Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Book IV · 31 of 34 · tr. Charles Johnston

Sutra 31

When all veils are rent, all stains washed away, his knowledge becomes infinite; little remains for him to know. The first veil is the delusion that thy soul is in some permanent way separate from the great Soul, the divine Eternal. When that veil is rent, thou shalt discern thy oneness with everlasting Life. The second veil is the delusion of enduring separateness from thy other selves, whereas in truth the soul that is in them is one with the soul that is in thee. The world's sin and shame are thy sin and shame: its joy also. These veils rent, thou shalt enter into knowledge of divine things and human things. Little will remain unknown to thee.

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Themes

Cosmic Sympathycosmology

The Stoic and Plotinian doctrine that all parts of the cosmos are bound by hidden affinities, so that a movement in one part resonates through the whole; the metaphysical basis for astrology, magic, and divination.

The text states that 'the world's sin and shame are thy sin and shame: its joy also,' indicating a deep connection between the individual and the cosmos.

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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 explicitly describes a state where 'little remains for him to know' and knowledge becomes infinite through the removal of veils.

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Mystical Unionsoteriology

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

The passage describes the state where 'thou shalt discern thy oneness with everlasting Life' and all veils are rent.

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Opposites Transcendedanthropology

The dissolution of binary oppositions (male/female, inner/outer, above/below) as a mark of spiritual completion.

The removal of veils allows for the knowledge that 'little remains unknown to thee,' dissolving the binary oppositions of sin/joy and self/world.

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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.

Reassigned from paradox_as_teaching

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