BLUFF OF ABILITY TO VISULIZE AND COMMUNICATE WITH THE DEAD

SUTRA (III-32, 33) – MIRACLES OF YOG
VERSUS THE BLUFFS OF YOGA
ALL THE BLUFF – CALL THE BLUFF

BLUFF OF ABILITY TO VISUALISE AND COMMUNICATE WITH THE ENLIGHTENED SOULS - SUTRAS (III-32 AND III-33)

Patanjali sutras quoted as authority for spreading this bluff are:

(III-32) MURDH JYOTISHI (first part showing area of experimentation) SIDDH DARSHANAM (third part showing KRAM in PARINAM)

(III-32) मूर्धज्योतिषि सिद्धदर्शनम्

(III-33) PRATIBHAD VA ((first part) SARVAM (third part)

(III-33) प्रतिभाद्वा सर्वम् or प्रातिभात वा सर्वम्

Since the intended bluff is the same in both the sutras, these have been grouped together for translation purpose. In these sutras also the word SANYAM संयम of second part has not been used. The spiritualistic explanations are divided on whether it should be presumed to be present or not in sutra III-33. The translations given by a spiritualist point of view that presume the presence of the word are arrived at by filling in the blanks of the standard patterns given earlier and are as under:

STANDARD SPIRITUALISTIC TRANSLATION

(III-32) - “By MEDITATING / CONCENTRATING (second part) on the light in the head (मूर्ध ज्योतिषि) (first part ) a yogi is blessed with the ability to visualize and communicate with those dead who are enlightened and gains entire knowledge with such contacts (third part of the sutra )”.
OR
(III-33) - By MEDITATING / CONCENTRATING (second part) on the intuitive perception (प्रतिभा) or the innate intelligence (PRATIBH प्रातिभ) a faculty possessed due to the actions of the previous birth, a yogi gains the entire knowledge.

BLUFF PROPAGATED – A yogi is omniscient as he has the ability to visualize and communicate with the gods and the enlightened souls who in turn bless / impart him with entire knowledge or he gains such knowledge by virtue of being enlightened soul due to the actions of the previous birth and thus already possessing the innate intelligence (PRATIBH प्रातिभ)

GLARING INFIRMITIES

Besides the glaring infirmities regarding the absence of the contexts of SANYAM and PARINAM that are common to all the spiritualistic translations and already mentioned over and over again the spiritualistic translation suffers from the following added infirmities for these sutras:

