Yoga as philosophy and religionDasgupta, Surendranath
Religion
Yoga as philosophy and religion
Dasgupta, Surendranath
Hindu philosophy; Patañjali; Yoga
There is a difference of opinion regarding the object of the last two
varieties of samādhi, viz. ānandānugata and asmitānugata, and also about
the general scheme of division of the samādhis. Vācaspati thinks that
_Yoga-sūtra_ I. 41 suggests the interpretation that the saṃprajñāta
samādhis may be divided into three different classes according as their
objects of concentration belong to one or other of the three different
planes of grāhya (external objects), grahaṇa (the senses) and grahītṛ
(the ego). So he refers vitarka and vicāra to the plane of grāhya
(physical objects and tanmātras), ānandānugata to the plane of grahaṇa
(the senses) and asmitānugata to the plane of grahītṛ. Bhikshu, however,
disapproves of such an interpretation. He holds that in ānandānugata the
object of concentration is bliss (ānanda) and not the senses. When the
Yogin rises to the vicārānugata stage there is a great flow of sattva
which produces bliss, and at this the mind becomes one with this ānanda
or bliss, and this samādhi is therefore called ānandānugata. Bhikshu
does not think that in asmitānugata samādhi the object of concentration
is the ego. He thinks that in this stage the object of concentration is
the concept of self (_kevalapurushākārā saṃvit_) which has only the form
of ego or “I” (_asmītyetāvanmātrākāratvādasmitā_).
Again according to Vācaspati in addition to the four varieties of
savitarka, nirvitarka, savicāra and nirvicāra there are two varieties of
ānandanugata as sānanda and nirānanda and two varieties of asmitānugata
as sāsmita and nirasmita. This gives us eight different kinds of
samādhi. With Bhikshu there are only six kinds of samādhi, for he admits
only one variety as ānandānugata and one variety as asmitānugata.
Bhikshu’s classification of samādhis is given below in a tabular form
(see Vācaspati’s _Tattvavaiśāradī_ and _Yoga-vārttika_, I. 17, 41, 42,
43, 44).
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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