PREFACE

What I have written is not definitive but a boot strap to help those who have an interest to further explore The Yoga Sutras.

The goal of scholars who interpret sacred texts is to present a true rendition of ancient text. But this is very difficult because over many years the meaning of words change or the original word meanings are lost not to mention not having the original text or dealing with edits of the texts over the centuries or millennium.

I am not a scholar but an Advocate for Peace and so I do not hold myself to a strict interpretation of these ancient scripts. What I intend to accomplish is to create a link between these ancient scripts and increasing of the peace in the world human society and this requires making changes to these texts that would be unacceptable to University scholars.

This means that I taken the liberty of bending the words of the masters in sync with increasing of peace in the world human society whilte attempting to put the texts in contemporary modern English.

Therefore, a scholar intends his version to create the closest possible interpretation at the time it was written and I am interested in how these words and interpreted concepts affect the level of peace in the world human society.

So what I have written has been skewed with my filters and it’s not to be confused with a literal interpretation which has no agenda with regards to using it to achieve any goal except to shed light on the closest meaning the original writer intended.

To help me in this endeavor, I generally take about six or more scholarly interpretations and carefully read them and pick and choose parts and pieces of these interpretations line by line and then combine them and use some contemporary words and phrases to make the reading understandable by the reader.

No matter what humans read, they put their own spin on it. So the idea is to put the reader on a close path to what the original writer said as it applies to contemporary society.

No writing is set in stone. It is the product of all that has gone before but not a product of what will come after. Therefore, all important and sacred texts must be constantly undated over the millennium to keep them relevant. And if they cannot be so updated and applicable to contemporary society then they have to be discarded. Only time will tell whether they will be permanently discarded or discarded only for a time and then become relevant again.

But texts that seem to apply to contemporary society after hundreds or thousands of years are ones that need to be considered and contemplated by society for the purpose of increasing the peace in that society. For the most part if the words no matter how young or old do not hold the prospect of increasing the peace in the world human society, they have no interest to me as a self-proclaimed Advocate for Peace and WorldPeace.

Again in a nutshell, I am writing as an Advocate for Peace (someone with a social agenda) and not as a scholar whose only objective is to render as true an interpretation as possible to be used or not used by the world human society as it sees fit.

I used the following six English translations of The Yoga Sutras in writing my version. They were selected at random from a list of about forty translations. I compared the verses of these six translations and then wrote my interpretation of that verse. This has been my procedure in all my interpretations of all the sacred texts I have considered and published to date.

YOGA SUTRAS OF PATANJALI - Maharishi Sadasiva Isham
DEMYSTIFYING PATANJALI THE YOGA SUTRAS (APHORISMS –
 Paramhansa Yogananda
THE YOGA SUTRAS OF PATANJALI - Sri Swami Satchidananda
 PATANJALI YOGA SUTRAS - A K Aruna
 THE YOGA-SUTRA OF PATANJALI - Chip Hartranft
 THE YOGA SUTRAS OF PATANJALI - Edwin F. Bryant
 

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CONTEMPLATION

1.1 Now we begin the study of The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali regarding Yoga.

1.2 Yoga is the discipline of stilling the meanderings of the mind.

1.3 When this stillness is accomplished, then the incarnate Self (Soul) abides in its true nature.

1.4 When the Self does not reside in the stillness of the mind, the Self becomes confused in the manifestations of the Infinite Oneness (The All Inclusive God)

1.5 There are five states of mind (vrittis) which are painful or painless.

Vritti has been translated as "waves" or "ripples" of disturbance upon the otherwise calm waters of the mind. The classical definition of yoga as stated in the Yoga Sutras is to calm the waves and return, or reunite (yoga = union) mind to its calm state, or samadhi.  Wikipedia.

