Microsoft Word - Taimni - The Science of Yoga.doc

which it differentiates a particular object from all others. How do we differentiate a
particular dog, for example, from all other objects in the phenomenal world? The men-
tal process may be illustrated by the following line of reasoning. A particular dog, say
Bonzo, is a living animal. This differentiates it from all inanimate objects. Bonzo is an
animal of the canine species. This differentiates it from all other species. Bonzo is a
fox-terrier. This differentiates it from dogs of other breeds. We can in this way narrow
down the range of objects from which Bonzo has still to be differentiated until we
come down to the last stage when the object has been completely isolated in the mind
and stands apart as a particular object in the Universe different and distinguishable
from all other objects. This isolation or differentiation of a particular object which is
illustrated by the crude example given above is called Vitarka and it is through such a
process that the first stage of Samadhi is reached. The student will also see from the
above the significance of the word Visesa, particular, in indicating the first or crudest
stage of the Gunas.
Then we come to the next stage Avisesa which means universal or non-specific.
This corresponds to the activity of the higher mind whose function is to deal with uni-
versals, archetypes and principles which underlie the world of names and forms. The
lower mind deals with particular objects with names and forms, the higher mind with
abstract ideas and archetypes. Reverting to the previous illustration we saw that Bonzo
was a particular dog of a particular breed. But what is this thing ‘dog’ of which Bonzo
is a particular representative? The word ‘dog’ stands for an abstract idea. From obser-
vation of a large number of dogs we isolate all the characteristics which constitute
their ‘doghood’ and combine them in a single concept which we denote by the word
‘dog’. Every common noun is such an abstraction although we are hardly aware of this
fact when we use such words. The mental process whereby these qualities are isolated
from particular objects and combined in a single abstract concept is called Vicara. The
function of the higher mind is to form such universal concepts and to grasp their inner
significance. It should be noted here that while Vitarka isolates a particular object
from all the rest Vicara isolates a particular concept, archetype, law, or universal prin-
ciple from all such Suksma Visayas referred to in I-44. This stage in which conscious-
ness is functioning through the higher mind corresponds to the Vicara stage of Sam-
prajnata Samadhi and the Avisesa stage of the Gunas. The justification for using the
word Avisesa, universal, for this second stage of the Gunas will be seen, to a certain
extent, from what has been said above.