The Philosophy of Classical Yoga by Georg Feuerstein Ph.D

Author:Georg Feuerstein, Ph.D. [Georg Feuerstein]
Language: spa
Format: epub
Publisher: Inner Traditions / Bear & Company
Published: 2012-07-19T16:00:00+00:00

4 Saṃskāra, vāsanā, āśaya

Hidden behind the overt mental processes lies a vast, inexhaustible pool of stimuli, the so-called ‘activators’ or saṃskāras, which power the machinery of consciousness. These are organised into configurations, known as vāsanās or subliminal ‘traces’ or ‘traits’, which partly manifest in the idiosyncracies of the individual. This large storehouse of dispositional factors is the dynamic aspect of the deep structure of human personality.

The saṃskāras are formed continuously as a result of the individual’s world experience. In other words, every thought, feeling and impulse to action must be regarded as an actualisation of the tremendous tension inherent in the subliminal pool. On the other hand, overt mental activity in turn replenishes the subliminal deposit – in this manner perpetuating the vicious circle of phenomenal existence (saṃsāra).

The pool of subliminal activators is conceived as pre-individual. This means that although world experience (bhoga) somehow reinforces the saṃskāra grids, it does not originate them. The newly born individual is by no means a tabula rasa. Rather his very birth is the product of the irresistible pull of the subliminal traces. This conception in a way foreshadows the modern notion of the unconscious. However, it is far more simplistic and, furthermore, has been evolved in response to different kinds of questions, having the purpose of explaining certain occurrences during the process of radical introversion and especially during the terminal states of enstasy (samādhi).

Unfortunately, Patañjali does not develop this theory in detail but, as with so many other topics, presumes that the reader is acquainted with it. Nonetheless, it is clear from the scanty references in his work that this conception belongs to the core of his system of thought, though of course he cannot be hailed as the genius behind its invention or formulation (see below).

Having sketched the general idea behind this intriguing theory, I will next look more closely at its constituent working parts. To begin with the term saṃskāra; this much used Sanskrit word has a wide spectrum of meanings. Composed of the prefix saṃ-s and the root ‘to do’, its most general sense is ‘preparation’, but in addition it also conveys the idea of ‘embellishment, training, ritual action’, etc. In yogic contexts, it is habitually translated as ‘impression’ (J. H. Wood, G. Jha, S. Dasgupta). R. Prasāda (1912) opts for ‘habitation’, which perhaps would be more appropriate in describing the concept of vāsanā.

I prefer to render saṃskāra as ‘subliminal-activator’, thus stressing its dynamic nature. It is far from being a mere imprint, as is suggested by the common translation, ‘impression’. This active aspect of the saṃskāras is apparent especially from aphorism 111.9, where two varieties of saṃskāra are distinguished, viz. those which lead to the externalisation (vyutthāna) of consciousness and those which induce ‘restriction’ (nirodha). Similarly, in 1.50 a type of inverted saṃskāra is mentioned, which makes its appearance in the highest form of enstasy and which swallos up or rather obstructs all other saṃskāras.

Again, the fact that the saṃskāras are vestiges of previous mental activity can be inferred from III.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.