EAST AND WEST

QUARTERLY PUBLISHED BY THE

ISTITUTO ITALIANO PER IL MEDIO ED ESTREMO ORIENTE
UNDER THE AUSPICES AND WITH THE GRANT OF THE
CONSIGLIO NAZIONALE DELLE RICERCHE
Editor: GIUSEPPE TUCCI
Co-editors: DOMENICO FACCENNA - LIONELLO LANCIOTTI - MAURIZIO TADDEI
IsM EO
New Series, Vol. 19 Nos. 1 2 (March -June 1969)
CONTENTS
A-. BRITT TILIA, Reconstruction of the Parapet on the Terrace Wall at Persepolis,
South and West of Palace H 9
GIORGIO STACUL, Excavation near Ghaligai (1968) and Chronological Sequence of Proto-
historical Cultures in the Swat Valley (W. Pakistan) 44
GIORGIO STACUL, Discovery of Protohistoric Cemeteries in the Chitral Walley {W.
Pakistan) 92
CHARA SILVI ANTONINI, Swat and Central Asia 100
G. S. P. MISRA, Monastic and Civil Architecture in the Age of the Vinaya 1 1 6
S. SETTAR, A Buddhist Vihara a t Aiho!e . 126
SIEGBERT HuMMEL, The sMe-ba-dgu, the Magic Square of the Tibetans 139
AGELO M. PIEMONTESE, An Italian Source for the History of Qagar Persia: the
Rep'rts of the General Enrico Andreini (1871-1886) 147
SERGIU AL-GEORGE, Sign (Lakata) and Propositional Logic in Patini. 176
CORRADO PNSA, On the Purification Concept in Indian Tradition, with Special Regard
to Yoga 194
SANDRA MARINA CARLETTI, PETER FINGESTEN, GusTAV GLAESSER, LIONELLO LANCIOT-
TI, MAs SIMO ScALIGERO, MAuRIZIO TADDEI, GmsEPPE Tucc1, Book Reviews 229
Publications of IsMEO 272
On the Purifcation Concept in Indian Tradition,
with Special Re
g
ard to Yo
g
a
1 - Introduction
The more or less explicit affirmation that there is an extremely close relationship
between the concepts of purification, knowledge and power and, similarly, the conception
of a series of "powers" deriving from the various ascetic or religious practices and reali
zable both in action and knowledge, find a particlarly full and detailed formulation in
India in the schools of Yoga and Buddhism, to cite two examples of immediate evidence.
Sufce it to say, with regard to the specific question of the powers, that one of the four
books composing Patafjali's Yogasutras is entirely devoted to the study of the powers
( vibhutis) or perfections ( siddhis), or that, in the field of Buddhism for example, two long
chapters in Buddhaghosa's Visuddhimagga C) are given up to abhiiia ( abhijia in Sanskrit),
a word that has been variously translated as "higher", "direct" or "intuitive sciences (or
know ledges)".
Now to our mind the interest to be roused by an examination of these subjects, which
have perhaps not up til now received the attention they deserve, is both general and par
ticlar. Particular in so much as it permits a better general understanding of certain doc
trines, e.g. Yoga, general in that it seems to us that such an examination may well indi
cate an important aspect of continuity and unity in India's practical and speculative tradi
tion-even i, as it has rightly been written, continuity does not mean identity C) - and
{*) A large part of the present article has been
already published in Italan under the title Inter
dipendenza di purificazione, conoscenza e potere
nello Yoga in rapporto alia continuita della tra
dizione indiana , AIUON, N.S. XIX, 1 969, pp.
217-260. Here, besides minor modifications, a
new chapter, "Purity and Ritual", has been added.
- The following abbreviations have been used:
AK = Abhidharmakosa by V ASUBANHU, transl.
by L. de La Vallee Poussin, 6 vols. , Paris, 1923-
1 931 ; MP * Matipoabha by RaMaNANDA SARASVA
TI, transl. by J. H. Woods, ]AOS, XIV, 1915,
pp. 1-1 14; R = Rajamartatia by BHOJA, ed. by
Vidyabhushana and Vidyaratna, Calcutta, 19363;
SPbh = Safkhyapravacanabhaya by VIJNiNA
BHIKu, ed. by R. Garb, Harvard, 1895; Siddhi =
Viifaptimatrata, La Siddhi de Hiuan-Tsang, transl.
by L. de La Vallee Poussin, 2 vols . , Paris, 1928;
Sss = Sirafgamasamadhisitra, L Concentration
194
de la marche hero'que, transl. by E. Lamotte, MCB,
XIII, Brelles, 1965; TV = Tattvavaisaradi, by
VacASPATIMISRA, ed. by J. Vidyasagara, Calcutta,
19408; Vkn = Vimalakirtinirdesa, L'Enseignement
de Vimalakirti, transl. by E. Lamotte, Louvain,
1962; Ybh = Yogabhana by VYasA, ed. by J.
Vidyasagara, Calcutta, 19408; YS = Yogasitra by
PATAJALI, ed. by J. Vidyasagara, Calcutta, 19403;
YSS = Yogasarasafgraha, by VIJNiNABHIKU,
Madas, 1933.
(1) Se infra, pp. 23 f.
(2) J. GoNDA, Change and Continuity i n Indian
Religion, The Hague, 1965, p. 17: Whereas the
contrast between the Vedc yajfa and the Hindu
pija has, in the West, been often commented
upon, the similarity and continuity of the ideas
underlying both rituals have not rarely been dis
regarded. Indian traditionalists on the other hand
failed to recognize that continuity is no identity,
can hence to some extent support the theory of a substantial continuity in Indian "religion".
At this point we should like to refer to two important studies by J. Gonda C), both
concerned with noting various expressions of this continuity, not only on the basis of a
textual and lnguistic study, but aso by means of numerous references to the history of
religions and anthropology. The "continuative" thesis, as it might be called, supported
by the various essays whih make up the two works, seems particularly explicit in two
passages, one of which we would like to quote in full: And it must be added that also
from an objective point of view there are many arguments for the thesis that the Indian
clture which is expressed and reflected by the uninterrupted literary production from the
gveda onward is an unmistakable continuum which while transforming and rejuvenating
itself has always been subject to processes of adaptation and assimilation, that-to express
myself otherise - there is in many respect. no occasion whatever to deny that Hinduist
traits have developed from Vedic beginnings: e.g. the respect for and the sanctity of the
cow, the magic power" attributed to an appeal to truth which appearing already in the
gveda underlies later conceptions of the powe! of truth, including Gandhi's theory about
satyagraha, the eager desire to be freed from the impending dangers of death and other
worldly ils, a desire already before the early Upaniads known to Vedic man (4).
Gonda reached these conclusions after a series of special studies. In the present con
text we are particularly interested in those contained in The Vision of the V edic Poets,
where the Author, starting from a discssion of dhzf or "vision" in Vedism, ends by
touching on subjects such as dhyana or concentration-meditation (always considered, and
not only in Yoga contexts, as a primary source of knowledge and power), pratibha C)
or higher intuition (in Yoga, part of the vibhitis, or powers), divyacakuf, "divine eye"
in Buddhism, constantly listed among the abhijnas, higher knowledge-powers; and, what is
most important, demonstrates the numerous affinities between these subjects without how
ever associating himself with the traditional tendencies which, taking the continuity-unity
of Indian tradition for granted, on the one hand recur only in part to the scientific criteria
on which Gonda's work is based and on the other end by taking continuity to mean iden
tity and staticity (6).
To return to the question of dhzf C, we attribute particular interest to the fact that J.
Gonda, with logical reasoning in close adherence to the texts, is against both the "secular"
that is to say that culture elements which are
preserved are nevertheless subject to change and
transformation .
{3) The Vision of the Vedic Poets, The Hague,
1963; Change ... , cit.
(4
) GoNA, Change . . . , cit., p. 15.
{5) Or pratibham, the form preferred by Yoga
texts.
(6) No less tenacious, on the other hand, are
the positions against the admission of continuity,
even at times within a single system. See for
example F. SIERKSMA, Tibet's Terrifying Deities,
195
Rutland and Tokyo, 1966, p. 43 : the Mahayana
- not to mention the later Vajrayana - should
be regarded as a wholesale perversion of the
Doctrine . But against, see D. L. SNLLGROVE,
Buddhist Himalaya, Oxford, 1957, p. 258: "it is
totally misleading. . . to explain away the Mahiyana
as a degeneration for which popular notions were
responsible".
(7) See the essay Dhl in the gveda, in The
Vision . .. , cit., pp. 68-169 and the general intro
duction, ibid., pp. 7-67.
or purely literary interpretation offered by Renou ("don poetique", "parole", "po
me") (
8
), the theistic and devotional one sustained by Geldner, who frequently translates
the term as "Gebet" ('), and finally the generic translation "'thought" and the like.
Gonda, on the contrary, while allowing that these different versions reflect by no means
unimportant properties of the term C0 ), nevertheless reaches the conclusion that the original
meaning of dhzf is that of an exceptional and supranormal faculty, proper to "seers", of
"seeing" in the mind things, causes, connections as they really are, the faculty of acquiring
a sudden knowledge of the truth, of the functions and influence of divine powers (p. 68 ).
In the course of the essay the characteri stics of the Vedic "'vision" are then exam
ined; these characteristics, in our opinion, point to a vast correspondence of meaning not
only between the dhif and closely connected subjects of later periods - such as dhyana,
pratibha, etc. - but also with the entire conception - implicit in Yoga and Buddhism
- of purification-knowledge-power as mutually interacting factors of a unitary structure.
Thus, thanks to Gonda's interpretation, certain readings of the Veda are completely
revolutionized, with the important result of shortening the distance from the successive spec
ulation considerably. Consequently, for example, from RV 8,3,18, ime hi te karavo vava
sur dhiya vipraso medhasataye , Gonda infers that the vipraf are stated to aspire by means
of dhif to medha, "wisdom", whereas Geldner' s translation rings in quite a different, "se
cular" manner: denn diese deine Dichter, die Redegewaltigen, verlangen mit ihrer Dich
tung die Meisterschaft zu gewinnen (p. 104) . Hence the "visions" also appear as a means
to achieve a general state different from the ordinary one, medha, for which the interpre
tation "wisdom" or even "supranormal insight and understanding" is proposed (p. 127).
The dhif does not in fact represent an isolated, casual, unrepeatable event; on the contrary,
it appears to be part of a veritable technique, since it was left to the seer to foster,
develop, cultivate the dhif which he had acquired (p. 106 ), translating it, eventually, into
a hymn able to influence the gods or to render the sacrifice particularly efcacious. In
any case, a means that may be refined and cultivated. Moreover, while the dhiyaf are
themselves considered a source of purification (p. 106), they cannot on the other hand be
obtained without a certain degree of purification.
The dhif or "vision" is closely associated with the rite: it either strengthens it, is by
it engendered or merely strengthened, or, in one with it, aims at achieving a special goal.
The sacrificial matter, soma, is the "lord of the vision": both because it favours the vision
and because it acts as agent between the vision and the cosmic and ritual truth, rta (pp. 69,
73-6, 119); on the other hand the "vision", translated into words, "impregnates" the soma
and increases its specific potency. The dhzf is thus not only "vision" but also power. In
(8) Ibid. , p. 12, where we also read: Here
the risk is not imaginary of overestimating the
element of 'poetry' and of viewing this concept
through modern or at least traditionaly European
spetacles, and to overlook the decidedly religious
and psychological elements of the idea expressed
by the term under examination (our italics) .
196
(') Ibid., p. 80 and passim.
(1) In fact, for example, i the r# originally
"sees" through the dhiya, it is also true that
immediately -afterwards he can "translate" the
vision into a hymn or prayer (op. cit., p. 69 and
passim) .
fact it implies vaja, a general term for the specific power substance of the generative
potency (p. 150); the "vision", received, elaborated and recited i the correct manner, con
fers the vaja (p. 152) and makes it possible to achieve precise efects either on the level
of material goods, the defeat of poverty etc. (p. 147) or on a more general level, since
ony by obtaining the dhi the ri is able to execute his religiously and socially im
portant task (p. 71 ). In this context the gods appear more than ever as "powers" in
varying degree '"internal' to the r#, in the sense that they are included in the sphere of his
action not only due to their influence over it but also to the fact that they are dependent
upon it; for this reason it is said that human dhiya have the power of inciting the gods
(p. 156).
* * *
This series of Gonda's observations and conclusions seems important to us for two
reasons: because they have caught some of the most vital aspects of Vedism and because
these aspects, apart from shedding light upon the meaning of the Vedic religion, are reveal
ed as being able to promote better understandmg of the successive tradition, proving to be
its logical predecessor and so confirming the thesis of a substantial continuity connecting the
various stages of Indian "religion". In this connexion, we would like to call to mind our
previous considerations, that is, that in our opinion the correspondence between Vedism and
post-Vedism may be. extended also to the entire purification-knowledge-power pattern which
is particularly evident in Yoga, Buddhism and Tantrism.
2 - The Powers in Yoga: Modern Historical and Critical Literature and Textual Literature.
