Читать книгу Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali - Литагент HarperCollins USD - Страница 41

Having defined the subtle facets of man’s nature as intelligence, ego, the ‘I’ principle and the inner self, Patañjali analyses them one by one to reveal their hidden content. He begins with the intellectual brain, which oscillates between one-pointed and scattered attention. If the sadhaka does not recollect how, where and when his attention became disconnected from the object contemplated, he becomes a wanderer: his intelligence remains untrained. By careful observation, and reflection on the qualities of the intelligence, the sadhaka distinguishes between its multi-faceted and its one-pointed manifestation, and between the restless and silent states. To help him, Patañjali explains how the discriminative faculty can be used to control emerging thought, to suppress the emergence of thought waves and to observe the appearance of moments of silence. If the sadhaka observes and holds these intermittent periods of silence, he experiences a state of restfulness. If this is deliberately prolonged, the stream of tranquillity will flow without disturbance.

Holding this tranquil flow of calmness without allowing the intelligence to forget itself, the seeker moves towards the seer. This movement leads to inner attention and awareness, which is in turn the basis for drawing the consciousness towards integration with the inner self. When this integration is established, the seeker realizes that the contemplator, the instrument used for contemplation, and the object of contemplation are one and the same, the seer or the soul: in other words, subject, object and instrument become one.

Bringing the intelligence, buddhi, to a refined, tranquil steadiness is dharana. When this is achieved, buddhi is re-absorbed by a process of involution into the consciousness, citta, whose inherent expression is a sharp awareness but without focus. This is dhyana. The discrimination and unwinking observation which are properties of buddhi must constantly be ready to prevent consciousness from clouding and dhyana from slipping away. Buddhi is the activator of pure citta.

When the sadhaka has disciplined and understood the intelligence, the stream of tranquillity flows smoothly, uninfluenced by pleasure or pain. Then he learns to exercise his awareness, to make it flow with peace and poise. This blending of awareness and tranquillity brings about a state of virtue, which is the powerful ethic, or sakti, of the soul, the culmination of intelligence and consciousness. This culturing of intelligence is an evolution, and virtue is its special quality. Maintenance of this civilized, cultured, virtuous state leads to a perfect propriety, wherein the intelligence continues to be refined, and the sadhaka moves ever closer to the spiritual zenith of yoga.