Iyengar: The conjunction of the seer with the seen is for the seer to discover his own true nature.
Sometimes when studying the Sutras, it seems as if we should forgo nature or Prakrti (the seen). But Pantajali says in this sutra that we need the seen to discover our true nature. Iyengar clarifies in his commentary: “If the association (between the seer and the seen) is fed by ignorance is leads the master towards enjoyment, desire, and ailments and binds him”. He further says if the master “associates with nature without attachment and remains a witness, nature leads its owner, the soul, to freedom, moksa”.
Bryant: [The notion of] conjunction is the means of understanding the real nature of the powers of the possessed and of the possessor
Bryant’s commentary has a section on why ignorance occurs and what the causes of ignorance are? Some possibilities: Is it due to the mind which can distort prakrti (nature)? Is it due to the gunas? Is ignorance a samskara? He concludes that the roots of ignorance are mysterious, but that the “common demonimator in them all is the conjunction of purusa with the gunas of prakrti”. (Note the three primary gunas are: sattva guṇa, and rajas guṇa, tamas guṇa).
Taimni: The purpose of coming together of the Purusa and Prakrti is gaining by the Purusa of the awareness of his true nature and the unfoldment of powers inherent in him and Prakrti.
Taimni comments that the theory of evolution is explained by this sutra. “Why is Purusa brought into contact with Prakrti? To unfold the powers latent in Parkrti and himself and to enable him to gen Self-realization. That is the complete idea of evolution in a nutshell.”
Carrera: The union of Owner (Purusha) and owned (Prakriti) causes the recognition of the nature and powers of them both.
Patanjali exchanges the word Seer and Seen to Owner and Owned in this sutra because Carerra says, they “are alies in the phenomenon we experience as life”. We need to realize changing nature to gain knowledge and realization about ourselves.
Some of my previous yoga teachers said yoga was meant to make you feel good. The sutras contradict this is. Pada two has been focused on how to relieve suffering and the roots are when we get attached to worldly pleasures. The next few sutras will delve into this dual relationship.
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