Glory unto those who have realised their own nature! Maytheir blessings be on us all

Verse 4.34

पुरुषार्थशून्यानां गुणानांप्रतिप्रसवः कैवल्यं स्वरूपप्रतिष्ठा वा चितिशक्तिरिति ॥३४॥

puruṣa-artha-śūnyānāṃ guṇānāṃ pratiprasavaḥ kaivalyaṃ svarūpa-pratiṣṭhā vā citi-śaktiḥ iti ||34||

The resolution in the inverse order of the qualities, perfect of any motive of action for the Purusa, is Kaivalya, or it is the establishment of the power of

knowledge in its own nature.

Nature’s task is done, this unselfish task which our sweet nurse Nature had imposed upon herself. As it were, she gently took the self-forgetting soul by the hand, and showed him all the experiences in the universe, all manifestations, bringing him higher and higher through various bodies, till his glory came back, and he remembered his own nature. 

Then the kind mother went back the way she came, for others who have also lost their way in the trackless desert of life. And thus she is working, without beginning and without end. And thus through pleasure and pain, through good and evil, the infinite river of souls is flowing into the ocean of perfection, of self-realisation.

Glory unto those who have realised their own nature! May

their blessings be on us all!

PATANJALI YOGA SUTRAS 

The perfect yogi lives in the moment without getting involved in movements

Verse 4.33

क्षणप्रतियोगी परिणामापरान्त निर्ग्राह्यः क्रमः ॥३३॥

kṣaṇa-pratiyogī pariṇāma-aparānta nirgrāhyaḥ kramaḥ ||33||

The changes that exist in relation to moments, and which are perceived at the other end (at the end of a series) are succession.

The sequence of time is related to the order of movements of the gunas of nature. Only the yogi recognizes this inter-relationship and is free from gunas.

The uninterrupted succession of moments is called time. These movements of moments and the uninterrupted mutation of the gunas of nature are distinctly recognizable at the culminating point of transformation. The average person is not aware of moments: he understands their movement as past, present and future. When moments slip away from one's awareness, one lives in movements. Memory begins to exert its influence, and consciousness is felt at this juncture in the movements of time.

The perfect yogi lives in the moment without getting involved in movements: the movements of moments are arrested, and psychological and chronological time come to an end. Living in the moment, the yogi sees the seer.

 This is evolution. Nature eternally helps the intelligence and consciousness towards evolution, while the seer remains eternally changeless (kutastha nityan) 

The first bird, as seer, was called kutastha nityan as it remained steady and still; the other, as consciousness (parinama nityan) was constantly moving in the effort to reach the first one.)

Evolution takes place in a moment. Moment implies instant while movement implies time. When change comes, it arrives at once in a moment, only after a series of efforts involving movements of time. 

Transformation does

not come without effort. As change is noticeable to an average individual, so the end transformation is distinguishable to a yogi by virtue of his pure wisdom: dharma megha Samadhi. He is free from time, place and space while others remain trapped in this net. He is neither attracted towards.nature nor disturbed by it. He is now a divine yogi.

PATANJALI YOGA SUTRAS 

The master, the seer or the soul, is independent.

Verse 4.32

ततः कृतार्थानं परिणामक्रमसमाप्तिर्गुणानाम् ॥३२॥

tataḥ kṛta-arthānāṃ pariṇāma-krama-samāptiḥ guṇānām ||32||

Then are finished the successive transformations of the qualities, they having attained the end.

Having transformed the yogi's consciousness by the radiation of the rays of the soul, the orderly mutations and rhythmic sequences of the qualities of nature, sattva, rajas and tamas come to an end. Their tasks are fulfilled, and they return to nature.

The essence of intelligence and the essence of consciousness both now retire to rest in the abode of the soul. The master, the seer or the soul, is independent.

He keeps the gunas in abeyance, or uses them when necessary. They willingly serve him as devoted servants, without influencing him as before, and without interfering in his true glory.

PATANJALI YOGA SUTRAS 

Yogi does not need mind or intelligence to develop knowledge.

