Patanjali’s Version

Such a truly Krsna conscious person, always absorbed in Transcendence, in constant undisturbed meditation on his worshipable Lord, is likened in the nineteenth verse to a lamp in a windless place. He does not waver. Indeed, one who is always engaged in the loving service of the Lord becomes steady, and his whole life is passed in samadhi. As explained in the 20-23 verses, in that stage he can see the Self by the pure mind, and thus relish and enjoy the Self. "In that joyous state, one is situated in boundless transcendental happiness and enjoys himself through transcendental senses. Established thus, one never departs from the truth, and upon gaining this he thinks there is no greater gain." By practice of yoga one can become gradually detached from material existence, and in that detached state, one can be situated in trance or samadhi which means that one has realized the Supersoul or Krsna within through transcendental mind and intelligence without any of the misgivings of identifying the self with the Superself. This yoga system is more or less based on the principles of the Patanjali yoga system. Some try to identify the individual soul with the Supersoul. The monist calls this liberation, but he does not understand the real purpose of the Patanjali system of yoga. Patanjali accepts the concept of transcendental pleasure, but the monists do not accept this transcendental pleasure, out of fear of jeopardizing their theory of oneness. The duality of knowledge and knower are not accepted by the nondualists, but in this verse transcendental pleasure-realized through transcendental senses-is a clearly stated fact. This is corroborated by Patanjali Muni, the famous exponent of the yoga system. In his Yoga-sūtras, Patanjali states that this oneness of the Supreme that the monists talk about is an internal potency of the Lord by which the living entity becomes aware of his constitutional position. Lord Caitanya further explains that real liberation means to clear the mirror of the mind of its impurities. The theory of nirvana, when seen as a preliminary condition, corresponds with this principle. Nirvana means to clear away the material dust, but after nirvana or material cessation, there is a full manifestation of spiritual activities or devotional service to the Lord known as Krsna consciousness. In the words of the Bhagavatam, this is the "real life of the living entity." Maya, or illusion, is the condition of spiritual life contaminated by material affection. Liberation from this material infection does not mean destruction of the original eternal position of the living entity, but its full manifestation. So transcendental pleasure does not mean void, but real life. This is confirmed in the Vedanta-sūtras and will be more vividly described in the Bhagavad-gita beginning with the Seventh Chapter.