Samyama
Sanskrit: संयमTransliteration: Saṃyama (IAST)
Translation: “combined practice”
A Concise Dictionary of Indian Philosophy
Translation: "self-control; combined practice"
Definition: The combined practice of the last three steps in Raja-Yoga—concentration, meditation, and union (Dhāraṇā, Dhyāna, and Samādhi).
Glossary to the Record of Yoga (Sri Aurobindo)
Translation: "self-control; concentration; identification; dwelling of the consciousness of an object until the mind of the observer becomes one with the observed and the contents of the object, including its past, present, and future are known from within."
Kundalini - The Secret of Yoga (Gopi Krishna)
Definition: "Divested of mystical and magical coloring with which some writers on Yoga try to invest these practices, Dhāraṇā is simple concentration on certain regions of the body or some object, with a mental content relating to some aspect of Divinity, to the supernatural or the numinous. Dhyāna is deeper concentration persisting for a longer time, and Samādhi is the absorption of the mercurial mind in the contemplation of the Self."
The Science of Yoga (I. K. Taimni)
Translation: "a technical word meaning Dhāraṇā, Dhyāna, and Samādhi taken together."
Commentary: "The complete process beginning with Dhāraṇā and ending in Samādhi is called Saṃyama in Yogic terminology and the practical mastery of its technique opens the door not only to knowledge of all kinds but also to powers and superphysical accomplishments known as Siddhi." (p. 254)
"The three mental processes of Dhāraṇā, Dhyāna and Samādhi constitute Yoga proper and the five preceding Aṅgas may be considered as merely preparatory. The whole process of Saṃyama takes place in the realm of the mind and no part of the visible man is involved in it. That is why it is called Antar-Aṅgaṃ." (p. 259)
"It is necessary to keep in mind two facts about Saṃyama. First, it is a continuous process and the passage from one stage to another is not marked by any abrupt change in consciousness. Secondly, the time taken in reaching the last stage depends entirely upon the progress made by the Yogi. The beginner may have to spend hours and days in reaching the final stage while the Adept can pass into it almost instantaneously and effortlessly. As Samādhi does not involve any movement in space but merely sinking, as it were, towards the center of one's own consciousness, time is not an essential factor in the process. The time taken by the Yogi is due entirely to the lack of mastery of the technique." (p. 254-255)
"Before we proceed to discuss these two Sutras (Part 1, Sutras 42-43) let us first consider a few conclusions which may be drawn from a general study of the objects (Viṣaya) upon which Saṃyama is performed and the results which accrue from this practice. These conclusions may be stated very briefly as follows:
A careful consideration of the facts mentioned above will show that Saṃyama is really a means of passing from the outer expression to the reality within whatever may be the nature of the relationship between the outer expression and the inner reality. Since the reality underlying all objects is contained in the Divine Mind and the object of Saṃyama in Sabīja Samādhi is to know this reality, it follows that what the Yogi does in Saṃyama is to sink into his own consciousness until he reaches the level of Divine Mind in which the reality of the object is to be found. The ‘seed’ on which Saṃyama is performed merely determines the line along which consciousness has to sink. This may be illustrated by the following diagram:
A, B, C are different objects which can serve as ‘seeds’ of Sabīja Samādhi. A’, B’, C’ are respectively the realities of these objects which can be found in the Divine Mind through Saṃyama. O is the Center of Divine Consciousness. It will be seen that in every case the essential process is the same, namely, proceeding from the periphery along a radius to the center until the intervening circle is reached. But different objects which are represented by different points on the outer circle make it necessary to proceed along different radii to the center. In proceeding in this manner, consciousness automatically touches the reality of the particular object when it reaches the level of the Divine Mind. So the ‘seed’ merely determines the direction along which consciousness has to sink in order to reach the corresponding reality in the Divine Mind. It does not make any difference as far as the essential process of Saṃyama is concerned but merely guides the consciousness to the reality which is the object of the search.
