YOGA SUTRAS OF PATANJALI | CHAPTER 1 - SAMADHI PADA | VERSE 44 | COMMENTARY
Sukshamvishaytvam cha aling-pari-avsanam
सूक्ष्म-विषयत्वं च अलिङ्ग-परि-अवसानम्॥१.४५॥
Sūkṣmaviṣayatvaṁ cāliṅgaparyavasānam ||1.45||
Of the subtle objects, the conclusion is the Unmanifest.
"And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair."
_Khalil Gibran
The world we are sensitized to and perceive is that which is obvious and evident. We are not aware of the taste of the wind, or the mood of the clouds. We do not feel the flight of the eagle in our muscles, nor the trees pushing to the skies. We cannot sense the energies flowing within us, much less than the energies flowing in the earth, the oceans, the sun, moon, and the stars.
There is a subtle world at play, which is more potent and sensitive, affected by every thought, intention, and desire, not just of human beings (we like to believe we are special, but we are not that special), but of every rock, puddle, tree, animal, and blade of grass. Our senses are not able to perceive the depth and payers of the universe because we are stuck in our 8’x8’ cubicles with our laptops and mobile phones. We have forgotten to sit with the trees, and if and when we see them, we forget- they see us too. We do not walk barefoot on the earth anymore, and if and when we do, we fail to realise that the earth yearns for our touch too. The wind longs to move through our bones, and the rain comes down because that is the only way for the heavens to descend and feel the warmth of our skin. We, as a species, have forgotten that everything that we sense, everything that we perceive, is based on the principle of reciprocity – the sensible is also sensing. Every moment is a transaction where the senses and sensible nourish each other.
In the Samkhya Philosophy, Purusha and Prakriti are the two aspects of the universe. Purusha is Shiva – the Supreme Consciousness, beyond space and time, that which is without any form, quality, or nature. Prakriti is Shakti – the principle of Shiva, which assumes form in both manifest and unmanifest. Prakriti is the cause of all that is manifest, from subtlest to the most gross. Rising from Prakriti to Purusha, that is union of the manifest with the causal unmanifest is the true union which we call Yoga.
In the subtler states of Samadhi, when our consciousness is not stuck in our memories, and the impressions of the experiences have been removed; we are not reacting to the world with pre-set conditioner behaviors and ideas, there is no desire to achieve anything, when we are part of the rhythm of the earth, sun and the stars, there is a harmony with the existence. Then, the subtle realm of the universe is also revealed.