History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v7.c94.199

v7.c94.199

In Y. S. I. 23-28 Patañjali provides that Samādhi and liberation (the result of Samādhi) may also be secured by²³¹⁹ devotion to Īśvara (īśvara-pranidhāna) who is a special *puruṣa*, who is untouched by hindrances, by *karma* (good or evil) or by the results of actions or by hankerings, in whom the omniscience, that is only a germ (in others), is infinite; He, being not limited by time, is the teacher of even the ancient teachers. The mystic syllable (Om) is expressive of (i. e. representative or symbol of) God and *japa* of that syllable and constant reflection upon the meaning of 'om' (i e. on Īśvara) leads to one-pointedness (*ekāgratā*) of mind. Devotion to Īśvara secures for the practitioner attainment of right knowledge of the nature of the soul and the absence of hindrances (*antarāya*) that distract the mind (I. 29) These hindrances are nine such as illness, langour, doubt &c and they are also called *Yogamala* (taints or blemishes of Yoga), the enemies (*pratipakṣa*) of Yoga. These hindrances are accompanied by pain, mental distress, tremor of the limbs, irregular inhalation and exhalation (I. 31). These distractions and their accompaniments that are the foes of *samādhi* may be prevented or mastered in various ways such as practice of concentration on one entity (Īśvara or the like), by the practice of such attitudes of mind as friendliness, compassion, cheerfulness and indifference respectively towards the happy or the distressed, the good and the evil (I. 33) or by the expulsion and retention of breath (*bhāṣya* uses the word '*prāṇāyāma*'). When the mind is concentrated then arise the four kinds of samprajñātasamādhi (called *savitarka* &c. in I. 17). The knowledge that is gained in the last kind of samprajñātasamādhi is of a higher order than what is obtained from scripture or inference and the subliminal impression made in this samādhi is hostile to all other impressions and when this last impression also is suppressed or removed, then results the seedless samādhi (i. e. asaṃprajñātasamādhi). In this last the mind itself ceases (from its task) and the yogin's soul abides in itself, shines forth in its own light and is called pure, isolated and liberated.²³²⁰ Īśvara-praṇidhāna does not lead to union with Īśvara, but it enables the soul that is still bound to become what Īśvara always is. In the Yogasūtra there is very little about *bhakti* for God.