ततः क्षीयते प्रकाशावरणम्॥५२॥
tataḥ = then; kṣīyate = is weakened; prakāśa = illumination; āvaraṇam = covering;
Sw. Satchidananda
"As its result, the veil over the inner light is destroyed."
Bryant
"Then, the covering of the illumination [of knowledge] is weakened."
Taimni
"From that is dissolved the covering of light."
Discussion
As we saw in the sutras related to kleshas (sutra 2.12 in particular), the bag of karmas is caused by the kleshas. These karmas are nothing but the saṃskāras (past impressions) and the vasanas (subtle deep-seated desires). The kleshas and the resulting karmas are dominated by the gunas rajas and tamas. The sattva guna which represents prakāsha, or illumination, is subdued by the dominance of rajas and tamas. Vyasa, in his commentary on this verse, makes a statement, “The illusive power of ignorance covers the Sattva (intellect/buddhi) with a thick veil, and we are driven to bad deeds”. He goes on to say that “there is no tapas higher than prāṇāyāma as it removes impurities and allows the light of pure wisdom to shine through”. Practice of prāṇāyāma helps stabilize and energize the prana whereby the mind is stabilized and involvement in karma is reduced. This results in diminishing the role of the ego and thus removing the veil over the sattvic illumination of pure, intuitive wisdom.
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