Last time we met, we had wrapped up the so-called Book/Chapter II, or Sãdhana, the chapter on Practice for the aspiring Yogi/ni. That section introduced and began to enumerate and elucidate the 8 Limbs of Yoga according to Patañjali, or what has come into the common parlance as the Ashtanga of Yoga. In Sãdhana, the first five limbs are discussed and/or defined, leaving us the trinity of Dhãranã-Dhyãna-Samãdhi for Book III, which we shall see shortly.
In review, the first five limbs are:
Yama
Ni-Yama
Ãsana
Prãnãyãma
Pratyãhãra
And, these are usually taken as the external limbs, while the remaining three are described as being more internal in 3.7 below.
Whether these three were originally split into a new chapter/book, we do not know. This division, as we saw between Books I and II has been recently applied with more modern editorial inclinations. In truth, the Sutras may have at one time not had any such divisions. But, as this is the commonly accepted break, then let's keep it simple and proceed with 3.1.
desha-bandhash-cittasya dhãrana 3.1
Or, literally,
Dhãrana is a fixed place of the mind 3.1
Dhãrana is usually translated as "concentration," which originally does mean "the action of centering" and that is usually "of the mind". So, this is not a very foreign concept as such. We have seen Dhãranã before in YS 2.53 and connection with the Fourth type of Prãnãyãma where it was in the plural, so it means that in that context, it is an action, rather than a state of Be-ing as we shall see with Samãdhi. As such, 3.1 could also be rendered as:
The fixing of a single place in the mind is Dhãranã. 3.1
Which would mean that there is still a division between the Seer and the Seen as the mind is being used to See, or fix, a place in the mind, which houses the Seer. So, we are merely peeking down into the Rabbit Hole and have not yet jumped down into it. So, let's continue.
YS 3.2 gives us another familiar verbal/grammatical clue with tatra that we have seen before:
tatra pratyayaikatãnatã dhyãnam 3.2
Or,
Then/at that point (of Dhãranã), Dhyãna [is] a fixed singularity of thought. 3.2
This takes us into the the Rabbit Hole. In Physics, a singularity is also known as a Black Hole as it takes in everything, including light. Dhyãna then becomes the Black (Rabbit) Hole of Yoga. Once the mind becomes a singularity, the Time and Place of the mind will no longer matter. Singularity is moving towards our ultimate goal, which is Kaivalyam. Dhãranã prompts the mind into intense concentration, and Dhyãna renders the fusion of thought and mind into this singularity of mind.
And, then, finally, we arrive at the 8th and final limb, and that which the entire first Chapter/Book was devoted to: Samãdhi, and we have
tad-evãrtha-mãtra-nirbhãsam svarupa-shunyam iva samãdhih 3.3
giving us
Samãdhi is as if being devoid of its own nature, that very Dhyãna shines forth as the only object/aim. 3.3
My own take on the translation of Samãdhi differs from most translations, so I will briefly note where I go with it. Broken down, the word comes from sama+ã+dhã, or going straight to its Ancient Greek cousing--> syn-thesis. Samãdhi is literally the synthesis of all of the previous 7 limbs, culminating in absolute integration. In Calculus, the answer to a derivative is found by breaking up the sum into manageable parts and then combining them, or integrating them into a synthesized whole. Samãdhi is precisely that. Patañjali has broken Yoga down into integral parts, and Samãdhi solves the equation of the Black (W)hole. And, in order to do that, the sva-rupa, or true nature itself is swallowed up into that Black Hole, literally the void, or shunyata as we see in 3.3.
Just as the Black Hole engulfs the light waves of everything that falls within its gravitational field, Samãdhi synthesizes even the true nature of the Soul/Mind/Self into the depths of Dhyãna. As we have seen before, Dhyãna is ultimately corrupted into the Japanese word, Zen, and there too via Buddhism, the concept of Shunyata (directly from the Sanskrit) comes into play, usually translated as "Emptiness". In Yoga, the shunya, or void is in connection with the experience, and ultimate state of Be-ing of Samãdhi. There is no here nor there any longer...it has become a singularity, which we shall ultimately see in Book IV, or Kaivalyam...
For now, we return to the Yogic trinity with 3.4:
trayam-ekatra samyamah 3.4
Or, simply
These three (Dhãranã-Dhyãna-Samãdhi) together as one are samyamah. 3.4
The rest of Book III is now dedicated to this Trinity, or samyamah.
Moving on to 3.5-3.6 then, we have:
taj-jayãt-prajñãlokah 3.5
tasya bhumishu viniyogah 3.6
Or,
From the mastery of that (samyamah) comes a vision of wisdom. 3.5
The application of that (wisdom from samyamah) occurs in stages. 3.6
In other words, it takes practice and time again. We are back to our concepts of Abhyãsa, or diligent practice, but now, it has a Method, that of the 8-limbs of Yoga, capped off by Samyamah. From here on out in the Yoga Sutras, the effects/results of the Ashtanga, and more specifically, the Samyamah will be the focus of the text. From here on out, we are in the Rabbit Hole, as we see in 3.7, we have turned inwards now, and that is where the real, real journey begins...
trayam-antarangam purvebhyah 3.7
(These) three are (more) internal limbs (from) those previous ones. 3.7
And, just how far down that black, rabbit hole goes, is yet to be seen.
