1. Jivan Mukti Viveka On Destroying the Mind, Yogasutras in Vidyaranyas Jivanmuktiviveka (JIP) Andrew Fort

ANDREW O. FORT

ON DESTROYING THE MIND: THE YOGASUTRAS IN VIDYĀRAŅYA'S JĪVANMUKTIVIVEKA

The Jīvanmuktiviveka (JMV) (Discerning Liberation while Living)1 is a syncretic fourteenth century work by Vidyāranya which outlines the nature of living liberation and teaches the path to liberation via a com- bination of knowledge of nonduality, yogic practice, and renunciation. As I have written elsewhere,2 Vidyäranya here tries to weave together a number of strands of Indian thought into what may be called "yogic Advaita." While primarily an adherent of Advaita (nondual) Vedānta, Vidyāranya also emphatically enjoins following the ascetic path, and refers far more often and more favorably than does Sankara to the yogic practices of Patañjali and the Bhagavad Gīta. In a way rarely seen in Sankara's "mainstream" Advaita,3 Vidyāranya claims that yoga and ascetic renunciation (samnyāsa) together both lead to and express the liberating knowledge (jñāna, vidyā) of brahman. In the case of yoga specifically, knowledge and yogic practice are linked, for discerning nonduality breeds the cessation of mental activity, and ceasing mental activity by yoga assists seeing nonduality. The Jīvanmuktiviveka refers regularly to yoga as a disciplined practice to still the mind. But Vidyāranya's view of yoga is not identical to that of Patañjali in his Yogasūtras (YS); exploring Vidyāranya's use and understanding of Patañjali's Yogasūtras as seen in the JMV is the purpose of this essay. Vidyāranya's primary commitment is to Advaita (nondual) Vedānta; while he is syncretic, and includes a good deal of Yoga (and Sāmkhya) language, he is foremost an Advaitin. While we shall see repeated references to the Yogasutras below, he is more indebted to the Laghu-Yogavāsistha (LYV) and the Bhagavad-Gītā than to Patañjali. His main "practical" emphasis is repeated yogic practice (yogābhyāsa) which leads to three interrelated goals: extinguishing residual mental impressions (vāsanā-ksāya), destroying the mind (mano-nāśa), and the highest goal, knowing the (nondual) truth (tattva-jñāna). We shall see that Patañjali's yoga is most relevant to destroying the mind, the instrument of perceiving and cognizing, formed of ever-changing mental manifestations (citta-vrtti). While Vidyaranya repeatedly refers to the value of yogic practice in attaining and safeguarding knowledge of

Journal of Indian Philosophy 27: 377-395, 1999. C 1999 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands.

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nondual brahman,4 ultimately there is no doubt that knowing brahman is the essential element for full liberation. Vidyāranya also clearly chooses to emphasize certain ideas introduced by Patañjali and to ignore others, though as is generally the case with Vidyāranya, it is difficult to make hard and fast rules on the extent to which and order in which he discusses any particular concept of Patañjali. He also expands on and makes new distinctions among some of these key concepts. His primary focus in this context is achieving enstasis (samādhi) and the cessation of thought; to this end, he concentrates on the eight limbs of the yoga path and also emphasizes dispassion (vairāgya). Concerning the Yogasūtra text itself, he cites most sūtras in Chapter I until Patañjali takes up worship of the lord (īśvara) and the lord's nature5 (though, interestingly, most of these aphorisms are discussed after those mentioned from Chapter II and III); Vidyāranya also passes over sūtras speaking of obstacles to practice and of the absorptive states (samāpatti) "with seed." Further, Vidyāranya ignores the aphorisms found in Chapter II which refer to the afflictions (kleśa) and the Samkhya-oriented theorizing on the relation of the seer/spirit (purusa) and seen/material nature (prakrti), but quotes almost all the sūtras which describe the eightfold (astānga) yoga path.6 The aphorisms in Chapter III which he cites are scattered throughout this section of the JMV, and largely end when Patañjali takes up the development of various properties (or characteristics, dharma) like senses and material elements; Vidyāranya's avoidance (and critique) of references to supernatural powers (siddhi) is also quite noticeable.7 He mentions only one sūtra from the final (kaivalya) chapter, and, at least in this context, does not mention kaivalya (perfect isolation) at all. Put simply, practice leading to control of mental states is emphasized, philosophy and shamanic powers are downplayed. Before we turn to Vidyaranya's use and understanding of Patañjali's Yogasūtras, I should mention explicitly a matter which is quite apparent when analyzing Patañjali's sūtras: there are a host of technical terms which are difficult to translate, can be rendered differently in different contexts, and commentators and translators have not, over time, come to consensus about the meanings of many terms. One need go no further than the translation of "citta-vrtti-nirodha" (YS I. 2) as the cessation of mental transformations. I render citta as mind, meaning the broad aggregate of mental contents and capacity (vs. buddhi/intellect or ahamkāra/ego). Vrtti is particularly problematic; options include process, modification, and fluctuation. I chose transformation, which to me best captures the senses of both striking change and continuous

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flow. Finally, I generally translate "nirodha" as "cessation;" which I think is usually closer to the sense than "restraint" or "control," but these latter terms are sometimes used when they seem more appropriate. The close reader will inevitably have disagreements with my choices at times. For me, a significant part of the value of writing this essay was my own "coming to terms" with at least part of Patañjali's text.

