FOUNDATIONS OF YOGA PSYCHOLOGY 978-981-10-5409-9, 9811054096, 978-981-10-5408-2

Table of contents :
Front Matter ....Pages i-xv
Yoga as Samādhi (K. Ramakrishna Rao)....Pages 1-34
Yoga as Sādhanā (Practice) (K. Ramakrishna Rao)....Pages 35-63
Yogic Siddhis (K. Ramakrishna Rao)....Pages 65-82
Kaivalya: The Goal of Yoga (K. Ramakrishna Rao)....Pages 83-112
What Is Meditation? (K. Ramakrishna Rao)....Pages 113-135
Empirical Studies of Meditation (K. Ramakrishna Rao)....Pages 137-174
Metapsychology of Yoga (K. Ramakrishna Rao)....Pages 175-200
The TRIŚŪLA (Trident) Model of the Person (K. Ramakrishna Rao)....Pages 201-232
Mahatma Gandhi: A Case Study in Indian Psychology (K. Ramakrishna Rao)....Pages 233-249
Back Matter ....Pages 251-261

Citation preview

K. Ramakrishna Rao

Foundations of Yoga Psychology

Foundations of Yoga Psychology

K. Ramakrishna Rao

Foundations of Yoga Psychology

123

K. Ramakrishna Rao GITAM University Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh India

ISBN 978-981-10-5408-2 DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-5409-9

ISBN 978-981-10-5409-9

(eBook)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017943835 © The Author(s) 2017 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Printed on acid-free paper This Springer imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. The registered company address is: 152 Beach Road, #21-01/04 Gateway East, Singapore 189721, Singapore

To An All Weather Friend of Thirty Years Standing Dr. Kodela Siva Prasada Rao Speaker, Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly

Foreword

Professor Koneru Ramakrishna Rao, noted philosopher, psychologist, educationist, and administrator, in his career spread over five decades has contributed immensely to Gandhian thought, philosophy of mind and cross-cultural studies. Professor Ramakrishna Rao published over two hundred research papers and twenty books. Prof. Rao has travelled widely in USA and Europe, holding academic and administrative positions at various Universities. Prof. Rao, as Vice-Chancellor of Andhra University, Advisor on Higher Education to the Government of Andhra Pradesh, Chairman of the A.P. State Council of Higher Education, and Vice-Chairman of Andhra Pradesh State Planning Board is instrumental in reforming higher education and also school education in Andhra Pradesh. Prof. Rao, who hails from traditional orthodox family, has vast in-depth knowledge of traditional ancient Indian philosophy, culture, and values and has contributed extensively in conveying the important hidden values for the welfare of the society. Prof. Rao, with profound knowledge of ancient traditional Indian treasure in various disciplines including philosophy, science, technology, has contributed for spreading the importance of Yoga in developing good mind and body, to be a good responsible person for the welfare of the society. While working in this direction, it is happy to note that, he has authored this valuable book Foundations of Yoga Psychology. He with his in-depth knowledge meticulously explains and explores the ancient traditional Yoga system, in detail under nine chapters. In these nine chapters, he has explained the intricacies of Yoga from very fundamental to the advance stages, including yoga siddhi and meditation and its impact on mind. In the last chapter, he has highlighted the importance of case studies in Indian psychology for bringing about harmony and universal brotherhood. The narration and contents incorporated in the book with respect to Mahatma Gandhi’s life and practices and his Yoga of Nonviolence will draw every individual, who is keen to understand the essence of Yoga and its relation with respect to the individual mind and social action. I take this opportunity to convey my best

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wishes to the author Prof. Koneru Ramakrishna Rao for his efforts and trust that all the book lovers will enjoy till the last bite the information so well narrated. I wish Prof. Rao, all the best in his endeavor. Dr. H. R. Nagendra Chancellor-SVYASA & President-VYASA

Preface

Yoga has been a subject of interest from my student days at Andhra University. This book represents the culmination of that interest. First, the interest was at a theoretical level recognizing the fundamental role of consciousness in the functioning of humans. Once I was in a position to pursue my own research interests, it took very soon an empirical turn. One of the early attempts was a survey of people reputed to be yogins who are able to provide evidence of the claims made on their behalf. This took me nowhere. Some simply claimed no outstanding abilities. A few have given some bizarre accounts of their experience. For example, one of them claimed that he teleported himself to the moon and began narrating what he saw, which was no more than some published accounts of moonscape. The next step was to investigate the psychophysiological states of yogins in their deep meditative states. We investigated one such yogin at Andhra University. He was closeted in an airtight wooden compartment with a glass front, and we monitored the psychophysiological changes in him as the oxygen in the box had become increasingly diminished. The yogin was able to sit in the box much longer than what one would expect, indicating that he was consuming less oxygen than what one normally requires. Elmer Green from the Menninger Foundation, Topeka, USA, with all the instrumentation available to him monitored the physiological changes taking place. We moved on to test for parapsychological abilities of people practising meditation. Mr. H. Dukhan from Trinidad joined our team at Andhra University. He was able to have the cooperation of an Ashram in Pondicherry (not the Sri Aurobindo Ashram) and tested meditators before and after meditation. He found significant differences in pre-and post-meditation ESP scores. It was the time when biofeedback was making its waves. Joe Kamiya operating from the West coast of USA had earned for himself the reputation of being the fastest guru with his popular biofeedback techniques. This led me to travel to Berkeley, San Francisco, and Los Angeles and visit Kamiya and Barbara Brown. While these visits were very helpful, I was not able to find the answers I was seeking.

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Then, under the influence of J.B. Rhine, I got myself involved in experimental investigation of ESP. This has consumed a major part of my mature professional career. My interest in yoga receded into the background to be resurrected only after my return to India after nearly quarter of a century of continuous stay in the USA. The focus of my study of yoga is now centered around yoga in its relation to consciousness studies and psychic abilities. The result is what some have described as my magnum opus Cognitive Anomalies, Consciousness and Yoga published in 2011. Much of the material for the present book is drawn from it. The focus in this book is on yoga psychology as central to Indian psychology. Rooted in classical Indian thought, Indian psychology is considered as providing a new paradigm for studying and understanding human nature. In the process we glean what seem to be the basic postulates of Indian psychology and go on to develop the Trident Model of the person as a unique composite of body, mind, and consciousness. Further, we provide in this book a psychological rendering of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras intended for students of psychology in the East as well as in the West. We follow it up with drawing their implications for study of and research into various facets of yoga. It is our hope that this volume would provide an instructive introduction to yoga psychology. In writing this book, I learned much from several of my colleagues engaged in promoting Indian psychology. The foremost among them is Dr. Anand Paranjpe of Simon Fraser University in Canada. I acknowledge my indebtedness to him and to several others I have not named. Ms. Shinjini Chatterjee of Springer is a source of constant encouragement and support. Indeed, I am fortunate to associate myself with a person like her who is always willing and ready to help. Back at home, I acknowledge the help of Mrs. Ramalakshmi, Librarian, GITAM School of Gandhian Studies, and Mrs. Prasanna, my secretary who is always there to help beyond the call of duty. Yoga is no longer limited to India. It has international currency and appeal. The United Nations declared 21st June as International Yoga Day. But, then, yoga is more than practising certain physical postures. It has a wholesome psychology behind. If the publication of this book could serve to stimulate interest in scientifically studying yoga as a foundational source of a new paradigm by psychologists, where ever they may be situated, it would have served its purpose. Visakhapatnam, India

K. Ramakrishna Rao

Contents

1 Yoga as Samādhi . . . . . . . . . . . . . Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yoga-Sūtras of Patañjali . . . . . . . . Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . On Samādhi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Theory of Mind . . . . . . . . . . . . . Control of the Mind . . . . . . . . . Concept of God. . . . . . . . . . . . . Hindrances to Control . . . . . . . . Different Kinds of Samādhis . . . . . The Goal of Yoga . . . . . . . . . . . Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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2 Yoga as Sādhanā (Practice) . . . . . . . . . . . . Kriyā-Yoga . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kleśas: Sources of Suffering . . . . . . . . . . . Karmāśaya: The Receptacle of Karma . . . The Existential Anguish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Seer and the Seen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Person as Embodied Consciousness . . . . . . . Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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3 Yogic Siddhis . . . . . . . . . . . Five States of the Mind . . . . Psychic Powers . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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4 Kaivalya: The Goal of Yoga . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yoga Epistemology and Ontology. . . . . . . . . . . . . Reaching Kaivalya . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kleśa–Karma–Saṃskāra Nexus . . . . . . . . . . . . Perception and Cognition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Connection Between Consciousness and the Mind Multiplicity of Puruṣas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kaivalya: The State of Perfection . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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5 What Is Meditation? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . What Is Meditation? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Some Meditative Techniques Used in Research . . Autogenic Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Meditation as Deployment of Attention. . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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6 Empirical Studies of Meditation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Neurophysiological Effects and Correlates . . . . . . . . . . EEG (Electroencephalogram) Studies of Meditation . . . Neuroimaging Studies of Meditation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Is Meditative State a Unique Physiological State? . . . . . Psychological Effects of Meditation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Volitional and Behavioral Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Emotional Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Therapeutic Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . General Discussion of Meditation Research . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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7 Metapsychology of Yoga . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Some Concerns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Is Indian Psychology Inclusive? . . . . . . . . Is Detachment Psychologically Healthy? . . Is Indian Psychology Pessimistic? . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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8 The TRIŚŪLA (Trident) Model of the Person . . The Challenges of Psi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Consciousness Puzzle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Relevance of Yoga Psychology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BMC Model of Person . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yoga as Metacognitive Psychology . . . . . . . . . . . . BMC and Other Dualist Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Implications of BMC Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Concluding Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231 9 Mahatma Gandhi: A Case Study in Indian Psychology . . Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Psychology in the Indian Tradition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Meta-Theoretical Framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gandhi: An Illustrative Case Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Satyagraha and Conflict Resolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Spiritual Perspective of Satyagraha . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251

About the Author

K. Ramakrishna Rao, Ph.D. is Chancellor of GITAM University, Visakhapatnam, India. He has studied at Andhra University, India, and the University of Chicago, USA. He obtained Ph.D. and D.Litt. degrees in philosophy and psychology, respectively, from Andhra University and served as Professor and Vice-Chancellor at Andhra University. During his long and illustrious career, he has worked at Duke University, USA, and taught at the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and the California Institute of Human Science, Encinitas, CA. He also served as the Executive Director of the Foundation for Research on the Nature of Man (now known as the Rhine Research Center), in the USA. In the Government of Andhra Pradesh, India, Prof. Rao served as the Advisor to Government on Higher Education and the Founder-Chairman of the Andhra Pradesh State Council of Higher Education. He was the Vice-Chairman of the Andhra Pradesh State Planning Board during 1994–1995. More recently, he served as the Chairman of the Indian Council of Philosophical Research (2006–2012). Professor Rao has published 20 books, around 50 chapters and over 300 research papers in national and international journals. Several of his books have been published abroad, and some translated into Japanese, German, Italian and Spanish. Among his recent books are Consciousness Studies: Cross-Cultural Perspectives (2002), Cognitive Anomalies, Consciousness and Yoga (2011), Gandhi and Applied Spirituality (2011), Cultivating Consciousness: An East-West Journey (2013), and Psychology in the Indian Tradition (co-authored with Anand C. Paranjpe, Springer 2016). Professor Rao has received numerous academic awards like Fulbright and Rockefeller Foundation fellowships and honorary doctoral degrees by Andhra University, Nagarjuna University and Kakatiya University, India. The Government of India honored Prof. Ramakrishna Rao with the Padma Shri Award in 2011. For more information, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koneru_Ramakrishna_Rao.

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Chapter 1

Yoga as Samādhi

Introduction Yoga in its origin is a native Indian psychospiritual craft. It is used for personal transformation and to alleviate suffering endemic in the human condition. Yoga is pan-Indian in that it is not restricted to any particular religion or sect, region or location. While it is central to Brahmanism, Buddhists as well as Jains have practiced some kind of yoga. “Yoga constitutes a characteristic dimension of Indian Thought,” concludes Mircea Eliade in his influential book Yoga: Immortality and Freedom, “to such a point that wherever Indian religion and culture have made their way, we also find a more or less pure form of yoga” (1969, p. 359). References to yoga practices date back to at least Upaniṣadic times. In recent years, yoga has become a popular subject and a widely practiced craft. It has now acquired international acceptance going beyond the Indian community and indeed in some ways far away from the intended purpose. For example, it is today a billion dollar business in the USA. More significantly, by an unanimous resolution, the United Nations General Assembly on December 11, 2014, declared June 21st as the International Day of Yoga or simply Yoga Day. It is being celebrated annually since 2015. Yoga,1 we may note, also refers to one of the six orthodox systems of Indian philosophy closely linked with the Sāṃkhya system, which is considered to be the oldest of the six such darsanas. In Patañjali’s Yoga-Sūtras, we find a systematic presentation of Yoga both in its theoretical and practical aspects. Yoga-Sūtra is indeed the classical text of Indian psychology. Patañjali’s effort is itself a kind of yoga, because there is an attempt at binding or yoking of theory and practices, a unified exposition of a metapsychological theory, and an applied psychology of the human mind, offering profound possibilities for personal transformation and growth. However, as mentioned earlier, Patañjali is neither the originator of Yoga as a system Yoga as a system of Indian philosophy is written with capital “Y” and as a set of practices with lower case “y”.

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of philosophy nor the inventor of yoga practices. As Dasgupta points out, Patañjali collected different yoga practices current in his time, systematized diverse ideas on the subject, and “crafted them on Sāṃkhya metaphysics” (1922, p. 229). “Patañjali’s effort,” writes Eliade, “was especially directed to co-coordinating philosophical material—borrowed from Sāṃkhya—around technical formulas for concentration, meditation and ecstasy” (1969, p. 7). Yoga is, however, more than Patañjali and Yoga-Sūtras and its various commentaries and interpretations. Within the Hindu tradition itself, there are other well-developed systems such as Haṭha Yoga which places greater emphasis on the somatic training and control and a variety of specialized Tantric practices. Then, beyond the Hindu ethos, we have yoga developed by the nonorthodox Indian systems of thoughts, notably the Yogacara school of Buddhism. Even in early Buddhism, there is much written on meditation as in Buddhaghoṣa’s Visuddhimagga which in some ways similar to Yoga-Sūtras. Considering the constraints of space and in the interest of focusing on mainly the salient aspects of yoga and studying them in some depth our discussion in this chapter and the others to follow is limited to Patañjali’s Yoga-Sūtras.

Yoga-Sūtras of Patañjali Background The metaphysical base of Yoga is the Sāṃkhya system, which is the oldest of the six classical systems of Indian philosophy. Yoga shares the Sāṃkhya dualism of consciousness and matter, puruṣa and prakṛti. What is of interest here, unlike in the Western philosophies such as Descartes’ radical dualism, is that a distinction is made between mind and consciousness and not merely between mind and matter. Sāṃkhya-Yoga considers the mind, sensory system and the ego material along with gross matter. Thus, matter has two distinct forms, one in the mind and the other in physical objects. Consciousness-as-such, however, belongs to a different realm of reality. Now, important implications ensue from the postulation of two kinds of matter involved in mental phenomena on the one hand and the physical objects on the other. Matter in its wider sense, which includes the mind as well, is constituted by three primary elements called guṇas. They are sattva, rajas, and tamas. These are common in minds as well as physical things. They are involved in the manifestation of mental phenomena as well as in the evolution of physical objects. Thus, they provide the common ground between mind and material objects. This is explained by Vācaspati in the following words. The qualities (guṇas) appear as possessing two forms, viz. the perceived or the determined and the determiner or the perceiver. In the aspect as the determined or the perceived the guṇas evolve themselves as the five infra-atomic potentials, the five gross elements and their compounds. In the aspect as the perceiver or determiner they form the modifications as the ego and the senses. Quoted from Dasgupta (1920/2001, p. 3)

Yoga-Sūtras of Patañjali

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As Dasgupta (1920/ 2001) explains, there is no fundamental difference between the objects of perception and the perceptual process. The only distinction between them is that one is determined while the other is the one that determines. There is, however, a crucial difference between the perceiver and the objects perceived. The perceiver is the puruṣa, and the objects perceived are the manifestations of the prakṛti. This calls for an understanding of the relation between puruṣa and prakṛti, which is variously conceived by different philosophical systems, for example. Sāṃkhya-Yoga and Vedānta. Within the tradition of the Vedanta, the relation between puruṣa and prakṛti, subject and object, is explained in at least three different ways. (1) Prakṛti is Māyā, which has no beginning and is ubiquitous. It reflects the puruṣa as in the case of sun reflected in a pool of water. This is known as reflection theory of the relation between puruṣa and prakṛti. (2) The limitation theory postulates that the mind limits the all-pervasive puruṣa like the jar limiting the space, which by itself is limitless. (3) The third view holds that the puruṣa is neither reflected in nor limited by the mind. Rather it is simply misidentified by the person because of ignorance. The approach of Sāṃkhya-Yoga is quite different. Prakṛti and puruṣa are two distinct realities. One cannot be eliminated or reduced to the other. The former is ever changing, whereas the latter is utterly changeless. However, in the person, when the buddhi reflects the puruṣa, the manifest reflection engenders the sense of the ego. Cast into the mold of the buddhi, puruṣa then becomes personal consciousness, individualized and self-indulged. The person has the experience of the puruṣa through the instrumentality of the buddhi which has the capacity to reflect the puruṣa, because of its sattvic component. Buddhi in its purest form is nearly indistinguishable from and is as good as puruṣa. Consequently, the reflections are as good as the objects of its reflection. However, the reflections in human condition are ordinarily blemished by ego involvement. The liberation of the person consists in achieving such a state/purity of the buddhi that the image it has of the puruṣa is indistinguishable from the puruṣa, made possible by transcending the limitations of ego involvement and by cultivating unblemished buddhi. As Vyāsa explains, buddhi is neither similar to nor different from the puruṣa. It is different in that, unlike puruṣa which is changeless, it incessantly undergoes changes. It is the similar to the puruṣa when it reflects puruṣa without any blemishes and thus becomes indistinguishable from it. Personal consciousness has two interrelated components. One is the object revealed, and the other is the light of consciousness that makes sense of the object. In human experience, they go together. The puruṣa, like the magnet that attracts the iron filings, draws the objects of prakṛti to its fold. This is the kind of interaction that takes place between the puruṣa and the prakṛti in human condition. The object revealed is changing, and the light revealing the object is changeless. We may recall that the object revealed is a manifestation/form of the buddhi, which becomes visible and gains meaning when the light of puruṣa shines on it. Pure and unblemished buddhi is able to reflect the puruṣa in its true form. When this happens, puruṣa and its images in the buddhi become indistinguishable from the puruṣa itself. This indeed is the state of

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kaivalya, the goal of one’s being. So, the Yoga-Sūtras asserts that when the sattva or buddhi becomes as pure as puruṣa, one attains kaivalya, unity between prakṛti and puruṣa (Vibhūti pada, sūtra, 56). In Advaita Vedānta, there is one all-pervasive consciousness, the Brahman. In Sāṃkhya-Yoga, however, there are multiple centers of consciousness in the form of puruṣas. Dasgupta (1920/2001) explains the rationale behind the multiple centers of consciousness thus. Since with the birth of one individual all are not born; since with the death of one all do not die; and since each individual has separate sense organs for himself; and since all beings do not work at the same time in the same manner; and since the qualities of the different guṇas are possessed differently by different individuals – the puruṣas are indeed many.

In support of this, Dasgupta (1920/2001) refers to Patañjali’s aphorism which states, “although destroyed in relation to him [the realized person] whose objects have been achieved, it is not destroyed being common to others” (p. 23). In the existential context, we find multiple buddhis and plurality of egos. If there is only one consciousness, how we may account for this state of affairs? Further, if there are no multiple centers of consciousness, if one person attains kaivalya or mokṣha, the others also should be liberated. Clearly, this is not the case. These reasons are justifications given in favor of multiple centers of consciousness (puruṣas) instead of one all-pervasive consciousness as Brahman in Vedānta. It may be kept in mind, however, that the backdrop, the underlying factor that binds all puruṣas, is consciousness-as-such or pure consciousness, which acquires content in the conscious awareness of individual puruṣas as manifest in the phenomenal experiences of persons. Advaita’s discussion of consciousness is at the transcendental level, and it is distinguished from the phenomenal consciousness experienced by the jīva. The perspective of Sāṃkhya-Yoga is from the side of the person. Advaita’s is a top-down approach, whereas the yoga perspective is bottom-up. However, both the systems presuppose pure consciousness as general principle underlying all awareness. The basic difference between Advaita Vedanta and Yoga is that the latter subscribes to the view that the external world is real and valid. The basic argument in favor of the validity of the external world is that no knowledge of the external world is possible without the actual existence of such a world. The future, past, and present make sense only because of the existence of an object under three different conditions—existence in the past, present, and future. Sutra 12 in Kaivalya Pada states: “The past and the future exist in reality, since all qualities of things manifest themselves in these three different ways.” Vyasa comments on this sutra thus: The future is the manifestation which is to be. The past is the appearance which has been experienced. The present is that which is in active operation. It is this threefold substance which is the object of knowledge. If they did not exist in reality, there would not exist a knowledge thereof. How could there be knowledge in the absence of anything that might be known. For this reason, the past and future in reality exist. Quoted from Dasgupta (1920/2001)

Yoga-Sūtras of Patañjali

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We may recall that guṇas constitute the substratum of all things whether physical or psychical. The guṇas—sattva, rajas, and tamas—combine in various proportions to manifest the world in its multivarious aspects. The dominance of one over the others and the proportion of each of these elements (guṇas) in a given thing determine its nature and characteristics. Evolution of the world is a manifestation of the combination of the guṇas in different proportions as they tend to become more and more differentiated, different, and yet coherent and cognizable. So, we find in Sāṃkhya-Yoga that (1) the gunas keep their own nature intact, and (2) yet they combine themselves in various ways to manifest the manifold knowable objects. The ego of the person (ahaṅkāra), for example, evolves along three different lines depending on the preponderance of one guṇa over the others. According to Samkhya notion of evolution, from the sattvic predominant ahaṅkāra (ego), evolve the five senses that enable us to have knowledge of the world. From the rajas side, evolve the motor functions that enable us to act and engage in executive functions. From the side of the tamas, there is the evolution of tanmatras which in turn give rise to the gross elements—earth, water, fire, air, and ether. Now, it may be kept in mind that all the three gunas are involved in each of these phases of evolution, even though their proportions vary. No one guṇa acts alone. However, it is the sattva component that bestows meaning, rajas provides the energy, and tamas the content. To summarize, in Yoga theory, first the mahat (universal mind) evolves from prakṛti. From Mahat, arise the ego on one side and the tanmatras on the other side. The ego generates the sense, while the tanmatras result in the five gross elements, water, earth, and so on. The above is the metaphysical base of Yoga. However, yoga in practice is a method to reach the goal of salvation (kaivalya). Its practical aspects are governed by a code of conduct followed by certain psychophysical practices, which constitute its core. With this background, we now proceed to discuss Yoga-Sūtras from a psychological perspective. Patañjali’s Yoga-Sūtras is a systematic treatise in terse aphorisms on what has come to be known as Raja Yoga. The first part of Yoga-Sūtras deals with theory and the nature of samādhi, the second with practices to achieve samādhi, and the third and fourth with application of yoga to acquire extraordinary abilities (siddhis) and self-realization (kaivalya), respectively. All this is contained in 195 sūtras of which 51 are in the first chapter, 55 in the second, 55 in the third, and 34 in the fourth. It is suggested that the first part is more for those who can readily concentrate and gain control of mind, whereas the second part is meant for anyone wishing to enter a state of samādhi. As mentioned, Yoga-Sūtras is the foundational text of Indian psychology. It is not enough that one reads it. It is also not enough to read the commentaries on it, however insightful and inspirational they might be. It is not enough that one thinks, reasons, and reflects to gain an understanding of them. In order to be fair to the author and faithful to his central thesis, one needs to meditate on them for realization of their true meaning and import. In a sense, the aphorisms are archetypal and in their unfolding rests the development of the true realization of their meaning and purpose.

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Reading of Patañjali’s Yoga-Sūtras is not an easy task. First of all, the subject matter itself is quite complex, covering diverse and complex areas and addressing different but related issues. The complexity is further compounded by the fact that the text is in sūtra form with extreme brevity cultivated as a virtue for recitation and retention by the students. Further to complicate the matters, notwithstanding the logical development of topics in each of the four parts, the language tends to be allegorical and figurative (metaphorical) and not always precise. For example, puruṣa and buddhi are spoken of as seer and seen, and as proprietor and property. Further, the text presupposes on the part of the reader some prerequisite understanding of not only Sāṃkhya-Yoga philosophy but also the classical Hindu tradition. The metaphors are possibly unavoidable because of the nonordinary realms of being that are addressed. Moreover, they may be quite useful in that the statements of sūtras arguably have relevance to multiple areas and therefore need to be interpreted in different contexts ranging from axiology to epistemology and from metaphysics to psychology. In such a situation, it is almost impossible to be precise. I first read Yoga-Sūtras (Woods’ English translation) as a graduate student more than fifty years ago. The book had little intellectual impact on me at the time. I found it utterly uninspiring. In retrospect, it would seem that I did not simply have the necessary intellectual maturity and sophistication required to appreciate at that time the nuances and depth of this great text. Also, the literal translation of crucial concepts, e.g., kaivalya as isolation, I must confess, had a chilling effect on the sensibilities of the young, growing, and active mind, and did not serve as a motivating influence to study the text with the interest it deserved. Now, decades later, each time I read the Sūtras I appear to gain some fresh insights into their psychological relevance and significance. I wish I had the wisdom to have kept notes and recorded them, which could have been profoundly instructive in tracing the evolution of my understanding of yoga psychology. What follows then is the rendering from my most recent reading, pruned significantly and purified somewhat by discussions with colleagues and scholars. There are as mentioned several useful translations and some important commentaries, and in some ways, this exercise may appear redundant. Yet, I feel, there is need for a psychological rendering of the Yoga-Sūtras. My task is not one of providing a literal translation of Patañjali’s text and the commentaries. It is clearly not my main interest, nor do I have any special claims or expertise for doing that better than numerous others before me. What I do hope to present instead is a free rendering of Yoga-Sūtras in current psychological idiom intended to be intelligible to professionals in human science, without embellishing in any way the spirit of the Sūtras. To ensure this, I have consulted knowledgeable Sanskrit scholars. I have read various commentaries and several translations, but I have drawn minimally from them, except of course those by Vyāsa and Vācaspati Miśra and Vijñanabhikṣu, which I used liberally wherever necessary. In what follows I have translated and discussed each sūtra of Patañjali’s text. The present chapter deals with the Samadhi Pada. The following chapters discuss the others.

On Samādhi

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On Samādhi The first part of Yoga-Sūtras, Samādhi Pada, as the title indicates, is on samādhi and deals mainly with its theory (sūtras 1–22) and also in part with practices (30–51). In between, Sūtras 23 through 29 refer to God and his place in one’s self-realization. Samādhi Pada is rightly seen by some as “a work complete in itself.” A few have considered this part as “the most important of the whole treatise” (Tola and Draganetti 1987, p. xxii). From a psychological perspective, this part is clearly very significant because, as we will see, it deals with the nature of the mind, its states and processes and how one may gain control over them. It serves as a general guide to achieve states of higher consciousness in pursuit of self-realization experiencing one’s authentic self, and to help overcome suffering in life and imperfection in thought and action. Patañjali begins by stating at the outset that the book is an authentic account (anuśāsanam) of yoga2 (I.1). “Anuśāsanam” is often translated as “exposition.” It is not merely a theoretical statement but also involves practices that are considered standard. The subject of the text is thus unambiguously yoga as practiced at the time. What then is yoga? The word “yoga” is derived etymologically from the root “yuj” which means “to bind” or “to yoke.” Patañjali’s text does not specifically mention the things that yoga binds. Consequently, a variety of interpretations are given. However, considering the fact that in Sāṃkhya-Yoga there are two basic principles, puruṣa and prakṛti that partake in the person, it stands to reason to assume that their unity is what is under consideration, and that yoga refers to that union. However, inasmuch as the goal of yoga is kaivalya which is redemption of puruṣa by progressively controlling and transcending the mind, an evolute of prakṛti, such an interpretation tends to be questionable. Vyāsa, commentating on this sūtra, does not refer to the uniting or yoking aspect of yoga. Instead his provisional definition is that yoga is samādhi. Vācaspati Miśra in his subcommentary calls attention to another etymological meaning of yoga, as derived from the stem yuji-a, which means concentration. To quote from Wood’s translation, “This [doubt] he removes by stating that [ in the phrase] is etymologically derived from the stem yuj-a [Dhatupatha, iv.68] in the sense of concentration and not from the stem yuj-i [vii.7] in the sense of conjunction.” Samādhi, according to Vyāsa, is a developed quality/state of the mind by practice of concentration. The mind functions in different states ranging from the extremes of the restless, impulsive, and confused to sublime steadiness and total restraint of its processes. Of course, restless and distracted states have little to do with yoga. In fact, they are the ones yoga is intended to control and overcome. Yoga actually begins with cultivating focused attention (ekagrata) of the mind so that the object in the focus is seen the way it truly is. The biasing factors that hinder right knowledge are dwindled away, and the mind is set forth on the goal of reaching self-realization. Self-realization is none other than realizing truth in one’s being. 2

The lines in boldface are translations of the Sanskrit sūtras.

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One may rightly raise the question whether yoga is a method or state of the mind. The fact that Vyāsa equates yoga with samādhi makes the question all the more interesting. It would seem that it is both the means (method) as well as the goal of reaching the state of self-realization following the total restraint of mental processes. Vyāsa’s reference to samādhi as a quality of the mind in all its different states implies that underlying the restless, confused, and changing states of the mind, there is an abiding continuing and unchanging awareness state on which the restless and impulsive, the confused, and changing states of the mind float as fleeting cognitive experiences. When these are controlled, and they dwindle away, the underlying samādhi state illumines the object of awareness. Consequently, the person has awareness of the object as it is, without the embellishments brought about by the built-in biases and the constant conditioning to which one is subjected. Vyāsa not only points to the five distinctive states of the mind, but he also distinguishes between two kinds of samādhi. The five states of the mind are (1) kṣipta, (2) muḍha, (3) vikṣipta, (4) ekagra, and (5) niruddha. Kṣipta is the restless and impulsive state of the mind that incessantly wanders. Muḍha is dull and confused state that lacks discrimination. Vikṣipta is a variable and distracted state. Ekagra is one-pointed, focused attention resulting in a continuous stream of similar thoughts. Nirudha is a state of restraint in which the normal processes of the mind come to a standstill and the mind becomes empty of any content derived from the sensory inputs. The two qualitatively different samādhi states are samprajñāta samādhi and asamprajñāta samādhi. Samprajñāta samādhi is a state of cognitive excellence, whereas asamprajñāta samādhi is a transcognitive state. The former has content, which is truth-bearing devoid of all distortions brought about by different kinds of biases and presuppositions that are overcome by the practice of yoga in a state of samādhi. Asamprajñāta samādhi refers to a state of nonintentional consciousness, where there is only awareness without any cognitive content, awareness which appears to refer to that quality of the mind said to persist in all the five distinctive states of the mind. The distinction between the two qualitatively different states of samādhi entails the following important points. First, it is possible to have a state of pure or nonintentional consciousness, which is not about or of something, real or imagined. Such a state is not simply absence of awareness of an event or object. Rather it is a noncognitive state that has profound implications for personal transformation and self-realization. Second, samādhi can also be a cognitive state giving rise to veridical knowledge, a state in which one overcomes the obstacles and hindrances to knowing things the way they truly are by simply by passing the senses in the cognitive process. Third, and this is important, there are indeed two ways of knowing, cognitive and transcognitive, which are qualitatively different. Fourth, ultimate self-realization, the goal of yoga, can be achieved only in a state of asamprajñāta samādhi. Perhaps one could say that samprajñāta is a state of mental perfection and asamprajñāta is a state of pure consciousness. Yoga is the control of the fluctuating forms the mind takes (I.2). This sūtra, we are told by Vyāsa, is to describe the distinctive character of yoga as a

On Samādhi

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transcognitive state. The mind is habitually in a state of excitation caused by internal and external factors, and by one’s biases, prejudices, and presuppositions. It gives us the knowledge we have of the world and of ourselves, which is normally tainted. Yoga, as a method, is the technique to control these cognitive and affective excitations by inhibiting the mental processes and restraining the mind from emanating tainted cognitions. Yoga is also referred to the resultant state following focused attention, which ultimately leads to nirodha or complete suppression of mental activity. Therefore, the second sūtra defines yoga as citta-vṛtti nirodha, cessation/suppression of mental processes and manifestations. “Citta,” “vṛtti,” and “nirodha,” the three core concepts in this sūtra, are crucial for understanding yoga. Citta is the mind, and the mind is the interfacing instrumentality that is connected with “consciousness” at one end and the bodily processes at the other. It is physical in nature but qualitatively different from gross material objects. Vṛtti is a manifestation of the mind. It is variously translated as “fluctuation” (Woods 1914/1988; Feuerstein 1979), “modification” (Taimni 1961) “function” (Jha 1907), “behavior” (Krishnamacharya 1976), “transformation” (Dvivedi 1890/1992), and “process” (Tola and Dragnetti 1987). In a sense, vṛtti denotes all the above. However, a proper understanding of it is possible only when one takes into consideration the Sāṃkhya theory of perception from which the concept derives its meaning. In Sāṃkhya-Yoga, the perceptual process is one in which the mind assumes the form of the object of perception. It involves a kind of metamorphosis of the mind. Vṛtti is the result. Therefore, vṛtti may be considered a manifestation of the mind. We will have more to say on perception in a later section in this chapter. “Nirodha” is also rendered differently by different translators. For example, Woods (1914) translates it as “restriction” and Feuerstein (1979) follows, whereas Ganganatha Jha (1907) and Dvivedi (1890/1992) render it as “suppression.” Other translations include “inhibition” (Taimni 1961; Leggett 1981) “control” (Purohit 1937), and “stopping” (Krishnamacharya 1976). Again, all these usages appear warranted because nirodha is not an all or none phenomenon, but admits of various degrees. It is also important to keep in perspective that yoga, samādhi, and nirodha are all used in the sense of a method as well as to mean the resultant state. In the final phase, nirodha is complete stopping of all mental manifestations, conscious vṛttis as well as unconscious saṃskāras, and the resultant state is asamprajñāta samādhi, a state of nonintentional pure consciousness. In samprajñāta samādhi, however, cognitive awareness continues to manifest albeit in a much transformed form. Commenting on this sūtra, Vyāsa points out that by not using the word “all” before citta-vṛttis in the sūtra, Patañjali includes samprajñāta samādhi also under the rubric of yoga. Samprajñāta samādhi is a state of discriminate discernment (viveka-khyati) of the mind, where the mind is on its own and its sattva aspect shines illuminating the contemplative object in its pristine condition, as the cover of tamas and stains of rajas are removed. When the yogin reaches the state of asamprajñāta samādhi, there is complete dissolution of the cognitive mind in that “the mind, turning away from even that knowledge, inhibits it.” Then, there is no consciousness of objects. Thus, Vyāsa argues, “yoga as citta-vṛtti nirodha is

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two-fold”—one in which the inhibition and suppression of vṛttis is complete (asamprajñāta samādhi) and the other (samprajñāta samādhi) where it is not so complete leaving awareness intact, except that awareness in this state is untainted and undefiled. Sūtra 2, in addition to defining yoga, sets the scope of yoga psychology in perspective. Yoga psychology is about controlling the mind in its varied manifestations. Such a control presupposes the understanding the nature of the mind, its processes and functions, its manifestations and transformations. The understanding and control envisaged have one goal, i.e., to lead humans away from their conditioned existence and consequent suffering to kaivalya, an unconditioned state of perfection in being. Samādhi is the state in which one progressively masters and controls the mind to the point where it ceases to have any role in one’s cognitive life leading to a new source of experiencing reality. Control of the mind/behavior is a central issue in psychology. Let us recall that the behaviorist manifesto announced a century ago by Watson (1913) has the twin goals of prediction and control of behavior. Watson and the fellow behaviorists refrained from using the concept “mind,” substituting behavior instead because they considered mind as nonexistent, an empty word devoid of any external, objective reference. The above semantic divergence is only symptomatic of even more radical and substantial differences between the Watsonian control of behavior and yogic control of the mind. The former is directed outward, i.e., the control is third-person oriented, control of behavior of others, whereas in yoga, it is first-person focused and directed within. It refers to the control of one’s own mind and not of others. However, yogic transformation of the person achieved by one’s own effort is just as objective a method as any behavioral technique. Explaining sūtra (I.35), Vācaspati Miśra says that supernormal consciousness is not something that is believed on the grounds of “probable-reasonings” but on the strength of “authoritative word” born out of authentic experience. Yogic feats are not speculative fantasies, so it would seem, but empirical claims grounded in verifiable observations. Thus, it can be said that yoga is a science in its method as well as content. The ultimate objective of Yoga psychology is self-realization. Self-realization is the state of the person who experiences perfection in thought, action, and passion, which eludes us because our minds are tangled by the existential constraints that veil truth, cloud consciousness, bias perceptions, and condition our thoughts, feelings, and actions. The conditioned person is imperfect and unable to know truth as such and experience continuous bliss. Truth becomes a matter of consensual agreement, and bliss translates itself into pursuit of pleasure and avoidance of pain rather than authentic experience of happiness. Yoga is positive psychology practiced to fix what is wrong and nurture that which enables one to achieve perfection via self-realization. It is not positive psychology in the sense that humans are seen as situated in positive circumstances of happiness on which to focus. On the contrary, the human condition is seen as perpetuating pain and suffering. Yoga psychology endeavors to study and understand what ails humans, not this or that person, but humankind in general and how one may overcome the congenital ailment.

On Samādhi

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Complete cessation of mental modifications leads to self-realization, and when this happens, then the person abides in his true nature (I.3). The third sūtra is the foundational statement of Sāṃkhya-Yoga metaphysics and epistemology. The person is consciousness (puruṣa) embodied. Embodied, consciousness is reflected in the sattva aspect of the mind. However, the mind is also covered by tamas and driven by rajas. Consciousness thus veiled and tainted, the person misconstrues the manifestations of the mind as consciousness-as-such (puruṣa). The ego takes the center stage. The self recedes into the background. With the reigns resting with the ego, the person gets entangled in a continuous course of conditioned existence. Consciousness circumscribed, limited, insulated, clouded, tainted, and defiled by the manifestations of rajas and tamas, the experiencing person is cast in the shadow of suffering. Knowing, doing, and feeling in the person individuate as the “self”. The “self” is not any more the puruṣa, the principle of consciousness. Rather it denotes the person’s identity with the ego as the organizing principle. Identity is the experience of self-sameness in the midst of continually changing mental states. The experience of the self is the defense mechanism that bestows unity and coherence on the manifold manifestations of the mind. The ego (ahaṃkāra) aspect of the mind is at the base of the notion of individual self. The defining characteristic of the ego is individuation. Its essential quality is attachment. Attachment generates desires. Desires drive the person to act. Actions accumulate karma, and the person becomes conditioned. Karma is the principle of mental causation. Saṃskāras, the carriers of karma, are the hidden persuaders. The person perceives on the one hand change and impermanence in him and around him, and craves on the other hand for stability, continuity, and permanence. This then is the existential predicament of the person situated in a world informed by citta-vṛttis. The existential quest is to overcome this predicament, which is normally accomplished by the defense mechanisms generated by ahaṃkāra and the multifaceted manifestations of the mind as referred to earlier. Yoga aims at reversing this process to the point of realizing that the true and abiding self is puruṣa and disidentifying it from the ego and other manifestations of the mind. The realization comes about when the manifestations of the mind born of rajas and tamas are fully controlled, and the mind remains as pure sattva, without the obscuring and biasing influences of tamas and rajas, the two other constituents of all material forms.

Theory of Mind Vyāsa says that puruṣa is “the cognizer of buddhi” (buddhi-bodhātman). It follows that puruṣa, which is consciousness-as-such, bestows awareness on the manifest forms of buddhi (citta-vṛttis) in normal cognitive processes. However, when the mind is devoid of content and the buddhi does not manifest in the form of vṛttis, then it has access to pure awareness or consciousness-as-such. It is the state where

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the person abides in oneself as puruṣa and manifests self-illuminating consciousness. In the absence of such self-illumination, the person identifies true consciousness (puruṣa) with the fluctuating states of the mind (citta-vṛttis) (I.4). Such mistaking masks the true self and gives rise to false identities. When the processes of the mind and its fluctuating forms are not restrained and controlled, its perceptions tend to be biased and tainted. The person gets entangled with them, finds her identity in them, and mistakes the mind and its vṛttis as the self. It follows that the person, the embodied puruṣa, functions at two different levels. In a state of nirodha, when the mind is empty of any cognitive content, not veiled by tamas and not tainted and defiled by rajas, the person finds herself in the nature of puruṣa and realizes consciousness-as-such. In the absence of such nirodha (restraint), the person tends to identify herself with the ego, the processes, functions, and manifestations of the mind. As Vijñānabhikṣu observes, in such a state puruṣa reflects the vṛttis of the buddhi rather than reflecting itself in buddhi. In yoga psychology, the mind (citta) is seen as functioning in two entirely different modes—the vṛtti and nirodha modes. In the vṛtti mode, the citta through the instrumentality of the sensory processes, reason, and reflection has the sensory awareness of things outside. In the nirodha mode, it shuts itself out of all inputs and is devoid of any content. Whereas the vṛtti is the cognitive mode, nirodha leads the person to transcendental states of the mind. In between the vṛtti and nirodha modes, there is prajñā. Prajñā is in a sense the opposite of avidyā. It is a state of true knowledge where, as Dasgupta puts it, “the seed of false knowledge is altogether burnt and cannot be revived again” (1920/2001, p. 100). Prajñā is generated when the attention is focused exclusively on a single item. It results in intuitive realization of the object of focused concentration. Inasmuch as prajñā bypasses the sensory system and directly reaches out to the object, the knowledge outcome of prajñā is not hampered by the sensory constraints. For this reason, prajñā generated knowledge “is superior to all other means of knowledge—either perception, inference, or competent evidence of the Vedas—in this that it is all together unerring, unrestricted or unlimited in its scope” (Dasgupta 1920/2001, p. 154). Its truth is self-manifesting. Vṛttis are five kinds, and they are kliṣṭa (hindered) or akliṣṭa (unhindered) (I.5). Kliṣṭa is often interpreted in the sense of being afflicted by pain. However, Vyāsa’s commentary suggests that Patañjali is using it in a technical sense to refer to the five klesas referred to later in sūtras II.3–9. In this sense, the manifestations of the mind (vṛttis) are either tainted by the five kinds of klesas or untainted to give discriminative knowledge. Tola and Dragannetti (1987) argue convincingly that the above interpretation is likely to lead to some avoidable contradictions. Therefore, they appear to prefer the interpretation of Bhoja in his commentary Rajamartaṇḍa. Bhoja suggests that vṛttis are mental states that are affected or unaffected by a klesa. In other words, kliṣṭa vṛttis are not “provoked” by klesas, as Vyāsa suggests, but are affected and accompanied by klesas. It seems reasonable that vṛttis may not be classed simply as painful or nonpainful. Rather they may be considered as accompanied by one or more of the five klesas that afflict the mind to which we will

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refer later. The five forms or vṛttis are (1) truth revealing valid states of knowing (pramāṇa), (2) false knowledge (viparyaya), (3) states of being aware of imaginary and unreal entities (vikalpa), (4) sleep (nidrā) and (5) recollection (smṛti) (I.6). The reference thus is to externally induced states which can be truth bearing or false, as well as to internally manifest memory or imagined awareness which has no existential true reference. Sleep is also included as a form of vṛtti, though it is devoid of any recognizable content, except the recall of the sleep state as such on waking. Truth manifesting knowledge (pramāṇani) may be perceptual (pratyakṣa), inferential (anumāna) or testimony from a trusted source (ā1gama) (I.7). In all the three cases mentioned above, awareness refers to an object or event that has external reference. In perceptual awareness, there is mind-sense-object contact. In inferential states, the awareness is induced by externally induced precepts. In the case of testimony, the awareness is aroused by communication from an external source. The perceptual process involves the mind going out to proximate objects through the five senses. The mind then assumes the form of the perceptual object. The mind is drawn to the objects like the magnet draws the iron filings toward it. Once drawn to the object, the citta takes the form of the object. It is in the nature of the citta that it takes the form of the object with which it comes into contact. As it is stated in a later sūtra (IV. 17), an object “is known or not known by virtue of its affecting [or not affecting] the mind-stuff” (Woods 1914/2007, p. 327). While the role of the perceptual object in drawing the mind is acknowledged, the assertion that mind goes out to the object signifies the freedom of the person to choose her own objects of perception. Inference, like perception, is another source of valid knowledge. It differs from perception in that the bases of inference are not the specific characteristics (viśeṣa) of things but their known commonalities. Inference consists in the affirmation of the general characteristics of a class to its members. Like perception, inference can be valid or false. Yoga also admits informed testimony from trusted sources as a valid source of knowledge. The informed testimony includes the authority of the Vedas as well as the authentic knowledge communicated by a competent and informed person. Viparyaya is a misconceived and erroneous idea that fails to correspond to a real and existing object (I.8). It is false cognition denoting a wrong object. Vikalpa is awareness resulting from perceptual or semantic arousal that lacks a corresponding object in reality (I.9). Gagana kusuma (a flower in the sky that one may conceptualize) is an example of such awareness. It is neither truth manifesting nor false knowledge. Sleep (nidrā) is a fluctuating state of the mind the defining characteristic of which is the passing experience of absence of any of its other activities (I.10). Sleep is a state of the mind devoid of any cognizable contents. It is caused by the tamas aspect of the mind. Taimni (1967) describes it as one like a running automobile motor in neutral gear. However, the person in the sleep state, according to Yoga, is not without any vṛttis. If it were so, the person on waking would not recall that she had sound sleep. As Vyāsa comments, the memory that connects the sleep

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state with the one following is evidence of the existence of a vṛtti. This peculiar negation of awareness during sleep is caused by the overwhelming presence of tamas during the sleep period. It may be of interest to note in this context that sleep in Yoga, unlike in Vedanta, for example, is not a state devoid of vṛtti, but a separate kind of vṛtti. In other words, sleep is considered a cognitive state of the mind. It may also be noted that sleep state is qualitatively different from contentless, nonintentional state of consciousness-as-such achieved by yoga practice in samādhi state, where the fluctuating mind is restrained and emptied and becomes completely quiescent. Memory (smṛti) is retention of a previous cognition without any embellishment (I.11). It is a process by which a previously experienced cognition is not allowed to lapse and no surreptitious additions are made to the original cognition. Smṛti is different from saṃskāras. The latter are stored up, often unconscious, impressions and latent tendencies contained in the mind. Traces of experiences imprinted in the brain are not vṛttis, but their manifest forms in awareness constitute memory. In his commentary on this sūtra, Vyāsa says that there are two kinds of memory. One kind is the memory of things imagined such as in dreams or fantasy. The other is memory of true events and real things such as those found in valid perceptions. Thus, memories may relate to truthful (pramāṇa) vṛttis, false cognitions (viparyaya), imaginary ones (vikalpa), or sleep (nidrā). Vṛttis in all their manifest forms are considered inimical to reach the goal of self-realization. The inputs received via the transformation of the buddhi are tainted and distorted in numerous ways by the processing manas and the appropriating ahaṃkāra. Cognitive knowledge in this sense is a construction of the mind with the materials supplied by sensations evoked by contact with objects or by images stored in the memory or simply imaginatively generated. Sensations themselves are the forms the mind takes following its perceptual contact with the object. These activities of the mind give fleeting and transient awareness that is neither completely reliable and wholly truth bearing nor permanent and devoid of pain and suffering. Therefore, in yoga view, there is the need to inhibit them so as to gain true knowledge.

Control of the Mind How can one overcome the wanderings of the mind? Vṛttis may be restrained and stopped (nirodha) by practice (abhyāsa) and by developing a detached mind cultivated by dispassionateness (vairāgya) (I.12). Vyāsa comments that the two, practice and dispassionateness (nonattachment), should go together for the suppression of citta-vṛttis. It would seem that abhyāsa (practice) refers to the method and technique of controlling citta-vṛttis, whereas vairāgya (detachment and dispassionateness) stands for an attitude or the state of the mind conducive for controlling the mind. Once again, we see how yoga combines both method and state of the mind.

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In the following sūtras, Patañjali defines and states what the two concepts, abhyāsa and vairāgya precisely, stand for. Practice (abhyāsa) involves continuous effort to achieve mental quiescence and stability, and to permanently establish the mind in an unfluctuating state (sthiti) (I.13). Let us recall that the mind in the normal human condition is constantly fluctuating giving rise to continuously changing and varied manifestations, the control of which is the purpose of yoga practice. In other words, the mind generally is not focused and grounded in a stable state. The stability does not refer here simply to cognitive control. It also refers to emotional fluctuations. In yoga, the mind is considered in a holistic way to include cognition, affect, and conation. How one may gain cognitive control is explained later in sūtras I.35–39, and the means of attaining an emotionally stable state are given in sūtras I.33-34. Prolonged and uninterrupted practice, engaged with earnestness and complete attention, becomes firmly grounded (I.14). The emphasis on continuous, earnest, and focused practice refers to the stability in volition. Practice signifies more one’s cultivation of a method and a technique to achieve higher states of consciousness in samādhi rather than repeated performance of a ritual. Vairāgya consists in a state of mind involving a conviction and sense of mastery (vaśikāra-samjñā) that one has overcome all kinds of longings for objects seen or revealed (I.15). It involves not merely absence of desire, but also awareness that such a state of dispassionateness and detachment is mastered. This emphasis on the awareness of mastery (vaśikāra-samjñā) indicates that this state is cultivated and valued. Dispassionateness and detachment may not be seen therefore as mere absence of desires or cravings at a given time such as aversion to food due to loss of appetite due to sickness but a deliberate and willed suppression and abandonment of them out of conviction. Detachment is a well-drenched and cultivated attitude without which practice of concentration to achieve a state of tranquility and stable quiescence of the mind is not possible. Thus, detachment involves, according to yoga, in addition to absence of desires, a cultivated attitude and a committed value mastered and maintained as a life motif. Once again, the interconnectedness of abhyāsa and vairāgya is revealed and that neither of them is seen as sufficient by itself to achieve nirodha. Vairāgya has positive and negative attributes. Positively, it is cultivation of a conviction that keeps the person on course with indomitable faith. The negative aspect is the progressive detachment and indifference to enjoyment, which is of two kinds—para and apara. The latter is giving up attachment to the worldly things such as sensual pleasures, and para vairāgya is disinterestedness in otherworldly things such as enjoyment in heaven. Dasgupta (1920/2001) points to four stages of vairāgya. (1) Knowledge of the limitations of the sensory pleasures and aversion toward them. This is called yatamana. (2) The next is vyatireka where one notes those sensory appetites that need to be restrained. (3) The ekendriya stage is one where one having detached herself from physical enjoyment, or internal pleasures, and aversion to external pains, sets out on a single focus to remove attachment and aversion to mental passions such as seeking honor and success and abhorring shame and failure.

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(4) The final stage is vaśikāra, gaining firm conviction of the futility of all the worldly and otherworldly attractions to the point that one does not merely stop seeking them but becomes completely indifferent when encountering them. The next sūtra (I.16) refers to the highest state of vairāgya, which consists in complete indifference to and transcendence of guṇa entanglement (guṇavaitŗsnyam) following the realization of puruṣa in oneself, i.e., when one establishes in her own nature. Now, a question may be raised whether guṇavaitṛsnyam is vairāgya or something different. Tola and Dragennetti (1987) suggest that vairāgya referred to in sūtra I.15 “takes place at the psychological level” whereas vaitṛsṇya “occurs at the metaphysical level” (p. 49). It would seem that the two levels of vairāgya parallel the two samādhis, samprajñāta and asamprajñāta, one is cognitive and the other transcognitive. The state of vairāgya is a necessary condition for disentangling the mind and deconditioning the person from biased beliefs and behavior. Absolute vairāgya is of course no other than the state of nirodha. What is of interest here is the fact that Yoga recognizes that mere practice alone does not lead to the state of the stability of mind and nirodha. The attitudes and beliefs of the practicing person are equally important. This point is often ignored in the secular practices of yoga that are currently popular. Vyāsa in his commentary mentions two levels of vairāgya. First, the preliminary state of vairāgya is one in which the person recognizes the inadequacy of the transient and changing ephemeral qualities of objects to convey their eternal essence. Realizing this, one reflects on the enduring self/consciousness to gain true insight. The second and the ultimate vairāgya results in an undistracted and calm perception untouched by any bias engendered by the ephemeral qualities of manifest objects. Vairāgya in its ultimate form is the seat of “uttermost limit of knowledge.” It is clear from this observation that all perceptual knowledge is not intrinsic to the object perceived but some of it at least is constructed by the mind and blemished by a mix of biases that afflict the person. True knowledge is proportional to the eradication of these biases, and vairāgya is that which enables such an eradication and perceptual deconstruction. Here, one is reminded of Husserl’s epoché or bracketing the “natural attitude” to observe the experience in and of itself. German philosopher Edmund Husserl, the founder of continental phenomenology, asserted that “apodictic evidence” which entails absolute indubitability is possible only when one is in a “universe of absolute freedom from prejudice.” By practicing a procedure he called “epoché” , one can enter such a universe. Some scholars likened Husserl’s bracketing the natural attitude (epoché) to yogic practice of pratyāhāra (Puligandla 1970; Paranjpe and Hanson 1988). When one is able to focus attention and restrict fluctuating awareness (vṛttis) by practice (abhyāsa) of concentration and cultivating an attitude of detachment and dispassionateness (vairāgya) , there arises in the person a state of nirodha. Patañjali refers to two kinds of mental states resulting from such restriction of the mental activities—one that leaves the cognitive functioning of the mind intact (samprajñāta) while restricting the fluctuating states of awareness and making the mind steady, stable, and focused leading to cognitive excellence and the other that takes the mind beyond its cognitive capacities. Samprajñāta is a state of steady

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awareness of gross or subtle objects accompanied by reason (vitarka) and/or reflection (vicāra), feeling of joy (ānanda) and experience of I-ness (asmitā) (I.17). Concepts vitarka and vicāra are variously translated, and our translating them as reason and reflection may raise some questions. For example, Woods translates vitarka as “deliberation”, whereas Dvivedi (1890/1992) translates vicāra as “deliberation” and vitarka as “argumentation.” Trevor Leggett uses “verbal association” as equivalent of vitarka. However, Vivekananda (1966) and Taimni (2005) translate it as “reason,” as we do. Samprajñāta state of the mind is noetic, and the objects of its cognition may be physically gross and concrete accompanied by recollection and reason (vitarka) or subtle and abstract guided by reflection (vicāra). Gross refers here to objects and events to which one has sensory access, whereas subtle things are those that are beyond perceptual experience but accessible to reflection. In a samprajñāta state, the person has the awareness not only of the object of cognition but also of herself (asmitā) accompanied by an emotionally pleasant experience of joy (ānanda). In Yoga, we repeatedly find that cognition is not limited to just knowing but involves a sense of being and experience of feeling as well. This intrinsic amalgamation of the three aspects of the mind manifesting in the act of cognition gives an interesting holistic perspective to Indian psychology. Samprajñāta is thus an enjoyable state of cognitive excellence. In Sāṃkhya-Yoga theory, there are 25 categories of objects for meditation. These include the gross sensory objects as well as the subtle ones. All these are the manifestations of prakṛti with the exception of the one which relates to puruṣa. When the deliberation refers to the nature and interrelations between the gross elements in a state of samādhi, it is savitarka. When it is reflection on the subtle tanmātras which are the causes of the gross elements, it is a state of savicāra. When there is absence of reason in savitarka state and reflection in savicāra state, we have nirvitarka and nirvicāra states, respectively. The different states refer to progressive control of the manifestations of the mind. In a sense, they are the different rungs on the ladder of nirodha. The emphasis on joy and enjoyment here is to contrast it with the ordinary states of sense indulgence, which have only one final outcome, suffering. Thus, it would seem that the four accompaniments and stages of samprajñāta samādhi correspond to the progressive reduction/elimination of cognitive activity and the correlated states of mind. It may be recalled that the act of cognition consists of three distinctive components—the knower, (grahitṛ), the known (grāhya), and the process of knowing (grahaṇa). The first stage relates to the gross objects and the sensory processing of them, the second to the subtle tanmatras and the mind, the third to the I-ness, and the fourth to puruṣa. The perceptual states are accompanied by joy and the states without perceptual knowing with just the consciousness of being. Asmitā is not egoism but simply a sense of being. As Dvivedi (1890/1992) puts it, “meditation on some gross object… is the first; meditation on the subtle cause of the gross form is the second; meditation on the instruments of knowledge is the third; and meditation on the cause of all causes, the real substratum of all, is the last. The first consists of all the four, the way to pass from the

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first to the second and onward is by excluding or ignoring such parts as are perfectly fixed in the mind, and are not likely to recur and interrupt further meditation” (p. 13). How is samprajñāta state different from the ordinary wakeful state of the mind? For one thing, the mind in a samprajñāta state is focused, stable, and unwandering. It flows like an uninterrupted stream calm and quiescent. It is a state of cognitive excellence devoid of usual embellishments that taint one’s cognitive activity and bias perceptions and knowledge. If normal perceptions are constructed out of sensory content molded and organized to fit into preconceived patterns, samprajñāta is a state of cognitive excellence following personal deconditioning that gives knowledge closer to truth than what is normally the case. Another state that follows practice (abhyāsa) is a state of nonintentional mentation devoid of cognitive content (pratyaya) with just subliminal impressions (saṃskāras) remaining (I.18). This state marks the progression of yogi’s cognitive mastery from rudimentary nirodha that restrains the mind from its habitual fluctuating awareness giving cognitive excellence to a more complete restraining of the mind so that it becomes ultimately empty of all overt cognitive content. When this happens, the mind begins to function in a transcognitive mode. The defining characteristic of this state is the cessation of the pratyaya or cognitive content save the subliminal saṃskāras. This could mean that there is complete mastery of the mental processes that give one overt, explicit awareness. The mastery does not, however, extend to subliminal mentation. The effects of the mastery of the processes controlling explicit awareness still linger in the unconscious, which means that total nirodha is not yet achieved. The mind manifests such a transcognitive mode of functioning following intense practice of yoga (upāya-pratyaya), or it may arise spontaneously by worldly causes or simply is a congenital factor at birth (bhava-pratyaya). The last two are believed to be inferior because they are transient. It manifests in a disembodied state of the mind (videha) or when the mind merges back into primordial matter (prakṛtilaya) (I.19). This Sūtra is interpreted in a number of different ways by the commentators. Vācaspati Miśra interprets bhava-pratyaya to mean “worldly,” whereas Vijñānabhikṣu takes it to mean “that which has birth as its cause.” Vyāsa takes videhas to refer to discarnate gods. Taimni brings them down to earth. “Videhas most probably refers,” he writes, “to the large number of psychics scattered throughout the world who are mediumistic by nature” (Taimni 2005, p. 46). In a secular sense, it is reasonable to consider videha as referring to out-of-the-body experiences that several people report, something that are not cultivated by a systematic practice of yoga but arise spontaneously, which may be due to some worldly causes or something that is inherited by birth. Another interpretation that is preferred by several commentators is that the videha refers to celestial beings or gods or that it is a state of the person when the mind temporarily returns to its primordial (nonevolved) state of prakṛti. It may be mentioned here that, according to Sāṃkhya-Yoga, at the time of pralaya when the process of evolution comes to a sudden halt and a process of involution takes

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over, the individual minds associated with puruṣas return to prakṛti out of which they evolved, and lie therein with their accumulated karma intact only to return later to rejoin their respective puruṣas. Therefore, it would seem that what is being conveyed here is that it is possible for reasons other than yoga practice that the puruṣa’s entanglement with the mind may have a temporary reprieve so that the puruṣa can be on its own without the encumbrance of the mind until the mind returns at an appropriate time to nest again in the person. The other mode of restriction (nirodha) [not due to worldly causes or birth but upāya-pratyaya] is cultivated by enduring faith (śraddhā), indomitable effort and lasting energy (vīrya), attentive memory (smṛti), focused concentration (samādhi), and intuitive excellence (prajñā) (I.20). This sūtra succinctly describes the different ingredients or successive stages in the successful practice of yoga. First and foremost is śraddhā (faith). Faith is the unwavering conviction on the part of the practicing yogin that the course that she is pursuing is the right one and that it would lead to the realization of truth in her being. It is obvious that such a conviction without entertaining any doubt is the necessary psychological prerequisite to hold the mind steady and focused. Also, such a positive faith in the efficacy of yoga enables one to readily accept the path of vairāgya, dispassionateness and detachment from worldly desires. As Dasgupta (1920/2001) points out “from śraddhā comes vīrya, energy or the power, or concentration (dhāraṇa); from it again springs smṛti or continuity of one object of thought; and from it comes samādhi or cognitive or ultra-cognitive trance after which follows prajñā and the final release” (p. 112). Commenting on the Sūtra Vijñanabhikṣu also avers that vairāgya is promoted by śraddhā and its manifestations. Nirodha thus calls for energetic preparation and concentrated practice and occurs in stages. It is near for those whose practice is intense and fast-paced (samvega) (I.21). As mentioned earlier, abhyāsa and vairāgya engendering śraddhā, vīrya, etc. lead the practising yogin on the path of restraining the mind. Some practitioners reach the goal sooner than others in virtue of their excellence in practice and dispassionateness. Those who reach the goal sooner are those whose practice is highly intense and whose dispassionateness is strong. The pace of practice can be mild, moderate or intense (I.22). Patañjali recognizes that practice (abhyāsa) is not all or none; it admits of degrees and therefore permits the classification of yoga practitioners. Similarly, vairāgya may be mild, moderate, or strong. Combining abhyāsa and vairāgya each with three levels of proficiency, we find nine distinguishable levels or gradations of proficiency among the practicing yogis that help classify them in a hierarchical manner. However, much of contemporary empirical research on meditation has failed to take note of this classification to measure the meditative depth of the subjects. It simply uses the mere duration of practice as an indication of one’s proficiency in meditation. Only recently, studying the advanced Tibetan monks, have the researchers realized the importance of identifying the levels of yogic proficiency, and yet are without any rigorous system of measuring the depth of yogic concentration. Patañjali points out that the goal of complete restriction of the fluctuating states of awareness (nirodha)

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is the closest to the yogin whose vairāgya is strong and abhyāsa intense and farthest to those whose practice and dispassionateness are mild and weak. In thus classifying yogins into nine distinctive classes, Patañjali recognizes different levels of nirodha, restraining and emptying of the mind. As may be recalled, in Yoga theory of knowledge, cognitively processed information, though valid to a degree, is not true in an absolute sense because it is essentially a construction of the mind and consequently blemished by (a) the very act of processing, (b) the state of the processing mind, and (c) the past experiences, and actions that condition the person. In the first stage of nirodha resulting in the samprajñāta state, the state of the mind that distorts one’s cognitions is controlled by practice (abhyāsa) of concentration, and the personal biases, prejudices, and preconceptions that taint one’s cognitions are removed by the development of dispassionateness and detachment (vairāgya). Thus, cognitive knowledge, helped by the controlling of the factors in the person that bias and blemish her knowing progressively, reaches a state of excellence in the samprajñāta state. However, the mind is still filled with cognitive content that involves sensory processing, recollection, reasoning, and reflection as well as the subliminal conditioning of saṃskāras. When these are systematically controlled and progressively transcended, the mind becomes empty of the overt cognitive content as well as subliminal mentation and enters the asamprajñāta state. All mental activity is restricted in this state, and the mind becomes devoid of all cognitive content except the subliminal saṃskāras arising from this effort. It is believed that the person then gains access to a new source of transcognitive awareness, knowing by being. When these saṃskāras are also removed, then the puruṣa is on its own in a state of kaivalya, the ultimate goal of the practicing yogin.

Concept of God One may at this stage wonder whether there is any other way to reach these higher states in addition to abhyāsa and vairāgya. According to Patañjali, there is another route. The alternative is devotion to God (Iśvara-praṇidhāna) (I.23). This comes as a surprise because God has little metaphysical relevance in Yoga. Its twin system, Sāṃkhya, makes no use of God, and Kapila explicitly states that His existence is unproven. As Dvivedi (1890/1992) says, “Patañjali puts in an Īśvara more for purposes of meditation and other subordinate conveniences than for any cardinal important purpose” (pp. 17–18). This theistic turn in Yoga may be understood in light of its explicit practical orientation. Yoga, unlike Sāṃkhya, is essentially concerned with formalizing a system of existing practices for the transformation of the person so as to enable her to achieve the goal of kaivalya. In order to accomplish this goal, it becomes necessary to take into account the existential situation of the person, his beliefs, and attitudes. It is the case that many people believe in the existence of God and that the belief and the practices following that belief have powerful effect on them. Therefore, God cannot be

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ignored as a matter of practical concern. Also Yoga, as a practical system not content with just theory, has the challenging task of bringing together the two realms of being, the empirical and transcendental, the secular and the sacred. Here, the belief in God comes in handy. However, Patañjali’s conception of God is markedly different from the popular notions of God. Who then is this being called God (Īśvara) in Yoga? How is Īśvara different from puruṣa and prakṛti, the two ontologically distinct principles in the Yoga system? Patañjali devotes the next six sūtras to give his conception of God and how belief in God may help the yogin to reach her goal. Untouched by hindrances of all sorts, unaffected by karmas and their results and uninfluenced by subliminal tendencies (vāsanās) God (Īśvara) is a special kind of puruṣa (I.24). Vācaspati Miśra explains that God represents excellence in knowledge and action made possible by the all-compassing sattva quality of the mind purified from every stain caused by past experiences. This is made possible by the attenuation of rajas and tamas aspects of the mind. It would seem that God in Yoga refers more to the perfect person, the goal of yoga practice, than to a categorically different being as in theistic systems. He is not also the impersonal Brahman in Vedānta, but an ideal person. In Him the seed of omniscience is unsurpassed (I.25). As Vyāsa comments, “verily, He is a special kind of puruṣa and in Him omniscience reaches its utmost excellence.” We may recall in this context that puruṣa-as-such is the ground condition of all knowledge. Yet without any association with the attendant prakṛti in the form of mind and body, puruṣa has no knowledge in any cognitive sense. It remains a mere potential. The puruṣa in the incarnated state as the person is limited, however, by the constraints that prakṛti brings. Consequently, the knowledge the person is capable of having is partial and never complete and much less perfect. Where then is the being who is omniscient? God fills the role of the one who is such an omniscient person. God is the teacher for all, including the primal [sages], because he is unconstrained by time (I.26). God is thus considered nonlocal and is the teacher for all the time to come beginning from the primal sages. It would seem that God uses his omniscient wisdom to inform a select few who would in turn spread the truth to the world. How may one contact God and be informed and guided by him? It is by repeatedly chanting and reflecting on the mystic syllable OM. God is objectified in the mystic syllable (praṇava) (I.27). Praṇava refers to “OM” which is considered a magical word. The Māṇdukya Upaniṣad explains that OM indicates Īśvara as the very embodiment of truth. The mystic syllable should be repeated and its meaning meditated upon (I.28). Chanting repeatedly the mystical syllable OM and meditating on it continuously enables one to control the mind, focus attention, and reach higher states of consciousness. In other words, this practice is another tool to achieve the same objective that yoga practice of concentration and dispassionateness are intended for. Devotion to God or celestial love involves the surrender of one’s ego, focusing on God and his benevolence. This is another way of deconstructing the ego and deconditioning oneself. The belief in God and his

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omniscience are powerful motivating factors for the required conviction and faith (śraddhā) and altruism to move forward in one’s pursuit of kaivalya. Repeating and reflecting on the mystic syllable enables one to focus consciousness inward (antarāyabhāva) and to cause the extinction of the obstacles (pratyakcetanā) (I.29). Focusing consciousness inward is an endeavor to become aware of the true self, which, as we interpret it, is accessing consciousness-as-such. In other words, it would seem that chanting of and reflecting on OM have essentially the same effect of moving from empirical, transactional consciousness to consciousness-as-such. Thus, turning consciousness inward implies withdrawal of the mind from engaging with the external world through the sensory processes. This in a sense is a kind of restraint (nirodha) placed on the mental activities. So, it would appear on all counts that the belief in God and objectifying God in OM and chanting and meditating on it is just another way of achieving the nirodha state. Here again, Patañjali speaks of obstacles, reminding us of the hindrances (kleśas) that stand in the way of concentration for a stable and steady mind. Now, what are the obstacles that distract the mind and hinder practice of concentration?

Hindrances to Control Patañjali goes on to discuss a variety of obstacles that hinder the person from engaging in proper practice. The obstacles that distract the mind are sickness, fatigue, doubt, carelessness, idleness, worldliness and delusion, the failure to attain a state [of concentration], and instability of the mind (I.30). The conception of God in Yoga as a vehicle to control the mind and reach higher states of awareness/being may be seen as a significant maneuver to overcome the dichotomy of the secular and the sacred and emphasize their interrelatedness and mutually reinforcing aspects. The belief in God and meditating on him objectified in the syllable “OM” is to ward off the hurdles that distract the mind. The obstacles are essentially the obstacles that abhyāsa and vairāgya aim at overcoming. It is interesting that Patañjali includes in this list of nine obstacles the inability to concentrate and stay in a stable state of the mind. Clearly, Patañjali is making use of the faith and belief in God as motivating factors to enable the person to meditate and achieve the necessary levels of concentration. Perhaps this method works better for those whose vairāgya does not reach threshold levels to facilitate practice without invoking God to reinforce their faith. In other words, belief in God appears to serve the same purpose as vairāgya does, i.e., to enable the person to focus, and stay focused in a meditative state. Patañjali goes on to give experiential, behavioral, and physiological correlates of distracted mind. The distracted mind is accompanied by sorrow (mental pain), depression (frustration, unease, despair), and nervousness as indicated by trembling and hard breathing (I.31). It would seem that these are symptoms familiar to any practicing therapist as indicating a disturbed mind. Vyāsa refers to three sources of pain. One source is the self. The self-generated pain may be

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physical such as the one caused by sickness and disharmony of the bodily humors, or it is mental resulting from failure to satisfy desires. The second source is others; it is the pain inflicted by other creatures. The third source is the pain caused by gods; it refers to the pain due to natural calamities. Patañjali suggests the means to overcome the distractions and prevent them from taking hold of the person. To ward them off, practice on single entity (eka-tattvaabhyāsa) (I.32). Mental distractions may be prevented by focused attention and concentration selectively on a chosen entity. Eka-tattva is interpreted by Vācaspati Miśra as referring to God (Īśvara) because “He is the subject-matter [of the discussion]” (Woods 1914/2007, p. 67). Some other commentators such as Bhoja differ on this and argue that eka-tattva is not restricted to God alone, but refers to any object because what is not qualified and restricted must be understood in its general sense. How does focusing attention on one object cause the elimination of the distractions? Obviously, the focusing of the mind involves controlling the distractions. One cannot really focus her mind if she were distTola and Dragonettiracted. It would seem therefore that this assertion would be no more than a tautology unless we restrict the object of focus to God alone. This would make sense because we are dealing with those who are seeking more specific ways of focusing their attention, possibly because they have difficulty in doing so with more mundane objects. Patañjali goes on to give several exercises to help the practitioner to keep a clear and undistracted mind in different circumstances one encounters. The mind keeps itself clear [of distractions] by cultivating friendliness, compassion, joy and indifference towards happiness, sorrow, virtue and vice (I.33). Vyāsa explains: “Of these [four] he should cultivate friendliness towards all living beings that have reached the experience of happiness; compassion towards those in pain; joy towards those whose character is meritorious; indifference towards those whose character is demeritorious. When he thus cultivates [friendliness and the rest] the white quality [of karma] comes into being [within him]. And then the mind-stuff becomes calm; and when calm it becomes single-in-intent and reaches the stable state” (Woods 1914/2007, p. 71). In other words, the person on the yogic path who wishes to keep her mind focused and free from distractions serves herself better by cultivating the companionship of people who are happy, showing compassion toward the suffering, experiencing joy in the company of virtuous, and being indifferent to the vile and vicious. The above are attitudinal approaches creating conducive social associations to ward off distractions. Patañjali recommends exercises on other fronts as well. These include physical, sensory, and cognitive exercises. The physical refers to breathing exercises called prāṇāyama. Distractions can be overcome by regulating breathing, as Patañjali puts it, “by the expiration and retention of breath” (I.34). Prāṇāyama has three components—(a) breathing in, (b) with holding the breath, and (c) expiration. Patañjali, however, speaks of expiration and withholding breath, ignoring the inhalation part. So it is not clear whether Patañjali is here referring only to the withholding of the breath after exhaling, which means restricting the breath from receiving air or whether he was casually mentioning the entire prāṇāyama

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exercises in a brief manner. The opinion appears divided among commentators. Patañjali deals with prāṇāyama in the second part (II. 49–53), but again he is very brief and cryptical. For a more complete description of prāṇāyama, one needs to consult the Haṭha Yoga texts like the Haṭhayoga Pradīpikā. In the next Sūtra, Patañjali refers to sensory exercises. Stability of the mind arises from having the experience of pravṛtti of an object (I.35). What pravṛtti means here is a matter of some disagreement. Several of the classical commentators, including Vyāsa, take it as referring to supernormal (divya) perception. Some have argued that pravṛtti means no more than prolonged or continued perception resulting in a “sustained vṛtti” (Tola and Dragonetti 1987/2005, p. 133). Several scholars suggest that this is a cognitive exercise similar to Husserlian phenomenological reduction that is recommended to develop a frame of mind that brackets the natural attitude and enables one to enter the cognitive “universe of absolute freedom from prejudice” (Sinari 1965; Puligandla 1970; Castillo 1985; Rao 2002). Whatever may be the result of focused and prolonged perception, what seems to matter is that an experience arises in the practitioner that reinforces the faith that enables her to concentrate her mind. As Vyāsa points out, when the pravṛtti arises, the yogi “will without hindrance acquire belief [and] energy [and] mindfulness [and] concentration” (Woods 1914/2007, p. 73). It would seem that the experience of pravṛtti appears to generate a conviction of knowing something to be truer than what the ordinary perception reveals. Or the mind can be steadied by generating sorrowless, luminous states (I.36). Vyāsa equates “luminous” with self-consciousness. He explains that this luminous and sorrowless state of the mind arises when the yogi fixes her attention upon the “Lotus of the Heart,” with the result (a) the sattva of the buddhi “becomes resplendid” and (b) the mind is waveless like the tranquil sea by achieving a state of balance with the sense of I-ness. It is said that when the mind concentrates on the heart-lotus, there is then the awareness of the buddhi in its true sattvic nature and the person has the experience of being luminous in a sorrowless state. Or the mind achieves a stable and nondistracting state by having as its object of meditation a mind free of passion/attachment (I.37). This sūtra is interpreted to mean that yogin by concentrating on the mind of a person who was known to have overcome all passions would be able to achieve a stable mind. Commenting on this sūtra, Vijñānabhikṣu suggests that focusing one’s concentration on a saintly person devoid of all passions, she absorbs herself in that person’s form and thus frees herself from all passions. Or by having as supporting object the knowledge of dream or sleep state (I.38), one can steady the mind. What does it mean to meditate on the knowledge of dream? It may mean one of the two things. It is meditating on an item of experience recalled from a dream, or it may mean meditating on the dream state itself. Similarly, meditating on the knowledge of sleep may mean meditating on the nature of sleep itself or the experience in that state, which is a mere lack of any cognitive content. In any case, Patañjali in the preceding sūtras is suggesting that the focus object in meditation may be of multiple forms, ranging from the real and perceptual to the imaginary as in dreams or simply a cognitively empty state like sleep.

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Or by contemplating on an object of its desire (I.39), the mind can become steady. Finally, Patañjali tells us that one may focus her mind on any object of her interest. Vyāsa points out “Having reached stability there [i.e., with a focus on the interested object], the mind-stuff reaches the stable state elsewhere also” (Woods 1914/2007, p. 77). This sūtra is remarkable in that having described a number of objects for meditation, Patañjali concludes that one can meditate on any object of her interest and attain the desired state of concentration and stability of the mind. Therefore, the preceding suggestions are perhaps some of the then existing practices given simply as illustrations to introduce the practitioner to a variety of supporting objects for meditation. The object of meditation therefore appears to have no intrinsic merit except that it should be something of interest to the meditator, something that reinforces her faith and provides the necessary motivation/energy to pursue the path of meditation in an unwavering manner. Having said this, we may not conclude that anything goes and that any object is fit for meditation. This would not be correct, if for no other reason, because an object with painful and distracting associations is clearly something that is not conducive for focusing attention to concentrate. It is likely that Patañjali is merely cataloging here the different kinds of practice that were in vogue at the time. For the one who is able to steady the mind by concentration, his mastery (vaśikārah) extends from the smallest atom (paramāṇu) to the objects of infinite magnitude (paramamahattva) (I.40). In other words, there is no limit to what a yogin, who has complete mastery over the mind, can accomplish. This sūtra is interpreted in two ways. It may mean that the yogin can gain mastery on all kinds of things from the smallest to the largest, as we have implied. Taimni (2005) makes a similar point when he writes that “there is no limit to the powers of the yogi” (p. 94). However, there are others who restrict this to the ability of the mind to concentrate on an object small as an atom or one of infinite magnitude. Tola and Dragonetti (1987/2005) write that the “mind can conceive the infinitely small as well as the infinitely great and then concentrate on it” (p. 147). In other words, what the sūtra refers to is the object of concentration and not the powers of the mind that reached a state of concentration. Such a clarification is not very significant in that as Patañjali explains in the third part, the yogi does indeed gain those powers by practice of meditation. What is the nature of the mind in an undistracted state when focused on and directed to an object? With greatly attenuated fluctuations (kṣīna vṛttis), the focused mind is in a balanced/equipoised/neutral state (samāpatti) and takes the form of the object of knowing, the process of knowing or the knower, like an unblemished gem which assumes the color of the adjacent object (I.41). This is an important sūtra that refers to the process of knowing when the mind attains a high level of concentration and becomes steady and undistracted. Its importance is highlighted by extensive commentaries and explanations by Vyāsa and Vācaspati Miśra and others. The state of equipoise is one in which the mental fluctuations due to rajas and tamas dwindle away because of cultivation of passionlessness and practice of

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concentration, and sattva is now on its own, not distorted by the influence of rajas and not clouded by tamas. Thus, untainted by the effects of rajas and tamas, the mind is pure and clear like an unblemished crystal and is in a condition to faithfully reflect its contents without any bias, embellishment, or inhibition. It is asserted that there is in this state complete identity of the knowing mind with the object of knowing. The mind in this state is believed to lose itself and get absorbed in the object. In this connection, we may recall that, according to Yoga, the mind in the act of perception goes out to the object of perception through the gateways of senses and takes its form. The form taken is in some respects tainted by the effects of tamas and rajas, which are also the constituents of the mind. However, when they are checked/controlled in a state of equipoise and unbiased neutrality of the focused mind, the form of the object taken by the mind is pure and unblemished. Here, a basic distinction is made between the object of knowing, the process of knowing, and the knowing subject. The mind can attend exclusively to any of these three. It is asserted that the mind can take the form of external things, and “as a result of this it appears as having the form of the object-to-be-known” (Woods 1927, p. 79). Likewise, the mind “purified by contemplation” can also focus in a steady state on the process of knowing or the knowing self and thus have a complete understanding of the cognitive process. The crucial concept in this sūtra is samāpatti. What is samāpatti? Woods (1914/ 2007) translates it as a “balanced-state.” Some regard it as a state of identity (Dvivedi 1890/1992) between the mind and the object of perception. For some others, it is a state of “illumination (Purohit 1937), or “fusion or entire absorption” (Taimni 2005). While there is some validity to all these connotations, the true meaning and significance of the concept samāpatti can be best understood only in relation to the cognitive process as conceived in Yoga-Sāṃkhya theory. It is a cognitively neutral state with no built-in biases and preconceptions that color one’s cognitions. It is a state of “fusion” in the sense that the mental mode of the object and the object become identical. It is a state of illumination in that the reflection of consciousness becomes less obstructed by the impurities of the mind. From a psychological perspective, it would seem that samāpatti is a state in which the person becomes progressively free from all kinds of conditioning including the ego-drawn cognitive biases. Among other things, yoga practice appears to be a means to deconstruct the cognitive process, so that the ultimate awareness of the object is not embellished by its processing at various levels of mental functioning. Samāpatti, the so-called equipoised neutral state of the mind, is presumed to be the one that enables the mind to control the biases and presuppositions that distort and embellish one’s cognition. One major source of bias is the conditioned nature of the person with her ego and past experiences in place. The person does not merely receive the sensory inputs, and she reacts to them in various ways. The reactions themselves enter into the final determination of the perceptual object, its meaning and significance. Thus, the real truth eludes the person, and the person tends to believe in what he is disposed to believe. Samāpatti is the state of mind that reduces such a possibility and enables the person to stay closer to truth and reality.

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How is samāpatti different from the state of nirodha? Nirodha involves more than controlling subjective biases and processing errors; it aims at controlling the sensory inputs themselves. If samāpatti leads to cognitive excellence, nirodha appears to result in transcognitive and transcendental state of being.

