OAPS: The Art and Science of Yoga! Pt VI (with poll!)🧘🏼‍♀️

Gratuitous photo of kittens Mo, Floof and Scungilli at 1 month old. Ha! Made you look. But since you're here, please do read the full diary - and then maybe the whole series! Do vote for your favorite feline in the poll, as well!

Reminder: *This group's aim is polite philosophical debate*

Trolls will be eaten with some fava beans 🫘 and a nice Chianti! 🍷

Good Evening, Everyone! ☮️

Welcome to the sixth installment of The Art and Science of Yoga. This evening’s topic for discussion this will be the last three Limbs of Yoga - Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi - the Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Limbs, respectively.

These three Limbs are the most inwardly focused. That is, they are centered on the mental sphere, rather than on the physical realm. They also represent natural psychological states, that we have already experienced many times, often not intentionally or with full awareness.

Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi are so closely intertwined that they are usually combined into a single simultaneous practice known as Samyama or Integration.

Integration (Samyama) in action. Baby and her kittens steadfastly bound together.

Samyama is a composite of the words ‘sam’, which means ‘to bring together’ and ‘yama’ or restraint. By engaging in Samyama, the yogi or yogini seeks to achieve the convergence of two distinct things (i.e., mind/spirit or reason/apperception) by binding them steadfastly to one another.

The first of the last three Limbs, The Sixth Limb, is Dharana or concentration. During Dharana, the mind is focused exclusively on a single point. That point may be a word or short phrase (mantra), a sound, an image, a devotional item, a scent or an idea. This chosen subject is referred to as the ‘object of contemplation’ or simply ‘the object’.

One-pointed concentration on the object of contemplation. Snowball focuses intently on sage Lowell.

Dharana requires a tremendous amount of energy and constant vigilance to hold the mind still and laser centered as it is prone to meander off in seemingly random directions.

In Sutra 1:2, Patanjali asserts that Yoga is ‘restraining the modulations of the mind’. Dharana is the first step in achieving the altered level of consciousness known as one-pointed concentration. It is the germ seed of the object of contemplation.

Hooper practices Dharana (Total Concentration) on her dear, deer Friend.

Before anything is undertaken, it must first be imagined. For example, suppose you have a passion for art and decide to paint a waterlily in the open air. You gather up your brushes, acrylics and easel and trek to the garden. Once your gear is set up at the pond, rather than fixating on the lily and settling down to work, your mind may wander to the bees buzzing around the flower. Or you may suddenly think ‘I’m hot’ or ‘I’m thirsty’. Or ‘Did I lock door before I came outside?’  Yet all the chaos in your mind, is preparatory to doing the task at hand because you’re already starting to narrow the scope of your focus.

Buddy narrows the scope of her focus.

Dhyana, or meditation, is the Seventh Limb of Yoga and occupies the middle spot of the last three Limbs. The psychological position of Dhyana emerges when Dharana (concentration) becomes effortless. Conscious awareness flows without interruption and is unimpeded. The mind’s focus does not waiver. It is immovable.

Here one begins to gain an intimate understanding of the selected object of contemplation.

Dhyana cultivates and nourishes the seed thought of Dharana. In Meditation, thought and action are harmonious. There is no conflict. All thoughts and actions are good and right.

In getting ready to render the aforementioned lily, you shift into the mindset of painting by zeroing in on the shape of the blossom and its floating leaves, the gradations of color in its petals, the patterns of light on the surrounding water, the negative space above the blossom, etc.

As you do so, the phenomenal world gradually, or perhaps precipitously, drops away. Everything but the act of beholding the lily, fades into the background.

As with skillful practice of Pranayama (Breath Awareness) and Pratyahara (Reduction of Sensory Feedback), complete transition into Dhyana occurs spontaneously. It cannot not arise by force of will, but only through surrender and letting go. Relinquishing control and all preconceptions are the keys to attaining Dhyana.

