The Vedas are among some of the oldest and most studied religious texts found to date. In these texts can be found some of the most ancient forms of philosophy and spiritual practice intended to lead a person to the state of consciousness referred to as enlightenment. Enlightenment, or “Bodhi” in Indian Buddhism, is described as a state of perfect knowledge, wisdom, and understanding of the truth of creation. According to Buddhist monk and author Matthieu Ricard “Enlightenment is an understanding of both the relative mode of existence and the ultimate mode of existence. This includes our minds as well as the rest of the world.” So, in other words, when one experiences awakening and becomes enlightened he or she will be fully cognizant and aware of the deepest truths of both nature and of the self. What exactly is the relationship between you as an individual and the reality that you perceive around you? What is our place in this vast cosmos of seemingly infinite variation and potential and how can we best integrate ourselves with this reality while we are here? With so many of us feeling lost, confused, and lonely in the digital wasteland of social media and a culture seemingly drowning in the abyss it would seem that, for now at least, we should take any helpful wisdom or advice that we can get our hands on. Let us begin with the wisdom of the Vedas.
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali is a profoundly succinct collection of Vedic sayings or “sutras” that claim to lead a yogic practitioner to a true and clear understanding regarding these existential questions. Patanjali himself is a bit of an enigma as not much is known about him other than that he was most likely an Indian man living sometime between the second and fourth centuries. Fortunately for us, we don’t have to know much about Patanjali to get some practical value out exploring his worldview and applying his prescribed techniques and practices. In this series, we will go through each sutra and I will expound upon them to the best of my ability. We will be studying ideas that are akin to post graduate level mysticism and forms of practice designed to essentially lead one to what could be considered the source code of creation itself. We will go through three sutras per article giving us plenty of time to fully absorb the following material.
Sutra 1: OM: Here follows Instruction in Union
The word yoga means union. But what is meant by the word union in this context? Union with what? In the Vedic scriptures and philosophy, a person engages in Yogic practice for the purpose of uniting their individual soul with the totality of the Divine Consciousness or the Cosmic Mind. Through this process, one is able to personally touch the sacred and eternal. This experience allows one to recognize that the separation between themselves and the rest of creation is simply a profoundly elaborate illusion. A sudden realization of the fundamental unity that exists between everyone and everything in existence not only comes rushing clearly in to consciousness but also becomes entirely self evident in ways that escape conventional language. This ultimate reality, or ultimate consciousness, is said to be the vibration of the sacred sound OM.
The idea that in the beginning was only sound can be found in many religious traditions from all around the world. For instance, in the Gospel of John in the Christian Bible it is said that “In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God.” According to certain interpretations of this text, this may be an allusion to the idea of sound or vibration itself being the most fundamental level of creation. If, in the beginning, there was only the word, the word was with God and also was God, then we must ask ourselves if it is possible that our ancient ancestors were pointing toward the idea that creation itself is a vibration that, when perceived in a visionary state, is experienced as the sound of the word OM. Those familiar with physics or Hermetic philosophy will be familiar with the idea that vibration is a fundamental principle of reality. The idea that sound is a fundamental property of nature does a nice job of contextualizing why music has such a profound and healing effect on us. Music is one of the most sacred aspects of creation itself.
