II. Sādhana Pāda · Discernment (2.26–2.28)
2.28 · The Clean Glass
By practising the limbs of yoga, impurity wears away and the light of knowledge shines, up to discernment.
Word by word
- yoga-aṅga
- the limbs of yoga
- anuṣṭhānāt
- from practising
- aśuddhi
- impurity
- kṣaye
- as it wears away
- jñāna-dīptiḥ
- the shining of knowledge
- ā
- up to
- viveka-khyāteḥ
- discernment
Where it fits
The frame is complete, but discernment still has to be reached. Vyāsa: discernment is the means of release, and there is no attainment without a means, so this is begun (Woods p. 172). Practising the limbs wears away impurity, as an axe cuts, and brings discernment. 2.29 names the limbs.
Reading
Here practice enters. By practising the limbs of yoga, impurity wears away, and the light of knowledge shines brighter until it becomes discernment. The light isn't added from outside. It is uncovered, the way a lamp shines once its glass is wiped clean. The next sūtra names the eight limbs.
Vyāsa
“Practising the limbs of yoga is the cause that separates [the mind] from impurity, as an axe separates what it cuts. And it is the cause by which discernment is reached, as right conduct is the cause by which happiness is reached …”
Vyāsa's Yoga-bhāṣya, the oldest commentary. New translation from the Sanskrit, with reference to Woods (1914), p. 173.
Practice
As today's practice, slowly clean something that lets light through: a window, a lamp's glass, a mirror. Watch the light come in as you work.
A question to sit with
What is dimming your light?