Sunday, March 29, 2026
Saturday, March 28, 2026
Patanjali Yoga Sutras : Manifestation
From Vibhuti Pada
(Sanskrit)1. Dharana is holding the mind on to some particular object. Dharana (concentration) is when the mind holds on to some object, either in the body, or outside the body, and keeps itself in that state.
(Sanskrit)2. An unbroken flow of knowledge in that object is Dhyana. The mind tries to think of one object, to hold itself to one particular spot, as the top of the head, the heart, etc., and if the mind succeeds in receiving the sensations only through that part of the body, and through no other part, that would be Dharana, and when the mind succeeds in keeping itself in that state for some time, it is called Dhyana (meditation).
(Sanskrit)3. When that, giving up all forms, reflects only the meaning, it is Samadhi. That comes when in meditation the form or the external part is given up. Suppose I were meditating on a book, and that I have gradually succeeded in concentrating the mind on it, and perceiving only the internal sensations, the meaning, unexpressed in any form -- that state of Dhyana is called Samadhi.
(Sanskrit)4. (These) three (when practiced) in regard to one object is Samyama. When a man can direct his mind to any particular object and fix it there, and then keep it there for a long time, separating the object from the internal part, this is Samyama; or Dharana, Dhyana, and Samadhi, one following the other, and making one. The form of the thing has vanished, and only its meaning remains in the mind.
(Sanskrit)5. By the conquest of that comes light of knowledge. When one has succeeded in making this Samyama, all powers come under his control. This is the great instrument of the Yogi. The objects of knowledge are infinite, and they are divided into the gross, grosser, grossest and the fine, finer, finest and so on. This Samyama should be first applied to gross things,
Swami Vivekananda. Raja-Yoga & Patanjali Yoga-Sutra by Swami Vivekananda (p. 49). Unknown. Kindle Edition.
What actually happens in concentration:
What actually happens in yogic concentration is that we exert a pressure at a particular point, which immediately communicates a message to everything else with which it is connected. This is very important, a feature which distinguishes yogic concentration from every other type of concentration. It is something like encountering a ringleader directly.
When he is faced openly, we can imagine what he will do. He will immediately send a message to all his cronies that he is caught. There are ways and means of doing this, which is a subtle secret of nature. The activity of natural forces is different from the activity that we are accustomed to in the workaday world. Communications do not require any kind of physical medium in the case of the working of natural forces. There is no need for an electric wire or cable, or any such conceivable material medium. A reverberation of forces is automatically created on account of a disturbance felt at a particular point in space. Any pressure intensely felt at the bowels of the ocean will be communicated to the entire ocean. The manner in which it is done, the ocean only knows. We may say, in a sense, that this world is like a reverberating chamber where everything echoes in every corner, and not even the sound of a pin dropping can go unheard.
Not only that, sometimes it seems that this pin-drop sound gets magnified in certain corners according to the circumstances of the case; and forces are alerted immediately to do the needful on account of this disturbance that has been created.
Swami Krishnananda. Study_and_Practice_of_Yoga_Volume-II (Kindle Locations 4329-4340). Kindle Edition.
As I mentioned, concentration is a pressure that is exerted in a particular manner at a particular point. The point is not isolated; it has a subtle inward relationship with many other things in this world. It
Swami Krishnananda. Study_and_Practice_of_Yoga_Volume-II (Kindle Locations 4383-4385). Kindle Edition.
What it is that we are disturbing is a very interesting point to recollect at the present moment. We are interfering with those silent forces which have been, up to this time, lying dormant, inactive, on account of unfavourable circumstances for germinating into conscious experience. We are now compelling the fruit to ripen under conditions that we are introducing by the power of concentration, so the latent energies, which would not have otherwise woken up into activity, are made to wake up.
Swami Krishnananda. Study_and_Practice_of_Yoga_Volume-II (Kindle Locations 4397-4400). Kindle Edition.
