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Sutra 2.54 of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali,
translated and with commentary by Vasyl Vernyhora
The next six sutras under consideration—2.54 and 3.1-5—are just as important as sutra 1.2. The first three of them—sutras 2.54, 3.1 and 3.2—can be seen as a description of the literal three stages of the practice of yoga meditation, and as a description of the aggregate (comprehensive) structure of its practice in the form of three aspects, when each of them comes to the fore at different stages and at different moments of the practice of samadhi.
In the first case, we are talking about the common interpretation of these three sutras, which describe pratyahara, dharana and dhyana from the yogic point of view, and it will be presented at the beginning of the commentary on each of them.
In the second case, they can be viewed from the perspective of the Buddhist practice of shamatha, with its aspects of samprajnata, ekagrata, and smriti, respectively. Interestingly, the emphasis of most commentators on Patanjali's yoga being composed of eight parts (i.e., eightfold), rather than eight stages, favors the second interpretation of these three sutras.
2.54. Detachment (pratyāhāra) is that by which (iva) the senses (indriyāṇām) do not come into contact (asamprayoge) with their (sva) objects (viṣaya), but follow (anukāraḥ) the essential (sva, "own") nature (rūpa) of the state of mind (cittasya).
With this fifth part (or stage) of the eight-part yoga, Patanjali begins to describe the actual psychotechnique of taking control of the mind-manas, which opens up the possibility of acquiring subtle energy/light from the highest aspect of consciousness (the self-luminous Atman) for building/clarifying/enlightening the structures of the superconsciousness of the human soul.
After Hatha Yoga became a distinct teaching between the 15th and 17th centuries, the last four limbs of Patanjali's yoga were given a new name: Raja Yoga. Thus, the term "Raja Yoga" is a retronym introduced to distinguish the school based on the Yoga Sutras from the newer teaching, Hatha Yoga, which focused on physical exercises.
Various authoritative Hindu and yogic texts use the figurative comparison of pratyahara to a tortoise retracting its limbs. However, this comparison describes the result of pratyahara, not its method (given in sutra 3.1) or technique (given in sutra 1.2). This comparison is found in verse 2.58 of the Bhagavad-gita (it is also found in verse 1.33 of Dattatreya's Yoga Rahasya, verse 140 of the Yoga-tattva Upanishad, verse 3 of the Kshurika Upanishad, and other lesser-known texts and commentaries), and is not found in the Yoga Sutras.
Vyasa (or rather an unknown commentator who lived much later than the legendary Vedavyasa of Krishna's time, but, as often happens with the authorship of Hindu texts, took this pseudonym to give his commentary more authority) in the commentary ("Vyasa-bhashya") to the following sutra 2.55 ("this leads to the complete subjugation of the indriyas, i.e., the sense organs—jnanendriyas; also included in the number of indriyas are the organs of action—karmendriyas") of the "Yoga Sutras" writes: "Some believe that the absence of passionate attraction [to objects]—sound, etc.—this is the subjugation, or control, of the sense organs… Jaigishavya, however, says [that the subjugation of the sense organs] is only the absence of sensory perception due to the concentration of consciousness on one point (that is, due to the transfer of attention from the objects of the senses to something else)… Therefore, yogis do not need to use other means (except meditation), requiring [certain] efforts, like the subordination of other sense organs".
Sutra 2.54 of the Yoga Sutras discusses directing the mind's attention to the process of samadhi meditation—"following the essential nature of the state of mind"—that is, recursively tracking increasingly subtle disturbances of the mind, rather than crude attempts to distance oneself from external sensory objects and their perceptions. From the Yoga Tattva Upanishad: "140. By practicing yoga, one attains the Supreme State. Just as a tortoise draws all its limbs into its shell, so let the yogi concentrate on the Atman during pranayama". In other words, during the practice of meditation, attention is transferred to recursively tracking increasingly subtle disturbances on the mirror of the mind, with the goal of eliminating them and then moving on to the exploration of the subsequent layers of the pancha kosha. The development, recognition and activation of these next sheaths (structures of superconsciousness) becomes possible in the process of many years of practice of samadhi/shamatha due to its natural energetic effect, which is the essence of the teachings of Patanjali and Buddha.
The broad scope of meanings and the multifaceted application of pratyahara in yoga deserve special mention. Pratyahara is not only a brief effort to remove the mind from all distractions at the very beginning of a samadhi session. In fact, it is also used to regularly remove any distractions that arise, primarily thoughts, during a meditation session, as each distraction effectively marks an exit from samadhi and, subsequently, the beginning of a new session after the removal of the next distraction. Pratyahara is also used even outside the context of samadhi practice as part of training in taming the mind, removing it from all sorts of emotional and mental distractions when in distracting environments (for example, on public transport or in other crowded places), so as not to waste energy unnecessarily on a series of distractions, which will positively impact the effectiveness of subsequent meditation sessions.
Further explanation of sutra 2.54 will be given in the commentary to sutra 3.2.
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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