Sutra 2.10

ते प्रतिप्रसवहेयाः सूक्ष्माः॥१०॥

te pratiprasava-heyāḥ sūkṣmāḥ ॥10॥

te=these; pratiprasava=return to original state; heyaaH=eliminated; sUkShmaaH=subtle

Taimni

"These, the subtle ones, can be reduced by resolving them backward into their origin."

The kleshas can exist in one of two states, active and potential. A person in a fit of anger is expressing the klesha of dvesha in an active state. Through the practice of yoga a person may acquire the ability to remain calm in difficult situations. Even at that time the kleshas remain in a dormant or potential state where, given the right trigger, the kleshas can again become active. Essentially there are three stages of dealing with the kleshas – attenuation (tanukarana), converting to inactive (prasupta) state, and finally burnt seeds.

Pratiprasava literally means to go back to the original cause. In the case of kleshas, avidya (ignorance) is the root cause of the subsequent kleshas. To eliminate the lowest level of klesha, abhinivesha (fear of death), we need to go to the cause which are raga (likes) and dvesha (dislikes). From there we need to trace the cause back to ego and then back to avidya. In order to uproot kleshas altogether we need to eliminate avidya and reach the state of kaivalya.

As long as the seed remains, even though it may be in a potential (sushupta) state, it can still fructify given favorable triggers. To destroy the seeds completely, one needs to go through the various stages of samadhi (given in chapter 1) and attain the state of "kaivalya".

Aranya

"The subtle kleshas are forsaken (destroyed) by the cessation of productivity (i.e. disappearance) of the mind."

The word "pratiprasava",  which is the opposite of "prasava" meaning production, means resolving into the cause. Subtle kleshas are those that have become like parched seeds due to discriminative knowledge. When the knowledge that "I am neither the body nor the mind" dawns, no order in the body or the senses can arise in the mind. When an insight into the true nature of Self is acquired, attachment to worldly objects becomes ineffective like a parched seed. However, the statement "I am not the body" still is a state of the mind and represents a vritti.

When the klesha has been reduced to this subtle form, it can be completely annihilated by the disappearance of the mind. This is achieved when the mind merges back to its constituent cause.

Bryant

"These kleshas are subtle; they are destroyed when (the mind) dissolves back into its original matrix."

When the mind has fulfilled its purpose of attaining "nirbija samadhi", then it dissolves back into prakriti. The mind at this point becomes redundant. The kleshas too dissolve along with the mind. Like burnt seeds, kleshas do not disappear as long as the mind is still active.

In the enlightened state, the samskara "I am not the body" is still a vritti in the mind and not too different from "I AM this body".  The former, however, is "aklishta" (without pain) and the latter, "klishta" (painful). There is a remote possibility of even a burnt seed unexpectedly sprouting. Only when, on the death of the yogi after attaining nirbija-samadhi, the mind completely dissolves along with the klesha.

Discussion

Bryant, while discussing dissolution of the mind, seems to imply that one can attain nirbija samadhi only after death. It is not clear how he is making this assumption as it is not a part of Vyasa’s commentary. This is also against the notion of "Jivan-mukta", a state wherein one attains the state of nirbija samadhi while still living in the physical body.

Sutra 2.4 defines four stages of the kleshas: dormant, attenuated, alternating and active. Vyasa, in his commentary, has added another state which he calls "burnt seeds" (dagdha bija). The four states of kleshas can be attenuated by practicing "kriya yoga (tapas, svadhyaya, ishvara-pranidhana)" as mentioned in sutra 2.2. Once they are attenuated, they become subtle. In order to eliminate them completely, as per the present sutra, these subtle ones need to be dissolved back into their source.

The Samkhya philosophy talks about evolution from an unmanifest state of prakriti into its evolutes (five elements, five organs of action, five organs of perception, five senses, mind, intellect and ego). The process of dissolution involves going backwards into the corresponding causes. The kleshas can be eliminated when the mind is fully dissolved into its cause ‘asmita (ego)’. Even asmita has to finally dissolved into its cause which is ‘prakriti’. For this dissolution to happen, we need to go through the various stages of samadhi (vitarka, vichara, ananda and asmita), as given in sutra 1.17 and finally attain the state of nirbija samadhi which will lead to ‘kaivalya’.

The word ‘heya’ is a part of the fourfold system:

• Heya: which is to be eliminated (suffering or duhkha)
• Heya-hetu: cause of the pain
• Heya-hana: process of eliminating the suffering
• Hana-upaya: the means for the same

Various commentators talk about these three stages of dealing with the kleshas:

1. Attenuation (tanu-karana)
2. Burning the seeds (dagdha bija)
3. Dissolution (pralaya)