the annotated yoga sutras - yogadarshana yogasutras.pdf · the yoga sutras of patanjali are an...

THE ANNOTATED YOGA SUTRAS

byGodfrey Devereux

THE YOGA SUTRAS OF PATANJALI rendered and interpreted by godfridev

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The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali are an integrated and thorough, but not exhaustive, exposition of the deep nature of the human condition: a presentation of consciousness as the nature and source of human experience. It is a subtle text expressing elusive phenomena and notions. Do not expect either Patanjali’s words (in translation!), nor mine to reveal their full meaning at first glance.

However by the time you have slowly but fluidly read the whole text as a single whole, the learned habits of interpretation and meaning to which your mind has become accustomed may have begun to loosen and the subtlety of thought required of genuinely understanding your own nature may well be asserting itself enough for the meaning ascribed to the terminology used to become self evident. (In other words: dont think too hard about anything you find in these pages!)

However it may help you to know that neither myself nor Patanjlai are anything as limited as a scientist, or philosopher. There is no attempt within these pages to define anything, least of all the nature of reality. Instead you will find within a broad, deep and mult idemensional way of looking at human experience. This perspective is mine: in the sense that it is coming through me, not in the sense that it defines me. It is based on the meeting of my inner explorations with the text of Patanjali as i have been able to undersand it with no formal training in sanskrit!

May your mind become as free as possibe from any and all limiting beliefs as soon as possible, so that you can know the ease and delight of a genuine freedom, such as that indicated within.


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GLOSSARY OF TECHNICAL TERMS clarifying the meaning and use to which i put them, rather than defining them.

Consciousness: the unconditional ground and source of awareness, intelligence, objects and actions.Awareness: the field within which the intelligence of consciousness knows, consciously and subconsciously. Conscious:noticed, or taking place in the light of conscious awareness.Subconscious: unnoticed, or taking place below the threshold of conscious awareness.State of consciousness: a particular, temporary, mode of experiencing the world. Awareness state: a particular, temporary, way of seeing the world.Being state: a particular way of being in ongoing relationship to the world.

Mind: the spectrum (conscious, subconscious or unconscious) of interpretative intelligence suporting the body through which it is functioning Mental activity: the ongoing flow of conscious, subconscious or unconscious interpretation Conscious mind: mental activity taking place in the light of awareness.Subconscious mind: mental activity taking place below the threshold of awareness.Unconscious mind: residuum of memories and concepts stored in the bodimind on the basis of experience (personal or collective) and underpinning subconscious and conscious thought.Phenomenon: a conceptualised object.Phenomena: the background generality of conceptualised objects within which specific objects are located and defined. Phenomenalisation: the conception (creation) of discret perceptible objects and actions.


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Sensation: somatic information generated (consciously or subconsciously) in the nervous system in response to stimulation (internal or external). Perception: awareness (conscious or subconscious) of neural stimuli interpreted as objects, events and or actions (coarse or subtle).Percept: component interpretative element of a perceptual event.Concept: notion abstracted from perceptual information. Cognition: conscious knowing based on organised concepts.

Localisation: the embodied narrowing of consciousness in and as a living organism.Individuation: a self conscious organism identifying itself with the consciousness that animates it.The Self: consciousness idenitified with its individuation.The self: assumed centre and source of awareness and action in the bodimind.The seer: assumed centre and source of awareness in the bodimind.The doer: assumed centre and source of independent action in the bodimind.Selfness: the impression of being a separate, autonomous source of awareness and action.Autonomy: independent agency. Selflessness: awareness state from which the sense of separation, autonomy and volition are absent. Self-realisation: a permanent being state from which the sense of individuality, autonomy and volition are absent.


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Subjectness: the impression of being a separate experiencing entity.Objectness: the impression of perceived objects being separate from the perceiving subject.Objectlessness: awareness of the projected nature of object and subject.Otherness: the impression of being apart and separate from the world.Otherlessness: a being state from which the sense of other is completely absent.

Intimacy: closing the gap between self and other, subject and object. Surrender: letting go of the sense of separate self as the autonomous doer.See through: seeing the nonlocal origin and nature of a perceived phenomenon.See clearly: knowing the nonlocal origin and nature of all phenomena.Nonlocal: neither fixed in nor bound by spatial dimensions and co-ordinates.Atemporal: neither fixed in nor bound by the flow of time.

Illusion: representation of what is actually happening as what is apparently happening.Delusion: misrepresentation of what is apparently happening. Indivisibility: the intrinsic unity of the perceptibly separable.Wholeness: an intrinsically indivisible singularity.Totality: the intrinsic wholeness of all that is and appears to be.Manifestation: the apparent form of totality as an expression of consciousness.


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CAVEAT

The subtleties of human experience, and the concepts with which they can be mapped, can easily lend themselves to dogmatism: when they have actually been neither deeply experienced, nor clearly understood. When they have been, neither concept nor experience invite clinging, nor a need to be right.

If you treat the Yoga Sutras as a means to explain or define, you will fall into the bottomless pit of right and wrong, true and false. If you use them as a light to guide you more deeply into the subtleties of your own experience, they may help to release you completely from subservience to any notion or concept at all.