It is our impression that the question of the "powers" in Yoga and Buddhism in par
ticlar has not infrequently been taken into consideration in a biased, oversimple or at any
rate excessively summary fashion up ti now, whereas it seems to us that there are abundant
reasons for considering the powers problem extremely complex. It may be useful in this
connexion to remember how very active the prejudice to this efect was and how harmful
its consequences in a not too distant past. Sufce it to think of Pischel -to mention only
a few blatant examples - who, regardless ot the contrast with the texts, excluded the
possibility that a "great rationalist" like Buddha could have had anything to do with out
of the ordinary faculties; or of Das Gupta, amazed at what he termed the "groundless
fantasies" of de La Vallee Poussin, who had, in fact, limited himself to dealing with the
subject with his usual philological learning (
11
). The prejudice was thus such as to silence
the texts, so to speak. It should be noted that acknowledgement of precise textual ref
erences to the powers would have added little to the solution of the problem of their actual
(1
1)
C
f. for all the above mentioned L. DE LA
VALLE PoussrN, L Bouddha et les Abhijfa ,
197
Le Museon, XLIV, 1931 , pp. 335-342.
existence, a problem on which the historian or philologist cannot have the last word C
2
).
The historical and philological sciences can however verify the presence and evaluate te
weight and value of certain beliefs, aspirations, doctrines, within the framework of a given
tradition. Now the aforesaid prejudice was actually directed against such a preliminary
verification, having arbitrarily established a priori the exclusively "rationalist" or "idealist"
nature of this or that Indian doctrine and hence its incompatibility with anything that did
not fit into these categories. Today, things have certainly changed but often only in part.
On the basis of his extremely vast knowledge a great contemporary scholar such as P. V.
Kane refuses, in contrast with many others, to deny the importance of the powers in Yoga;
at the same time however, he expresses his regret for this: From the fact that with
most yogins the siddhis are an important part of the yoga doctrines and the fact that,
out of 195 sitras of the Yogasitras, 35 (Ill, 16-50) are devoted to the description of
siddhis, the present author is costrained to say that siddhis are an integral part of yoga C
3).
Hence although the prejudice has disappeared, an equally gratuitous evaluation remains im
plicit.
On the other hand, Kane's acknowledgement that the siddhis are an integral part of
Yoga is a considerable step forward that leaves the author practically isolated. In fact
Oberhammer's statement to the contrar, according to which Patafjali gives no importance
to the siddhis, der Yoga des Patafjali inen keine Bedeutung beimisst C4), is quite
recent. We shall return to this subject later. In the meantime we should like to draw
attention to the confusion reigning on this subject: in reality, if the siddhis are an integral
part of Yoga, is it probable that Patafjali should ignore them? It should also be noted
that the most widespread opinion in this matter is generally identical, or at any rate ver
similar, to that of Oberhammer. It would take too long and would after all be superfluous
to dwell on a list of the various authors that have in some way dealt with the subject.
Radhakrishnan's position seems to us to be characteristic of a certain type of approach
to the question and may thus serve as a general example. On the whole, Radhakrish
nan C
5
), and with him several others dealing either generally with Indian philosophy or
in particular with Yoga (with the exception however of Kane and others to be discussed
below), maintain that the siddhis, far from incarnating an essential quality of Yoga, are
rather a secondar by-product, capable only of producing harmful efects with regard to
the yogin's interor progress; in a word, a magical residue in complete dissonance with
Yoga's most authentic foundations. A no better identified spirit of accomodation is
(
1
2
) But he can make an important contribu
tion within the context of an interdisciplinary
approach to the subj ect, increasingly to be desired.
As R. GonEL writes in his s timulating work Essais
sur !'experience liberatrice, Paris, 1952, p. 31 :
Un grand et perseverant labeur est requis des
equipes a venir. Ces groupes devront assoier,
autour d'un programe commun, des psychologues,
des biologistes, des historiens des religions, des
physiciens et mathematiciens, des philosophes sans
198
prejuges .
(1
3 ) P. V. KNE, History of Dharmasistra,
Poona, 1962, V, part II, pp. 1451-52; our italics.
(1
4) G. 0BERMMER, Meditation und Mistik
im Yoga des Patafj aH , Wiener Zeitschrift fur die
Kunde Sud und Ostasiens und Archiv fur indische
Philosophie, IX, 1965, p. 102.
(
1
5) S. RHAKRISHAN, Indian Philosophy,
London-ew York, 1 956, II, p. 366-8.
held responsible for the miscellaneous character of the Yoga system, which exhibits a
medley of low naturalism and high idealism ; in other words, the popular cult of magic
is mixed up with the religious scheme of salvation in the Yoga .
Now it is immediately apparent that the siddhis are not and cannot be the utimate
goal of Yoga: any opinion to the contrary would dash with the unanimous agreement of
the texts on the subject. The subordinate nature of some of them is thus equally apparent,
as is the resulting danger of a standstill or at any rate distraction. In all this, then, Radha
krishnan is a faithful echo of the texts. But - and this is the point - the texts have
much else to say on the siddhis. In other words, the first criticism we feel we have to
make against a certain current opinion on the question is that of only partial use of the
texts, which on the contrary ofer a far more complex, variegated and at times ambivalent
view of the powers, a view for which the oversimple and unilateral formula now prevail
ing is thus quite inadequate. As examples of positive evaluations of the powers alongside
the negative ones, it is sufcient to quote Ybh III, 55, where it is stated that the powers
are a suitable means for the purification of the sattva - sattvasuddhidvirera etat sami
dhijam aisvaryam - or Ybh III, 33, which points to the "'saving" ( tirakam) faculty of
intuition or pritibha, in the sense, TV explains, that it sets one free from the birth and death
cycle ( sarsirit tirayati ); or even MP, when he affirms that certain siddhis contribute direct
ly to the achievement of kaivalya or "isolation", Yoga's ultimate goal, and that others con
tribute to it indirectlyby deepening the yogin's faith C
6)
. We shall return to all this shortly:
for the time being we shall content ourselves with having noted a number of quotations
which should sufce to warn against a rigidly stereotype conception of the doctrine of the
powers: bearing them in mind but assigning them a secondary function, as sometimes occurs,
seems questionable. One of the principal grounds for the thesis devaluing the siddhis is
drawn by most scholars from YS III, 37: these are impediments to ecstasy, perfections
in the ordinary experience ( te samidhav upasargi vyutthine siddhaya} ) , a sutra that
is normally intended as a total condemnation of the siddhis C7). Yet we feel that we cannot
(
1
6
)
S. N. DASGUPTA, The Study of Pataijali,
Calcutta, 1 920, p. 16, feels it worth emphasizing
at least this final aspect: These vibhitis as they
rise wi-th the performance o the processes of Yoga
gradually deepen the faith, sraddha, of the yogin in
the peformance of his deeds and thus help his
main goal or ideal by always pushing or drawing
him forwards and forwards towards it by the
more and more strengtheni1g of his faith. Divested
from the ideal they have no value of any im
portance .
(17} Apart from RnHAKRISHNAN, op. cit. , p.
367, whose comment on YS Ill, 37, is very
dry: the siddhis are by-products of the higher
Hfe. . . only through the disregard of those per
fections can freedom be gained , we should
like to quote the deductions of P. 0LTRA
ME, which are not, in our opinion, in prfect
199
agreement with the texts taken as a whole: les
'perfections ne realisent le but de l'ame que
pour un homme qui, par la j ouissance d'objets
exterieurs, a perdu pied cans sa meditation et dont
la pensee istable est tomnee vers le dehors. C
sont en efet, dit le sutra Ill, 37 des obstacles . .. ;
or J. W. HAURs deductions, also questionable
in our view when YS, Ill, 37 is evaluated in
the light of all the other textual stateents con
cerning the siddhis: sie [the siddhis] hindern,
wen der Y ogin diese Erreichnisse pflegt, die 'Ein
faltung und dadurch die Tiefenerkenntnis, die das
eigentliche Ziel der Yoga ist (Der Yoga. Ein
Indischer Weg zum Selbst, Stuttgart, 1958, p. 332).
In reality it is not uderstood how such drastic
interpretations may he reconciled with the various
positive potentialities attributed to the siddhis by
the texts, as has been metioned above. The
omit a certain number of reservations on su.ch an evaluation. Above all it should be noted
that Pataijali's affirmation does not refer to the "perfections" or powers in general, but
rather to the group of siddhis that are the subject of the immediately preceding sutra (III,
36 ), viz. the five "subtle" or supranormal senses, plus pritibha or intuition. On this point
comments are explicit and unanimous C
8
). It is strange, in this connexion, that in spite
of its undoubted importance, this is so seldom made dear by Yoga scholars C'). It could
also be observed that had Pataijali intended giving the sutra in question a general scope it
would have been more logical to place it at the beginning or end of Book III of the YS,
devoted to the vibhutis, not half-way through, where even in the absurd hypothesis that
one should not wish to give credit to the commentators, the pronoun te, "these", can cer
tainly not refer to the vibhutis that have not yet been described. There is moreover a
substantial objection to be made, in our opinion. The sutra declares that some siddhis are
an obstacle to samidhi. Now in fact this could not be otherwise: samidhi is a state of
intense absorption, of mental continuum, which would inevitably be. disturbed, if not pre
judiced, by interference from an olfactory, visual or auditive etc. sensation even if of an
extra normal character. It goes without saying that in ordinary psychic states ( vyutthane)
on the contrary, such achievements constitute a reward. It seems to us that there can be
no doubt about al this. Pataijali is thus concerned with emphasizing something that is
an important technical problem and no more. In consequence it is difficult to understand
how the sutra can be taken as a definite witness to the negative or at the most ambiguous
nature believed to be proper to the siddhis. This would in any case ring as a sharp con
tradiction to the doctrine of the parikarmas (see below), that is, of real siddhis, which, far
from being obstacles, are considered efective means for obtaining samadhi. From all thrs
we may in consequence conclude that YS III, 37 is no other than a clarification of the efects
of certain particular siddhis in relation to samidhi. Other siddhis, as we have already
mentioned, not only do not impede samidhi but rather help to promote it. On the other
hand, even the fact that a certain number of siddhis are incompatible with samidhi cannot
automatically imply a substantial incompatibility with Yoga. This may be explained by the
fact that even assuming samadhi to have primary importance in Yoga it is still subordinate,
a a means, to the ultimate goal - the final liberation or kaivalya. I, in practice, sami
dhi may sometimes become the end and not the means, this is a deviation from the doctrine
pratibha, for example, becomes such a "Tiefener
kenntnis" that it enables the samsara to be over
come; and if it is true that Yga may disregard
specific vibhutis, it is also tre however that Ra
dhakrishnan's statement that only by disregarding
them may liberation be attained seems in sharp
contrast with the passages of the texts which give
a positive evaluation. Even M. ELIE, Le Yoga,
Immortalite et Liberte, Paris, 1954, p. 102, seems
to attribute a certain amount of importance to YS,
III, 37. Hs general approach to the proble,
however, makes him differ considerably from the
other authors mentioned and leads him to affirm
200
that le yogin se sert des innomhrables siddhi en
vue de recouvrer la Hberte suprme, 1' asamprajfa
tasamadhi, nullement pour obtenir la maitrise -
fragmentaire et provisoire, au demeurant - des
elements.
(
1
8)
Y
h: the pratibhadayal samahitacittasyot
padyamana ; R: te prak pratipadital phala
vi5eas ea ; YSS pp. 55-6.
(19) We have met it, for example, in E. W.
HoPKINS, Yoga Technique in the Great Epic,
JAOS, XII, 1901, p. 344, but it hardly seems
credible that others should not have considered
it worthwhile stressing the point.
for which single individuals are responsible. The texts speak clearly in this connexion: even
samadhi is to be progressively transcended, dhyane samadhim utpadya tad api tyajati
kramat C
0
). Thus the devotee who stops at samadhi falls into an error similar to that
committed by the yogin who stops at the siddhis: both of them have taken a means for an
end. It is no coincidence that Buddhist texts are particularly drastic with those who lin
ger over samadhi (see below). And it is not by chance that samadhi and vibhutis, in
their ordinary quality of instruments, are sometimes to be found placed on the same level:
to be more exact, samahi engenders both a power (aisvarya) and a superior knowledge
( jfana) , both of which contribute towards stripping the mental sattva of its impurity. Fur
thermore, it is the subject of discussion among the various commentators as to whether the
vibhutis should be considered as direct ( sakit) or indirect ( asakat) means in relation to
kaivalya: MP (
2
1
) considers them direct in certain cases, TV C2), generally indirect. At this
point an interesting objection could be made, viz. that an anti-vibhuti attitude is typical of
some important texts, e.g. the ]zvanmuktiviveka, in which YS III, 37 is used to support
the affirmation that the "conscious" type of samadhi, despite its careful description by Pa
tafjali, deserves no attention, associated as it is to the production of siddhis, and is an
obstacle to the "'unconscious" or "undifferentiated" ( nirvikalpa) samadhi that leads to lib
eration C3). We are evidently before an important precedent in the interpretation of YS
III, 37 discussed above: this is the typical Vedantic position on the subject, a position that
is to be found again in Radhakrishnan, whose philosophical reflection is known to proceed
along Vedantic lines. It may however be asked whether it is right from an historical view
point to analyse Yoga in the light of Vedinta. In our opinion there are two facts prevent
ing this possibility. First of all, the declared anti-Yoga in toto (and hence anti-siddhi)
attitude assumed by Vedinta from the very beginning: Sankhara's comment on the Vedan
tasutra conutes at length both Sarkhya and Yoga and repeatedly maintains Yoga's defec
tiveness C4). Secondly, the time gap between the two "systems" cannot be ignored: even if
commentators of the Yoga texts often belong to much later periods, the YS are neverthe
less much earlier than Sankara. The comparison between Yoga and Buddhism, on the
contrary, seems to us to be much more legitimate since it does not come up against the
time gap and, especially, proves to be widely based on numerous convergencies and agree
ments in practice, termiology and concepts (
2
5
).