VIDYĀRAŅYA ON THE EIGHT-FOLD LIMBS (AȘTĀŃGA) OF YOGA

As stated above, Patañjali and the Yogasūtras are cited in a number of places in the JMV, but the YS is a primary focus only in Chapter III, where Vidyaranya discusses controlling and restraining, or "destroying," the mind (mano-nāśa) by yogic discipline and nondual knowledge. We shall concentrate our attention there. The chapter begins by addressing the importance, and difficulty, of controlling the mind, and the impos- sibility of gaining such control solely by physical practices like hatha yoga. Vidyāranya compares it to trying to bind an elephant with lotus stalks (LYV 28. 33). Instead, mental control comes gradually from spiritual (adhyātma) knowledge of (nondual) reality (305-6, 186-7). The first passage in this chapter which uses the terminology of yoga extensively describes how sorrow (duhkha) arises from mental transformations (citta-vrtti) due to the movement of the breath (prāna- spanda). Breath movement is restrained (nirudh) by the steady practice of prānāyāma (breath regulation) with proper posture and diet (LYV 28. 122-3). We find Vidyäranya beginning with the third and fourth components or limbs (anga) of the eight-fold (astānga) yoga path, specifically with Patañjali's description of asana (sitting, posture) in YS II. 46-8: one's posture should be steady and comfortable, and by meditating on the infinite (ananta, also the cosmic serpent) and relaxing one's effort, opposing dualities (from hot and cold to happiness and sorrow) are destroyed. He then elaborates that relaxing one's effort means not bathing or performing pilgrimage or sacrifice, which require rising from the steady and comfortable posture, and meditating means particularly identifying with the serpent Ananta. Further, sitting in a quiet and solitary place, like a cave, is best, as is eating in moderation (308-11, 189-4). Vidyāranya then turns to the role of breath regulation (prānāyāma) in destroying the mind. Due to the concomitance of breath and mind flow (spanda), when the breath is controlled, the mind is too. As a charioteer firmly reins in ill-natured horses, so the controlled breath reins in the mind from the pull of senses and residual impressions (vāsanā). One

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does not stop breathing completely, of course, but one can greatly slow and lessen the breath. (312-14, 195-99). Vidyāranya here begins an extended discussion of the three-fold prānāyāma as mentioned by Patañjali and Amrtānanda Upanisad 10- 14: recaka (exhaling), pūraka (inhaling), and kumbhaka (motionless breath suspension). YS II. 49-50 state that prānāyāma is regulating the course and nature of inhalation and exhalation (and suspension) by place, duration, and number (of breaths), long or short. Vidyāranya adds that recaka is the external flow of breath, pūraka the internal, and kumbhaka the suspension of flow, and each should be examined by place, duration, and number. For example, a natural, untrained exhaling breath rises from the heart and extends about 12 digits from the tip of the nose, but by repeated practice, the air rises from the navel or below and extends 24 or 36 digits, as ascertained externally by a small piece of cotton. Its duration can be determined by the number of prānava (om) repetitions while breathing out (10, or even 30); this number should be increased monthly by daily practice. Vidyāranya concludes that as a thick cotton lump lengthens and becomes light by being spread out, so the breath, by this practice, lengthens and becomes almost imperceptibly light. (315-17, 200-04). YS II. 51-53 are then quoted. Patañjali mentions a fourth prānāyāma beyond inhalation and exhalation. Vidyaranya states that this is practicing kumbhaka (breath suspension) alone, and is for those free from the vices of sleep and sloth. Prānāyāma's fruit is the destruction of the covering of the light (of truth); to Vidyāranya, this destruction is of darkness (tamas) covering purity (sattva). Such destruction makes the mind fit for dhāranā, concentrating or fixing the mind internally. Skipping over the final sūtras in YS II, on pratyāhāra (sense withdrawal), Vidyāranya proceeds to YS III. 1, which defines dhāranā. Dhāranā is binding the mind to a particular place, which, Vidyāranya states, can mean the seat (adhāra), navel, heart, midbrow, or the crown of the head. The mind becomes fit for this concentration when freed from lassitude (ālasya) due to the tamoguna (quality of darkness or dullness) and from fickleness (cāñcalya) due to rajoguna (quality of passion or activity) by breath regulation. (318-19, 204-06). Having shown various means to "destroy the mind," Vidyāranya now turns to the final step in Patañjali's yogic path, meditative enstasis or samādhi,8 and focuses on the two most disciplined of five stages (bhūmi) of the mind according to (interestingly) Vyasa's commentary on YS I. 1. The five are scattered (ksipta), stupified (mūdha), distracted (vikșipta), one pointed (ekāgra), and restrained (niruddha). Vidyāraņya explains

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that the mind is scattered when moving among residual impressions tied to fame, learning, or beauty, and stupified when overwhelmed by sleep or sloth; there is no samädhi in these two. It is distracted rather than completely scattered when intermittently yoked with meditation (dhyāna); as Vyāsa says, a distracted mind is not really yoked, since enstasis is here subordinate to distraction. However, when the mind is one-pointed, samādhi reveals an object in its true nature, destroys afflictions (kleśa), loosens the bonds of karma, and brings forth ces- sation (nirodha), and this is called conscious (samprajñāta) enstasis. When all mental transformations cease, that is called superconscious (asamprajñāta) samādhi; here the mind is completely quiescent, beyond even one-pointed engrossment in an object. (320, 207-8). These states, translated in brief as conscious (one-pointed, but still concerned with objects) and superconscious (beyond all relation with objects) enstasis. are central concerns of Vidyäranya in the following, and the reader is urged to keep in mind the above extended definitions. Vidyāranya indicates that the one-pointed stage of conscious enstasis is described in YS III. 12: the one-pointedness development (ekāgratatā- parināma)9 of mind occurs when concepts are equivalent whether at rest (past) or aroused (present). Vidyāranya explains this difficult sūtra to mean that when past and present mental transformations have the same object, they are equivalent, and such a mental development is called one-pointedness. He then turns to YS III. 11: the enstasis development (samādhi-parināma) of mind occurs when (attending to) all objects ceases and one-pointedness rises. Vidyaranya writes that the mind, impelled by the quality of passion, grasps one object after another. To restrain this quality, yogins make a particular effort daily to diminish the mind's wandering and increase one-pointedness, and this mental

