विशोका वा ज्योतिष्मती ॥३६॥
पदविभाग: विशोका, वा, ज्योतिष्मती।
अन्वय: वा विशोका ज्योतिष्मती
प्रतिपदार्थ: विशोका = sorrowless / completely free from grief (वि = without, शोका = sorrow), वा = or (another alternative method), ज्योतिष्मती = luminous / radiant / full of light (ज्योतिस् = light, मती = possessing).
तात्पर्यम्: Or, (the mind attains steadiness when) we meditate on the fact that we are the efflugent one without any sorrow
Further context on the 36th Sutra from Patanjali’s Yogasutras
According to Sage Vyasa’s classical commentary, this sutra refers to a specific meditation on the heart center, known as the Hridaya Padma, or the lotus of the heart. In yogic anatomy, the heart serves as the central seat of the mind and the ultimate reflecting pool of the soul, the Purusha.
When a practitioner withdraws their attention from the chaotic external world and focuses it intensely on the center of the chest, they are instructed to visualize a brilliant, steady, smokeless flame or an expanse of pure, radiant light.
Swami Vivekananda asks us to visualize the Hridaya Padma with its petals facing downward, with the chord of the Sushumna flowing through its center. When we take a deep breath, and as we begin to exhale, he instructs us to imagine the lotus turning upwards and its petals fully blossoming. Inside this blossoming center rests an effulgent light, and it is upon this radiant light that we are supposed to meditate.
If through our continuous practice we can reach this state of sorrowlessness, that alone fulfills the ultimate goal of Yoga. But to achieve this, we must first realize that the material world is inherently tied to दुःख (dukha), or suffering. It is only the unbound, unblemished force of the Purusha that can offer true bliss.
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