20-24 septembrie 2009 - Biblioteca Metropolitana Bucuresti

498 Florina Dobre-BratWe are confronted again with similar stages that are present in the Vṛtti144. Pratibhā, the intuitive knowledge or the pure intuition (though theterm has, somehow, to be used with a lot more circumspection) catchesour attention instantly. This is said to be the source – matrix of all verbalmodification, an idea that is found further on in the commentary of verse144. But unlike it, vṛttikāra feels necessary here to distinguish betweenpratibhā and parā prakṛti where any differentiation ceases to exist.The description of the process stages (which seems to be four and notthree, this time) stops here as it does not mention anything about salvation(apavarga). It appears that we are simply shown the door and then invitedto step its threshold once an explanation of what we may encounter there isdone. Somehow, in both places, vṛttikara assumes the reader to be familiarwith this process, thus he takes no further pains to go into greater details 24 .However, to me the Vṛtti 14 is more like preparing the ground for amore comprehensive exposition which is done for explaining verses 143and 144.Also it appears that K.A.Subramanya Iyer has identified four stagesof what he calls śabda-pūrva yoga as a “kind of meditation aimed at risinglevel of consciousness to the highest stage of Word” (K.A. SubramanyaIyer, 1992: 145), guided mostly by commentary of verse 14. Thus, hefinds precise correspondence between the four stages of word as outlinedby Bhartṛhari in verse 159 and the four stages of śabda-pūrva yoga 25 .However alluding might it be, I believe that it’s rather advisable to keepnot very tight on establishing precise correspondences. This is the reasonwhy I have not given in the tempting association of what seemed to melevels of purifying verbal process with word stages. However, it is beyondany doubt that the paśyantī stage of word shares a lot in common withthe intuitive flash of insight (pratibhā), which for Bhartṛhari stands alsofor sentence sense (vākyārtha). Nevertheless, to my opinion, placing anequal sign between the two concepts does not necessarily give a betterexplanation on the inner resorts of the very existence of Word and its foldingand unfolding (throughout the four stages), on one hand, and on the otherhand, numinous character of knowledge and knower (pravṛttitattvajñāḥ)that leads to supreme reality.24"Unfortunately, the VP seems to assume reader’s familiarity with practice ofśabda-pūrva yoga" H. Coward 1976: 51. Coward sees in the expression śabdapūrvayoga a very complex and elaborated technique, very similar to yoga techniques of unifyingconsciousness layers.25Vide K.A. Subramanya Iyer 1969/1992: 144 -146.