PYS: The need for a higher goal, object of focus to pull our many branched intelligence

 Vibhuti Pada

PYS: How Mimicry artists like Sunil Grover do a fantastic job?

Patanjali Yoga Sutras: Meditation Stages

Patanjali Yoga Sutras: From irregulation to Focus and Concentration - all steps

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. 

Importance of putting one's full emotion.(Dhyana)

There are three stages by which the mind attains communion with its object, which is the aim of meditation. The first stage is that it thinks deeply over the object, pays entire attention to it, and does not want to think anything else. So much is the longing for communion that the mind cannot think anything else at that time. The heart fixes itself in its thought, in its will, and in its emotion, upon the object. This is a very important factor to remember. It is not merely the thought that fixes itself— it is also the will, and also the emotion. This is important because we are generally under the impression that concentration is the settling of the thought on the form of the object. But, usually, the emotions are not there and, therefore, the will is also not there. There is a shallow concentration with a disturbed background. That is not the concentration that we are expecting here, at this stage of yoga. There is no need to repeat, again and again, that the subject which meditates is not the mind in its shallow conscious aspect. It is the very vitality and essence of the whole of the personality of the subject. It is the very breath of the personality that is drawn towards the object— the very prana is moving towards it. We are entirely, wholly, totally, moving towards the object. What it is to be totally drawn towards an object is something difficult to imagine under normal conditions, because we are never totally drawn towards anything. Though we have an interest in many things of the world, it cannot be regarded as a whole or entire interest which absorbs the completeness of our being. Such a thing is unknown to us— but that is what is required of us. It is only in deep sleep that the whole being sinks; at other times, the entire being does not operate. Very rarely, even on the conscious level, does the whole being operate, unless we are frightened out of our wits. If lions begin to attack us from all sides in the jungle, the whole being may start working in a particular manner because our intention is to escape, and every cell of the body will be active, cooperating with us for the escape. Intense fright, intense joy and deep sleep— these are the stages or states of mind that may manage to draw the attention of the whole personality.

Swami Krishnananda. Study_and_Practice_of_Yoga_Volume-II (Kindle Locations 4747-4762). Kindle Edition. 

Superhuman - the think and it manifests because their Dhyana is strong 

That is the stage where we become superhuman, at least in a very small measure. We become superhuman the moment we are able to draw the attention of the total personality in respect of anything. The difference between man and superman is that while the faculties of the ordinary man are dissipated, the faculties of the superman are integrated. We must have heard of the saying that Lord Krishna has sixteen kalas— which means to say, sixteen powers. These sixteen powers are nothing but the sixteen energies that are present in the individual. They are present in us also, not only in Lord Krishna. But what happens in our case is that they are diverted in sixteen different directions: the pranas which are five, the organs of action which are five, the senses of knowledge which are five, and the psychological principle— these are the sixteen forces. In us, all these are higgledy-piggledy. Everything goes anywhere it likes and there is no coordination among them. But in a superman they are total, whole, complete— integrated like a mass, and not isolated in their content. That is why when a thought originates in the mind of a superman, it immediately takes effect, whereas in ordinary people it does not take effect because its energy has been diverted in some other way.

Swami Krishnananda. Study_and_Practice_of_Yoga_Volume-II (Kindle Locations 4773-4782). Kindle Edition. 

More on strong emotion and dhyana and manifestation

The implementation of a thought, or the materialisation of an idea, is nothing but the extent of the union which one feels with the object concerned; that is called the materialisation of the thought. The moment we think something, it happens— and it must happen if the mind is able to unite itself with the object wholly. And, the percentage of this union will also be the determining factor of the percentage of this success, or implementation of the thought. But if always there is the feeling that the object is totally outside the mind, and the mind has very little interest in the object, it has also, correspondingly, very little control over the object. So, where can there be implementation? Where can there be materialisation? The communion that we are seeking— which is samadhi, the aim of yoga— is the total merger of the subject with its ideal of meditation. There it has total

Swami Krishnananda. Study_and_Practice_of_Yoga_Volume-II (Kindle Locations 4782-4788). Kindle Edition. 

Verse 3.45-46 - Mastery of all elements and all siddhis

(Sanskrit)45. By making Samyama on the gross and fine forms of the elements, their essential traits, the inherence of the Gunas in them and on their contributing to the experience of the soul, comes mastery of the elements.

(Sanskrit)46. From that comes minuteness and the rest of the powers, "glorification of the body," and indestructibleness of the bodily qualities.

Swami Vivekananda. Raja-Yoga & Patanjali Yoga-Sutra by Swami Vivekananda (p. 49). Unknown. Kindle Edition. 