Different Kinds of Samādhis Samāpatti is not an all or none state. There are various shades and grades to it. Patañjali describes a variety of samāpatti states. Among the balanced/equipoised states is the savitarka (deliberative samādhi) where there is confusion between the meaning generated by the word (śabdārtha) true knowledge of the object in focus (jñāna) and ordinary knowledge arising from perception and reasoning (vikalpa) (I.42). As Vyāsa elaborates in his commentary, a concept such as “cow” has three distinct aspects. First, “cow” is a conventionally known word. Second, it refers to the object observed as “cow,” and third, it evokes some knowledge or understanding related to “cow.” Usually, these three aspects are not differentiated. But when they are distinguished from each other, words have one kind of properties; objects intended by them have different properties; and one’s understanding of them may be yet different. Thus, there are three distinct levels of understanding for any given thing like cow. Our minds ordinarily entertain all the three different kinds of meanings. They are not differentiated, and in a sense, they are mixed up. When the yogin in a samādhi state of the mind concentrates on the object in all its three aspects combined, without distinguishing them, the resultant state is one of deliberative (savitarka) samādhi. A balanced state of samāpatti in savitarka samādhi is not free from memory. It is considered as one contaminated by memory-related associations. The insight engendered in that state is blemished by prior information or inference. Consequently, the person is prevented from having unbiased information, and the ensuing knowledge is of a lower order and not yet perfect. Now as the yogin progresses further, these three different elements, which normally color one’s cognitions, are progressively checked and controlled. To recall, these elements are śabda (word), artha (meaning), and jñāna (knowledge) generated by reason and deliberation. As Anand Paranjpe describes (personal communication), these different elements are “peeled” one after another, and the cognition becomes pure as the “successive layers” of cognition are removed. Paranjpe identifies the layers as follows: “First, the sensory elements with which perception starts, then the figure-ground division into which the field of perception is organized, the denotative meaning or label that is attached to it, the connotative meanings or construals/concepts superimposed on this, and the values, attitudes, memories, and future plans riding on it.” Nirvitarka is the transdeliberative state where the memory relating to the object of concentration is purified, a state in which the object appears as if

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devoid of its own form (svarūpa) but there is illuminating awareness of the intended object (I.43). Vācaspati Miśra provides in his explanation of the sūtra the following description of the nirvitarka state of the mind. “When the mind,—in so far as it is absorbed in the intended object and nothing more and is zealous for the intended object and for nothing more,—reaches by practice upon this [intended object] a state of inseparable fusion [with this object], [then] the memory of conventionalusages is thrown off. And when these are thrown off, predicate-relations in the form of an idea either of an inference or of anything heard, which two are rooted in memory, are thrown off. Then in the concentrated insight, freed from these predicate-relations, the intended object remains as it is in itself and nothing more; and becomes accurately characterized as having just that form which it has in itself and as nothing more, and as not having any form of predicated-relation. This is the super-deliberative balanced-state. This is the higher perception of the yogin, since in it there is not even a trace of false attribution” (Woods, pp. 83–84). Patañjali points out that similar is the case with reflective (savicāra) and transreflective (nirvicāra) samādhi states pertaining to subtle elements (I.44). Other layers of cognition are also “peeled” of. Nirvicāra or the transreflective samādhi refers to states that are free from such characterization and the insight arising in that state becomes, as Vyāsa comments, “emptied of itself and becomes the intended object and nothing more” (Woods, p. 89). It is tempting to consider savicāra and nirvicāra as intentional and nonintentional states of the mind, respectively. Mental phenomena of our normal conscious states, as Franz Brentano (1973) says, “intentionally contain an object within themselves.” This has led Western thinkers by and large to consider intentionality as the defining characteristic of consciousness. In the Indian tradition, however, intentionality is an aspect of the mind and not of consciousness. In fact, intentionality is an important impediment, a mental construction of one’s cognitive awareness and therefore a biasing influence that embellishes perception. Nirvitarka state may be seen as one that enables the person to move forward for obtaining pure and unconstructed perceptual experience. Whereas the savitarka and nirvitarka states pertain to gross (extended) objects, savicāra and nirvicāra pertain to subtle ones. Savicāra refers to subtle elements that manifest in forms characterized by time, space, and causality. However, there is still reference to the object, and therefore, the state may not be considered nonintentional. Rather, the awareness is more like the awareness of thing-in-itself, in the Kantian sense. It is awareness of the noumenal as opposed to the phenomenal (Rama Prasada et al. 1924). Such awareness of thing-in-itself in its true state striped of all distortions and embellishments brought about by the cognitive processing is a transcognitive state of knowing. The subtle object in its final phase is primary matter that cannot be reduced to any other form (I.45). “Subtlety reaches its utmost degree in the primary-substance,” which is prakṛti in its primordial unevolved state. It would seem therefore that according to Yoga, the process of evolution is itself a distortion of the true nature of the material objects. The true essence of each object or event

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will be known only when its evolutionary roots are traced to its primitive state in the primordial matter (prakṛti). What is interesting in this sūtra is that it indicates the top-down methodological approach, when we begin with the evolved outward material forms and move on to the simplest and the fundamental original state by a process of involution. The four states of samādhi (savitarka, nirvitarka, savicāra and nirvicāra) are seeded [in that there is an external object for concentration] (I.46). In the seeded samādhi, there is a thing to be known. In the case of deliberative and transdeliberative states, the object is gross and extended whereas in reflective and transreflective states, it is subtle. Here, in all the four states described above, there is an object as a focus of a yogin’s meditation, even though the object is in different forms. The object is considered the “seed,” and the four states are thus different forms of seeded samādhi. The yogin needs go beyond these seeded forms to attain his true goal of kaivalya. When one in the transcognitive state gains insight of the intended object, there is the experience of undisturbed calm [because the mind transcends all the biasing and obscuring factors] (I.47). The clarity of insight gained in this state is due to the fact that the sattva component of the mind is no longer overwhelmed by rajas and tamas. Impurity, an accretion of rajas and tamas, is attenuated. In the highest or pure state of samāpatti devoid of all deliberations, reflections, and perceptual biases, one has the pure perception of the object free from the embellishments perpetuated by the mind. In this transcognitive state, the insight (prajñā) achieved is truth-bearing, [generating right conduct] (ṛtambharā) (I.48). Knowledge generated in this state is thus self-certifying and apodictic, beyond all questions and doubts for the one who experienced that state. Neither Patañjali nor his commentators Vyāsa and Vācaspati Miśra elaborate on exactly what is really meant by the truth-bearing ṛtambharā aspect of the transreflective state. How can we know that an experience is apodictic and self-certifying? I believe, “truth-bearing” refers here to the transformational character of knowledge gained in this state. Let us again recall the Upaniṣadic statement, “to know Brahman is to be Brahman.” Transcognitive state is one where the distinction between cognition and conduct disappears. In this state, to know is to be. Therefore, I take ṛtambharā as not merely truth-revealing but also generating right conduct. This state appears as the one in which there is fusion between knowing and being. Not only does one know the truth in this state, his conduct also becomes consistent with it. In other words, there is in the yogin no gap between knowing and being, between cognition and conduct, belief and behavior. It would seem that in this state, there is the disentanglement of the ego (ahaṃkāra) from the cognitive process, and consequently, the phenomenological gap between knowing and being is transcended. Such transcognitive insight is qualitatively different from the knowledge gained by communication and inference because its object is particular (I.49). Transcognitive insight results in an experience that is essentially beyond communication. It is subjective in the sense of being truly personal and unique. Whatever we normally communicate has shared meaning. Inference also is based

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on generalities. Therefore, no particular (unique) experience can be an object of communication or inference. Transcognitive experience gives direct access to the object-as-such in its uniqueness. Thus, the content of a thing heard or inferred is qualitatively different from the content of transcognitive experience of a thing, which is ineffable and an intrinsically first-person experience. It is, however, more profound and compellingly true than generalized cognitive knowledge because it becomes a part of one’s being. Patañjali goes on to point out that transcognitive experience gives rise to subliminal impressions (saṃskāras) that are conflicting and inconsistent with other saṃskāras arising from regular cognitive activity (I.50). Transcognitive state is one where the main layers of cognition are “peeled” off. However, it does not cease causing subliminal impressions, its own saṃskāras. Transcognitive saṃskāras inhibit, disarm, and disable the saṃskāras that ordinarily activate the mind and cause the fluctuations; they cause the dwindling of the klesas. The mind is thus restrained from its function of discernment (khyati). Once again, we would like to interpret this sūtra as suggesting the fusion of knowing and being in the yogin who is able to generate ṛtambhara prajñā. The destruction of other saṃskāras opposed to the transcognitive insight would mean that nothing stands between the insight and its transformational consequences because all the inhibiting factors including the subliminal obstructions are removed. When one is able to restrict/control even these [transcognitive] saṃskāras, the person enters a state of seedless (nirbīja) samādhi (I.51). This is the highest state the yogin seeks. When one reaches the state of seedless samādhi, there is the total transformation of the person, without the normal embellishments that cloud and condition one’s being. It is indeed a state of jīvanmukti or embodied liberation.

The Goal of Yoga In the existential context, the person is embodied consciousness. Embodied, consciousness loses its spontaneity and freedom and the person finds herself conditioned by a vortex of forces in the form of constantly fluctuating and coercive thoughts. Thus, caught in the whirlpool of saṃsāra and with the centrifugal force of the ego and attachment, the person’s quest is to be free and be in an unconditioned state of being. Conditioned, the mind with its ego dominance drives the person with false identities and biased perceptions, and there is the unnatural break between “knowing” and “being,” engendering a gap and asymmetry between the two. Unconditioned, the self drives the mind, instead of the habitual drive propelled by the mind. With the disengagement of the ego and the churning of thoughts controlled, the gap between knowing and being disappears, reestablishing the natural symmetry between them. The key player here is the ego and its disappearance and dissolution as an instrument of cognitive processing.

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The goal of yoga practice is to aid in controlling thoughts, disengaging the ego, deconditioning the person, and closing the gap between knowing and being. Patañjali conceives yoga as the method for achieving tranquility of the mind and the freedom of the spirit. The two are interrelated in that it is the restless longings of the mind and the uncontrollable thoughts generated that confine the spirit to a world of ego-driven saṃsāra. Even though the final goal of yoga is kaivalya, freedom of the spirit from the conditioned to the unconditioned state of the person, the yoga pursuit appears to lead one also to gain cognitive excellence, which appears to be a prerequisite for kaivalya. As we have noted, the cognitive process is one of construction that involves five different stages. Each stage is governed by a set of processes that participate in determining what one knows. The processing at every stage leaves its own fingerprints as it were, in the form of selection of inputs their integration and interpretation. The end product, the outcome, of cognitive activity is embellishment of reality at different levels. The goal of yoga is to correct the embellishments at each stage so that one can have perception of reality as close to truth as possible. First, it is at the level of sensory transformation of perceived reality. What we ordinarily experience is a world given in the sensory mold and not the way it really is on its own. Second, at the level of the manas processing the sensory inputs, there is selection, filtering, and veiling of the inputs. Third, at the level of ahaṃkāra, there arises the false awareness of the self, the subject–object dichotomy, knower-known distinction, and consequent phenomenological gap between knowing and being. At the stage of buddhi, which enables one to have an integrated understanding of the perceptual object, the saṃskāras and vāsanās come into play. Then, finally, the processed product receives the illumination of the puruṣa and the person becomes consciously aware of the perceptual object along with all the embellishments acquired at the different stages. Now, the task of yoga is to reverse the process and deconstruct the cognitive buildup that takes place at various stages. This necessarily involves the controlling of the accrued bias so that one can have the most appropriate understanding of reality. Yoga recommends practice (abhyāsa) of concentration and detachment (vairāgya) as the necessary means to accomplish this. Even though the details of the practice are not given in this part, it is clear that they are what are described in greater detail in Part II. Abhyāsa and vairāgya go together because deconstruction of the perceptual process and deconditioning of the person require not only the cognitive control achieved through abhyāsa but also the ego control for which vairāgya is recommended as a necessary condition.

Summary The first part of Yoga-Sūtras is thus a succinct statement of the scope and substance of yoga. At the outset, Patañjali defines yoga as control of one’s thought forms (citta-vṛttis), which are classed under five categories—(1) impulsive (kṣipta),

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(2) dull (mūḍha), (3) unsteady (vikṣipta), (4) focused (ekāgra), and (5) controlled (niruddha). Citta in Yoga refers to mind, and the mind manifests itself in the thought forms (vṛttis) generated by the triple processes of manas, ahaṃkāra, and buddhi. Citta is thus manifest consciousness, whereas puruṣa refers to consciousness-as-such. Encased in the person, it is one’s “spirit.” Thoughts by their nature are fleeting and ever fluctuating. They manifest in five different forms—valid (pramāṇa) and erroneous (viparyaya) thoughts, imaginary ones (vikalpa), memories (smṛti), and sleep (nidrā) mentation. Control of thoughts is possible by (1) practice (abhyāsa) and effort aided by (2) cultivation of an attitude of dispassionateness (vairāgya) and altruism. Practice and dispassionateness lead to a tranquil and steady state of the mind called samādhi. Samādhi states vary in depth. In the early stages of samādhi, the mind is focused and steady, but there is phenomenal experience accompanied by reason and/or reflection, feeling of joy, and personal identity. During the next more developed stage, overt phenomenal experience, awareness of objects, ceases. The only thing that remains is the subliminal mentation, the activity of saṃskāras, which are the stored remnants of previous experiences. There are several natural obstructions and impediments that distract the mind from being steady, focused, and tranquil. They include physical ailments such as sickness and fatigue and attitudinal and psychological factors such as doubt, carelessness, indolence, worldly attachments, and false beliefs. The distracting impediments can be overcome by focused attention on a select single item. Such focused attention is aided by cultivating attitudes of friendliness, compassion, and joy and by becoming indifferent to personal happiness and grief. Prāṇāyama, (controlled breathing) and meditating on an object of interest are the other procedures recommended. The central thesis of yoga is that the person in pursuit of freedom from conditioned existence may engage in certain psychophysical practices with an intrinsic sense of detachment and altruism. It is clear that Patañjali emphasizes on the one hand vairāgya, cultivation of the habit of dispassionateness, because it helps to break down the boundaries that the ego has erected to separate oneself from others and prescribes on the other hand the practice (abhyāsa) of focused attention to help the mind to keep steady, tranquil, and equipoised. When the mind thus overcomes the ego-compulsions and is in a focused state of equipoise (samāpatti), the person gains not only cognitive excellence but also reaches extraordinary transcognitive states of consciousness. As Patañjali describes so graphically, the mind in a state of samādhi, like an unblemished gem, assumes the form of the knowing object so that one has true and unbiased knowledge. Such cognitive excellence has two levels, one phenomenal and the other transcendental. At the phenomenal level, knowing is cognitively colored, even if intuitively apprehended. At the transcendental level, the cognitive coloring is erased in that the knowledge generated is not only not influenced and biased even by the subliminal deposits it is also devoid of any saṃskāras of its own. In other words, it is seedless. Seedless samādhi is the pristine state of consciousness-as-such, a complete blend of being, knowing, and bliss because of the disengagement of the ego (ahaṃkāra). Between the sublime state of seedless,

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asamprajñāta samādhi and the early rudimentary state of samādhi, there are four distinguishable states of samprajñāta samādhi. The yogin progressively moves on transcending the discursive, contemplative blissful and self-conscious mentation. If Patañjali’s Yoga-Sūtras presents yoga in its regal form, the first section reviewed above is the crown. For it contains its quintessence. We agree with Tola and Draganetti (2005/1987) that this section “constitutes a work complete in itself, and… the most important of the whole treatise [Yoga-Sūtras]”, (p. xxii). In the Upaniṣadic tradition, Brahman, the primordial consciousness, is the harmonious blend of existence (sat), knowledge (cit), and bliss (ānanda)—exemplifying the unity of being, knowing, and feeling. In the Sāṃkhya-Yoga terminology, it is puruṣa that is the center of one’s being. With the evolution of the human mind and the active evolutionary interaction of the three guṇas (sattva, rajas, and tamas) , the intrinsic unity and symmetry between being, knowing, and feeling is disturbed and there is a divide between knowing and being. Their dissociation in the person gives rise to the clouding of consciousness reflected in the buddhi, by tamas. The being of the person is then driven by passion (rajas). In Yoga psychology , the two interrelated variables that precipitate the dissociation of being and knowing in the person are the ego and ignorance. The ego is the springboard for a variety of factors that sport to spoil the attempts to forge the unity between knowing and being. To overcome these impediments and hurdles, the disengagement of the ego is a necessary condition. Therefore, dispassionateness (vairāgya) becomes an indispensable condition of yoga. Ignorance is not mere lack of knowledge and true insight. Rather it consists in taking on fake identities and experiencing false perceptions. True knowledge can be obtained only when these are overcome by practice of focused attention and single-minded concentration, bracketing all the acquired biases and curtailing the conditioned habits. Free from the biases and distortions and with the attenuation of hurdles, the path is cleared for the binding of knowing and being in the person. When this happens, the person experiences the intrinsic freedom of the puruṣa, which may be seen in the manifest symmetry between knowing and being. The yogin becomes a sage exemplifying the Upaniṣadic statement “to know Brahman is to be Brahman.” A sage is one in whom there is no divide between thought and action, cognition and conduct, knowing and being.

References Brentano, F. (1973). Psychology from an empirical standpoint. (A. C. Rancurello, Trans). New York: Humanities Press (Original work published 1874). Castillo, R. J. (1985). The transpersonal psychology of Patañjali’s Yoga-Sutra (Book I: Samādhi): A translation and interpretation. Journal of Mind and Behavior, 6(3), 391–418. Dasgupta, S. N. (1920/2001). A study of Patanjali (2nd ed.). New Delhi: Indian Council of Philosophical Research. Dasgupta, S. N. (1922/1988). History of Indian philosophy (5 vols.). Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass (first published in 1922).

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Dvivedi, M. N. (1890/1992). The Yoga-Sutras of Patañjali. Delhi: Sri Satguru Publications. Eliade, M. (1969). Yoga: Immortality and freedom. Bollingon Series LVI. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Feuerstein, G. (1979). The Yoga-Sutra of Patañjali: An exercise in the methodology of textual analysis. New Delhi: Arnold-Heinemann. Jha, G. (Trans.). (1907/1939). Gautama’s NyayaSastras with Vatsayana’s Bhasya. Poona: Oriental Book Agency. Krishnamacharya, E. (1976). The Yoga of Patanjali. Visakhapatnam: Mithila Pub. House. Leggett, T. (1981). Sankara on the Yoga-Sutra-s, vol. I: Samādhi. Routledge & Kegan Paul, London. Paranjpe, A. C., & Hanson, R. K. (1988). On dealing with the stream of consciousness: A comparison of Husserl and Yoga. In A. C. Paranjpe, D. Y. F. Ho, & R. W. Rieber (Eds.), Asian contribution to psychology (pp. 215–231). New York: Praeger. Puligandla, R. (1970). Phenomenological reduction and yogic meditation. Philosophy East and West, 20, 19–33. Purohit Swami. (1937). Aphorisms of yoga by Bhagwan Shree Patanjali, London: Faber and Faber Limited. Rama Prasada, Patanjali, Vāchaspati Misra, d. o. M.-t. Y.t., & Vasu, S. C. (1924). Yoga sutras: With the commentary of Vyāsa and the gloss of Vācaspati Miśra. Allahabad: Pub. by Sudhindranath Vasu, from the Panini office. Rao, K. R. (2002). Consciousness studies: Cross-cultural perspectives. Jefferson, NC: McFarland. Sinari, R. (1965). The method of phenomenological reduction and yoga. Philosophy East and West, 21, 255–264. Taimni, I. K. (1961). The science of Yoga. Wheaton, III: Theosophical Pub. Taimni, I. K. (2005). The science of yoga: The Yoga-Sutra of Patañjali in Sanskrit with transliteration in Roman, translation and commentary in English. Adyar, Chennai, India: The Theosophical Publishing House. Tola, F., & Draganetti, C. (2005/1987). The Yogasutras of Patanjali: On concentration of mind. New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. Vivekananda, Swami. (1966). Raja-Yoga or conquering the internal nature, Calcutta, Advaita Ashrama. It contains the aphorisms of Patañjali with an English translation and commentary. Watson, J. B. (1913). Psychology as the behaviorist views it. Psychological Review, 20, 158–177. Woods, J. H. (1914/2007). The yoga system of Patanjali. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. Woods, J. H. (1927). The yoga system of Patanjali; or, The ancient Hindu doctrine of concentration of mind, embracing the mnemonic rules, called Yoga-Sutras, of Patanjali, and the comment, called Yoga-bhashya. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.

Chapter 2

Yoga as Sādhanā (Practice)

As we move on from Part I to II of the Yoga-Sūtras (i.e., from Samādhi Pāda to Sādhanā Pāda), we are inclined to think that we are passing from theory to practice. This does not, however, seem to be the salient, distinguishing feature of the two parts. The first part, as we have seen, is not without reference to practices. The second part, as we shall presently see, is not without theory. It would seem that Part I and II of Yoga-Sūtras are directed at two different types of people classified on the basis of Sāṃkhya-Yoga cosmology. The two types of people referred to here are those with two distinctively functioning minds, one unstable, restless, and evolving; the other with a threshold measure of stability to turn the mind inward from its evolutionary march to an involutionary retreat. Part II addresses those with still evolving minds, whereas Part I, it would seem, is for those who are ready for the involutionary turn. In Part I, as we noted, Patañjali describes yoga as samādhi and discusses the means of attaining samādhi, its progressive stages, and their attendant mental states. While he asserts that practice of concentration (abhyāsa) coupled with development of the attitude of detachment and a sense of dispassionateness (vairāgya) are the means for the mind to reach a samādhi state, he does not discuss how one may learn to concentrate and promote dispassionateness (vairāgya) even though he refers to some of the hurdles and impediments and how they may be overcome. While introducing Part II, Vyāsa comments that the yoga as described in the first part is the yoga for those who are already in a position to concentrate their minds. Therefore, all that they have to do is to engage in practice (abhyāsa) of it so that they can reach samādhi and higher states of consciousness. However, there are others whose mind is not “concentrated.” How can these people be helped to focus their mind to practice yogic concentration? The second part addresses this question. Thus, we may note, Part I deals with yoga for those who are relatively advanced and adept in concentration and have relatively more focused minds, as required for yoga practice, whereas the Part II is concerned with the ways and means to help the ordinary and the less adept people with the usual restless minds to concentrate. The © The Author(s) 2017 K.R. Rao, Foundations of Yoga Psychology, DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-5409-9_2

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former, it would appear, is for those who already reached the threshold levels of concentration and dispassionateness.

Kriyā-Yoga The second part begins with the description of action-based practical yoga (Kriyāyoga) for those with restless minds. The initiate starts with three basic practices. Self-discipline (tapas), self-study (svādhyāya) and self-surrender through celestial love (Īśvara-praṇidhāna, literally surrender to God), constitute yoga of action (Kriyā-yoga) (II.1). Kriyā-yoga is thus the threefold practice involving ascetic practices, understanding of spiritual wisdom, and having unwavering faith in God. Here we are reminded again of the three traditionally advocated karma, jñāna, and bhakti paths. Tapas is generally translated as practice of austerities, the purpose of which appears to be one of gaining volitional strength or willpower so that one can control the customary longing to which she is habituated. It is a kind of deconditioning exercise to endure deprivation and to learn to deal with the pains and suffering that generally follow the denial of the physical needs and comforts one is used to enjoy. In short, tapas is the endurance test intended to develop one’s willpower. However, as Vijñānabhikṣu explains, the austerity to be practiced by a yogin is that “which does not adversely affect the clarity of the mind” (Rukmani 1983, p. 1). In other words, the exercises in austerity may be those that help the clarity and focus of the mind to concentrate by developing the necessary willpower, and not those that confuse and distract the mind. Svādhyāya is self-study to gain knowledge and understanding of truth. Traditionally, it is believed that such knowledge can be obtained by the study of relevant scriptures and repetitive utterance of mystic syllables like OM and other purifying mantrās. In its generality, svādhyāya may be understood as self-driven pursuit of knowledge. It is an exercise in knowing truth relative to the goal one is seeking. Īśvara-praṇidhāna literally is self-surrender to God. Vyāsa takes it to mean “the offering up of all actions to the Supreme Teacher or the renunciation of the fruit of (all) these (actions)” (Woods 1914/2007, p. 203). It would seem that Īśvarapraṇidhāna implies self-denial through celestial love (bhakti). This is something that we find appropriately emphasized in the Bhagavad-Gītā. In explaining Vyāsa’s commentary on the sūtra, Vācaspati Miśra quotes from the Gītā: “You are concerned with actions only and never with fruits. Do not be one whose motive is the fruit of action. Nor let your attachment be to inaction” (Woods 1914/2007, p. 204). Such a denial of the self in action is believed to be possible by surrendering and devotion to God, which may be considered as celestial love. Referring to the three attributes of Kriyā-yoga, Taimini (2005, p. 129) makes a passing remark, which points to an important aspect of yoga psychology, its holistic conception of the mind, that they correspond to “the triple nature of human

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being”—volition, cognition, and emotion. Tapas is an exercise for developing willpower, as we interpreted it. Svādhyāya is a cognitive pursuit. And Īśvarapraṇidhāna is emotionally tuned (driven) self-discipline.

Kleśas: Sources of Suffering What does Kriyā-yoga actually accomplish? We are told that the purpose of Kriyā -yoga is for leading [the person] to a state of samādhi by attenuating the kleśas (II.2). The word kleśa generally refers to sorrow or something that brings suffering. In Yoga, kleśas are considered as hindrances that afflict and distract the mind, corrupt one’s conduct, bias the person, disturb concentration, and cause obstructions to achieve samādhi. Therefore, minimizing and eventually eliminating and rooting out the kleśas is a necessary condition for cultivating dispassionateness and concentration and finally achieving states of samādhi. In Part I, as we have seen, Patañjali speaks about hurdles and hindrances to concentration, whereas in this part, the focus is on kleśas because the person is seen as situated in a sea of suffering. Consequently, the analysis here is primarily the common human predicament and the general causes of ignorance and suffering, and not the situational setbacks that a practicing yogin faces. Now, what are the kleśas that corrupt the mind and hinder the pursuit of yoga? Avidyā (ignorance), asmitā (the sense of ‘I’ or egoness), rāga (attachment), dveṣa (aversion), and abhiniveśa (will-to-live) are the five kleśas (hindrances) (II.3). Vyāsa comments that the kleśas are indeed five misconceptions of the mind, thoughts, and actions born of ignorance. They are one’s misconstruals, erroneous apprehensions, or illusions. They are the root causes of the existential predicament of suffering. They feed on each other. For example, from ignorance comes attachment and attachment reinforces and perpetuates ignorance. Kleśas prolong the evolutionary process, promote the guṇa fermentation, and cause flooding of the cause–effect stream, activate karma, and continue the cycle of saṃsāra. The central point is that kleśas are instrumental in creating states of mind that obstruct concentration and are antithetical to the attitude of dispassionateness (vairāgya) the yogin is expected to assiduously cultivate in order to move toward samādhi states. Kleśas tend to render the mind less stable and more perturbed and unsteady. As Patañjali makes it explicit in the next sūtra, avidyā is the ground condition and all the other kleśas are manifestations of avidyā. We find in them the functioning of the three guṇas. Inasmuch as the three guṇas manifest their own forms, which are mutually opposed and inconsistent, we have a variety of mental states, depending on the proportionate presence and dominance of the guṇas, and the consequent persistent instability of the mind. Also, the variety of motivations that manifest in one’s behavior springs from the mix of guṇas. Patañjali states that avidyā is the field (kṣetram) for the other kleśas to sprout, whether they are dormant, attenuated, intercepted or fully manifest (II.4).

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Thus, avidyā, the misunderstanding of truth is conceived as the source, the basic ground condition, and in a sense the “mother” of all hindrances and afflictions that cause pain, sorrow, and suffering. It permeates all afflictions. When avidyā dwindles, the other afflictions corrupting the mind also tend to disappear. Therefore, the remedy consists in discerning knowledge and true enlightenment that dispels the illusions engendered by ignorance. The sūtras also state that the kleśas come in four forms or states. The dormant state is one in which a kleśa rests in a potential form like a seed that would germinate when conducive conditions are present. A dormant kleśa would become an actual hindrance when it comes face-to-face with the appropriate object, which manifests it, like the rain helping the seed to sprout. However, for those whose seeds of kleśas are burnt by the fire of true knowledge, the kleśas like sterilized seeds do not sprout in one’s experience. Kleśas are weakened and attenuated by cultivating their opposite states. As Vācaspati Miśra explains: “The opposite of the hindrances is the yoga of action; by the cultivation, by the following up, of this, the hindrances become overpowered, that is, attenuated” (Woods 1914/2007, p. 109). Kleśas are described as intercepted when a kleśa overpowered by another fails to manifest itself, just as, when a man is in love with a woman, any anger against her does not arise in him. A kleśa operational in a person is described as being in a fully operational manifest state. What then is the avidyā that is believed to be the ground in which all kleśas grow, corrupt the mind, and hinder the march toward samādhi? Avidyā is misconstrual of the impermanent as permanent, the impure as pure, the sorrowful as pleasurable, and the nonself as the self (II.5). Avidyā is not absence of knowledge. Rather it refers to an altogether different category. Vyāsa concludes his comments on this sūtra with this observation: “avidyā is not a source-of-valid-ideas nor the negation of a source-of-valid-ideas, but another kind of thinking the reverse of knowledge” (Woods 1914/2007, p. 112). Dasgupta (2001) points out: “The conception of avidyā or nescience in Yoga is not negative, but it has a definite positive aspect. It means that kind of knowledge which is opposed to true knowledge” (p. 84). Thus, avidyā consists in the misconstrual of a phenomenal experience as something more than what it really is in actuality. According to Patañjali, this misconstrual is fourfold. First, it is the misconstrual of the phenomenal world of experience, which is merely an ever-changing effect, as truly enduring and eternal. Second, it is the mistaking of the impure such as the outward appearance of a woman’s body to the man in love with her as pure and beautiful belying its true composition behind the appearance. Third, it is mistaking as pleasurable what is in truth pain. Sensual indulgence may give rise to transient pleasure; but that pleasure is tainted by apprehension of pain in the future. Experiences of pleasure or pain leave their deposits in the unconscious as saṃskāras. These cause the passion for pleasure and ceaseless longing for it, and aversion to pain and anxiety to avoid it. Thus, what is momentarily experienced as pleasure is in truth a sequence in the perpetual flow of pain. Fourth, the final form of avidyā is the misconstrual of the nonself as the self. It consists in the conviction that the mind–body complex, especially the buddhi aspect of it colored by tamas and driven by rajas as the true and abiding self.

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Asmitā (the sense of I, egoness) is the experience of identity of the power of seer and the power of seeing (II.6). Asmitā is personal identity engendered by the ego sense. It arises in the cognitive act of knowing, which consists in the reflection of the puruṣa illumining the buddhi in its manifest form (citta-vṛtti). The illumined vṛtti constitutes the awareness of the object whose form the buddhi has taken. Awareness involves illumination of the contents of the buddhi by the reflection of puruṣa. The power of seeing or observing is that of the buddhi, but the one who sees or observes is the puruṣa. The misapprehension of the instrument of knowing (buddhi) as the subject of knowing, “the knower” (the seer) is the source of egoness and the false sense of personal identity. As Vyāsa comments: “He who should fail to see that the Self [puruṣa] is other than the thinking-substance [buddhi], distinct in nature and in character and in consciousness and in other respects, would make the mistake of putting his own thinking-substance in the place of that [Self]” (Woods 1914/2007, p. 115). As Vijñānabhikṣu explains, it is because of the mutual superimposition of the mind on the puruṣa that the person has experience of I-ness as stated in Sāṃkhya-Kārika (20). “Therefore (because the sentient puruṣa is the nondoer; and the active prakṛti is insentient) due to the connection between the two, the insentient prakṛti appears as sentient and similarly though activity is in fact of the constituents (sattva, rajas and tamas) of prakṛti, the indifferent puruṣa appears as the doer” (Rukmani 2001, p. 28). Is there any difference between avidyā and asmitā? Both are illusory misconstruals; but the difference between the two is that avidyā is the cause where as asmitā is the effect. Next in line among the kleśas is raga or attachment. Patañjali states that which follows pleasure is attachment (rāga) (II.7). Rāga is the pleasure principle; it is the passionate desire for pleasure and the means of attaining it. Attachment arises from the experience of pleasure or from the recall of such an experience in the past. Rāga may be seen as the effect of egoness (asmitā) in much the same sense as avidyā is the cause of asmitā. That which follows sorrow (duḥkha) is aversion (dveṣa) (II.8). Dveṣa arises from suffering, the experience of pain and sorrow (duḥkha), or from the recall of pain. Aversion is not merely the desire to avoid pain but it also engenders hatred and desire of vengeance. According to Patañjali, abhiniveśa (will-to-live), driven by its own nature, afflicts even the wise and learned (II.9). The ardent desire to live, the craving for life, with the associated fear of death is instinctive to all living beings in that it is driven by itself. The yoga thinkers take this as evidence for a previous life because such a fear of death would only exist in one who had the experience of death. This affliction is found all the way from the “unspeakly stupid” to the wisest because, as Vyāsa says, it is the result of the saṃskāra, born of previous experience of death, “is alike in both fortunate and unfortunate” (Woods 1914/2007, p. 118). It would seem that the false identity one assumes following the misconstrual of the mind as the true self is the central and core affliction from which spring the other states that corrupt the mind. From this false identity, one develops the sense of the ego. From the ego arise attachment (rāga) and aversion (dveṣa). Even though abhiniveśa, the will-to-live and the fear of death, are described as instinctive and

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driven by their own nature, they may also be seen as springing from the ego (Dasgupta 1920/2001). Kleśas, as we have seen, are the special forms of avidyā, which afflict our minds. They are misconstruals precipitated by the constituent guṇas. The afflictions are behind our actions (karma) whether virtuous (dharma) or otherwise. Actions produce saṃskāras that in turn make the person perform future actions. This is a cyclic process that goes on and on until the person breaks the circle by such consummate practices as yoga or until a natural catastrophe (pralaya) strikes, and all the minds with their accumulated afflictions revert back to their original source in prakṛti. When the evolution of prakṛti restarts after the pralaya, according to Yoga, the minds with their inlaid afflictions resurface to continue the cycle of birth and death. It may be noted that all the states of the mind (vṛttis) are not afflicted by the manifestations of avidyā. Some vṛttis are afflicted (kliṣtavṛttis) and some are unafflicted (akliṣṭa). Practice of concentration and cultivation of dispassionateness are conducive to creating conditions for gaining true knowledge which dispels avidyā and along with it the rest of afflictions. We are reminded that the akliṣṭa (unafflicted) states are not the same as virtuous actions because all actions, whether virtuous or otherwise, spring from afflictions (Dasgupta 1920/2001, pp. 87–88). In the following two sūtras (10–11), Patañjali tells us how we may overcome the kleśas afflicting the mind. Kleśas in their unmanifest subtle (potential) state are overcome when the mind becomes inactive and finds its place in prakṛti in its primordial state (II.10). When the mind ceases its generally incessant activity and dissolves itself in its source, the prakṛti, the kleśas like burnt seeds come to rest with the minds. In Sāṃkhya-Yoga, the person, as a psychically functioning being, is primarily a product of the evolution of prakṛti. In a sense, the pinnacle of evolution is the human mind. Conjoined with puruṣa in the person, the mind has the possibility to invert or reverse the process of its evolution, a process which may be called involution. Involution, as Vyāsa explains, is inverse-propagation (pratiprasava) (Vyāsa, II.2). Whereas evolution is driven by the increasing instability of the three guṇas—sattva, rajas, and tamas—involution takes place by the increasing stability of them promoted by the dominance of sattva over the other guṇas, the ultimate result being the state of kaivalya, where there is total sattva dominance. Kaivalya is then the state when the mind of the yogin achieves total stability by complete suppression of the other two guṇas, rajas, and tamas. This is the final stage of involution for the person, where the mind merges back into the primary matter of prakṛti, leaving the puruṣa alone unencumbered by and disentangled from the mind in its multiple manifestations. Evolution may be thus seen as essentially an encumbrance, clouding of consciousness by prakṛti, whereas involution serves the purpose of unclouding puruṣa by the mind so as to realize and redeem itself. Perhaps it may be said with some metaphorical justification that prakṛti in its evolutionary phase “enslaves” or “imprisons” the puruṣa in the person by its manifestations. In the involutionary phase, however, the person moves progressively to a condition where the puruṣa becomes free from the encumbrances of prakṛti, and the latter is returned to its primordial condition. This then appears to be the cosmic conundrum of creation and dissolution.

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Kleśas in the manifest (active) forms may be overcome by meditation (II.11). Patañjali thus appears to refer to two levels of kleśas, those that are manifest and are in a gross form and those that are not so manifest but remain subtle. If the former is the active level, the latter is the latent level, more like a seed. Kriyā-yoga, as we have seen, can help attenuate and weaken the kleśas, but cannot completely destroy them. Their complete eradiation takes place at the time of kaivalya, the state of enlightenment and self-realization. In sūtra (II.10), Patañjali is referring to such total eradication of kleśas. In the following sūtra (II.11), he is suggesting the process to disable the kleśas that survive the practice of Kriyā-yoga. By constant practice of meditation (dhyāna), we are told, the kleśas are deactivated like burned seeds unfit to germinate. The mind tainted by kleśas may be cleaned first by simple wash (Kriyā-yoga) that removes surface stains and then by a special wash (meditation) to remove the deeper (sukṣma) stains.

Karmāśaya: The Receptacle of Karma Now, Patañjali goes on to deal in sūtras 12, 13, and 14 with the question why is it so necessary to destroy the kleśas. Pointing out that kleśas are a continuous source of pain, Patañjali provides a theory of behavioral causation and postulates the existence of karmāśaya, a permanent depository of accumulated karma. Karmāśaya is the receptacle of one’s past actions as well as the womb of dispositions to act in future. In a sense, it is the pervasive unconscious that has profound and dynamic impact on the life and living of the person now and later. Karmāśaya (the receptacle of karma), which is the source of all that happens in this or future lives, is rooted in kleśas (II.12). Karmāśaya is the depository of all the effects of one’s thoughts, passions, and actions, and it is the womb of all the dispositions to act. As Taimni (2005) says, “the important point to note here is that though this ‘causal’ vehicle [karmāśaya] is the immediate or effective cause of the present and future lives and from it, to a great extent, flow the experiences which constitute those lives, still, the real or ultimate cause of these experiences are the kleśas. Because, it is the kleśas which are responsible for the continuous generation of karmas and the causal vehicle merely serves as a mechanism for adjusting the effects of these karmas” (pp. 158–159). In Yoga psychology, one’s thoughts, passions, and actions generate karma, and karma is colored and even driven by the kleśas. A person’s present behavior is on the one hand prompted by the past karma and on the other hand it generates new karma which in turn affects future behavior. In a sense, therefore, one’s current behavior is determined and controlled by past experiences, and future behavior is conditioned by the present and past experiences. Karmāśaya is the receptacle of karma and the depository of dispositions to act. It thus controls the process of behavioral causation and is of crucial importance in understanding the behavior of beings. Yoga, as we noted earlier, subscribes to the doctrine of reincarnation and the continuity of the mind after the dissolution of the body. Along with the mind, the

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karmāśaya, its unconscious surround, survives, and influences/causes the future births and lives. Consequently, the person may not reap the consequences of his/her actions now or later in this life. Certain karma is typically meant for future lives. Yoga classifies karma into several categories and identifies those actions (karma) that bear results in the present life and those that are likely to fortify in future lives. What is interesting here is the recognition that one’s behavior is not random and unpredictable. If we know one’s past fully, then we can pretty much predict what is likely to happen in future. As long as one is afflicted with kleśas, the only way karma once deposited can be emptied from the karmāśaya is by bringing it to “fruition”. Once registered in “life’s ledger,” karma debit may be erased only by paying it. However, as the next sūtra states, there is a way out to deal with karmic deposits by learning about how the karmāśaya leads to the continuance of the cycle of birth and death. As long as there is the root [kleśas], it [karmāśaya] functions generating birth, determining the duration of life and the nature of experience (II.13). Kleśas are the roots that help nurture the karmāśaya and make it functional, karma and yielding its fruits. When these roots are cut, the karmic deposits become like seeds that are husked or burnt, which are completely incapable of sprouting. As Vyāsa comments, “the latent deposits of karma, when encased within hindrances, are propogative of fruition, but neither the winnowed hindrances nor seed in the condition of having been burned by the Elevation (prasamkhyāna) [is propogative]” (Woods 1914/2007, p. 123). It follows that the kleśas not only cause and sustain the karmāśaya, they also control the results flowing from it. This has twin implications. First, kleśas are primary determinants in programming life in its various facets and in determining one’s behavior in predictable ways. Second, by dealing with them, such as eradicating them, the program can be altered. Here then is the escape from the otherwise pervasive determinism that pervades behavior. They [birth, longevity and experiences in life] have as their fruit pain or pleasure depending on whether their cause is meritorious (puṇya) or of demerit (pāpa) (II.14). What one experiences as pain or pleasure is a matter of the antecedent actions whether they are virtuous or violative of right conduct. While pain is experienced as anguish to be avoided and pleasure is pursued as a joyous act, Yoga suggests that both kinds of experiences are to be avoided because what appears as pleasure turns out at the end as a source of pain. As Vācaspati Miśra explains, “neither joy nor extreme anguish can exist without the other” (Woods 1914/2007, p. 132). Pain is that which is “inherently adverse” to the progress of the person in pursuit of self-realization. Therefore, the yogin sees only pain even when she encounters pleasure because it is also adverse to her goal.

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The Existential Anguish The existential anguish is the anxiety to desist pain and long for pleasure. Why so? Why is pain such a pervasive human condition? Patañjali answers: To the discriminating (vivekaniaḥ) all is suffering (duḥkha) because pain is the natural result of manifest changes (pariṇāma), anxieties (tāpa), and latent dispositions (saṃskāras) and because of the conflicting states of mind engendered by the conflicting guṇas (guṇa-vṛtti-virodha) (II.15). This sūtra succinctly summarizes the central thesis of Yoga regarding the human predicament of pervasive suffering. As in Buddhism, we find in Yoga the basic assumption that humans are situated in a sea of suffering. The discerning and the wise see this even when they find themselves in what others see as pleasurable conditions; and they attempt to cross it whereas the unwise and deluded drown themselves in them exhausted by vain attempts to avoid pain and experience pleasure. The discriminating persons see suffering and pain, beset by the evolving changes, in the anxieties experienced, in the conditioning saṃskāras disposing them to act in certain ways, and in the conflicting states of mind manifested by the unstable guṇas constituting it. Change (pariṇāma) is the natural process of the evolving prakṛti. Whether recognized or not, we are situated in a system that is constantly changing, a system in a state of perpetual flux. Change here is the natural law. It is a misconstrual (avidyā) of major magnitude to expect persistent pleasure in the passing phantoms of momentary experience of pleasure. As Vyāsa comments, in each and every case, the experience of pleasure engenders passion (rāga), attachment to the object associated with it, and the consequent greed and longing for it. Passion prompts action, and action leaves behind deposits of karma. Similarly, experience of pain is accompanied by aversion to the object causing pain. Attachment and aversion, as stated previously, are kleśas that are the root causes of pain and suffering. Vyāsa also refers to the often mentioned statement that seeking pleasure in a sensory object is avidyā. Pleasure is permeated by passion and is impossible without it. All acts of pleasure lead to karma that is deposited in karmāśaya. A man experiencing pleasure not only gets attached to it, but he also feels aversion to those that result in pain to him. Unable to prevent the causes of pain, he misconstrues and rationalizes. The thirst for pleasure is not quenched by sensory enjoyment. Such enjoyment on the one hand increases passion and on the other hand sharpens the skills of senses to seek and serve those pleasures. In the process, like the man fleeing from a scorpion, fearing its painful bite, gets bitten by a poisonous snake, and ends up with more frightening consequences. Therefore, attempts to seek pleasure or escape from pain are not the right means for avoiding pariṇāma duḥkha, suffering caused by the changing states. Sensory gratification of pleasure cannot quench the thirst for pleasure because each gratification of pleasure increases the desire for more, like pouring ghee into the sacrificial fire increases the fire rather than diminishing it. Anxiety (tāpa) is another common cause of pain. It works in the same way as pariṇāma duḥkha. Duḥkha caused by anxiety, as Vyāsa says, is the one permeated

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by aversion (dveṣa). Aversion leads to greed and misconstrual from which arise the latent deposits in karmāśaya contributing to the continuation of the cycle of karma and its fruition in later life. Saṃskāras are subliminally registered and stored experiences of pleasure and pain. They are carriers of karma. They help cause the experience of pleasure and pain as inevitable results at the appropriate time in the life of the person. Each time a person experiences pleasure, a saṃskāra of that experience is generated. Similarly, the pain experience results in a saṃskāra of the painful experience and the disposition to avoid it. As mentioned earlier, pleasure and pain are permeated by passion and aversion, so are saṃskāras of pain and pleasure. When a saṃskāra results in the experience of pleasure or pain, that experience in turn generates another saṃskāra, and thus, the stream of phenomenal experience of pleasure and pain continues to flood the life of the person unless one takes decisive steps to arrest the continuous accretion of karma and stop the further addition and reinforcement of saṃskāras. As the commentators explain, the stream of experience with its unseen beginning and end does not normally bother and distress except the discerning person (vivekaniaḥ), who alone is sufficiently sensitive, like a thread of wool or a particle of dust that does not trouble the rest of the body as it does when it touches the eyeball. Guṇa-vṛtti-virodha is the fourth source of perennial pain. It refers to the conflicting states of mind caused by the three guṇas—sattva, rajas, and tamas— each with its own characteristic effects on the mind of the person. The changes in one’s state of mind are a consequence of the changes in the functioning and dominance of the respective guṇas. In Yoga theory, the functioning of the guṇas is constantly changing. So are the states of mind. The changing vṛttis generated by the opposing guṇas manifest conflicting states of mind. These are seen by the discriminating person as essentially painful in nature. The seed of all this pain is avidyā, the misconstrual of what one experiences. To overcome the misconstrual, one needs focused insight (samyag darśanam) and right knowledge. Vyāsa refers to the metaphor of medicine and suggests the fourfold division of suffering—(1) The disease is saṃsāra with the symptom of pain. (2) The cause is the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. (3) The goal (the health condition) is liberation, freedom from the bondage of saṃsāra, and pain resulting from it. (4) And the remedy is focused insight to dispel avidyā and gain one’s true identity as distinct from the associated world (pradhāna) of prakṛti. In such a state of liberation (mokṣa), there is absolute cessation of all pain; the seer abides in oneself as stated in sūtra I.3. Patañjali points out that the pain to overcome is the one yet to come (II.16). Pain is seen as threefold—(1) the pain experienced in the past, (2) the pain that is being experienced at present, and (3) the pain yet to come in future. Of the three, the third, the pain yet to come, is the only kind that one can and may seek to overcome. The past pain was already experienced; therefore, it is not something to overcome. Likewise, the pain being experienced cannot be stopped. What is left therefore is the pain yet to come. So the concern of the yogin is to eradicate the pain which is in the future.

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It is the entanglement of the person with the objects of her experience that is the prime source of pain. It is the commingling and the consequent confusion between the subject and the object that causes pain. As Patañjali says: The cause of the pain to be overcome is the association (saṃyoga) between the seer and the seen (II.17).

The Seer and the Seen The seer is the puruṣa. Puruṣa is the witness of what goes on in the mind (buddhi). What is seen are the objects presented by the buddhi. The person becomes aware of reflections of the puruṣa in the associated buddhi. Buddhi channeled through the senses takes the form of proximate objects. What undergoes modifications in this process is the sattva component of the buddhi influenced by the other two guṇas. Puruṣa by its association with the sattva of the buddhi is taken as the owner of the image reflected by the buddhi in the form its sattva takes and thus has the experience of the perceived object. As Vācaspati Miśra explains, “the Seer, enjoying within himself the pleasure and other [experience] offered by the sattva of the thinking-substance which has entered into mutation in the form of various things, becomes the proprietor. And the sattva of the thinking-substance [having mutations] of such a kind becomes his property. So this same sattva of the thinking-substance, containing the forms of the various things, becomes the object-of-sight; and being like a magnet, it becomes the property of the Self whose nature is seeing and who is the proprietor” (Woods 1914/2007, p. 141). The embodied puruṣa, i.e., the person, tends to identify puruṣa with the mind– body complex; and such mistaken identity is the source of pain and suffering. What are seen are the objects as they manifest in the buddhi. In having the experience, the person confuses and misconstrues the mind with the puruṣa and mistakes the nature of prakṛti with that of puruṣa. This is the existential entanglement perpetuated by the association of the puruṣa with the buddhi—an entanglement that is the cause of the pain to be overcome. Vyāsa points out that the rajas component of the mind disturbs the sattva component. When the sattva of the buddhi is disturbed, the puruṣa being associated with it is also seen as disturbed. There is thus the apparent suffering of puruṣa precipitated by this entanglement. The remedy is separation of the two by the realization of the distinctiveness of the seer (puruṣa) and the seen (buddhi). Traveling on the road of saṃsāra is like treading the path filled with thorns. Therefore, one should avoid that path or protect oneself with proper shoes so that no thorn can pierce the sole. The next sūtra deals with the nature of the seen, the observed, the object-of-sight. The nature of the seen is the lucidity, activity and inert stability. It is constituted by the elements and senses. It has for its purpose the experience and liberation of the puruṣa (II.18). The above sūtra is a succinct description of the phenomenal world of one’s experience based on Sāṃkhya-Yoga philosophy. The properties of the phenomenal world, the qualia, are the manifestations of the three basic attributes (guṇas) of

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prakṛti. Sattva is considered luminous, the lucidity that enables the object to be seen. Therefore, luminosity may be understood to mean the information content of the object. Rajas is that attribute of prakṛti, which manifests activity; it is the energy component of matter. Tamas is that which obstructs the light of sattva as well as the activity of rajas and tends to veil information, inhibit action, and make the object inert. Tamas literally means darkness. As darkness, it stands for ignorance as opposed to the light and lucidity of sattva. As inactivity, tamas is opposed to rajas. At a given time, one guṇa may be prominent and others play a subsidiary role. However, each of the guṇas retains its distinctive power, which continues to influence the manifest form. Thus, there is mutual influence of the guṇas in all the manifestations of prakṛti, we find in the world. The phenomenal world is constituted by the basic elements of materiality and the senses. What is seen has a true material base outside of the mind, processed by the sensory organs. The object-of-sight, what is seen, exists in Yoga theory to serve the puruṣa as his experience, and at the same time, it also serves as a vehicle for liberation. If the guṇas are the primary cause of the manifest world of phenomena, the purpose of serving the puruṣa is the efficient cause. Vyāsa clarifies that, though the objects of the world are for the experience and liberation of the puruṣa, what is truly bound is not the puruṣa before release and liberation, but it is the buddhi which serves the purpose of the puruṣa. In a sense, therefore, life is the play of puruṣa who engages the vehicle buddhi to ride on to the destination of liberation experiencing on the way the multitude of prakṛti’s manifestations. Until that goal of liberation is reached, the buddhi is in bondage to serve the puruṣa. However, inasmuch the puruṣa is the witness of this journey, it would appear as if they belong to the puruṣa. “Bondage is of the thinking-substance only and is the failure to attain the purposes of the Self. Release is the termination of the purpose of the Self. Thus it is that processes-of-knowing and processes-of-retention and comprehensions-ofparticulars (ūha) and removals-of-faults (apoha) and real-knowledge and the will-to-live, [all] existing in the thinking-substance, are assumed to exist in the Self. For he as we know has the experience of the results of these” (Woods 1914/2007, p. 145). In the following sūtra Patañjali refers to the different phases in the evolution of the phenomenal world; and Vyāsa in his commentary on it elaborates the evolution of the objects of the world from the three guṇas of prakṛti. The guṇas manifest in forms that are differentiated and individuated (viśeṣa) and as undifferentiated and individualized (aviśeṣa) and in forms that reveal its cause (liṅga) and those with no such indication (aliṅga) (II.19). As Vyāsa explains, the differentiated and particularized ones are sixteen. They include the five cognitive and five conative senses and the mind (manas). The undifferentiated forms are the sense of I or ego (ahaṃkāra), and the five tanmātras (gandha, rasa, rūpa sparśa, and śabda) From the tanmātras evolve the five gross elements and their compounds. Prakṛti in its primordial state is aliṅga and its first manifestation, the sattva dominant mahat (the great being, the undifferentiated buddhi) is liṅga.

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Having thus explained the observed, Patañjali goes on to say what the observer is. The seer is consciousness-as-such, but he is also the witness to what is present in the mind (II.20). Vyāsa explains that though the puruṣa is consciousness-as-such, it also witnesses the reflections in the buddhi and thus enables the person to become aware of them. Puruṣa is neither homogeneous nor heterogeneous with buddhi. Buddhi undergoes constant change whereas there is no such change in puruṣa. Again, buddhi serves the purpose of another than work for itself, whereas puruṣa exists for itself. Inasmuch as puruṣa witnesses and is aware of what goes in the mind, it may not be considered completely homogeneous. Patañjali suggests that the seen (the world of phenomena) exists for the sake of the seer (puruṣa) (II.21). Puruṣa, as mentioned earlier, is consciousness-as-such. The observed object (phenomenon of experience) exists for and serves the purpose of puruṣa in the sense that the act of observing takes place with the commingling of the object and puruṣa in the person, i.e., when the object becomes the object of puruṣa’s seeing. The object becomes knowable to the person only in the presence of puruṣa. In other words, puruṣa bestows consciousness on the object. As Vijñānabhikṣu explains in Yoga-Vārttika, because of the act of knowing of puruṣa “an object becomes fit to be seen only when it becomes its (puruṣa’s) object. Everyone is agreed that the purpose of (the existence) of all objects is their becoming knowable (objects of consciousness); therefore it is for its (puruṣa’s) sake that the true nature of guṇas (objects) exists” (Rukmani 2001, p. 147). Vyāsa in his commentary on the sūtra points out that once the seer has the experience of the object and achieves liberation, the object disappears but is not destroyed. For the puruṣa in a state of liberation, the object ceases to exist, but “it (object) does not utterly cease to be.” The next sūtra gives the reason why the object is not destroyed with the liberation of the puruṣa. Though the object no longer serves the purpose of the puruṣa (after its liberation) and therefore ceases to be the object-of-sight for that puruṣa, it does not cease to exist because it is common to others (puruṣas) (II.22). This is the basic postulate of Sāṃkhya-Yoga dualism, an assertion of the reality of the objects of prakṛti. Prakṛti in its various manifestations serves puruṣa, but it has its own independent existence beyond the puruṣa. When an object serves the purpose of a puruṣa, it ceases to be seen by that puruṣa. This does not imply that the object ceases to exist because there is plurality of puruṣas. Besides this puruṣa there are others, who have not achieved liberation. Therefore, the object can be the object-of-sight for another puruṣa. Thus, the objects of the world continuously change; however, their commingling with puruṣas is constant. In other words, even though the phenomenalized object ceases from time to time, the object itself remains permanent. For this reason, it is said that the association/commingling (saṃyogah) of buddhi and puruṣa when considered in this generality is said to be without beginning.

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Person as Embodied Consciousness What is the nature of the commingling (saṃyogah) of puruṣa and buddhi? What purpose does such commingling serve? Patañjali answers: Commingling helps [the person] to become aware of the powers of the property and the proprietor of that property (II.23). The proprietor here refers to puruṣa, consciousness, the possessor of the property, and property to buddhi (mind) the container of the content of consciousness. The coming together of the two in an act of cognition is for the purpose of revealing their true natures. When the commingling of the puruṣa and the buddhi gives rise to the awareness of the object, there is experience. When there is the realization of the true nature of consciousness-as-such, the seer (puruṣa), it is liberation (mokṣa). In other words, puruṣa commingles with buddhi for the purpose of seeing (knowing) the object. When the object is known, the puruṣa has an experience of the object. However, when this commingling leads to the awareness of the seer (puruṣa), as distinct from the object seen, there is liberation. Thus, the commingling of the puruṣa and the buddhi have two effects—one of knowing the object (experience) and the other of realizing the self or consciousness-as-such. The cause of bondage is the failure to see the difference between the two; once that difference is seen, the association between puruṣa and buddhi comes to an end in a state of kaivalya. The commingling may be seen as the embodiment of consciousness in the person. The association between the puruṣa and the buddhi in the person results in temporary entanglement of the two and the clouding of puruṣa consciousness. The cause is avidyā (II.24). As Vyāsa explains, avidyā refers to the biasing influence, the misconstruals (viparyaya-jñāna), arising in the mind possessed by the unconscious saṃskāra-complex of vāsanās. In the person, the puruṣa is the witness to what goes on in the mind, and this is the association between the two. This commingling of the puruṣa and the buddhi in the person gives rise to the proprietor– property relationship. That is the entanglement that precipitates the existential predicament of suffering and pain. Mistaking of this relationship as one’s own true nature and the failure to see that it is not a true relationship is the misconstrual engendered by the unconscious vāsanās. We may note that the emphasis here is on the dispositions to misconstrue rather than misconstruals as such that were referred to in earlier sūtras. Vyāsa justifies this by saying that the latent dispositions, the unconscious complexes (vāsanās), are the affects of avidyā and therefore have their origin in avidyā. It is these unconscious complexes that bring about the association between the puruṣa and the buddhi repeatedly birth after birth even when there is an apparent outward cessation of their association. As Śaṅkara explains: “Actual illusion is never a cause of the functioning because it does not exist before the rise of the mind (buddhi), and so it is taught that it is the saṃskāra-complex of illusion which is the cause of the conjunction of pradhāna and puruṣa” (Leggett 1983, p. 83). Buddhi possessed of vāsanās is in bondage and cannot help to fulfill the goal of puruṣa liberation in the person by self-realization. Only by realization of true

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knowledge does buddhi fulfill the purpose of puruṣa. Until this happens, the cycle of saṃsāra and the continued commingling of puruṣa and buddhi go unabated. Having thus identified the disease as suffering and its cause as the entanglement (samyogaḥ) of puruṣa with buddhi brought about by avidyā, Patañjali goes on to suggest that the healthy state is one where, in the absence of avidyā, there is no entanglement. Without it (avidyā) there is no entanglement; the puruṣa is in the liberated state (kaivalya) (II.25). With the overcoming of avidyā (ignorance) and realization of the misconstrual of false identity between the puruṣa and the buddhi, there would be an end to the entanglement between the two, and the puruṣa attains the state of liberation. Kaivalya is the ultimate state of self-realization where the puruṣa abides in its own nature. With the buddhi having fulfilled the purpose of clearing the puruṣa from its clouding, the puruṣa suffers no further bondage. It is a state of complete dissociation between the two leaving no possibility for any future entanglement of the puruṣa with guṇas. Thus, there is complete cessation of suffering for good in a state of self-realization. How can one overcome avidyā and remove the entanglement of puruṣa and buddhi? The way to remove entanglement is continuous cultivation of discriminating insight (viveka-khyāti) (II.26). As Vyāsa elaborates, viveka-khyāti consists in cultivating insight to become aware of the difference between puruṣa and buddhi, which is masked by avidyā and its manifestations. The kleśas born of avidyā hinder the continuous and uninterrupted flow of correct knowledge. Therefore, the false perceptions and erroneous knowledge prompted by rajas should be reduced to the condition of burnt seeds and rendered impotent so that they would not sprout later. The continuous cultivation of discriminative insight is an exercise in cleansing the mind of its impurities, to repress rajas and strengthen sattva. As Vācaspati Miśra explains: “The discriminative discernment (vivekakhyāti), which in concentration has reached the utmost perfection of cultivation for a long time, uninterruptedly, and with earnest attention (and which) has direct perception and has uprooted erroneous perceptions together with their subconscious impressions, (and which is thus) unwavering—this is the means of escape” (Woods 1914/2007, p. 170). Patañjali speaks of sevenfold insight. For him [who cultivates viveka-khyāti] the insight achieved is seven-fold, reaching perfection in stages (II.27). The discriminating insight of the yogin achieved by removing all the taints formed by kleśas and purifying the mind of its defilements takes the following seven distinctive forms culminating in ultimate self-realization. (1) There is complete understanding of the impediments to be avoided; and there is nothing more to be known. (2) The causes of these have been totally eliminated; there are none to be destroyed any more. (3) There is realization in samādhi of the difference between puruṣa and buddhi. (4) Discriminating insight is fully cultivated. (5) Having fulfilled its purpose, the buddhi has no further role to play. (6) The guṇas having lost their support tumble down, like the buddhi in their source. (7) And thus detached from the guṇas the puruṣa abides in its own, unstained, and unencumbered by any commingling and buddhi—prakṛti entanglement.

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One cannot achieve perfection in discriminating insight without continuous practice. So Patañjali goes on to say in the next sūtra: When the different steps of yoga are followed and the impurities [of the mind] disappear, there arises the glowing light of knowledge (jñāna-dīpti) culminating in the discriminating insight (II.28). With yoga practice, as Vyāsa explains, there is gradual cessation of the five kleśas. In proportion to the attenuation of the kleśas and the removal of the impurities inflicted by them on the mind, there is the increasing intensity of the light of knowledge leading up to perfect insight, discriminating the puruṣa from the guṇas of prakṛti. There is then right knowledge and removal of all erroneous perceptions. Yoga practice thus helps to disentangle the puruṣa and dissociate (viyoga) it from the buddhi and the myriad manifestations of guṇas. Yoga may be said to be the cause of the dissociation in the same sense as the axe is considered the cause of cutting the tree from its roots. The discriminating insight leading to the disentanglement of the puruṣa and the prakṛti is self-realization. It is so because the puruṣa as consciousness-as-such is no longer a witness to the changing states of prakṛti. Rather the puruṣa sees and experiences itself. It is, as we would like to think, a state of knowing by being, one in which there is no gap between knowing and being for the embodied person, who is thus liberated. Eightfold Yoga Practice In the following sūtras, Patañjali describes the yoga path and the eight steps for reaching the goal of yoga, which is one of realizing the puruṣa within. From the psychological perspective, it is one of realizing consciousness-as-such unencumbered with any phenomenal awareness or its vestiges, a state of nirodha. According to Patañjali, yama, niyama, āsana, prāṇāyāma, pratyāhāra, dhāraṇā, dhyāna and samādhi are the eight limbs (aṅga) of yoga (II.29). These are steps described as limbs because they are considered to be organically linked, and as Vyāsa points out “these must be performed in succession” (Woods 1914/2007, p. 177). The first five are the preparatory, and the last three are the final stages in yoga practice. Yama is practicing self-restraint. Yama is abstaining from injury, falsehood, stealing, sex and possession (II.30). Yamas are what the yogin ought not to do. They are injunctions against wrong conduct. Vyāsa explains that “abstinence from injury means abstinence from malice toward all living creatures in every way and at all times. And the other abstentions and observances are rooted in it” (Woods 1914/ 2007, p. 178). Yama is thus practice of nonviolence in thought and action. It involves nonexploitation of others for one’s benefit. When practiced without any exception on grounds of class, place, time or other obligations, they constitute the great vow (mahā-vratam) (II.31). In this sūtra, Patañjali clarifies that the yamas at their best are universal and applicable to all and in all circumstances notwithstanding the traditional context-driven exceptions that are taken for granted. For example, a fisherman is traditionally not considered as causing injury when he is fishing or a soldier in battle killing the

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enemy. For the yogin taking the great vow, abstinence, however, is absolute, unqualified, and unconditional. Niyama is determination to adhere to a code of conduct. In yoga, it consists in the fivefold performance of duties. Niyama is observance of cleanliness (sauca), contentment (santoṣa), austerity (tapas), self-study (svādhyāya) and devotion to God (Īśvara-praṇidhāna) (II.32). Niyamas are what the yogin should do. They are prescriptions of good conduct. As Vyāsa comments, cleanliness is both external such as cleaning oneself with water or consuming unadulterated food and internal, which is cleaning the mind of all its taints and blemishes. Contentment is the joy of limiting oneself with that which is within reach and not hankering after things beyond the necessities. Austerity consists of practices that enable one to withstand extreme situations such as hunger, cold temperatures, and discomforting postures. Self-study is learning about the ways of self-realization, which includes learning from study of scriptural texts and recitation of sacred syllable OM. Īśvarapraṇidhāna is celestial love, which consists in self-surrender by dedicating oneself for a higher cause or purpose in the name of God. In an important sense, it is an exercise in altruism of transcending the ego-compulsions. Recall that the last three of the recommended moral observances are essentially the same as Kriyā-yoga as stated in sūtra II.1. Niyama is therefore practice of Kriyā-yoga with clean body and pure mind. If there is an impediment [in the way of following yamas and niyamas] from perverse thoughts, there should be cultivation of their counterpart [ideas] (II.33). Here then is the recognition of the fact that practice of yamas and observance of niyamas are not as easy as said. Conditioned as one is by life’s temptations, cultivation of right habits and attitudes is often impeded by thoughts and actions that are contrary to the vows taken by the person committed to the practice of yoga. Patañjali suggests a positive plan of action to overcome such perversions in one’s thought and actions. It is a kind of therapeutic tool to counter the impediments. The central principle here is that undesirable behavior can be attenuated by pondering over and cultivating its opposite. Patañjali points out that perversities such as [acts of] violence, whether inflicted by oneself or through others or abetted/approved, whether caused by greed, anger or delusion, and whether mild, medium or intense, result in endless pain and ignorance. Hence the need for pondering over their opposites (II.34). Taking the perversity of violence as an example, Patañjali refers to three kinds of violence—violence caused directly by oneself or violence perpetuated through someone else or simply abetting and approving violence whoever is the cause of it. Then, he suggests that the violence may be instigated by greed, anger, or a deluded state of the mind. Again, the resultant violence may be mild, moderate, or intense. Thus, there are twenty-seven main forms of violence such as anger-driven intense violence indulged by oneself. In fact, they can be further divisions such as mildly intense violation. The point here is that in all the forms violence there is a perversity of the mind causing pain and perpetuating ignorance that need to be countered by cultivating in one’s conduct the opposite of violence, which is love.

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When the perversities are attenuated and rendered impotent and unproductive in manifesting pervert behavior because of the cultivation of their opposites, the yogin acquires powers that indicate his mastery. For example, on being firmly grounded in nonviolence (ahiṃsā), there is in his presence giving up of enmity (vairatyāgaḥ) (II.35). When the yogin reaches perfection in abstaining from violence in all its forms, he becomes a person in whose presence there is no enmity or hostility. In other words, the yogin by his very presence wards off violence around him. Others in his presence imbibe nonviolence and manifest it in their conduct. Thus, the yogin in a state of perfection not only transforms herself, but also those around her. Mahatma Gandhi is a supreme example of this. On being firmly grounded in truthfulness (satya-pratiṣṭhāyām), she controls the actions and their consequences (II.36). As Vyāsa explains, when a yogin reaches perfection in abstaining from falsehood and firmly grounded in truthfulness, then, “what he says (vāk) comes true” (Woods 1914/2007, p. 186). Similarly, on being firmly grounded in nonstealing (honesty) all jewels (precious things) come to him (II.37). On being firmly grounded in sexual abstinence (brahmacarya), he gains energy (vīrya) (II.38). On reaching perfection in nonpossessiveness, there is knowledge of conditions of birth (II.39). As Vyāsa points out, when a yogin reaches a firm state of nonacquisitiveness, he finds answers to questions such as these: “Who was I? How was I? Or what [can] this birth be? Or how [can] this [birth] be? Or what shall we become? Or how shall we become?” (Woods 1914/2007, p. 187). Now, Patañjali goes on to describe what happens when the yogin reaches perfection in practicing each of the niyamas. From cleanliness (of the body) arise disgust for one’s body and no (desire) for intercourse (contact) with others (II.40). From purity of sattva (mind) arise cheerfulness (saumanasya) and one-pointedness of the mind, control of the senses and fitness for the sight of the self (II.41). As a result of internal cleanliness, there is purity of the sattva guṇa in the mind. Because of that purity, the mind becomes cheerful and focused, gains control over the activities of the senses, and thus becomes fit to have the knowledge of the self (ātman). From contentment, there is attainment of unexcelled pleasure (II.42). Vyāsa, quoting from a Purāṇa explains: “What constitutes the pleasure of love in this world and what the supreme pleasure of heaven are both not to be compared with the sixteenth part of the pleasure of dwindled craving (tṛṣnā)” (Woods 1914/2007, p. 189). From (observing) austerities (tapas) impurities dwindle away and the body and senses become perfect and gain supernormal abilities (siddhis) (II.43). Commenting on this sūtra, Vyāsa says that by performing tapas and observing austerities, one can get rid of the impurities of the body and senses and thus acquire some siddhis like telepathy. From self-study there is communion (samprayoga) with the desired deity (I.44). From celestial love, there is perfection in samādhi (II.45). Vyāsa explains that as a result of celestial love and devotion to God (Īśvara-praṇidhāna), one

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achieves perfection in entering the state of samādhi, and consequently, the yogin is able to know all that she wants to know and her insight sees things as they really are. Having described yamas and niyamas and the benefits of practicing them, Patañjali goes on to discuss the next step, āsana, the physical postures the yogin should practice. First of all, āsana [should be] steady and comfortable (II.46). The purpose of practicing certain postures is not one of developing the body. Āsana in Patañjali yoga is not an exercise in physical culture. Rather it is part of the process to quieten the mind and help concentrate and focus attention in the desired manner. As one attempts to concentrate, the body should not be a distracting factor. Āsanas are recommended for this purpose. By emphasizing at the outset that āsana should be steady and comfortable, Patañjali is suggesting that the body posture of the practicing yogin should be an aid in reaching the set goal of steadiness of the mind. In so doing, Patañjali acknowledges the reciprocal influence of bodily states on the mind. In the following sūtra, Patañjali points out that the perfection in āsana results from relaxation of effort and meditation on ananta (infinity) (II.47). Āsana, to serve its purpose, should be effortless. One does not have to exercise his volition to stay in that posture. Ananta means limitlessness. It also refers to the Lord of Serpents in Hindu mythology who balances the earth on his hood. In either case, the sūtra points to undisturbed steadiness and balance of posture achieved effortlessly by focusing the mind on ananta. Patañjali goes on to say that from that [perfection in āsana], he (yogin) becomes immune to opposites (II.48). As a consequence of perfecting the practice of posture (āsana), the yogin gains the ability to withstand extremes such as heat and cold. When there is this (perfection in posture), prāṇāyāma (control of breath), interrupting the flow of inspiration and expiration [follows] (II.49). After perfecting physical posture, the yogin moves on to restrain and control breathing by systematically interrupting the normal flow of breathing in and out. This exercise in breath control (prāṇāyāma) is the fourth step in yoga practice. Patañjali points out that Prāṇāyāma has internal, external and blocked manifestations; regulated by place, time and frequency, [it becomes] prolonged and subtle (sukṣma) (II.50). This sūtra succinctly describes the variety of breathing exercises first in terms of manifestation, whether inhaling (pūraka) or exhaling (recaka) or just withholding the breath (kumbhaka). There are modulations of these in terms of place where the exercise is performed, the time taken or the duration of each phase, and the number of inhalations and exhalations in a given period. The practice of prāṇāyāma in all its different forms becomes progressively long in duration and subtle. As Vācaspati Miśra reminds us, subtle does not mean weak, but something achieved by finest concentration and greatest effort. Over and above the three forms referred to so far, Patañjali mentions the fourth type, which transcends the others. The fourth (prāṇāyāma) goes beyond the external (recaka) and internal (pūraka) forms (II.51). The mastery of this form comes after gaining proficiency in recaka and pūraka forms. The fourth kind like the kumbhaka involves suspension of breath, but is different from it in that it is practiced by itself and not along with and in between

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inhalation and exhalation exercises as is the case with kumbhaka. For this reason, the fourth form of prāṇāyāma is called kevala kumbhaka. It is believed to be the highest and most advanced form of prāṇāyāma. As a result of that [excellence in prāṇāyāma] the cover that veils the light [of knowledge] is weakened/destroyed (II.52). (Also) the mind becomes fit for concentration (II.53). The yogin who practices breath control progressively overcomes karma and the defilements of the mind that cover and veil the discriminating insight. Thus, prāṇāyāma is believed to purify the mind and make it fit for receiving the discriminating insight (viveka-khyāti). Therefore, it is said in Manusmṛti: “There is no tapas higher than prāṇāyāma; from it come purification from taints, and the light of knowledge” (quoted from Leggett 1983, p. 132). Gaining perfection in breath control makes it easy for the yogin to focus her mind and concentrate on the object of contemplation. In recent years, a number of studies are made to examine the effects of breathing exercises on physical health and the functions of the body. However, it is clear from this sūtra that Patañjali’s emphasis here is on concentration and the beneficial effects of prāṇāyāma on mind control. Unfortunately, this aspect of prāṇāyāma, which has tremendous potential for understanding mental functions, is little explored. In fact, one of the important features of yoga is the recognition of psychophysical causation that the bodily functions affect the mind and that the mental process influence physical states of the body. Now, Patañjali goes on to describe what pratyāhāra is about. Pratyāhāra is withdrawal of the senses from their objects imitating as it were the mind (II.54). When the senses are withdrawn from their objects, the senses act like the mind. When the mind is restricted, the senses become restricted; and no other effort is required to control them. Pratyāhāra is therefore an exercise to limit the sensory feed to the mind. It involves cultivating a state of dissociation where the mind becomes disconnected with the sensory inputs that it ordinarily receives. The yogin in meditation does not hear the bell ringing in his vicinity because he has learnt through pratyāhāra how to shut the mind from reaching out to the sensory inputs. It may be kept in perspective, however, in Yoga as in Advaita Vedānta, the perceptual process consists in the mind taking the form of objects in its perceptual field. The mind is said to go out to the object via the sensory apparatus. Consequently, withdrawal of the senses effectively means shutting out the mind from taking the forms of the object. Pratyāhāra may also be seen as internal focus of the mind restrained or disengaging itself from sensory inputs. From this [withdrawal] ensues the complete mastery of the senses (II.55). In his commentary on this sūtra, Vyāsa refers to four levels of control over the senses. The first level is the level of nonattachment to the sensory pleasures, overcoming the sensory indulgence, and not becoming slave to temptations. The second level is the ability to regulate the sensory contact so that he receives the inputs only when he desires. The third level involves the feeling of absence of pain or pleasure associated with sense–object contact. The final level is the complete lack of activity of the senses achieved by one-pointed concentration of the mind. This is what results in the highest control and complete mastery of senses as recommended by Patañjali.

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Saṃyama: Meditation It is interesting to note that Patañjali closes Part II, Sādhanā-Pāda, devoted to the discussion of the practice part of yoga as the title indicates, after discussing the first five steps (angās), which proceed from the control of conduct (yama) to the control of the senses (pratyāhāra), without considering the last three steps—dhāraṇā, dhyāna, and samādhi—that involve the direct control of the mind. The reason given sometimes for this is that the first five steps are the preliminaries that only indirectly aid the yogin, whereas the last three are the essentials that directly lead the yogin on the path. In other words, the first five are aids for the yogin to enable her to practice the essential three. Another way of looking at this is that the first five deal with the control of the external causes that distract the mind, whereas the last three are concerned with the internal control of the mind. It can be argued that the so-called external aids help connect the body and the mind, whereas the internal control refers to the link between consciousness and the mind. Also, it stands to reason to think that the Part II of Yoga-Sūtras is for the less developed person with a relatively unstable mind and that the five “preliminary” or “indirect” or “external” steps are meant for them. The final three steps are the necessary steps for all yogins seeking kaivalya. In any case, by breaking the yogic steps this way, Patañjali makes it unambiguous (1) that dhāraṇā, dhyāna, and samādhi are qualitatively different from the steps described in Part II and that (2) the vast array of supernormal abilities referred to in Part III and the ultimate goal of attaining kaivalya to be described in the last part are dependent on practicing them. As Vācaspati Miśra explains, the third part deals with supernormal powers and these are accomplished by practicing together these three—dhāraṇā, dhyāna, and samādhi in a three-stage process called saṃyama. However, we need to recognize that some of the psychic powers like telepathy may emerge from some of the preliminary practices as well. What is dhāraṇā? Dhāraṇā is confining the mind to a place (III.1). Dhāraṇā, which is generally translated as concentration, is focused attention. It consists in fixing the mind on an object, interning it as it were in one place (deśa-bandha). The recommended places include the area of the navel, tip of the nose or the tongue, the heart-lotus or the aura in the head. Focused attention of the mind, as Vyāsa comments, refers to a mental state (vṛtti) such as perceiving an object. One practicing attentional control cannot focus attention in a vacuum. Practice of attention needs an object to focus. And focusing helps to restrain the mind from wandering. Thus, dhāraṇā is focused attention. Dhyāna is prolonged, continuous dhāraṇā on a single object. Uninterrupted flow of focused attention on an object is dhyāna (III.2). If concentration or centering the mind on the tip of the nose is dhāraṇā, continuing that concentration over an extended period of time without the mind wandering to other objects is dhyāna, which is generally translated as contemplation. Continued concentration, which flows like a stream uninterrupted by mind’s excursions to other areas, is contemplation. Thus, prolonged attention on a focused object results in dhyāna.

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When the contemplating mind, emptied of itself, shines forth nothing but the intended object (the object on which attention is focused), it is samādhi (III.3). Dhāraṇā and dhyāna are mental exercises that help focus the mind on an object, unwavering and for a prolonged period of time. Samādhi is a state of the mind resulting from the continued, unwavering concentration on a single object where the mind loses itself as it were by merging or becoming identical with the object in focus. What Patañjali calls svarūpa śūnya, i.e., having no form, refers to the disappearance of self-awareness in the awareness of the subject, which indicates the merging of the subject with the object of knowing. I would like to think that samādhi refers to more than a state; it is a process that binds knowing and being because samādhi is not spoken of as all or none, but one that admits of different grades. The highest state of samādhi is a complete sense of identity of the subject and the object, the knower, and the known. The three [dhāraṇā, dhyāna and samādhi] rolled into one is saṃyama (III.4). Woods translates saṃyama as constraint, which is literally true. However, inasmuch as saṃyama refers to all the stages in the meditative exercise, it actually refers to meditation in its fullness or totality. Saṃyama is of course constraint in the sense that the mind is constrained to a point and is eventually “emptied” of its usual content. Vācaspati explains that this technical term (saṃyama) is used “for brevity’s sake” because it would be tedious to repeat each time all the three (dhāraṇā, dhyāna, and samādhi). So it would seem that there is perfect justification for considering saṃyama in Patañjali yoga as practicing meditation in its totality, which refers to the process of binding knowing and being, as we suggested. Dhāraṇā is focused attention; dhyāna is prolonged attention focused on an object. Samādhi is a resultant consummate process in which the distinction between the knowing subject and the object tends to progressively disappear; only the object of focus is in awareness; and the subject is “absorbed” in it. The three together refer to meditation, which is thus essentially a process of manipulation of attention in a particular manner to achieve the state of fusion of knowing and being, the merger of the knower and the known. By practicing meditation successfully, the yogin gains insight. Mastery of meditation (saṃyama) results in getting luminosity of prajñā (III.5). As Vyāsa comments, the insight thus gained is proportional to the progress one makes on the meditative path. Its [meditation] use is by stages (III.6). Meditation is a complex process. Its mastery or progress is in stages. Therefore, it is unwise to rush or skip some of the stages even if one is fortunate to experience an advanced stage quite early. The nature of the successive stages is best known to the practitioner herself and cannot be mandated in absolute terms. As Vyāsa points out: “By yoga, yoga must be known.” Therefore, the yogin is his own guide. The three [dhāraṇā, dhyāna and samādhi] are direct aids relative to the others [yama, niyama, āsana, prāṇāyāma and pratyāhāra] (III.7). Vācaspati Miśra explains why the three components of meditation are considered direct aids. “These three means of attainment, inasmuch as their object is the same as [the object of the yoga] to be accomplished, are direct aids” (Woods 1914/2007, p. 208).

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Thus, it is clear that the goal of yoga is the control of the mind so as to access consciousness-as-such, whereas the goal of the other five aids is to control the body so as to help control the mind. As mentioned earlier, it would seem that the preliminary practices are for connecting the mind and body while meditation itself has to do with the connection of the purified mind with consciousness. Patañjali clarifies this point in the next sūtra. Even these (dhāraṇā, dhyāna and samādhi) are external aids to the seedless (samādhi) (III.8). This is so because, as Vyāsa says, seedless samādhi, which is a state of completely noncognitive mind, occurs even when dhāraṇā, dhyāna and samādhi are not present. At this point, it may be appropriate to summarize here the yoga thesis on the different states of the mind, from its usual mundane vṛttis to its ultimate seedless state of samādhi. In his comments on the very first sūtra of the Yoga-Sūtras, Vyāsa refers to five basic kinds of mental states. They are, as mentioned earlier, kṣipta, mūḍdha, vikṣipta, ekāgra, and niruddha. The kṣipta is the restless, wandering mind, driven more by its rajas. The mind in this state is passionate rather than enlightened. It is unstable, oscillating, and fickle. Even during moments of concentration, it is more passion-driven than truth-oriented. Mūḍdha is an ignorance enveloped and infatuated state dominated by tamas. The mind in that state is masked by false notions of self, stability, and truth not anchored in reality principle. Vyāsa unambiguously states that these two states “have nothing to do with yoga.” They are nonyogic states that yoga is expected to control. The third kind, vikṣipta, is the distracted mind. It is steady at one moment and restless in the other. Vikṣipta is perhaps the most common state experienced by average individuals. In this state, even when people long to do the right thing, they tend to relapse into and cannot resist the opposite evil. For they tend to choose the pleasurable actions and avoid the discomforting ones. This state also is inconsistent with the yogic quest, which is essentially truth-seeking beyond momentary states of pain and pleasure. Ekāgratā is focused attention that steers the mind away from the phenomenal flux of sensations as well as internally driven influences of saṃskāras. The ordinary mind is conditioned and contained, driven and determined by the sensory inputs it receives from outside and the internally generated imagery prompted in part by memory, unconscious impulses, and instinctive propensities (saṃskāras and vāsanās). All these are not intrinsic to consciousness. They are not absolutely truth bearing. They often bias truth and cloud consciousness. Focused attention helps one to gain volitional control over the mind and regulate its activity, which is otherwise determined by the intensity and form of sensory inputs, which are themselves colored, conditioned, and biased by saṃskāras. Ekāgratā helps to decondition the person and deconstruct the sensorially constructed reality by attenuating the afflictions (kleśa) that impede the mind, cloud consciousness and give false or incomplete knowledge. With the practice of ekāgratā one is led to states of samprajñāta samādhi. In these states, tamas and rajas recede into the background, and sattva comes into the forefront and prominence. In other words, with ekāgratā the mind is gradually purified of its defilements and becomes fit to reflect within it consciousness-as-such. In its ultimate perfection/purity in seedless samādhi, the mind is nearly identical with and indistinguishable from consciousness-as-such.