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SAMADHI PADA

the expression of Yoga is now1

yoga2 is mental activity surrendered3 there no longer being

identi!cation with mental activity4

the true nature of the self emerges5


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1 Yoga as intrinsic Unity is the ground, source and essence of all that does, has or will exist, and is therefor always intrinsically present and potentially available

2 yoga as a practice is that which invites disidentifcation from mental activity by cultivating intimacy with what is apparently happening in and as mental activity

3 surrender can never be a practice, but is always a spontaneous expression of a quietening mind slipping, as it relaxes, out of the grip of the self as thinker

4 only when the split between subject and object is released does the self lose its grip on mental activity, which may continue but without the dualistic pressure of self and other

5 the self is revealed as the illusory counterpart to the other set up by the polarising dynamics of identification and perception, and lacking in any but temporary, functional significance

the !ve types6 of mental activity knowledge, delusion, concepts, dreams, memories

are either illuminative, or not7

knowledge is based on perception, inference or testimony

delusion is misrepresentation based on errorconcepts are abstract categorisationsdreams are imaginative impressions

memory is the recall of prior experience

surrender comes from the serenity8 of being present9


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6 this is a functional rather than definitive categorisation of the spectrum of mental activity

7 when illuminative they reveal the impersonal, nonlocal, atemporal nature of mental activity, when not they reinforce the tendency to create an independent, autonomous identity out of mental activity by polarising the flow of awareness into self and other, mine and not-mine

8 of an untroubled, quiet mind

9 being fully present closes the dislocating split between self and other so that awareness takes place without an independent, autonomous subject

this presence is a stable vigilance10

!rmly grounding in its lengthy, openand spontaneous11 continuity12

serenity is disentanglement13 from objects14

experienced or remembered


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10 in the absence of the dislocating split into self and other the intelligence of consciousness remains stable in its openness to that which is actually happening

11 genuine presence is not something that can be forced or imposed, it is an expression of focussed interest in what is apparently happening (independent objects being causally linked by discrete actions) being deep enough to reveal what is actually happening (mind interpreting the rhythms of consciousness as the discrete actions and ʻindividulaʼ objects that make up the matrix of manifestation) by uniting the natural intelligence(s) of body, mind and consciousness

12 the vigilant stability of consciosuness as impersonal awareness quietens and grounds mental activity within that which is actually happening

13 when objects, of action or perception, are no longer identified with they no longer entangle consciousness in the subject (self) object (other) split of the dualistic mind

14 an object is always an act of perception

the deepest serenity is Self-realisation15

a disinvolvement in manifestation

resulting from intimate awareness16 ofcognition17, perception18, delight19 and

individuation20 21


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15 Self-realisation is a lived nondual reality within which there is neither self nor other, rather than conceptual understanding or state of consciousness

16 rupanugamat (connecting with the form of) is the first phase of imtimacy, which dissolves the dualistic split between subject and object, self and other

17 the overt mental activity within which apparent objects interact through discrete actions through the agency of mental concept

18 the subtle mental activity of percepts upon which cognition rests

19 the subtle quality through which the presence of consciousness most directly expresses itself as localised awareness

20 impersonal awareness identifying within its field

21 these four roots feeding the self must be completely seen through (paridrishtu) for understanding of the nature of the self to become Self-realisation

that absorbs22 the energetic impulses23 of residual subliminal imprints24

attachment to subliminal impulses leads to disembodied absorption in the matrix25

Self-realisation is reached through faith, application,

mindfulness, meditative absorption and spiritual insight

how close it is depends on longing which can be mild, moderate, or intense

absorption26 in the sourceinvites Self27-realisation


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22 into the presence of awareness, stabilising it

23 the psychic charge that sustains perception from the subconscious

24 unconscious traces left over from unresolved past experiences that uphold the split between self and other

25 the loss of locality and physicality, but not identity, in a seductive trance state

26 within which there is no sense of separation, individuality or autonomy

27 the Self is the impersonal witness of mental activity as “I am” without any personal identification with “this, that and the other as the personal self

the source28

is the essence of the self29 untouched by the dynamics of identi!cation

and traces of action it is the origin of transcendental omniscience30

untouched by time it is the guru of the ancientsits manifestation is the root vibration

aumits repetition manifests its signi!cance

which dissolves all obstacles and elicits internalawareness

illness, languor, doubt, carelessness, lethargy, sel!ndulgence, misconception, ungroundedness,

instability are obstacles that externalise the mind

they are accompanied by disturbances of unstable breathing, dissatisfaction, distraction

and restlessnesswhich are all dispelled

by the singlemindedness of presence


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28 of awareness, objects, actions and perceptions

29 the sense of self is a distortion of the unbroken wholeness of that which actually is fragmented from all that seems other by the polarisation of identification

30 the ability to know the source of what is actually happening so that what is apparently happening is clearly understood without any need for the resistence of the self

compassion; gladness; equanimity towards things

pleasant or painful, benevolent or malevolent;total release of the exhalation;

mindfulness of arising perceptions;serene luminosity; objectless awareness;

insights from sleep and dreams; reverent illumination; all stabilise the mind

the bene!ts of which cannot be overvalued

mental activity diminishes31

to a crystalline transparency32

when subject, object and action interpenetrate33


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31 mental activity only ceases on slipping into the illuminate darkness of pure (unconditional) consciousness (nirbijasmadhi) within which there is no experience or experiencer at all

32 in which apparently distinct objects and apparently discrete actions are experienced as integrated, luminous expressions of the singular unbroken field of awareness