1.6 These five states of mind are: perception, misperception, imagination, sleep and memory.

1.7 Right perception comes with direct observation, logical deduction and scriptural testimony.

1.8 Misperception is confusing the finite, mortal ( the manifestation of the Infinite Oneness) with the infinite, immortal (Infinite Oneness) 

1.9 Imagination is based on mere words or verbal delusion and not contact with real things.

1.10 Sleep is not grounded in any thought and is an attachment to nothing real.

1.11 Memory is the retention of past thoughts and experiences.

1.12 The five states of mind (vrittis) are stilled by Yoga practice and non-attachment.

1.13 Yoga (Spiritual) Practice is the sustained effort to maintain that stillness of mind.

1.14 Yoga Practice becomes firmly established when it is undertaken for a long time, without a break, and with deep earnest devotion.

1.15 Non-attachment is mastery of consciousness that disconnects from the seen, the heard, the experienced, the scriptures; anything at all.

1.16 The supreme non-attachment to the gunas (sattva; goodness, constructive, harmonious – rajas: passion, active, confused – tamas: darkness, destructive, chaotic) is when one achieves awareness of the true nature of the self (purusa).

The universe is envisioned, in these ancient Sanskrit texts, as a combination of perceivable material reality and non-perceivable, non-material laws and principles of nature.[3][7] Material reality, or Prakrti, is everything that has changed, can change and is subject to cause and effect. Purusa is the Universal principle that is unchanging, uncaused but is present everywhere and the reason why Prakrti changes, evolves all the time and why there is cause and effect.[7] Purusa is what connects everything and everyone, according to various schools of Hinduism.

1.17 At first the stilling process is accompanied by four kinds of cognition: analytical thinking, insight, bliss, and feeling I-Am_ness

1.18 After one practices and brings all thoughts to a standstill, the four kinds of cognition disappear, leaving only subconscious memories (of past incarnations).

1.19 Those who have not reached the highest state at the time of death remain attached to Prakriti (Nature) and are reborn.

According to Samkhya and the Bhagavad Gita Prakrti or Nature is composed of the three gunas which are tendencies or modes of operation, known as sattva (creation), rajas (preservation), and tamas, (destruction) [4] Sattva encompasses qualities of goodness, light, and harmony.[5]

1.20 But for others, (the state where only subconscious impressions remain) is preceded by faith, vigor, memory, contemplation, and discernment.

1.21 For those who apply themselves intensely, Samadhi comes very quick.

1.22 How quick depends on the intensity of one’s practice: whether mild, medium or intense.

1.23 Alternatively, this highest Samadhi can be attained by complete devotion and total dedication to God (Isvara – Supreme Cosmic Soul, Infinite Oneness).

1.24 Isvara is the Supreme Self, unaffected by any affliction, karma (action), consequence thereof, or impression of desires.

1.25 In him is fully developed the seed of omniscience.

1.26 In the timeless Infinite Oneness, Isvara is the teacher of the first teachers

1.27 Isvara is represented by the sound OM.

1.28 Through repetition and contemplation of OM, its meaning becomes clear.

1.29 From this practice of meditation on the inner sound of OM, all obstacles are overcome and one comes to know his oneness with the Self.

1.30 The obstacles which scatter consciousness are: disease, dullness, doubt, negligence, laziness, sensuality, misperceptions, failure to become grounded in one’s self and instability.

1.31 The natural results of these obstacles are: suffering, confusion, despair, lack of body mind integration.

1.32 The practice of focusing one’s concentration on a single subject, is the best way to eliminate these obstacles.

1.33 Clarity of consciousness comes from being friendly toward the happy, compassion for those in distress, joy toward the virtuous, and composure when exposed to pleasure or pain, good or bad.

