तत्र निरतिशयं सर्वज्ञबीजम् ॥ २५॥
पदविभाग: तत्र, निरतिशयम्, सर्वज्ञ-बीजम्।
अन्वय: तत्र (ईश्वरे) निरतिशयम् सर्वज्ञबीजम् (भवति)।
प्रतिपदार्थ: तत्र = In Him (Ishvara), निरतिशयम् = unsurpassed / beyond which there is no higher limit / infinite, सर्वज्ञ = of omniscience / all-knowingness, बीजम् = the seed. (भवति) = (is).
तात्पर्यम्: In Him (Ishvara), that all-knowingness becomes infinite / reaches its highest limit which in others is only a seed.
Further context on the 25th Sutra from Patanjali’s Yogasutras
Swami Vivekananda explains this concept beautifully. He asks us to think of limited space. The very act of conceiving a limit immediately gives us access to the idea of unlimited space. Similarly, when we think of a single second, our perception of that limited time gives us access to the perception of unlimited time.
It is the exact same with knowledge. The mere existence of a little knowledge opens the portal to infinite knowledge. This access to the infinite potential within all of us is exactly what is referred to as सर्वज्ञबीजम् (sarvajñabījam), or the seed of omniscience. This is also a primary reason why God is so often described as an all knowing entity.
If we look at everyday human knowledge, we can always imagine someone who knows a little bit more than we do. There is always a sense of “more.” However, logic dictates that there must be an absolute upper bound. There must be a final point where you cannot possibly know more than the sum total of all existence. Patanjali defines Ishvara as that absolute ceiling. For yogis, this state of unlimited knowledge is exactly what they call God.
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