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This is the niruddha state leading the yogin to the goal of kaivalya. It may be said that during normal cognitive states, the mind takes the form of objects in its focus. In the state of asamprajñāta, it takes the form of consciousness-as-such. Knowledge (prajñā) arising in transcendental states of samādhi is intrinsically truth bearing, self-certifying, and authentic because of the fusion of knowing and being within oneself. What do we mean by “fusion of knowing and being”? A samādhi state is one where there is progressive identification of the knowing subject with the known object. Such an identification brings about the fusion of knowing and being in that there is no longer a gap between knowing and being in the yogin, no divide between thought and action, belief and behavior. It exemplifies the Upaniṣadic statement “to know Brahman is to be Brahman.” Yoga system meticulously traces the different stages as the yogin moves from rudimentary samādhi states to the final niruddha state. In this developmental process, the early states are cognitive and supercognitive and are called collectively as samprajñāta samādhi. In these states, the mind is centered on a physical object or an internal image or thought. It is not without any content. However, the mind does not oscillate between objects. It is fixated, focused, and without distraction. Four distinctive stages of samprajñāta samādhi are mentioned. These distinctions appear to relate on the one hand to the subtlety of the object in focus, which is inversely related to evolutionary manifestations, and to the cognitive and intentionality aspects of mentation on the other. The first stage is one where the mind is focused on a physical object, a clearly cognitive and intentional state. This is known as vitarkānugata. Then, the focus shifts to the subtle elements constituting the objects, i.e., tanmātras. This is vicārānugata. This state is also intentional. When this stage is mastered, the internal senses giving rise to the experience of the object become the focus of attention. The concern here is with the process of knowing rather than the object of knowledge. This stage is called ānandānugata. The final stage of samprajñāta samādhi is asmitānugata, where the focus of attention is the ego or the “I-ness”, which is at the root of cognitive awareness. The attentional object in this state is the knowing subject. In mastering this state, the yogin reaches a supercognitive nonintentional state. Thus, the attentional exercises of the yogin lead her from the gradual emptying of the mind from perceptual experience, beginning with gross physical properties culminating in the overcoming of the ego sense. During the advanced stage of samprajñāta samādhi, the object on which the yogin focuses her attention loses all its manifest, determinate characteristics. Her ego is suppressed, and the object or the effect of meditation exists in its potential form like a seed. The mind becomes completely steady and flows without the turbulent currents of appearing and disappearing objects in their manifold manifestations. The mind in this stage may be considered to be transcognitive and not yet reaching the noncognitive transcendental state because the cognitive content exists as a potential or seed in the unconscious. The niruddha state is one in which the yogin is able to restrain the mind completely and arrest all its fluctuations. The mind in such a state goes beyond samprajñāta samādhi; and even the subterrain unconscious potencies and

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propensities are arrested. The mind becomes completely empty of all cognitive content in its actual manifest forms as well as in the unmanifest, potential seed form. This state is called asamprajñāta samādhi or seedless samādhi. Thus, we find the yogin transforming her mind from cognitive through the transcognitive to the noncognitive state of niruddha as she reaches a state of kaivalya. In the noncognitive transcendental state of seedless samādhi, even the final three steps of yoga— dhāraṇā, dhyāna, and samādhi—lose their direct relevance. Therefore, it is said that they are only external aids to asamprajñāta samādhi. The mind by its very nature, as we have seen, is in a state of fluctuations; and yoga is a method to gain control over them. In yoga theory, the mind is composed of three guṇas like all other material things. It is in the nature of guṇas to cause change. The mind changes taking the form of cognizing objects. The act of cognition, therefore, consists in the transformation of the mind. Now, it may be asked, what kind of transformation does the mind undergo, what form does it take in the niruddha state. The next sūtra attempts to draw attention to this aspect. “Nirodha pariṇāma” means anvaya (co-occurrence), in the citta at the time of nirodha kṣaṇa, of the abhibhava [suppression of vyutthāna saṃskāras] and pradurbhāva (rise) of nirodha saṃskāra (III.9). It would seem that the evolution of nirodha (nirodha pariṇāma) involves manifestation of an increasingly expanding duration of the gap that exists between the outgoing (vyuttāna) and the incoming impressions (saṃskāra) (III.9). Literal translation of this sūtra makes it hardly intelligible. Therefore, our rendering above is meant to be substantially true rather than literally accurate. Despite the difficulty in translating this sūtra, we cannot miss its importance because it throws light on the nonintentional state of consciousness-as-such or pure consciousness. We need to keep in perspective that Patañjali is dealing here with a state of mind that is already developed to the samprajñāta level of unwavering focused attention. In other words, the yogin has achieved control over the cognitive activity of the mind. But, as we have seen, the mind also experiences transcognitive states precipitated by the subterrain unconscious saṃskāras. Each mental act results in a saṃskāra. Even the nirodha act of the mind, which suppresses the emergence of any cognitive content in the mind, also results in its own saṃskāra. Saṃskāras are different from vṛttis. When vṛttis are suppressed by voluntary control of cognitive activity, saṃskāras are not also controlled automatically because “they are not of the nature of acts of cognition” (Rukmani 1998, p. 15). The niruddha exercise is an effort to control and suppress the saṃskāras as well. It is assumed that the mind undergoes transformations as one saṃskāra recedes and another rises. However, there is a point in between the appearance of one and the disappearance of the other, when the mind takes no form. Nirodha results in expanding the duration of this point in which the mind has taken no form, whether conscious vṛtti or unconscious saṃskāra. In other words, the mind is then devoid of any content, conscious or unconscious. This is the seedless or asamprajñāta state of the mind. With no content of its own, the mind comes face-to-face, as it were with consciousness and reflects consciousness-as-such.

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As Vijñānabhikṣu explains, cognitions “are not the material cause of subliminal impressions (saṃskāras); therefore, even when the cognitions are restricted, the subliminal impressions are not restrained, the idea is that acts of cognition are only efficient causes (and not material causes; therefore, even when there is disappearance of the act of cognition, the cause for the removal of its subliminal impressions is to be sought elsewhere” (Rukmani 1998, p. 17). For this reason, the control of cognitive activity achieved at the samprajñāta state is not sufficient to reach a state of niruddha. This involves another step and in some respects qualitatively different from the previous ones. Consequently, asamprajñāta samādhi may be seen as qualitatively different from samprajñāta samādhi. With continuous practice and experience of nirodha pariṇāma, the mind of the yogin gets habituated to enter into niruddha state with ease and stay in it for longer durations. The mind flows peacefully following the nirodha saṃskāra (III.10). The mind is the theater with changing scenes and characters. Normal cognitive activity is the enactment of the script provided by the sensory inputs, which is edited and guided by the behind-the-scenes saṃskāras, which are essentially feedback loops of past enactments. When the yogin learns to restrict the sensory inputs, there is no script to follow. Therefore, there is increasing dependence on the behind-the-scenes prompting of saṃskāras. As the yogin attempts to restrict the rising of the saṃskāras due to past cognitive activity, there arises the saṃskāra of nirodha (suppression). With practice, nirodha saṃskāra is reinforced and the cognitive saṃskāras get weakened. With the proficiency in nirodha pariṇāma, the cognitive saṃskāras are overwhelmed by nirodha saṃskāra, and the mind flows peacefully as the turbulence generated by the sensory inputs and the saṃskāras subsides. Attention is what guides the mind. Attention may be wandering or focused. With attention wandering, the mind is distracted. Focused attention makes the mind stable. The dwindling of distractions by focused attention of the mind leads to the evolution of samādhi state (samādhi pariṇāma) (III.11). With practice of yoga, the wandering mind becomes focused and absorbed in the object of cognition. This is samādhi pariṇāma, the movement of the mind into samādhi state. As Vyāsa explains, the transition of the mind into the state of samādhi is not abrupt and sudden but gradually evolving because one cannot control distractions or achieve one-pointedness of the mind in an instant. Practice decreases the wandering and strengthens one-pointedness of the mind. When the yogin in a samādhi state with a focused mind has identical cognitions successively over a period of time without any distractions or intrusions of different cognitions, she is said to enter into the one-pointed focus state. Ekāgratā pariṇāma is a state of the mind where the subsiding and uprising cognitions are alike (III.12). The subsiding is the previously present idea/precept and the uprising is the one to follow. The mind, which underlies both, connects the two without a break and experiences no separateness of the two. This continuity of uninterrupted connection and identity between the two is the essence of one-pointed focus. Again, when the subsiding and uprising cognitions are similar, the mind is focused (III.13). The rest of Part III deals primarily with a variety of psychic powers that could be developed by doing saṃyama on appropriate objects.

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Summary The second part of Yoga-Sūtras, it would seem, is directed at the aspirant rather than the adept in yoga. It begins therefore with the description of practical and rudimentary practices known as Kriyā-yoga, which is meant to be the entry point in the long journey of the yogin. Kriyā-yoga essentially constitutes the preliminary self-conditioning of the person with threefold activities that involve training for (a) volitional control by ascetic practices (tapas), cognitive control via self-study (svādhyāya), and overcoming of ego-driven passion through celestial love (Īśvarapraṇidhāna). These preliminary practices imply that the yogin would go through a long, life-transforming process that calls for a radical shift in one’s self-perceptions, goals, and activities. It is a process of moving away from the habitual engagement with the ego-driven self and the pursuit of pleasure and avoidance of pain. Tapas is a test of endurance needed for the pursuit. Svādhyāya is meant to generate the necessary cognitive conviction to endure the inevitable stress of the intended practice; and Īśvara-praṇidhāna is the pragmatic belief in God that bestows the necessary emotional support for shifting from the ego-driven lifestyle to an altruist worldview of detachment and dispassionateness. Such self-transformation is necessary to reach the goal of samādhi. The habitual lifestyle is a serious impediment on the path of reaching samādhi. With the attendant overpowering kleśas that are organically linked with each other, life becomes a whirlpool of suffering. The root cause of suffering is avidyā, a congenital condition of misconstrual of one’s true nature. It is driven by the ego principle (asmitā) fueled by passion (rāga) and aversion (dveṣa) and sustained by the ubiquitous will-to-live (abhiniveśa). It is essential to overcome these natural impediments to samādhi for marching ahead on the path of yoga. This may be achieved by reversing the course and changing the corrupt lifestyle with meditative practices. Reversing the course of impediments involves a kind of deconditioning that attenuates the kleśas associated with the actions leading to suffering. One needs to develop discriminating insight into the causes of suffering and engage in necessary practices for removing the kleśas that defile and corrupt life and cause suffering. Ignorance is at the root of all defilements. Ignorance is embedded in the conflation of the observer and the observed, the subject and the object, in the person. Puruṣa is the observer, and the empirical world of experience, a manifestation of prakṛti, is the observed. With the commingling of puruṣa and prakṛti in the person, there arises the occasion for possible conflation and misidentification of the two. The material manifestations of the world through sensory engagement are double-edged. They can give rise to sensory experience and situate the person in saṃsāra and confine her to a whirlpool of unending suffering or enable the puruṣa to find its true freedom, liberated from the limitations accrued from the commingling with the puruṣa. In the former case, there is the misidentification of the observer with the observed, the mistaking the power of observing, which belongs to the empirical realm of the prakṛti, for the power of observer, the mistaking of the witness (self) as the participant, and the consequent misattribution of material

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qualities to nonmaterial self. The liberation consists in the realization of the difference between the two and their relative roles in the person. Cultivation of such discriminative insight (viveka-khyāti) is possible by the practice of yoga. Patañjali suggests eightfold practices that enable the person to gain the discriminative insight that dispels ignorance and gives one a true understanding of the nature of reality. The question is whether the discriminative insight sought by the person practicing yoga is simply knowledge about the nature of reality, viz the fundamental difference between conscious being (puruṣa) and the material reality (prakṛti) , or something more. Knowledge can be obtained by śravaṇa, learning, and can be reinforced by manana, rational understanding. Yoga does something more to the person than merely giving her information and knowledge. Information and knowledge, including the philosophy behind yoga, are something that one can acquire without the yogic exercises. Also, it is arguable whether one who has no grasp of yoga-related philosophy would end up with the so-called discriminative insight after yoga practice that gives her the distinctive differentiation between the power of seeing and the seer. Rather such knowledge appears to be a prerequisite in the traditional practice of yoga. What yoga practice does is the transformation of the person consistent with that knowledge. In the human condition, there is no reflexive relation between knowing and being, between belief and behavior. There is room for dissociation between them. Most of us know that lying is bad; but hardly anyone can truthfully say that they never lied. Almost everyone who smokes knows that smoking is bad for health. Therefore, it would seem that it is not enough that one knows the difference between the true self and the ego masquerading as the self. She should act as one who realizes the difference. In other words, the knowledge gained should transform the person. Therefore, it stands to reason to assume that yoga practice is a means for bridging the existential gap between knowing and being and that yoga is as much a technique for the transformation of the person as it is a source of new knowledge. Yoga is both a philosophy of life and a transformational psychology. It may be that the two are somehow linked. However, it is possible to distinguish the two. One may believe in the validity of yogic techniques and practices as effective means for personal transformation, meaning that meditative practices enable one to bridge the existential gap between knowing being, without at the same time believing in yoga philosophy. The fact that other philosophical systems, which make different assumptions about human nature and have little difficulty in accepting yoga practices, lend credibility to the view that yoga theory and yoga practice may be seen as distinct. Indeed meditative realization by Buddhist monks results in an all together different philosophical perspective. It is not the realization of the self, but realization of nonself. While a number of interpretations of yoga are possible and legitimate and that thinkers committed to a wide variety of philosophical persuasions and religious affiliations may practice and uphold and believe in yoga, it would seem that almost every informed yoga scholar knows that yoga is not synonymous with physical postures that are widely publicized and practiced today as yoga. Āsanās are a

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preliminary external aid to the practice of concentration and one-pointed attention (ekāgratā). This point is often missed even in some of the popular yoga programs in India. That several of the yoga practices are found to have beneficial somatic effects is no proof of the validity of the claim that they are a vital and essential part of yoga. The bodily well-being is just a prerequisite and not the essence of yoga. The goal of yoga is not physical fitness, but realization of consciousness-as-such. Self-realization or accessing of consciousness-as-such is facilitated by proper understanding of the link between body, mind, and consciousness and their relative roles in promoting excellence and perfection in the person. The truncated yoga confined mainly to postural practices may be useful for those seeking physical fitness, but it misses out on more profound benefits, psychological and spiritual, in promoting cognitive excellence, psychosomatic well-being, and positive personal transformation.

References Dasgupta, S. N. (1920/2001). A study of Patanjali (2nd ed.). New Delhi: Indian Council of Philosophical Research. Leggett, T. (1983). Sankara on the Yoga-Sutra-s, Vol. II: Means. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. Rukmani, T. S. (1983). Yogavarttika of Vijnanabhiksu: Text with English translation & critical notes (Vol. 2: Sadhanapada). New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Private Limited. Rukmani, T. S. (1998). Yogavarttika of Vijñanabhiksu, Vol. III Vibhutipada [Text with English translation and critical notes]. Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Private Limited. Rukmani, T. S. (2001). Yogasutras of Patañjali: With the commentary of Vyāsa. Montreal: Chair in Hindu Studies, Concordia University. Taimni, I. K. (2005). The science of yoga: The Yoga-Sutra of Patañjali in Sanskrit with transliteration in Roman, translation and commentary in English. India: The Theosophical Publishing House. Woods, J. H. (1914/2007). The yoga system of Patanjali. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.

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It is interesting to note that Patanjali closes Part II, Sādhana-Pāda, devoted to the discussion of the practice part of yoga, as the title indicates, after discussing the first five steps (angās), which proceed from the control of conduct (yama) to the control of the senses (pratyāhāra), without considering the last three steps—dhāraṇā, dhyāna, and Samādhi. Admittedly, Part II is meant to specify the means of attainment. No one disputes that the last three steps are also the means, and in some respects more important than the first five. Why then does Patañjali move them to the third part which is primarily concerned with paranormal powers as the title suggests? The reason given for this by the commentators like Vyāsa is that the first five steps are the preliminaries that only indirectly aid the yogin, whereas the last three are the essentials that directly lead the yogin on the path to kaivalya. In other words, the first five are aids for the yogin to enable her to practice the essential three. Their separation in the two parts is a way of emphasizing their relative importance. Another way of looking at this, following Vijñānabhikṣu, is that the first five deal with the control of the external causes of the distraction of the mind, whereas the last three are concerned with the internal control of the mind. It can be argued that the so-called external aids help connect the body and the mind, whereas the internal control refers to the link between consciousness and the mind. Also, it stands to reason to think that Part II is for the less developed person with an unstable mind. The five “preliminary” or “indirect” or “external” steps are meant for them. The final three steps are the necessary steps for all yogins seeking kaivalya. In any case, by breaking the yogic steps this way, Patañjali makes it unambiguous (1) that the essential ingredients of yoga are dhāraṇā, dhyāna, and samādhi, and that (2) the vast array of supernormal abilities and the ultimate goal of attaining kaivalya are dependent on practicing them. As Vācaspati Miśra explains, the third part deals with supernormal powers and these are accomplished by practicing together these three—dhāraṇā, dhyāna, and samādhi. What is dhāraṇā? Dhāraṇā is confining the mind to a place (III.1). Dhāraṇā, which is generally translated as concentration, is a psychological act of focused © The Author(s) 2017 K.R. Rao, Foundations of Yoga Psychology, DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-5409-9_3

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attention. It consists in fixing the mind on an object, interning it as it were in one place (deśa-bandha). The recommended places include the area of the navel, tip of the nose or the tongue, the heart-lotus or the aura in the head. Focused attention of the mind, as Vyāsa comments, refers to a mental state (vṛtti) such as perceiving an object. One practicing attentional control cannot focus attention in a vacuum. Practice of attention needs an object to focus. And focusing helps to restrain the mind from wandering. Thus, dhāraṇā is focused attention on an object or thought. Dhāraṇā thus takes into account the intentional nature of the mind at this stage. Attention, however focused, tends to waver and move from one object to another. Dhyāna is what makes focused attention continuous. The uninterrupted flow of focused attention on an object is dhyāna (III.2). Dhyāna is prolonged, continuous, and unwavering dharana on a single object. If concentration or centering the mind on the tip of the nose is dhāraṇā, continuing that concentration over an extended period of time without the mind wandering to other objects is dhyāna, which is generally translated as contemplation. Continued concentration, which flows like a stream uninterrupted by mind’s excursions to other areas, is contemplation. Thus, prolonged attention on a focused object results in dhyāna, which is meditation in its initial stage. When the contemplating mind, emptied of itself (svarūpa śūnyam), shines forth nothing but the intended object (the object on which attention is focused), it is samādhi (III.3). Dhāraṇā and dhyāna are mental exercises that help focus the mind on an object, unwavering and for a prolonged period of time. Samādhi is a state of the mind resulting from the continued, unwavering concentration on a single object where the mind loses itself as it were by merging or becoming identical with the object in focus. What Patañjali calls svarūpa śūnya, i.e., having no form, refers to the disappearance of self-awareness in the awareness of the subject, which indicates the merging of the knowing subject with the object of knowing. Samadhi is thus a state of absorption resulting from continuous mediation on an object, where the subjective component of the experience is lost so that the usual subjective biases and ego-involvement and conditioning are progressively transcended. Patañjali tells us that the three (dhāraṇā, dhyāna, and samādhi) rolled into one is saṃyama (III.4). Woods translates saṃyama as constraint, which is literally true. However, inasmuch as saṃyama refers to all the stages in the meditative exercise, it actually refers to meditation in its fullness or totality. Saṃyama is of course constraint in the sense that the mind is constrained to a point and is eventually “emptied” of its usual content. Vācaspati explains that this technical term (saṃyama) is used “for brevity’s sake” because it would be tedious to repeat each time all the three (dhāraṇā, dhyāna, and samādhi). So it would seem that there is perfect justification for considering saṃyama in Patañjali yoga as practicing meditation in its totality, which can be no other than perfect meditation. We translate saṃyama as perfect meditation because meditation is central to this exercise, and it is perfection in meditation that is intended by saṃyama. In Yoga-Sutras, saṃyama is a technical term and for this reason most translators (Leggett 1990/2006; Rukmani 2001; Taimni 2005) choose not to translate it.

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Dhāraṇā as we noted is focused-attention; dhyāna is prolonged attention focused on an object. Samādhi is a resultant state in which the distinction between the knowing subject and the object disappears; only the object of focus is in awareness, and the subject is “absorbed” in it. The three together refer to meditation, which essentially is manipulation of attention in a particular manner to achieve the state of samādhi. Saṃyama is central to this part of Yoga-Sūtras which is devoted to the description of a variety of psychic abilities that arise from the practice of saṃyama in specified ways. Perfect meditation (saṃyama) leads [one] to the world of insight (prajñaloka) (III.5). By practicing meditation successfully, the yogin gains lucid insight (prajñā). As Vyāsa comments, the insight thus gained is proportional to the progress one makes on the meditative path. The insight generated by saṃyama illumines the hidden and the remote so that the yogin has access to the past and the future, the near and far, the subtle and the sublime. Its (perfect meditation) use is by stages (III.6). Meditation is a complex process. Its mastery or progress is in stages. Therefore, it is unwise to rush or skip some of the stages even if one is fortunate to experience an advanced stage quite early. The nature of the successive stages is best known to the practitioner herself and cannot be mandated in absolute terms. As Vyāsa points out: “By yoga, yoga must be known.” Therefore, the yogin is his own guide. Excellence in saṃyama is achieved progressively, built bit by bit by appropriate practice. In this part, Patañjali begins with a description of the simplest and easy to practice and goes on to describe the more complicated ones toward the end. For example, one of the early practices involves saṃyama to acquire telepathic abilities, while the final exercise of saṃyama is to attain kailvalya. The three [dhāraṇā, dhyāna and samādhi] are direct aids relative to the others [yama, niyama, āsana, prāṇāyāma, and pratyāhāra] (III.7). Vācaspati Miśra explains why the three components of meditation are considered direct aids. “These three means-of-attainment, inasmuch as their object is the same as [the object of the yoga] to be accomplished, are direct aids” (Woods 1914/2007, p. 208). Thus, it is clear that the goal of yoga is the control of the mind so as to access consciousness-as-such, whereas the goal of the other five aids is to control the body so as to help control the mind. As mentioned earlier, it would seem that the preliminary practices are for connecting the mind and body while meditation itself has to do with the connecting of the mind with consciousness. Patañjali clarifies this point in the next sūtra. Even these (dhāraṇā, dhyāna, and samādhi) are external aids to the seedless (samādhi) (III.8). This is so because, as Vyāsa says, seedless samādhi, which is a state of completely noncognitive mind, occurs even when dhāraṇā, dhyāna, and samādhi are not present. At this point, it may be appropriate to summarize here the yoga thesis on the different states of the mind, from its usual mundane vṛttis to its ultimate seedless state of samādhi.

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Five States of the Mind Commenting on the very first sūtra of the Yoga-Sūtras, Vyāsa refers to five basic kinds of mental states. They are, as mentioned earlier, kṣipta, mūḍdha, vikṣipta, ekāgra, and niruddha. The kṣipta is the restless, wandering mind, driven more by its rajas. The mind in this state is passionate rather than enlightened. It is unstable, oscillating and fickle. Even during moments of concentration, it is more passion-driven than truth-oriented. Mūḍha is ignorance enveloped and more like a sleep state dominated by tamas. The mind in that state is masked by false notions of self, stability and truth. The person’s thought and action are not anchored in reality principle. Vyāsa unambiguously states that these two states “have nothing to do with yoga.” The third kind, vikṣipta, is the distracted mind. It is steady at one moment and restless in the other. Vikṣipta is perhaps the most common state experienced by average individuals. In this state, even when people long to do the right thing, they tend to relapse into and cannot resist the opposite evil. For they tend to choose the pleasurable actions and avoid the discomforting ones. This state also is inconsistent with the yoga, which is essentially truth-seeking beyond momentary states of pain and pleasure. Ekāgratā is focused attention that steers the mind away from the phenomenal flux of sensations as well as internally driven influences of saṃskāras. The ordinary mind is conditioned and contained, driven and determined by the sensory inputs it receives from outside, and the internally generated imagery prompted in part by memory, unconscious impulses and instinctive propensities (saṃskāras and vāsanās). All these are not intrinsic to consciousness. They are not truth-bearing. They often bias truth and cloud consciousness. Focused attention helps one to gain volitional control over the mind and regulate its activity, which is otherwise determined by the intensity and form of sensory inputs, which are themselves colored, conditioned and biased by saṃskāras. Ekāgratā helps to decondition the person and deconstruct the sensorially constructed reality by attenuating the afflictions (kleśa) that impede the mind, cloud consciousness and give false knowledge. With the practice of ekāgratā, one is led to states of samprajñāta samādhi. In these states, tamas and rajas recede into the background, and sattva comes into the forefront and prominence. In other words, with ekāgratā the mind is gradually purified of its defilements and becomes fit to reflect within it consciousness-as-such. In its ultimate perfection in seedless samādhi, the mind is nearly identical with and indistinguishable from consciousness-as-such. This is the niruddha state leading to the goal of the yogin, kaivalya. It may be said that during normal cognitive states, the mind takes the form of objects in its focus. In the state of asamprajñāta, it takes the form of consciousness-as-such. Knowledge (prajñā) arising in transcendental states of samādhi is intrinsically truth-bearing, self-certifying, and authentic. Yoga system meticulously traces the different stages as the yogin moves from rudimentary samādhi states to the final niruddha state. In this developmental process, the early states are cognitive and progressively becoming transcognitive.

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They are called collectively samprajñāta samādhi. In these states, the mind is centred on a physical object or an internal image. It is not without any content. However, the mind does not oscillate between objects. It is fixated, focused and without distraction. Four distinctive stages of samprajñāta samādhi are mentioned. These distinctions appear to relate on the one hand to the subtlety of the object in focus, which is inversely related to evolutionary manifestations, and to the cognitive and intentionality aspects of mentation on the other. The first stage is one where the mind is focused on a physical object, a clearly cognitive and intentional state. This is known as vitarkānugata. Then, the focus shifts to the subtle elements constituting the objects, i.e., tanmātras. This is vicārānugata. This state is also intentional. When this stage is mastered, the internal senses giving rise to the experience of the object become the focus of attention. The concern here is with the process of knowing rather than the object of knowledge. This stage is called ānandānugata. The final stage of samprajñāta samādhi is asmitānugata, where the focus of attention is the ego or the “I-ness,” which is at the root of cognitive awareness. The focus of attention in this state is the knowing subject. In mastering this state, the yogin reaches a transcognitive non-intentional state. Thus, the attentional exercises of the yogin lead her from the gradual emptying of the mind from perceptual experience, beginning with gross physical properties culminating in the overcoming of the ego sense. During the advanced stage of samprajñāta samādhi, the object on which the yogin focuses her attention loses all its manifest, determinate characteristics. Her ego is suppressed, and the object or the effect of meditation exists in its potential form like a seed. The mind becomes completely steady and flows without the turbulent currents of appearing and disappearing objects in their manifold manifestations. The mind in this stage may be considered to be transcognitive and not yet reaching the noncognitive state because the cognitive content exists as a potential or seed in the unconscious. The niruddha (also called nirodha) state is one in which the yogin is able to restrain the mind completely and arrest all its fluctuations. The mind in such a state goes beyond samprajñāta samādhi, and even the subterrain unconscious potencies are arrested. The mind becomes completely empty of all cognitive content in its actual manifest forms as well as in the unmanifest, potential seed form. This state is called asamprajñāta samādhi or seedless samādhi. Thus, we find the yogin transforming her mind from cognitive through the transcognitive to the noncognitive state of niruddha as she reaches a state of kaivalya. In the noncognitive state of seedless samādhi, even the final three steps of yoga—dhāraṇā, dhyāna and samādhi lose their direct relevance. Therefore, it is said that they are only external aids to asamprajñāta samādhi. The mind by its very nature, as we have seen, is in a state of fluctuations and yoga is a method to gain control over them. In yoga theory, the mind is composed of three guṇas like all other material things. It is in the nature of guṇas to cause change. The mind changes taking the form of cognizing objects. The act of cognition, therefore, consists in the transformation of the mind. Now, it may be asked, what kind of transformation does the mind undergo, what form does it take in the

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niruddha state. The next sūtra attempts to draw attention to this aspect. Nirodha transformation of the mind (nirodha-pariṇāma) is one where the vyuttāna saṃskāra is suppressed and the nirodha saṃskāra prevails; and the mind itself settles in a moment of nirodha (III.9). Vyuttāna saṃskāra is the outgoing impression to be suppressed, and nirodha saṃskāra is the impression involved in the act of suppression. The dominance of the latter results in a moment of absolute emptiness of the mind. When emptied of all cognitive content including the subliminal impressions (saṃskāras), the mind momentarily partakes in a state of pure consciousness. Vyuttāna saṃskāra is the one which distracts, whereas the nirodha saṃskāra is the one which stills the mind. Literal translation of this sūtra makes it hardly intelligible. Therefore, our rendering above and the following comments are meant to be substantially true rather than literally accurate. Despite the difficulty in translating this sūtra, we cannot miss its importance because it (a) defines the nirodha transformation of the mind and (b) throws light on the non-intentional state of consciousness-as-such or pure consciousness. We need to keep in perspective that Patañjali is dealing here with a state of mind that is already developed to the samprajñāta level of unwavering focused attention. In other words, the yogin has achieved control over the cognitive activity of the mind. But, as we have seen, the mind also experiences transcognitive states precipitated by the subterrain unconscious saṃskāras. Each mental act results in a saṃskāra. Even the nirodha act of the mind, which suppresses the emergence of any cognitive content in the mind also results in its own saṃskāra. Saṃskāras are different from vṛttis. When vṛttis are suppressed by voluntary control of cognitive activity, saṃskāras are not also controlled automatically because “they are not of the nature of acts of cognition” (Rukmani 1998, p. 15). Rather they are transcognitive. The niruddha exercise is an effort to control and suppress the transcognitive saṃskāras. It is assumed that the mind undergoes transformations as one saṃskāra recedes and another rises. However, there is a point in between the appearance of one and the disappearance of the other, when the mind takes no form. Nirodha results in expanding the duration of this point in which the mind has taken no form, whether conscious vṛtti or unconscious saṃskāra. In other words, the mind is then devoid of any content, conscious, or unconscious. This is the seedless or asamprajñāta state of the mind. With no content of its own, the mind comes face to face, as it were, with consciousness and reflects consciousness-as-such. Taimni (2005) appears to interpret this sūtra on similar lines. “Between two successive impressions there must be a momentary state in which the mind has no impression at all or is present in an unmodified condition. The object of nirodha pariṇāma is to produce at will this momentary state and gradually extend it, so that the mind can exist for a considerable duration in this unmodified state” (p. 294). As Vijñānabhikṣu explains, cognitions “are not the material cause of subliminal impressions (saṃskāras); therefore, even when the cognitions are restricted, the subliminal impressions are not restrained, the idea is that acts of cognition are only efficient causes (and not material causes; therefore, even when there is

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disappearance of the act of cognition, the cause for the removal of its subliminal impressions is to be sought elsewhere” (Rukmani 1998, p. 17). For this reason, the control of cognitive activity achieved at the samprajñāta state is not sufficient to reach a state of niruddha. This involves another step and in some respects qualitatively different from the previous ones. Consequently asamprajñāta samādhi may be seen as qualitatively different from samprajñāta samādhi. The mind flows peacefully following the nirodha saṃskāra (III.10). With continuous practice and experience of nirodha pariṇāma, the mind of the yogin gets habituated to enter into niruddha state with ease and stay in it for longer durations. The mind is the theater with changing scenes and characters. Cognitive activity is the enactment of the script provided by the sensory inputs, which is edited and directed by the behind-the-scenes saṃskāras, which are essentially feedback loops of past enactments. When the yogin learns to restrict the sensory inputs, there is no script to follow. Therefore, there is increasing dependence on the behind-the-scenes prompting of saṃskāras. As the yogin attempts to restrict the rising of the saṃskāras due to past cognitive activity, there arises the saṃskāra of nirodha (suppression). With practice, nirodha saṃskāra is reinforced and the cognitive saṃskāras get weakened. With the proficiency in nirodha practice and the transformation (pariṇāma) of the mind into nirodha mode, the cognitive saṃskāras are overwhelmed by nirodha saṃskāra and the mind flows peacefully as the turbulence generated by the sensory inputs and the saṃskāras subsides. Now, nirodha becomes a habit. To sustain and make it permanent is the goal. The evolution of samādhi state (samādhi pariṇāma) consists in the subsiding of distractions and the rise of focused attention of the mind (III.11). Attention is what guides the mind. Attention may be wandering or focused. With attention wandering the mind is distracted. Focused attention makes the mind stable. With practice of yoga, the wandering mind becomes focused and absorbed in the object of cognition. This is samādhi pariṇāma, the movement of the mind into samādhi state. As Vyāsa explains, the transition of the mind into the state of samādhi is not abrupt and sudden but gradually evolving because one cannot control distractions or achieve one-pointedness of the mind in an instant. Practice decreases the wandering and strengthens one-pointedness of the mind. It may be noted that samādhi pariṇāma is not a negative state of mere absence of distractions, but a positive state conducive to the emergence of pure states of consciousness as in asamprajñāta samādhi. Then again, when the subsiding and uprising cognitions are alike, there is the ekāgratā pariṇāma (one-pointed focus of the mind) (III.12). In other words, when the mind has a one-pointed focus, the yogin has identical cognitions successively over a period of time without any distractions or intrusions of different cognitions. Then, she is said to enter into the one-pointed focus state (ekāgratā pariṇāma). In the preceding sutras, Patanjali has explained the transformations the mind undergoes by yoga practice, culminating in a focused mind in a state of Samadhi, made possible by controlling all distractions and by suppressing the mental activity (nirodha). Now, he goes on to state that it is possible to bring out similar transformations in the elements of the universe and the senses that process information

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from them. What is possible with regard to the mind is also possible with the external world. By that (the same process) are explained the transformations in the character (dharma), condition (lakṣaṇa) and state (avasthā) of the physical elements (bhūtās) and the senses (indriyas) (III.13). This sūtra as remarkable for what it says as it is for what it does not say. It explicitly asserts that transformations of the character, condition and state of the physical objects and the senses are possible like the transformations of the mind by yogic effort and practice. It does not say, however, how this is possible. The how question is important in that this sutra is the core, and the critical base for anchoring the siddhis (manifestation of extraordinary mental and physical phenomena) that are the subjects of discussion in the rest of this part of Yoga-Sūtras. Here, one expects to find the basis and rationale for psychophysical, mind–matter interactions involved in the so-called supernatural phenomena. How does the control of mind in a state of samādhi bring about the transformations in the material world? Patañjali leaves out the answer to his commentators to fill in. It is possible that Patañjali felt that the answer is obvious in Sāṃkhya physics, which yoga shares. We may recall that in Sāṃkhya-Yoga, the mind is physical like the senses and the objects in the world. The physical universe is in a state of continuous change like the ever fluctuating mind. Like the mind, the physical world in general is driven by the three basic guṇas which combine in different proportions, mutually opposing each other. Therefore, there is nothing intrinsically alien between the mind and material things to foreclose the analogy. What is possible with the mind is also possible with the rest of prakṛti manifestations, the material forms. Now, just as the ever-fluctuating mind becomes tranquil and quiescent in the standstill state of samādhi, so also do the character, condition and the state of elements can be affected to deviate from their natural course of fluctuations. The theory of the transformation of the mind is now extended to all objects in the physical world. Patañjali speaks of transformations in three domains. First, the transformations relate to the natural character, attribute (dharma) of a thing. It is called dharma pariṇāma. In other words, it is possible for the yogin to change the properties of a physical object. Second, lakṣaṇa pariṇāma refers to temporal condition, transformation of the object in time. It is the localization of an object with certain characteristics that makes sensory knowledge of it possible. Further the object so situated undergoes transformations in its state such as a fruit which grows, ripens and decays, or the child ages to be an old man. This is avasthā pariṇāma. Dharma-lakṣaṇa-avasthā transformations of material objects are similar to nirodha-samādhi-ekāgratā transformations of the mind as described in sūtras 9 through 12 in this part. Nirodha-pariṇāma involves a transformation of the basic attribute/property of the mind, which is ever-wavering and distracted by nature. Samādhi pariṇāma, like lakṣaṇa-pariṇāma, involves the change of character of mentation free from temporal constraints. Finally, ekāgratā-pariṇāma is transformation of the state (avasthā) of the mind. Time—past, present and future—does not refer to a thing as such, but to its manifest forms. All the things in the universe evolve out of primordial matter. In the process, the matter takes different forms, characteristics, and states. The different

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conditions of time—past, present and future—do not refer to matter as such but to the different forms it takes. As Vyāsa says: “The three time-forms do not belong to the substance but to the external aspects” (Woods 1914/2007, p. 215). An object is the external aspect of the substance. It is known by its activity. In the object that is present, its activity is manifest. When it is suppressed, it goes into the past and stays subtle. The future object is that in which the activity is latent. The past object is not nonexistent. Its existence is subtle and therefore is not accessible to normal sensory contact. “When it merges into its cause, it becomes subtle” (Leggett 1990/ 1990, p. 298). So, we have the manifest form of a thing in the present. It is subtle in the past and latent in the future. It is the same object, but in different temporal forms. Similarly, whatever is the manifest character of a thing, yet it is a plate or a pot. The same woman can be sister to one and mother to another. The transformations, we are told, refer to the elements as well as to the senses, which means that what can be affected are not only the external aspects of things but also knowledge of them. Thus, the sutra provides for not only extraordinary cognitive abilities but also extraordinary transformation of the external aspects of objects. If it is the case that a thing contains within itself all of its past, present and future forms, some explicit and some implicit or subtle at the manifest level, it should be possible in principle to know them. In other words, the object in the past and the one in the future are not nonexistent in the present. They exist in different time frames and if one could shift her focus from the present to the past or future, she would be able to know it as it was in the past or what it would be in the future. This is made possible by the transformations that take place in the sensory processes. Again, since the attribute of an object is a function of the combination of the guṇas it should be possible to change the attribute, character, condition and state of a thing by altering the guṇa composition and their relative proportional combination. Transformation or change in a thing consists in the manifestation of another characteristic and the cessation of the one before, which recedes into the past. But the underlying substratum remains the same while the manifest forms continue to change. The characteristics, whether subtle, active or manifest inhere in the substratum (III.14). The substratum (dharmi) is that in which all attributes, whether manifest or unmanifest, subtle and suppressed or active, inhere. When a particular attribute (dharma) ceases, it returns to the original source in prakṛti and exists in a subtle form. There can be no attribute, characteristic or property independently or apart from the substratum. Thus, all possible forms of things potentially exist in the substratum. In fact, they are none other than the interplay of the underlying guṇas. These forms are couched in the three time frames. Those forms of the past exist as subtle and inactive, whereas those in the present are currently active and perceived. The forms of the future are the latent ones yet to manifest and therefore presently indescribable. Thus, the substratum correlates with an attribute (dharma) of the past, present, or future form. The cause of the changes in the form is the change in the ordering (III.15). Whenever there is a change of form, it is due to the ordering, the sequential arrangement of dharma, lakṣaṇa, and avasthā of the thing. The phenomenon of the

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universe is the continuous differentiation of succession in the three dimensions of dharma, lakṣaṇa, and avasthā. From the perspective of dharma (character), for example, we notice a bucketful of earth first as powder, a lump of mud, and then an object shaped as pot. As the lump appears, the powder disappears; and as the pot appears, the lump disappears. This is the ordering of the attributes (dharma). Situating the mud or the pot in the present, past, or future is succession of lakṣaṇa. The present succeeds the past, and the future succeeds the present. The succession of avasthā is seen in the child growing and in the process of ageing. The physics of Sāṃkhya-Yoga provides at best the theoretical base for the presumptive possibilities for the occurrence of extraordinary phenomena; but the details as to how this is done are not explained with any degree of clarity by Patañjali or his principal commentators. It would seem that the belief in siddhis and the possibility of developing them were so widespread during Patañjali’s time that these extraordinary phenomena were taken as real, and possibly they were frequently encountered in life. Also, it is likely that the psychic development technology in the form of yoga was sufficiently advanced to be convincing without the necessary insights into the relevant theory. This probably had a crippling effect in furthering psychic science. The preoccupation with the applied aspects of knowledge might have indirectly contributed to the neglect of the underlying theory in the absence of which further developments are often precluded. It would seem that this was the case not merely in the area of psychic phenomena but something that characterized science in general in classical Indian tradition, where technology took over theory. The emphasis on application possibly had a strangling effect that limited science to the development of a few useful practices without exploiting the full potential of a scientific discovery.>

Psychic Powers Part III of Yoga-Sūtras, as the title Vibhūti Pāda appropriately informs us, deals primarily with siddhis, paranormal phenomena commonly designated as psychic phenomena. We discussed these phenomena at some length as they were investigated in the West. We also provided the Indian views on the subject in Chap. 3. What follows here is a simple description of a variety of extraordinary phenomena that the yogin encounters as she moves forward on the path of freedom (kaivalya) following practices as given in Yoga-Sūtras. By practicing perfect meditation (saṃyama) on the three-fold transformations (dharma, lakṣaṇa and avasthā) [one gains] the knowledge of the past and the future (III.16). Now, Patanjali proceeds to explain how a variety of paranormal phenomena are obtained by practicing perfect meditation, which involves the triple effort of dhāraṇā, dhyāna and samādhi as explained earlier. Patañjali suggests that it is possible to have intuitive knowledge relating to the past and the future of a thing by meditating on the pariṇāmatraya, the three transformations—dharma, lakṣaṇa, and avasthā—of the thing. The present is not included because it is

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directly accessible to sensory perception. Such intuitive insight into the nature of the thing is possible because, as explained in III.13, past and future of a thing are inherent in the thing itself in subtle and latent forms, which, though not accessible to the normal sensory processes, are accessible to the mind engaged in perfect meditation involving the triple factors of dhāraṇā, dhyāna, and samādhi. As Bhoja explains in his commentary on this sūtra, the mind after saṃyama (perfect meditation) becomes preponderantly sattvic overcoming the distortions brought about by the other two guṇas that cloud and colour the radiant light of sattva. Perfect meditation helps to wipe clean the mirror of the mind embellished by the stains caused by the presence of rajas and tamas so that the mind can reflect the true nature of things. The mind in its pure sattva mode is capable of apprehending everything, whether remote in time or space, by the sheer force of concentration and the imaginative insight saṃyama is presumed to generate. There is confusion when the word, the object it denotes and the idea it presents are erroneously identified. From perfect meditation on the distinctiveness of each of them arises the intuitive awareness of the cries of all creatures (III.17). We often fail to make a distinction between the word “cow,” the object cow and the thought of cow. This causes confusion because they are different and distinctive. “Word” is that which “can be uttered in speech, and heard by ear.” Each of the letters has associated sound. These sounds are compounded in a word in a distinctive way to make it intelligible, unlike the bark of a dog or the roar of a lion. There is a kind of cooperative interdependence among the letter-sounds making a word. In such a relation, the letter-sounds are unambiguously determined by convention, and consequently they cannot express anything else. There is thus an inseparable connection between the word, what it stands for and its meaning. The meaning itself exists eternally and independently but inseparably connected to the word and the object it denotes. Yoga subscribes to the sphota theory of language. According to sphota-vada, there is something beyond the letters in a word that flashes forth when the word is presented and becomes instrumental in giving rise to the cognition of an object. That flash which spontaneously springs forth when a word is uttered or heard is called sphota (essence). Sphota is self-existent and not inherent in the word. It eternally signifies the same meaning. The spontaneously flashed sphota which illumines the mind with meaning of the word is dependent on the word to the extent that it springs forth on the presentation of the word, but it is not caused or generated by the word. The meaningful word is thus not the same as the sounds of the letters it contains. It is reduced to point to an object. The object leads to an idea of the object. The object is supported by the word as well as the thought it produces. However, the thought persists without the related word or the object. Similarly, the object exists whether or not there are the word and related thought. Thus, the three—the word, the associated object and idea—are distinct. When the yogin practices perfect meditation on the distinctness of these three aspects, she would have the intuitive understanding of the cries of other creatures. This may be extended to mean that the yogin by this process acquires the ability to understand the meaning of every sound uttered by any creature.

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Patañjali describes several other kinds of extraordinary knowledge that can be acquired by engaging in perfect meditation. By doing saṃyama on one’s saṃskāras, knowledge of her previous births is obtained (III.18). By performing saṃyama on the thought of another person the mind of that person is known (III.19). However, what are known are not the underlying objects (III.20) because they are not the focus of the yogin. Saṃyama makes direct perception possible. Ordinary perception involves sensory meditation, and is therefore not direct. However, direct perception is nonsensory intuitive awareness arising from the practice of perfect meditation on specialized items such as saṃskāras (see the subsection on yoga for further elaboration of this in Chapter S). Perfect meditation (saṃyama) appears to lead the yogin to higher states of mind. The abilities accruing from the exercise of saṃyama are not limited to intuitive awareness and extraordinary knowledge. The yogin, according to Patañjali, can perform feats such as making herself invisible to others. By performing saṃyama on the bodily form, its potential to be perceived is blocked, and thus when the connection between the light (emanating from the body) and the eye is severed the body becomes invisible (III.21). Similar is the case with the disappearance of sound and others (III.22). Sutra III.22 is not found in some editions of YogaSūtras (e.g., Woods 1914/2007). Karma may be active or dormant. Perfect meditation on them (the two aspects of karma) or the signs [of death] gives knowledge of death (III.23). [By performing saṃyama] on friendship and other [sentiments like compassion and tolerance] [one gains those] powers (III.24). [Perfect meditation] on powers [gives] the strength of elephant (III.25). Directing the light [of sattva] toward them the knowledge of the subtle, hidden and distant [is obtained] (III.26). Patanjali goes on to state further that perfect meditation on the sun [gives the knowledge of] the cosmic spaces (III.27), on the moon the knowledge of stars (III.28), on the polar star the knowledge of planetary motions (III.29); and on the navel center knowledge of the arrangement of the body (III.30). Saṃyama on the gullet [gives rise to] cessation of hunger and thirst (III.31), on the kūrmanādi, steadiness (III.32), on the light in the head, the vision of perfect beings (III.33), on pratibha, knowledge of everything (III.34), and on the heart, the awareness of the mind (III.35). As discussed earlier, saṃyama involves the triple effort of dhāraṇā, dhyāna, and samādhi. The quintessence of samādhi is the disappearance of the difference between the subject and the object. It involves voluntary negation of normal cognitive activity. The subject–object dichotomy is the ground condition of cognitive knowing. In the process of knowing, the subject and object are experienced as two distinct things. Consequently, in a relationship of identity between subject and object, as is the case with samādhi, knowing in the cognitive sense is precluded. We are told by Patañjali that the triple effort of saṃyama brings about the three fold transformations of the mind—nirodha, samādhi, and ekāgratā. Nirodha refers to the suppression of normal cognitive activity. When the yogin enters samādhi, her mind is quiescent and tranquil. Ekāgratā is focused attention. Thus in a state of perfect meditation (saṃyama), there is on the one hand suppression of normal

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cognitive activity and the merging of the subject and object disabling the cognitive function, and, on the other hand, there develops the ability to direct focused attention toward a desired object. What can we make of this paradoxical state where there is the cessation of subject–object dichotomy and at the same time the subject is able to focus attention on a desired object? It would seem (a) that nirodha transformation of the mind relates only to the normal cognitive activity of the mind that basically involves sensory processing of information and (b) that the mind is still active and capable of transcognitive functions. When the yogin enters into a state of samādhi, he enters into a pure conscious state. However, the mind still functions, consequently it is an intentional state exercising volition that guides the yogin in her pursuit. The pure conscious state is one where (a) knowledge exists on its own independent of sensory mediation; (b) with the voluntary cessation of subject–object dichotomy there is unity of knowing and being as the subject “merges” with the object; and (c) there is the emergence of a new way of accessing information. With its purified buddhi, and sattva shining forth and tamas and rajas suppressed, the mind is in a position to reflect consciousness directly without the sensory inputs. That appears to be the reason why Patañjali refers to the extraordinary awareness made possible by saṃyama as direct perception. Direct perception is accessing consciousness-as-such. The variety of extraordinary knowledge the yogin is capable of realizing is due to her ability to access consciousness-as-such in a state of samādhi. Now, performing saṃyama with the mind’s intentionality intact has the effect of guiding the mind to the desired knowledge. It represents the derigibility aspect of knowing. Basking in pure consciousness is a generalized nonspecific act of knowing, and not a specific information state. Accessing consciousness-as-such in samādhi appears to be a two-step process. To have access to information contained in a computer, one needs first to have (a) access to the computer and (b) then the skill to press the relevant key to open the required file. The variety of samyama functions Patañjali speaks of are like the necessary codes to open the relevant files. Pure consciousness is omniscience that is potentially available for accessing by the mind in a state of samādhi, and saṃyama helps to guide the mind to the relevant source. In a state of pure consciousness knowing is being. The essence of subject–object identity is the merging of knowing and being as may be seen from the inherent unity of cognition and conduct in perfect beings. A true saint is one who experiences no difference between belief and behaviour. Her actions and thoughts, knowing and being blend harmoniously. The more important implication here is the indivisibility of thought and action at the level of pure consciousness. Therefore, along with the ability to have extraordinary knowledge of remote, hidden and distant things, the yogin practicing perfect meditation gains powers to do extraordinary things. Puruṣa in Sāṃkhya-Yoga as we noted is pure consciousness. Pure mind (buddhi) is sattva unblemished by the other guṇas. Puruṣa and sattva are, however, different. We often ignore this and conflate the sattva of the mind and consciousness of the puruṣa. Such confusion is implicit in the experience of one’s phenomenal encounters, where the sattva of experience is mistaken for puruṣa. This is

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facilitated by the nonsattvic impurities in the mind. In the Advaita view, this is due to māyā, the primeval misconstrual, that is behind the vyāvahārika (phenomenal) experience as distinguished from the pāramārtha, the transcendental realization. In a similar vein, Patañjali says that in experiencing the world of objects, we do not appreciate the basic difference between sattva and puruṣa, as the consciousness is clouded by the impurities of the mind. Experience is an idea that fails to make the distinction between sattva and puruṣa, which are absolutely distinct. Perfect meditation on that which exists for its own sake gives knowledge of the puruṣa (III.36). Puruṣa is the one that exists for itself, whereas sattva and all prakṛti exist for the sake of puruṣa. In other words, saṃyama on puruṣa gives the knowledge of puruṣa. From this arise intuitive awareness of sound, feelings, sight, taste and smell (III.37). Thus, directing saṃyama on puruṣa that exists for its own sake makes it possible to have extrasensory awareness such as clairvoyance in its inclusive sense of all sense of all sensory modalities. The yogin therefore is credited with the ability to hear, see, feel, taste, and smell that which is remote in time and space and inaccessible to ordinary sensory contact. Eventhough such a potential exists, the yogin has to be careful because, though they are siddhis to the evolving mind, they are obstacles to the samādhi itself (III.38), because they become distractions and impediments to the focused mind in a state of samādhi, seeking salvation (kaivalya). By overwhelming the cause of bondage and by the knowledge of mind’s movements, the mind [will gain the ability] to enter another body (III.39). The mind in Yoga theory is independent of the body, but it is localized in one body because of its accumulated karma that binds it to that body. Such localization is considered the karma-tied bondage of the mind. Perfect meditation on the antecedent karma causing the present bondage would help to loosen the connection between the mind and the body. Saṃyama, on the way the mind passes through and pervades the body, makes it possible for the mind to leave its body and enter another. As noted earlier, breathing (prāṇāyāma) is an important preliminary step in yoga practice. It is linked to yoga physiology which accords a variety of functions to breath in addition to sustaining life. Depending on different functions it performs, breath is given different names. Also, it is called differently relative to the area of its focus. The breath arising from the nose and mouth and extending to the heart is prāṇa. Breath that spreads to the navel is samāna. In udāna, the breath moves up to the head. Apāna is the downward breath that extends to the sole of the foot. Vyāna is the breath that pervades the entire body. Of course, prāṇa is the most vital of them all sustaining life. As a result of gaining mastery over the process of udāna (the upward lifting of the breath) he moves untouched over water, mud, thorns or other similar objects and rises above them (III.40). It is believed that the yogin performing saṃyama on the udāna is able to walk over water because udāna lifts her up. Mastery over the samāna [gives rise to] radiance (III.41). It is believed that gaining control over samāna with its seat in the navel area, the yogin would be able to burn the digestive fires that produce a glow around the body seen as an aura noticeably around the head. By performing saṃyama on the relation between the

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sense of hearing and ākāśa (ether) [the yogin obtains the power of] paranormal hearing (III.42). Perfect meditation on the relation between the body and ākāśa or by coalescencing the mind [with things like] light cotton, it would be possible to pass through air (III.43). In the Yoga theory of perception, the mind by going out to the object external to it takes the form of the object perceived, which is called vṛtti. In the perceptual process, the mind, however, is anchored to the body of the person and the contacts with the external world are channeled through the senses. One could imagine the mind being out of the body (videha) while still connected to the body of the person in whom the mind is localized. Thus, when the ego connection of the externally focused/projected mind is intact, the resultant out-of-body experience is imaginary. However, it is possible by meditation to sever the ego connection, while the mind is externally placed, resulting in a true out-of-body mental event. This would be a genuine out-of-body state. The great out-of-body (mahāvideha) state is a nonimaginary transformation (vṛtti) of the externally placed mind; from which result the dwindling away of the obstructions to illumination (III.44). The genuine out-of-body experience is a state of the mind when the mind is no longer localized in the body. When the mind attains such a state by practicing focused attention (dhāraṇā) on being out-of-body, the stains of karma deposited by rajasic and tamasic aspects of the mind are wiped out so that one has the true illuminations of consciousness reflected in the mind. In the yogic tradition, it is believed that it is possible to have such genuine out-of-body states that enable the yogin among other things to enter other bodies. Perfect meditation (saṃyama) on the gross (sthūla), the intrinsic form (svarūpa), the subtle (sukṣma), the relational (anvaya) and purposive (arthavattva) aspects of the elements (bhūtas) gives mastery over them (III.45). It is assumed that in the material world, there are five elements (pañca-bhūtas). They are earth, water, air, fire, and ether (ākāśa). They exist in five states. The five elements may not be construed as five substances each with an underlying substratum. Rather each element is an aggregate of some generic and some special forms. When an element is seen in its gross states, it has the phenomenal form, which is specific to a given form. The various manifest properties such as shape and size come under this category of the gross. Svarūpa refers to the intrinsic form, the essential attribute of the element. This is generic and universal to a given element. For example, heat is the svarūpa of fire. The subtle aspects of the elements are the tanmātras, which are their causes. They refer to the ultimate atoms that give rise to the elements. The fourth aspect, anvaya refers to the relational function of the element, which in Sāṃkhya-Yoga view is an outcome of the guṇa composition. Inasmuch as the guṇas inhere in the elements, they help realize the inherent tendencies—sattva leads to knowledge and rajas to activity while tamas stands obstructing them. Thus, the guṇa inherence is at the root of the relational functions of the elements. The fifth refers to the teleological aspects of the elements. The purposefulness of the elements is twofold—one to have experience and the other to gain freedom from the existential bondage.

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It may be kept in mind that the five elements also correspond with the five senses. Pṛthvī (earth) is related to smell, jala (water) to taste, tejas (fire, light) to sight, vāyu (air) to touch, and ākāśa (ether)to hearing (Taimini 2005). Therefore, it is suggested that by performing saṃyama on the elements, the yogin gains excellence in and mastery over sensory functions. Perfect meditation on the five forms of the elements gives the yogin the mastery over them so that she would be able to affect all kinds of changes in them. As a result, arise anima (the power to be as small as an atom) and other siddhis along with the perfection of body and nonobstruction by the properties of the elements (III.46). In the yogic tradition, there are eight mahāsiddhis (great powers). They include in addition to anima, mahima (the power to expand into space and become big), laghima (the power to become heavy, prāpti (the power to reach out anywhere), prākāmya (the power to realize any wish), iśtava (the power to create), and vaśitva (the power to command and conquer). Thus, the yogin by performing saṃyama on the five states of the elements can become small or large and light or heavy. She would be capable of achieving and attaining anything, creating and commanding a variety of the manifestations of the elements. Also, the body becomes perfect, and the properties of the elements do not obstruct the yogin so that she can pass through walls and walk on fire without being burnt. The perfection of body is seen in the beauty, grace, power and the diamond like hardiness (III.47). So far, the discussion relates to saṃyama on the five elements and the five aspects of those elements. Now, Patañjali goes on to discuss the powers to be gained by perfect meditation on the senses and their five different aspects. From perfect meditation on the cognitive process, intrinsic nature, I-ness (asmitā), relatedness (anvaya), and purposiveness (arthavattva) [comes] mastery over the sense organs (III.48). We may readily note the similarity of this sūtra with III.45. The only significant difference is the replacement of tanmātras with asmitā. In this view, the I-ness is fundamentally tied to the cognitive process as the atoms of sight, taste, etc. are tied to the gross objects. I-ness is to cognition what sound is to hearing and light is to seeing. Thus, by performing saṃyama on the cognitive process, understanding (the intrinsic nature), subjectivity (I-ness), the relational and purposive aspects of sensory modalities, one can gain complete control over the sensory functions. As a result [one acquires perceptual ability] with the speed of the mind (manojavitam) independent of the instrumentality of the senses and mastery over primordial matter (pradhāna) (III.49). The yogin is able to accelerate the speed of sensory processing to make it almost instantaneous as in the case of mental processing, transcending the actual involvement of the sensory apparatus. In other words, the yogin will be able to acquire extrasensory abilities when she gains the mastery of the senses by perfect meditation. In addition, she would also gain control over prakṛti, the primordial matter, also called pradhāna, which means that the yogin would be in a position to command or create the occurrence of any physical manifestation. She becomes omnipotent. Patanjali further elaborates. From the awareness of the distinctive relation between sattva and puruṣa [arise] mastery of all things and knowledge of everything, and (III.50) from nonattachment even to them come the spiritual

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liberation (kaivalya) and the destruction of the seeds of bondage (III.51). Perfect meditation on the distinctive sattva–puruṣa relationship makes the yogin omnipotent and omniscient. When the yogin becomes indifferent to all such powers, the seeds of bondage cease to sprout, and the yogin attains perfection in freedom, the state of kaivalya, and the goal of her pursuit. Patañjali warns that these acquired powers should not end in themselves. Taking pride in them would act as counter to the yogin’s essential quest of freedom from passion and attachment to achieve the state of kaivalya. Manifestation of these siddhis attract attention from the powers that be who accord the yogin a place of pride and shower on her praises and positions of honour. The yogin should avoid pride or pleasure when honoured by celestial (as well as terrestrial) rulers, because of the negative effects that follow (III.52). As mentioned in sūtra I-12, practice and detachment are the essential aspects of yoga. Therefore, attachment anywhere, anytime to anything will generate the evils that impede further progress towards kaivalya. Therefore, the yogin should have no attachment to those siddhis and be totally indifferent to them and the honours they might bring. The commentators on Yoga-Sūtras tell us that there are four stages in yogic development and consequently four degrees of yogic excellence. The first is the preliminary stage called prathamkalpika. At this stage, the yogin experiences occasional glimpses of paranormal experience which becomes the focus of meditation as Vyāsa points out while commenting on sūtra I.35. The second called madhu-bhūmika or madhupratica, which is a state as sweet as honey. It is the stage indicated by ṛtambharā prajñā (I.48), where one has self-certifying and truth-bearing knowledge which we interpret as a transcognitive experience of truth in one’s being. The third degree of yogic development is called bhūtendriya-jayin or prajñā-jyoti. It is the stage when the yogin gains control over the senses, and because of it has mastery of everything. The final stage is atikrāntabhāvnīya. It is the stage of kaivalya. The yogin is advised to be cautious as he begins to go beyond stage one when all kinds of temptations and inducements come in the way. Any compromise here and emergence of attachments of any sort would harm the yogin and prevent her from reaching the stage four state of kaivalya. By perfect meditation on movements (kṣaṇa) and their sequences [one gains] discriminative insight (III.53). Kṣaṇa is the smallest unit of time, which cannot be further broken and divided. Succession of the moments gives us the sense of time. Performing saṃyama on movements and their succession in time gives the yogin the ability to understand the significant differences among the seemingly similar things. Considering the context and the stage of the yogin’s development at this point, it would seem that the discriminative insight refers here to the essential difference between buddhi and puruṣa, the former moving in time and the latter a constant transcending time in all its manifest forms. From such discriminative insight arises knowledge of the difference between similar things indistinguishable by class, characteristic or position (III.54). This sūtra is usually interpreted to refer to the power of the yogin performing saṃyama to have direct perception of objects by transcending the constraints of space, time and sensory

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qualities of objects. This may not be disputed; but the sūtra appears to indicate more about knowing puruṣa-as-such without buddhi mediation. Discriminative insight encompassing all and at all times [occurring] simultaneously is transcendent (Tārakam) (III.55). Discriminative insight gives rise to transcendental awareness, which does not come in bits but as a gestalt that includes every bit harmoniously unified. Having all things as its object, encompassing all time zones, extending to every location, and including every conceivable property and characteristic in one insight is considered the crowning state of the yogin. This is something that cannot be taught or otherwise learned. It arises in a flash as an intuition. Its ray is said to be yoga light. Such knowledge has to be essentially noncognitive because its acquisition defies all rules of cognition. Tāraka may also be understood as deliverer, knowledge that leads the yogin to the ultimate state of kaivalya. Kaivalya is the state where the purity of sattva and puruṣa are equal (III.56). When the discriminative insight of the kind referred above is achieved, knowledge in its greatest splendor arises; buddhi finds itself as sattva in its ultimate purity. Thus, when sattva in the mind becomes pure, it reflects consciousness without any blemish, and the puruṣa is thus established in his own true nature (I.3). With the dawn of such wisdom, ignorance is wiped out once and for all, and the seeds that taint the mind are fully burnt. The person enters the state of kaivalya and enjoys absolute freedom from all constraints that afflict human condition.

References Leggett, A. J. (1990/2006). The problems of physics. Oxford University Press. Rukmani, T. S. (1998). Yogavarttika of Vijñanabhiksu: Vol. III (Vibhutipada Text with English translation and critical notes). Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Private Limited. Rukmani, T. S. (2001). Yogasutras of Patañjali: With the commentary of Vyāsa. Montreal: Chair in Hindu Studies, Concordia University. Taimni, I. K. (2005). The science of yoga: The Yoga-Sutra of Patañjali in Sanskrit with transliteration in Roman, translation and commentary in English. Adyar, Chennai, India: The Theosophical Publishing House. Woods, J. H. (1914/2007). The yoga system of Patanjali. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.

Chapter 4

Kaivalya: The Goal of Yoga

The fourth part of Yoga-Sūtras, entitled Kaivalya Pāda, deals with the final goal of yoga, viz. the transformation of the person into a perfect being. It is a state of freedom. The person is free from the corruptions that afflict life. In it, one enjoys the purity of mind and the splendor of participating in consciousness-as-such. It is generally acknowledged that Patañjali, in his attempt to present a systematic treatise on yoga, had also sought to bring together a variety of yogic practices and beliefs prevalent at the time. Rukmani (1989), who has called special attention to this, says that the “greatness of Patañjali lies in the skill with which he fitted these various traditions into a framework having as its ultimate goal kaivalya or liberation” (p. 147). We may draw two important implications from this observation. First, YogaSūtras is a systematic treatise with a theoretical thread running through the entire book, as we have tried to show in a previous chapter. Second, a number of things mentioned, such as the numerous siddhis referred to in Vibhūti Pāda, are beliefs associated with yoga among its practitioners at the time. These appear to be extraneous rather than intrinsic to yoga, because it is generally considered that involvement in them is inimical to achieving the ultimate goal of kaivalya. The fact that Patañjali merely mentions many of these without going into their modus operandi suggests that he is simply accepting these beliefs and not asserting them as hypotheses flowing from the yoga theory and supported by available empirical data. Also, Patañjali, as we will note in a later sūtra (III.37), unambiguously states that the siddhis are obstacles in the way of attaining kaivalya. However, it may not be construed that these siddhis are sheer imaginary. Rather they are widespread beliefs of the time, the validity of at least some of these claims should be found elsewhere and not in Patañjali’s system as such. Interestingly, the very first sūtra of Kaivalya Pāda says that siddhis may arise at birth (inherited) or accrue from consuming sacred herbs (auṣadhi), chanting hymns (mantras), practicing sacred austerities (tapas) or entering into a state of samādhi (IV.1). Again, Patañjali is likely referring here to the prevalent beliefs rather than his own system, which deals actually with samādhi alone. © The Author(s) 2017 K.R. Rao, Foundations of Yoga Psychology, DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-5409-9_4

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The sūtra that follows, it would seem, is an attempt to demystify some of the miraculous manifestations and transformations associated with siddhis mentioned in the third part and to provide a natural explanation for them. The transformation from one kind to another is due to the natural flow of prakṛti (prakṛtyāpūrāt) (IV.2). It may be recalled that in Sāṃkhya-Yoga cosmology, prakṛti with its three ingredients (guṇas)—sattva, rajas, and tamas—evolves itself into the multitude of physical manifestations we find amidst us. Our body and the mind, the animals and creatures that abound around us, and the many physical objects from the mountains to molehills we see are nothing but the flow of prakṛti and the arrangement of the guṇas in different proportions. Therefore, there is nothing absurd or a priori impossible in the transformation of person from one species to another or one mind penetrating into other bodies. Why is it then that these phenomena are so sporadic, uncommon, and do not occur on one’s command? Why is there the kind of natural uniformity and orderliness in the way things manifest so that we usually expect some things to happen and others not? In other words, why are siddhis such extraordinary phenomena? Clearly, there is no black magic here, but an orderly transition according to the laws governing karmāśaya across life cycles. As Patañjali states in the following sūtra: There is no efficient cause to bring about the transformations except removing the barriers that obstruct the natural flow like the farmer irrigating the field (IV.3). The role of the person in the process of transformation is like that of the farmer who can remove the obstructions so that the water can flow in the field freely, but cannot create water himself. Does yoga subscribe then to some kind of pervasive determinism? The answer is both “yes” and “no.” “Yes” because the person cannot make prakṛti to follow his intentions. “No” because the actions of the person do influence the flow of prakṛti either by removing or creating the obstructions to its evolutionary flow. Virtuous actions (dharma) facilitate the process while vicious (adharma) ones impede it. Yoga upholds the thesis of the cycle of reciprocal causality between thought and action, mind and matter. Actions generate memory traces stored as saṃskāras in the mind. Saṃskāras fuel the processes of the mind, which in turn cause actions, and the cycle continues perpetually until broken by effort. In the sūtras to follow, Patañjali explains some of the processes involved in the transformations of thoughts and actions of people, showing the way for ending the cycle of reciprocal psychophysical causation. The mind has the inherent ability to create more minds. The constructed (additional) minds [arise] from the sense of I-ness (asmitā) alone (IV.4). According to Sāṃkhya-Yoga, all our minds have their origin in the mahat from which ahaṃkāra, the ego sense, evolves. The sense of I-ness (asmitā), the core individuality of the person, arises from the mahattattva to which the yogin has access and consequently is able to duplicate other minds. Each of these duplicate minds is credited with its own activities. However, while a variety of activities emanate from the created minds, the mind that directs them is one (IV.5). For this reason, the yogin is in charge of the different manifestations and transformations that arise from the exercise of his siddhis, the extraordinary powers.

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The miraculous transformations and the supernormal feats of yogins in exercising their siddhis may arise from one of the five sources as mentioned in sūtra IV.1. Of these those arising from meditation (dhyāna) leave no impressions (saṃskāras) behind (IV.6). In other words, the yogic feats that arise from birth or induced by drugs, mantras, or tapas generate the subliminal impressions that fuel future thoughts and actions whereas those arising in the meditative state of samādhi are free from depositing karma and leaving saṃskāras behind, and therefore, they do not contribute to the perpetuation of the cycle of reciprocal psychophysical causation. According to Yoga, our actions deposit karma that stays with us until it comes to fruition and its effects felt at an appropriate time. They are broadly three kinds of karma, which are described as white, black, and black and white (mixed). However, the karma arising from a yogin’s actions is neither white nor black; but for others it is of three kinds (IV.7). The concept “karma” is central in Indian thought cutting across different systems, including the heterodox such as Buddhism and Jainism. While the meaning, analysis and role of karma in life may vary somewhat from system to system, it is conceived by many as the natural law that connects the present with the past and the future. Karma is derived from the root kr, which refers to action. In a sense, the law of karma is a pervasive principle of causation. It is not, however, a fatalistic principle. It is a principle that does not preempt individual choice and initiative but preeminently upholds freedom of choice for personal transformation, while inducting order and morality into one’s being and becoming. Actions, whether good or bad, have consequences for the one engaged in them in the form of karma they generate. We accumulate karma, inherit it, and carry it until it works itself out or is intentionally burnt. This principle finds its full expression in Yoga theory. As we have noted earlier, the karmic residues of past actions are indeed the afflicting hurdles that one must overcome in his pursuit of kaivalya (II.12). The ground condition, the root cause of all afflictions, is avidyā (II.4), ignorance that results in mistaking the evanescent and impermanent as the eternal, the impure as the pure, suffering as pleasure, and the nonself as the self (II.15). These afflicting conditions of the mind manifest in the form of phenomenal states technically labeled as citta-vṛttis. The binding force of these phenomenal states is the sense of I (asmitā). By bracketing (to use Husserl’s expression) the asmitā, i.e., by transcending the ego involvement in experience and cultivating detachment, the yogin overcomes the afflictions of his actions and escapes from the congenital bondage born of the play of vṛttis. Consequently, the karma of yogin is neither black nor white. With ordinary people, the situation is different. There is the ubiquitous “I” in their thought and action. Consequently, their actions are colored. They are white when they are moral, are virtuous, and are in consonance with dharma. They are black when immoral and vicious. There are many shades between black and white in proportion to the mix of good and evil in one’s actions. The person reaps the consequences and the karma unfolds in his life in a variety of ways. The accumulated karma, which is of three kinds as mentioned, expresses itself in one’s thoughts and actions. At a given time, from these (three different kinds of

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karma), only those tendencies for which conditions are ripe come to fruition (IV.8). This sūtra explains why some karmic influences are currently felt while others lay dormant. Now, we may ask, how can karma of yester years or previous lives influence one’s conduct and being in the present or the future? Though separated by class and remote in space and time they (karma and its consequences) are causally related because of the association between memory and saṃskāras (IV.9). This sūtra explains how karma, which is individual specific, is also nonlocal and able to transcend space–time constraints. There is an intrinsic relation between memory and saṃskāra. Memory gives rise to saṃskāra, and saṃskāra in turn provokes memory and so on. Even though there is a subtle distinction between the concepts saṃskāras and vāsanās, it would seem that they are taken here as synonymous, as Vijñānabhikṣu points out. However, vāsanās appear to refer more to a group or cluster of saṃskāras rather than to individual saṃskāras. In a sense, vāsanās are nonlocal psychological complex dispositions. Though related to a person, they enjoy a kind of permanence, migrating birth to birth. These are without a beginning because the desire [to live] is endless (IV.10). This sūtra is psychologically important in that it specifies the origin of vāsanās in the living desires of the person. What is common for memories as well as vāsanās are the binding desires that cut across different life cycles. Memories, which involve the revival of cortical traces left behind by one’s experiences, are generally limited to the current life cycle, whereas vāsanās go beyond present life to include the past and likely future life events. Vāsanās are the propensities built into the psychological structure of the person resulting from the events prior to the present cycle. They appear more like drives, propensities with a genetic origin, which the evolutionary psychologists call phylogenetic distinguished from ontogenetic. If the vāsanās are indeed permanent fixtures in one’s psychological makeup without a discernable beginning, are they eternally indestructible? In the next sūtra, Patañjali answers: Inasmuch as they [vāsanās] are held together as cause-effect and substratum-object, they cease to exist with the cessation of the associated support (IV.11). What is the associated support? Where does it come from? The connection between the past and present saṃsāric existence may be found in the pervasive desire for pleasure and avoidance of pain that is deeply embedded as an ubiquitous predicament in the human condition that acts as the driving force in one’s thought and action. In Yoga theory, it is avidyā that sustains vāsanās. With the overcoming of avidyā, the vāsanās cease to operate. As Vyāsa explains: “From right-living results pleasure; from wrong-living, pain; from pleasure, passion; from pain, aversion; and from this struggle. Quivering in central-organ or in vocal-organ or in body with this [struggle], he either helps or injures another” (Woods 1914/ 2007, p. 314). This is just a phase in the cyclic movement of saṃsāra. The cycle of saṃsāra ceaselessly revolves, fueled by avidyā. Ignorance is thus the cause of vāsanās. Behind all this is the person’s motivation, the seeking of pleasure and avoiding pain, not knowing that what is seen as pleasure may turn out in the end as no other than pain. The substratum of all this is the mind, which harbors the vāsanās. A vāsanā is triggered in the mind when confronted with an object

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associated with the vāsanā. Thus, appropriate control of the mind and gaining right knowledge and overcoming ignorance would lead to the nonoperation of vāsanās in yogin’s life. The store house of saṃskāras and vāsanās is emptied by breaking the causal chain of their accumulation. It is the sense of I-ness and attachment born of it are the main culprits. Consequently, actions performed without such ego involvement and attachment do not give rise to saṃskāras. Here, there is an apparent contradiction. First, we are told that there is no beginning for the vāsanās and that they are permanent and ubiquitous like the desire to live. Then, it is said that they cease to exist when the cause sustaining them ceases. Also, what exists, exists. We can neither destroy the existent nor create that which does not exist. However, if we concede that the desires are natural, inborn, and imbedded in life and indeed have a critical role in its origin and continuation, it follows that control and elimination of desires would be the way to end the cycle of saṃsāra. This may be accomplished by burning the seeds of karma and overcoming saṃskāras, the “functioning” seeds. The prakṛti, the nature, the world of objects, unfolds itself by its own force and dynamism, we can only facilitate or impede its flow by removing or creating the hurdles. If so how can we account for the cessation of vāsanās, whose existence is admitted? In the following sūtras, Patañjali attempts to address these issues within the context of Sāṃkhya-Yoga philosophy. Past and future do actually exist; but the differences in their manifest forms is due to temporal difference of properties (dharmānam) (IV.12). In this sense, vāsanās do not cease to exist. Everything of material nature exists in its potential form. It is actualized as it manifests in the process of evolution, and these manifestations are apprehended/experienced in the mind. The past refers to that which is apprehended as already manifest, and the future is that which is yet to manifest. The present is that which is apprehended as currently manifesting. The accomplished yogin is able to compress the present as well as the future into the past. For this reason, vāsanās reduced to the past are like burnt seeds that do not sprout. The mind thus freed from them, the person is ready to reach the state of kaivalya. In other words, time exists at the phenomenal level and it is indeed real at that level. Vāsanās exist and cease to exist at that level. In their potential form, however, they are without a beginning and an end.

Yoga Epistemology and Ontology This takes us into Sāṃkhya-Yoga metaphysics and the evolutionary theory. Vāsanās are part of the minds and prakṛti, and prakṛti is indestructible. Though prakṛti manifests in a variety of forms and exhibits different qualities (dharma), prakṛti itself remains unchanged. It is the manifest characteristics, the phenomenological appearances that arise and cease; the substance itself remains the same. These (dharmas) whether manifest or remain subtle, are of the nature of guṇas (IV.13). It may be recalled that Yoga shares with Sāṃkhya the dualist view that reality comprises of two distinct entities or principles that are mutually

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irreducible. They are the puruṣa and the prakṛti. The former is consciousness-as-such, circumscribed and found in multiple centers. In itself the puruṣa is an isolated, indifferent, neutral and inactive witness to what goes on in the psyche (Sāṃkhya-Kārika, 19). The prakṛti, is the primordial material matrix, the ground of all manifest forms of matter. It is the mother of the manifold, changing material universe. Sattva, rajas, and tamas are the three fundamental aspects of prakṛti. They are qualities inherent in the prakṛti. Sattva is the essence that which forms the core constituent of a given physical system and is the basis of the meaning it conveys. It is the subtle aspect of matter. Rajas is the energy and activity aspect in virtue of which there is movement in and between physical objects. Tamas is the gross aspect of matter. It is the inert mass. The puruṣa is not an object of direct perception and is cognitively closed to us in that it has no material content. The prakṛti in its manifold manifestations provides the objects of cognition and experience. It is these manifestations, which are the base of one’s phenomenal experience. The manifold manifestations of the prakṛti follow a path of evolution. The process of evolution starts when the preexisting equilibrium between the guṇas in the primordial state of the prakṛti is disturbed and the perpetually changing guṇas combine in various proportions. This movement of guṇas combining in innumerable ways gives rise to a countless mix of varied combinations that reflect the furniture of the universe in its enormous complexity and variety. The first to evolve is appropriately called the mahat, the great one. The mahat with its sattva preponderance is the essence of all the things to come, it is in a significant sense the collective mind of the universe. From this, evolve the rest of the things in the material world along two distinct lines—the sattva dominant psychical world and the tamas predominant physical world of objects. Thus, as Dasgupta (1988) puts it, “the course of evolution which started in the prakṛti reaches its furthest limit in the production of senses on the one side and the atoms on the other” (vol. I, p. 253). Here, we note that Patañjali makes a sharp shift from Yoga psychology to Sāṃkhya philosophy he shares. Patañjali notes first the perpetual presence of vāsanās in the endless chain of experience and behavior and then goes on to mention the prakṛti, guṇas, and the manifest qualities of experience. Here, there is a clear mirror image between the psychological observations and philosophical thought. While vāsanās endure like guṇas across life cycle, their effects are transient and ever changing like the manifest properties of the prakṛti until they come to rest. Each of the evolved things, whether it is a thought in a person or an atom in an object, is unique. The arisings, whether thoughts, objects, or activities, are due to the transformation of the guṇas, which are constantly undergoing change. Each transformation is unique or a single outcome, even though there is change in each of the guṇas. This uniqueness of the transformation is what defines a thing (IV.14). As Vācaspati Miśra explains, though the three different guṇas are involved, they generate a single transformation just as the wick, oil, and fire make up for just one lamp. The main substance of this sūtra is to provide the ground for a realist ontology as opposed to idealism advocated by some prominent Buddhist scholars in the

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Vijñānavāda tradition. In Yoga theory, objects and thoughts are not the same; an object has existence independent of one’s perceptions of it. Though the object is the same, different minds may have different thoughts/perceptions of it. [Therefore, the object and the minds that perceive it] belong to the distinct categories (IV.15). If it is agreed then that the existence of an object does not depend on its cognition by different minds because different minds may cognize it differently, may we then reasonably conclude that the existence of a thing depends on its cognition by a single mind? As the next sūtra points out, no. Nor does [the existence of] an object, dependent on a single mind, [because] what would become of it when not cognized by that mind? (IV.16). However, while the existence of a thing does not depend on whether it is cognized by one or more minds a thing is known or not known depends on whether the mind is colored or [not colored] by it (IV.17). According to yoga, in the perceptual process, the mind takes on the form of the object when it comes into contact with the object. Coloring here refers to the taking the form of the object, which is described as the fluctuation of the mind, citta-vṛtti. After pointing that the objects of perception are independent of the perceiving mind and that the two are distinct, Patañjali goes on to show that consciousness-as-such (puruṣa) is distinct from the mind. The fluctuating states of the mind (citta-vṛttis) are known to its master [puruṣa] because consciousnessas-such (puruṣa) is changeless (IV.18). While the mind is a stage of ever-fluctuating states, consciousness-as-such is constant undergoing no transformations. Indeed without the ubiquitous presence of the puruṣa, the illuminating consciousness-as-such, the contents of the mind will ever remain unknown like a painted canvas in a dark room. The changing character of the three guṇas that constitute the mind presupposes the existence of their opposite unchanging entity. As Sāṃkhya-Kārika (17) points out, we presume the existence of puruṣa “because an assemblage of things is for the sake of another; because the opposite of the three modes [guṇas] and the rest (their modifications) must exist; because there must be a superintending power; because there must be a nature that enjoys; and because of (the existence of) active exertion for the sake of abstraction or isolation (from material contact” (quoted from Dasgupta 1920/2001, p. 21). Thus, according to Sāṃkhya, there are five reasons for postulating the existence of the puruṣa. As S.N. Dasgupta explains, the first is the teleological argument, which sees in the puruṣa an entity for which the manifestations of the mind are intended. In other words, it is argued that the multitude of changes the mind undergoes, the continuously changing scenes it enacts should be for the enjoyment of someone, and that one is the puruṣa. I think it is reasonable to interpret this to mean that another principle is required to make the contents of the mind intelligible. The second argument is that knowledge cannot arise from an ever-changing mix of guṇas without an unchanging constant factor underlying the cognitive process. A similar point was made by Kant in his Critique of Pure Reason. Third, the background of consciousness-as-such is an inescapable condition for grafting the sensory bits and pieces together for a coherent experience. Fourth, inasmuch as the prakṛti is without

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awareness on its own, there is need for another principle to bestow awareness. Finally, the longing for liberation, as the culmination of human endeavor, presupposes the existence of something beyond the mundane toward which there is a striving. In other words, to escape from the pervasive determinism and to find room for freedom, we need to postulate a principle beyond the prakṛti. Echoing some of the above arguments, Patañjali notes that it [mind] is not self-luminous because it is itself an object of cognition (IV.19). In what sense is the mind an object of cognition? Vyāsa explains: “For the reason that creatures are conscious-by-reflection of the processes of their own thinking-substances [minds], when they say ‘I am angry, I am afraid, I feel a passion for that person, I am angry with that person,’ there is purposive action. This is impossible unless there be a knowledge of one’s own thinking-substance” (Woods 1914/2007, p. 329). Since the mind lacks the ability to illuminate itself, it requires the illumination of the puruṣa to make its contents known and intelligible. Further, Patañjali says, there cannot be simultaneous awareness of both (the mind and the object of cognition) (IV.20). When one knows something, he also knows that he knows, i.e., he knows the object as well as the mind that generates the cognition of the object. This argument is primarily aimed against the Buddhist conception of the mind that if no more than the succession of momentary states and that there is no enduring entity such as the puruṣa over and above these ever-changing states of the mind. As Paranjpe (1998) points out, this observation indicates the inherent problem with introspection as a method of observation. The impossibility of dividing the mind into two parts, observing and thinking, was noted among others by James (1890/1952). Self-awareness and object-awareness that we have at one and the same time require that there be another entity like the puruṣa in addition to the mind and the objects of its awareness. It may not be argued that the awareness of one mind is the cognition by another mind. If [one mind] were the object of cognition for another, there would be an infinite regress of cognizing minds as well as memory confusion (IV.21). If it is said that the awareness of one mind is made possible by the awareness in another mind, then the question arises as to how this is known. This requires another mind and so on and infinitum. With these unending series of minds, memory loses its distinctive base in an individual leading to utter confusion. Therefore, it makes greater sense to assume the existence of puruṣa, distinct from the mind, in virtue of which self-consciousness arises as a reflection of the mind in puruṣa. When the unchanging consciousness-as-such (citi) reflects the form of the mind, then arises self-awareness (IV.22). Even if we concede that the mind lacks self-lumination and that it is untenable to consider another mind as its cognizer, it would be necessary to know how the puruṣa can help to illuminate the mind when the puruṣa is itself conceived to be devoid of any activity. How can the puruṣa which is unrelated to the mind and the objects of cognition can account for self- and object-awareness? As Vācaspati Miśra explains, the mind in its association with the objects of experience takes the form of the objects, which becomes intelligible in virtue of the reflection caused by the light of the associated puruṣa. The buddhi (mind) is a “receptacle for the

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reflection of consciousness-as-such (citi).” When the buddhi takes the image of consciousness-as-such, then arises the awareness in the mind. For this, no activity is required on the part of the puruṣa. Vācaspati Miśra explains: “For just as even without activity of the moon the clear water, into which the reflection of the moon has passed over, makes the moon seem to be quivering, although the moon itself is not quivering, so similarly, even in the absence of any operation of the Intellect, the mind-stuff with which the reflection of the Intellect has become united, makes by its own activity the Energy of Intellect seem to have activity, makes it seem to have attachment even when it is without attachment. The transforming of itself into an object of experience makes this [Energy of Intellect] an experiencer” (Woods 1914/2007, p. 333). Thus, we find the mind in the middle with the objects of its cognition at one end and consciousness at the other. The mind is connected to both and therefore it has the self- as well as object-awareness. The mind colored by the seer (puruṣa consciousness) and the seen (the object of awareness [is able to perceive] all intended objects (IV.23). The sūtra thus succinctly summarizes the cognitive process, which we will explain later in some detail. Here, the context is to disagree with those philosophies that deny any role to the objects which are seen as the creations of the mind and at the same time point out also the necessity to postulate the principle of consciousness over and above the instrument of knowing, viz. the mind, as a necessary condition to account for human experience.