33 samapatti dissolve into each other as the singularity of unbroken wholeness (become one), is the second phase of intimacy

this interpenetration is conceptual34 when involving word, meaning,

knowledge and conceptit is a-conceptual35

when, puri!ed of memories, the form36 of the object

radiates37 the singular signi!cance of emptiness38

in this way also revelation of the subtle nature of the object

to its utmost depths occurs in perceptual interpenetration39


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34 the flow of discrete thoughts and ideas takes place without a thinker but without revealing their nonduality with consciousness

35 the intelligence of consciousness is unobscured by the flow of thoughts through which it is nondualistically expressing itself

36 form is always an expression of the dislocation of perceived objects from the singular emptiness of consciousness

37 the apparent solidity (form) of a perceived object nondualistically radiates the luminosity of its ground (consciousness)

38 shunyata is the abundant emptiness that is the essence of wholeness in its unbroken indivisibility and therefor also of all of its apparent forms

39 within which individual perceptions are seen to be projections

and a-perceptual interpenetration40

these four41 constitute conditional samadhi

in the lucidity42 beyond the subtle

essence is clari!ed43

here insight is completeand goes beyond all learning

in its effectivenessin generating the subliminal imprint

that undermines all others44


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40 within which perception itself is seen to be projection

41 the four phases of condtional samadhi consitute a deconstruction of cognition within which separateness, independence and individuality dissolve into the indivisbility of wholeness without erasing the presence of apparent objects and actions, and without awareness being lost

42 which is neither light nor darkness

43 as the spacious, empty delight to be found whenever mind becomes intimate enough with any phenomenon

44 the imprint of selflessness is generated and reinforced by the nondual intimacy of presence,whenever the subject object split closes as a result of mind letting go completely of its concerns into the ungrasped flow of awareness. this imprint weakens all the imprints left over from unresolved past experiences that uphold the sense of self

as this is surrenderedsurrender ful!ls itself45

into unconditional samadhi46


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45 surrender can never be a practice, but is always the spontaneous expression of mind letting go of its concerns deeply enough to close the subject/object split of dualistic perception

46 the deconstruction of mental activity that takes place as mind relaxes spontaneously into its own activity peaks in the illuminate darkness of pure consciousness without condition, within which there is neither object nor subject to be experienced, nor even any conscious awareness at all, while the intelligence of consciousness is neither absent nor revealed in the total absence of the cognitive intelligence of mind. this is the fundamental, or ground, state of consciousness which participates in all other states of consciousness by way of contrast and context, but which itself can never be experienced as a state, though it can be recognised as having just or being about to happen

SADHANA-PADA

the activity of yoga47 is passionate self enquiry48

till absorbed in the Source

its purpose is to elicit samadhi to undermine the bonds:ignorance, individuation,

attachment, aversion and self-clinging

Ignorance is taking the temporary, inauthentic,

dissatisfying and unrealto be permanent, authentic, delightful and real

and is the !eld of the others which can be

dormant, weak, constrained or strong


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47 as opposed to the awareness states of yoga, or the being state, or ground, of Yoga

48 it is only through intense self enquiry that absorption in the source happens; this cannot be imposed, but is an expression of genuine and passionate interest disentangling the nondual intelligence of consciousness from the dualistic intelligence of mind

individuation is identifying the seer with the seen49

attachment is the result of pleasureaversion is the result of pain

self-clinging50 is deeply rooted even in the wise

their51 subtlety is eclipsed by disidenti!cation

the mental activity caused by them is eclipsed by meditative illumination52

the bonds are the roots of the soul53 that can manifest through these roots

in this or other incarnations


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49 by identifying itself with its obejcts the subject actually separates itself from them, polarising the intrinsic indivisibility of wholeness into the experience of separation, independence and individuality

50 the tendency to identify actions and perceptions with their instrument

51 the bonds

52 dhyana

53 the accumulated (karmasayo) residue (samskara) of unresolved past experiences and their behavioural tendencies (vasana) that underpin the unconsious reactions that drive our subconscious and conscious actions

generating birth, life and experience which are delightful if caused by virtue54

distressing if not

the intense drives of karmicimprints55 come from dissatis!ed resistance56

to the movement of lifeand are dissatisfying to the discerning

dissatisfaction rests on associating the seer with the seen57

but can be eclipsed58

luminosity59, dyamism60 and continuity61

are embodied as the seen


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54 virtue is the ability to see clearly, upon which all effective, harmonious and compassionate action depends

55 samskaras

56 the essence of which is identification and the sense of separate, autonomous individuality it generates

57 identification

58 by the insights provided by dhyana and samadhi

59 sattva

60 rajas

61 tamas

by way of the !ve elements and sensesthrough the four layers of manifestation:

apparent, subtle, energetic and potentiatewhich underpin both experience and release

the seer exists in seeing alonein reaction62 to subliminal impulses63

for that reason alone does the seen exist as long as any seer remain

the seen remains64

subject and object65, take their form only in relation to one another

that correlation is caused by ignorance66

when ignorance dissolves, that correlation dissolves67


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62 the seer, or sense of self, is a reaction to consciousness identifying itself with its objects

63 the focussing of consciousness into discrete quanta or qualia, upon which individual perceptions rest

64 seer and seen constitue an illusory duality outside of which neither has any existence, both being mental projections onto the singular flow of consciousness as its own field

