tataḥ pratyak-cetanādhigamo’ pyantarāyābhāvaś ca
Then (from that) comes realization of
the individual self and the obstacles are removed. So this is the final in this
group of verses speaking about Īśvara and the connection between the ātman and
this paramātma, and the fundamental principles of spiritual development or
growth, or realization. So in his commentary Vyāsa has stated that samādhi
is attained by complete surrender and devotion to Īśvara - īśvara-praṇidhāna.
And here in his commentary Vyāsa places the following question
before the sutra by Patañjali. And the question he puts:" What else happens?"
Meaning what else happens apart from the attainment of samādhi? Because all of
the previous references were how surrender to Īśvara
makes it so a person can attain the state of samādhi. And I just want to
state once more if I may please, that the reference to samādhi here, we
should not think of as being a mental state. It is not a
mental state; it is a state beyond the mind. It is the practical and deep
absorption and realization of the ātman in its own divine and eternal spiritual
nature, and the connection that the ātman has with paramātma. So after asking this
question," What else happens?" of course the verse then, "Then (from that) comes
realization of the individual self and obstacles are removed." So these two
things arise from this submission; this praṇidhāna...this submission to Īśvara:
the overcoming of all the obstacles to self-realization. So these will be
mentioned in a more detailed way in the very next sūtra. And then the
second thing or benefit is self-realization itself. So we see here
that there are... this term 'pratyak-cetana.' Pratyak refers to that
which is inner or innermost, and cetana ( or in its fuller form caitanya) refers to
consciousness. Now this reference points to an inner or the deeper
consciousness...or 'the original' is probably more accurate - the original
consciousness of the ātman. The material condition occurs when the pure and
uncontaminated ātman
becomes contaminated...and I'll explain what I mean by that in a moment...
contaminated by the ahaṅkara. The ahaṅkara is the foundation of material
existence and the foundation of prakṛti as well. We should understand that the
atman is always pure. My guru maharaj, he would sometimes use the example of like
a diamond which is in the earth, and it may be buried and covered with dirt and
and rock and things, and may appear to be what we would consider dirty, but in
reality the dirt that is covering the diamond never actually penetrates the
diamond. And when one recovers the diamond from the earth, and cleanses away the
rock and the dirt and debris surrounding it, the glory of the diamond becomes
manifest. So in a very similar manner the atman may become covered, but it's
original consciousness is always unaffected; is always pure. But when that
consciousness now manifests through filters, the first being the ahaṅkara,
and that consciousness is then radiated out through the mind and through the
gross material body, everything that is undertaken by the mind and the body, and
everything that is all information and experience received,
do not actually touch the deep transcendental nature of the ātman. But
because the ātman has misidentified with the ahaṅkara... with the false concept of
who I am - the body and the mind, so the ātman experiences pain and pleasure and
becomes entangled, and is pulled into an ongoing and almost never-ending saga
known as saṁsāra. And I've used the example previously of somebody sitting
in a movie house and watching the screen, and how that it's just light reflecting
off a screen, and yet we can become overwhelmed with emotion; we can lose all
recollection of where we've parked the car or who's sitting beside us, what clothing
we have on our body. All recollection is gone, and we've become deeply absorbed to
the point where I've read where somebody had a heart attack during a cinema
performance. And it... I mean nothing was happening to the person - they were just
sitting there in a chair - but because of the intense absorption in the experience
and what they're seeing, so there is this physiological reaction, as
there are mental or psychological reactions. That example applies to the
atman in it's experience of the world also. So what is the nature of this
self-realization, or this realization that is being spoken of here by
Patañjali? So Vyāsa states that just as Īśvara is a puruṣa
who is pure - and he actually specifies that the puruṣa is pure,
peaceful, independent and free from change...eternally the same, so also the
ordinary puruṣa is like this. So this is like an
amazing revelation for probably many people - that just as Īśvara has these
characteristics, so also the puruṣa has these characteristics. But what Vyāsa
is also doing in making this point, and his choice of some of the words, is
that there is actually a qualitative
oneness with the puruṣa
and Īśvara, but there is also a quantitative difference. And we see this
when he explains that Isvara is a puruṣa-viśeṣa. And while it may be
powerful rishis and yogis that rise almost to the platform of becoming like
devas or demigods, and who can display incredible displays of omniscience, the
omniscience of the individual ātman can never reach that; equal or surpass
that, of Īśvara . So there is a qualitative... it's like when
you take a drop of water from the ocean and you chemically analyze that drop, it
has all of the characteristics of the ocean, and therefore we can say it is one.
But yet there are no coral reefs, or battleships
or cargo ships, floating on that one drop... or sharks or whales swimming in it,
because of a quantitative difference. And this is reference to Vedantic philosophy
of bhedābheda . Many of the commentators... or at least a couple of the very early of
the commentators, make reference to this principle - this simultaneous oneness and
yet difference. And what that does is, it should offer an understanding and
appreciation to the sincere seeker on the spiritual path, of the nature of the
difference between myself and Īśvara. And in this way, we can understand and
appreciate the need for what is called īśvara-praṇidhāna, because it is then, by
the exercise of Īśvara's will; by His divine grace; by His mercy, that the
aspirant and devout yogi may experience full self-realization, after having all
of the obstacles to self-realization removed - not through my own doing, but
through the mercy of Īśvara. Thank you very much.