our mind is the result of the impact of the Universal Mind on our individual mind. We
contact mentally the Universal Mind through our individual mind. The changes which
take place in our mind continuously are thus the result of the continuous changes in the
Universal Mind as it unfolds itself in the manifested Solar system independently of us.
This individualization of the world image by our individual mind limits and distorts
the Divine Ideation and only a faint and gloomy image is obtained. The light of the
Universal Mind becomes covered, as it were, by our individual mind, and we live our
life within the dark prison of our own mind unconscious of the fact that the dark and
flitting shadows produced in our mind are the shadows of a tremendous Reality of
which we can have no conception as long as our consciousness is confined within the
walls of our prison-house. What will happen if we somehow get out of this prison-
house? The light of the Universal Mind will burst into our consciousness and we get an
all-embracing vision of all those principles and natural laws which we can deal with,
only one by one, and in a groping fashion, through the instrumentality of our intellect.
This power of getting out of our intellect is called Maha-Videha, probably because it
releases the consciousness into the realm of the Universal Mind which works without a
Deha or body. The word Bahir is used because the Universal Mind is outside the indi-
vidual mind and the world image in the individual mind has an external source. This
all-embracing and vivid image which replaces the dark and partial image of the world
process is Akalpita i.e., is outside the range of the intellect. It has an independent real-
ity and is inconceivable. It is a Vrtti because it is a passing state, but a Vrtti of the
Universal Mind and not of the extremely limited individual mind.
It will be seen, therefore, that the ‘covering of light’ in this Sutra is different
from the ‘covering of light’ referred to in II-52. There, the ‘covering’ referred to the
brain which covers the light of the mental world. Here, it refers to the individual men-
tal body which covers the light of the Universal Mind. This latter process takes place
at a later stage and at a much higher level. The covering referred to in II-52 is de-
stroyed by Pranayama and prepares the ground for Dharana (II-53). The covering re-
ferred to in the present Sutra is destroyed by Samyama; and on the unfoldment of intu-
itional perception through knowledge of the Purusa (III-36). This Siddhi enables the
Yogi not only to transcend the sense-organs (III-37) but also the individual mind for
which the sense-organs were created. It is thus complementary to the Siddhi referred to
in III-37.
ben green
(Ben Green)
#1