208-9). development toward greater one-pointedness is called samādhi. (320-21,

Vidyaranya, in his typically unsystematic style, then turns to the first two limbs of the eight-fold path, yama (restraints) and niyama (observances). Not only is he here discussing the preliminary, or "outer" (bahir) limbs after considering samädhi, the last and highest limb, but he has already described his understanding of the third and fourth preliminary components, posture and breath regulation. He first lists the five restraints according to YS II. 30: not harming, being truthful, not stealing, being celibate, and not coveting. Then follow the five observances found in YS II. 32: purification, contentment, austerity, scriptural study, and attending to the Lord. Such observances, Vidyāranya writes, turn one from desire-filled actions causing rebirth and toward

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desireless duties causing liberation. He cities smrti texts stating that the restraints are more fundamental than observances, but does not elaborate further. (321, 209). Vidyāranya then quotes YS II. 35-45, which describe the fruits of practicing the constituents of both limbs. When the yogin is grounded in non-harming, all hostility ceases around him. When grounded in truthfulness, the fruits of his work (and words) are achieved. When grounded in non-stealing, all jewels present themselves. When grounded in celibacy, heroic vigor is obtained. When without covetousness, the story of (past and future) births is known; Vidyāranya adds that now the fear of rebirth is absent. From purification rises disgust for one's own body and for contact with others. In addition, purification brings the capacity to see the Self, conquest of the senses, one-pointedness, a serene mind, and pure intelligence (sattva). Supreme happiness is gained from contentment. Perfection (siddhi, perhaps meaning spiritual powers as well) of body and senses comes from austerity, which destroys impurity. Communion (samprayoga) with the desired deity rises from scriptural study and recitation. And finally, samādhi is attained by attending to the Lord. Above, it is equally interesting that Vidyaranya quotes this entire series of sūtras and that he leaves them virtually without commentary. (322, 210-12). Having already discussed posture and breath regulation, Vidyāranya turns to the fifth limb of yoga, pratyāhāra, sense withdrawal. As YS II. 54 states, withdrawal is when the senses are disjoined from their objects, and seemingly resemble the mind's own form. Vidyāranya adds that the senses, such as hearing, turn away from their respective objects, like sound, but remain as if resembling the mind's own form. Adding an Advaitic twist, he states that withdrawal exists when the five senses plus the mind turn away from their objects, which are not the Self, and are regarded as rays of the Self, as Amrtānanda Upanisad 5 says. The result of this withdrawal is, according to YS II. 55 (the last sūtra in this chapter), supreme control over the senses. This inward turning control prepares the way for the mental discipline of the final three stages (samyama) of the yoga path, culminating in samādhi. (323, 212-13). These stages or "internal limbs," are defined in the first three sūtras of the Yogasūtras' third chapter and are also the main topic of the chapter.10 Vidyāranya cites YS III. 1-3: Concentration (dhāranā) is binding the mind to (one) point, that is, focusing attention on a body part or visualized image. Meditation (dhyāna) is continual fixedness on that (concentrated) thought, and enstasis (samādhi) is the illumining

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(or awareness, nirbhāsa) of the object (of meditation) alone, as if (the subject) were devoid of its own form (that is, were not aware of itself). The idea here is that the meditator is so absorbed in contemplation that the distinction of subject and object ceases. Vidyāranya then offers some elaboration. Places for concentration (like ādhāra, or seat) have already been mentioned; here he refers to Amrtānanda Upanisad 16, which says dhāranā exists when the wise person focuses and concentrates the wandering conceiving (samklrp) mind solely on the Self. "Fixedness on one thought" means mental flow (pravāha) on a single object - reality (tattva). This flow is of two kinds: interrupted (vicchidya) and continuous (samtati); they become meditation and enstasis respectively. (323-4, 213-4).11 At this point, Vidyaranya feels the need to tie the Yoga perspective to Advaita thought. He quotes Muktika Upanisad II. 49-50 which states that meditation is the means to knowledge (jñāna) which rises from the one-pointed mind, and one should now contemplate solely being - consciousness - bliss (saccidānanda). Muktika II. 53 adds that this flow of mental transformations, having the form of brahman without any egoism (ahamkrti), is conscious (samprajñāta) samādhi, born from the intense practice of meditation. Vidyāranya continues with verses from Śankara's Upadeśasāhasrī (X. 1-3) which declare the ever liberated Self to be luminous, unborn, pure, pervasive, nondual, changeless, ever content, and so on. (324-5, 214-6). An objection is raised: why does conscious enstasis specifically appear, rather than "simple" samādhi, the eighth limb after meditation? Vidyaranya responds that this is not a problem, as the two are not very different. As there is continuity between the mistake-prone beginning Vedic pupil, an advanced student, and the mistake-free teacher, so the three stages (meditation, enstasis, and conscious samadhi) are to be understood as being subdivisions having a single object but with degrees of ripening or maturity. The three yogic limbs of concentration, meditation, and enstasis, concerned with the mind, are the internal or essential components for conscious samädhi, while the prior five limbs are external or secondary. YS III. 7 is cited for confirmation: these three are more internal (essential) than the previous ones. Vidyāranya adds that if one gains these three by some merit (punya), one need make little effort to gain external ones. (325-6, 216-7). He then makes a significant, and Advaita leaning, comment indicating his devaluation of supernatural powers (siddhi). He writes that although Patañjali describes conscious and conceptual (savikalpa) samādhis at length, in relation to gross and subtle elements, senses, egoism, etc.,

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he (Vidyaranya) need not show interest in them, because they aim for powers like invisibility which are opposed to (the highest) enstasis, the cause of liberation. He in fact cites YS III. 37 and 51 as support here: siddhis are powers in the agitated state (vyutthāna) prior to enstasis, but are obstacles to samädhi, and one should not feel drawn or flattered when invited (or enticed) by divine occupants (sthānin) due to the possibility of recurring evil. Vidyāranya points out that Uddālaka, although invited by the gods, disregarded them and attained nonconceptual (nirvikalpa) samādhi. As Laghu-Yogavāsistha 28. 1-3 indicates, one does not see powers like levitation in one liberated while living (jīvanmukta). One can fly and still not know the Self, so such a power is not the goal of the Self knower. Vidyāranya concludes that desiring and pursuing powers are ultimately obstacles, and indicate one's ignorance; the Self-knower certainly could gain such powers, but is too wise and detached to do so. (326-7, 216-9).

