Sutra 1.8
विपर्ययो मिथ्याज्ञानम् अतद्रूपप्रतिष्ठम् ।
viparyayo mithyājñānamatadrūpapratiṣṭham||8||
viparyayo=wrong knowledge; mithyā=false; jñānam=knowledge; atad=not that; rūpa=form; pratiṣṭham=established||8||
“Wrong knowledge is a false conception of a thing whose real form does not correspond to such a mistaken conception.”
Taimni
When we are looking at an object, but the mental image formed does not correspond to that object (due to poor lighting, for example), it is a case of ‘viparyaya’.
Aranya
This is not considered a valid proof since this can be refuted by a valid proof. If someone, with a double vision sees two moons, this can be negated by the sight of a single moon by those with good vision. In Chapter 2, Patanjali talks about the five ‘kleshas’ – ignorance, egoism, likes, dislikes and fear of death. The first one, ignorance, is a form of ‘viparyaya’ as it is caused by not understanding what the true reality is, is the cause of the remaining four. Thus all five have been classified as ‘viparyaya’. These are also known as, respectively, darkness, delusion, great delusion, darkness as in hell, and blinding darkness.
A common example given in vedanta is mistaking a rope for a snake in dim light. Here, the false notion is refuted when bright light is available, thus providing a valid proof.
Sutra 1.9
शब्दज्ञानानुपाती वस्तुशून्यो विकल्पः ।
Śabdajñānānupātī vastuśūnyo vikalpaḥ||9||
Śabda=word; jñāna=knowledge; anupātī=resulting from, following; vastu=object; śūnyaḥ=devoid of; vikalpaḥ=fancy, imagination||9||
“An image conjured up by words without any substance behind it is fancy “
Taimni
In the previous two types of vrittis, there was contact with an external object through the senses. In the next two, ‘vikalpa’ and ‘smriti’, there is no contact with an external object for the purpose of creating a perception. When the mental image is a reproduction of a previous experience, it is called ‘memory’. When it is a pure creation of the mind without a direct reference to a previous experience, it is ‘vikalpa’. When we read a novel, we are creating images which can be termed ‘vikalpa’. We can imagine a horse with the head of a man. Here, both man and horse are images from past experience. However, their combination is pure ‘vikalpa’.
Aranya
When a vague notion is created in the mind on hearing a word or an expression, it is ‘vikalpa’ since it does not correspond to reality. For example, the word ‘ananta’ (infinite) conveys only a vague notion since we have no true comprehension of infinity. “Consciousness is of the nature of ‘purusha’, is a vague statement since in our philosophy there is no difference between purusha and consciousness. Otherwise, you are creating a relationship, similar to the statemet, “Chaitra’s (name of a person) cow” which shows that Chaitra is different from his possession, the cow. Another example, “after bathing in the waters of the mirage”.
Sutra 1.10
अभावप्रत्ययालम्बना वृत्तिर्निद्रा ।
abhāvapratyayālambanā vṛttirnidrā||10||
abhāva=absence; pratyaya=cause, content of mind; ālambanā=support; vṛttiḥ=state of mind; nidrā=deep sleep||10||
“That modification of the mind which is based on the absence of any content
Taimni
Sleep is the state of the mind in which the mind does not have any content (pratyaya). So, how is this state different from ‘samadhi’? In sleep, the mental activity does not stop, only the brain is disconnected from the mind and so it does not record what is going on in the mind. On waking up the connection is made again. In ‘samadhi’ on the other hand, it is the activity of the mind during the waking state that needs to be suppressed.
This sutra generated a lot of discussion among the members, trying to understand the difference between deep sleep, ‘samadhi’ and yoga-nidra. Kailasam gave an interesting explanation of deep sleep vs. samadhi. He mentioned that when we are ready to sleep, our brain is filled with a fluid (I forget the name that he mentioned) which induces sleep and cuts off the connection with the cognitive part of the mind. That is the reason our mind is not functioning at that time. In Samadhi, no such fluid is released. The cognitive part of the mind is fully functional. However, mind is brought under control through yogic practices.
The concept of yoga-nidra is somewhat similar to samadhi. In YN, however, there is no effort to bring the fluctuations of the mind under control but just allow the body and mind to rest. Yoga nidra can be considered “conscious deep sleep”. I have a very nice book on YN from the Bihar School of Yoga – you are welcome to borrow it.
Please provide your own thoughts in the comments section of this post.
Aranya
Sleep is a mental modification since we can recall after we wake up “I slept well” etc. This indicates that during sleep there was some mental cognition active which created an impression that we are able to recall on waking up. In the waking state, sense organs, organs of action and the seat of thinking (a part of the brain) are all active. In the dream state, only the cognitive mind is active. In deep sleep, none of these is active. Sleep is calmness of the mind induced by the guna Tamas. Samadhi, however, is calmness of mind induced by Sattwa.
The sutra defines the vritti of sleep as the impression created by the absence of any content in the mind. It is because of that impression that we are aware of the experience of sleep. It is somewhat similar to how we perceive different colors. For example, let’s say we are looking at a red-colored object. We know that the object has absorbed all colors except red which gets reflected by the object and received through the eyes. An object is perceived as white when none of the colors is absorbed by the object, so all the colors are received which is seen as white. On the other hand, an object appears black when it absorbs all the colors, and nothing is reflected. Even though “nothing” is received by the eyes, the object appears black. The situation with sleep is somewhat similar. Even though there is no content in the mind, the “nothingness” creates an impression in the mind. On waking up, we can recall that impression of nothingness and claim that we were in the state of sleep.
As stated earlier, the state of sleep is dominated by the guna ‘tamas’. However, depending on which other guna is supporting tamas, one of the following impressions can be created by sleep:
- “I slept well” – when tamas is mixed with sattva
- “I didn’t sleep well” – when tamas is mixed with rajas
- “I slept heavily; I am now tired” – when tamas is dominant
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