Verse 4.31

तदा सर्वावरणमलापेतस्य ज्ञानस्यानन्त्यात् ज्ञेयमल्पम् ॥३१॥

tadā sarva-āvaraṇa-mala-apetasya jñānasya-ānantyāt-jñeyam-alpam ||31||

Then knowledge, bereft of covering and impurities, becoming infinite, the knowable becomes small.

The stream of virtue eradicates all the veils of impurities. The yogi is devoid of doubts, preconceptions and prejudices. The infinite light of the soul illumines him continuously, and his consciousness and the seer become one.

For him, knowledge gained through the organs of cognition and through consciousness are insignificant compared with the infinite wisdom emanating from the soul.

This sutra describes the characteristics of the yogi who is devoid of afflicting actions. His head becomes clear and his heart clean and pure as crystal. When the clouds disperse, the sky becomes clear. When the sun is bright, no other light is required. When the light of the soul blazes, the yogi does not need mind or intelligence to develop knowledge.

His knowledge springs eternally from the seed of all knowledge (atman) as jnana ganga (perennial river of wisdom) , and he perceives directly. He has reached the state of fulfilment.

PATANJALI YOGA SUTRAS 

Yogi is freed from the grip of nature.

Verse 4.30

ततः क्लेशकर्मनिवृत्तिः ॥३०॥

tataḥ kleśa-karma-nivṛttiḥ ||30||

From that comes cessation of pains and works.

From this rain-cloud of virtue, afflictions cease of their own accord and in their place, divine actions with no reactions flow forth like a river from the yogi. This is freedom.

Avidya, the mother of afflictions, is eradicated, root and branch, along with residual subliminal impressions. The sadhaka will not now deviate from the path of divinity nor perform an act that binds, hinders or preconditions

his consciousness. He is free from the bondage of karma. In the Bhagavad Gita (vi.5), Lord Krishna says that each individual has to cultivate himself to become enlightened, and to learn not to degrade himself, for the Self alone is the friend of the individual self, and the Self alone is the enemy of the egotistical self.

As the light of a lamp fades as the oil runs out, so the lamp of the mind is extinguished as its fuel, the actions producing joys and sorrows, is exhausted.

As nirmana citta is extinguished of its own accord, its root motivation is burnt out leaving no opportunity for the production of effects. The cycle of cause and effect is at an end, and the yogi is freed from the grip of nature.

Even in this liberated state, he will not forego his practices. He will continue to maintain them as a divine command, so that the freedom earned may not be lost by neglect''.

PATANJALI YOGA SUTRAS 

Yogi's personality has been transformed. He becomes humane, universal and divine.

Verse 4.29

प्रसंख्यानेऽप्यकुसीदस्य सर्वथा विवेकख्यातेः धर्ममेघस्समाधिः ॥२९॥

prasaṃkhyāne-api-akusīdasya sarvathā viveka-khyāteḥ dharma-meghaḥ samādhiḥ

Even when arriving at the right discriminating knowledge of the senses, he who gives up the fruits, unto him comes as the result of perfect discrimination, the Samadhi called the cloud of virtue.

When the stream of virtue pours in torrents and the mind is washed clean of bias, prejudice and ambition, the light of the soul dawns. This is dharma megha samadhi: the fruit of the practice of yoga.

If the yogi, knowing that the highest form of intelligence is also a hindrance, remains uninterested even in this enlightened wisdom as well as in spiritual attainments, virtuousness descends upon him like torrential rain, washing away his individual personality. 

His only ambition now is to sustain spiritual health. He has purity and clarity. His personality has been transformed. He becomes humane, universal and divine. 

He lives forever in dharma megha samadhi", unsurpassed bliss.

He has renounced everything, and is a viveki (one who distinguishes the invisible soul from the visible world), a jfianin (sage), a vairagin (renunciate} ,

and a bhaktan (divine devotee) . Now he has attained nirbija samadhi.

PATANJALI YOGA SUTRAS 

The gap between mind and the seer can breed disharmony and disturbance in one's self.

Verse 4.28

हानमेषां क्लेशवदुक्तम् ॥२८॥

hānaṃ eṣāṃ kleśavat-uktam ||28||

Their destruction is in the same manner as of ignorance, etc., as said before.