Thanks also to comparison with the analogous Buddhist term abhijfa, we shall be
able to indicate other defects in the conventional attitude to the siddhis. Before taking up
(
2
0) Mahabharata, XII, 1 96, 20, cited in
HoPKINS, ibid.
(
2
1) Ad YS Ill, 55.
(
22
) Ibid., natyantam ahetaval kaivalye vi
bhutaya, kittu na sak\it .
(
2
3) yadyapi Patafjalina bhautikabhutatanma
trendriyahatkaradivi\ayal satprajfatasavikalpasa
madhayo bahudha prapafcital, tathipi team an
tardhanadisiddhihetutaya muktihetusamadhivirodh-
201
ltvan nasmabhis tatradaral kriyate , ed. by S.
Subrahmanya Shastri and T. R. Srinivasa Ayyangar,
Adyar, Madras, 1 935, p. 97.
(24) Sribhana II, 1 , 2 and 3, where one reads,
for example: na satkhyajfanena vedanirapeke
Ja yogamargeJa va nil\reyasam adhigamyata iti .
(25) Cf. L. DE LA VALLE PoussiN, Le Boud
dhisme et le Yoga de Patafjali , MCB, V,
l
936-
37, pp. 223-242.
this comparison however, we feel we should stress the need to approach phenomena such as
Yoga not so much with a "philosophical" spirit, as is sometimes the case, as with one that
i, philological and historical-religious at the same time. In the field of the powers and
their relation to Yoga there is a fairly typical example to be taken into consideration with
regard to this need.
The well-known YS IV, 1, gives a classification of the various sources and causes of
the siddhis, viz. birth, oadhi, mantra, tapas and samadhi C6). Oadhi, whose most usual
meaning is 'herb", "'medicinal herb" (
2
7 ), is generally translated by "drug" or "intoxicating liq
uor". Modern commentators sometimes appear embarrassed before this point. Radhakri
shnan sees in it an example of the "low naturalism" with which Yoga's "high idealism" is
constrained to coexist by outside pressure; a coexistence which leads to confusion, in his
opinion: narcotic intoxication and ecstatic state are confused by the popular mind

(
28
) .
Oberhammer, after declaring that Patafjali gives no importance to the siddhis, goes on as
follows: und explizite gesagt wird, dass diest! Wunderkrafte unter anderem auch aus dem
Gebrauch von Drogen resultieren konnen (
2
), as much as to say, we seem to gather,
that Patafjali's lack of interest in the powers is implicitly demonstrated by the admission
that the latter can even be produced by drugs. In a book which seems very well docu
mented on other points K. Behanan, in an attempt to rectify the apparent contradiction
between the low magic of drugs and Patafjali's elevated speculation, actually draws from
the texts pronouncements they do not in fact make: My acquaintance with the yogins
has convinced me that they do not use drugs. One of the aphorisms of the Y ogasutras,
admitting that "supernormal experiences may be induced by intoxicating liquors and drugs,
strictly prohibits their use

C0
). But there is no trace of any such prohibition in the YS.
Now in connexion with all this there are two observations to be made, in our opinion.
First, that in parallel Buddhist texts, alongside classifications that are similar or identical
to YS IV, 1, there appears both an indication of a hierarchy among the various sources of
the "'powers" and an illustration of their value. This seems a further argument in favour
of denying the idea of a merely formal and passive acceptance - due to a "spirit of ac
comodation" - of the siddhis doctrine, and in favour of indicating, on the contrary, an
active and conscious attitude, even an experimental one, as one might be tempted to describe
it. For example: la connaissance de la pensee d'autri est bonne, mauvaise, non defi-
(
2
6
)
j
anmauadhimantratapsamidhijiQ sid
dhayaQ . It is cited by H. Hubert and M. Mauss,
among others, as an exhaustive classification also
applicable to other civilizations. Cf. the chapter

L'origine des pouvoirs magiques dans les socittes
australiennes in Melanges d'histoire des religions,
Paris, 1909; It. ed. Le oigini dei poteri magici,
Torino, 1951, repr. 1965, pp. 138-9. It appears
questionable however whether it is legitimate,
from a historial point of view, to abstract and
isolate a sitra both from its particular context,
i.e. the YS, and .ro its general context, i.e. Indian
religion, recurring in this way to an anti-historic
202
comparat1v1sm. Both contexts i fact suggest the
presence of a trans-magic intention, or rather, the
possibility of using such powers for ends differ
ing from those propr to "magic" as commonly
understood and in that sense operating in other
civilizations.
{27) Cf. M. MoNIER WrLLIAMS, A Sanskrit-
English Dictionary, Oxord, 1956, p. 236.
(28)
R
HKISHAN, op. cit. , p. 368.
(
2B
)
0
BERHMMER, op. cit., p. 102.
{30) K. rr. BEHNAN, Yoga, a Scientific Evalua
tion, I ed., 1937, repr. New York, 1959, p. 185.
nie, quand elle est produite par reflexion, tarka, par formules, m antra... Au contraire, pro
duite par bhavana ou dhyana cette connaissance est seulement bone C
1
). Moreover, when
the powers are innate they do not even assume the name abhijna and have an ambivalent
nature ( 32
) . Similarly, in the Mahaprajnaparamitafastra ( 33 ) there is a scale of values for the
various types of nirmata or magic creation: at the first step we find the nirmita produced
by O!adhi, at the fourth and last, the nirmita produced by samadhi C
4
). Apart from this,
a singular lack of interest for the opinion of the commentators of the YS on the subject
h to be found in the moder authors cited above and not only in them. Yet it is our belief
that the formers' unanimous interpretation deserves attention. They in fact agree in ex
plaining the term as a reference to rasayana, i.e. alchemy (B5 ) . As to Raminanda Sara
svati (8
6
), he does not hesitate to attribute the use of O!adhi to a man of Kapila's quality.
Now in this connexion we believe that in his detailed studies on Indian alchemy, with
plentiful textual evidence and the historical-religious opening the need of which we have
already stressed, Eliade (37), after making the alchemy jTantrism symbiosis dear, has demon
strated that rasayana and hence, to abide by the commentators, the use of O!adhi, far from
appearing as a rough form of primitive chemistry, is shown rather to suggest a complex
combination of techniques intended as an aid to salvation (38).
The first conclusion to be drawn from these annotations on the O!ahi is, we feel, a
further invitation to avoid rigid simplification& and to consider on the contrar the greater
probability of a more complex and differentiated panorama. In fact, insistence upon the
antinomy between popular magic on the one hand and philosophy on the other as an expla
nation of the presence of the siddhis in Yoga or the abhijnas in Buddhism is a position
we have seen to be frequently in contrast with the texts considered, as they should be, as
a whole. Naturally this does not imply a denial of Yoga's association to magism in its
strict and rdimentary sense: such an association is often to be encountered, particularly
in Yoga's non classical formulations (B8 ) . But with regard to the classical texts ( both
Yoga and Buddhist) where a richer and more conscious speculation is to be found, things
are not so simple, to our mind. In a word, there are two alternatives: either the siddhis
and abhijnas, with all the considerable importance attributed to them, are merely the reflec
tion of a popular infiltration that has been more or less skilfully rationalized, or else, in
spite of the constant danger of degeneration implied by some of them in particular, they
(a1
)
AK, VII, p. 125.
(a2)
Ibid.
(aa
)
Translation by E. LAMOTTE, Le Traite de
,; Grande Vertu de Sagesse, Louvain, 1944-49,
I. pp. 382-383.
:a) Cf. also S. LINQUIST, Siddhi und Abhiiia,
l?psaa, 1935, p. 25.
,:as)
V
.
Yh, T, and R on YS IV, 1; YSS,
6.
(36) M, on YS IV, 1.
203
(87) ELIAE, L Yoga et l'Alchimie , in
Yoga . . . , cit. , pp. 274-91 and notes pp. 397-401;
In., LAlchimie indienne , in Forgerons et AJchi
mistes, Paris, 1956, pp. 130-44 and note p. 197.
(
3
8) ... il ne s'agit pas la d'une prechimie,
d'une science embryonnaire, mais d'une technique
spirituelle qui tout en operant sur la 'matiere,
cherchait avant tout la 'perfection de !'esprit', la
delivrance et l'autonomie ( Yoga, cit. , p. 280).
(
3
9) Cf., for example, Yoga, cit., pp. 143 f.,
153, 159.
nevertheless appear as an element that has been organically grafted into the rest of the
doctrine and can be in harmony with its ends. That in our opinion the only possible alter
native is the second one is what we have been trying to make clear up to now and we
shall continue to do so in the rest of the article. As to the first alternative, it should be
added that nothing leads us to believe, with Radhakrishnan, that outside pressure at the
time was strong enough to prevent refusal of the "powers". The condemnation of the siddhis
by Vedanta is eloquent in this respect, without considering that, on a more general scale,
the Upaniads rebellion against the Brahmatas' ritualistic sclerosis or the Buddhists' even
more radical rebellion make it difficult to as sign so decisive a role to conformism in the
history of religion in ancient India.
3 - Purification, Knowledge and Power in Yoga
Up till now our discussion has centred round the most widespread op:uuon on the
question of the siddhis. We should now proceed to a more specific textual investigation,
intended both to make the meaning of the "powers" even clearer and to shed some light on
the more general question of the relation between power, knowledge and purification: the
problem of the siddhis being but one particular aspect of a great unitary and energetic
conception in which the physical and the psychical elements are always closely combined
in mutual causality. In this way a negative motion of the psyche is recognized as having
the ineluctable power to create painful reincarnations, a positive one, on the contrary, that
of producing favourable karma, and a duly depurated and transformed psyche will have the
equally ineluctable power of freedom and knowledge. The inadequac of exclusively mystic
conceptions -(40) in explaining all this should be clear. In other words, we feel it is of the
utmost importance to emphasize that among the foundations ofYoga, and not only of Yoga,
may be found the conception of a creative psycho-physical force of which the siddhis are
but specifications. Conversely, to abstract the siddhis from this general dynamic context
and turn them into a special category means understanding Yoga and similar doctrines in
another sense, using a generically philosophical yardstick. It is doubtful, however, in our
opinion, as to whether such a yardstick is completely valid, since this dynamical theory is
implicit in every stage of Yoga. As we read, for example, in Ybh I, 5, the mental activ
ities or functions ( cittavrtti) create corresponding karmic impulses (safskara), whih, in their
turn, create cittavrtti, so that the wheel of mental functions and karmic impulses turns
incessantly (4
1
). The cittavrtti may be "maculate" or '"immaculate", that is, afected to
a greater or lesser extent by "impurities" or klesa: ignorance (avidya), egotism, passion,
(40
) In view of the confusion prevailing in
this subject, M. ELIAE's preface to R. GonEL's
essay, cit., p. 9, note 1, calling attention to the
diference between mysticism and Yoga in its
fullest sense, is very opportune: L'Orient, bien
qu'il n'ignore nullement la mystique et la saintete,
204
a developpe encore une voie qui lui est propre:
cele du jivanmukta. C'est surtout cette methode
idiene, a certains egards tres proche de la mys
tique, mais qui ne se confond pas avec elle. .. .
(41) Vfttisarskaracakram anisam ivartate ,
Ybh, I, 5.
aversion and attachment (42). Of these, avidya is not ony the most important but is also
the root of all the others (43). It is thus a veritable reproductive mechanism that associates
all the various levels, physical, emotional and mental, in a dynamc relation of continual
interaction: Man thinks accordng to his desires, acts in order to fulfill his thoughts
and becomes what he does (44). Buddhism's pratityasamutpada) or conditioned production,
h no other than a further organization of this, the basic law of existence. What should
be emphasized at this point is that the opposition between karma on the one hand and
mukti on the other is, certainly, the pivot of so much of India's practical speculation, but
on condition that the apparent paradox that it is karma that generates liberation is borne
in mind. Tis is the reason why Saqkhya and Yoga often declare that prakrti has a two
fold aim: on the one hand experience ( bhoga ), on the other, emancipation (45). In other
words, it is the law of prakrti that itself leads out of prakrti. In fact, when, thanks to
Yoga, the impurities begin to fade away and a avidya is replaced by its opposite, know
ledge, it happens that the more positively "impregnated" mental activities produce purer
karmic impulses and that these in their turn give rise to a differently orientated mental
activity which will then produce new impulses, and so on. The river of the mind may
flow both in a positive and in a negative direction (46): in the latter case there will be
a pause in the safsira) in the former, a process culminating in the liberation or isolation
( kaivalya) of the soul from the mind and its forces. If it is true that the latter act implies
liberation from the law of karma) it is also true that the factor leading to it is no other
than karma. Changing the mental colouring, making the mental activities "immaculate" by
inverting the more usual course of the safskara) simply means sowing in a different fash
ion but sti in the furrow of the same law, any alteration of which would seem in any
case logically impossible, at least in the light of the YS. What is suggested as being pos
sible is not an alteration but an eventual victory over karma after a difficult journey. With
out such a victory there would be no sense in talking about freedom and absolute inde
pendence as the final result of the yogic mirga. Nevertheless-and here we have a vital
point - if this victory-liberation is to be achieved, it must be "sown" continually in ac
cordance with the iron logic of the basic law: liberation may be achieved only on con
dtion that the mind ( citta ), through adequate depuration, be enabled to produce the neces
sary amount {47) of karmic impulses endowed with the specific quality of giving rise in their
tr to liberation .. See i this connexion Ybh I, 49-50: Now for the yogin who has
attained samidhic knowledge there is a constant production of ever new karmic impulses
arising from that very knowledge. The karmic impulses produced by samidhic knowledg
conflict with the latent stock of impulses generated by ordinary experience and end by
overwhelming them, with a consequent cessation of the ideas produced by the latter.
