Microsoft Word - Taimni - The Science of Yoga.doc

who is familiar with the old Vedantic classification or the modern Theosophical classi-
fication of the planes of manifestation and the functions of vehicles on those planes
will easily see how closely this progressive unfoldment of consciousness through the
four stages mentioned in the Sutra corresponds with this classification. The classifica-
tion of the elements which constitute the phenomenal side of the Universe according to
Samkhya and Yogic philosophies is functional and not structural and that is obviously
the reason why Patanjali in denoting the successive stages of Samprajnata Samadhi
has given only the essential and dominant functions of the mind and not the names of
the vehicles through which these functions are exercised. There is something to be said
in favour of this functional representation of these stages as compared with the struc-
tural. While it certainly appears vague and difficult to understand it has the advantage
of being independent of any particular mode of classifying the planes and the termi-
nology adopted for denoting them. Besides, the Yogi who is following the path of mys-
ticism and is bent on finding his Beloved may not be interested in the constitution and
phenomena of the different planes and may not like to study these planes objectively.
A simple functional treatment of the different stages of Samprajnata Samadhi should
therefore meet the needs of most people who are practising Yoga. But as a constitu-
tional treatment has the great advantage of clarifying in a remarkable manner the
whole technique of Yoga there is no reason why we should not take advantage of the
knowledge which is available to us.
In the following diagram are shown the different stages of Samprajnata and
Asamprajnata Samadhi as well as their correspondences to the different vehicles and
other aspects of the question involved in our study. It will be seen that Samprajnata
Samadhi begins when the consciousness is completely cut off from the outer world
after passing through the two preliminary stages of Dharana and Dhyana. In the first
stage of Samprajnata Samadhi the consciousness is therefore centred in the lower
mental world and functions through the Manomaya Kosa. The essential function of the