This post is part of a series I am writing as I read the The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. All posts in this series can be found through the "Sutra Readings" category.
The Settled Mind – Chapter 1 (sutras 49-51):
Once the mind settles on the fourth level, according to the yoga sutras, the knowledge gleaned from this space of awareness is qualitatively different from anything that deduction or induction can produce in the way of both knowledge and enlightenment.
- The knowledge gained through ritambharā, is qualitatively different from that gained in the usual way through testimony and inference. The former means is intuitive and sees things as they are in their totality, whereas the latter means is partial.
- The impression born of ritambharā, prevents the accumulation of further latent impressions.
- And when even the latent impression of ritambharā, has been brought to a settled state, then all activity ceases and nirbīja samādhi – the unbounded consciousness of the Self – alone remains.
The aim of settling the mind, then, is to reach a state in which activity has ceased so that knowledge and awareness can merge into an apprehension of the total nature of the Self. And, it seems to me, this apprehension is something akin to the universe becoming conscious of itself. As if consciousness were another dimension, in addition to space and time.
But what does this say to those whose minds bolt at every spark like spooked colts, or whose sense of awareness extends only to the tracks covered by a mind trained to run with one's awareness fixed on a prize at the end of the race, that finish line that gets further away with each new lap that has been run?
More than those who hate you, more than all your enemies, an undisciplined mind does greater harm. More than your mother, more than your father, more than all your family, a well-disciplined mind does greater good. (Easwaran, 2007)
But, I have a sneaking suspicion that disciplining the mind doesn't require more study. Knowledge, as we all know (or better yet, may be aware of) is not the same thing as wisdom. To put it simply, knowledge is the accumulation of facts, while wisdom is an action based on those facts. The accumulation of knowledge can be a mindless activity, when you think about it – and yes, the pun was intended. Wisdom is never mindless, for its heart is a mind alive with awareness.
Sometimes, as I am learning, wisdom is the action not taken, or the awareness that the best one can do in a situation is to leave it alone….
Works Cited
The Dhammapada (Second Edition ed.). (2007). (E. Easwaran, Trans.) Tomales, CA.
Patanjali. (1982). The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. (A. Shearer, Trans.) New York: Bell Tower.
~ to be continued
