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Sutra 1.41 from description of the essence of pranayama in sutras 2.49-53 and 1.41 of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, translated and with commentary by Vasyl Vernyhora
Sutra 2.53 will be looked upon a little later, but in this context it is also worth considering sutra 1.41, which makes an interesting comparison of the mind in the state of samadhi to a transparent crystal.
1.41. When the mind's agitation (vṛtteḥ) subsides (kṣīṇa), it attains stabilization (abhijātasya; "becomes refined") [and becomes] like (iva) a [transparent] jewel/crystal (maṇe), [gaining the ability to take the form/color of either] the knower (grahītṛ), or the act/instrument of knowing (grahaṇa), or the known/object of knowing (grāhya/grāhyeṣu) [when focusing on them]. [This] act of taking on the color/nature/form of any corresponding reality (tad-stha-tad-añjanatā) [by means of this mind without agitation, like a transparent crystal, is known as] samapatti (samāpatti).
The term 'samapatti' is synonymous with samadhi, rupa-dhyana and arupa-ayatana depending on the context and will be discussed later.
Another translation of this sutra is: "When the disturbances of the mind are eliminated, the mind becomes like a transparent crystal and gains the ability to take the form (recognize) of either the knower, the act of knowing, or the object of knowing". The expression "to take the form" here can be compared to the formation of a reliable image on the retina of the eye, provided that the lens is not clouded, it is correctly focused ("collected"), and the aqueous humor and vitreous body of the eye are transparent.
In other words, when the disturbances in the multidimensional structure of the mind-manas, with its flickering thoughts and other distractions, subside, it is transformed/"melted" (through the practice of samadhi/samapatti) from a "mass of grains of sand" incapable of transmitting the light of the sun into "transparent glass". In this state of samadhi, the mind no longer obscures the radiance of the superconscious/Atman. This state of mind in samadhi can be compared to a homogeneous laser crystal, which ceases to attenuate the light passing through it, allowing for laser pumping. Alternatively, this state of mind in samadhi can be compared to the achievement of superconductivity in a conductor when the temperature is reduced to such a degree that the chaotic thermal vibrations (vrittis) of the conductor's atoms, which impede the free movement of electrons, cease. Also, such a state of mind in samadhi can be compared to a semiconductor matrix of a thermal imager, the cooling of which allows the thermal noise-vritti of its atoms to be reduced so much that it becomes capable of registering the barely perceptible thermal radiation of distant objects.
When leaving the state of samadhi, this "transparent crystal" of the mind begins to break and fragment with each new distraction (thoughts and changes in the focus of the mind) and to dim due to the emerging drowning of the mind (loss of collectedness), turning into a kind of kaleidoscope and more and more losing its ability to transmit through itself the light of superconsciousness/Atman without distortion.
Of course, sutra 1.41 would have been more appropriate next to sutra 2.52. But, as mentioned earlier, the text of the Yoga Sutras was clearly added to and rewritten by several editors/"co-authors", and therefore similar or corresponding sutras ended up scattered in completely different places within the text of the Yoga Sutras.
It is worth noting that sutra 1.41, as well as sutras 1.42 and 2.47, also use the term "samapatti". Furthermore, sutras 1.43-44 and 1.46-48 allude to the term "samapatti" from sutra 1.42.
Although the lexeme "samapatti" may be considered more closely associated with Buddhism than with Indian yoga, nevertheless, given the interpenetration of the teachings of yoga and Buddhism, as well as the use of the same local languages by Indian yogis and Buddhists in the territory of Hindustan (and first of all, we are talking here about Sanskrit and its derivatives, especially in the north of Hindustan), this lexeme was used in India by representatives of various teachings that described specific states of consciousness leading to the attainment of superconsciousness.
In early Buddhist texts, the word "samapatti" (samāpatti)—"correct (samyag) acquisition (āpatti)", as well as "collected/composed equally" and "balanced" in other interpretations—is often used as a de facto synonym for samadhi. This may indicate both the terminology that was not yet established at that time, and the imperfect precision (or vagueness) of the lexeme "samadhi", which at that time had not yet become an exclusive term for the psychotechnics that Patanjali and the Buddha spoke about.
In Buddhism, there is a classification of the stages of samadhi/shamatha practice of 4 dhyanas/jhanas (more precisely, rupa-dhyanas/jhanas) and 4-5 arupa-ayatanas, which are sometimes also called dhyanas/jhanas for simplicity. The last four or five states of consciousness are sometimes designated by the term samapatti (samāpatti, "absorption"; sometimes this term is used to designate all 8-9 states), which means a state of deep meditation.
Considering the meaning of this and the following sutras 1.42-46, one can conclude that sutra 1.41 describes either the "attained" three-hour shamatha or an attainment corresponding to the first rupa-dhyana of Buddhism. Moreover, in Buddhism, entering the first rupa-dhyana is quite closely associated with the "attained" three-hour shamatha.
Next, we will continue to examine the group of sutras 2.49-53.
The full version of the book "The True Practical Essence of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali" with a translation of all 196 sutras of the Yoga Sutras with commentaries on all important and/or complex sutras: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0G6GT6M8B.
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