- Then, verily, the mind is inclined towards discrimination and gravitating
towards Kaivalya.
When the realization of the inadequacy of Atma-Bhava dawns upon the Yogi he
determines to break this last fetter by renouncing the bliss and knowledge of the Atmic
plane. Thenceforward all his efforts are directed towards the attainment of Kaivalya by
the constant exercise of that intense and penetrating discrimination which alone can
pierce through the last veil of Illusion. This and the next three Sutras throw some light
on this last struggle of the soul to free itself completely from the bondage of matter
before attaining Kaivalya.
It should be noted that the word used in this Sutra for the agent which carries on
this struggle is Citta. ‘The Citta is gravitating towards Kaivalya’. But how can Citta
which is sought to be transcended in the process, struggle to attain liberation from it-
self? It would be like a person trying to lift himself up by his bootstraps. The resolu-
tion of this paradox lies in the fact that it is not the mind really which is struggling to
free the consciousness from the limitations in which it has got involved. Hidden be-
hind the mind is the Purusa, who all along in the entire cycle of evolution is the real
driving force behind the struggle to attain Self-realization. When the iron filings are
attracted by a magnet it is the filings which appear to move but in reality it is the mag-
net which has induced magnetism in the filings and is the cause of the movement.
The weapons used in this last stage of the struggle for Liberation are Viveka and
Vairagya. The Yogi has obtained a glimpse of the Reality within him. He has to try and
gain the awareness of Reality, again and again, through Viveka so that this awareness
can be maintained without interruption (II-26). And, at the same time, he has to inten-
sify his Vairagya to such an extent that he passes into Dharma-Megha-Samadhi (IV-
29). It is interesting to note that the weapons used in the last stage are the same as
those used in the first stage. The Yogi enters the path of Yoga through Viveka and
Vairagya and he also leaves this path through Viveka and Vairagya.