(42) )S, 11, 3.
( '3) )S, II, 4.
(44) Brhadara1yaa-upania) 4, 4, 5.
(45) Cf., for eaple, YS, IV, 24 and the
:orespondng Yh.
(46) Yh, I, 20.
205
(47) Otherwise othe positive karmic impulse -
e.g. the impulse produced by the mental halt -
may weaken and be overwheled by the safska
ra of ordinary experience: [nirodha]-satskira
mandye vyutthanadatila satskirela nirodha
darmasatskaro 'bhibhiyata iti , Yh, Ill, 10.
(It happens in fact) that the cessation of the flow of ideas is followed by samahi which
is in its turn succeeded by the knowledge produced by samadhi which then creates a stock
of karmic impulses that are incessantly renewed. New knowledge proceeds from these
impulses and in its turn generates new impulses (48 ). It may be observed that this "halt"
or "inhibition" ( nirodha) of the mental activities - the definition of yoga as cittavrttini
rodhaf is well-kown - is, in perfect keeping with the doctrine, accompanied by a creative
potency. In fact inhibition does not mean destruction or negation (4 ) : the nirodha
also presupposes a form of mental initiative, What happens is that as these ( i.e. cittavrtti
and nirodha) are both positive entities, inhibition produces karmic impulses in no less fash
ion than did the mental activities e0 ); thus even a practice based on nirodha will keep
on producing constantly renewed impulses (
51 ) . Naturally however, in view of the orienta
tion of these safskaras and the particular set of purposes with which they are charged
- viz. that of a halt or nirodha - as they grow progressively more and more intense they
end up by turning, paradoxically, against any form of mental activity whatsoever, includ
ing their own. We could say that in the beginning the nirodha is contained in them like
a seed; but with time - we know that instantaneous ripening of the karma is virtually
impossible C2) - it will inevitably ripen and bear frit, i . e. general improductivity. This
mechanism is especialy at the basis of the higher form of samadhi, asartprajfatasamadhi,
the unconscious, undifferentiated, abstract or seedless ( nirbija) samadhi : when even these
karmic impulses ( i . e. those generated by the knowledge deriving from the first type of
samadhi, safprajfata-samadhi) are halted, everything will be halted: and then comes the
moment of the seedless samadhi e3); and the relative Yh: since in fact the impulses
developed by the halt are able to contrast even those proper to the ('seed-bearing' ) sama
dhi C4
). The consequence of all this can be no other than kaivalya or isolation-libera
tion: the mind "'dissolves", is reabsorbed by the prakrti or unmanifested nature and the
purua, entirely free, shines with its own light
.
In short, the coherent and implacable logic
governing the dynamism of the karma, or fundamental psycho-physical energetic law, can lead
to an infinite range of consequences, including the destrction of the karmic stock. It !s
naturaly important to distinguish between karmic law and karmic stock, to avoid the sus
picion of a striking contradiction such as that of a force unexplainably turning against itself.
b reality, the concept of karma is fairly complex and even when simplified to the utmost
will stil include two factors: a force and a law govering that force, vi. the law of
cause and efect, of seed and frit. Now when there is a specific type of seed, the law
.
4
8 ) samadhiprajfapratilambhe yoginaJ praj
fakrtaJ sarskaro navo navo jayate . . . samadhipraj
faprabhavaJ sarskaro vyutthiasarskarisayar
badhate, vyutthanasarskarabhibhavat tatprabhavaJ
pratyaya na bhavanti, pratyayanirode samadhir
upatighate, tataJ samadhij a prajfa, tataJ prajfa
krtaJ sarskara iti navo naval sarskarisayo j ayate,
tataJ prajfa tatas ea sarskara iti .
{4
9
) nirodho na naso' bhavasamanyar va ,
YSS, p. 4.
206
(50) atas ea bhivatvavisead vrttya-iva niro
dhenapi sarskaro j anyate , ibid.
(51 ) asamprajfatayogo h nirodharipo 'pi nava
navasarskaratisayam abhyasaj j anayati , YSS,
p. 20.
( 5 2 ) C. , for example, YS, II, 1 3.
( 5
3
)
tasyapi nirodhe sarvanirodhin nirbij a
samadhih .
( 5 4
) < nirodhajaJ samskaraJ samadhij an sarska
ran badhate .
will in this way always be obliged to produce the corresponding fruit, even if the seed
is the halt of the force in question. The law is thus not contradictor; it would be, on
the contrary, if it showed signs of functioning differently. At this point there naturally
rises a mass of problems on which the texts themselves do not always seem able to shed
much light. In what sense, for example, are we to understand the destruction or "com
bustion" of an energy like that of karma? Whether there is any meaning in affirming the
complete disappearance of an energy, or whether one should suppose, on the contrary, that
it has in some way been sublimated ( but into what? The puru!a is presented as already
perfect and formed ab initio), etc. Everything concerning the concept of liberation is dense
with capital problems which cannot however b: analysed in the present context. Here our
main aim has been that of stressing how the yogic vision is closely woven onto a basic
concept of force or power, operating at all levels. In this context it is clear that know
ledge is power par excellence, both in the sense that it is founded on a power and in the
sense that it produces new power. In other words, the knowing stage is preceded by a
series of safskaras orientated in a certain direction and creates another series of safskaras
whose ripening wil sooner or later generate new knowledge. Knowledge is moreover the
opposite of avidya, the principal impurity and root of al the others, hate, attachment, etc.
As avidya is gradualy replaced by vidya, hate, etc. will also be replaced by their opposites,
through their inevitable linking together by sarskaras. Safskaras of detachment, love,
etc. , in opposition to their corresponding impurities ( attachment, hate}, wil in their turn
enter automatically into conflict with avidya, contributing in this manner to knowledge.
Yoga seeks in this way to give an analytical anJ "scientific" explanation of a "gnostic" atti
tude predomiant in Indian religion, according to which true knowledge has such a totally
transforming effect on the individual as to release him from the safsara. Terms such as
knowledge, purification, samadhi, liberation, are thus all ver closely related and interdepend
ent; but this intimate association and reciprocity could not be had outside the connective
.
tissue represented by the safskaras and their law.
We feel that it would be useful, in this connexion, to consider the course of the yogic
way in greater detail. The fundamental principle of the way is given in YS, II, 28:
yoganganuthanad asuddikaye jfanadiptir a vivekakhyate} , Once impurity has been
destroyed through exercising Yoga's elimbs' there arises an intuitive ilumination that leads
t<J discriminative knowledge . Yh, II, 28 explains how each time the means of realiza
tion proper to Yoga are used, impurity is further decreased and how, in proportion to this
decrease, there is an increase in the luminosity of knowledge. The practice of Yoga is thus
at the same time a "'way of obtaining" in that it procures discriminative knowledge and a
"way of removing" in that it removes impurity, or the group of maculations ( klea) ( 55 ).
Purity ( Suddhatva, vaifaradya) generally stands for purity of the mental sattva ( sattvafuddhi),
( 55
)
team anuthinit paeaparvaJo vipa
ryayasyisuddhirpasya kayo nasa, tatkaye sa
myagjfinasyibhivyaktir, yathi yathi ea sidhaniny
anuthyante, tathi tathi tanutvam asuddhir apa-
207
dyat, yathi yathi ea kiyate, kayakraminurodhini
jfinasyipi diptir vivardhate, sa khalv ei vivrddhi
prakaram anubhavaty i vivekakhyiter gulapuru
asvaripavijfinid ity arth .
even if the yogin' s final step is that of freeing himself from the gutas in their entirety and
hence also from the sattva. It should be remembered at this point that to say gutas means
to say prakrti, nature, and hence satskira and visani, with the obvious distinction between
negative satskiras, to be attributed to tamas and rajas, and positive or sattvic sa1skiras.
A particularly clear definition of purity may be found in Ybh, I, 47 : when free from the
contaminations due to the darkening of impurity, the sattva of the mind appears in an im
mobile and transparent flux, overwhelmed nei ther by rajas nor tamas: this is pecisely what
we call purity. When it arises to crown the nirvicirasamidhi the yogin feels himself per
vaded by an internal calm, a vision consisting in a clear and simultaneous knowledge of
things as they really are (
5
6 ) . A further defintion of purity, founded in this way on mas
tery over the rajas and the tamas, or passions and inertia, could evidently be put as follows :
Purity of the sattva consists in detachment towards what is perceived and experienced (57 ) .
As to discriminative knowledge ( vivekajfina, vivekakhyitil) or '"kowledge of things as
they are" - i . e. the perception of the difference between the soul and nature, including
the mind - this is the expression of purity at its highest level and at the same time the
clmination of the yogic way. A knowing, it should be observed, strictly equivalent to a
being, in the sense that the yogin will know the difference or separation existing between his
own intelligent being ( puru!a) and the rest, prakrti, only on condition he has succeeded in
actually acquiring a separation between the false self and the real self, releasing the latter
from all the false identifications ( i . e. kleia and the mental activity impregnated with them)
that normally keep it
down. The whole process of Yoga, throughout its gradual develop
ment, is essentially a process of separation, which gos to explain the central importance
of terms such as discrimination ( viveka), detachment { vairigya) or kaivalya and viyoga, sepa
ration, the latter being a general definition of Yoga ( 58). This separation is attained in four
stages : separation from the tamas first, secondly from the rajas, thrdy from the sattva,
culminating in an uncontaminated puru!a. The gap between the last two stages is fairly
slight and, to simplify matters, could be described as the gap between a condition of being
that is still "' contaminated" by mental activity and the integral being, pure separation or
kaivalya: the puru!a rests in itself. The latter result can be achieved more swiftly by the
practice of asa1prajfita-samidhi, which has the power of elimiating the karma in a more
rapid and effective manner. In keeping with the mechanism and law mentioned above,
every period of ecstasy - characterized by the individual' s momentary separation from his
ordinary psyche - wil influence and fecunda t the mental complex with an image of sepa
ration and a thrust in its direction; sooner or later, in proportion to the resistance op
posed to the relative sa1skiras by sa1skiras of diferent origin, this separation will finally
be achieved ( kaivalya). It should however be observed that asa1prajfita-samadhi figures
a5 an accelerator of the yogic way, not as an essential instrument. The difference between
(56) asuddhyivaramalapetasya prakasitma
no buddhisattvasya raj astamobhyim anabhibhital
svacchal sthitipravaho vaisiradyaQ, yadi nirvici
rasya samidher vaisaradyam idat j ayate tadi yogino
208
bhavaci adyitmaprasido bhitirthaviaya} kra
minanurodh sphutaprajfiloka} .
(57) sattvasuddhis tu bhuktavairigyam iti .
(
5
8) Cf. HOPKINS , op. cit., p. 338.
the two types of samadhi is that while both lead to the final emancipation, the second
type, asa?prajfata, is more potent, able as it is to destroy even karma that have aleady
ripened (prarabdha) (5' ). In short, it is a difference in time: a' the sa?prajfata-samadhi
does not have this effect, the devotee has to wait until the prarabdhakarma has born all
its fruit (
6
0 ) . Apart from the substantial equivalence of the two types of samahi, it may
be observed that Yoga lays down no hard and fast rule as to the type of means to be used.
The main point is to reach a state of irreversible purity, garanteeing on the one hand the
destruction of the negative karma and on the other a set of intentions, let us say, that are
sufficiently clear and precise to produce the right qualty and quantity of sa?skaras required
for attaining the final goal. These will be sa1tskaras of higer knowledge, i necessary, or
merely of mental halt (nirodha) and thus halt of the sruskaric production itsel. For tlis
motive the texts declare, for example, that even i the 'cloud of virtue' ( dharmamegha)
type of samadhi, culminating i n infinite knowledge and al the rest, has not yet been reached,
both types of liberation still take place when there is complete destruction of the seeds of
rebirth and hence presumption, attachment, aversion, etc
.

(
6
1
)
.
Up till now we have dwelt on the goal of Yoga, which has appeared as clearly dis
tinguished in two stages : ( 1 ) a condition of integral purity founded on a state of separation
implying on the one hand discriminative knowledge, total detachment from the senses and
quasi total detachment from the mind, on the other, a creative power able to fix this state
and direct its ripening towards ( 2) the second stage, or total separation ( kaivalya) of the
purua from the prakrti in its entirety, thus also including the mnd.
Now the means employed by Yoga can have no direct goal other than purity, since
kaivalya is a more or less rapid consequence of sattvasuddhi. A swift glance at the YS
will be sufcient to make it clear that both detachment and the practice ( abhyasa) intended
for the advanced yogin, the first five "limbs" ot Yoga ( the bahirmigani ) taken together, some
of them taken individually ( e. g. zsvaraprm;idhana, devotion-concentration on the Lord, or pra-
1ayama, breath-control), and finally samyama or the single samadhi, a aim essentially at
purity of the sattva.
4 - The Question of the Powers in the General Framework of Yoga
Following this bird's eye-view of the yogic conception we shall at this point analyze
the function held by the siddhis or vibhitis within this framework. In this connexion, atten
tion is caled to a study by A. Janacek (
6
2
), who, on rigorously textual grounds, has reached
(
5
' ) Vijianabhiku has dealt in particular with
the subj ect; see Yogavarttika, I, 17 and 18 and
YSS, p. 2 ( asamprajiatayogasya cakhlav!ttisaJs
karadahadviri prirabdhasyipy atikrame!eti
)
and
passim.
