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Part 3 of the commentary to sutra 3.4 of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali,
translated and with commentary by Vasyl Vernyhora
3.4. Three (traya, that is, dharana, dhyana and samadhi) all taken together/completed (ekatra) [give (allow one to gain the ability to receive)] clairvoyance insight (saṁyama) [into the essence of any object].
Sutra 3.4 in the context of the practice of dharana, dhyana, and samadhi as stages
It should be noted that, according to the widespread interpretation of sutra 3.4, which speaks of samyama, that is, the result of long-term samadhi practice, it does not refer to the cumulative (aggregate) structure of the samadhi psychopractice method, which was described above in the commentary to sutra 3.2. In sutra 3.4, its author, judging by the description of the miraculous application of samyama in the following sutras, implies precisely the completed, sequential development/attainment of superconsciousness in full, and not some "simultaneous" one-time practice of dharana, dhyana, and samadhi. Because none of those who claim to be able to enter samadhi (not to mention those windbags who baselessly declare their alleged entry into the fourth jhana and arupa-ayatanas) are capable of demonstrating the miracles that are spoken of in the third chapter of the Yoga Sutras.
Incidentally, such a "simultaneous practice" of yogic dharana, dhyana, and samadhi is impossible due to fundamental methodological and qualitative differences between them. Although upon entering a trained state of samadhi, the meditator briefly transitions between dharana and dhyana, in samadhi there is no longer dharana or dhyana, nor, accordingly, their supposedly "simultaneous practice". It is simply and solely samadhi.
Therefore, as has already been said earlier, the original version of sutra 3.4 most likely described the cumulative (ekatra, "all together constitute one") practice of pratyahara/samprajnata, dharana/ekagrata, and dhyana/smriti. The presence of the word "ekatra" along with the absence of the words "completed practice [of samadhi]" or "long-term [months or years] practice [of samadhi]" (which is necessary for the possibility of clairvoyant insight/application of samyama) in sutra 3.4 serves as confirmation that in its original version it described precisely the cumulative practice of samadhi, consisting of the three aspects listed above.
When the concept of eight-limbed yoga was later added to the Yoga Sutras, along with the names of these parts (aspects) of yoga, new meanings emerged in the edited old sutras (e.g., 3.1) and the newly added ones (e.g., 3.3). However, the author of these additions was still unable to move away from the concept of a cumulative practice of the aspects of samadhi to the concept of eight, seemingly independent, stages of yoga, and therefore the yoga of the Yoga Sutras remained eight-limbed (consisting of eight parts/aspects), never becoming eight-staged. Even later, a fourth chapter was added to the Yoga Sutras, containing philosophical discussions close to the Hindu school of Sankhya. This may have occurred after the weakening of Buddhism's influence in Hindustan and the return of dominance of Hindu religion in the 9th century (including through the efforts of Shankaracharya). Hatha yoga with its terminology did not yet exist at that time, and therefore asanas – in the plural or with their names – did not appear in the text of the Yoga Sutras.
In sutra 3.4, the "three" stages of practice—dharana, dhyana and samadhi (listed in order in sutras 3.1-3, and not simultaneously in the same sutra), if perceived as stages of practice, and not the overall structure of practice with its three aspects, can mean training in three-hour shamatha, achieving the four rupa-dhyanas and bringing the practice of samadhi/shamatha to full perfection (that is, achieving the fifth arupa-ayatana), respectively. And it is precisely the developed superconsciousness that allows one to demonstrate the miracles of the universal ability to perceive any information (clairvoyance, etc.) and the universal ability to influence the surrounding world (teleportation, etc.).
This interpretation helps explain (but not justify) the probable replacement of the word "samadhi" in the original version of sutra 3.4 with the word "samyama" in its extant version. Indeed, as stated earlier, the attainment of the fourth rupa-jhana allows one to begin applying samyama/vipashyana in the process of attaining the five arupa-ayatanas (formless "stations of [super]consciousness") during the subsequent practice of samadhi. One could then say that at this stage of samadhi, in its "nirupadhi" ("formless" samadhi) variant, the application of samyama is already possible. However, the discrepancy here is that the word "samyama" is inconsistent with the rest of sutra 3.4, even taking into account that this is a sutra-aphorism with its brief exposition of the subject under consideration. Because the practice of samadhi with its three integral aspects/parts is one thing, and the application of samyama is quite another. As mentioned earlier, sutra 3.4 does not contain the words "completed [long-term] practice of samadhi", which would explain when and on what basis the opportunity to apply samyama arises.
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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