1.34 Or composure is maintained by controlled exhalation and retention of the breath.

1.35 Concentrating on subtle sense perceptions can bring steadiness of the mind.

1.36 Or calmness of mind comes by concentrating on the blissfulness of the Infinite Oneness.

1.37 Or by concentrating on a great soul who has a mind free of attachments.

1.38 Or a calm steady mind comes by concentrating on some revelation discovered during dreams or deep sleep.

1.39 Or by meditating on anything one finds elevating to one’s consciousness.

1.40 The Yogi’s mastery extends from the smallest particle to the all inclusive Infinite Oneness.

1.41 As a naturally pure crystal reflects the shapes and colors placed next to it, the Yogi mind when clear of vritts (the five states of mind) and does not distinguish the knower, the process of knowing and the known, he has attained Samadhi.

In samādhi the mind becomes still. It is a state of being totally aware of the present moment; a one-pointedness of mind. In the Ashtanga Yoga tradition, it is the eighth and final limb identified in the Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali.

1.42 The first state of attainment, the surface state, Samadhi absorption with physical awareness, is intermixed with the notions of word, meaning and Idea.

1.43 At the next stage, called coalescence beyond thought, objects cease to be colored by memory; now formless, only their essential nature shines forth.

1.44 This also explains the next two stages, Feeling and Knowing, in which the Yogi focuses on ever-increasing subtlety of objects.

1.45 The ever-increasing subtlety of objects culminates in their undistinguishable nature (non-duality).

1.46 Each of the above kinds of Samadhi are with the seeds of latent impressions which could bring one back into bondage or mental disturbance.

1.47 Upon attaining the clarity of nirvicara-samadhi, there is lucidity of the inner self.

1.48 In this state one attains Absolute Consciousness.

1.49 This high truth is completely different from any knowledge or awareness gained by hearing about it, studying about it in scripture, or coming to it by a process of reasoning.

1.50 It generates latent impressions that prevent the activation of other impressions.

1.51 When even this thought, I am free!, is eliminated, the soul attains seedless Samadhi (moksha, or complete liberation).

2.1 Accepting pain as help for purification, study of spiritual books, and surrender to the Supreme Being constitute Yoga in practice.

2.2 They help us minimize obstacles and attain Samadhi.

2.3 These inherent tendencies (obstacles) are: Ignorance, ego, attachment, aversion and obstinacy.

2.4 Ignorance is the source that rules and animates the others whether they are in a dormant, weak, intermittent, or fully activated state.

2.5 Ignorance is the confusion of the transient as the Eternal, impurity as purity, suffering as happiness and the non-Self (the Ego) as the true self.

2.6 Egoism is the confusion of the power of the Seer (Purusa – the divine self which abides in all beings.) with that of the organs of seeing (the eye and the mind).

2.07 Attachment results from experiencing pleasure and happiness.

2.08 Aversion is identification with painful experiences.

2.09 Clinging to life is instinctive even for the wise.

2.10 All these obstacles can be removed by the realization of their source (the ego).

2.11 The states of mind produced by these obstacles can be eliminated by meditation.

2.12 The causes of suffering (karma) has its root in these obstacles; each action creates latent impressions deep in the mind, to be activated and experienced later in this birth or to lie hidden, awaiting a future birth.

2.13 As long as the root source (latent impressions) exists, its contents will ripen into a birth, a life, and life experience.

2.14 This life will be marked by pleasure or pain, in proportion to those good or bad actions that created the root source of latent impressions.

2.15 To one of discrimination, everything is painful indeed, due to consequences: the anxiety and fear over losing what is gained; the resulting impression left in the mind to create renewed cravings; and the constant conflict among the three gunas ( sattva, rajas, tamas (1.16), which control the mind.

2.16 Future pain can be avoided.

2.17 The identification of the Seer with the Seen is the cause of suffering to be avoided.

2.18 What is seen (experienced) in this world consists of (what is inherent in the three gunas) the light of illumination, the impulse toward outward activity, and inertia, and is present throughout the objective universe, providing both sense experience and (inner) guidance toward liberation.

2.19 The limbs of the fundamental forces of nature, the gunas, extend from the extraordinary to the ordinary, from the whole of the manifest to the unmanifest.

