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DHYANA AND SAMADHI IN PANTANJALI YOGA DARSHAN
4. Dvesha or Aversion 5. Abhinivesh or Fear
‘Ignorance' means to regard all the worldly things, which are ephemeral and will be left behind after death, as belonging to us. Clinging to them and treating them as our property is the cause of suffering. To have attachment with the worldly things, which are different and separate from the 'Self' is Ignorance or ‘Avidyaa'. We enjoy this world through our body and its sense organs and so we have deep attachment with it. But the body is ephemeral and so are enjoyments. To have attachment with the ephemeral body and its enjoyments and to create a web-world of craving or aversion based on those enjoyments is like treating the ephemeral as permanent and this is ‘Avidya’ or Ignorance.
Asmita is the delusion of treating mind and soul as one. Mind has the ability to see and sense things but the true visualization is done only by the soul or the self. The soul is that which perceives and discerns while mind is only an organ to think and analyze on behalf of soul. Both are different in nature. Mind is only a matter which is ephemeral, but the soul has the perception and is eternal. The link between the soul and the mind is the link between the observer and the observed. Mind seeks and craves for pleasure and develops aversion for pain. This craving and aversion is the cause of suffering. The innate fear of death which is inherent in all beings is called 'Abhinivesh’ or Fear. Yoga and meditation are the means to reduce or annihilate these obstacles.
All Karmas have their painful impact on us and we have accumulation of it. Whatever pain or suffering we have in the present is inviolable. However, one should strive to avert the pain or suffering that is yet to come. It can be averted by disjointing the link between the ‘observer' or the 'self' and the 'observed' or the worldly objects. The link between the two is mainly due to Ignorance. Removal of ignorance is the way to attain enlightenment. There are eight parts of the Yoga and by observing them one can attain enlightenment. The eight parts are
1. Yama—Five vows of non-violence, truth, non-stealth, celibacy and
non-accumulation are the Yama. If the vows are observed without any exception of time, place and occasion then these are called 'Mahavrata'
or major Vows. 2. Niyama—Cleanliness, contentment, austerity, study and devotion
to God are the parts of Niyama or Regularity. Cleanliness has