Reaching Kaivalya In yoga theory, what the mind does is for the puruṣa and not for itself. Its association with the puruṣa is for the purpose of presenting through its medium the variegated objects of the world. Though it is a diverse mix of innumerable vāsanās, [we must presume that] it exists for the sake of another because it acts in association [with others] (IV.24). The mind does not act for itself. It subserves the purpose of self-realization of the person, which consists in realization of consciousness-as-such. The evolution of the mind is not for itself. Therefore, what it affects is for someone else. As Vyāsa comments, the happy mind is not the happiness for the mind, nor the knowledge in the mind is the knowledge for the mind. Rather happiness and knowledge are to subserve the purpose of another, in this case the puruṣa embodied in the person. This is so presumed because the mind functions in association with others. As Sāṃkhya-Sūtra points out, “anything that functions in combination with others is for the sake of another” (SS, 1.66) (quoted from Rukmani 1989, p. 109). A realization of this with the knowledge of the difference between the mind and consciousness is fundamental for the yogin on the path of liberation and self-realization. For the one who sees the distinction [between the mind and consciousness] there is cessation of self-centered thoughts (IV.25). As Bhoja comments (Jha 1907/1934) the person who realizes the fundamental difference between the mind and puruṣa, the mistaken identity between the two

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disappears. Consequently, the ego no longer rules his being; the knowledge and experience one has cease to have ego reference. With this development, there is also the cessation of all desires that bind the person to the world of objects. With the cessation of the worldly desires and the consequent disappearance of avidyā and the overcoming of other impediments that afflict human condition, the kaivalya (self-realization) is within the reach of the yogin’s mind. Then, the mind with discriminating [insight] gravitates to kaivalya (IV.26). The realization of the difference between the ever-fluctuating mind that appropriates everything to itself and the puruṣa the unchanging consciousness, is the beginning of the total transformation of the person. The mental stream changes its course as it were and begins to flow in an opposite direction. The mind inclined toward worldly objects biased in so many ways under the sway of the ego, now freed from ignorance and other afflictions, flows away from saṃsāra and toward kaivalya, away from biased perceptions and tainted beliefs to perfection in thought and action. While the person is on this course, it is natural that in between, other thoughts [born of] saṃskāras arise (IV.27). As the person with discriminative insights moves toward kaivalya, on occasion the thoughts such as “that is mine,” or “I think so” may arise. These are due to the previously acquired saṃskāras inlaid in the mind. They are the outcome of the sense of self (ahaṃkāra) and the sense of possession (māmakāra), which are now in the process of dwindling. The overcoming of them (saṃskāras) is similar to the manner described in dealing with kleśas (IV.28). For the enlightened yogin with discriminative insight into true knowledge, the dormant saṃskāras that arise at intervals are like burnt seeds impotent to sprout and cause the mind to act. Also, saṃskāras springing from true knowledge are nonbinding and do not involve the mind in generating new karma. In other words, they have no effects of their own and therefore can be safely ignored. As Śaṇkara says, “when a thing is falling of itself, there is no point in searching for something to make it fall” (Leggett 1990/2006, p. 410). As is clear from the preceding, it is the desire that corrupts the person and stands in the way of discriminative insight into the truth. Therefore, the control and the cessation of desire is central in moving toward perfection. This relates even to the desire to achieve the highest meditative states. The one who has no desire left even in respect of the highest state because of his enduring discriminative insight (viveka-khyāti) enters the state of dharma-megha samādhi (IV.29). It is called dharma-megha samādhi because it is a state of samādhi that gathers the rain clouds of dharma that shower true knowledge that washes away all ignorance, kleśas and karma. It is a state of utmost dispassionateness, vairāgya par excellence. It is said that dharma-megha samādhi is “the furthest limit of samprajñāta samādhi.” In this state, the yogin is believed to have access to consciousness-assuch and an all compassing illuminative insight into truth. Then [there is] the cessation of kleśas and karma (IV.30). In the state of dharma-megha samādhi, the yogin finds herself free from all hindrances afflicting her and all karma, good and bad, uprooted and destroyed for good. Thus, the person finds herself free and released from the constraints of saṃsāra. Her misconceptions of the world melting away, she is free from passion and liberated while living. To the one thus liberated,

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there is access to a new source of knowledge. With the disappearance of all distortions and impurities, there is access to infinite knowledge in the face of which what can be known ordinarily through the mind fades into insignificance (IV.31). In the normal course, mind has knowledge mediated by its sensory system. When the mind changes its course, empties itself of the sensory content and the accumulated karma and the latent tendencies in the form of saṃskāras and vāsanās and flows unattached in reverse the person gains access to consciousnessas-such in puruṣa. The citi, consciousness-as-such, which is in the nature of puruṣa, illumines the buddhi so brightly that what is ordinarily considered knowable amounts to so little like a firefly in the sky. When such an access route to consciousness-as-such is achieved, the person is in a state of perfection. Having fulfilled their purpose, the evolutionary transformations of guṇas come to a natural end (IV.32). This sūtra may be interpreted as a statement relating to the final end of the cognitive process in the person. Prakṛti in the form of mind and puruṣa comes together in the person. This is the beginning of the cognitive process that culminates in the dissolution of the process itself in a state of kaivalya with the return of the mind to its original source. When the mind and the puruṣa come together in saṃsāra, the mind is full of impurities because it is tainted by tamas and rajas and distorted by acquired karma and associated saṃskāras. In a long march and with intense effort, the taints are removed, karma is expended, and saṃskāras are annihilated or rendered impotent. As a result, the association between the two comes to a stop and the cognitive process reaches its conclusive end. In yoga theory, prakṛti and puruṣa are permanent. Permanence, however, has two different connotations. As Vyāsa puts it, one refers to “the absolutely unchanging permanence” and the other is “permanence in mutation.” Some things are considered permanent because there is something in them that persists. Despite outward changes and transformations, the essence persists and is not destroyed in the process of change. Some things are permanent in that they remain the same and never change. The prakṛti is permanent in the former sense. Though it goes through a great series of transformations in the course of evolution, it is the same at the core, whereas the puruṣa at no time undergoes any change. Because of these transformations, the prakṛti manifests in myriad forms, the mind being one. With the control of cittavṛttis, the mind disintegrates into its primordial core in the prakṛti, which is its permanent and enduring abode. The reverse course of the mind we referred to earlier is the reversal of the evolutionary process. The evolved mind reverses back to its origin in the prakṛti. The evolutionary changes involve stepwise mutations in a sequence. A sequence is the joining together of each successive moments recognized as such at the very end (IV.33). A sequence is essentially a continuous series of moments conjoined, but recognized as such at the termination of the change. The old cloth is old because it goes through a sequence of events moment after moment, but realized at the end as a result of the process of aging. The context for a discussion of the process of change here is the termination of the association of the mind with the puruṣa—the end of the evolutionary process as far as the associated mind of the puruṣa is concerned. It is a moment of self-realization for the person.

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The permanence and the enduring aspect of the prakṛti is the persistent aspect of the three guṇas, which continue as the underlying substrate, while manifesting change in the phenomenal qualities on the surface because of the varying degrees of their presence. The final sūtra provides a definition of the state of kaivalya. Kaivalya is a state in which the puruṣa, devoid of its entanglement with the guṇas, is established in its own nature, the power of consciousness-as-such (citi) (IV.34). With the termination of the guṇa entanglement, the yogin reaches the state of kaivalya; there is then self-realization because the puruṣa is now established in its own nature of pure consciousness and gains the absolute power of perfection. Pure consciousness is now empowered and referred to as citi-śakti (power of consciousness). Consciousness in this state, when the puruṣa is on its own, is not merely knowledge and awareness but a being with the power of knowledge. This is a state, in the context of embodied consciousness in the person, where knowing and being blend together with no possible dissociation between them. Therefore, the yogin who reaches the kaivalya state is one in whom knowledge rules. It is a state exemplified, as mentioned earlier, by the Upaniṣadic statement “to know Brahman is to be Brahman.” As Śaṇkara says: “For some, it is absolute cessation of the chain of vijñānaconsciousness. But for others, it is a state of Puruṣa which is unconscious and simply subsists, having cut off its nine attributes of buddhi, desire, aversion, effort, pleasure, pain, righteousness and unrighteousness, with their saṃskāra-impressions. For others it is union (sa-yujya) with the Lord, and for others it is attainment of omniscience and other attributes equal to those of the Lord. Thus, opinions are conflicting on what is meant by Transcendental Aloneness (kaivalya)” (Leggett 1990/2006, p. 416). While there are thus several conflicting views as to what kaivalya is, it would seem, as we interpret Patañjali, it is none other than realizing consciousness-as-such or self-realization. The hallmark of self-realization is bridging the gap between knowing and being. The fourth part of Yoga-Sūtras is the shortest of the four with only 34 sūtras. In some ways, there is not much that is new addition to the previous. Karma, kleśas, prakṛti, and puruṣa are discussed first in the context of achieving freedom and perfection in the state of kaivalya and secondarily defending Sāṃkhya-Yoga theory against Vijñānavāda Buddhism. The centrality of this part is the theoretical consideration of the cognitive process and the nature of puruṣa. Interestingly, Patañjali begins this part with the statement that siddhis may be obtained by practice of yoga or a person may have them as a gift at birth because of his previous saṃskāras or they may accrue from consuming magical herbs, chanting sacred hymns or by ascetic austerities. The significance of the sūtra becomes clear when we recognize that the final goal of human endeavor for freedom in action and perfection in thought can be achieved only by the total transformation of the person through yogic effort to reverse the course of the mind from evolution to dissolution/involution. Kaivalya cannot be achieved by ingestion of drugs, by grace of God or by any other extraneous means.

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Kleśa–Karma–Saṃskāra Nexus Karma is the natural law of behavioral causation with axiological and ontological implications. Our thoughts and actions are interrelated in a loop of reciprocal causation. Actions generate impressions stored in the psyche, which are called saṃskāras. When saṃskāras are formed into clusters in the unconscious they tend to act as latent dispositions. These are vāsanās. Saṃskāras and vāsanās bias the person, fuel the mental processes, and tilt her to act in certain ways. These actions generally reinforce the existing saṃskāras or generate new ones. Saṃskāras are shrouded in karmāśaya, the receptacle of karma that fuels saṃskāras, and cause subsequent actions, and inflict behavioral modifications. Inasmuch as actions may be good or evil, karma acquires ethical dimensions. The power of karma to cause action has implications to our being. As mentioned, our thoughts and actions leave potent residues in the mind in the form of karma. Karma is the dormant source, the seed that sprouts in a series of subsequent actions and reactions. Karma as we discussed is the deterministic source of the cause-effect continuum in human conduct, thought, and action. In the Indian view, which asserts the continuity of life after death, karma, which does not sprout in a given lifetime, will be carried over to the next birth. In fact, it is believed that the mind–body complex with which one is born is determined by karma accumulated in previous lives. Such karma is called prārabdha karma. It is karma that has already begun to work itself out. It is likened to the potter’s wheel, which, set in motion, will run its course before coming to a stop, and the arrow that left the bow, which will not stop until its momentum is exhausted. Two other kinds of karma are distinguished. Sancita karma is the residual karma from previous births, which is believed to determine one’s tendencies to act and react in the present. Āgāmi karma is karma engendered by present conduct, which would effect future actions. It includes current tendencies to act and react in specific ways as well. One may believe or not in reincarnation and the possibility of karma spilling over from one birth to another. We could, however, hardly disagree that our beliefs and attitudes influence our actions and reactions and that actions have their imprint on the mind, which in turn influences later actions. Again, our beliefs and motivations may be entirely unconscious. These are necessary postulates of psychological determinism. Karma in a secular sense is the underlying principle of determinism. Such determinism, in the Indian view, is neither fundamental nor absolute. The vortex of conditioned existence, caught in the crosscurrents of karma, can be overcome by disciplined practices to gain true knowledge, the realization of which dispels ignorance and releases the individual from the conditioned habits of action and reaction. In other words, the realization of truth in one’s being that dispels ignorance born out of incomplete and biased knowledge revealed through and acted upon by the mind–body complex incapacitates and neutralizes the accumulated karma and eliminates the possibility of acquiring further karma. The force of karma is related to the ego attachment and the intentions of the person. Thoughts and actions driven by the ego, and seen in the attachment they

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generate, are the ones that deposit potent karma. The thoughts and actions detached and devoid of ego reference are impotent to generate karma. In yoga theory, karma and saṃskāras, with its associated vāsanās, play a significant role. Citta with its undercurrent of saṃskāras and vāsanās is biased and conditioned. They predispose people to act in certain ways, to desire certain things, and to believe in some ideas. However, the person can be deconditioned and saṃskāras and vāsanās undermined by forming habits of contrary tendencies and by certain meditative practices. The citta has latent power that can be used to restrain itself and give itself a new direction and that lead to the total transformation of the person.

Perception and Cognition In perception, according to Sāṃkhya-Yoga thinkers (as we noted), the mind goes out to the proximate objects through the senses and assumes their form. When the puruṣa is reflected in the mind that acquired the form of an object, we have an awareness of it. As this reflection is reflected back into the puruṣa, the puruṣa has the experience of perceiving the object. What does it mean to say that the mind goes out to the object? It makes little sense to assume that the mind leaves the body to make contact with the object, especially when we consider the mind to be a set of processes and functions rather than a substance. “Going out” function of the mind appears to be no more than the assertion of the freedom of the subject to choose her own objects of perception. Unlike objects with no functioning minds, which have no choice in their relationship to other objects, subjects with minds have a choice to enter into or withdraw from a relationship with an object. The notion that the mind takes the form of the objects through the mediation of the senses can only mean that in the mind we have a sensorial transformation of the objects. The transformation itself is a physical process, and the resultant form is also material, albeit subtle. It should be mentioned here that the mind, though physical, is assumed to be nonlocal. Unlike the gross material objects, the mind (buddhi) is subtle and therefore is capable of reflecting the light of puruṣa. Time and space are categories created by the mind to organize and understand sensory information. The buddhi itself exists beyond the constraints of space and time. The reason why the buddhi is not in touch with or affected by all the worldly objects is that the mind has a layer of tamas, which acting as an opaque screen covers and conceals the objects from it. It is through the instrumentality of the external organs, which make the sensory contact with the object, that the mind overcomes the obstruction of tamas and finds an opening to the object. In purified minds where tamas is “dwindled away,” the object shines forth without sensory mediation. It may be argued that the buddhi is by itself nonlocal, but shrouded by tamas and moved by rajas, it becomes limited in time and space and is thus constrained in its cognitive abilities. In yoga theory, the cognitive structure consists of the fivefold sensory system with its five openings of the senses and the threefold functions of the mind. The latter are termed manas, ahaṃkāra, and buddhi. The three together constitute what

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is termed antaḥkaraṇa (Sāṃkhya) or citta (Yoga). The first stage in the perceptual process is the sense-object contact, which is accomplished by the operation of the sensory system in the form of vṛtti. The vṛtti is not a part or quality of the sense. The peripheral sense organ, e.g., the eye, with the backing of the mind, shoots out to the object like the flame of a lamp or the rays of the Sun and takes the form of the object to be seen (Sāṃkhyapravacanabhāṣya, Vijñānabhikṣu, I.89). In this sense, the sensory system reaches out to the objects and takes on the form of the object. In other words, there is a sensorial transformation of the object in the form of a vṛtti. The vṛtti is not identical with the object either, but contains the essence, the information content as contained in its sattvic component. The very nature of the process is such that the perception of an object is no more than a sensory construct or image of the object. The image is dyed as it were in sensory colors. The second stage of the perceptual process consists in the manas attending to the sensory content by assimilation and discrimination. Thus, the process of reflection and discrimination (SK, 27) on the sensory input is the stage two. As Vācaspati Miśra says, the manas reflects on the object apprehended by the sensory system, determines that it is such and such, and discriminates it by relating the object to its properties (viśeṣaṇa-viśeṣya-bhāva) (TK, 27). Thus, the indeterminate sensory content becomes determinate and definite. Here again, there is the possibility of embellishing the sensory input relating to the object by the adopted categories of analysis and assimilation and the filtering of the sensory content by the manas. With learning and acculturation, the person’s cognitive act tends to be automatic and reflexive and results in nonreflective filtering, veiling, and shaping of the cognitive content. In the third stage, the ahaṃkāra appropriates the processed content giving rise to the ownership of the content as belonging to the person engaged in the perceptual act. The sensory content received from the object, analyzed by the manas and appropriated by the ahaṃkāra, becomes one’s personal experience. Such an identification is termed abhimāna (SK, 24) or self-appropriation. Vācaspati Miśra explains ahaṃkāra thus: “I alone preside over the object that is intuited by the sense organ, and definitely perceived by the mind, and I have the power over all that is perceived and known, and all those objects are for my use. There is no other supreme except ‘I’. I am. This self-appropriation is called ahaṃkāra or egoism from its exclusive application” (STK, 23, J. Sinha’s translation). There is again embellishment of the content because it is tainted by the ego, its biases, and predispositions coloring the object. This stage is central to the cognitive process. It creates the distinction between “I” and the other, between subject and object. In a sense, it is the ego appropriation of the sensory content that creates the phenomenological gap between knowing and being with the result that one can hold a belief without her behavior showing it. The fourth stage of the perceptual process takes place at the level of the buddhi. The buddhi further distills the inputs received, makes the final determination of the object, what it means by localizing it, i.e., placing it in the time–space matrix, and primes the person to act (TK, 5). Technically, it is called adhyavasāya, a modified state of the buddhi, in which the buddhi is able to ascertain the object of perception

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by the operation of the sensory process that helps to overcome the tamas enveloping it. This stage is more complex than the others because of the multiple roles assigned to the buddhi. The buddhi is also the storehouse/depository of the latent subconscious impressions (saṃskāras), and the deeper unconscious instinctual tendencies (vāsanās). It has access to past memories. Further, it has the closest affinity and reflective access to the puruṣa, the source of consciousness. For these reasons, the buddhi is considered the principal organ and often equated with the mind (SPB, II, 40–44). The complex functions of the buddhi bring with it the sources of personal biases and dispositions that enter into the determination of the perceptual object, further embellishing one’s perception. The final stage of the perceptual process involves the effect of association of the buddhi with the puruṣa in virtue of which the processed contents of the buddhi, the perceptual objects, get illuminated and the person becomes consciously aware of them. This is so because the light of the puruṣa shines on the buddhi and illumines its content, which are otherwise enveloped in congenital darkness. What is illuminated is not precisely the sensory content arising from the operation of sense-object contact, but the resultant residue after the filtering by the manas, embellished by the ahaṃkāra, cognitively constructed by the buddhi and made conscious by the presence of the puruṣa. The end product of the perceptual process is thus not exactly the information furnished by the perceptual object. Rather it is the cognitively constructed image out of the sensory inputs received, distorted, elaborated/ignored, and embellished in ways peculiar to the person.

Connection Between Consciousness and the Mind In Yoga, as mentioned earlier, puruṣa and prakṛti are two fundamental, irreducible, and distinctive forms of reality, and the mind is a manifestation of prakṛti. Prakṛti is undifferentiated materiality and puruṣa is undifferentiated subjectivity. The latter is assumed to be unchanging, inactive, and isolated, while the former in its manifest forms is seen as the changing, active, interacting, and evolving entity. The relation between consciousness (puruṣa) and the mind (buddhi), which is an evolute of the prakṛti, is somewhat complicated in yoga psychology and is subject to different interpretations. Though the puruṣa and the prakṛti are distinct and independent, they appear to come together in an act of knowing. How is it possible that two such dissimilar independent entities could join? On the face of it, the question appears not very different from the predicament faced by radical dualist theories such as the one articulated by Descartes. There is, however, one significant difference between the Indian and Western dualist approaches. It relates to the level of association and the purpose of association between the two. In the Cartesian dualist tradition, the two entities involved in the act of knowing are the mind and body conceived to be radically different. In Yoga and Advaita, they are consciousness and the mind, and the act of cognition is essentially performed by the mind with its associated sensory processes. Since the mind and the sensory system

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(the brain) are assumed to be material forms, there is no inherent difficulty in the possibility of interaction between the two in the process of knowing, which is almost an unsolvable puzzle in Western dualist theories where the mind is equated with thought considered nonphysical. In Indian psychology, all theories are careful in pointing out that consciousness does not interact with the mind. The question then is, how does consciousness bestow subjectivity on the cognitive information processed by the mind? How does consciousness (puruṣa) illuminate the contents of the mind? The answer is that the puruṣa illumines the mind by its very presence and it does not need to interact with the mind nor undergo any changes within itself to accomplish this. How so? There are different theories. For example, the relationship between consciousness and the mind is described at least in two different ways. First is the theory of reflection. It is assumed that consciousness reflects in the mind like the Sun reflecting in a pool of water. The second is the theory of limitation. Consciousness is limited by the mind like space is limited and bounded in the jar. A variant of reflection theory is double-reflection theory, which suggests that consciousness is reflected in the mind illuminating its contents and that reflection reflects back in the puruṣa and gives rise to the experience of subjectivity in knowing. These theories do not really go into the heart of the problem and in an important sense they side step the central issue, which is consciousness–mind–body connection. If it is consciousness that is reflected in the mind in the act of knowing why is it necessary at all for the mind to take the form of objects in the process of perception? What is the role of sensory system in the perceptual process, especially its involvement with the objects external to it? The precise nature of reflection is hardly revealed by Sāṃkhya thinkers. The analogies of the image being reflected in a pool of water or of the space contained by the jar are basically flawed in that the two constituents, the Sun and the pool of water, or space and the jar, are both physical entities, unlike consciousness. As Surendranath Dasgupta (1920/2001) points out, consciousness, which is qualitatively different from the mind, “cannot undergo reflection like a physical thing and neither can it be obstructed nor limited by it” (p. 13). How do Patañjali and his commentators deal with this issue of the relation between consciousness (puruṣa) and the buddhi? Since the context is the cognitive act, we need to revisit the yoga notion of cognition and how puruṣa and buddhi get interconnected in the process of knowing. In an act of cognition, as we have discussed earlier, the mind (buddhi) flowing through the channels of the sensory system undergoes modifications and is said to take on the form of the object of cognition. Since the buddhi is unconscious, on its own it cannot be said to be aware of the objects of its cognition until the radiance of puruṣa is reflected in and illumines the buddhi. In this process of illumination that bestows consciousness on the cognitive content incorporated into the modifications the buddhi undergoes in the perceptual process, two things seem to manifest—(1) the contents of the mind become conscious and (2) the ego sense arises in the mind. The act of reflection gives rise to the emergence of the ego and the misconstrual of the buddhi as the cognizing entity. This appears to be the necessary condition for

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bestowing consciousness on the contents of the buddhi. Even when the buddhi is devoid of any content, the puruṣa’s reflection on the buddhi gives rise to the sense of self or personal identity. This is succinctly stated by Patañjali in sūtra IV.22, which Dasgupta (1920/2001) translates as “personal consciousness arises when the puruṣa, though in its nature unchangeable, is cast into mold of buddhi” (p. 14). A natural consequence of this is the misconstrual that the self-consciousness arising in the act of knowing as identical with the puruṣa, the real self and the true source of reflection and illumination of the cognitive content of the buddhi. In sutra II.6, Patañjali refers to this by describing personal identity (asmitā) as the misconstrued identity between the power of the seer (puruṣa) and the power of seeing (buddhi). By referring to the power of seer, Patañjali is attributing power or śakti to the puruṣa as he does to the buddhi. How can the puruṣa have power when it is presumed to be inert at the outset? The seeming contradiction cannot be explained away as an illusion experienced by the ego of the buddhi because the reference here is to mistaking the power of the buddhi (ego) for the power of the puruṣa. Therefore, it would seem, reflection implies an act, power on the part of the puruṣa and not merely its passive presence. Again, we are told in sutra II.21, the seen (the phenomenal world) exists for the pleasure of the puruṣa. In fact, it is repeatedly asserted that the whole process of evolution of the prakṛti is for the experience and liberation of the puruṣa. How can an inert and unchanging entity like the puruṣa have experience? Having an experience implies undergoing modification/change of sorts. Also, the puruṣa by assumption is free and is under no bondage. What sense does it make to suggest that the world of objects serves the purpose of liberation for the puruṣa, when in fact the puruṣa is assumed to be free all along, suffering no bondage and curtailment of its freedom? Clearly, something is missing here. The seer Patañjali speaks of may not refer to puruṣa in and of itself. Draṣṭā (seer) may not be quite the same as the puruṣa. Is there anything else that comes close to the puruṣa in Patañjali yoga? In explaining sūtra II.20, which describes the seer not only as consciousnessas-such but also as the witness to what goes on in the mind, Vyāsa points out that the puruṣa is not quite similar or dissimilar from the buddhi. The difference, he says, consists in the prakṛti changing constantly, taking on a myriad of forms whereas the puruṣa is always the same self. The notion of self, however, appears in two roles. It is something connected/associated with the phenomena of the mind, making them conscious by its reflections. The second role is that it seems to see/witness what is in the buddhi. This is what is meant by pratyayānupaśya, witnessing or seeing through the buddhi and thus have an experience of it. This experience in the final analysis is what helps in its liberation. The puruṣa is assumed to exist in and for itself, whereas the buddhi, we are told, is for the enjoyment and liberation of puruṣa. The puruṣa is self-subsisting and independent center of consciousness-as-such. The buddhi, however, is a composite of the three guṇas and is dependent on the puruṣa in the sense of existing for its sake. However, in the act of cognition, as we have seen, the puruṣa is reflected on the buddhi giving rise to the formation of personal identity in the form of ego sense, which is reflected back in the puruṣa, resulting in puruṣa’s experience. Puruṣa is

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the unchanging and constant source of light that illumines the contents of buddhi, which are ever-changing. This underlying ever-present light of the puruṣa in the buddhi cannot be seen as separate from the buddhi. As Dasgupta (1920/2001) puts it: “It [puruṣa] is the light which remains unchanged amidst all the changing modifications of the buddhi, so that we cannot distinguish the puruṣa separately from the buddhi (avibhāgaprāptau iva). This is what is meant by saying buddeh pratisamvedi puruṣa, i.e., the puruṣa reflects or turns into its own light the concepts of the buddhi and thus is said to know it. Thus, its knowing is manifested in our consciousness as the ever-persistent notion of the self or ego which is ever so constant a factor in all the phenomena of consciousness” (p. 16). Personal identity is thus a manifestation of material reality arising out of the seeming interaction of consciousness and the mind. How is such seeming interaction through the reflection of the puruṣa possible unless there is some underlying similarity between puruṣa and prakṛti? It is this similarity that prompts Vyāsa to say that the two are not dissimilar. In fact, in Vibhūti Pāda we find Patañjali saying kaivalya (liberation) is the state where the purity of sattva equals the puruṣa (III.55). Thus, there is something very special in sattva that relates to puruṣa. There is a special kind of affinity between the puruṣa and the sattva of the buddhi. The sattva, it would seem, is puruṣa’s physical or transactional counterpart that is translucent to absorb and reflect the illumination of the puruṣa. This is perhaps what is meant to be conveyed by the commentators in the metaphor of the magnet that attracts the iron filings. It may not be altogether unjustified if we go a little further and recast the process of evolution and the relation between the puruṣa and buddhi to make sense of the “liberation” of the “free” and the “unbound,” and the “experience” of the changeless entity, viz. the puruṣa. Puruṣa and prakṛti in their true state are eternal, mutually independent substances. Puruṣa is consciousness-as-such; it is the principle of subjectivity and the foundational source of first-person experience. Prakṛti is the principle of materiality and the foundational source of third-person object of experience. Puruṣa like the prakṛti in its primordial condition is undifferentiated subjectivity. The primordial condition may be considered as the transcendental state. Now, the process of evolution and change, which is for the sake of puruṣa, begins with the association of puruṣa and prakṛti. Such an association is made possible by the sattva guṇa of the prakṛti, which is attracted by puruṣa by its intrinsic affinity. Because of this “pull” by and the attraction to the puruṣa, the preexisting balance/equilibrium in the prakṛti is disturbed and the process of evolution begins. It makes good sense why the first evolute is the mahat, a predominantly sattvic stuff, because it is the sattva that begins to move toward the puruṣa. It is not necessary at this point to go into the details of evolution and Sāṃkhya-Yoga cosmology. We may note, however, while the prakṛti undergoes the turmoil of change, the puruṣa itself is pretty much outside of it and consequently there is no interaction between the two as in the case of magnet which attracts but does not interact with the iron filings. In the prakṛti, however, there is a decent from transcendental plane to its transactional phase which begins in the form of its manifestations directed at the puruṣa. In this sense, the transactional prakṛti is

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for the puruṣa and is therefore dependent on it. Even though the puruṣa is outside of the prakṛti and does not interact with it, the puruṣa does influence the transactions by phenomenalizing them. Phenomenalizing consists in bestowing subjectivity on the transactions, i.e., transforming them into experiences. Inasmuch as subjectivity is the essential ingredient emanating from the puruṣa, the experience may be seen as that of the puruṣa, which appears, however, as something that belongs to the ego the empirical or transactional self, which is the by-product of the process of phenomenalizing the contents of the buddhi. The personal identity arises as a necessary consequence of bestowing subjectivity on buddhi transactions. In order to have an experience, there must be an agency to experience. The role of the agency is played by the mind in the form of the ego. Inasmuch as the ego is the center of experience, which truly belongs to puruṣa, there is the misconstrual of the ego as the self (puruṣa). As mentioned, the ego is a by-product arising out of the puruṣa illuminating the buddhi, and as the agency of experience, the ego, i.e., the empirical self, is a transactional manifestation of the buddhi in its association with puruṣa. The ego here may not be equated with the ahaṃkāra aspect of the mind. It is more than that; it refers to the empirical “self” that enjoys identity and engages in the myriad transactions bearing that identity. This, it seems to me, is what is missing in Yoga theory as it is generally articulated. The missing concept here is the person (jīva), which finds its due expression in Advaita. The person (jīva) is the one that is in bondage and is in need of liberation. Liberation consists in the realization of the nonidentity between the transactional ego and the transcendental puruṣa. The realization does not belong to either puruṣa or the prakṛti but the person (jīva) in whom the puruṣa appears in the form of the ego. The essence of the person, the agent of experience, is the puruṣa. Therefore, the person’s true identity is to be found in the puruṣa and not in any other. Self-realization of the person essentially consists in doing this. Let us recall, the puruṣa is consciousness-as-such or pure consciousness. Prakṛti is the materiality-as-such or the principle or substratum of all objects of experience. Puruṣa is that which makes awareness possible. Prakṛti is what the awareness is about. In their transcendental abstraction, they are pure, independent and self-subsisting principles of reality. But in the existential human context, there is an entanglement of the two in the form of an interface between them. When and how this interface takes place is unknown for the reason that we are cognitively closed to it as we are a product of that interface. For this reason, it may be considered to be without a beginning. In the human condition, the entanglement results in the emergence of the person. The person is embodied consciousness. As consciousness, the person is a center of awareness. However, that awareness is constrained in various ways by the existential embodiment, in the language of Advaita, the covering by the five kośas. In the embodied state, awareness loses its transcendental character, and knowing becomes transactional. Knowledge is no longer absolute certainty, but fallible truth, biased in numerous ways by the transactional process. The mind helped by the sensory system takes the form of the objects of its cognition. Consciousness arises from the reflection of the puruṣa on these forms and the person has the cognitive

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experience of awareness. This awareness, however, is not intrinsic to but an adventitious imitation of consciousness-as-such for the reason that what is reflected is not puruṣa consciousness or pure consciousness, but the contents of the mind formed by buddhi’s transactions. The true problem does not consist simply in the arising of imperfect knowledge but in mistaking it for true knowledge of the puruṣa. Attribution of false/imperfect, sense-tainted knowledge to puruṣa is avidyā, the root cause of all the suffering that comes to the person. The bondaged is the person because of the baggage he or she carries in the mind. The one to be liberated is the person who misconstrues the buddhi as the puruṣa. The liberation consists in realizing the puruṣa in the person by unloading the baggage carried in the mind, i.e., by emptying the mind of its usual contents so that what is reflected is not the sensory forms taken by the buddhi but the puruṣa in and of itself, i.e., consciousness-as-such. When buddhi is pure sattva unaffected by rajas and tamas it is able to reflect the puruṣa in an unblemished manner and the reflection is as good as puruṣa consciousness. This refers to the state of kaivalya to which Patañjali refers in sūtra III.55, where the pure sattvic buddhi is considered as good as the puruṣa. It follows that there are indeed two levels of existence and two sources of knowledge—one consisting of sense-mediated information and the other the intuitively realized consciousness-as-such—the transactional awareness of buddhi and the transcendental consciousness of puruṣa. The awareness of the former arises in the mind when the puruṣa reflects the forms the buddhi takes by its cognitive transactions. This is transactional knowledge or phenomenal awareness which is not without blemishes because of a variety of built in biases. Intuitive realization of consciousness-as-such is apodictic whose certainty is intrinsic and its falsehood utterly unimaginable. In this sense, it may be considered transcendental. When the mind is devoid of any sensory content and when the biases and presuppositions perpetuated by the unconscious saṃskāras and vāsanās are removed or rendered impotent of biasing the person, the sattva of the buddhi is said to be pure. When sattva is thus pure, with rajas and tamas suppressed, the illumination of the puruṣa reflects itself in the buddhi, giving rise to knowledge of infallible certainty. In sūtra I.48, this is described as ṛtambharā prajñā distinguished from the transactional cognitive awareness. Inasmuch as yoga helps to purify the mind to manifest self-certifying ṛtambharā prajñā or transcendental realization of truth, it is a gateway to access consciousness-as-such. A consequence is the yogin’s ability to manifest phenomena that appear prima facie extraordinary and supernormal for those who are familiar with only transactional awareness.

Multiplicity of Puruṣas As we have seen, puruṣa in Sāṃkhya-Yoga stands for consciousness. While puruṣa is conceived as a universal reality principle underlying consciousness and subjectivity, Sāṃkhya-Yoga thinkers subscribe to the view that puruṣas are multiple in

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number. The notion that consciousness-as-such is located in a number of isolated and independent puruṣas unconnected with each other is somewhat peculiar to Sāṃkhya-Yoga and stands in opposition to the more widely held view of orthodox Hindu systems such as the Vedānta. In Vedānta, there is only one supreme consciousness/self. Individual selves are mere portions, parts, or waves of one all encompassing ocean of consciousness. What is the justification for assuming the multiplicity of puruṣas? And what reasons do Sāṃkhya and Yoga thinkers have for assuming the plurality of selves? Dasgupta (1920/2001) believes that the notion of multiplicity of selves is consistent with Sāṃkhya-Yoga metaphysics of dualism that accords primacy to both consciousness and matter. In his words, “a careful penetration into the principles of Sāṃkhya-Yoga would bring home to us the idea that this is a necessary and consistent outcome of the Sāṃkhya view of a dualistic conception of the universe” (p. 24). The Sāṃkhya argument for the existence of plurality of selves is that such an assumption is necessary to account for the multiplicity of births and deaths, the diversity of occupations and dispositions of people. Patañjali appears to share this view. The only reference to multiplicity of puruṣas we find in Yoga-Sūtras is in sūtra II.22, which may be rendered as follows: “Though the object no longer serves the purpose of puruṣa after liberation, and therefore ceases to be the object-of-sight for that puruṣa, it does not cease to exist because it is common to other puruṣas.” Thus, the principle central to the multiplicity notion of puruṣas is the Sāṃkhya-Yoga view that the transactional reality brought about by the evolutionary transformations of the prakṛti is for the purpose of the enjoyment and liberation of the puruṣa. In fact, this principle is the Achilles Heel, as we have seen, that betrays confusion arising from the conflation of puruṣa (consciousness) and the jīva (person). Dasgupta may be correct in assuming that the notion of plurality of selves in Sāṃkhya and Yoga is consistent with their dualist metaphysics that accords reality to the phenomenal world. However, the assumption that the phenomenal world exists for the experience and liberation of puruṣas is inconsistent with the equally important assumption that the prakṛti is eternal, independent and does not depend on the puruṣa for its existence. It may be argued that the prakṛti as such does not exist for the puruṣa, but its manifestations do. But then how do the evolution and the consequent manifestations of the prakṛti come about? Whether one attributes the transactional reality emanating from the prakṛti to the will of God (Īśvara), a special puruṣa (a position held by Yoga thinkers), or simply assumes that it is intrinsic to the puruṣa to have this kind of a relation like the magnet attracting iron pieces (a common Sāṃkhya view), it is clear that the prakṛti is subordinated to the puruṣa, and its existence in an important sense is dependent on the puruṣa. Obviously such an implication is inconsistent with Sāṃkhya-Yoga dualism which accords equal primacy for puruṣa and prakṛti. In order to overcome this difficulty, one would have to argue that behind all puruṣas that are entangled with buddhis there is the primordial puruṣa like the primordial prakṛti which is behind the evolutionary manifestations in the transactional reality and the phenomena of experience. It does not really matter if this

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puruṣa is one or many. It is more a metaphysical question than a psychological problem. This is perhaps the reason why Yoga brings in Īśvara, a higher order, all powerful puruṣa. Once we bring power into the equation, whether of God, or just the puruṣa, we are negating one of the essential aspects of puruṣa that it is inert. Power, energy, and activity belong to prakṛti and not to puruṣa. It would be quite reasonable to question how an inert entity that can undergo no transformations in and of itself can have varied experiences as the puruṣa is assumed to have. Again, we are told repeatedly that what is bondaged in the association between the puruṣa and buddhi is buddhi and not the puruṣa. Who is the one that misconstrues the agent of seeing and the instrument of seeing? It is an aspect of the buddhi and not puruṣa. Therefore, the release must relate to the buddhi and not the puruṣa. The imprisoned one is the mind that is made to serve the puruṣa and not the other way round. However, the entire exercise of yoga, we are informed, is for the liberation of the puruṣa, who in actuality is the “slave-driver” riding on buddhi to reach kaivalya. These implications are clearly inconsistent with Sāṃkhya-Yoga. I am inclined to think that there is some conflation at some level of interpretation of Sāṃkhya-Yoga stance on the saṃyoga (union) between puruṣa and buddhi. What seem fundamental in Sāṃkhya-Yoga are the following. There are two primary and irreducible principles of reality—puruṣa, and prakṛti. In the human condition, they come together, commingle and are associated. The union of the two brings about the emergence of the person (jīva). In other words, the person is consciousness embodied. Embodied, consciousness enjoys the experiences generated by the modifications in the buddhi. The puruṣa in the person is the seer and buddhi is the object as well as the instrument of seeing. The puruṣa is the seer in the sense that awareness is the intrinsic function of its illumination. Buddhi is the object seen in that it is its forms that are illuminated. Buddhi serves the purpose of the puruṣa inasmuch as the illuminated buddhi is seen by the puruṣa and becomes its object of experience. What is relevant here for psychological discussion is that there are multiple persons, each with his or her own identity. Advaita has no problem in accepting the plurality of jīvas at the transactional (vyāvahārika) level. So there is little conflict as far as psychological discussion is concerned between Yoga and Advaita. In both, the psychological unit of study is the person. This is explicit in Advaita but only implicit in Yoga. The person is not one, all embracing consciousness; consciousness is localized in multiple centers generated by the commingling or association of consciousness with buddhi. Commingling is not interaction. Puruṣa and buddhi do not interact. They coexist. Their coexistence is a matter of convenience that on the one hand gives rise to the experience of puruṣa and on the other hand to the manifold manifestations of the buddhi. Now, the experience on the part of the puruṣa is made possible by its embodiment, i.e., its association with buddhi in the person. This experience, however, clouds the intrinsic nature of puruṣa in the person because what is illuminated are the citta-vṛttis, the modifications and awareness of the buddhi. Knowledge thus gained is altogether different in kind from the knowledge intrinsic to the puruṣa. This is the existential predicament of the person, who is blessed by the presence of the puruṣa, the quintessence of all knowledge, which when received

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through the instrumentality of the buddhi becomes imperfect, giving rise to a series of misconstruals resulting in incessant pain. The existential quest then is to avoid the pain by realizing the truth, which is the puruṣa in and of itself. This can be achieved by removing the clouding of consciousness caused by the tainted mind in which sattva is not pure. When the sattva is purified from the defilements of rajas and tamas, the mind is fit to reflect consciousness-as-such, which is puruṣa in and of itself. When this happens, a new source of knowing, knowing by being arises. Knowing by being is different from knowing by seeing/sensing. In the act of knowing by being, the puruṣa does not see what is presented to it by buddhi but realizes himself and experiences his own being. It is self-reflection of puruṣa in buddhi, pure and untainted by the effects of rajas and tamas. In that sense it is self-realization. It is also a state of liberation in the sense that the puruṣa is no longer clouded by the tainted mind because the latter is pure like puruṣa itself. When the mind becomes like the puruṣa and no longer clouds or distorts reality and serves no other function, it is as good as nonexistent. The puruṣa then abides in itself. So does the mind by merging in the primordial prakṛti. This is kaivalya. Now, the question whether the puruṣa is one or many becomes less problematic. The puruṣa in the human context is always associated with the buddhi. Therefore, the puruṣa may be considered as manifesting or embodied in the person. Persons are always multiple and each person is different from the other because each buddhi is different. Birth and death refer to the person, and to one’s buddhi dimension. Therefore, the puruṣa is unaffected and remains the same not only during the person’s cycle of saṃsāra but also in kaivalya. The veiling or clouding of puruṣa is from the perspective of the person and not that of the puruṣa-as-such. Kevala puruṣa, the puruṣa-as-such, may be seen more as the potential source of subjectivity rather than manifest subjectivity in the person. I recognize that few of the traditional Sāṃkhya-Yoga scholars would interpret puruṣa and prakṛti as being alike and that puruṣa is pure potentiality like prakṛti. Some may even consider it an unforgivable travesty of Sāṃkhya-Yoga theory to ascribe mutation or change to puruṣa, whereas such change is accepted as natural for prakṛti in its evolutionary phase. It is difficult to justify this difference between puruṣa and prakṛti unless the former is accorded a higher status of permanence and eternality than prakṛti as Advaita unreservedly does. Let us recall that prakṛti in its primordial condition is essentially like the puruṣa as far as its permanence and changelessness are concerned. It does not exist for the puruṣa, but abides in itself. In other words, in their transcendental phase, puruṣa and prakṛti enjoy similar existential status as fundamental reality principles. However, the prakṛti has another phase of evolutionary manifestation, which we called transactional phase. Why then may we not assume that the puruṣa also has a transactional phase, which begins when it starts to commingle with buddhi in the person? In fact, Sāṃkhya explicitly acknowledges the equality of puruṣa and prakṛti in the simile of the lame man riding on and guiding the blind man. As fundamental substances/principles, they enjoy the same status, even though their natures and functions are qualitatively different. Prakṛti and puruṣa are fundamental but

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complementary principles like the blind and the lame moving together. There is little justification for positing two kinds of eternality for puruṣa and prakṛti. That the puruṣa finds itself barricaded and then released is not in principle necessarily different from prakṛti’s evolution and involution. Thus, I would argue that both puruṣa and prakṛti exist in two forms or phases—prakṛti in its primordial and evolutionary phases and puruṣa in its isolation (transcendental phase) and in its association with buddhi (transactional phase). This is necessary to save the notion of fundamental duality of puruṣa and prakṛti. Otherwise, the subordination of prakṛti to puruṣa would be a definite concession to Vedānta monism. We may now readily see how similar are the views of Sāṃkhya-Yoga and Advaita Vedānta and how trivial it is from a psychological perspective whether consciousness-as-such is one, like Brahman in Advaita monism, or it has many independent centers as puruṣas in Sāṃkhya-Yoga. I believe, in Yoga there is some kind of a conflation between puruṣa and jīva, a distinction explicitly recognized in Vedānta and especially in Advaita. Though consciousness (Brahman/puruṣa) is central to psychology as the basic principle, the subject of its study is jīva and not puruṣa or Brahman. At the level of jīva, we are in the vyāvahārika realm, where dualism holds and consciousness manifests in multiple centers. So we find Dharmarāja saying that the “jīva-sākṣin is different for each individual; if it were one, in respect of what is cognized by Caitra there would be contingent recollection even for Maitra” (I.69, Sastri 1942/1984, p. 31). What is prakṛti in Sāṃkhya-Yoga becomes māyā in Advaita. In the human context, it is the mind that is behind the world one experiences. Gaudapāda, based on the authority of the Upaniṣads, equates jīva with ānandamaya-kośa and says that jīva and ātman are identical and that their distinction is only apparent (Kārikas 11–16). This reminds us of Patañjali’s sūtra III. 55, which refers to the purity of sattva as equal to puruṣa. Again, kārika 34 defines jīva “as the self attached to the gross body and limited by avidyā.” What we have said so far are ideas and principles derived essentially from Hindu systems of Yoga and Advaita. I contend, however, that in their general form these ideas are consistent with other systems as well, including heterodox systems like Buddhism. Buddhist thinkers like their Hindu counterparts were concerned with understanding consciousness for the purpose of overcoming the existential suffering. They all attribute suffering to our pervasive attachment to the ego and that progressive understanding and knowledge help to deconstruct the ego and ultimately realize its nonexistence. This to me appears to be the essence of Buddhist anātmavāda as well as Vedāntic assertion tat tvam asi.

Kaivalya: The State of Perfection As Śaṇkara in his comments on the concluding sūtra of the last part of the YogaSūtras so aptly observed, kaivalya enjoys multiple connotations and it is interpreted in a number of ways. This is not surprising because in Indian thought there is

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intrinsic unity between knowing, being, and feeling and consequently the core concepts may be interpreted in the context of being, knowing, or feeling as implied in the description of Brahman as sat-cit-ānanda. From the perspective of being, kaivalya refers to perfect isolation of the puruṣa from prakṛti. From an epistemological angle, kaivalya is a state of cessation of cognitive consciousness and the dawn of consciousness-as-such experienced face to face. From the axiological point of view, it is a state of unending happiness, freedom from existential constraints that cause pain and suffering. Further, kaivalya may be seen in relation to the mind (prakṛti aspect of our being), the person (embodied consciousness), or consciousness-as-such (puruṣa). As far as the mind is concerned, it is a state of dissolution/involution, and the evolved mind returns to the primordial source, the withdrawal of guṇas as Patañjali states. The person, however, is a composite of body–mind–consciousness. Kaivalya of the person is a state of perfection in which one comes face to face with consciousness-as-such, overcoming the limiting adjuncts of the mind, knowing truth in its pristine form, and experiencing unconditional bliss. For the puruṣa, kaivalya is the end of its commingling with the mind. It is the sacred state of splendid isolation, and absolute freedom from all kinds of entanglement. Considering Yoga-Sūtras as the foundational psychological text, it would seem that kaivalya from the perspective of the person may be a more appropriate interpretation. The person in the state of kaivalya (a) does not depend on the mind for her knowledge and interaction with the world (puruṣārtha-śunyānām); (b) she is able to access consciousness-as-such (citi-śakti); (c) being in a state of pure consciousness, there is a blending of knowing and being; (d) with the bridging of the existential gap between knowing and being, there is self-realization (svarūpapratiṣṭha) in that the person finds her true identity; and (e) standing above the evolutionary march and being independent of the constraints of change and time, the person has perfect and complete knowledge and in that sense enjoys omniscience. A logical but difficult question to answer: can the person exist without the functioning mind? In other words, is kaivalya possible in the embodied condition? Being in the world necessarily involves embodied existence. The inherited mind–body complex through which being manifests is an instrument of knowledge and action. The mind is so situated as to essentially limit what one can know and do, and knowledge itself is processed by the perceptual and cognitive systems it is endowed with. If these were different, as is the case with some other species, the knowledge of the world we have would be different. Our knowledge therefore is relative and in a sense species specific. It is constrained in a number of other ways. Ignoring these fundamental features of our existence, we tend to attribute certainty and finality to our knowledge of the world and of ourselves revealed by the limited-capacity sensory processes. Thereby, we see perfection, beauty, and happiness and act to further reinforce these thoughts and impressions in our being. In this view, being in the world is thus tainted by ignorance (avidyā). We live in bondage; our existence is confined to the imprisoned condition of limited by being biased awareness. The essential feature of being is, however, freedom from all

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constraints, a state of unconditioned existence, of perfect knowledge and of unmitigated bliss. The human endeavor should therefore be one of achieving the state of such unconditioned being. That state itself is variously termed, for example, as kaivalya in Sāṃkhya and Yoga and as nirvāṇa in Buddhism. Its essential feature is, however, freedom. Kaivalya is liberation of the conditioned person to experience an unconditioned state of being. Now, the question is whether such a state can be achieved by embodied beings such as us. Inasmuch as our being is intertwined with the mind–body complex, which is the root cause of our existential predicament and bondage, how can we achieve the unconditioned state while being thus caged? In the Indian tradition, the belief in reincarnation is pervasive. The goal of liberation is seen as an escape from saṃsāra the cycle of birth and death. In the final analysis, then, it would seem that a disembodied state of being is a precondition for complete liberation. The individual who achieves a state of liberation is no longer caught up in the vortex of karma currents and the cycle of birth and death. Therefore, some Indian thinkers have argued that kaivalya or mokṣa is a postmortem phenomenon that could occur only after death, the cessation of the body. For this reason, Indian thought is often spoken of as otherworldly. While few have questioned the ultimate freedom of unconditioned being in the disembodied state, several Indian thinkers, including Śaṇkara, have argued persuasively that liberation is indeed possible in the embodied state of being in the world. Liberation, it is pointed out, has meaning only when it is experienced. Without such experiential certainty, liberation is vacuous and would be devoid of any conviction, because after-life experience of liberation is at best conjectural. In this view, freedom of being is possible not only in the disembodied state (videhamukti), but it is also achievable being in the world (jīvan-mukti). The notion of embodied liberation (jīvan-mukti), the belief that it is possible to reach kaivalya while being in the world, is found in the Upaniṣads and the Bhagavad-Gītā. Bādarāyaṇa discusses it in his Vedānta-Sūtras. Both Yoga and Advaita accept the possibility of embodied liberation (jīvan-mukti). Vidyāraṇya in his Jīvan-Mukti Viveka draws from Śaṅkara as well as from Yoga texts and points out that jīvan-mukti Jīvan-Mukti-Viveka is the direct result of the cessation of instinctive propensities (vāsanās) achieved by the negation of mental transformation (mano-nāśa) and consequent realization of pure conscious state and true knowledge (tattva jñāna). In the jīvan-mukti state, the person becomes and behaves truly unconditioned and experiences the bliss of freedom. The secret of all this appears to be absolute detachment and deconstruction of the ego. The Śataślokī, attributed to Śaṅkara, considers that jīvan-mukti is the result of abhyāsa and jñāna (stanza 42), echoing the emphasis Patañjali placed on abhyāsa in sutra I.12. Vyāsa in his commentary on Yoga-Sūtras states explicitly “the wise man becomes liberated even while he is alive” (IV.30). Buddhism also endorses the notion of jīvanmukti. M. Hiriyanna, an eminent historian of Indian philosophy, considers the notion of jīvan-mukti a landmark in the history of Indian thought (see Rao 1979). Vidyāraṇya of the thirteenth century wrote a treatise entitled Jīvan-Mukti-Viveka. In this book, Vidyāraṇya refers to the authorities that espoused the jīvan-mukti

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concept. He discusses the nature and the distribution of instinctive propensities (vāsanās) and the control/negation of the mental functions (vṛttis). He goes on to describe the ultimate goal of jīvan-mukti and the characteristics of those who achieved that state (jīvan-muktas). In this work, Vidyāraṇya draws from views contained in Yoga-Vāsiṣṭha (Atreya 1954), attempting to reconcile them. YogaVaśiṣṭha, a mystical work written probably after Śaṅkara, is an interesting blend of Advaita and Vijñānavāda Buddhism. The route to transforming the conditioned person to the unconditioned state is the one of removing the cause of conditioning, which is none other than karma. The source of karma is ignorance (avidyā). It is ignorance of the fundamental nature of being and the misleading conviction that the information processed by the mind via its sensory channels is true knowledge of the things themselves. Out of this conviction arise worldly desires, attachment, ego involvement, and pain and pleasure, which in turn lead to actions that have self-reference. True knowledge dispels ignorance. When the cloud of ignorance disappears, the karma that influences our actions becomes visible. One is then in a position to burn it and be free from its influence. True knowledge, as we have seen, is partaking in consciousness-as-such. Thus, the state of jīvan-mukti is a state of pure consciousness untainted by the fluctuations of the mind. In a state of pure consciousness, one becomes an unconditioned person. Controlling and overcoming the citta-vṛttis (fluctuations of the mind) is a necessary condition for achieving a state of pure consciousness. Yoga is regarded as a time-tested means of achieving such control. Having reached a state of pure consciousness, one’s endeavor is to stay in that state, which is described in Yoga and Advaita as brahmākāra-vṛtti. Yoga considers the jīvan-mukti state as one in which all the roots of ignorance and karma are severed. The roots include normal cognitive activity as well as unconscious impressions and propensities (vāsanās). Jīvan-mukta, the realized person, the one who is a free being in the world, is not completely devoid of ordinary cognitive states. Rather, these states, with their roots in the mind severed, are passing shadows that produce no karmic impressions. They are like the snake whose poisonous fangs are pulled out. It might bite, but it could cause no harm. In strict philosophical parlance, knowledge means true cognition. So the expression “right knowledge” is redundant and “wrong knowledge” is self contradictory. It is believed that the information generated out of sense-mediated awareness is not knowledge. It is biased and incomplete. It binds the individual to a course of action that is detrimental to the goal of discovering one’s essential being in pure consciousness. It sets the individual against others. Ignoring the underlying unity, ignorance promotes artificial distinctions such as “you” and “me,” subject and object. In the process arise attachment and aversion, anxiety and distress, ego involvement and greed, feelings of pleasure and pain, and so on. With the dawn of wisdom engendered by pure conscious experience, however, the individual is transformed. The transformation not only results in the absence of negative feelings and emotions, aversions and attachments, but it also produces an integral state of oneness of being, a profound experience of truth, goodness, and beauty. It is described as a state of peace and equanimity, freedom, and spontaneity. The

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Bhagavad-Gītā characterizes it as a state of steady enlightenment (sthitaprajñā). Kṛṣṇa describes it to Arjuna in considerable detail. So does Vaśiṣṭha to his pupil, Rāma. Vidyāraṇya in his Jīvan-Mukti Viveka characterizes the jīvan-mukta as one who protects his enlightened wisdom (jñāna-rakṣa), experiences no discard (visamvādābhāva) and stresses (duḥkha), and fills his life with joy (sukha). In the second chapter of the Bhagavad-Gītā, we find Kṛṣṇa’s description of the characteristics of the person who achieves a state of sthitaprajñā, a state of steady realization and enlightenment. The sthitaprajñā abandons the desires of the heart and finds satisfaction and happiness in realizing consciousness-as-such (I.55). Her mind is not troubled by anxiety under afflictions; he is indifferent to pleasures and is free from passion, fear, or anger (II.56). The one who has steady realization is completely unattached. He is neither excited with joy when encountering good things nor depressed with despair when bad things happen (I.57). The enlightened one withdraws his senses from the objects of perception like a tortoise pulls its limbs into its shell (II.58). The senses when excited seize the mind of even those who are wise. Therefore, restraining of the senses is of paramount importance. The Bhagavad-Gītā states: “Paying attention to the objects of sense causes attachment to them. From attachment arises desire. Desire gives to anger. Anger leads to delusion. Delusion results in confused memory. Lack of correct memory destroys the discriminating ability. With the loss of discrimination (between right and wrong) one perishes” (I.62–63). Kaivalya or complete liberation in a disembodied state (videha-mukti) may be an utopian ideal. The state of jīvan-mukti, however, may be seen as an attainable goal even from a secular perspective. The jīvan-mukti concept is developed from the self-certifying experiences recorded extensively in the Indian subcontinent. Even in modern India, people like Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and Ramana Maharishi are reported to have achieved a state of steady realization. In fact, it stands to reason to consider saints in the Catholic tradition and the Western mystics throughout the ages as possibly jīvan-muktas. While jīvan-mukti is an advanced state of a steady experience of pure consciousness, as the concept sthitaprajñā implies, it is likely that sporadic manifestations of pure conscious experience may be more frequent and widespread than acknowledged. The so-called self-actualized persons Maslow speaks of may be the ones who experience pure consciousness. Inasmuch as pure conscious states have transformational consequences as implied in the concept of citi-śakti achieving such states may have important ramifications for improving the human condition. Therefore, the next state of evolution, the development of supermind as Sri Aurobindo among others has suggested, may indeed involve the mind’s ability to partake in pure consciousness with greater ease and frequency than is apparent now. Even in the contemporary context of rare access to this domain, a greater understanding of the process and the practices believed to lead to pure conscious states may give rise not only to new therapeutic techniques but also to useful innovative strategies to promote creativity in people and peace and harmony in the community and among nations.

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References Atreya, B. L. (1954). Yogavāsiṣṭha and modern thought: or, Agreement of the East and the West on fundamental problems. Banaras: The Indian Book shop. Dasgupta, S. N. (1920/2001). A study of Patanjali (2nd ed.). New Delhi: Indian Council of Philosophical Research. Dasgupta, S. N. (1922/1988). History of Indian philosophy (5 vols.). Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass (first published in 1922). James, W. (1890/1952). Principles of psychology. New York, NY: Holt. Jha, G. (Trans.). (1907/1939). Gautama’s Nyaya Sastras with Vatsayana’s Bhasya. Poona: Oriental Book Agency. Leggett, A. J. (1990/2006). The problems of physics. Oxford University Press. Paranjpe, A. C. (1998). Self and identity in modern psychology and Indian thought. New York: Plenum. Rao, S. K. R. (1979). Jivanmukti in Advaita. Bangalore: IBH Prakashana. Rukmani, T. S. (1989). Kaivalyapada. Yogavarttika of Vijñanabhiksu: Text with English translation and critical notes along with the text and English translation of the Pātañjala Yogasūtras and Vyāsabhāsya by T. S. Rukmani, 4. New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal Publ. Sastri, S. S. S. (Ed., Trans.). (1942/1984). Vedantaparibhasa. Madras: Adayar Library and Research Centre. Woods, J. H. (1914/2007). The yoga system of Patanjali. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.

Chapter 5

What Is Meditation?

Yoga-Sūtras as we have seen is a systematic attempt to develop a theory of mind, within the dualist architecture of reality, grounded in the reported exceptional experiences of people and prevalent practices. The goal is to enhance human potential and bring about the transformation of the person to overcome suffering and achieve a state of personal freedom and bliss. Yogic science, if we may use such an expression, is the theoretical framework systematically organized by Patañjali to fit the then prevailing practices with their perceived efficacy from the first-person accounts of people engaged in them. Though grown out of such empirical facts, yogic science in India has been content with attempts to gain a rational understanding of who we are and where our destiny lies rather than collecting additional data to validate the theories. In some ways, this exercise has been incomplete because there is always the question of the veracity of the primary data themselves, i.e., the assumed validity of the practitioner’s claims. In order to study yoga as a normal science in the conventional sense, one needs (a) to test the claims themselves, (b) examine the logical connection between the claims and theories, and (c) deductively draw from theories the hypotheses to be tested rigorously with real-life data. For deriving testable hypotheses in this area, the scientist needs more than the usual intellectual ingenuity and skills in experimental design and analytical sophistication. She needs thorough familiarity with yoga theory and practices, the necessary conceptual clarity, and understanding of the nuances of the practices and their connectivity to theories. In other words, to pursue yogic science one needs first to understand the tradition of yoga as it grew and understood by those who practiced it. Western psychology is essentially transactional, concerned mainly with the mind as a cognitive instrument. Consequently, it is generally content with exploring the sensory-motor channels of thought, passion, and action. The dominant theme of classical Indian psychological thought, however, signifies a psychology of transcendence, a study of the mind in relation to pure consciousness. It should be obvious to anyone familiar with Indian thought that other interpretations of it, such as naturalistic explanations, are also possible. In fact, I have myself reviewed elsewhere (Rao 1987) pluralistic and empiricist trends in classical Indian thought, © The Author(s) 2017 K.R. Rao, Foundations of Yoga Psychology, DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-5409-9_5

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which for historical reasons, did not become a significant part of Hindu ethos and practices. What is of particular interest to me, however, is that the psychology of transcendence as conceived in the Indian tradition is not opposed to naturalism as such. In a sense, Indian psychology “transcends” such a dichotomy because we find in it the attempts to treat the so-called supernatural as natural phenomena and find organic relationships between such dichotomies as subject and object, individual, and society. In the existential situation, the “person,” who is the subject of psychological inquiry, finds herself conditioned by her ego sense and thus becomes limited in a variety of ways. Conditioned, the person becomes an instrument of individualized thought, action, and passion. One’s knowledge is therefore biased, subjective, and severely limited by the situation. Liberating the individual from this subjective predicament and restoring the person to the unconditioned state of experiencing “pure consciousness” is transcendence. It is, in its culmination, the restoration of the person to a state of perfection. There are several intermediatory stages of progressive cognitive excellence and for overcoming the existential limitations. Transcendence may be understood in a metaphysical, absolutistic, and otherworldly sense or in an empirical, relativistic, and secular sense. In its absolutistic sense, transcendence is complete liberation from all limiting conditions. It is the realization of pure being, the person as pure consciousness, unattached, and egoless. It is perfection in its ultimacy. In Yoga, it is the state of kaivalya. In a relativistic sense, it is the progressive striving toward the goal of achieving the unconditioned state, reaching the ideal of perfection. It signifies the transformation of the individual so that she overcomes in various degrees and through different stages the subjectively conditioned biases, prejudices, and predispositions that limit her knowledge, action, and being. The different samādhi states in Patañjali yoga refer to the multitude of steps involved. The emphasis on transcendence is not unique to yoga or Hinduism. Many religions believe that it is possible to achieve transcendence in its absolute sense. For example, according to Buddhism, the arhant who has realized nirvāṇa is a totally liberated person. In practice, however, the religious rituals and prescriptions may be aimed at less grandiose objectives. In the cognitive sphere, transcendence would suggest that the discursive and differentiating processes give way to undifferentiated and intuitive comprehension. Subjective and objective dichotomies disappear. Knowledge is now devoid of all distortions brought about by the limiting conditions of sensory mediation. It is knowing reality the way it really is. At the level of feeling, it is peace, compassion, and calm contentment. The person now is unemotional, stable, and unobsessed. She is, thus, a perfect being. Similar claims are made in the Bhagavad-Gītā for the one who achieves the state of sthitaprajñā and in Yoga for the yogin who achieves the niruddha state, as we have discussed earlier. According to Yoga, reality does not reveal itself directly to us in our ordinary states of consciousness. In a significant sense, our understanding of the world is a personal construct that is constrained by one’s psychobiological system—a construct no doubt shared by most others for the reason that they function largely

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within similar systems. The interindividual agreement does not necessarily guarantee truth. Our ability to receive and process information, for example, is limited by our sensory apparatus, the brain, and nervous system, and is influenced by our expectations, attitudes, motivation, and prior experience. Consequently, our knowledge of reality, rather our experience of it, is not of reality as such. In several respects, it is incomplete, imperfect, and blemished. But it does not have to be so. The imperfections and limitations come in degrees; they are overcome in a similar manner in degrees. Therefore, the goal of perfection serves the function of taking us closer to truth. In the existential context, truth is an approximation and not an absolute perfection in our thoughts, feelings, and actions. The quest for perfection, then, is a search for the way to enhance human potential, limited as it is by the human condition. It is a search for knowledge that is true and unbiased, happiness beyond the pleasures of the senses, and freedom from the confines of the ego and individuality. Perfection in its ultimacy is a total absorption of the individual in the object of experience, and a complete blending of one’s thinking, feeling, and willing into a holistic being. It is a perfect coalescence of one’s cognitive, volitional, and affective states into a unified experience that transcends the conventional dichotomies of common experience, such as the subject and object and the experience of “I-ness” and “otherness”. It is knowing truth (transcending subjective bias), experiencing bliss (transcending pain and pleasure), and acting free (transcending situational constraints). It is well to recognize that, in the quest for perfection, the individual progresses through various stages which are marked by distinctive characteristics. To draw from the Buddhistic literature, there are numerous states of consciousness with their own distinguishing features, but they can all be hierarchically arranged with reference to their relative freedom from the inhibiting influences and the limiting conditions on our thought and action. Again, the various states of samādhi, as described in Yoga-Sūtras, are states that progressively lead to perfection. If transcendence is the goal, meditation is a means of achieving it. Again, in Hindu tradition as in almost all major religious traditions, the practice of meditation is paramount in bringing about a transformation in one’s cognitive style, personality, and emotional feeling commensurate with the desired goals of religious experience. Thus, though meditation has a sacred function in Yoga, its use in contemporary society has had a secular orientation, which is not inconsistent with the concept of relative transcendence serving transactional rather than transcendental functions. If meditation is, thus, considered a means of achieving transcendence, i.e., overcoming the limitations surrounding the human condition, then the practice of meditation should have profound effects on human thought, feelings, and actions. The possible effects would be eminently amenable for empirical study and research. For example, research can address questions like these: Does meditation lead to cognitive excellence? Is practice of meditation conducive to personal transformation? If so, how? As we have seen, in our discussion of Yoga-Sūtras, ekāgratā—attentional focus —is the key ingredient in meditation. Do the empirical studies of meditation

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support this thesis? The purpose of meditation, we are told by Patañjali and the successive Rāja yoga practitioners, is to control the wanderings of the mind (cittavṛttis) and empty the mind of its thought content. It follows that yogic meditation should be helpful in controlling ruminative mentation and negative thoughts/feelings, which often characterize maladjustment and troubled psyche. In fact, “silencing” of one’s thoughts is an important sign of progress in meditation. Therefore, yogic meditation should have useful therapeutic implications. Also, we have discussed the variety of hindrances to practicing meditation. Successful practice of meditation implies that these hindrances are overcome at least to some degree. Therefore, emotional well-being, reduced anxiety, and overcoming ego involvement may be expected to correlate with progress in successful meditation. Practice of yoga is associated with the manifestation of extraordinary abilities, including extrasensory acquisition of information and nonconventional interaction with environment. Meditation is believed to lead to enlightenment and self-transforming peak experiences. Thus, yoga and meditation could have numerous benefits to humankind at various levels, ranging from ultimate kaivalya to ordinary excellence in one’s thoughts, feelings, and actions. There is here a vast territory and promising mines available for excavation. Indeed, this was not lost sight of. There are literally thousands of research publications during the past fifty years, and there is continued academic interest in the study of meditation and its effects. We will discuss them in the following chapter. Presently, let us discuss what meditation truly means.

What Is Meditation? Meditation as a means of controlling the mind is at the core of yoga practices. Meditation is considered as the perfect means of turning the mind away from transactional engagement to focus on the transcendental realm. Beginning with mid-twentieth century, there has been in Western countries a considerable amount of popular and scientific interest in the study and practice of meditation. Literally, millions of people have taken to meditation, and hundreds of research reports have been published. It appeared first that meditation was a response to the psychedelic “challenge” during the second part of twentieth century (Carrington 1977). Experience with mind-altering drugs led to a heightened interest in altered states of consciousness. Meditation seemed to produce an agreeable state without involving any chemical stimulation. Those age-old claims that yogins and others proficient in meditative practice could produce extraordinary phenomena became more credible as laboratory evidence indicated that autonomic functions may be controlled by means of suitable feedback and reward systems (Barber et al. 1972). Again, the successful promotion of transcendental meditation (TM) as a simple and easy to practice technique for stress reduction has greatly contributed to both the popularity of meditation as a technique and the widespread interest in studying it scientifically. Today, meditation and yoga are increasingly seen as the needed remedy for

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troubled conscience, and conflict-ridden and stress-filled minds. Much of this interest exploded in the West and resulted in extensive empirical research by those who had little understanding of the cultural roots and philosophical underpinnings of yoga. This rather abrupt eruption of interest was not without its share of problems. The concept itself became somewhat nebulous, resulting in a variety of ambiguities in its usage. Research on meditation suffered much on this account, which led one researcher, who himself wrote extensively on meditation, to complain some years ago that “ninety seven percent of meditation research is not worth the paper it is printed on” (Smith, J.C., personal communication). A major share of the problems is due to a naïve and simplistic understanding of meditation and a lack of proper insight into relevant theory. Despite numerous techniques that are in vogue, the key ingredient of meditation is control of mind by attentional manipulation that ranges from concentrated focus to defused passive awareness. Contemporary studies of meditation have not really addressed the question of what precisely constitutes meditation, as we will find in the following discussion. Meditation is often equated with meditation practice. This is what I call functionalist fallacy of mistaking an act as the agency, identifying the means with the end. This is the other side of the category mistake made popular by Gilbert Ryle in his refutation of Cartesian dualism. Practices may vary, but the product should be the same. The failure to distinguish between meditation and practice of meditation is at the root of the confusion whether meditation is a state or a technique. Meditation as popularized is a practicing technique, but as a subject of research, it is equated with a state. The necessity to make a distinction between the state and the technique led some writers to coin such phrases as “meditative experience” (Goleman 1978), “meditative mood” (Carrington 1977), or “relaxation response” (Benson 1975). To compound this confusion, meditation technique is not clearly limited to one practice or to one set of practices. Sometimes, any practice that is believed to produce a particular state is regarded as meditation (Smith 1986). At other times, engaging in a certain practice is automatically equated with being in a meditative state (Wallace 1970). There is, thus, a general failure to clearly define meditation either as a technique or a state. If meditation is a state, we need precise criteria for identifying it; if it is a technique, the different steps involved in practicing, it should be clearly described and formalized. The confusion probably has roots in the classical writings themselves. In them, there was no particular need for making the distinction, probably because of the presumed identity of ends and means. We see this in several foundational texts on meditation, including Yoga-Sūtras. In the Buddhistic practices, as described by Buddhaghoṣa in Viśuddhimagga, jhāna (Sanskrit dhyāna) is a state. In fact, eight jhāna states are distinguished. By the time one reaches the fourth stage of jhāna, there is the cessation of all those limiting conditions that bind the minds and limit its functions. The last four stages are efforts to seek out or realize answers to ultimate philosophical questions and experience reality the way it is. In the Rāja Yoga, as described in Patañjali’s Yoga-Sūtra, dhāraṇā (concentration) and dhyāna

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(prolonged and unwavering, focused concentration) lead to samādhi, a state of the mind comparable to Buddhistic jhāna. The counterparts to dhāraṇā and dhyāna of Yoga are upacāra and appanā in Buddhistic psychology. Upacāra is concentration that is unsteady, while appanā is steady concentration leading to a state of absorption. Thus, dhāraṇā and dhyāna (in Yoga) and upacāra and appanā in Buddhism are techniques, whereas samādhi and jhāna are states. However, all of them are subsumed under the general rubric of meditation. Classical Meditation: Most of meditation research was carried out with subjects practicing Rāja Yoga, Transcendental Meditation (TM), Buddhist Vipassanā or Zen, and more recently Tibetan meditation or their adaptations by researchers such as Benson (1975, 1977), Kabat-Zinn (2003), and Segal et al. (2002). The roots of the various techniques currently studied may be traced to the Hindu and Buddhistic practices. The authoritative sources of these traditions are the aphorisms of Patañjali and the many commentaries on the Yoga-Sūtras and the elaborate description in Buddhaghoṣa’s Viśuddhimagga. We have already discussed the Rāja Yoga practices in the previous chapters. Let us briefly summarize here the relevant points. Yogic Meditation: The goal of yoga practice is to control the natural tendency of the mind to wander. The method of controlling it consists in obtaining a certain attentional focus called ekāgratā. When these wanderings or mental fluctuations are controlled, one reaches a state of stillness, mental quiescence, quietude, and absorption in a state of samādhi, where awareness is unaffected by the normal psychological processes that tend to bias and distort one’s thoughts and perceptions. The purpose of Patañjali’s yoga is to attain the niruddha state where the psychic fluctuations are completely restrained and controlled. This can be achieved by practicing certain psychophysical exercises that include focused attention and concentration. The mind is set in fluctuation not only by sensory stimulations, but also by the subliminal factors called vāsanās and saṃskāras. The vāsanās are basic tendencies, either inborn or acquired. Having their own dynamism, they constantly strive for expression in consciousness and precipitative vṛttis. A good deal of man’s experience is determined by these inborn tendencies. Unless these vāsanās are revealed, controlled, and eradicated, the citta cannot be fully restrained. Yoga practice, therefore, aims not only at the shutting out of the external inputs provided by sensory stimulation but also the “burning” of the subliminal latencies so that the niruddha state is attained. We have discussed earlier the different steps involved in the practice of Raja Yoga and the variety of accompanying experiences. We may recall that Yoga formulates a psychophysiological method involving eight steps to control the fluctuations of the psyche. The first two are yama and niyama which include certain moral commandments such as truthfulness, nonstealing, continence, cleanliness, and contentment. The next two, āsana and prāṇāyāma, are physical exercises that involve sitting in comfortable postures and practicing breath control. The fifth stage, pratyāhāra, is special introspection, a passive attentive state, designed to understand the workings of psyche or bare perceptions. The last three, dhāraṇā (concentration), dhyāna (meditation) and samādhi, a standstill state of psyche, are the most important ones in attaining the

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yogic state. In fact, meditation proper refers to these practices and not to the preliminaries. The first five are preparatory and the last three are the essential stages of yoga. The need for the ethical and physiological practices in the yogic training is not difficult to understand. Desires and sensory indulgence encourage further involvement in the sensory processes that result in the constant fluctuations of the psyche which are precisely what yoga practice seeks to control. The physical exercises are also designed to control internal processes, to reduce the sensory input from outside, and to ensure bodily health, the loss of which would be a source of distractions. The pratyāhāra or introspective stage is quite important. It seems to focus on certain internal monitoring processes, some sort of biofeedback. It is what appears to be the connecting link between the physiological and the psychological exercises. It is by introspection that the practitioner of yoga is able to regulate the body to suit the requirements of his mental states. Such introspection, it would seem, enables the yogin to isolate those experiences, which he is seeking, and to produce them at will later. We may recall that the object of all these steps is to enable one to concentrate. There are some who could achieve desired levels of concentration without the recommended exercises. They could skip them. Concentration or dhāraṇā produces in us a state in which the natural wandering of our thoughts, the fluctuations of the psyche, are brought under control. In a state of concentration, the psyche attends to one thing so that there is intensification of activity of the mind in one direction. In a state of concentration, the focus of attention is narrowed. This focus is expanded when one goes from concentration to contemplation or dhyāna. Contemplation helps to concentrate longer and to fix one’s attention on any object for a length of time with ease and in an effortless manner. When this is achieved, the psyche progresses to a standstill state in which the mind is steady and becomes one with the object of concentration. This is the state of samādhi. The triple effort of dhāraṇādhyāna-samādhi is called saṃyama. Saṃyama is meditation in its totality. Buddhistic Meditation: The path of Buddhism, as we noted, is to achieve a state of perfection and transcendence called nirvāṇa (nibbana in Pāli). The one who has realized nibbana is the arahant, the perfect or the ideal man. Arahantship is the culmination of all psychic development. As Samyutta Nikaya puts it: “The destruction of desire, hate and illusion—that is called arahantship.” Achieving the higher state of awareness, a state of unobsessed mind free from the compulsions of ego and the delusion of permanence, is often described as “crossing the river.” The one who “crosses the river” realizes the four noble truths. He knows about suffering, how it arises, its extinction, and the way to achieve it. Samyutta Nikaya (V, 199–200) mentions five steps in the path of the monk from saṃsāra to sainthood (arahantship). They are (1) faith in Buddha’s teachings, (2) vigor or motivation to strive to get rid of undesirable states of mind and to acquire, maintain, preserve, and enhance wholesome mental states, (3) practice of mindfulness, (4) cultivation of concentration and one-pointed attention, and (5) attainment of wisdom, which is enlightenment itself.

