Transition to 1.17

Ramakrishna Paramahamsa in samadhi

With Sutra 1.17 Patanjali begins to explain a more esoteric phase of yoga. It deals with making the ultimate connection with the Source, or with God, no matter how you perceive the Divine Spirit known as samadhi in yoga. Let’s review what needs to happen before we can connect to the Ultimate. As ego-driven beings buffeted by our own desires, fears, hopes, ambitions, and uncertainties we need to find an anchor to latch on to. This anchor is right within us; it is the soul or the energy of Ultimate Reality that animates our being. Ramakrishna Paramhansa, a modern mystic from India describes it well, “The fabled musk deer searches the world over for the source of the scent which comes from itself.”