Sutra 3.14

शान्तोदिताव्यपदेश्यधर्मानुपाती धर्मी॥१४॥

śān-odita-avyapadeśya-dharmānupātī dharmī ॥14॥ (sutra 3.14)

shaanta = past, subsided; udita = arisen, present; avyapadeshya = future, not yet mentioned; dharma = nature, characteristics; anupaatI = follows, goes through; dharmI = substratus, that which possesses the characteristics;

Sw. Satchidananda

"It is the substratum (Prakriti) that by nature goes through latent, uprising and unmanifest phases."

Bryant

"The substratum is that which underpins past, present and future"

Taimni

"The substratum is that in which the properties – latent, active or unmanifest – inhere."

Aranya

"That Which Continues Its Existence All Through The Varying Characteristics, Namely The Quiscent, i.e. Past, The Uprisen, i.e. Present Or Unmanifest (But Remaining As Potent Force) i.e. Future, Is The Substratum (Or Object Characterised)."

In the previous few sutras, we have seen the types of transformations that the various elements – chitta, the gross elements (bhutas) and the sense organs (indriyas), can go through. In sutra 3.13, the three types of transformations mentioned were related to dharma (essential characteristic), lakshana (temporal change) and avastha (condition). As we saw, in reality there is only one transformation related to dharma, the others qualifying this transformation.

In the present sutra, the unchanging substratum where these changes are taking place is being defined as the ‘dharmi’. For example, in sutra 3.11, we saw that the chitta, which is the dharmi (substratum), undergoes two types of transformation – sarvarthata (all-pointedness) and ekagrata (one-pointedness). Similarly, in sutra 3.9, the chitta (substratum) was shown to undergo two types of transformation – vyutthana (out-going samskaras) and nirodha (restraining samskaras). The sutras also state that the dharmi simply follows these changes in the three periods of time – past (shanta), present (udita), and future (avyapadeshya). As we saw, in sutra 3.13, the transformation happening with respect to these time periods was termed as lakshana.

In the example of clay and the pot, the clay is the substratum (dharmi) which undergoes changes in the form of a pot, or a plate or a cup etc. In all these dharmas, the dharmi, clay, remains the same. However, at a deeper level, clay also is a dharma of something subtler, the prakriti. What kind of transformations can take place depends much upon the other external conditions present. For example, certain kinds of crops can grow only in certain types of climates. All the changes initially are latent in the substratum and manifest depending upon the movement of the three gunas and other external conditions.

As per Vyasa, every substratum has infinite potentiality of manifestation. However, it is subject to the limitations posed by space, time, shape and cause. An example of limitation caused by space is when we look at an object which is large in reality looks small at a distance. For time, we can look at the growth of a plant. A seed, when planted and nourished, grows into a plant or a tree gradually over a period of time. For shape, we take the well-known example, “a square peg cannot go into a round hole!”. Cause is normally classified into two categories – efficient cause (nimitta karana) and material cause (upadana karana). In the famous example of a pot of clay, the pot maker is the efficient cause and the clay is the material cause. For any manifestation, both are needed. When an appropriate efficient cause is available, any kind of manifestation is possible. A dharmi (substratum) is an aggregate of all the dharmas (characteristics) which are currently manifest and an infinity of past and future potential dharmas.

This concept is important from the point of view of the various siddhis or supernormal powers that the yogis can manifest which are described in this chapter. The advanced yogis can “work around” the normal conditions that control what happens around us following the essential laws of nature. As we will see in the current chapter, yogis, by observing samyama (combination of dharana, dhyana, and samadhi) on various objects, they can manifest powers which transcend the limitations imposed by the normal laws of nature.