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Mindfulness and concentration are central exercises in the pursuit of enlightenment and transcendence. These two are not different and opposing practices. They are necessarily complementary. Mindfulness is recommended to the monks as a practice for purification of body and mind and for successfully proceeding on the path of nirvāṇa. Mindfulness is applied in four ways—(1) contemplating the body in the body; (2) contemplating the feelings in the feelings; (3) contemplating the mind in the mind; and (4) contemplating the mental states in the mental states. Contemplating the body in the body begins with paying attention to breathing. “Mindful he breaths in, mindful he breaths out.” Similarly, the monk goes through a variety of activities such as walking and eating. Then, he reflects on the body itself from the head to foot, the various impurities in it, and the various elements of which it is composed and into which it would be decomposed. Contemplating the feelings in the feelings consists in paying attention to states of pain and pleasure or lack of them. Majjhima Nikaya describes how a monk lives contemplating the mind in the mind in the following way: He comprehends the mind which has passion and that which has none as such, which has hatred and that which has none as such, which has confusion and which has none as such; he comprehends the collected mind, the distracted mind as such; the mind which has become great and that which has not as such; the mind which has some other or no other (mental state) superior to it; the mind which is concentrated or that which is not as such …. It is thus that a monk lives contemplating the mind in the mind. Conze (1954/1995, p. 58)

Finally, mindfulness is directed at contemplating mental states in mental states. This exercise involves five steps. First, he contemplates the mental states from the point of view of the five hindrances (desire, ill will, restlessness, worry, or doubt). Second, he contemplates on mental acts such as perception, feeling, and awareness. Third, he contemplates on the six aspects of awareness system and the six aspects of the response system. Fourth, he contemplates on the seven steps to the path of enlightenment, when they are present and when they are not present in his experience. Fifth, the monk contemplates on the four noble truths and comprehends that “this is suffering, this is its uprising, this its stopping, this the course leading to its stopping” (Majjhima Nikaya I, 55–63). Such passive and yet incisive attention to the details of the constitution, composition, and functioning of the body and mind in mindfulness exercises reminds us of the pratyāhāra phase of Rāja Yoga practice, where the attention is focused inward. Pratyāhāra is, however, limited to the workings of the mind and voluntary control of internal attention states, whereas mindfulness is much broader and includes attention to body. Another difference is that mindfulness appears to be limited to observation and understanding rather than control of the processes involved. Buddhaghoṣa’s Viśuddhimagga, as mentioned, is the most important sourcebook for understanding Theravāda Buddhistic meditation. We find in it a very detailed and insightful account of the surroundings and attitudes necessary for meditation, as

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well as a comprehensive description of the specific ways of training necessary for focusing attention to attain a variety of subtle meditative states. The goal of meditation for Buddhists is transcendence, nibbāna (Pāli) , or nirvāṇa (Sanskrit). Nibbāna is a state of equanimity in its most profound sense. It is a state in which one has objectless awareness which is neither perception nor nonperception. Buddhism has worked out an elaborate method to enable one to achieve such a state of transcendence. The eightfold practices involve (a) scrupulous observance of moral precepts (śīlas), (b) practice of meditation (samādhi), and (c) realization or understanding (paññā). The recommended disciplinary rules are found in great detail in Vinaya Piṭaka. The general direction of all these precepts is to overcome the basic ego obsessions, namely greed, hatred, and delusions, and to control the tendencies of attachment, aversion, wrong thoughts, and ego-feeling. Paññā, or understanding, is given great prominence in Buddhism. A person who dispels ignorance through understanding may become an arhant. Apparently, it is believed that some may attain transcendence by understanding alone, that is, without meditation as prescribed in various states of jhāna. Such a person is called paññā-vimutto. Since Buddhism allows the possibility of achieving transcendence through insight and understanding (paññā) , the path of understanding is sometimes interpreted as another form of meditation. Thus, a distinction is often made between concentrative meditation and insight meditation. While it is entirely correct to say that there are two paths for achieving transcendence, the path of jhāna and the path of paññā, only the former may be legitimately called meditation. The confusion is probably due to the fact that they are not mutually exclusive. Viśuddhimagga gives minute details of the processes involved in the practice of meditation from the lowest to the highest. Five kinds of variables are identified. They are (a) the hindrances to the practice of meditation, (b) the object toward which meditation should be directed, (c) the teacher, (d) the meditator, and (e) the process of meditation. All meditation should have an object on which one could fix his attention and meditate. Theoretically, there can be any number of objects for meditation. Traditionally, however, forty of these are mentioned. The teacher plays a crucial role in guiding the practitioner at every stage in the meditative process. The guru, or the preceptor, should himself have mastered the fourth and fifth jhānas and should have become an arhant. In the absence of such a teacher, one should choose the best available. The guru is the guide who leads the meditator to a state of right concentration through a difficult terrain full of obstacles. Meditation involves certain preliminary practices and two kinds of exercises before one enters a jhāna state. Eight successive states of jhāna or meditation are distinguished. The preliminaries include offering invocations to the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha prayers for happiness of all beings, confession of one’s guilt, and faith in the teachings of the Buddha. The practitioner endeavors to fix her mind on the object of meditation. The first exercise is upacāra, which has three steps. First, the meditator with her eyes closed fixes her attention on the object of meditation. Then, she forms a mental image of the object that is as vivid and distinct as the object itself. Third, the meditator attempts to have the image clearer and brighter than the object but devoid of such characteristics as color, form, and size. It may be

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mentioned that in the state of upacāra the meditator’s mind has not reached a state of steady concentration. The attention of the mind still wanders. Appanā is the next stage in meditation. In this state, the meditator is able to fix her attention on the object of meditation for a long period and her concentration becomes strong and steady. Buddhaghoṣa (p. 147, 1923) distinguishes between the upacāra and appanā states in this way: At access [upacāra] the factors, owing to their weakness, are not strong. As a baby-child, on being lifted to its feet, falls down repeatedly to the ground, even so when the access arises the mind at times makes the sign the object, at times lapses into subconsciousness. At ecstasy [appanā] the factors from their very strength are strong. As a strong man rising from his seat might stand even the whole day, so when the ecstatic concentration arises consciousness, once it has cut off the occasion of subconsciousness, lasts the whole night, even the whole day, and proceeds by way of moral apperceptional succession.

In order to attain the state of appanā, the meditator should sever the connection between her subliminal consciousness (bhavaṅga citta) and the object of meditation so that she can reflect on the image of the object without activating the bhavaṅga. When she is able to do this and reflect on the image for a certain length of time, she is said to have entered into the first stage of meditation (jhāna). The person who enters into such a state of meditation should continue to direct her mind to the object of meditation and engage in a steady concentration of the mind on that object. In addition, she should dissociate herself from worldly attractions, deprive herself of physical pleasures, and free herself from mental impurities. The first stage of meditation has five aspects: they are vitakka (discursive or relational thought), vicāra (inquiry), pīti (joy), sukha (pleasure), and ekāgratā (concentration). Thus, there are cognitive as well as affective and conative factors in meditation. In Buddhistic psychology, we find again and again how the cognitive, affective, and conative factors are intricately involved in almost every facet of behavior. Vitakka and vicāra, which are really inseparable, are the cognitive factors. The relation between them is explained by the simile of the flying bird. Vitakka is the effort required to ascend into the air, and vicāra is like flying steadily in the air after the ascent. Pīti and sukha are the emotive factors. Ekāgratā is the conative factor and represents the effort involved in obtaining a state of absorption. When the meditator enters the first stage, her worldly desires are eliminated and the undesirable mental states are removed. There is equanimity, a kind of psychological bliss. After achieving the first stage, the meditator is instructed to practice entering into, maintaining, and coming out of the same state. Such practice leads her into the second stage, where discursive (vitakka) and inquiring (vicāra) faculties cease to function. The object of meditation, we are told, gets so integrated with the mind that the physical sensations cease; the meditator experiences complete tranquility. She is able to concentrate her mind on the object of meditation so completely that her senses do not respond to any external or internal stimulation. At this stage, she attains full concentration of the mind and experiences pleasure and happiness. When the meditator enters the third stage, she is unaffected by pleasure and pain and is no longer worried about such thoughts as the impermanence of the world or about theories of suffering and nothingness. Even though she is not affected by

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feelings of pleasure or happiness, she enjoys perfect ease, which she realizes only after coming out of the state. In the fourth stage, the meditator experiences equanimity and complete freedom from physical as well as mental pain or pleasure. All these four stages of meditation are attained by the practice of concentration on a suitable object to induce upacāra and appanā. Thus, the attentional focus on the object and the one-pointedness of the mind continue to be present in all these four jhāna states. In addition, there are four higher stages which are achieved by meditating on the four arūpas, namely, unlimited space, unlimited consciousness, nothingness, and a condition of neither perception nor nonperception. By concentrating on unlimited space, the mind of the meditator overcomes all sense distinctions and attains the fifth stage; by meditating on unlimited consciousness, she attains the sixth stage; by concentrating on voidness, she reaches the seventh stage; by meditating on the condition of neither perception nor nonperception, she enters the eighth stage of transperceptual experience. This is the highest state of meditation one can hope to achieve with general awareness intact. In the ultimate state, however, there is a total cessation of awareness itself. In fact, after the fourth stage, the meditator becomes emancipated and achieves transcendence by overcoming all mental limitations (ceto-vimutti). We can readily see how similar are the meditative techniques described by Patañjali and Buddhaghoṣa. It is likely that both of them have drawn from the prevailing practices, which are themselves evolved out of native Indian tradition that is prior to the advent of Buddhism and the Brahmanical tradition. In both Hindu and Buddhist forms, the goal of meditation is transcendence seen as freedom from existential limitations and consequent suffering and progress to perfection in its profound integral sense. At the same time, it is acknowledged in both traditions that meditation leads to experiencing nonordinary states of consciousness and manifesting extraordinary abilities, and unfolding new ways of knowing and being. These manifestations and experiences are to be seen as sign posts on the way to liberation rather than the ends in themselves. The goal is no less than total perfection and complete freedom. So meditation in the classical tradition has a single acceptable application, which is the transformation of the person to realize herself in a state of total transcendence and freedom from all the existential constraints. Contemporary Interpretations: Meditation techniques as employed in various religious traditions, classical and contemporary, have been described by several contemporary writers. Goleman (1978), for example, surveyed 14 different techniques and argued that all of them employ essentially one of two methods described in Viśuddhimagga or their combination. They are, according to him, the method of concentration and the method of insight or mindfulness. Concentration (focusing attention on one object) and mindfulness (focusing attention on bare sense impressions) as employed in meditation involve redeployment or, as he termed it, “retraining” of attention. As Goleman writes: “The need for the meditator to retrain his attention, whether through concentration or mindfulness, is the single invariant ingredient in the recipe for altering consciousness of every meditation system” (p. 111).

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Describing meditation as “the pursuit of a certain state of mind… a mental process rather than a mental content,” Claudio Naranjo points out that its practices “generally involve an effort to stop this merry-go-round of mental or other activity and to set our attention upon a single object, sensation, utterance, issue, mental state, or activity” (Naranjo and Ornstein 1971, p. 10). Naranjo distinguishes between three kinds of meditative practices. His classification is based on the object of meditation rather than on any intrinsic differences in the meditative process itself, which is the focusing of attention in certain ways on chosen objects. In concentration meditation, the meditator concentrates on “externally given symbolic objects.” He “attempts to interiorize an externally given form.” In absorptive meditation, the object of concentration is any of the “spontaneously arising contents of the mind.” The third kind, which is neither “outer-directed” nor “inner-directed,” involves the effort “to attain a stillness of the mind’s conceptualizing activity, a withdrawal from external perceptions and internal experience alike” (p. 18). It would seem that Naranjo is merely paraphrasing here the final three steps of Rāja Yoga practice, dhāraṇā, dhyāna, and samādhi. The three are not really distinctive in that one practice leads to the other, and successful meditation may involve a combination of the three practices, as presumed to be the case when one does saṃyama in Rāja Yoga. Robert Ornstein refers to two general varieties of meditation: “those exercises, which involve restriction of awareness… and those, which involve a deliberate attempt to ‘open up’ awareness of the external environment” (Naranjo and Ornstein 1971, p. 144). One single essential element in a multitude of meditative practices, according to him, is the actual “restriction of awareness” to one single, unchanging stimulus. Ornstein finds the object of meditation “much less important than maintaining the object as the single focus of awareness over a long period of time” (p. 161). In concentrative meditation, the attentional focus on an unchanging stimulus leads to the diminishing of the awareness of the external environment to eventually produce a state of “blank out,” which allows for expanded awareness and guides attention to faint signals that otherwise would go unrecognized. The analogy is that of the dark night when the stars can be seen. Carrington (1977) makes a distinction between meditation as a goal and meditation as a technique and argues that various practices associated with meditation in the Western countries are “simple psychological centering devices.” By “centering,” she means the meditator’s achieving complete absorption by his or her particular object of meditation,” which essentially involves the withdrawal of attention from sensory distractions. It is like creating an inner “isolation chamber” to screen out distracting stimuli. But meditation, she points out, is more than these centering techniques, which are but preliminary steps “in preparation for the deep state of communion or oneness which is “meditation”” (p. 8). We “give the same name to the techniques used to produce meditation as we do to the end state itself” (p. 9). Carrington, therefore, calls the so-called centering techniques “practical meditation” as distinguished from meditation proper, which is the end state of all these practices.

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Psychologist Smith (1986) takes a totally secular view of meditation. He considers meditation “not so much as a technique but as a set of skills” (p. 4). According to Smith, the essence of meditation is to learn how to (a) avoid physical tension and be physically calm, (b) overcome distraction and be able to focus attention on a task for a period of time, and (c) give up overcontrol and let yourself be “fully and restfully involved in what you are doing.” It would seem that Smith was merely taking an eclectic approach to a clinical application of meditation by combining it with other techniques of relaxation. Yet it is not difficult to see that avoidance of tension and distraction are considered to be essential preliminaries for successful meditation. Meditation proper, however, is limited to the attentional part, whether it is achieved via concentration on an object, external or internal, or passive and effortless awareness of spontaneous mentation. More recent reviewers have expressed similar views. For example, Lutz et al. (2007) refer to Samatha and Vipassanā paradigms in Buddhist meditation. Samatha is essentially a product of concentration, whereas Vipassanā is “insight” focused mindset. Cahn and Polich (2006) point out that “meditative styles can be usefully classified into two types—mindfulness and concentration—depending on how the attentional processes are directed” (p. 180). They define meditation as a term “used to describe practices that self-regulate the body and mind, thereby affecting mental events by engaging a specified attentional set” (ibid). This definition pretty much summarizes what we mean by meditation in current scientific discussions of it. However, from our review of Patañjali yoga, we find meditation used in a more restricted sense. Meditation is self-regulation of mind by attentional exercises so as to disengage the mind from its habitual activities, which results in a standstill state conducive to and propitious for manifestation of a variety of unusual phenomena.

Some Meditative Techniques Used in Research A report entitled Meditation Practices for Health: State of the Research (Ospina et al. 2007) prepared by the University of Alberta Evidence-based Practice Center for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality of the US Department of Health and Human Services distinguishes between five broad categories of meditation. They are (1) mantra meditation, (2) mindfulness meditation, (3) Yoga, (4) Tai Chi, and (5) Qi Gong. Transcendental Meditation (TM), Relaxation Response (RR), and Clinically Standardized Meditation (CSM) are included in mantra meditation, while Vipassanā, Zen, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) come under mindfulness meditation. Included under the rubric of yoga, besides Rāja Yoga, are Kundalini yoga, Sahaja yoga, Haṭha yoga, and other “yogic lineages.” That the Report includes Tai Chi, which is essentially a martial art comprising of bodily exercises in a slow rhythmic fashion, and Qi Gong, which is a kind of esoteric energy manipulation, suggests that the meaning of meditation is significantly stretched beyond its conventional meaning to include any kind of practice that

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could conceivably lead to a quiet focused mind. Such an extension of its meaning is perhaps warranted in the context of the overall objectives of the project. However, meditation has a more restrictive connotation, as we noted. To stretch meditation beyond its two basic forms—concentration and mindfulness—and their derivatives is the source of much confusion in interpreting research results of meditation. Concentrative or Focused Meditation: Mantra meditation so-called is focused meditation. In some systems, a mantra is the focus of concentration. Recall, in Yoga-Sūtras we find under Kriyā-yoga svādhyāya as one of the three basic practices (II.1). Svādhyāya includes among other things repetitive chanting of the mystic syllable OM. It is a form of mantra practice, but it is a preliminary state and not meditation as such. Concentration (dhāraṇā) involved in meditation is essentially an exercise to achieve a state of ekāgratā (focused attention). Again, in Part I of Yoga-Sūtras, Patañjali discusses the variety of ways to control hindrances that obstruct the practice of yoga, and concludes with the assertion that the mind becomes steady and focused by contemplating on any object of its desire (I.39). Thus, mantra may be understood as any object or thought on which one may concentrate her attention. Transcendental Meditation: Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s transcendental meditation (TM) is probably the single most extensively researched meditative technique (see Orme-Johnson and Farrow 1977). The reasons are that (a) Mahesh Yogi, himself a student of science, was not averse to subjecting his technique to scientific scrutiny and, therefore, his organization has encouraged and even supported such research; (b) the large number of TM practitioners available for research is an attraction for many researchers; (c) the technique itself is simple and easy to practice; and (d) more importantly, since it has been uniformly taught by teachers trained by the TM organization, it is close to being a standardized technique. Basic to transcendental meditation is the premise that, in addition to the known states of wakefulness, sleep, and dreaming, there is a transcendental state of consciousness, which is blissful (Yogi 1963a, b). It is believed to be a state that is physiologically necessary, such as sleep and dreaming, to relieve strains and stresses and to rejuvenate the whole system, body, and mind. At the same time, meditation is a means of reaching the transcendental state. It is claimed that TM is different from other forms of meditation, especially the classical ones, in two crucial respects. First, there is no need for elaborate preparation for practicing transcendental meditation because virtuous life is a consequence of experience of transcendental consciousness rather than a prerequisite for attaining it. Second, transcendental state is a blissful state and the natural tendency of the mind is not to wander aimlessly but to move in the direction of experiencing happiness and joy. Therefore, the movement toward the transcendental state can be quite effortless and natural. Meditation, then, need not involve special effort and concentration to hold one’s attention steadfast. It happens easily if we allow ourselves to experience it. In TM, each initiate is given a Sanskrit mantra by the teacher; meditation consists in repeating this mantra mentally and, in the words of its founder, “turning the attention inward toward the subtler levels of a thought until the mind transcends

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the experience of the subtlest state of the thought and arrives at the source of the thought.” Meditation is described as the process of developing systematic contact with the source of thought, pure awareness. TM meditators are told to avoid any mental effort to concentrate on the mantra. Instead, they must gently bring their attention back to the mantra when it wanders. There are various mantras, and the teacher apparently decides what is the most appropriate one for a given individual. The mantra itself remains a secret, and the practitioners are asked not to reveal it to anyone. The initiation into TM involves a series of two orientation lectures in which the benefits of meditation are explained, and positive expectations are built up. Then, the would-be meditator is instructed on how to passively attend to the mantra while covertly repeating it. Follow-up meetings clear up questions the novice meditator may experience. The meditator is advised to practice twice daily for about 20 min with eyes closed and sitting comfortably in a quiet nondistracting environment. It is estimated that during the initial thrust of the TM movement over a million people were initiated into TM in USA alone (Orme-Johnson and Farrow 1977). Benson’s Relaxation Response (RR): Along with R.K. Wallace, Herbert Benson was among the first to carry out some well-known research on TM, which is cited as evidence that the practice of TM can help lower metabolic rate (Wallace and Benson 1972). Relaxation response is the name given to Benson’s own technique of meditation, which, according to Benson, produces effects similar to TM but is noncultish (Beary and Benson 1974). The “relaxation response” is a low arousal hypometabolic state, which can be produced by a variety of techniques. Physiologically, it is described as an integrated hypothalamic response with parasympathetic dominance and decreased sympathetic activity (Benson et al. 1974). Relaxation response may be obtained without the mantra and puja rituals associated with TM. In Benson’s method, the meditator, after some muscular relaxation exercises, sits in a quiet environment and passively concentrates on his breath, counting “one” each time he exhales. When distracting thoughts come up, the meditator is asked to ignore them and count “one,” coordinating with outer breath. The essential aspect of RR is, thus, the attentional focus on breath. Benson’s RR is considered a secular technique as it does not presuppose any spiritual beliefs or orientation as we find in TM. Typically, the RR exercise is learned in five minutes. The regular practice itself (twice daily) lasts for about 15 min. The object of focused attention is breath, and the mantra substitute is counting one while exhaling. Benson’s contention that all meditation techniques produce a common pattern of physiological changes is questioned by Schwartz et al. (1978), who point out that more specific patterns of physiological response may be superimposed upon the relaxation response by a particular meditative technique employed. Carrington’s Clinically Standardized Meditation (CSM): Patricia Carrington, a clinical psychologist, felt that there were several disadvantages in using TM for research. First, since TM is associated with a quasi-religious movement with strong support groups and high expectations built into its practice, it is difficult to assess accurately the extent to which the observed effect is contributed solely by meditation

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but not by other factors. Second, TM people claim that the mantra is very important for meditation, but the mantra itself is kept as a secret. This makes it very difficult to study TM scientifically and assess the role of the mantra. Third, in order to obtain the cooperation of the TM organization, the research proposals should first be submitted for its approval. In recent years, a number of studies comparing TM with other techniques of meditation are reported. However, many of these studies were carried out by TM people. To counter the disadvantages noted, Carrington (1977) devised her own type of mantra meditation that could be used in clinical practice and research. She called it Clinically Standardized Meditation, or CSM. CSM, as I understand it, is quite similar to TM without the latter’s deliberate and overt attempts to build up expectations and the mystery surrounding the mantra. In CSM, the choice of the mantra is left to the individual, who chooses one among the sixteen mantras in Sanskrit that Carrington collected. It is even possible for the meditator to concoct his own mantra by following some simple rules. Like those for TM, CSM instructions dwell on the effortlessness of meditation. The following instructions illustrate the CSM practice. Having selected your mantra, sit down comfortably. With eyes open and resting upon some pleasant object such as a plant, say the mantra out loud to yourself, repeating it slowly and rhythmically. Enjoy saying your mantra. Experiment with the sound. Play with it. Let it rock you gently with its rhythm. As you repeat it, say it softer and softer, until finally you let it become almost a whisper. Now stop saying the mantra out loud, close your eyes, and simply listen to the mantra in your mind. Think it, but do not say it. Let your facial muscles relax, do not pronounce the word just quietly “hear” the mantra, as, for example, “Ah-nam” … “Ah-nam” … “Ah-nam” … That is all there is to meditating – just sitting peacefully, hearing the mantra in your mind, allowing it to change any way it wants – to get louder or softer – to disappear or return – to stretch out or speed up…. Meditation is like drifting on a stream in a boat without oars – because you need no oars – you are not going anywhere. Carrington (1977, pp. 79–80)

Passive or Mindfulness Meditation: Mindfulness is a form of meditation derived from the early Buddhist Theravāda tradition. As mentioned earlier, Buddhist meditation as described by Buddhaghoṣa in Viśuddhimagga is very similar to yogic meditation. However, mindfulness as practiced in its various forms now may be seen as somewhat different from the volitionally more active concentration meditation. It would seem that mindfulness meditation is meditation designed to cultivate mindfulness, which is paying attention to the contents and processes in the mind. It is variously described as “bare attention,” “just being aware,” “detached,” and “nonjudgmental” observation. Kabat-Zinn (1994) defines mindfulness as “paying attention in a particular way, on purpose, in the present moment and nonjudgmentally” (p. 4). The objective of mindfulness, it would seem, is one of being aware of one’s own state of mind at a given time without any cognitive biases and presuppositions and emotional overtones. In a sense, the fifth limb in Patañjali yoga, pratyāhāra appears to correspond closely with mindfulness. Vipassanā: Vipassanā or insight meditation is one of the widely practiced forms of mindfulness meditation. Vipassanā, which means clear “seeing,” involves the

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application of mindfulness to gain insight into the essential nature of the object of contemplation. Mindfulness is believed to lead to intuitive awareness (prajñā) as distinguished from sensory awareness. Intuitive awareness is essentially nonconceptual, and it is transformational knowing or knowing by being. In other words, its presence is inferred from the transformation of the person rather than in her cognitive understanding, which may come later. In the Buddhist tradition Vipassanā is practiced to gain insight into reality by focusing attention on the three characterizations of reality by the Buddha—the nonpermanence or momentariness, existential suffering, and the nonexistence of ātman, the abiding and enduring self. Vipassanā is taught as a technique to train the meditator to closely attend to the flowing experience, to be sensitive, and fully receptive to perceptions and thoughts without any bias or attachment. The teacher guides the meditator to observe the perceptual process, the thoughts that arise, and to react to them freely in nonhabitual ways. In practice, the meditator’s focus can be her body, mental processes, thoughts, feelings, and emotions. Focusing on the bodily sensations, for example, involves some kind of a body scanning, going head down to the toes, which consists in noticing each and every sensation as it arises in its freshness. Similarly, one meditates on thoughts or feelings as they arise. In a mindful state when one meditates on momentariness and impermanence of reality, she is believed to gain intuitive insight into the impermanence. Consequently, she would be a transformed person with reduced clinging, attachment, and desires to accumulate and hoard to preserve oneself. Zen Meditation: Zen or Zazen is another widely known meditation which has its origins in Mahayana Buddhism (Sogen 2001). The meditator who usually sits on a cushion in comfort does not focus his mind on any single thought, object, or experience, but on the present moment. Her attention, however, is focused on counting breaths (inhalation or exhalation) or on a koan, a riddle that defies logical analysis or answer. There are several koans for meditation such as “what is the sound of clapping with one hand?” Successful practice of Zen is believed to enable the meditator to know the limitations of ordinary experience and the nature of true reality. Zen meditation involves practice of breathing as well. Emphasis is also laid on the sitting posture, usually the lotus position. Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR): While Zen pays no attention to secular applications such as overcoming stress or avoiding mental conflicts, mindfulness is, in theory, eminently suited for therapeutic purposes. Mindfulness as mentioned is believed to give rise to intuitive insight (prajñā). The special feature of prajñā is not cognitive excellence but behavioral transformation. It is a state in which it is believed that there is no gap between knowing and being. Knowing manifests not merely in beliefs but in one’s behavior or conduct. To give a very simplistic example, one who realizes (prajñā) that one should not lie becomes one who never lies. It follows that mindfulness could be an eminent tool for behavior modification. MBSR is one of the techniques based on mindfulness and developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn (2003) in the USA. It is a group-based program that has been extensively used in clinical research on pain reduction and all kinds of morbidities

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associated with chronic diseases like cancer. MBSR combines mindfulness meditation with focus on body scanning and Haṭha yoga postural and breathing practices. In the body scanning and breathing, the attention is focused on the sensations that arise from time to time. MBSR involves eight weeks of daily practice of 45 min. Usually, there are weekly classes that last 2–3 h as well as a daylong rigorous meditation practice between the 6th and 7th sessions. An important component of MBSR is an attempt to vigorously cultivate certain attitudes and motivation. The attitudes include (1) being nonjudgmental, (2) patience and not hurrying to succeed, (3) experiencing everything fresh, as if for the first time, (4) trusting intuition, (5) no pushing, a nonstriving mental set, (6) acceptance of things as they appear at the moment, and (7) no censoring of any thoughts that may arise. Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT): MBCT is another technique developed for clinical use by Teasdale (Segal et al. 2002). MBCT is based on MBSR and used with patients suffering from depression, especially to prevent relapse. The focus of meditation is on the breath and the movement of abdomen while inhaling and exhaling. In the practice of body scanning, attention is focused on the different parts of the body. MBCT aims at training the subject to recognize distracting thoughts and disengage the mind from negative to compulsive thoughts. The training program is again eight weeks with one two-hour session per week. Yoga, Tai Chi, and Qi Gong: We have discussed Rāja Yoga at some length. Yoga as used in meditation research is too general and ambiguous, comprising of a variety of techniques from āsanās to Kundalini arousal. However, in most cases it refers to physical manipulation of the body by practicing certain postures and engaging in a variety of breathing exercises. While these practices may in some sense help concentration by focusing attention on the postures or breath, they cannot be considered meditation in any traditional sense. At best, they are aids to meditation and not meditation as such in the sense that they may help overcome the obstacles in the way of focusing one’s mind. Same thing may be said about Tai Chi and Qi Gong. The practice of Tai Chi includes over one hundred postures which are basically physical exercises. Engaging in them may help promote one’s ability to concentrate, but such exercises can hardly be treated as meditation. Qi Gong, unlike Tai Chi, is not a martial art even though it also involves physical posturing and breathing exercises. It is primarily an “energy healing” device that may involve regulation of the mind by focusing it on breathing and visualizing the flow of Qi energy through the body. In that sense, it is akin to some other practices considered as meditation.

Autogenic Training It is a technique developed by a German medical doctor, J.H. Schultz. This technique (Schultz and Luth 1959) is derived from many years of Schultz’s studies of yoga and meditation. Autogenic training is described as a meditation technique that

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is psychophysiologically rationalized systematic yoga. Another passive meditation technique is Progressive Relaxation developed by Jacobson (1938), a technique in which one is taught to become aware of tension and relaxation in each muscle. It is clear that the meditation techniques just described are at best approximations to those practiced traditionally. Meditation, in classical terms, is an exercise in pursuit of transcendence from the constraints of the human condition. It is a quest for perfection, a quest to experience reality in and of itself, unblemished by the sensory modalities. As one travels on this path to perfection, it is believed that she finds herself on new frontiers of unfolding human potentials that hitherto have lain dormant and hidden. It is hardly a concern of the traditional meditator to lower anxiety or control blood pressure. In fact, such concerns are considered preparations for meditations. In that sense, they are secondary outcomes of meditation. In the traditional yoga system, as we have seen, cultivation of certain attitudes, habits, and the practice of physical and breathing exercises precedes meditation. They are preliminary steps that enable one to practice meditation more efficiently. If the purpose of yoga is to gain control over one’s mind through meditation, all distractions that hinder such concentration and attentional focus must be overcome. It seems, therefore, that the goals of contemporary meditative systems to help achieve psychosomatic well-being seem to be somewhat misplaced.

Meditation as Deployment of Attention We have travelled far from the esoteric traditions of classical meditation to the instant meditative systems currently in vogue that teach a person how to meditate in a matter of minutes. As mentioned, there are in vogue currently numerous forms of meditation practice. Some of these are being patented! Many of these are “meditation made easy” sort of exercises. The instant meditative systems which attempt to teach meditation in a matter of minutes are indeed a far cry from classical meditation systems that require a better part of one’s life to master. A few minutes of daily practice of meditation is said to restore health to body and mind, and even help bring about global transformations for the good of humankind. Whether the traditional and contemporary practices of meditation involve essentially the same process is a question that cannot be answered until systematic studies comparing them are carried out. There are indeed radical differences between classical and contemporary meditative systems in their objectives and goals. As we noted, meditation in classical terms is a pursuit toward transcendence from the constraints of the human condition. It is a search for truth and perfection, a quest to experience reality in and of itself, unblemished by the sensory modalities. As one travels on this path to perfection, she finds herself crossing new frontiers of unfolding human potentials that hitherto have lain dormant and hidden. In the Rāja Yoga, for example, cultivation of certain attitudes and habits and the practice of āsanas and breathing exercises precede meditation proper. It makes

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good sense to consider them as preliminary steps, which could enable one to practice meditation more efficiently. If the purpose of yoga is to gain control over one’s mind through concentration and meditation, all distractions that hinder such concentration and attentional focus must be overcome before one can meditate well. Therefore, to regard meditation as a practice that will overcome these distractions may be somewhat like placing the cart before the horse. Several of the contemporary instant meditation techniques we reviewed are creative concoctions rather than faithful practices of classical techniques. There are many important differences between classical and contemporary approaches to meditation. (1) In the classical traditions, meditation is a rigorous discipline practiced for many years before one considers herself to be proficient. (2) Teaching of meditation in traditional systems requires longtime close supervision and personalized attention by the teacher who provides constant guidance. (3) Meditation proper precedes several preparatory steps that are considered necessary in most cases for proper meditation. (4) Good health and well-being are not the effects but necessary conditions for practicing meditation. (5) In classical usage, meditation is more a state of the mind rather than a technique. Recall Vyāsa’s commentary on the very first sūtra of Patañjali’s text, where he defines yoga as samādhi. I believe the same is the case with Buddhist jhāna. Current meditation research with its focus on the practice of meditation for simple health benefits may be mistaking the husk for the kernel of the meditation seed. There are indeed many significant differences between the variety of meditational exercises that are currently practiced. There is, however, a common ingredient that may be seen in most of the meditative practices, classical and current. The core commonality, the invariant condition among all systems of meditation past and present, undoubtedly has to do with attention. Most reviewers of the varieties of meditative practices seem to agree on that (Goleman 1978; Naranjo and Ornstein 1971). Attention seems to be the essence of yoga practice, if by the latter we mean the focus on control of normal mental functions (citta-vṛttis). In his commentary on Yoga-Sūtras, Vācaspati Miśra defines attention as one-pointedness. It is the focusing of the mind on one object to the exclusion of others. According to Buddhaghoṣa, attention narrows the focus of consciousness and makes the object of attention distinct. Bhaṭṭa Akalaṇka mentions the following conditions as necessary for focusing attention: (1) a congenial environment, which is neither too hot nor too cold, which is free from the scorching sun and rain, which is not infested by wild beasts, birds and reptiles, that divert the internal organ and the external sense-organs to improper objects; (2) a favourable posture of the body; (3) inhaling and exhaling slowly and steadily; (4) inhibition of distracting bodily actions; (5) suppression of attachment, aversion and delusion; (6) fixation of the mind without wavering on a desirable object; and (7) suppression of lethargy, sleep, attachment, sex-love, grief, mirth, fear, doubt, desire and aversion. quoted from Sinha (1961)

Vyāsa, commenting on the Yoga-Sūtras of Patañjali, as we have discussed, explains how distractions that disturb attention may be overcome. Detachment,

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compassion and love for all, regulation of breathing, good company, concentration on agreeable and pleasing objects, and covert and overt repetition of the mystic sound OM or any name of God are among those recommended for overcoming distraction. Most meditative practices seem to involve essentially similar approaches. As Davidson and Goleman (1977) suggest, meditation practice appears to be one of the oldest techniques for self-regulation of attention. The two apparently distinct forms of meditation—concentrative meditation and mindfulness meditation —both involve attentional focus. The object of attentional focus may be different, but attentional deployment seems to be at the core of all meditational practices. Meditation is a process initiated by focusing attention on an object or mental or body state for a prolonged period resulting in a special state of mind characterized by stability and tranquility, equipoise, and quiescence. This process appears to have two important effects. First, sustained one-pointed attention would lead to a state of absorption in which one experiences expanded awareness that transcends the limitations imposed by the normal psychobiological processes. It is an awareness that leads to cognitive excellence and gives unbiased knowledge. It results in a nonhabitual and unconditioned state of mind, free from biases and predispositions, and is open to see the things the way they are. In order to attain an intentional focus and sustain it, it is necessary to avoid distractions, both psychological and biological. As a consequence, other benefits such as psychological and biological well-being may accrue. They are, however, not a direct result of meditation. Inasmuch as meditation enables selective deployment of attention, it may be possible to gain control over certain psychobiological processes over which we normally lack volitional control. Thus, it would seem that if meditative practices help gain volitional control of autonomic processes or achieve psychic abilities, they may not be regarded as the essence of meditation. Classical systems warn us against pursuing those ends because they become hurdles on the path of perfection. This leads me to make a distinction between secular and sacred uses of meditation. The secular meditation is applied meditation. Sacred meditation is pure meditation whose sole objective is achieving a state of transcendence, and not the control, of our psychobiological processes. Much of contemporary research has dealt with meditation in the secular sense, both in its practices, which emphasized the technique rather than the attitude, and in its application for mundane benefits rather than in its endeavor for cognitive perfection. The second effect, which is not always appreciated, is that meditative attention seems to lead to a state of the mind where, in addition to cognitive excellence, there is personal transformation made possible by the intrinsic binding of knowing and being in that state. According to classical wisdom, achieving a state of contentless consciousness, i.e., emptying the mind of sensory content, has the effect of bridging the existential gap between cognition and conduct. Personal transformation is a consequence of this state. There would be no conflict between beliefs and behavior in the mind of one who experiences such a state. Thus, meditation is a process involving exercises in focusing attention on a chosen object, mental or bodily state that results in a special state that has the twin effects of cognitive excellence and personal transformation. Cognitive excellence includes (a) unbiased cognitive

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awareness, (b) transcognitive or metaawareness, and (c) pure consciousness or awareness-as-such. Personal transformation involves closing the gap between knowing and being, overcoming the dissociation between belief and behavior.

References Barber, T. X., DiCara, L., & Kamiya, J. (Eds.). (1972). Biofeedback and self-control. Chicago: Aldine. Beary, J. F., & Benson, H. (1974). A simple psychophysiologic technique which elicits the hypometabolic changes on the relaxation response. Psychosomatic Medicine, 36, 115–120. Benson, H. (1975). The relaxation response. New York: William Morrow. Benson, H., Beary, J. F., & Carol, M. M. (1974). The relaxation response. Psychiatry, 37, 37–40. Buddhaghoṣa. (1923). Visuddhimagga (The path of purity) (3 vols.). (M. Tim, Trans). London: Oxford University Press. Cahn, B. R., & Polich, J. (2006). Meditation states and traits: EEG, ERP, and neuroimaging studies. Psychological Bulletin, 132(2), 180–211. Carrington, P. (1977). Freedom in meditation. Garden City, NY: Doubleday. Conze, E. (1954/1995). Buddhist texts through the ages. Oxford: One World. Davidson, R., & Goleman, D. (1977). The role of attention in meditation and hypnosis: A psychological perspective on transformation of consciousness. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 25, 291–308. Goleman, D. (1978). The varieties of the meditative experience. New York: Irvington publishers. Jacobson, E. (1938). Progressive relaxation (2nd ed.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Kabat-Zinn, J. (1994). Wherever you go, there you are. London: Piatkus. Kabat-Zinn, J. (2003). Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR). Constructivism Human Science, 8(2), 73–107. Lutz, A., Dunne, J., & Davidson, R. J. (2007). Meditation and the neuroscience of consciousness: An introduction. In P. D. Zelazo, M. Moscovitch, & E. Thompson (Eds.), The Cambridge handbook of consciousness. New York and Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Naranjo, C., & Ornstein, R. E. (1971). On the psychology of meditation. New York: Viking Press. Orme-Johnson, D. W., & Farrow, J. T. (Eds.). (1977). Scientific research on the transcendental meditation program: Collected papers (Vol. 1). Los Angeles: Maharishi European Research University Press. Ospina, M. B., Bond, K., Karkhaneh, M., Tjosvold, L., Vandermeer, B., Liang, Y., et al. (2007). Meditation Practices for Health: State of the Research, prepared by the University of Alberta Evidence-based Practice Center for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, Rockville, MD, pp. 208–50. Rao, K. R. (1987). India’s heritage: A philosophical rendezvous [Sri Polisetty Seetharamanjaneyulu Lecture]. Nagarjuna Nagar: Nagarjuna University. Schultz, J. H., & Luth, W. (1959). Autogenic training. New York: Grune and Stratton. Schwartz, G. E., Davidson, R. J., & Goleman, D. J. (1978). Patterning of cognitive and somatic processes in the self-regulation of anxiety: Effects of meditation versus exercise. Psychosomatic Medicine, 40, 321–328. Segal, Z. V., Williams, J. M. G., & Teasdale, J. D. (2002). Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression. New York: Guildford Press. Sinha, J. L. (1961). Indian psychology, (Vol. 2)—Emotion and will. New Delhi: Motilal Banarasidass. Smith, J. C. (1986). Meditation: A sensible guide to a timeless discipline. Champaign, IL: Research Press.

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Sogen, O. (2001). An introduction to Zen training: A translation of Sanzen Nyumm. Boston: Tuttle Publishing. Wallace, R. K. (1970). Physiological effects of transcendental meditation. Science, 167, 1751–1754. Wallace, R. K., & Benson, H. (1972). The physiology of meditation. Scientific American, 226, 84–90. Yogi, M. (1963a). The science of being and art of living. London: Unwin. Yogi, M. (1963b). Transcendental meditation. New York: New American Library.

Chapter 6

Empirical Studies of Meditation

As mentioned earlier, Yoga means both a system of Indian philosophy and a set of practices. Meditation is the central focus of yoga practice. Yoga is equated, however, in the public mind with a physical culture involving bodily and breathing exercises, which are included in Patañjali yoga among the preliminary steps leading to meditation. Some of the Haṭha yogic exercises date back to antiquity. But many are added over the years and a variety of benefits are claimed for them (Swatmarama 1933). Inasmuch as the exercises are designed for the purpose of controlling mental states, it is clear that there has been an explicit recognition that bodily processes influence mental states. Consequently, a study of the effects of these exercises on human psyche and soma is of interest on its own, independent of the goals of yoga. However, it should be recognized that these exercises are essentially aids to meditation and may not be confused with meditation per se. Empirical research on meditation is vast, some of it is well done, and much of it is lacking in conceptual clarity and methodological rigor. Since it is not possible to review comprehensively all the studies in this section, and there are indeed several such reviews, we will focus on some of the main trends, with illustrations from research carried out in India and outside. The interest in scientific study of yoga and meditation is worldwide (Pratap 1971). It is one area where classical Indian ideas inspired an immense amount of research. In fact, much of this research, though based on Indian concepts and practices, is carried out in other countries. A bibliography on meditation and related states included in Meditation: Classical and Contemporary Perspectives (Shapiro and Walsh 1984) contains a little over seven hundred items. Of these less than seven percent are by those with Indian names. Many of the Indians listed are working in the Western countries. A smaller bibliography of 452 items compiled by Peo of Scandinavian Yoga and Meditation School (1978) has about 14% of the items by authors of Indian origin. Yoga Research Bibliography (Monro et al. 1989), with over 1350 items, lists some 20% Indian authors. If we consider only those studies that are published in refereed journals and cited in articles published in scholarly and scientific journals, the number of Indian researchers of meditation © The Author(s) 2017 K.R. Rao, Foundations of Yoga Psychology, DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-5409-9_6

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would be even smaller. For example, the report Meditation Practices for Health: State of the Research (Ospina et al. 2007) lists 813 studies published between 1956 and 2005 involving research on the therapeutic use of meditation. Sixty-one percent of these were carried out in North America. Under “references and included studies,” it lists 1031 items. Of these about 13% are authored by Indians. Thus clearly, there appears to be no increasing interest in studying meditation by Indians. This is so despite the fact that there is a general awareness among Indians that techniques based on yoga and meditation could be beneficial for reducing stress. In an interview survey of 100 male executives, Dubey and Kumar (1986) found that yoga, TM, autosuggestion, and relaxation therapies are among the techniques believed to be effective in reducing stress. There are a number of excellent reviews of meditation research (Davidson 1976; Schuman 1980; West 1987; Holmes 1984; Shapiro and Walsh 1984; Bogart 1991; Jevning et al. 1992; Andresen 2000; Grossman et al. 2004; Cahn and Polich 2006; Lutz et al. 2007; Kristeller 2007; Kristeller and Rikhye 2008). Meditation as we have seen refers to a discipline or technique for mind control and physical well-being as well as for reaching a special state of mind. Much of scientific research on meditation has assumed that it is a state. As Schuman (1980) notes, “Based on research involving practitioners of Yoga, Zen or Transcendental Meditation (TM), meditation has been considered a unique psychophysiological state, associated with a distinct configuration of autonomic and electrocortical changes” (p. 333). Studies on meditation have explored the physiology and psychology of meditation and attempted to investigate whether the practice of meditation produces a unique state that lowers arousal, and whether it is conducive to better health and well-being. The available evidence comes from some anecdotal observations, a lot of casual research, and a few controlled experiments. A major part of the experimental effort went into learning about (a) the neurophysiological effects and correlates of meditation, (b) psychological effects and correlates of meditation, and (c) effects of meditation on health and wellness. However, most of the research is focused on studying the effects of practicing certain techniques without taking into consideration whether the subjects were in fact in a meditative state. Equating the practice of meditation with meditation per se is a serious limitation of most studies. This fact becomes even a greater hurdle for understanding the effects of meditation when we consider that practices of meditation vary considerably among different systems.

Neurophysiological Effects and Correlates A French cardiologist, Brosse (1946) travelled to India in the mid-thirties and took electrophysiological measurements of yogins. She reported that a yogin stopped his heart for a while. A similar observation was made by Bhole and Karambelkar (1971). There are other anecdotal reports of pit burial, where yogins are said to stay alive when they are buried underground for several days. Casual studies by Vakil (1950)

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and Hoeing (1968) seemed to confirm this. Studies by Bhole et al. (1967a, b) in which the subjects were observed when they were in an airtight pit showed reduced consumption of oxygen compared to basal requirements. In a somewhat better-controlled study by Anand et al. (1961a) with Ramananda Yogi sealed in an airtight box, low pulse rate and lower consumption of oxygen were observed. Anand et al. (1961b) reported that in a case when a yogin was believed to stop his heart there was still electrical activity of the heart even though it was too reduced to be heard even with a stethoscope. Wallace (1970b) concluded his study of twenty-seven TM meditators with the assertion that “transcendental meditation produces a fourth major state of consciousness which is physiologically and biochemically unique” (p. 107). Wallace reported significant decrease in oxygen consumption, carbon dioxide elimination, cardiac output, heart rate, and respiration rate during meditation as compared to preand post-meditative periods in the same subjects. Significant increases in skin resistance, changes in certain EEG frequencies, and marked decrease in arterial lactate were also noted during meditation. The findings of Wallace were considered to be the first major scientific confirmation of some of the claims made for TM and to support the contention of Mahesh Yogi that there exists a transcendental state, identifiable by measurable physiological parameters, a state easily accessible to those practicing a simple technique of meditation. Wallace’s findings have become the basis of a good deal of further research.

EEG (Electroencephalogram) Studies of Meditation A large number of studies have attempted to study the EEG correlates of meditative states even before the publication of the study by Wallace (1970b) in Science, which really opened up meditation research in mainstream science. Electroencephalogram (EEG) is the recording of the electrical impulses from different parts of the brain. These impulses are generally referred to as brain waves. Their frequencies are known to be correlated with various types of brain activity. In deep sleep, the frequencies are low ranging from 1 to 4 cycles per second, but they have relatively high amplitude. Brain waves in this range are called delta waves. Oscillations in the frequency between 4 and 8 cycles per second are the theta waves. Their presence is associated with the activity of the limbic system. Alpha waves are in the range of 8–12 Hz. They are correlated with subjective feelings of relaxation and nondrowsy states. Beta waves are fast and are in the range of above 12 Hz. They are associated with active and alert mind. At the extreme end of fast waves are gamma. They range around 40 cycles and beyond. There are more than one hundred studies that have investigated the effects of meditation on the tonic changes in the EEG patterns of meditators. This began nearly sixty years ago. The general finding is the presence of alpha abundance during periods of meditation and coherence among central and frontal leads. In one

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of the early field studies, Das and Gastaut (1955) recorded the EEGs of advanced yogins in deep state of meditation. They found in the EEG recordings of the meditating yogins high-amplitude and high-frequency EEG in beta and gamma range during deep meditation. They also observed in these yogins increased heart rate and skin conductance, which are signs of arousal rather than a relaxed state of the mind. At the same time, they found great inhibition of skeletal musculature. This was a somewhat surprising paradox of arousal accompanied by inactivity. Bagchi and Wenger (1957, 1958) did not find any changes in the alpha activity of 14 Indian yogins between the meditation and rest periods. However, they did find decreased respiratory rate and increased skin resistance that indicated a state of deep relaxation of the autonomic nervous system without drowsiness or sleep (Wenger and Bagchi 1961). Anand et al. (1961c) reported that their meditating Indian yogins who produced persistent alpha activity did not show any alpha blocking to external stimuli. The dominant alpha activity observed during meditation was not disturbed by loud noises or flashes of light or even when the yogin’s hands were immersed in ice-cold water. Working with the Zen meditators in Japan, Kasamatsu and Hirai (1966) also observed an increase of alpha activity during meditation. But their subjects, unlike those tested by Anand et al., showed EEG patterns that resembled the alpha-blocking response of the waking state when external stimuli were applied to them. However, they showed no evidence of the habituation to recurring stimuli we find in normal subjects and hence were able to suppress their response to the external stimuli. The remarkable difference in the findings of Anand et al., and Kasamatsu and Hirai is interpreted as a result of the difference between the two meditative practices of their subjects. Yogic meditation is a concentration type of meditation emphasizing inner absorption and, which seems to involve active attention, whereas in Zen meditation, one allows the free flow of all sensory inputs, to which one passively attends. In other words, the concentrative meditative practices may lead to decreased reactivity to external stimuli, whereas “mindfulness” or insight meditation helps to maintain alertness at an unusual level (Johnson 1970; Mills and Campbell 1974). If this interpretation is correct, one could regard the two types of meditation, Zen and Rāja Yoga, as giving rise to physiologically distinct patterns. However, this interpretation is problematic on several grounds. In an early review of the physiology of meditation, Davidson (1976) pointed out that the alpha-blocking responses of the Zen meditators in the study by Kasamatsu and Hirai (1966) are essentially uninterpretable. The Zen masters meditated with their eyes open, and the control subjects were tested with their eyes closed. Consequently, the EEG measurements of the latter cannot be regarded as true controls. In addition, there were too few subjects in these studies—three subjects in the Zen study and four in the study by Anand et al. (1961c). Until replications with refined methodologies are made, it would seem premature to conclude that a case has been made for differential reactivity to external stimuli by Zen and yogic meditators. The study of Banquet (1973), which is sometimes cited as a confirmation of the finding of Anand et al. regarding the failure to elicit alpha blocking in meditators, was carried out with TM practitioners. However, TM is more like Zen

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than the concentrative meditation of Rāja yogins tested by Anand. In an attempt to replicate the findings of Anand et al. and Kasamatsu et al. (1981) tested thirty experienced Zen, yoga, and TM meditators, along with twenty college-student controls. They found that EEG alpha blocking and skin conductivity response both showed clear habituation in all groups without any significant differences between them. Schuman (p. 360, 1980) concludes: Even assuming the basic effects to be replicable, it does not follow that changes in the alpha-blocking response are necessarily due to the meditative ASC [altered states of consciousness] achieved through mindfulness and concentration practices. Differences in cognitive set during meditation might account for differences in alpha blocking apart from the induction of an ASC.

There is, however, a general tendency in the EEG studies of meditation for subjects to produce greater alpha activity, whatever the form of meditation (Anand et al. 1961a; Akishige 1968; Kasamatsu and Hirai 1966; Banquet 1973; Glueck and Stroebel 1975; Deepak et al. 1994; Dunn et al. 1999; Aftanas and Golocheikine 2001). Also, a number of reports show increased theta activity, especially among the advanced practitioners (Kasamatsu and Hirai 1966; Banquet 1973; Ghista et al. 1976; Pagano and Warrenburg 1983; Lou et al. 1999; Aftanas and Golocheikine 2001, 2002). Another interesting finding is the intrahemispheric coherence of EEG during meditation (Banquet 1973; Rogers 1976; Orme-Johnson 1977; Dillbeck and Bronson 1981; Badawi et al. 1984; Travis and Pearson 1999; Aftanas and Golocheikine 2001; Hebert and Tan 2004). Gaylord et al. (1989) reported global increases in alpha and theta coherence among central and frontal leads following a period of TM compared to eyes-closed condition. No such coherence was seen in subjects practicing progressive relaxation. Orme-Johnson characterized such a coherence as “the EEG signature of the transcendental state.” As Lutz et al. (2007) point out, “the early studies only reported coarse visual descriptions of EEG. Changes in fast-frequency oscillations during meditation have been rarely reported.” The exception is by Das and Gastaut (1955). In this important early study referred to earlier, Das and Gastaut recorded the EEG of yogic practitioners who were believed to be in a deep state of meditation. The recordings show EEG activity in gamma frequency indicating extreme cortical arousal. This was, however, accompanied by great inhibition of skeletal musculature. This apparent paradox and the fact that these recordings were taken with somewhat crude devices did not help the study to receive the attention it deserved. This observation is not an isolated one. As mentioned above, a study by Wenger and Bagchi (1961) also showed signs of autonomic arousal with increased heart rate and skin conductance among meditating yogins. French neuropsychologist Banquet (1973) reported results somewhat comparable to those reported by Das and Gastaut in a more sophisticated study. Corby et al. (1978) investigated meditators who practiced a Tantric form of meditation in a study that involved a control group. The adept meditators showed increased autonomic arousal during meditation whereas the control subjects, unexperienced meditators, who focused on their breath and on a mantra, showed autonomic relaxation.

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Kjaer et al. (2002) studied eight advanced practitioners of yoga nidrā and found significant increase in the power of theta activity during meditation. Lazar and associates (2005) who investigated the effects of insight meditation on the brain reported increased “thickening in the right prefrontal cortex” with more practice of meditation, suggesting greater volitional control. There were also some structural changes in the areas of brain associated with sensory and emotional processing. Further, Lazar et al. also report that regular practice of meditation may help to slow age-related thinning of the frontal cortex. In one of their studies, Lutz et al. (2004) recorded the EEGs of long-term practitioners of Tibetan Buddhist meditation. Their experience of meditation practice ranged from 15 to 40 years with 10,000–50,000 h of practice. The EEG recordings show “sustained electroencephalographic high-amplitude gamma-band oscillations and phase-synchrony” during meditation. Lutz et al. point out that the behavioral and functional consequences of the sustained gamma activity seen among these meditators is not known. However, Kelly et al. (2007) suggest that the apparent paradox observed by Das and Gastaut among yogins in deep state of meditation points to an interaction of ergotropic system with the parasympathetic system. Referring to the study of Lutz et al. (2004), Kelly et al. suggest that the recordings indicate a “meaningful theoretical connection between coherent large scale gamma oscillations … and perceptual ‘binding’ as conceived by contemporary global-wok space theorists” (p. 571). In this context, we may also refer to the work of Austin (1998, 2006). Austin is not only a clinical neurologist and neuropharmocologist, he is also a meditator with over 30 years of experience. His work provides glimpses of higher states of consciousness achieved by meditation practitioners where “cognitive phenomena emerging in meditation dramatically surpass ordinary cognitive operations in speed, precision, complexity, and integrative power” (Kelly et al. 2007). Austin himself suggests that the hyperawareness found during peaks of meditation is mediated by intralaminar nuclei of the thalamus with the potential to increase the fast-frequency in other cortical areas, a suggestion dubbed as “clearly speculative” by Lutz et al. (2007). Reviews of EEG studies of meditation as we noted generally point to increased alpha and theta activity, especially among those practicing TM (Lutz et al. 2007). It is well known that increase of alpha activity is associated with experience of a relaxed state of mind. However, what is not clear is how the increased alpha is caused by meditation beyond reducing the arousal level (Cahn and Polich 2006). Moreover, as we have seen, there are indeed cases where subjects in deep meditative state have shown increased levels of arousal. Is it the case that different meditation practices give rise to different EEG patterns? A few studies investigated possible physiological correlates of the experience of a pure consciousness state that is free from all thoughts and mentation. Taking the clue from Yoga-Sūtras and other writings on meditation which suggest a possible link between breath control and higher states of awareness, a number of experimental studies were conducted to test whether breath suspension episodes among meditators are associated with subjective reports of pure conscious experience. For example, Farrow and Hebert (1982) report several studies in this area. The results of

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these studies show that (a) meditating subjects report 10 times the number of periods of respiratory suspension than the control nonmeditating subjects and that (b) the subjective reports of pure consciousness experience by meditating subjects highly correlate with the occurrence of breath suspension episodes. After reviewing the relevant literature, Austin (1998) concludes: “These studies of TM subjects link clear, thought-free consciousness with two quite different sets of physiological evidence. The most impressive of these events suspends respiratory drive and causes a relative hypoventilation. The second cluster of associated findings is more subtle and variable. They include peripheral autonomic changes and tendencies toward increased EEG coherence” (1998, p. 97). A few studies of evoked potentials (EPs) and event-related brain potentials (ERPs) and meditation were carried out. Cahn and Polich (2006) list in their review 20 studies. The results are somewhat varied and inconsistent with a possible hint of increased attentional resources (Ikemi 1988; Travis et al. 2000, 2002), during meditation. There are no reliable indicators of consistent effects that throw any significant light on the possible role of meditation on cognitive information processing. Cahn and Polich (2006) conclude that the major difficulties with these studies “are a lack of methodological sophistication, no replication of critical conditions, and inconsistency of task and study populations” (p. 196).

Neuroimaging Studies of Meditation Most of the neurophysiological studies of meditation used EEG with the hope of finding some kind of an EEG “signature” of the meditative state. Only in recent years, have we seen the application of neuroimaging techniques for studying meditation. Among these are positron emission tomography (PET) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). PET is a device that enables us to understand physiology and neurochemistry of the working brain by monitoring blood flow, oxygen and glucose metabolism, and neurotransmitter concentrations in the relevant brain tissues. MRI enables scientists to have access to the anatomical details of surface as well as deep structures of the brain and study its functioning. Functional MRI utilizes the magnetic properties of the blood to measure the blood flow to the various parts of the brain while the person is engaged in some activity, cognitive, or otherwise. The blood flow is the indication of level of activity. Thus, PET and fMRI are the new tools to study the brain without cracking open the skull and have access to the brain which had remained until now a black box. They are noninvasive and dependable techniques that have revolutionized the study of the brain and its functions. One of the early reported studies of meditation using neuroimaging techniques (PET) is by Lou et al. (1999). Lou et al. recorded blood flows during yoga nidrā practice during which the subjects first listened to a relaxation tape followed by instructions of guided meditation. There were different phases in guided meditation. In the experimental condition, the subjects were asked to follow the instructions

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given in guided meditation while in the control condition they remained neutral. The results showed that in each of the phases of guided meditation there is activation in the related regions of the brain in the experimental condition compared to the control condition. Lou and associates also report increases of blood flow in bilateral hippocampus, parietal, and occipital sensory and association areas in all phases of meditation relative to the baseline control condition. This pattern of brain activity is associated with imagery. At the same time, decreased activity was found among the meditating subjects in the orbitofrontal, dorsolateral prefrontal, anterior cingulated cortices, temporal and inferior parietal lobes, caudate, thalamus, pons, and cerebellum regions. These are the areas associated with executive function. Thus, in this study we find meditation to have a differential function. On the one hand, there is increase of activation in areas associated with imagery and decrease in the areas related to executive and control function. Newberg et al. (2001) used SPECT (single-photon emission computed tomography), a less sophisticated technique than PET, to study eight experienced practitioners of Buddhist meditation. During meditation, the subjects were instructed to keep their attention focused on a visual object with increasing intensity. Unlike the subjects in the study by Lou et al. (1999), the meditating subjects in this study showed increased activity in orbitofrontal, dorsolateral prefrontal areas of the cortex and thalamus. This difference in the results of the two studies is seen as one due to different kinds of meditation practice employed in the two studies. Lazar et al. (2000) investigated a form of Kundalini yoga with fMRI. Five subjects who had practiced Kundalini yoga for at least four years participated in the study. In the experimental condition, they practiced mantra repetition and breath awareness during meditation. In the control period, they mentally constructed animal names. The fMRI scans revealed increased activation during experimental periods relative to control periods in the limbic regions, midbrain, and pregenual anterior cingulated cortex, which are associated with autonomic control, and frontal and parietal cortices linked to attention. Lazar and associates also observed significant increased activity from early to late meditation states. In another study, Lazar et al. (2003) compared the fMRI scannings of mantra-based Kundalini meditation and mindfulness-based Vipassanā meditation. The results show different patterns of brain activity for the two different meditative practices. Two fMRI studies of Zen meditation (Baerentsen 2001; Ritskes et al. 2003) showed opposite patterns of brain activity in the anterior cingulated region. Brefczynski-Lewis et al. (2004) compared the fMRI scannings of experienced practitioners of concentration meditation with those who were given instructions in concentration meditation just a week prior to fMRI scanning. Both groups showed common activation in the attention related areas of the brain. However, the activation is more for the experienced practitioners, especially in the frontal-parietal network. In another study employing Tibetan Loving-Kindness-Compassion meditation, Lutz et al. (2004) found during meditation “a common activation in the striatum, anterior cingulate cortex and left-prefrontal cortex, and a deactivation in

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the right interior parietal.” This pattern appears to be significantly related to expertise in meditation, the adepts showing more robust activation patterns. Newberg and Iversen (2003) put together the results of several neuroimaging studies in the form of a model of the neurotransmitter and neurochemical changes taking place during meditation. They believe that these changes are consistent and involve certain cerebral structures. Associated with these changes are some autonomic and neurochemical changes. In brief, the model suggests that meditation first activates the prefrontal and cingulate cortex. This enables the meditator to focus and concentrate. Newberg and Iversen go on to suggest that differentiation resulting from the control of nerve impulses to check the distracting stimuli may have the effect of altering the notion of the self. Meditation also enhances activity in the limbic system and results in enhanced parasympathetic activity, which is associated with decreased heart and respiratory rates and enhanced sense of relaxation.

Is Meditative State a Unique Physiological State? As mentioned previously, the presence of slow-wave EEG activity, reduced oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide elimination, reduced heart rate, and increase of skin resistance during TM meditation were claimed by Wallace as indicating a unique physiological state of profound relaxation, a wakeful hypometabolic state. Dhanaraj and Singh (1977) and Corey (1977) obtained results similar to those reported by Wallace (1970a), Wallace et al. (1971), Wallace and Benson (1972) suggestive of the hypometabolic state believed to be unique to meditation. Fenwick et al. (1984), who also observed in their studies a drop in oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production, suggested that the drop could be attributed to muscle relaxation. They conclude: “No evidence has been found to support the hypothesis that TM produces a unique state of consciousness or metabolic functioning. Both the metabolic changes and the EEG phenomena observed during TM can be explained within the framework of accepted physiological mechanisms” (Fenwick et al. 1984, p. 462). Again, many of the same autonomic-metabolic changes are found also during sleep and drowsiness. In fact, in a study by Pagano et al. (1976), the EEG records of five male subjects who had been practicing meditation for over 2.5 years were obtained when they were meditating TM and also when they were taking a nap while sitting. Analyses of the data showed that “(1) during TM, meditators spent 39.2% in stage W (wakefulness), 19.2% of time in Stage 1 EEG sleep activity, 23.0% of time in Stage 2, and 16.8% in Stages 3 and 4; (2) there were no significant differences between meditation and nap sessions in the amount of time spent in sleep Stages 2, 3, or 4” (Pagano and Warrenburg 1983, p. 156). This study raises questions about the physiological uniqueness of the meditative state. In fact, the experiments of Wallace were criticized on the grounds that he did

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not have nonmeditating control subjects. Some of the results Wallace found in his original study, such as a large 16% decrement in Vo2 (volume of oxygen) during meditation, appear to be exaggerated because the baseline values of his subjects in the resting period were 9% above the expected value. Davidson (p. 354, 1976) pointed out: That (a) TM represents a state of profound physiological rest, greater than that attainable with sleep of much longer duration; and (b) the specific changes in consciousness and the unique (and, in my opinion, unquestionable) benefits of meditation are somehow linked to the physiologic changes discussed above still seem to lack a solid basis in experimental fact.

Davidson’s assessment has been supported by later reviews as well. On the basis of the results of their own experiments and a review made by others, Pagano and Warrenburg (p. 203, 1983) concluded: We regret to report that our search for a unique or dramatic effect directly attributable to meditation thus far has not been successful…. Our experience has been that when good scientific methodology has been used, the claims made have been extravagant and premature.

The wok of Jevning and associates involving the study of blood hormones suggests that there may be other parameters that may distinguish physiologically the meditation state from sleep state. Their results seem to indicate that “long-term regular practice [of TM] is associated with development of a psychophysiological response of decreased pituitary-adrenal activity during meditation” (Jevning and O’Halloran 1984, p. 467). A few studies do show that there are indeed observable differences between a meditative state and drowsiness. In one study by Ikemi (1988), it is reported that the changes in EEG frequencies during the practice of self-regulation based on meditation could be distinguished from those in a drowsy state. The results also showed reduction of amplitude in contingent negative variations during meditation practice. There are other good reasons to consider meditative states different from drowsiness and sleep. A number of studies have shown increases in theta and alpha coherence during meditation compared to baseline resting wakefulness. This clearly suggests that meditation is different from drowsiness and stage I sleep (Travis et al. 2002; Aftanas and Golocheikine 2003; Faber et al. 2004). Further, typically during sleep there is decrease in cerebral blood flow. However, increase in cerebral blood flow is observed during periods of meditation (Jevning et al. 1996). Also, as mentioned earlier, some studies of deep meditation show increased arousal and gamma activity which is not a characteristic of sleep. However, the fact that a meditative state is different from sleep and ordinary wakeful states does not warrant the conclusion that it is a unique state. We have already referred to the meditation studies, which show different electrophysiological correlates, especially the more recent ones. For example, the EEG patterns of meditating Buddhist monks studied by Lutz et al. (2004) are different from those obtained with Sahaja yoga meditators studied by Aftanas and Golocheikine (2001,

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2002, 2003). A comparative study of mindfulness meditation and concentrative type of meditation by Dunne et al. (1999) showed greater frontal theta activity among mindfulness meditators than those practicing concentration meditation. Therefore, there is good reason to believe that different meditative techniques may have different electrophysiological effects associated with them. It is for this reason that recent reviews of literature in this area tend to group these studies under the relevant meditative techniques such as TM or Vipassanā meditation. To summarize, the review of the neurophysiological effects and correlates of meditation suggests that there are no overall effects generalizable across all the published studies. However, reviewers point out that the “CNS function is clearly affected by meditation, but the specific neural changes and differences among practices are far from clear” (Cahn and Polich 2006). Therefore, it is now a common practice to review the studies under the banner of a given meditative technique such as TM rather than club together all studies. For example, Lutz et al. (2007) report that “alpha global increases and alpha coherence over frontal electrodes are associated with TM practice” as seen in the study by Morse et al. (1977). Further, the meditation practices involving focused attention on an object appear to be associated with increases in alpha and theta amplitude. At the same time, there is also evidence of increased EEG activity in the beta and gamma range. In objectless meditation practices such as those studied by Lutz et al., as we mentioned above, the main finding is that the ratio of fast-frequency EEG activity (25–42 Hz) to slow-frequency EEG (4–13 Hz) is initially higher at the beginning compared to baseline and that the difference increases sharply during meditation. These differences in the EEG activity of meditators practicing different techniques are difficult to interpret, notwithstanding the well-meaning ad hoc explanations offered. Decreased oscillations indicate decreased processing of information for the sensory or motor areas of the brain. The increased frequencies suggest increased processing. The most that can be said is that certain practices are associated with increase or decrease in the activities in certain areas of the brain. Similar patterns may be seen in ordinary states of relaxation and intense cognitive activity. If we were to make any generalization about the effects of meditation, they should be more than technique-specific. If all these practices are indeed techniques leading to a meditative state, what is important is the physiological state associated with that meditative state and not the states associated with various techniques leading to meditation. No such unique neurophysiological state associated with meditation is found so far. There is, however, some suggestive evidence of possible link between meditation and attention. Apart from the fact that almost all the meditative techniques involve manipulation of attention in some form, there is emerging evidence from neuroimaging studies that the prefrontal and frontal areas of the brain are relatively more activated during meditation. Since these areas are associated with attention, it seems likely that meditation practices do indeed involve “increased attentional demand.” This area appears to have some potential for further explorations.

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Psychological Effects of Meditation Discussions on the psychology of meditation fall broadly into three different categories. The first category of studies is with normal subjects and is designed to test the effects of meditation on psychological processes. In the second category are studies that regard meditation as a self-regulation strategy that has clinical relevance for managing stress, hypertension, and drug addictions. The third category includes studies that consider meditation as an altered state of consciousness (Shapiro and Giber 1978) conducive for promoting spiritual development and psychic abilities among other things. There are also phenomenological studies that deal with the reported experiences during meditation. Following the classic tripartite division of the mind, we may usefully organize the discussion of the psychological effects and correlates of meditation under three domains—cognitive, affective, and conative. We could perhaps add therapeutic and paranormal effects to this list in addition to the neurophysiological effects discussed already and complete the six domains mentioned by Kristeller and Rikhye (2008). In the following, we discuss a variety of psychological effects investigated in relation to the practice of meditation. Cognitive Effects: As mentioned earlier, attention is a key ingredient in the practice of meditation. The neurophysiological studies we reviewed also suggest the association of meditation with attentional processes. For example, some neuroimaging studies as well as CNS studies of meditators indicate increased activity in the frontal cortex associated with attentional functioning. In fact, this is an area that received attention quite early in meditation research by psychologists. Davidson and Goleman (1977) among others pointed out how attention is related to meditation. There are also several empirical studies, which suggest that meditation enhances one’s attentive focus. The Embedded Figures Test is a commonly used psychological test which requires the subject to pay attention to a task and to ignore the distracting stimuli. Studies with children as well as adults who practiced meditation have shown improved performance on this test, suggesting enhanced attentional control on their part (Linden 1973; Kubose 1976). Pelletier (1984) reported a study in which one group of subjects practiced standard TM for three months whereas the second group was instructed to sit quietly for 20 min each morning for three months. The subjects in both groups were administered tests before and after three months of practice to measure autokinetic perception. The results of meditators showed a shift in the autokinetic effect toward increased field independence. No such effect was observed in the control group. Pelletier (p. 225, 1984) concludes: Since deployment of attention is the critical factor in determining performance on these perceptual tasks and since it is the expressed goal of meditation to achieve an inward, focused attention, it is suggested that these observed differences can be attributed to an alteration in the individual’s deployment of attention due to meditative practice.

In a cross-sectional study of some attentional and affective concomitants of meditation, Davidson et al. (1984) administered the Tellegen Absorption Scale, the Shor Personal Experience Questionnaire, and the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety

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Inventory to four groups of subjects: nonmeditating controls, beginners, and short-term and long-term meditators. The results showed “reliable increases in measures of attentional absorption in conjunction with a reliable decrement in trait anxiety across groups as a function of length of time meditating” (p. 229). My colleagues Jhansi Rani and Rao (1996) reported that practice of meditation (TM) by children had the effect of improved attention. Other studies which found positive influence of meditation in cognitive process include studies by Sinha et al. (1978), Brown et al. (1984a, b), Telles et al. (1995), Jhansi Rani and Rao (2000), Sridevi and Rao (2003), and Carter et al. (2005). There are other areas of cognition that are explored in relation to practice of meditation. Kocher (1976b) reported two studies in which he attempted to study the effects of yogic training on short-term memory. In the first study, he administered a battery of memory tests to a group of 30 subjects before and after they underwent three weeks of yoga training. Similar tests were also administered to another group of 30 subjects who did not practice yoga. They were drawn from the same school and matched for age, intelligence, and initial memory scores. The results showed a significant improvement in the short-term memory scores of the subjects in the experimental group and not in the control. The second study, which did not have a control group, also showed that the memory scores of subjects after they practiced yoga for three weeks improved significantly from their initial scores. Even assuming that the necessary precautions were taken in collecting and analyzing the data accurately, we cannot rule out in these studies the possibility that the subject’s expectations and motivation to do better after yogic training may be responsible for improved memory scores. Also, it is not mentioned whether those who administered the memory tests were blind to the experimental conditions. If they were not, as it appears likely, their bias might have contributed to observed results. In fact, few studies of meditation have effective controls to safeguard against the subject and experimenter expectations. This is in part because of the very nature of research, which is limited in those who practice meditation, and the practice of meditation is influenced by interest and other confounding variables. Dwivedi (1987) discussed the asampramoṣa doctrine of memory that is based on Yoga-Sūtras and Vyasa’s commentary on it. Asampramoṣa is described as the capacity of the mind to store and retrieve without embellishing the original material. Dwivedi designed an experimental study that, according to him, supports the asampramoṣa view of memory. Although legitimate questions can be raised about whether the design is appropriate for testing asampramoṣa idea, Dwivedi’s attempt to empirically study the classical idea is something that should be pursued further. Kolsawalla (1978) investigated the effectiveness of meditation and yogic exercises on personality. She tested three groups of subjects, each group consisting of 16 subjects. All the subjects were first administered Rokeach’s “D” scale and Cattell’s 16 PF Questionnaire. Then, the subjects in Group 1 practiced meditation and yoga āsanas for 75 days and Group 2 did only the āsanas, and Group 3 did neither meditation nor yoga āsanas. All the subjects were again given the “D” scale and 16 PF Questionnaire. The results showed significant changes from closed mind to open mind for Group 1 subjects only. Also, there was a significant reduction of

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tension level and increase of emotional maturity for Group I subjects only. Interestingly, there was a significant reduction of tension level and increase of emotional maturity for Group 1 subjects alone. Kolsawalla also points out, “The subjects [Group 1] unanimously reported feeling at peace with themselves and had developed a relaxed and positive attitude to life, leading to more efficient problem solving, an urge to reach out to people, an attempt to understand another’s point of view, deep and restful sleep, and general sense of well being” (p. 64). The study of course had no controls to safeguard against experimenter expectation. As Rosenthal and associates have shown experimenter expectancy effects are not uncommon in psychological research (Rosenthal 1966; Rosenthal and Rubin 1978). Sridevi and Rao (1998) found an increase in positive personality characteristics among TM meditators and that the increases appeared to be proportional to the length of practice. Paranormal Effects: Yoga and meditation are traditionally linked with spiritual development. In yoga, the ultimate goal is kaivalya, spiritual liberation, and transformation of the person. In Buddhism, it is nirvāṇa, pursuit of transcendence from the existential bondage. In fact, the practitioners of meditation are explicitly cautioned against indulgence in the psychic abilities likely to manifest during the course of meditative practice. Kristeller and Rikhye (2008) refer to two separate aspects relating to the effects of meditation on spiritual development. They are “those experiences that are accessible within a normal range of consciousness, and altered states encompassing mystical, psychic or paranormal effects” (p. 520). In recent years, spirituality has received increasing attention among scientists. Serious research linking spirituality with better health and wellness is published in mainstream journals. Koenig et al. (2001) in their Handbook of Religion and Health review about 1200 research reports and 400 reviews. As Levin (2001) points out: “Today the epidemiology of religion and the larger field of clinical research on religion and spirituality are well established in the scientific world and in the public consciousness. The US National Institutes of Health has convened invited conferences, established expert working groups, and funded considerable empirical research in this area. Prestigious scientific societies, including the American Academy for Advancement of Science, the American Public Health Association, the American Psychological Association, and Gerontological Society of America have sponsored special symposia on religion and health” (p. viii). The link of meditation to health is obvious if we connect meditation with spiritual development. However, there are too few studies that attempted to empirically investigate the effects of meditation on spiritual development perhaps because they are assumed to be too obvious to investigate. The main problem, however, is defining spirituality and its identifying criteria. If experience of inner peace and decreased preoccupation with mundane day-to-day secular concerns are a sign of spiritual development, there is some evidence that participation in MBSR may promote spiritual development (Kabat-Zinn 1990). Siddhis (paranormal abilities) are believed to manifest during the practice of yoga. Patañjali devotes a major part of Vibhūti Pāda for describing a variety of paranormal phenomena. Braud (2008) has discussed at length the relevance

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of Yoga-Sūtras to parapsychology, the science that investigates paranormal phenomena. Braud describes how the psychophysical practices and principles contained in Yoga-Sūtras are supported by theory and research in parapsychology. There is indeed a great deal of empirical evidence suggestive, but by no means conclusive, of a positive relationship between practice of meditation and enhanced performance in parapsychological tests. I recall discussing at some length with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in New Delhi the possible link between yoga and psychic abilities in the early 70s. The TM siddhi program became very popular among some of the TM practitioners. Unfortunately, to my knowledge, no serious systematic research was published in this area, unlike in some other areas such as anxiety and psychophysiological effects of meditation. There was really no serious dialogue between professional parapsychologists and TM researchers, which is indeed quite unfortunate. All the available evidence for linking meditation with enhanced psychic abilities comes from parapsychological studies. Schmeidler (1970) reported that her subjects obtained higher scores in an ESP test following a brief instruction in and practice of meditation and breathing exercises guided by a swami compared to their scores before the meditation session. The results of the study showed that while the performance in the premeditation run was close to chance expectation, the scores obtained after they meditated were significantly higher than chance expectation, suggesting that meditation may have been responsible for psi-hitting in the second run. Equally plausible explanation is that the expectation of subjects is responsible for improved ESP scores rather than meditation per se. Osis and Bokert (1971) carried out three correlational studies and found meditation and ESP to be related in a complex manner. The meditative practices of the subjects in this study varied; they were encouraged to use their own preferred techniques. Some subjects employed Zen and Rāja Yoga methods, while others adopted self-hypnosis and depth imagery concentration. The ESP tests employed were both forced-choice and free-response tasks. The forced-choice test was a version of Burgman’s checkerboard test with a close-circuit TV adaptation. The free-response test involved guessing pictorial slides. Questionnaires designed to measure changes in the state of consciousness were administered before and after each session. The ESP tests themselves were given after a period of meditation. A factor analysis of the questionnaire material revealed three stable factors. Of these, the factor of “self-transcendence and openness to experience” was found to be associated significantly with ESP scores. The investigators concluded that, among possibilities, the meager correlations between meditative experiences and ESP might be due to the subjects’ experiencing the ESP tests as interruptions to their meditation, thus causing “task rivalry” and possibly a preferential effect. In a PK (psychokinesis) study by Matas and Pantas (1971) subjects who had experience with some form of meditation meditated for 15 min before, they attempted to influence by PK a random event generator. The results of the meditators were found to be significantly better than those of control subjects who performed identical tasks without meditating. In three series of experiments,

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Schmidt and Pantas (1971) found that a single subject performed significantly on a PK task after practicing Zen meditation for 20 min prior to the test. At Andhra University, Rao et al. (1978) carried out a series of forced-choice and free-response ESP tests to see whether subjects would obtain higher ESP scores after meditation than in premeditation sessions. The same subjects were tested in pre- and post-meditation sessions. Thus, the same subjects acted as their controls. Fifty-nine subjects who were practicing a nonstandardized form of meditation at Anandashram in Pondicherry participated in this study. The ESP tests involved matching cards with ESP symbols and guessing concealed pictures. In both the tests the results showed that subjects obtained significantly better ESP scores in tests immediately preceding meditation than in tests carried out before the subjects meditated. Interestingly, the subjects obtained significantly fewer hits in premeditation sessions than would be expected by chance. Here again, the expectation effect on the part of the subjects is not ruled out. In an early review of research on meditation and psi, Honorton (1977) lists 16 studies. Out of these, nine experimental series gave significant evidence of psi among meditating subjects. While the results of the above studies do suggest ESP on the part of the meditating subjects, it is difficult to argue that these experiments support the hypothesis that meditation enhances one’s psychic ability. Like the studies of meditation in other areas in general, ESP-meditation studies suffer from the lack of appropriate controls. However, the results of past studies clearly warrant further research.

Volitional and Behavioral Effects One of the important aspects of yogic development is the access to new ways of knowing as may be seen from the acquisition of paranormal abilities like ESP. Another equally important aspect is the transformation of the person as seen in new ways of being. In the Indian tradition, consciousness has two fundamental aspects, knowing (cit) and being (sat), unlike in the Western tradition where consciousness is limited to its knowing aspect, i.e., awareness. Consciousness at the core is undifferentiated unity of knowing and being. This is the rationale behind the Upaniṣadic statement, “to know Brahman is to be Brahman.” Yoga and meditation are believed to lead the person to the pure and primordial state of consciousness where there is no differentiation between knowing and being. The essence of jñāna yoga consists in the exercise to bring about the intrinsic unity between knowing and being. Therefore, it follows that a highly developed meditative state is one in which knowing has a reflexive relationship with being with the result that there would be no gap between one’s cognition and conduct, belief, and behavior. If this indeed is the case, meditation would have important therapeutic implications made possible by its expected behavioral effects. Consonance between cognition and conduct would have the consequence of a conflict-free mind, a state of positive mental health. In such states knowing becomes a transformational experience for the person.

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One obvious area of application of this notion is for control of compulsive-obsessive behavior as for example in uncontrolled eating. In fact, Jean Kristeller pioneered work in this area using mindfulness-based meditation. She found rapid improvement in the eating patterns of individuals with binge eating disorder following her training course in mindfulness-based meditation (Kristeller and Hallett 1999; Kristeller et al. 2006). Brooks and Scarano (1985) and O’Connell and Alexander (1994) noted positive changes in addictive behavior when treated with TM. Studies of prisoners showed decreased drug and alcohol use after participating in Vipassanā meditation. Marlatt (2002) noted the usefulness of Buddhist meditation in treating addictive behavior. Raina et al. (2001) reported results that showed significantly greater recovery rate of individuals with alcohol dependence syndrome following yoga treatment compared to physical exercise. The report Meditation Practices for Health: State of Research refers to 17 studies of meditation and substance abuse. It notes that only three of them are high quality and that they “are inconclusive with respect to the effectiveness of meditation practices” (Ospina et al. 2007, p. 151), despite the fact that the above study by Raina et al. (2001) study is one of the three identified as the highest quality studies.

