III. Vibhūti Pāda · Transformations (3.9–3.15)
3.11 · Sparks into One Flame
The transformation of absorption: scattering wears away and one-pointedness rises in the mind.
Word by word
- sarva-arthatā
- all-objectness; scattering toward everything
- ekāgratayoḥ
- and of one-pointedness
- kṣaya
- wearing away
- udayau
- and rising
- cittasya
- of the mind
- samādhi-pariṇāmaḥ
- the transformation of absorption
Where it fits
The second transformation moves from stilling to absorption. Scattering toward everything wanes and one-pointedness rises. Vyāsa says both are qualities of one mind, which runs through both (p. 211). Like 3.9 and 3.12, it shows the mind changing even as it settles.
Reading
The word for scattering, sarvārthatā, means literally 'all-objectness', the mind leaning toward everything at once. Vyāsa says scattering and one-pointedness are qualities of the same mind, one disappearing as the other becomes apparent. Nothing is added from outside. The same mind that was spread over everything gathers to one point. This second transformation is the movement toward absorption, as 3.9 was the movement toward stillness.
Vyāsa
“Scattering is a quality of the mind. One-pointedness, too, is a quality of the mind. The wearing away of scattering means its passing out of view; the rising of one-pointedness means its coming into view. The mind runs through both, as the substance that bears them.”
Vyāsa's Yoga-bhāṣya, the oldest commentary. New translation from the Sanskrit, with reference to Woods (1914), p. 211.
Practice
Write down everything your mind is leaning toward right now: tasks, worries, wants. Then choose one item and give it twenty undivided minutes. When the list pulls at you, remember it is written down and safe.
A question to sit with
Where is your mind scattered right now?