Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Book III · 34 of 55 · tr. Charles Johnston

Sutra 34

By perfectly concentrated Meditation on the heart, the interior being, comes the knowledge of consciousness. The heart here seems to mean, as it so often. does in the Upanishads, the interior, spiritual nature, the consciousness of the spiritual man, which is related to the heart, and to the wisdom of the heart. By steadily seeking after, and finding, the consciousness of the spiritual man, by coming to consciousness as the spiritual man, a perfect knowledge of consciousness will be attained. For the consciousness of the spiritual man has this divine quality: while being and remaining a truly individual consciousness, it at the same time flows over, as it were, and blends with the Divine Consciousness above and about it, the consciousness of the great Companions; and by showing itself to be one with the Divine Consciousness, it reveals the nature of all consciousness, the secret that all consciousness is One and Divine.

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Themes

Cosmic Consciousnessanthropology

A state of awareness transcending ordinary human consciousness, often involving unity with the universe or higher dimensions.

The passage describes a divine quality where consciousness flows over and blends with the Divine Consciousness above and about it.

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Kingdom Withinanthropology

The claim that the divine realm is present inside the individual, accessible without external mediation.

The passage emphasizes that the knowledge of consciousness comes from the 'interior being' and the 'heart', locating the divine realm inside the individual.

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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 'perfectly concentrated Meditation on the heart' as the method for attaining knowledge of consciousness.

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Mystical Unionsoteriology

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

The text describes the consciousness flowing over and blending with the Divine Consciousness above and about it.

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Self Knowledgesoteriology

The recognition of one's own true divine nature as the primary path to liberation; 'know thyself' as soteriology.

The passage states that by coming to consciousness as the spiritual man reveals the nature of all consciousness.

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Unity Of Beingtheology

The doctrine that all existence is ultimately one substance or one divine reality; non-duality as a theological claim.

The text asserts that all consciousness is One and Divine, revealing a non-dual reality.

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