and the subject is the subject; that they are two different things. We feel, “I like the
object. Where is the point in liking the subject? I am the subject. And inasmuch as
the object is completely dissimilar to me—it has characters which I would like to
possess, which I do not possess at this moment—it would be my duty to grasp that
object, absorb it into myself, and make use of it in the way I like.” This desire arises
on account of the notion, the conviction, that the object is different from the subject.
Otherwise, the desire for the object will not rise. It is very clear.
The sutra tells us that when we go deeper into the practice of samyama, this
prejudice breaks down—the walls fall, the screen is lifted and we will see something
strange before us. That strange feeling we will have when the screen is lifted between
us and the object is what is called ekagrata parinama. What is this strange feeling,
or experience? Tulya pratyayau is the simple phrase which explains the entire thing.
The consciousness of the object, and the consciousness of the subject, create in us
two different feelings. You can experiment with your own self, if you like. Close your
eyes and think deeply of an object which you love most. What do you feel at that
time? Each one will know what it is. Close your eyes and think of your own self; don’t
think of anybody else. What feelings arise at that time? Compare the one with the
other. They are poles apart. There is a peculiar sensation which you feel in the entire
system of your body and mind when you think of a beloved object, quite different
from the sensation that you have when you think of your own self.
Hence, the distinction that is between the two types of experience, subjective and
objective, explains life phenomenal. But here, in this ekagrata parinama, these
sensations will not be dissimilar in character. Whether we think of our own self or we
think of a beloved object, the sensations will be same. There will be no two different
sensations. This is something very difficult to understand. How is it possible? When
we think of a mango, or when we think of a cobra, how will we have the same type of
feelings? They are two different feelings altogether. But yoga tells us they are same.
There is no difference, provided that we have reached a particular state of thinking.
‘How is it possible?’ is a doubt that can arise in the mind. How can a detestable
object, when thought of, generate the same sensation and feeling as when we think of
a beloved object? It is not understandable.
But the yoga psychology explains the reason. The detestable character of an object
and the beloved character of an object are due to our peculiar reactions in respect of
objects. And those reactions are because of the structural peculiarity of our own
psychophysical organism. The child of a snake will not be afraid of its mother snake.
It is humans who are afraid. The structural feature of the organism of the child snake
is not dissimilar to the mother snake. There is some uniformity, so they will not be
afraid of one another. The ‘like’ that the mind evinces in respect of an object is due to
that reason only. That is the reason why I may like one thing and you may not like
that very thing. What I like, you may not like. What is the matter with you? How is it
that the same object evokes two different feelings? It is because the different
reactions that we set up in respect of that object depend upon the structural
peculiarity of our own psychic and bodily constitution. Therefore, it is not the object
that gives the pleasure, and it is also not the object that is the cause of pain; it is the
inability of the mind to adjust itself, or rather the inability of the total organism to
adjust itself with the location, structure, character and relationship of the object.