sans!rit Pri1e#an
1
INTRODUCTION TO BOOK I
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali are in the#selves exceedingly brief less than
ten pages of large type in the original$ Yet they contain the essence of
practical wisdo# set forth in ad#irable order and detail$
The the#e if the present interpreter be right is the great regeneration the
birth of the spiritual fro# the psychical #an: the sa#e the#e which Paul so
wisely and elo;uently set forth in writing to his disciples in Corinth the the#e
of all #ystics in all lands$
%e thin! of ourselves as living a purely physical life in these #aterial bodies
of ours$ 6n reality we have gone far indeed fro# pure physical life8 for ages
our life has been psychical we have been centred and i##ersed in the
psychic nature$ So#e of the schools of 6ndia say that the psychic nature is as
it were a loo!ing<glass wherein are #irrored the things seen by the physical
eyes and heard by the physical ears$
3ut this is a #agic #irror8 the i#ages re#ain and ta!e a certain life of their
own$ Thus within the psychic real# of our life there grows up an i#aged world
wherein we dwell8 a world of the i#ages of things seen and heard and
therefore a world of #e#ories8 a world also of hopes and desires of fears and
regrets$ 4ental life grows up a#ong these i#ages built on a #easuring and
co#paring on the #assing of i#ages together into general ideas8 on the
abstraction of new notions and i#ages fro# these8 till a new world is built up
within full of desires and hates a#bition envy longing speculation curiosity
self<will self<interest$
The teaching of the East is that all these are true powers overlaid by false
desires8 that though in #anifestation psychical they are in essence spiritual8
that the psychical #an is the veil and prophecy of the spiritual #an$
The purpose of life therefore is the reali1ing of that prophecy8 the unveiling of
the i##ortal #an8 the birth of the spiritual fro# the psychical whereby we
2
enter our divine inheritance and co#e to inhabit Eternity$ This is indeed
salvation the purpose of all true religion in all ti#es$
Patanjali has in #ind the spiritual #an to be born fro# the psychical$ =is
purpose is to set in order the practical #eans for the unveiling and
regeneration and to indicate the fruit the glory and the power of that new
birth$
Through the Sutras of the first boo! Patanjali is concerned with the first great
proble# the e#ergence of the spiritual #an fro# the veils and #eshes of the
psychic nature the #oods and vestures of the #ental and e#otional #an$
>ater will co#e the consideration of the nature and powers of the spiritual
#an once he stands clear of the psychic veils and tra##els and a view of
the real#s in which these new spiritual powers are to be revealed$
5t this point #ay co#e a word of explanation$ 6 have been as!ed why 6 use
the word Sutras for these rules of Patanjali?s syste# when the word
5phoris# has been connected with the# in our #inds for a generation$ The
reason is this: the na#e 5phoris# suggests to #e at least a pithy sentence
of very general application8 a piece of proverbial wisdo# that #ay be ;uoted
in a good #any sets of circu#stance and which will al#ost bear on its face
the evidence of its truth$ 3ut with a Sutra the case is different$ 6t co#es fro#
the sa#e root as the word 2sew2 and #eans indeed a thread suggesting
therefore a close !nit consecutive chain of argu#ent$ @ot only has each
Sutra a definite place in the syste# but further ta!en out of this place it will
be al#ost #eaningless and will by no #eans be self<evident$ So 6 have
thought best to adhere to the original word$ The Sutras of Patanjali are as
closely !nit together as dependent on each other as the propositions of
Euclid and can no #ore be ta!en out of their proper setting$
6n the second part of the first boo! the proble# of the e#ergence of the
spiritual #an is further dealt with$ %e are led to the consideration of the
barriers to his e#ergence of the overco#ing of the barriers and of certain
3
steps and stages in the ascent fro# the ordinary consciousness of practical
life to the finer deeper radiant consciousness of the spiritual #an$
BOOK I
1. OM: Here follow I!"r#$"%o! %! U!%o!.
9nion here as always in the Scriptures of 6ndia #eans union of the individual
soul with the Aversoul8 of the personal consciousness with the &ivine
Consciousness whereby the #ortal beco#es i##ortal and enters the
Eternal$ Therefore salvation is first freedo# fro# sin and the sorrow which
co#es fro# sin and then a divine and eternal well<being wherein the soul
parta!es of the being the wisdo# and glory of God$ Bdiscurs cretin aberantC
&. U!%o!' (%r%"#)l $o!$%o#!e' % *)%!e+ ",ro#*, $o!"rol of ",e
-er)"%le (.$,%$ !)"#re.
The goal is the full consciousness of the spiritual #an illu#ined by the &ivine
>ight$ @othing except the obdurate resistance of the psychic nature !eeps us
bac! fro# the goal$ The psychical powers are spiritual powers run wild
perverted drawn fro# their proper channel$ Therefore our first tas! is to
regain control of this perverted nature to chasten purify and restore the
#isplaced powers$
/. T,e! ",e Seer $o0e "o $o!$%o#!e %! ,% (ro(er !)"#re.
Egotis# is but the perversion of spiritual being$ 5#bition is the inversion of
spiritual power$ Passion is the distortion of love$ The #ortal is the li#itation of
the i##ortal$ %hen these false i#ages give place to true then the spiritual
#an stands forth lu#inous as the sun when the clouds disperse$
1. Here"ofore ",e Seer ,) 2ee! e!0e,e+ %! ",e )$"%-%"%e of ",e
(.$,%$ !)"#re.
The power and life which are the heritage of the spiritual #an have been
caught and en#eshed in psychical activities$ 6nstead of pure being in the
&ivine there has been fretful co#bative egotis# its hand against every
#an$ 6nstead of the light of pure vision there have been restless senses nave
4
been re and i#aginings$ 6nstead of spiritual joy the undivided joy of pure
being there has been self<indulgence of body and #ind$ These are all real
forces but distorted fro# their true nature and goal$ They #ust be extricated
li!e ge#s fro# the #atrix li!e the pith fro# the reed steadily without
destructive violence$ Spiritual powers are to be drawn forth fro# the psychic
#eshes$
3. T,e (.$,%$ )$"%-%"%e )re f%-e4 ",e. )re e%",er #25e$" or !o" #25e$"
"o ",e f%-e ,%!+r)!$e 6Boo7 II' /8.
The psychic nature is built up through the i#age<#a!ing power the
power which lies behind and dwells in #ind< pictures$ These pictures
do not re#ain ;uiescent in the #ind8 they are !inetic restless
sti#ulating to new acts$ Thus the #ind<i#age of an indulgence
suggests and invites to a new indulgence8 the picture of past joy is
fra#ed in regrets or hopes$ 5nd there is the ceaseless play of the
desire to !now to penetrate to the essence of things to classify$ This
too busies itself ceaselessly with the #ind<i#ages$ So that we #ay
classify the activities of the psychic nature thus:
.$ These activities are: Sound intellection unsound intellection
predication sleep #e#ory$
%e have here a list of #ental and e#otional powers8 of powers that
picture and observe and of powers that picture and feel$ 3ut the
power to !now and feel is spiritual and i##ortal$ %hat is needed is
not to destroy it but to raise it fro# the psychical to the spiritual
real#$
D$ The ele#ents of sound intellection are: direct observation inductive
reason and trustworthy testi#ony$
Each of these is a spiritual power thinly veiled$ &irect observation is
the outer#ost for# of the Soul?s pure vision$ 6nductive reason rests on
the great principles of continuity and correspondence8 and these on
5
the supre#e truth that all life is of the Ane$ Trustworthy testi#ony
the sharing of one soul in the wisdo# of another rests on the ulti#ate
oneness of all souls$
E$ 9nsound intellection is false understanding not resting on a
perception of the true nature of things$
%hen the object is not truly perceived when the observation is
inaccurate and faulty$ thought or reasoning based on that #ista!en
perception is of necessity false and unsound$
F$ Predication is carried on through words or thoughts not resting on
an object perceived$
The purpose of this Sutra is to distinguish between the #ental process
of predication and observation induction or testi#ony$ Predication
is the attribution of a ;uality or action to a subject by adding to it a
predicate$ 6n the sentence 2the #an is wise2 2the #an2 is the subject8
2is wise2 is the predicate$ This #ay be si#ply an interplay of thoughts
without the presence of the object thought of8 or the things thought
of #ay be i#aginary or unreal8 while observation induction and
testi#ony always go bac! to an object$
*)$ Sleep is the psychic condition which rests on #ind states all
#aterial things being absent$
6n wa!ing life we have two currents of perception8 an outer current
of physical things seen and heard and perceived8 an inner current of
#ind<i#ages and thoughts$ The outer current ceases in sleep8 the inner
current continues and watching the #ind<i#ages float before the field
of consciousness we 2drea# Even when there are no drea#s there is
still a certain consciousness in sleep so that on wa!ing one says 26
have slept well2 or 26 have slept badly$2
6
**$ 4e#ory is holding to #ind<i#ages of things perceived without
#odifying the#$
=ere as before the #ental power is explained in ter#s of
#ind<i#ages which are the #aterial of which the psychic world is
built Therefore the sages teach that the world of our perception
which is indeed a world of #ind<i#ages is but the wraith or shadow
of the real and everlasting world$ 6n this sense #e#ory is but the
psychical inversion of the spiritual ever<present vision$ That which is
ever before the spiritual eye of the Seer needs not to be re#e#bered$
*($ The control of these psychic activities co#es through the right use
of the will and through ceasing fro# self< indulgence$
6f these psychical powers and energies even such evil things as
passion and hate and fear are but spiritual powers fallen and
perverted how are we to bring about their release and restoration G
Two #eans are presented to us: the awa!ening of the spiritual will
and the purification of #ind and thought$
*H$ The right use of the will is the steady effort to stand in spiritual
being$
%e have thought of ourselves perhaps as creatures #oving upon this
earth rather helpless at the #ercy of stor# and hunger and our
ene#ies$ %e are to thin! of ourselves as i##ortals dwelling in the
>ight enco#passed and sustained by spiritual powers$ The steady
effort to hold this thought will awa!en dor#ant and unreali1ed
powers which will unveil to us the nearness of the Eternal$
*I$ This beco#es a fir# resting<place when followed long
persistently with earnestness$
%e #ust see! spiritual life in confor#ity with the laws of spiritual life
7
with earnestness hu#ility gentle charity which is an ac!nowledg#ent
of the Ane Soul within us all$ Anly through obedience to that shared
>ife through perpetual re#e#brance of our oneness with all &ivine
3eing our nothingness apart fro# &ivine 3eing can we enter our
inheritance$
*-$ Ceasing fro# self<indulgence is con< scious #astery over the thirst
for sensuous pleasure here or hereafter$
7ightly understood the desire for sensation is the desire of being the
distortion of the soul?s eternal life$ The lust of sensual sti#ulus and
excitation rests on the longing to feel one?s life !eenly to gain the
sense of being really alive$ This sense of true life co#es only with the
co#ing of the soul and the soul co#es only in silence after
self<indulgence has been courageously and loyally stilled through
reverence before the co#ing soul$
*.$ The consu##ation of this is freedo# fro# thirst for any #ode of
psychical activity through the establish#ent of the spiritual #an$
6n order to gain a true understanding of this teaching study #ust be
supple#ented by devoted practice faith by wor!s$ The reading of the
words will not avail$ There #ust be a real effort to stand as the Soul
a real ceasing fro# self<indulgence$ %ith this awa!ening of the
spiritual will and purification will co#e at once the growth of the
spiritual #an and our awa!ening consciousness as the spiritual #an8
and this attained in even a s#all degree will help us notably in our
contest$ To hi# that hath shall be given$
*D$ 4editation with an object follows these stages: first exterior
exa#ining then interior judicial action then joy then reali1ation of
individual being$
6n the practice of #editation a beginning #ay be #ade by fixing the
8
attention upon so#e external object such as a sacred i#age or
picture or a part of a boo! of devotion$ 6n the second stage one
passes fro# the outer object to an inner pondering upon its lessons$
The third stage is the inspiration the heightening of the spiritual will
which results fro# this pondering$ The fourth stage is the reali1ation
of one?s spiritual being as en!indled by this #editation$
*E$ 5fter the exercise of the will has stilled the psychic activities
#editation rests only on the fruit of for#er #editations$
6n virtue of continued practice and effort the need of an external
object on which to rest the #editation is outgrown$ 5n interior state
of spiritual consciousness is reached which is called 2the cloud of
things !nowable2 B3oo! 6J (FC$
*F$ Subjective consciousness arising fro# a natural cause is possessed
by those who have laid aside their bodies and been absorbed into
subjective nature$
Those who have died entered the paradise between births are in a
condition rese#bling #editation without an external object$ 3ut in the
fullness of ti#e the seeds of desire in the# will spring up and they
will be born again into this world$
()$ 'or the others there is spiritual consciousness led up to by faith
valour right #indfulness one<pointedness perception$
6t is well to !eep in #ind these steps on the path to illu#ination: faith
velour right #indfulness one<pointedness perception$ @ot one can
be dispensed with8 all #ust be won$ 'irst faith8 and then fro# faith
velour8 fro# va lour right #indfulness8 fro# right #indfulness a
one<pointed aspiration toward the soul8 fro# this perception8 and
finally full vision as the soul$
9
(*$ Spiritual consciousness is nearest to those of !een intense will$
The i#age used is the swift i#petus of the torrent8 the !ingdo# #ust
be ta!en by force$ 'ir# will co#es only through effort8 effort is
inspired by faith$ The great secret is this: it is not enough to have
intuitions8 we #ust act on the#8 we #ust live the#$
(($ The will #ay be wea! or of #iddle strength or intense$
Therefore there is a spiritual consciousness higher than this$ 'or those
of wea! will there is this counsel: to be faithful in obedience to live
the life and thus to strengthen the will to #ore perfect obedience$ The
will is not ours but God?s and we co#e into it only through
obedience$ 5s we enter into the spirit of God we are per#itted to
share the power of God$
=igher than the three stages of the way is the goal the end of the
way$
(H$ Ar spiritual consciousness #ay be gained by ardent service of the
4aster$
6f we thin! of our lives as tas!s laid on us by the 4aster of >ife if we
loo! on all duties as parts of that 4aster?s wor! entrusted to us and
for#ing our life<wor!8 then if we obey pro#ptly loyally sincerely
we shall enter by degrees into the 4aster?s life and share the 4aster?s
power$ Thus we shall be initiated into the spiritual will$
(I$ The 4aster is the spiritual #an who s free fro# hindrances
bondage to wor!s and the fruition and seed of wor!s$
The Soul of the 4aster the >ord is of the sa#e nature as the soul in
us8 but we still bear the burden of #any evils we are in bondage
through our for#er wor!s we are under the do#inance of sorrow$
10
The Soul of the 4aster is free fro# sin and servitude and sorrow$
(-$ 6n the 4aster is the perfect seed of A#niscience$
The Soul of the 4aster is in essence one with the Aversoul and
therefore parta!er of the Aversoul?s all<wisdo# and all<power$ 5ll
spiritual attain#ent rests on this and is possible because the soul and
the Aversoul are Ane$
(.$ =e is the Teacher of all who have gone before since he is not
li#ited by Ti#e$
'ro# the beginning the Aversoul has been the Teacher of all souls
which by their entrance into the Aversoul by reali1ing their oneness
with the Aversoul have inherited the !ingdo# of the >ight$ 'or the
Aversoul is before Ti#e and Ti#e father of all else is one of =is
children$
(D$ =is word is A4$
A4: the sy#bol of the Three in Ane the three worlds in the Soul8 the
three ti#es past present future in Eternity8 the three &ivine Powers
Creation Preservation Transfor#ation in the one 3eing8 the three
essences i##ortality o#niscience joy in the one Spirit$ This is the
%ord the Sy#bol of the 4aster and >ord the perfected Spiritual
4an$
(E$ >et there be soundless repetition of A4 and #editation thereon$
This has #any #eanings in ascending degrees$ There is first the
potency of the word itself as of all words$ Then there is the #anifold
significance of the sy#bol as suggested above$ >astly there is the
spiritual reali1ation of the high essences thus sy#boli1ed$ Thus we rise
step by step to the Eternal$
11
(F$ Thence co#e the awa!ening of interior consciousness and the
re#oval of barriers$
=ere again faith #ust be supple#ented by wor!s the life #ust be led
as well as studied before the full #eaning can be understood$ The
awa!ening of spiritual consciousness can only be understood in
#easure as it is entered$ 6t can only be entered where the conditions
are present: purity of heart and strong aspiration and the resolute
con;uest of each sin$
This however #ay easily be understood: that the recognition of the
three worlds as resting in the Soul leads us to reali1e ourselves and all
life as of the Soul8 that as we dwell not in past present or future but
in the Eternal we beco#e #ore at one with the Eternal8 that as we
view all organi1ation preservation #utation as the wor! of the &ivine
Ane we shall co#e #ore into har#ony with the Ane and thus re#ove
the barrier? in our path toward the >ight$
6n the second part of the first boo! the proble# of the e#ergence of
the spiritual #an is further dealt with$ %e are led to the consideration
of the barriers to his e#ergence of the overco#ing of the barriers
and of certain steps and stages in the ascent fro# the ordinary
consciousness of practical life to the finer deeper radiant
consciousness of the spiritual #an$
H)$ The barriers to interior consciousness which drive the psychic
nature this way and that are these: sic!ness inertia doubt
light#indedness la1iness inte#perance false notions inability to
reach a stage of #editation or to hold it when reached$
%e #ust re#e#ber that we are considering the spiritual #an as
enwrapped and en#eshed by the psychic nature the e#otional and
#ental powers8 and as unable to co#e to clear consciousness unable
12
to stand and see clearly because of the psychic veils of the
personality$ @ine of these are enu#erated and they go pretty
thoroughly into the brute toughness of the psychic nature$
Sic!ness is included rather for its effect on the e#otions and #ind
since bodily infir#ity such as blindness or deafness is no insuperable
barrier to spiritual life and #ay so#eti#es be a help as cutting off
distractions$ 6t will be well for us to ponder over each of these nine
activities thin!ing of each as a psychic state a barrier to the interior
consciousness of the spiritual #an$
H*$ Grieving despondency bodily restless ness the drawing in and
sending forth of the life<breath also contribute to drive the psychic
nature to and fro$
The first two #oods are easily understood$ %e can well see bow a
sodden psychic condition flagrantly opposed to the pure and positive
joy of spiritual life would be a barrier$ The next bodily restlessness
is in a special way the fault of our day and generation$ %hen it is
con;uered #ental restlessness will be half con;uered too$
The next two ter#s concerning the life breath offer so#e difficulty$
The surface #eaning is harsh and irregular breathing8 the deeper
#eaning is a life of harsh and irregular i#pulses$
H($ Steady application to a principle is the way to put a stop to these$
The will which in its pristine state was full of vigour has been
steadily corrupted by self<indulgence the see!ing of #oods and
sensations for sensation?s sa!e$ =ence co#e all the #orbid and sic!ly
#oods of the #ind$ The re#edy is a return to the pristine state of the
will by vigorous positive effort8 or as we are here told by steady
application to a principle$ The principle to which we should thus
steadily apply ourselves should be one arising fro# the reality of
13
spiritual life8 valorous wor! for the soul in others as in ourselves$
HH$ 3y sy#pathy with the happy co#passion for the sorrowful
delight in the holy disregard of the unholy the psychic nature #oves
to gracious peace$
%hen we are wrapped up in ourselves shrouded with the cloa! of our
egotis# absorbed in our pains and bitter thoughts we are not willing
to disturb or strain our own sic!ly #ood by giving !indly sy#pathy to
the happy thus doubling their joy or by showing co#passion for the
sad thus halving their sorrow$ %e refuse to find delight in holy things
and let the #ind brood in sad pessi#is# on unholy things$ 5ll these
evil psychic #oods #ust be con;uered by strong effort of will$ This
rending of the veils will reveal to us so#ething of the grace and peace
which are of the interior consciousness of the spiritual #an$
HI$ Ar peace #ay be reached by the even sending f orth and control
of the life<breath$
=ere again we #ay loo! for a double #eaning: first that even and
;uiet breathing which is a part of the victory over bodily restlessness8
then the even and ;uiet tenor of life without harsh or dissonant
i#pulses which brings stillness to the heart$
H-$ 'aithful persistent application to any object if co#pletely
attained will bind the #ind to steadiness$
%e are still considering how to overco#e the wavering and
perturbation of the psychic nature which #a!e it ;uite unfit to
trans#it the inward consciousness and stillness$ %e are once #ore
told to use the will and to train it by steady and persistent wor!: by
2sitting close2 to our wor! in the phrase of the original$
H.$ 5s also will a joyful radiant spirit$
14
There is no such illusion as gloo#y pessi#is# and it has been truly
said that a #an?s cheerfulness is the #easure of his faith$ Gloo#
despondency the pale cast of thought are very a#enable to the will$
Sturdy and courageous effort will bring a clear and valorous #ind$
3ut it #ust always be re#e#bered that this is not for solace to the