2.20 The Seer is merely the power of seeing; (however,) although pure, he witnesses the images of the mind.

2.21 The liberated Seer’s only purpose is in seeing the Absolute Self.

2.22 The connection with Seen vanishes for the liberated Seer who has realized the purpose of all action, but it continues as the common experience of everyone else.

2.23 The cause of identification is the perception of the Absolute Self as the knower, the known and the process of knowing.

2.24 The cause of this union is ignorance.

2.25 Without this ignorance, no such identity occurs. Thus comes the complete freedom of the Seer.

2.26 The apparent indivisibility of seeing and the seen can be eradicated by cultivating uninterrupted discrimination between awareness and what it regards.

2.27 One’s wisdom in the final stage is sevenfold. (One experiences the end of 1, the desire to know anything more; 2, the desire to stay away from anything; 3, the desire to gain anything new; 4, the desire to do anything; 5, sorrow; 6, fear; 7, delusion.)

2.28 By the practice of the eight limbs of Yoga, the impurities dwindle away and there dawns the light of wisdom, leading to discriminative discernment.

2.29 The eight limbs of yoga are: Yama-abstinence (self denial); Niyama-Observance; Asana-posture practice; Pranayama-breath control; Pratyahara-sense withdrawal; Dharana-concentration; Dhyana-demitation; Samadahi-contemplation, absorption or superconscious state.

2.30 Among these, the five observances are: non-violence, truthfulness, refrainment from stealing, self-restraint, and renunciation of (unnecessary) possessions.

2.31 (These yamas) are considered the great vow. They are not limited by one’s class, place, time, or circumstance. They are universal.

Yamas, and its complement, niyamas, represent a series of "right living" or ethical rules within Hinduism and Yoga. They are a form of moral imperatives, commandments, rules or goals. The five Yamas of Patañjali's classical yoga system are commitments that affect the yogi's relations with others. The five Niyamas of Patañjali's classical yoga system are personal obligations to live well.

2.32 The five observances are: purity, contentment, austerity, study of the Self and devotion to God.

2.33 When disturbed by negative thoughts, opposite (positive) ones should be thought of.

2.34 When negative thoughts or acts such as violence, etc, are done, caused to be done, or even approved of – whether incited by greed, anger, or delusion, whether indulged with mild, medium, or extreme intensity, they are based on ignorance. One should cultivate counteracting thoughts, namely, that the end results (of negative thoughts) are ongoing suffering and ignorance.

2.35 Being firmly grounded in nonviolence creates an atmosphere in which others can let go of their hostility.

2.36 When one is grounded in truthfulness, every action and its consequences are imbued with truth.

2.37 For those who have no inclination to steal, the truly precious manifests.

2.38 Upon the establishment of abstinence, especially with regards to sex, one achieves vigor.

2.39 One who becomes established in non-attachment develops knowledge of the whys and wherefores of births manifest.

2.40 With bodily purification, one’s body ceases to be compelling, likewise contact with other bodies.

2.41 Purification also brings about clarity, happiness, concentration, mastery of the senses, and capacity for self-awareness.

2.42 Contentment brings supreme happiness.

2.43 Austerity destroys impurities and perfects the body and senses resulting in the appearance of special powers.

2.44 Self-study of scriptures deepens communion with one’s personal deity.

2.45 By complete openness to God, Samadhi is attained.

2.46 The postures of meditation should embody steadiness and comfort.

2.47 By reducing one’s natural tendency toward restlessness and by meditating on the infinite, posture is mastered.

2.48 From that stable and comfortable sitting posture, the dualities of the physical universe cease to disturb (the mind).

2.49 That (firm posture) being acquired, the movements of inhalation and exhalation should be controlled.

2.50 As the modifications of outer and inner breathing still, the volume becomes unobservable, the duration becomes long and the frequency becomes rare.