Emotional Effects The practice of yoga, as we discussed, is believed to lead to an equipoise and emotionally balanced state of the mind. Therefore, it is reasonable to expect that meditation may lead to reduction in anxiety and stress and help those suffering from stress-related ailments like hypertension. There is indeed some empirical evidence suggestive of this. Kolsawalla (1978) in her study mentioned above noted increased emotional maturity and feeling at peace with oneself on the part of those practicing yoga. There are a number of studies that seem to suggest that meditation has the effect of reducing stress (Goleman and Schwartz 1976; Linden 1973; Patel 1993). Vahia et al. (1972, 1973a, b) reported results suggesting that a therapy based on Patañjali yoga is more effective than pseudotherapy in treating some psychiatric outpatients. In one study, the subjects were outpatients at the K.E.M. Hospital in Bombay aged between 15 and 50 years who were diagnosed as suffering from psychoneurosis. The subjects were randomly assigned to two groups. In the experimental group, the patients went through a five-step treatment process that included āsana, prāṇāyāma, pratyāhāra, dhāraṇā, and dhyāna. The patients were treated for one hour daily on all weekdays for a minimum of four weeks. In the pseudotreatment (control) group, the patients were asked to relax and do some exercises resembling āsanās and prāṇāyāma. They were also asked to write all the thoughts that came to their minds during that period. Both groups were administered the Rorschach, the MMPI, and Taylor’s Manifest Anxiety Scale and were clinically assessed before, during, and after the treatment. The subjects in the two groups were matched on a number of relevant variables. The clinical assessment as well as psychological

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testing was done by those who did not know to which group the subjects belonged. The results showed statistically significant differences between the experimental and control groups. The experimental group improved significantly in comparison with the control group. There was a significant reduction in the anxiety scores of patients in the experimental group and not in the control group. Clearly, this study is a better-controlled study compared to many others in this area. However, there is one weakness. The fact that the same therapist treated both the groups leaves open the possibility of an experimenter expectancy effect (Smith 1975). Because the therapist knew whether a patient belonged to the experimental or control group, he could have had a differential influence on the patients. Kocher and Pratap (1971, 1972) found that their subjects obtained significantly lower scores on neuroticism and anxiety scales after they went through a series of daily yogic practices including āsanās and breathing practices carried out over three weeks. Again, the main methodological problem with these studies is that there were no control groups to guard against confounding variables such as expectation. In a study of the effect of yoga practices on the neuroticism and anxiety scores of subjects, Kocher (1972) found that the subjects who practiced yoga obtained significantly lower scores on neuroticism, anxiety, and general hostility after eight months of practice consisting of āsanās, prāṇāyāma, and kriyās (cleansing exercises). No such effects were observed in a control group of subjects who did not practice yoga. According to the author, both groups were matched for intelligence, education, sex, age, and socioeconomic status. It should be pointed out, however, that the subjects in the experimental group were selected from G.S. College of Yoga whereas those in the control group came from Poona University. It is not unreasonable to consider the yoga students to be different in their attitudes about and expectations from yoga practice from the average university students. Their expectations may indeed play a role that may be just as important as yoga practice. Kocher (1976a) confirmed these findings in a subsequent study with students who enrolled in a certificate course in yoga and practiced yoga daily ninety minutes for over three weeks. This study did not have a control group. In a study by Girodo (1974), patients diagnosed as “anxious” and “neurotic” practiced TM-like meditation. Anxiety-symptom questionnaires administered every two weeks revealed a significant reduction of anxiety symptoms after the eighth session of meditation. Because the patients served as their own controls, the possibility that their expectations rather than meditation were responsible for reduction in anxiety is not ruled out. Linden (1973) also reported significant decrease in anxiety scores from preand post-treatment conditions involving Zen meditation. No such effect was found in control subjects. In a study with college students, Smith (1976) found that the subjects who practiced TM obtained significantly lower trait anxiety scores than the control subjects. The anxiety scores of TM meditators did not, however, differ significantly from the scores of subjects in control treatment groups who simply sat with their eyes closed. Oak and Bhole (1982) also reported a decrement in neuroticism and anxiety scores among asthmatics undergoing yogic treatment. No analyses of the data were provided to know whether the observed results are statistically

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significant. Anantharaman and Kabir (1984) found no significant changes in the anxiety scores of their subjects after three months of yoga practice, which included simple āsanās and prāṇāyāma. They, however, found significant changes in other variables, including blood pressure and pulse rate. In a study by Bhushan and Sinha (2001) significant decrease in anxiety symptoms was observed among subjects with high anxiety levels after practice of yoga nidrā. Working with young prisoners, Jain (2003) found significant decrease in anxiety after practicing meditation. In a meta-analysis of mindfulness-based meditation studies, Grossman et al. (2004) found that meditation practice helps improve distress levels among patients. In an earlier study involving a sample of 356 nonclinical subjects Vinod et al. (1991) reported a significant effect of yoga on reducing anxiety. The report, however, raises a number of questions. The subjects were given “comprehensive training” in yoga for two hours each day for one month. The training consisted of “meditation, thorough understanding of the practical applications of the philosophical concepts of yoga through ‘Brain Storming’ sessions along with usual physical training and relaxation” (p. 26). The subjects were administered a paper and pencil test (Sinha’s Anxiety Scale) before and after the one-month training period to determine their anxiety levels. Finding significant statistical differences between the pre- and post-training anxiety scores, the authors conclude among other things that the “Yoga Training Programme had produced significant reduction in anxiety level over a period of 5 years” (p. 27). It is unclear how the pre- and post-training anxiety scores, which were presumably obtained within a duration of one month, could lead the authors to generalize their finding to a five-year period. Apart from this obvious puzzle, any discerning reader finds the entire report quite confusing. First, there is a lack of adequate reporting. How did they select the sample? What kind of physical training and relaxation techniques were used? Did all the subjects complete their training? Because of the way the paper is presented, one can hardly draw any meaningful conclusions. Not only does one find the vital data links missing for sustaining their conclusion, the design itself is faulty and self-defeating. It makes sense to consider that the so-called brain storming sessions may be responsible for the apparent anxiety reduction in the subjects and that the practical training and so forth may have nothing to do with the results. Confounding of variables is a major drawback of many studies of similar nature. Apart from the statistical and methodological cleanliness that is required, conceptual clarity is equally important. If we wish to find a relationship between practice of yoga and anxiety, we must have a precise understanding of yoga and anxiety. One cannot mix up meditation with physical relaxation exercises, counseling sessions, and so on and then proceed to conclude that the obtained result is due to yoga. The whole purpose of empirical research is one of relating precisely defined variables. In the absence of clearly circumscribed variables, we can hardly be expected to have any understanding of the claimed relationship. A good deal of research of this type coming from India is clearly lacking in necessary methodological controls and conceptual clarity.

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Therapeutic Effects Meditation and Mortality: Not only does practice of meditation appear to have suggestive beneficial effects in reducing anxiety, providing some relief to subjects suffering from anxiety disorders, and lowering hospital visits, there is also evidence from one study that meditation may have the effect of reducing mortality rate among older population. A study by Alexander et al. (1989) provides clear evidence that suggests such a possibility. In this study, 73 elderly subjects with a mean age of 81 years were randomly assigned to four groups. One group practiced TM 20 min twice daily. The subjects in the second group were instructed in mindfulness involving a guided attention technique (MF). The third group (MR) consisted of the subjects who were required to sit comfortably with eyes closed, repeating to themselves any mental stimuli they found to be pleasant or comfortable. The fourth was a no-treatment, control group (NT). The subjects were randomly assigned to these groups and pretested on a number of measures, including cognitive flexibility, blood pressure, behavioral flexibility, and aging. They found no significant differences between the groups on any of these variables in the results of pretesting. The subjects then practiced the assigned task for three months. After the completion of the three-month period, they were again tested on the same measures. The results showed significant differences in the cognitive performance scores of the subjects of TM and MF groups compared to MR and nontreatment groups. There were also significant differences in systolic blood pressure following the three months’ practice with TM group having the lowest followed by the mindfulness group. The most spectacular finding relates to the mortality rates observed during the following three-year period. It is reported that all the subjects in the TM group survived, whereas the survival rate in the MF group was 87.5, and 65% for the MR group. The survival rate of the residents of these homes for the elderly was 62.6 years. This finding is quite consistent with the results of a field study in which it was found that TM practitioners had approximately half as many hospitalizations or visits to the doctors as nonmeditating matched groups as revealed by the insurance claims (Orme-Johnson 1987). Alexander et al. (1994) published a study comparing TM with other forms of meditation and relaxation techniques. The results showed that TM is significantly more effective in (a) reducing psychological and somatic arousal, (b) decreasing trait anxiety, and (c) promoting positive mental health on measures of self-actualization. Alexander and associates also point out that epidemiological studies show that people practicing TM had significantly lower inpatient and outpatient visits and expenditures than comparable groups. Several studies explored the effect of meditation practice on those suffering from anxiety disorders, which are characterized by an experience of nervousness, tension, psychological stress, and continuing worry—an outcome of the hyperactivity of the autonomic nervous system. Kabat-Zinn et al. (1992) reported substantial improvement in the condition of participants diagnosed as suffering from generalized anxiety disorder following his Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program.

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Miller et al. (1995) investigated 22 patients diagnosed as suffering from anxiety disorders. In a three-year follow-up study, they found significant improvements in the condition of these outpatient subjects who practiced Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction meditation as assessed by subjective reports as well as objective symptoms. Teasdale et al. (2000, 2002) and Segal et al. (2002), employing Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), a modified version of MBSR, found that their therapy is very effective in helping those suffering from chronic depression, especially preventing relapse. From a review of research, Kirkwood et al. (2007) concluded that there is limited evidence with just four out of 12 studies showing some improvement in the anxiety condition after practicing meditation. They also found no difference between meditation and other relaxation techniques. A meta-analysis of studies of MBSR by Toneatto and Nguyen (2007) comprising of the database of 15 studies found that the evidence for the positive effect of MBSR on anxiety and depression is somewhat equivocal, leading them to conclude that MBSR does not have a reliable beneficial effect on persons suffering from anxiety and depression. Yoga and Hypertension: Datey et al. (1969) studied the effect of śavāsana (lying down posture with awareness of breathing by attending to stomach movements) on hypertensive patients who took no drugs showed found a significant decrease in their blood pressure. They also reported that the patients experienced a sense of well-being and improvement in somatic symptoms after practicing śavāsana 30 min daily for about 30 weeks. Datey and colleagues do not, however, provide the data to substantiate the claim that there is improvement in somatic symptoms. Benson and associates carried out a number of studies (Benson and Wallace 1972, 1974a, b) to test the effect of transcendental meditation on hypertensive patients. They report that for those patients who practiced meditation there was a significant decrease in systolic as well as diastolic blood pressure during the experimental period of 20 weeks compared to the control period of 5, 6 weeks when they did not meditate. Although the results of these studies clearly show a significant reduction in blood pressure, their main limitation is methodological in that the same patients served as controls. Settiwar et al. (1983) reported a study in which they found that the neurohumoral substances in urine came very close to normal in 15 of their patients with essential hypertension after 15–20 weeks of yoga treatment. A number of experiments to study the effect of meditation on hypertension patients were conducted by Patel (1973, 1975, 1977). In her studies, the subjects practiced śavāsana meditation on breath, muscle relaxation, and a concentrative form of meditation. They also received biofeedback of their GSR through audio signal. The results show that there is a significant improvement in blood pressure over a period of three months. It is not clear, however, the extent to which meditation is responsible for the reduction of blood pressure because among other things the patients received biofeedback and had contacts with the therapist. Working with groups of elderly nursing home residents, Alexander et al. (1989) found decreases in systolic blood pressure following TM compared to groups

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practicing mindfulness meditation on simple muscle relaxation. Barnes et al. (1999) also reported significant drop in systolic blood pressure following a single session of TM compared to nonmeditating controls. Canter and Ernst (2005) in their review of five randomized clinical studies that provided cumulative evidence for the positive effect of TM on blood pressure noted that all the studies were carried out by researches affiliated to the TM organization and that these studies had important methodological weaknesses that could have biased the investigators with TM affiliation. Also, a major review of Meditation Practices for Health commissioned by the US Department of Health and Human Sciences in its report on the State of Research (Ospina et al. 2007) concludes: “TM had no advantage over health education to improve measures of systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure, body weight, heart rate, stress, anger, self-efficacy, dietary intake, and level of physical activity in hypertensive patients” (p. 4). A review by Rainforth et al. (2007), however, contradicts the above negative assessment of TM. This review consisting of 17 studies published in peer-reviewed scientific journals with 23 treatment comparisons and 960 subjects conducted at five different universities and supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health in the USA assessed the effectiveness of TM and several other stress reduction techniques by a systematic meta-analysis. The results show significant reduction of blood pressure among those in the TM program and not in any others that included biofeedback, relaxation-assisted biofeedback, progressive muscle relaxation, and stress management training. The Meditation Practices for Health report of 2007 referred to above notes 21 series of studies of meditation relating to cardiovascular diseases and finds in them no reliable evidence of positive effect of meditation is noted. Healing and Health Effects: We have already discussed the effect of meditation on hypertension. There are studies that explored the effects of meditation on health and control of a variety of diseases ranging from asthma and headaches to cardiovascular disease and immune function. Palsane et al. (1986) discussed the Indian ideas on stress as contained in Caraka Saṃhitā, Patañjali’s Yoga-Sūtras, and Yoga Vaśiṣṭa and concluded that “The Indian tradition focuses on the goals and expectancies the individual brings to the potentially stressful situation, and the avoidance of stress via internal control” (p. 11). This approach is considered different from the Western research, which focuses on environmental events. In a study of 30 physically healthy men, Selvamurty et al. (1983) found that six months of yogic exercises resulted in a trend toward relative parasympathetic dominance, improvement in thermo-regulatory efficiency, and orthostatic tolerance. In an exploratory study of 20 patients suffering from migraine and tension headaches, Latha and Kaliappan (1992) divided them into two groups. One group of ten patients received yogic therapy consisting of āsanās and breathing exercises while the other group (control) received no such training. They reported significant reduction in headaches and medication intake among the patients in the yoga therapy group.

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Sharma et al. (1990) studied the effect of Vipassanā meditation on 10 patients with tension headaches. The patients were assessed on two physiological and three behavioral measures along with a self-report during, before, and after 20 daily sessions of meditation. Significant decrease in frontalis muscle tension and reduction in skin conductance after meditation were observed. Also, intensity, frequency, and duration of headaches were reduced, and there was improvement in the anxiety symptoms. Follow-up studies after five and twelve months showed that the improvement in the condition of the patient was maintained. Astin (1997) examined the effects of mindfulness meditation on undergraduate students participating in an eight-week stress reduction program. A comparison of the subjects in the experimental group with control subjects showed the positive effect of meditation leading Astin to conclude that mindfulness is a powerful technique for transforming the ways in which one responds to life events and for preventing the relapse of affective disorders. Wenneberg et al. (1997) reported that TM may have beneficial effects for those suffering from migraine headaches. It is known that relaxation training can have the effect of reducing the frequency of headaches by as much as 35–40%. If meditation helps to create state of relaxation, we may expect meditation to help reduce migraine headaches. Following this line of thinking, Wachholtz and Pargament (2008) carried out a study comparing four different groups of migraine patients. One group of participants practiced what they call “Spiritual Meditation,” which consisted in meditating on one of the four phrases that have a reference to God, such as “God is peace,” or “God is love.” The participants in the “Internal Secular Meditation” group meditated on a phrase such as “I am happy” or “I am joyful.” The third group the “External Meditation” group focused on phrases such as “grass is green” or “sand is soft.” The fourth group practiced relaxation exercises. The participants were asked to practice for 20 min every day for 30 days. The results showed that the group practicing Spiritual Meditation reported significantly fewer headaches compared to other groups. It is also observed that those practicing Internal Secular Meditation, who had significantly greater (p < 0.01) frequency of headaches than those in the Spiritual Meditation group, had significantly fewer headaches than those in the other two groups. A number of studies were carried out in India to study the therapeutic effects of yoga on patients suffering from asthma and other diseases (Bhole 1967, 1982; Bhagwat et al. 1981; Gore 1982; Ganguly 1982; Gharote et al. 1983; Nagaratna and Nagendra 1985, 1986; Manocha et al. 2002). In the study that used randomized control trials, Manocha et al. (2002) report improved condition of patients with practice of Sahaja meditation. Canter (2003) points out, however, that asthma in the patients studied is poorly controlled. Further the differences between the experimental and control groups are not maintained after a period of two months. The results generally show improvements in the condition of the patients. From a strictly scientific perspective, the results are essentially uninterpretable because the studies lack necessary controls for ruling out other possible explanations. Among the studies that investigated the biochemical changes brought about by yogic (physical) exercises, mention may be made of those by Udupa and co-workers at Banaras

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Hindu University (Udupa et al. 1972, 1973, 1975a, b, c, d). In one of their earlier studies, it is reported that normal subjects (12 youths) who practiced physical yoga exercises for six months showed lower cholesterol and blood sugar levels. They found also increased adrenocortial activity. In an editorial to Student BMJ, Canter (2003) wrote, “current evidence for the therapeutic effectiveness of any type of meditation is weak …. The limited evidence that does exist is in indications where reduction of stress may have an important beneficial effect, and future trials with improved design may yet provide more concrete positive results in this area” (p. 177). This appears to be a fair statement of the state of research on the therapeutic effects of meditation.

General Discussion of Meditation Research In an early review of experimental literature on meditation and somatic arousal reduction, Holmes (1984) concluded that across experiments or measures there is no evidence that meditating subjects show lower levels of arousal than resting subjects, and “the most consistent finding was that there were no reliable differences between meditating and resting subjects” (p. 5). Holmes pointed out that the studies fall into three groups: (1) case studies, (2) experiments in which the subjects served as their own controls, and (3) experiments with independent control groups. Case studies, inasmuch as they lack controls, cannot serve as empirical tests of a hypothesis. Experiments in which the same subject served as his or her own control at best provide equivocal evidence. Much of the evidence in support of the hypothesis that meditation lowers somatic arousal comes from experiments with the subjects serving as their own controls. Such evidence, however, is not sufficient to prove that meditation lowers arousal more effectively than simple resting, because the subject’s expectations may be critical. Meditators generally believe in the efficacy of meditation over resting, and this may be sufficient to cause the observed differences. Holmes pointed out that none of the experiments in which proper controls were provided gave evidence that meditation reduces somatic arousal significantly better than resting. He concluded that “not one experiment provided consistent evidence that meditating subjects were less aroused than resting subjects…. Indeed, there does not even appear to be one bad experiment offering consistent evidence that meditation reduces arousal more than sleep” (p. 6). Dillbeck and Orme-Johnson (1987) argued persuasively, however, that the reviews such as those by Holmes do not take into account significant effect size differences between meditation and typical resting conditions. Their own meta-analysis showed that the effect size for TM was almost twice the size found with a simple eyes-closed rest condition across several indicators of reduced somatic arousal. Dillbeck and Orme-Johnson also cite a number of studies such as the one by Warshal (1980) suggesting that TM involves improved reflex response and therefore greater alertness.

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From my own review of meditation research about twenty-five years ago (Rao 1989), I concluded that “much of contemporary literature on meditation is characterized by methodologically deficient experiments, conceptually confused discussions, and largely unsubstantiated claims” (p. 51). More recent research showed greater methodological sophistication and vastly improved technology made possible by the advent of neuroimaging studies of the brain. However, the general state of overall research results appears none too different from the above assessment. For example, the report Meditation Practices for Health: State of the Research (Ospina et al. 2007) concludes: “Firm conclusions on the effects of meditation practices in healthcare cannot be drawn based on the available evidence. Future research on meditation practices must be more rigorous in the design and execution of studies and in the analysis and reporting of results” (p. v). Even those reviewers favorably disposed toward meditation research and are actively engaged in carrying it speak only of the promise and need for future research (Lutz et al. 2007) and not of any firmly established findings. There are indeed severe methodological problems in several of the meditation studies. These include (1) the widespread practice of the same subject designs in which each subject acts as his own control; (2) the failure to control for individual differences in personality, attitudes, expectations, training, and the duration and quality of meditation practice of the subjects tested; and (3) conceptual confusion leading to (a) a failure to distinguish between meditation as a state and as a method, (b) lack of adequate criteria to identify a meditative state and scales to measure its quality and depth, and (c) the simplistic notion that sitting cross-legged and chanting a mantra is qualitatively the same as the classical discipline of meditation. Further, (4) the meditative techniques employed in research are too numerous and variable to allow general conclusions. (5) The experimental designs are often not appropriate to answer the issues being investigated. (6) In many studies, especially those using TM, the subjects are self-selected, making the results less generalizable. (7) Further, it is observed (Canter 2003), when controlled trials were employed they did not control for systematic differences between self-selected subjects and those who are routinely recruited and those subjects who continue to practice and the dropouts who abandon it. (8) Experimenter expectations and bias are often not controlled. (9) Use of multiple co-interventions confounds relevant variables and makes it almost impossible to trace the source of the observed effect. (10) Finally, there is an inherent difficulty in employing double-blind procedures in this area. The above problems notwithstanding, the widespread interest in meditation has had some useful consequences. First, despite the numerous well-taken criticisms, it is difficult to deny that practice of meditation has certain psychosomatic benefits. The criticism that a meditative state is similar in some respects to a state of drowsiness or sleep does not make meditation any less important. We may recall that in Vedānta, for example, sleep state is closer to a transcendental state than the waking state. Higher states of consciousness appear to depend on controlling sensory inputs. Meditation does seem to be a useful tool for reducing sensory noise. Second, meditation research is a good example of how a concept once considered esoteric can be empirically studied in a controlled setting. Third, meditation studies

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open up windows of opportunity to look at Eastern psychological traditions that may have significant implications for research in areas that are currently neglected because there are no useful theoretical models to explore them. And, fourth, meditation research may play a significant role in developing research methods that overcome the first- and third-person divide. While the overall negative picture of the Ospina et al. (2007) report is not unjustified because of the many apparent methodological pitfalls in published research, we may not ignore the fact that a number of comprehensive meta-analysis do indeed present a somewhat encouraging picture of the state of research. As we have noted earlier, the comprehensive review and meta-analyses of published and unpublished health-related research by Grossman et al. (2004) point to a respectable effect size 0.5 with homogenous distribution suggesting a fairly generalizable positive effect of meditation to cope with problems of clinical and nonclinical nature. Eppley et al. (1989) carried out a meta-analysis of meditation and anxiety and found different outcomes for different kinds of meditation. The analysis included 70 studies of meditation and trait anxiety. Of these, 35 involved TM. Eppley and associates report significantly larger effect size in TM studies than studies using other types of meditation. Canter (2003), however, counters by saying that the analysis included uncontrolled trials, and therefore, the assertion of the authors that the observed effect was not sensitive to research design, type of control, or any other confounding variables is not substantiated by the data. Again, Arias et al. (2006) after reviewing what are considered high-quality publications found support for “the hypothesis that meditative treatments have a multifaceted effect on psychological as well as biologic function” (p. 828). A somewhat more optimistic outcome of meditation studies emerges from a recent meta-analysis of 104 methodologically sound studies on the effect of meditation on psychological factors such as cognition, emotion, behavior, and personality by Sedlmeier et al. (2008). They found a mean effect size of r = 0.29, *d = 0.61. Using Cohen’s criteria, this implies a “medium” size effect of the procedure on the dimensions studied. A further evaluation along the various factors reveals a consistent moderate size effect: (i) 62 studies examining trait dependent personality along the positive-negative dimension such as trait anxiety, neuroticism r = 0.30; (ii) 25 studies exploring the effect on state dependent emotions such as anger, anxiety r = 0.31; (iii) 34 studies related to cognition such as field dependence, memory, and concentration tasks, r = 0.32; (iv) 19 studies examining the effect of meditation on behavioral aspects such as reaction time, tracking tasks, r = 0.25; and (v) 6 studies with intelligence test measures, r = 0.28. The only dimension that appears considerably less affected by meditation is that of inherent personality characteristics, which showed a low size effect (r = 0.14). A possible explanation for the consistency of effect may be that reduction of anxiety/anger and the consequent calming of the mind improves concentration and attention, which is shown in the studies on cognitive and behavioral tasks. As the authors conclude, the effect sizes are comparable to those found in psychotherapy research, where the effect size range from d = 0.5 to d = 0.8. A comprehensive review of meditation states and traits from a neuropsychological perspective by Cahn and Polich (2006)

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published in the Psychological Bulletin of the American Psychological Association, the findings in this area “are becoming more cohesive and directed, even though a comprehensive empirical and theoretical foundation is still emerging. CNS function is clearly affected by meditation, but the specific neural changes and differences among practices are far from clear. The likelihood for clinical utility of meditation practice in conjunction with psychological and neuropharmacological therapies is a strong impetus for future studies” (pp. 202–203). A great deal of meditation research is carried out by researchers involved in or part of TM organization. Some reviewers (Canter 2003) find this as a serious limitation of TM research and the generalizability of its results. While I do agree that meditation research like other research in psychology should find a way of controlling the subject-experimenter expectancy effects, I do not believe that there should be any attempt to discourage the participation of scientists who practice a certain form of meditation from investigating the beneficial effects of meditation they practice. In fact, such experimenters may have significant advantage in carrying out meditation research. One of the main problems of meditation research is the tendency to consider every little effort to focus one’s attention as meditation. Many forms of currently practiced meditation may indeed be no different from relaxation exercises. It is only those who actually practice meditation and understand its nuances at each stage that can meaningfully relate observed behavioral or physiological effects to a true state of meditation. However, strict procedural precautions and design controls should be in place to eliminate any biasing effects in such studies. Consider the study of the Czechoslovakian scientists which explored the effects of kapālabhāti, a yogic kriyā (Novak et al. 1990). Kapālabhāti is a yogic exercise of inhalation and exhalation by voluntary rhythmic contraction and relaxation of abdominal muscles. The description of Kapālabhāti as given in the Haṭha Yoga Pradīpikā is “As the bellows of an ironsmith constantly dilate and contract, similarly let him slowly draw in the air by both the nostrils and expand the stomach; then throw it out quickly (the wind making sound like bellows)” (Singh et al. 2004). It is traditionally regarded as a kriyā, a cleansing technique. It stands to reason to consider it as something that emphasizes exhalation as distinct from bhastrika, which lays more emphasis on inhalation. In the study mentioned above, the Czechoslovakian scientists attempted to simulate the affect of kapālabhāti by a simple periodical air insufflation into a select nostril by rhythmically puffing air current into the left or right nostril. Finding that such air insufflation has a concomitant effect of increased theta activity in the EEG mapping in the two subjects they tested, they conclude that the effect is due to kapālabhāti. The above observation, with its admittedly limited generalizability, because there were only two subjects, may be of some interest on its own. But, to suggest that puffing air into one nostril is equivalent to the practice of kapālabhāti is, however, quite naïve. Considering the prevailing view that kapālabhāti is a cleansing process and therefore its emphasis is on exhalation, puffing air may have a contrary effect. Moreover, the central part of kapālabhāti is flexing abdominal muscles, inward pressure of the abdomen in the navel area with sudden exhalation.

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This part is conspicuously missing in the modeling of kapālabhāti by the Czechoslovakian scientists. There is an increasing realization on the part of the researchers that there is more to meditation than the instant meditation practices as represented by such adaptations as TM and relaxation response. For example, the work of Lutz et al. (2004) with long-term Buddhist practitioners suggests that the reports of highly experienced meditators are more likely to be reliable. The main problem with research as mentioned is one of equating practices of meditation with meditation as such. The results obtained so far are best applicable to practices. The observed effects are the effects of practices and not necessarily effects of meditation as such. Neurophysiological studies of meditation are interesting in many ways. We may expect them to suggest some reliable objective correlates of subjective experience of meditation. This would help meditation research in significant ways by providing measures to understand the depth of meditation independently of the less reliable subjective reports. However, it is unlikely that the neurophysiological studies would ever completely unlock the secrets of meditation. My understanding of meditation leads me to think that a profound meditative experience in principle cannot be reduced to certain cortical activation, neurochemical, or hormonal changes. The meditator in some ways appears to gain control over the autonomic activity. The simultaneous stimulation of sympathetic and parasympathetic systems, being relaxed and aroused at the same time, by the advanced meditators strongly suggests this. The voluntary control of cerebral activity and autonomic and hormonal changes, if firmly established, could signal incontrovertible evidence for noncortical interpretation of volition and eventually the existence of mind and consciousness independent of the brain. From the review of neurophysiological investigations of meditation, it is clear that so far no clear neurophysiological pattern that could be considered a sort of signature of meditation is found. However, a large number of studies have shown alpha abundance during the period of meditation. This observation is interesting in that meditative practice appears to lead to a relaxed state of mind. However, more interesting are the observations that meditation is not always accompanied by enhanced alpha activity and that in some cases of advanced meditators there is evidence of slow-wave EEG activity along with physiological evidence of arousal at the same time. The latter “paradoxical observation may be interpreted to mean (a) that alpha abundance or any other neurological configuration correlated with meditation may not be intrinsically related to meditation and (b) that meditation somehow enables one to gain volitional control over the autonomic processes and neural mechanisms.” The implications of this interpretation of the observed neurophysiological correlates and effects include that the goal of these studies may not be one of discovering such correlates of meditation. Rather the neuroimaging and other physiological studies of meditation may seek to learn how the meditator is able to gain control over the function of the brain and nervous system. In this connection, the importance of understanding the processes underlying the various forms of attention cannot be over emphasized.

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From the psychological perspective, the distracting factors that tend to disturb attentional focus and absorption appear to be equally important. Let us recall that according to Patañjali, the quintessential exercises of yoga are aimed at controlling the mental processes. It is all too obvious that the mental processes are to a great extent mediated by the mechanisms of the brain. Therefore, effective cortical control is necessarily associated with yoga practice. Apparently such a control can be achieved by manipulations of attention. Focused attention appears to be a key ingredient. There are a variety of factors that are enemical to such attention. They include psychological states such as anxiety, ego indulgence, and craving. In Yoga theory, control of the psychologically distracting states that interfere with one’s efforts to concentrate, focus attention, and get absorbed in the process rests largely on enlightened knowledge. Therefore, it is said, ignorance is the field that grows the weeds that obstruct proper practice of yoga. As we have noted, there is already some evidence linking meditation to reduced anxiety, which is clearly an attention distracting state. There is of course the question whether focused attention helps overcome the hindering distractions or whether proper control of the distractions is a precondition for focused attention. Further, Yoga-Sūtras describe the meditative state as a state of equipoise and mental calmness and emotional tranquility. Therefore, observed correlations between meditative practice and reduction in stress-related ailments fit with the implications of Yoga theory. Patañjali believed that yogins have access to new ways of knowing and that they gain extraordinary cognitive abilities. Again there is suggestive evidence from parapsychological studies for this possibility. The goal of yoga, however, is not acquiring these abilities but to reach a state of kaivalya. Kaivalya is variously translated as liberation, isolation, freedom and so on. In its most generalized sense kaivalya refers to the freedom of the person to have a truly authentic experience which consists in knowing things the way they really are without any prejudice, preconception, or bias. It also involves realization of knowing in one’s being. Most of the studies of meditation are with persons with very modest proficiency in meditation. There are, however, a few where very adept meditators are studied. Also, there are a variety of practices that go in the name of meditation. In order to control for possible differential effects, reviews of meditation research separate them. I do not believe that this would solve the problem. What is crucial in meditation research are not the practices one is engaged in but the state of mind that is produced by these practices. Again, there may be no single state that characterizes all of meditation. There are more likely a series of states as recognized in Rāja Yoga and Buddhist meditation. Therefore, meditation research in future should focus on the different meditative states as implied, for example, in samprajñāta and asamprajñāta samādhi in Patañjali yoga and the different jhāna states described by Buddhaghoṣa. In any case, results of available research with ostensible meditative subjects do warrant further research to advance human science. Alongside the empirical research, there is need for theoretical discussions that bring clarity to the field largely conflated by the wide variety of practices that go in the name of meditation and an equally bizarre array of states attributed to

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meditation. What is clear, however, is the fact that a single set of practices does not constitute meditation and that meditation may not be identified with a unique neurophysiological state or a distinctive psychological condition. At the same time, we find a running thread connecting what appear to be desperate aspects/effects of meditation ranging from relaxation and stress reduction to acquisition of extraordinary abilities and total transformation of the person. Volitional deployment of attention appears to lead to voluntary control of brain states and autonomic functions, which in return result in cognitive excellence. Cognitive excellence may be seen in unbiased observations, skilled subjective awareness, enhanced access to the unconscious information, and unfolding of hidden human potentials. More importantly, meditation at its deeper levels leads to an altered state of consciousness (samādhi) enabling the meditator to have transcognitive experience. In Patañjali’s yoga, for example, the first two steps, yama and niyama recognize the important role of one’s attitudes and beliefs as the behavioral repertoire, the ground condition of the person with important implications for his or her being. The next two, āsanās and prāṇāyāma, take into account the impact of bodily processes on the psychological functioning of the person. Then comes pratyāhāra the quintessential method that enables one to have internal access to observe oneself and the processes within. All these five are considered preliminary steps; but each of them incorporates significant psychological truths. The essential and intrinsic yoga involves the final three steps, dhāraṇā, dhyāna, and samādhi—focused and prolonged attention leading the person to an altered state of consciousness called samādhi. At the deepest level of samādhi, the different aspects of being such as knowing and feeling and behaving blend for a total transformation of the person. This is a model that ties on the one hand the wide variety of effects suggested by meditation and generates on the other hand fresh research that could help unravel the many mysterious of the human mind.

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Chapter 7

Metapsychology of Yoga

In the previous chapters, we discussed at some length Patañjali yoga theory and practices and some empirical research on meditation. Metaphysics, as Aristotle described it, is the study of “being qua being.” In the present case, it is study of consciousness qua consciousness or as we termed it consciousness-as-such, the puruṣa in Yoga. What is consciousness? There are no easy or ready-made answers. The metaphysics of consciousness is a big muddle. Many of the ideas are fanciful, and some are even fictional. There are semantic as well as substantive controversies. In fact, there are basic differences on the connotation of the term consciousness. Equally polarized are the views on the very existence of consciousness qua consciousness—its ontological status and epistemic underpinnings. In the area of consciousness, metaphysical, and epistemological theories are intimately intertwined. The principles of reality and criteria of certainty relating to consciousness appear to be integrally related, and there is thus a distinct interplay of knowing and being. The gaps in the understanding of consciousness are possibly a consequence of the perceived schism between knowing and being. The way out and the solution to the conundrums of consciousness may well lie in bridging the knowing-being divide. It would seem Yoga, especially as discussed in Patañjali’s Yoga-Sūtras, may provide the missing links that connect knowing and being. We discussed in some detail Patañjali’s Yoga-Sūtras, the foundational text of Rāja Yoga. As may be readily seen, Yoga, in theory as well as practice, has great relevance to the controversies relating to consciousness studies. Indeed, Patañjali yoga provides in a sense the architectonic for a system of psychology that could be a potential force to face up to the challenges of consciousness studies. In fact, Yoga may be seen as the central piece of what may be called Indian psychology, as the main points of Yoga psychology are shared by other classical Indian systems as well. Consequently, Yoga-Sutras is a foundational text of Indian psychology. At this point, it would be appropriate to clarify what we mean by Indian psychology. Unlike Indian history, Indian psychology is not about the psychology of Indian people. Like Indian philosophy, it refers to the native psychological © The Author(s) 2017 K.R. Rao, Foundations of Yoga Psychology, DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-5409-9_7

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traditions. Again, Indian psychology is not, unfortunately, what psychologists in India by and large do. Psychology studied in India seventy years since country’s independence is almost entirely psychology as developed in the West. This may not be seen necessarily bad because of psychology’s claim to be a science, and science is generally considered to be universal. However, like other social sciences, psychology is not culture-free. Rather the human behavior is significantly influenced by culture-specific factors. Consequently, it is hardly feasible to develop the discipline of psychology in a cultural vacuum. This obvious fact was ignored by Indian psychologists who were themselves trained in the West or were trained by those trained in the West. The concepts, categories, and models used to teach and conduct research in psychology in Indian institutions and even the tools of investigation employed by Indian psychologists have had little indigenous content. They are borrowed from the West. Much of Indian psychological research is simply imitative and replicative of what goes on in the West (Rao 2002; Sinha and Kao 1997; Pandey 1988; Asthana 1988). It is hardly surprising, therefore, that Indian contributions to psychology with very few exceptions remain marginal at best. They attracted scanty attention from scholars, received hardly any recognition in the world of psychology, and also it played relatively little role in national development. Indian psychology is more than indigenous psychology. It is a distinctive psychological system derived from native Indian ethos. It finds expression in such texts as the Yoga-Sūtras, as mentioned. Indian thought applied to psychology is Indian psychology. Classical Indian thought has tremendous potential for generating psychological models and for applying psychological knowledge to help improve human condition, as we noted in our discussion of Yoga-Sūtras. Further, we do not mean by Indian psychology Hindu psychology. Indian culture is broader than the Hindu or Brahmanical tradition, and it includes Buddhism, Jainism, and other native systems of thought. Centrality of consciousness is its defining characteristic. The chief concern of Indian psychology is with the “person” conceived as embodied consciousness. In this view, mind and consciousness are qualitatively different. Mind is the interfacing instrumentality that is connected with consciousness at one end and the brain at the other. Therefore, it involves brain processes as well as nonmaterial aspects peculiar to consciousness. The person situated in the mind–body matrix functions conditioned by a vortex of forces. As embodied consciousness, the person becomes the instrument of individualized thought, passion, and action. From such individuation arise subjectivity, rational and relational thinking, and the relativity of truth and values. In this view, the brain does not generate consciousness. Rather it filters, limits, and to an extent colors it. Consciousness as it manifests in our ordinary states of awareness is a mental reflection or image or consciousness-as-such. In order to access consciousness-as-such, one needs to purify and control the mind by purging it of all the existential excrescences it has accumulated. The methodological implication of this view is that for a complete and appropriate understanding of how we humans function, it is necessary that we supplement the bottom-up approach with top-down methodology, because the extraordinary phenomena may not be understood in terms of the ordinary.

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Conceived in this way, Indian psychology is not merely of historical interest, but it is highly relevant in addressing several contemporary psychological concerns. Indian psychology covers both the secular and sacred domains, and as such it makes a dialog between science and spirituality possible. In Indian psychology, we have a viable model that can address psychological issues that the current mechanist, reductionist, and computer models are unable to meaningfully investigate. There are indeed fundamental differences between the Western psychology as practiced now and Indian psychological thought contained in classical texts. These differences range from methodological preferences to theoretical assumptions, from the primary focus of subject matter to its practical orientations. In classical Indian psychology, the focus is on the person rather than on the object of experience. The emphasis is on the mental rather than the physical aspects. The preferred method is first-person-based inner knowing (introspection) and personal insight mediated by second-person guidance. We find in classical Indian thought that metaphysical theories are grounded in psychological insights rather than built on physical facts. The intellectual exercise is more synthetic and less analytical in comparison with the West. There is a widespread misapprehension that psychology based on classical Indian thought would be utterly speculative and other worldly. This is not the case. Again, somewhat surprisingly, classical Indian psychology is more practical than theoretical. It is oriented toward transcending the existential limitations and transforming the individual from a state of conditioned being to an unconditioned state of freedom and perfection enabling her to know truth (satyam), to practice virtue (śivam), and to appreciate beauty (sundaram). Such is the positive psychology of India. Its goal is to liberate the person from the existential constraints of suffering and enable his to experience his authentic self. Indian psychology has the potential to bring about a paradigmatic shift in the way we look at human beings and study them. In other words, here we may find the contours of a new psychology that would help address issues that appear intractable from the current psychological perspectives such as the conundrums of consciousness. We must acknowledge at the outset that Indian thought is not monolithic. Indeed it is pluralistic at the core, and there are profound and fundamental differences at the metaphysical level among classical thinkers. There are, however, significant commonalities at the psychological level that could be developed into a coherent system/s with important implications for contemporary study, research, and application. What is particularly relevant to our discussion is the fact that central concern of Indian psychology is consciousness. It is inclusive of various facets of human behavior and does not leave out even the so-called anomalies. We summarize below in sūtra form some of the salient features of a system based on classical Indian insights into human nature. These are derived basically from the Yoga and Vedānta philosophies. They are stated here in such a general way, avoiding metaphysical subtleties, to be applicable broadly to all the major Indian thought systems that have psychological relevance. I contend that they are entirely consistent with salient psychological principles and features of not only

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Yoga and Vedānta but also others like Buddhism, bereft of their metaphysical predilections. We put together 333 sūtras given in four sections. Because of context requirements, there may be occasional overlap. These may be called Bhāratīya Jīva Śāstra Sūtras. I. The Scope and Methods 1. Psychology is the study of the person (jīva). 2. The person is consciousness embodied in that it individuates itself as a subject. 3. The embodiment makes the person a knowing, feeling, and acting being. 4. The knowing person is a composite of body, mind, and consciousness. 5. As embodied, the person with her active mind functions as a reflective, ratiocinative cognitive being. 6. Also, the person experiences and expresses emotions because of her embodiment. 7. Further, the person as a center of consciousness is capable of transcending the mind-mediated cognitive and affective modes and function as a nonlocal being accessing consciousness-as-such. 8. Embodied, consciousness in the person becomes conditioned and mind-based. 9. Conditioned, consciousness manifests in a variety of mental states, forms, and modes. 10. Conditioned, conscious phenomena lose their spontaneity and freedom and are embellished by biases, predispositions, and sensory coloring. 11. Conditioned, the person is driven by the mind that is congentically pulled by ignorance that clouds truth. 12. Unconditioned, the person drives the mind. 13. With consciousness manifesting in the sensory modes, the person is dragged into the net of saṃsāra, empirical world of change, multiplicity, and uncertainty. 14. The net of saṃsāra is woven with the thought fiber of the mind. 15. The mind is the instrument of one’s thought, passion, and action. 16. The prime manifestation of the conditioned mind is the ego. 17. The defining characteristic of the ego is individuation, which gives the person her identity and the experience of self-sameness. 18. The ego’s essential attributes are self-reference, attachment, binding and biased perceptions, attitudes, and aspirations. 19. Self-reference is at the center of subjectivity in the person. 20. Attachment generates desires. 21. Binding prompts clinging. 22. Biasing distorts truth. 23. Subjectivity gives rise to first-person experience. 24. Desires cause clinging, passion and action.

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25. Actions engender pain and pleasure leading to aversion and attraction. 26. Aversion and attraction bias perceptions and lead to obsessions. 27. The conditioned mind limits, obscures, veils, and distorts consciousness with the result truth gets clouded, and knowing becomes fallible, behavior imperfect, and feelings biased and strained. 28. The person trapped in the net of saṃsāra spread by the mind suffocates and suffers the pain of existence. 29. Such is the human situation, a congenial state of conditioned existence and consequent loss of freedom and perpetual experience of misery, pain, and suffering. 30. The person is thus situated in a sea of suffering and caught in the turbulence of ignorance and misinformation. 31. To escape from it, the person takes on false identities, engages in all kinds of rationalization, and adopts a variety of defense mechanisms. 32. The right course of action is to swim or sail to the shores of bliss to become free and unconditioned. 33. One may sail on the ship of knowledge or swim to the shore with the power engendered by faith and devotion or propelled by the force of right conduct. 34. There are multiple means for overcoming suffering and experiencing happiness in human condition which include wisdom, worship, and work. 35. All these involve cultivating altruism, love and compassion, detachment, and ego-transcendence. 36. The existential paradox of the humans is that while the center of their being is consciousness, which is itself perfection in being, thought, action, and passion, the embodied consciousness is clouded and obscured and rendered imperfect by the mind–body complex. 37. The existential quest is, therefore, to escape from the net of saṃsāra, overcome the predicament of suffering, and achieve freedom of the person. 38. The path is one of dismantling the conditioned thoughts and emptying the mind of its contents that empower and fuel the desires and passions. In other words, the remedy for suffering consists in cutting through the net of saṃsāra. 39. The pursuit of the person is thus to overcome this predicament by cultivating right habits of mind, engage in right action, gain right knowledge, and achieve self-realization. 40. Self-realization is realization of truth in one’s being. Realization of truth and gaining insight to dispel ignorance, clear the mind and free the person from the conditioned habits of thought, action and reaction. 41. Indian psychology covers secular as well as sacred aspects. 42. It studies human nature with the objective of understanding the existential limitations and inherent potentials and for achieving higher states of awareness and self-realization. 43. It deals with application of psychological principles for bringing about positive transformation to enable the person to achieve cognitive excellence and realize her full potentials.

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44. Psychology in the Indian tradition is holistic and nonreductionist. 45. Its perspective is positive to help humans achieve their full potentials and overcome the limitations that cause suffering and constrain their being. 46. Indian psychology is not value-free. Rather it is value-driven; the highest value is one of realization of truth in one’s being. 47. Psychology in the Indian tradition is a science practiced like an art. 48. The methods employed to study the person are essentially observational. 49. Observation can be direct or indirect. 50. Data can be collected from the perspectives of first-person, second-person, or third-person. 51. Inasmuch as the person is the composite of body, mind, and consciousness and functions at three levels—(i) sense-driven learning, (ii) intellect-guided understanding, and (iii) intuitively obtained realization—there are three orders of knowing called śravaṇa, manana, and nididhyāsana. 52. Śravaṇa involves the brain-driven processes, accessible for third-person observation. 53. Manana gives mind-constructed cognitions, which are first-person experiences that can be shared with others, and therefore permits second-person mediation and consensual agreement. 54. Nididhyāsana is an entirely experiential, transcognitive state. It gives intuitive insights, which are exclusively subjective. They can be neither introspectively observed, nor shared with others through second-person mediation. It involves more than knowing. It affects being itself. 55. While the experience of nididhyāsana is transcognitive and not knowable in the usual way, its effects on the person are indeed observable and provide indirect evidence of the experience involved. 56. Nididhyāsana is the first-order knowing; its truth is self-certifying; and its validity may be seen by its effects on the person. Those engaged in nididhyāsana tend to move progressively closer to perfection in thought, passion, and action. 57. Manana is knowledge of the second-order. Its truth is rationally apprehended and logically verified. 58. Śravaṇa is knowledge of the third-order. It can be objectively recorded, measured, and verified by observation. 59. Psychological knowledge at the level of śravaṇa is obtained through learning by observation, experiment, and physical measurement. 60. At the level of manana, introspective observation and second-person techniques are employed as psychological methods. 61. At the level of nididhyāsana, which is qualitatively different from manana and śravaṇa, knowing is being. Therefore, by observing the effects, the transformational consequences on the person presumed to be in that state, nonordinary states of transcendence can be studied. This is the indirect method of observation, as distinguished from the other two, which permit direct observation.

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62. The states of nididhyāsana (meditative realization) are nonordinary and are often considered to be transcendental experiences. 63. They can be cultivated by disciplined practices, even though they may occasionally manifest spontaneously. 64. Prerequisites for researching states of nididhyāsana include special training to observe what are ordinarily nonrepeatable states. 65. Thus, in the Indian tradition, psychology employs three distinctive methods that are appropriate for studying human functioning at three different levels. 66. Since Indian psychology pays greater attention to higher order phenomena, it champions the “top-down” approach in preference to “bottom-up” approach. 67. It subscribes to the view that extraordinary phenomena may not be understood in terms of the ordinary. II. Psychological Processes Consciousness and the Mind–Body Complex 68. Centrality of consciousness is the defining characteristic of Indian psychology. 69. Consciousness is a primary and irreducible principle in the universe. 70. Consciousness is qualitatively different from the mind. 71. Mind in turn is different from the brain and other bodily processes. 72. The mind’s nexus with consciousness on the one hand and body on the other opens up possibilities of nonphenomenal awareness as well as different sorts of cognitive awareness. 73. Accessing consciousness-as-such by the mind gives rise to nonphenomenal awareness and transcendental realization. 74. Embodied and embellished by sensory meditation, consciousness reflected in the mind of the person is transactional. 75. Consciousness-as-such is independent of the ego and the mind, and for that reason it may be considered transpersonal and transcendental. 76. Transactional consciousness is ego-dependent and mind-mediated and is therefore considered personal. 77. Consciousness illuminates the mind, whereas with its imperfections the mind clouds consciousness. 78. Consciousness is intrinsic to human condition. It is what makes a person a person. 79. Being the center of one’s being, it is often seen as the true self of the person. 80. Consciousness-as-such is eternal and unchanging. It is not a by-product or quality of experience. 81. Transactional consciousness is, however, a flowing channel of experience that reflects in it varied objects and events that are ephemeral and evanescent. 82. Consciousness-as-such is ineffable. However, it approximates to a description as sat-cit-ānanda—being, knowing and bliss rolled into one unified reality. 83. Consciousness as sat is the base of existence; it is being in and of itself.

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84. Consciousness as cit is the epistemological ground of all knowledge; it is involved in all phases of knowledge. 85. Consciousness as ānanda is the psychological condition of perfection in feeling, the goal of all affect and striving in the embodied condition. 86. Consciousness-as-such is without sensory content. 87. Consciousness-as-such is nonrelational. 88. Consciousness-as-such is not cognizable because it is not an object of the mind. 89. Consciousness in abstract is undifferentiated subjectivity. 90. Consciousness by its reflections on the mind bestows subjectivity to experience. 91. Multilayered covering by sheaths (kośas) of the mind–body complex isolates and clouds consciousness. 92. Two of these sheaths, annamaya-kośa and prāṇamaya-kośa, are related to the body of the person. 93. Two others, manomaya-kośa and vijñānamaya-kośa are sustained by the mind. 94. The inner most sheath, ānandamaya-kośa, is the halo or penumbra surrounding the center of consciousness in the person. As the name implies, it signifies and reflects a blissful state of being. 95. This emphasis on the importance of ānanda signifies the essentially positive side of Indian psychology. 96. Consciousness, insulated and clouded by the sheaths involving the mind and body, remains a witness (sākṣin) rather than become a participant in life’s journey. 97. With the emergence of the ego and identification of the mind with consciousness, there arises in the person the misconstrual and mistaking the manifestations in the mind as that of consciousness. 98. The consequences are (a) a continuing deformity and defect that blinds the person to the true nature of the self/consciousness within and (b) the primeval misconstrual of the mind’s ego as the self/consciousness. 99. Consciousness manifests differently in awake (jagṛt), dream (svapna), and deep sleep (suṣupti) states of the mind. 100. There is the fourth state (turīya) in which consciousness is experienced without the usual cognitive veiling, projection, and construction we find in the waking and sleep states. 101. Turīya is a transcognitive state, and for this reason it is regarded as transcendental experience as distinguished from transactional awareness in the other three states. 102. The waking state in which the person has the empirical knowledge of the world is the one where consciousness in the person is barricaded behind the five sheaths. 103. Consequently, consciousness in the person is seen in this state as arising in large part from the objects.

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104. The knowledge arising in this state is considered “objective” because it is object-driven and provoked. 105. The dream state is one in which there is general acquiescence of the two bodily sheaths. The dream awareness in the person is imaginatively constructed by the mind with available resources in the absence of regular sensory inputs. Therefore, the awareness arising in this state is “subjective” in that it does not ordinarily correspond with the events outside the person. 106. Dreams may be (a) embellished memory images, (b) wish-fulfilling episodes, (c) paranormal experiences, and (d) nonveridical imagination. 107. They may also be provoked in the person by (e) the physiological conditions, or (f) external stimulation at the time. 108. The deep sleep state is one where the bodily as well as the mental sheaths are inactive, but the sense of the self-sameness of the ego as distinct from the self continues. Consciousness in this state is not determined by the objects nor constructed by the mind. Yet, it is an object of the mind inasmuch as there is awareness of the absence of sensations and images in that state. 109. The fourth state is one in which all the sheaths as well as the primeval misconstrual (avidyā) of the mind are overcome such that the person partakes in pure consciousness. This is a qualitatively different state, opening up windows to a different source of awareness. 110. Consciousness-as-such is ubiquitous; but in its association with a mind it appears as limited, localized, and personalized. 111. The major player in the act of the misconstrual (avidyā) is the mind–body complex. 112. The mind–body complex is the “organ” of experience. It is the instrument of thought, action, and feeling. 113. The mind and the physical body though qualitatively different are materials in composition. 114. There are two kinds of materiality—gross and subtle, physical and nonphysical. 115. The mind is the subtle body (liṅga śarīra) whereas the physical body, which includes the senses, is the gross body (sthūla śarīra). 116. All material objects, including the mind and body of the person, evolve out of prakṛti. 117. Prakṛti is the substratum or ground of all material manifestation. 118. It consists of three elements—sattva, rajas, and tamas—that mix in different proportions to give rise to the evolution of a variety of distinctive material forms. 119. Sattva is the nonphysical and intelligent component of matter. It is the information content inherent in a given object. For this reason, it is considered the essence of any physical thing. It defines a thing as this or that. 120. Rajas is the activity component. It is the energy contained in physical bodies. It is what brings change, movement, and transformation.

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121. Tamas is the physical component of matter. It is the mass at the base of all matter. 122. Subtle matter is preponderantly composed of sattva and rajas, whereas gross matter is primarily tamas and rajas. 123. Inasmuch as the person is embodied, the characteristics she manifests (such as personality) depend to a degree on the proportion of these elements in one’s psychological makeup. 124. Consequently, a personality topology is possible for differentiating people on the basis of the strength of these three elements in the person. 125. The mind does not perish with the body. 126. The mind has the attributes of thinking, willing, and feeling, which it manifests in association with consciousness. 127. The attributes of thought, action, and feeling have associated truth and value dimensions. Therefore, psychology may not be dissociated from the relevant epistemological and axiological underpinnings. 128. The mind holding the reins, the person becomes the knower (jñātā), the doer (kartā), and the one who enjoys or suffers (bhoktā). 129. The mind does not generate consciousness. 130. Mind reflects consciousness. 131. At the phenomenological level, the mind is a flowing stream of thoughts encompassing both the conscious and unconscious factors and influences. 132. Conscious mind is that part of the mind which reflects consciousness. 133. Unconscious mind is the part where the reflections of consciousness are too clouded and buried to shine at the surface of the mind. 134. Thoughts, feelings, and actions emanate from the sensory inputs, internally generated imagery, memory, conscious and unconscious impressions, and dispositions. 135. With the mind active, the role of consciousness is limited to illuminating the processed contents of the mind. 136. However, consciousness is also a witness, a passive spectator of the doings, feelings, and thoughts engendered by the mind in association with the body inasmuch as the reflections in the mind reflect back in consciousness. 137. The person in search of identity misconstrues the mind as the true self/consciousness and hypostatizes the ego function as the enduring self. 138. The mind may be functionally distinguished into three constituents—buddhi, ahaṃkāra, and manas. 139. Manas is the central processor. It is the internal sense organ of the mind. 140. Attention is its defining characteristic; filtering, analysis, and assimilation of inputs are its functions. 141. Ahaṃkāra is the ego sense. It is the “me” in each person. 142. Identity is its defining characteristic. 143. The ego appropriates the processed inputs from the manas. 144. In this process of appropriation arise the distinctions between the self and the other, knower, and the known.

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145. Ego breaks the inherent unity between knowing and being. 146. Buddhi is the most important aspect of the mind because of its closest affinity with consciousness. In its highest purity, buddhi is almost like consciousness; at this level, it is difficult to distinguish between the two. 147. Its defining characteristic in the active embodied state is discrimination. 148. In association with the ego, it functions like an executive. 149. It is the seat of memory as well as the depository of karma and past actions in the form of saṃskāras and vāsanās. 150. Senses are the external organs of the mind; they are the doors that enable the mind to make contact with the world outside. 151. The mind is the interfacing instrumentality that is connected at one end with the bodily processes at the level of the manas. At the other end, it is able to receive the reflections of consciousness in the buddhi. 152. Inasmuch as the mind receives the reflections of consciousness, which illumine its contents, the mind with its ego misconstrues itself as the self and center of consciousness. 153. The mind may be seen as an “inner theatre” as well as an “inner observer.” It is inner theatre in the sense that it is the stage on which the brain processed sensory characters make their appearance. This is made possible by the mind’s connection with the body. It is the inner observer in that the mind tends to appropriate as its own what is displayed on the stage because of its association with consciousness. 154. This misconstrual and false identification gives the reins of the person to the ego-driven mind. 155. The mind thus becomes the instrument of individuation. 156. With individuation come (a) subject-object distinction, (b) relativity of truth and values, (c) reason and argument, and (d) cognitive construction of the self and the world. 157. Cognitive knowledge is a construction of the mind with the materials supplied by sensations, evoked by contact with objects outside or by images stored in memory. 158. The active mind not only filters the inputs received, it also embellishes them by mixing them with memories and modifying them in numerous other ways. 159. Cognition involves the psychological processes of attention, perception, memory, conditioning, and reasoning. 160. Knowledge thus constructed has ego involvement and reference. The self-referral is thus central to all primary awareness. 161. Perception is a process by which the manifest objects find their representations in the mind. 162. The act of perception consists in sense-object contact. There are, however, two distinct and contrasting views as to how the sense-object contact takes place. 163. According to Advaita and Sāṃkhya-Yoga thinkers, the mind flows out to the object through the sense-channels and takes the form of the object, which is

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processed by the manas, appropriated by the ahaṃkāra and revealed in the buddhi. According to Nyāya-Vaiśeṣika, the objects impinge on the senses and the contact results in perceptual experience. Perception may be determinate or indeterminate, depending on the state and quality of representations. Determinate perception is constructed out of sensory content. Indeterminate perception is apprehension of raw sensation. Perceptions can be sensory or extrasensory as in yogic perception. Perceptions may be illusory, doubtful, or true representations. Sensation is a modification of the mind brought about by the latter’s contact with the sensory object through the mediation of the senses. At the level of the person, cognition and emotion are different. Cognition generates feeling. Feeling is the cause of conation and desire. Desire is the spring of action. Desires are born of attachment. They are fueled by aversion and hatred (dveṣa) and perpetuated by false knowledge and delusion (mōha). Motives are inherent in the person; they drive the person to avoid pain and experience happiness. They engender desires and induce individuals to act. They guide the person to choose and chase goals. They are also means of self-regulation. Emotions may be negative or positive. Negative emotions emanate from cognitive confusion and perversions. Positive emotions are prompted by right knowledge, wholesome conduct, and good faith. Learning has three levels—(1) observational learning, (2) rational learning, and (3) meditative realization. Observational learning includes perceptual learning as well as learning from acknowledged sources of authority (āpta vākya). Rational learning is moving from known to unknown by ratiocination, avoiding error, and exploring logical possibilities by analysis and inference. Meditative learning is realization that closes the gap between knowing and being generated by the ego; in meditative learning, the person accesses consciousness-as-such.

III. The Existential Context and the Human Quest 188. Inasmuch as the person is a composite of body, mind, and consciousness, the life-drama of the person is played by three actors in two distinctive scenes. 189. The actors are the body, the mind, and consciousness. 190. The scenes are (a) the personal world of saṃsāra, the transactional reality, and (b) the transpersonal realm of the transcendent.

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191. In the personal world, the main characters are the body and the mind. 192. In the transpersonal domain, they are the mind and consciousness. 193. Therefore, the implications and applications of psychology relate to the principal actors and the main scenes because their relative roles vary from scene to scene. 194. Irreconcilable controversies arise when there are conflated. 195. In the psychological context, the center of study is the person (jīva). 196. In the person, consciousness manifests as knowledge, volition, and feeling. 197. Consequently, the person is seen as knower (jñātā), doer (kartā), and experiencer of feelings (bhoktā). 198. As knower, the person does not in her perceptual activities become aware of things as they actually are. Rather her mind is actively involved in constructing the perceptual reality by processes of filtering (āvaraṇa) and projection (vikṣepa). 199. The person is not a passive spectator or agent but one who chooses, initiates and carries out actions, and reaps the consequences. 200. The experiencing person is in the shadow of suffering cast by ignorance and misconstrual inasmuch as experience has ego reference and true knowledge eludes because of the built in conscious and unconscious biases and misconstruals. 201. The experiencing “self” is not the puruṣa, soul, or the principle of consciousness. Rather it is a psychological construction to signify the person’s identity. 202. Identity is the experience of self-sameness in the midst of continually changing physical and mental states. 203. Self is that constructs around which one organizes the manifold manifestations of life. It provides for perceiving unity, coherence, and continuity in the person. 204. The empirical mind with the involvement of the ego gets entangled. 205. Entangled, the mind becomes distracted and unsteady. 206. Disentangling the mind may be accomplished by systematic deconstruction of the ego. 207. One way of doing this is by yoga practice of meditative attention and developing dispassionateness. 208. The ego aspect of the mind is at the base of the notion of the empirical self. 209. The defining characteristic of the ego is individuation and identity; its essential quality is attachment and binding. 210. In so far as attachment generates desires and desires cause action, volition and affect get intertwined with thoughts. 211. Thought and action are involved in reciprocal causality. 212. Actions leave traces in the mind in the form of saṃskāras which fuel thoughts. 213. Attachment is the connecting link and the binding force behind the thought-action loop. With the cultivation of detachment, the chain of causation is shaken and thought-action connection is broken.

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214. The person is transformed in the process. From the state of being driven by ego and having self reference, her thoughts transcend the ego reference; they become pure. Pure thoughts with no ego-entanglement leave no effects behind them to impel the person to act later. 215. Similarly the actions of a yogin, who has cultivated detachment and who practises it in his daily conduct, are without the corresponding subliminal traces. They are neither good (white) nor evil (black). In other words, the yogin’s actions are transethical and do not generate karma or leave behind saṃskāras. 216. Action is three-dimensional—(a) physical (kāyika), (b) verbal (vācika), and mental (mānasika). 217. Actions have consequences beyond the intended effects they produce. 218. Actions accumulate karma stored in the form of saṃskāras and vāsanās in the person. 219. Saṃskāras and vāsanās condition the person, and the person’s thoughts and actions become reflexive and automatized to a degree because of them. 220. Karma is the principle of mental causation, the conditioning factor behind the person’s behavior and conduct. 221. Saṃskāras are the carriers of karma. 222. Through saṃskāras, past actions are structured into and influence present actions. 223. Saṃskāras as traces of memory and latent residues of past actions and feelings form into clusters and become enduring complexes and act as subliminal stimulators. Such personal dispositions of people are called vāsanās. 224. Karma has ethical dimensions. 225. Moral actions lead to good (white) karma and as a consequence to good life, and immoral actions cause bad (black) karma and unhappiness. 226. The person perceives on the one hand change and impermanence in her and around her and craves on the other hand for permanence, stability, and continuity. This is the existential dilemma. 227. The existential dilemma leads the person to identify the ego sense with the unchanging self-sameness of consciousness. 228. Inasmuch as the ego itself is subject to change and instability perpetuated by karma, there arises the existential anxiety and despair. 229. The existential despair is the root cause of attachment. It causes the search for identity and self-sameness. 230. Attachment with its attendant insatiable desires is the cause of jealousy, ill will, and hatred directed at others, and it also produces anxiety, insecurity, stress, distress, and disease, all leading to suffering in the person. 231. Search for self-sameness leads to the misidentification of the changing ego as the unchanging self. 232. Suffering is thus the natural consequence of clouding of consciousness in the person by the mind–body complex and the ego substitution as the center of being.

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233. The existential predicament is the suffering caused by the congenital condition of ignorance of the true self and the substitution of the ego for the self/consciousness. 234. The goal of human endeavor is to remedy the congenital condition of ignorance and the attendant suffering, and in the process raise the person to higher levels of awareness and achievement. 235. Psychology in the Indian tradition attempts not only to understand the nature of the person, the causes, and consequences of her conduct, but also to explore the methods and means of transforming the person in pursuit of perfection in her being, certainty in knowing, and happiness in feeling. 236. Deconstructing the ego and deconditioning the person constitute the key to the transformation of the person. For it is the ego that obscures the true nature of the self, and the state of conditioning is what curtails the freedom of the person. 237. One could take a series of behavioral and attitudinal steps that would help in the process of personal transformation. 238. These include: (a) Develop discriminating insights into what is transient and that which is enduring with the intent of seeking the enduring rather than chasing the impermanent and the illusory, or accept the reality of change as natural and inevitable and cease longing for mythical permanence. (b) Cultivate detachment and practice dispassionateness, (c) Endeavor to be virtuous and ethical in behavior, and (d) Develop a sense of commitment to transcend the ego-compulsions. 239. Controlling the mind, deconstructing the ego, and deconditioning the person lead to cognitive excellence and personal transformation and intuitive knowing. 240. Cognitive understanding of the nature of the self or of the world is insufficient to have experience of pure consciousness, because cognition itself is a consequence of the existential predicament implied in the organization of the mind itself. 241. The ultimate quest, therefore, is self-realization. 242. Self-realization is possible in the fourth state (turīya), in which consciousnessas-such is accessed, the ego transcended, and the self/consciousness in its true state is experienced in its true state. 243. The experience of the true self as distinct from the misconstrued ego has transformational consequences to the person. 244. Self-realized persons are saintly in their behavior. 245. Saintly behavior closes the gap between belief and behavior, cognition and conduct. A true saint is one in whom there is unity and no divide between knowing and being. 246. A quiescent state of mind obtained by practice of meditation is conducive to the deconstruction of the ego. It also facilitates the experience of the fourth state of the mind.

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247. The mind in the raw is restless and ever-meandering with constantly fluctuating states. 248. The fluctuating states (vṛttis) can be brought under control by focused attention (ekāgratā). 249. There are a variety of physical and psychological factors that distract the person from focusing on attention to control the naturally fluctuating states of the mind. 250. The physical factors include sickness and fatigue. 251. Among the psychological hurdles are undesirable attitudes and beliefs as well as attention defects. 252. Harmful attitudes and beliefs include carelessness, apathy and worldly interests, and delusions. 253. Psychological hurdles are related to inability to concentrate and maintain a stable state of concentration. 254. The physical and psychological hurdles for maintaining focused attention can be overcome (a) by physical practices such as regulating breathing (b) cultivating habits of friendliness and compassion, and being indifferent to pleasure and pain by practicing dispassionateness, and (c) engaging in certain cognitive exercises. 255. There are a variety of techniques under the name of yoga to control the fluctuating states of the mind. 256. Meditation is the one recommended most. Others include devotion to truth and altruist action. 257. Meditation is a state of samādhi. It is achieved by practising concentration (dhāraṇā) and contemplation (dhyāna) leading to samādhi. 258. Concentration (dhāraṇā) is focused attention on an object, image, or thought, which enables the person to control the habitual wanderings of the mind. 259. Dhyāna (contemplation) involves uninterrupted attention to the object of concentration for a prolonged period of time. 260. Practice of dhyāna leads to samādhi, a state of containment following complete absorption in the object of contemplation. It is accompanied by loss of self-awareness, where the deconstruction of the ego takes place. 261. Loss of self-awareness is the beginning of ego deconstruction and eventual dissolution. 262. With the deconstruction of the ego begins (a) the breaking down of the deterministic circle enveloping the person and (b) moving the person on the path of liberation and transcendence. 263. Deconstruction of the ego involves freeing of the person’s thoughts, feelings, and actions from attachment. 264. Deconstruction of the ego is possible with insight gained by making wise discrimination between the true self and the ego (jñāna yoga).

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265. It is also possible through celestial devotion (bhakti yoga) where love for the supreme helps to promote altruism and to overcome mundane desires and attachment. 266. The deconstruction of the ego may be achieved by altruist actions free from selfishness (karma yoga). IV. Implications and Applications 267. Indian psychology is holistic, positive, and applied. 268. It is holistic in that it deals with the person in all the dimensions as a unique and unified subject. 269. Being holistic, it does not leave out consideration of “hard” problems of consciousness or extraordinary phenomena as indicated by cognitive anomalies. 270. Indian psychology opens up possibilities for personal transformation and for enlarging human potentials. 271. It provides useful models as workable alternatives to current reductionist exercise to have a wholesome understanding of human nature. 272. The “trilogy of the mind” (cognition, conation, and affect) which are often ignored in the reductive analysis of the mind in much of current psychological discourse find their rightful place in Indian psychology. 273. Indian psychology provides a basis for understanding individuality and personal identity in a holistic way so that individual identities do not conflict with global/universal identity, which is considered the most salient with the other identities subordinated to it. 274. Indian psychology is positive, despite the fact that the human situation is seen as one of persistent imperfection and pervasive suffering. 275. The goal of human striving is bliss and enduring happiness. 276. This goal is eminently achievable by purposeful striving, continuous practice of dispassionateness, love, and compassion. 277. The goal of Indian psychology is to alleviate human suffering and provide an enduring remedy for the existential ailments of the persons tormented by insatiable desires and traumatized by unending anxiety. 278. In a significant sense, Indian psychology is an applied science. 279. Psychology is seen as essentially a subdiscipline to improve human condition by reducing pain and promoting happiness. 280. It investigates human nature with the explicit objective of transforming and not of controlling the person. 281. Indian psychology is a science that does not reject the sacred. 282. This helps to break down the science-religion dichotomy and to promote a dialog between the two. 283. It also brings ethical considerations into the precincts of science. 284. With its concern for the sacred, Indian psychology provides profound insights into psychology of religion.

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285. It helps give direction and purpose to life and helps to promote altruism and common good. 286. The sacred application of meditation is one of achieving self-realization and attaining a state of existential transcendence and the ultimate freedom called mukti, kaivalya, or nirvāṇa. 287. A state of kaivalya is one in which the person becomes completely free from all kinds of karma. Breaking the cycle of birth and death, the person realizes the Brahman/puruṣa-hood within and reaches a state of perfection. 288. In the secular domain, Indian psychology has ramifications for psychological theory as well as application. 289. Indian psychology recognizes that physical processes influence mental functions just as mental factors affect bodily states. 290. For this reason, preliminary preparations of yoga involve physical postures (āsanas) and breathing exercises (prāṇāyāma). 291. However, Indian psychology emphasizes the integral connection of body, mind, and consciousness. 292. Consciousness is not a quality or attribute of a physical system. Therefore, it may not be properly understood by a simple analysis of neurological correlates. 293. However, neurophysiological studies are not irrelevant to psychology because the mind is connected to the brain. 294. Indian psychology has implications for cognitive science. 295. It provides a conceptual framework for a comprehensive science of consciousness. 296. Psychic development technologies such as yoga and meditation constitute an important segment of Indian psychology because it is believed that cognitive excellence and personal transformation can be achieved by yoga practice. 297. Meditation and the variety of yoga practices are seen as important tools helping the person on the path toward freedom from ego-compulsions, liberation from the mental constraints and transcendence of the existential predicament in stages and for unfolding and expanding human potentials. 298. Along the secular path, meditation has a number of beneficial consequences to the practicing person. 299. Meditation helps psychosomatic well-being by reducing anxiety and stress. 300. Practice of meditation helps to unfold hidden human potentialities and acquire extraordinary human abilities. 301. Paranormal phenomena are not supernatural but a natural extension of human potentials. 302. While humans depend largely on the neurosensory system to process information, there is another source of learning beyond the sense-mediated knowing that is facilitated by focused attention and meditation. 303. Similarly, though our actions are generally mediated by the motor system, it is possible for the mind to act directly on other minds and physical systems.

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304. These hidden potentials open up possibilities for a variety of nonconventional beneficial outcomes for health and healing and new modalities of information exchange and interaction between humans and their environment. 305. Empirical studies suggest that practice of meditation increases the person’s life expectancy, promotes mental health, and improves quality of life. 306. There are multiple meditative techniques, but their defining characteristic is gaining volitional control over the mind by manipulating attention. 307. There are various kinds of yoga, but the central goal of yoga is deconstruction/dissolution of the ego. 308. In karma yoga, the deconstruction takes place by service and altruistic, selfless work. 309. In bhakti yoga, celestial love in the form of self-surrender deconstructs the ego. 310. In jñāna yoga, the darkness of the ego disappears with the dawn of wisdom. 311. Freedom from suffering is proportional to one’s control over and ability to transcend the ego. Happiness is thus inversely related to ego involvement. 312. Deconstructed or dismantled ego achieved by meditative practice and detachment is not the same as dysfunctional or deflated ego. 313. Deconditioning the person is not the same as depersonalization. 314. The psychological health of the individual depends not on the “strength” of the ego, but on the freedom from ego-compulsions and deconditioning of the ego-dependent behavior. 315. Indian psychology gives rise to unique personality typology, which has important diagnostic and therapeutic implications. 316. Persons with preponderance of sattvic element tend to be knowledge-driven, intellectually motivated, creative, less easily confused, and more discerning. 317. The rajas-dominant persons tend to be restless and active, emotionally driven, and instinctually acting. 318. The tamasic persons are somewhat lethargic, lazy, indolent and slothful, unable to concentrate, indecisive, and intellectually challenged. 319. The rich phenomenology of consciousness provided by Indian psychology is useful for psychodiagnostic purposes. 320. The centrality of consciousness advocated in Indian psychology is pregnant with possibilities for developing a variety of helpful psychotherapeutic practices. 321. The epistemological dualism implied in Indian psychology has profound pedagogical implications. It provides for not only transactional learning but also for transcendental experience. 322. Mind is the source of transactional reality; it is the instrument of objectification. Mind training by focused attention leads to cognitive excellence. 323. Mind is also the resource to elevate the person to the transcendental realm and thus enable one to reach sublime states of subjectivity and self-realization. 324. The recognition of nididhyāsana as the culmination of the learning process would have much to offer for filling the value vacuum in education.

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325. Indian psychology has important implications for understanding organizational behavior and for optimizing cooperation and augmenting collective achievement. 326. It goes beyond the conventional categories such as collectivism and individualism. 327. The concept of karma yoga, action without attachment, is seminal and uniquely relevant in the world sick and tired of competition and exploitation to help usher in a new organizational culture that aims at altruism and common good rather than personal or corporate success in monetary terms. 328. Mahatma Gandhi’s sociopolitical experiments in twentieth century show the relevance of Indian psychology to applied social psychology. 329. The lives of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and Ramana Maharishi among others exemplify the powerful impact of Indian psychological thought on personal transformation. 330. Indian psychology places a premium on moral development. Morality is not considered arbitrary or external to human science. Rather, morals are intrinsic to human conduct. Indian psychology does not divorce values from facts. 331. There are no absolute divides between saṃsara and spirituality, between the mundane and the moral, and between transactional awareness and transcendental experience. In the human condition, they constitute a continuum. 332. The human journey is from the ordinary to the exceptional, from transactional excellence and rational thinking to transcendental realization, from the mundane to the moral, and from saṃsara to spiritual being. 333. The transformation comes from sustained practice (abhyāsa) and continued cultivation of dispassionateness (vairāgya) and altruism resulting in constant control and total deconstruction of the ego. The result is realization of truth (satyam) in its purity and experiencing the serene excitement of joy (sivam) and the beauty (sundaram) of being.

Some Concerns Is Indian Psychology Inclusive? The above principles are obviously derived from the Hindu philosophical systems, notably from Yoga and Advaita Vedānta. However, we contend that they are consistent and compatible with the main stream of classical Indian thought that includes nonorthodox systems like Buddhism? While it may not be possible presently to discuss the variety of different views championed by different systems in this context and explain away their differences I will briefly refer to the more striking ones. My general argument is that there is an underlying rationale common to the main Indian systems despite differences on detail as far as the basic paradigm is concerned. In fact, what constitutes reality and what “existence” means vary between systems. These variations are at the root of the controversies.

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We have stated that psychology is the study of the person, but the person is a nonentity in much of Buddhist thought. How can we reconcile this with our claim that the above outlines of psychology are generally applicable to all the main Indian systems? As we have discussed elsewhere, there is a wide variety of views among Indian Buddhist thinkers on the concept of person. At one end, we have the Pudgalavādins who concede that there is something that is ultimately real and existing that refers to the concept “person.” At the other end, there are Mādhyamika thinkers like Nāgārjuna who deny any reality to the notion of the person. In between, there are those like Vasubandhu who accord conceptual reality to the person while denying substantive reality to it. These differences are mostly conceptual, verbal disputations. At the psychological level, however, there is no denial of the person, even though what constitutes the person is debated. What is interesting is the fact that the ego takes center stage in the transformation of the person in all the systems. Whether it is Advaita, Yoga, or Buddhism, it is the ego, the cravings and desires, the anxieties, and despairs that it generates, which need to be dealt with in order to understand human misery and the goal of escaping from it. It is the ego that needs to be tamed, deconstructed, and transcended for consummate happiness of the person. Buddhist notion of self is more like the ego (ahaṃkāra) in other systems. It is an aspect of the mind and not consciousness-as-such, which in Vedānta (Ātman) and Sāṃkhya-Yoga (puruṣa) is the true self. Vasubandhu, for example, in his Trimsatika (Treatise in Thirty Stanzas) raises basic questions about consciousness. What is it made of? What are its contents? What is it that we are conscious of? Answers to these questions are provided by acknowledging the centrality of consciousness. The very first stanza reads Various indeed are the usages Of the terms atman and dharma; They [all] refer To the transformation of consciousness

Kochumuttom (1982/1999) rightly interprets ātman and dharma as referring to subjectivity and objectivity in experience. Vasubandhu goes on to distinguish between ālaya-vijñāna, manovijññāna, and pravṛtti-vijñāna as further transformations of consciousness. Ālaya-vijñāna is the subliminal ground of mentation. Manovijññāna, also referred to in some other writings as kliṣṭa manas, is the central processor that organizes awareness around the notion of the self. Pravṛtti-vijñāna is the manifest awareness we are familiar with, which is grounded in ālaya and organized by the manas. We find a similar distinction more elaborately worked out as a detailed map of the mind by Asaṅga in his Mahāyāna Saṃgraha. Buddhism thus provides not only a profound and pervasive phenomenology of consciousness but also a complete map of the mind that is not inconsistent with the psychology of Yoga and Advaita as we attempted to interpret.

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Buddhist thinkers like their Hindu counterparts were concerned with understanding consciousness for the purpose of overcoming the existential suffering. They all attribute suffering to our pervasive attachment to the ego and that progressive understanding and right knowledge help to deconstruct the ego and ultimately realize its dissolution. This to me appears to be the essence of Buddhist anātmavāda as well as Vedāntic assertion tat tvam asi. Consciousness discussed at length in early Buddhism is empirical or what we have called transactional consciousness, which involves the mind. In fact, Buddhist thinkers do not make an explicit distinction between consciousness and mind at the level of kāmaloka. There is little room for consciousness-as-such when one is concerned with transactional states. Here, the mind rules. However, at the levels of rūpa and arūpa lokas, the situation is different, and we find the distinction between consciousness and mind making its way. The mind in these lokas, levels of existence, is restrained in a state of meditation (jhāna). With the mind restrained, one sees the emergence consciousness in its true form. By the time, one enters the lokuttara plane, the mind is not merely restrained, it is annihilated in a state of nirvāṇa, with consciousness manifesting in its sublime splendor. Nirvāṇa is indeed a state of transcendence from transactional to the realm of consciousness-as-such. Transcendence typically involves the transformation of the person. Transformation affects one’s cognitive style, emotional state, and personality. In the cognitive sphere, the discursive and the differentiating processes give way to nonrepresentational and intuitive comprehension. As Johansson (1969) puts it: “Cognition after the attainment of nibbāna is more similar to a comprehensive Gestalt or intuition” (p. 23). Knowledge attained in this state is devoid of all distortions brought about by the existential situation of personal involvement. Because the state of nibbāna is devoid of all obsessions such as desire, hate, and illusion, the knowledge attained is perfect and undistorted. Subjectively, it is an experience of unity, completeness, and timelessness. In the state of nibbāna, it is said, there is freedom from all suffering and attachment. From an emotional point of view, nibbāna is happiness, peace, calm contentment, and compassion. The most important aspect of nibbāna is the transformation brought about in the personality resulting in an unemotional, stable, and unobsessed mind devoid of egocompulsions. The one who has realized nibbāna is the arahant, the perfect, or the ideal man. Arahantship is the culmination of all psychic development. As Samyutta Nikaya puts it: “The destruction of desire, hate and illusion – that is called arahantship.” Achieving the higher state of awareness, a state of unobsessed mind free from the compulsions of ego and the delusion of permanence, is often described as “crossing the river.” As mentioned earlier, the one who “crosses the river” realizes the four noble truths. She knows about suffering, how it arises, its extinction and the way to achieve it. Samyutta-Nikaya (V, 199–200) mentions five steps in the path of the monk from saṃsāra to sainthood (arahantship). They are (1) faith in Buddha’s teachings, (2) vigor or motivation to strive to get rid of undesirable states of mind and to acquire, maintain, preserve, and enhance wholesome mental states, (3) practice of mindfulness, (4) cultivation of concentration and one pointed

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attention, and (5) attainment of wisdom, which is enlightenment itself. Indeed, these are remarkable in their similarity with the prescriptions contained in Yoga-Sūtras! Again, one may question whether the definition of Indian psychology as the study of the person does justice to the fact that Indian psychology has much to offer for discussing transpersonal issues. It is true that Indian psychology deals with transpersonal matters and that some of them, ignored in Western psychology, find their legitimate place in Indian psychology. However, this is not something that invalidates our notion of Indian psychology as a study of the person. In fact, one of the salient aspects of Indian psychology is that we find in it a magical synthesis of such dichotomies as personal and transpersonal, natural and supernatural, and science and spirituality. These conceptual distinctions are somewhat arbitrary, and their value is limited to the context of analysis. In the sense implied in Indian psychology, personal includes transpersonal inasmuch as consciousness-as-such, which is intrinsically transpersonal, is a pivotal aspect of the person. It is for this reason the person engaged in transactional world is also capable of experiencing the transcendental, and humans, who are generally dependent on sensory processing of information, are also capable of extrasensory abilities. In Indian thought, there is no transcendence of experience but transcendence in experience. Mokṣa is also experiential.

Is Detachment Psychologically Healthy? We have noted that cultivating detachment, deconstruction of the ego, and deconditioning of the person are somewhat central for psychological growth and transformation of the person in Indian psychology. Sometimes, these phenomena are confused by those unfamiliar with the nuances of Indian psychological theory and practices with depersonalization and derealization that are among the labeled dissociative disorders. For example, Castillo (1990, 1991), who interestingly has translated the first part of Yoga-Sūtras and claims to have carried out some fieldwork in India, argues that meditation can lead to depersonalization. He suggests that meditative practice leads to a split of consciousness as in the case of depersonalization. He identifies the split entities of consciousness as (a) personal consciousness (citta) and (b) transpersonal consciousness (puruṣa) . “According to the yogic system of cognitive categories,” writes Castillo (1991), “these two parts of consciousness are two separate entities which exist simultaneously but are normally fused in everyday awareness such that they are subjectively experienced as a single entity. The goal of yoga meditation is two separate these two entities in the subjective awareness of the individual. By accomplishing this, the yogi thus becomes a dual personality or a person with divided consciousness” (p. 3). Castillo does not go to the extent of saying that the depersonalization of the yogi is a sign of illness because the yogi does not experience anxiety or illness and because the experience is a culturally desirable one. He argues, however, that “in both the Hindu yogis and the Western patients, that the ideational construction of

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the experiences, occurring in terms consistent with their own culture-based cognitive systems, shapes the experiences to the extent that in one cultural context a split in consciousness is subjectively experienced as a sacred event, while in the other it is subjectively experienced as an episode of mental illness” (p. 5). This interpretation is ingenious but hardly any close to what is intended or actually accomplished by yoga practice. What Castillo and others like him miss is the crucial differences between depersonalization as a symptom of mental illness and deliberate deconstruction of the ego by the yogin. In the former, what we have is a dysfunctional ego, whereas among the accomplished yogins it is a dismantled ego. In other words, the latter involves building new cognitive structures in place of the dismantled ones. This difference is crucial, and a failure to appreciate it results in avoidable misunderstanding and wrong interpretation of Indian psychology. In the case of neurotic depersonalization, the experience of feeling detached is an aberration of dysfunctional ego, whereas the detachment cultivated by a yogin is a deliberately chosen value to govern one’s conduct and action. The result is not an experience of anxiety or depression or dysfunctional behavior, but a sense of enjoyment, adjustment, and fulfillment. This is healthy and positive and not neurotic or dysfunctional. Furthermore, the yogin by cultivating such an attitude and practicing focused attention builds new transcognitive structures and realizes new potentials. It is also important to keep in mind that detachment is not an effect of focused attention. It is independent of practice. For this reason, Patañjali prescribes practice (abhyāsa) of focused attention and detachment (vairāgya) as necessary aspects of yoga (I.12); and Vyāsa comments that both are necessary.

