|
| |
     |
|
Note about the translitération of Sanskrit words
PATANJALI YOG DARSHAN 4.18 SADAA GYAATAASH CHITT VRITTAYAS TAT PRABHOa PURUSHASYA
APARINAAMITWAAT Purush or what the scriptures call Pure Consciousness, or the Pure Witness Self, remains unchanging, always. It is always there, behind thoughts and forms. It is the Knower of all thoughts, as the Absolute Witness Self. Because it is unchanging, it is our sole ground of stability. Waves of perceptions, or thoughts, are always fluctuating and they are part of Prakriti (nature) which is composed of the 3 gunas. The world is composed of the 3 gunas, each representing a field of qualities or categories. These categories are: Sattwa: the quality of harmony, beauty, health, Rajas: the qualities of activity, and Tamas: the qualities of inertia, stagnation, stillness. Those 3 qualities serve a purpose and they balance each others and can be found everywhere in various quantities or ratios. Our objective is to cultivate Sattwa, and to make use of Rajas and Tamas for this purpose of creating more Sattwa or harmony in our life. Here Patanjali gives us an indication that there exists something that is subtler then nature or the 3 gunas, and he calls it the spirit or Pure Consciousness, or Purush. That Pure Consciousness rests at the heart of every perception, as if right behind it, as a ground of stability and freedom. It is unchanging, always present as the Witness Self, a peaceful Consciousness which remains free and unaffected by emotions, thoughts, forms and various experiences. Our objective, through meditation, is to realise this Purush. True realisation comes in stillness, when body and mind seeks satisfaction within, not without. Forms change, and they are bound to be a source of pain or dissatisfaction, at one time or another. The Yogis are aware of this changing nature, and that is the reason why they seek some time in stillness, so that deep within they realise an aspect of themselves which transcends the gunas, or the forms of the world, even of the subtlest ones. Prakriti is eternally changing, and in it we find the 3 gunas. Purush is unchanging, and transcends forms and phenomena (the Gunas). There are two eternal currents, according to Sankhya Yog (or Patanjali Yog Darshan) PURUSH = An eternal, unchanging reality, the Pure Source of all that ever existed, God. Purush transcends the 3 Gunas, it is the source and it is formless, so it is devoid of any gunas per se. PRAKRITI = An eternally changing reality, in which we find the 3 gunas. The 3 gunas create all forms with various qualities, either predominantly Sattwic: harmonious, positive, Rajasic : active or Tamasic: still, negative. Lynne Cardinal For more articles on the sūtras click
here |