65 seer and seen

66 generating identification within the subject/object split

67 seer and seen dissolve into the unfragmented singularity of consciousness in movement

into the clear seeing of otherlessness68

this absence in sustained nondualawareness69 #owers in the seven fold insight70

the limbs of yoga praxis71 dissolve restrictions72

into the radiant wisdom of nondual-awareness

the eight limbs of yoga areyama , niyama ,

asana , pranayama , pratyahara dharana , dhyana, samadhi


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68 kaivalya

69 awareness unbroken by the dualistic split into subject and object, self and other, seer and seen

70 insight into the projected nature of: awareness, self, spacetime, percepts, perceptions, concepts, cognition

71 sadhana, being with what actually is

72 the illusion of actions and objects separate from a subject

yama is sensitivity73, honesty74, openness75, intimacy76 and acceptance77

the universal78 dynamic79 unlimited by any circumstance


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73 ahimsa

74 satya

75 asteya

76 brahmacharya

77 aparigraha

78 yama is the fundamental, intrinsic expression of consciousness in movement as life, no matter what may be happening or obscuring it

79 the intrinsic presence of yama in life as consciousnes means that its benevolent and nourishing qualities need not be cultivated on the basis of idealised morality, but simply accessed and released by becoming intimate with consciousness as the heart of life

niyama80 is integrity81 , trust82, passion83, self-enquiry84, total-immersion85

to be free of harmful thoughts whether mild, moderate or intense

arising from greed anger and confusion that deepen dissatisfaction and delusion

whether acted on or notthey must be challenged86

and dissolved into their opposites


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80 niyama is the deep fruit that the expression of yama deposits in the subonscious as our learned disposition. it is not a practice to be cultivated, but the result of the presence of sensitivity, honesty, openness, intimacy and acceptance participating in our life. at the same time the five qualities of niyama express themselves most directly through the five qualities of yama

81 sauca

82 samtosa

83 tapas

84 svadhyaya

85 ishvarapranidanah

86 through the generous, intimate, open, honest, sensitivity of being present to what is apparently happening, so that what is actually happening becomes completely clear

sensitivity generates love87

honesty leads to ful!lment88

openness elicits abundance89

intimacy90 confers vitality91


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87 the power of sensitivity to sensation, feeling, energy, situations and others should not be underestimated in its ability to generate a disposition of spontaneous loving compassion without any need for naive imposition of any idealised practice or state

88 only by being honest about what and who we are is it possible to find genuine fulfilment as who and what we actually are, rather than in striving to be or become something or someone that we actually are not

89 abundant increase is the natural condition of life, not something we need strive or struggle for

90 has three functional aspects: rupanugamat connecting with the form of a phenomenon; samapatti becoming one with a phenomeon; paridrishtu seeing the projected nature of a phenomenon

91 there is nothing more draining than keeping oneself at a supposedly protective distance from what is actually happening

acceptance clari!es identi!cation92

integrity93 gives detachment, independence, authenticity, joy, commitment,

inner freedom and self knowledge

trust94 gives imperturbable ease95

passion cleanses and enhances the perceptual organs96


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92 the essence of identification is the impulse to own: especially feelings, thoughts, decisions and actions as if they originated where they take place. through acceptance of things as they actually are the proprietorial impulse is weakened, eventually to the point of atrophy

93 the fruit of sensitivity, honesty, openness, intimacy and acceptance

94 in that which is actually happening

95 with what is actually happening

96 so that what is apparently happening (separate objects interacting independently) reveals what actually is (the indivisible presence of consciousness as a spontanous singularity) by way of what is actually happening (the intelligence of consciousness contracted by its localisation as mental projection)

self enquiry97 reveals choicelessness98

absorption in the source gives perfect99 samadhi100


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97 self enquiry only fulfils itself when it reveals the illusory nature of separation, independence and autonomy within the singular source of all awareness and action, and dismantles the foundations of the self

98 the singularity of consciousness expressing itself as the indivisible wholeness of manifestation leaves no room for any power or agency other than that of the wholeness, and all choosing is seen to be necessitated by that wholeness and not brought about by any independent individuality or self. this realisation is the deep and inexorable taproot of surrender, and therefor the source of genuine selflessness

99 there being no need for a sense of self to impose its projections onto the flow of awareness, all percetpible objects and actions radiate the luminosity of emptiness which is their ground and origin

100 meditative absorption

asana101 is effortless stability102 in the absence of tension103

manifesting the in!nite104 beyond duality105


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101 is not a technique, but an awareness state within which the functional and structural dualities of the body no longer impose themselves upon awareness

102 sukham sthiram is the preliminary condition of the awareness state of asana within which the body becomes so stable that it generetes no sensations of disturbacne and the mind is able to let go of its need to protect the body and settle into the silence of its own stillness

103 prayatna saithilya is the subtle condition of the awareness state of asana within which effort has become so refined that it is completely effortless and requires no intention except that historically embedded in the neuromuscular pathways of integrity upholding the stillness of the body

104 ananta samapatthi is the preliminary result of the delightful stillness of effortless effort within which there is no sense of phsyical dimension, restriction or limitation and the physicality of the body dissolves into the delightful presence of consciousness-energy

105 dvandvha anabigatah is the subtle result of the delightful stillness of effortless effort within which there is no sense of any duality, least of all inside and outside, self and other

within asana106 pranayama107 isrelease108 of inhalation, exhalation and transition

through exhaustive elucidation109

till they become unhindered110 and subtle and the duality111 of the breath is transcended

unveiling the inner light112


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106 which is the opening of the nondual door as mind lets go deeply enough of its concerns and intentions for the self to completely subside

