Patanjali Yoga Sutra Ch1 Sutra 22 (Parisamvad)

Patanjali Yoga Sutra Transcribed from Parisamvad at The Yoga Institute.

Chapter 1, Sutra 22

 

 

Mrdu-Madhya-Adhimatratvat-Tatah-Api-Visesah

On Account Of The Methods Being Slow, Medium, And Speedy, Even Among Those Yogins Who Have Intense Ardour, There Are Differences.

Mrdu : mild; slow
Madhya : medium,middling
Adhimatratvat : intense,strong
Tatah : from that
Api : also
Visesah : differentiation; distinction

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Dr. Jayadeva Yogendra:

“Techniques are one thing and the application and intensity and sincerity is another. Very often we might do Sukhasana, Talasana vigorously, but behind the mind there is not that kind of intense desire. So the results don’t come. Whereas a person who knows even a little but is very sincere, can get the result quickly. There is a story of Eklavya, a boy who was trying to be sincere to the teacher, was not given the status of a student because of the jealousy of the other students. Yet he was able to reach the highest because that intensity was there.

In our learning of yoga , no doubt we are learning techniques, but what about the mind? Possibly we don’t reach that intensity. Half-heartedly we carry it out, so the results are nil. Better understanding of yoga, of life, problems, solutions – this may help, but we just go to the technique and that also in this manner – do a Sukhasana vigorously for long time but while doing it, the mind is not there. So this is a very crucial Sutra. This is for all the techniques in yoga. Yoga has a lot of techniques and people want to learn them and master them, but behind them the intensity and desire is not there. In case by good luck, right in the verge of the final end Samadhi, will they like to go for that? No. They would not like to reach that state where the mind has been switched off and material things have lost their meaning. That is where the difficulty comes.”

 

Smt. Hansaji J. Yogendra:

“There are nine kinds of students. By combination of Samvega and Upaya, we get these nine categories. A person who has a very low Samvega or spiritual momentum, along with a low kind of Upaya, i.e. poor techniques which would include a low level of disinterest; would be the first kind of student. There are students who have no motivation and therefore no spiritual urge. They, therefore, do not possess any discipline or any techniques. They may know about Yamas and Niyamas but they do not work on it. A second category would be made up of those who develop a strong urge but have not developed any real technique. People who are materialistically inclined and have strong attachments, would belong to this category. In this way by permutation and combination, we get nine types of students. This Sutra tells us about the different categories of students, so that one can evaluate one’s own self and find out as the type of Upaya we possess.

It requires some kind of self-study to recognize our own proficiency as well as disinterest (there are 4 categories mentioned). Just saying I am disinterested does not carry much weight, for it is the level of disinterest that counts. Once one identifies the level of Samvega and the kind of Upaya one possesses, one can then put the necessary effort for converting the low Samvega to intense Samvega and also increase one’s level of disinterest, by cutting down the attachments. It would mean that a continuous awareness, actually a spiritual awareness, has to be created.”