Yogshatakam

SR No.: 002645
Original Sutra Author: Haribhadrasuri
Author: Punyavijay
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad
Total Pages: 144
Language: Sanskrit
Classification: Book_Devnagari & Yoga
File Size: 5 MB

Page 23

Samadhi.' Overnd above these are described the four kinds of concentration (samāpatti) viz, Savitarka, Savicära, Nirvitarka, Nirvicära." Similarly, the Buddhist texts describe the four stages of spiritual development such as Sotāpatti, Sakadägāmi, Anågāmi and Arbat; the four types of Dhyana are Sayitarka-vicãra-priti-sukha-ekägratā, Priti-sukhaekägratā. Sukba-ekågratã and Ekāgratä. The Jain tradition describes fourteen stages of spiritual development, beginning with the Mithyā-dsști stage and four Dhyānas viz. Pstbaktva-vitarka-savicāra, Ekatva-vitarkaavicāra, Sūkşma-kriya-pratipāti, Samucchinna-kriyā-nivarti.' The Yoga. Väsiştha enumerates fourteen stages of which seven are of ignorance and the other seven are of knowledge. All this uniformity of description suggests to uniformity of spiritual experience. The self-same experience has sometimes been discribed briefly and at times elaborately, sometimes in old terminology and at other times in a new garb by the new sādhakas either in accordance with their aptitudes and capacities, or in accordance with the calibre of the audience before them. This is the reason why the Pali Pitakas treat of the four dhyānas whereas a fifth one was added later on. Similarly in the beginning there happened to be four stages of Sotāpatti and the four types of fruits thereof. These eight got replaced by the ten stages viz. Pramudită etc. In the Jain tradition the fourteen steps of spiritual ladder (Guņastbāna) were comprehended by the three broad divisions viz. the external self (Babirātmā), internal self (Antarātmā) and the transcendental self (Paramātmā).
In this way a vast bulk of Yoga literature had developed long before the times of Haribhadra and he was catholic enough to take notice of all this literature and utilise the same, as we shall presently see, in his own writings on Yoga. 1. vitarka-vicārānandasmitārūpānugamāt samprajñātah / Yoga-sútra I. 17. 2. Yoga-sūtra, I. 42, 43, 44. 3. Tattvartha-sútra, IX. 39.
For a detailed and comparative study of the different stages of spiritual development and of the various types of dhyana-Cf appendix no 5 of the "Yoga-Sataka' pp. 128 to 141 (Gujarati edition published
by the Gujarat Vidya Sabhā). 5. Visuddhi-magga p. 113. 6. The ten stages are : (1) Pramuditā, (2) Vimală, (3) Prabhākari, (4)
Arcişmati, (5) Sudurjayā, (6) Abhimukhi, (7) Duramgamā, (8) Acalā, (9) Sådhumati, (10) Dharma-megha. For an elaborate explanation Cf.
appendix 5 of the Yoga-śataka (Gujarati edition). 1. Cf. Samadhi-Sataka of Pujyapāda, from St. 4 onwards.