Apply Constancy and Watch Your World Change

Photo by Mohamed Nohassi on Unsplash

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The secret of success is constancy to purpose.
​- Benjamin Disraeli

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This blog post is part of our Yoga Sutras series.  
​Want to start at the beginning?
Yoga Sutra 4.18
सदा ज्ञाताश्चित्तवृत्तयस्तत्प्रभोः पुरुषस्यापरिणामित्वात्
sadā jñātāścittavṛttayastatprabhoḥ puruṣasyāpariṇāmitvāt
Fluctuations of the mind are always known to its master, the Purusha, due to its constancy.

Before going any further, let’s get reacquainted with Purusha.  Vedanta sees the physical manifestation of the world as dualistic.  

All things spring from the combination of prakriti, which is nature, and Purusha, which is variously defined as the “soul” (Iyengar, 266), the “seer” (Iyengar, 267) the “True Self” (Stiles, 51), the “transcendental self” (Stiles, 117), “the owner of the mind-stuff or… its master” (Satchidananda, 262) in the texts I am referencing.  
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Surely, it has many, many more translations and really, it’s up to you to pick the one that suits your fancy.  I will pick “universal consciousness” here to stay consistent with the rest of our Yoga Sutra blog post series.

I think of this as the combination of energy (Purusha) and matter (prakriti) to manifest in the phenomenon we call reality.

Now that we have that sorted, let’s look more closely at Yoga Sutra 4.18.  Patanjali is going to explain to us over the next few sutras how we can understand the difference between whatever chatter we have going on in our mind and pure universal consciousness.

In Sutra 4.18, Patanjali explains that the Purusha is distinguishable from the mind because it is constant, versus the ever-changing fluctuations of the mind (remember yoga citta vritti nirodhah?)

Iyengar gives a simple example I’ve heard elsewhere.  “In deep sleep, consciousness forgets itself.  It is purusa, as a witness which reminds the mind of sleep after waking.  This indicates that purusa is ever alert and aware (sadā jñātā).” (266) 

Swami Satchidananda asked similar questions in his lectures.  If you have a dream you may remember your dream, even though you’re not conscious when it happens.  And if you sleep deeply, you are aware of this after you wake.  Something is observing the mind, even while the body sleeps.

In Yoga Sutra 2.19, Patanjali reinforces this concept, calling consciousness an object that is observed.  Purusha is self-illuminative (svabhasam) and therefore, the only real subject.  Iyengar explains “the seer can be subject and object at the same time; consciousness cannot.  It may therefore be inferred that consciousness has no light of its own.” (267)

Swami Satchidananda tells us contrarily 

[The mind] perceives objects outside.  At other times, if it is clean enough, it can turn within and reflect the Purusha also.  So, it can be either subject or object.  As a subject, it sees other things.  As an object, it is seen by the Purusha.  But the Purusha can never be both.  It is always the subject. (264)

Although these two translations seem in direct opposition, I believe they are ultimately compatible.  Either way, Patanjali is explaining that while the Purusha has the ability to witness itself, the mind does not.  The mind must either observe or be observed.

Mukunda Stiles pairs this with 2.20 beautifully.  “Thought is an object and therefore cannot illuminate itself.” (4.19)  “And there can be no comprehension of subject and object simultaneously.” (4.20) (52)

This is clearly demonstrated by a few minutes of focused concentration on one’s thoughts.  I think it’s also why so many beginners to meditation are uncomfortable observing their own thoughts.  When you actually observe your mind, it starts to get quiet.  

It’s like when you hear yourself talking on the phone or Zoom.  You speak and hear the words and that distracts you enough to stop speaking as freely.  You observe the mind and the thoughts kind of echo in an uncomfortable way that prevents you from thinking the next thought.  

That is why it’s important to keep going as a beginner in meditation.  It is through this discomfort that a period of silence is achieved within the mind, which you can then extend through practice.

Patanjali next addresses why, even though universal consciousness is accessible to us, we are not aware of all other beings’ thoughts.  As Stiles translates Yoga Sutra 4.21, “if it were possible to know another’s thoughts, every mind could know every other’s thoughts and the result would be a confusion of impressions, which would be an impossible absurdity.” (52)

However, if our individual mind focuses on the Purusha and thoughts calm down enough, the mind itself can perceive the Purusha.  This is often described as looking at some type of reflection.  

If the image in the reflection is distorted by thoughts, our consciousness cannot perceive the Purusha accurately.  When thoughts are calm, the image is clear like upon calm water and our mind accurately reflects the Purusha.

Patanjali even suggests this in Yoga Sutra 4.22, using the Sanskrit word pattau to describe the mind “getting the reflection of” the Purusha.  In short, while we can’t tap into other people’s stream of consciousness, we can train our mind to reflect the Purusha’s luminance.

There is another potential translation of Sutra 4.21 that is worth mentioning here.  Taken just at face-value, this sutra says “one mind being known by another cognition of cognitions absurdity confusion of impressions and”.  Put together in English syntax, we might say one mind knowing another is cognition of cognition and creates an absurdity of a confusion of impressions.  

The Shoshoni Yoga Retreat takes this tack, translating 4.21 as “if the mind could observe the mind, it would mean that a person has more than one mind.  This would be confusing because each would have its own memory and impressions.” (50)

Yet as Patanjali explains in Yoga Sutra 4.23, the Purusha’s illuminative capacity means that the mind can comprehend everything the universal consciousness understands.  Satchidananda translates this sutra as “the mind-stuff, when colored by both Seer and seen, understands everything,” (266) which I think sums this entire section up quite nicely.
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Next post, Patanjali will delve into why the mind exists in the first place, if it is simply a reflection.

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Have you ever gotten a clear picture of Purusha in your mind’s eye?  How long did it last?  Is it possible to carry this reflection in your mind at all times or does the mind sometimes reflect upon other objects?  Does it get easier to retain this reflection when you bask in it repeatedly?