Swami Vivekananda. Raja-Yoga & Patanjali Yoga-Sutra by Swami Vivekananda (p. 49). Unknown. Kindle Edition. 

Again- become one with your object full being amd emotion, then the powers of the object flow to you. Become one organically- things come under your control

How is it that we come to acquire power at all? What is the secret behind it? Why is it that we do not simply have any power now, at this present moment? Why has this power come now? Where was it hidden up to this time? This has been made clear in a sutra in the Samadhi Pada which goes as follows: kṣīṇavṛtteḥ abhijātasye iva maṇeḥ grahītṛ grahaṇa grāhyeṣu tatstha tadañjanatā samāpattiḥ (I. 41). This requires the meditating mind to become consubstantial with the object— the subject united with the object so that it gains insight into the nature of the object. Then it is that the gulf separating the mind from the object is bridged by the practice of samyama, and the powers inherent in the object flow into the subject. That is the secret. Whatever is your power becomes my power when I become one with you. This is to state the whole method in simple terms. That which is outside our capacity comes within our capacity when that in which this capacity is inherent comes under our control. And this control is not an ordinary type of authority that we exercise over an object, as a master exercises authority over a servant. It is not like that. It is a complete mastery where that which is to be controlled does not stand outside the subject controlling it. It has become one, organically. This is the meaning of this sutra which has been given to us in the Samadhi Pada.

Swami Krishnananda. Study_and_Practice_of_Yoga_Volume-II (Kindle Locations 6304-6309). Kindle Edition. 

It is a complete mastery where that which is to be controlled does not stand outside the subject controlling it. It has become one, organically. This is the meaning of this sutra which has been given to us in the Samadhi Pada. Now, applying this technique, Patanjali tells us that we can control anything, whether it is visible or invisible, material or otherwise. The objective side, which is known as grahaya samapatti in the language of yoga, is intended to control the elements. The five elements which constitute this vast world, or rather the entire universe of physical nature, are supposed to be under one’s control, provided samyama is practised on them. Earth, water, fire, air and ether— these are the elements, and no one can have any control over them. They are the masters, as is well known. But they can be controlled, says the sutra, provided we establish a harmony with them and we become one with the law which operates them in the universe. This is called bhutajaya— control of the elements.

Namita- also includes above concept of putting your full being dhyana

Swami Krishnananda. Study_and_Practice_of_Yoga_Volume-II (Kindle Locations 6308-6315). Kindle Edition. 

Patanjali Yoga Sutras: Kaivalya Pada

Patanjali Yoga Sutras: Vibhuti Pada

 Vibhuti Pada- 3rd section of the Patanjali Yoga Sutras

• The power a living entity can manifest when purified by sadhana(practice) and samadhi- inner absorption.
• Earlier chapters- Yama Niyama, Asanas, Pranayam and sense withdrawal - 
• Vibhuti Pada Chapter explains how concentration can break through constraints of matter and time - leading to manifestation and great powers. However the absorption in those powers is a distraction from the true purpose of life- which is service to the Divine. 

Chapter Sections

• (1-8) Establishing Samyama Concetration
• (1-4) Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi on one object = Samyama
• Dharana- fixing the mind
• Dhyana- continuous flow of focus
• Samadhi - where only the objec remains
• (5) Mastery of Samyama leads to wisdom
• (6) Samyama must be applied in stages, gradually and not too fast
• (7) Samyama more subtle and internal than Pratyahara, Yama, Niyama,Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi
• (8) But Samyama is external to seedless samadhi- true union with the divine, no seeds for vikalpa or changes leading to different bodies.
• Patanjali Yoga Sutras: From Irregulation to Focus and Concentration - all steps 