The gap between mind and the seer can breed disharmony and disturbance in one's self. As fire is deprived of fuel, the yogi has to remove the latent impressions from the consciousness and extinguish them, for it to be in harmony with the seer.

Patanjali advises the yogi to eradicate disturbances by reintroducing yogic disciplines with faith, vigour and vitality. As the sadhaka earlier strove to

rid himself of the afflictions of avidya, asmita, raga, dvesha and abhinivda, the exalted yogi must, through practice, press, dry out and close the perforations in the consciousness.

In 4.27 verse stated that subconscious impressions surface in the form of intellectual pride, which hinders progress towards the goal of union with the divine seer. As roasted seeds do not germinate, so the fire of wisdom mnst burn out impressions and ambitions, ending their power to generate disturbing thoughts so that the mind maintains its union with the seer forever.

PATANJALI YOGA SUTRAS 

Patanjali advises yogis who wish to be free from worldly life to be constantly vigilant in order to overcome these old habits

Verse 4.27

तच्छिद्रेषु प्रत्ययान्तराणि संस्कारेभ्यः ॥२७॥

tat-chidreṣu pratyaya-antarāṇi saṃskārebhyaḥ ||27||

The thoughts that arise as obstructions to that are

from impressions.

The force of past impressions may create loopholes in the form of intellectual pride or other varying moods or modes of thought, which breach the consciousness and disturb the harmony and serenity of oneness with the pure Self.

This sutra shows a way to combat old impressions which may influence the mind and fissure it.

Patanjali cautions that even for the supreme intelligence, the subconscious samskaras may surface in this intermediate stage and sway the consciousness.

Patanjali advises yogis who wish to be free from worldly life to be constantly vigilant in order to overcome these old habits, lest their consciousness waver between the desire for perfection and actual perfection. The uninterrupted practice of yoga unconditionally vanquishes these fissures in mind, and eradicates doubts and prejudices, so that pure wisdom may shine.

In the Bhagauad Grta I I .59, Lord Krishna says that inherent desire persists as a fissure even in the most austere renunciate. Only the vision of the Supreme resolves these latent faults forever. From that moment no worldly desire or temptation can endanger the equanimity and virtue of the yogi.

PATANJALI YOGA SUTRAS 

When the exalted intelligence is ablaze, mind is illumined

Verse 4.26

तदा विवेकनिम्नं कैवल्यप्राग्भारं चित्तम् ॥२६॥

tadā viveka-nimnaṃ kaivalya-prāgbhāraṃ cittam ||26||

Then bent on discriminating the mind attains the previous state of Kaivalya (isolation).

When the exalted intelligence is ablaze, mind is illumined; it becomes free and tinged with the divine (citta suddhi) . Due to this divine light, citta, with its exalted intelligence, is drawn as if by a magnet towards its source: the indivisible seer who is alone, free and full.

Before reaching the state of exalted intelligence, mind is attracted more towards the pleasures of the world. When intelligence is free from doubts and prejudices, it gravitates towards the absolute seer.

As a farmer builds dykes between his fields to regulate the flow of water, exalted intelligence builds a dyke for the mind, so that it does not move again towards the world, but turns and flows towards union with the divine seer. This is kaivalya, an existence filled with freedom and beatitude. Such a yogi becomes a king amongst men.

PATANJALI YOGA SUTRAS 

The yogi is no longer drawn towards the temptations of the world.

Verse 4.25

विशेषदर्शिनः आत्मभावभावनानिवृत्तिः ॥२५॥

viśeṣa-darśinaḥ ātma-bhāva-bhāvanā-nivṛttiḥ ||25||

For the discriminating the perception of the mind as Atman ceases.

When the difference between mind (citta) and the projector of the Consciousness (chit) is recognized, the search for Self-Realization ends.

From 4 . 15 to 25, Patanjali takes the sadhaka progressively to the realization that mind is not the all-knower, but simply an instrument of the soul.

For one who is not sure of the difference between mind and soul (citta and citi) , an analogy is given; the blades of grass which shoot up during the rainy season prove the existence of the hidden seeds.

