1.21 तिव्रसंवेगानाम् आसन्नाः
tīvra-saṁvegānām-āsannaḥ
tīvra – keen; saṁvegānām – intense effort, enthusiasm, fervor; āsannaḥ – near, imminent;
Yogis who practice with intense effort and enthusiasm achieve samādhi more quickly.
1.22 मृदुमध्याधिमात्रत्वत् ततो ‘पि विशेषः
mṛdu-madhyādhimātratvāttato ‘pi viśeṣaḥ
mṛdu – mild, slow; madhya – moderate, medium; adhimātratvāt – intense; tato – beyond that; api – even, also; viśeṣaḥ – difference, variation;
On account of the practice being mild, medium, or fast (even amongst yogis who practice with intense effort) there are differences (in attainment).
1.21 tīvra-saṁvegānām-āsannaḥ
Yogis who practice with intense effort and enthusiasm achieve samādhi more quickly.
So, in this verse, Patañjali says that one’s degree of enthusiasm, or commitment rather, indicates the speed at which the goal of yoga is attained. Patañjali only mentions ‘tīvra’ or intensity here, but Vyāsa in his commentary infers that there are actually three degrees of application implied in the sutra. And those three degrees being, in English: gentle, moderate, and then intense, or ‘tīvra’. In the next sutra it indicates that each of these three levels mentioned here, or implied here, is subdivided into three more levels of intensity resulting in a total of nine levels of commitment, or degrees of application to the process of yoga. So, I do not think that there’s anything further to talk about in this particular sutra. Thank you.
1.22 mṛdu-madhyādhimātratvāttato ‘pi viśeṣaḥ
On account of the practice being mild, medium, or fast (even amongst yogis who practice with intense effort) there are differences (in attainment).
The three categories that are stated here also apply to things previously mentioned, such as śraddhā or reverential faith, and to vigor…so likewise, with repeated remembrance or ‘smṛti’. These things were mentioned in the twentieth sutra above.
So, the use of categories and sub-categories in terms of spiritual advancement or realization is actually extremely common in all yogic and Vedic teachings. Things were actually always delineated quite clearly and subdivided so that a person had some idea of where they were situated along the path toward self-realization. An interesting point is that, if you look in the Bhagavad-gīta for instance, the Bhagavad-gīta devotes a whole chapter to such divisions, including details about śraddhā which is very informative…extremely informative. In this connection one of the later commentators, the renowned Swami Hariharananda, he states that amongst the three divisions or types of śraddhā or reverential faith, it is through what he calls sāttvika śraddhā, or śraddhā in the mode of goodness, that is the chief means for practicing focused contemplation or concentration. And it is actually the quickest method to award attainment to the practitioner.
But we will deal with some of these issues, or points rather, as we progress with the work. Thank you very much.