Coming along?
In review, the first five limbs are:
Yama
Ni-Yama
Ãsana
Prãnãyãma
Pratyãhãra
And, these are usually taken as the external limbs, while the remaining three are described as being more internal in 3.7 below.
Whether these three were originally split into a new chapter/book, we do not know. This division, as we saw between Books I and II has been recently applied with more modern editorial inclinations. In truth, the Sutras may have at one time not had any such divisions. But, as this is the commonly accepted break, then let's keep it simple and proceed with 3.1.
desha-bandhash-cittasya dhãrana 3.1
Or, literally,
Dhãrana is a fixed place of the mind 3.1
Dhãrana is usually translated as "concentration," which originally does mean "the action of centering" and that is usually "of the mind". So, this is not a very foreign concept as such. We have seen Dhãranã before in YS 2.53 and connection with the Fourth type of Prãnãyãma where it was in the plural, so it means that in that context, it is an action, rather than a state of Be-ing as we shall see with Samãdhi. As such, 3.1 could also be rendered as:
The fixing of a single place in the mind is Dhãranã. 3.1
Which would mean that there is still a division between the Seer and the Seen as the mind is being used to See, or fix, a place in the mind, which houses the Seer. So, we are merely peeking down into the Rabbit Hole and have not yet jumped down into it. So, let's continue.
YS 3.2 gives us another familiar verbal/grammatical clue with tatra that we have seen before:
tatra pratyayaikatãnatã dhyãnam 3.2
Or,
Then/at that point (of Dhãranã), Dhyãna [is] a fixed singularity of thought. 3.2
This takes us into the the Rabbit Hole. In Physics, a singularity is also known as a Black Hole as it takes in everything, including light. Dhyãna then becomes the Black (Rabbit) Hole of Yoga. Once the mind becomes a singularity, the Time and Place of the mind will no longer matter. Singularity is moving towards our ultimate goal, which is Kaivalyam. Dhãranã prompts the mind into intense concentration, and Dhyãna renders the fusion of thought and mind into this singularity of mind.
And, then, finally, we arrive at the 8th and final limb, and that which the entire first Chapter/Book was devoted to: Samãdhi, and we have
tad-evãrtha-mãtra-nirbhãsam svarupa-shunyam iva samãdhih 3.3
giving us
Samãdhi is as if being devoid of its own nature, that very Dhyãna shines forth as the only object/aim. 3.3
My own take on the translation of Samãdhi differs from most translations, so I will briefly note where I go with it. Broken down, the word comes from sama+ã+dhã, or going straight to its Ancient Greek cousing--> syn-thesis. Samãdhi is literally the synthesis of all of the previous 7 limbs, culminating in absolute integration. In Calculus, the answer to a derivative is found by breaking up the sum into manageable parts and then combining them, or integrating them into a synthesized whole. Samãdhi is precisely that. Patañjali has broken Yoga down into integral parts, and Samãdhi solves the equation of the Black (W)hole. And, in order to do that, the sva-rupa, or true nature itself is swallowed up into that Black Hole, literally the void, or shunyata as we see in 3.3.
Just as the Black Hole engulfs the light waves of everything that falls within its gravitational field, Samãdhi synthesizes even the true nature of the Soul/Mind/Self into the depths of Dhyãna. As we have seen before, Dhyãna is ultimately corrupted into the Japanese word, Zen, and there too via Buddhism, the concept of Shunyata (directly from the Sanskrit) comes into play, usually translated as "Emptiness". In Yoga, the shunya, or void is in connection with the experience, and ultimate state of Be-ing of Samãdhi. There is no here nor there any longer...it has become a singularity, which we shall ultimately see in Book IV, or Kaivalyam...
For now, we return to the Yogic trinity with 3.4:
trayam-ekatra samyamah 3.4
Or, simply
These three (Dhãranã-Dhyãna-Samãdhi) together as one are samyamah. 3.4
The rest of Book III is now dedicated to this Trinity, or samyamah.
Moving on to 3.5-3.6 then, we have:
taj-jayãt-prajñãlokah 3.5
tasya bhumishu viniyogah 3.6
Or,
From the mastery of that (samyamah) comes a vision of wisdom. 3.5
The application of that (wisdom from samyamah) occurs in stages. 3.6
In other words, it takes practice and time again. We are back to our concepts of Abhyãsa, or diligent practice, but now, it has a Method, that of the 8-limbs of Yoga, capped off by Samyamah. From here on out in the Yoga Sutras, the effects/results of the Ashtanga, and more specifically, the Samyamah will be the focus of the text. From here on out, we are in the Rabbit Hole, as we see in 3.7, we have turned inwards now, and that is where the real, real journey begins...
trayam-antarangam purvebhyah 3.7
(These) three are (more) internal limbs (from) those previous ones. 3.7
And, just how far down that black, rabbit hole goes, is yet to be seen.
Coming along?
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