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A Series of Lessons on the Inner Teachings of the Philosophies and Religions of India1214
some one object of knowledge, preferably the Universal Soul or Purusha;
and (2) Samadhi, or Transcendental Contemplation, or Ecstasy, which
produces what the Western World calls “Cosmic Consciousness,” and which
we have described in previous series of lessons, under the term of “Spiritual
Consciousness,” and which is Patanjali’s Eighth Step. This mental state has
been described as a state of Super-consciousness, and is quite difficult of
description or definition. It is an exalted state of ecstasy, such as has been
sought after by mystics of all times and lands, and which is regarded by
them, and the Yogins, as almost akin to “Union with God,” nothing but the
last material sheath remaining between the worshipper and the object of
his devotions.
The Three Higher Steps, viz., Dharana, Dhyana, and Samadhi, together,
are called Samyama. In Samyama, the Mind is first taught to concentrate
absolutely (dharana); then to meditate profoundly upon some higher
plane or object or thought (dhyana); then to rise to the super-conscious
state (samadhi), And this three-fold Samyama is what the school of Patanjali
makes a prime object of life—the attainment of Samadhi being regarded
as the Supreme Goal of the Living Yogin—the final step toward absolute
Union and Freedom.
And the above, together with the performance of good works; the
observance of duties; morality; austerities; self-denial; the repetition of
sacred Mantrams; and the performance of the fundamental religious
precepts of the Vedas, is what constitutes Patanjali’s Raja Yoga, which is the
embodiment of the “practical” part of his system.
The followers of Patanjali claim that the absolute mastery of the “Eight
Steps” causes the Yogin (or advanced student of the philosophy) to reach
the stage of “Superman,” developing in him certain latent powers of mind
which enable him to transcend the experience of the ordinary individual.
Among other results claimed by them, as being in the possession of the Yogin,
are the following: A knowledge of Past and Future Events (clairvoyance);
a knowledge of the language of the animals, so that he may convene