In Nirbīja Samādhi, the aim of the Yogi is the Center of Divine Consciousness represented by O in the diagram. In reaching the point O, he must proceed along a radius and must cross the intervening states of consciousness. That is why Nirbīja Samādhi can come only after Sabīja Samādhi when all the stages of Samprajñāta Samādhi have been crossed." (p. 98-99)
"In the language of the Yoga-Sūtra, these different stages involved in the use of Saṃyama mean the attainment of the four successive stages of Samprajñāta Samādhi mentioned in Part 1, Sutra 17 and the stage of Nirbīja Samādhi mentioned in Part 1, Sutra 51. In the language of Occultism, they mean the functioning of consciousness through increasingly subtler vehicles referred to in connection with Part 1, Sutra 17. But the fundamental basis of both is the same, namely, penetration into different depths of consciousness which finds expression through different grades of Citta. The Yoga-Sūtra deal with Samādhi from the functional point of view while Occultism deals with it from the structural point of view. That is why, outwardly, the two modes of treatment seem to differ. But the student who has grasped the nature of Samādhi will see that there is no essential difference between the two, because passing in Samādhi from one vehicle to another means coming into touch with the deeper levels and aspects of consciousness. The correspondences between these have been shown already in dealing with Part 2, Sutra 19." (p. 258)
References:
Translation: "self-control; combined practice"
Definition: The combined practice of the last three steps in Raja-Yoga—concentration, meditation, and union (Dhāraṇā, Dhyāna, and Samādhi).
Glossary to the Record of Yoga (Sri Aurobindo)
Translation: "self-control; concentration; identification; dwelling of the consciousness of an object until the mind of the observer becomes one with the observed and the contents of the object, including its past, present, and future are known from within."
Kundalini - The Secret of Yoga (Gopi Krishna)
Definition: "Divested of mystical and magical coloring with which some writers on Yoga try to invest these practices, Dhāraṇā is simple concentration on certain regions of the body or some object, with a mental content relating to some aspect of Divinity, to the supernatural or the numinous. Dhyāna is deeper concentration persisting for a longer time, and Samādhi is the absorption of the mercurial mind in the contemplation of the Self."
The Science of Yoga (I. K. Taimni)
Translation: "a technical word meaning Dhāraṇā, Dhyāna, and Samādhi taken together."
Commentary: "The complete process beginning with Dhāraṇā and ending in Samādhi is called Saṃyama in Yogic terminology and the practical mastery of its technique opens the door not only to knowledge of all kinds but also to powers and superphysical accomplishments known as Siddhi." (p. 254)
"The three mental processes of Dhāraṇā, Dhyāna and Samādhi constitute Yoga proper and the five preceding Aṅgas may be considered as merely preparatory. The whole process of Saṃyama takes place in the realm of the mind and no part of the visible man is involved in it. That is why it is called Antar-Aṅgaṃ." (p. 259)
"It is necessary to keep in mind two facts about Saṃyama. First, it is a continuous process and the passage from one stage to another is not marked by any abrupt change in consciousness. Secondly, the time taken in reaching the last stage depends entirely upon the progress made by the Yogi. The beginner may have to spend hours and days in reaching the final stage while the Adept can pass into it almost instantaneously and effortlessly. As Samādhi does not involve any movement in space but merely sinking, as it were, towards the center of one's own consciousness, time is not an essential factor in the process. The time taken by the Yogi is due entirely to the lack of mastery of the technique." (p. 254-255)
"Before we proceed to discuss these two Sutras (Part 1, Sutras 42-43) let us first consider a few conclusions which may be drawn from a general study of the objects (Viṣaya) upon which Saṃyama is performed and the results which accrue from this practice. These conclusions may be stated very briefly as follows:
- If two things are related as cause and effect then by performing Saṃyama on the effect it is possible to have knowledge of the underlying cause or vice versa as for example in Part 3, Sutra 16.
- If certain phenomena leave an impression on any medium it is possible to come into touch with the phenomena by reviving the impressions through Saṃyama as for example in Part 3, Sutra 18.
- If a particular principle in nature finds expression in a particular phenomenon then by performing Saṃyama on the phenomenon, it is possible to know directly the underlying principle, as for example in Part 3, Sutra 28 or 29.
