Then alone we know that the Soul is not a compound, It is the only eternal in the universe, and, as such, It cannot be born, It cannot die, It is immortal, indestructible, the Ever-living Essence of intelligence. Purusa absorbed in its own conscious eternal essential nature.

As it has been all along.

This naturally comes with Dharana, concentration; if one concentrates his mind on the palate he begins to see peculiar things. If a man whose mind is disturbed wants to take up some of these practices of Yoga, yet doubts the truth of them, he will have his doubts set at rest, when, after a little practice, these things come to him, and he will persevere. For example if one doubts the power of mantra and repeats, repeats then he will see in the manifest world and in meditations the realisations of his practice, to the extent that he will no longer doubt his own ability.

So how does Isvara become Brahman? As with the Puranas and Bhagavad Gita we are given the conceptual Brahman into the personal Isvara. Personal meaning relatable or relationship, why would this be other than to give something with that relationship that may not happen through concepts alone.

Patanjali is saying that through this meditation on Om we see or know God Isvara. As the fire gives off heat Isvara moves as Om. Therefore to feel the heat is to find the fire.

Here as above they continue with vigor, faith, concentration and discrimination to real Yoga (union) attained by real Yogis.

Using the stage of identification of Self to become One through faith (clarity of mind) and other attained attributes of continuation to the actual goal. This is done by seeing clearly (Sankara - scriptural knowledge) that one’s persistence coupled with Prajna - discernment, and quality of resolute integrity of prakrti (Virya - vigor and rigor) motion matter to achieve the end is given so that that motion shows the way to Purusa.

This part of Yoga can be related entirely to Samkhya Philosophy and the 25 Tattvas, however it is not essential for realising these states.

In Samkhya concentration the focus is on one or more of the other 24 tattvas, or merely from a dualistic standpoint, awareness of there being another.

Absorption with our physical awareness to a particular point or to put it differently, Samadhi with awareness of nature still abides in the delusion duality so union is not yet achieved.

By observing them and allowing them to be as they are whilst taking our attention elsewhere. The aspirant has to decipher and integrate how ‘control’ is understood and activated inside themselves. For Example if control is perceived as harsh they will exercise that harshness or if their control is seen as avoidance they will attempt to avoid and distract themselves.

The aspect of control is from concentrated Will - how is this cultivated into the individualised experience? By practice and awareness. I practice I observe the outcomes and continue as the vessel and the witness of the practices.

“There are five classes of modification, of which we have place them as painful and not painful.” Based on our life experiences from birth to our formative years and the present day, thoughts have arisen through experience and we placed upon them the emotions that arise at the time of their conception.

Imagine following the rings inside a tree trunk until you get to the heart wood - the source point. Often represented as a triangle with a dot in the centre in Yantra geometry. The dot represents Purusa, the Absolutely reality or ‘Para - Atman’.

As we are here for the purposes of applied-practice then as it is a doorway, meaning that the practices affect the outcome and the outcomes affect the practice, we shall not get into scholarly wranglings and let the introduction stand as we see it today and allow for the practices themselves to provide access to the wisdom that surpases all mind knowledge.

The purpose of this chapter, put in the simplest of terms, is for those who are already adept at stages of concentration and meditation. In the West we are somewhat institutionalised and prefer our approaches to be formatted as measurable scales of the collection of knowledge in stages, over time. Here Patanjali’s structure is more outreach, lateral and aware that some aspirants may have natural or karmic tendencies that allow them to focus, concentration or meditate without prior practices of renunciation, sutras studies or austerities.

I begin here with a summary of each Chapter and highlight the Sanskrit terms and add simple illustrations for modern day interpretations of the Samkhya science (metaphysics) within them.

The 8 Limbs of yoga are placed within Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, very deliberately and precisely as the means to achieve the final three, concentration, meditation and samadhi. The first 5 mentioned in Chapter 2 and the final 3 in Chapter 3. Chapter 1 is for those who are already adept at concentration and or meditation.

The simple question that lies in the heart of every human, ‘who am I?’

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