Yoga Sutras of Patanjali translated by Yogi Kalinath - Chapter 1, Verse 3

Pada 1, Sutra 3

Sanskrit Verse

Tada drastuh svarupe vasthanam

Translation

Then, the seer abides in his/her own essential nature

Interpretation

Once all fluctuations of the mind stuff have ceased, all veils in consciousness lifted then the seer realizes his/her true Self, i.e. he/she becomes Self-realized. This is the direct realization that one is ultimately not the body nor what we identify ourselves with the mind whether that is our personality (generous, greedy, kind, cruel, intelligent, dumb etc…) or the roles we play in daily life (father, mother, son, daughter, professionally etc..). We are the Atma and that is what we are before time, in time and beyond time. In fact the Atma never takes birth nor dies, only the perishable, the body does. One can only escape physical death by never taking birth in the first place. However, once the seer ceases the modifications or fluctuations of the mind stuff, he/she in effect dies before dying as he/she can no longer relate to self as purely the body or the contents and impressions of one’s own mind. One becomes free despite the limitations of the body.

Contemplation: Reflect what it would be like to live consciously, to think, feel, speak and act with full awareness and not purely from programming, indoctrination, enculturation, beliefs or purely being reactionary to life events. This is in fact living life consciously, mastery of self equating to mastery of life itself.