personal #an but is rather an offering to the ideal of spiritual life a
contribution to the universal and universally shared treasure in heaven$
HD$ Ar the purging of self<indulgence fro# the psychic nature$
%e #ust recogni1e that the fall of #an is a reality exe#plified in our
own persons$ %e have ;uite other sins than the ani#als and far #ore
deleterious8 and they have all co#e through self<indulgence with
which our psychic natures are soa!ed through and through$ 5s we
cli#bed down hill for our pleasure so #ust we cli#b up again for our
purification and restoration to our for#er high estate$ The process is
painful perhaps yet indispensable$
HE$ Ar a pondering on the perceptions gained in drea#s and drea#less
sleep$
'or the Eastern sages drea#s are it is true #ade up of i#ages of
wa!ing life reflections of what the eyes have seen and the ears heard$
3ut drea#s are so#ething #ore for the i#ages are in a sense real
objective on their own plane8 and the !nowledge that there is another
world even a drea#<world lightens the tyranny of #aterial life$ 4uch
of poetry and art is such a solace fro# drea#land$ 3ut there is #ore
in drea# for it #ay i#age what is above as well as what is below8 not
only the children of #en but also the children by the shore of the
i##ortal sea that brought us hither #ay throw their i#ages on this
#agic #irror: so too of the secrets of drea#less sleep with its pure
vision in even greater degree$
15
HF$ Ar #editative brooding on what is dearest to the heart$
=ere is a thought which our own day is beginning to grasp: that love
is a for# of !nowledge8 that we truly !now any thing or any person
by beco#ing one therewith in love$ Thus love has a wisdo# that the
#ind cannot clai# and by this hearty love this beco#ing one with
what is beyond our personal borders we #ay ta!e a long step toward
freedo#$ Two directions for this #ay be suggested: the pure love of
the artist for his wor! and the earnest co#passionate search into the
hearts of others$
I)$ Thus he #asters all fro# the ato# to the 6nfinite$
@ewton was as!ed how he #ade his discoveries$ 3y intending #y
#ind on the# he replied$ This steady pressure this beco#ing one
with what we see! to understand whether it be ato# or soul is the
one #eans to !now$ %hen we beco#e a thing we really !now it not
otherwise$ Therefore live the life to !now the doctrine8 do the will of
the 'ather if you would !now the 'ather$
I*$ %hen the perturbations of the psychic nature have all been stilled
then the consciousness li!e a pure crystal ta!es the colour of what it
rests on whether that be the perceiver perceiving or the thing
perceived$
This is a fuller expression of the last Sutra and is so lucid that
co##ent can hardly add to it$ Everything is either perceiver
perceiving or the thing perceived8 or as we #ight say consciousness
force or #atter$ The sage tells us that the one !ey will unloc! the
secrets of all three the secrets of consciousness force and #atter
ali!e$ The thought is that the cordial sy#pathy of a gentle heart
intuitively understanding the hearts of others is really a #anifestation
of the sa#e power as that penetrating perception whereby one divines
the secrets of planetary #otions or ato#ic structure$
16
I($ %hen the consciousness poised in perceiving blends together the
na#e the object dwelt on and the idea this is perception with exterior
consideration$
6n the first stage of the consideration of an external object the
perceiving #ind co#es to it preoccupied by the na#e and idea
conventionally associated with that object$ 'or exa#ple in co#ing to
the study of a boo! we thin! of the author his period the school to
which he belongs$ The second stage set forth in the next Sutra goes
directly to the spiritual #eaning of the boo! setting its traditional
trappings aside and finding its application to our own experience and
proble#s$
The co##entator ta!es a very si#ple illustration: a cow where one
considers in the first stage the na#e of the cow the ani#al itself and
the idea of a cow in the #ind$ 6n the second stage one pushes these
trappings aside and entering into the in#ost being of the cow shares
its consciousness as do so#e of the artists who paint cows$ They get
at the very life of what they study and paint$
IH$ %hen the object dwells in the #ind clear of #e#ory<pictures
uncoloured by the #ind as a pure lu#inous idea this is perception
without exterior or consideration$
%e are still considering external visible objects$ Such perception as
is here described is of the nature of that penetrating vision whereby
@ewton intending his #ind on things #ade his discoveries or that
whereby a really great portrait painter pierces to the soul of hi# who#
he paints and #a!es that soul live on canvas$ These stages of
perception are described in this way to lead the #ind up to an
understanding of the piercing soul<vision of the spiritual #an the
i##ortal$
17
II$ The sa#e two steps when referring to things of finer substance
are said to be with or without judicial action of the #ind$
%e now co#e to #ental or psychical objects: to i#ages in the #ind$
6t is precisely by co#paring arranging and superposing these
#ind<i#ages that we get our general notions or concepts$ This
process of analysis and synthesis whereby we select certain ;ualities
in a group of #ind<i#ages and then range together those of li!e
;uality is the judicial action of the #ind spo!en of$ 3ut when we
exercise swift divination upon the #ind i#ages as does a poet or a
#an of genius$ then we use a power higher than the judicial and one
nearer to the !een vision of the spiritual #an$
I-$ Subtle substance rises in ascending degrees to that pure nature
which has no distinguishing #ar!$
5s we ascend fro# outer #aterial things which are per#eated by
separateness and whose chief characteristic is to be separate just as
so #any pebbles are separate fro# each other8 as we ascend first to
#ind<i#ages which overlap and coalesce in both space and ti#e and
then to ideas and principles we finally co#e to purer essences
drawing ever nearer and nearer to unity$
Ar we #ay illustrate this principle thus$ Aur bodily external selves are
;uite distinct and separate in for# na#e place substance8 our
#ental selves of finer substance #eet and part #eet and part again
in perpetual concussion and interchange8 our spiritual selves attain
true consciousness through unity where the partition wall between us
and the =ighest between us and others is bro!en down and we are
all #ade perfect in the Ane$ The highest riches are possessed by all
pure souls only when united$ Thus we rise fro# separation to true
individuality in unity$
I.$ The above are the degrees of li#ited and conditioned spiritual
18
consciousness still containing the seed of separateness$
6n the four stages of perception above described the spiritual vision
is still wor!ing through the #ental and psychical the inner genius is
still expressed through the outer personal #an$ The spiritual #an has
yet to co#e co#pletely to consciousness as hi#self in his own real#
the psychical veils laid aside$
ID$ %hen pure perception without judicial action of the #ind is
reached there follows the gracious peace of the inner self$
%e have instanced certain types of this pure perception: the poet?s
divination whereby he sees the spirit within the sy#bol li!eness in
things unli!e and beauty in all things8 the pure insight of the true
philosopher whose vision rests not on the appearances of life but on
its realities8 or the saint?s fir# perception of spiritual life and being$ 5ll
these are far advanced on the way8 they have drawn near to the secret
dwelling of peace$
IE$ 6n that peace perception is unfailingly true$
The poet the wise philosopher and the saint not only reach a wide and
lu#inous consciousness but they gain certain !nowledge of
substantial reality$ %hen we !now we !now that we !now$ 'or we
have co#e to the stage where we !now things by being the# and
nothing can be #ore true than being$ %e rest on the roc! and !now
it to be roc! rooted in the very heart of the world$
IF$ The object of this perception is other than what is learned fro# the
sacred boo!s or by sound inference since this perception is
particular$
The distinction is a lu#inous and inspiring one$ The Scriptures teach
general truths concerning universal spiritual life and broad laws and
19
inference fro# their teaching is not less general$ 3ut the spiritual
perception of the awa!ened Seer brings particular truth concerning his
own particular life and needs whether these be for hi#self or others$
=e receives defined precise !nowledge exactly applying to what he
has at heart$
-)$ The i#press on the consciousness springing fro# this perception
supersedes all previous i#pressions$
Each state or field of the #ind each field of !nowledge so to spea!
which is reached by #ental and e#otional energies is a psychical
state just as the #ind picture of a stage with the actors on it is a
psychical state or field$ %hen the pure vision as of the poet the
philosopher the saint fills the whole field all lesser views and visions
are crowded out$ This high consciousness displaces all lesser
consciousness$ Yet in a certain sense that which is viewed as part
even by the vision of a sage has still an ele#ent of illusion a thin
psychical veil however pure and lu#inous that veil #ay be$ 6t is the
last and highest psychic state$
-*$ %hen this i#pression ceases then since all i#pressions have
ceased there arises pure spiritual consciousness with no seed of
separateness left$
The last psychic veil is drawn aside and the spiritual #an stands with
unveiled vision pure serene$
6@T7A&9CT6A@ TA 3AAK 66
The first boo! of Patanjali?s Yoga Sutras is called the 3oo! of
Spiritual Consciousness$ The second boo! which we now begin is
the 3oo! of the 4eans of Soul Growth$ 5nd we #ust re#e#ber that
soul growth here #eans the growth of the reali1ation of the spiritual
#an or to put the #atter #ore briefly the growth of the spiritual
20
#an and the disentangling of the spiritual #an fro# the wrappings
the veils the disguises laid upon hi# by the #ind and the psychical
nature wherein he is en#eshed li!e a bird caught in a net
The ;uestion arises: 3y what #eans #ay the spiritual #an be freed
fro# these psychical #eshes and disguises so that he #ay stand forth
above death in his radiant eternalness and divine powerG 5nd the
second boo! sets itself to answer this very ;uestion and to detail the
#eans in a way entirely practical and very lucid so that he who runs
#ay read and he who reads #ay understand and practise$
The second part of the second boo! is concerned with practical
spiritual training that is with the earlier practical training of the
spiritual #an$
The #ost stri!ing thing in it is the e#phasis laid on the
Co##and#ents which are precisely those of the latter part of the
&ecalogue together with obedience to the 4aster$ Aur day and
generation is far too prone to fancy that there can be #ystical life and
growth on so#e other foundation on the foundation for exa#ple of
intellectual curiosity or psychical selfishness$ 6n reality on this latter
foundation the life of the spiritual #an can never be built8 nor indeed
anything but a psychic counterfeit a dangerous delusion$
Therefore Patanjali li!e every great spiritual teacher #eets the
;uestion: %hat #ust 6 do to be savedG with the age< old answer: Keep
the Co##and#ents$ Anly after the disciple can say These have 6
!ept can there be the further and finer teaching of the spiritual 7ules$
6t is therefore vital for us to reali1e that the Yoga syste# li!e every
true syste# of spiritual teaching rests on this broad and fir#
foundation of honesty truth cleanness obedience$ %ithout these
there is no salvation8 and he who practices these even though
ignorant of spiritual things is laying up treas< against the ti#e to
21
co#e$
3AAK 66
*$ The practices which #a!e for union with the Soul are: fervent
aspiration spiritual reading and co#plete obedience to the 4aster$
The word which 6 have rendered 2fervent aspiration? #eans pri#arily
2fire28 and in the Eastern teaching it #eans the fire which gives life
and light and at the sa#e ti#e the fire which purifies$ %e have
therefore as our first practice as the first of the #eans of spiritual
growth that fiery ;uality of the will which en!indles and illu#ines
and at the sa#e ti#e the steady practice of purification the burning
away of all !nown i#purities$ Spiritual reading is so universally
accepted and understood that it needs no co##ent$ The very study
of Patanjali?s Sutras is an exercise in spiritual reading and a very
effective one$ 5nd so with all other boo!s of the Soul$ Abedience to
the 4aster #eans that we shall #a!e the will of the 4aster our will
and shall confir# in all wave to the will of the &ivine setting aside the
wills of self which are but psychic distortions of the one &ivine %ill$
The constant effort to obey in all the ways we !now and understand
will reveal new ways and new tas!s the evidence of new growth of
the Soul$ @othing will do #ore for the spiritual #an in us than this for
there is no such regenerating power as the awa!ening spiritual will$
($ Their ai# is to bring soul<vision and to wear away hindrances$
The ai# of fervour spiritual reading and obedience to the 4aster is
to bring soulvision and to wear away hindrances$ Ar to use the
phrase we have already adopted the ai# of these practices is to help
the spiritual #an to open his eyes8 to help hi# also to throw aside the
veils and disguises the en#eshing psychic nets which surround hi#
tying his hands as it were and bandaging his eyes$ 5nd this as all
teachers testify is a long and arduous tas! a steady up<hill fight
22
de#anding fine courage and persistent toil$ 'ervour the fire of the
spiritual will is as we said two<fold: it illu#ines and so helps the
spiritual #an to see8 and it also burns up the nets and #eshes which
ensnare the spiritual #an$ So with the other #eans spiritual reading
and obedience$ Each in its action is two<fold wearing away the
psychical and upbuilding the spiritual #an$
H$ These are the hindrances: the dar!ness of unwisdo# self<assertion
lust hate attach#ent$
>et us try to translate this into ter#s of the psychical and spiritual
#an$ The dar!ness of unwisdo# is pri#arily the self<absorption of
the psychical #an his co#plete preoccupation with his own hopes and
fears plans and purposes sensations and desires8 so that he fails to
see or refuses to see that there is a spiritual #an8 and so doggedly
resists all efforts of the spiritual #an to cast off his psychic tyrant and
set hi#self free$ This is the real dar!ness8 and all those who deny the
i##ortality of the soul or deny the soul?s existence and so lay out
their lives wholly for the psychical #ortal #an and his a#bitions are
under this power of dar!ness$ 3orn of this dar!ness this psychic self<
absorption is the dogged conviction that the psychic personal #an
has separate exclusive interests which he can follow for hi#self
alone8 and this conviction when put into practice in our life leads to
contest with other personalities and so to hate$ This hate again
#a!es against the spiritual #an since it hinders the revelation of the
high har#ony between the spiritual #an and his other selves a
har#ony to be revealed only through the practice of love that perfect
love which casts out fear$
6n li!e #anner lust is the psychic #an?s craving for the sti#ulus of
sensation the din of which s#others the voice of the spiritual #an as
in Sha!espeare?s phrase the cac!ling geese would drown the song of
the nightingale$ 5nd this craving for sti#ulus is the fruit of wea!ness
co#ing fro# the failure to find strength in the pri#al life of the
23
spiritual #an$
5ttach#ent is but another na#e for psychic self<absorption8 for we are
absorbed not in outward things but rather in their i#ages within our
#inds8 our inner eyes are fixed on the#8 our inner desires brood over
the#8 and e# we blind ourselves to the presence of the prisoner? the
en#eshed and fettered spiritual #an$
I$ The dar!ness of unwisdo# is the field of the others$ These
hindrances #ay be dor#ant or worn thin or suspended or expanded$
=ere we have really two Sutras in one$ The first has been explained
already: in the dar!ness of unwisdo# grow the parasites hate lust
attach#ent$ They are all outgrowths of the self<absorption of the
psychical self$
@ext we are told that these barriers #ay be either dor#ant or
suspended or expanded or worn thin$ 'aults which are dor#ant will
be brought out through the pressure of life or through the pressure of
strong aspiration$ Thus expanded they #ust be fought and con;uered
or as Patanjali ;uaintly says they #ust be worn thin<as a veil #ight
or the lin!s of #anacles$
- The dar!ness of ignorance is: holding that which is unenduring
i#pure full of pain not the Soul to be eternal pure full of joy the
Soul$
This we have really considered already$ The psychic #an is
unenduring i#pure full of pain not the Soul not the real Self$ The
spiritual #an is enduring pure full of joy the real Self$ The dar!ness
of unwisdo# is therefore the self<absorption of the psychical
personal #an to the exclusion of the spiritual #an$ 6t is the belief
carried into action that the personal #an is the real #an the #an for
who# we should toil for who# we should build for who# we should
24
live$ This is that psychical #an of who# it is said: he that soweth to
the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption$
.$ Self <assertion co#es f ro# thin!ing of the Seer and the instru#ent
of vision as for#ing one self$
This is the funda#ental idea of the San!hya philosophy of which the
Yoga is avowedly the practical side$ To translate this into our ter#s
we #ay say that the Seer is the spiritual #an8 the instru#ent of vision
is the psychical #an through which the spiritual #an gains experience
of the outer world$ 3ut we turn the servant into the #aster$ %e
attribute to the psychical #an the personal self a reality which really
belongs to the spiritual #an alone8 and so thin!ing of the ;uality of
the spiritual #an as belonging to the psychical we #erge the spiritual
#an in the psychical8 or as the text says we thin! of the two as
for#ing one self$
D$ >ust is the resting in the sense of enjoy#ent$
This has been explained again and again$ Sensation as for exa#ple
the sense of taste is #eant to be the guide to action8 in this case the
choice of wholeso#e food and the avoidance of poisonous and
hurtful things$ 3ut if we rest in the sense of taste as a pleasure in
itself8 rest that is in the psychical side of taste we fall into gluttony
and live to eat instead of eating to live$ So with the other great
organic power the power of reproduction$ This lust co#es into being
through resting in the sensation and loo!ing for pleasure fro# that$
E$ =ate is the resting in the sense of pain$
Pain co#es for the #ost part fro# the strife of personalities the
jarring discords between psychic selves each of which dee#s itself
supre#e$ 5 dwelling on this pain breeds hate which tears the warring
selves yet further asunder and puts new en#ity between the# thus
25
hindering the har#ony of the 7eal the reconciliation through the
Soul$
F$ 5ttach#ent is the desire toward life even in the wise carried
forward by its own energy$
The life here desired is the psychic life the intensely vibrating life of
the psychical self$ This prevails even in those who have attained #uch
wisdo# so long as it falls short of the wisdo# of co#plete
renunciation co#plete obedience to each least behest of the spiritual
#an and of the 4aster who guards and aids the spiritual #an$
The desire of sensation the desire of psychic life reproduces itself
carried on by its own energy and #o#entu#8 and hence co#es the
circle of death and rebirth death and rebirth instead of the liberation
of the spiritual #an$
*)$ These hindrances when they have beco#e subtle are to be
re#oved by a countercurrent
The dar!ness of unwisdo# is to be re#oved by the light of wisdo#
pursued through fervour spiritual reading of holy teachings and of life
itself and by obedience to the 4aster$
>ust is to be re#oved by pure aspiration of spiritual life which
bringing true strength and stability ta!es away the void of wea!ness
which we try to fill by the sti#ulus of sensations$
=ate is to be overco#e by love$ The fear that arises through the sense
of separate warring selves is to be stilled by the reali1ation of the Ane
Self the one soul in all$ This reali1ation is the perfect love that casts
out fear$
The hindrances are said to have beco#e subtle when by initial efforts
26
they have been located and recogni1ed in the psychic nature$
**$ Their active turnings are to be re#oved by #editation$
=ere is in truth the whole secret of Yoga the science of the soul$
The active turnings the strident vibrations of selfishness lust and hate
are to be stilled by #editation by letting heart and #ind dwell in
spiritual life by lifting up the heart to the strong silent life above
which rests in the stillness of eternal love and needs no harsh
vibration to convince it of true being$
*($ The burden of bondage to sorrow has its root in these hindrances$
6t will be felt in this life or in a life not yet #anifested$
The burden of bondage to sorrow has its root in the dar!ness of
unwisdo# in selfishness in lust in hate in attach#ent to sensation$
5ll these are in the last analysis absorption in the psychical self8 and
this #eans sorrow because it #eans the sense of separateness and
this #eans jarring discord and inevitable death$ 3ut the psychical self
will breed a new psychical self in a new birth and so new sorrows in
a life not yet #anifest$
*H$ 'ro# this root there grow and ripen the fruits of birth of the
life<span of all that is tasted in life$
'ully to co##ent on this would be to write a treatise on Kar#a and
its practical wor!ing in detail whereby the place and ti#e of the next
birth its content and duration$ are deter#ined8 and to do this the
present co##entator is in no wise fitted$ 3ut this #uch is clearly
understood: that through a !ind of spiritual gravitation the
incarnating self is drawn to a ho#e and life<circle which will give it
scope and discipline8 and its need of discipline is clearly conditioned
by its character its standing its acco#plish#ent$
27
*I$ These bear fruits of rejoicing or of affliction as they are sprung
fro# holy or unholy wor!s$
Since holiness is obedience to divine law to the law of divine
har#ony and obedience to har#ony strengthens that har#ony in the
soul which is the one true joy therefore joy co#es of holiness:
co#es indeed in no other way$ 5nd as unholiness is disobedience
and therefore discord therefore unholiness #a!es for pain8 and this
two<fold law is true whether the cause ta!e effect in this or in a yet
un#anifested birth$
*-$ To hi# who possesses discern#ent all personal life is #isery
because it ever waxes and wanes is ever afflicted with restlessness
#a!es ever new dyna#ic i#presses in the #ind8 and because all its
activities war with each other$
The whole life of the psychic self is #isery because it ever waxes and
wanes8 because birth brings inevitable death8 because there is no
expectation without its shadow fear$ The life of the psychic self is
#isery because it is afflicted with restlessness8 so that he who has
#uch finds not satisfaction but rather the whetted hunger for #ore$
The fire is not ;uenched by pouring oil on it8 so desire is not ;uenched
by the satisfaction of desire$ 5gain the life of the psychic self is
#isery because it #a!es ever new dyna#ic i#presses in the #ind8
because a desire satisfied is but the seed fro# which springs the desire
to find li!e satisfaction again$ The appetite co#es in eating as the
proverb says and grows by what it feeds on$ 5nd the psychic self
torn with conflicting desires is ever the house divided against itself
which #ust surely fall$
*.$ This pain is to be warded off before it has co#e$
6n other words we cannot cure the pains of life by laying on the# any
bal#$ %e #ust cut the root absorption in the psychical self$ So it is
28
said there is no cure for the #isery of longing but to fix the heart
upon the eternal$
*D$ The cause of what is to be warded off is the absorption of the
Seer in things seen$
=ere again we have the funda#ental idea of the San!hya which is the
intellectual counterpart of the Yoga syste#$ The cause of what is to
be warded off the root of #isery is the absorption of consciousness
in the psychical #an and the things which beguile the psychical #an$
The cure is liberation$
*E$ Things seen have as their property #anifestation action inertia$
They for# the basis of the ele#ents and the sense<powers$ They #a!e
for experience and for liberation$
=ere is a whole philosophy of life$ Things seen the total of the
pheno#ena/ possess as their property #anifestation action inertia:
the ;ualities of force and #atter in co#bination$ These in their
grosser for# #a!e the #aterial world8 in their finer #ore subjective
for# they #a!e the psychical world the world of sense<i#pressions
and #ind<i#ages$ 5nd through this totality of the pheno#enal the
soul gains experience and is prepared for liberation$ 6n other words
the whole outer world exists for the purposes of the soul and finds in
this its true reason for being$
*F$ The grades or layers of the Three Potencies are the defined the
undefined that with distinctive #ar! that without distinctive #ar!$
Ar as we #ight say there are two strata of the physical and two
strata of the psychical real#s$ 6n each there is the side of for# and
the side of force$ The for# side of the physical is here called the
defined$ The force side of the physical is the undefined that which has
no boundaries$ So in the psychical8 there is the for# side8 that with
29
distinctive #ar!s such as the characteristic features of #ind<i#ages8
and there is the force side without distinctive #ar!s such as the
forces of desire or fear which #ay flow now to this #ind<i#age now
to that$
()$ The Seer is pure vision$ Though pure he loo!s out through the
vesture of the #ind$
The Seer as always is the spiritual #an whose deepest consciousness
is pure vision the pure life of the eternal$ 3ut the spiritual #an as yet
unseeing in his proper person loo!s out on the world through the eyes
of the psychical #an by who# he is enfolded and en#eshed$ The tas!
is to set this prisoner free to clear the dust of ages fro# this buried
te#ple$
(*$ The very essence of things seen is that they exist for the Seer$
The things of outer life not only #aterial things but the psychic #an
also exist in very deed for the purposes of the Seer the Soul the
spiritual #an &isaster co#es when the psychical #an sets up so to
spea! on his own account trying to live for hi#self alone and ta!ing
#aterial things to solace his loneliness$
(($ Though fallen away fro# hi# who has reached the goal things
seen have not alto fallen away since they still exist for others$
%hen one of us con;uers hate hate does not thereby cease out of the
world since others still hate and suffer hatred$ So with other
delusions which hold us in bondage to #aterial things and through
which we loo! at all #aterial things$ %hen the coloured veil of illusion
is gone the world which we saw through it is also gone for now we
see life as it is in the white radiance of eternity$ 3ut for others the
coloured veil re#ains and therefore the world thus coloured by it
re#ains for the# and will re#ain till they too con;uer delusion$
30
(H$ The association of the Seer with things seen is the cause of the
reali1ing of the nature of things seen and also of the reali1ing of the
nature of the Seer$
>ife is educative$ 5ll life?s infinite variety is for discipline for the
develop#ent of the soul$ So passing through #any lives the Soul
learns the secrets of the world the august laws that are written in the
for# of the snow<crystal or the #ajestic order of the stars$ Yet all
these laws are but reflections but projections outward of the laws of
the soul8 therefore in learning these the soul learns to !now itself$ 5ll
life is but the #irror wherein the Soul learns to !now its own face$
(I$ The cause of this association is the dar!ness of unwisdo#$
The dar!ness of unwisdo# is the absorption of consciousness in the
personal life and in the things seen by the personal life$ This is the fall
through which co#es experience the learning of the lessons of life$
%hen they are learned the day of rede#ption is at hand$
(-$ The bringing of this association to an end by bringing the
dar!ness of unwisdo# to an end is the great liberation8 this is the
Seer?s attain#ent of his own pure being$
%hen the spiritual #an has through the psychical learned all life?s
lessons the ti#e has co#e for hi# to put off the veil and disguise of
the psychical and to stand revealed a King in the house of the 'ather$
So shall he enter into his !ingdo# and go no #ore out$
(.$ 5 discerning which is carried on without wavering is the #eans of
liberation$
=ere we co#e close to the pure Jedanta with its discern#ent
between the eternal and the te#poral$ St$ Paul following after Philo
31
and Plato lays down the sa#e funda#ental principle: the things seen
are te#poral the things unseen are eternal$
Patanjali #eans so#ething #ore than an intellectual assent though
this too is vital$ =e has in view a constant discri#inating in act as well
as thought8 of the two ways which present the#selves for every deed
or choice always to choose the higher way that which #a!es for the
things eternal: honesty rather than roguery courage and not
cowardice the things of another rather than one?s own sacrifice and
not indulgence$ This true discern#ent carried out constantly #a!es
for liberation$
(D$ =is illu#inations is sevenfold rising 6n successive stages$
Patanjali?s text does not tell us what the seven stages of this
illu#ination are$ The co##entator thus describes the#8
'irst the danger to be escaped is recogni1ed8 it need not be
recogni1ed a second ti#e$ Second the causes of the danger to be
escaped are worn away8 they need not be worn away a second ti#e$
Third the way of escape is clearly perceived by the conte#plation
which chec!s psychic perturbation$ 'ourth the #eans of escape clear
discern#ent has been developed$ This is the fourfold release
belonging to insight$ The final release fro# the psychic is three<fold:
5s fifth of the seven degrees the do#inance of its thin!ing is ended8
as sixth its potencies li!e roc!s fro# a precipice fall of the#selves8
once dissolved they do not grow again$ Then as seventh freed fro#
these potencies the spiritual #an stands forth in his own nature as
purity and light$ =appy is the spiritual #an who beholds this
seven<fold illu#ination in its ascending stages$
(E$ 'ro# steadfastly following after the #eans of Yoga until i#purity
is worn away there co#es the illu#ination of thought up to full
discern#ent$
32
=ere we enter on the #ore detailed practical teaching of Patanjali
with its sound and lu#inous good sense$ 5nd when we co#e to detail
the #eans of Yoga we #ay well be astonished at their si#plicity$
There is little in the# that is #ysterious$ They are very fa#iliar$ The
essence of the #atter lies in carrying the# out$
(F$ The eight #eans of Yoga are: the Co##and#ents the 7ules
right Poise right Control of the life<force %ithdrawal 5ttention
4editation Conte#plation$
These eight #eans are to be followed in their order in the sense which
will i##ediately be #ade clear$ %e can get a ready understanding of
the first two by co#paring the# with the Co##and#ents which #ust
be obeyed by all good citi1ens and the 7ules which are laid on the
#e#bers of religious orders$ 9ntil one has fulfilled the first it is futile
to concern oneself with the second$ 5nd so with all the #eans of
Yoga$ They #ust be ta!en in their order$
H)$ The Co##and#ents are these: no# injury truthfulness abstaining
fro# stealing fro# i#purity fro# covetousness$
These five precepts are al#ost exactly the sa#e as the 3uddhist
Co##and#ents: not to !ill not to steal not to be guilty of
incontinence not to drin! intoxicants to spea! the truth$ 5l#ost
identical is St$ Paul?s list: Thou shalt not co##it adultery thou shalt
not !ill thou shalt not steal thou shalt not covet$ 5nd in the sa#e
spirit is the answer #ade to the young #ap having great possessions
who as!ed %hat shall 6 do to be savedG and received the reply: Keep
the Co##and#ents$
This broad general training which for#s and develops hu#an
character #ust be acco#plished to a very considerable degree before
there can be #uch hope of success in the further stages of spiritual
33
life$ 'irst the psychical and then the spiritual$ 'irst the #an then the
angel$ An this broad hu#ane and wise foundation does the syste# of
Patanjali rest$
H*$ The Co##and#ents not li#ited to any race place ti#e or
occasion universal are the great obligation$
The Co##and#ents for# the broad general training of hu#anity$
Each one of the# rests on a universal spiritual law$ Each one of the#
expresses an attribute or aspect of the Self the Eternal8 when we
violate one of the Co##and#ents we set ourselves against the law
and being of the Eternal thereby bringing ourselves to inevitable con
fusion$ So the first steps in spiritual life #ust be ta!en by bringing
ourselves into voluntary obedience to these spiritual laws and thus
#a!ing ourselves parta!ers of the spiritual powers the being of the
Eternal >i!e the law of gravity the need of air to breathe these great
laws !now no exceptions They are in force in all lands throughout al
ti#es for all #an!ind$
H($ The 7ules are these: purity serenity fervent aspiration spiritual
reading and per feet obedience to the 4aster$
=ere we have a finer law one which hu#anity as a whole is less ready
for less fit to obey$ Yet we can see that these 7ules are the sa#e in
essence as the Co##and#ents but on a higher #ore spiritual plane$
The Co##and#ents #ay be obeyed in outer acts and abstinences8 the
7ules de#and obedience of the heart and spirit a far #ore awa!ened
and #ore positive consciousness$ The 7ules are the spiritual
counterpart of the Co##and#ents and they have finer degrees for
#ore advanced spiritual growth$
HH$ %hen transgressions hinder the weight of the i#agination should
be thrown? on the opposite side$
34
>et us ta!e a si#ple case that of a thief a habitual cri#inal who has
drifted into stealing in childhood before the #oral consciousness has
awa!ened$ %e #ay i#prison such a thief and deprive hi# of all
possibility of further theft or of using the divine gift of will$ Ar we
#ay recogni1e his disadvantages and help hi# gradually to build up
possessions which express his will and draw forth his self<respect$ 6f
we i#agine that after he has built well and his possessions have
beco#e dear to hi# he hi#self is robbed then we can see how he
would co#e vividly to reali1e the essence of theft and of honesty and
would cleave to honest dealings with fir# conviction$ 6n so#e such
way does the great >aw teach us$ Aur sorrows and losses teach us the
pain of the sorrow and loss we inflict on others and so we cease to
inflict the#$
@ow as to the #ore direct application$ To con;uer a sin$ let heart and
#ind rest not on the sin but on the contrary virtue$ >et the sin be
forced out by positive growth in the true direction not by direct
opposition$ Turn away fro# the sin and go forward courageously
constructively creatively in well<doing$ 6n this way the whole nature
will gradually be drawn up to the higher level on which the sin does
not even exist$ The con;uest of a sin is a #atter of growth and
evolution rather than of opposition$
HI$ Transgressions are injury falsehood theft incontinence envy8
whether co##itted or caused or assented to through greed wrath
or infatuation8 whether faint or #iddling or excessive8 bearing
endless fruit of ignorance and pain$ Therefore #ust the weight be cast
on the other side$
=ere are the causes of sin: greed wrath infatuation with their effects
ignorance and pain$ The causes are to be cured by better wisdo# by
a truer understanding of the Self of >ife$ 'or greed cannot endure
before the reali1ation that the whole world belongs to the Self which
Self we are8 nor can we hold wrath against one who is one with the
35
Self and therefore with ourselves8 nor can infatuation which is the
see!ing for the happiness of the 5ll in so#e li#ited part of it survive
the !nowledge that we are heirs of the 5ll$ Therefore let thought and
i#agination #ind and heart throw their weight on the other side8 the
side not of the world$but of the Self$
H-$ %here non<injury is perfected all en#ity ceases in the presence of
hi# who possesses it$
%e co#e now to the spiritual powers which result fro# !eeping the
Co##and#ents8 fro# the obedience to spiritual law which is the
!eeping of the Co##and#ents$ %here the heart is full of !indness
which see!s no injury to another either in act or thought or wish this
full love creates an at#osphere of har#ony whose benign power
touches with healing all who co#e within its influence$ Peace in the
heart radiates peace to other hearts even #ore surely than contention
breeds contention$
H.$ %hen he is perfected in truth all acts and their fruits depend on
hi#$
The co##entator thus explains: 6f he who has attained should say to
a #an 3eco#e righteous" the #an beco#es righteous$ 6f he should
say Gain heaven " the #an gains heaven$ =is word is not in vain$
Exactly the sa#e doctrine was taught by the 4aster who said to his
disciples: 7eceive ye the =oly Ghost: whose soever sins ye re #it they
are re#itted unto the#8 and whose soever sins ye retain they are
retained$
HD$ %here cessation fro# theft is perfected all treasures present
the#selves to hi# who possesses it$
=ere is a sentence which #ay warn us that beside the outer and
36
apparent #eaning there is in #any of these sentences a second and
finer significance$ The obvious #eaning is that he who has wholly
ceased fro# theft in act thought and wish finds buried treasures in
his path treasures of jewels and gold and pearls$ The deeper truth is
that he who in every least thing is wholly honest with the spirit of >ife
finds >ife supporting hi# in all things and gains ad#ittance to the
treasure house of >ife the spiritual universe$
HE$ 'or hi# who is perfect in continence the reward is valour and
virility$
The creative power strong and full of vigour is no longer dissipated
but turned to spiritual uses$ 6t upholds and endows the spiritual #an
conferring on hi# the creative will the power to engender spiritual
children instead of bodily progeny$ 5n epoch of life that of #an the
ani#al has co#e to an end8 a new epoch that of the spiritual #an is
opened$ The old creative power is superseded and transcended8 a new
creative power that of the spiritual #an ta!es its place carrying with
it the power to wor! creatively in others for righteousness and eternal
life$
Ane of the co##entaries says that he who has attained is able to
transfer to the #inds of his disciples what he !nows concerning divine
union and the #eans of gaining it$ This is one of the powers of purity$
HF$ %here there is fir# con;uest of covetousness he who has
con;uered it awa!es to the how and why of life$
So it is said that before we can understand the laws of Kar#a we
#ust free ourselves fro# Kar#a$ The con;uest of covetousness brings
this rich fruit because the root of covetousness is the desire of the
individual soul the will toward #anifested life$ 5nd where the desire
of the individual soul is overco#e by the superb still life of the
universal Soul welling up in the heart within the great secret is
37
discerned the secret that the individual soul is not an isolated reality
but the ray the #anifest instru#ent of the >ife which turns it this way
and that until the great wor! is acco#plished the age<long lesson
learned$ Thus is the how and why of life disclosed by ceasing fro#
covetousness$ The Co##entator says that this includes a !nowledge
of one?s for#er births$
I)$ Through purity a withdrawal fro# one?s own bodily life a ceasing
fro# infatuation with the bodily life of others$
5s the spiritual light grows in the heart within as the taste for pure
>ife grows stronger the consciousness opens toward the great secret
places within where all life is one where all lives are one$ Thereafter
this outer #anifested fugitive life whether of ourselves or of others
loses so#ething of its char# and gla#our and we see! rather the
deep infinitudes$ 6nstead of the outer for# and surroundings of our
lives we long for their inner and everlasting essence$ %e desire not so
#uch outer converse and closeness to our friends but rather that ;uiet
co##union with the# in the inner cha#ber of the soul where spirit
spea!s to spirit and spirit answers8 where alienation and separation
never enter8 where sic!ness and sorrow and death cannot co#e$
I*$ To the pure of heart co#e also a ;uiet spirit one<pointed thought
the victory over sensuality and fitness to behold the Soul$
3lessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God who is the
supre#e Soul8 the ulti#ate Self of all beings$ 6n the deepest sen se
purity #eans fitness for this vision and also a heart cleansed fro# all
dis;uiet fro# all wandering and unbridled thought fro# the tor#ent
of sensuous i#aginings8 and when the spirit is thus cleansed and pure
it beco#es at one in essence with its source the great Spirit the
pri#al >ife$ Ane consciousness now thrills through both for the
psychic partition wall is bro!en down$ Then shall the pure in heart see
God because they beco#e God$
38
I($ 'ro# acceptance the disciple gains happiness supre#e$
Ane of the wise has said: accept conditions accept others accept
yourself$ This is the true acceptance for all these things are what they
are through the will of the higher Self except their deficiencies which
co#e through thwarting the will of the higher Self and can be
con;uered only through co#pliance with that will$ 3y the true
acceptance the disciple co#es into oneness of spirit with the
overruling Soul8 and since the own nature of the Soul is being
happiness bliss he co#es thereby into happiness supre#e$
IH$ The perfection of the powers of the bodily vesture co#es through
the wearing away of i#purities and through fervent aspiration$
This is true of the physical powers and of those which dwell in the
higher vestures$ There #ust be first purity8 as the blood #ust be
pure before one can attain to physical health$ 3ut absence of i#purity
is not in itself enough else would #any nerveless ascetics of the
cloisters ran! as high saints$ There is needed further a positive fire of
the will8 a !een vital vigour for the physical powers and so#ething
finer purer stronger but of !indred essence for the higher powers$
The fire of genius is so#ething #ore than a phrase for there can be
no genius without the celestial fire of the awa!ened spiritual will$
II$ Through spiritual reading the disciple gains co##union with the
divine Power on which his heart is set$
Spiritual reading #eant for ancient 6ndia so#ething #ore than it does
with us$ 6t #eant first the recital of sacred texts which in their very
sounds had #ystical potencies8 and it #eant a recital of texts which
were divinely e#anated and held in the#selves the living potent
essence of the divine$
39
'or us spiritual reading #eans a co##uning with the recorded
teachings of the 4asters of wisdo# whereby we read ourselves into
the 4aster?s #ind just as through his #usic one can enter into the
#ind and soul of the #aster #usician$ 6t has been well said that all
true art is contagion of feeling8 so that through the true reading of true
boo!s we do indeed read ourselves into the spirit of the 4asters share
in the at#osphere of their wisdo# and power and co#e at last into
their very presence$
I-$ Soul<vision is perfected through perfect obedience to the 4aster$
The sorrow and dar!ness of life co#e of the erring personal will
which sets itself against the will of the Soul the one great >ife$ The
error of the personal will is inevitable since each will #ust be free to
choose to try and fail and so to find the path$ 5nd sorrow and
dar!ness are inevitable until the path be found and the personal will
#ade once #ore one with the greater %ill wherein it finds rest and
power without losing freedo#$ 6n =is will is our peace$ 5nd with that
peace co#es light$ Soul<vision is perfected through obedience$
I.$ 7ight poise #ust be fir# and without strain$ =ere we approach a
section of the teaching which has #anifestly a two<fold #eaning$ The
first is physical and concerns the bodily position of the student and
the regulation of breathing$ These things have their direct influence
upon soul<life the life of the spiritual #an since it is always and
everywhere true that our study de#ands a sound #ind in a sound
body$ The present sentence declares that for wor! and for #editation
the position of the body #ust be steady and without strain in order
that the finer currents of life #ay run their course$
6t applies further to the poise of the soul that fine balance and stability
which nothing can sha!e where the consciousness rests on the fir#
foundation of spiritual being$ This is indeed the house set upon a roc!