• The spiritualists who do not presume the presence of the word SANYAM संयम in sutra III-33 translate the sutra in a way that entire context of the word becomes redundant for them. Their emphasis is on the translation that “CONCENTRATION / MEDITATION ALONE (in an idle body posture) on innate intelligence (PRATIBH प्रातिभ / PRATIBHA प्रतिभा) that is slightly less than ultimate goal of achieving absolute wisdom (VIVEK विवेक / KAIVALYA कैवल्य) results into the visualization of enlightened souls who in turn bestow the entire knowledge” on them. In a way, they are letting the cat out of the bag. It is an open admission that they don’t agree with Patanjali’s concept of contexts of SANYAM संयम and PARINAM परिणाम in these sutras and have the temerity to quote this sutra of Patanjali only as authority to substantiate their claim to being advanced souls on the path of spiritualism by virtue of their actions of the previous births (PRARABDH प्रारब्ध) and thus on the verge of final liberation (MOKSH मोक्ष). And, therefore, they should not be subjected to the rigors of SANYAM संयम anymore. They are, thus doing a sort of familiarization / orientation course only in this birth to be able to roam in the company of those enlightened ones (SIDDH सिद्ध) who have either got out of the clutches of birth and rebirth (PUNARJANM पुनर्जन्म) permanently or decide at will to take birth in the form of reincarnation (AVTAR अवतार) only.
• For sticking to such translation they have to define KAIVALYA (कैवल्य) in some spiritualistic jargons like MOKSH (मोक्ष), achievement of some kind of spiritualistic SIDDHI (सिद्धि), union of ATMA (आत्मा) with PARAMATMA (परमात्मा) and not as explained by Patanjali successively in the contexts of the SUTRAS (II-25), (III-50, 52, 54, 55) and (IV-26, 34). For Patanjali KAIVALYA (कैवल्य) means as follows and nowhere he uses the jargoned terms coined by the spiritualistic translations:
a) Absence of or non-dependence on ignorance (AVIDYA अविद्या), a component of KLESH (क्लेश) and accidental knowledge (SANYOG संयोग) – as per SUTRA II-25.
b) Complete destruction of follies born out of other components of KLESH (क्लेश) i.e. RAG (राग), DVESH (द्वेष), ASMITA (अस्मिता) and ABHINIVESH (अभिनिवेश) – as per SUTRA III-50 and SUTRA IV-34. For details of KLESH (क्लेश) refer to Para IMAGINARY SPECIFIC INTELLIGENCE (ISI) discussed under SECOND BLUFF – RELIGION (continued).
c) Emergence of VIVEK (विवेक), which means the knowledge of various sequences (KRAM क्रम), gained by the CHITT (चित्त) through the methodology of SANYAM (संयम) etc. – as per SUTRAS III-52, 54 and SUTRA IV-26
d) Acquisition of complete harmony between SATTVA (सत्त्व) and PURUSH (पुरुष) the two forms / stages of CHITT (चित्त) – as per SUTRA III-55. The other forms of CHITT used by Patanjali and must be having definite connotations are MAN (मन) in sutras II-41,53; CHETI (चेति) in sutra III-54; CHITE (चितेः ) in sutra IV-22 and CHITI (चिति) in sutra IV-34. This deliberate switching over to different forms of CHITT (चित्त) can only be explained as intelligent way of explaining the concepts of CHITT (चित्त) and KAIVALYA (कैवल्य) by Patanjali.
e) Equation of absolute wisdom involving perfect discretion addressed as VIVEK (विवेक) by Patanjali and KAIVALYA (कैवल्य) is thus firmly established and there is no room for imaginary concepts of spiritualism.

• Further they are not supposed to tell about their encounters with enlightened souls lest they are accused of bragging and thus incur a penalty of another birth as per SUTRA III-51. STHANY UPNIMANTRANE SANGASMAYA KARNAM PUNAR ANISHTA PRASANGAT स्थान्युपनिमंत्रण॓ संगस्मयाऽकरणं पुनर्निष्ट प्रसंगात् I fail to understand the logic of why they should have further ENLIGHTENMENT also if they are not permitted to even tell about their experiences. Obviously sutra III-51 is either a later day insertion by some spiritualist or it must be interpreted in the light of sutra III-37 about the purport of which the spiritualistic explanations are thoroughly confused. Their entire exercise of making a practitioner of yoga a supernatural human being through such gimmicks read ‘bluffs’ falls flat when Patanjali discards forcefully even thinking on such lines as an act of half deranged minds (VYUTTHANE व्युत्थाने) in sutra III-37 and thus forbids the exhibition of such jugglery in sutra III-51
• The group of such spiritualists differs from the rest in approach only to SANYAM संयम which is its outright rejection and has forced other spiritualists to be in awe of their pedantic and jargoned explanation of this sutra. They have been constrained to have a half hearted and symbolic approach only to SANYAM संयम. Their explanations, thus contain the mention of the word alright but not the context as they are in awe of Patanjali also. This, most probably, explains the complete neglect by the spiritualist translations of the three parts and the contexts of SANYAM (संयम) even after the explanations given by Patanjali in sutras III-1 to III-15
• In sutra (III-33) the first part is written in two different ways in different renditions of PATANJALI YOG SUTRA. The word is written as PRATIBH (प्रातिभ) or PRATIBHA (प्रतिभा) both normal routine words of daily use meaning a specific ability and used as such by Patanjali and such intention made clear in sutra (III-36) where the mention of acquiring five specific abilities is made. For him it is a process of acquisition of any ability through sharpening of something called CHITT (चित्त) as already discussed in the context of PARINAM परिणाम in sutras III-9 to III-12 and possessed by all and existing in the form decided by the factor of time (KAL काल). Since CHITT चित्त like VRITTI वृत्ति and ISHWAR ईश्वर is a concept that cannot be restricted to the limited frame of a definition as per Patanjali’s technique of presentation but needs to be explained as and when the context demands. That’s why Patanjali adds some more dimensions to CHITT चित्त in sutras III-34,35 and 36 and expects the readers to not to replace it with some other concept. But the spiritualistic explanations have made it a highly spiritual jargon meaning ‘an innate intelligence’ (PRATIBH प्रातिभ) possessed by the ATMA आत्मा, a replaced version of CHITT चित्त of a person since the time of birth only as a result of his actions of the previous births.
• The spiritualists are divided on the interpretation of the word MURDH मूर्ध. The word is interpreted as a nerve called SUSHUMNAसुषुम्ना in Ayurved and the insistence is to correlate it with illumination of AGYA CHAKRA (आज्ञाचक्र) – a concept of KUNDALINI JAGRAN (कुण्डलिनी जागरण) espoused by VASISHTH (वशिष्ठ) and practiced by HATHYOG (हठयोग) and nowhere mentioned by Patanjali. This is again a helpless confusion as explained earlier under the sutras III-26, 27 and 28.
• The so called visualization (DARSHAN दर्शन) of enlightened souls (SIDDHS सिद्ध) and concentration on the presence of some light (MURDH JYOTISH मूर्धज्योतिषि) is more akin to the hallucinations, psychic disorders / autosuggestions easily explained by psychiatry or better explained by Patanjali as CHITTVIKSHEP (चित्तविक्षेप) in sutra III-30 and not an imagined height of perfection of the journey of soul.