ON STAGES OF SAMĀDHI

Conscious (samprajñāta) samādhi, whose object is the Self, is of interest to Vidyaranya, as it leads to extinguishing residual impressions (vāsanā) and to the enstasis of cessation (nirodha). Nirodha samādhi, the fifth stage (bhumi) of enstasis, is described in the dense and difficult YS III. 9: the development of cessation (nirodha-parināma) of the mind is accompanied by a moment of cessation, when the latent or "subliminal" impressions (samskāra)12 of agitation are overcome and those of cessation appear.13 This seems to suggest that latent impressions of agitation can continue even when the mind itself has momentarily achieved cessation, though the trend is increasingly toward complete cessation. Vidyaranya underscores that the impressions from the agitated state (vyutthāna) are opposed to enstasis, as shown by Uddālaka in LYV 24. 19ff.14 Impressions from agitation, he writes, are overcome by the yogin's efforts causing cessation daily and every moment. When cessation is achieved, the mind follows (that is, remains restrained) at every moment. In this way, there is development of cessation (nirodha- parināma) of the mind. (328-30, 220-24). An objector points out that the mind always has a flow (pravāha) of transformations. Vidyäranya agrees that there is such a flow in the agitated mind, but in the case of the restrained (niruddha) mind, YS III. 10 states that the flow (of tranquility) is steady due to the impressions (of cessation mentioned in the previous sūtra). As fire increases and decreases with the amount of fuel provided, so does mental restraint rise

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or fall with the the flow of tranquility (praśama) provided. Impressions rising from earlier tranquility cause serenity later. He offers Bhagavad- Gītā VI. 18-23 for support: one is yoked (yukta) when the disciplined and desire-free mind is intent on and rests in the Self alone, like an unflickering lamp in a windless place. A mind restrained by yoga practice sees and enjoys the Self and gains sense-transcending supreme happiness. Thus yoga is the breaking of connection (samyama) with any sorrow and should be practiced resolutely. (330-31, 224-26). Vidyāranya then turns to means for the enstasis of cessation (nirodha- samādhi) according to YS I. 18. It has long been contested whether Patañjali's focus is enstasis or cessation of thought (which can arise from enstasis or other techniques). For Vidyāranya, YS I. 18 seems to be differentiating the highest, superconscious (asamprajñāta) samādhi from conscious enstasis (which arises in a variety of ways as discussed in the prior sūtra). Seen this way, the sūtra states that the other (superconscious) enstasis wherein only latent impressions remain (versus "full-fledged" mentation) is preceded by the repeated practice of stopping (all) ideas (virāma-pratyaya, which Vidyaranya glosses as cessation of all vrtti, mental transformation). He adds that the mind in superconscious enstasis is said to remain only in the form of latent impression because it is hard to describe the form of the mind free from vrttis15 (331, 227). Vidyāranya's extensive attention to these matters shows his nature as a "yogic Advaitin." Traditional Advaita often downgraded yoga as another form of action tied to cause and effect, as opposed to eternally existent nondual knowledge which once gained is never lost. One can argue that Advaitins do not sufficiently attend to the difficult issue of how gradually insight seems to be gained in most cases. Mental stability and serenity are very rarely present once and for all, and the process of yoga mastery described here (including stages of samādhi and the workings of certain impressions) attempts to account for the lengthy and difficult road to liberation, and shows how one might "fall back" along the way.

YOGIC PRACTICE AND ADVAITIC KNOWLEDGE

Vidyāranya continues to urge restraint and cessation of sense and mental activity, and incorporates a variety of ideas drawn from Sāmkhya (ahamkāra, avyakta, mahat, purusa and prakrti) and passages dear to Advaitins (Upanisads, Gaudapāda, the Laghu-Yogavāsistha).16 He doesn't mention the Yogasūtras again until referring to Gītā VI. 34-36, which assert that the mind, while restless and hard to control, can be

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held in check by dispassion (vairāgya) and intense practice (abhyāsa), and yoking can be attained by the properly controlled Self. Vidyāranya states that this will be explained later utilizing Patañjali's sūtras (see p. 389) (336, 233-34). He emphasizes in a number of places that the path to yogic mastery and unconditioned consciousness is gradual, by way of repeated practice in proper stages, and refers to Vyāsa's YS III. 6 commentary, which states that yoga is to be known through yoga, yoga develops from yoga, and the yogin who is vigilant through yoga enjoys abiding bliss. (341, 239). Vidyāranya shows his ultimate allegiance to Advaita when responding to an objection arguing that the cause of realizing the Self is conscious enstasis, achieved by samyama (the last three stages of the eightfold yoga path, starting with concentration), in the form of the one-pointedness transformation. If conscious enstasis is the cause of Self-realization, then the mind, when it has attained superconscious enstasis absorbed in the serene Self, and is, like sleep, without transformation, is not the means (to such realization). To this view, Vidyāranya retorts that realizing the Self "naturally" (through the mind) is not preventable. When "not-Self seeing" stops, the mind naturally takes on the form of the Self; he compares this pure mind to a pot's original, "natural" condition of holding empty space (ākāśa), while anything else present is, in both cases, an adventitious adjunct. Thus, the unobstructed Self is experienced by the mind which is one-pointed due to its turning toward pure consciousness alone and subtle with only latent impressions remaining, effectuated by the enstasis of cessation. (342-3, 241-2). Again consistent with many other "yogic Advaita" passages, Vidyāranya adds that while Self-realization is self-established, mental cessation is repeatedly practiced to ward off not realizing the Self. He claims that Self-realization (ātma-darśana) in nirodha samādhi is not mentioned directly in the Yogasūtras since the text is concerned only with enstasis as mental "therapy" (or healing, cikitsaka). However, such realization is indirectly accepted, for following YS I. 2 ("yoga is the cessation of mental transformations"), YS I. 3 states "then the seer (drastr) abides in its true form." Vidyāranya elaborates that although the unchanging seer always abides in its true form, it seems ill at ease since it can't be (clearly) discriminated in the reflected images among transformations rising in the mind. As YS I. 4 states, "at other times, (it is) identified with the transformations." He then additionally quotes part of YS III. 35 for support: "everyday experience (bhoga) appears from ideation not discriminating the quality of purity (sattva) and the spirit (purusa), which are utterly unmixed since (the pure quality) is

