Yoga Sutras · Book 3

Vibhuti Pada: Powers

1. 3.1Dharana, or concentration, means holding the mind on one thing. That thing can be a spot in the body or something outside it.
2. 3.2Dhyana, or meditation, is when attention flows steadily and without a break toward that one object.
3. 3.3Samadhi, a state of deep absorption, comes when meditation lets go of the object's outer form. Only its meaning shines in the mind.
4. 3.4When concentration, meditation, and absorption are all done on the same object, one after another, the combination is called Samyama.
5. 3.5When a person masters Samyama, the light of real knowledge appears.
6. 3.6Samyama should be practiced step by step. Start with simple things and move slowly to subtler ones, without rushing.
7. 3.7These three steps (concentration, meditation, absorption) are more inward than the earlier steps of yoga, like ethics, posture, breath control, and pulling in the senses.
8. 3.8Yet even these three are outer steps compared to the highest, 'seedless' Samadhi. In that state no seeds of future desire or rebirth remain. Special powers are not the final goal.
9. 3.9When restless thoughts are pushed down and thoughts of control rise up, the mind enters a state of control. This is not yet complete stillness, because the act of controlling is itself a thought. Still, it is much closer than a busy mind.
10. 3.10This calm, controlled state becomes steady through daily habit and practice.
11. 3.11When the mind stops jumping between many things and settles on one thing, it moves toward Samadhi, deep absorption.
12. 3.12The mind is one-pointed when each thought is the same as the one before it. You can tell, because you lose track of time, like when you are lost in a good book.
13. 3.13The same idea explains how all things change in three ways: in form, in time, and in condition. Think of gold made into a bracelet, then an earring. These changes happen in matter, in the senses, and in the mind.
14. 3.14Underneath all these changes there is a basic substance. It goes through past, present, and future forms while staying itself.
15. 3.15Patanjali says that things change in a fixed order, one step after another. This chain of changes is why the world takes on so many different forms.
16. 3.16Samyama is deep, focused attention held on one thing until the mind becomes one with it. When a yogi does Samyama on the three kinds of change (in form, time and state), he comes to know the past and the future.
17. 3.17Normally we mix up three things: the sound of a word, its meaning, and our understanding of it. By focusing deeply on each one separately, a yogi can understand the sounds of all creatures.
18. 3.18Every experience leaves a faint mark, or impression, in the mind that never fully disappears. By focusing deeply on these impressions, a yogi can remember his past lives.
19. 3.19By focusing deeply on the signs and features of another person's body, a yogi comes to know what kind of mind that person has.
20. 3.20Focusing on someone's body shows what kind of mind they have, but not the actual thoughts inside it. To know those, the yogi must focus on the mind itself as well.
21. 3.21By focusing deeply on the form of his own body, a yogi can block other people's eyes from seeing it. He does not truly vanish, but no one can see him.
22. 3.22In the same way, a yogi can stop his spoken words, and things sensed in other ways, from being heard or noticed by others.
23. 3.23Karma, the results of our past actions, either bears fruit soon or later. By focusing on his own karma, or by reading warning signs, a yogi can know exactly when he will die.
24. 3.24By focusing deeply on qualities like friendliness and kindness, the yogi becomes outstanding in those very qualities.
25. 3.25By focusing deeply on the strength of an elephant or other strong creatures, the yogi gains that same strength.
26. 3.26By focusing deeply on the shining inner light in the heart, a yogi can know things that are very tiny, hidden behind barriers, or far away.
27. 3.27By focusing deeply on the sun, a yogi comes to know about the whole world.
28. 3.28By focusing deeply on the moon, a yogi comes to know how the stars are arranged.
29. 3.29By focusing deeply on the pole-star, the steady North Star, a yogi comes to know how the stars move.
30. 3.30By focusing deeply on the energy center at the navel, a yogi comes to know how the body is made and arranged.
31. 3.31By focusing deeply on the hollow of the throat, a yogi can stop feeling hunger and thirst.
