Patanjali's Concept of the Mind🔗

Patanjali's yoga sutra is the heart of yoga. It is also the last word on the mind. It is composed of 196 sutra or aphorisms. The complete work is divided into four distinct chapters or padas:

1) samadhi pada: This pada is composed of fifty one sutras. In it, Patanjali speaks about the absolute, true consciousness or Ishvara. Then, he enumerates the problems an individual is likely to face in his quest to merge with the divine energy.

2) sadhana pada: This pada is composed of fifty five sutras. It very clearly establishes the nature of yoga and the means through which the chitta vritti (mental modifications) can be controlled. It identifies the obstacles to meditation and advocates the practice of Ashtanga Yoga.

3) vibhuti pada: This pada is composed of fifty six sutra. It emphasizes that knowledge is power and gives the techniques for attaining siddhis (spiritual powers) and using them for the best possible results. It deals with the subtle state of awareness and advanced techniques.

4) kaivalya pada: This pada is composed of thirty four sutra. Kaivalya means solitariness and detachment. It deals with the effect of our engraved memories and gives the means for erasing such impressions. It describes the yogi who has attained this freedom from all bondages.

The Yoga Sutra is a universal treatise because its focus is on the qualities of the mind and the ways in which we can influence it and be influenced by it. When we work at all times with awareness, we influence the mind. On the other hand, when we work unconsciously without awareness, we are influenced by the mind.

Patanjali clearly states that yoga is the tool and the practice to direct the mind without distractions or interruptions. In this book, he addresses the questions about the nature of the mind, which are universal and of interest to all.

In the Yoga Sutra, Patanjali uses the word, avidya or 'incorrect comprehensions' to describe false perception. On the reverse is vidya, which is clarity.

Avidya is the accumulated result of our unconscious ways of perception and behavior. In other words, we see what we want to see, hear what we want to hear and do things according to what we see, hear and think. It is not so much the seeing and hearing that is the root of the problem as much as how we see and hear. What is it that makes us see, hear and perceive something in a particular way? What are those things that make us see and act in a habituated manner?

Patanjali says that avidya is like a huge tree with many branches. These branches are the obstacles to clarity or vidya. They prevent us from seeing things as they really are. These obstacles are asmita (ego), raga (attachments), dvesa (rejection) and abbinivesha (fear). All habituated patterns of perceiving the world and behaving according to those perceptions are called samskara. They cloud the mind and obstruct the flow of clarity and awareness that is our consciousness.

When we are in this confused state, we experience dukkha (generally understood as suffering or sickness). When we are in dukkha we feel constricted. Avidya and dukkha are closely linked to one another. When any action stems from the unconscious or from ignorance, it always leads to suffering.

Patanjali declares that the only goal of yoga is to reduce or remove the cloud from the mind, lessen the dukkha and allow the individual to make decisions in the light of conscious awareness. Through a regular practice of yoga, we can remain present in every moment and express our inner nature, the actualization of our inherent potential.

The yoga sutra states that the minute we start recognizing the branches of avidya, we start to overcome them. There are three ways in which we can do this;

1) tapas deep cleansing techniques, inner purification practices.

'Tapas' has been erroneously understood

as penance, denial and rigorous spiritual practices to the point of physical mortification. If we look at the root from which tapas comes, 'tap', we understand it means to heat, to cleanse. In the yoga context, tapas would be those practices that would help us burn our energy blocks and cleanse the impurities within. Through asana and pranayama we are able to achieve this to a large extent.

2) svadhyaya 'sva' means 'self and 'adhyaya' means 'the study of', or investigation into the Self.

By focusing on ourselves, we bring in more clarity to our thoughts and actions. We befriend our body; we connect to our breath; we relate better with those around us as we start dropping our tight personal boundaries. Reading inspiring books, listening to the discourses of Masters and engaging in self-learning with like-minded people are all methods of svadhyaya.

3) ishvara pranidhana love of Higher Self (God)

This connotes a kind of surrender that goes beyond our mind. It is an expression of the understanding that 'whatever is happening is what is good.' It also means doing our work without bothering about the fruits of our actions.

All these put together with the core practice of dhyana help us to enjoy good health, clarity of mind and work with an attitude of surrender.

We can clearly see that from being a complete, total understanding of life where the integration of the body, mind, spirit is of paramount importance, yoga has been reduced to a mere physical practice. A cog in a huge wheel has been accorded the status of the wheel itself while the wheel has been relegated to the position of the cog!

Why is this happening?

Only a person who has attained the consciousness of Patanjali, who resides in that same inner space as Patanjali can speak authoritatively on Patanjali's teachings. Over a period of time, when more and more teachers, rather than enlightened masters came into contact with the common man, Patanjali's words took precedence over the spirit in which they were taught. With the development of and the importance given to logic and enquiry, Patanjali's verbalization gained importance at the cost of his body language. Many scholars wrote commentaries on the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali. All the commentaries are no doubt great scholarly works; but they are dry because they have not woven the fullness of Patanjali's non-verbal, body language into their work. They are not a faithful representation of the spirit of Patanjali's sutra.