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dependent on another [and knowledge of purusa arises from the disci- pline of samyama on itself as subject]," and also adds YS IV. 22: "when the mind takes the form (of the spirit) without admixture of thought, it becomes aware of its own intelligence." Both these latter sūtras are challenging to translate and interpret, but suggest the difficulty in clearly separating the realm of material phenomena (prakrti and the gunas) from the taintless spirit (purusa). This is also one of the few places that Vidyāranya uses such Sāmkhya-centric language when specifically discussing Patañjali's Yogasūtras (344-45, 243-44). Although the next section does not focus on the Yogasūtras (though some are mentioned), it is relevant here because it is one of Vidyāranya's clearest statements of the relationship between yoga and knowledge (jñāna) and the ultimate superiority of the latter.17 He claims that one can directly realize (sāksātkr) one's Self ("the basis of you," or tvampadārtha) when purified by the enstasis of cessation, yet to gain identity with brahman (the highest goal), another mental transfor- mation (vrtti) called knowledge of brahman must arise by means of an Upanisadic "great saying" (mahāvākya) (such as stating "you are that," tat-tvam-asi). Further, samādhi is not the only means for real- izing the pure "basis of you;" one can also know it by (the Sāmkhya process of) differentiating and discriminating consciousness (cit) and matter. An objector asserts that discrimination (viveka) leads just to yoga itself, since at the moment of realization, the one-pointed trans- formation perceives only the Self, as it momentarily has the form of conscious (samprajñāta) enstasis. Vidyāranya concurs, thus confirming the value of this discrimination, but also leaving room for something yet greater. Concerning this latter point, Vidyaranya holds that there is a great difference between conscious and superconscious samadhi, both in their nature (in that transformations are present in the former and absent in the latter) and in the means to attain each. Concerning means, the three final yogic limbs (concentration, etc.) are of the same nature as conscious enstasis (in that they remain linked with entities like transformations), but are of a different nature from transforma- tionless superconscious enstasis. For support, he quotes YS III.8 here: these (limbs) are external to the seedless (nirbīja). Still, although of a different nature, these external or secondary means are not opposed to (the highest) samädhi since they help attainment by preventing many kinds of not-Self transformations. To illustrate this usefulness, YS I. 20 states: "for others (that is, not the gods or bodiless beings mentioned in the prior sūtra), this (enstasis) is preceded by faith, resolute energy, memory, enstasis, and insight (prajñā)" (345-46, 244-46).18

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Vidyāranya states that faith, śraddha, is the conviction that this yoga is the means to the highest human end. Such faith is inculcated by praise for yoga as in Gītā VI. 46 which claims that the yogin is greater than ascetics (tapasvin), knowers (jñānin), or ritualists (karmin) and urges Arjuna to be a yogin (though not explicitly a Pātañjala yogin). Vidyāranya agrees, despite his usual position that knowledge is higher than yoga, because, he says, yoga causes mental tranquility. For one knowing this, faith in yoga arises. With this faith, resolute energy rises to accomplish yoga. With such resolution, one remembers the limbs of yoga to be practiced (in proper sequence). And with this memory, when one attains inner serenity (adhyātma-prasāda, mentioned in YS I. 47) from rightly practiced enstasis, truth-bearing insight (rtambharā prajñā) arises. So, Vidyāranya concludes, for humans, superconscious samādhi is preceded, that is, caused by this insight; thus, following YS I. 48, insight there (i.e. when utterly serene) is called truth-bearing (that is, showing things as they truly are). (346-48, 247-48). YS I. 49 states this insight is called truth-bearing since it has an object different from knowledge from testimony and inference due to (its) reference to the particular. The "particular" (viśeșa) here seems to mean a thing "in itself," known directly and specifically, rather than inferentially or hearing from another source (even a sacred one). Vidyaranya interprets this sūtra to mean that without yogic perception (yogi-pratyāksa) from the highest insight, subtle or hidden things do not appear (at least, not directly). Non-yogins know these things by scripture or inference, and such knowledge is only of the generality (sāmānya) of a thing, but yogic perception brings into range the particularity of a thing, so is truth-bearing. And to establish the externality (that is, not intrinsic or natural capacity) of yogic perception in (bringing) superconscious enstasis, its (mere) helpfulness is mentioned in YS I. 50: a latent impression (samskāra) born from this (insight) obstructs other (less fruitful) impressions. Vidyāranya continues that having described the external means to reach superconscious samādhi, Patañjali indicates in YS I. 51 that the effort to stop even this latent impression is the internal (or most direct) means to this enstasis; it states that when even this (obstructing impression) is restrained, since all is restrained, seedless samādhi (arises). (348, 248-49). Thus, again here we see Vidyāranya attempt to clarify the exact nature of the process of yogic mastery which eventually culminates in Advaitic liberation. After considering the relationship of unconditioned enstasis and deep dreamless sleep (susupti),19 Vidyāranya continues to discuss calming and controlling the lazy, distracted, and desire-filled mind. While still

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describing mental states, transformations, and discipline, he does not mention Patañjali, instead here utilizing Gaudapāda's kārikās, which are more congenial to his basic syncretic Advaita view, for they teach that the final goal is bliss-filled rest in and identity with nondual brahman.

