The Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali – A Visual Meditation. Book One, Samādhi-Pādah., On Samādhi (Meditative Absorption)
Yoga is defined as the practice of stilling the fluctuations of citta in order to enter and maintain the state of transcendent, meditative absorption (samādhi). Book One introduces the philosophy, gives an overview, and begins the discussion of samādhi.
Sūtra 1.02, 2015. Oil and Gold Leaf on Canvas. 16” x 20”. Yoga is restraining the (identification with the) activity of the mind (citta).
Sūtra 1.02, 2015. Oil and Gold Leaf on Canvas. 16” x 20”. In savitarkā samādhi (samādhi with deliberation), word, form, and abstract understanding are co-mingled.
Sūtra 1.33, 2015. Oil and Gold Leaf on Canvas. 16” x 20”. The mind becomes serene by cultivating an attitude of friendliness toward those who are happy, compassion for those who are suffering, delight for those who are good, and neutrality toward those who are not good.
Sūtra 1.29, 2015. Oil and Gold Leaf on Canvas. 16” x 20”. From that − chanting and meditating upon om − there is realization of the inner Self and the absence of obstacles.
Sūtra 1.32, 2015. Oil and Gold Leaf on Canvas. 16” x 20”. In order to counteract these obstacles, the practice of a single focus.
Sūtra 1.17, 2015. Oil and Gold Leaf on Canvas. 16” x 20”. Samprajñāta samādhi (samādhi with conscious support) results from mental activity, first on a gross level, then on a subtle, reflective level, followed by a feeling of bliss, and finally a state of pure Being (I-AM-ness).
Sūtra 1.36, 2015. Oil and Gold Leaf on Canvas. 16” x 20”. Or the mind is calmed by the supreme effulgent light within, beyond all sorrow.
Sūtra 1.09, 2015. Oil and Gold Leaf on Canvas. 16” x 20”. Imagination, or conceptualization, is thought based on words, without actual substance.
Sūtra 1.40, 2015. Oil and Gold Leaf on Canvas. 16” x 20”. This mastery extends from the infinitesimal to the infinite.
Sūtra 1.23, 2015. Oil and Gold Leaf on Canvas. 16” x 20”. Or, samādhi is attained by devotional surrender to a higher power (īśvara/God) .