Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Book I · 20 of 51 · tr. Charles Johnston
Sutra 20
For the others, there is spiritual consciousness, led up to by faith, valour right mindfulness, one-pointedness, perception. It is well to keep in mind these steps on the path to illumination: faith, velour, right mindfulness, one-pointedness, perception. Not one can be dispensed with; all must be won. First faith; and then from faith, velour; from valour, right mindfulness; from right mindfulness, a one-pointed aspiration toward the soul; from this, perception; and finally, full vision as the soul.
§ Ask Guru about this passage →Themes
Gnosis Direct Knowledgesoteriology
Salvation through direct experiential knowledge of the divine nature, not through faith, ritual, or moral works alone.
The passage explicitly defines spiritual consciousness and salvation as achieved through direct perception and full vision of the soul rather than external means.
All passages →Meditationpraxis
Disciplined inward attention — sitting, focused, or open-awareness practice — as a stand-alone term that umbrellas active_contemplation, inner_silence, and dhyana-style sitting.
The stages include 'right mindfulness' and 'one-pointedness,' which are core meditative disciplines.
All passages →Spiritual Ascentpraxis
A staged journey of the soul upward through heavenly realms or levels of being toward the divine source.
The text outlines a structured journey from faith to perception toward the divine soul.
All passages →Related passages · 9 parallels
neoplatonism|Iamblichus: On the Mysteries|Chapter XX
“Omitting, therefore, these things, we may reasonably adduce a second cause, assigned by you, of the above mentioned particulars: viz. “ that the soul says and imagines these things, and that they are the passions of it, excited from small i…”
Shared concept: Gnosis Direct Knowledge — Salvation through direct experiential knowledge of the divine nature, not through faith, ritual, or moral works alone. (derived)
western_esoteric|The Secret Teachings of All Ages (Manly P. Hall)|The Mysteries and Their Emissaries-a
“DID that divine knowledge which constituted the supreme possession of the pagan priestcrafts survive the destruction of their temples?
Is it yet accessible to mankind, or does it lie buried beneath the rubbish of ages, entombed within the…”
Shared concept: Gnosis Direct Knowledge — Salvation through direct experiential knowledge of the divine nature, not through faith, ritual, or moral works alone. (derived)
neoplatonism|Iamblichus: On the Mysteries|Chapter IV
“Divine divination, therefore, which is conjoined with the Gods, alone truly imparts to us a divine life; since it participates of [divine] foreknowledge, and divine intellections, and renders us in reality divine. It likewise causes us to b…”
Shared concept: Gnosis Direct Knowledge — Salvation through direct experiential knowledge of the divine nature, not through faith, ritual, or moral works alone. (derived)
renaissance_hermeticism|The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori)|First Dialogue-m
“Thus everything has an impetus towards its beginning retrogressively, and progressively towards its end and perfection, as Empedocles well said, and from which sentence I think may be inferred that which the Nolan said in this octave: The s…”
Shared concept: Spiritual Ascent — A staged journey of the soul upward through heavenly realms or levels of being toward the divine source. (derived)
western_esoteric|The Secret Teachings of All Ages (Manly P. Hall)|Atlantis and the Gods of Antiquity-g
“At the first gate the great crown is removed from her head, at the second gate the earrings from her ears, at the third gate the necklace from her neck, at the fourth gate the ornaments from her breast, at the fifth gate the girdle from her…”
Shared concept: Spiritual Ascent — A staged journey of the soul upward through heavenly realms or levels of being toward the divine source. (derived)
theosophy|The Secret Doctrine|Page 3 (part 8)
“Moreover, the Secret Doctrine teaches: -- ( c ) The fundamental identity of all Souls with the Universal Over-Soul, the latter being itself an aspect of the Unknown Root; and the obligatory pilgrimage for every Soul -- a spark of the former…”
Shared concept: Spiritual Ascent — A staged journey of the soul upward through heavenly realms or levels of being toward the divine source. (derived)
neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 224
“Section 3 3. That Love is a Hypostasis [a "Person"] a Real-Being sprung from a Real-Being- lower than the parent but authentically existent- is beyond doubt. For the parent-Soul was a Real-Being sprung directly from the Act of the Hypostasi…”
Shared concept: Spiritual Ascent — A staged journey of the soul upward through heavenly realms or levels of being toward the divine source. (derived)
neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 304
“Section 17 17. Various considerations explain why the Souls going forth from the Intellectual proceed first to the heavenly regions. The heavens, as the noblest portion of sensible space, would border with the least exalted of the Intellect…”
Shared concept: Spiritual Ascent — A staged journey of the soul upward through heavenly realms or levels of being toward the divine source. (derived)
christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 12, Section 1b
“Which meaneth that just as things that have no substantial Being 490 490 i.
e.
The material things (cf.
Myst.
Theol.
I.).
This is the ordinary meaning of the phrase in D.
are transcended by things that have such Being, together with…”
Shared concept: Meditation — Disciplined inward attention — sitting, focused, or open-awareness practice — as a stand-alone term that umbrellas active_contemplation, inner_silence, and dhyana-style sitting. (derived)