I. Samādhi Pāda · Īśvara and Om (1.23–1.29)
1.28 · Drops on the Pool
Repeat it, and dwell on its meaning.
Word by word
- tat-japaḥ
- its repetition
- tad-artha-bhāvanam
- dwelling on its meaning; letting the meaning become real
Where it fits
Vyāsa frames this for the yogi who has understood how Om expresses Īśvara (Woods p. 61): knowing the name (1.27) leads to using it. Repetition with meaning is the practical form of the devotion of 1.23. Recitation and devotion return together in the yoga of action at 2.1.
Reading
The practice has two halves. Japa is repetition: saying the syllable again and again, aloud, softly or silently. Bhāvana is letting its meaning soak in, so that the sound carries what it names. Repetition alone turns mechanical, and meaning alone stays an idea. Vyāsa says that when the two are joined the mind becomes one-pointed, and quotes a verse: through study practise yoga, through yoga return to study, and when both are perfected the supreme self shines forth. Svādhyāya, study (the study and recitation of sacred texts), and devotion return in 2.1.
Vyāsa
“So when this yogi repeats Om and dwells on its meaning, the mind becomes one-pointed. As it has been said: 'Through study, practise yoga; through yoga, return to study. When study and yoga are perfected, the supreme self shines forth.'”
Vyāsa's Yoga-bhāṣya, the oldest commentary. New translation from the Sanskrit, with reference to Woods (1914), p. 61–62.
Practice
Choose Om, or a short sacred word from your own tradition. Repeat it softly for five minutes at an easy pace. Every so often, pause and ask what it means to you, then carry that meaning into the next round.
A question to sit with
Are you repeating the words, or dwelling in them?