mind has been consciously withdrawn, which aspect is pointed out in a verse of the
Bhagavadgita: rasavarjam raso’py asya paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate (B.G. II.59). The mind
and the senses appear to be withdrawn from the objects of sense in pratyahara, it is
true. But how do we know that the mind and the senses have no taste for the object?
Hence, pratyahara is not merely a physical isolation or even a conscious
disconnection of oneself from the object, but is an emotional detachment that is
necessary—wherein alone is it possible to have no taste for a thing. The taste may go
to the feeling; and as long as the taste is present, there is every possibility of the other
aspects rising once again into action. As long as the root is there, there is every
chance of the sprout coming up one day or the other.
Complete pratyahara is not practicable unless an aspect of concentration and
meditation is combined with it. The positive side should also be brought into the role
of the practice, to some extent at least. Just as in medical treatment, together with
the particular prescription for the treatment of the illness we also give a constructive
tonic so that there may not be a deleterious effect of the weakness of the system on
account of an intensive treatment, likewise we have to be very cautious in dealing
with the mind—that in withdrawing the mind from objects, we are not merely
focused on the aspect of withdrawing. We are not only emptying the mind and giving
nothing else with which to fill it. There can be a parallel filling of the mind with a
positive content, together with the emptying of it. Then the painful aspect of it will be
mitigated to a large extent. We are not going to merely starve the mind and give it
nothing. That would be a very difficult thing to stomach. Together with this
starvation and the emptying or vacating of the mind gradually by detaching it from
its usual objects of contact, it can also be positively filled with the content of
dharana, whose winds will start blowing, gradually, with their own fragrance and
solacing message, together with this deeper preceding stage of pratyahara or
withdrawal.
With this, the Samadhi Pada of the Yoga Sutras concludes. From the Vibhuti Pada
onwards, we are given a passport to enter into the inner realm of yoga, which is
concentration, meditation, and communion with the noble, great object of
meditation. The Vibhuti Pada begins with dharana, or concentration of mind. Deśa
bandhaḥ cittasya dhāraṇā (III.1): The fixing of the attention of the mind on the given
object—wholeheartedly, spontaneously and entirely—is called concentration.
THE SADHANA PADA ENDS