which the winds and waves beat upon in vain$
40
ID$ 7ight poise is to be gained by steady and te#perate effort and by
setting the heart upon the everlasting$
=ere again there is the two<fold #eaning for physical poise is to be
gained by steady effort of the #uscles by gradual and wise training
lin!ed with a right understanding of and relation with the universal
force of gravity$ 9prightness of body de#ands that both these
conditions shall be fulfilled$
6n li!e #anner the fir# and upright poise of the spiritual #an is to be
gained by steady and continued effort always guided by wisdo# and
by setting the heart on the Eternal filling the soul with the at#osphere
of the spiritual world$ @either is effective without the other$
5spiration without effort brings wea!ness8 effort without aspiration
brings a false strength not resting on enduring things$ The two
together #a!e for the right poise which sets the spiritual #an fir#ly
and steadfastly on his feet$
IE The fruit of right poise is the strength to resist the shoc!s of
infatuation or sorrow$
6n the si#pler physical sense which is also coveted by the wording of
the original this sentence #eans that wise effort establishes such
bodily poise that the accidents of life cannot disturb it as the captain
re#ains steady though disaster overta!e his ship$
3ut the deeper sense is far #ore i#portant$ The spiritual #an too
#ust learn to withstand all shoc!s to re#ain steadfast through the
perturbations of external things and the stor#s and whirlwinds of the
psychical world$ This is the power which is gained by wise
continuous effort and by filling the spirit with the at#osphere of the
Eternal$
41
IF$ %hen this is gained there follows the right guidance of the
life<currents the control of the inco#ing and outgoing breath$
6t is well understood to<day that #ost of our #aladies co#e fro#
i#pure conditions of the blood$ 6t is co#ing to be understood that
right breathing right oxygenation will do very #uch to !eep the
blood clean and pure$ Therefore a right !nowledge of breathing is a
part of the science of life$
3ut the deeper #eaning is that the spiritual #an when he has gained
poise through right effort and aspiration can stand fir# and guide the
currents of his life both the inco#ing current of events and the
outgoing current of his acts$
Exactly the sa#e sy#bolis# is used in the saying: @ot that which
goeth into the #outh defileth a #an8 but that which co#eth out of the
#outh this defileth a #an$$$$ Those things which proceed out of the
#outh co#e forth fro# the heart $ $ out of the heart proceed evil
thoughts #urders uncleanness thefts false witness blasphe#ies$
Therefore the first step in purification is to !eep the Co##and#ents$
-)$ The life<current is either outward or inward or balanced8 it 8is
regulated according to place ti#e nu#ber8 it is prolonged and subtle$
The technical physical side of this has its value$ 6n the breath there
should be right inbreathing followed by the period of pause when the
air co#es into contact with the blood and this again followed by right
outbreathing even steady silent$ 'urther the lungs should be evenly
filled8 #any #aladies #ay arise fro# the neglect and conse;uent
wea!ening of so#e region of the lungs$ 5nd the nu#ber of breaths is
so i#portant so closely related to health that every nurse?s chart
records it$
3ut the deeper #eaning is concerned with the currents of life8 with
that which goeth into and co#eth out of the heart$
42
-*$ The fourth degree transcends external and internal objects$
The inner #eaning see#s to be that in addition to the three degrees
of control already described control that is over the inco#ing
current of life over the outgoing current and over the condition of
pause or ;uiesence there is a fourth degree of control which holds in
co#plete #astery both the outer passage of events and the inner
currents of thoughts and e#otions8 a condition of perfect poise and
stability in the #idst of the flux of things outward and inward$
-($ Thereby is worn away the veil which covers up the light$
The veil is the psychic nature the web of e#otions desires
argu#entative trains of thought which cover up and obscure the truth
by absorbing the entire attention and !eeping the consciousness in the
psychic real#$ %hen hopes and fears are rec!oned at their true worth
in co#parison with lasting possessions of the Soul8 when the outer
reflections of things have ceased to distract us fro# inner realities8
when argu#entative < thought no longer entangles us but yields its
place to flashing intuition the certainty which springs fro# within8
then is the veil worn away the consciousness is drawn fro# the
psychical to the spiritual fro# the te#poral to the Eternal$ Then is the
light unveiled$
-H$ Thence co#es the #ind?s power to hold itself in the light$
6t has been well said that what we #ost need is the faculty of spiritual
attention8 and in the sa#e direction of thought it has been elo;uently
declared that prayer does not consist in our catching God?s attention
but rather in our allowing God to hold our attention$
The vital #atter is that we need to disentangle our consciousness
fro# the noisy and perturbed thraldo# of the psychical and to co#e
43
to consciousness as the spiritual #an$ This we #ust do first by
purification through the Co##and#ents and the 7ules8 and second
through the faculty of spiritual attention by steadily heeding endless
fine inti#ations of the spiritual power within us and by intending our
consciousness thereto8 thus by degrees transferring the centre of
consciousness fro# the psychical to the spiritual$ 6t is a ;uestion first
of love and then of attention$
-I$ The right %ithdrawal is the disengaging of the powers fro#
entangle#ent in outer things as the psychic nature has been
withdrawn and stilled$
To understand this let us reverse the process and thin! of the one
consciousness centred in the Soul gradually expanding and ta!ing on
the for# of the different perceptive powers8 the one will at the sa#e
ti#e differentiating itself into the varied powers of action$
@ow let us i#agine this to be reversed so that the spiritual force
which has gone into the differentiated powers is once #ore gathered
together into the inner power of intuition and spiritual will ta!ing on
that unity which is the hall< #ar! of spiritual things as diversity is the
seal of #aterial things$
6t is all a #atter of love for the ;uality of spiritual consciousness as
against psychical consciousness of love and attention$ 'or where the
heart is there will the treasure be also8 where the consciousness is
there will the vesture with its powers be developed$
--$ Thereupon follows perfect #astery over the powers$
%hen the spiritual condition which we have described is reached with
its purity poise and illu#inated vision the spiritual #an is co#ing
into his inheritance and gaining co#plete #astery of his powers$
44
6ndeed #uch of the struggle to !eep the Co##and#ents and the
7ules has been paving the way for this #astery8 through this very
struggle and sacrifice the #astery has beco#e possible8 just as to use
St$ Paul?s si#ile the athlete gains the #astery in the contest and the
race through the sacrifice of his long and arduous training$ Thus he
gains the crown$
6@T7A&9CT6A@ TA 3AAK 666
The third boo! of the Sutras is the 3oo! of Spiritual Powers$ 6n
considering these spiritual powers two things #ust be understood and
!ept in #e#ory$ The first of these is this: These spiritual powers can
only be gained when the develop#ent described in the first and second
boo!s has been #easurably attained8 when the Co##and#ents have
been !ept the 7ules faithfully followed and the experiences which are
described have been passed through$ 'or only after this is the spiritual
#an so far grown so far disentangled fro# the psychical bandages
and veils which have confined and blinded hi# that he can use his
proper powers and faculties$ 'or this is the secret of all spiritual
powers: they are in no sense an abnor#al or supernatural overgrowth
upon the #aterial #an but are rather the powers and faculties inherent
in the spiritual #an entirely natural to hi# and co#ing naturally into
activity as the spiritual #an is disentangled and liberated fro#
psychical bondage through !eeping the Co##and#ents and 7ules
already set forth$
5s the personal #an is the li#itation and inversion of the spiritual
#an all his faculties and powers are inversions of the powers of the
spiritual #an$ 6n a single phrase his self see!ing is the inversion of the
Self<see!ing which is the very being of the spiritual #an: the ceaseless
search after the divine and august Self of all beings$ This inversion is
corrected by !eeping the Co##and#ents and 7ules and gradually
as the inversion is overco#e the spiritual #an is extricated and
co#es into possession and free exercise of his powers$ The spiritual
45
powers therefore are the powers of the grown and liberated spiritual
#an$ They can only be developed and used as the spiritual #an grows
and attains liberation through obedience$ This is the first thing to be
!ept in #ind in all that is said of spiritual powers in the third and
fourth boo!s of the Sutras$ The second thing to be understood and
!ept in #ind is this:
Just as our #odern sages have discerned and taught that all #atter is
ulti#ately one and eternal definitely related throughout the whole
wide universe8 just as they have discerned and taught that all force is
one and eternal so coordinated throughout the whole universe that
whatever affects any ato# #easurably affects the whole boundless
real# of #atter and force to the #ost distant star or nebula on the
di# confines of space8 so the ancient sages had discerned and taught
that all consciousness is one i##ortal indivisible infinite8 so finely
correlated and continuous that whatever is perceived by any
consciousness is whether actually or potentially within the reach of
all consciousness and therefore within the reach of any consciousness$
This has been well expressed by saying that all souls are funda#entally
one with the Aversoul8 that the Son of God and all Sons of God are
funda#entally one with the 'ather$ %hen the consciousness is cleared
of psychic bonds and veils when the spiritual #an is able to stand to
see then this superb law co#es into effect: whatever is within the
!nowledge of any consciousness and this includes the whole infinite
universe is within his reach and #ay if he wills be #ade a part of his
consciousness$ This he #ay attain through his funda#ental unity with
the Aversoul by raising hi#self toward the consciousness above hi#
and drawing on its resources$ The Son if he would wor! #iracles
whether of perception or of action #ust co#e often into the presence
of the 'ather$ This is the birthright of the spiritual #an8 through it he
co#es into possession of his splendid and i##ortal powers$ >et it be
clearly !ept in #ind that what is here to be related of the spiritual #an
and his exalted powers #ust in no wise be detached fro# what has
gone before$ The being the very inception of the spiritual #an
46
depends on the purification and #oral attain#ent already detailed and
can in no wise dispense with these or curtail the#$
>et no one i#agine that the true life the true powers of the spiritual
#an can be attained by any way except the hard way of sacrifice of
trial of renunciation of selfless self<con;uest and genuine devotion to
the weal of all others$ Anly thus can the golden gates be reached and
entered$ Anly thus can we attain to that pure world wherein the
spiritual #an lives and #oves and has his being$ @othing i#pure
nothing unholy can ever cross that threshold least of all i#pure
#otives or self see!ing desires$ These #ust be burnt away before an
entrance to that world can be gained$
3ut where there is light there is shadow8 and the lofty light of the soul
casts upon the clouds of the #id<world the shadow of the spiritual
#an and of his powers8 the bastard vesture and the bastard powers of
psychis# are easily attained8 yet even when attained they are a
delusion the very essence of unreality$
Therefore ponder well the earlier rules and lay a fir# foundation of
courage sacrifice selflessness holiness$
3AAK 666
*$ The binding of the perceiving consciousness to a certain region is
attention BdharanaC$
E#erson ;uotes Sir 6saac @ewton as saying that he #ade his great
discoveries by intending his #ind on the#$ That is what is #eant here$
6 read the page of a boo! while in!ing of so#ething else$ 5t the end
of he page 6 have no idea of what it is about and read it again still
thin!ing of so#ething else with the sa#e result$ Then 6 wa!e up so
to spea! #a!e an effort of attention fix #y thought on what 6 a#
reading and easily ta!e in its #eaning$ The act of will the effort of
47
attention the intending of the #ind on each word and line of the page
just as the eyes are focussed on each word and line is the power here
conte#plated$ 6t is the power to focus the consciousness on a given
spot and hold it there 5ttention is the first and indispensable step in
all !nowledge$ 5tten$ tion to spiritual things is the first step to
spiritual !nowledge$
($ 5 prolonged holding of the perceiving consciousness in that region
is #editation BdhyanaC$
This will apply e;ually to outer and inner things$ 6 #ay for a #o#ent
fix #y attention on so#e visible object in a single penetrating glance
or 6 #ay hold the attention fixedly on it until it reveals far #ore of its
nature than a single glance could perceive$ The first is the focussing
of the searchlight of consciousness upon the object$ The other is the
holding of the white bea# of light steadily and persistently on the
object until it yields up the secret of its details$ So for things within8
one #ay fix the inner glance for a #o#ent on spiritual things or one
#ay hold the consciousness steadily upon the# until what was in the
dar! slowly co#es forth into the light and yields up its i##ortal
secret$ 3ut this is possible only for the spiritual #an after the
Co##and#ents and the 7ules have been !ept8 for until this is done
the thronging stor#s of psychical thoughts dissipate and distract the
attention so that it will not re#ain fixed on spiritual things$ The cares
of this world the deceitfulness of riches cho!e the word of the
spiritual #essage$
H$ %hen the perceiving consciousness in this #editative is wholly
given to illu#inating the essential #eaning of the object conte#plated
and is freed fro# the sense of separateness and personality this is
conte#plation Bsa#adhiC$
>et us review the steps so far ta!en$ 'irst the bea# of perceiving
consciousness is focussed on a certain region or subject through the
48
effort of attention$ Then this attending consciousness is held on its
object$ Third there is the ardent will to !now its #eaning to illu#ine
it with co#prehending thought$ 'ourth all personal bias < all desire
#erely to indorse a previous opinion and so prove oneself right and
all desire for personal profit or gratification #ust be ;uite put away$
There #ust be a purely disinterested love of truth for its own sa!e$
Thus is the perceiving consciousness #ade void as it were of all
personality or sense of separateness$ The personal li#itation stands
aside and lets the 5ll<consciousness co#e to bear upon the proble#$
The Aversoul bends its ray upon the object and illu#ines it with pure
light$
I$ %hen these three 5ttention 4editation Conte#plation are
exercised at once this is perfectly concentrated 4editation Bsanya#aC$
%hen the personal li#itation of the perceiving consciousness stands
aside and allows the 5ll<conscious to co#e to bear upon the proble#
then arises that real !nowledge which is called a flash of genius8 that
real !nowledge which #a!es discoveries and without which no
discovery can be #ade however painsta!ing the effort$ 'or genius is
the vision of the spiritual #an and that vision is a ;uestion of growth
rather than present effort8 though right effort rightly continued will
in ti#e infallibly lead to growth and vision$ Through the power thus
to set aside personal li#itation to push aside petty concerns and
cares and steady the whole nature and will in an ardent love of truth
and desire to !now it8 through the power thus to #a!e way for the
5ll<consciousness all great #en #a!e their discoveries$ @ewton
watching the apple fall to the earth was able to loo! beyond to see
the subtle waves of force pulsating through apples and worlds and
suns and galaxies$ and thus to perceive universal gravitation$ The
Aversoul loo!ing through his eyes recogni1ed the universal force
one of its own children$ &arwin watching the for#s and #otions of
plants and ani#als let the sa#e august consciousness co#e to bear on
the# and saw infinite growth perfected through ceaseless struggle$
49
=e perceived the superb process of evolution the Aversoul once #ore
recogni1ing its own$ 'raunhofer noting the dar! lines in the band of
sunlight in his spectroscope divined their identity with the bright lines
in the spectra of incandescent iron sodiu# and the rest and so saw
the oneness of substance in the worlds and suns the unity of the
#aterials of the universe$ Ance again the Aversoul loo!ing with his
eyes recogni1ed its own$ So it is with all true !nowledge$ 3ut the
#ind #ust transcend its li#itations its idiosyncrasies8 there #ust be
purity for to the pure in heart is the pro#ise that they shall see God$
-$ 3y #astering this perf ectly concen< bated 4editation there co#es
the illu#ina< tion of perception$ The #eaning of this is illustrated by
what has been said before$ %hen the spiritual #an is able to throw
aside the tra##els of e#otional and #ental li#itation and to open his
eyes he sees clearly he attains to illu#inated perception$ 5 poet once
said that Accultis# is the conscious cultivation of genius8 and it is
certain that the awa!ened spiritual #an attains to the perceptions of
genius$ Genius is the vision the power of the spiritual #an whether
its possessor recogni1es this or not$ 5ll true !nowledge is of the
spiritual #an$ The greatest in all ages have recogni1ed this and put
their testi#ony on record$ The great in wisdo# who have not
consciously recogni1ed it have ever been full of the spirit of
reverence of selfless devotion to truth of hu#ility as was &arwin8
and reverence and hu#ility are the unconscious recognition of the
nearness of the Spirit that &ivinity which broods over us a 4aster
o?er a slave$
.$ This power is distributed in ascending degrees$
6t is to be attained step by step$ 6t is a ;uestion not of #iracle but of
evolution of growth$ @ewton had to #aster the #ultiplication table
