1.17-1.18 Types of Concentration

1.17 vitarka vichara anada asmita rupa anugamat samprajnatah

Swamiji- “The deep absorption of attention on an object is of four kinds

1- vitarka – gross thought or reasoning

2- vichara – subtle thought

3- ananda – bliss, ectasy

4- asmita – I-ness, individuality

and is called samprajnata Samadhi”

Iyengar- “Practice and detachment develop four types of Samadhi: self-analysis, synthesis, bliss and the experience of pure being”

Swamji explains that there are four stages of attention, which starts with attention moves onto concentration. When concentration becomes constant attention it moves into meditation, and when you move beyond meditation you become absorbed into Samadhi. All objects in one of these states, such as gross, subtle, bliss or I-ness.

Gross meditation is focusing on tangible objects and sensations

Subtle meditation is on the senses

Bliss meditation is beyond the gross and subtle

I-ness is even more subtle (these last two points are not well explained by this)

Iyengars discussion of this sutra is much more in depth, he talks about the different levels of Samadhi, moving from the gross to the subtle to core. Descending from the seat of the brain at the brain stem down to through the seat of the mind to the seat of the heart. He equates it as doing an asana which, over time becomes more subtle. The yogini moves from doing just the over all shape of the pose to feeling how all the muscles work in the pose to identifying with larger sense or nature of the pose and how it extends to the soul. I found this a difficult sutra to understand, but as Iyengar also points out is that Patanjali talks about my levels all at once, so similar to the yogini in the asana the student of the yoga sutras goes from gross to subtle understanding.

1.18 viramapratyaya abhyasapurvah samskarasesah anyah

Swamiji- “the other kind of samadhi is asamprajnata Samadhi, and has no object it which attention is absorbed, wherein only latent impressions remain;; attainment of this state is preceded by the constant practice of allowing all of the gross and subtle fluctuations of mind to recede back into the field from which they arose”

Iyengar- “The void arising in these experiences is another Samadhi. Hidden impressions lie dormant but spring up during moments of awareness, creating fluctuation and disturbing the purity of the consciousness”

The last sutra spoke of levels of Samadhi which still concentrated on an object (from gross to subtle to core) but this sutra speaks of an objectionless Samadhi. However Patanjali warns that this can be mistaken for the end of the journey, and yogi’s can be misled here, that one needs to keep striving. In this state the samskaras, or deep impressions which carry karma, are latent, and the yogini is essentially free of them, tho they are still present in an non active state.