2.51 In the fourth State of Consciousness, the distinction between breathing in and out falls away.

2.52 In consequence, the veil hiding the inner light is removed.

2.53 Then the mind becomes fit for (true) concentration.

2.54 The fifth limb of yoga: withdrawing of the senses is their seeming to take on the very nature of the mind, when, because the mind’s attention has been withdrawn by posture and breath (asana and pranayama), they also withdraw from their own objects.

2.55 Then follows supreme mastery of the senses.

3.1 Dharana is concentration: fixing one’s full attention on one place, object, or idea at a time.

3.2 Meditation is the one-pointedness of the mind on one image.

3.3 Samadhi is when that same dhyana shines forth as the object alone and (the mind) is devoid of its own (reflective) nature.

3.4 The practice of these three (dharana, dhyana, and Samadhi) upon one object is called samyama.

3.5 Once the perfect discipline of consciousness is mastered, wisdom comes.

3.6 The application of that samyama (three-fold uniting of dharana, dhyana, samadhi) should occur in the various stages in one’s progress in yoga.

3.7 These three, namely, dharana, dhyana and sa-bija Samadhi, are more internal limbs than the preceding five limbs of yoga, namely, yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, and pratyahara.

3.8 Even these three are external to the seedless Samadhi.

3.9 The transformation toward total stillness occurs as new latent impressions fostering cessation arise to prevent the activation of distractive stored ones, and moments of stillness begin to permeate consciousness.

3.10 These latent impressions help consciousness flow from one tranquil moment to the next.

3.11 The attainment of the Samadhi state involves the elimination of all-pointedness (wandering) of the mind and the rise of one-pointedness (concentration).

3.12 In that regard, the attainment of one-pointedness occurs when the image in the mind that has just passed is the same as the image in the mind that is present.

3.13 Thus has been described the transformation of a false reality into its changeless essence.

3.14 The substratum that is unchanged is that which underpins past, present, and future.

3.15 These transformations appear to unfold the way they do because consciousness is a succession of distinct patterns. The change in the sequence (of characteristics) is the cause of the change in transformations (of objects).

3.16 By samyama (attunement with, or absorption in) on the three (basic) kinds of change – birth, life, and death – comes knowledge of the past and the future.

3.17 Due to the correlation between word, meaning, and idea, confusion ensues. By performing samyama on the distinction between them, knowledge of the speech of all creatures arises.

3.18 From samyama of latent tendencies one is born with, as being the immediate instrumental cause of one’s birth, there is knowledge of prior births – their role in effecting and affecting one’s own tendencies and the tendencies in others.

3.19 By samyama on the distinguishing signs of others’ bodies, knowledge of their mental images is obtained.

3.20 But this does not include the support in the person’s mind ( such as the motive behind the thought, etc.) as that is not the object of the samyama.

3.21 When the body’s form is observed with perfect discipline, it becomes invisible: the eye is disengaged from incoming light, and the power to perceive is suspended.

3.22 Likewise, through perfect discipline other precepts – sound, smell, taste, touch – can be made to disappear.

3.23 The effects of action may be immediate or slow in coming; observing one’s actions with perfect discipline, or studying omens, yields insight into death.

3.24 By samyama on friendliness, compassion, and the other good emotions, one gains the power to bring out these qualities in others.

3.25 By samyama on the strength of elephants and other animals, one draws their strength to oneself.

3.26 By samyama on the Light within, the knowledge of the subtle, hidden, and remote is obtained.

3.27 Focusing with perfect discipline on the sun yields insight about the universe, (by samyama) on the moon, knowledge of the solar system.

3.28 Focusing with perfect discipline on the moon yields insight about the movements of the stars’ positions.

3.29 Focusing with perfect discipline on the polestar yields insight about the movement of the stars.

3.30 By samyama on the navel plexus, knowledge of the body’s constitution is obtained.

3.31 (By samyama) on the pit of the throat comes the cessation of hunger and thirst.

