The Nature of Consciousness

Photo by Ashley Batz on Unsplash

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No one can deny his own being.
- Ramana Maharshi

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This blog post is part of our Yoga Sutras series.  
​Want to start at the beginning?
Yoga Sutra 4.4
निर्माणचित्तान्यस्मितामात्रात्
Nirmāṇa cittāny asmitā mātrāt 
Fluctuations of the mind are created solely from the sense of individuality.

Patanjali’s explanation of karma extends to our own psychology in Sutra 4.4.  If we think back to Yoga Sutra 1.2, wherein Patanjali explains the concept of citta, or the fluctuations of mind we call thought, remember that Patanjali defines yoga as calming these fluctuations.

Now Patanjali tells us that the citta is born solely from our sense of individuality or in other words, from our ego.  Ego is not inherently bad but it is the thing giving rise to our thoughts and what we must overcome in order to feel at peace in all situations we encounter in our lives.

Iyengar compares this to a tree.  “Though the branches shoot out from the main trunk, they remain in contact with it.” (251)  Our consciousness is singular but it branches out into various thoughts, moods and identities we hold.

Patanjali continues with this line of reasoning in Yoga Sutra 4.6, saying that although our mind diversifies into various thoughts, the original citta is the director of them all.  This is observed in our own consciousness quite easily.  

How often do we feel ambivalent, change our minds or think one thing but do another?  And aren’t we capable of being multiple things at once in various situations: individual, family member, friend, work-mate, employee/boss?

Yet even throughout all these fluctuations of mind, we still retain a sense of individuality.  I am still “me” even if I change my mind or behave as a yoga studio owner in one situation and a mother in another.

Finally, Patanjali explains in Yoga Sutra 4.6 that only the branches of our mind that are created from meditation are free from the effects of karma.  This is because true meditation does not engage our ego.  There is no sense of individuality or ego when meditation is achieved.  

When there is no “I” behind the thought, the individual is not affected.  The mind is then “free from accumulating karmic impressions that create further ignorance and attachment.” (Stiles, 48)  So while karma (or cause and effect) continues to flow on and on, those experienced meditators who have subdued their egos are not disturbed by it.

I will end this entry by combining the translation the Shoshoni Yoga Retreat has for Sutras 4.4 - 4.6 because while it is somewhat off course from the literal translation of these Sutras, it nicely sums them up in a way that feels quite practical to me.

The sense of separateness (ego) is purely a fabrication of the mind. (4.4)  The ego principle causes the one universal consciousness to appear to be many. (4.5)  By maintaining a meditative state, the Yogi may keep from being influenced by the appearance of this duality. (4.6)

In May, we’ll pick up from Yoga Sutra 4.6 and follow through with this thought in Sutra 4.7.
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​Have you ever sensed your individuality dissolving into universality?  What were you doing?  How long did that sense last?  Have you ever been able to recreate that?