observation of the details of the features of a personality is different from merely
being acquainted with a person, even if it be for years together.
Samyama is not mere general acquaintance with an object in the sense of an
ordinary social friendship. It is a very deep and thoroughgoing analysis of every bit of
the constitution of the object. Thus, yoga prescribes methods of very minute
concentration on every detailed aspect of the object, whatever that object be. It may
be a bare physical object, an inanimate something; it may be a human form; it may
be the concept of a celestial deity. Whatever be that object which has been chosen for
the purpose of samyama, its details have to be borne in mind with great care because
if some of the details are missed, the mind cannot absorb itself into those aspects
which it has missed in its observation. The adjustment of the mind in a completeness
and thoroughness with the nature of the object is possible only if there is a thorough
understanding of the structure of the object.
Therefore, it is necessary that a detailed observation process be practised in the
beginning. We have to observe, with a minute eye, every bit of the different aspects of
the form of the object, from head to foot, fix the mind on those aspects and not allow
the mind to think of any other thing. In the beginning it will not be possible for the
mind to fix itself on any single aspect exclusively. So, the method prescribed is to
allow the mind to move from one aspect to another aspect of the same object. If we
meditate on Lord Krishna’s form, we conceive of His form from head to foot in
various manners, right from the diadem down to the toenails. We cannot conceive
the form at once, in its completeness, because the mind is not used to such forms of
conception, so we take it part by part—every aspect, every detail, every feature,
colour and so on, of the object. We allow the mind to roll like this, from top to bottom
and bottom to top, again and again, until we are able to conceive the object in its
totality and the form of the object grips us with a force which will draw the attention
of the mind totally towards it. It should be like a powerful magnet drawing the mind
towards it entirely, and not only in parts. The object will not draw us entirely unless
we have a clear concept of the entire object. Nothing in the world can draw us
entirely, because we always have a partial and superficial observation of things. We
never observe anything in detail. We are never used to such work. But here, a novelty
is introduced in observation. A very methodical and acute observation is called for so
that the mind is concentrated—so concentrated that it has become practically one
with that which it is contemplating.
The stages, as the sutra tells us—the bhumis—are the degrees of the manifestation of
the nature of the object. It is very difficult to explain to a novitiate what actually is the
series of the stages of the development of an object. Any object, for the matter of that,
is a very complex structure. It has deep details involved within its being which cannot
easily be observed with the naked eye. The implications go deeper and deeper as we
begin to conceive the details of the object more and more, with greater and greater
attention.
Before we try to touch upon what exactly is in the mind of the author of the sutra
when he speaks of the bhumis, or the stages of meditation, I shall give you a gross
commonplace example of how we can take the mind deeper and deeper into the
nature of an object. Take a currency note. What do we see there? We see a great
meaning. That is the first thing that we see in a currency note. We see a purchasing
power, a value, a capacity, a treasure, something worthwhile and very commendable.