Yoga Sutra Y1.5 to Y1.6

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Yoga Sutra Y1.5 to Y1.6

 

FLUCTUATIONS OF CONSCIOUSNESS, Y1.5-12

 

(Note: Numbers at the end of Sanskrit word definitions refer to other Yoga

Sutras that use the same Sanskrit word.)

 

Y1.5 There are five kinds of fluctuations, either afflicted or not afflicted.

"vrttayah pañcatayah klista aklistâh"

fluctuations five-kinds afflicted not-afflicted

 

klista - afflicted, painful, causing hardship, molested, tormented, distress,

wearied, hurt, injured, worn, suffering; 1.5

 

 

Y1.6 They are valid cognition, misconception, imagination, sleep, and

memory.

"pramâna viparyaya vikalpa nidrâ smrtayah"

valid-cognition misconception imagination sleep memory

 

pramâna - real cognition, valid cognitions, right knowledge, correct notion,

measure, scale, standard, physical measurement, physical parameter of any

kind, standard, authority, measure of any kind, perception by the senses of

pratiyaksa, attested facts, accuracy of perception, afford proof or

authority; 1.6, 1.7

 

viparyaya - misconception, unreal cognition, wrong knowledge,

indiscriminateness, reverse, perverted, inverted, contrary to, erroneous

impression, opposite of, alteration, inverted order of succession; 1.6, 1.8

 

vikalpa - imagination, verbal delusion, fancy, baseless thinking,

alternation, option, variation, variety, diversity, distinction, indecision,

irresolution, doubt, hesitation, calculation, mental occupation, thinking,

without accepted base, conceptual construction, thinking, diversity,

difference of perception, false notion, mental occupation, arrangement,

alternatives; 1.6, 1.9, 1.42

 

nidrâ - sleep, absence of activity, sleep state, 1.6, 1.10, 1.38

 

smrti - memory, attentiveness, vigilance, recollecting old images, 1.6. 1.11,

1.20, 1.43, 4.9, 4.21

 

 

Otherwise the fluctuations conform (Y1.4) to five kinds of afflicted or not

afflicted fluctuations (Y1.5): valid or invalid knowledge, imagination,

sleep, and memory (Y1.6). These are obviously very limited category

definitions compared to what is available from modern day sciences, but they

serve our purpose well relative to elucidating upon personal experiences.

Apparently each of the five categories may be afflicted or not afflicted.

This is fascinating. What constitutes an affliction? When is one not

afflicted? What are the mechanics behind such afflicting phenomena? The

answers pragmatically continue to unfold with the help of these sutras and

become further confirmed through experience.

 

jai guru dev,

 

Edmond