Is Indian Psychology Pessimistic? There is a popular misconception in the West that Indian thought is pessimistic, fatalistic, renunciatory, and entirely other worldly. Consequently, Indian psychology may also be seen in the same light. This would be a mistake for the simple reason that the goal of Indian psychology is human wellness in its most profound sense. Long back Sri Aurobindo has vehemently repudiated this wrong and unwarranted characterization of Indian culture as a whole in his Foundation of Indian Culture. Indian psychology is developed with the intention to help lead us from ignorance and suffering to truth and happiness. As mentioned, Buddhism, Sāṃkhya-Yoga, Advaita Vedānta, and several other Indian thought systems postulate that the existential human predicament is ignorance, which is the root cause of manifest suffering. Shackled by ignorance and condemned to suffer as a consequence, human quest is to know the truth that sets one free. Caught in the cocoon of our own creation, we humans are conditioned, contained, fettered and restrained. Fortunately, as we noted, we have the resource in the agency of the mind to meet the existential challenges of being bonded. We are told by the Buddha and other Indian sages of wisdom that the congenital ignorance can be overcome, the vicious

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cycle of saṃsāra broken, and one can be free from ignorance and enjoy bliss and happiness. Humans are not born-free; but they can grow to be free by deconstructing and dismantling the ego for personal growth and transformation. No less important are psychophysical exercises as recommended by Patañjali and others to clean the body and mind of all afflictions that curtail our inherent freedom, cloud our consciousness, and undermine our potential for perfection. The general motivation of humans is to avoid pain and seek pleasure. The Western perspective is from the side of pleasure; therefore, the emphasis is on the pleasure principle. The Indian perspective is from the side of pain, and it is directed at understanding pain and how we may reduce it. When pain is gone, pleasure remains because consciousness-as-such is conceived as bliss per se. Avoiding pain is as positive as the search for pleasure. Indian thought is sometimes disparagingly characterized as practice-oriented and not theoretically developed. For example, Husserl (1965) faulted Indian and Chinese traditions for setting practical goals unlike his own intellectual tradition that reveled in speculative theorization. Indian psychology is more concerned in understanding the existential predicament of suffering and investigating the ways of escape from it rather than romanticize on the pleasure seeking measures. It is content with speculating and theorizing about human nature. It has a practical side of removing human suffering. Thus, psychology in the Indian tradition is more applied than being merely theoretical. Indian psychology does not begin with theory and then derive practices from it. Rather the emphasis is on practice and application, and theory takes a back seat. Theory is formulated out of practical experience as e.g., in Caraka Saṃhitā or Arthaśāstra. The starting point is the human predicament of suffering as experienced. The goal is achieving a state where there is no suffering. Psychology in the Indian tradition is the study of human situation, the impediments, and afflictions that constrain the person and cause suffering in her, and to develop a life style and necessary practices to promote it so as to help alleviate suffering and achieve a state of bliss. Humans achieve such a state when they lead an unconditioned life enjoying the inherent freedom of the spirit and excellence of being. In that, state knowing and being blend harmoniously with no gap between cognition and conduct.

References Asthana, H. S. (1988). Personality. In J. Pandey (Ed.), Psychology in India: The state-of-the-art (Vol. 1, pp. 153–196). New Delhi: Sage publications. Castillo, R. J. (1990). Depersonalization and meditation. Psychiatry, 53, 158–168. Castillo, R. J. (1991). Divided consciousness and enlightenment in Hindu yogis. The Anthropology of Consciousness (Society for the Anthropology of Consciousness), 2(3–4), 1–6. Husserl, E. (1965). Phenomenology and the crisis of philosophy. In S. Lauer (Trans. & Ed.). New York: Harper. Johansson, R. E. A. (1969). The psychology of nirvana. London: Allen & Unwin.

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Kochumuttom, T. A. (1982/1999). A Buddhist doctrine of experience (A new translation and interpretation of the works of Vasubandhu). Delhi: Sundeep Prakashan. Pandey, J. (1988). Psychology in India: The state of the art (Vols. 1–3). New Delhi, India: Sage. Rao, K. R. (2002). Consciousness studies cross-cultural perspectives. Jefferson, NC: McFarland. Sinha, D., & Kao, S. R. (Eds.). (1997). Asian perspectives of psychology. New York: Sage Publications.

Chapter 8

The TRIŚŪLA (Trident) Model of the Person

The mind–body problem is central to our understanding of who we are, where our destiny lies, and what our rightful place in the universe is. The problem has been a war of words between philosophers of different traditions. Idealist monism, materialist reductionism, and radical dualism have all in their different forms and versions contributed to the controversy and the conflict continues, even if, at the present time, materialist monism appears to have the upper hand. However, there are three distinct disciplines that seem to provide enough reasons to raise prima facie meaningful questions about the validity of the reductionist thesis that is widely subscribed to by academic scholars and scientists. These are (1) Psi research, (2) consciousness studies, and (3) Yoga.

The Challenges of Psi Scientific investigation of psychic phenomena (parapsychology) is more than a century old. It began with great promise and excitement, but remained in a large measure a part-time pastime for a few scientists and largely a popular preoccupation of science fiction writers. It has not emerged as a viable academic discipline. Despite hoary history, it is not widely accepted and systematically studied, even though it was pursued with some vigor and visibility at some of the outstanding universities such as Stanford, Harvard, Duke, and Princeton in the USA, Utrecht in the Netherlands, and Edinburgh in UK. This is somewhat surprising in light of the fact that majority of people around the world not only believe in the reality of psychic phenomena but report that they have had in their lives some form of paranormal experience. Parapsychological Association, an international body of elected professionals, boasts of about 300 members worldwide. All the research carried out so far does no more than point to an anomaly that the scientific community by and large has conveniently ignored. However, it does not follow that the century of research effort has been in vain and that parapsychological © The Author(s) 2017 K.R. Rao, Foundations of Yoga Psychology, DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-5409-9_8

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research has made no progress. It is true that some of us feel that the current direction of the field is heading toward a dead end, but it is neither an indictment of past research nor an accusation of its total futility. I am convinced that psi research has accumulated a massive data base that collectively and convincingly points to the existence of a bunch of cognitive anomalies, which unfortunately make little sense within the prevailing worldview of science. In a way, parapsychology achieved what it had set out to do, which is the rejection of the null hypothesis that the human information acquisition ability is limited to certain ways as presumed by the current worldview. The very nature of the phenomena appears to be such that they are unconstrained by space and time as well as by the complexity of the task. There is also some empirical evidence in support of this and suggestive evidence that psi, whatever it may be, is somehow facilitated by sensory-noise reduction and that it is goal-oriented. On the whole, the available data, notwithstanding their inconclusive and provisional character, may be seen to have profound implications to our understanding of who we are. Further they raise significant challenges for science in general. Much of the controversy behind cognitive anomalies is generated by the admittedly anomalous nature of the phenomena indicated by psi results. Methodologically, as measured by the criteria of normal science accepted by disciplines like psychology, ESP research is highly sophisticated. The best in parapsychology can be compared favorably to the best in any cutting-edge behavioral research. However, it is a different matter whether the methods themselves are appropriate for understanding the nature of psi in any meaningful way. The resistance to psi research stems from the a priori assumption of the impossibility of psi. This is amply illustrated by an age-old dialogue quoted by Brian Inglis between Cicero who was a passionate disbeliever in the paranormal and his brother Quintus who admitted its possibility. Quintus argued that the belief in such things as precognition is almost universal, to which Cicero replied that people had always been known to be gullible. Many of the claims made on behalf of the oracles such as the Delphic oracle, Cicero pointed out, were hardly convincing because their prophesies were so obscure or ambiguous that, whatever the outcome, they could be claimed to be true. When confronted with stories of divination which sounded prima facie impressive, Cicero raised an objection which is none too uncommon in contemporary rejection of psi. “In trying to prove the truth of the auguries,” Cicero countered Quintus, “you are overturning the whole system of physics” (quoted by Inglis 1977, p. 61). Hume (1825) is often credited with convincingly refuting the conjectures about miracles. His refutation of the possibility of the paranormal is in his essay entitled “Of Miracles.” This essay, which is in two parts, is a polemical exercise designed on the one hand to suggest a rational procedure to deal with alleged evidence in support of miracles and to argue, on the other, that, despite claims to the contrary, there never was a miraculous event in all of man’s history. Hume flattered himself that he had discovered an argument which would be “an everlasting check to all kinds of superstitious delusion, and consequently will be useful as long as the world endures” (p. 110).

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“A miracle,” argued Hume, “is a violation of the laws of nature, and as a firm and unalterable experience has established these laws, the proof against a miracle, from the very nature of the fact, is as entire as any argument from experience can possibly be imagined” (p. 114). Every miraculous event to merit that name presupposes a “uniform experience” against it. Since “uniform experience amounts to a proof, there is here a direct and full proof … against the existence of any miracle” (p. 115). Consequently, “no testimony is sufficient to establish a miracle, unless the testimony be of such a kind, that its falsehood would be more miraculous than the fact which it endeavors to establish” (p. 115). Hume gives four reasons for rejecting the idea that there was ever full evidence in all history for even a single miraculous event. First, there was no miracle “attested by a sufficient number of men, of such unquestioned good sense, education, and learning, as to secure us against all delusion in themselves” (p. 116). Second, the “passion of surprise and wonder, arising from miracles, being an agreeable emotion, gives a sensible tendency toward the belief of those events from which it is derived” (p. 117). Third, the miraculous events “are observed chiefly to abound among ignorant and barbarous nations; or if a civilized people has ever given admission to any of them, that people will be found to have received them from ignorant and barbarous ancestors” (p. 119). Fourth, often the testimony in support of one miracle contradicts another presumed miracle. In so doing they destroy each other’s credibility. The skepticism advocated by Hume is both healthy and necessary to a point, even if his basic argument against miracles is false. Much of mundane science is cumulative. It progresses by systematically adding on facts to the main corpus of knowledge by diligently drawing out empirical off-shoots of a theory. Thus, a steady growth in science requires that the scientist not dissipate his energies in attempting to understand improbable anomalies that conflict with those of his beliefs which he justifiably regards as true. Rather, he should pursue the avenues that have already proved their promise. Confidence in the correctness of the assumptions he believes to have been convincingly evidenced and skepticism in the claims that manifestly conflict with prior knowledge are desirable intellectual habits that are conducive to productivity in a scientific endeavor. Yet, these are no infallible attributes of scientific quest. Practiced beyond a point, they thwart creativity and impede new discoveries. Science is not simply cumulative, and its progress is not always orderly or predictable. Revolutions are significant milestones in the path of scientific advance. And revolutions often entail rejection of those theories that were once considered to be uniformly attested and adequately validated. Hume is correct in asserting that “a weaker evidence can never destroy a stronger” (p. 109), that we must constantly weigh the evidence on both sides of a disputed claim, that human testimony has various shades of certainty, and that motivational factors do influence what one sees, reports, and believes to be true. Beyond this, Hume’s maxim is no more than a mere tautology. His Victorian assumption that there are unalterable natural laws has little support from the history of science. His definition of a miracle as a universally nonexistent event is self-contradictory inasmuch as any claimed evidence in support of a miracle is also

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evidence against the universality of its nonexistence. His argument that there could be no proof of a miracle because by definition, miracles do not exist is patently circular. He assumes what he attempts to prove. Let us suppose that in the past, swans were uniformly observed to be white and now someone claims that he has seen a black swan. The weight of evidence (number of observations) in favor of white swans is irrelevant to the question of whether black swans exist. The observation of white swans, however uniform in the past, does not negate the existence of black swans, just as the existence of black swans, when validated, does not prove the nonexistence of white swans. What is relevant, however, is the credibility of the purported observation of a black swan. Such alternatives as the possibility of wrong observation by the person reporting, his visual acuity, the trustworthiness of his testimony, the conditions surrounding the observation must be assessed and weighed against the possibility that he did witness a black swan. Independent observations by others would of course increase the credibility of the original observation. But a failure to observe a black swan by others who wish to verify its existence does not logically invalidate the reported claim of someone’s seeing a black swan. It is true that the uniform observation of white swans makes the existence of black swans a priori less probable. But once a claim for the existence of black swans is made, that claim cannot be settled by referring to the fact that no one has seen a black swan before. The question of the existence of black swans can be settled only by examining the validity of the evidence on which the claim rests. It may be argued, however, that by swan we mean a white bird of a particular description. Therefore, by definition, a black swan is a contradiction in terms. But such an argument does not warrant the conclusion that birds which completely fit the description implied by the dictionary definition of swan, except with respect to color, do not exist. When a black swan is reported to have been seen, what is claimed is that there is a bird which appears to be identical in all respects with what are called swans except that it is black. Let us consider the hypothetical possibility that there are certain known genetic “laws,” which are generally regarded as well established, that make what seems to be a necessary connection between swans and their being white. On the basis of this, one may assert that there can be no black swans. Again, this argument is valid as long as no one claims that he has seen a black swan. However, once the claim for black swans is made and the evidence cannot be adequately explained away by other alternative explanations, the claim cannot be rejected on a priori grounds of its incompatibility with certain biological “laws,” because the weight of evidence in favor of black swans is evidence against the “laws” themselves which predict the nonexistence of black swans. Thus, there can be no a priori prescriptions that invalidate empirically verified or verifiable observations. It would seem therefore that the case against a claimed miracle cannot be made by simply pointing out its incompatibility with well-established natural “laws” or by showing that the very definition of a miracle is such that it implies its nonexistence. These are no doubt valid arguments against the possibility of miracles happening, but they are not arguments logically sufficient to reject the evidence

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once that evidence is presented. A claimed miracle, that is, a miracle that is believed to have been empirically observed, can be rejected not on a priori but only on empirical grounds that expose the inadequacy or the inappropriateness of the alleged evidence. Thus, the Humean argument is adequate against all cases of belief in the so-called supernatural for which no empirical support is claimed, but it has little validity when such a claim is in fact made. Consequently, Hume’s maxim may have some force when dealing with metaphysical or religious beliefs, but on matters scientific that necessarily have empirical bases, it is logically inappropriate. As an argument for refuting any empirical evidence in support of anomalous claims, it is fallacious. Thus, Hume’s fallacy arises when we treat what is essentially an empirical question as a metaphysical one. Empirical claims can only be rejected if empirical evidence warrants it, and not on grounds of antecedent improbability. In doing science and in evaluating its findings, however, scientists are sometimes guilty of committing Hume’s fallacy. Science, as Kuhn (1970) has shown, moves in paradigmatic phases. Paradigms predetermine in one’s mind the probability of certain events occurring or not occurring. When one accords zero probability for the occurrence of an event following from her paradigmatic assumptions, no amount of empirical evidence will do to convince her of the event’s reality. What is needed then is a paradigm shift, which requires more than ground level empirical evidence. I have published along with John Palmer a target article in the Behavioral and Brain Sciences, an influential mainstream journal (Rao and Palmer 1987). We have presented in it the evidence making a case for the existence of the anomaly called psi. This article was followed by another by Alcock (1987), which espoused the skeptical viewpoint. There was open peer commentary on these articles by about fifty informed scientists. They were about equally divided on the question whether the data warrant serious consideration by the scientific community as contended by Rao and Palmer. This event illustrates the fact that the same results look differently depending on one’s prior beliefs. For skeptics like Alcock, as D.C. Donderi, a psychologist from Canada points out, parapsychology is disturbing because “parapsychological phenomena profoundly disturb the preexisting, ‘scientific worldview.’ Parapsychologists are irritating because orthodoxy cannot answer the question: What if they are right?” (1987, p. 583, original emphasis). Another psychologist from Australia, Brian Mackenzie, commenting on the two articles writes: “There is no doubt that the record outline by Rao and Palmer … of modest, solid achievement in research, would be enough to ensure the scientific credibility of any field other than parapsychology. Their language is cautious, their claims are moderate, and their evidence is impressive. It is Alcock who makes the strong and less than fully substantiated claims…” (1987, p. 597). But, then Gardner (1987) and Hansel (1987) have no qualms in dismissing all evidence for psi as artifactual. The main problem of parapsychology is that their research methods by and large are designed to test what psi is not rather than what it is. This is built into the very notion of anomaly. If psi is studied as an anomaly, we will know at best how it transgresses natural laws rather than what its true nature is. Parapsychologists are reluctant to speculatively draw the implications of their results for the fear that they might be accused of espousing an anti-scientific worldview. Their critics on the

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other hand freely speculate and suggest that parapsychological research is none other than a search for the soul (Alcock 1987). If indeed parapsychological findings do suggest some nonordinary forms of knowing, which in turn imply some nonphysical aspects of being such as the primacy of consciousness and its irreducible nature, this may not be taken to discredit the field or discard its results. Rather, it should be taken as a profound challenge for science itself. There is another methodological twist to experimental investigation of psi using statistical methods. There are indeed serious concerns whether the current methods are truly appropriate for parapsychological research and whether the crusade to naturalize the supernatural pursued by J.B. Rhine and others who followed him is on the right track. Longtime friends of parapsychology, colleagues of J.B. Rhine and statistical editors and consultants to the Journal of Parapsychology, Greenwood and Greville raised during the fag end of their careers some nagging doubts about the appropriateness of statistical inference in parapsychological research because “no statistical or probability distribution is known to exist involving psi scores” (1979). More recently, Kennedy (2004a, b, 2006) has argued against the claimed evidential value of meta-analysis in process-oriented psi research. Parapsychological studies have frequently shifted their research paradigms often resulting in the reinventing the wheel. With the emergence of Rhine and the establishment of the Parapsychology Laboratory at Duke University quantitative studies replaced qualitative studies that registered notable success. The card-guessing paradigm appeared to be a standard testing procedure for studying ESP. Rhine found promising subjects in A.J. Linzmayer and Hubert Pearce among others. There was much success and good deal of evidence for ESP even with unselected subjects. Soon results began declining. Rhine, however, kept up the vigor by focusing on new variables to research such as PK studies personality–ESP relationships and so on. These again started with initial promise of strong relationships, which gradually began declining. Rhine’s was a fifty-year success story dotted with periodic challenges. None others in the field had a lifetime achievement like his. However, Rhine’s extended success depended more on the innovative research problems he set for himself and his colleagues who continually rotated, with the exception of his wife, L.E. Rhine, and J.G. Pratt, with periodically changing teams than sticking to a single sustained research program where the results of one experiment added to another leading to a systematic progress. Declines of all kinds have become a routine, and Rhine attempted to use them as evidence instead of dealing with their root causes. Longevity was much shorter at other centers of psi research than at Duke. Again, each of them started with new research strategies, with new researchers and with good results and a great promise. To give some examples, we had the SRI team with Hal Puthoff and Russell Targ and the Princeton group with Robert Jahn and Brenda Dunne. Targ and Puthoff reinvented ESP in the form of remote viewing and Jahn had his own innovative research strategies that mimicked earlier ones, but looked new. All worked well initially, only to decline later. As one begins to study and understand a new phenomenon, she should have increasing control over it. With declines ruling the roost, this has not happened in

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parapsychology. More recently, we had a spate of meta-analyses and the cumulative results seemed to suggest robust effects. But deeper reflection raises some formidable doubts, as Kennedy suggests. The success rate of known studies in parapsychology hovers between twenty and thirty percent. As Kennedy points out, it should be possible by appropriate power analysis to set sample sizes that would enhance the success rate to 80% or higher. This would enable the researchers to reliably replicate, i.e., go beyond mere statistical replication. This has not happened and is unlikely to happen. Does this mean that the previous results are somehow biased, faulty and artifactual? Those of us, who have had first-hand familiarity with the field, the people working in it and the database, do not generally believe that the results are artifactual and biased in significant ways. As we argued, the data do provide solid evidence for the existence of an anomaly. Beyond that what we see in parapsychology are a series of conjectures, at best suggestive hypotheses without at this time substantial evidence to support. It would seem that it might be in the very nature of the phenomena being investigated. A variety of post hoc explanations are available to suggest that psi is intrinsically elusive such as the bidirectionality of psi (Rao 1965), self-obscuring nature of psi (Braud 1984), experimenter effects (Kennedy 1979, 1994), and goal-directed nature of psi (Kennedy 1995). Kennedy worked out in some detail the implications of the goal-directed nature of psi for experimental psi research (Kennedy 1995, 2004a, b). As we have noted, there is empirical support to the goal-directed hypothesis of psi. This is variously discussed. For example, some have called it “efficient psi operation.” As Kennedy notes, efficient psi operation implies no more than the goal-directedness of psi. Now, the heart of the problem is this. If psi is goal-directed, as the evidence suggests, the success of a psi experiment, though dependent on the motivation of those involved in it, does not follow the usual information processing steps. It is for this reason that the complexity of task is not significantly related to psi outcome. If the goal-directedness constitutes a significant aspect of psi operation, much of psi research, which assumes that ESP is a kind of information processing ability, becomes a suspect with the consequence that the current statistical models used in psi research may be inappropriate. Kennedy (1995) argues that there are different types of goals and different possible sources of psi. In such a situation, experimental research involving statistical reasoning would have little value. Following the usual statistical inference, we expect larger sample sizes to give more reliable and statistically more robust effects, i.e., effects of greater statistical significance and higher z values. However, the goal-directed hypothesis would have an all together different prediction bypassing the above expectation. Therefore, the goal-directed nature of psi poses new methodological challenges to parapsychological research. Now, the second point we referred to is that there is suggestive evidence for enhancing psi performance in laboratory tests by sensory-noise reduction. That psi is facilitated under conditions of sensory relaxation as distinguished from arousal points to the possibility that there might be another source of knowing in which there is little or no sensory engagement. That it is possible to become aware without sensory mediation has profound implications for discovering hidden human

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potentials. If time and space do not constrain psi and if indeed consciousness is cerebrally independent, physical reductionism in all its forms stands refuted. The confidence that this may be really the case is considerably bolstered by the claims attributed to yoga practice. There are thus two challenges thrown up by psi research. One is directed at parapsychology itself, and the other is the challenge for science in general. The self-directed challenge is one of developing innovative strategies and research methods consistent with what appears to be the unusual nature of psi. Parapsychologists laboring under great constraints during a century of struggle invented and reinvented the wheels by gathering massive data in support of the existence of paranormal phenomena like ESP. Regrettably, however, they have so far failed to ride on them to the chosen destination of unlocking the hidden human potentials. It now appears that these wheels are not inflatable with the air of “space,” they do not run on the track of “time,” and they do not need the energy of the psychophysical system to move, inasmuch as the phenomena do seem to be unconstrained by time–space–task complexity criteria, unlike the other normal phenomena. The challenge to psychical research is therefore one of innovating the necessary means to make the wheels fit to run on a new track to reach the desired destination. The challenge for science in general is to find room for psi in its overall architecture. The twin challenges must be taken seriously. Psi researchers and the community of scientists should be prepared to go to wherever the evidence leads. Parapsychologists are not searching for the soul. If the results do, however, lead them to discover the soul they should not fight shy to draw the conclusion warranted by the evidence. This could be the single most important discovery ever made in science. Similar lessons hold for parapsychologists as well. If psychical research is unable to come up with appropriate methods to study the phenomena and draw sustainable conclusions, then their data, however massive and scrupulously gathered, shall remain just suggestive of an anomaly that science can continue to ignore.

Consciousness Puzzle It is reported that a team of researchers in Japan headed by Yukiyasu Kamitani of ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories are able to develop a neuroimaging technology that enables them to reconstruct the images inside a person’s brain and display them on a computer monitor. Even though at this time, the images are limited to vision in black and white, the researchers hope that further developments in foreseeable future will make it possible to extend this to other sensory modalities. Kamitani quoted as saying that “it may also become possible to read feelings and complicated emotional states” (Miyawaki et al. 2008). This is clearly a major technological advance that would have important practical applications. However, does it say anything more about consciousness

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than we already know and what we partly discussed? Do we now have a firm biological base for consciousness in the brain? Are we now ready to tackle the “hard problem” of consciousness? Clearly, these technological developments and their expected extensions could be extremely useful in validating subjective reports. External recording of the hidden images in the brain will give us in some ways the “objective” phenomenology of inner experience. This is an interesting development, which is not, however, qualitatively different from what we already know about sensory perception. I do not see how this advance in neuroimaging technology would enable us to have a better understanding of subjectivity itself. As we have noted, consciousness involves more than the information content in awareness. What is seen on the computer terminal is the information content and not the experience of that information. Even if the new technology enables us to correctly identify the emotional state of the subject, we would still have little understanding of the experience of it, i.e., what is it like to be in that state. Computer imaging of inner states, however accurate it may be, does not really solve the hard aspect of the conscious puzzle. Symbols or representations in any form are not absolute and context free. They have meaning only in relation to the person who interprets them. Without the person, the images monitored on the computer screen are bare symbols. The images detached from the person may indicate the information content of awareness, but not awareness itself, i.e., the experience of having that awareness. Again, as we have noted, in the Western tradition, intentionality is an important and intrinsic aspect of mind/consciousness. Brentano explicitly stated that intentionality cannot be attributed to a physical system. Similarly, human volition and the sense of self can hardly be accounted as outputs of purely physical systems. Kelly et al. (2007) argued persuasively that the mind in principle is irreducible. We do no better than follow Kelly and recapitulate some of his compelling arguments that lead him to conclude: “Despite its many significant accomplishments, a century of mainstream scientific psychology has not provided a satisfactory theory of mind, or solved the mind-body problem. Physicalist accounts of the mind appear to be approaching their limits without fully accounting for its properties. The computational theory of the mind has been overthrown, forcing physicalism to retreat into what necessarily constitutes its final frontier, the unique biology of the brain. But this biological naturalism appears destined to fare little better. Some critical properties of mental life can already be recognized as irreconcilable in principle with physical operations of the brain, and others seem likely to prove so as well” (p. 46). Let alone the hard problems of subjectivity, intentionality and the unity involved in conscious experience, even some of the basic psychological processes themselves are not well understood and accounted for within a reductionist paradigm. These include cognitive processes such as memory and genius. After closely examining trace theories and more recent cognitive and neuroscientific attempts to understand memory, Alan Gauld concludes: “First, there is a good deal of evidence to indicate that normally the formation of memories is closely linked to minute structural and broader functional changes in the brain, mediated or initiated in some way by activity of the hippocampus and allied brain structures. Second, beyond this

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we know far less than most people imagine. We have very limited theoretical understanding of how, especially in the human case, the various changes and activities that take place in the brain during explicit remembering relate to conscious memory as we routinely experience and express it. The brain-based coding/storage/retrieval model that most contemporary workers accept without hesitation as the foundation of their efforts confronts widely ignored but very significant difficulties. Although the mainstream view of memory as purely a matter of brain function has for most persons hardened into a dogma that cannot be questioned, in my view it does not merit that status. It remains essentially a neurophysiological myth, appealing and widely shared and woven around an impressive collection of empirical findings, but unproven” (Kelly et al. 2007, pp. 280–281). Let us recall the mathematical genius of Ramanujan, which is markedly different from the garden variety of creativity that is largely explored in psychological research. (For a more detailed description and insightful discussion of Ramanujan phenomena see Kelly et al. 2007, pp. 488–491). Edward Kelly and Michael Grosso do not hide their disdain at the available models to account for the genius of Ramanujan. “Creative imagination on this scale, we submit,” they write, “fairly beggars the theoretical apparatus available to contemporary cognitive science, its ‘associations,’ predicate-calculus, ‘representations,’ and all the rest. We make no exception here of the recent attempt by Lakoff and Núñez (2000) to account for the origins of mathematics in terms of Lakoff’s more general theory of ‘embodied cognition’” (Kelly et al. 2007, p. 489). Genius of the extraordinary kind as represented by Ramanujan does appear to need a new model to understand and explain it. If we move on to nonordinary forms of consciousness such as mystical experiences, the need for a model beyond reductionist physicalism becomes more compelling. Again, we do no better than referring to Chap. 8 on mystical experience by Kelly and Grosso in Kelly et al. 2007. They conclude, “careful survey and analysis of the reported experiences reveals that at the core of this domain lies a robust, deeply significant, and still mysterious psychological phenomenon—the introvertive mystical experience of pure, unitary, undifferentiated, self-reflexive consciousness—the singular properties of which pose profound challenges to all mechanist, physicalist, and computationalist theories of human mind and personality” (p. 573). Further, while there is no conclusive evidence in support of reincarnation or survival of human personality after death in any recognizable form, the very fact of the existence of cognitive anomalies along with the widespread belief in survival in different parts of the world warrants an inclusive conception of consciousness that would leave room for the possibility of survival. A few years ago, I heard Prof. Samdhong Rinpoche, a renowned scholar in Tibetan Buddhism and Chairman of Kashag (Cabinet), the Central Tibetan Administration, explain the procedure of selecting successive Dalai Lamas, who are believed to be reincarnations. The successor for the first Dalai Lama was selected following the claim of a young lad to be his incarnation. On being taken to Lasha, the boy, who never visited Lasha and the monastery earlier, was able to recognize all the important people in the establishment and give convincing evidence of his complete familiarity with the

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monastery and the rituals to those who examined him. Again, the second successor was selected following a different procedure. In this case, thirteen objects belonging to the deceased Dalai Lama and exact duplicates of them were presented to the boy while testing him if he was the reincarnation of the deceased Dalai Lama. It is said that the boy identified all the thirteen genuine objects of the deceased without a single mistake and thus gained the approval of the elders that he was indeed the reincarnation of the deceased Dalai Lama. While ESP on the part of the boy may not be ruled out in these cases, clearly practices and beliefs of this sort warrant a serious examination of the possibility of survival and reincarnation. We know that consciousness enjoys multiple connotations. It means different things to different people. Also, its meaning varies for the same person in different contexts. Therefore, different explanations of consciousness make sense, if we keep its meaning and the context in perspective. Consciousness is generally understood, however, in the sense that one is conscious when in a wakeful state and not when she is in deep sleep, coma, or under general anesthesia. In this sense, it is best understood as a neurological event. If, however, consciousness is seen as referring to the subjectivity in one’s awareness, the “what is it like” aspect of experience, then there are good reasons to believe that neurobiological explanations of consciousness might break down and fail to fully account for consciousness. It also appears reasonable to think that the brain processes in principle may simply be insufficient to explain subjectivity, as some thinkers, who are not opposed to a naturalistic explanation of consciousness, suggest that this aspect of consciousness may for ever remain closed to scientific understanding. If this indeed is the case, the only course open for consciousness studies is simply to ignore subjectivity and proceed to study other aspects of consciousness that admit neurophysiological investigation. This appears to be the dominant and preferred approach among scientists pursuing consciousness studies at the present time. However, if we look at consciousness in the context of cognitive anomalies we discussed, the little understood psychological phenomena such as high-order genius and mystical experiences and the conundrums of consciousness conveyed by intentionality, volition, the sense of self, and the unifying, unitary, and binding aspects of consciousness, then it becomes clear that we need to go beyond biological interpretation of consciousness. Also, if indeed there is such a thing called reincarnation or the continuity of consciousness after the cessation of associated brain processes, we are obviously dealing with some kind of qualitatively different phenomena in the domain of consciousness. Then, again, for those who have little interest in any of the above subject areas, consciousness remains a cortical process. This kind of compartmentalization of consciousness may be comforting in some ways. However, the central question, what consciousness is, remains unaddressed. Do the different connotations of consciousness refer to different things or do they point to different aspects of the same thing? Is it the case that the same thing manifests differently in different contexts? The use of the common term consciousness is justified only when there is an underlying commonality. Can we have a unified conception of consciousness that can in principle include its different aspects that we know of? Thus, the main challenge of consciousness is one of developing a

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unified conception of consciousness that incorporates its different dimensions. A related challenge is whether such an enlarged conception would be amenable for scientific study and understanding. Alternatively, do we need a paradigmatic shift in the scientific worldview to find room for consciousness in its precincts?

Relevance of Yoga Psychology We have thus far called attention to some of the challenges posed by parapsychology and consciousness studies to the currently dominant paradigm of reductionist physicalism. These challenges do not undercut in any significant sense the enormous advances made in science following this paradigm. However, they do suggest that there are indeed important gaps in the current knowledge of our being that are in principle unbridgeable on this model and that this warrants looking for other more inclusive models which would have explanatory room for the phenomena that appear to be excluded from the precincts of science modeled on reductive physicalism. Does yoga psychology provide a viable model that would have explanatory power to deal with phenomena that appear weird and absurd from the perspective of reductive physicalism without being at the same time inconsistent with the fruitful developments in neurobiology of consciousness? Patañjali’s Yoga-Sūtras, as we interpret consider the yogin’s journey as one from knowing to being. In the existential human condition, knowing is cognitive. Cognition is sensorially processed. It allows itself to be biased and blemished because the path of cognitive knowing is beset with pitfalls that prevent direct access to consciousness, truth, and reality. Therefore, our ordinary knowledge is imperfect and fallible. Recognizing that we do not know what is ultimately true, we build a necessary divide between knowing and being that characterizes the existential predicament of human condition. The yogin’s journey is one of bridging this divide so as to realize truth in her being, which is considered a state of perfection and bliss. The yogin’s journey consists in systematically sharpening her mind by exercising control over its functions so as to overcome biases and thus come progressively closer to reflecting truth. This is accomplished by practicing concentration (abhyāsa) and cultivating the mindset of detachment and dispassionateness (vairāgya). The practice of concentration combined with detachment leads to excellence in sensory knowing and rational thinking. One is progressively led to cognitive excellence, which is excellence in transactional knowing. Cognitive excellence, however, is inadequate for the yogin bent on realizing truth as such, which is reality in itself. Cognitive knowing even at its best represents truth in cognitive forms, which are always a construction of the mind with the sensory inputs it receives and processes. Therefore, such awareness never gives perfect knowledge completely free from misrepresentation and error. Therefore, the yogin will not stop with achieving states of cognitive excellence. Continued practice of concentration gives her not only the ability to understand

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how the mind works, but it also enables her to gain control over its functions. With the control gained to suppress normal cognitive functions, there arises intuitive realization of truth, which may be seen as accessing consciousness-as-such. Accessing consciousness-as-such involves direct participation in reality, which is realizing truth in one’s being. Reaching excellence in that state makes one a transcendental being, where there is a complete blending of knowing and being in the person. This is the goal of the yogin, i.e., self-realization and achieving perfection. In the process, the person is transformed to be a “saint,” the one in whom there is no divide between knowing and being. In contrast to the saint is the scholar-scientist who shows only cognitive excellence, but not excellence in being. In the journey from transactional excellence in knowing to transcendental being, one encounters a variety of extraordinary phenomena. The mind is now in a state to catch intuitions emanating from consciousness-as-such. The extraordinary phenomena may be recognized at three distinct levels. At the level of transactional knowing, it is cognitive excellence leading to spurts of creativity, gush of genius and the extraordinary feats exhibited by child prodigies. At the second level, we find transcognitive phenomena, which are ordinarily considered paranormal. The siddhis involve intuitive, nonsensory-motor, excellence converted into cognitive and conative forms. Because of such conversion, transcognitive phenomena are subject to imperfections and fallibilities that beset cognitive awareness. Also, by stimulating again suppressed cognitive functions of the mind, frequent manifestation of paranormal phenomena would have the effect of creating hurdles on the path of intuition which is opened by closing the cognitive ways of the mind. It is for this reason, the yogin is asked to ignore the transcognitive phenomena and go beyond them to the third level. The temptation to engage in transcognitive awareness stems from the fact that unlike transactional awareness, it is unconstrained by space–time limitations. The third level of excellence involves total transcendence from awareness sensory as well as extra-sensory and rational thinking. At this level, knowing becomes being. For this reason, this level may be called transcendental being, which involves the transformation of the person to realize truth in her being and thus become perfect. The total absorption of truth in one’s being is the highest state one could hope to reach. The very embodiment of truth in one’s being is considered in the Upaniṣadic tradition the state of absolute bliss (ānanda). It is a state where there is no divide between knowing and being at any level. It is a state where to know Brahman is to be Brahman. While the person in the state of transcendental being enjoys absolute bliss and total freedom from all constraints and becomes perfect, she does not go through the ordinary states of pleasure mediated by the mind–body connection. The mind, abandoning the routes that connect it to the body, basks in the unfailing light of consciousness by reflecting its radiance in the person’s being. The yogin’s journey is thus from knowing to being. In the existential human context, knowing is sensory-driven and brain-processed. It is in some ways blemished, imperfect, and fallible. One does not know what is ultimately true. Therefore, a necessary divide exists between knowing and being. The yogin first systematically sharpens her cognitive processes and progressively eliminates the biases. This is accomplished by practicing concentration and a sense of detachment

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and dispassionateness. The practice of concentration coupled with detachment leads to cognitive excellence in sensory knowing and progressively closer to truth understood in cognitive terms. It is excellence in transactional knowing. Prolonged practice of concentration gives one the ability not only to understand how the mind functions, but also to gain control over its functions. With the control and the consequent suppression of its normal cognitive functions, come special states of the mind that open up to the person new potentialities. In place of sensory knowing, there arises intuitive realization, which consists in accessing consciousness-as-such. Accessing consciousness-as-such involves direct participation in being, which is truth in its ultimate form. Reaching excellence in that state brings about the complete blending of knowing in one’s being. This is the goal of the yogin.

BMC Model of Person Yoga psychology, as we interpret, presents the Trident Model of the person. The person in this model is the composite of consciousness, mind, and body. While consciousness connotes a variety of meanings and admits of different interpretations, it is in the final analysis an irreducible and fundamental aspect of reality. In Yoga, it is called puruṣa, and in Vedānta , it is Brahman. Consciousness has neither a beginning nor an end. It does not grow or diminish. Consciousness-as-such is ineffable, nonintentional, and nonrelational. It has no form or appearance. It is undifferentiated subjectivity. Knowing, feeling, and being go together undifferentiated in it. Thus, consciousness is sat-cit-ānanda, all the three rolled into one. It is self-luminous as well as the source of illumination to all minds. Consciousness is different from the mind. The latter is the active instrument of thought, feeling, and action in the person. Though primary, consciousness in a sense has a secondary role in the person. It is regarded as a “witness” and given the role of an observer (sākṣin) rather than of an active player. Consciousness is reflected in the mind. The illumination in the mind, its luminosity is a reflection of the former. The mind is physical and evolves out of prakṛti. However, it is different from the body we see. It is subtle and rarefied matter. The mind does not generate consciousness; it simply reflects it. In the person, the mind is a flowing stream of thoughts, conscious as well as unconscious. Knowing, feeling, and being are seen in the mind as distinct. With its attributes of thinking, willing, and feeling, the mind becomes the knower, doer, and the experiencer. The mind may be functionally distinguished into three components. The manas is the central processor that continually attends to, filters, analyzes, and assimilates the inputs received from sensory sources. Ahaṃkāra is the ego function that appropriates the processed inputs and engenders the sense of “me” and self-consciousness. Buddhi is that aspect of the mind which has the closest affinity to consciousness. In virtue of the buddhi, we discriminate, remember, and have unified awareness. In association with the ego, it discharges the executive functions. The buddhi in its untainted and

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purified form is almost like consciousness because its reflections of consciousness are so unblemished that they are indistinguishable from consciousness-as-such. The body refers to the brain, the nervous system, the senses, and the rest of the supporting physical structures. Senses are the external organs. The mind acts as the internal sense. The senses are the doors that enable the mind to make contact with the world of objects. The concept of “sense” refers to the instruments of knowing (jñānendriyās) as well as of action (karmendriyās). The relationship between consciousness, mind, and body is not triangular but linear. The mind is connected with the bodily processes at the one end and with consciousness at the other. Thus, the mind is the interfacing instrumentality and the connecting link between consciousness and body. The combination of the three in the B(ody)-M(ind)-C(onsciousness) Trident Model of the person has profound implications for the functioning of the person. Thoughts, feelings, and actions emanate from the sensory inputs, internally generated imagery, memory, and conscious and unconscious impressions and dispositions that include saṃskāras and vāsanās. Inasmuch as the mind is the active center of the cognitive, conative, and affective states, with the ego appropriating their effects, the person is predisposed to misconstrue the mind as the self and the center of her consciousness. The person situated in a constantly changing state of the mind seeks identity and finds it in the ego, the binding factor that relates the knowing object to the person, and hypostatizes the ego function as the enduring self. This indeed is a congenital condition, often described as primordial ignorance (avidyā). There is another significant aspect to the BMC nexus in the person. Consciousness as reflected in the mind is in some ways distorted. The reflection is embellished in proportion to the imperfections inlaid in the buddhi which is the reflecting surface. Also, the buddhi is the seat of vāsanās and saṃskāras and a source of conditioning. Further, the buddhi is saturated with the sensory inputs it receives and the internally generated images which acquire the characteristics peculiar to the processing instruments, the senses. Consequently, what is reflected in the mind is not consciousness-as-such; rather, it is the concocted or constructed sensory image that is illumined by the reflection of consciousness. The world as experienced under these conditions is not reality-as-such. What are seen are not things-in-themselves, but sensory objects as constructed and construed by the mind. However, in so far as human processing systems are alike in all functioning persons in significant respects, there is some kind of uniformity in the perceived world. The determination of objectivity on the basis of inter-subject validation is dependent on this fact. This becomes problematic, however, for interspecies communication, where the processing systems are significantly different. For this reason, the perceptions of bats are markedly different from humans. Now, accepting the fact that biases and distortions in the perception of the reality outside of us are built into the very process of our interaction with the world, it becomes necessary to remove the biases and correct the distortions so that we could come closer to knowing the world the way it really is. The paradox of the psychophysical system is that on the one hand, the mind embellishes one’s perceptions and distorts the truth, while on the other hand, it is also an instrument that could

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help remove the biases and distortions and thus enable one to know the truth. As the Brahmabindu Upaniṣad puts it: “The manas is the cause of bondage and liberation to us: Of bondage, when attached to object, of liberation, when free from it” (2). Thus, the mind is double edged. How does the mind bias and distort one’s perceptions? The mind in the raw is restless, ever drifting, and unsteady. It is in its very nature to be in a state of constant change, a perennial flux. Its wavering and wandering attention leads to mixing of different inputs. The consequent confounding is a serious source of distortion and bias. Also the mind is a depository of the past and contains memories, conscious and unconscious dispositions that organize, interpret, and give meaning to what one knows. Also, the mind is not merely an instrument of knowing; it is also the seat of desires, emotions, hopes, aspirations, and expectations. As Patañjali points out, the mind is burdened by false knowledge (avidyā). The sense of “I” or egoness (asmitā) engendered by the ahaṃkāra and promoted by false identities, and the consequent attachment (rāga), aversion (dveṣa), and the will-to-live (abhiniveśa) are the hindrances in the way of knowing truth. They are the sources that continually color, cloud, and condition one’s perceptions, thoughts, and actions. To know and grasp truth, one should be free from these constraints. Freedom of the person consists in overcoming these constraints in order to come face to face with truth. The emergence of the ego begins the process of individuation. With individuation comes the relativity of truth and values. The feeling of bliss becomes transformed into a scale of happiness and sorrow. The development of the ego breaks the intrinsic unity between being, knowing, and bliss inherent in consciousness. Consequently, when consciousness is reflected in the mind, knowledge loses its intrinsic affinity to being and bliss. One may know what is true, but may not act accordingly. As the ego misconstrues itself as the self, the person becomes ego-driven. The self-referral becomes the central feature in organizing awareness. Awareness and self-awareness become intertwined. This is a self-perpetuating process unless actively controlled with effort and wisdom. The mind is obviously involved in the act of cognitive processing. However, the cognitive process itself is mediated through sensory mechanisms. Cognitions are sensory transformations of the reality represented to the person and are not reality in and of itself. Therefore, the knowledge one has and the truth statements she makes are relative to the cognitive inputs she receives. When all the biases and distortions are controlled and even eliminated, still the knowledge one has is cognitively given. This is not to deny that there are objects in the world that are in some significant ways correspond to the sensory images we have of them. However, cognitively engendered awareness is necessarily colored and coated with sensory accretions. Consequently, the reality we know is cognitive in kind. Removing all related cognitive biases may lead to cognitive excellence but not to awareness of reality qua reality. Thus, biases and distortions of one’s awareness of the world accrue at various levels. Some of them are built into the very structures that give us awareness. These are essentially physical and species-specific. Others are psychological, acquired, which eventually become part of one’s life history. Some of them are shared

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through acculturation and others are uniquely personal. Again some of the determinants of the biases and distortions that cloud and color awareness are explicit, while others are implicit operating at the unconscious level. How can the mind help overcome the hurdles, remove the biases, correct distortions, and enable one to be free and perfect, know the truth, and enjoy bliss? Inasmuch as the mind is the limiting adjunct and the constraining instrument, the control and mastery of the mind is itself an essential exercise. First, it is the wandering of the mind that causes confusion by confounding different things. Therefore, the wandering of the mind needs to be controlled by focused attention (ekāgratā). Ekāgratā makes the mind steady. Second, the ego-involvement needs to be checked. Then, vairāgya, cultivation of the habit of dispassionateness and detachment, is recommended. We know that the ego engenders attachment and aversion, desires, and longing. Cultivation of their opposites is conducive to controlling the ego function. The ego is at the base of the biases and distortions that cloud consciousness and condition the person. The ego itself is grounded in and nourished by false knowledge (avidyā). Therefore, the method par excellence is to gain right knowledge. We may sense some circularity here. We are saying on the one hand that our goal is one of achieving right knowledge which is impeded by certain circumstances. On the other hand, we are also suggesting that we need right knowledge to control the conditions that bias and distort knowledge. The circularity is addressed in two ways. There are two methods other than wisdom that help overcome ego impediments. They are work (karma) and worship (bhakti). Action oriented to help others and not oneself is a way of eliminating or deconstructing the ego to avoid its unsettling effects. Altruist action takes away the energy that sustains the ego. Similarly, worship involves self-surrender, abandonment of the ego in search of more inclusive focus that would essentially negate the adverse effects of the narrow focus on the self. The second way of addressing the circularity is the recognition of another source of knowledge that does not involve the structural and psychological factors associated with the observed biases and distortions accompanying awareness. If indeed humans have access to nonsensory sources of awareness, then one can automatically sidestep the biases and distortions built into sensory processing of awareness. In yoga psychology, the two ways as we described are intrinsically related. Practice of ekāgratā and cultivation of vairāgya not only help to make the mind steady and focused, they also lead the mind into a state of samādhi. Samādhi is not a single and all-or-none state. It involves several states that progressively check the different functions of the mind from the mundane perceptual activity of the gross or subtle objects, reflection and recollection, feeling of joy, and self-consciousness to the highest state of pure consciousness where the mind is all purified and remains untainted buddhi. In such a state, the mind reflects consciousness in its pristine purity; the person has access to reality-as-such and knows truth and gets as close to perfection as possible. The various states of samādhi may be seen as various levels of excellence achieved by eliminating the biases and distortions in cognitive knowing, culminating in transcognitive and transcendental states.

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Thus continued practice of focused attention has three distinctive effects. First, focused attention leading to a state of samprajñāta samādhi gives cognitive excellence by progressively controlling the biases that distort truth and embellish knowledge. Second, following the suppression of sensory content, a new source of transcognitive knowing becomes functional. It may be called intuitive realization, which makes the person realize nonsensory awareness. This involves not merely accessing consciousness-as-such but also translating that awareness into cognitive content. Such knowledge is not completely devoid of all blemishes because the translation entails its own limitations including the built-in fallibilities of sensory processing. Third, beyond intuitive awareness is self-realization, which is accessing consciousness-as-such and staying in that state, where knowing and feeling blend with being. This is the state of asamprajñāta samādhi. On the BMC Trident Model, we may conceive of three tiers of cognitive excellence. In Vedānta , they are referred to as śravaṇa, manana, and nididhyāsana. Śravaṇa, which literally means hearing, as we interpret it, includes all modes of observation that give us perceptual awareness. In Vedic times, śravaṇa became synonymous with received knowledge for the reason (a) it was believed that Vedas contained all knowledge and (b) what is in the Vedas was orally transmitted. Śabda was considered a tool of communication and śravaṇa a means of knowing. Now, expanding the scope of śravaṇa to include all forms of observation and perceptual knowing, we may regard it a rudimentary form, third-order knowing. It is of the kind that can be sensorially observed, objectively recorded, measured, and verified. It involves the brain-driven processes accessible to third-person observation. The scientific method places a premium on this mode of knowing. Manana is ratiocination. It involves reasoning, logical inference, induction, and other means of ordering and understanding the observed phenomena, whereas śravaṇa gives us the information about the world and manana makes us understand it. Manana may be considered the second-order knowing. It gives one mind-constructed cognitions. Both śravaṇa and manana deal with phenomena— real, illusory, or imaginary. We employ a variety of strategies to distinguish the real from the unreal, to weed out biases and accretions and to correct the distortions for arriving at truth. As is evident, we are not always successful, especially at the level of understanding. Phenomenology as a method is an attempt to seek certainty from subjectively exploring the phenomena. Husserl struggled with his method of bracketing the natural attitude, which mixes up perceived phenomena with learned assumptions, so as to arrive at unblemished essence of phenomena. Husserl’s phenomenological reduction deals with the levels of śravaṇa and manana only and remains inadequate to give one the absolute certitude she is seeking. Nididhyāsana involves knowing by being. It is the first-order knowing characterized by intuitive insights that are self-certifying truths and manifest not as mere cognitive constructions but as transformational phenomena, where knowing becomes being. It is, one could say, the final step in phenomenological reduction. It is best exemplified by the identity relationship between the knower and the known alluded to in a state of samādhi. The knower-known identity is the case of

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reflexivity between the subject and the object, the inner, and outer reality. Nididhyāsana may be seen as a method of phenomenological reduction to arrive at absolute certainty by establishing such a relationship. It is the crucible in which the truth is distilled and all biases evaporate. If śravaṇa is observation and manana is understanding, Nididhyāsana is transformation. The knower becomes the known. As the Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad puts it, “truly, he who knows the highest Brahman becomes the Brahman” (3.2.9). Thus, on this model, yogic excellence has three tiers. The first tier is observational knowing. The second is intellectual understanding, and the third is transformational realization of intuitive truth obtained by meditation. It may not be unreasonable to interpret the three legs of saṃyama (dhāraṇā, dhyāna, and samādhi) as exercises to achieve the three tiers of excellence. Dhāraṇā (concentration) gives observational excellence, dhyāna leads to excellence in understanding, and samādhi involves excellence in transformational learning.

Yoga as Metacognitive Psychology Yoga psychology in a broad sense is cognitive psychology if cognition is not limited to sensorial imagery. Cognition may be seen as a general term that refers to all processes of knowing. Cognition, however, involves in addition to the processes the content, which is not ordinarily the subject matter of cognitive psychology. The somewhat exclusive preoccupation with the process, divorced from the content and meaning had the consequence of developing cognitive psychology on information processing and computational modeling with emphasis on neurophysiological understanding of the processes such as memory, perception, attention, and imagery. However, cognitive psychology understood in its broad, inclusive sense is a system of psychology that considers knowing and knowledge as central to human behavior and being. It deals not merely with the processes but also with content to ensure that what is revealed in consciousness is the truth. It also studies how the content can be corrupted and the methods of correcting such distortions. In this inclusive sense, yoga psychology may be considered as cognitive psychology. Perhaps we could say with some justification that yoga psychology is metacognitive psychology. Cognitive psychology as pursued today deals almost with the lower levels of body-mind-consciousness pyramid, while yoga psychology focuses on the upper levels, acknowledging at the same time the relevance of the lower base on which the psychological edifice of the person is built. Knowledge in the final analysis is consciousness, and consciousness includes knowing, as well as feeling and being. Therefore, knowledge is the source to which all psychological phenomena are traced. Again, knowledge is not limited to brain-driven sensory processes. If cognition is limited to sensory awareness, then we need to postulate transcognitive states and other modes of knowing. Yoga psychology not only recognizes this, but provides stepwise description of

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transcognitive states and means of attaining them. If cognitive psychology limits itself to mind–brain connection, yoga psychology goes beyond to understand the connection between consciousness and the mind. In so doing, it opens up new possibilities and potentials that significantly enhance the scope of psychology and our understanding of who we are and our place in the universe (Fig. 8.1).

Fig. 8.1 Trident Model of the person

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BMC and Other Dualist Models Now, how does the BMC model of the person, which postulates the existence of mind and consciousness as distinct from and irreducible to brain and bodily states, differ from other dualist postulations that psychology has come to reject? Body-mind-spirit/self (BMS) combo to characterize humans is not unknown in the Western tradition. Actually, it is older than the advent of Christianity. However, it did not take hold as a viable formula in modern science in general and psychology in particular. This is so because of the Cartesian identification of consciousness with mind, and the prevailing anti-Cartesian stance that predominates the Western science and manifests in the form of a priori rejection of all nonmonist materialist formulations as untenable dualism. The body-mind-spirit model is implicit in the writings of Henry Bergson, F.W.H. Myers, William James and C.D. Broad to mention a few. Each of these thinkers has their own versions vowing allegiance to their respective metaphysical commitments. However, it does not seem unlikely that all of them were inspired by intuitions that are essentially similar to those behind the BMC model. However, they find in Western formulations different expressions and take on varying conceptualizations. Again, their Cartesian inheritance constrains them from coming to grips with the core issue which is that two distinct and irreducible principles other than the mind work together to give rise to a variety of phenomena in human thought and action. The mind, the central player in all forms of behavior, is understood in the Cartesian sense and therefore construed either as nonexistent by scientists or considered by dualist philosophers as radically different from the brain and bodily processes, which makes its interactions with the brain illusory or impossible. The BMC model, like the BMS, rejects the notion that the brain generates consciousness. As Sri Aurobindo says: “Body, brain, nervous system are instruments of consciousness, they are not its causes” (Dalal 2001, p. 333). However, the BMC model derived from yoga psychology differs from the Western BMS models in two important ways. First, the conception of mind in Yoga is very different from the Cartesian conception. Second, Indian model is rooted in practices and is geared to be practical and applied, whereas the Western approach is a largely speculative and arm-chair cognitive exercise. C.D. Broad, as we noted, speculated that the mind is a compound of two substances, the “psychic” and “bodily” factors. The psychic factor is the Cartesian mind. Broad hoped to solve the interaction problem by locating the “psychic” and bodily factors within the mind itself. The ad hoc nature of union is all too obvious. Henry Bergson while finding the distinguishing feature of the mind in duration, and not thought as Descartes did, went on to suggest that the brain does not generate consciousness, but maintains it. Consciousness according to Bergson is truly “in the domain of the spirit.” The brain is the “frame” like a telephone exchange; it functions like a transmission and filtering instrument, rather than a generating source. Consciousness, mind, and memory belong to a different realm of

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being from the brain and body. This maneuver by Bergson hardly addresses the Cartesian body-mind impasse. In F.W.H. Myers’ formulation, the subliminal self takes the place of the Cartesian mind, which is seen as a wave in the sea of consciousness. The brain itself plays the role of a filter, a limiting condition that constrains consciousness without generating it. The subliminal self is the mind that has the vast potentialities that become limited and constrained by its association with the brain. Whether or not the mind is an ontologically distinct substance in the Cartesian sense, it is difficult to see how the mind can be constrained by the brain without postulating levels of interaction between them. I do not see also how the mind conceived as subliminal self can serve to make such psychophysical interactions possible. To repeat, the problem with the BMS model is the Cartesian equation of mind with consciousness (soul) that permeates all the discussion of its independence from the brain. Here, the Yoga model differs. The mind is seen as distinct from consciousness. Consciousness does not interact with the brain or for that matter even with the mind. The mind itself is not ontologically distinct from the brain and the body, and yet it is markedly different from all the gross physical systems and their functions. Now, the Yoga BMC and the Western BMS models differ in that the latter essentially leaves out the mind by equating it with self or consciousness. Therefore, it is not significantly different from Cartesian dualism. The means of interaction between body and the spirit are essentially left out. In the BMC, unlike in BMS model, the brain is not the filter, transmitter, or generator of consciousness. It has nothing to do directly with consciousness. Its scope/domain is limited to processing the sensory and proprioceptive inputs. It is the mind that is conceived to constrain, color, and cloud consciousness and bring about the existential states that distort the perceived reality. The mind relates itself to consciousness by reflecting it at one end. It is connected at the other end with the brain and other bodily systems. This kind of conceptualization has some important implications for understanding mental phenomena, which may be seen from two different perspectives making it bidirectional with its two constituents. One dimension is from the perspective of mind–brain connection and the other from the perspective of the mind–consciousness relation. Neither perspective is unlikely to give the full, inclusive picture. The gaps in current knowledge of memory, creativity, and exceptional human abilities may be seen as due to the failure to take into account the mind–consciousness connection. In Yoga theory, as we have seen, the mind evolves out of matter and finally dissolves itself as it returns to its primordial state in prakṛti. The dissolution of mind in a sense is its evolution in another dimension. Thus, in addition to the biological evolution, we may conceive of psychic evolution. The latter is the progressive undermining of the mind’s biological link and its transformation into pure and untainted buddhi, which is nearly indistinguishable from puruṣa. Aurobindo (1970–1975) develops the notion of psychic evolution in his concept of supra-mental. He calls such an evolution “Nature’s method of self-transcendence” (SABCL, vol. 19, p. 737). “The first indispensable step in an upward evolution,” we are told, “would be to elevate our force of consciousness into those higher parts

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of Mind from which we already receive, but without knowing the source, much of our larger mental movements, those, especially, that come with a greater power and light, the revelatory, the inspirational, the intuitive” (p. 736). Sri Aurobindo suggests that psychic evolution involves a series of identifiable steps. He conceptualizes them as (1) higher mind, (2) illumined mind, (3) intuitive mind, (4) overmind, and (5) supermind. These successive “self-transmutations,” as he calls them, “are domains of being, grades of the substance and energy of the spiritual being…” (p. 938). This is the evolution of the higher mind or psychic evolution as we called it, which makes the mind more receptive to reflect with less distortion and greater perfection the light of consciousness by controlling its own lower functions. The higher mind is the beginning of ascendance from “conceptive and ratiocinative mind,” away from logic and inference, to manifestation of “self-existent all-awareness.” Thoughts in this state arise not as conclusions drawn from premises but as self-revelatory wisdom. Higher mind involves not only entry into a transcognitive state in the form of revelatory knowing, but it also brings about volitional and affective transformations in the person so that her “feelings and actions become the vibrations of this higher wisdom” (p. 941). In the higher mind, the revelatory wisdom is in the form of ideas, thoughts. As the higher mind evolves into illumined mind, the revelatory wisdom is transformed from the ideational mode to the perceptual mode. This involves a “higher ascent” in the realm of consciousness and “powerful descent” in the ordinary world of the mind, which comes not merely as an idea of truth, but its “vision,” accompanied by “a fiery ardor of realization and a rapturous ecstasy of knowledge” (p. 944). Sri Aurobindo tells us that “thought in itself, in its origin on the higher levels of consciousness, is a perception, a cognitive seizing of the object or of some truth of things…” (p. 945). Thought in this state “creates a representative image of Truth” so that the mind can take hold of it. The consciousness of the “seer” has a greater power of knowledge than the consciousness of the “thinker.” Sri Aurobindo writes: “As the Higher Mind brings a greater consciousness into the being through the spiritual idea and its power of truth, so the Illumined Mind brings in a still greater consciousness through a Truth-sight and Truth-light and its seeing and seizing power” (p. 946). The revelatory wisdom of the higher mind and the illumined mind are derived from the mind’s ability for intuition. Intuition is the realization of truth inlaid in consciousness. The intuition manifests as an idea in the higher mind and as a vision in the illumined mind. With the evolution of intuitive mind, which represents the third level of intuitive wisdom, truth manifests in a relationship of identity, where “the consciousness of the subject meets with the consciousness in the object…. This close perception is more than sight, more than conception: it is the result of a penetrating and revealing touch which carries in it sight and conception as part of itself or as its natural consequence” (p. 946). It is a state of “concealed or slumbering identity” with its “overwhelming and automatic certitude.” Sri Aurobindo recognizes that in life pseudo-intuitions occur along with genuine intuitions. The former, the “seeming” intuitions, are in reality communications

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rather than intuitions. They arise not from consciousness but from darker regions of the mind. Because of their misleading nature and similarity with genuine intuitions emanating from consciousness, we are inclined to use reason to validate intuitions. “But this largely discounts for us the utility of the intuition: for the reason is not in this field a reliable arbiter…. An intuition passed in judicial review by the reason ceases to be an intuition and can only have the authority of the reason…” (p. 948). True intuition, according to Sri Aurobindo, has four-fold potentialities. (1) It has the function of revelatory seeing of truth. (2) It has the significance of inspiration of hearing truth. (3) It also involves “truth-touch” which enables one to immediately seize its significance in one’s being. Finally, (4) intuition enables one to truly discriminate and realize the “orderly and exact relation of truth to truth.” In other words, intuition helps to integrate truth. It does all that reason could do and more. However, in the existential human condition of vast and deep ignorance, the transformatory power of intuition is diluted in proportion to the density of ignorance deep in one’s being. The overmind is the next stage in the evolutionary ascent of the mind. It is accompanied at the same time with the descent characterized by the subordination of the sense of the ego and its eventual abandonment. It involves the horizontal expansion of the self, resulting in “perception and feeling of a boundless universal self.” In this expanded awareness, the separate ego as well as instrumental individuality may entirely disappear. The personal mind, when felt, would manifest as a field encompassing others and their unity with oneself. It involves no less than transformation of the person into a “universal individual.” The universal individual is one who identifies herself with all “things and beings, with the thought and sense, the joy and grief of others … there is an inclusion of beings in oneself and a reality of their life as part of one’s own being” (p. 951). The overmind thus indicates the emergence of the sense of transcending the ego and individuality and the experience of identity with others. In a sense, the person in a state of overmind is in a transitory state of discovering the “true individual replacing the dead ego.” Sri Aurobindo tells us that the overmind, though a very high achievement of evolutionary development, is still the mind, and acts like mind admitting division and plurality, while recognizing the underlying unity. Further, with the emergence of the overmind, there comes no assurance that it stays there or goes beyond, because it is built on the shaky foundation of evolving matter and is subject to its rollback. Only the evolution of the supermind can help transcend the pull of the material basis of the mind. The supermind, in Sri Aurobindo’s view, is indescribable and ineffable because it is more like consciousness-as-such, different from the consciousness manifesting in the different states of mind’s evolution. “In the supermind all is self-known self-luminously.” There are no divisions or distinctions which are the play of the lower mind. As Sri Aurobindo points out the central principle of the mind is “division of knowledge into parts and setting each part against another” (SABCL, vol. 22, p. 260). He wondered whether its designation as supermind is appropriate because the term is ambiguous and may be taken in the sense of mind. He therefore proposed an alternative and called it “truth-consciousness.” In the sense we used, it

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is a state of consciousness-as-such. In it, feeling and emotion are not separate from knowledge. Knowing, being, and feeling blend into all encompassing integral consciousness. Thus, the evolution of mind into higher states involves progressive dropping off the various functions of the normal or lower mind as we have noted in discussing the emergence of various states of samādhi with practice of meditation in yoga. The higher mind shuts itself off to the sensory inputs as it opens its doors to intuitive ideas emanating from consciousness-as-such. In the illumined mind, intuitive ideas are processed as perceptual images, which shows that the manas is still at work. In the intuitive mind where there is cognitive identity between the knowing subject and the known object, we see the manas, the central processor of the mind dropping itself off. With the ascendance to the overmind stage, the ego ceases to function and the individuality becomes enlarged to incorporate others. Then, only buddhi remains. In the state of supermind, the buddhi in its purity becomes indistinguishable from consciousness-as-such; its reflections are perfect, signifying absolute truth. Thus, the person reaches a state of perfection as the mind dissolves itself to leave consciousness alone to govern one’s being. Our interpretation of Sri Aurobindo is a somewhat simplified version to fit his thought into the overall architecture of yoga psychology. Sri Aurobindo, however, has developed an elaborate system that goes well beyond the bounds of Sāṃkhya-Yoga metaphysics. He conceives the person in both horizontal and vertical dimensions. In the horizontal form, the person may be seen as encased in three layers or sheaths, concentric circles. The inner most is the psychic being. The outer being consists of the (1) physical body, (2) the vital instinctive desires, and (3) the mind with its ability to think and reason. The middle ring, the inner being, consists of the same with their inward focus. Consciousness is not limited to mind alone; even the body has its own consciousness. From the vertical perspective, we have the inconscient at the base and sadchidananda (pure consciousness) at the top. In the middle is the mind. Above the mind are the five supra-mental states we discussed above. Below the mind are the vital (life), physical, subconscient, and inconscient planes. Consciousness goes through a process of evolution leading ultimately to the state of sadchidananda. In the vertical dimension, all that is above the mind may be seen as “supermind,” and those states, mind and below, as the “lower mind.” “Consciousness,” according to Sri Aurobindo “is a reality inherent in existence.” There is consciousness even in inanimate objects. In addition to being the power behind all awareness, it is also a “dynamic and creative energy.” The expanded connotation of consciousness in Sri Aurobindo is significantly different from the different senses we discussed. However, in its highest evolved form it is consciousness-as-such or pure consciousness. The metaphysical and somewhat esoteric descriptive aspects put aside, Sri Aurobindo’s conception of consciousness does not appear inconsistent with the overall architecture of consciousness we sketched in our discussion of consciousness. Consciousness is the core of a thing, whether mental or physical. It is what defines a thing, the inherent information content. It gives it the meaning and relates

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it to others. In its ultimate sanctified state, it is without form and content. In the spectrum of its illumination, the normal mind is in the middle, at the bottom are things we consider as being devoid of consciousness, and above the mind are supra-mental states of consciousness with progressive intensification of consciousness. One may call this notion a kind of panpsychism, but more appropriately, it is evolutionary dualism as opposed to radical dualism and interactive dualism for the reasons we note in our discussion.

Implications of BMC Model The BMC formula of the person as discussed above suggests that mental phenomena are bidimensional. Here, we differ with the unidirectional model of evolution. Evolution itself is bidimensional. One dimension of evolution is the emergence of the mind and its refinements. This line of biological evolution reaches its apex with achieving cognitive excellence. Biological evolution basically serves the purpose of self-perpetuation, and it appears to be associated with enhancement of happiness by material means. It has at its base competition. Struggle for existence and self-survival characterize the process of biological evolution. One consequence of this is the progressive sharpening of the mind culminating in reason and abstract thinking and attendant decline in intuitive knowing. Psychic evolution is a later emerging and less obvious process which results in progressive suspension of the higher evolved faculties of the mind. With the control of the gates of reason and logic and shutting the windows of the sense, the doors of intuition open. With the progressive detachment of the mind from its material base and the mind getting grounded in intuition, there arises the flowering of consciousness in the life of the person. Ego-centric excellence loses its hold to altruism and expanded awareness. Material, comfort-oriented competitive ways give way to spiritual seeking and striving for common good. Intuitive knowing dominates as sensory knowing recedes into the background. We are not suggesting that biological evolution and psychic evolution are two opposing forces. Rather, they are complementary. Psychic evolution as envisaged is not possible without the biological evolution, which is the precursor, an antecedent condition, a stepping stone to psychic evolution. This is the reason why we say that the relationship between body, mind, and consciousness is linear and not triangular. As the mind ceases to filter cloud and color consciousness, consciousness shines forth with its inherent splendor. At the end of this all, there is the dissolution of the mind. In place of its saṃyoga (union) with the consciousness (puruṣa) , there is viyoga, the separation of mind and consciousness. Thus, the bidimensional nature of evolution indicates the two sides of yoga–saṃyoga and viyoga, which are not ordinarily distinguished. It was Bhoja who rightly exclaimed that the final goal and the last result of yoga is viyoga. The detachment and the cessation of commingling of mind and consciousness is not simple separation of the two, but the mind’s evolutionary retreat to its primordial condition in prakṛti and the person’s

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participation in consciousness-as-such. The notion of evolution in this context entails that it is a progressive process, each step giving rise to very special phenomena in the form of personal transformation. In light of this bidimensional conception, we can readily see that psychological phenomena may arise on either side of the evolutionary process. What appear to be anomalous or exceptional mental states may be better understood from the psychic dimension than from the biological perspective. Phenomena such as memory, creativity, multiple personality, and trance states that do not fit completely and comfortably into the unidimensional framework of the evolving brain and the mind may be profitably pursued following the bidimensional model, which could help bridge the current gaps. The model can be used to generate hypotheses that can be empirically explored. What about the hard problem of consciousness? How can subjectivity be accounted for in the BMC model? According to the BMC model, subjectivity is not a state of the brain or an intrinsic attribute of the mind. Rather, it is the quality of the mind arising from its association with consciousness. Consciousness-as-such is undifferentiated subjectivity. When the mind comes to commingle with consciousness, the latter bestows subjectivity on the mind. Subjectivity is the self-conscious mind, which simply does not exist without assuming its association with consciousness-as-such. When consciousness illumines ahaṃkāra, one has subjectivity and self-consciousness. With the transcendence of the ego function, mental phenomena lose their subjectivity. Such a notion of subjectivity may not admit of a naturalist explanation and to a degree we may be “cognitively closed” in the sense of finding reasonable cortical accounts of it. However, subjectivity on the BMC model would have empirical ramifications that can be studied to provide at least partial verification of it. Finally, what are the implications of BMC model for parapsychological research? On this model, the carrier of psi is intuition; its source is consciousness-as-such. Intuition is radically different from perception. Perception is based in the lower regions of the mind, whereas intuition has its origin in consciousness-as-such, accessible to higher domains of the mind. Therefore, psi phenomena may be studied from the perspective of the psychic rather than the biological dimension. Current orientation in parapsychological research is biological, whether or not it is explicitly admitted. It is the “lower mind” approach that is essentially antithetical and inhospitable to intuition. The principal player of the lower mind is the ego and the stage is set by the sensory inputs and the past personal history of the individual. With the lower mind active and dominant, even when a person is exposed to a genuine intuition, she reflects on it. Reflection reduces intuition to thought, which employs altogether different criteria of validation. The instrumentality of intuition in the person is lost in the ego-driven mind. On this model, then, control of the ego function and sensory inputs are expected to be conducive to the manifestation of psi. The two essential ingredients in Patañjali yoga are abhyāsa and vairāgya. The practice is to control the sensory inputs. Detachment is to check the ego. The practice of concentration and detachment to worldly things go together, and neither of them is sufficient to access

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consciousness-as-such. Again, yoga practitioners are reminded repeatedly that they must ignore and not indulge in the paranormal phenomena. This is a clear acknowledgment that the intuitive abilities like psi may not be seen as instrumental in ego gratification but considered as sign posts in the process of personal transformation toward reaching the goal of perfection. Parapsychologists like Tyrrell (1947) and Rhine (1965) suggested that psi is a two-stage process. If psi is conceptualized on the model of sensory ability like perception and measured in terms of its cognitive content, the two-stage hypothesis is consistent with the BMC model. The first stage is the receptivity to intuition. The second stage is the conversion of intuition of the higher mind into thought, perception or guess at the lower level. This conversion is a hazardous task with built in impediments, which seem responsible for the evasive, capricious, and unreliable nature of psi at the level of the lower mind. The effort of statistical research to naturalize psi is to measure it as a lower level mental phenomena. This process being antithetical for the functioning of the supra-mental states, intuitive mentation suffers. Therefore, the BMC model, following yoga psychology, essentially predicts the futility of current strategies of investigating psi. This is not an entirely new revelation, but something suspected by the spiritually oriented observers of psi. Perhaps its best articulation we find in a paper of Kennedy (2004a, b) entitled “what is the purpose of psi?” Kennedy points out that in Eastern as well as Western accounts paranormal phenomena as in miracles are interpreted as evidence for nonphysical, transcendent level of reality. Further, the motivation and dynamics of spirituality are very different from one’s normal motivations guided by physical comfort and material needs. Spiritual motivation is beyond ego gratification. Therefore, Kennedy suggests, psi “appears capricious and not useful from the perspective of materialistic, need-driven biological realm” (p. 20). “The best hope for making meaningful scientific progress in understanding psi,” writes Kennedy, “may be to investigate motivations that apply in the spiritual realm rather than the mere materialistic, self-serving needs that have driven biological evolution” (p. 21). In Indian psychology, the distinction between spiritual and material is somewhat blunted with the mind playing the intermediary role between body at one end and consciousness at the other. However, the distinctions made by Kennedy between “instrumental psi,” the kind being investigated in parapsychology and the “spiritual psi” he is suggesting appears to take the form of evolutionary dualism implied in yoga psychology. The crucial point may not be secular versus sacred motivations, but ego-transcendence. Parapsychological research may gain more by field-oriented process studies than person-centered psi that is the subject of current investigations. In the field-oriented designs, the distinctions such as between subject and experimenter get blunted and the experimenter effects cease to be a source of annoyance and headache to psi researchers. Parapsychological effects may not be measured in terms of fine-tuned statistical deviations but observable macroeffects. The effect of spontaneous psychic experiences on the person are transformational rather than transactional, more on one’s being than on knowing. J.E. Kennedy notes, “research on the effects of psi experiences has found the predominant effect is to alter the

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person’s worldview and increase his or her sense of spirituality, connectedness, and meaning in life” (see Kennedy and Kanthamani 1995; McClenon 1994, 2002; Palmer 1979; White 1977). It may be recalled, one important consequence of advanced meditation in samādhi is the identity experience of the knower and the known, the blending of knowing and being. This point deserves to be considered carefully by parapsychologists for incorporating it into their research designs. Another point that needs emphasis is that psi research may be built around the possible applications of psi. If psi is goal-directed and works better in altruistic contexts with the ego sidestepped, we need in parapsychology research designs that capitalize on this possibility. Again, if psi is intuition with its origin in pure consciousness, the attempts to validate intuition in rational terms may be counterproductive. Therefore, the research methods and strategies may be guided by the concern to capture intuition than test it in its cognitive forms. From the perspective of yoga psychology, psychic abilities admit development by training. Psi researchers need to take note of this and search for methods for psi training, whether hypnosis, meditation, or other techniques to shut sensory noise and shield the subject from ego involvement and to allow psi intuitions to manifest in terms of observable effects.

Concluding Summary Consciousness has come to be an increasingly viable interdisciplinary subject for serious scientific investigations. With the advent of neuroimaging technologies, scientists are able to study the brain without cracking open the skull. Today, we know a great deal about how the brain functions. There is evidence of impressive covariation of brain states with the reported states of consciousness, holding the promise of not only finding one to one correlations of brain states with states of the mind, but also reducing consciousness to its roots in the brain. Our review of consciousness studies, however, suggests that consciousness may not admit such reduction because certain phenomena like psi seem to defy explanation in purely biological terms and some characteristics of consciousness like subjectivity appear in principle impervious to biological filtering. With evidence favoring the notion of irreducible mind and consciousness, there is again reason for looking at models that accord primacy to consciousness. We attempted a psychological study of Patañjali’s Yoga-Sūtras in Part III with the expectation of arriving at a suitable model of the person that would primarily address the gaps we identified as arising from psi research and consciousness studies. Based on Patañjali’s text and related classical writings, we sketched and stated in the form of sūtras the salient principles of Indian psychology in general. In the concluding chapter, the model of the person emerging from Yoga psychology is described along with its implications. Briefly, to summarize, human beings are potentially perfect, but existentially imperfect. Perfection consists in knowing truth and living truth, which is a state of absolute bliss. Evolution is a

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process of moving toward perfection. Evolution is both biological and psychic. Biological evolution (BE) reaches its apex with the development of mind as an instrument to access the world and interact with it. The climactic state of the biological mind consists in highly evolved sensory-motor and neurocortical systems organized around the ego, the empirical self. Biological mind is capable of cognitive excellence without the corresponding excellence in being and thus falls short of reaching the goal of perfection. Perfection needs excellence in being as well. Psychic evolution (PE) of the mind, which consists in the wholesome transformation of the person leads to excellence in being. PE consists in the development of psychic mind, which is two-pronged. First, it involves progressive control of the biological mind and its functions to the point of their total suppression. Second, with the voluntary closing of the doors of perception and shutting out the channels of thought, reason, and logic, the windows of intuition would open. Consciousness shines through the windows of intuition to give the psychic mind totally transparent truth to completely transform the person toward perfection in knowing and being. This in brief is the BMC model. The person is the composite of bodymind-consciousness. The mind is the central instrument connected with the body on one side and open to consciousness at the other side. The body-mind connection may be seen as the biological mind, and the mind exposed to consciousness is the psychic mind. The biological mind is cognitive, fed with sensory inputs playing in the field filled with images of fantasy and conceptual abstractions, and guided by rules of convention and the tools of reason and logic. It is analytical and divisive in that it understands by comparing and contrasting. It is self-serving. The contents of cognitive mind are painted in sensory images and as such they represent but not reveal reality as such. The psychic mind is intuitive and able to access consciousness-as-such. Its effects are transformational. It is unbounded by the ego. It is synthetic in that it is unifying rather than dividing. It reveals reality as such; therefore, its generalizations are self-certifying and infallible. The mind is thus endowed with two ways of knowing. Biological evolution is in the direction of knowing by sensing and reason. Psychic evolution involves flowering of consciousness in one’s being with springing of intuitive knowing. Humans are capable of both kinds of knowing, even though with the development of the lower mind they become almost wholly dependent on sensory knowing sharpened by logic and reasoning. With the development of the higher mind, intuition takes the center stage. Consciousness is the principle of universal gnosis. It is undifferentiated subjectivity, the base of all knowledge. It is not limited to reportable awareness, the primary, introspectable awareness, which arises from the mind in its association with the brain and consciousness. As the universal knowledge principle, consciousness relates to all material things with different levels of complexity, whether gross like mountains or subtle like minds. Whether consciousness is ultimately one single entity or organized into various centers to function individually is more a metaphysical matter than a psychological assumption. For example, as we have seen, Yoga, unlike Vedānta, conceives consciousness as consisting of multiple centers called puruṣas. Inasmuch as all puruṣas are alike with no individually

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distinguishable characteristics, qualities, or attributes, we may interpret puruṣa as consciousness centered around or enveloping the person. Subjectivity of consciousness refers to its meaning giving function. In its association with consciousness, a physical thing gains its meaning. In the human condition, in association with the ego of the person, it engenders self-awareness. The body in the human context is the evolved physical system with its brain and associated support structures. It is the instrument through which the mind interacts with other physical systems. It is indispensable for cognitive awareness and is essentially irrelevant to intuition. At the cognitive level, body-mind interaction gives rise to psychophysical states called vṛttis. Vṛttis illumined by consciousness result in primary awareness. Those unable to reflect consciousness because of cortical conditions or psychological factors remain unconscious states that could influence the person without overt awareness. Multiple personality manifestations suggest the organization of consciousness in multiple centers within the same body. Body-mind connection gives rise to transactional awareness. Mind–consciousness connection in the intuitive mode that influences bodily states gives rise to transcognitive awareness, which is behind parapsychological phenomena. Accessing consciousness-as-such by the person without coloring and filtering by the body and the mind is transcendental awareness of the kind claimed by the mystics. The question of survival of bodily death does not refer to consciousness, but to the mind. Consciousness has no birth or death. It neither rises nor sets. The mind, however, admits the possibility of surviving the disintegration of the body because it is conceived to be distinct from the body. It is assumed that the physical subtlety of the mind assures its nonphysical survival. The mind’s decay does not covary with the decay of the body. The mind disintegrates by its own effort to return to its primordial material state in prakṛti. If there is evidence for reincarnation, it is the evidence for the continuity of mind beyond one body. To conclude, the person is the composite of body-mind complex capable of reflecting consciousness. The person’s existential quest is to know truth (satyam), to do good (śivam), and enjoy beauty (sundaram). When the goal is reached her being (sat), beaming knowledge (cit) basks in eternal bliss (ānanda).

References Alcock, J. E. (1987). Parapsychology: Science of the anomalous on search for the soul? Behavior and Brian Sciences, 10, 553–565. Aurobindo, S. (1970–75). The life divine—Book one and book two part one. Volume 18 of Sri Aurobindo Birth Centenary Library Series (SABCLS) Pondicherry (India): Sri Aurobindo Ashram. Braud, W. (1984). The two faces of psi: Psi revealed and psi obscured. In B. Shapin & L. Coly (Eds.), The repeatability problem in parapsychology (pp. 150–175). New York: Parapsychology Foundation. Dalal, A. S. (2001). The greater psychology: An introduction to the psychological thought of Sri Aurobindo. Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram.

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Gardner, M. (1987). Evidence of the paranormal: A skeptic s reactions. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 10(4), 587–588. Greenwood, J. A., & Greville, T. N. E. (1979). On requirements for using statistical analysis in psi experiments. Journal of Parapsychology, 43, 315–321. Hansel, C. E. M. (1987). Experimental evidence for paranormal phenomena. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 10(4), 590–592. Hume, D. (1825). Essays and treatises on several subjects. Edinburgh: Printed for Bell and Bradfute; [etc., etc.]. Inglis, B. (1977). Natural and supernatural: A history of the paranormal from earliest times to 1914. London: Hodder and Stoughton. Kelly, E. F., Kelly, E. W., Crabtee, A., Gauld, A., Grosso, M., & Greyson, B. (2007). Irreducible mind: Toward a psychology for the 21st century. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. Kennedy, J. E. (1979). Redundancy in psi information: Implications for the goal-oriented psi hypothesis and for the application of psi. Journal of Parapsychology, 43, 290–314. Kennedy, J. E. (1994). Exploring the limits of science and beyond. Research strategy and status. Journal of Parapsychology, 58, 59–77. Kennedy, J. E. (1995). Methods for investigating goal oriented psi. Journal of Parapsychology, 59, 47–62. Kennedy, J. E. (2004a). A proposal and challenge for proponents and skeptics of psi. Journal of Parapsychology, 68, 157–167. Kennedy, J. E. (2004b). Letter to the editor. Journal of Parapsychology, 70, 410–413. Kennedy, J. E. (2006). Book review of irreducible mind: Toward a psychology for the 21 century by Edward Kelly, Emily Williams Kelly, Adam Crabtree, Alan Gauld, Michael Grosso, and Bruce Greyson. Journal of Parapsychology, 70(2), 373–377. Kennedy, J. E., & Kanthamani, H. (1995). An exploratory study of the effects of paranormal and spiritual experiences on peoples’ lives and well-being. Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research, 89, 249–264. Kuhn, T. S. (1970). The structure of scientific revolutions. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Lakoff, G., & Núñez, R. E. (2000). Where mathematics comes from: How the embodied mind brings mathematics into being. New York, NY: Basic Books. McClenon, J. (1994). Wondrous events: Foundations of religious beliefs. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. McClenon, J. (2002). Wondrous healing: Shamanism, human evolution, and the origin of religion. DeKalb, IL: Northern Illinois University Press. Miyawaki, Y., Uchida, H., Yamashita, O., Sato, M., Morito, Y., Tanabe, H. C., et al. (2008). Visual image reconstruction from human brain activity using a combination of multiscale local image decoders. Neuron, 60(5), 915–929. Palmer, J. (1979). A community mail survey of psychic experiences. Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research, 73, 221–251. Rao, K. R. (1965). The bidirectionality of psi. Journal of Parapsychology, 29, 230–250. Rao, K. R., & Palmer, J. (1987). The anomaly called psi: Recent research and criticism. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 10, 539–555. Rhine, L. E. (1965). Hidden channels of the mind. New York: William Morrow. Tyrrell, G. N. M. (1947). The modus operandi of paranormal cognition. Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research, 48, 65–120. White, R. A. (1977). The influence of experimenter motivation, attitudes and methods of handling subjects in psi test results. In B. Wolman (Ed.), Handbook of parapsychology (pp. 273–301). New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold.