In this sutra Patanjali's explains that the seed of the soul (atma brja) is sown at the right time for the knowledge of the soul (atma jnnna) to be firmly established. As we mistake a rope for a snake at first glance, but realize that upon examination that it is a rope, consciousness at this stage realizes that it is not all-knowing but an instrument of the soul. 

Avidya is vanquished and the practitioner thoroughly understands objective as well

as subjective knowledge, without colourization. Here all moods and modes cease to flow, and consciousness is elevated to the optimum degree to behold the exalted state of the seer. 

The yogi is no longer drawn towards the temptations of the world. His search for the self ends. He becomes a master of yoga and a master of himself. He is yogdvara. This is the substance (svarupa) of yoga and a distinct attribute of the seer.

PATANJALI YOGA SUTRAS 

This is salvation.

Verse 4.24

तदसङ्ख्येय वासनाभिः चित्रमपि परार्थम् संहत्यकारित्वात् ॥२४॥

tat-asaṃkhyeya-vāsanābhiḥ citram-api para-arthaṃ saṃhatya-kāritvāt ||24||

The mind through its innumerable desires acts for another (the Purusa), being combinations.

Though mind has been clouded with impressions (samskaras) throughout eternity, its aim is not only to satisfy the desires of the senses (bhoga) but also to further the emancipation of the soul.

Mind is tied by a hidden force both to the seer and to nature. It is well equipped to reach the seer, though it has no ambition of its own except to serve its Lord.

Mind has innumerable tendencies and impressions derived from memory, among which longing for pleasures and freedom from pleasures stand out. They are desired impressions. From this, it becomes clear that consciousness, being close to nature and spirit, feels that it does not exist for its own sake but for the sake of purusha and Prakriti;ti.

 In the same way that a lover of God offers food, clothes and comforts as if they were essential to God, consciousness wants to satisfy its Lord with the pleasures of the world.

Once mind is cultured through yogic discipline, it becomes ripe and illumined. It realizes that the seer is not interested in objects of pleasure and opts to serve with detachment. Now that it understands its inner value, it realizes the triviality of nature's pleasures and turns towards the path of SelfRealization.

Thus transformed, it begins its journey towards emancipation.

If one's karmas are good, they awaken curiosity and guide it towards the path of kaivalya; they reward one's effort with the vision of the soul. Yogic practices speed up this process, beginning with the conquest of the body and ending in the vision of the soul. This is salvation.

PATANJALI YOGA SUTRAS 

Coloured by the seer and the seen the mind is able to understand everything.

Verse 4.23

द्रष्टृदृश्योपरक्तं चित्तं सर्वार्थम् ॥२३॥

draṣṭṛ-dṛṣya-uparaktaṃ cittaṃ sarva-artham ||23||

Coloured by the seer and the seen the mind is able to understand everything.

Mind, being in conjunction both with the seer and the seen, appears to an average individual to be all-pervading, omniscient and real. When one is cultured and purified, one realizes that mind has no existence of its own but is dependent on the seer.

As the physical frame is the body of mind, so mind is the body of the seer. Mind is the bridge between nature and soul, and its conjunction is either illumined by the seer or tainted by the seen. The  wise yogi frees mind from the qualities of nature; he keeps it clean so that it is reflected without distortion both by the seer and the seen.

When the waves of the sea subside, they lose their identities and become
the sea. Similarly, when the waves of the seer - the senses of perception, mind, intelligence and consciousness - subside, they lose their identities and merge in the ocean of the seer, for the seer to blaze forth independently. This is the sight of the soul.

In 4 .22, Patanjali's explains that mind is no longer a subject but an object. It is not a knower but the known. As it is trained  by sadhana towards maturity, it gains purity through pure intelligence.

Until now, mind was under the impression that it was the reflector and all other images were its reflected reflections..

This sutra explains that mind in its immature state takes itself to be allpowerful and all-pervading, but the truth is that the seer is actually the reflector.

Patanjali shows that the impersonating mind is transformed to the level of the seen, so that both the reflector and its reflection, citta, are identical.