3.32 From samyama on the bronchial passages, literally, the turtle tube, there is steadiness.

3.33 From samyama on the light in the head there is the vision of ethereal perfected beings that may help guide one’s way in the afterlife, or inspire one in this life.

3.34 From samyama on the center, literally, the heart, and in particular the limitless expanse within the heart, there is knowledge of the mind – and the limitless expanse within, lit by the light of awareness, like the sun and stars light the universe outside.

3.35 By samyama on the heart, full knowledge of consciousness.

3.36 Experience consists of perceptions in which the luminous aspect of the phenomenal (physical) world is mistaken for absolutely pure awareness. Focusing with perfect discipline on the different properties of each yields insight into the nature of pure awareness.

3.37 From this understanding arises super physical perception: subtle hearing, touch, vision, tasting and smelling.

3.38 These super physical powers (siddhis) are obstacles to the attainment of Samadhi, for they take the mind outward.

In Hinduism, eight siddhis (Ashta Siddhi) or Eight great perfections (mahasiddhi) are known:[9]

• Aṇimā: reducing one's body even to the size of an atom
• Mahima: expanding one's body to an infinitely large size
• Garima: becoming infinitely heavy
• Laghima: becoming almost weightless
• Prāpti: having unrestricted access to all places
• Prākāmya: realizing whatever one desires
• Iṣṭva: possessing absolute lordship
• Vaśtva: the power to subjugate all

3.39 By loosening karmic bondage to the body, and by mental identification with a new one, one can enter into the body of the Ascendant.

3.40 By mastery over udana – the current within the deep spine which raises Kundalini through the sushumna to the brain – one gains the power of levitation, and of leaving his body at will.

3.41 Mastery over the samana (balancing) energy in the body gives off a bright radiance.

3.42 By samyama on the relationship between the organ of hearing and the ether, divine hearing is attained.

3.43 By performing samyama on the relationship between the body and ether, and by performing samapatti on the lightness of a tuft of cotton, one acquires the ability to travel through the sky.

3.44 The state of mind (projected) outside (the body), which is not an imagined state, is called the great out-of-body (experience). By this, the veil over the light of the Self is removed.

3.45 By observing the aspects of matter – gross, subtle, intrinsic, relational, purposive- with perfect discipline, one masters the elements.

3.46 From (this realization) comes power over the animating principle and other siddhis (powers, or “perfections”), bodily perfection, and non-obstruction to the body’s functions (the eradication of all illness or dis-ease.)

3.47 This perfection includes beauty, grace, strength, and the firmness of a diamond.

3.48 (Three interpretations) By observing the various aspects of the sense organs – their processes of perception, intrinsic natures, identification as self, interconnectedness, purposes – with perfect discipline, one masters them.

By Samyamah on the purpose of the connection of the Absolute Self to perceiving and to the ego comes mastery of the senses.

Samyama on the power of sense perception, on its essential nature, and on its correlation to egoic awareness, brings control over the senses (to the extent of freeing sensory perception from dependence on the senses themselves).

3.49 From that, the body gains the power to move as fast as the mind, the ability to function without the aid of sense organs, and complete mastery over primordial nature (Prakriti).

3.50 Only for one who discerns the difference between the purusa and the intellect comes the highest authority over all existence and all-knowingness.

3.51 By non-attachment even to the siddhis (powers), the seed of bondage is destroyed and supreme freedom is attained.

3.52 The yogi should neither accept nor smile with pride at the admiration of even the celestial beings, as there is the possibility of getting caught again in the undesirable.

3.53 Focusing with perfect discipline on the succession of moments in time yields insight born of discriminative knowledge.

3.54 Thus, apparently indistinguishable differences between objects that are of the same species, that show the same characteristics, and that live in the same locality become distinguishable from one another.

3.55 When discriminative knowledge simultaneously experiences the Eternal Now in all creation and every part of creation, that is Deliverance.

