Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Book I · 22 of 51 · tr. Charles Johnston

Sutra 22

The will may be weak, or of middle strength, or intense. Therefore there is a spiritual consciousness higher than this. For those of weak will, there is this counsel: to be faithful in obedience, to live the life, and thus to strengthen the will to more perfect obedience. The will is not ours, but God's, and we come into it only through obedience. As we enter into the spirit of God, we are permitted to share the power of God. Higher than the three stages of the way is the goal, the end of the way.

§ Ask Guru about this passage →

Themes

Detachment Gelassenheitpraxis

Eckhart's Abgeschiedenheit/Gelassenheit — radical letting-go of will, image, and grasping that opens the soul to God; distinct from inner_silence (quietness) and from material renunciation, and adjacent to Sufi tark and Buddhist non-grasping as a practice rather than a metaphysical claim.

The passage advises letting go of the will as one's own to enter into God's spirit.

All passages →

Living Godtheology

The divine conceived as active, present, and dynamic—not an abstract principle but a personal responsive reality.

God is described as having a will and power that can be shared with humans.

All passages →

Mystical Unionsoteriology

The merging of the individual soul or self with the divine, transcending personal identity.

The text explicitly states that we are permitted to share the power of God through entering into His spirit.

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 stages of the way leading toward a goal or end that transcends the will.

All passages →

Related passages · 15 of 52 parallels

christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 5, Section 1i

“364 The ultimate Godhead is reached only by the Negative Path, and known only by Unknowing. The Affirmative Path of philosophical knowledge leads only to the differentiated manifestations of the Godhead: e.g. the Trinity, in Its creative…”

Shared concept: Mystical Union — The merging of the individual soul or self with the divine, transcending personal identity. (derived)

neoplatonism|Iamblichus: On the Mysteries|Chapter XIX

“But neither does the cause [of the energies] of more excellent natures subsist as a certain middle instrument, nor does he who invokes operate through him who prophesies; for to assert these things is impious. And it is much more true to sa…”

Shared concept: Living God — The divine conceived as active, present, and dynamic—not an abstract principle but a personal responsive reality. (derived)

christian_mysticism|Meister Eckhart's Sermons (Field translation)|PREFACE-a

““ Meister Eckhart ,” who has been called the “Father of German thought,” was a Dominican monk, and one of the most profound thinkers of the Middle Ages. He was born about 1260 A.D. in Thuringia, and died at Cologne 1327 A.D. In 1295 he w…”

Shared concept: Detachment Gelassenheit — Eckhart's Abgeschiedenheit/Gelassenheit — radical letting-go of will, image, and grasping that opens the soul to God; distinct from inner_silence (quietness) and from material renunciation, and adjacent to Sufi tark and Buddhist non-grasping as a practice rather than a metaphysical claim. (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)

buddhism|The Dhammapada|Chapter III, Section 1a

“p. 12 CHAPTER III. THOUGHT. 33. As a fletcher makes straight his arrow, a wise man makes straight his trembling and unsteady thought, which is difficult to guard, difficult to hold back. 34. As a fish taken from his watery home and th…”

buddhism|The Dhammapada|Chapter IV, Section 1a

“p. 16 CHAPTER IV. FLOWERS . 44. Who shall overcome this earth, and the world of Yama (the lord of the departed), and the world of the gods? Who shall find out the plainly shown path of virtue, as a clever man finds out the (right) flow…”

buddhism|The Dhammapada|Chapter VI, Section 1b

“I would rather take the whole sentence together as a gloss upon the word va g anti:--va g antîti arahatta ñ ânena apaka ddh antâ kh andarâga m vi g ahanti; va g anti means that, ridding themselves of lust by the wisdom which Arhatship confe…”

buddhism|The Dhammapada|Chapter VI, Section 1c

“Fausböll seems inclined to take âsava in this passage, and in the other passages where it occurs, as the Pâli representative of â s raya. But â s raya, in Buddhist phraseology, means rather the five organs of sense with manas, 'the soul,'…”

buddhism|The Dhammapada|Chapter XXIII, Section 1b

“281) shows clearly that it meant 'origin,' or 'cause.' Yoniso occurs frequently as a mere adverb, meaning 'thoroughly, radically' (Dhammapada, p. 359), and yoniso manasikâra (Dhammapada, p. 110) means 'taking to heart' or 'minding thoroug…”

christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 4, Section 1ah

“Aug., Transcende mundum et sape animum, transcende animum et sape Deum. 307 This shows that the Via Negativa starts from something positive. It is a transcendence, not a mere negation. 308 Prov. iv. 6, 8 . 309 ὁ ἐμὸς Ἔρως ἐσταύρωται&g…”

christian_mysticism|Meister Eckhart's Sermons (Field translation)|II-b

“So, if my soul is to know God, it must be God-like.” Now, how is the soul to arrive at this heavenly state that it recognizes God in itself, and knows that He is near? By copying the heavens, which can receive no impulse from without to ma…”

christian_mysticism|Meister Eckhart's Sermons (Field translation)|IV-b

“No, they are certainly not; for the work of the angels is the will of God, and the will of God is the work of the angels; their service to us does not hinder their joy nor their working. If God told an angel to go to a tree and pluck cater…”

christian_mysticism|Meister Eckhart's Sermons (Field translation)|VI-b

“Therefore she made mention of her humility and not of her sanctification, in which she remained unmoved and unaffected. If she had said, “He hath regarded the sanctification of His handmaiden,” her sanctification would have been disturbed,…”

christian_mysticism|Meister Eckhart's Sermons (Field translation)|VI-c

“Here some one may make the objection: “Are then all good works and prayers thrown away, since God is unmoved by them, and at the same time we are told to pray to Him for everything?” In answer to this I say that God from all eternity saw ev…”