(
60)
etenisamprajiitibhive 'pi prirabdhabo
ghanantarai jianinii moko bhavaty eveti sid-
209
dhito na virudhyate , YSS p. 6.
{
6
1
) ata sirvajiyidiparyantadharmameghasa
madhyanutpide 'pi abhiinarigadveidiripabhava
bijadihenaiva muktidvayam iti , YSS p. 17.
{
6
2
)
A. }ANAcEK, The Methodical Principle in
Yoga According to Pataij ali's Yogasutras , AO,
XIX, 3-4, 1951 , pp. 514-567.
some interesting conclusions in contrast with the conventional opinion on the question and
less generical than such vague admissions as to the value of the siddhis as that made by
Kane. The basis of the long article is the thesis, supported in its time by Jacobi
(
6
8
),
that the first two stages in the practice, yama and niyama, do not represent an integral
part of Yoga - which, it is claimed, has nothing to do with ethics -and that the siddhis
associated with them ( 6) are to be considered merely as an automatic and involuntary side
efect. Instead, Janacek proves the contrary: yama and niyama are Yoga practices based
upon a methodical principle - the pratipak!abhavani or cltivation of the contrary -
common to other practices. As to the siddhis, they are a sign of a correct Yoga procedure,
though not an aim of Yoga (
65 ) and far from being attained automatically, may only
come about as a result of constant intensification of the practices (
6
6
) . It is evident that
the view of the siddhis as a magical residue quite out of keeping with authentic Yoga
doctrine, is radically undermined by conclusions of this type. For our part we feel that
by extending research to the entire text of the YS - Janacek' s study is mostly confined
to the bahirangani, the mai end of his work being another - further conclusions may be
reached. To this end, reference should first be made to Ybh, III, 55, mentioned above,
according to which both the knowledge produced by the samadhi and the powers are instr
ments for the purification of the sattva. In stdies of the siddhis this passage is oddly
enough ignored for the most part. Lindquist (
67 ) cites it but shows no signs of attributing
any particular value to it. It seems to us, on the contrary, that it is worth while looking
more deeply into the subject, considering that in Ybh III, 55 two terms normally repre
sented as heterogeneous and incompatible are to be found united. In what sense are the
powers a means favourable to sattvasuddhi? As such, are they directly or indirectly useful
for the attainmet of kaivalya, in the other commentators' opinion? And in what sense
are we to see them as coupled with knowledge? This would imply that the siddhis, par
ticularly when they arise from the practice of samadhi, are not only - as J anacek demon
strates - a result of Yoga practices, but may themselves comprise an actual practice. All
this may raise the objection that these are isolated clais, dictated perhaps by scholastic
chauvinism, bent on justlfying all the elements i a system en bloc, even when some of these
appear essentially torn out of it. Such a possibility is in fact by no means remote, especially
in comments' literature, only that in our opinion the obj ection cannot stand in the case in
question due prlmarily to the presence of frther precise and specific textual references .
Certainly the most noteworthy and at the same time the easiest t o miss i s the doctrine
of the parikarmas
(
6
8
). It is easy to miss because parikarma means puriication and does
not, in appearance, reveal a precise link wlth the siddhis. Nevertheless, after studying the
texts it is equally easy to perceive that some parikarmas are, in ever respect, no other
than siddhis. And since the value and functioning of the parikarmas is illustrated in rela-
( 63
)
H. }ACOBI, 'er das urspringliche Yoga
syste , Sitzungsberichte der preussischen Aade
mie der Wissenschaften, XI, 1929.
(
64 ) YS, II, 35-45.
{
6
5
) }ANACK, op. cit., p. 553.
21 0
( 66
)
Ibid., p. 567.
( 6
7)
S. LINQUIST, Die Methoden des Yoga,
Lud, 1932, p. 169.
( 68
) YS, I, 33-39.
tion to the sattvasuddhi, it would be perfectly legitimate to add this description to the
doctrine of the siddhis and cease to consider the statements carried above as isolated sug
gestions. The parikarmas are a branch of the abhyasa or exercise which, in close association
with vairagya or detachment, leads the advanced yogin towards the final achievements . The
parikarmas' immediate purpose is the attainment of mental calm ( cittaprasadana). After
listing some of them (
6
9 ) Pataij ali' s text reads : Or else ( this is possible}, when, in rela
tion to an object of the senses, a mental fnction or activity develops that is able to lead
to the stability of the inner sense ( manas) C
0
) . Vyasa' s comment on this sutra is par
ticularly iluminating:
The awareness of a supranormal odour by somebody who is concentrating on the tip
of his nose represents precisely the activity ( or function) that is connected with the odour.
Concentration on the tip of his tongue, then, produces awareness of a supranormal taste;
concentration on the palate, awareness of a supranormal colour; concentration on tie
middle of the tongue, awareness of a supranormal touch; concentration on the bottom of
the tongue, awareness of a supranormal sound. Such functions, whatever their origin, set
up a relation between the mind and stabilit y, remove doubt and become means for the
form of knowledge proper to samadhi.. . In fact, whether the essence of the things is made
accessible to us from the teachings of the masters, inference or the various sciences -such
means being evidently able to make us know things as they are - nevertheless, as long
as there remains even a tiny part not knowable through the sense appropriate to it, the
whole will also remain unknown. Nor can the mind on its own have efcadty in relation
to matters as subtle as liberation, etc. In c onsequence, in order to reinforce the teaching
of the masters, inference, the various scienc es, any one particular obj ect ( remained un
knowable) must be made clear by direct perception: so that once part of what has been
taught by those means has been confirmed by perception, the whole will also become
entirely credible, even in the most subtle matters including liberation. The aforesaid mental
purification has been explained wlth precisely this aim in view. In a word, once it has
become aware of its mastery over the mental functions - which normally escape control
- the mind should be able to make this or that obj ect clear by means of perception.
With this achieved, faith, energy, memory and samadhi are reached wlthout impediment C
1
) .
And so we find ourselves before a seri es of supranormal senses, a range of extra
sensory perceptions, developed through concentration exactly like the vibhutis or powers
listed in YS, Ill, 36. The sole difference appears to be of a quantitative nature: the first
(
6
9 ) YS, I, 33-34.
( 1 ) viayavati vi pravrttir utpanni manasa]
sthtinibandhani , YS, I, 35.
(
1 1 ) nasikigre dhirayato 'sya yi divyagandha
samvit sa gandhapravrttir, j ihvigre rasasamvit, ti
luni rupasamvit, jihvimadhye sparsasamvit, jihvi
mwe sabdasamvit, ity eti] pravrttaya utpannis
cittam sthitau nibadhnanti, sa1saya1 vidhamanti,
samadiprajfiyi ea dviribhavanti iti. etena
2 1 1
candritityagrahamalipradiparasmyidiu pravrttir
utpanni viayavaty eva veditavyi. yadyapi hi tat
tacchistriuminiciryopadesair avagatam artha
tattvaq sadbhutam eva bhavati eteiq yathibhu
tarthapratipadanasimarthyat tathapi yavad ekade8o
'pi kasdn na svakaralasamvedyo bhavati, tivat
sarvaq parokam ivapavargadiu sukmev artheu
na dr<ham huddhim utpidayati.
tasmac chistrinuminaciryopadesopodbalanir-
series ( i. e. the parikarmas ) is the efect of a limited concentration C2 ) and comes before the
samadhi, while the second one ( the vibhutis) is the efect of a combination of concentration
and samadhi an efect, that is, of samyama and is thus in all probability able to
produce deeper results . The passage quoted above - which may thus be referred both
to parikarmas and siddhis, thanks to their common characteristics as noted above - has
the merit of illustrating the mechanism of these means . In short, we are dealing with an
effort of "experimental" and analytical knowledge in respect of the truths expressed in
theoretical and synthetical form in the texts and whose demonstration is left, in the absence
of the means in question, to logical-deductive processes ( anumana or inference) whose value
is obviously inferior to that of anubhava or direct experience. The ability to reach "simple"
supranormal knowledge ( hearing, visions, etc . ) will confirm the yogin in his path and provide
him with the intuitive and energetic basis, as it might be described, necessary for the con
crete realization of more complex or "subtle" knowledge such as liberation, purua, etc.
The close relation between purification, knowledge and power appears more clearly than
ever in al this . A further confirmation is to be found in Yh, III, 6, which indicates that
the samyama and the vibhutis deriving from it should be applied gradually, starting from
the less and ending with the more subtle, in the same way as the parikarmas : The
samyama can be applied to a successive stage only when the previous one has been mas
tered and the yogi cannot pass on to the higher stages of the samyama until he has mas
tered the lower and intermediate stages . Now if there is no samyama how will he ever
be able to attain the light of knowledge? However, if he has reached the last stages by
the grace of the Lord, it will not be necessary for him to go through the lower stages of
the samyama ( thought-reading, etc. ) since the aims of the latter have been attained by other
means ( i . e. by devotion to the Lord) C3 ). As to the order of precedence of the various
attainments, this can be established by the yogin himself i relation to his own nature; he
wil then have to persist in the exercise until the established attainment has been entirely
achieved C4 ) . Moreover, the doctrine of the samyama and the powers deriving from its
progressive application develops still further the possibilities contaied in the parikarmas.
While the latter seem in fact to be confined to "easy" attainments able to confirm the yogin' s
confidence that he will arrive at direct perception of increasingly subtle entities by the same
method, the samyama doctrine, founded not only on concentration but on an intensive appli
cation of concentration-ecstasy, goes further, proposing itself as a suitable instrument for
obtaining the "subtle" knowledge described above. In fact, as the technique in question
tham evivasyaq kascid viseaJ pratakikartavyaJ,
tatra tadupadigirthaikadesapratyakatve, sati sar
vaq susikmaviayam apy apavargit susraddhlyate,
etad artham evedaq cittaparikatma nirdisyate,
aniyatisu vrttiu tadviayiyi vasikirasaqjfiyim
upajitiyiq samarthaq syit tasya tasya arthasya
pratyakikaraiyeti, ta:thi ea sati sraddiviryasmrti
samidhayo 'syipratibandhena bhaviyantiti .
( 12)
alpenibhyisayogena tatsikitkiro viaya
vati pravrttir ueyate , YSS p. 27.
212
( 13 ) tasya samya:masya jitabhimer yi 'nantari
bhimis tatra viniyogaJ, na hy ajitidharabhiir
anantarabhimiq vilanghya printabhimiu samya
maq labhate, tadabhivie ea kutas tasya prajfiloka?
isvaraprasidij j itottarabhimikasya ea nidharabhi
miu paracittajfinidiu samyamo yuktaJ: kasmit?
tadarthasyinyata evivagatatvit .
(14) Cf. Ybh III, 26: evaq tivad abhyaset
yivad idaq sarvam dta iti , so he will
exercise himself until a this is visible to hi.
is progressively improved, the powers produced by samyama will no longer be of the clair
voyance, levitation, etc. type, but will even.!ally even grant perception of the purua and
even its difference from the mental sattva C ) . Vijfanabhiku is explicit in this connexion:
Outside this samyama there is no other means given for direct perception of the purua
( 16
)
.
The liberation process can certainly also take place without specific reference to the
vibhutis and their use, but this applies equally to all the means adopted in Yoga, even to
knowledge deriving from the samadhi : Nor is being in possession or not of the powers
or partaking or not of the knowledge born from discrimination important for the purpose
o isolation ( kaivalya) : since there is no need of further knowledge for the yogin who has
burnt the seeds of the impurities . In fact both the powers deriving from samadhi and
knowledge are introduced in their quality of means for achieving purity of the sattva
( 1
7 ).
This can obviously also be achieved by other means { e. g. ifvarapratidhana, pratayama,
which are able to complete or start off the completion of purification). There are no
compulsory routes : the means are many and interchangeable, always provided they have
a merely interim value. The coupling of the terms exercise ( abhyasa) and detachment
(vairagya), typical of Yoga, is no coincidence : exercise implies the use of certain means,
detachment must, at a certain point, be applied to those means C
8
). The main point is
thus to succeed in burning the seeds of the impurities, the garantee of knowledge and ulti
mate freedom. But it is important to observe that this "combustion", whatever the instr
ments used to perform it, always implies a purification, knowledge and power, even if the
knowledge and power may not be the know ledge and vibhutis typical of samadhi ( here
we refer to Ybh, Ill, 55, cited above). In other words, even if it is wished to ignore
the "way of the siddhis", or the development and utilization of the powers in view of Yoga' s
greatest aims, the power concept is still present. See for example the ifvarapratidhana and
its effects, YS, I, 29 and 30 (
1
9 ) : although up til now the text has made no mention of
the siddhis as such - for this we shall have to wait for the following books - there
are numerous examples of actual siddhis among the results of devotion-concentration on
the Lord or on his symbols . In the same way the concept of power is structurally intrin
sic to samadhi if it is through its application that the vibhutis are produced. It is no coin
cidence that the Buddhists identify samadhi with rddhi, or extraordinary power. Samadhi
is in fact a very particular condition, capabl e of producing especially efcacious sa1skaras,
hence a condition of power par excellence, whether or not specific powers are expected
from it. Necessarily preceded by purification, knowledge and power, it has the capacity of
fixing
(
8
0
)
,
intensifying and deepening, and will thus be followed, equally inevitably - if
( 7 5 ) Cf. , for example, YS and Ybh III, 33, 35,
49, 54.