then the four rules of arith#etic then the rudi#ents of algebra before
he ca#e to the bino#ial theore#$ 5t each point there was attention
concentration insight8 until these were attained no progress to the
50
next point was possible$ So with &arwin$ =e had to learn the for# and
use of leaf and flower of bone and #uscle8 the characteristics of
genera and species8 the distribution of plants and ani#als before he
had in #ind that nexus of !nowledge on which the light of his great
idea was at last able to shine$ So is it with all !nowledge$ So is it with
spiritual !nowledge$ Ta!e the #atter this way: The first subject for the
exercise of #y spiritual insight is #y day with its circu#stances its
hindrances its opportunities its duties$ 6 do what 6 can to solve it to
fulfil its duties to learn its lessons$ 6 try to live #y day with aspiration
and faith$ That is the first step$ 3y doing this 6 gather a harvest for the
evening 6 gain a deeper insight into life in virtue of which 6 begin the
next day with a certain advantage a certain spiritual advance and
attain#ent$ So with all successive days$ 6n faith and aspiration we
pass fro# day to day in growing !nowledge and power with never
#ore than one day to solve at a ti#e until all life beco#es radiant and
transparent$
D$ This threefold power of 5ttention 4editation Conte#plation is
#ore interior than the #eans of growth previously described$
Jery naturally so8 because the #eans of growth previously described
were concerned with the extrication of the spiritual #an fro# psychic
bondages and veils8 while this threefold power is to be exercised by
the spiritual #an thus extricated and standing on his feet viewing life
with open eyes$
E$ 3ut this triad is still exterior to the soul vision which is
unconditioned free fro# the seed of #ental analyses$
The reason is this: The threefold power we have been considering the
triad of 5ttention Conte#plation 4editation is so far as we have yet
considered it the focussing of the bea# of perceiving consciousness
upon so#e for# of #anifesting being with a view of understanding
it co#pletely$ There is a higher stage where the bea# of
51
consciousness is turned bac! upon itself and the individual
consciousness enters into and !nows the 5ll consciousness$ This is
a being a being in i##ortality rather than a !nowing8 it is free fro#
#ental analysis or #ental for#s$ 6t is not an activity of the higher
#ind even the #ind of the spiritual #an$ 6t is an activity of the soul$
=ad @ewton risen to this higher stage he would have !nown not the
laws of #otion but that high 3eing fro# whose >ife co#es eternal
#otion$ =ad &arwin risen to this he would have seen the Soul whose
graduated thought and being all evolution expresses$ There are
therefore these two perceptions: that of living things and that of the
>ife8 that of the Soul?s wor!s and that of the Soul itself$
F$ Ane of the ascending degrees is the develop#ent of Control$ 'irst
there is the overco#ing of the #ind<i#press of excitation$ Then co#es
the #anifestation of the #ind<i#press of Control$ Then the perceiving
consciousness follows after the #o#ent of Control$
This is the develop#ent of Control$ The #eaning see#s to be this:
So#e object enters the field of observation and at first violently
excites the #ind stirring up curiosity fear wonder8 then the
consciousness returns upon itself as it were and ta!es the perception
fir#ly in hand steadying itself and viewing the #atter cal#ly fro#
above$ This steadying effort of the will upon the perceiving
consciousness is Control and i##ediately upon it follows perception
understanding insight$
Ta!e a trite exa#ple$ Supposing one is wal!ing in an 6ndian forest$ 5
charging elephant suddenly appears$ The #an is excited by
astonish#ent and perhaps terror$ 3ut he exercises an effort of will
perceives the situation in its true bearings and recogni1es that a
certain thing #ust be done8 in this case probably that he #ust get out
of the way as ;uic!ly as possible$
Ar a co#et unheralded appears in the s!y li!e a fla#ing sword$ The
52
beholder is at first astonished perhaps terror<stric!en8 but he ta!es
hi#self in hand controls his thoughts views the apparition cal#ly
and finally calculates its orbit and its relation to #eteor showers$
These are extre#e illustrations8 but with all !nowledge the order of
perception is the sa#e: first the excitation of the #ind by the new
object i#pressed on it8 then the control of the #ind fro# within8 upon
which follows the perception of the nature of the object$ %here the
eyes of the spiritual #an are open this will be a true and penetrating
spiritual perception$ 6n so#e such way do our living experiences co#e
to us8 first with a shoc! of pain8 then the Soul steadies itself and
controls the pain8 then the spirit perceives the lesson of the event and
its bearing upon the progressive revelation of life$
*)$ Through fre;uent repetition of this process the #ind beco#es
habituated to it and there arises an e;uable flow of perceiving
consciousness$
Control of the #ind by the Soul li!e control of the #uscles by the
#ind co#es by practice and constant voluntary repetition$
5s an exa#ple of control of the #uscles by the #ind ta!e the
ceaseless practice by which a #usician gains #astery over his
instru#ent or a fencer gains s!ill with a rapier$ 6nnu#erable s#all
efforts of attention will #a!e a result which see#s well<nigh
#iraculous8 which for the novice is really #iraculous$ Then consider
that far #ore wonderful instru#ent the perceiving #ind played on by
that fine #usician the Soul$ =ere again innu#erable s#all efforts of
attention will accu#ulate into #astery and a #astery worth winning$
'or a concrete exa#ple ta!e the gradual con;uest of each day the
effort to live that day for the Soul$ To hi# that is faithful unto death
the 4aster gives the crown of life$
**$ The gradual con;uest of the #ind?s tendency to flit fro# one
53
object to another and the power of one<pointedness #a!e the
develop#ent of Conte#plation$
5s an illustration of the #ind?s tendency to flit fro# one object to
another ta!e a s#all boy learning arith#etic$ =e begins: two ones are
two8 three ones are three<and then he thin!s of three coins in his
poc!et which will purchase so #uch candy in the store down the
street next to the toy<shop where are base<balls #arbles and so on
<and then he co#es bac! with a jer! to four ones are four$ So with us
also$ %e are see!ing the #eaning of our tas! but the #ind ta!es
advantage of a #o#ent of slac!ened attention and flits off fro# one
frivolous detail to another till we suddenly co#e bac! to
consciousness after traversing leagues of space$ %e #ust learn to
con;uer this and to go bac! within ourselves into the bea# of
perceiving consciousness itself which is a bea# of the Aversoul$ This
is the true onepointedness the bringing of our consciousness to a
focus in the Soul$
*($ %hen following this the controlled #anifold tendency and the
aroused one<pointedness are e;ually balanced parts of the perceiving
consciousness his the develop#ent of one<pointedness$
This would see# to #ean that the insight which is called
one<pointedness has two sides e;ually balanced$ There is first the
#anifold aspect of any object the su# of all its characteristics and
properties$ This is to be held fir#ly in the #ind$ Then there is the
perception of the object as a unity as a whole the perception of its
essence$ 'irst the details #ust be clearly perceived8 then the essence
#ust be co#prehended$ %hen the two processes are e;ually balanced
the true onepointedness is attained$ Everything has these two sides
the side of difference and the side of unity8 there is the individual and
there is the genus8 the pole of #atter and diversity and the pole of
oneness and spirit$ To see the object truly we #ust see both$
54
*H$ Through this the inherent character distinctive #ar!s and
conditions of being and powers according to their develop#ent are
#ade clear$
3y the power defined in the preceding sutra the inherent character
distinctive #ar!s and conditions of beings and powers are #ade clear$
'or through this power as defined we get a twofold view of each
object seeing at once all its individual characteristics and its essential
character species and genus8 we see it in relation to itself and in
relation to the Eternal$ Thus we see a rose as that particular flower
with its colour and scent its peculiar fold of each petal8 but we also
see in it the species the fa#ily to which it belongs with its relation to
all plants to all life to >ife itself$ So in any day we see events and
circu#stances8 we also see in it the lesson set for the soul by the
Eternal$
*I$ Every object has its characteristics which are already ;uiescent
those which are active and those which are not yet definable$
Every object has characteristics belonging to its past its present and
its future$ 6n a fir tree for exa#ple there are the stu#ps or scars of
dead branches which once represented its fore#ost growth8 there are
the branches with their needles spread out to the air8 there are the
buds at the end of each branch and twig which carry the still closely
pac!ed needles which are the pro#ise of the future$ 6n li!e #anner
the chrysalis has as its past the caterpillar8 as its future the butterfly$
The #an has in his past the ani#al8 in his future the angel$ 3oth are
visible even now in his face$ So with all things for all things change
and grow$
*-$ &ifference in stage is the cause of difference in develop#ent$
This but a#plifies what has just been said$ The first stage is the
sapling the caterpillar the ani#al$ The second stage is the growing
55
tree the chrysalis the #an$ The third is the splendid pine the
butterfly the angel$ &ifference of stage is the cause of difference of
develop#ent$ So it is a#ong #en and a#ong the races of #en$
*.$ Through perfectly concentrated 4editation on the three stages of
develop#ent co#es a !nowledge of past and future$
%e have ta!en our illustrations fro# natural science because since
every true discovery in natural science is a divination of a law in
nature attained through a flash of genius such discoveries really
represent acts of spiritual perception acts of perception by the
spiritual #an even though they are generally not so recogni1ed$ So
we #ay once #ore use the sa#e illustration$ Perfectly concentrated
4editation perfect insight into the chrysalis reveals the caterpillar
that it has been the butterfly that it is destined to be$ =e who !nows
the seed !nows the seed<pod or ear it has co#e fro# and the plant
that is to co#e fro# it$ So in li!e #anner he who really !nows today
and the heart of to<day !nows its parent yesterday and its child
to#orrow$ Past present and future are all in the Eternal$ =e who
dwells in the Eternal !nows all three$
*D$ The sound and the ob ject and the thought called up by a word are
confounded because they are all blurred together in the #ind$ 3y
perfectly concentrated 4editation on the distinction between the#
there co#es an understanding of the sounds uttered by all beings$
6t #ust be re#e#bered that we are spea!ing of perception by the
spiritual #an$
Sound li!e every force is the expression of a power of the Eternal$
6nfinite shades of this power are expressed in the infinitely varied
tones of sound$ =e who having entry to the consciousness of the
Eternal !nows the essence of this power can divine the #eanings of
all sounds fro# the voice of the insect to the #usic of the spheres$
56
6n li!e #anner he who has attained to spiritual vision can perceive the
#ind<i#ages in the thoughts of others with the shade of feeling which
goes with the# thus reading their thoughts as easily as he hears their
words$ Every one has the ger# of this power since difference of tone
will give widely differing #eanings to the sa#e words #eanings
which are intuitively perceived by everyone$
*E$ %hen the #ind<i#pressions beco#e visible there co#es an
understanding of previous births$
This is si#ple enough if we grasp the truth of rebirth$ The fine harvest
of past experi ences is drawn into the spiritual nature for#ing indeed
the basis of its develop#ent$ %hen the consciousness has been raised
to a point above these fine subjective i#pressions and can loo! down
upon the# fro# above this will in itself be a re#e#bering of past
births$
*F$ 3y perfectly concentrated 4editation on #ind<i#ages is gained
the understanding of the thoughts of others$
=ere for those who can profit by it is the secret of thought<reading$
Ta!e the si#plest case of intentional thought transference$ 6t is the
testi#ony of those who have done this that the perceiving #ind #ust
be stilled before the #ind<i#age projected by the other #ind can be
seen$ %ith it co#es a sense of the feeling and te#per of the other
#ind and so on in higher degrees$
()$ 3ut since that on which the thought in the #ind of another rests
is not objective to the thought<reader?s consciousness he perceives the
thought only and not also that on which the thought rests$
The #eaning appears to be si#ple: Ane #ay be able to perceive the
thoughts of so#e one at a distance8 one cannot by that #eans alone
57
also perceive the external surroundings of that person which arouse
these thoughts$
(*$ 3y perfectly concentrated 4editation on the for# of the body by
arresting the body?s perceptibility and by inhibiting the eye?s power of
sight there co#es the power to #a!e the body invisible$
There are #any instances of the exercise of this power by #es#erists
hypnotists and the li!e8 and we #ay si#ply call it an instance of the
power of suggestion$ Shan!ara tells us that by this power the popular
#agicians of the East perfor# their wonders wor!ing on the
#ind<i#ages of others while re#aining invisible the#selves$ 6t is all
a ;uestion of being able to see and control the #ind<i#ages$
(($ The wor!s which fill out the life<span #ay be either i##ediately
or gradually operative$ 3y perfectly concentrated 4editation on these
co#es a !nowledge of the ti#e of the end as also through signs$
5 gar#ent which is wet says the co##entator #ay be hung up to
dry and so dry rapidly or it #ay be rolled in a ball and dry slowly8 so
a fire #ay bla1e or s#oulder$ Thus it is with Kar#a the wor!s that fill
out the life<span$ 3y an insight into the #ental for#s and forces which
#a!e up Kar#a there co#es a !nowledge of the rapidity or slowness
of their develop#ent and of the ti#e when the debt will be paid$
(H$ 3y perfectly concentrated 4editation on sy#pathy co#passion
and !indness is gained the power of interior union with others$
9nity is the reality8 separateness the illusion$ The nearer we co#e to
reality the nearer we co#e to unity of heart$ Sy#pathy co#passion
!indness are #odes of this unity of heart whereby we rejoice with
those who rejoice and weep with those who weep$ These things are
learned by desiring to learn the#$
58
(I$ 3y perfectly concentrated 4editation on power even such power
as that of the elephant #ay be gained$
This is a pretty i#age$ Elephants possess not only force but poise and
fineness of control$ They can lift a straw a child a tree with perfectly
judged control and effort$ So the si#ile is a good one$ 3y detach#ent
by withdrawing into the soul?s reservoir of power we can gain all
these force and fineness and poise8 the ability to handle with e;ual
#astery things s#all and great concrete and abstract ali!e$
(-$ 3y bending upon the# the awa!ened inner light there co#es a
!nowledge of things subtle or concealed or obscure$
5s was said at the outset each consciousness is related to all
consciousness8 and through it has a potential consciousness of all
things8 whether subtle or concealed or obscure$ 5n understanding of
this great truth will co#e with practice$ 5s one of the wise has said
we have no conception of the power of 4editation$
(.$ 3y perf ectly concentrated 4editation on the sun co#es a
!nowledge of the worlds$
This has several #eanings: 'irst by a !nowledge of the constitution
of the sun astrono#ers can understand the !indred nature of the stars$
5nd it is said that there is a finer astrono#y where the spiritual #an
is the astrono#er$ 3ut the sun also #eans the Soul and through
!nowledge of the Soul co#es a !nowledge of the real#s of life$
(D$ 3y perfectly concentrated 4editation on the #oon co#es a
!nowledge of the lunar #ansions$
=ere again are different #eanings$ The #oon is first the co#panion
planet which each day passes bac!ward through one #ansion of the
stars$ 3y watching the #oon the boundaries of the #ansion are
59
learned with their succession in the great ti#e<dial of the s!y$ 3ut the
#oon also sy#boli1es the analytic #ind with its divided real#s8 and
these too #ay be understood through perfectly concentrated
4editation$
(E$ 3y perfectly concentrated 4editation on the fixed pole<star co#es
a !nowledge of the #otions of the stars$
5ddressing &uty stern daughter of the Joice of God %ordsworth
finely said:
Thou cost preserve the stars fro# wrong
5nd the #ost ancient heavens through thee are fresh and strong <
thus suggesting a profound relation between the #oral powers and the
powers that rule the worlds$ So in this Sutra the fixed polestar is the
eternal spirit about which all things #ove as well as the star toward
which points the axis of the earth$ &eep #ysteries attend both and the
veil of #ystery is only to be raised by 4editation by open<eyed vision
of the awa!ened spiritual #an$
(F$ Perfectly concentrated 4editation on the centre of force in the
lower trun! brings an understanding of the order of the bodily powers$
%e are co#ing to a vitally i#portant part of the teaching of Yoga:
na#ely the spiritual #an?s attain#ent of full self<consciousness the
awa!ening of the spiritual #an as a self<conscious individual behind
and above the natural #an$ 6n this awa!ening and in the process of
gestation which precedes it there is a close relation with the powers
of the natural #an which are in a certain sense the projection
outward and downward of the powers of the spiritual #an$ This is
notably true of that creative power of the spiritual #an which when
e#bodied in the natural #an beco#es the power of generation$ @ot
only is this power the cause of the continuance of the bodily race of
#an!ind but further in the individual it is the !ey to the do#inance
60
of the personal life$ 7ising as it were through the life<channels of the
body it flushes the personality with physical force and #aintains and
colours the illusion that the physical life is the do#inant and
all<i#portant expression of life$ 6n due ti#e when the spiritual #an
