3.10 · The Calm Current

Its flow becomes calm through impressions.

Word by word

tasya

its

praśānta-vāhitā

calm flow

saṃskārāt

through latent impressions

Where it fits

From the transformation of stilling (3.9) comes a calm flow, sustained by the impressions it lays down. Vyāsa warns that if those impressions weaken, the outward-going ones overpower them again (p. 210). This restates 1.12–1.14 in terms of impressions: practice kept up over time.

Reading

When the impressions of stilling grow strong, the mind flows calmly. Vyāsa adds a warning: this needs skill in renewing those impressions, because when they weaken, the outward-going ones overpower them again. Calm here is a current kept up by practice. It does not set like stone once reached. This echoes 1.14: practice becomes firm when kept up for a long time, without a break, and with devotion.

Vyāsa

“The calm flow of the mind depends on skill in the practice that builds up latent impressions of stilling. When those impressions grow weak, the impression of stilling is overpowered by the impression of going outward.”

Vyāsa's Yoga-bhāṣya, the oldest commentary. New translation from the Sanskrit, with reference to Woods (1914), p. 210.

Practice

Choose one short stilling, three slow breaths, and repeat it at five fixed times today, for example on waking, before meals and before sleep. Keep it small and regular. Notice whether the calm comes more easily by evening.

A question to sit with

What keeps your calm flowing?

Key ideas

saṃskāra (latent impressions), nirodha (stilling), abhyāsa (practice)