rated into its different constituents. In this stage all the constituents of the knowledge,
internal and external, are present but from an undifferentiated and confused state they
are resolved more and more into a state of clearly-defined and differentiated constitu-
ents. In the second stage the mind is fused with the pure knowledge which has been
isolated in the first stage. In this process of selective fusion, naturally, all the other
constituents which depend upon memory drop out automatically and the mind shines
only with the pure knowledge of the object, nothing else. I-42 deals with the first stage
and I-43 with the second stage.
Let us now consider the significance of the words used in I-42 to indicate this
resolution and differentiation of this composite knowledge with regard to the object
into its clearly defined constituents. The word Tatra refers to the state of Samadhi de-
scribed in the previous Sutra and is obviously used to point out that this process of
resolution is carried out in a state of Samadhi and cannot be accomplished by an ordi-
nary process of mental analysis. It is only when the mind has been completely isolated
from external influences and has reached the concentrated state of Dhyana that it can
successfully tackle this problem of resolution. Sabda-Artha-Jnana define the three
categories of knowledge which are inextricably mixed up in the mind of the ordinary
man and can be resolved only in Savitarka-Samadhi. Sabda refers to knowledge which
is based only on words and is not connected in any way with the object which is being
considered. Much of our thinking is of this superficial nature, based merely on words
and not touching the object at all. Artha refers to the true knowledge about the object
or its real meaning which the Yogi wants. And Jnana refers to the ordinary knowledge
based on the perception of the sense-organs and the reasoning of the mind. The condi-
tion of not being able to distinguish clearly between these three kinds of knowledge
with the result that the mind hovers between them is sought to be conveyed by the
word Vikalpaih. This is inevitable as long as the three kinds of knowledge have not
separated out, as it were, in three separate layers but are present in a state of mixture
or con-fusion which is indicated by the word Samkirna. It will perhaps help the student
to understand this progressive resolution of the three kinds of knowledge if we illus-
trate the process diagrammatically as follows:
ben green
(Ben Green)
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