It is said in the Bhagavad Gita (vi.19) that as a lamp in a windless place does not flicker, so the sheaths of a cultured yogi do not shake. They remain untouched by the wind of desires for the seer to reflect his own glorious light, atmajyoti, and to dwell in that light, purusha jnana.

PATANJALI YOGA SUTRAS 

The illumined mind becomes purified and reflects objects exactly as they are.

Verse 4.22

चितेरप्रतिसंक्रमायाः तदाकारापत्तौ स्वबुद्धि संवेदनम् ॥२२॥

citeḥ apratisaṃkramāyāḥ tat-ākāra-āpattau sva-buddhi-saṃvedanam ||22||

The essence of knowledge (the Purusa) being un-changeable, when the mind takes its form, it becomes conscious.

Through the accomplishment of pure consciousness comes knowledge of the unchangeable seer who rests on his own intelligence and nowhere else.

When consciousness no longer fluctuates, then its pure nature surfaces to comprehend itself. 

 Mind has two facets, one pure, divine and immutable, the other changeable, transient and exhibitive. It has no light of its own but acts as a medium or agent between the seer and the objects seen. Due to ignorance, it does not realize that it is impersonating the seer. But the seer knows the movements of the mind.

When one facet of mind ceases to operate, it ends its contact

with the external world and stops collecting impressions. The other facet is drawn to the seer, and the two unite. Intelligence and mind merge in their abode - the atman, and the soul comes face to face with itself.

A dirty mirror obscures reflection, a clean mirror reflects objects clearly.

The illumined mind becomes purified and reflects objects exactly as they are. The reflector is called bimba-pratibimba vada, or the exposition of double reflection. 

There is no difference between the source object and the reflected image. The soul reflects the soul. It is the fulfilment of yoga.

Citta is identified with the seer. This is svabuddhi samvedanam or intuitive understanding of the inner voice.

PATANJALI YOGA SUTRAS 

Plurality of mind would result in lack of understanding between one mind and another

Verse 4.21

चित्तान्तर दृश्ये बुद्धिबुद्धेः अतिप्रसङ्गः स्मृतिसंकरश्च ॥२१॥

citta-antara-dṛśye buddhi-buddheḥ atiprasaṅgaḥ smṛti-saṃkaraḥ ca ||21||

Another cognising mind being assumed there will be no end to such assumptions and confusion of memory.

Plurality of mind would result in lack of understanding between one mind and another, leading to utter confusion and madness. Patanjali therefore concludes that mind is one and cannot be many.

As a tree has many branches, all connected to the trunk, the various wavelengths of thoughts are connected to a single mind. This mind remains pure and divine at its source in the spiritual heart. When it

branches from the source towards the head, it is called created consciousness,, which, being fresh, is untrained and uncultured. 

The moment it comes into contact with objects, it becomes tainted, creating moods in the thought-waves. These moods arc the five fluctuations and five afflictions .These moods should not be mistaken for a plurality of minds. The mind remains the same, but moods create an illusion of several minds. 

If the minds were really many, then each would have its own memory and intelligence.

This becomes preposterous. Just as a room fitted with mirrors puzzles the onlooker, the idea of many minds causes confusion and absurdity.

The practice of yoga disciplines and cultures the consciousness of the head, by which it perfects the art of analysis (savitarka) , j udges precisely, experiences unalloyed bliss (ananda) , becomes auspicious and moves towards mature intelligence (consciousness of the heart) and unalloyed wisdom (ritambhara prajna) .

PATANJALI YOGA SUTRAS 

For a yogi, restlessness is the night and restfulness is the day.

Verse 4.20

एक समये चोभयानवधारणम् ॥२०॥

eka-samaye ca-ubhaya-anavadhāraṇam ||20||

From its being unable to cognize two things at the same time.

It ( mind) cannot comprehend subject-object, observer-observed, or actor-witness at the same time, whereas the seer can.

