1.48 · Carrying the Moon

There, wisdom bears truth.

Word by word

ṛtaṃbharā

truth-bearing, carrying the true order

tatra

there

prajñā

wisdom, insight

Where it fits

From the serenity of 1.47 comes wisdom that bears only truth. Vyāsa quotes a verse naming three ways to shape it: testimony, inference and love of meditation (Woods p. 94). The first two are sources of valid knowing from 1.7, and 1.49 says how this wisdom differs from them.

Reading

In that serenity, insight becomes ṛtaṃbharā, truth-bearing. Ṛta is an old Vedic word for the true order of things. Vyāsa says the name explains itself: this insight carries truth and nothing else, without a trace of error. He then quotes a verse naming three ways to foster it: testimony, inference, and a love of practising meditation. Learning and reasoning prepare the ground for seeing. The next sūtra explains how this insight differs from both of them.

Vyāsa

“… it bears truth and only truth; in it there is not even a trace of false knowledge. As it has been said: 'By testimony, by inference, and by a love of practising meditation: shaping wisdom in these three ways, one attains the highest yoga.'”

Vyāsa's Yoga-bhāṣya, the oldest commentary. New translation from the Sanskrit, with reference to Woods (1914), p. 94.

Practice

Choose one thing you believe firmly. Ask three questions: what do scripture or teachers say, what reasoning supports it, and what have you seen for yourself? Note where the three agree, and where your own seeing is still missing.

A question to sit with

What do you know by seeing, and what only by hearing?

Key ideas

prajñā (wisdom)