has begun to ta!e for# the creative force will be drawn off and
beco#e operative in building the body of the spiritual #an just as it
has been operative in the building of physical bodies through
generation in the natural world$
Perfectly concentrated 4editation on the nature of this force #eans
first that rising of the consciousness into the spiritual world already
described which gives the one sure foothold for 4editation8 and then
fro# that spiritual point of vantage not only an insight into the
creative force in its spiritual and physical aspects but also a gradually
attained control of this wonderful force which will #ean its direction
to the body of the spiritual #an and its gradual withdrawal fro# the
body of the natural #an until the over<pressure so general and such
a fruitful source of #isery in our day is abated and purity ta!es the
place of passion$ This over pressure which is the cause of so #any
evils and so #uch of hu#an sha#e is an abnor#al not a natural
condition$ 6t is pri#arily due to spiritual blindness to blindness
regarding the spiritual #an and ignorance even of his existence8 for
by this blind ignorance are closed the channels through which were
they open the creative force could flow into the body of the spiritual
#an there building up an i##ortal vesture$ There is no cure for
blindness with its conse;uent over<pressure and attendant #isery and
sha#e but spiritual vision spiritual aspiration sacrifice the new birth
fro# above$ There is no other way to lighten the burden to lift the
#isery and sha#e fro# hu#an life$ Therefore let us follow after
sacrifice and aspiration let us see! the light$ 6n this way only shall we
gain that insight into the order of the bodily powers and that #astery
of the# which this Sutra i#plies$
H)$ 3y perfectly concentrated 4editation on the centre of f orce in the
61
well of the throat there co#es the cessation of hunger and thirst$
%e are continuing the study of the bodily powers and centres of force
in their relation to the powers and forces of the spiritual #an$ %e have
already considered the do#inant power of physical life the creative
power which secures the continuance of physical life8 and further the
#anner in which through aspiration and sacrifice it is gradually raised
and set to the wor! of upbuilding the body of the spiritual #an$ %e
co#e now to the do#inant psychic force the power which #anifests
itself in speech and in virtue of which the voice #ay carry so #uch of
the personal #agnetis# endowing the orator with a tongue of fire
#agical in its power to arouse and rule the e#otions of his hearers$
This e#otional power this distinctively psychical force is the cause
of 2hunger and thirst2 the psychical hunger and thirst for sensations
which is the source of our two<sided life of e#otionalis# with its
hopes and fears its expectations and #e#ories its desires and hates$
The source of this psychical power or perhaps we should say its
centre of activity in the physical body is said to be in the cavity of the
throat$ Thus in the Taittiriya 9panishad it is written: 2There is this
shining ether in the inner being$ Therein is the spiritual #an for#ed
through thought i##ortal golden$ 6nward in the palate the organ
that hangs down li!e a nipple<this is the wo#b of 6ndra$ 5nd there
where the dividing of the hair turns extending upward to the crown
of the head$2
6ndra is the na#e given to the creative power of which we have
spo!en and which we are told resides in 2the organ which hangs
down li!e a nipple inward in the palate$2
H*$ 3y perfectly concentrated 4editation on the centre of force in the
channel called the 2tortoise<for#ed2 co#es steadfastness$
%e are concerned now with the centre of nervous or psychical force
below the cavity of the throat in the chest in which is felt the
62
sensation of fear8 the centre the disturbance of which sets the heart
beating #iserably with dread or which produces that sense of terror
through which the heart is said to stand still$
%hen the truth concerning fear is thoroughly #astered through
spiritual insight into the i##ortal fearless life then this force is
perfectly controlled8 there is no #ore fear just as through the control
of the psychic power which wor!s through the nerve<centre in the
throat there co#es a cessation of 2hunger and thirst$2 Thereafter
these forces or their spiritual prototypes are turned to the building of
the spiritual #an$
5lways it #ust be re#e#bered the victory is first a spiritual one8
only later does it bring control of the bodily powers$
H($ Through perfectly concentrated 4editation on the light in the head
co#es the vision of the 4asters who have attained$
The tradition is that there is a certain centre of force in the head
perhaps the 2pineal gland2 which so#e of our %estern philosophers
have supposed to be the dwelling of the soul<a centre which is as it
were the door way between the natural and the spiritual #an$ 6t is the
seat of that better and wiser consciousness behind the outward
loo!ing consciousness in the forward part of the head8 that better and
wiser consciousness of 2the bac! of the #ind2 which views spiritual
things and see!s to i#press the spiritual view on the outward loo!ing
consciousness in the forward part of the head$ 6t is the spiritual #an
see!ing to guide the natural #an see!ing to bring the natural #an to
concern hi#self with the things of his i##ortality$ This is suggested
in the words of the 9panishad already ;uoted: 2There where the
dividing of the hair turns extending upward to the crown of the
head28 all of which #ay sound very fantastical until one co#es to
understand it$
63
6t is said that when this power is fully awa!ened it brings a vision of
the great Co#panions of the spiritual #an those who have already
attained crossing over to the further shore of the sea of death and
rebirth$ Perhaps it is to this divine sight that the 4aster alluded who
is reported to have said: 26 counsel you to buy of #e eye<salve that
you #ay see$2 6t is of this sa#e vision of the great Co#panions the
children of light that a seer wrote:
2Though inland far we be
Aur souls have sight of that i##ortal sea
%hich brought us hither
Can in a #o#ent travel thither
5nd see the Children sport upon the shore
5nd hear the #ighty waters rolling ever#ore$2
HH$ Ar through the divining power of tuition he !nows all things$
This is really the supple#ent the spiritual side of the Sutra just
translated$ Step by step as the better consciousness the spiritual
view gains force in the bac! of the #ind so in the sa#e #easure the
spiritual #an is gaining the power to see: learning to open the spiritual
eyes$ %hen the eyes are fully opened the spiritual #an beholds the
great Co#panions standing about hi#8 he has begun to 2!now all
things$2
This divining power of intuition is the power which lies above and
behind the so<called rational #ind8 the rational #ind for#ulates a
;uestion and lays it before the intuition which gives a real answer
often i##ediately distorted by the rational #ind yet always
e#bodying a !ernel of truth$ 6t is by this process through which the
rational #ind brings ;uestions to the intuition for solution that the
truths of science are reached the flashes of discovery and genius$ 3ut
this higher power need not wor! in subordination to the so<called
rational #ind it #ay act directly as full illu#ination 2the vision and
64
the faculty divine$2
HI 3y perfectly concentrated 4editation on the heart the interior
being co#es the !nowledge of consciousness$
The heart here see#s to #ean as it so often$ does in the 9panishads
the interior spiritual nature the consciousness of the spiritual #an
which is related to the heart and to the wisdo# of the heart$ 3y
steadily see!ing after and finding the consciousness of the spiritual
#an by co#ing to consciousness as the spiritual #an a perfect
!nowledge of consciousness will be attained$ 'or the conscious ness
of the spiritual #an has this divine ;uality: while being and re#aining
a truly individual consciousness it at the sa#e ti#e flows over as it
were and blends with the &ivine Consciousness above and about it
the consciousness of the great Co#panions8 and by showing itself to
be one with the &ivine Consciousness it reveals the nature of all
consciousness the secret that all consciousness is Ane and &ivine$
H-$ The personal self see!s to feast on life through a failure to
perceive the distinction between the personal self and the spiritual
#an$ 5ll personal experience really exists for the sa!e of another:
na#ely the spiritual #an$ 3y perfectly concentrated 4editation on
experience for the sa!e of the Self co#es a !nowledge of the spiritual
#an$
The divine ray of the =igher Self which is eternal i#personal and
abstract descends into life and for#s a personality which through
the stress and stor# of life is ha##ered into a definite and concrete
self<conscious individuality$ The proble# is to blend these two
powers ta!ing the eternal and spiritual being of the first and blending
with it transferring into it the self<conscious individuality of the
second8 and thus bringing to life a third being the spiritual #an who
is heir to the i##ortality of his father the =igher Self and yet has the
self<conscious concrete individuality of his other parent the personal
65
self$ This is the true i##aculate conception the new birth fro# above
2conceived of the =oly Spirit$2 Af this new birth it is said: 2that which
is born of the Spirit is spirit$: ye #ust be born again$2
7ightly understood therefore the whole life of the personal #an is for
another not for hi#self$ =e exists only to render his very life and all
his experience for the building up of the spiritual #an$ Anly through
failure to see this does he see! enjoy#ent for hi#self see! to secure
the feasts of life for hi#self8 not understanding that he #ust live for
the other live sacrificially offering both feasts and his very being on
the altar8 giving hi#self as a contribution for the building of the
spiritual #an$ %hen he does understand this and lives for the =igher
Self setting his heart and thought on the =igher Self then his sacrifice
bears divine fruit the spiritual #an is built up consciousness awa!es
in hi# and he co#es fully into being as a divine and i##ortal
individuality$
H.$ Thereupon are born the divine power of intuition and the hearing
the touch the vision the taste and the power of s#ell of the spiritual
#an$
%hen in virtue of the perpetual sacrifice of the personal #an daily
and hourly giving his life for his divine brother the spiritual #an and
through the radiance ever pouring down fro# the =igher Self eternal
in the =eavens the spiritual #an co#es to birth<there awa!e in hi#
those powers whose physical counterparts we !now in the personal
#an$ The spiritual #an begins to see to hear to touch to taste$ 5nd
besides the senses of the spiritual #an there awa!es his #ind that
divine counterpart of the #ind of the physical #an the power of
direct and i##ediate !nowledge the power of spiritual intuition of
divination$ This power as we have seen owes its virtue to the unity
the continuity of consciousness whereby whatever is !nown to any
consciousness is !nowable by any other consciousness$ Thus the
consciousness of the spiritual #an who lives above our narrow
66
barriers of separateness is in inti#ate touch with the consciousness of
the great Co#panions and can draw on that vast reservoir for all real
needs$ Thus arises within the spiritual #an that certain !nowledge
which is called intuition divination illu#ination$
HD$ These powers stand in contradistinction to the highest spiritual
vision$ 6n #ani< festation they are called #agical powers$
The divine #an is destined to supersede the spiritual #an as the
spiritual #an supersedes the natural #an$ Then the disciple beco#es
a 4aster$ The opened powers of tile spiritual #an spiritual vision
hearing and touch stand therefore in contradistinction to the higher
divine power above the# and #ust in no wise be regarded as the end
of the way for the path has no end but rises ever to higher and higher
glories8 the soul?s growth and splendour have no li#it$ So that if the
spiritual powers we have been considering are regarded as in any
sense final they are a hindrance a barrier to the far higher powers of
the divine #an$ 3ut viewed fro# below fro# the standpoint of
nor#al physical experience they are powers truly #agical8 as the
powers natural to a four<di#ensional being will appear #agical to a
three<di#ensional being$
HE$ Through the wea!ening of the causes of bondage and by learning
the #ethod of sassing the consciousness is transf erred to the other
body$
6n due ti#e after the spiritual #an has been for#ed and grown stable
through the forces and virtues already enu#erated and after the
senses of the spiritual #an have awa!ed there co#es the transfer of
the do#inant consciousness the sense of individu< ality fro# the
physical to the spiritual #an$ Thereafter the physical #an is felt to be
a secondary a subordinate an instru#ent through who# the spiritual
#an wor!s8 and the spiritual #an is felt to be the real individuality$
This is in a sense the attain#ent to full salvation and i##ortal life8
67
yet it is not the final goal or resting place but only the beginning of
the greater way$
The #eans for this transfer are described as the wea!ening of the
causes of bondage and an understanding of the #ethod of passing
fro# the one consciousness to the other$ The first #ay also be
described as detach #eet and co#es fro# the con;uest of the
delusion that the personal self is the real #an$ %hen that delusion
abates and is held in chec! the finer consciousness of the spiritual
#an begins to shine in the bac!ground of the #ind$ The transfer of the
sense of individuality to this finer consciousness and thus to the
spiritual #an then beco#es a #atter of recollection of attention8
pri#arily a #atter of ta!ing a deeper interest in the life and doings of
the spiritual #an than in the please ures or occupations of the
personality$ Therefore it is said: 2>ay not up for yourselves treasures
upon earth where #oth and rust cloth corrupt and where thieves
brea! through and steal: but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven
where neither #oth nor rust cloth corrupt and where thieves do not
brea! through nor steal: for where your treasure is there will your
heart be also$2
HF$ Through #astery of the upward<life co#es freedo# fro# the
dangers of water #orass and thorny places and the power of
ascension is gained$
=ere is one of the sentences so characteristic of this author and
indeed of the Eastern spirit in which there is an obvious exterior
#eaning and within this a clear interior #eaning not ;uite so
obvious but far #ore vital$
The surface #eaning is that by #astery of a certain power called here
the upward<life and a!in to levitation there co#es the ability to wal!
on water or to pass over thorny places without wounding the feet$
68
3ut there is a deeper #eaning$ %hen we spea! of the disciple?s path
as a path of thorns we use a sy#bol8 and the sa#e sy#bol is used
here$ The upward<life #eans so#ething #ore than the power often
#anifested in abnor#al psychical experiences of levitating the
physical body or near<by physical objects$ 6t #eans the strong power
of aspiration of upward will which first builds and then awa!es the
spiritual #an and finally transfers the conscious individuality to hi#8
for it is he who passes safely over the waters of death and rebirth and
is not pierced by the thorns in the path$ Therefore it is said that he
who would tread the path of power #ust loo! for a ho#e in the air
and afterwards in the ether$
Af the upward<life this is written in the Katha 9panishad: 25 hundred
and one are the heart?s channels8 of these one passes to the crown$
Going up this he co#es to the i##ortal$2 This is the power of
ascension spo!en of in the Sutra$
I)$ 3y #astery of the binding<life co#es radiance$
6n the 9panishads it is said that this binding<life unites the upward<life
to the downward<life and these lives have their analogies in the 2vital
breaths2 in the body$ The thought in the text see#s to be that when
the personality is brought thoroughly under control of the spiritual
#an through the life<currents which bind the# together the person
ality is endowed with a new force a strong personal #agnetis# one
#ight call it such as is often an appanage of genius$
3ut the text see#s to #ean #ore than this and to have in view the
2vesture of the colour of the sun2 attributed by the 9panishads to the
spiritual #an8 that vesture which a disciple has thus described: 2The
>ord shall change our vile body that it #ay be fash toned li!e unto his
glorious body28 perhaps 2body of radiance2 would better translate the
Gree!$
69
6n both these passages the teaching see#$ to be that the body of the
full<grown spiritual #an is radiant or lu#inous<for those at least who
have anointed their eyes wit" eye<salve so that they see$
I*$ 'ro# perfectly concentrated 4editation on the correlation of
hearing and the ether co#es the power of spiritual hearing$
Physical sound we are told is carried by the air or by water iron or
so#e #ediun on the sa#e plane of substance$ 3ut then is a finer
hearing whose #ediu# of trans#ission would see# to be the ether8
perhaps no that ether which carries light heat and #agnetic waves
but it #ay be the far finer ether through which the power of gravity
wor!s$ 'or while light or heat or #agnetic waves travelling fro# the
sun to the earth ta!e eight #inutes for the journey it is
#athe#atically certain that the pull of gravitation does not ta!e as
#uch as eight seconds or even the eighth of a second$ The pull of
gravitation travels it would see# 2as ;uic! as thought28 so it #ay well
be that in thought transference or telepathy the thoughts travel by the
sa#e way carried by the sa#e 2thought<swift2 #ediu#$
The transfer of a word by telepathy is the si#plest and earliest for#
of the 2divine hearing2 of the spiritual #an8 as that power grows and
as through perfectly concentrated 4editation the spiritual #an co#es
into #ore co#plete #astery of it he grows able to hear and clearly
distinguish the speech of the great Co#panions who counsel and
co#fort hi# on his way$ They #ay spea! to hi# either in wordless
thoughts or in perfectly definite words and sentences$
I($ 3y perfectly concentrated 4editation e# the correlation of the
body with the ether and by thin!ing of it as light as thistle<down will
co#e the power to traverse the ether$
6t has been said that he who would tread the path of power #ust loo!