Day and night cannot exist simultaneously. Similarly, restlessness and restfulness cannot co-exist in absolute juxtaposition. In between night and day there is dawn. In the same way, there is space between the flow of restlessness,

cittavrtti or and restfulness,. In

between these two rivers of restlessness and restfulness,.and underneath them, flows the concealed invisible secret river, the river of.the soul. This is dawn, or the sudden arrival of enlightenment.

For a yogi, restlessness is the night and restfulness is the day. In between, there is a third state which is neither day nor night but dawn. It is the diffusion of mind, in which the rivers of restlessness and restfulness unite in the seat of absolute consciousness.

When the water of a lake is unruffled, the reflection of the moon on its surface is very clear. Similarly, when the lake of consciousness is serene,

consciousness disseminates itself. This is known as a glimpse, or a reflection, of the soul.

The seer, being constant and unchangeable, can perceive the fluctuations as well as the serenity of his consciousness. If mind itself were self-luminous, it too could be the knower and the knowable. As it has not the power to be both, a wise yogi disciplines it, so that he may be alive to the light of the soul.

It is said in the Bhagavad Gita (11.69) 'One who is self-controlled is awake

when it appears night to all other beings, and what appears to him as night keeps others awake' . 

Similarly, in the Hatha Yoga Pradrpika, the word ha is used to signify the seer as the 'sun', which never fades; while tha represents mind as the 'moon', which eternally waxes and wanes.

PATANJALI YOGA SUTRAS 

The seer represents the sun,and mind the moon

Verse 4.19 

न तत्स्वाभासं दृश्यत्वात् ॥१९॥

na tat-svā-bhāsaṃ dṛśyatvāt ||19||

Mind is not self-luminous, being an object.

Mind being the seedling of the seer, its growth and luminosity depend upon the seed, the light of the seer. Its own light is as that of the moon, which is reflected light from the sun. 

The seer represents the sun,

and mind the moon. As a child feels strong and secure in the presence of its parents, mind, the child of the seer, draws its strength from the seer.

Mind, like the senses of perception, can normally see an object but not its own form. For an average person, the eyes pose as the seer when apprehending worldly objects. 

For an intellectual person, the eyes become the seen, and the mind the seer. For an enlightened person, mind and intelligence become objects for the consciousness. But for the wise seer, mind itself becomes the object perceived.

The seer can be subject and object at the same time; mind cannot.

It may therefore be inferred that mind has no light of its own. When the borrowed light of mind is drawn back to its source, the seer, or soul, glows brilliantly.

PATANJALI YOGA SUTRAS 

Purusha is ever illuminative and changeless

Verse 4.18

सदाज्ञाताः चित्तव्र्त्तयः तत्प्रभोः पुरुषस्यापरिणामित्वात् ॥१८॥

sadā jñātāḥ citta-vṛttayaḥ tat-prabhoḥ puruṣasya-apariṇāmitvāt ||18||

Purusha is ever illuminative and changeless. Being constant and master of the mind, he always knows the moods and modes of consciousness.

The Lord of mind is the seer. He is changeless, constant, and never alters or falters.

In deep sleep, mind forgets itself. It is purusha, as a witness which reminds the mind of sleep after waking. 

This indicates that purusha is ever alert and aware. Purush's alertness will be known to the sadhaka only when consciousness is purified and freed from rising thoughts and their restraints. Then the sadhaka, the seeker, becomes the seer.

The seer knows his consciousness and its ramifications. He is the seed

and root, and consciousness is the seedling. Its stem is the 'I' Consciousness , which branches forth as ego, intelligence and mind. The seer, being the seed and root of consciousness, observes the changes and transformations

taking place in it.

PATANJALI YOGA SUTRAS 

An object is understood and known according to the expectation of the mind

Verse 4.17

तदुपरागापेक्षित्वात् चित्तस्य वस्तुज्ञाताज्ञातं ॥१७॥

tat-uparāga-apekṣitvāt-cittasya vastu jñāta-ajñātam ||17||

An object remains known or unknown according to the conditioning or expectation of the consciousness.

A conditioned mind can never perceive an object correctly. If the mind sees the object without expectation, it remains free.

An object is understood and known according to the expectation of the mind, or remains unrecognized owing to the absence of reflection. When the object attracts the mind, contact and reflection begin. 