107 is not a technique, but an awareness state within which the dualities of the breath dissolve through intimate awareness of its natural rhythms

108 the breath is not relased by effort or control, but by intimacy and awareness

109 paridrishtu all the phenomenal characteristics of the breath, whether of place, time or number, must be seen to be what they are: interpretative extractions from the singular movement of consciousness by lits localisation as mind, or projections of mind

110 by effort, anxiety, habit or intention

111 between inhale and exhale, slow and fast, smooth and rough, flow and pause, breath and breather

112 the intelligence of consciousness

and initiating the mind into meditation113

in pratyahara114 mind115 disconnects from objects116

and settles into itself117

untroubled by the senses


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113 meditation is an awareness state, not a technique, although techniques that support intimacy may invite it

114 is not a technique, but an awareness state within which all sensory input has been suspended, and attention is drawn towards the unconscious residue left over from unresolved past experience by way of its usually subconscious activity becoming conscious and in doing so being released and possibly resolved (in the deepening of the meditative mind)

115 has three core aspects: conscious, subconscious and unconscious. the boundaries between them are fluid and begin to dissolve as mind relaxes into its own activity. as the unconscious and subconscious underpinnings of conscious thought become clear, conscious thought looses its imposed authority and the conscious mind becomes more quiet

116 which are always mental projections imposed on the singular flow of awareness by the needs and habits of the conditioned mind

117 its subconscious activity and their unconscious roots, now becoming conscious in the absence of sensory input

VIBHUTI-PADA

mind in singular118 internal119 suspension120

is dharana121

the unravelling122 of a perception is dhyana123

apparent form124 radiating125 the singular signi!cance of emptiness126


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118 on the stability of a single mental impression

119 within the activity of its own depths

120 the stillness of mind is a spontaneous expression of its own quietening

121 meditative focus

122 the subliminal matrix of interconnectivity that upholds and generates the suspended impression becoming conscious

123 meditative insight or illumination

124 form is not only always an appearance in consciousness, but an appearence of consciousness

125 the forrm, or subliminal psychic matrix underlying the impression has become transparent to the radiant presence of its ground and source: consciousness in its intrinsic emptiness

126 the singularity at the heart of the multiplicity of all apparent forms is the intrinsic abundance of emptiness

is samadhi

dharana, dhyana and samadhi constitute meditation127

its progression is rhythmic128

and ripens in the illuminations129 of transcendental insight130

although meditation131 is internal to the other limbs

it is external to the unconditional132


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127 meditative focus, meditative illumination and meditative absorption are the core phases of the nondualistic meditative mind

128 the infolding of awareness as the meditative mind is rarely a straight linear progression, but oscillates between its nodual phases and the split of dualistic perception in which thought is captured by the self as the thinker

129 insights generated in the intelligence of mind undistorted by the (now absent) sense of self

130 insight that expresses the intelligence of consciousness directly

131 meditation is not a practice or technique, but the slipping of the mind out of the dualistic grip of the self into its own deepening relaxation

132 the illuminate darkness that is the originating ground from which the conditions generating all actions and objects emerge

when surrendering133 their moment of origin134

externalisation135 of karmicimprints136

is surrendered137

mind is in the radiant-stillness138 of surrender139


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133 not through effort or intention, but as a natural consequence of deep relaxation

134 the release of the subliminal energy stored in an unconscious imprint

135 the energy stored in karmic imprints is inherently unstable with an inherent pressure to find release. this release is unable to provide resolution when it takes place as unconsciously driven thoughts, feelings and actions.

136 the energy stored in karmic imprints forms the basis of the psychosomatic armouring that deepens alienation from that which actually is

137 the released energy finding no reinforcement in the emptiness of the meditative mind is resolved into the light of awareness

138 the released energy is met by, and stabilises, the stillness of the meditative mind

139 is a deepening of the radiant stillness of absorption

its tranquil continuity establishes itself as a karmicimprint140

when objectness has disappeared141

within onepointedness142 mind is in

the radiant-stillness143 of absorption144

when an impression is paci!ed directly on arising


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140 the power of this stillness generates its own wholesome and liberating impression on the unconscious

141 the natural tendency of mind to generate individual objects in relationship to which it can place itself abates as mind becomes deeply relaxed

142 the silent stillness of an unmoving mind not generating any perceptual objects at all

143 the radiant stillness of the meditative mind is not a trance state, but one of stable, lucid awareness from which no objects are being extracted, and within which no thoughts are being generated

144 is a deepening of the radiant stillness of one-pointedness

the mind is in the radiant-stillness of onepointedness145

similarly146

the overt and subtle nature 147 of a phenomenon148 are revealed


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145 in this case mind is not quite so relaxed and momentarily creates a perceptual impression from the released energy, which then dissolves and its generating energy is absorbed into the light of awareness

146 within the radiant stillness of the meditative mind

147 any phenomenon is multidimensional by nature. in patanjlaiʼs scheme three subtle layers (potentiate, energetic and subtle) lie below the surface layer (apparent)

148 within the meditative mind this is a perceptual impression

in the conditions of form149, implications150 and context151

the nature of a phenomenon152 contains all its overt and subtle qualities

the difference between these conditions causes the three different stillnesses153


