Yoga Sutras of Patanjali translated by Yogi Kalinath - Chapter 4, Verse 4

Pada 4, Sutra 4

Sanskrit Verse

Nirmaana-cittaanyasmitaa-maatraat

Translation

The individual mind proceed from the sense of “I am”

Interpretation

Asmita or the sense of “I am-ness” is also called the ego-sense of self. It is one of the afflictions associated with the human being. From this ego-sense comes attraction and aversion and the fear of death, hence the creation of the individual mind or individuality.

Reflection

The Ultimate Reality and the essence of the Jiva is Sat Cit Ananda. Sat being Existence as Truth, Cit being Consciousness as a pure reflection of Truth and Ananda being Perennial Bliss as the Seer abiding in self-aware Existence and Consciousness as pure reflection of Truth.

Reflect on the essence of Consciousness as the ocean, the expression of Consciousness as the water in the ocean also termed the Universal Mind and the individual mind as waves on the surface of the ocean. When we shift our identification (our provenance) from the ocean to the wave, from the perennial to the ephemeral we develop a separate sense of self, an “I am-ness” and that sense of “I am-ness” in turn makes the individual mind our reality (condensed and limited sense of self) seemingly entrapped in the material world of name and form (nama rupa) as distinct drops in the ocean.