YSP Study Group 6/25/11 – Sutra 2.11

Sutra 2.11

ध्यानहेयास्तद्वृत्तयः॥११॥

dhyāna heyāḥ tad-vr̥ttayaḥ ॥11॥

dhyaana=by meditation; heyaaH=(kleshas which are) to be avoided; tadvRuttayaH=their modifications

Taimni

" Their active modifications are to be suppressed by meditation".

Dhyana is given here as the means to reduce kleshas from an active to a passive state. The word ‘dhyana’ has a specific definition as given in the sutras (sutra 3.2). However,┬а in the context of this sutra, it must be understood in a broader, more comprehensive sense. We have seen that kleshas can be attenuated by ‘kriya yoga’ – tapas, swadhyaya, Ishvara-pranidhana. The current sutra states that dhyana can help suppress the modifications produced by kleshas even further. In order to achieve that result, one must practice the three elements of kriya yoga with intense concentration of the mind. Of course, meditation as defined in sutra 3.2 must also be practiced.

The kleshas must be reduced to a latent, passive state where even with a strong trigger, the kleshas will not come to the surface. Moreover, each klesha can assume multiple forms of expression and each one of these expressions must be tackled in order to eliminate the klesha.

Aranya

" Their Means Of Subsistence Or Their Gross States Are Avoidable By Meditation".

Gross manifestations of kleshas, based on asmita etc, are attenuated by kriya yoga. They are further reduced to an unproductive state by meditative insight on discriminative knowledge and then totally annihilated by dissolution of the mind. As gross dirt is first washed away from a piece of cloth and then finer impurities are removed by additional care and effort, similarly the subtle kleshas are to be removed through intense meditation.

Bryant

"The states of mind produced by these kleshas are eliminated by meditation".

Bryant’s commentary on this sutra, which is also based on Vyasa, is almost identical with that of Aranya given above.

Discussion

Based on the discussion so far in Chapter 2, we note that three stages are identified in dealing with the kleshas:

1. In the first stage, we use ‘kriya yoga’ – a combination of tapas, swadhyaya and Ishvara-pranidhana (sutras 2.1 and 2.2) – to attenuate the kleshas.
2. In the second stage, the vrittis produced by the kleshas are eliminated (turned into burned seeds) (sutra 2.11)
3. In the final stage, even the subtlest form of the kleshas are completely dissolved by dissolving the mind back into its origin (unmanifest Prakriti). (sutra 2.10).

Even though it might seem that sutras 2.10 and 2.11 are in reverse order, Patanjali has provided the end goal in sutra 2.10 and given the means to get there through this intermediate stage in sutra 2.11.

Let us try to look at a practical example. Let us say that we recognize the klesha of ‘dvesha’ resulting in frequent anger in us. This anger may be directed toward a person that we were involved with in an unpleasant situation. In order to take care of the gross form of this klesha and attenuate it, we need to resort to kriya yoga and practice tapas, swadhyaya and Ishvara-pranidhana. Having practiced kriya yoga, we might feel very calm and peaceful in most life situations. However, given a certain trigger, anger might once again erupt as the seeds hiding deep down in the subconscious may fructify. To convert these seeds into ‘burnt seeds’ and make them ineffective, we will need to practice intense meditation which will lead to discriminative wisdom resulting in burning the seeds. Of course, to dissolve the seeds completely, we will have to go through the final stages of samadhi and attain the state of Nirbija samadhi (kaivalya) which will lead to dissolution back to the original source. That is when the mind is completely dissolved leaving no traces of any klesha or vrittis thereof.