Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Samyama on the Word YS III - 17

Yoga Sutra III- 17 - SABDARTHA PRATYAYANAM ITARETARADHYASAT SAMKARAS TAT PRAVIBHAGA SAMYAMAT SARVA BHUTA RUTA JNANAM - A word, its meaning, and the idea behind it are normally confused because of superimposition upon one another. By samyama on the word [or sound] produced by any being, knowledge of its meaning is obtained.


No comment is made for this sutra by Swami Satchidananda .

The commentary from "How to Know God - The Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali" translated and commented on by Swami Prabhavananda and Christopher Isherwood is as follows:

"Ordinarily, we are aware of no distinction between hearing a sound of a word, understanding what it means, and reacting, in one way or another, to the information it contains. If someone shouts 'fire' we jump to our feet in an instant. But the yogi is able to separate these three functions. By making this samyama, he can understand foreign languages and the sounds made by all kinds of animals."


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3 comments:

C. Om said...

Amazing insight. I realized how words often get in the way, but never thought about how it would be to instantly know the concept behind all communication.

Leon1234 said...

Hey, how are you doing? This is a great post! Thank you for sharing.

bometernally said...

@ C.Om - The yoga sutras are fascinating and they are ancient relevant to right now!

@ Leon - Thanks for visiting. I am fine and you are welcome.