- If a particular object is the expression of an archetype then by performing Saṃyama on the object it is possible to have direct knowledge of the archetype as for example in Part 3, Sutra 30.
- If a particular center in the body is an organ of a higher vehicle, faculty etc. then by performing Saṃyama on the center, direct contact is established with the vehicle, faculty etc. as for example in Part 3, Sutra 33 or 35.
- If a thing exists in several degrees of subtlety, one derived from the other in a series, then by performing Saṃyama on the outermost or least subtle form, it is possible to gain knowledge of all the forms, step by step, as for example in Part 3, Sutra 45.
A careful consideration of the facts mentioned above will show that Saṃyama is really a means of passing from the outer expression to the reality within whatever may be the nature of the relationship between the outer expression and the inner reality. Since the reality underlying all objects is contained in the Divine Mind and the object of Saṃyama in Sabīja Samādhi is to know this reality, it follows that what the Yogi does in Saṃyama is to sink into his own consciousness until he reaches the level of Divine Mind in which the reality of the object is to be found. The ‘seed’ on which Saṃyama is performed merely determines the line along which consciousness has to sink. This may be illustrated by the following diagram:
Fig. 5
A, B, C are different objects which can serve as ‘seeds’ of Sabīja Samādhi. A’, B’, C’ are respectively the realities of these objects which can be found in the Divine Mind through Saṃyama. O is the Center of Divine Consciousness. It will be seen that in every case the essential process is the same, namely, proceeding from the periphery along a radius to the center until the intervening circle is reached. But different objects which are represented by different points on the outer circle make it necessary to proceed along different radii to the center. In proceeding in this manner, consciousness automatically touches the reality of the particular object when it reaches the level of the Divine Mind. So the ‘seed’ merely determines the direction along which consciousness has to sink in order to reach the corresponding reality in the Divine Mind. It does not make any difference as far as the essential process of Saṃyama is concerned but merely guides the consciousness to the reality which is the object of the search.
In Nirbīja Samādhi, the aim of the Yogi is the Center of Divine Consciousness represented by O in the diagram. In reaching the point O, he must proceed along a radius and must cross the intervening states of consciousness. That is why Nirbīja Samādhi can come only after Sabīja Samādhi when all the stages of Samprajñāta Samādhi have been crossed." (p. 98-99)
"In the language of the Yoga-Sūtra, these different stages involved in the use of Saṃyama mean the attainment of the four successive stages of Samprajñāta Samādhi mentioned in Part 1, Sutra 17 and the stage of Nirbīja Samādhi mentioned in Part 1, Sutra 51. In the language of Occultism, they mean the functioning of consciousness through increasingly subtler vehicles referred to in connection with Part 1, Sutra 17. But the fundamental basis of both is the same, namely, penetration into different depths of consciousness which finds expression through different grades of Citta. The Yoga-Sūtra deal with Samādhi from the functional point of view while Occultism deals with it from the structural point of view. That is why, outwardly, the two modes of treatment seem to differ. But the student who has grasped the nature of Samādhi will see that there is no essential difference between the two, because passing in Samādhi from one vehicle to another means coming into touch with the deeper levels and aspects of consciousness. The correspondences between these have been shown already in dealing with Part 2, Sutra 19." (p. 258)
References:
- Grimes, John (1996). A Concise Dictionary of Indian Philosophy: Sanskrit Terms Defined in English. Albany: State University of New York Press
- Hartz, Richard. Glossary to the Record of Yoga (Sri Aurobindo). Retrieved from http://wiki.auroville.org.in/wiki/Glossary_to_the_Record_of_Yoga
- Krishna, Gopi (1972). Kundalini - The Secret of Yoga. Ontario, Canada: F.I.N.D. Research Trust
- Taimni, I. K. (1975). The Science of Yoga: The Yoga-Sūtras of Patañjali in Sanskrit with Transliteration in Roman, Translation in English and Commentary: Theosophical Publishing House. p. 254-255, 258-259, 98-99.