Snowball demonstrates skillful practice of Dhyana by relinquishing control and maintaining an immobile focus on the object of contemplation, her original Pootie Pad! (CatMats by Strawbale available online at Kos Katalogue here.)

The difference between Dharana (training one’s thoughts to the exclusion of all else on a single point) and Dhyana (meditation) is subtle. During Dharana, thoughts may become coherent (like the light of a laser which consists of a single wavelength) so that a preponderance of neural circuits fire concurrently while being riveted solely on the object. When this occurs, a practitioner will move into a state of Dhyana where all other thoughts are silenced.

Dhyana may be envisioned as a unity of the triplicity of perceiver, the object of contemplation and the process of perceiving. It is a cognitive state of intensified awareness, where the mind is undistracted and steady, but aware of a wide range of attributes surrounding the object of contemplation.

Scungilli experiences the Unity of the Triplicity of The Perceiver, Object of Contemplation and Process of Perceiving, or Dhyana. 

Dhyana facilitates an intimate, dynamic discernment (gnosis) of the objects and events of the phenomenal world, uncolored by conditioning. It paves the way for an experience of visionary insight into Ultimate Reality, as all things can be perceived as they really are once all information about them is accessible.

Finally, the Eighth Limb of Yoga and the last tier of Samyama - The Grand Finale - is Samadhi or Spiritual Enlightenment and Emancipation from the Human Condition of Suffering.

At this stage of awareness, all barriers between the self and the object of contemplation dissolve and one is immersed in a sense of timelessness (Eternal Now).

‘Samadhi’ is a combination of the words ‘sam(a)’, which means ‘to bring together’ and ‘(a)dhi’ or ‘original (Transcendent) consciousness’. So Samadhi is returning individual awareness to that conjoined state with Cosmic Consciousness that prevailed before one came into existence, but at a more profound level.

While immersed in Samadhi, there a sense of peace and freedom as all incongruities are washed away and action flows directly from the inner core of Being.

Floof immersed in the light of Samadhi, Liberation from the Feline Condition of Suffering (aka Separation from Treats).

Samadhi is spontaneous and happens unexpectedly. It is an abrupt breakthrough of the Ultimate Reality that informs and supports the Universe. During the process of Enlightenment, there is an expansion of perception and an interplay and identity of consciousnesses.

Samadhi represents the Harvest, the Coming into Being or Manifestation of the seeded thought of Dharana, where one reaps what one has sown. When in Samadhi, one is so engrossed in the act of reconciliation, that one barely breathes.

Snowball reaps what she has sown and enters into Samadhi, internally engrossed and barely breathing

An approximation of the experience of Samadhi may be conveyed by returning to the scenario of portraying the waterlily. When absorbed in Samadhi, the true essence of the flower is revealed, as well your relationship to it and its relationship to you. You can now paint it, selecting the right style, techniques and pigments that best express the subject without conscious effort because you and the lily are one. You become inspired by the force of Cosmic Consciousness as it courses effortlessly within and without you. Hours may pass, but you are heedless of the tick-tick-tick of time. All that matters is the perfectly unfolding moment-to-moment adventure.

Patanjali states there are two degrees of Enlightenment. The first is Bija Samadhi, or Samadhi with seed. At this level one beholds the God or Goddess of one’s understanding (i.e., Jesus, Allah, Yahweh, Jehovah, Krishna, Ishtar, Durga, Ceridwen, Spider Woman, Yemaya, etc., etc., etc.,). This is the lesser grade of Liberation, and most Yoga practitioners and Adepts of other traditions become ‘stuck’ here with their personal conception of the Divine and never venture into the next, more challenging phase.

Baby beholds the Goddess of her understanding.

Nirbija Samadhi, or Samadhi without seed is the second stage of Enlightenment, and the higher form of Self-Realization. It’s in this mental state that one discerns the Transcendent without form, beyond all human concepts and absent any reference to what has been previously understood or experienced. It is an heroic Leap of Faith into the Unknown.