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149 the form of a perceptual impression is composed of its direct perceptible qualities such as textures, shapes, sounds, smells, colours etc

150 its implications include its psychic origins both as unconscious imprint and its unresolved orginating experience, and as the behavioural tendencies through which the imprint usually unconsciously expresses itself

151 the superficial context of a perceptual impression is the lattice of imprints and behavioural tendencies that constitue the personal unconscious. the deep context is the indivisible matrix of actions and objects that constitute the totality of manifestation

152 which at its deep core is the abundant emptiness of consciousness itself

153 which are all subtle fluctuations within the awareness state of dhyana

of the meditative mind154

meditation on these three conditionsreveals the past and future155

confusion of impression156, signi!cance157 and subliminal impulse158 is due to imposition159

meditation on their distinctiveness


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154 becoming one with the form of a perceptual impression generates the radiant stillness of one pointedness.becoming one with the implications of a perceptual impression generates the radiant stillness of absorption.becoming one with the context of a perceptual impression generates the radiant stillness of surrender.

155 by revealing the totally conditioned nature of all phenomena and the illusory nature of causation the meditative mind strips time of its linearity, past and future revealing their simultaneity with present

156 the apparent form of which mind becomes initially conscious

157 the deeper form, implications and context of the perceptual impression

158 all perceptual impressions are brought to mind by energy (pratyaya) rising from the unconscious

159 as the self asserts itself on mental activity, mind is not lucid enough to distinguish cause from effect and understand its own dynamics

gives insight into the dynamic of change160

samskaras and their energy161

contain information from other minds and lives162

despite its source163 being absent164


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160 the apparent dynamic of cause and effect whereby all apparently individual objects are linked within an indivisible matrix of apparently discrete actions

161 the subliminal energy which brough them into the unconscious from an unresolved past experience, which is always seeking a resolution, which is only possible on being released into a radiant stillness of the meditative mind

162 the personal unconscious has its deep roots in other lives and minds

163 unresolved past experiences that took place in another bodimind

164 unresolved unconscious imprints generate their own momentum even after the death of the body and find their way into other bodies in their quest for release

meditating on the form of the body165

it becomes imperceptible166

as the clarity of its presence dissolves completely167

and all sensory phenomena disappear168

meditating on dormant169 or active170 karma


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165 becoming intimate with the sensations by which the intelligence of the body reveals its presence to the intelligence of mind

166 no longer felt as a concrete, solid form uniquely occupying the three dimensions of space

167 into amorphous rhythms of pulsating delight

168 mind so relaxed and disinterested in external phenomena that it encounters its own depths within the depths of the body as the unmediated intelligence of consciousness

169 residue of karmic imprints

170 activated behavioural tendency

gives knowledge of its fruition171 and predictability172

meditating on friendliness, compassion, gladness and equanimity develops their power173

focussing illuminate insights174

to provide subtle, elusive and obscure knowledge


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171 the condtioned nature of all phenomena within the indivisibility of wholeness necessiates the form of the future just as it does the form of the present on the basis of the form of the past

172 yet mind is usually too short on accurate data to convert this hypothetical predicatibility into actual knowledge of the future

173 attention being energy any tendency, idea or feeling that absorbe attention during meditation will be fortified by that attentiveness and like a muscle regularly used will become stronger

174 at the same time, any idea, notion or concept held in the mind continuously will reveal its hidden qualities and aspects

meditating on the radiant luminosities175

of the body’s subtle centres176 , currents, lights, and channels177

clari!es, releases, balances and potentises

the body178


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175 as mind relaxes and becomes more intimate with the sensations that reveal the presence of the body it encounters more and more subtle sensations that become less and less solid and dense

176 notably the rhythmic oscillations (chakras) that occupy the core axis of the (subtle) body, which is not a second body within or beyond the physical but a way of experiencing the physical body from within

177 deep intimacy with the sensations that reveal the presence of the body generates an inner experience of the body as a phenomenon less fixed, stable, concrete and definable than the notions of modern anatomy, and matter as a clear expression and extension of its underlying energy oscillating and flowing in a broad spectrum of inner rhythms and currents

178 becoming intimate with the intrinsic presence of the body as overt and subtle sensations nourishingly focusses the integrating power of awareness on the bodyʼs tissues, organs and capacities

mind is understood through the heart179

meditation on the signi!cance of self and other180

gives understanding of the Self181 its distinction from the luminosity of

consciousnessthe subtle impulses that de!ne experience

and the hypersensory perceptionsthat enhance externalisation but prevent samadhi

when doing is releasedmind can penetrate other bodies

in the experience of its effortless expansion


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179 the intelligence of the heart is a deeper, impersonal intelligence than the more superficial, personal intelligence of mind. by relaxing into the activity of mind, the deeper intelligence of consciousness is given the space to make sense of the mindʼs incessant story telling, distinguishing the real from the unreal, the turthful from the untruthful

180 self and other are the core poles of the dualistic split of perception and experience. becoming intimate with the dynamics of perception reveals their inherent noduality

181 the Self is the primal contraction of consiousness embodied in the human organism as the impersonal witness, which in being identified with its experiences becomes the personal self struggling with all that it takes to be other

through balancing the inner winds the body becomes radiant182

and free from limitations183

meditation on the subtleties of inner sound184

reveals the divine sound185

meditation on the subtle elements of the body186

elicits the insubstantiality of the body187 in its boundless formlessness188


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182 is experienced as a symphonic energetic presence

