The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali - Book 4 - Illumination |
5. Consciousness is one, yet produces the varied forms of
the many. Here Patanjali lays down a basic formula which serves to explain not only the purpose and reason of manifestation itself but covers in one short phrase the state of being of God, man and atom. Behind all forms is found the one Life; within every atom (solar, planetary, human and elemental) is found the one sentient existence; back of objective nature, the sum total of all forms in all the kingdoms of nature is found the subjective reality which is essentially a unified whole or unity, producing the diversified many. [387] The homogeneous is the cause of the heterogeneous, unity produces diversity, the One is responsible for the many. This the student can appreciate more intelligently if he follows the golden rule which reveals the mystery of creation and studies himself. The microcosm reveals the nature of the macrocosm. He will find that he, the real or spiritual man, the thinker, or the one life in his tiny system, is responsible for the creation of his mental, emotional and physical bodies, his three lower aspects, the "shadow" of the Trinity, just as his spirit, soul and body are the reflections of the three divine aspects, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He will find that he is responsible for the formation of all the organs in his body, and for all the cells of which they are composed and as he studies his problem more closely he will become aware that his consciousness and life pervades, and is therefore responsible for, myriads beyond number of tiny infinitesimal lives; that he is the cause of their aggregation into organs and forms, and the reason those forms are held in being. Gradually there dawns on him a true understanding of the significance of the words "made in the image of God." His "consciousness is one and yet has produced the varied forms of the many" within his little cosmos, and what is true of him is true of his great prototype, the Heavenly Man, the planetary Logos, and true again of the prototype of his prototype, the Grand Man of the Heavens, the solar Logos, God in manifestation through the solar system. [388] |
To Netnews Homepage Previous Next Index Table of Contents |
Last updated Monday, February 2, 1998 © 1998 Netnews Association. All rights reserved. |