So Samadhi is a psychological position that allows one to perceive Reality from an entirely different point of view. It is a nondiscursive condition that cannot be adequately described with language or words – or even symbols, images or sound. To be comprehended, it must be experienced because it lies beyond the boundaries of prior frames of reference.

While in the state of Samadhi, Reality is apprehended from an entirely different point of view. Great Guru Floof says, “He who says he knows, does not know. He who says he does not know, knows.”

A frustrating property of Samadhi is that it is unsustainable in ordinary waking reality for a substantial length of time. Equally frustrating is the fact that its aftermath may be either fleeting (a vague recollection of what it was like lingers but specifics are just out of reach) or conclusive (the experience and all it encompassed remain crystal clear), but not both. Those few who are recipients of the latter effect and chose to return from the disorientating, yet ecstatic domain of Samadhi, exhibit a radical upending and re-organization of psychic function, as well as with a fierce sense of mission. They are the Bodisattvas, The Awakened Ones, who have resolved to delay their own eternal Immersion in Cosmic Consciousness while they compassionately lead others to Self-Realization, until all beings have attained Liberation.

The most uncanny point upon which to close - and that will surely bedazzle the neocortex- is that Samadhi is participatory. It is a dimension that is co-created with the sentience of All That Exists since everything possesses consciousness, and that consciousness is interconnected, shared and interdependent. What this means is that right here and now Enlightenment is accessible to everyone, not just saints or poets. So, Sleeper, Awaken!

Mo co-creates Reality with her servant, the author’s brother, taking her first selfie to document the moment.

If you’re still reading, kudos to you! There’s a lot to unpack in this post, so I’ll simply leave you with this very concise recap from The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Sadana Pada, aphorisms 3:1-5:

‘Fixing the consciousness on one point is concentration (dhāraṇā).’ 3:1

‘A steady, continuous flow of attention directed towards a single point is meditation (dhyāna).’ 3:2

‘When the object of contemplation engulfs the meditator, appearing as the subject, self-awareness is lost. This is samādhi.’ 3:3

‘These three together [dhāraṇā, dhyāna and samādhi] constitute integration or saṃyama.’ 3:4

‘From mastery of saṃyama comes the light of awareness and insight.’ 3:5

And MollyBloom’s personal take on Samyama and Samadhi (based upon the author’s very limited comprehension):

“We all want to feel safe and not step outside of our comfort zones. We all long for permanence in world that won’t standstill. But life is chaos. Everything and everyone changes. And it’s all beyond our control. So why not embrace uncertainty instead of struggling against it? The moment you’re willing to forego dwelling in artificially imposed stability and accept unpredictability, once you stop seeking validation of your worth outside yourself, that is Liberation - the bliss of being exquisitely alive.”

Page from a MollyBloom Art Journal

Thanks for reading! 🧘🏻🧘🏼🧘🏽🧘🏾🧘🏿🐈‍⬛ 🐈☯️

Namaste, Friends!   🙏 I bow to you.

Remember always: Teach Love. Live Love. Be Love ❤️

How did you do with last month’s homework: Become intimately acquainted with your breath (prana)?  Please share your thoughts and insights in comments!

**New Adventure in Self-Study: While doing something you love with the passion of ten thousand suns, turn your attention to your breath and simply observe. How has the quality and pattern of your breath altered from the point when you began engaging in your beloved activity? Then observe your thoughts. How have they changed in response to the chosen activity? Write it all down so you don’t forget. Be prepared to share in comments at the next Yoga post.

Previous posts: 

The Art and Science of Yoga

The Art and Science of Yoga! Part II

The Art and Science of Yoga! Part III

The Art and Science of Yoga! Part IV

The Art and Science of Yoga! Part V

Snowball bows to the Light within You! 🙏 😻

See you next time! 🧘🏻‍♂️

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