This might sound abstract, and it certainly is, but when we are reading spiritual and religious language we must remember that we are often reading the accounts of very disciplined and seasoned mystics doing their best to describe with language the visions received in very altered states of consciousness which contain intensely archetypal symbolism that is not readily interpreted at a glance. To add to that, many spiritual texts are often written in what is referred to as “Twilight Language” or a form of information encoding which leaves the uninitiated completely unaware of how to properly interpret the symbols presented in such a text. One might ask why we should take the visions of mystics and visionaries seriously at all and this is a valid question that is worth asking. After all, aren’t these guys just sitting on top of a mountain or in a cave imagining things? Upon first impression, that would certainly seem to be the case. However, if it is true, as some physicists suggest, that we live in a holographic universe in which consciousness is fundamental, then the claim that mystics and yogic practitioners are able to use their altered consciousness to perceive more subtle levels of reality becomes much less farfetched. The remote viewing experiments done in the Stargate program by the United States government nicely document scenarios in which the testing and operationalizing of this worldview could be performed resulting in some of the most astonishing instances of psychic phenomenon on record. One such example is the locating by remote viewing of a lost Soviet plane found in the Central African Republic by Ms. Rosemary Smith. Smith, an airman and administrative assistant was able to provide precise coordinates of the location of this downed plane by going in to trance and reporting on what came in to her mind while in this state. If you are interested in the remote viewing topic and would like to know more you can read my article titled Psychic Spies, Remote Viewing, and Government Coverups on Substack. For now, we can carry on with the previously laid out framework of a holographic reality in which one is able to use their consciousness to perceive subtler aspects of reality that, for now, exist outside the reach of our technological capabilities. If this turns out to be the case then we can easily contextualize the claim of the sound OM experienced while in deep states of meditation.
Sutra 2: Union, spiritual consciousness, is gained through control of the versatile psychic nature.
A large aspect of the nature of our experience in the western world could be could be described as complete and utter mental dispersion. Between social media, work responsibilities, and a culture based in a materialist philosophy, it is no wonder that we experience the stress of being pulled in multiple directions simultaneously all of which are contradictory to one another resulting in a type of chronic analysis paralysis that is absolutely draining both mentally and spiritually. What would the result be if one was able to withdraw and recapture all of their scattered energy and attention and redirect it toward the singular goal of self realization? With this sutra, it is clearly stated that if one is to begin striving toward awakening, it is first required that the practitioner begin with the disciplining of his or her psychic functioning. This means beginning to practice the skill of being able to singularly focus our attention upon only one thing for long periods of time without interruption. With all of the temptation in our culture to scatter ourselves and pointlessly fill our time with endless amounts of content, this skill is invaluable to anyone who has a desire to successfully create or accomplish something whether that is a goal on the physical plane or the loftier goal of awakening and self realization. A mind that can focus is a mind that can properly perceive and create. Useful, to say the least.
Sutra 3: Then the seer comes to consciousness in his/her original and true nature
When this single pointed focus of the mind is achieved the yogic practitioner is able to experience their own true nature exactly as it is with no mental delusions or projections. In this state the mind becomes still, silent, and completely present in the moment resulting in a kind of inner peace that escapes description. Past and future disappears and you exist in a dimension that exists prior to language or concept. Even the sense of an individual “you” falls away in favor of an expanded sense of identity that includes all of reality. A sense of absolute oneness with all of creation is experienced and the boundary between self and other becomes an obvious illusion. What would it mean for you and I if we could fully recognize our oneness in each and every moment? What if we could remain in this sense of expanded awareness in even the most challenging of scenarios? This type of expanded awareness can be extremely difficult to maintain when all of the stresses of life come rushing at us without a shred of sympathy and brings the concept of “unconditional love” in to focus as the divine and supreme goal that it is. The ability to love fully without condition or requirement. As the wise Persian sage Rumi once said, “Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all of the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.” When we clear ourselves of any mental distortions and experience our true nature exactly as it is we cannot help but to love unconditionally and to see all sentient beings as extensions of ourselves. This is the purpose of experiencing the true nature of who and what you are. You will love others as yourself because you will recognize that you and other are one and the same.
These first three sutras are just the beginning of a complete and step by step manual for awakening and self realization. We will continue our journey through the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali in the coming weeks by diving even deeper in to the precise methods, practices, and worldview as laid out by this mysterious Indian sage in his timeless collection of sayings. For the time being, I strongly recommend reading through these first three sutras a few different times as you will notice that new insights come into your mind with each successive reading. Contemplate the ways in which these concepts are present within your own experience and consider what it would mean if these ideas were true. To recognize the truth of ones own nature is to recognize the truths of all of creation. In other words, “Man, know thyself.”