kṣīṇa-vṛtter abhijātasyeva maṇer grāhītṛ-grahaṇa-
grahyeṣu tat-stha-tad-añjanatā samāpattiḥ When the mental modifications
and fluctuations of the mind have greatly diminished, the mind becomes like
a transparent crystal, and thus can easily take on the qualities of the
object of one's meditation whether it be the perceiver, the object perceived, or the
instrument of perception. This identification is called samāpatti
or being engrossed. So in the preceding verses from thirty-one up until forty, Patañjali has
presented various objects which can be used to support the mind in meditation.
Now he expounds upon something that was started in one of the previous sūtras -
the seventeenth sūtra, the first pāda, which states: "When concentration (samādhi) is
reached gradually with the help of deliberation on gross forms, then
reflection on subtle objects, then a state of blissfulness
and finally awareness of one's true individuality, which is called Samprajñāta
samādhi.” Here now, with this sūtra, we are
going to go further into what I can only describe
is the technicalities regarding the attainment of Samprajñāta samadhi. But
before we go into these with some detail, for many people, they will find this
pathway to the attainment of Samprajñāta samādhi probably quite
difficult and even overwhelming, so I would just like to add a reminder here
that in the twenty-third sūtra, Patañjali does give an alternative to this process, and
he states that: "Asamprajñāta samādhi is also [certainly] attained by devotion
that is (complete surrender) to Īśvara." - this Īśvara-praṇidhānād. So I just wanted
to remind people not to become discouraged with something that may seem
incredibly difficult. So now in relation to his commentary on the sūtra seventeen,
Vyāsa spoke of four stages leading to Samprajñāta samādhi. And I'm not sure
if you remember these: one was sa-vitarka samādhi, which is the deliberation on
gross objects; sa-vicāra samādhi, reflection on subtle objects; sānanda-
samādhi, the state of blissfulness that one experiences from becoming fixed
more purely in the mode of goodness, or sāttva , when the mind is
absorbed in and experiencing this sāttvic nature, and the fourth
was sasmīta samādhi, which is the actual awareness of one's deeper or
true individuality - which is spiritual, of course, in nature. So now, going forward
with this sūtra, Patañjali will further subdivide the first two
meditative states which lead to Samprajñāta
samādhi into another two categories. So you will have four - two, what were, or seemed to
be principle categories, now actually become four. So the first -
sa-vitarka...now he will present another category - nir-vitarka, and the
sa-vicāra will have another corresponding category - nir-vicāra
samādhi. So these are somewhat technical
terms and we will not discuss them further here, because we will be dealing
with them in the succeeding sūtras. So in this particular sūtra that we're dealing
with, Patañjali introduces a new term 'samāpattiḥ' or engrossment of the mind. So
I'm using the word 'engrossment', because the English
synonym, or the English word rather - engross, to become engrossed, or to
engross - it means to absorb all the attention or interest into
something. So Patañjali uses the example here, of a crystal reflecting whatever is
placed near it. This example is frequently used in Vedic teachings; we
see this used in a lot of different places with the idea being that if a
pure and clear crystal...if something is placed - a red rose, for instance - right
next to the crystal, now the crystal will take on the color of the rose and
reflect that. So the point that's been established is that, when the calmed and
sāttvic mind - meaning not been influenced by the other modes of nature - when the
calmed and sāttvic mind, free from the vṛttis, and freed from the effects
of course, as I mentioned, of rajas and tamas, tends to become luminous. And
whatever is placed before it, becomes reflected in the mind without any other
mental activity, or speculation, or mental agitation taking place, and what this in
turn does, is it gives the yogi an insight into the truth of things. So in
the state of samāpattiḥ or engrossment, the mind is in effect... what it's doing;
it's able to penetrate the object of focus in an extraordinary way, and is
able to gain the deepest insight into the object's
very nature. So whether that be a gross object, or a subtle material energy or
form, or the instruments of perception, or even the knower. So we will expound on this
as we go forward with the following verses. Samāpatti is generally an
engrossment in something that we've previously mentioned - the twenty-four
Tattvas. So Patañjali categorizes these samāpatti into three groups or
types of engrossment, or categories of engrossment. It can be engrossment in
objects - gross or subtle; this is called grahyam, or the grahana, which are the
instruments of perception, and grahita, which is the knower. So just as
a clarification - 'knower' here, or the perceiver - is not the seer, dṛṣṭa, or the
ātma that he has previously used, but it's referring to a subtle covering of
the pure living being still, referred to as asmitā; or may be also referred to as
the false-ego. Sometimes also it references the empirical self or the
buddhi. This is like a deeper state of awareness or perception, where one is
experiencing the reality of their individual existence, and that
experience is beyond the idea of being the body or the mind. So in this state, it's
actually considered the prelude - this engrossment; state of engrossment, is
considered a prelude to what has been stated as the calm, or the pure and calm
mind, reflecting the actual puruṣa to itself. When I say that, in the meditative
state, as one is attempting to become free from simply the functioning in the
mechanics of the mind, and to perceive the one who is actually responsible for
animating the mind, and who is the actual seer, their mind is still being used but
it is not active; it is not manifesting its characteristics. And so it is
described thus, that as being like the calm and sāttvic pure mind, now being able to
reflect the puruṣa to 'itself'. In using that term, I think we need to be cautious
to understand that the self-realization - the realization of the self, or the ātma,
is not actually caused by the mind; that in reality it is a spiritual revelation;
it is something that has been revealed.
The mind has some role...the pure mind or sāttvic mind has some role, but it is not
what is causing the realization to happen. And to make that point perhaps a
little bit clearer, there is the wonderful verse from the Bṛhadāraṇyaka
Upaniṣad, where it states: "You cannot see the seer who does the seeing;
you cannot hear the hearer who does the hearing; you cannot think the thinker who
does the thinking; you cannot know the knower of knowledge (vijñāna)". So
this was a quite wonderful verse, and one would question: When it says that you
cannot see the seer, that who is the "you" that's been referenced here? Who is this
"you" who cannot see it? And this was a statement or an answer to a question
that was being...a great sage's name was Yājñavalkya, and he was
responding to a question, because he had been speaking of the nature of the ātma,
and was being asked, "So what exactly is this ātma?" And in his response to the
person, when he says 'you', he is speaking of the material condition - when a person
is absorbed in the material condition or the material consciousness; when they are
absorbed in the idea of the body and mind being themself, in that condition
one cannot actually see the seer. And it's based on a
principle that that which is more gross cannot accommodate, facilitate or see,
that which is more subtle. So the reference to not being able to... you cannot
see the seer who does the seeing, means that the ātma cannot be perceived with
the mundane or blunt instruments such as the eyes, nor with the mind, and actually
nor with the buddhi. The buddhi has a somewhat colored reflection of the
living being - not the living being or the ātma in his
pure and unconditional state. So samāpatti, Vyāsa states, can also be used or
practiced upon a liberated soul. And of course this has been referenced before,
and where one becomes completely engrossed in such a liberated
personality, and of course...as is the final goal of meditation, one can
practice samāpatti upon Īśvara. But the idea of this process, is that one can
gradually almost like peel away the layers ...like an onion, you know,
there's just so many layers; to peel away the different layers of material
consciousness, until finally one is left with just the pure living being; the
puruṣa 'itself' - this being a pathway towards self-realization. Thank you very
much.