183 without boundary, beginnings, endings or separateness

184 the sounds generated by the activity and presence of the body itself

185 the primal sound of which all others are partial harmonics: aum

186 the earth quaility of solidity, water quality of fuidity, air quality of rhythm, fire quality of heat, etheric quality of spaciousness

187 its subtle nature as an energetic expression of consciousness

188 neither energy nor consciousness partake of the boundaries and limitations that define and restrict objects of the physical dimensions

within which nonlocal #uctuations189 intensify kindling clarity190

meditation on the interrelated signi!cance191 of the coarse and subtle forms of the body192

gives inner freedom193

and reveals the remarkable possibilities of its beauty, grace, power194


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189 the localised rhythms of nonlocal consciousness that generate and sustain the presence of the body in its energetic and physical aspects

190 familiarity with the rhythmic subtleties of consciousness in and as the body clarifies the multidimensional nature not only of the body but of matter itself

191 the coarse form, subtle form and formlessness of the body are not separate from each other, but differing expressions of each other

192 the coarse form of the body is its material nature, the subtle its energetic nature, yet both are expressions and extensions of consciousness, which is the essential or fundamental but formless nature of the body

193 freedom from reacting as if any aspect of form, whether of body, mind or energy is what you actually are

194 the physical body has its beauty, grace and power, as does the energetic body, while so too does the formlessness of consciousness, at least to mind, even if not intrinsically

meditation on the interrelated signi!cance ofperception195, apparent form196 and

individuation197

quietens the sensesand releases the versatility of thought

from its conditioning organs198

awareness of the distinction between the Self199 and luminosity200


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195 perception is one of the results of the intelligence of consciousness being focussed in the localisation of the nervous system through and as the intelligence of mind.

196 form is never intrinisc but an expression of the perceiving mechanism.

197 individuation is the apparentv mechanism whereby perception and form become possible.

198 thought, as an expression of the intelligence of consciousness contracted in and as the nervous system, is conditoned by its cultural context, the root of which is the material world revealed by the senses. becoming intimate with the perceptual dynamics of consciousness, its inherent intelligence is released from the restrictions of its sensorial conditioning, into its inherent versatility.

199 the impersonal witness, which is the deep, subtle core of identification generated by the compression of pure consciousness into the form of the personal body

200 the lucid, impersonal radiance of pure (unconditional)consciousness

gives omniscience201

and access to all states202 through detachment from this203

the seeds of impurity204 dwindle into otherlessness

this blessing extends no invitation to pride or attachment205

as they no longer have any power206


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201 the ability to knowingly and continuously know all that needs to be known, which derives from knowing that all that needs to be known is actually always known

202 embodied consciousness is always, at least initially, conditioned to a restricted range of possibilities and states

203 which is a necessary aspect of its depending on the absence of the senes of self and its underlying identification

204 the ideas, concepts, assumptions and habits that keep the nondual intelligence of consciousness restricted in the dualistic intelligence of mind

205 there being no identification for attachment to rest on

206 their power being an extension of that of the self

meditation on the sequencing of time207

activates non-dual wisdom208 which is holographic209

or beyond210 space and time and clari!es confused phenomenal

characteristics211 distinguishing equally

luminosity and the Self in otherlessness212


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207 the linear sequencing of time is not an objective condition of the universe, but a pillar of the dualistic model by which the intelligence of mind organises sensorial imput, and contextualises it within its fundamental duality of time and space

208 the intelligence of consciousness is not intrinsically constrained in the oppositions of duality, and can be released from that learned restraint through the realisation of the representative nature of linear time, and the intrinsic simultaneity of past, present and future,

209 unconstrained by quantity, linearity or duality

210 unconditioned by

211 of time (kala), space (desa) and quantity (samkhya)

212 the nodual being state of kaivalya depends on the total absence of identification, which is only possible when the Self, as well as the self, has been realised as a limitation generated by the local embodiment of consciousness, and relinquished as an identity

BOOK FOURKAIVALYA-PADA

all phenomena are transformations213

in the in!nitude214 of the matrix215

the instrumental agent216 is not the driving force217 of the matrix218

merely the fertilising focus219 of inevitability220


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213 varying oscillatory rhythms

214 without boundary, end or beginning

215 pure consciousness perceived as manifestation

216 the object that appears to bring about an action

217 has no inherent power

218 of all actions and objects: manifestation

219 the means of bringing to fruition

220 every apparently individual action is brought into existence always and only by the singular power of the indivisibility of the matrix by which they are each totally conditioned and necessitated

consciousness identi!ed with its instrument creates an impression of mind221

localised222 activity223 creates the impression of multiple minds

until eclipsedby meditative illumination224


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221 mind is not an object, or thing, but a a function of nonloncal, infinite consciousness being localised in the finitude of human embodiment

222 in physically separate bodies

223 physical and mental

224 which in contextualising any perception or phenomenon in and as a unique but necessitated temporary expression of the total matrix reveals the impersonal, nonlocal, atemporal, singular origin and nature of them all

while those of others are dualistic225

the actions of a yogin are non-dual226

and express only residual behavioural tendencies227

which progress from existence to separate existence228

through the continuity of subliminal imprints229 and memories which because of the eternal nature

of the primary impulse230 are beginningless


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225 setting perceived opposites against each other, at root of which is the perceptual split of perceiving subject and perceived object, upon which rests the experiential split of self and other