32. 3.32By focusing deeply on a nerve called Kurma (the 'tortoise' nerve), a yogi's body becomes perfectly still and steady during practice.
33. 3.33By focusing deeply on the light at the top of the head, a yogi can see the Siddhas. Here Siddhas means higher spirit beings, not freed humans.
34. 3.34A person with Pratibha, a sudden inner wisdom that comes from purity, can know all these things without special focus. Knowledge simply comes to them on its own.
35. 3.35By focusing deeply on the heart, a yogi comes to know the nature of minds, both his own and others'.
36. 3.36We feel pleasure and pain because we mix up the true Self (Purusha, the pure soul) with the thinking mind (Sattva, the clearest part of nature). They are completely different, because the mind works for the Self, not for itself. By focusing deeply (Samyama) on the Self alone, the yogi comes to know the true Self.
37. 3.37From knowing the true Self comes a sudden inner light of knowing (Pratibha), along with extraordinary powers of hearing, touch, sight, taste and smell.
38. 3.38These special powers look impressive in ordinary life, but they get in the way of Samadhi, the deepest stillness. If the yogi gets attracted to them, his progress stops. If he lets them go, he reaches the highest goal.
39. 3.39When the mind's ties to the body loosen, a yogi who understands the mind's pathways through the nerves can enter another person's body.
40. 3.40By mastering Udana, the energy that moves through the chest and upper body, the yogi becomes light. He does not sink in water or mud. He can walk on thorns, and he can choose when to die.
41. 3.41By mastering Samana, the energy in the middle of the body, the yogi can make light shine from his body.
42. 3.42By focusing deeply on how the ear is linked to Akasha (space, the element that carries sound), the yogi gains divine hearing. He can hear sounds from very far away.
43. 3.43By focusing deeply on how the body is linked to Akasha (space), and meditating on things as light as cotton, the yogi becomes light and can travel through the sky.
44. 3.44The mind does not have to feel stuck inside one body. By focusing deeply on thoughts that arise when the mind is not identified with the body, called the great disembodied state, the covering over the inner light is removed. Then darkness and ignorance disappear.
45. 3.45By focusing deeply on the elements of nature, from their solid forms to their finest parts, their qualities, and how they serve the soul's experience, the yogi gains mastery over the elements.
46. 3.46From mastering the elements come powers like becoming tiny or huge, heavy or light. The body also becomes perfected, and nothing can harm it.
47. 3.47A perfected body means beauty, a radiant complexion, great strength, and a hardness like diamond, so that nothing can injure it.
48. 3.48By focusing deeply on the senses, on how they reach out and show us things, on the sense of 'I' involved, on their qualities, and on how they serve the soul, the yogi gains control of the senses.
49. 3.49From mastering the senses, the body can move as fast as the mind, the senses can work without the body, and the yogi gains mastery over nature.
50. 3.50By focusing deeply on the difference between the mind (Sattva) and the true Self (Purusha), the yogi gains power over everything and knowledge of everything.
51. 3.51When the yogi gives up even these powers of knowing and doing everything, the very root of suffering is destroyed. This leads to Kaivalya, complete freedom. The powers are like dreams, and the goal lies beyond the mind.
52. 3.52The yogi should not feel tempted or flattered when heavenly beings invite him to enjoy their rewards. Giving in would bring suffering back again.
53. 3.53By focusing deeply on a single moment of time and on the moments before and after it, the yogi gains clear discernment, the power to tell what is real from what is not.
54. 3.54This focus on moments of time lets the yogi tell apart even things that look exactly the same in type, features and place. Our suffering comes from mixing up the real with the unreal, like thinking we are only our bodies.
55. 3.55The highest knowledge is the power to tell the real from the unreal. It sees all things in all their forms at once, not one after another. It is called "saving" because it frees a person from the cycle of being born and dying again and again.
56. 3.56Kaivalya means complete freedom, when the soul knows it depends on nothing at all. It comes when the thinking mind (Sattva) becomes as pure as the true Self (Purusha). Then the mind simply reflects that pure Self.