Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Book IV · 29 of 34 · tr. Charles Johnston
Sutra 29
He who, after he has attained, is wholly free from self, reaches the essence of all that can be known, gathered together like a cloud. This is the true spiritual consciousness. It has been said that, at the beginning of the way, we must kill out ambition, the great curse, the giant weed which grows as strongly in the heart of the devoted disciple as in the man of desire. The remedy is sacrifice of self, obedience, humility; that purity of heart which gives the vision of God. Thereafter, he who has attained is wrapt about with the essence of all that can be known, as with a cloud; he has that perfect illumination which is the true spiritual consciousness. Through obedience to the will of God, he comes into oneness of being with God; he is initiated into God's view of the universe, seeing all life as God sees it.
§ Ask Guru about this passage →Themes
Cosmic Consciousnessanthropology
A state of awareness transcending ordinary human consciousness, often involving unity with the universe or higher dimensions.
The liberated sage is described as having a vision of God's view of the universe and seeing all life as God sees it.
All passages →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 explicitly identifies the remedy for ambition as sacrifice of self and obedience, aligning with radical letting-go of will and grasping.
All passages →Gnosis Direct Knowledgesoteriology
Salvation through direct experiential knowledge of the divine nature, not through faith, ritual, or moral works alone.
The passage defines the true spiritual consciousness as reaching the essence of all that can be known through direct vision.
All passages →Mystical Unionsoteriology
The merging of the individual soul or self with the divine, transcending personal identity.
The text describes the sage coming into oneness of being with God and seeing all life as God sees it.
All passages →Ritual Puritypraxis
The maintenance of a state of cleanliness—physical, moral, or spiritual—required for encounter with the divine.
Purity of heart is listed as a prerequisite for attaining the vision of God.
All passages →Related passages · 9 parallels
christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 5, Section 1a
“131 CHAPTER V Concerning ” Existence “ and also concerning ” Exemplars .” I.
Now must we proceed to the Name of “Being” which is truly applied by the Divine Science to Him that truly Is.
But this much we must say, that it is not the purpo…”
Shared concept: Mystical Union — The merging of the individual soul or self with the divine, transcending personal identity. (derived)
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 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)
theosophy|The Secret Doctrine|Page 19 (part 2)
“Without doubt, this one-sided mode of dealing with the problem is due largely to the pernicious Western practice of subordinating consciousness, or regarding it as a "by-product" of molecular motion.
[[Vol.
1, Page]] 328 THE SECRET DOCTRI…”
Shared concept: Cosmic Consciousness — A state of awareness transcending ordinary human consciousness, often involving unity with the universe or higher dimensions. (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)
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)
neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 67
“Section 6 6. For, as the ancient teaching was, moral-discipline and courage and every virtue, not even excepting Wisdom itself, all is purification. Hence the Mysteries with good reason adumbrate the immersion of the unpurified in filth, ev…”
Shared concept: Ritual Purity — The maintenance of a state of cleanliness—physical, moral, or spiritual—required for encounter with the divine. (derived)
western_esoteric|The Book of Ceremonial Magic (A.E. Waite)|Page 38 (part 1)
“Click to view DEVIL FROM HEARNE'S PRINT OF THE "DESCENT INTO HELL." Engraved by Michael Burghers , c.
1676.
CHAPTER I The Preparation of the Operator § 1.
Concerning the Love of God THE rites of so-called Transcendental Magic are, ex hyp…”
Shared concept: Ritual Purity — The maintenance of a state of cleanliness—physical, moral, or spiritual—required for encounter with the divine. (derived)