visesa distinction, specific quality, peculiarity darsinah to whom, who sees, the seer atmabhava the ideas of the seer, the thought of the seer bhavana feeling, reflection nivrttih return, disappearance, emancipation For one who realises the distinction between citta and atma, the sense of separation between the two disappears. When the difference between consciousness (citta) and the projector of the consciousness (citi) is recognised, the search for Self-Realisation ends. From iv.15 to iv.25, Patanjali takes the sadhaka progressively to the realisation that consciousness is not the all-knower, but simply an instrument of the soul. For one who is not sure of the difference between consciousness and soul (citta and citi), an analogy is given; the blades of grass which shoot up during the rainy season prove the existence of the hidden seeds. In this sutra Patanjali explains that the seed of the soul (atma bija) is sown at the right time for the knowledge of the soul (atma jnana) to be securely established. As one mistakes a rope for a snake at first glance, but realises upon examination that it is a rope, consciousness at this stage realises that it is not all-knowing, but an instrument of the soul. Avidya is vanquished and the practitioner thoroughly understands objective as well as subjective knowledge, without colourisation. Here all moods and modes cease to flow, and consciousness is elevated to the optimum degree to behold the inebriated state of the seer. The yogi is no longer drawn towards the temptations of the world. His search for the self ends. He becomes a master of yoga and a master of himself. He is yogesvara. This is the substance (svarupa) of yoga and a distinct attribute of the seer (visesa darsinah). (1.47; 11.10, 12; Hi.56.) |