226 free from the sense of self and other they are equally undistorted by any conflict between opposites such as right and wrong, good and bad

227 vasana

228 which does not entail the continuation of a personal self from body to body, as the personal self is nothing more than an insistent and convicing impression based on limited and dualistic thinking

229 samskaras

230 the primary impulse, to exist or to be, manifests itself everywhere and in everything as the drive to express and increase

but which disappear when the infrastructure231

of action, impact and causality dissolves232

past and future exist as such233

because of formal re#ectionsof coarse and subtle energetic transformations234

the true nature of an object235

is the total matrix236


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231 the actions and impacts that constitute the matrix of causation are all and always perceived extractions from the singularity of nonlocal, atemporal consciousness within which there are intrinsically no objects, no actions and no causality

232 as mind relaxes it lets go of the infrastructure of objects and actions that it projects as the world into the illuminate darkness of nirbijasamadhi by way of the rhythmic luminosities of sabijasamadhi

233 being actually only mental constructs

234 time, space and all that they contain as actions and objects causally interconnected are nothing other than mental refractions of the pulsations and rhythms of consciousness

235 what it is in itself, rather than in the limitations of a perceiving mechanism

236 from a unique persepctive, or focussed in a unqiue and temporary ʻlocationʼ

the singularity237 of which is multiplied238 in the separation of both minds and objects

through localisation239

immeasurable and inde!nable when not dependent on any mindan object is known by each mind

according to its own conditioning240


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237 a singularity is not a single thing as opposed to many or none, it is all three at once and at the same time none

238 in its multiplicity it creates the proliferation of objects and minds we experienec as the world

239 consciuousness is localised in and as phsyical embodiment, not only in human beings

240 we create our own reality (what is apparently happening), but unless we are mentally ill we do so on the basis of what actually is happening and what actually is, and our personal interpretations have enough in common for us to communicate and co-operate

mental activity241 is always known by the unchanging source242 of the Self243

it is not sel#uminate244

by virtue of its objectness245

but because of their confusionneither246 can be grasped


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241 which is in constant motion

242 pure, or infinite and unconditional,consciousness

243 consciousness localised as the impersonal witness

244 mind is neither an independent thing nor an autonomous power, but a localised, contracted refraction of unconditional, nonlocal consciousness

245 mind is a mental construct that exists only as a perceived concept and is therefor an object of consciousness even when this is not recognised or understood

246 mind nor consciousness, being almost but not quite the same thing

confused by consistent memories247

the light of awareness is localised within itself248 as mind

consciousness only knows itself through the appearance of form249

all objects are a colouring of consciousness250 with seer and seen251


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247 it is above all, though not exclusively, the consistency of memories that implies the individuality and autonomy of the perceptual process giving rise not only to the assumption of mind, but also self

248 there is, intrinsically, nothing other than consciousness, of which the human body is simply a localised, temporarily stable refraction

249 ʻindividualʼ objects apparently linked causally by discrete actions

250 obviously!

251 without the dualities of personal experience and perception they have no intrinsic existence

though riddled with subliminal tendencies mind has no intrinsic identity252

who sees clearly253

lets go of the sense of selfthen mind is taken by nonduality towards kaivalyabetween the rising impulses of karmicimprints254

which are eclipsed in disidenti!cation255


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252 there is nothing personal about any of this, personal identity is as illusory as the self that it colours and masks

253 the nonduality of duality

254 mental activity becomes a rhythm between deep and sustained silence with (sabijasamadhi) or without (nirbijasamadhi) awareness and the release of unconscious energy into the meditative mind, which is broken only by any need for action generated by the presence and location of the body that it serves within the matrix of causality that conditions it

255 the final dissolution of all unconscious residue left over from past experience that has been upholding the sense of self

until the quintessential dew256 of nondualawareness

paci!es the karmic bonds257

this in!nite revelation having removed the dust of all the veils

leaves nothing to be known

the sequentiality of time258 and its underlying energetic rhythms

lose their signi!cance


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256 dharmameghasmadhi is a refined and subtle state of consciousness within which the singularity of pure consciousness is experienced in its subtle multiplicity as an infinitude of shimmering loci of nonlocality each of which contains, in a different ʻlocationʼ, exactly the same abundant emptiness as an overwhelming expression of the infinte nature and presence of formless consciousness as the energetic source and causal origination of all form

257 the ignorance, individuation, attachment, aversion and selfclinging that sustained the apparent individuality of personal identity, action and exsitence

258 including all birth, change and death

devoid of any signi!cance the Self259

dissolves into otherlessness260 as consciousnessenergy261


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259 the impersonal witness as an independent entity is no less illusory, though far more subtle, than the personal self

260 the nodual and permanent being state of Yoga: kaivalya

261 which is all that there ever actually was is and will be, as it continually generates its abillity to glimpse itself in sentient beings, and even to become able to know itself fully as the intelligence of the human mind aligns itself fully with the intelligence of consciousness by letting go completely of all the concerns and intentions it has acquired in learning how to navigate the constraints of human embodiment


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for a complete interpretation of the Yogasutras within which the subtle dynamics of perception, cognition, identification and independence,

and their release into genuine freedom, are exhaustively clarified

please see

YOGA UNVEILED: a users guide to the Yoga Sutras of

Patanjali

by godfridev


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the annotated yoga sutras - yogadarshana yogasutras.pdf · the yoga sutras of patanjali are an...

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