III. Vibhūti Pāda · Discernment and liberation (3.49–3.55)
3.54 · The Ferry Across
Knowledge born of discernment carries one across: it takes all things as its object, in every way, and all at once.
Word by word
- tārakam
- that which carries across, the deliverer
- sarva-viṣayam
- having all things as its object
- sarvathā-viṣayam
- having them in every way as its object
- akramam
- without sequence, all at once
- ca
- and
- iti
- thus
- viveka-jam
- born of discernment
- jñānam
- knowledge
Where it fits
The full definition. Knowledge born of discernment carries one across, takes everything as its object, in every way and all at once. It is the sun whose dawn was intuition in 3.33. Vyāsa says the lamp of yoga, from the honeyed stage of 3.51 onward, is part of it (p. 294).
Reading
Here is the sun that 3.33 saw as dawn. Knowledge born of discernment is tāraka, what carries you across, as a ferry takes you over a river. It takes in everything, in all its aspects and times, and all at once rather than step by step. Vyāsa says it arises from one's own intuition, without being taught, and that the lamp of yoga, from the honeyed stage onward, is already part of it. Every small clear seeing belongs to the whole.
Vyāsa
“'Carrying across' (tāraka) means that it arises from one's own intuition and is not taught. … 'All at once' (akrama) means that it grasps everything, in every way, as held in a single moment.”
Vyāsa's Yoga-bhāṣya, the oldest commentary. New translation from the Sanskrit, with reference to Woods (1914), p. 294.
Practice
At the end of the day, sit for three minutes and let the whole day appear at once, like a single picture, without retelling it in order. Notice what stands out when you see it whole.
A question to sit with
What would you see if you saw it all at once?