Chapter 9

Mahatma Gandhi: A Case Study in Indian Psychology

Introduction Since its beginning, scientific psychology in India owes much to Western contributions. For one thing, many Indian psychologists who played the leading roles like N.N. Sengupta at Calcutta University were trained in North America and Europe. The British rule and Macaulay’s vision of Western education for Indians were no obstacles for borrowing Western concepts and methods. Consequently, psychology came to India as a Western transplant with its positivist bias. We are all aware of the consequences of this on the development of psychology in the country. They have not been always salutary. One of the adversary consequences is that, missing its native roots, psychology in India lacked the vigor and dynamism needed for a new discipline to grow. Psychology is a science, but not in the sense physics is. In psychology, we deal with people who are very different from the material things. The person has a mind with his own volition, and that makes the difference. Therefore, the person may not be studied fruitfully like a metal in a laboratory or a pigeon in a cage or a rat in a maze isolated from life. Culture is an inalienable part of the person, and study of the person is a salient feature of psychology. This is true for the study of psychology in India as it is for Western psychology. Scientific psychology did not begin with the establishment of the psychological laboratory at Leipzig by Wundt or with the publication of Principles of Psychology by William James (1890) in the USA. Before them, let us recall, there were Weber (1795–1878) who formulated the law dR/R, Fechner (1801–1887) who modified Weber’s law, and Galton (1822–1911) whose work on individual differences and use of statistics have set many problems for psychology to pursue. In fact, as Brett’s (1921) History of Psychology shows, Western psychology is an “amalgamation of different questions about human beings” that have grown out of Western tradition of inquiry. It is built on the inheritance of a long line of religio-philosophical and medical writers in the Western world. It is this psychology that India borrowed © The Author(s) 2017 K.R. Rao, Foundations of Yoga Psychology, DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-5409-9_9

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neglecting its own hoary tradition and a long line of religio-philosophical and medical writers who speculated about human nature, asked culturally relevant questions, and showed profound insights into the behavioral dispositions of men and women as they grew in their nativity. While psychology in India has gained some by following the Western lead to study psychology as a science, it has suffered a great deal by neglecting its own tradition and ignoring the cultural, native relevance of the discipline. This situation is not special and peculiar to psychology alone. Other social sciences as well as philosophy in the country equally suffered because of the borrowed educational ideas and practices from the West and the neglect of native wisdom. Let us recall that Macaulay who was instrumental in introducing Western education in India wrote in his famous Minute: “We must at present do our best to form a class who may be interpreters between us and the millions whom we govern —a class of persons Indians in blood and colour, but English in taste, in opinions and in intellect.” Again, Woods Dispatch of 1854, which led to the establishment of universities at Calcutta, Bombay, and Madras in 1857, emphasized that the goal of British education in India is to teach “the Arts, Science, Philosophy and Literature of Europe.” Thus, since its very beginning higher education in colonial India was tilted with a Western slant and bias, which manifested in a variety of dysfunctional symptoms, resulting in what may be collectively called the “colonial syndrome”. The colonial syndrome caused a mind-set that resulted in (a) denigration of and distancing from the native culture, thought, practices, and languages and (b) praise and preference for the colonizer’s customs, ideas, and languages. Consequently, it dwarfed the growth of culturally influenced subjects in social sciences and humanities in general and psychology and philosophy in particular. There was hardly any original thinker in academic philosophy or any significant outstanding contributions in behavioral sciences in India during the colonial period. There were a few, but they were outside the main academia by people like Sri Aurobindo, and Mahatma Gandhi. This state of affairs is all the more surprising because the native Indian tradition is a mine of ideas ready to be excavated for psychological study. What is the psychological mine in India? How we may excavate it? And what is its current relevance to psychological studies in general and India in particular? I will now attempt to present a brief résumé of Indian psychology, what it stands for, and how it may enrich the psychology we teach and practice, and then go on to illustrate these points with reference to the person and philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi.

Psychology in the Indian Tradition Indian psychology is psychology in the Indian tradition. It refers to a system of psychology with its roots in classical Indian thought and grounded in psycho-spiritual practices, such as yoga, prevalent in the Indian subcontinent for millennia. Unfortunately, it is not what psychologists in India by and large do. Psychology studied and practiced in India after nearly seventy years of

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independence and freedom from colonial rule continues to be psychology borrowed from the West. Much of psychological research in India continues to be imitative and replicative of what goes on in the West, as repeatedly observed (Rao 2002; Sinha and Kao 1997; Pandey 1988; Asthana 1988). It is therefore not surprising that Indian contributions to advance psychology with very few exceptions remain marginal at best. Despite the fact that it is now taught in hundreds of colleges and universities in the country, psychology plays little role in national development. This, I happen to believe, is in great part due to its lack of its relevance to native conditions. I also feel strongly that the remedy consists in Indianizing psychology as studied and practiced. However, Indian psychology is more than Indianization. The phrase Indian psychology has no chauvinist intent. The emphasis is not on geography, but on the content. While the roots of Indian psychology may be found in Indian thought and tradition, its growth as well as application need not be limited to India. Also, Indian psychology is not Hindu psychology. Indian culture is broader than the Hindu and Brahmanical aspects of Indian tradition. It includes Buddhism, Jainism, and other native systems of thought. Indian psychology is in a sense psychology, and yet it is more, and has pan human relevance as well. Apart from its special relevance to the Indian subcontinent, Indian psychology may be able to throw light on and resolve some of the major conundrums and riddles confronting psychology today. These include (a) the consciousness puzzle, (b) the enigma of cognitive anomalies, and (c) the challenges of man’s spiritual side. Consciousness remains a mystery. Notwithstanding the valiant efforts of behaviorist psychologists to banish consciousness from the precincts of science and despite repeated attempts to suppress or ignore it by science in general, consciousness periodically resurfaces in scholarly discourse causing unease and appealing to the good sense of those who wish to understand the nature of the person without limiting it to preconceptions that are too simple to be true. Contemporary psychology has little to offer to deal meaningfully with the hard problems of subjectivity, intentionality, and unity of consciousness. As a matter of fact, even the basic psychological processes underlying the varieties of experience and manifestations of consciousness in creative acts of excellence are not adequately understood and accounted for within the currently dominant reductionist paradigm in psychology (Kelly et al. 2007). Cognitive anomalies involving sense-independent communication sources available to humans and explored by a small band of scientists calling themselves parapsychologists continue to challenge the boundaries of conventional psychology (Rao and Palmer 1987; Rao 2011). Since the publication of Rhine’s Extra-Sensory Perception in 1934, a compelling scientific case has been made for the existence of the putative phenomena such as telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition, and psychokinenis (mind over matter). However, unable to understand their nature and fit them into the current conceptual framework of science, scientists in general and psychologists in particular continue to ignore and dub them as anomalies or worse aberrations. Freedom of will is the cherished ideal of free people around the world. However, there is little room for it in the current reductionist paradigm of human nature.

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Religion is an important factor that drives humans and gives direction to their behavior. Spirituality is the distinguishing feature of religious behavior. However, science with its basic materialistic orientation and bias rules out spirituality as a subject of study. It is this cleavage between religion and science that is in my view responsible for current conflicts in the name of religion. Without adequately accounting for the spiritual side of human functioning, psychology as it stands now is at best incomplete. With all the above depicting an incomplete and inadequate picture of the person on the current psychological canvas, there is a compelling need for alternate paradigms to study human nature beyond the reductionist paradigm. Indian psychology has the potential for a new psychology with an expanded scope for scientific study to include all the above areas and more. We may also acknowledge at the outset that Indian thought is not monolithic. It is pluralistic at the core. There are fundamental differences among classical thinkers at the metaphysical level. However, surprisingly there is a profound, binding theme underlying them all when they deal with human nature and destiny. At the psychological level, significant commonalities exist that could be developed into a coherent system with interesting implications for understanding the person and making useful applications for enhancing human potentials and wholesome functioning of the person. This is the reason why yoga as a practice is widely accepted by thinkers of different persuasions in all classical systems in India.

Meta-Theoretical Framework As we noted earlier, the person in classical Indian thought is seen as situated in a see of suffering. The goal is to swim to the shores of bliss. It consists in cultivating consciousness to achieve self-realization. A fundamental distinction is made in Indian tradition between mind and consciousness. Mind is conceived as physical, and consciousness is postulated as nonphysical. Physically subtle, mind is again assumed to be qualitatively different from the gross body with which it is associated. In virtue of its connection with body at one end and its association with consciousness at the other end, the mind functions in two modes—normal and paranormal. It gives rise to empirical awareness (sensory and intuitive) as well as transcendental knowledge (mystical and other worldly). The mind is considered an avoidable source of obstruction in the way of achieving self-realization, the goal of human quest. At the same time, it is also seen as a resource to cultivate consciousness and realize one’s true self. In the Indian tradition, it is observed that the goal of self-realization is frustrated by the manifestation of the ego, and it masquerading as the true self. Ego is the source of bondage and human suffering. Therefore, it needs to be controlled and deconstructed. Deconstruction is facilitated by cultivating consciousness. Cultivating consciousness is conducive to psycho-spiritual development, personal transformation, and social change.

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As a composite of body, mind, and consciousness, the person may be studied from a physiological perspective to learn how bodily processes influence one’s behavior and being, and how mental states affect bodily processes. A person can also be studied from the perspective of the mind to learn how the mind functions, how its functions are influenced, and how the mind may be cultivated to enhance human potentials and promote wellness. Further, human behavior and beliefs can be studied from the perspective of consciousness to understand and realize nonphysical resources of human functioning available because of the association of the mind with consciousness. Thus, a person can be studied at different levels. Two such levels of great interest to psychology are the psycho-physical level and psycho-spiritual level. The latter is the level where the mind participates in consciousness-as-such and the person has self-realization. It is the level that is ignored by mainstream psychology, but of a special focus in Indian psychology. With its goal of self-realization, Indian psychology studies how to achieve a state of psycho-spiritual symbiosis by cultivating consciousness via such practices as yoga. The above is the précise of a meta-theoretical framework which, I believe, would be useful in generating viable psychological models for study and research. These models would be in sharp contrast with the Western models currently in vogue. In my own exercises, I developed one such model labeled the Trident Model (T-M) and attempted to draw out its theoretical and practical implications (Rao 2011), which we discussed in some detail in a previous chapter. In the Trident Model (T-M), as we noted, consciousness is not a species of mental phenomena. Rather, it is the ground condition, the primary principle, that makes awareness possible in its association with the mind. Awareness is a reflection of consciousness in the mind. The reflection itself comes in various shades and shapes, tinges and tints, depending on the state of the mind and the degrees of its association with consciousness. In the human mind, we may distinguish between five different conscious states as shown in Fig. 9.1.

Fig. 9.1 States of consciousness

Pure Conscious Super Conscious

Conscious States

Preconscious

Unconscious

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In pure conscious states, we include such experience as self-realization where there is a perfect blending of knowing and being. In the superconscious states, we find cognitive excellence, as seen in creative arts and expression of genius in a variety of forms. It also manifests in paranormal phenomena made possible by access to a nonsensory source of awareness. Conscious states are what we experience in normal waking, dreaming, and psychotic states. Preconscious refers to peripheral awareness, which is in the field of awareness at a fringe, as a backdrop but not in focus. In a sense, it refers to unattended phenomenal/primary awareness. The unconscious states include not only repressed and dissociated mental phenomena and unconscious motives but also phenomena such as subliminal perception and blind sight.

Gandhi: An Illustrative Case Study As mentioned, Indian psychology can be helpful in developing psychological models like the T-M. Now, these models need to generate theories and hypotheses for testing. The testing itself can take a variety of forms as we are familiar in psychological research. One of them is the case study method. Though less frequent, it is a method with enormous scope for validating theories. In the context of Indian psychology, it has a special and in some ways unique relevance (see Rao and Paranjpe 2015). Indian psychology does not ignore or neglect extraordinary forms of behavior and excellence. Study of ordinary forms is generally unable to account for extraordinary phenomena, whereas the latter may facilitate a better understanding of the general phenomena. Mahatma Gandhi’s life and thought provide a revealing case study in Indian psychology. We find abhyasa and vairagya, the twin principles of Indian psychology, play a significant role in the flowering of the Mahatma, his conduct and thought. We find his thought and practices constituting an important case to illustrate the integrative role of Indian psychology in understanding the development of psycho-spiritual extraordinary persons. First, a coherent understanding of Gandhian thought and practices is possible within the theoretical and conceptual framework of Indian psychology as we described. The Gandhian conception of human nature is consistent with the model we presented. Second, some of the basic tenets of Indian psychology not only find their empirical support in the thought and practices of Gandhi, but also significant implications for future psychological research are indicated. For example, the possibility of creatively applying Indian psychological principles to the areas of social action and especially conflict resolution is suggested by satyagraha and other techniques designed, championed, and practiced by Gandhi. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869–1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was no psychologist by training or practice. His vast writings running into 100 good size volumes contain little that is directly psychological in content. We find no psychological jargon used in his speeches or writings. However, not unlike

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classical Indian thought, Gandhi’s ideas have important psychological implications and are pregnant with possibilities for application to improve human condition. While little has been written about Gandhi’s relevance to psychology as an academic discipline, there is an increasing awareness of the Gandhian model of conflict-resolution and its relevance to peace psychology. A recent issue of Gandhi Marg (2014, vol. 35, issue no. 4) is devoted to highlight the psychological aspects of Gandhi’s thought and practices. Now, let us briefly recall the major premises of Indian psychology as we developed in the Trident Model. First, psychology is the study of the person. Second, person is a composite of body, mind, and consciousness. Consciousness relates to the self, and the self is different from the ego. Third, the goal of the person is self-realization, and self-realization consists in accessing consciousness-as-such. Accessing consciousness-as-such results in experiencing one’s authentic self, which is spiritual. Fourth, ego is the main obstacle in the way of achieving self-realization, and the obstacles may be removed by cultivating consciousness and by a deconstruction or elimination of the ego. Fifth, cultivation of consciousness is facilitated by developing a sense of detachment and altruism. Sixth, as one marches forward on the path of self-realization, he gains a variety of excellences which are psychologically significant with important consequences for personal and social transformation. We find in Gandhi’s life and thought good support for the above premises. Person is the central focus of Gandhi. He repeatedly asserted that the individual is one supreme consideration. The person in Gandhi’s view comprises of body, mind, and soul. Soul is the divine within each of us. Body is the base of the beast in man. Man is, in Gandhi’s view, an animal/brute with a divine streak in him. The divine aspect is the spiritual component, the soul of the person. The soul is more like the purusha in Yoga and Brahman in Advaita Vedanta. It is the same in all, and it is what binds us all as one. It is the base of altruism. “I believe in Advaita,” wrote Gandhi. “I believe in the essential unity of man and, for that matter, of all that lives. Therefore, I believe that if one man gains spiritually, the whole world gains with him and if one man falls, the whole world falls to that extent” (CWMG, 29:408). In Gandhi’s conception, man is both good and evil. Human development is a dialectical process involving perpetual struggle between the two conflicting aspects of the brute and divine in the person. It is a struggle to grow beyond the brute toward the divine. “We were, perhaps, all originally brutes.” Gandhi goes on to say, “I am prepared to believe that we have become men by a slow process of evolution from the brute” (Harijan, April 1938). The person in Gandhi’s view is pulled in two opposite directions—downward by the animal instincts and upward by the divine urge to be altruist. The battle between the two is waged relentlessly throughout one’s life. Gandhi says, “man must choose either of the two courses, the upward or the downward, but as he has the brute in him, he will more easily choose the downward course than the upward, especially when the downward course is presented in a beautiful garb” (Harijan, February 1935). The struggle to climb up the ladder of the divine is no other than accessing consciousness-as-such, seeking truth, and realizing it in one’s being. It is

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continuous and may not be stopped until he realizes God, which is none other than self-realization. Truth is God. Realization of Truth is God-realization; and God-realization is self-realization, which consists in finding one’s spiritual identity. “Life is an inspiration,” wrote Gandhi, “Its mission is to strive after perfection, which is self-realization.” This is the ideal that one hopes to achieve in life. The greatest obstacle to the divine ascent is the ego. The ego is the attentional focus that renders the animal appetites attractive and instinctual attachments desirable. Elimination of the ego is the key for opening the doors to the divine. The sense of “I” and “mine” are the hurdles that isolate the person from others and render him less divine. Therefore, one must overcome them with determination and by cultivating the sense of detachment. In this effort, Gandhi suggests, we need to expand the center of focus from “I” and “me” to include all. The divine is what binds one to others. It is what makes one to see others in her and her in others. This becomes increasingly possible by taking away the focus from the ego, which in Gandhi’s words is reducing oneself to a zero, nothingness. Such a negation of the ego does not constitute denial of individuality. “True individuality,” says Gandhi, “consists in reducing oneself to a zero” (Desai 1932/ 1953, p. 113). This is the central thesis of Gandhi in interpreting the Gita as Anasakti Yoga. Anasakti is nonattachment. Nonattached action is “selfless action.” Selfless action is action delinked from the ego. Delinking the ego from action and deliberate refraining from enjoying the fruits of action is reducing oneself to a zero or nothingness. The practice of nonattached action, action performed without concern for its fruits, is Gandhi’s method for eliminating the ego. As psychoanalyst Erikson (1970) observed, “nothing is more powerful in the world than conscious nothingness if it is paired with the gift of giving and accepting actuality” (p. 397, emphasis added). The beast in man drives him to indulge in sensory gratification. The ego emerges as the mechanism to channel the demands of sensory gratification in acceptable ways in the surrounding reality. Truth then gets distorted in one’s perception. Morality takes the back seat as pleasure seeking comes to the front. The beast in him makes one a slave to habits, whereas the divine enables him to exercise his volition to cultivate virtues. The beast in man makes him bound and conditioned; the divine sets him free. The beast struggles for survival. Man then is mired in competition, exploitation, and consequent violence. The divine seeks liberation and makes one altruist in pursuit of serving others instead of being self-seeking. “Man’s estate is one of probation,” observed Gandhi. “During that period he is played upon by evil forces as well as good. He is ever a prey to temptations. He has to prove his manliness by resisting and fighting temptations” (Harijan, April 1936). Here, manliness represents for Gandhi the human aspect as distinguished from the brute in him. Each person has to choose for himself whether to follow the “law of the jungle” or “the law of humanity.” Gandhi draws attention to “how repugnant it must be to invoke the beast in any human being” (Young India, October 1931). The divinity in a person manifests in proportion to the realization of the true human within. There are thus, according to Gandhi, two streaks within each of us—the human and the beast. The beast is instinctual, and the human is the spiritual to be sought

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and cultivated. The goal is self-realization. The true self is one’s human side, which is the same in all. Consequently, the distinctions/discriminations we make among people on the basis of caste, color, creed, etc. are untenable in the final analysis. Equally unacceptable are any kind of exploitation of others for personal benefit, violence as a means of conflict resolution, and claims of superiority of one kind or another. Altruism is the sine quanon of the spiritual in humans. Gandhi wrote: Man is worse than the brute, so long as he is selfish, and indifferent to the happiness of others. He rises above the level of the brute, when he begins to work for the welfare of his family. He rises higher in the scale when he comes to look upon the whole community or race as his own family. He becomes greater still when he begins to regard even the so-called barbarous races as the members of his own family. In other words, man becomes great exactly in the degree in which he works for the welfare of his fellow-men (1922, p. 58).

The ego creates artificial identity, which is among the prime sources of conflict. Altruism enables one to expand one’s identity beyond the ego-bound self to the common self that binds us all as humans. The mature life of the Mahatma is but a series of experiments to perfect instrumentalities that would enable one to expand his identity beyond the personal self to include others, whether they are friends or foes. So, it is clear that in Gandhi’s conception, man has a physical and spiritual side. Man’s goal is to cultivate the spiritual and go beyond the physical side of his being. The way to reach the goal is to eliminate the ego, which is in his terms reducing oneself to a zero or nothingness. This requires cultivating detachment and practice of altruistic service. By serving others, expecting nothing in return, one finds his true self. When self-realization comes, the gap between knowing and being, between belief and conduct disappears. One becomes what he knows. Mohandas Gandhi became Mahatma Gandhi by experiencing his authentic self as a spiritual being. His life illustrates the Indian notion of finding and experiencing the true self. Gandhi was gifted with an ability for transcognitive knowing. He often heard his inner voice to take crucial decisions. In him, rationality worked at its best. No less important is the access he seems to have had to transrational sources as well. Indian psychology provides for the possibility of all this. What Gandhi refers to as the “brute” in the humans is what we labeled as bodily processes and sensory instincts in Indian psychology. Mind refers to the mediating instrument between animal urges and spiritual aspirations. Consciousness constitutes the spiritual side of our being. “Human nature finds itself,” Gandhi wrote, “when it fully realizes that to be human it has to cease to be beastly or brutal” (CWMG, 67:414). The Gandhian dialectic of the animal and human in the person is an interesting psychological model for understanding human development. The animal instincts and spiritual aspirations in man are the two opposing structures, and our volition can profoundly impact the emerging synthesis arising out of the existential conflicts. What we have discussed so far shows that Gandhi’s life and thought fit well into the theoretical and conceptual framework of psychology in the Indian tradition. This is of sufficient interest in and of itself. What is even more important is that Gandhi applies the principles of Indian psychology to creatively craft instruments of social

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action, for promoting a just society free from exploitation and for resolving conflicts of all kinds. While fighting relentlessly for Indian freedom, Gandhi was also engaged in dealing with issues related to social reconstruction, economic upliftment, educational reform, and responsible governance. His constructive programmes and the initiatives he took to implement them embody positive application of the psycho-spiritual principles to which he subscribed. Gandhi’s thought and practices are of significant value in suggesting important areas to which Indian psychology could be usefully applied. Gandhian thought has significant implications to social psychology, human development, educational practice, economic behavior, political issues, and conflicts and their resolution. The key here is spirituality that adds the moral dimension to all these areas. Morality is not limited to individuals. In this section, we will limit ourselves to a brief discussion of Gandhian approach to conflict resolution and his consequent contribution to peace psychology. Conflicts are ubiquitous in human condition. Conflicts are not necessarily bad. In fact, conflicts are value-neutral; they could lead to negative or positive outcomes. Without conflicts, we would have a state of compliance and a static order. Progress consists in positive resolution of conflicts. The outcome of conflicts, whether positive or negative, depends to a great extent on how they are resolved. The correct strategy for conflict resolution is one that would have maximum positive and minimum negative effects. Violence, used in its various forms, invariably has outcomes that are more negative than positive. In Gandhi’s life and thought, nonviolence is the pervasive value. He also used it extensively as a tool of social action first in South Africa and later in India to produce political changes and help reduce social injustice and inequalities. At a general level, we may note that in Gandhian terms, conflicts arise because of conflicting perceptions of truth. When such conflicts arise, the only genuine resolution possible consists in coming closer to truth. Violence cannot serve this purpose. It at best suppresses conflicts and does not resolve them. Positive resolution of conflicts, which rests with coming closer to truth than moving away from it, is only possible by nonviolent methods. In Gandhi, we thus find truth and nonviolence as the twin principles in conflict resolution, as they are the two fundamental principles central to his main thought. According to Gandhi, “without ahimsa [nonviolence], it is not possible to seek and find truth.” In his thought, truth and nonviolence are so intertwined that it is practically impossible to discuss one without the other. Gandhi says: “They are like two sides of coin… ahimsa is the means; Truth is the end. Means to be means must always be within our reach and so ahimsa is our supreme duty. If we take care of the means, we are bound to reach the end sooner or later” (CWMG, 44:59). Gandhi saw “the same inviolable connection between the means and the end as there is between the seed and the tree.” Just as we may see the seed as the tree in the making so we may consider the means as ends in the making. In Gandhi, nonviolence is not a passive refrain from indulging in violence. Rather, it is a proactive positive force to resolve conflicts. Gandhi used nonviolence in that sense in a variety of social and political contexts. In the process, he developed important tools of social action. Satyagraha is the most significant of them.

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Satyagraha and Conflict Resolution Literal meaning of satyagraha is “holding on to truth.” Conceptually, it refers to “truth-force.” Gandhi also called it “love-force or soul-force.” “Truth,” “love,” and “soul” in Gandhi’s usage convey similar connotations, but are used in different contexts and to represent different levels of human functioning as spiritual beings. Each of them constitutes a goal, an ideal, that governs human conduct, and consequently, they underlie human development. They are fundamental to human quest, as Gandhi saw them. “Truth,” “love,” and “soul” the concepts Gandhi uses in the context of satyagraha are the ideals. “Error” is the opposite of “truth”; hate/violence is the antithesis of love/compassion. The soul stands for the spiritual and sublime in contrast to the material and the mundane, and spiritual refers to the ideal of altruism in human conduct. Its opposite is selfishness, the ego-centered identity. Our goal as humans wishing to adhere to truth is to purge the error. Applied to politics and public life, it consists “in opposing error in the shape of unjust laws.” According to Gandhi, as we noted, everyone is a mixture of good and evil. Satyagraha is designed as a tool to awaken the good in people and appeal to their conscience. This it does to the one who is practicing satyagraha as well as to the opponent against him it is offered. Therefore, Gandhi says, “satyagraha is twice blessed; it blesses him who practices it, and him against whom it is practiced” (quoted from Anand 2006, p. 73). According to Gandhi, satyagraha “is a process of purification and penance.” It is always designed to vindicate truth, “not by infliction of suffering on the opponent, but one’s own self” (CWMG, 17, p. 151). Gandhi states very clearly that the so-called doctrine of satyagraha “is merely an extension of the rule” we follow in setting domestic disputes to the political realm. Family disputes are settled “according to the law of love.” The aggrieved member does not inflict pain on others but endures it himself. So does the satyagrahi endure suffering himself while seeking redressal of a problem without inflicting any harm on the adversary. The manifest love and compassion thus generated bond the two opponents and make the resolution of the problem possible. Gandhi successfully applied satyagrahic techniques to resolve conflicts in a variety of situations in different contexts and locations. He believed that satyagraha can be used to resolve conflicts from domestic disputes to international conflicts. The possible areas of conflict resolution include (a) interpersonal conflicts, (b) social conflicts, (c) legal disputes, (d) industrial disputes, (e) citizen–state conflicts, and (f) international disputes. The ideal outcome of satyagraha is one where the parties divided in a conflict get united in resolving it by sharing truth. Satyagraha is thus practice of nonviolent action to resolve social and political conflicts. It may take a number of forms such as noncooperation, civil disobedience, and fasting, depending upon the nature of the conflict situation. Others have since used similar techniques of social action to resolve sociopolitical conflicts in other countries and continents, for example, Martin Luther King Jr. in USA and Nelson

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Mandela in South Africa. Gandhi has not prescribed a set theory to go by, and he has repeatedly emphasized that his techniques are essentially experimental in character. However, there is a grand rationale and an overarching principle behind it. The basic assumption underlying satyagraha is that it is possible to bring about personal transformation and also generate extensive social action by practice of nonviolence, which would lead people involved closer to truth. Nonviolent action helps to transform the individual. It serves the society by bringing people closer to realizing truth. The action engendered by nonviolent techniques, Gandhi claims, is far superior to the action involving violent means because in the latter case the solution is attended with undesirable and harmful consequences that are often beyond the control of the acting agent. Gandhi does not explicitly state how nonviolent action brings this miraculous transformation in the opponent. However, the actual workings of satyagraha, whatever may be its mysterious force, would seem to involve delicate and humane and spiritual modes of persuasion, communication, conversion, and ultimately positive transformation of the parties involved in conflict. Conflicts are often due to lack of communication precipitated by one’s biases and defences. Nonviolent direct action involved in noncooperation and civil disobedience of satyagraha is a means of making the opponent aware of the claims of satyagrahi. The initial stages of satyagraha, such as sending petitions and conducting negotiations with the opponent, are precisely the attempts to rationally communicate one’s claims and problems. Failing this, the satyagrahi mobilizes public opinion, which is again communication within the group. He may call for a strike or refuse to pay taxes and practice civil disobedience. Noncooperation presumably makes the opponent aware of the truth claims of the satyagrahi and makes him to cooperate to find a solution. If both the parties still fail to come to an agreement, it can still be interpreted as a failure to adequately communicate. While this may be so for various reasons, the failure may be ultimately traced to a conflict of interests/values between the two parties based on their perceptions of truth. Truth claims are often value-loaded. The values also tend to be person-focused and context-related. Therefore, they may vary and give rise to a conflict situation. What one holds to be valuable may not seem to be so to the other. It becomes therefore imperative for the one who is at a disadvantage to do whatever he can to communicate to his adversary the genuineness of his claims and values. This a nonviolent person can do only by suffering the consequences of his opponent’s acts long enough for the opponent to realize the validity of the claims being made. There are a variety of attempts to explain how satyagraha works. Prominent among them include those by sociologists and political scientists like Bondurant (1958) and Sharp (1979). Sharp suggests that the success of satyagraha and nonviolence is due to the expression of dissent and practice of noncooperation. They would have the effect of eroding the basic power structure of the rulers inasmuch as a government cannot function without the consent of the people, because political power is derived from the consent and cooperation of the population. There are also some attempts to understand satyagraha from a psychological perspective. The earliest of them is by Case (1923), who conducted interesting

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studies of social psychology of passive resistance. Gregg (1935/1960), a Gandhian scholar, suggests that nonviolent resistance involved in satyagraha is “a sort of moral jiu-jitsu.” Just as in physical jiu-jitsu, the opponent loses his physical balance resulting in his own force working against him, so does the psychological jiu-jitsu of satyagraha, according to Gregg, make the aggressor lose his moral balance. The nonviolent resistance pulls the opponent forward by “kindness, generosity and voluntary suffering, so that the attacker loses his moral balance” (p. 44). Psychoanalyst Erikson (1970) made an extensive study of Gandhi’s satyagraha. In his book Gandhi’s Truth, which contains an extensive study of Gandhi and the satyagraha of textile workers of Ahmedabad, Erikson suggests that satyagraha involves “therapeutic persuasion as a cure of man’s aberrations” and that therapeutic persuasion involved in satyagraha is “a counterpoint to political terror.” He adds further that “violence against the adversary and against self are inseparable” (p. 437) and implies that nonviolence practiced by satyagrahi will provoke the adversary to the message of nonviolence, leading to “double conversion: the hateful person, by containing his egoistic hate and by learning to love the opponent as human, will confront the opponent with an enveloping technique that will force, or rather permit, him to regain his latent capacity to trust and to love” (p. 437). Thus, in Erikson’s characterization, satyagraha is a sacred ritual not unlike the more secular ritual of psychoanalysis. Now that the technological advances have completely undermined the adaptive value that wars may have had in the past, Erikson suggests, it is time to replace the “uniformed ritual” of war by such nonviolent rituals as satyagraha. American psychologist, Mayton (2001), points out that Gandhi made use of “many of the factors identified as efficacious by researchers of persuasive communication” (p. 312). These include (a) Gandhi’s charismatic leadership, (b) his similarity and identification with the common people of India, and (c) his thoughtful analysis of social injustice. Mayton also invokes the attribution theory to account for the success of satyagraha. Attribution theory in social psychology deals with factors that determine how people attribute causes to their and other’s actions. It is observed that people generally tend to attribute the observed behavior to the situation than to the person when it is something that is what is usually expected. However, in the event that the observed behavior is very different from what is generally expected, the tendency is to attribute it to the disposition of those involved than to the situation. In the case of Gandhi’s satyagraha, the response of nonviolent resisters to the violent treatment meted out to them is something unusual, and therefore, it is attributed to the disposition of satyagrahis rather than the situation. This makes those in the adversarial position to view the satyagrahis more favorably than otherwise. It is also observed that people tend to have the “self-serving bias” which leads them to take credit for the successes and ignore the failures. During a satyagrahic struggle against an adversary such as the British rule, the self-serving attributional bias would predict that the adversary would attribute the cause of their violent suppression to the external situational factors, i.e., the law or the practice that the satyagrahis are protesting against, rather than denigrating

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themselves for the violence they caused. This shift favors a relook at the situation, which is what the satyagrahi is seeking. There is some truth and validity in all the above attempts to account for satyagraha’s success as a tool of social action. Communication is central to conflict resolution. However, a closer study of Gandhi suggests that the above at best are partial explanations. An important aspect of Gandhi’s thought is spirituality, and there is a significant spiritual component to satyagraha in addition to sociopsychological factors.

Spiritual Perspective of Satyagraha Many of the interpretations of satyagraha as a tool of conflict resolution, as we noted, do not pay attention to its spiritual dimension, but simply speak of the communication aspect of it. It is questionable, however, that satyagraha is no more than a strategy to facilitate rational communication between adversaries or simple emotional conversion of the opponent. We all know that there is an existential divide between cognition and conduct between knowing and behaving. Most people who smoke know that smoking is bad for their health. All of us subscribe to the ethic that lying is not right, yet almost everyone lies, some less frequently perhaps than others. It follows that communicating truth and what is right does not always ensure that people behave truthfully and do what is right. Something more may be required to bridge the gap between knowing and behaving in order to close the divide between cognition and conduct. There is much in Gandhi’s writings to suggest that satyagraha and nonviolence practiced with required sincerity and discipline could not only help in facilitating communication between the two conflicting parties and result in shared beliefs and values, but also bridge the existential divide between knowing and being. The “soul-force” that Gandhi often referred to may be just that. The transformation brought about by satyagraha involves not only shared information and values but also shared conduct. Let us recall that, referring to satyagraha, Gandhi spoke of truth-force, love-force, and soul-force as if they were synonymous. It would seem that these terms “truth,” “love,” and “soul” refer to three aspects or levels of the force generated by satyagraha. The first level of truth involves rational communication. It is the force of logic, argument, and evidence. Here, the satyagrahi attempts to communicate truth at cognitive level and convince the adversary of the truth claims made. The second level is the emotional level. By undergoing suffering on himself and refraining from harming the adversary, the satyagrahi generates love-force, which is aimed at convincing the opponent at the emotional level. The third, the “soul-force” refers to the spiritual force generated by the self-purification of satyagrahi. The central postulate of the extended interpretation of satyagraha is that it involves “truth-force,” which aims at rationally convincing people of satyagrahi’s truth claims. It also arouses an emotional response that disarms the rational

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defences and other biases that obstruct the opponent from seeing truth. Finally, it generates a spiritual force that engenders empathy, brings about the realization of truth, transforms the satyagrahi and his adversary alike, and thus brings about a resolution of the conflict. All this would be possible only in an environment of nonviolence. Nonviolent direct action involved in satyagraha not only cuts through the defences of the adversary and opens him to receive the message of the opponent and its truthfulness but more importantly also impels him to act in consonance with what is perceived to be true. We find the seeds of the above notion in yoga and meditation. Meditation is not merely a technique of reducing stress in the practitioner, but it also has transformational consequences that are believed to go beyond the meditator. Consummate meditators as self-realized persons not only transform themselves but they also are believed to transform others around them. This belief is something that has roots in Indian tradition. Patanjali states explicitly in Yoga-Sutras that in the presence of one who achieved excellence in practicing nonviolence others become nonviolent (2.35). People like Ramana Maharshi and Ramakrishna Paramahamsa are known to have exerted during their lifetime such an influence on those who visited them. Satyagraha may be seen as yoga of nonviolence applied to social action. What Gandhi spoke of as “spiritual force” and “inner voice” have uncanny resemblances to some of the effects brought about by Patanjali’s yoga. Gandhi’s emphasis on truth and nonviolence appear to be similar to abhyasa and vairagya. In the practice of satyagraha, one develops a state of mind that is able to endure hardships in courting suffering for a just cause. Satyagraha is more than a set of practices. It is also a state of mind achieved by the satyagrahi by certain practices of nonviolence. Let us recall the distinction Gandhi makes between nonviolence of the weak and nonviolence of the strong and also between suppression of violence and practice of nonviolence. Nonviolence of the weak is limited to refraining from acts of violence in one’s behavior, whereas in the nonviolence of the strong, there is actual proactive practice of nonviolence born of self-conviction, self-suffering, and love for others. The latter is manifest not only in outward practices, but also in inner transformation of the person offering satyagraha. A special state of the mind is created by practice of nonviolence. In other words, nonviolence of the strong involves more than a belief system and a prescribed course of action routinely practiced. It is, like yoga, an assiduously cultivated self-discipline. The person engaged in them is so absorbed that they become an intrinsic aspect of his being. It enables one to develop a state of mind just as the practice of Patanjali yoga leads to a state of samadhi. Practice of nonviolence is more than suppression of violence in one’s behavior in that it is more than cognitively apprehended appreciation of the virtues of nonviolence. It is nonviolence in thought as well as action incorporated into the mind-set of the person and thus becomes a way of life for him. It possibly presupposes the development of a certain level of spiritual maturity on the part of the person practicing nonviolence, as it appears to be the case with a practicing yogin. From the Gandhian perspective, it would seem humans function at different levels. They include physical, psychobiological, and spiritual. Consequently, the matter of controlling violence as well as practicing nonviolence needs to be carried

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out at different levels. At the physical level, in addition to the security networks such as the police, we need to ensure that the physical and biological factors contributing to violence are addressed. For example, deprivations and discriminations of all kinds are significant contributory factors for the outburst of violence at the level of individual as well as the group. Taking care of them, though necessary, will not be sufficient, however, to stem violence. At the psychological level, there are known principles that one could use to channel and check violence. Those forms of violence that are learned and to which one is conditioned can be controlled by suitable deconditioning processes. One may learn himself to suppress violence in him. This works only to a degree. Continued and forced suppression of violence becomes repressive. Repressed violence is bound to explode sooner or later unless it is sublimated in some ways. The most effective way to preempt violence is to cultivate its opposite, which is love. Patanjali in his Yoga-Sutras specifically prescribes this mode to overcome the hurdles that stand in the way of reaching self-realization. Violence is indeed one hurdle that Patanjali specifically mentions as something to be controlled by cultivating its opposite. Gandhi appears to have been influenced by Patanjali yoga in his uncompromising advocacy of love/nonviolence as an antidote to violence, which is considered a vice and an impediment for self-realization and for promoting common good, which are the goals of human quest. Gandhi strongly believed that violence can be conquered by conscientious practice of love and compassion. In other words, cultivating altruistic attitude through education and upbringing can be helpful in mitigating the occurrence of violence at the psychological level. Finally, violence needs to be eradicated at the spiritual level, as well. Spiritualization of the human condition is indeed the ultimate solution for containing violence. Spiritualization raises humans to a higher level of being. Mahatma Gandhi has shown us some ways of accomplishing this. According to him, spiritualization is feasible and practical even in the contemporary world. Gandhi says that intellectual force is superior to physical force and spiritual force is superior to intellectual force (CWMG, 9: 115). In the final analysis, to know truth, one needs to spiritualize himself. Practice of nonviolence of the strong kind is the means for spiritualization of self and others (CWMG, 30: 425). To conclude, there is a message in the above for psychologists to ponder and many ideas for researcher to pursue. In Gandhi’s life and thought, we find an interesting blend of secular and the sacred, a good example for studying science and spirituality together. There are two basic postulates governing Gandhi’s thought and practices. First, man is a composite of brute and human, animal and the divine. Second, human development is a dialectical process to find a synthesis of the animal and divine tendencies inherent in man’s nature. The case of Gandhi is a fine illustration of the possibilities for Indian psychology to play the role of a leading model with special relevance to the troubled world today. Almost every book of any merit on peace psychology has at least a chapter discussing Gandhi’s contributions. There are many others in the Indian tradition who like Gandhi can be studied in depth to illustrate many salient facets of Indian psychology. This can be very fascinating to the young inquiring minds. Equally important is the need to convert

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the ideas gathered from these case studies into theories and hypotheses to be tested and applied successfully to improve human condition. It is my hope that scientific psychology in India as it moves into its second century of existence will be a vibrant discipline anchored in native Indian ethos and reflecting the many sided splendor of Indian psychology, not content with following the Western models imitating and replicating the studies carried out elsewhere. This could indeed help psychology to regain its lost “soul.”

References Anand, Y. P. (2006). Mahatma Gandhi and Satyagraha. New Delhi: National Gandhi Museum. Asthana, H. S. (1988). Personality. In J. Pandey (Ed.), Psychology in India: The state-of-the-art (Vol. I, pp. 153–196). New Delhi: Sage. Bondurant, J. (1958). Conquest of violence: The gandhian philosophy of conflict. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Brett, G. S. (1921). A history of psychology (2 Vols). London: Allen & Unwin. Case, C. M. (1923). Non-violent coercion: A study in methods of social pressure. New York: Century. CWMG. Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi. Second revised edition. 100 Volumes. New Delhi: Publications Division, Ministry of Information of Broadcasting, Government of India. Desai, M. (1932/1953). Diary of Mahadeva Desai (Vol. 1). Ahmedabad: Navajivan Publishing House. Erikson, E. (1970). Gandhi’s truth: On the origins of militant nonviolence. New York: W.W. Norton. Gregg, R. (1935/1960). The power of nonviolence (Rev. ed.). London: George Routledge. New York: Schocken. James, W. (1890). Principles of psychology. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Kelly, E. F., Kelly, E. W., Crabtee, A., Gauld, A., Grosso, M., & Greyson, B. (2007). Irreducible mind: Toward a psychology for the 21st century. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. Mayton, D. M. (2001). Gandhi as peacebuilder: The social psychology of satyagraha. In D. J. Christie, R. V. Wagner, & D. D. N. Winter (Eds.), Peace, conflict and violence: Peace psychology for 21st century. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Pandey, J. (1988). Psychology in India. Vol. 1. The state-of-the-art. New Delhi: Sage. Rao, K. R. (2002). Consciousness studies, cross-cultural perspectives. Jefferson, NC: McFarland. Rao, K. R. (2011). Cognitive anomalies, consciousness and yoga. New Delhi: Matrix Publishers. Rao, K. R. (2014). Satyagraha: Gandhi’s yoga of nonviolence. GITAM Journal of Gandhian Studies, 3(1), 79–118. Rao, K. R., & Paranjpe, A. C. (2015). Psychology in the Indian tradition. New York: Springer. Rhine, J. B. (1934). Extra-sensory perception. Boston: Boston Society for Psychic Research. Sharp, G. (1979). Gandhi as a political strategist with essays in ethics and politics. Boston, MA: Porter Sargent. Sinha, D., & Kao, S. R. (Eds.). (1997). Asian perspectives of psychology. New York: Sage. Sinha, J. (1958). Indian psychology: Vol. 1, cognition. Calcutta: Sinha Publishing House.

Index

A Aberrations, 235, 245 Abetted, 51 Abhimāna, 97 Abhiniveśa, 37, 39, 61, 216 Abhyāsa, 14–16, 18–20, 22, 31, 32, 35, 109, 194, 198, 212, 227 Absolutistic, 114 Adharma, 84 Adhyavasāya, 97 Advaita Vedanta, 4, 239 Aftanas, L.I., 141, 146 Āgama, 13 Āgāmi karma, 95 Ahaṅkāra, 5 Ahiṃsā, 52 Ākāśa, 79, 80 Akliṣṭa, 12, 40 Ālaya-vijñāna, 195 Albeit subtle, 96 Alexander, C.N., 156, 157 Aliṅga, 46 Altruism, 22, 32, 51, 179, 191, 192, 194, 226, 239, 241, 243 Amalgamation, 17, 233 Analogy, 72, 124 Ānanda, 17, 33, 182, 213, 231 Ānandamaya-kośa, 107, 182 Ānandānugata, 58, 69 Anand, B.K., 139–141 Anantharaman, R.N., 155 Anasakti Yoga, 240 Anātmavāda, 107, 196 Andresen, J., 138 Antarāyabhāva, 22 Antiquity, 137 Anumāna, 13 Anuśāsanam, 7 Anvaya, 59, 79, 80 © The Author(s) 2017 K.R. Rao, Foundations of Yoga Psychology, DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-5409-9

Aphorism (s) patanjali’s, 4, 5, 118 Apodictic evidence, 16 Apoha, 46 Appanā, 118, 122, 123 Apperceptional, 122 Apprehensions erroneous, 37 Arahantship, 119, 196 Archetypal, 5 Arhant, 114, 121 Arias, A., 162 Aristotle, 175 Arousal, 13, 127, 130, 138, 140–142, 146, 156, 160, 164, 207 Arthaśāstra, 199 Arthavattva, 79, 80 Arūpas, 123 Asamprajñāta, 8, 16, 20, 58, 59, 68, 70 Asamprajñāta samadhi, 8–10, 33, 59, 60, 69, 71 Asampramoṣa, 149 doctrine of memory, 149 Āsana, 50, 53, 56, 67, 118, 131, 149, 153, 192 Asmitā, 17, 37, 39, 61, 80, 84, 85, 100, 216 Asmitānugata, 58, 69 Asthana, H.S., 176, 235 Astin, John, 159 Ātman, 52, 107, 129, 195 Atreya, 110 Attenuated, 25, 29, 37, 38, 51, 52 Attributes, 15, 36, 45, 73, 74, 94, 104, 178, 184, 203, 214, 231 Aurobindo, Sri, 111, 198, 221–225, 234 Austerities practice of, 36 Austin, James, 142, 143 Āvaraṇa, 187 Avasthā parinama, 8 251

252 Aversion, 15, 37–39, 43, 44, 61, 86, 94, 110, 121, 132, 179, 186, 216, 217 Avidyā, 12, 37–40, 43, 44, 48, 49, 61, 86, 92, 103, 107, 108, 110, 183, 215–217 Aviśeṣa, 46 Axiological auṣadhi, 83 B Badawi, K., 141 Baer, R.A., 153 Baerentsen, K.B., 144 Bagchi, B.K., 140, 141 Balodhi, J.P., 159 Banquet, J.P., 140, 141 Barber, T.X., 116 Barnes, V.A., 158 Basit, M.A., 153 Beary, J.F., 127 Becker, D., 141 Behavioral causation, 41, 95 Beidebach, M., 138 Benson, H., 117, 118, 127, 145, 157 Bergson, Henry, 221, 222 Bhagavad-Gītā, 36, 109, 111, 114 Bhagwat, J.M., 159 Bhāratīya Jīva Śāstra Sūtras, 178 Bhatt, G.P., 163 Bhavaṅga citta, 122 Bhava-pratyaya, 18 Bhoja, 12, 23, 75, 91, 226 Bhoktā, 184, 187 Bhole, M.V., 138, 139, 154, 159 Bhushan, S., 155 Bhūtās, 72 Bhūtendriya-jayin, 81 Bogart, J., 138 Bokert, E., 151 Bondurant, Joan, 244 Brahmabindu Upaniṣad, 216 Brahmacarya, 52 Brahmākāra-vṛtti, 110 Brahman, 4, 21, 29, 33, 58, 94, 107, 108, 152, 213, 214, 219, 239 Brahmanism, 1 Braud, William, 207 Breath, 23, 53, 54, 78, 118, 127, 129, 130, 141–144, 157 expiration and retention of, 23 Brefczynski-Lewis, J.A., 144 Brentano, F., 28, 209 Brett, G.S., 233 Broad, C. D., 221 Bronson, E.C., 141 Brooks, J.S., 153

Index Brosse, T., 138 Brown, D.P., 149 Buddhaghoṣa, 120, 122, 123, 128, 132, 165 Buddhi, 3, 4, 11, 12, 14, 24, 31–33, 38, 39, 45–50, 77, 82, 90, 93, 94, 96–107, 184, 185, 214, 215, 222, 225 purity of the, 185, 225 unblemished, 3 Buddhi-bodhātman, 11 Buddhism Tibetan, 142, 210 Buddhist(s) anātmavāda, 107, 196 Vipassanā, 118 C Cahn, Rael, 125, 138, 142, 143, 147, 162 Campbell, K., 140 Canter, P.H., 158–163 Caraka Saṃhitā, 158, 199 Carol, M.M., 127 Carrington, P., 116–118, 124, 127, 128 Carter, O., 149 Cartesian dualism, 117, 222 inheritance, 221 sense, 221, 222 Case, C.M, 244 Castillo, Richard, 197 Cessation, 11, 18, 44, 48–50, 73, 77, 87, 92, 94, 108, 109, 211, 226 Ceto-vimutti, 123 Chakraborty, P.K, 153 Chhina, G.S., 139–141 Cicero, 202 Citta-vṛtti nirodha, 9 Clairvoyance, 78, 235 Cognition(s), 9, 14, 20, 26, 27, 60, 70, 71, 216 Cognitive activity, 17, 18, 30, 31, 59, 60, 70, 71, 76, 77, 110 awareness, 8, 9, 28 excellence, 8, 16–18, 27, 31, 115, 129, 133, 166, 189, 212–214, 216, 218, 226, 238 forms, 212, 229 knowing, 8, 39, 76, 189, 212–214, 218, 238, 246 psychology, 219 super, 58 therapy, 157 Cognizer, 11, 90 Colonial syndrome, 234 Compassion, 23, 32, 114, 133, 190, 191, 243, 248

Index Conation, 15, 191 Concentration, 2, 7, 12, 15, 16, 19–22, 24, 25, 31, 33, 35, 37, 40, 49, 53–55, 63, 65, 66, 68, 75, 117–119, 121–126, 130, 132, 133, 140, 143, 162, 196, 213, 214, 227 Conflict resolution, 238, 241, 242, 246 Consciousness nonintentional, 8 personal, 3, 100, 197 pervasive, 4 phenomenal, 4 pure, 4, 8, 9, 59, 70, 77, 94, 102, 103, 108, 110, 111, 113, 114, 142, 225, 229 Contemplation, 26, 54, 55, 66, 119, 129 Corby, J.C, 141 Corey, P.W, 145 Cosmic conundrum, 40 Cosmology, 35, 84, 101 Critique of Pure Reason, 89 Culminating, 49, 58, 69, 71, 218, 226 Czechoslovakian scientists, 163, 164 D Dalai Lama, 210, 211 Dalal, A.S., 221 Das, N.N., 140–142 Dasgupta, S.N., 3, 4, 12, 15, 19, 38, 40, 88, 89, 99–101, 104 Datey, K.K., 157 Davidson, J.M., 138, 140 Davidson, R.J., 125, 138, 141, 142, 147, 161 Deepak, K.K., 141 Deliberation, 17, 27, 29 Delusion, 111, 119, 121, 190, 196, 202, 203 Denigration, 234 Deśa-bandha, 55, 66 Desai, M., 240 Descartes, 98, 221 Determinism, 84, 95 pervasive, 42, 90 Dhanaraj, V.H., 145 Dhāraṇa, 19 Dharma, 40, 72–74, 84, 87, 92 Dharmānam, 87 Dhyāna, 41, 55–57, 59, 65–67, 69, 74, 76, 117, 119, 124, 166 Dichotomies, 114, 115, 197 Dillbeck, M.C., 141, 160 Discernment, 9, 30, 49 Discriminating, 43, 44, 49, 50, 54, 61, 111, 189 Dispassionateness, 14–16, 19–21, 32, 33, 35–37, 40, 61, 92, 187, 212, 217 Dissolution, 9, 30, 40, 41, 93, 94, 190, 196, 222, 226

253 Distraction(s), 23, 60, 71, 78, 119, 124, 131, 132, 165 Divergence, 10 Divya, 24 Donderi, D. C, 205 Dormant, 38, 86, 95, 131 Dostalek, C., 163 Draṣṭā, 100 Dualism metaphysics of, 104 Dualist cartesian, 98 radical, 98 western, 98, 99 Dubey, B.L., 138 Duḥkha, 39, 43, 111 Dukhan, H., 152 Dune, J., 138, 161 Dunne, Brenda, 206 Dveṣa, 39, 44, 61, 186, 216 Dvivedi, M.N, 9, 17, 20, 26 Dwindle, 8, 25 Dwivedi, C.B, 149 E Ekagra, 8 Ekagrata, 7 pariṇāma, 60, 71, 72 Eka-tattva-abhyāsa, 23 Ekendriya, 15 Electroencephalogram studies of meditation, 139, 141, 142 Eliade, Mircea, 1, 2 Embellishing, 6, 97, 98, 149 Embellishment(s), 8, 18, 28–31 Empiricist, 113 Enslaves, 40 Entanglement, 19, 45, 48, 49, 102, 108 Epistemology, 6, 11 Epoché, 16 Eppley, K.R, 162 Equipoise, 25, 26, 32, 133, 153, 165 Erikson, Erik, 240, 245 Ernst, E, 158 Esoteric energy, 125 Etymological, 7 Exhalation, 53, 129, 163 Extrasensory awareness, 78 F Faber, P.L., 146 Farrow, J.T., 126, 127, 142 Fatalistic, 85, 198

Index

254 Fechner, 233 Fenwick, P.C.B., 145 Feuerstein, G., 9 Fletcher, K., 157 Fluctuation, 9, 15, 25, 30, 58, 59, 69, 72, 89, 110, 118, 119 Freedom of will, 235 Fruition, 42, 44, 85 G Galton, 233 Gandha, 46 Gandhi, Mahatma, 52, 194, 234, 238–246, 248 Ganguly, S.K, 159 Gardner, Martin, 205 Gastaut, H., 141, 142 Gauld, Alan, 209 Gaustaut, 140 Gaylord,C., 141 Gestalt, 82, 196 Gharote, M.L., 159 Ghista, D.N., 141 Ghosh, A.K., 137 Giber, D., 148 Girodo, M., 154 Glueck, B.C., 141 Goleman, D.J., 117, 123, 127, 132, 133, 148, 153 Golocheikine, S.A., 141, 146, 147 Gore, M.M., 159 Grahaṇa, 17 Grahitṛ, 17 Grāhya, 17 Greenwood, J.A., 206 Gregg, Richard, 245 Greville, T.N.E., 206 Grossman, P., 138, 155, 162 Guṇa(s), 2, 5, 33, 37, 40, 44–46, 49, 50, 52, 59, 69, 72, 73, 77, 79, 84, 88, 89, 94, 101, 108 Guṇavaitŗsnyam, 16 Guṇa-vṛtti-virodha, 43, 44 H Hajek, P., 163 Hallett, C.B., 153 Hansel, C.E.M., 205 Hatha Yoga, 2, 24, 125, 130, 163 Hebert, R., 141, 142 Hindrances, 8, 21, 22, 37, 38, 42, 92, 116, 120, 121, 126, 216 Hindu ethos, 2, 114

mythology, 53 psychology, 176, 235 tradition, 2, 6, 115 Hinduism, 114 Hirai, T., 140, 141 Hiriyanna, M., 109 Hoeing, J., 139 Holmes, D.S., 138, 160 Honorton, Charles, 152 Hume, D., 202, 203, 205 Husserl’s, 16, 85, 218 Hypertension, 148, 153, 157, 158 Hypometabolic state, 127, 145 I Idealist monism, 201 Ignorance, 3, 33, 37, 38, 46, 49, 51, 57, 61, 62, 68, 82, 85–87, 92, 95, 108, 110, 121, 165, 178, 179, 187, 189, 198, 199, 215, 224 Ikemi, A., 143, 146 Illumination, 26, 31, 39, 79, 90, 99–101, 103, 105, 214, 226 Illusions, 37, 38 Immortality, 1 Imperfection, 7, 115, 181, 191, 213, 215 Impermanence, 11, 122, 129, 188 Imprisons, 40 Impulsive, 7, 8, 31 Indian philosophy, 1, 109, 137, 175 psychology, 1, 17, 99, 114, 175–177, 179–182, 191–194, 197–199, 228, 229, 233–239, 241, 242, 248, 249 Indistinguishable, 3, 57, 68, 81, 215, 222, 225 Indriyas, 72 Indulgence sensual, 38 Ineffable, 30, 214, 224 Inert stability, 45 I-ness, 17, 24, 39, 58, 69, 80, 84, 87, 115 Infinity, 53 Inglis, Brian, 202 Inhalation, 23, 53, 54, 129, 163 Inhibition, 9, 10, 26, 132, 140, 141 Insignificance, 93 Intensification, 119, 226 Intercepted, 37, 38 Intrahemispheric coherence of EEG, 141 Intrinsic, 16, 17, 25, 32, 33, 83, 86, 101, 103–105, 108, 124, 133, 152, 166, 181, 194, 209, 216, 227, 247

Index Introspection, 90, 118, 119, 177 Intuition, 82, 196, 213, 221, 223, 224, 226–231 Invocations, 121 Involution, 18, 29, 40, 94, 107, 108 Isolation, 6, 89, 107, 108, 124, 165 Iśvara-praṇidhāna, 20 Iversen, J., 145 J Jacobson, E., 131 Jaeger, S., 162 Jagṛt, 182 Jahn, Robert, 206 Jain, S., 155 Jainism, 85, 176, 235 James, Alcock, 205 James, William, 90, 221, 233 Jevning, R.A., 138, 146 Jha, G., 9, 91 Jhāna, 117, 118, 121–123, 132, 165, 196 Jñāna yoga, 152, 193 Jhansi Rani, N., 149 Jiu-jitsu, 245 Jīva(s), 4, 102, 104, 105, 107, 178, 187 Jīvan-mukti, 30, 109–111 Jīvan-Mukti-Viveka, 109 Jñāna-dīpti, 50 Jñāna-rakṣa, 111 Jñānendriyās, 215 Jñātā, 184, 187 Johansson, R.E.A., 196 Johnson, L.C., 140 K Kabat-Zinn, J., 118, 128, 129, 150, 156, 157 Kabir, R., 155 Kaivalya, 4–7, 10, 20, 22, 29, 31, 40, 41, 48, 55, 58, 59, 65, 68, 69, 74, 78, 81–83, 85, 87, 92–94, 101, 103, 105–109, 114, 116, 165, 192 Kaliappan, K.V., 158 Kalish, D., 137 Kamitani, Yukiyasu, 208 Kant, 89 Kanthamani, H., 229 Kao, 176, 235 Kapālabhāti kevala, 54, 106 Karambelkar, P.V., 138, 139 Kārika(s), 107 Karma, 11, 19, 37, 40–44, 54, 76, 78, 79, 85–87, 92–96, 110, 188, 192, 217 Karmāśaya, 41–44, 95

255 Karmendriyās, 215 Kartā, 184, 187 Kasamatsu, A., 140, 141 Kāyika, 188 Kelly, E.F., 142, 209, 210, 235 Kennedy, J. E., 206, 207, 228 Khire, U., 155 Khyati, 30 Kirkwood, G., 157 Kjaer, T.W., 142 Klesas attenuating the, 37, 57, 68 Kleśa-Karma-Saṃskāra Nexus, 95 Kliṣṭa, 12, 195 Kliṣtavṛttis, 40 Knowledge there of, 4 Kocher, H.C., 149, 154 Kochumuttom, Thomas, 195 Koenig, H.G., 150 Kolsawalla, M.B., 149, 150, 153 Kośa(s) ānandamaya–, 107, 182 annamaya–, 182 manomaya–, 182 vijñānamaya–, 182 Krishnamacharya, E., 9 Kristeller, J., 138, 148, 150, 153 Kriyā-Yoga, 36, 37, 51, 61, 126 Kṣaṇa, 59, 81 Kṣetram, 37 Kṣīna vṛttis, 25 Kṣipta, 8, 31, 57, 68 Kubose, S.K., 148 Kuhn, T.S., 205 Kumar, H., 138 Kumaraiah, V., 159 Kundalini yoga, 125, 144 Kunze, S., 162 Kūrma-nādi, 76 L Lakoff, G., 210 Lakṣaṇa parinama, 72 Larson, D.B., 150 Latha, 158 Lazar, S.W., 142, 144 Leggett, A.J., 66, 73, 92, 94 Leggett, T., 9, 17, 48, 54 Leipzig, 233 Lepicovaka, V., 163 Levin, 150 Liberation

256 of the puruṣa, 45–47, 100, 104, 105 Linden, W., 148, 153, 154 Liṅga, 46 Liṅga śarīra, 183 Linzmayer, A. J., 206 Lou, H.C., 141, 143, 144 Lucidity, 45, 46 Luminosity of prajñā, 56 Luminous, 24, 46 Luth, W., 130 Lutz, A., 125, 138, 141, 142, 144, 146, 147, 161, 164 M Macaulay, 233, 234 Madhu-bhūmika, 81 Madhupratica, 81 Mādhyamika thinkers, 195 Mahāvideha, 79 Mahā-vratam, 50 Mahāyāna Saṃgraha, 195 Mahesh Yogi, 126, 139, 151 Maheswari, M.C., 141 Majjhima-Nikaya, 120 Manana, 62, 180, 218, 219 Manas, 14, 31, 32, 46, 96–98, 184–186, 195, 214, 225 Mānasika, 188 Manchanda, S.K., 141 Manifestation(s), 3–5, 9–12, 17, 19, 37, 40, 45, 46, 49, 50, 53, 58, 59, 61, 69, 72, 73, 80, 81, 84, 88, 89, 101, 102, 104–106, 111, 116, 123, 125, 178, 182, 183, 187, 213, 223, 227, 231, 235, 236 Manocha, R., 159 Manojavitam, 80 Mano-nāśa, 109 Manovijññāna, 195 Mantras, 83, 85, 127, 128 Marlatt, A.G., 153 Martin Luther King Jr., 243 Maslow, 111 Matas, F., 151 Materialist reductionism, 201 Māyā, 107 Mayton, D.M., 245 McClenon, J., 229 McCullough, M.E., 150 Meditation buddhistic, 119, 120 empirical studies of, 115, 137 external, 159

Index internal secular, 159 neuroimaging studies of, 143 practice of, 25, 41, 115–117, 121, 131, 132, 138, 142, 148, 149, 151, 156, 161, 189, 192, 225 psychological effects of, 148 spiritual, 159 therapeutic effects, 156 transcendental, 116, 118, 125, 126, 138, 139, 157 yogic, 116, 118, 128, 140 Mediumistic, 18 Mental phenomena manifestation of, 2 Meta-Cognitive Psychology, 219 Metamorphosis, 9 Metaphors, 6 Metaphysics, 2, 6, 11, 87, 104, 175, 225 Metapsychological theory, 1 Metapsychology of yoga, 5, 6, 10, 36 Miller, J.J., 157 Mills, G.K., 140 Mind phenomena of the, 100 Misconstrual of a phenomenal experience, 38 Mishra, H., 159 Miśra, Vācaspati, 6, 7, 10, 18, 21, 23, 25, 28, 29, 36, 38, 42, 45, 49, 53, 55, 56, 65, 67, 88, 90, 91, 97, 132 Miyawaki, Y., 208 Mokṣa, 44, 48, 109, 197 Monism, 107, 201 Monro, R., 137 Morse, D.R., 147 Mortality, 156 Muḍha, 8 Mūḍdha, 57, 68 Multitude of prakṛti’s, 46 Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad, 219 Mundane, 23, 57, 67, 90, 133, 150, 191, 194, 203, 217, 243 Mutation, 45, 93, 106 Myers, F. W. H., 221, 222 Mystica sahaja, 125, 146, 159 N Nagaratna, R., 149 Nāgārjuna, 195 Nagendra, H. R., 149, 159 Naranjo, Claudio, 124 Nelson Mandela, 244

Index Neurochemical, 145, 164 Neurophysiological changes, 164, 210 effects, 138, 147, 148 investigation, 164, 211 Neurotransmitter, 143, 145 Newberg, A. B., 145 Nguyen, L., 157 Nibbāna, 196 in Pāli, 121 Nididhyāsana, 180, 193, 218 Nidrā, 13, 14, 32, 142, 143, 155 Nirbīja, 30 Nirodha pariṇāma, 59, 60, 70, 71 Niruddha, 8, 32, 57–60, 68–71, 114, 118 Nirvāṇa, 109, 114, 119, 121, 150, 192, 196 Nirvicāra, 17, 28, 29 Nirvitarka, 17, 27–29 Niyama, 50–53, 56, 67, 118, 166 Nonacquisitiveness state of, 52 Noncognitive mind, 57, 67 Nonintentional, 18, 58, 59, 69, 70, 214 Nonrelational, 182, 214 Nonviolence, 50, 52, 242, 244, 245, 247, 248 Novak, P., 163 Núñez, 210 Nyāya-Vaiśeṣika, 186 O Oak, J. P., 154 Object-awareness, 90 O’Connell, D., 153 O’Halloran, J. P., 146 OM, 21, 22, 36, 51, 126, 133 Omniscience, 21, 22, 77, 94, 108 Ontological implications, 95 Ontology, 87, 88 Orme-Johnson, D. W., 126, 127 Ornstein, R. E., 124, 132 Osis, K., 151 Ospina, M. B., 125 Ostensible, 165 Otherness, 115 P Pagano, R. R., 141, 145, 146 Pali, 119, 121 Palmer, J., 205, 229, 235 Palsane, M. N., 158 Paññā, 121 Paññā-vimutto, 121

257 Pandey, J., 176, 235 Pantas, L., 151, 152 Pāpa, 42 Paradoxical observation, 164 Paradoxical state, 77 Paramamahattva, 25 Paramāṇu, 25 Pāramārtha, 78 Paranjpe, A, C., 16, 27, 90 Paranormal effects, 150 hearing, 79 phenomena, 74, 150, 192, 208, 213, 228, 238 powers, 65 Parapsychologist(s), 151, 205, 208, 228, 229, 235 Parapsychology, 151, 201, 202, 205–208, 212, 228, 229 Parasympathetic activity, 145 Pargament, K. I., 159 Pariṇāma, 43, 71 Patanjali yoga, 247, 248 Patel, Chandra, 157 Pearce, Hubert, 206 Pearson, C., 141 Pelletier, K. R., 148 Peo, 137 Perception, 3, 9, 10, 12–14, 16, 18, 24, 26–31, 33, 49, 75–77, 79, 81, 88, 89, 92, 96–99, 111, 118, 120, 121, 123, 124, 129, 148, 185, 186, 209, 215, 216, 219, 223, 224, 227, 228, 230, 235, 238, 240, 242, 244 Permanence, 11, 86, 93, 94, 106, 119, 189, 196 Pessimistic, 198 Philosophical thought, 88 underpinnings of yoga, 117 Philosophy Indian, 1, 2, 109, 137, 175 western, 2 yoga, 62 Pluralistic, 113, 177, 236 Polich, John, 125, 138, 142, 143, 147, 162 Postulation, 2, 221 Pradhāna, 44, 48, 80 Pradurbhāva, 59 Prajñā, 12, 19, 29, 30 Prajñā-jyoti, 81 Prajña-loka, 67 Prakṛti, 2–5, 7, 17–19, 21, 28, 39, 40, 43–47, 50, 61, 62, 72, 73, 78, 80, 84, 87, 88, 90,

258 93, 94, 98, 100–102, 104–108, 183, 214, 222, 226, 231 Prakṛtilaya, 18 Prakṛtyāpūrāt, 84 Pramāṇa, 13, 14, 32 Pramāṇani, 13 Prāṇāyāma, 50, 53, 54, 56, 67, 78, 118, 153–155, 166, 192 Prārabdha karma, 95 Prasad, S. C., 149 Prasamkhyāna, 42 Pratap, V., 137, 154 Pratibha, 76 Pratiprasava, 40 Pratt, J. G., 206 Pratyāhāra, 16, 50, 54–56, 65, 67, 118, 120, 128, 153, 166 Pratyakcetanā, 22 Pratyakṣa, 13 Pratyaya, 18 Pratyayānupaśya, 100 Pravṛtti of an object, 24 Pravṛtti-vijñāna, 195 Predicament, 11, 37, 43, 48, 98, 105, 109, 114, 179, 189, 192, 198, 199, 212 Prejudice(s), 9, 16, 20, 24, 114, 165 Psychic phenomena, 74, 201 Psychobiological, 114, 133 Psychokinesis, 151 Psychological act, 65 observations, 88 Psychology Indian, 1, 5, 17, 99, 113, 114, 175–177, 192–195, 197–199, 229, 233–239, 248 indigenous, 176 of transcendence, 113, 114 peace, 239, 242, 248 positive, 10 transformational, 62 western, 113, 177, 197, 233 Psychophysical practices, 5, 151 Psychophysiological method, 118 Psycho-somatic, 63, 161 Psychospiritual craft, 1 Pudgalavādins, 195 Puligandla, R., 16, 24 Puṇya, 42 Pūraka, 53 Puruṣa, 2–4, 6, 7, 11, 12, 16, 17, 19–21, 31, 33, 39, 40, 45–50, 61, 77, 80–82,

Index 88–94, 96, 98–108, 175, 187, 195, 197, 222, 226, 230 Puruṣārtha-śunyānām, 108 Puthoff, Hal, 206 Q Qi Gong, 125, 130 Quiescence, 15, 118, 133 Quillian-Wolever, R., 153 Quintessence of all knowledge, 105 Quintus, 202 R Rāga, 37, 39, 43, 61, 216 Radical dualism descartes, 2 Raina, N., 153 Rainforth, M. V., 158 Rajamartaṇḍa, 12 Rajas, 2, 5, 9, 11, 12, 21, 25, 26, 29, 33, 38–40, 44–46, 49, 57, 68, 75, 77, 79, 84, 88, 93, 96, 103, 106, 183, 193 Raja yoga, 5, 118 Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, 111, 194, 247 Ramana maharishi, 111, 194 Ramanujan, 210 Rao, K. R., 24, 113, 205, 207, 235, 237 Rao, P..V..K., 149, 150 Rao, S..K..R., 109 Rasa, 46 Rationalization, 179 Recaka, 53 Redundant, 6, 110 Reincarnation the doctrine of, 41 Renunciatory, 198 Residual karma, 95 Rhine, J. B., 206, 235 Rhine, L.E., 206, 228 Rikhye, K., 138, 148, 150 Rinpoche, Samdhong, 210 Ritskes, R., 144 Rogers, L. J., 141 Rosenthal, R., 150 Rtambharā prajñā, 81 Rubin, D.B., 150 Rukmani, T.S., 36, 39, 47, 59, 66, 70, 83, 91 Rūpa, 46, 196 S Śabda, 46, 218 Śabdārtha jñāna, 27

Index Sadchidananda, 225 Sādhanā Pāda, 35 Saint, 77, 111, 189, 213 Sākṣin, 182, 214 Salvation, 5, 78 Samādhi asamprajñāta, 8–10, 16, 20, 33, 58–60, 68–71, 165, 218 parinama, 60, 71, 72 samprajñāta, 8, 9, 16, 17, 33 Samāna radiance, 78 Samāpatti, 25–27, 29, 32 Sāṃkhya dualism of consciousness, 2 Sāṃkhya-Kārika, 39, 88, 89 Sāṃkhyapravacanabhāṣya, 97 Sāṃkhya-Yoga, 2–7, 9, 11, 17, 18, 35, 40, 45, 47, 72, 74, 77, 79, 84, 87, 94, 96, 101, 103–107, 185, 195, 198, 225 Saṃsāra, 30, 31, 37, 44, 45, 49, 61, 86, 92, 93, 106, 109, 119, 178, 179, 186, 196, 199 Saṃskāra(s) nirodha, 60, 70, 71 vyutthāna, 59 Samprajñāta, 59, 60, 70, 71, 165 Samprayoga, 52 Samvega, 19 Samyag darśanam, 44 Saṃyama, 55, 56, 60, 66, 67, 74–78, 80, 81, 119, 124, 219 Saṃyoga, 45, 105, 226 Samyutta-Nikaya, 119, 196 Sancita karma, 95 Śaṇkara, 92, 94, 107, 109 Santoṣa, 51 Sastri, S.S., 107 Sat-cit-ānanda, 108, 181, 214 Sattva, 2, 4, 5, 9, 11, 21, 24, 26, 29, 33, 39, 40, 44–46, 49, 52, 57, 68, 75–77, 79, 80, 82, 88, 101, 103, 106, 107, 184 Sattvic, 3, 5, 24, 75, 97, 101, 103, 193 Satyagraha, 238, 243–247 Satyam, 177, 194, 231 Satya-pratiṣṭhāyām, 52 Sauca, 51 Saumanasya, 52 Savicāra, 17, 28 Savitarka, 17, 27, 28 Sa-yujya, 94 Scandinavian yoga, 137 Scarano,T., 153 Schmeidler, G. R., 151 Schmidt, H., 152 Schultz, J. H., 130

259 Schuman, M., 138, 141 Schwartz, G. E., 127, 148, 153 Sedlmeier, P., 162 Segal, Z. V., 118, 130, 157 Self, 7, 11, 12, 22, 26, 30, 31, 36, 38, 39, 45, 46, 48, 57, 61, 62, 68, 85, 92, 100–102, 104, 110, 129, 145, 177, 181, 183–185, 187–190, 195, 209, 211, 215–217, 222, 224, 230, 236, 241, 245, 248 Self-appropriation, 97 Self-awareness, 56, 66, 90, 190, 216, 231 Self-perpetuation, 226 Self-realization, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 14, 41, 42, 48, 49, 51, 63, 91–94, 102, 106, 108, 179, 189, 192, 193, 213, 218, 236–241, 248 Selvamurty, W., 158 Settiwar, R. M., 157 Sexual abstinence, 52 Shapiro, D. H., 137, 138 Sharma, K. N., 149 Sharma, M. P., 159 Sharp, G., 244 Shear, J., 162 Siddhis yogic, 65 Śīlas, 121 Singh, B., 140, 141 Singh, M., 145 Singh, P., 163 Singh, R. H., 160 Sinha, D., 176, 235 Sinha, J. L., 132 Sinha, P., 155 Sinha, S. N., 149 Sivam, 177, 231 Skepticism, 203 Smith, J. C., 117, 125, 154 Smṛti, 13, 14, 19 Sogen, O., 129 Soman, A.M., 159 Soul, 187, 206, 208, 239, 243 Sparśa, 46 Sphota theory of language, 75 vada, 75 Spielberger, 148 Sraddhā, 19, 22 Śravaṇa, 62, 180 Sridevi, K., 149 Sthitaprajñā, 111, 114 Sthūla, 79 Sthūla śarīra, 183 Stroebel, C. F., 141 Subliminal latencies, 118

260 Substratum, 5, 17, 73, 86, 102 Sukṣma, 41, 53, 79 Sundaram, 177, 194, 231 Supernormal, 10, 24, 55, 65, 85, 103 Suṣupti, 182 Svādhyāya, 36, 37, 61, 126 Svapna, 182 Svarūpa, 28, 79 Svarūpa-pratiṣṭha, 108 Svarūpa śūnya, 56, 66 Svātmārāma, 163 Swatmarama, Y., 137 T Tai Chi, 125, 130 Taimni, I. K., 9, 13, 17, 18, 25, 41, 66, 70 Tamas, 2, 5, 9, 11–13, 21, 26, 29, 39, 40, 44, 46, 57, 68, 75, 77, 88, 93, 96, 103, 106 Tan, G., 141 Tanmatras, 5, 17 Tapas, 36, 37, 52, 61, 85 Tārakam, 82 Targ, Russell, 206 Tattva jñāna, 109 Tat tvam asi, 107, 196 Teasdale, J. D., 118, 130, 157 Telles, S., 149 Therapeutic persuasion, 245 Tola, F., 7, 9, 12, 16, 24, 25, 33 Tomography, 143, 144 Toneatto, T., 157 Transcendence, 114, 115, 119, 121, 123, 131, 133, 150, 151, 192, 196, 197, 227, 228 Transcendental, 4, 12, 21, 27, 32, 58, 82, 101–103, 106, 115, 126, 161, 193, 213 aloneness, 94 realization, 78, 102, 103, 181, 194 Transcognitive, 8, 16, 18, 27–30, 58, 59, 68–70, 77, 81 Transperceptual experience, 123 Tranquility, 15, 31, 122, 133, 165 Travis, F. T., 143 Trembling, 22 Trilogy of the mind, 191 Trimsatika, 195 TRIŚŪLA, 201, 220 Truthfulness, 52, 118, 247 Turīya, 182, 189 Tyrrell, G. N. M., 228 U Ubiquitous, 3, 61, 85, 89, 242 predicament, 86

Index Uchida, H., 209 Udāna, 78 Udupa, K. N., 159 Ūha, 46 Unambiguous, 55, 65 Upacāra, 118, 121, 123 Upaniṣads, 107, 109 Upāya-pratyaya, 18, 19 V Vācaspati, 2 Vācika, 188 Vahia, H. S., 153 Vairāgya, 14–16, 19, 20, 33, 35, 92, 194, 198, 212, 217, 227 apara, 15 para, 15 Vaira-tyāgaḥ, 52 Vaitṛsṇya, 16 Vakil, R. J., 138 Vāsanās, 31, 48, 57, 68, 86–88, 93, 95, 96, 98, 103, 109, 110, 118, 185, 215 Vaśikāra, 16 Vaśikārah, 25 Vaśikāra-samjñā, 15 Vasu, S. C., 163 Vedānta, 3, 4, 21, 104, 161, 178, 214, 218, 230 advaita, 4, 54, 107, 194, 198 Vedānta-Sūtras, 109 Vedas, 12, 13, 218 Vengeance, 39 desire of, 39 Vibhūti Pāda, 74, 83, 101, 150 Vicāra, 17 Vicārānugata, 58, 69 Videha(s), 18 Videha-mukti, 109, 111 Vijñānabhikṣu, 12, 18, 24, 65 Vijñāna-consciousness, 94 Vijñānavāda Buddhism, 94, 110 Vikalpa, 13, 14, 27, 32 Vikṣepa, 187 Vikṣipta, 8, 32, 57, 68 Vinaya Piṭaka, 121 Vinekar, S. L., 139 Vinod, R. S., 155 Vinod, S. D., 155 Viparyaya, 13, 14, 32 Vīrya, 19 Visamvādābhāva, 111 Viśeṣaṇa-viśeṣya-bhāva, 97 Viśuddhimagga, 121, 123, 128 Buddhaghoṣa’s, 2, 117, 118 Vitakka, 122

Index Vitarka, 17 Vitarkānugata, 58, 69 Viveka-khyāti, 49, 54, 62, 92 Vivekananda, Swami, 17 Vivekaniaḥ, 43, 44 Vyasa, 4, 149 Vyatireka, 15 Vyāvahārika, 105, 107 experience, 78 Vyuttāna, 59 Vyutthāna saṃskāra(s), 59 W Wachholtz, A. B., 159 Wallace, R. K., 117, 127 Walsh, R. N., 137, 138 Warrenburg, S., 141, 145 Warshal, D., 160 Watsonian, 10 Watson, J. B., 10 Weber, 233 Wenger, M. A., 140, 141 Wenneberg, S. R., 159 Western, 197, 221, 233 education, 233, 234 psychology, 177, 197, 233 tradition, 152, 209, 221, 233 West, M. A., 74, 117, 138, 176, 177, 198, 234, 235 White, R. A, 229 Woods Dispatch, 234 Woods, J. H., 6, 9, 13, 17, 23–26, 28, 36, 42, 45, 50, 52, 56, 67, 76, 86, 90 World, 4, 5, 11, 22, 31, 38, 45–47, 52, 61, 72, 78, 79, 87, 88, 92, 100, 104, 107–110, 114, 122, 150, 176, 185, 197, 201, 210, 215, 216, 223, 230, 235, 239, 240, 248 evolution of the, 5, 46 validity of the external, 4

261 Wundt, 233 Y Yama, 50, 51, 53, 55, 56, 65, 118, 166 Yamashita, O., 209 Yatamana, 15 Yoga anasakti, 240 aṅga of, 50 bhakti, 191, 193 hatha, 125 jñāna, 152, 190, 193 kundalini, 125 metapsychology of, 175 nidrā, 142, 143, 155 practices, 1, 2, 116 psychology, 6, 10, 12, 33, 41, 98 rubric of, 9, 125 sahaja, 125, 146 scandinavian, 137 Yoga-Sūtra(s), 1, 2, 4–7, 31, 33, 35, 55, 61, 68, 72, 74, 81, 83, 94, 104, 107, 108, 113, 115, 117, 118, 126, 132, 142, 149, 151, 158, 165, 175, 176, 197, 212, 229 patanjali’s, 5, 71, 118 Yoga-vaśiṣṭha, 110 Yogic, 10, 16, 19, 23, 55, 65, 72, 79–81, 113 lineages, 125 meditation, 116, 128, 140 Yogin, 9, 19–21, 24, 25, 27, 29, 30, 33, 36, 37, 40, 42, 44, 49–56, 58–60, 65, 67–72, 75–78, 80–82, 84, 85, 87, 92, 94, 138–142, 198, 212–214, 247 Yuj, 7 Yuji-a, 7 Z Zen, 118, 125, 138, 140, 151 meditation, 129, 140, 144, 152, 154