for a ho#e in the air and afterwards in the ether$ This would see# to
70
#ean besides the constant injunction to detach#ent that he #ust be
prepared to inhabit first a psychic and then an etheric body8 the
for#er being the body of drea#s8 the latter the body of the spiritual
#an when he wa!es up on the other side of drea#land$ The gradual
accusto#ing of the consciousness to its new etheric vesture its
gradual accli#ati1ation so to spea! in the etheric body of the
spiritual #an is what our text see#s to conte#plate$
IH$ %hen that condition of consciousness s reached which is
far<reaching and not con< fined to the body which is outside the body
and not conditioned by it then the veil which conceals the light is
worn away$
Perhaps the best co##ent on this is afforded by the words of Paul: 26
!new a #an in Christ above fourteen years ago Bwhether in the body
6 cannot tell8 or whether out of the body 6 cannot tell: God !noweth
8C such a one caught up to the third heaven$ 5nd 6 !new such a #an
Bwhether in the body or out of the body 6 cannot tell: God !noweth
8C how that he was caught up into paradise and heard unspea!able
+or unspo!en/ words which it is not lawful for a #an to utter$2
The condition is briefly that of the awa!ened spiritual #an who sees
and hears beyond the veil$
II$ 4astery of the ele#ents co#es fro# perfectly concentrated
4editation on their five for#s: the gross the ele#ental the subtle the
inherent the purposive$ These five for#s are analogous to those
recogni1ed by #odern physics: solid li;uid gaseous radiant and
ionic$ %hen the piercing vision of the awa!ened spiritual #an is
directed to the for#s of #atter fro# within as it were fro# behind
the scenes then perfect #astery over the 2beggarly ele#ents2 is
attained$ This is perhaps e;uivalent to the injunction: 26n;uire of the
earth the air and the water of the secrets they hold for you$ The
develop#ent of your inner senses will enable you to do this$2
71
I-$ Thereupon will co#e the #anifestation of the ato#ic and other
powers which are the endow#ent of the body together with its
unassailable force$
The body in ;uestion is of course the etheric body of the spiritual
#an$ =e is said to possess eight powers: the ato#ic the power of
assi#ilating hi#self with the nature of the ato# which will perhaps
involve the power to disintegrate #aterial for#s8 the power of
levitation8 the power of li#itless extension8 the power of boundless
reach so that as the co##entator says 2he can touch the #oon with
the tip of his finger28 the power to acco#plish his will8 the power of
gravitation the correlative of levitation8 the power of co##and8 the
power of creative will$ These are the endow#ents of the spiritual #an$
'urther the spiritual body is unassailable$ 'ire burns it not water wets
it not the sword cleaves it not dry winds parch it not$ 5nd it is said
the spiritual #an can i#part so#ething of this ;uality and te#per to
his bodily vesture$
I.$ Shapeliness beauty force the te#per of the dia#ond: these are
the endow#ents of that body$
The spiritual #an is shapely beautiful strong fir# as the dia#ond$
Therefore it is written: 2These things saith the Son of God who hath
his eyes li!e unto a fla#e of fire and his feet are li!e fine brass: =e
that overco#eth and !eepeth #y wor!s unto the end to hi# will 6
give power over the nations: and he shall rule the# with a rod of iron8
and 6 will give hi# the #orning star$2
ID$ 4astery over the powers of perception and action co#es through
perfectly concentrated 4editation on their fivefold for#s8 na#ely
their power to grasp their distinctive nature the ele#ent of
self<consciousness in the# their inherence and their purposiveness$
72
Ta!e for exa#ple sight$ This possesses first the power to grasp
apprehend perceive8 second it has its distinctive for# of perception8
that is visual perception8 third it always carries with its operations
self<consciousness the thought: 26 perceive28 fourth sight has the
power of extension through the whole field of vision even to the
ut#ost star8 fifth it is used for the purposes of the Seer$ So with the
other senses$ Perfectly concentrated 4editation on each sense a
viewing it fro# behind and within as is possible for the spiritual #an
brings a #astery of the scope and true character of each sense and of
the world on which they report collectively$
IE$ Thence co#es the power swift as thought independent of
instru#ents and the #astery over #atter$
%e are further enu#erating the endow#ents of the spiritual #an$
5#ong these is the power to traverse space with the swiftness of
thought so that whatever place the spiritual #an thin!s of to that he
goes in that place he already is$ Thought has now beco#e his #eans
of loco#otion$ =e is therefore independent of instru#ents and can
bring his force to bear directly wherever he wills$
IF$ %hen the spiritual #an is perfectly disentangled fro# the psychic
body he attains to #astery over all things and to a !nowledge of all$
The spiritual #an is en#eshed in the web of the e#otions8 desire fear
a#bition passion8 and i#peded by the #ental for#s of separateness
and #aterialis#$ %hen these #eshes are sundered these obstacles
co#pletely overco#e then the spiritual #an stands forth in his own
wide world strong #ighty wise$ =e uses divine powers with a
divine scope and energy wor!ing together with divine Co#panions$
To such a one it is said: 2Thou art now a disciple able to stand able
to hear able to see able to spea! thou hast con;uered desire and
attained to self< !nowledge thou hast seen thy soul in its bloo# and
recogni1ed it and heard the voice of the silence$2
73
-)$ 3y absence of all self<indulgence at this point when the seeds of
bondage to sorrow are destroyed pure spiritual being is attained$
The see!ing of indulgence for the personal self whether through
passion or a#bition sows the seed of future sorrow$ 'or this self
indulgence of the personality is a double sin against the real8 a sin
against the cleanness of life and a sin against the universal being
which per#its no exclusive particular good since in the real all
spiritual possessions are held in co##on$ This twofold sin brings its
reacting punish#ent its confining bondage to sorrow$ 3ut ceasing
fro# self<indulgence brings purity liberation spiritual life$
-*$ There should be co#plete overco#ing of allure#ent or pride in
the invitations of the different real#s of life lest attach#ent to things
evil arise once #ore$
The co##entator tells us that disciples see!ers for union are of four
degrees: first those who are entering the path8 second those who are
in the real# of allure#ents8 third those who have won the victory
over #atter and the senses8 fourth those who stand fir# in pure
spiritual life$ To the second especially the caution in the text is
addressed$ 4ore #odern teachers would express the sa#e truth by a
warning against the delusions and fascinations of the psychic real#
which open around the disciple as he brea!s through into the unseen
worlds$ These are the dangers of the anteroo#$ Safety lies in passing
on swiftly into the inner cha#ber$ ?L=i# that overco#eth will 6 #a!e
a pillar in the te#ple of #y God and he shall go no #ore out$2
-($ 'ro# perfectly concentrated 4editatetion on the divisions of ti#e
and their succession co#es that wisdo# which is born of discern#ent$
The 9panishads say of the liberated that 2he has passed beyond the
triad of ti#e28 he no longer sees life as projected into past present and
74
future since these are for#s of the #ind8 but beholds all things spread
out in the ;uiet light of the Eternal$ This would see# to be the sa#e
thought and to point to that clear<eyed spiritual perception which is
above ti#e8 that wisdo# born of the unveiling of Ti#e?s delusion$
Then shall the disciple live neither in the present nor the future but in
the Eternal$
-H$ =ence co#es discern#ent between things which are of li!e nature
not distinguished by difference of !ind character or position$ =ere as
also in the preceding Sutra we are close to the doctrine that
distinctions of order ti#e and space are creations of the #ind8 the
threefold pris# through which the real object appears to us distorted
and refracted$ %hen the pris# is withdrawn the object returns to its
pri#al unity no longer distinguishable by the #ind yet clearly
!nowable by that high power of spiritual discern#ent of illu#ination
which is above the #ind$
-I$ The wisdo# which is born of discerns #ent is starli!e8 it discerns
all things and all conditions of things it discerns without succession:
si#ultaneously$
That wisdo# that intuitive divining power is starli!e says the
co##entator because it shines with its own light because it rises on
high and illu#ines all things$ @ought is hid fro# it whether things
past things present or things to co#e8 for it is beyond the threefold
for# of ti#e so that all things are spread before it together in the
single light of the divine$ This power has been beautifully described by
Colu#ba: 2So#e there are though very few to who# &ivine grace
has granted this: that they can clearly and #ost distinctly see at one
and the sa#e #o#ent as though under one ray of the sun even the
entire circuit of the whole world with its surroundings of ocean and
s!y the in#ost part of their #ind being #arvellously enlarged$2
--$ %hen the vessture and the spiritual #an are ali!e pure then
75
perfect spiritual life is attained$
The vesture says the co##entator #ust first be washed pure of all
stains of passion and dar!ness and the seeds of future sorrow #ust be
burned up utterly$ Then both the vesture and the wearer of the
vesture being ali!e pure the spiritual #an enters into perfect spiritual
life$
6@T7A&9CT6A@ TA 3AAK 6J
The third boo! of the Sutras has fairly co#pleted the history of the
birth and growth of the spiritual #an and the enu#eration of his
powers8 at least so far as concerns that first epoch in his i##ortal life
which i##ediately succeeds and supersedes the life of the natural
#an$
6n the fourth boo! we are to consider what one #ight call the
#echanis# of salvation the ideally si#ple wor!ing of cos#ic law
which brings the spiritual #an to birth growth and fulness of power
and prepares hi# for the splendid toilso#e further stages of his great
journey ho#e$
The Sutras are here brief to obscurity8 only a few words for exa#ple
are given to the great triune #ystery and illusion of Ti#e8 a phrase or
two indicates the sweep of so#e universal law$ Yet it is hoped that
by !eeping our eyes fixed on the spiritual #an re#e#bering that he
is the hero of the story and that all that is written concerns hi# and
his adventures we #ay be able to find our way through this thic!et of
tangled words and !eep in our hands the clue to the #ystery$
The last part of the last boo! needs little introduction$ 6n a sense it is
the #ost i#portant part of the whole treatise since it un#as!s the
nature of the personality that psychical 2#ind2 which is the wa!eful
ene#y of all who see! to tread the path$ Even now we can hear it
76
whispering the doubt whether that can be a good path which thus sets
2#ind2 at defiance$
6f this then be the #ost vital and funda#ental part of the teaching
should it not stand at the very beginningG 6t #ay see# so at first8 but
had it stood there we should not have co#prehended it$ 'or he who
would !now the doctrine #ust lead the life doing the will of his +ether
which is in =eaven$
3AAK 6J
*$ Psychic and spiritual powers #ay be inborn or they #ay be gained
by the use of drugs or by incantations or by fervour or by
4editation$
Spiritual powers have been enu#erated and described in the preceding
sections$ They are the nor#al powers of the spiritual #an the
antetype the divine edition of the powers of the natural #an$
Through these powers the spiritual #an stands sees hears spea!s
in the spiritual world as the physical #an stands sees hears spea!s
in the natural world$
There is a counterfeit present#ent of the spiritual #an in the world
of drea#s a shadow lord of shadows who has his own drea#y
powers of vision of hearing of #ove#ent8 he has left the natural
without reaching the spiritual$ =e has set forth fro# the shore but has
not gained the further verge of the river$ =e is borne along by the
strea# with no foothold on either shore$ >eaving the actual he has
fallen short of the real caught in the li#bo of vanities and delusions$
The cause of this aberrant phantas# is always the worship of a false
vain self the lord of drea#s within one?s own breast$ This is the
psychic #an lord of delusive and bewildering psychic powers$
Spiritual powers li!e intellectual or artistic gifts #ay be inborn: the
77
fruit that is of seeds planted and reared with toil in a for#er birth$ So
also the powers of the psychic #an #ay be inborn a delusive harvest
fro# seeds of delusion$
Psychical powers #ay be gained by drugs as poverty sha#e
debase#ent #ay be gained by the self<sa#e drugs$ 6n their action they
are baneful cutting the #an off fro# consciousness of the restraining
power of his divine nature so that his forces brea! forth exuberant
li!e the laughter of drun!ards and he sees and hears things delusive$
%hile sin!ing he believes that he has risen8 growing wea!er he thin!s
hi#self full of strength8 beholding illusions he ta!es the# to be true$
Such are the powers gained by drugs8 they are wholly psychic since
the real powers the spiritual can never be so gained$
6ncantations are affir#ations of half<truths concerning spirit and
#atter what is and what is not which wor! upon the #ind and slowly
build up a wraith of powers and a delusive well<being$ These too are
of the psychic real# of drea#s$
>astly there are the true powers of the spiritual #an built up and
reali1ed in 4editation through reverent obedience to spiritual law to
the pure conditions of being in the divine real#$
($ The transfer of powers fro# one venture to another co#es through
the flow of the natural creative forces$
=ere if we can perceive it is the whole secret of spiritual birth
growth and life Spiritual being li!e all being is but an expression of
the Self of the inherent power and being of 5t#a$ 6nherent in the Self
are consciousness and will which have as their lordly heritage the
wide sweep of the universe throughout eternity for the Self is one
with the Eternal$ 5nd the conscious ness of the Self #ay #a!e itself
#anifest as seeing hearing tasting feeling or whatsoever perceptive
powers there #ay be just as the white sunlight #ay divide into
78
#any<coloured rays$ So #ay the will of the Self #anifest itself in the
uttering of words or in handling or in #oving and whatever powers
of action there are throughout the seven worlds$ %here the Self is
there will its powers be$ 6t is but a ;uestion of the vesture through
which these powers shall shine forth$ 5nd wherever the consciousness
and desire of the ever<creative Self are fixed there will a vesture be
built up8 where the heart is there will the treasure be also$
Since through ages the desire of the Self has been toward the natural
world wherein the Self sought to #irror hi#self that he #ight !now
hi#self therefore a vesture of natural ele#ents ca#e into being
through which blosso#ed forth the Self?s powers of perceiving and of
will: the power to see to hear to spea! to wal! to handle8 and when
the Self thus co#e to self<consciousness and with it to a !nowledge
of his i#prison#ent shall set his desire on the divine and real world
and raise his consciousness thereto the spiritual vesture shall be built
up for hi# there with its expression of his inherent powers$ @or will
#igration thither be difficult for the Self since the divine is no strange
or foreign land for hi# but the house of his ho#e where he dwells
fro# everlasting$
H$ The apparent i##ediate cause is not the true cause of the creative
nature<powers8 but li!e the husband#an in his field it ta!es obstacles
away$
The husband#an tills his field brea!ing up the clods of earth into fine
#ould penetrable to air and rain8 he sows his seed carefully covering
it for fear of birds and the wind8 he waters the seed<laden earth
turning the little rills fro# the irrigation tan! now this way and that
re#oving obstacles fro# the channels until the even =ow of water
vitali1es the whole field$ 5nd so the plants ger#inate and grow first
the blade then the ear then the full corn in the ear$ 3ut it is not the
husband#an who #a!es the# grow$ 6t is first the #iraculous plas#ic
power in the grain of seed which brings forth after its !ind8 then the
79
alche#y of sunlight which in presence of the green colouring #atter
of the leaves gathers hydrogen fro# the water and carbon fro# the
gases in the air and #ingles the# in the hydro<carbons of plant
growth8 and finally the wholly occult vital powers of the plant itself
stored up through ages and flowing down fro# the pri#al sources of
life$ The husband#an but re#oves the obstacles$ =e plants and
waters but God gives the increase$
So with the finer husband#an of diviner fields$ =e tills and sows but
the growth of the spiritual #an co#es through the surge and flow of
divine creative forces and powers$ =ere again God gives the
increase$ The divine Self puts forth for the #anifestation of its
powers a new and finer vesture the body of the spiritual #an$
I$ Jestures of consciousness are built up in confor#ity with the
3oston of the feel< ing of selfhood$
The Self says a great Teacher in turn at< itself to three vestures: first
to the physical body then to the finer body and thirdly to the causal
body$ 'inally it stands forth radiant lu#inous joyous as the Self$
%hen the Self attributes itself to the physical body there arise the
states of bodily consciousness built up about the physical self$
%hen the Self brea!ing through this first illusion begins to see and
feel itself in the finer body to find selfhood there then the states of
consciousness of the finer body co#e into being8 or to spea! exactly
the finer body and its states of consciousness arise and grow together$
3ut the Self #ust not dwell per#anently there$ 6t #ust learn to find
itself in the causal body to build up the wide and lu#inous fields of
consciousness that belong to that$
@or #ust it dwell forever there for there re#ains the fourth state the
80
divine with its own splendour and everlastingness$
6t is all a ;uestion of the states of consciousness8 all a ;uestion of
raising the sense of selfhood until it dwells forever in the Eternal$
-$ 6n the different fields of #anifestation the Consciousness though
one is the elective cause of #any states of consciousness$
=ere is the splendid teaching of oneness that lies at the heart of the
Eastern wisdo#$ Consciousness is ulti#ately Ane everywhere and
forever$ The Eternal the 'ather is the Ane Self of 5ll 3eings$ 5nd so
in each individual who is but a facet of that Self Consciousness is
Ane$ %hether it brea!s through as the dull fire of physical life or the
#ur!y fla#e of the psychic and passional or the radiance of the
spiritual #an or the full glory of the &ivine it is ever the >ight
naught but the >ight$ The one Consciousness is the effective cause of
all states of consciousness on every plane$
.$ 5#ong states of consciousness that which is born of
Conte#plation is free fro# the seed of future sorrow$
%here the consciousness brea!s forth in the physical body and the
full play of bodily life begins its progression carries with it inevitable
li#itations$ 3irth involves death$ 4eetings have their partings$ =unger
alternates with satiety$ 5ge follows on the heels of youth$ So do the
states of consciousness run along the circle of birth and death$
%ith the psychic the alternation between pri1e and penalty is swifter$
=ope has its shadow of fear or it is no hope$ Exclusive love is
tortured by jealousy$ Pleasure passes through deadness into pain$
Pain?s surcease brings pleasure bac! again$ So here too the states of
consciousness run their circle$ 6n all psychic states there is egotis#
which indeed is the very essence of the psychic8 and where there is
egotis# there is ever the seed of future sorrow$ &esire carries
81
bondage in its wo#b$
3ut where the pure spiritual consciousness begins free fro# self and
stain the ancient law of retaliation ceases8 the penalty of sorrow
lapses and is no #ore i#posed$ The soul now passes no longer fro#
sorrow to sorrow but fro# glory to glory$ 6ts growth and splendour
have no li#it$ The good passes to better best$
D$ The wor!s of followers after 9nion #a!e neither for bright pleasure
nor for dar! pain The wor!s of others #a!e for pleasure or pain or
a #ingling of these$
The #an of desire wins fro# his wor!s the reward of pleasure or
incurs the penalty of pain8 or as so often happens in life his guerdon
li!e the passionate #ood of the lover is part pleasure and part pain$
%or!s done with self< see!ing bear within the# the seeds of future
sorrow8 conversely according to the proverb present pain is future
gain$
3ut for hi# who has gone beyond desire whose desire is set on the
Eternal neither pain to be avoided nor pleasure to be gained inspires
his wor!$ =e fears no hell and desires no heaven$ =is one desire is to
!now the will of the 'ather and finish =is wor!$ =e co#es directly in
line with the divine %ill and wor!s cleanly and i##ediately without
longing or fear$ =is heart dwells in the Eternal8 all his desires are set
on the Eternal$
E$ 'ro# the force inherent in wor!s co#es the #anifestation of those
dyna#ic #ind i#ages which are confor#able to the ripening out of
each of these wor!s$
%e are now to consider the general #echanis# of Kar#a in order
that we #ay pass on to the consideration of hi# who is free fro#
Kar#a$ Kar#a indeed is the concern of the personal #an of his
82
bondage or freedo#$ 6t is the succession of the forces which built up
the personal #an reproducing the#selves in one personality after
another$
@ow let us ta!e an i#aginary case to see how these forces #ay wor!
