The sutra which follows tells us about a new aspect of this very same process that
takes place in the mind: sarvārthatā ekāgratayoḥ kṣaya udayau cittasya
samādhipariṇāmaḥ (III.11). Just as there is a parinama called nirodha, there is
another parinama called samadhi, and a third parinama by the name of ekagrata
which will be mentioned in another sutra. As mentioned earlier, these are also called
dharma, lakshana and avastha parinama. When the impressions or tendencies in
the mind which project themselves repeatedly in respect of their corresponding
objects come in conflict with the other vrittis in the mind which try to focus the
wholeness of being towards the object of meditation, there is what is called samadhi
parinama. The transformation which is a preparation for total absorption is called
samadhi parinama; and what happens is mentioned in this sutra.
Sarvarthata ekagrata are the two types of vrittis. Sarvarthata means that particular
kind of mental activity which has many objects before it, whereas ekagrata is that
particular activity of the mind which has only one object before it. These two
activities take place simultaneously, and one tries to push out the other. The
distracting activity, we may call it, which is the tendency of the mind to ramify itself
in respect of its own objects, and the tendency of the mind in yoga which has been
deliberately introduced by the force of concentration—these come and go. They rise
and fall. The fall and the rise of these two types of mental vrittis are called ksaya and
udayau. Ksaya is the diminution—the coming down, the falling down, the
exhaustion. Udayau is the rise—the coming up to the surface of consciousness.
Hence, there will be, again, a succession of two types of thought in the mind when we
meditate. There will be a sudden entry of thoughts connected with the mind’s contact
with objects. And because of the practice of yoga for a long time—meditation in
which we have been engaged for a protracted period—there is also the other tendency
of the mind which tries to overcome these vrittis. Thus there will be a flickering of
the light of the mind and not a continuous glow of the flame, as ought to be there.
The flickering is due to the fact that there are two kinds of energies projecting
themselves forth in the mind with two different aims: the one trying to go out, and
the other trying to integrate.
The work of the mind is, therefore, twofold at this particular stage: to observe the
various vrittis which are trying to connect themselves with the objects, and to
observe simultaneously the extent to which mastery has been gained by the ekagrata
vritti over these distracting, or sarvarthata, vrittis. It is here, in this stage, that we
will be able to understand ourselves a little more than when we are busy in human
society. We are all alone to ourselves, observing only ourselves, entirely, with great
focused attention, so that the subtle delicate tendencies which were up to this time
buried due to other reasons will slowly come up—then we can observe our
proclivities, our idiosyncrasies, our predilections and our natural tendencies.
As we have been mentioning, or studying again and again on different occasions, it is
not possible for the mind to study its own self when it is busily engaged in activities
other than the act of observation of itself because here, in this process of samyama,
there is no other activity in the mind except self-observation. It studies itself, it
probes into its own inner structure, and it decomposes its inner constituents. The
composite character of the mind, which kept it in the form of a compact object, as it
were, is attacked by the power of concentration, and the constituents are separated.
These constituents are the vrittis.