Raja Yoga (the Yoga Sūtras with commentary) — trans. Swami Vivekananda (1896)
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The translator’s English as printed (Swami Vivekananda). The original-language text is not held; names are romanised as the translator printed them.
The mind is a compound of various things, and therefore it cannot work for itself. Everything that is a combination in this world has some object for that combination, some third thing for which this combination is going on. So this combination of the mind is for the Purusa.
24. For the discriminating the perception of the mind as Atman ceases.
Through discrimination the Yogi knows that the
Purusa is not mind.
25. Then bent on discriminating the mind attains the previous state of Kaivalya (isolation).
Thus the practice of Yoga leads to discriminating power, to clearness of vision. The veil drops from the eyes, and we see things as they are. We find that this nature is a compound, and is showing the panorama for the Purusa, who is the witness ; that this nature is not the Lord, that the whole of these combinations of nature are simply for the sake of showing these phenomena to the Purusa, the enthroned king within. When discrimination comes by long practice fear ceases, and the mind attains isolation.
26. The thoughts that arise as obstructions to that are from impressions.
All the various ideas that arise making us believe that we require something external to make us happy are obstructions to that perfection. The Purusa is happiness and blessedness by its own nature. But that knowledge is covered over by past impressions. These impressions have to work themselves out.
27. Their destruction is in the same manner as of ignorance, etc., as said before.
28. Even when arriving at the right discriminating knowledge of the essences, he who gives up the fruits, unto him comes as the result of perfect discrimination, the Samadhi called the cloud of virtue.
When the Yogi has attained to this discrimination, all these powers will come that were mentioned in the last chapter, but the true Yogi rejects them all. Unto him comes a peculiar knowledge, a particular light, called the Dharma Megha, the cloud of virtue. All the great prophets of the world whom history has recorded had this. They had found the whole foundation of knowledge within themselves. Truth to them had become real. Peace and calmness, and perfect purity became their own nature, after they had given up all these vanities of powers.
29. From that comes cessation of pains and works.
When that cloud of virtue has come, then no more is there fear of falling, nothing can drag the Yogi down. No more will there be evils for him. No more pains.
30. Then knowledge, bereft of covering and impurities, becoming infinite, the knowable becomes small.
Knowledge itself is there ; its covering is gone. One of the Buddhistic scriptures sums up what is meant by the Buddha (which is the name of a state). It defines it as infinite knowledge, infinite as the sky. Jesus attained to that and became the Christ. All of you will attain to that state, and knowledge becoming infinite, the knowable becomes small. This whole universe, with all its knowable, becomes as nothing before the Purusa. The ordinary man thinks himself very small, because to him the knowable seems to be so infinite.
31. Then are finished the successive transformations of the qualities, they having attained the end.
Then all these various transformations of the qualities^ which change from species to species, cease for ever.
32. The changes that exist in relation tomoments, and which are perceived at the other end (at the end of a series) are succession.
Patanjali here defines the word succession, the changes that exist in relation to moments. While I am thinking, many moments pass, and with each moment there is a change of idea, but we only perceive these changes at the end of a series. So, perception of time is always in the memory. This iscalled succession, but for the mind that has realised omnipresence all these have finished. Everything has become present for it ; the present alone exists, the past and future are lost. This stands controlled, and all knowledge is there in one second. Everything is known like a flash.
33. The resolution in the inverse order of the