MIRACLE AS MEANT BY PATANJALI

The same sutra gives the entirely logical and practical approach to the subject if the contexts of SANYAM संयम and PARINAM परिणाम as explained by Patanjali are duly kept in mind and the infirmities mentioned above are not permitted to creep in. The translation will read as under:

STANDARD TRANSLATION AS PATANJALI MEANT
“If you have made up your mind (DHARNA धारणा) to choose your subject of study as finding out the properties (DHARM धर्म), the symptoms (LAKSHAN लक्षण) and the states of existence (AWASTHA अवस्था), the three dimensions of PARINAM परिणाम about acquiring and getting ENLIGHTENED ABOUT ANY BRANCH OF KNOWLEDGE, the subjects of senses (INDRIYAN इन्द्रियां / natural element BHOOT भूत covered under ATM GYAN आत्मज्ञान and BRAHM GYAN ब्रह्मज्ञान) respectively.
And you are determined to pay never distractible attention (DHYAN ध्यान) in order to stick to this decision under any circumstances and you are confident of working wholeheartedly (SAMADHI समाधि) come what may for execution of this decision; you are likely to get that insight (PRAGYA प्रज्ञा) into the underlying principle of sequence (KRAM क्रम) of that branch which is your subject of study and which will be of help to you
In understanding the theories propounded by the earlier masters of the subject and you should be able to make use or implement (VINIYOG विनियोग) this understanding in any field of further exploration or invention.
BRANCH OF KNOWLEDGE INDICATED – BIOGRAPHY, AUTOBIOGRAPHY, MEMOIRS, HISTORY, ARCHIVES
RECIPROCAL STATEMENT OF THIS SUTRA – If contribution of earlier masters of a subject is the SUBJECT of your study then enlightenment should become your OBJECTIVE”

ANALYSIS OF THE COMPARISON AND CONCLUSIONS

Spiritualistic translations depend upon premises like actions of the previous birth (PRARABDH प्रारब्ध), liberation of soul (MOKSH मोक्ष), communication with those dead who were enlightened ones (SIDDH सिद्ध), cycle of births after births (PUNARJANM पुनर्जन्म) and KUNDALINI JAGRAN (कुण्डलिनी जागरण) etc. Such concepts are:
• Neither verified nor verifiable.
• Not having standard uniform explanations as different schools of spiritualism have their own variable explanations and are intolerant towards each other.
• Not even mentioned by Patanjali who is quoted as authority.