ON VRTTIS, VĀSANĀS, AND VAIRĀGYA

He returns to the Yogasutra when explicating the meaning of yoga itself; again it is typical of Vidyaranya to have already discussed this key term repeatedly without early clear definition. After quoting Katha Upanisad II. 3. 10-11 that yoga is firm control of the mind and senses, and involves both their rise and cessation, Vidyāranya adds that yoga, if neglected, gives rise to sense activity, but if well-practised, it causes dissolution of the senses. Then, citing YS I. 2, he states that yoga's essential nature is the cessation of mental transformations. Vidyāranya adds that to dispel the doubt that it is impossible to stop endless transformations, Patañjali in YS I. 5 limits the vrttis to five types, painful (klista) and not painful (aklista). The painful, "demonic" (āsura) transformations include afflictions like attraction and aversion (rāga-dvesa) and the pain-free "divine" (daiva) transformations lack these afflictions, etc. Those with lesser intellects (manda-buddhi) think only painful transformations should be stopped; to refute this (and show all five should cease), the not painful ones are also mentioned. (356-57, 260-61). Vidyāranya then lists YS I. 6-11, which indicate the names and natures of the transformations. They are valid knowledge (pramāna), error (viparyaya), conceptual construction (vikalpa), sleep (nidrā), and memory (smrti). The means of valid knowledge are direct perception (pratyaksa), inference (anumāna), and reliable testimony (āgama). Error is false knowledge not based on a thing's (true) form. Conceptual construction proceeds from verbal knowledge devoid of material reality. Deep sleep is a transformation based on the experience of non-existence. Vidyaranya adds that the experience (or idea, pratyaya) of non-existence (in sleep) is the quality of dullness (tamas), when all is covered by dark and all things seem absent. Finally, memory is an apprehended object not carried off (e.g. preserved); Vidyāranya rewords this as the recollection of what rises from cognition. (357-58, 261-62). He makes no further remarks on any of these five kinds of mental transformations, except to say, citing YS I. 12, that the means to their cessation is through repeated practice (abhyāsa) and detachment or dispassion (vairāgya); these are, of course, major emphases of yogic

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Advaita. He adds that as a river current is dammed and then directed through the channels of a field, so the flow of objects in the river of mind is restrained by dispassion, and then is made calm by the repeated practice of samādhi. A question is then posed: While repeated practice is possible with actions like uttering mantras or meditating on a god, what practice (e.g. activity) is the means to enstasis which is the cessation of all activity? Vidyāranya answers with YS I. 13: repeated practice is the effort for steadiness there (e.g. in the mind). He interprets effort as mental resolution, and steadiness (sthiti) as motionless restraint of mind from its natural outwards flow by every means. (358, 262-63). The question then rises as to how this practice, begun but not yet firm, can overcome constantly manifesting agitated (vyutthāna) impressions. Vidyaranya responds with YS I. 14: this practice is firmly grounded when practiced devotedly and unceasingly for a long time.20 He adds that as a student cannot learn four Vedas in five days, a yogin cannot master the discipline in days or even months; yoga must be devotedly practiced for a long time - years or even multiple births (as stated in Gītā VI. 45). If practiced zealously over time but with interruptions, then the impressions rising from yoga will be overcome by agitated impressions immediately following, rising from the interruptions - so one must practice uninterruptedly. Not practicing devotedly means not avoiding passivity (laya), distraction (viksepa), and so on. The firm grounding of enstasis by long term devoted and unceasing practice results in one's inability to be moved any impressions, whether of sorrow or joy. No greater attainment than this exists.21 (359-60, 264-65). Vidyaranya then elaborates on dispassion (vairāgya), the second means to stop mental manifestations. He claims there are two kinds, higher and lower. The lower dispassion itself has four types: exertion, analysis, sensory unification, and mastery. He states that YS I. 15 mentions the fourth, which implies the other three: dispassion is the awareness (samjña) of mastery (vaśikr) of the thirst for objects, seen and heard. Things seen include women, sons, or wealth, and things heard (of) include the Veda or heaven. While such objects are still desired, the other three kinds of dispassion become discriminated (viveka) by degrees. Exertion (yatamana) is the effort to know, by teacher or sacred text, what is and is not essential (sara) in the world. Analysis (vyatireka) is distinguishing those defects previously existing in the mind which have ripened by discrimination from those remaining. Sensory unification (ekendriya) is a state of desirelessness with merely mental longing (autsukya), having abandoned all activity by realizing

