the law every moment of your life, and then it reacts upon you and compels you to
follow that law, which is the cause of your experiences, your karma, your births and
deaths—all which can be overcome if you enter into the substance of nature by
understanding its laws, by becoming cosmic itself in essence.” Towards this end, yoga
takes us.
Chapter 93REMOVING THE EGO WITH THE PROCESS OF SAMYAMAContinuing the subject we were discussing in the previous chapter, the Yoga Sutras
introduce our minds to a new subject—namely, the control of nature and mastery
over those conditions and circumstances which now appear to be ruling over us. At
present we are, apparently, in a helpless condition, being controlled by laws, rules
and regulations which seem to be operating above us, transcending us, which are
outside us and are independent of us.
Is it possible for us to enter into these systems of legal operation of the universe and
gain some sort of control over these systems which are governing everything
everywhere? For this purpose it is that in yoga, samyama is practised on the
essential things which constitute the universe as a whole. These essential things are
most difficult to understand because many of them are not visible to the eyes; or, we
may say, the principle factors are not cognisable even by the mind. But they have to
be understood in order that they may be controlled, mastered and made our own.
This is the purpose of samyama.
At present, our helpless condition and so-called impotency is due to there being
outside us a vast world, a universe expanding to infinity, as it were, before which we
look very small and with little power. This universe of objects, which is outside us,
and these elements—earth, water, fire, air and ether—are the building bricks of
everything conceivable in this physical universe. And they seem to have a law and a
system of their own in their workings, which we are compelled to follow and obey, so
that they are the masters and we are the slaves or servants. This is the present state
of affairs. Also, there are more difficult things to understand—laws and operations
which are subtler than these physical laws, which seem to be pressing upon us the
need for even the processes of transmigration, birth and death, and the consequent
sorrows that follow from this subjection to transmigration.
All this is impossible to grasp by the ordinary mind because the mind is foolishly
addicted to the notion that the physical objects are the only reality and there is
nothing beyond. The senses perceive objects as if they are the only things existing
and there is nothing beyond them. The only intention of the senses is to drag the
mind towards the objects of sense as if there is nothing else in this world. All this is
the drama of human experience as it apparently seems to be. But, the alternate
analysis which we are in a position to make through the system of yoga will reveal a
new kind of phenomenon that is different in character from the nature of the things
as they are perceived by the senses.