Object of Perception YS IV - 19

Yoga Sutra - IV- 19 - NA TAT SVABHASAM DRSYATVAT - The mind-stuff is not self-luminous because it is an object of perception by the Purusha.

Swami Satchidananda informs of this sutra that "The mind-stuff is not the subject. It is the object to the one subject who is the Purusha. The mental functions are what you, as Purusha, perceive. The perceived can never become the perceiver, nor vice-versa. If the perceiver is perceived by something, then he is no longer a perceiver, but, rather, the perceived. To really have this awareness, this isolation of perceiver and perceived, is Yoga."

Swami Satchidananda states that it seems that this should be easy, however, because of the quality of the mind is not that clear. The unclear mind drags us down and doesn't allow us to stay separated from the mind. "Maya (illusion) tricks us." We are given an example how we want something one day and then say we don't, then maybe two days later we want it again. We become convinced because of Maya that what we didn't want yesterday will be wonderful today. And this is because of our ego which is based in the mind. The ego doesn't allow us to know our true self, that we are the Purusha.

He finally ends the commentary on how when we do something we blame the mind and when someone does something to us we blame them, instead of their mind. A great example given is in Hatha Yoga when we lay in the corpse pose (savasana) we say we are not the body, the body is just lying there. However, when we get up and someone calls us plump, we get disturbed identifying with the body and not our true nature, the Self. So because of this constant slipping of awareness, we have to bring it back again and again and that is spiritual practice.