out$ >et us thin! of a #an with #urderous intent in his heart stri!ing
with a dagger at his ene#y$ =e #a!es a red wound in his victi#?s
breast8 at the sa#e instant he paints in his own #ind a picture of that
wound: a picture dyna#ic with all the fierce will<power he has put
into his #urderous blow$ 6n other words he has #ade a deep wound
in his own psychic body8 and when he co#es to be born again that
body will beco#e his outer#ost vesture upon which with its wound
still there bodily tissue will be built up$ So the #an will be born
#ai#ed or with the predisposition to so#e #ortal injury8 he is
unguarded at that point and any trifling accidental blow will pierce the
bro!en Joints of his psychic ar#our$ Thus do the dyna#ic
#ind<i#ages #anifest the#selves co#ing to the surface so that
wor!s done in the past #ay ripen and co#e to fruition$
F$ %or!s separated by different nature or place or ti#e are brought
together by the correspondence between #e#ory and dyna#ic
i#pression$
Just as in the ripening out of #ind<i#ages into bodily conditions the
effect is brought about by the ray of creative force sent down by the
Self so#ewhat as the light of the #agic lantern projects the details of
a picture on the screen revealing the hidden and #a!ing secret things
palpable and visible so does this divine ray exercise a selective power
on the dyna#ic #ind<i#ages bringing together into one day of life the
seeds gathered fro# #any days$ The #e#ory constantly exe#plifies
this power8 a passage of poetry will call up in the #ind li!e passages
of #any poets read at different ti#es$ So a prayer #ay call up #any
prayers$
83
6n li!e #anner the sa#e over<ruling selective power which is a ray
of the =igher Self gathers together fro# different births and ti#es and
places those #ind<i#ages which are confor#able and #ay be grouped
in the fra#e of a single life or a single event$ Through this grouping
visible bodily conditions or outward circu#stances are brought about
and by these the soul is taught and trained$
Just as the dyna#ic #ind<i#ages of desire ripen out in bodily
conditions and circu#stances so the far #ore dyna#ic powers of
aspiration wherein the soul reaches toward the Eternal have their
fruition in a finer world building the vesture of the spiritual #an$
*)$ The series of dyna#ic #ind<i#ages is beginningless because
&esire is everlasting$
The whole series of dyna#ic #ind<i#ages which #a!e up the entire
history of the personal #an is a part of the #echanis# which the Self
e#ploys to #irror itself in a reflection to e#body its powers in an
outward for# to the end of self<expression selfreali1ation
self<!nowledge$ Therefore the initial i#pulse behind these dyna#ic
#ind< i#ages co#es fro# the Self and is the descending ray of the
Self8 so that it cannot be said that there is any first #e#ber of the
series of i#ages fro# which the rest arose$ The i#pulse is
beginningless since it co#es fro# the Self which is fro# everlasting$
&esire is not to cease8 it is to turn to the Eternal and so beco#e
aspiration$
**$ Since the dyna#ic #ind<i#ages are held together by i#pulses of
desire by the wish for personal reward by the substratu# of #ental
habit by the support of outer things desired8 therefore when these
cease the self reproduction of dyna#ic #ind<i#ages ceases$
%e are still concerned with the personal life in its bodily vesture and
with the process whereby the forces which have upheld it are
84
gradually transferred to the life of the spiritual #an and build up for
hi# his finer vesture in a finer world$
=ow is the current to be changed G =ow is the flow of
self<reproductive #ind<i#ages which have built the conditions of life
after life in this world of bondage to be chec!ed that the ti#e of
i#prison#ent #ay co#e to an end the day of liberation dawnG
The answer is given in the Sutra just translated$ The driving<force is
withdrawn and directed to the upbuilding of the spiritual body$
%hen the building i#pulses and forces are withdrawn the tendency
to #anifest a new psychical body a new body of bondage ceases with
the#$
*($ The difference between that which is past and that which is not yet
co#e according to their natures depends on the difference of phase
of their properties$
=ere we co#e to a high and difficult #atter which has always been
held to be of great #o#ent in the Eastern wisdo#: the thought that
the division of ti#e into past present and future is in great #easure
an illusion8 that past present future all dwell together in the eternal
@ow$
The discern#ent of this truth has been held to be so necessarily a part
of wisdo# that one of the na#es of the Enlightened is: 2he who has
passed beyond the three ti#es: past present future$2
So the %estern 4aster said: 23efore 5braha# was 6 a#28 and again
26 a# with you always unto the end of the world28 using the eternal
present for past and future ali!e$ %ith the sa#e purpose the 4aster
spea!s of hi#self as 2the alpha and the o#ega the beginning and the
end the first and the last$2
85
5nd a 4aster of our own days writes: 26 feel even irritated at having
to use these three clu#sy wordsMpast present and future$ 4iserable
concepts of the objective phases of the subjective whole they are
about as ill adapted for the purpose as an axe for fine carving$2
6n the eternal @ow both past and future are consu##ated$
3jor!lund the Swedish philosopher has well stated the sa#e truth:
2@either past nor future can exist to God8 =e lives undividedly
without li#itations and needs not as #an to plot out his existence in
a series of #o#ents$ Eternity then is not identical with unending ti#e8
it is a different for# of existence related to ti#e as the perfect to the
i#perfect $$$ 4an as an entity for hi#self #ust have the natural
li#itations for the part$ Conceived by God #an is eternal in the divine
sense but conceived $ by hi#self #an?s eternal life is clothed in the
li#itations we call ti#e$ The eternal is a constant present without
beginning or end without past or future$2
*H$ These properties whether #anifest or latent are of the nature of
the Three Potencies$
The Three Potencies are the three #anifested #odifications of the one
pri#al #aterial which stands opposite to perceiving consciousness$
These Three Potencies are called Substance 'orce &ar!ness8 or
viewed rather for their #oral colouring Goodness Passion 6nertness$
Every #aterial #anifestation is a projection of substance into the
e#pty space of dar!ness$ Every #ental state is either good or
passional or inert$ So whether subjective or objective latent or
#anifest all things that present the#selves to the perceiving
consciousness are co#pounded of these three$ This is a funda#ental
doctrine of the San!hya syste#$
86
*I$ The external #anifestation of an object ta!es place when the
transfor#ations ore in the sa#e phase$
%e should be inclined to express the sa#e law by saying for exa#ple
that a sound is audible when it consists of vibrations within the
co#pass of the auditory nerve8 that an object is visible when either
directly or by reflection it sends forth lu#iniferous vibrations within
the co#pass of the retina and the optic nerve$ Jibrations below or
above that co#pass #a!e no i#pression at all and the object re#ains
invisible8 as for exa#ple a !ettle of boiling water in a dar! roo#
though the !ettle is sending forth heat vibrations closely a!in to light$
So when the vibrations of the object and those of the perceptive
power are in the sa#e phase the external #anifestation of the object
ta!es place$
There see#s to be a further suggestion that the appearance of an
object in the 2present2 or its re#aining hid in the 2past2 or 2future2
is li!ewise a ;uestion of phase and just as the range of vibrations
perceived #ight be increased by the develop#ent of finer senses so
the perception of things past and things to co#e #ay be easy fro#
a higher point of view$
*-$ The paths of #aterial things and of states of consciousness are
distinct as is #anifest fro# the fact that the sa#e object #ay produce
different i#pressions in different #inds$
=aving shown that our bodily condition and circu#stances depend on
Kar#a while Kar#a depends on perception and will the sage
recogni1es the fact that fro# this #ay be drawn the false deduction
that #aterial things are in no wise different fro# states of #ind$ The
sa#e thought has occurred and still occurs to all philosophers8 and
by various reasonings they all co#e to the sa#e wise conclusion8 that
the #aterial world is not #ade by the #ood of any hu#an #ind but
87
is rather the #anifestation of the totality of invisible 3eing whether
we call this 4ahat with the ancients or Ether with the #oderns$
*.$ @or do #aterial objects defend upon a single #ind for how could
they re#ain objective to others if that #ind ceased to thin! of the#G
This is but a further develop#ent of the thought of the preceding
Sutra carrying on the thought that while the universe is spiritual yet
its #aterial expression is ordered consistent ruled by law not subject
to the whi#s or affir#ations of a single #ind$ 9nwelco#e #aterial
things #ay be escaped by spiritual growth by rising to a real# above
the# and not by denying their existence on their own plane$ So that
our syste# is neither #aterialistic nor idealistic in the extre#e sense
but rather intuitional and spiritual holding that #atter is the
#anifestation of spirit as a whole a reflection or externali1ation of
spirit and li!e spirit everywhere obedient to law$ The path of
liberation is not through denial of #atter but through denial of the
wills of self through obedience and that aspiration which builds the
vesture of the spiritual #an$
*D$ 5n object is perceived or not perceived according as the #ind is
or is not tinged with the colour of the object$
The si#plest #anifestation of this is the #atter of attention$ Aur #inds
apprehend what they wish to apprehend8 all else passes unnoticed or
on the other hand we perceive what we resent as for exa#ple the
noise of a passing train8 while others used to the sound do not notice
it at all$
3ut the deeper #eaning is that out of the vast totality of objects ever
present in the universe the #ind perceives only those which confor#
to the hue of its Kar#a$ The rest re#ain unseen even though close at
hand$
88
This spiritual law has been well expressed by E#erson:
2Through solidest eternal things the #an finds his road as if they did
not subsist and does not once suspect their being$ 5s soon as he
needs a new object suddenly he beholds it and no longer atte#pts to
pass through it but ta!es another way$ %hen he has exhausted for the
ti#e the nourish#ent to be drawn fro# any one person or thing that
object is withdrawn fro# his observation and though still in his
i##ediate neighbourhood he does not suspect its presence$ @othing
is dead$ 4en feign the#selves dead and endure #oc! funerals and
#ournful obituaries and there they stand loo!ing out of the window
sound and well in so#e new and strange disguise$ Jesus is not dead
he is very well alive: nor John nor Paul nor 4aho#et nor 5ristotle8
at ti#es we believe we have seen the# all and could easily tell the
na#es under which they go$2
*E$ The #ove#ents of the psychic nature are perpetually ob jects of
perception since the Spiritual 4an who is the lord of the# re#ains
unchanging$
=ere is teaching of the ut#ost i#port both for understanding and for
practice$
To the psychic nature belong all the ebb and flow of e#otion all
hoping and fearing desire and hate: the things that #a!e the #ultitude
of #en and wo#en dee# the#selves happy or #iserable$ To it also
belong the #easuring and co#paring the doubt and ;uestioning
which for the sa#e #ultitude #a!e up #ental life$ So that there
results the e#otion<soa!ed personality with its dar! and narrow view
of life: the shivering terror driven personality that is life itself for all
but all of #an!ind$
Yet the personality is not the true #an not the living soul at all but
only a spectacle which the true #an observes$ >et us under stand this
89
therefore and draw ourselves up inwardly to the height of the
Spiritual 4an who standing in the ;uiet light of the Eternal loo!s
down serene upon this tur#oil of the outer life$
Ane first #asters the personality the 2#ind2 by thus loo!ing down on
it fro# above fro# within8 by steadily watching its ebb and flow as
objective outward and therefore not the real Self$ This standing bac!
is the first step detach#ent$ The second to #aintain the
vantage<ground thus gained is recollection$
*F$ The 4ind is not self<lu#inous since it can be seen as an object$
This is a further step toward overthrowing the tyranny of the 2#ind2:
the psychic nature of e#otion and #ental #easuring$ This psychic self
the personality clai#s to be absolute asserting that life is for it and
through it8 it see!s to i#pose on the whole being of #an its narrow
#aterialistic faithless view of life and the universe8 it would clip the
wings of the soaring Soul$ 3ut the Soul dethrones the tyrant by
perceiving and steadily affir#ing that the psychic self is no true self at
all not self<lu#inous but only an object of observation watched by
the serene eyes of the Spiritual 4an$
()$ @or could the 4ind at the sa#e ti#e !now itself and things
external to it$
The truth is that the 2#ind2 !nows neither external things nor itself$
6ts #easuring and analy1ing its hoping and fearing hating and
desiring never give it a true #easure of life nor any sense of real
values$ Ceaselessly active it never really attains to !nowledge8 or if
we ad#it its !nowledge it ever falls short of wisdo# which co#es
only through intuition the vision of the Spiritual 4an$
>ife cannot be !nown by the 2#ind2 its secrets cannot be learned
through the 2#ind$2 The proof is the ceaseless strife and contradiction
90
of opinion a#ong those who trust in the #ind$ 4uch less can the
2#ind2 !now itself the #ore so because it is pervaded by the illusion
that it truly !nows truly is$
True !nowledge of the 2#ind2 co#es first when the Spiritual 4an
arising stands detached regarding the 2#ind2 fro# above with ;uiet
eyes and seeing it for the tangled web of psychic forces that it truly
is$ 3ut the truth is divined long before it is clearly seen and then
begins the long battle of the 2#ind? against the 7eal the 2#ind2
fighting doggedly craftily for its supre#acy$
(*$ 6f the 4ind be thought of as seen by another #ore inward 4ind
then there would be an endless series of perceiving 4inds and a
confusion of #e#ories$
Ane of the expedients by which the 2#ind2 see!s to deny and thwart
the Soul when it feels that it is beginning to be circu#vented and seen
through is to assert that this seeing is the wor! of a part of itself one
part observing the other and thus leaving no need nor place for the
Spiritual 4an$
To this strategy the argu#ent is opposed by our philosopher that this
would be no true solution but only a postpone#ent of the solution$
'or we should have to find yet another part of the #ind to view the
first observing part and then another to observe this and so on
endlessly$
The true solution is that the Spiritual 4an loo!s down upon the
psychic nature and observes it8 when he views the psychic pictures
gallery this is 2#e#ory2 which would be a hopeless inextricable
confusion if we thought of one part of the 2#ind2 with its #e#ories
viewing another part with #e#ories of its own$
The solution of the #ystery lies not in the 2#ind2 but beyond it in the
91
lu#inous life of the risen >ord the Spiritual 4an$
(($ %hen the psychical nature ta!es on the for# of the spiritual
intelligence by reflecting it then the Self beco#es conscious of its
own spiritual intelligence$
%e are considering a stage of spiritual life at which the psychical
nature has been cleansed and purified$ 'or#erly it reflected in its
plastic substance the i#ages of the earthy8 purified now it reflects the
i#age of the heavenly giving the spiritual intelligence a visible for#$
The Self beholding that visible for# in which its spiritual intelligence
has as it were ta!en palpable shape thereby reaches self<recognition
self<co#prehension$ The Self sees itself in this #irror and thus
beco#es not only conscious but self<conscious$ This is fro# one
point of view the purpose of the whole evolutionary process$
(H$ The psychic nature ta!ing on the colour of the Seer and of things
seen leads to the perception of all objects$
6n the unregenerate #an the psychic nature is saturated with i#ages
of #aterial things of things seen or heard or tasted or felt8 and this
web of dyna#ic i#ages for#s the ordinary #aterial and driving power
of life$ The sensation of sweet things tasted cla#ours to be renewed
and drives the #an into effort to obtain its renewal8 so he adds i#age
to i#age each dyna#ic and i#portunate piling up sin?s intolerable
burden$
Then co#es regeneration and the washing away of sin through the
fiery creative power of the Soul which burns out the stains of the
psychic vesture purifying it as gold is refined in the furnace$ The
suffering of regeneration springs fro# this indispensable purifying$
Then the psychic vesture begins to ta!e on the colour of the Soul no
longer stained but suffused with golden light8 and the #an red
92
generate glea#s with the radiance of eternity$ Thus the Spiritual 4an
puts on fair rai#ent8 for of this cleansing it is said: Though your sins
be as scarlet they shall be white as snow8 though they be as cri#son
they shall be as wool$
(I$ The psychic nature which has been printed with #ind<i#ages of
innu#erable #aterial things exists now f or the Spiritual 4an
building for hi#$
The 2#ind2 once the tyrant is now the slave recogni1ed as outward
separate not Self a well<trained instru#ent of the Spiritual 4an$
'or it is not ordained for the Spiritual 4an that finding his high real#
he shall enter altogether there and pass out of the vision of #an!ind$
6t is true that he dwells in heaven but he also dwells on earth$ =e has
angels and archangels the hosts of the just #ade perfect for his
fa#iliar friends but he has at the sa#e ti#e found a new !inship with
the prone children of #en who stu#ble and sin in the dar!$ 'inding
sinlessness he finds also that the world?s sin and sha#e are his not to
share but to atone8 finding !inship with angels he li!ewise finds his
part in the toil of angels the toil for the rede#ption of the world$
'or this wor! he who now stands in the heavenly real# needs his
instru#ent on earth8 and this instru#ent he finds ready to his hand
and fitted and perfected by the very struggles he has waged against it
in the personality the 2#ind? of the personal #an$ This once tyrant is
now his servant and perfect a#bassador bearing witness before #en
of heavenly things and even in this present world doing the will and
wor!ing the wor!s of the 'ather$
(-$ 'or hi# who discerns between the 4ind and the Spiritual 4an
there co#es perfect fruition of the longing after the real being of the
Self$
93
=ow #any ti#es in the long struggle have the Soul?s aspirations
see#ed but a hopeless i#possible drea# a #ad#an?s counsel of
perfection$ Yet every finest #ost i#possible aspiration shall be
reali1ed and ten ti#es #ore than reali1ed once the long arduous
fight against the 2#ind2 and the #ind?s worldview is won$ 5nd then
it will be seen that unfaith and despair were but weapons of the
2#ind2 to daunt the Soul and put off the day when the nec! of the
2#ind2 shall be put under the foot of the Soul$
=ave you aspired well<nigh hopeless after i##ortalityG You shall be
paid by entering the i##ortality of God$
=ave you aspired in #isery and pain after consoling healing loveG
You shall be #ade a dispenser of the divine love of God =i#self to
weary souls$
=ave you sought ardently in your day of feebleness after power G
You shall wield power i##ortal infinite with God wor!ing the wor!s
of God$
=ave you in lonely dar!ness longed for co#panionship and
consolation G You shall have angels and archangels for your friends
and all the i##ortal hosts of the &awn$
These are the fruits of victory$ Therefore overco#e$ These are the
pri1es of regeneration$ Therefore die to self that you #ay rise again
to God$
(.$ Thereafter the whole personal being bends toward illu#ination
toward Eternal >ife$
This is part of the secret of the Soul that salvation #eans not #erely
that a soul shall be cleansed and raised to heaven but that the whole
real# of the natural powers shall be redee#ed building up even in
94
this present world the !ingly figure of the Spiritual 4an$
The traditions of the ages are full of his footsteps8 #ajestic
unco#prehended shadows #yths de#i<gods fill the #e#ories of all
the nobler peoples$ 3ut the ti#e co#eth when he shall be !nown no
longer de#i<god nor #yth nor shadow but the ever<present
7edee#er wor!ing a#id #en for the life and cleansing of all souls$
(D$ 6n the internals of the bati! other thoughts will arise through the
i#pressions of the dyna#ic #ind<i#ages$
The battle is long and arduous$ >et there be no #ista!e as to that$ Go
not forth to this battle without counting the cost$ 5ges have gone to
the strengthening of the foe$ 5ges of conflict #ust be spent ere the
foe wholly con;uered beco#es the servant the Soul?s #inister to
#an!ind$
5nd fro# these long past ages in hours when the contest flags will
co#e new foes #ind<born children springing up to fight for #ind
reinforce#ents co#ing fro# forgotten years forgotten lives$ 'or once
this conflict is begun it can be ended only by sweeping victory and
unconditional unreserved surrender of the van;uished$
(E$ These are to be overco#e as it was taught that hindrances should
be overco#e$
These new ene#ies and fears are to be overco#e by ceaselessly
renewing the fight by a steadfast dogged persistence whether in
victory or defeat which shall put the stubbornness of the roc!s to
sha#e$ 'or the Soul is older than all things and invincible8 it is of the
very nature of the Soul to be uncon;uerable$
Therefore fight on undaunted8 !nowing that the spiritual will once
awa!ened shall through the effort of the contest co#e to its full
95
strength8 that ground gained can be held per#anently8 that great as is
the dead<weight of the adversary it is yet #easurable while the
%arrior who fights for you for who# you fight is in #ight
i##easurable invincible everlasting$
(F$ =e who after he has attained is wholly free fro# self reaches the
essence of all that can be !nown gathered together li!e a cloud$ This
is the true spiritual consciousness$
6t has been said that at the beginning of the way we #ust !ill out
a#bition the great curse the giant weed which grows as strongly in
the heart of the devoted disciple as in the #an of desire$ The re#edy
is sacrifice of self obedience hu#ility8 that purity of heart which gives
the vision of God$ Thereafter he who has attained is wrapt about with
the essence of all that can be !nown as with a cloud8 he has that
perfect illu#ination which is the true spiritual consciousness$ Through
obedience to the will of God he co#es into oneness of being with
God8 he is initiated into God?s view of the universe seeing all life as
God sees it$
H)$ Thereon co#es surcease fro# sorrow and the burden of toil$
Such a one it is said is free fro# the bond of Kar#a fro# the burden
of toil fro# that debt to wor!s which co#es fro# wor!s done in
self<love and desire$ 'ree fro# self<will he is free fro# sorrow too
for sorrow co#es fro# the fight of self<will against the divine will
through the correcting stress of the divine will which see!s to
counteract the evil wrought by disobedience$ %hen the conflict with
the divine will ceases then sorrow ceases and he who has grown into
obedience thereby enters into joy$
H*$ %hen all veils are rent all stains washed away his !nowledge
beco#es infinite8 little re#ains for hi# to !now$
96
The first veil is the delusion that thy soul is in so#e per#anent way
separate fro# the great Soul the divine Eternal$ %hen that veil is rent
thou shalt discern thy oneness with everlasting >ife$ The second veil
is the delusion of enduring separateness fro# thy other selves
whereas in truth the soul that is in the# is one with the soul that is in
thee$ The world?s sin and sha#e are thy sin and sha#e: its joy also$
These veils rent thou shalt enter into !nowledge of divine things and
hu#an things$ >ittle will re#ain un!nown to thee$
H($ Thereafter co#es the co#pletion of the series of transfor#ations
of the three nature potencies since their purpose is attained$
6t is a part of the beauty and wisdo# of the great 6ndian teachings the
Jedanta and the Yoga ali!e to hold that all life exists for the purposes
of Soul for the #a!ing of the spiritual #an$ They teach that all nature
is an orderly process of evolution leading up to this designed for this
end existing only for this: to bring forth and perfect the Spiritual 4an$
=e is the crown of evolution: at his co#ing the goal of all
develop#ent is attained$
HH$ The series of transfor#ations is divided into #o#ents$ %hen the
series is co#pleted ti#e gives place to duration$
There are two !inds of eternity says the co##entary: the eternity of
i##ortal life which belongs to the Spirit and the eternity of change
which inheres in @ature in all that is not Spirit$ %hile we are content
to live in and for @ature in the Circle of @ecessity Sansara we doo#
ourselves to perpetual change$ That which is born #ust die and that
which dies #ust be reborn$ 6t is change ever#ore a ceaseless series
of transfor#ations$
3ut the Spiritual 4an enters a new order8 for hi# there is no longer
eternal change but eternal 3eing$ =e has entered into the joy of his
97
>ord$ This spiritual birth which #a!es hi# heir of the Everlasting
sets a ter# to change8 it is the cul#ination the crowning
transfor#ation of the whole real# of change$
HI$ Pure spiritual life is therefore the in< verse resolution of the
potencies of @ature which have e#ptied the#selves of their value for
the Spiritual #an8 or it is the return of the power of pure
Consciousness to its essential for#$
=ere we have a splendid generali1ation in which our wise philosopher
finally reconciles the naturalists and the idealists expressing the crown
and end of his teaching first in the ter#s of the naturalist and then in
the ter#s of the idealist$
The birth and growth of the Spiritual 4an and his entry into his
i##ortal heritage #ay be regarded says our philosopher either as
the cul#ination of the whole process of natural evolution and
involution where 2that which flowed f ro# out the boundless deep
turns again ho#e28 or it #ay be loo!ed at as the Jedantins loo! at it
as the restoration of pure spiritual Consciousness to its pristine and
essential for#$ There is no discrepancy or conflict between these two
views which are but two accounts of the sa#e thing$ Therefore those
who study the wise philosopher be they naturalist or idealist have no
excuse to linger over dialetic subtleties or disputes$ These things are
lifted fro# their path lest they should be te#pted to delay over the#
and they are left facing the path itself stretching upward and onward
fro# their feet to the everlasting hills radiant with infinite >ight$
End of the Project Gutenberg Etext of The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali by
Charles Johnston
98