Tada Drashtuh Svarupe Avasthanam (Yoga Sutra 1:3)
- Sudhir
Seer Patanjali continues in here from the previous Sutra, “Chitta Vritta Nirodha”, where he talks about the cessation of the thoughts and emotions in the whirlpool of consciousness to achieve transcendence or experience one’s own divine self.
In the third sutra of the first chapter of Samadhi Pada, Sage Patanjali in the same breath continues to succinctly communicate: Tada, that time, not until that time, till the mind waves have been stilled and develop familiarity with the practices of interoception and focussed awareness, Drashtuh thereby seeing the source of all sensations, source of all images, source of all feelings and the source of all thoughts. Svarupe with the quietening and purification of the mind we are no longer identified with the physical self or even the psychic self and our transcendent nature or the atman is revealed and Avasthanam expresses and resides in all our thoughts, interactions, and activities.
To understand the true meaning of this Sutra we should try to go beyond the foliage of refined wordplay by using this Sutra as Mantra meditation. After sitting in calm abiding state for a few minutes, repeat this Sutra as a Mantra mentally or aloud 108 times, trying to feel the encapsulated wisdom in each word as you utter every word and also develop focussed awareness for the sutra in its entirety.
Aum - Tada – Drashtuh - Svarupe - Avasthanam
Aum - Tada – Drashtuh - Svarupe - Avasthanam
Tada, then and not until then….
Drashtuh, the seer or the atman
Svarupe, essential form or the pristine reality
Avasthanam, get ensconced or established.
Aum - Tada – Drashtuh - Svarupe - Avasthanam
Aum - Tada – Drashtuh - Svarupe - Avasthana
Sage Patanjali often talk in absolute terms, then and not until then… However, it is not to overwhelm us but to give the Sutra as a measure of striving to us that we may begin to work with it in the here and now and keep striving to achieve the same every breath of our earthly sojourn. This is the journey - this is the path. If our objective is a little stress relief or occasional euphoria born out of meditation that is also valid and acceptable, however if our goal is Kaivalya or experiencing and expressing the transcendent reality we must take a timeless approach of eternal commitment to the spiritual path, our commitment also must be in equal measure, come what may… then and only then we are fit to take on the journey of the spiritual path.
We see and relate to the world to begin with on the surface itself, there is no ambiguity that the sensory perception is our first introduction to life and living. To go a little beyond the superficial reality of the physical self and the senses we need to familiarize ourselves each moment in the practice of interoception. Interoception is the perception of sensations from inside the body and includes the perception of physical sensations related to internal organ function such as heartbeat, respiration, satiety, as well as the autonomic nervous system activity related to emotions.
Who sees, who is the seer, how can we see, perceive, experience the phenomena or the creation as it is. We are so used to believe in the reality of all that our senses perceive, and we create a world of our own based on perceptual activity in terms of images, thoughts, and feelings. It is so easy to even manipulate the collective perception of even a large percentage of the population in a country or the planet earth itself. No wonder we have such a polarized or fractured society. The narrative in a familial setting or the neighbourhood grapevine can at times be so fructuous or make-believe. In the macro setting, the celebrities, political leaders, or media tends to play a similar role. We have two options here, to feel helpless or toil for self-realization and begin to ponder: do we have a transcendent self and possess the seed of omniscience? What is the source of all sensory perception, all images, all feelings, and all thoughts? How do we tune in with this source, how to connect with this source, why should we be misled and subject to manipulation by falsehood, by lies, by misrepresentation in any manner? This being the age of information and advancement in medical sciences also has the other side of digital manipulation and biological warfare. If we see, only what we see and hear, we can lose all stability and grounding. To navigate through the chaos and unsettling times it is imperative that we make a tangible effort through the practice of interoception, pranayama, chanting, mantra recitation, prayerfulness, visualization, chakra meditation and concentration to gain true wisdom and have glimpses of transcendence to strengthen our core and become a divine expression and influence. One who settles down in his true essence has the power to unlock the seed of all biological, psychological, spiritual, and magical healing. Hence it is not an exaggeration to say that the unravelling of the self through meditation is the source of fundamental healing, the ultimate healing, the mystical healing. Within each of us lies the magical storehouse of infinite possibilities.