3.56 When the purity of the intellect is equal to that of the purusa, kaibalya liberation ensues.

4.01 Siddhis are born of practices performed in previous births, or by herbs, mantra repetition, asceticism, or by Samadhi.

4.02 The transformation of one species into another is brought about by the flow of Prakriti (Primordial Nature)

According to Samkhya and the Bhagavad Gita Prakrti or Nature is composed of the three gunas which are tendencies or modes of operation, known as sattva (creation), rajas (preservation), and tamas, (destruction) [4] Sattva encompasses qualities of goodness, light, and harmony.

4.03 Incidental events do not directly cause natural evolution; they just remove the obstacles as a farmer (removes the obstacles in a water course running to his field).

4.04 The distortions of consciousness are all from the ego.

4.05 Although the functions in the many created minds may differ, the original mind stuff of the yogi is the director of them all.

4.06 Although, in those meditations, he perceives many personalities, he himself remains untouched by any latent impression of past karma from those lives, and by a past craving and attachment.

4.07 The actions of the yogi are neither white (good) nor black (bad); but the actions of others are of three kinds: good, bad and mixed.

4.08 From (these three types of karma) the activation of only those subliminal impressions that are ready for fruition (in the next life) occurs.

4.09 Because they are identical, there is an uninterrupted connection between memory and samskara (latent impressions), even though they might be separated by birth, time and place.

4.10 Since the desire to live is eternal, those impressions have no beginning.

4.11 The characteristics of personality, being held together by cause and effect desire and attachment, disappear upon the cessation of these four.

4.12 Throughout the past and the future, the Absolute Self always exists. Regardless how tortured the path, the invincible forces of Natural Law do not fail to uphold life.

4.13 All Paths, whether clear or obscure, are the nature of the gunas.

4.14 The things (of the world) are objectively real, due to the uniformity of (the gunas that underpin) all change.

4.15 People perceive the same object differently, as each person’s perception follows a separate path from another’s.

4.16 An object is not dependent on a single mind (for its existence); if it were, then what happens to it when it is not perceived (by that particular mind)?

4.17 An object is known or unknown depending on the degree to which the mind accepts it.

4.18 The permutations of the mind are always known to the master, the purusa soul, because of the soul’s unchanging nature.

4.19 The mind stuff is not self-luminous because it is an object of perception by the perusa.

4.20 The individual mind cannot both perceive and be perceived, simultaneously.

4.21 If the complete cognition of one mind by another were possible, one would have to postulate an infinite number of such cognizing minds, resulting in a mixture of memories.

4.22 Consciousness, although unchanging, is the Lord of appearances and has full knowledge of the internal structure of the mind.

4.23 The mind, colored by the Seer as well as by that which is seen, knows all objects.

4.24 Though having countless desires, the mind stuff exists for the sake of another (the purusa) because it can act only in association with it.

4.25 For one who sees the distinction (between the mind and the soul), reflecting on the nature of the self ceases.

4.26 At that point, the mind, inclinded toward discrimination, gravitates toward ultimate liberation.

4.27 As one is developing true perception, distracting thoughts may arise in the mind owing to past impressions.

4.28 Distractions can be removed, as has been discussed before (2.1,2,10,22 and 26); above all by meditation and resolving the mind back to its source.

4.29 For one who has no interest even in (the fruits) of meditative wisdom on account of the highest degree of discrimination insight, the Samadhi called darma-megha, cloud of virture, ensues.

4.30 In complete absence of self-interest, all afflictions and past karma cease.

4.31 Once all the layers and imperfections concealing truth have been washed away, insight is boundless, with little left to know.

4.32 At this point, the gunas to serve their purpose; they have been transcended.

4.33 The progression (of any object through Time) corresponds to a (series of) moments. It is perceivable at the final (moment) of change.

4.34 Thus one attains the supreme state of freedom, when the gunas reabsorb themselves into Prakriti, having no more purpose for serving the purusa. Or to put it differently, the power of consciousness withdraws into its own nature.