Or: From Chitta Vritti Nirodha to Kaivalya
Chapter 3 and 4 of Patanjali’s yoga sutras take the Sadhaka (the spiritual aspirant) to the zenith of yoga – to the state of Kaivalya- emancipation, or Ultimate Liberation.
These last two chapters are theoretical and more challenging to comprehend. In The Tree of Yoga, B.K.S. Iyengar explains in simple words the transformation that one has to go through in order for the Chitta to be ready for Kaivalya.
He uses the metaphor of clay to explain the transformations of the mind:
“Consider the nature of clay. The earth powder is the primary cause of which various forms or designs are made… If you want to change the form, you have to break the one you have and return to the original powder before you can make a new design”
(Tree of Yoga, from the chapter Energy and Devine Grace).
This metaphor is also used in his interpretation of Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.
Similarly, if you want to ‘redesign’ your mind, you need to bring it back to its original, virginal, pristine state. For this, the Vrittis – the movement of consciousness, all the thought waves, all the noise we create in our mind – must be restrained and stopped.
This is Chitta Vritti Nirodha. However, as Iyengar continues:
“Now, ’Chittavritti-nirodha’, restraining the movement of the mind – according to Patanjali, is not yoga, it is just the beginning. of yoga. ’Chittavritti’ means the movements of the consciousness – the various forms consciousness can take, like the clay taking various shapes”.
So how does the yogi reach a total restraint of the Vrittis? How the mind can come back to its original, undisturbed form?
The answers are given in Chapters 3 & 4, first by the transformations that the Chitta must go through, and then by defining the concept of Kaivalya – total liberation from the bondage of the world, from our conditioning (Samskaras) and from the world of Samsara.
So, let’s first on the means to restrain the Vrittis that Patanjali gives (in sutra I.12) -Abhyasa and Vairagya..
Abhyasa & Vairagya
I wrote about Abhyasa and Vairagya in a few posts, especially in: From Kriya Yoga to Ashtanga Yoga; Means for Quieting the Fluctuations of Consciousness and in: Intention and Attitude: Abhyasa (Practice) & Vairagya (Renunciation). Here I’ll just mention briefly how these elements contribute to Kaivalya.
Each of these two means is described by two sutras.
Abhyasa
In I.13 Patanjali defines it as “the effort to still the fluctuations in the consciousness“, but he doesn’t give any guidance or technique of practice.
He just states in I.14 what kind of effort will bear fruits:
“Long, uninterrupted, alert practice is the firm foundation for restraining the fluctuations.”
More guidance will be given with the exposition of the Ashtanga Yoga in Chapter 2.
After presenting the Yamas and Niyamas, Patanjali offers (in sutra II.33) some clues. He states that negative thinking that is contrary to the Yamas should be overcome by fostering the opposites (Pratipaksa Bhavanam).
He then explains (in II.34) why fostering the opposites is so important:
“vitarkah himsadayah krita karita anumoditah lobha krodha moha purvakah mridu madhya adhimatrah dukha ajnana ananta phala iti pratipaksha bhavanam”
Which was translated by Iyengar to:
II.34 Uncertain knowledge giving rise to violence, whether done directly or indirectly or condoned, is caused by greed, anger or delusion in mild, moderate or intense degree. It results in endless pain and ignorance.”
By saying: Himsadayah (violence, injury, and so forth) he must have been referring also to the other four Yamas, and not only to Himsa.
But how to foster the opposites? Again, no practicing guidelines are given.
What do you do when you are obsessed with envy, rage, revenge, jealousy, or cruelty?
How can one foster their opposites?
Actually, part of the answer was already given in I.33. So, the opposite of wishing bad is wishing well or friendliness (Maitri); the opposite of cruelty and revenge is compassion (Karuna); the opposite of looking down at yourself and feeling guilty is fostering happiness (Mudita); and the opposite of acting out of hatred and anger is Upeksha (mental stability, equanimity)
Vairagya
The first sutra defines Vairagya as renunciation or detachment:
I.15 Renunciation is the practice of detachment from desires.
The second talks about a much deeper vairagya; it defines ultimate Vairagya as overcoming the Gunas and perceiving the soul:
I.16 The ultimate renunciation is when one transcends the qualities of nature and perceives the soul.
Or as Ravi Ravindra puts it:
I.16 The higher Vairagya arises from a vision of the Transcendent Being (Purusha) and leads to the cessation of craving for the things of the world.
So, if Pratyahara (see II.54-5) is a withdrawal of the senses from the objects of the world; ultimate renunciation (Para Vairagya) is the withdrawal of the mind from the objects of the world.
We’ll see later that this resonance with the concept of Kaivalya, but first we need to see how Patanjali suggests transforming the Chitta, such that it will be ready for total liberation.
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Transforming the Mind
Three transformations of silencing the mind are spoken about in sutras III.9-III.12. All of them have to do with the impressions coming from outside and the underlying stillness of the mind. The three are Nirodha, Samadhi and Ekagrata:
III.9 Study of the silent moments between rising and restraining subliminal impressions is the transformation of consciousness towards restraint (nirodhaparinamah).