(76) tar imaq sayamaq vihayatmasakatki
:asyanya upayo nasti , YSS p. 55.
(77) etasyam avasthayaq kaivalyaq bhavat
s\arasyanisvarasya va vivekajajfanabhagina itarasya
'.-a, na hi dagdhaklesa:bij asya jfane punar apeka
kacid asti, sattvasuddhidvare1aitat samadhij am
aisvaryam ea jfanaq copakrantam , Ybh. III, 55.
213
( 7
8
) Cf. Ybh I, 20.
{ 7 9 ) Thanks to devotion-concentration on the
Lord, knowledge of the puru!a and the destruction
of all obstacles such as sickness, apathy, etc. are
attained.
{
8
0
) Cf. , for example, A, VI, p. 286: car
c'est le caractere du samadhi de maitriser et de
fixer .
we remember the karmic reproductive mechanism by increased purification-knowledge
power. We are naturaly considering a sama dhi that is regularly inserted in a precise yogic
path, not accidental ecstasies. So true is it that power is i any case closely bound up
with samadhi that even when asa7pra;nata-samadhi has been reached, when the chapter on
the powers ought to be closed, we find ourselves once again in the presence of a conspic
uous power, that of burning even karma that has begun ripening.
Power, implicit or explicit as it may be, is thus part of the very nature of Yoga. And
it could hardly be otherwise, considering tle close and organic interdependency of the con
cepts of purification, knowledge and power, on the basis of the sa7skaras' dynamism. It is
naturally clear that there is a wide range of diference between the various siddhis: some
will have a mainly symptomatic and demonstrative value ( for the devotee), others may be
more strictly functional in respect of the opus yogicum. It is also clear that the powers,
especially the more showy among them ( e. g. the eight mahasiddhis ), lend themselves to
being desired for themselves, in the case of"immaturity on the part of the devotee. It is
b fact here that they are particularly dangerous
( 81
), as is repeatedly pointed out by the
texts, in that they may cause halts or regress ions, impeding or polluting the yogin's purity,
founded on detachment. Then, as Vijfana
o
iku notes in a much neglected work, they wlll
be "false siddhis" as, not being founded upon the abandonment of all that is false concep
tion, they wil be unable to oppose themselves to the sa7sara: yata. sa siddhir itarasya
viparyayasya hanam vinai 'va bhavaty, ata} sarsara-'paripanthitvat sa siddhyabhasa eva, na
tu tattvik siddhir ity artha}
(
8
2
)
.
5 " Summary and Conclusions with Regard to Yoga
From what has been written so far we feel that the following conclusions may be
drawn:
( a) Our frst observation was how the "power" element, implicit or explicit as it may be,
is intrinsic to the ver structure of Yoga, in close correlation with the concepts of purifcation
and knowledge. This correlation proves to be so close that in fact power, purifcation and
knowledge end up by assuming the air of sides of the same coin. Each iplies and is implicit
in the other: progress in one means progress in the others, nor could any progress be thin
able outside this organic interaction. It could in short be said that each of the three includes
.the other two and in a certain sense is the other two. Power is purifcation and knowledge
because without purifcation it has no signifc ance for the purposes of Yoga, nor is capable
of arising in its specifc forms i. e. the "powers" C
3
). Knowledge, in its turn, is purifcation
{
81)
Cf. Hopkins, op. cit., p. 334, ctttng
Mahibhirata XII, 197, 7, in which the yogin who
dedicates hiself to the search for the powers
( aisvaryapravrtta) for wordly purposes is promised
eternal hell, an exceptional punishment in India,
214
where "hel i s no more than purgatory", as Hopkins
points out.
(
8
2)
SPbh, p. 100.
{
8
3
)
etena <sarva eva purua isvara> iti
srutismtipravado 'py upapadita}; sarvopadhlnar
in the sense that, for example, it wil not be possible to know the sattva i one has not pre
viously been depurated and freed from the rajas and tamas, whie the knowledge of the sattva
(i. e. of the luminous and hence essentially pure gu1a), on the other hand, is itself a concrete
realization, a being sattva. We may say that for every stage of purifcation there is a cor
respondig stage of knowledge and viceversa, provided we hold frm to the fact that there is
no priority between the two; they proceed at the same rate and to say the one means auto
matically to say the other. Naturally it also means power : power or reproductive karmic
force that alone, once it has been channeled in the right direction, will permit the purica
tion-knowledge to establish itself and to proceed, fructifying in increasingly refned forms
until it is freed from karma itself. We have seen how the coincidence between the three
terms under discussion is particularly evident in samadhi : in a duly purifed mind, equipped
with the corresponding knowledge, the concentration techique develops the samadhi or
ecstatic state, whose power is recogned to be particularly intense and efective ( its sarska
ras halt ordinary ones ) ; a power of fresh purifcation and further knowledge.
( b) As to the "'powers" or "perfections" ( vibhitis, siddhis ), they are no other - as we
feel has been made sufciently clear by the textual analysis - than specialiations of this
power, which, in correct Yoga practice, are used for the same purpose, i. e. purication (satt
vafuddhi) and knowledge ( sarvajfana, puruajfana). Their inherent danger or futity when
employed for selfsh ends evidently is caused by a lack of harmony with the two terms with
which the power is organically correlated. In this connexion, we have stressed the need for a
more careful textual research and a greater religious-historical opening ( see the question of
oadhi ) .
( c) In consequence, neither power nor "the powers", i f we want t o make this distic
tion ( 8), can be in any way separated from Yoga' s essentially organic and unitary structure;
considering them as spurious elements or magical residues has no textual basis .
svabhavikaisvaryasya raj astamobhyam evavara:ad
iti , SPbh, p. 78. Thus the powers, aisvarya, are
innate i every man, but are not generally devel
oped because of inertia ( tamas) and passion ( ra;as) .
( 84) That an excessively rigid distinction be
teen siddhis on the one hand and "pure" Yoga
on the other leads, in the last analysis, to a
certain degree of contradiction and confusion can
quite easily b noted. Let us take for example
the work of Ramakrishna (v. L'Enseignement de
Ramakrishna edited by ]. HERBERT, Paris, 1 9499 ) .
Ater meeting with drastic warnings of the type:
les pouvoirs psychiques qui sont de veritables pie
ges sur la voie du pelerin de Brahman. Gardez
vous de ces pouvoirs etc. (p. 205), we read further
on: Au cours de la sadana, un ecorps d' amour'
se cree en vous, avec les yeux et les oreilles de
!'amour, et c'est avec ces organes spirituels que
215
vous voyez et entendez Dieu ; or even ces formes
de Dieu sont per\ues par des organes de vision
spirituelle appartenant au corps spirituel ( bhaga
vati-tanu) (pp. 51 0-51 1 ).
Now these spiritual organs - which are spoken
of in quite a different tone from that used for
the siddhis - are really no other than siddhis,
vibhutis or abhi;fas, at least according to the
classical tradition of Yoga and Buddhism that we
are examining in these notes . It is superfluous
to recall the divine eye or ear of the Buddhist
texts or the infinite possibilities in this direction
indicated by the YS. Probably what has happened
is that, due in part to the mystic interpretation
of Yoga, the siddhis have ben given an increas
ingly restrictive meaning, in sharp contrast with
the original assumption of the Yoga and Buddhist
schools.
( d) The continuity between Yoga and the vital aspects of Vedism brought into focus by
Gonda may be demonstrated merely by comparing the results described above with regard
to Yoga with those regarding the Vedic dhi carried at the beginning of the artlcle. Apart
from the law of karma, which appears clearly expressed only later on, the dynamism of puri
fcation-knowledge-power as mutually dependent elements jumps immediately to the eye. If
it is true, then, that Yoga's pratibha is a feature of specifc continuity (
B
5 )
with regard to the
earlier dhz, it is also true that this continuity may under many aspects be extended to the
entire purifcation-knowledge-power pattern.
6 - Points of Correspondence with the Buddhist Doctrine of the Abhjfas
A barely exaustive study of the same subject in Buddhism would require at least as
much space as that required for a preliminary approach to the subject in Yoga. It would
undoubtedly be worth undertaking, both within the sphere of Hinayana, in which it is dealt
with only in so far as concerns the abhijias
( B 6 )
( i. e. the counterpart of Yoga' s vibhitis) and
with regard to Mahayana, in which the abhijfas themselves assume a predominant function
i some cases . For our part, we prefer to confne ourselves for the moment to a few observa
tions that are sufcient to indicate how Buddhist tradition fully conrms the conclusions
reached in relation to Yoga and thus also reveals continuity in respect of the aforesaid Vedic
elements .
In the frst place i t should be noted that the coincidence between kowledge and power
( for purifcation see below) appears in Buddhism in even clearer evidence than elsewhere.
Already, in general, the lists of abhijfas (
B
7 ) or "higher knowledge" on the one hand and
those of the tathagatabalar ( 8B ) or "powers of Buddha" on the other are in themselves
eloquent : the abhijias include rddhis or powers of action ( bilocation, levitation, etc. ), supra
normal sight and hearing (divyacakus and divyafrotra) , thought reading (paracittajfana) , the
faculty of remembering previous lives (purvani vasanusmrti), knowledge of the destruction of
the impurities ( asravak-ayajiana) ; the "ten powers of Buddha", apart from including, in the
eighth and tenth positions, the last two abhij fas of the list given above, include various
forms of "subtle" knowledge like, for example, knowledge of the elements ( dhatu), of the
true inclinations of individuals ( adhimukti) or of the conditions of ripening of karma ( karma
vipaka) , etc. The diferent types of "knowledge" then, are also "powers" and the powers are
also knowledge. The itrinsic connexion of the two concepts could not be any clearer and it
is for this reason that the ten powers are jianabala, or force, faculty of knowing, which de
monstrates the complete fusion of the two terms . So that, as the Mahayanasutralmkara ( 8' )
( 85 ) Thus, for example, Surdvara defines pra
tibha as ara-, i . e. characteristic of the ancient
r#, see GNA, Pratibhi , in The Vision, cit. ,
p. 325.
(
86 )
See especially the two works by LINUIST
already cited.
216
( B
7
) See F. EDGERTON, Buddhist Hybrid Sans
krit Dictionary, New Haven, 1953 , p. 50.
( BB ) Ibid., s.v. bala, p. 397.
(
B
s
)
E.
and transl . by S. L:vr, Paris, 1907,
pp. 25 and 56.
afrms, the bodhisattva' s power ( prabhava), in a general sense, consists in the kowledge,
jiana, ensuing from the six abhijias. There is, in this connexion, a strangely tenacious mlsun
derstanding. The Pal term iddhi corresponds to the Sanskrit rddhi ( 90 ) and thus designates
the powers of action mentioned above; but iddhi is often taken to be the equivalent of the
Sanskrit siddhi (
9
1 ), to the detriment both of the unitary nature of Yoga and Buddhism and of
the unitary nature of power and knowledge wi thin both of these doctrines . In realty, Yoga' s
riddhis or vibhutis are the exact equivalent of Buddhsm' s abhiias and, at the lt, of te
ten "powers of Buddha". In fact, as we have seen, they include powers of action, correspond
ing to rddhi, and powers of knowledge corresponding to the other abhijias. As to the nature
of the abhijia, this, as H. G. A. van Zeyst writes in his excellent analysis of the subject, is
not a knowledge of composites, but insight into their nature. Such a complete knowledge
becomes an experience which can bring abuut a total transformation in the relationship bet
ween the subject and object of this knowledge. It consists ultimately in seeing things as they
are (yatha bhutam) ad that is realzation ('2) . The doctrine of the abhijias also reveas an
indication of gradualness in their application and efects that places them i an even clearer
- if ths is possible - saving and integrational perspective than in Yoga. The rddhis, pre
ceded by a careful preparation based on rddhipadas C3
) and samadhi, can already legitimately
be considered as the frst, less refned form of intuitive knowledge, even if it is their prac
tical efects that are given most evidence. The subsequent forms - lke for example di
vyacakus although not an end in themsel ves, are nevertheless a means to spiritual
growth and mental culture, to be discarded almost as soon as acquired, to prevent it from
taking root or forming a source of attachment ( 94 ) . Finally, the last form, the knowledge
of the destruction of the impurities or obstructions ( asravak!ayajiana), though not repre
senting the absolute goal of the Buddhist way, is however its immediately preceding stage,
as in Yoga the destruction of the kldas precedes kaivalya. For this reason, the frst fve
abhijiis are dened "worldly" ( laukika), whle the last is "supra-worldly" ( lokottara) .
Given the close association between power and purication there will obviously be . an
automatic condemnation of those who, for example, indulge in the exhibition of special
faculties or who pretend to possess them ('5 ). As to the intrinsic connexion between the
concept of purifcation and that of power and knowledge, this also appears extremely
clearly in Buddhism. As indicated above, the Visuddhimagga or "Way of Purifcation"
dedicates two whole chapters ( 9 6 ) to the pow
ers, introducing them with a comment on the
celebrated passage of the Dighanikaya ( I, 77 ) : When his concentrated mind has thus
( 90) Cf. EDGERTON, op. cit. , s. v. rddhi, p. 151 .
(91) See ELIAE, Yoga, cit. , p. 1 83 and GNDA,
Some notes on Buddhist ideas on vision in The
Vision, cit., p. 305.
(92) Encyclopedia of Buddhism, ed. by G. P.
MALALASEKERA, vol. A-H, Ceylon 1 961 , s. v.
abhifa (pp. 97-102) , p. 97.
