22 – 25. By attachment to the attribute-less Brahman and non-attachment to the entire non-self material world (un-atman), intense faith in the Brahman being the cause and the effect, performance of righteous duties towards the Lord, the desire to know (the Truth), firm faith in the spiritual path of yoga, mediation about the Lord of yoga, and constant listening to the holy stories of the Lord of hallowed renown; by cessation of desire to associate with the tamasic people who take pleasure in wealth and with the rajasic people who revel in the enjoyment of sensual pleasure, and by non-attachment to the filthy lucre and to sense-gratification which are highly valued by them; through love of seclusion for enjoying the blissfulness of the self (atman) except on occasions when the drink of the nectar of Hari’s excellent glories is available; by practising non-violence, by following the course of conduct prescribed for the highest ascetic order called the paramahamsas, by drinking the highest form of nectar in the form of Lord Hari’s stories, by eschewing desires and by observing rules of self-discipline called yama (abstention) and niyama (observance), by refraining from slandering (and condemning other paths of God-realization prescribed in scriptures), by desire-less-ness, and by endurance of opposite states (such as heat and cold, pleasure and pain); and by devotion to Hari that blossoms for constantly glorifying Lord Hari’s excellences which form the ornaments to the ears of His devotees through faith and deep devotion (one attains to liberation).
Performance of righteous duties is two-fold. One is performance of the five maha-yajnas and other round of religious duties for propitiating the Lord. The other is performance of religious duties according to one’s own varna and asrama (varna-asrama dharma). These duties relate to the initiated and the un-initiated. In respect of the initiated ones, they are to have faith in meditation as part of adoration of the Lord, as stated in the scriptures.
As for yama (abstention), according to Patanjali, it is abstention from injuries, falsehood, theft, incontinence and acceptance of gifts. As for niyama (observance), it is cleanliness, contentment, renunciation, study of scriptures and devotion to the Lord.
26. When his attachment and delight in the Brahman becomes firmly established, a man seeks a spiritual preceptor. Just as fire ignited from arani (a piece of wood of the sami tree used for kindling fire by friction) consumes its own source (the piece of wood from which it arose), the man, by force of his knowledge and non-attachment, burns down his subtle body consisting of five subtle elements and enveloping his soul, in such a way as to render it un-revivable.
What is sought to be stated is that firm faith in the Brahman leads to the grace of the spiritual preceptor, and not the other way. With the force of knowledge, renunciation and the love for or delight in the Brahman, a man burns his karma, resulting from merit and demerit, which is the cause of his present incarnation in body and the resulting
samsara.
The five subtle elements referred to have two different connotations. The first consists of the five klesas, namely, avidya (nescience), ahamkara (ego), raga (attachment), dvesa (hatred) and abhinivesa (instinctive clinging to the worldly life and the bodily enjoyment). The other consists of the five sheaths which, lying one within the other, make the body enshrine the soul. They are annamaya, manomaya, pranamaya, vijnanamaya and anandamaya kosas (sheaths).
27. When the screen or sheath (of the subtle body enveloping the soul) which, till then intervened between the Supreme-Soul (Paramatman) and the soul, is destroyed, the person becomes freed from all the attributes pertaining to the subtle body which has been burnt down. (Thenceforth) he does not perceive (his subjective states of pleasure,
pain, etc) which are within him, nor objects (a pot, a piece of cloth, etc) which are external to him, just as a man awakened from a dream does not see the objects he perceived in his dream.
When the knowledge of the relation between the Supreme Soul and the individual soul (the Jiva) disappears, the Jiva does not perceive any difference within and without.
While being in the samsara, there is a screen between the Supreme Soul and the individual soul in the sense that there is a semblance of identity of the individual soul, as in a dream. But when the subtle body is lost, there is no more identity of the Jiva or the individual soul. Who is there then to bother about liberation? The attributes referred to in the verse relate to love, hate, etc.
28. (It is in the states of wakefulness and dream) this upadhi (conditioning) of mind continues; man can perceive himself (the seer), the objects of senses and what is beyond them both (ahamkara which establishes relation between them, the seer and the seen), and not otherwise (as in sleep).
29. (For example), if, anywhere, (reflecting) condition, upadhi like water, mirror or such other condition, is present, a man can see the difference between himself (the object of reflection) and the other thing (his own reflection), and not in the absence of the reflecting medium.
The limiting condition is like an inert body causing interruption between the Jiva and the Supreme Soul whereby the individual soul (the Jiva) experiences separateness from his true Self, the Supreme Soul. But a sage liberated sees no such distinction between the two. This limiting condition (upadhi) is destroyed for the sage by knowledge. When real knowledge dawns, the sage realizes the Brahman in his soul.
30. The mind of those who brood over objects of worldly enjoyment is distracted by their senses which are attracted to objects of worldly pleasure. Thereby the intellect loses its power of thinking and discrimination, just as water from a pool is (imperceptibly) sucked by the roots of a clump of grass.
31. As a consequence of the loss of the reasoning capacity, memory is lost. The loss of memory results in loss of knowledge and wisdom. The wise call this loss of wisdom as the covering of the Self through one’s own self.
32. In this world, there is no greater loss of one’s self-interest than one’s loss of one’s own self, for, because of loss of one’s own self, every other thing in the world becomes dear.
33. Constantly brooding over wealth and objects of senses leads to the loss of all purusharthas (goals to be achieved in life). Having thus lost knowledge of the Brahman and worldly knowledge, one enters (is born in) immobile yonis without end.
34. A person who desires to cross the dense darkness (of samsara) should not entertain attachment to anything whatever. For, that attachment is extremely harmful to dharma, artha, kama and moksha (the four purusharthas).