III.10 The restraint of rising impressions brings about an undisturbed flow of tranquility.
III.11 The weakening of scattered attention and the rise of one-pointed attention in the citta is the transformation towards samadhi.
III.12 When rising and falling thought processes are in balance, one-pointed consciousness emerges. Maintenance of awareness with keen intensity from one-pointed attention to no-pointed attentiveness is ekagrata parinama.
B.K.S. Iyengar explains, in Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, that “Through the inner quest, the inner aspects of desire, attraction, and aversion are brought to an end.”
“The precious psychological moments of intermission (nirodhaksata) where there is stillness and silence are to be prolonged into extra-chronological moments of consciousness, without beginning or end.”
Kaivalya
What is Kaivalya?
Kaivalya is not freedom in the usual sense of personal or social freedom, such as freedom of movement, freedom of choice, and freedom of speech. It goes beyond the phenomenal world, beyond the spheres of the mental and emotional worlds, beyond what we consider as ‘I’. In this state the yogi isn’t disturbed anymore by the vicissitudes of the world, all the attractions and aversions that we are subject to, can’t touch him. He may still be living in the world, but he isn’t of the world.
Ravi Ravindra describes Kaivalya as follows:
“Time sequence and spatial distance are transcended in the state of Kaivalya, and all happenings are present to Purusha … simultaneously. The insight gained in the state of Kaivalya is comprehensive, eternal, and nonsequential. All events are present at once. Above all, this insight is liberating, for it is free of all bondage and free of Kleshas”
Enlighted beings like the Buddha and Ramana Maharishi give us an example of Kaivalya.
Defining Kaivalya
Kaivalya is defined in Wikipedia as follows:
Kaivalya (Sanskrit: कैवल्य) is the ultimate goal of aṣṭāṅga yoga and means “solitude”, “detachment” or “isolation”, a vrddhi-derivation from kevala “alone, isolated”. It is the isolation of purusha from prakṛti, and liberation from rebirth, i.e., moksha.
Let’s look at the definitions given by Patanjali.
Five sutras define Kaivalya: II.25, III.51, III.56, IV.26 & IV.34 (which is the final sutra in this treatise). Let’s look at them.
II.25 and III.51 define Kaivalya as the destruction of Avidya (ignorance, bondage) and total renunciation.
II.25 The destruction of ignorance through right knowledge breaks the link binding the seer to the seen. This is kaivalya, emancipation.
Or as Ravi Ravindra puts it:
II.25 With the disappearance of ignorance, the misidentification no longer exists. Then pure seeing alone remains.
In that sense Kaivalya means aloneness.
III.51 also brings back the concept of Vairagya – deep renunciation. The yogi needs to renounce even the subtle and fine discernment he has achieved. The discernment between Purusha and – not even Prakriti – but the most refined part of Prakriti -Sattva:
III.51 By destruction of the seeds of bondage and the renunciation of even these powers, comes eternal emancipation.
II.56 offers a different approach:
III.56 When the purity of intelligence (sattva) equals the purity of the soul, the yogi has reached kaivalya, perfection in yoga.
The above sutra talks about purification (Saucha) in its deepest sense. The yogi purifies his consciousness to such an extent that Sattva is equal to the purity of the soul – Purusha.
The fact that Purusha and Sattva are equal in purity, doesn’t mean that they are the same. On the contrary, although they may look the same, in fact, they are totally different (Sattva is part of the phenomenal world – Prakriti).
In III.54 states that the accomplished yogi has a keen discernment:
III.54 By this knowledge the yogi is able to distinguish unerringly the differences in similar objects which cannot be distinguished by rank, qualitative signs or position in space.
Then the Chitta is drawn to Purusha:
IV.26 Then consciousness is drawn strongly towards the seer or the soul due to the gravitational force of its exalted intelligence.
From the above sutras, we can see that Kaivalya is a retreat from the phenomenal world and coming back to the original form of consciousness (Svarupa) before it was stained by the Vrittis. In Kaivalya the Chitta returns to its original empty (Sunyata) and transparent nature.
Sutra IV.34 -concludes discourse by offering two definitions, the first in terms of overcoming Prakriti (the aims of life and the Gunas); or (va) in terms of Purusha, where the power of the pure consciousness Citishakti folds into itself or involuted (pratiprasava):
IV.34 purusartha sunyanam gunanam pratiprasavah kaivalyam svarupapratistha va citisaktih iti
Which translates to:
IV.34 Kaivalya, liberation, comes when the yogi has fulfilled the purusarthas, the fourfold aims of life, and has transcended the gunas. Aims and gunas return to their source, and consciousness is established in its own natural purity.
References
The Wisdom of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, Ravi Ravindra, Shaila Press 2015
Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, B.K.S. Iyengar, HarperCollins, 1993
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