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PATANJALI YOGA SUTRAS
future existences. Such knowledge, would, of course, be in itself a proof of the theory of reincarnation.
शौचात्स्वाङ्गजुगुप्सा परैरसंसर्गः ॥ ४० ॥
40. As the result of purity, there arises indifference toward the body and disgust for physical intercourse with others.
सत्त्वशुद्धि-सौमनस्यैकाग्रयेन्द्रियजयात्मदर्शन
योग्यत्वानि च ॥ ४१ ॥
41. Moreover, one achieves purification of the heart, cheerfulness of mind, the power of concentration, control of the passions and fitness for vision of the Atman.
Patanjali now describes the results which are obtained by practising the various observances (niyamas).
The physical body is the grossest and most outward manifestation of our consciousness. As a man's mind becomes purified, he naturally loses his sense of identification with his body. Therefore he grows indifferent to it, regarding it as a mere external garment which is neither new nor clean. Furthermore, he ceases to desire the bodies of others, since he no longer identifies those bodies with the consciousness that inhabits them. If we really knew and loved the Atman within others, the sexual act would seem utterly meaningless to us. When the Atman is known to be everywhere and always a unity, why should two outer coverings embrace?
Purity of mind shows itself in a man's mood. He becomes increasingly dominated by sattwa, the guna of illumination and peaceful happiness. "The first sign of your becoming religious," says Vivekananda, "is that you are becoming cheerful. To the yogi, everything is bliss, every human face that he sees brings cheerfulness to him. Misery is caused by sin, and by no other cause. What business have you with
