1:4 Vrtti sarupyam itaratra

Iyengar:  At other times, the seer identifies with the fluctuating consciousness.

Carrera: At other times (the Self appears to) assume the forms of the mental modifications

Taimni: In other states there is assimilation (of the Seer) with the modifications (of the mind)

 

Iyengar says “When the seer identifies with consciousness…he unites with them and forgets his grandeur.”  Iyengar uses the analogy of the citta (a composite word for the mind) as a lens.  The inward facing lens always remains clear but the outward facing side of the lens, which we are more aware of in daily life, it becomes cloudy from the turbulent word.  The practice of yoga dissociates the consciousness from its identification of the outside world and thus cleaning this lens of the citta. 

Carerra explains this sutra as the “ego identifiying with mental activity.”  He says we should not forget that we are actually witness to our mind. 

Taimni uses the image of an electric light build surrounded by a tank full of water.  If the water is churned it will make patterns illuminated by the bulb.  The bulb itself will not be viewable in the churning water.   When the water becomes still, the view of the bulb and its light is clear. 

Comments

[Susan]

Hello,
I have been studying the yoga sutras through Nischala Joy Devi's book "The Secret Power of Yoga, A Woman's Guide to the Heart and Spirit of the Yoga Sutras" for the past three years. I appreciate her feminine interpretation of these sacred words. Thought you might as well, enjoy.
namaste, susan