( 9
3
) I. e. the bases for realizing rddhis : energy,
zeal, research, etc. Cf. EDGERTON, op. cit. , s .v. ,
21 7
p. 151-2 and VAN ZEYST, op. cit. , p. 100.
( u) VAN ZEYST, op. cit., p. 98.
( 9
5
) Cf. for example ibid., p. 99, which cites
the Vinayapifaka, II, 1 12 and Ill, 9 1 ; see also
ELIADE, op. cit. , pp. 183- 186.
( 9
6
)
Cf. H. C. WARREN's edition reviewed by
D. KosAMBI, Harard Oriental Series, Cambridge
Mass. - London, 1 950, chapters 12 and 1 3 .
become purifed, luminous, incontaminated and spotless . . . he turns it towards the powers .
Concentrated , Buddaghosa notes, by virtue of the fourth type of jhana; epurication:
through separation from the obstructions . . . espotless due to the disappearance of desi
re C7 ) . Or see AK: Si eles n'ont pas ete acquises dans une vie anterieure, elles ne sont
pas acquises que par exercice, efort ( prayoga ). . . Lorsqu'elles ont ete pratiquees ( ucita)
dans une vie anterieure, eles sont acquises par le detachement ( vairagya) C8) . But even
here, as in Yoga, purifcation is at the same time a presupposition and a result of the
abhijfas. The last of these, (asravakayajfana) , is in fact the knowledge of destruction
of the impurities - such as ignorance (avidya) , desire, etc. , the equivalent of Yoga' s kleias,
in short - and implies immediate access to the condition of arhat. Anyone can see how the
coincidence of the purifcation-knowledge-power is particularly close i this abhijfa: a
peak of knowledge and power corresponds to a peak of purication. The same may be
noted with regard to samadhi or the various types of dhyana. Here also the best way to
achieve it is detachment and the purication produced by sila is its indispensable prelim
inary. With practice, samadhi or dhyana on the one hand begin to produce further purif
cation - which is why it is claimed for example that the four dhyanas are a capital
element in thought purication ( cittapariaddhipradhana) C9 ) and on the other make
a direct contribution to the emergence of the abhijfas, to such an extent that there is some
ties identifcatiOn between the twO: ( rddhi is Samadhi ef}O ) Or, at any rate, ( leS cinq
premieres abhijfas s' appuient sur les quatre dhyanas, c'est-a-dire sont obtenues par un
ascete en dhyana C0
1
). A "thought created" ( nirma7acitta) , a being "created'' (nirmita)
are only possible thanks to the force of the samadhi, since la volition ( adhimoka, ceta
na) acquiert dans le recueillement, une force souveraine C0
2
). It goes without saying that
all this assumes particular importance in Buddsm in relation to the doctrine of the three
bodies : Les sravakas de la classe asaika ont completement epuise la renaissance ( punar
bhava) . Comment pourront-ils realiser la sambodhi? Non pas certes aves un corps qui
serait la retribution de l' acte ( karmavipakakaya) mais avec un nirmi?akaya C03 ) . And this
"created body" or nirma?akaya is manifested by virtue of the "purete de samadhi" C04 ).
The creative, purifying and intuitive potency both of ecstasy and of concentration-medita
tion is thus reconfrmed in the most explcit manner. L'union intime entre samadhi et
( 1 7 ) Ibid., p. 31 7: catutthajjhanasamadhina
samahite; nivaraiadiribhavena parisuddhe . . . papa
kanam icchavacaranam abhavena anangaie .
( 98) AK, VII, p. 105. Aso in Buddhism de
tachment-separation, far from appearing as a mere
mortificational exercise, proves to have a precise
function in the field o power and knowledge, as
is clearly suggested in the doctrine of the "psychic
body" ( manomaya) , duy equipped with senses that
are evidently freer and more acute than tle
ordinary ones ; a "body" that is obtained by learning
to disidentify oneself gradually from the physical
body and, in general, from a that ofers support to
the "I" and "my", learning, that is, to practice
2 1 8
suitable detachment, i. e. separation, i. e. purification.
A classic passage of the Majjhimanikaya, II, 17-
18, could be recalled in this connexion: yathapa
tipanna me savaka imamha kaya aia kaya
abhinimminanti ripii manomayat sabbangapac
cangii abhinindriyam . . . .
(9') A, VIII, p. 130; see also VII, p. 1 17.
(
1

0)
A, VII, pp. 98 and 1 12; VI, p. 285.
Cf. also Siddhi, p. 771.
(
1
1
)
A, VII, p. 101.
(
1
0
2
)
Siddhi, II, p. 771 and A, VII, p. 1 12.
( 1
3
)
Ibid., II, p. 507.
( 1

4
)
Ibid. , p. 800.
praJna , as E. Lamotte observes, apparait en pleine lumiere cans les abhijna ou pouvoirs
surnaturels decoulant du recueillement e05 ). And the association between abhijnas and
prajna or higher knowledge is constant : i AK we read that the abhijnas are "prajna de
vimuktimirga" e06 ) and in the prajniparamiti lterature, for example, the declaration that
the bodhisattva who wishes to preserve the six abhijnis must cultivate perfection of the
prajni e07) is frequendy repeated. Moreover, particularly in Mahayanic literature, the
abhijnas take frst place in all the lists of qualities, states, means favourable to illumination,
either peculiar to the bodhisattva or to the "body of Tathagata" cos ) or to the "nature of
Buddha" C0").
From these few references, that could however be multiplied for ever, it is evident
that the close conexion between the concepts of purifcation, knowledge and power, their
dynamism and functionality already noted in classical Yoga and, under other forms, also
in certain aspects of Vedism, are equaly present, and even more clearly, in Buddhism.
Even in this feld Buddhism seems to have gone deeper into and made more clear and arti
culate themes that have not been completely analyzed or made explicit in other doctrines .
The comparison with Yoga, particularly close to Buddhism for various reasons, both his
torical and typological, seems most useful to us since it helps to confrm and enrich the
general and particular conclusions drawn above with regard to Yoga; general, in relation
to the central position and continuity of the purifcation -knowledge -power pattern
i Indian tradition; particular in the sense that the comparison with Buddhism and the
doctrine of the abhijnas makes the inadequacy of an oversimple and unilateral judgement
:m the siddhis and vibhutis in Yoga directly evident. Conversely, the complex function
rg of the latter within the basic structure hinged on purifcation, knowledge and power,
apart from being indicated by the Yoga texts themselves, is illustrated point by point in
Buddhism' s corresponding doctrine of the abhijnas.
It is interesting to note how in the development of Mahayana the abhijnas at a certain
pit no longer appear in balance with the other dharmas useful for attaining the ultimate
:eazations, but begin to predominate until they reach a veritable ination, an "unbridled
-haumaturgy" (
11
0 ) : the bodhsattva is a being endowed with unlimited abhijnas, with
-bch, in contrast to the Hinayanic saint, he plays (abhijnavikrztana) without efort (cit-
-1naboghena) C11 ), using them incessantly both to convert and to mature. The abhijnas
:. us become the pivot of upayakaufalya or ability in the saving means, an expression, in
i:s turn, of the great compassion ( mahakarua). The plenitude of the abhijnas is no other
;a the science of Buddha ( buddhajnina) Cu), it is the force of the abhijnis that makes
:he wheel of the law ( dharmacakra) go round. The greatest danger, in this context, is no
( 15 ) Sss, lntrod. , p. 23.
(
1
6)
AK, VII, p. 100.
(
1
"7) Cf. for example Pafca-vitsati-sahasrika
?"ifi-paramita, ed. N. DuTT, Lndon, 1934, p.
251 .
2 19
(
1
0
8
) Cf. for example Vkn, p. 140.
(
1
9) Cf. for example Sss, pp. 31 and 1 31 f.
{
11
0
) Sss, Introd. , p. 58.
( m) Ibid. , p. 35.
(
112
) Vkn, p. 1 10.
longer seen in the use of the powers, but rather in complacent indulgence in ecstasy ad
meditation: dhyana, samadhi and samapatti are to be considered as hell, woe be to those
who enjoy its savour (samadhirasasvadana) ( 11 3 ) . Yoga or other forms of Buddhism, while
maintaining that samadhi is only a means and as such also to be overcome, does not give
similar attention to the dangers of the phenomenon nor, even less, does it demonstrate such
radical intransigence; not to speak of a misunderstood conception of Yoga that identifes
its goal with samadhi. In a word, in the way of the bodhisattva !'accent est mis non plus
sur la technique de la concentration, mais sur la force magique ( rddhibala) qui en decoule
pour le plus grand bien des etres
( 114 )
.
For ths reason the least desirable abhijfa, from
some aspects, is precisely the sixth which by changing the devotee into arhat prevents him
from remaining among human beings ; it wil thus be necessary not to obtain it "a con
tretemps" ( akalam) (
11
5 ), or to realize it only in part, in conformity, i other words, with
the apratiHhitanirvata or non defnitive nirVata, that allows h to remain in the satsara
for the relief of his fellow men.
7 - Purity and Ritual
Classical Yoga, together with other doc trines conventionally noted for their peculiarly
1'anti-ritualist" nature - such as Buddhism and Vedanta - actually reveal several ritual
elements . Among the various obligations ( niyama) YS II, 32, for example, mentions sauca
or purity, produced, according to the commentators, both by practices such as ablutions,
etc. , and by eating sacrifcially pure food ( medhya) , in relation to which TV mentions
cow' s urine, barley, etc. It should moreover be remembered that in current practice of
any type of Yoga a ritual approach is constantly to be found: choice of a place that is
either naturally pure" - like a mountain top - or that has been duly purifed with
aspersions and scents; choice of the most propitious time; contact of the devotee with pure
objects, like the antelope hide (
11
6) - associated since ancient times with consecration cere
monies - on which he sits during meditation, etc. All this not to speak of the precepts,
such as chastity or fasting linked with phases of the moon, generaly associated with the
most various rituals and with that fundament al Vedic-Brahmanic component, brahmacarya.
In relation to Buddhism, Paul Levy ( 1
1
7 ) has recently devoted particuar attention to its
ritualistic aspect ( sufce it to thi of the monastic ordination ceremonies) which has for the
most part been neglected or undervalued in studies of the subject. Similarly it is hardy
necessary to recal that a sannyasin or ascetic of the "philosophic" order par excellence,
i . e. Vedanta, must undergo a dik!a or consecration (
118
)
,
and, i givig hself up to medit-
( 113)
Ibid. , p. 347.
(
114 ) S
ss, Introd. , p. 23.
(
11
5
)
S
ss, p. 133.
(
116
)
Cf. for all this in general, LINDQUIST,
Die Methoden, cit. , pp. 22 f. ; for the antelope
hide, Sathapata - Brahmaa, transl. by EGGELING,
220
V, Index.
{
117 ) P. LEV, Buddhism: a Mystery Religion'?,
London, 1957.
.
(
118
)
Cf. GoNA, Change, ct. , pp. 337 f. ;
G. S. GHRY, Indian Sadhus, Bombay, 19642,
pp. 82-97; for a fairly interesting approach to the
ation, must subject hmself too to the injunctions of a ritual nature mentioned wid1 refe
rence to Yoga
( 118 ) .
Now we may wonder what is the relation between these ritual elements and the gen
eral conception of purifcation-knowledge-power seen to be at the basis of Yoga and similar
doctrines. Obviously, while rejecting a mechanical and sclerotized ritual approach
C
20),
Yoga, and also Buddhism, seem far from excluding certain fundamental principles proper
to VedismjBrahmanism. For this motive we feel it is quite legitimate - without ques
tioning all the diferentiations that have occurred throughout the historical development of
Indian religions - to speak, with Hauer, of an "eternal India" C21). In this way the
questionable interpretation of pre-Aryan inuences ( evidence of which is i any case fairly
vague) as responsible for radical changes and innovations in India' s religious panorama C
22
)
may be avoided. Here also, moreover, it may be observed - as in the case of the siddhis
- that explaining the persistence of ritual elements in Yoga by attributing them to a tra
ditionalist conservatism proper to the schools - like Yoga and Buddism - that were i
fact opposed to the brahmanic tradition on various points ( animal sacrifce, castes, etc. ) is
most unconvincing. Rather, it seems clear to us that Yoga ( and naturally, similar sote
riological doctrines ) considers recourse to means that are not exclusively psychical as ef
cacious for its purpose, evidently deeming the m useful from the purifcaton-power-kow
ledge aspect described above. Ths is a cohe rent part of the more specifcally yogic
theory: if the three gufas must be progressively purifed in order to reach the complete
purity that is Yoga' s aim, then the tamas, which includes the physical sphere - hence the
body, environment and objects C23 )
P
must also be the object of purication. This puri-
Vedantic dzki as it appears today, see A. BHARATI,
The Ochre Robe, London, 1961, pp. 1 14 f.
(
1
19) Further, for Saikhara's position on rites
see below, p. 30.
(
1
2
0 )
W
hich, as G. VA DER LEEUW, Phno
menologie de Religion, Tubingen, 19562, It. transl.
Turin, 1960, p. 283, observes, is a feature common
to varios religions : when the sacrifice becomes a
mechanism there is opposition within the religions
and the sacrificial practice is denounced as impiety.
The Author's observations on the connexion be
tween purification and power and the central
position occupied by these concepts in the various
religions ( ibid., pp. 271-276 and pp. 7-18) are
also, we feel, particularly interesting for the pur
poses of this research. We do not however find
adequate confirmation in Indian religions of what
he afrms on the subject of interiorization: viz.
that the latter, together with scepticism, is detri
mental to belief in the purifying force of the
celebration ( ibid., p. 275). Yet in the more
advanced forms of Tantrism for example, we
would appear to find ourselves in the presence
of a type of interioriation that has in no way
221
debilitated faith i n the efcacy of the ritual.
