Developing a Refined Mind

Photo by Patrick Fore on Unsplash

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Success is balance.
- Laila Ali

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This blog post is part of our Yoga Sutras series.  
​Want to start at the beginning?
Yoga Sutra 3.12
ततः पुनः शान्तोदितौ तुल्यप्रत्ययौ चित्तस्यैकाग्रतापरिणामः
tataḥ punaḥ śāntoditau tulyapratyayau cittasyaikāgratāpariṇāmaḥ
From that preceding state, when subsiding and arising thoughts are balanced in the mind, a flow of one-pointedness is manifested.

In Sutra 3.12, Patanjali concludes his explanation of the stages of accomplishment in samyama.  
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To recap, in Yoga Sutra 3.10, Patanajali explains that first the practitioner achieves a state called nirodhah parinamah, wherein a steady flow of tranquility is developed in the meditator’s mind.  In Yoga Sutra 3.11, Patanjali describes the rising state of absorption the practitioner achieves in their chosen object of meditation, which is called samadhi parinamah. 

Now he comes to the final state, which is called ekagrata parinamah and usually translated to one-pointedness.  In Sutra 3.11, Patanjali has already used this word ekagrata to describe samadhi parinamah or absorption.  
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Then how is ekagrata parinamah different from the preceding state of absorption?  Interestingly, BKS Iyengar calls ekagrata parinamah “maintenance of awareness with keen intensity from one-pointed attention to no-pointed attention.” (193)  Furthermore, Iyengar points out that ekagrata has two meanings.

One is concentration on a given object: at this external level, it has the same meaning as dharana.  The other is ‘one without a second’: that is, the soul.  This level of transformation of consciousness is the highest.  I feel, therefore, that Patanjali’s meaning is this: ekagrata parinama is the final phase of the transformation in which consciousness is uplifted to the level of the soul, and is one with it.” (194)

I believe that Patanjali intended this as well.  That we move from many-pointedness, or distractedness (sarvarthata) through one-pointedness (ekagratayah) to “no-pointed attention” (ekagrata).  
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In other words, through our meditation practice, we are moved from distractedness to attentiveness and finally, into a state where we are aware of the sameness of all things.  Our one point of focus becomes universal and our mind is “uplifted to the level of the soul,” as Iyengar puts it so beautifully.

I want to call attention to one final point in this Sutra that I think is quite interesting.  Patanjali specifically mentions that ekagrata parinamah is achieved when “the rising and subsiding thoughts become equal.” (Stiles, 34)

The Shoshoni Yoga Retreat translation of The Yoga Sutras puts this succinctly.  “True one-pointedness is achieved when the mind is in perfect balance amidst the push and pull of gaining focus and losing focus.” (34)  So it’s not that the mind ceases to function when the ekagrata parinama is achieved but that a kind of equilibrium is established where the mind is in balance.

The Shoshoni Yoga Retreat’s translation of the next Sutra, 3.12, is also quite edifying.  “By mastering samyama, the practitioner gains the ability to understand the true nature of things.” (34)  When we achieve complete mental balance, our mind is no longer clouded by our own internal impressions and biases.

As clear as this translation is, it misses some key points essential to Vedantic philosophy.  Yoga Sutra 3.12 in its complete form reads etena (by this) bhutendriyesu (the elements, body and sense organs) dharma (duty, quality or property) laksana (character or quality) avastha (condition or state) parinamah (transformation) vyakhyatah (unfolded).

So not only is the consciousness transformed by the process of samyama but one’s body, senses and even the elements composing the body are transformed.  When a person’s very elements are affected, “there is a transformation of the mind’s quality, character and condition.” (Stiles, 34)
Iyengar has a helpful analogy to explain this.

The dust of clay is formed into a lump, to make a pot.  The dust of the clay is its property (dharma), the lump is the modification (laksana) and the pot is the final condition (avastha).  If the potter wants to change the pot’s pattern, he breaks it down to its original state of re-shaping it. (195)

So our mind is remade through the process of samyama.  The condition we find it in before we begin our practice in earnest must be broken down to its basic properties before it can be reshaped from its qualities into its final form.  This is done on an elemental level as much as it is done on the gross and subtle physical levels.

Iyengar also tells us that “consciousness is limited by the qualities of nature,” (195) because it is affected by the elements through our senses, activities and mind.  When we are affected by the elements, our mind holds onto the experiences we have through nature.  

“Both purusa [the Seer] and prakrti [nature] are eternal.  Purusa remains eternally changeless.  Prakrit goes on eternally changing.” (Iyengar, 195)  So it is up to us what we want to hold onto: that which will continue changing eternally - our mind, our body, our world - or that which is unchanging.  Only one will lead to contentment.

By understanding this changelessness, we learn what the universal is and “to understand the true nature of things.” (Shoshoni, 34)  And “as yogis learn to master the mind, they are able to master the elements and the senses.” (Bhakt, 147)

Next post, we’ll cover how a yogi can use this power to control their own mind to accomplish anything.
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​Can you think of a time when changing your attitude changed your outer reality?  Were things outside changed when your mind was in a state of control or a state of flow?  What did the process of change look like over time?