प्रमाणविपर्ययविकल्पनिद्रास्मृतयः

The Next Aphorisms :

From Samadhipad / समाधिपाद 

प्रमाणविपर्ययविकल्पनिद्रास्मृतयः।।६।।

(प्रमाण-विपर्यय-विकल्प-निद्रा-स्मृतयः)

प्रमाण is direct perception as it 'appears', and its evaluation. This is about an object / विषय and with reference to a subject / विषयी.

This does not need any further evidence. Still constantly keeps on changing, so it is time-bound, transient and could not be accepted as "Truth".

This is through a medium such as the senses. The best example of this is : what we hear, see, smell touch or taste. This again could be of the three kinds as been said in the next Aphorism :

प्रत्यक्षानुमानागमाः प्रमाणानि।।७।।

(प्रत्यक्ष-अनुमान-आगमाः प्रमाणानि)  

Therefore it is again categorized in the three kinds. They are :

प्रत्यक्ष : What is observed - may be either as it  appears, true, untrue or false. Is appearance only.

अनुमान : What the present day Science is all about. Through experiment and arriving at a conclusion. This circumstantial, therefore conditional and is subject to change.

आगमाः : The Truth that has been known by the sages (ऋषि), and which they have arrived at without mediate knowledge, declared by them as ever abiding and the only Reality, irrespective of time and place. The same is though indescribable, is spoken out by them in human voice, and in the written form as in the Veda and scriptures. This is available always and at all times to one, who-so-ever deserves (Direct or Im-mediate Revelation or -अपरोक्षानुभूति).

विपर्ययो मिथ्याज्ञानमतद्रूपप्रतिष्ठम्।।८।।

(विपर्ययः मिथ्या ज्ञानं अ-तत् रूप प्रतिष्ठम्।) 

विपर्यय : The mediate knowledge, where there is a subject / विषयी, the object / विषय, and the knowledge, the subject is चेतन / conscious / sentient, while the object is जड / insentient. So what is taken as "knowledge" is mental image of the object mostly quite deformed and distorted. The Aphorism points out that such a "false knowledge" has no foundation at all to support its veracity.

This is enough reason to suspect that Veda and other scriptures could not be translated in any language in a way so as to correctly reflect their spirit.

शब्दज्ञानानुपाती वस्तुशून्यो विकल्पः।।९।।

विकल्प : There is a word for all things that we all can experience and a word given to them in different languages. So a spoken word for "water" in different languages is different in different languages and conveys the same meaning that indicates what is water. But there are empty words they seem to have a meaning but there is no such an object that the word points out to. For example "sorrow" or "Government", Such words are but विकल्प / alternative to indicate something that really doesn't exist.  Such words are notional and we tend to take them for granted and think there are such "realities" that truly exist and could be dealt with. That is really the Great "माया" / "Maya" / illusion. 

अभाव-प्रत्यययालम्बना वृत्तिः निद्रा।।१०।।

निद्रा : This state of the mind, where we enjoy deep dreamless sleep is again a vritti / वृत्ति . We undergo every day through such a state. We know nothing, yet there is the awareness "I Am" intact and without a break, for when we wake up, we never say "I was not there during the sleep" but we would rather say :

"I don't know / remember what happened while I was asleep"

This statement affirms our experience that we knew I was there and enjoyed the state of deep sleep. This state is therefore called the blissful sheath / आनन्दमय कोष . Deep dreamless sleep is therefore vritti / वृत्ति where the ego, the sense of "I" exists.

अनुभूतविषयसम्प्रमोषः स्मृतिः।।११।।

स्मृतिः Memory : The last kind of vritti / वृत्ति is the memory. Memory is but recognition and conversely recognition is but memory. The two words look different but because they are interdependent, they are one and the same in essence. You recognize only if you remember.  And you remember only if you recognize.

Therefore Memory / Recognition is also but a vritti / वृत्ति  only.

Patanjali Rishi suggests Yoga is when vritti / वृत्ति is suspended. And when the vritti / वृत्ति is effectively transcended it is समाधि / samadhi.

Thus spake the Rishi.

To be continued. 

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