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Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Book I · 39 of 51 · tr. Charles Johnston

Sutra 39

Or meditative brooding on what is dearest to the heart. Here is a thought which our own day is beginning to grasp: that love is a form of knowledge; that we truly know any thing or any person, by becoming one therewith, in love. Thus love has a wisdom that the mind cannot claim, and by this hearty love, this becoming one with what is beyond our personal borders, we may take a long step toward freedom. Two directions for this may be suggested: the pure love of the artist for his work, and the earnest, compassionate search into the hearts of others.
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Themes
Active Contemplationpraxis

A form of meditation that uses imagery, imagination, or symbolic thought rather than purely empty stillness.

The passage explicitly describes 'meditative brooding' and 'earnest, compassionate search' as active practices of the mind.

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Gnosis Direct Knowledgesoteriology

Salvation through direct experiential knowledge of the divine nature, not through faith, ritual, or moral works alone.

The passage asserts that love is a form of knowledge and we truly know by becoming one therewith.

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Love Of Neighbourethics

Active compassionate care for others as a central spiritual obligation or expression of divine love.

The text explicitly suggests an 'earnest, compassionate search into the hearts of others' as a direction for freedom.

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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 passage centrally describes 'meditative brooding' and 'earnest, compassionate search' as core practices.

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Mystical Unionsoteriology

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

The text emphasizes becoming one with what is beyond personal borders and the wisdom that transcends the mind.

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