वीतरागविषयम् वा चित्तम् ॥३७॥
पदविभाग: वीतराग-विषयम्, वा, चित्तम्। (Note: वीतरागविषयम् is a nested compound word. First, वीत (gone/freed from) + राग (attachment) = वीतराग (A person whose attachment has vanished). Next, वीतरागः + विषयः (object of focus) + यस्य (whose) = वीतरागविषयम् (A mind whose object of focus is the passionless one)
अन्वय: वा वीतरागविषयम् चित्तम् ।
प्रतिपदार्थ: वीतराग = one who is completely free from attachment and passion, विषयम् = having as its object of concentration, वा = or, चित्तम् = the mind.
तात्पर्यम्: Or, the mind (attains steadiness) when its object of concentration is a dispassionate heart.
Further context on the 37th Sutra from Patanjali’s Yogasutras
The mind takes the shape of whatever it dwells upon. If you constantly think about people who have wronged you, your mind becomes jagged and hostile. If you focus on your anxieties, your mind becomes turbulent.
Hence Patanjali asks us to meditate on Vītarāga, who can be a sage, a saint, or a master who has conquered their desires and achieved perfect equanimity. By thinking of them, your mind begins to mirror their nature until the body develops it innately.
Who is a Vītarāga? Rāga is the sticky pull of desire and attachment. A Vītarāga is someone who is free from this prakrittic raga.
- This could be a historical figure like Rama, Krushna, Buddha, or Mahavir.
- It could be a living Guru whose presence exudes absolute peace.
- It could even be an idealized sage
- It could be a future YOU
It’s one of the mechanisms to calm the agitated mind (Chitta-vikshepa). If one cannot arrive at Samadhi by this method, Patanjali offers another in the next verse.
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