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the sorrowfulness of pursuing objects, seen or heard. Mastery (vaśīkāra) is (pure) desirelessness. (362-63, 268-70). Vidyāranya continues that the lower (apara) dispassion is the internal limb (essential cause) of conscious enstasis since it proceeds from the eight-limbed yoga, but such detachment is the outer limb, or secondary cause, of superconscious enstasis. The higher dispassion, internal or essential cause of the latter samadhi, is described in YS I. 16: the higher (dispassion) is utter desirelessness for the material qualities (guna) due to direct knowledge of the spirit (purusa). Vidyāranya adds that direct knowledge of the spirit, which is different from material nature consisting of the gunas, rises by skillful practice of conscious samādhi, and from that direct realization comes the highest detachment, which is desirelessness amid all the activity of the qualities. (363, 270). Differing degrees of speed in attaining enstasis according to degrees of dispassion are, Vidyāranya claims, referred to in YS I. 21: for the extremely intent (tīvra-samvega), (enstasis is) very near (asanna). He states that there are three types of yogins: the mildly, moderately, and intensely intent, and the latter will attain samādhi in a very short time. In fact, Vidyaranya holds that there are differing degrees of (speed in attaining) samādhi even among the extremely intent, as mentioned in YS I. 22, which says there is also a difference (among the extremely intent) due to mild, moderate, and extreme (intensity) - though one wonders exactly what "mild intensity" is. Enstasis is, of course, achieved sooner by those who more intense; he claims that Janaka and Prahlāda are among the best of the best extremely intense, for they obtain firm samadhi with only a moment's reflection. On the other hand, the lowest of the low, those like Uddālaka, who are only mildly intent, obtain it only by long exertion - and so on for other yoga sages. Thus, Vidyāranya concludes, the extremely intense yogin's mind, after gaining firmly grounded superconscious enstasis, cannot rise again, and is destroyed. When the extinguishing of residual impressions (vāsanā-ksāya) is preserved by the destruction of the mind (mano-nāśa), liberation while living (jīvanmukti) is well-established. (364-65, 271-72). References to the Yogasūtra end here, as Vidyāranya goes on to describe the relationship of living and bodiless liberation (videhamukti) after the mind is destroyed, according to the Laghu-Yogavāsistha.

CONCLUDING REMARKS

References to the YS elsewhere in the JMV are generally brief, and often allude to sūtras already cited. One further passage should be

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described, however, as it refers to two sūtras not previously mentioned, during a discussion of fasting and avoiding desirable things. Vidyāranya writes that while listening to puranas, worshipping gods, or singing and dancing attract the mind away from hunger and sleep, to avoid desire, one should attend to friendliness etc., for, as YS I. 33 states: serenity of mind (rises) from cultivating friendliness (maitrī), compassion (karunā), joy (muditā), and indifference (upeksā) regarding happiness, sorrow, virtue, and vice respectively.22 Vidyaranya adds that the mind is made impure (kalusī) by attraction, aversion, good, and evil. Concerning attraction and aversion (rāga-dvesa), he cites YS II. 7-8, which state that attraction is attached to happiness and aversion to sorrow. Vidyāranya's point here is that generally people can never get enough happiness, so are always thirsting for more, and they can't avoid suffering, so constantly experience aversion. However, if one should feel friendliness and compassion for all beings, attraction and aversion would cease, and the mind become serene. (277-78, 142-43). Put another way, when one identifies with others and "universalizes" friendliness/happiness etc., they become not personal emotions linked to a bounded ego, but transpersonal social virtues. To conclude, I shall reiterate some of Vidyāranya's themes when he refers to Patañjali's Yogasūtras. First, Vidyāranya is selective; he says relatively little about Sāmkhya and siddhis, but goes into much detail about the eightfold yoga path (although not in the order Patañjali presents), particularly its final stage, samādhi. He also describes the nature of mental transformations (vrtti) and impressions (samskāra, vāsanā) at some length. His remarks about doing repeated practice to bring about their cessation seem more in line with Yoga than traditional Advaita, though his stress on dispassion (vairagya) in achieving mental cessation is found in both schools. And while he ultimately privileges knowledge of nondual brahman, he repeatedly points to the value and significance of the yogic path. For yoga-oriented Advaitins, Vidyaranya's writing could provide both reassurance and new insight. As already noted, he emphasizes that mental flow doesn't simply cease all at once, and recognizes the importance and power of the latent and residual impressions which underlie mental transformations. As is evident through observation, mental control is achieved at different rates by those with different intensities of practice. His discussion of types of samādhi, especially conscious and superconscious, and the impact of impressions on enstasis offer a particularly useful extension of yogic ideas to Advaita. For Vidyāraņya, conscious enstasis seems the peak of yogic practice, demonstrating

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extraordinary mental discipline but still concerned with control (through one-pointedness). Superconscious enstasis, on the other hand, seems to lead beyond yogic discipline to actual cessation of mentation, a transformationless and serene absorption in the Self. Thus we see his syncretic, but finally Advaitic, view: yoga is a foundational element in destroying the mind, which assists and safeguards liberation, but it is not the ultimate aim or achievement.

NOTES

1 I used two translations. The first, which has the Sanskrit text interspersed, is Jīvan- mukti-viveka of Swami Vidyāranya. Translated by Swami Moksadananda (Calcutta: Advaita Ashrama, 1996). The second, which presents the Sanskrit and English in separate sections, is Jīvanmuktiviveka of Vidyāranya. Edited and translated by S. Subrahmanya Sastri and T. R. Srinivasa Ayyangar (Madras: Adyar Library and Research Centre, 1978). Translations given are mine. Page references which follow paragraphs indicate pages on which the material can be found in the Adyar Library and Advaita Ashrama editions respectively, i.e. (305-6, 186-7). 2 Chapter V of Living Liberation in Hindu Thought. Edited by Andrew O. Fort and Patricia Y. Mumme (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1996), and Chapter VII of Jivanmukti in Transformation: Embodied Liberation in Advaita and Neo-Vedanta by Andrew O. Fort (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1998). 3 For more on Sankara and Yoga, see Chapter III of Jivanmukti in Transformation. 4 At one point, he states that all schools of thought, from Buddhist and Naiyāyika to Vaisnava and Sakta, while debating the nature of liberation, concur in accepting astānga yoga as the means to it (moksa-sādhana). (387, 306) 5 Though he surprisingly passes over reference to samprajñāta (conscious enstasis) in I. 17, and he does not mention I. 19, despite the fact it is referred to by I. 20, which he does cite. 6 He also here avoids mentioning sūtras which refer to the concentrative discipline of samyama and to discriminative discernment (viveka-khyāti). He not only does not discuss these sutras, but cites III. 37 and 51, which warn against attachment to powers. This is another term which can be translated in various ways. I like enstasis since it suggests intense internal absorption (my second choice would be "pure absorption"), fixing together subject and object, which seems stronger or deeper than "mere" concentration or contemplation. 9 I generally translate "parināma" as "development" to suggest both neutral change and positive advance to a higher state. When not wanting to include the notion of advance, I use "transformation". 10 Again, one can note that Vidyaranya has already mentioned dhāranā and said a great deal on samādhi. 11 Vidyāranya also contrasts meditation and enstasis earlier (298, 174), when discussing two forms of the residual impression of pure consciousness (cinmātra-vāsanā). This impression connected with agent and instrument (kartr-karana), meaning intellect (buddhi) and mind (manas), is called meditation. When this impression is no longer connected with agency etc. by intense practice, it is called enstasis. Vidyāranya here cites YS II. 2-3, defining dhyāna and samādhi (see above), and adds that after obtaining steadiness in enstasis by long, unceasing, and devoted effort, one should then abandon even that effort, which means abandoning the connection with agent

