Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali

Author(s): Prabhavnanda Swami, Christopher Isherwood
Publisher: Ramkrishna Math Madras

Page 96

YOGA AND ITS PRACTICE
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तस्य सप्तधा प्रान्तभूमिः प्रज्ञा ॥२७॥ 27. The experiencer gains this knowledge in seven stages,
advancing toward the highest.
The seven stages by which perfect knowledge of the Atman is gained are said to be as follows:
a. The realisation that the source of all spiritual wisdom is inside ourselves; that the Kingdom of Heaven is within us. As Swami Vivekananda says: “After long searches here and there, in temples and in churches, in earths and in heavens, at last you come back, completing the circle from where you started, to your own soul and find that He, for whom you have been seeking all over the world, for whom you have been weeping and praying in churches and temples, on whom you were looking as the mystery of all mysteries shrouded in the clouds, is nearest of the near, is your own Self, the reality of your life, body and soul.”
These are stirring words, to which our hearts can immediately respond; but a firm realization of their truth is not so easily achieved. It is not enough to accept it as an intellectual proposition. It is not enough to glimpse it in moments of religious emotion or temporary insight. We cannot claim to have reached this first stage until we are continuously aware of the presence of the Atman within us. When we are aware of this, we know also, without any doubt, that union with the Atman is possible, since no external obstacles can arise to prevent it.
b. The cessation of pain. Pain, as we have seen, is caused by our attachment or aversion to the phenomena of the external universe. As the mind turns inward toward knowledge of the Atman, these attachments and aversions lose their power. We have already quoted the Gita's phrase: “Yoga is the breaking of contact with pain.”
C. Samadhi-complete realization of, and union with the