• (9-16) Modifications of the mind
• (9) Nirodha parinama: Mind still in lower amadhi as modifications still happening. One keeps bringing the mind back from various modifications- lower samadhi bec modifications havent stopped.
• (10) Prasanta Vahita: Flow of continous control of the mind becomes steady
• (11) Samadhi Parinama: Mind is now able to take in only one object, excluding all others and focus on it continously - this samadhi
• (12) Ekagrata Parinama: Mind becomes abolsutely steady. Idea of time vanishes - the more time passes unnoticed, the more concetrated we are
• (13) Transformations of form, time and state - 
• example gold made into bracelet is change in form. Seen over time is tranformation of gold over time. Bracelet maybe thick or thin, gold maybe dull or bright- is change in state. 
• Similarly, from verses 9,11 and 12: the mind - stuff is changing into Vrittis -- this is change as to form. That it passes through past, present and future moments of time is change as to time. That the impressions vary as to intensity within one particular period, say, present, is change as to state. The concentrations taught in the preceding aphorisms were to give the Yogi a voluntary control over the transformations of his mind - stuff, which alone will enable him to make the Samyama named in 3.4
• (14) - That which is acted upong by these 3 transformation sis the "qualified". 
• qualified is the substance which is being acted upon by time and by the Samskaras, and getting changed and being manifested always.
• (15)- The succession of changes is the cause of manifold evolution.
• (16) - Samyama on this change in the Samskaras leads to knowledge of past present and future - 
• When the mind has attained to that state when it identifies itself with the internal impression of the object, leaving the external, and when, by long practice, that is retained by the mind and the mind can get into that state in a moment, that is Samyama. 
• If a man in that state wants to know the past and future, he has to make a Samyama on the changes in the Samskaras (3.13). Some are working now at present, some have worked out, and some are waiting to work. So by making a Samyama on these he knows the past and future.
• (17- 33) Siddhis - Fruits of applying samyama- Powers:
• (17) Understanding animal sounds and language - Word, Meaning and knowledge together form sense objects. Ordinarily these three are inseparable; but by practice the Yogi can separate them. When a man has attained to this, if he makes a Samyama on any sound, he understands the meaning which that sound was intended to express, whether it was made by man or by any other animal.
• (18) Knowing past lives: Experiences saved as fine waves on chitta. Samyama on these wave impressions helps one know the past.
• (19 and 20) Knowing other's minds - maybe this is what makes Sunil Grover so succesful in his mimicry. Each man has particular signs on his body, which differentiate him from others; when the Yogi makes a Samyama on these signs he knows the nature of the mind of that person. He would not know the contents of the mind by making a Samyama on the body. There would be required a twofold Samyama, first on the signs in the body, and then on the mind itself. The Yogi would then know everything that is in that mind.
• 21 - Body and senses - invisibility and 22 words being spoken
• 23- knowing time of death
• 24 - excel in qualities like mercy, tolerance and forgiveness
• 25 - gain strength by samyama on the elephant. Infinite energy is at the disposal of everyone if he only knows how to get it. The Yogi has discovered the science of getting it.
• 26- Samyama on light in the heart(maybe brahmajyoti) can see distant things and things obstructed like behind the mountain.
• 27- on the sun gives knowledge of the world
• 28- on the moon gives knowledge of the stars
• 29- polestar gives knowledge of the motion of all stars
• 30- on the navel - gives the constitution of the body
• 31 - on the hollow of the throat you can subside hunger
• 32- on nerve kumra comes fixity of the body
• 33- light on top of head get darshan of siddhas (beings a little above ghosts - siddha does not refer to those who have become free in this verse)
• (34- 49) Siddha - Higher realizations
• 34- Pratibha-
•  those who have spontaneous enlightenment from purity- they get these powers automatically without any samyama. 
• When a man has risen to a high state of Pratibha, he has that great light. All things are apparent to him. Everything comes to him naturally without making Samyama.
• 35- on the heart comes knowledge of the lind
• 36,37- Seeing the self separate from the modes, separate from sattva, situating oneself in shidh sttva- one sees the self and the Super soul- the Supreme Lord. Knowledge of belonging to brahmajyoti and heightened supernatural hearing, touching, seeing, tasting and smelling.
• 38- but these are powers and cna be distraction to our true goal
• 39-49 Further powers - entering other's bodies while being in your own, levitation, elements mastery, perfection of body and senses
• Samyama gives perfections and powers, but they are still part of prakriti
• Liberation- Going Beyond Siddhis
• Kaivalya arises when sattva and purusha are equal in clarity. 
• When nature has been conquered, and the difference between the Purusha and nature realised -- that the Purusha is indestructible, pure and perfect -- then come omnipotence and omniscience.
• Giving up these powers- yogi overcomes the final seed of eveil: When the Yogi has seen all these wonderful powers, and rejected them, he reaches the goal. What are all these powers? Simply manifestations. They are no better than dreams. Even omnipotence is a dream. It depends on the mind. So long as there is a mind it can be understood, but the goal is beyond even the mind.
• 52 - beware of celestial beings and praise by them - they may tempt so you lose your perfection
• 53- we need discrimination to detach from these powers and celestial temptations - by making a Samyama on a particle of time, and the time preceding and following it. even those that cannot be differentiated by species, signs or place can be discriminated by the above samyama
• The misery that we suffer comes from ignorance, from non - discrimination between the real and the unreal.
• Clear discrimination brings freedom.

Summary

3.1-3.8 The tool- samyama

3.9-3.16 - Inner Transformations

3.17-3.49 - Powers and Siddhis

3.50-3.55 - Transcending powers - viveka(discrimination) - kaivalya

Patanjali Yoga Sutras: Samadhi Pada

Patanjali Yoga Sutras: Sadhana Pada

Patanjali Yoga Sutra's Introduction and Summary