Mastery of elements and senses

What this passage does

Two matching sūtras take the analysis to its root. The seen is made of elements and senses (2.18). Saṃyama on the elements in five aspects masters them (3.44), giving the eight classic powers and a perfected body (3.45–3.46). Saṃyama on the senses in five aspects masters them (3.47), giving speed, senses free of the body, and mastery of nature itself (3.48).

Learning goals

• Lay out the five aspects of the elements (3.44) and of the senses (3.47), and show how the two sūtras mirror each other.
• State what Patañjali says follows from each mastery (3.45–3.46, 3.48), and the limit Vyāsa sets in 3.45.
• Explain why, once nature is mastered (3.48), the next passage turns to the self (3.49).

The argument, step by step

1. The seen is made of elements and senses (2.18); saṃyama on the elements' gross form, essence, subtle form, connection and purpose masters them.
2. From that come the power to become minute and the others, perfection of the body, and freedom from obstruction by the elements' properties.
3. Perfection of the body is beauty, grace, strength and diamond-hard firmness.
4. Saṃyama on the senses' grasping, essence, I-am-ness, connection and purpose masters the senses.
5. From that come speed like the mind, the senses working free of the body, and mastery of nature itself.

The sūtras

1. 3.44 sthūlasvarūpasūkṣmānvayārthavattvasaṃyamād bhūtajayaḥ
   Saṃyama on the gross form, essence, subtle form, connection and purpose of the elements gives mastery of the elements.
2. 3.45 tato 'ṇimādiprādurbhāvaḥ kāyasaṃpat taddharmānabhighātaś ca
   From that come the power to become minute and the other powers, perfection of the body, and freedom from obstruction by the properties of the elements.
3. 3.46 rūpalāvaṇyabalavajrasaṃhananatvāni kāyasaṃpat
   Perfection of the body is beauty, grace, strength and diamond-hard firmness.
4. 3.47 grahaṇasvarūpāsmitānvayārthavattvasaṃyamād indriyajayaḥ
   Saṃyama on the senses' grasping, essence, I-am-ness, connection and purpose gives mastery of the senses.
5. 3.48 tato manojavitvaṃ vikaraṇabhāvaḥ pradhānajayaś ca
   From that comes speed like the mind, the senses working free of the body, and mastery of nature.

Study

Two matching sūtras take the analysis of the seen to its root. 2.18 said the seen 'is made of the elements and the senses'. This passage gives a method for each and states what follows.

3.44 traces each element through five aspects. Vyāsa sets them out (Woods pp. 273–274): the gross form, such as earth's shape and solidity; the essential nature, such as water's liquidity or fire's heat; the subtle element behind it; its connection, the three guṇas that run through everything; and its purpose, which is experience and freedom for the self. Saṃyama on all five gives mastery of the elements. Vyāsa says they then follow the yogin's will as cows follow their calves (p. 274).

The fruit is set out in 3.45: the power to become minute and the others, perfection of the body, and freedom from obstruction by the properties of the elements. Vyāsa lists eight powers, among them reach, touching the moon with a fingertip, and adds that water does not wet the yogin nor fire burn him (pp. 278–279). Then he sets a limit. Though able, the yogin does not overturn the order of things, because the elements were already so willed by another, whose will is always fulfilled and who was perfected from the beginning (p. 278). Vyāsa does not name him there; Vācaspati identifies him as Īśvara. 3.46 defines the perfected body as beauty, grace, strength and diamond-hard firmness, which echoes 2.43.

3.47 mirrors 3.44 from the other side of experience. The elements are the seen; the senses are the instruments of seeing. Each sense is traced through five aspects: the act of grasping; the sense itself; I-am-ness, from which in Sāṃkhya the senses arise; the guṇas; and the purpose they serve, which is the self. Vyāsa says saṃyama is made on these one after another (p. 281). The fruit, 3.48, is speed like the mind, the senses working apart from the body at any place and time, and mastery of pradhāna, nature itself. Vyāsa calls these three 'honey-faced', madhupratīka (p. 282). This is a name for these powers. It is distinct from the 'Honeyed' stage (madhumatī) of the yogin whom the gods invite in 3.51.

The consequence is structural. Once elements and senses are mastered, the whole of the seen has been mastered. What remains is what is not nature at all, the self, and 3.49 turns to it.

Readings differ on the powers in the usual ways: the tradition takes them literally, and many modern readers take them as images. The five-aspect method, though, can be read on its own terms by anyone. It asks the student to see one thing at several depths at once: as it appears, as it essentially is, what it is made of, how it changes, and what it is for. Vyāsa's limit in 3.45 also deserves attention. In his picture, even at the height of power the yogin leaves the order of things as it is. Mastery, for him, includes restraint.

For discussion

1. Name the five aspects of an element in 3.44 and try them on something in the room. Which is hardest to see?
2. How does 3.47 mirror 3.44? Why trace the senses back to I-am-ness?
3. Why does Vyāsa say the yogin, though able, does not overturn the order of things (3.45)? What does that say about power?
4. After mastering elements and senses, why must the next step be the difference between mind and self (3.49)?

A common misreading

That 'mastery of nature' in 3.48 is the goal of yoga. The next sūtras make it a step to be let go: 3.49 rests sovereignty on discernment alone, and 3.50 says liberation comes only through non-attachment even to that.

A practice for the room

Give each person a small cup of water, or use one shared bowl. Lead five quiet minutes, one for each aspect of 3.44: what you see and feel of it; its wetness; what it is made of; how it keeps changing, warming, rippling, evaporating; and what it is for in your life today. Then a minute with eyes closed, noticing the seeing itself (3.47). Those with cups may drink slowly at the end.