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and instrument. The idea of steadiness in enstasis by long, unceasing, and devoted effort is elaborated in his comments on YS I. 13-14 (p. 390). 12 One can note in this paragraph the use of both samskāra and vāsanā, which are translated respectively as latent and residual impression. While not critical here, it would be very interesting to refine further these terms as employed in the JMV, as Barbara Stoler Miller (1996) has done for their uses in the Yogasūtras. She points out that they are residues of thought and action preserved in memory, stored and ready for reactualization as mental transformations (15). These impressions must be consumed and the transformations cease for liberation (17). 13 Vidyāranya also cites this sūtra earlier (234, 78), saying that the destruction of the mind means the mind, abandoning development in the form of transformations, remains in the form of cessation. After impressions of agitation are overcome, those of cessation manifest, and a moment of cessation is reached by the mind (so the mind is destroyed). 14 This passage describes how Uddālaka, wanting a serene mind, practiced meditation (dhyāna) repeatedly, but couldn't attain samādhi, since his mind flit among both internal and external things like a monkey. Finally, cutting off all conceptual constructions (vikalpa), he saw the sun of discrimination hidden in the darkness, dispelled the dark with the light of right knowledge, and was immersed in light. He further shook off sleep and stupor, and rested in serenity (328-9, 221-24). 15 He continues with the claim that Gita VI. 24-5 (and then other scriptures) clearly describe the generation of superconscious samadhi by stopping ideation: abandoning completely desires from imagining (samkalpa), restraining senses from every direction by mind, one will slowly become tranquil with intellect held firmly and mind established in the Self (331-32, 227-29). 16 The LYV passage urges study of śāstra, service to the guru, renunciation, and meditation (21. 36-8). Vidyāranya elaborates that one should practice yoga according to one's ability for a half hour or hour, then study or serve the guru, or take care of bodily needs, then again do more yoga. So one should mix yoga in with all other activities, and the time devoted to yoga should be totalled before bed. This amount of time should be increased over the following days and months, and by the next year, the time spent on yoga would be much increased. He continues that when one attends only to yoga, other activities are neglected, and since one is truly fit for yoga only when they are abandoned, renunication of the knower (vidvat-samnyāsa) is required. Thus one intent on yoga attains mastery gradually, like a student or apprentice gradually becoming proficient in their subjects. (338-9, 237-8). Another passage addressing the relative status of the yogin and the knower, but which has no references to the Yogasūtras, takes up whether a yogin absorbed in meditation is superior to a truth-knower involved in the world. Broadly, the truth- knower is said to be superior, but only if lacking any mental impressions. See JMV, pp. 391-93, 312-14. 18 One can note a Buddhist parallel here, and in a number of other places in the JMV. Many Buddhist and Yoga ideas seem to have arisen from the same sources, and there is at times considerable overlap between them. Vidyāranya seems little influenced directly by Buddhism, thus in this paper, I mention Buddhist ideas only when there is a compelling reason (as, for example, in footnote 22). 19 He says that this (seedless) samādhi, which resembles deep sleep, can be experienced by the pure witness consciousness (sāksi-caitanya). While like sleep in being free from all mental transformations, this enstasis is different from sleep since the mind's essential nature exists there. He refers to relevant verses from Gaudapāda's kārikās: in both, the mind is conceptless, but only in samādhi is it controlled (and brahman itself). Neither cognize duality, but only sleep remains ignorant of the real. (349, 250). And of course one cannot do yogic practice or remove afflictions while asleep. 20 For a related reference, see footnote 11.

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21 Vidyāranya here tells the stories, from the Laghu-Yogavāsistha, of Sikhidhvaja, who remained unmoved during a three-year samādhi, despite the repeated lion-like roar and shaking of his queen, and of Prahlāda's blissful conceptless enstasis, in which he remained one-pointed for five thousand years, until Visnu, blowing his conch, slowly awakened him. (361-62, 267-68). 22 This, of course, is most familiar from Buddhist thought (the brahma-vihāras).

REFERENCES

Jīvan-mukti-viveka of Swami Vidyāranya (1996). Translated by Swami Moksadananda. Calcutta: Advaita Ashrama. Jīvanmuktiviveka of Vidyāranya (1978). Edited and translated by S. Subrahmanya Sastri and T. R. Srinivasa Ayyangar. Madras: Adyar Library and Research Centre Yoga Discipline of Freedom: The Yoga Sutra Attributed to Patanjali (1996). Translated by Barbara Stoler Miller. Berkeley: University of California Press. The Yoga Philosophy of Patanjali (1983). By Swami Hariharananda Aranya. Translated by P. N. Mukerji. Albany: State University of New York Press Yogasūtras of Patañjali on Concentration of Mind (1987). By Fernando Tola and Carmen Dragonetti. Translated into English by K. D. Prithipaul. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.

Department of Religion Texas Christian University Fort Worth, TX, U.S.A.