This gives rise to knowledge. If the mind fails to come in contact with the object, it does not perceive it and the object remains unknown. If mind is conditioned or coloured knowledge of the object also becomes coloured. When the consciousness reflects on the object without condition, taint or expectation, its real essence is known. Similarly, if the mind reflects on the essence of the seer without conditioning, bias, or prejudice, the mind becomes enlightened.

It knows that it is not itself the seer, but only an instrument of the seer. The unenlightened mistake mind and consciousness for the seer.

PATANJALI YOGA SUTRAS 

The essence of an object is not dependent upon one's mind.

Verse 4.16

न चैकचित्ततन्त्रं चेद्वस्तु तदप्रमाणकं तदा किं स्यात् ॥१६॥

na ca-eka-citta-tantraṃ cet-vastu tat-apramāṇakaṃ tadā kiṃ syãt ||16||

Things are known or unknown to the mind, being de-pendent on the colouring which they give to the mind.

The essence of an object is not dependent upon one's mind.

If the mind does not recognize the object, it means that mind or consciousness does not see, or that the seer is not stimulated by, the object. 

But this does not mean that the object does not exist.

As prakrui is as real and eternal as purusha, so are object and subject. Due to unripe intelligence and differences in the development of consciousness, each individual perceives objects according to his own intellectual 'wavelength', though their essence does not change.

When a yogi reaches perfection in his sadhana, intelligence and consciousness touch the supreme knowledge: he becomes a fulfilled yogi, and remains merely an uninvolved witness of objects.

Man is a trinity of body, mind and soul. I have already shown that according to Indian philosophy, mind is treated as the eleventh sense. The five organs of action, five senses of perception and the mind are considered to be the eleven senses. Body, senses, mind, intelligence and self are interdependent: they are part of the cosmic consciousness (mahat) , and susceptible to mutation and change, unlike the soul, which is changeless. 

The mind ignites stimuli in the senses of perception, or vice versa, and the organs of action participate so that the mind can experience objects. These experiences are imprinted according to the development of the mind, and in turn create

impressions on the consciousness.

If an object does not stimulate the mind, it remains unperceived by the mind or the mind fails to grasp it. When the mind is freed from the play of

the gunas, it sees objects in their true reality, and remains free from impressions.

Its contact with perceived objects is severed. Then mind and soul become one, and are one with the essence of all objects.

PATANJALI YOGA SUTRAS 

Consciousness is the perceiver and the object perceived becomes the object to be known.

Verse 4.15

वस्तुसाम्ये चित्तभेदात्तयोर्विभक्तः पन्थाः ॥१५॥

vastu-sāmye citta-bhedāt tayoḥ vibhaktaḥ panthāḥ ||15||

The object being the same, perception and desire vary according to the various minds.

The object (nature or prakruti) is as real as the subject (purusha) , but though the substance of nature or object remains the same, the perceptions of it vary according to the difference in the development of each person's consciousness.

Here, consciousness is the perceiver and the object perceived becomes the object to be known. On account of rhe wheel of time, substance and qualities of nature, and consciousness as perceiver develop differently in each individual.

Though different perceivers see an object in different ways, it remains the same. For example, the same man or woman is a pleasure to a beloved or a lover and a pain to a rival. He or she may be an object of indifference to an ascetic and of no interest to a renunciate. Thus, the object is the same, the perceiver sees in the light of the interplay of the various gunas.

In asana and pranayama, owing to differences in one's constitution and frame of mind, techniques and sequences change, but not their essence. As soon as the consciousness is purified by removal of the impurity, asana and

pranayama disclose their essence. When an even balance is achieved, the essence of subject and object are revealed in their purest and truest forms.

When the yogi realizes that the perceiver in the form of consciousness is not the real perceiver but an instrument of its lord - the seer or purush - it begins to discard its fluctuations and also its outer form, ego, so as to blend into a single unvacillating mind.

 This allows the single mind to merge in the seer, and the seer to shine forth in the light of the soul. This is Atma Jnana, leading to Brahma jnana

PATANJALI YOGA SUTRAS