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joy in being born; then one can truthfully say, "Blessed am I that I was
born." When that control of the organs is obtained, we feel how wonderful
this body really is.
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Powers
We have now come to the chapter in which the Yoga powers are described.
1. Dharana is holding the mind on to some particular object.
Dharana (concentration) is when the mind holds on to some object, either in
the body, or outside the body, and keeps itself in that state.
2. An unbroken flow of knowledge in that object is Dhyana.
The mind tries to think of one object, to hold itself to one particular spot, as
the top of the head, the heart, etc., and if the mind succeeds in receiving the
sensations only through that part of the body, and through no other part, that
would be Dharana, and when the mind succeeds in keeping itself in that state
for some time, it is called Dhyana (meditation).
3. When that, giving up all forms, reflects only the meaning, it is
Samadhi.
That comes when in meditation the form or the external part is given up.
Suppose I were meditating on a book, and that I have gradually succeeded in
concentrating the mind on it, and perceiving only the internal sensations, the
meaning, unexpressed in any form -- that state of Dhyana is called Samadhi.
4. (These) three (when practised) in regard to one object is Samyama.
When a man can direct his mind to any particular object and fix it there, and
then keep it there for a long time, separating the object from the internal
part, this is Samyama; or Dharana, Dhyana, and Samadhi, one following the
other, and making one. The form of the thing has vanished, and only its
meaning remains in the mind.
5. By the conquest of that comes light of knowledge.
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When one has succeeded in making this Samyama, all powers come under
his control. This is the great instrument of the Yogi. The objects of
knowledge are infinite, and they are divided into the gross, grosser, grossest
and the fine, finer, finest and so on. This Samyama should be first applied to
gross things, and when you begin to get knowledge of this gross, slowly, by
stages, it should be brought to finer things.
6. That should be employed in stages.
This is a note of warning not to attempt to go too fast.
7. These three are more internal than those that precede.
Before these we had the Pratyahara, the Pranayama, the Asana, the Yama
and Niyama; they are external parts of the three -- Dharana, Dhyana and
Samadhi. When a man has attained to them, he may attain to omniscience
and omnipotence, but that would not be salvation. These three would not
make the mind Nirvikalpa, changeless, but would leave the seeds for getting
bodies again. Only when the seeds are, as the Yogi says, "fried," do they
lose the possibility of producing further plants. These powers cannot fry the
seed.
8. But even they are external to the seedless (Samadhi).
Compared with that seedless Samadhi, therefore, even these are external. We
have not yet reached the real Samadhi, the highest, but a lower stage, in
which this universe still exists as we see it, and in which are all these
powers.
9. By the suppression of the disturbed impressions of the mind, and by
the rise of impressions of control, the mind, which persists in that
moment of control, is said to attain the controlling modifications.
That is to say, in this first state of Samadhi the modifications of the mind
have been controlled, but not perfectly, because if they were, there would be
no modifications. If there is a modification which impels the mind to rush
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out through the senses, and the Yogi tries to control it, that very control itself
will be a modification. One wave will be checked by another wave, so it will
not be real Samadhi in which all the waves subside, as control itself will be a
wave. Yet this lower Samadhi is very much nearer to the higher Samadhi
than when the mind comes bubbling out.
10. Its flow becomes steady by habit.
The flow of this continuous control of the mind becomes steady when
practised day after day, and the mind obtains the faculty of constant
concentration.
11. Taking in all sorts of objects, and concentrating upon one object,
these two powers being destroyed and manifested respectively, the
Chitta gets the modification called Samadhi.
The mind takes up various objects, runs into all sorts of things. That is the
lower state. There is a higher state of the mind, when it takes up one object
and excludes all others, of which Samadhi is the result.
12. The one - pointedness of the Chitta is when the impression that is
past and that which is present are similar.
How are we to know that the mind has become concentrated? Because the
idea of time will vanish. The more time passes unnoticed the more
concentrated we are. In common life we see that when we are interested in a
book we do not note the time at all; and when we leave the book, we are
often surprised to find how many hours have passed. All time will have the
tendency to come and stand in the one present. So the definition is given:
When the past and present come and stand in one, the mind is said to be
concentrated.
13. By this is explained the threefold transformation of form, time and
state, in fine or gross matter and in the organs.
By the threefold changes in the mind - stuff as to form, time and state are
explained the corresponding changes in gross and subtle matter and in the
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organs. Suppose there is a lump of gold. It is transformed into a bracelet and [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]