Samadhi Pada • sutra 35
विषयवती वा प्रवृत्तिरुत्पन्ना मनसः स्थिति निबन्धिनी ॥१.३५॥ viṣayavatī vā pravṛttir-utpannā manasaḥ sthiti nibandhanī ॥1.35॥ |
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| Or (vā), the arising (utpannā) of a mental movement (pravṛttiḥ), connected to a sensory object (viṣayavatī), ensures (nibandhinī) the stability (sthiti) of the mind (manasaḥ). |
| Commentary This sutra continues the sequence in which Patañjali offers practical solutions to pacify the mind. After presenting, in sutra 1.33, the inner attitudes towards others (maitrī, karuṇā, muditā, upekṣā), and in sutra 1.34, the work on the body through exhalation and breath retention (pracchardana-vidhāraṇa), the focus now shifts to tools that operate through perceptual experience. The restless mind seeks anchors: here, Yoga suggests offering it a suitable object. The mind can be anchored in a condition of stability (manasaḥ sthiti nibandhanī) by means of contemplating a sensory object (viṣayavatī-pravṛttiḥ). In the context of yogic practice, this dynamic is crucial: focused attention on an external or internal content – such as a bodily sensation, the breath, or a chosen thought – is not mere distraction, but the means by which the mind gradually stabilises. This lays the groundwork for deeper states of concentration (dharana) and meditation (dhyana), where the mind rests effortlessly on a single point. Vyāsa comments that among these objects may be refined yogic experiences, such as inner light or inner sound, but ordinary objects are not excluded: what matters is the direction of the mind, not the nature of the object. The mind finds stability not because the object is special, but because the attention is whole. This principle is surprisingly contemporary: sensory awareness, now highly valued in mindfulness practices, is already present here in essential form. It is worth noting that what is proposed here as a possible key to “mental steadiness” is not a total absence of movement, but an intentional mental activity. It is through correct and conscious movement that the steadiness required for progress in yoga is built. After all, don’t asana work the same way? |
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