THE YOGA SUTRAS OF PATANJALI
BOOK I
Soutra 17. The consciousness of an object is
attained by concentration on its fourfold nature: the form, through
examination; the quality (or guna),
through discriminative participation; the purpose, through inspiration (or
bliss) and the soul, through identification.
It will be apparent therefore that the
statement "as a man thinketh so is he" (Prov. 23:7) is based on
occult facts. Every form of any kind has
a soul, and that soul or conscious principle is identical with that in the
human form; identical in its nature though not in its scope of development, or
its degree. This is equally true of the
great Lives or superhuman Existences in which man himself "lives and moves
and has his being" (Acts 17: 28) and to Whose state of development he
aspires.
As the aspirant chooses with care the
"objects" upon which he will meditate, he through these objects,
builds himself a ladder by means of which he arrives eventually at the
objectless. As his mind assumes
increasingly the meditative attitude of the soul, the brain becomes also
increasingly subjugated to the mind as the mind is to the soul. Thus is the lower man gradually identified
with the spiritual man who is omniscient [Page 34]
and omnipresent. This meditative
attitude is assumed through a fourfold process:—
1. Meditation on the nature of a particular
form, realising, as the form is pondered upon, that it is but a symbol of an
inner reality, our whole tangible objective world being built up of form, of
some kind (human, subhuman and superhuman), which expresses the life of hosts
of sentient beings.
2. Meditation upon the quality of any
particular form, so that an appreciation of its subjective energy may be gained. It should be borne in mind that the energy of
an object may be regarded as the colour of that object, and hence the words of
Patanjali IV, 17 become illuminating in this connection and serve as a
commentary upon this second point. This
is called "discriminative participation," and through it the student
arrives at that knowledge of energy in himself which is one with the object of
his meditation.
3. Meditation upon the purpose of any
particular form. This involves
consideration of the idea back of or underlying any form manifestation and its
display of energy. This realisation
carries the aspirant onward to a knowledge of that part in the plan or purpose
of the All which is the motivating factor in the form's activity. Thus through the part, the Whole is contacted
and an expansion of consciousness takes place, involving bliss or joy. Beatitude always follows upon realisation of
the unity of the part with the Whole.
From meditation upon the tattvas, the energies or principles, or upon
the tanmatras or [Page 35] elements composing
spirit-matter, a knowledge of the purpose or plan for the microcosmic or
macrocosmic manifestations eventuates and with this knowledge comes bliss.
In these three are to be found correspondences
to the three aspects, spirit, soul and body, and an illuminating study for the
earnest student.
4. Meditation upon the soul, upon the One who
uses the form, who energises it into activity and who is working in line with
the plan. This soul, being one with all
souls and with the Oversoul subserves the one plan and is group-conscious.
Thus through these four stages of meditation upon an object, the aspirant arrives at his goal, knowledge of the soul, and of the soul powers. He becomes consciously identified with the one reality, and this in his physical brain. He finds that truth which is himself and which is the truth hidden in every form and in every kingdom of nature. Thus he will eventually arrive (when knowledge of the soul itself is gained) at a knowledge of the All-Soul and become one with it.
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