( 121) HUER, Der Yoga, cit., p. 95.
(
1
22
)
Once again we would like to quote
GNA's balanced words : it is my conviction that
the differences have, on the other hand, not rarely
been exaggerated or thrown into undue relief. Or
perhaps we should rather say, that a systematical
examination of the similarities has not always been
carried out, that their very occurrence has ben
left in the dark (Change, cit. , p. 199) .
( 123)
In other words the principle of external
( bihya) purity, of such central importance throug
out Hinduism ( to the point of reaching a veritable
hypertrophy: sufce it to think of the endless
codification of pure and impure items in relation
to the caste system), a premise in general of the
religious and social order and in particular of the
acquisition of interal (intara) or mental purity
for anyone following a way of liberation. In the
Tantric tradition some of these rituals, as for
example nyisa the casting of syllables or man
tras onto the various .arts of the yogin's body
to purify it, often assimilating it to the deities
represented by the syllables and mantras used -
fcation, since the tamas is the lowest and heaviest of the gutas, must necessarily precede
purifcation of the emotional and mental spheres ( rajas and sattva) : in view of the unitary
relationship linking the three gutas it would be nonsensical to consider purifying the rajas
and sattva while the tamas is still impure. Its impurity would be a basic impurity that
would succeed in impeding the purity of the other two: the process is strictly ascensional
and gradual. On the other hand, in fact, achievement of purity of the rajas or sattva
due to the relationship described above - automatically implies possession of a tamas that
is already pure and thus makes recourse to ri tes and purifying precepts C
2
4) , i. e. , in Yoga,
yama and niyama, superfuous. The afore-mentioned

itual elements appear to contribute

then, in the yogic vision, to a form of itial, qualifying so to speak, purifcation that wil
certainly be physical in its application ( body, environment, objects ), but, in view of Yoga's
unitary conception, will also be psychical in its repercussions. Thus it is probable that the
concept of prata, or vital psychophysiological energy, has an essential role in this type of
purication, even i the speculation and practices conected with it ony take a defnite
form in later periods. This element is i fact known to be conceived not only as internal
to man ( breath, seed, mind), but also present outside him, e. g. in the air and food C25 ) .
Hence the need for purifcation working also from outside and so impeding the absorption
of impure substances.
In short, three dferent aspects of puri ty are to be found in Yoga: ( a) an initial
purity (Sauca) directly connected with the ri te; ( b) based on this and hged upon the
practice of samadhi, a gradual process of mental purifcation ( sattvasuddhi) ; ( c) developing
from the sattvasuddhi, the utimate purifcation or separation ( kaivalya) is reached. In con
sideration of all this it may well be said that purity' s constant reappearance as means and
end at the same time represents a keystone for understandng the yogic way. The con
siderable traits of continuity with the early Vedic-Brahmanic religion already stressed ap
pear even more evident now. The central sacrifce of Veda, that of the soma, is preceded
by a consecration ceremony ( d'kfa) C26 ) implying ablutions, fasting, chastity, exudation from
tapas, etc. - evidently intended to induce a sufcient basic purity to allow the devotee to
participate in the following rite of the soma and to ensure its success. Subsequently, it
should be observed that one of the aspects of consummation of the soma, on this indispens
able basis of purity, is that of intensifying, in its turn, purifcation-power-knowledge: in
efect, it wipes out sin ( and it is no coicidence that the soma is assimilated with other
agents of purifcation such as the waters and the fre contained in them), heals, grants
assume a more complex soteriological significance.
On sauca in general, cf. KN, cit. , IV, pp. 267
f. ; for dravyasuddhi, or purification of the body
and external obj ects, p. 309.
(
12
4 ) Cf. YSS, p. 22.
( 125
)
Cf. for example Chindogyopaniad, VII,
26, 2, that succintly notes the link between purity
of food and inner purity: ihirasuddhau sattva
suddhi] . As to pi1a, see e.g. Maitryupaniad,
222
VI, 13: prilo vi annasya rasal , pri1a is the
essence of food.
( 128
)
References and discussion in GNA, An
Analysis of the Vedic Soma Diki , in Change, cit.,
pp. 350 f. ; A. B. KITH, The Religion and
Philosophy of the Veda and Upan#ads, 2 vol. ,
Cambridge, Mass. and London, 1 925, vol. I, pp.
300 f.
fortune and immortality C
2
7 ) and confers dhiya or veracious visions
( 12
8
),
which are in
their turn bearers of purifcation. In no less fashion in Yoga the practice of samadhi
following on the establishment of a prelminary type of purity has efects that are visibly
parallel to those of the sacrifce of the soma: power, i. e. the siddhis, sattvasuddhi, know
ledge ( samadhijajfana) and, in the last analysis, kaivalya or immortality. By ths we natu
rally do not intend to deny the Vedic sacrice a content of social, utilitarian and generally
"religious" aims, absent for the most part from the Yogic approach; nor on the other hand
do we intend to diminish the deepening of ethical values in the conception of purity
peculiar to the latter approach. Our ai is rather that of avoiding considering the Vedic
sphere and that of Yoga in a wide sense, in keeping with a prejudice that has not yet en
tirely disappeared C
2
9
),
as two completely diferent phenomena: one based exclusively on
a sort of collective poetic materialism, the other, conversely, as part of an aspiration for
individual psycho-physical transformation. The importance of J. Gonda's studes on the
Veda, examined earlier, lies, in our opinion, precisely in that it notes already in the more
ancient Indian religion the existence of veritable techniques C
30
) aiming, in a sense, to some
kind of individual transformation and following a similar pattern to that of later periods.
It is clear that the detection of a strong structural analogy does not render the study of the
historical development of the various relgions and doctrines any less necessary, but it is
equally clear, especially in the case of religions belonging to a single country and cultre, that
historical analysis cannot omit consideration of the solid structural link connecting the various
phases of Indian religion.
A important consequence of al this wi ll inevitably imply giving more credit to In
dian tradition when it peremptorily asserts its own continuity, as for example in celebrated
p
assages of the Upani:ads : Brahans, through study of the Vedas, sacrifces, gift and
asceticism, aspire to the knowledge of Brahman-Atman C
31
); or in the words of
S
ankhara,
when he asserts that rites - through purifca tion - lead to knowledge provided the aims
in view are not material and provided purifcation has not already been attained by medi
tative means, according to an alternative already known to the BrahmaQaS C
3
2
). Obviously
if knowledge - i. e. the transformation of sta te implying total purifcation and new power
- has been attained, it is superfuous to continue recourse to any other type of means C
3
3 ) ;
{ 12
7 )
Re. KrT, ibid. , p. 167.
( 128
)
See above, pp. 3-4.
(
1
2"
)
We do not for example feel we can
share MAS SON-OURSEL's thesis on the subject
expressed in his brilliant booklet on Yoga (P.
MAs soN-0RSEL, Le Yoga, Paris, 1963) . To what
degree may it he said that Yoga fut non pas
rite, mais ardente, systematique recherche ( p. 1 1 )
and that, o n the other hand, rite is not research?
Or, again, to what degree is it fitting to distinguish
so peremptorily: l 'indianite a deux aspects : veda,
yoga (p. 91 ) ? On the contrary, research into the
continuity existing between asceticism and ritual,
repeatedly emphasized by ELIAE ( Yoga, cit. , pp.
223
1 1 8 f. ; In. Le Chamanisme, Paris, 1951 , pp. 369
f. ) and studied, however questionably at times,.
by J. W. HUR, particularly in Die Anffnge der
Yoga-Praxis, Stuttgart, 1922, is far more fruitful,
in our opinion.
(
130
)
See above p. 3 on the development
of the dhi.
( 131
)
Brhadara7yakopaniad, IV, 4, 22 and rel
ative comment by Sankhara.
(
13
2
)
Cf. Satapatha-Brahma7a, X, IV, 3, 9 :
vidyayi va karmali .
( 133
)
Cf. for example Saihara, Sri Bhiya, III,
4, 28.
since the goal of both rites and meditation is precisely ths .transformation. As Tantric
speculation C3) also observes, indulgence in ritual purication would mean maintaining a
dualistic vision, alienating oneself, as it might be put, i an external reality, to the detri
ment of the ultimate and defnitive purity, the achievement of unity of the Self. Up to this
point, however, rites and meditation, often i close association as occrs in T antrism,
must be practiced incessantly CM) . Once he has become a Brahmajfinin, a knower of
Brahman, according to the name given by cer tain schools, the yogin will not only have no
further need of means, but, in his quality of master, he will be able to impart knowledge
to others : once again the purity, or achieving and cognitive power, impersonated in the
guru, is transformed from an end into a means.
8 - Points for Comparison
One of the most iteresting points for comparison, in our optruon, is ofered by an
aspect of Neo-Platonism C
3
6) in particular evidence from a certain moment onwards with
sevetal philosophers of this school ( e. g. Jamblicus, Proclus, Sirianus ) : we are referring to
theurgy or the theurg1c art ({sovQyLx- ts,vr) . i. e. the combiation of rites and prac
tical exercises that, in the conviction of these authors and others, must inevitably accom
pany philosophical and mystic speculation. Its parallelism with the Tantric schools is im
mediately apparent : in both schools the most typical characteristic is represented precisely
by this coexistence of "' theory" and "practice'' . More indirect but no less evident is its
analogy to Yoga or Buddhism, since in the latter, at least in the forms considered by us, it
is not so much the ritual as concentration and ecstasy that serve to foster power and puri
fcation which, in their turn, open up fresh possibities to intuitive refexion. So that, for
example, in Jamblicus' s Mysteries of Egypt, C
37
) - which is an apology of the theurgic art
(
134
) Cf. Vijfana Bhairava, ed. L. SILBURN,
Paris, 1961, p. 151 : Kilcijjfanair ya smrta
suddhil sa 'suddhil sambhudarsane 1 na sucir hy
asucis tasman nirvialpal sukh bhavet ; or d.
Mahanirvatatantra, ed. and transl. by A. AvALON,
London, 1927, p. 255, n. 2: duality is inherent
in ceremonial worship . Similarly, in the Buddhist
Tantras the supreme visuddhi consists in realiza
tion of the unty of safsara and nirvata, d.
Hevajra Tantra, ed. D. L. SNLLGROV, vol. I,
Lndon, 1959, pp. 29 f. and 78 f.
(135} Cf. Mahanirvatatantra, ci. , p. 209: So
long, however, as the impurity of the heart (citta)
is not removed so long must the worshipper
practice the rites .
(13
6
) To chose an example close to India both
from the geographical and historical aspect, the
Iranian field can provide a wide series of traits
similar to Indian religious conceptions, due partly
224
to the ancient Indo-Iranian cultural unity. One of
the elements that we feel to b of more direct
interest for our research is the maga. According
to a recent study by G. GNOLI, L stato di maga' ,
AIUON, X, 1965, pp. 105-1 17, the gathic maga
should be understood essentially as a particular
state of being ( una tance attiva e cosciente , p.
107) in close correlation not ony with the rite
but also with (a) a power, xa&ra, peculiar to it,
(b) a kowledge of supranormal realities or cisti
obtainable thanks precisely to that power, (c) a
condition of purity ( apecaki is the term used by
the Pahlavic tradition to explain the maga) that is
its essence and that implies a state of separation
between the psycho-spiritual (menok) and the
bodily ( gete) spheres.
(137) See E. DES PLACES' ed. and transl. , Paris,
1966, also for bbliographical references on the
subject.
against the "purist" tendencies of philosophers i a more specic sense, such as Porphyrius
- we fnd ths art in constant association wi th purifcation, power and kowledge; les
dieux vraix . . . frequentent ceux qu' a purifes la science hieratique; ils emondent en eux
toute malice et toute passion ; voila quele sera notre justifcation generale du culte sans
souillure: i rattache intimement les autres etres a ceux qui valent mieux que nous et
s' adresse pur aux purs, exempt de passion aux etres exempts de passion ; le mode varie du
rite theurgique peut purifer ou perfectionner ce qui est en nous ou autour de nous ; i peut
aussi lui donner proportion et ordre ou autrement le delivrer de 1' erreur des mortels et
mettre toutes chases d' accord avec !' ensemble des etres superieurs a nous . Or quand se
reunissent les causes divines et les preparations humaines qui leur resemblent, l' accomplisse
ment du sacrifce acheve tout et procure de grands biens ; les supplcations hieratiques . . .
sont les symboles des dieux memes et . . . d' une certaine aeon elles ont l a meme puissance
que les dieux C3
8
) . On this foundation of harmonious purifcation and the power rooted i
it is based the whole of man' s ascent towards the kowledge-realization of truth.
Even more interesting peculiarities of theurgy, from our point of view, have recently
been brought out in an article by A. J. Festugiere C
39 ) . In this article the Author considers
the problem of the coexistence, in a philosopher such as Produs, of subtle speculation and
theurgic or telestic art and shows, by virtue of a passage by Hierodes, comment, pour un
philosophe du V siecle, l' art hieratique pouvait s'inserer cans un systeme de philosophie
contemplative ( au sens platonicien) sans le bousculer de fond en comble C
40 )
. The follow
ig is a quotation of part of the same passage by Hierocles which is of particular value for
this discussion:
Celui qui progresse comme il faut cans l'une et l' autre purifcation se perfectionne
completement, et c'est pour aboutit a ce but qu'on lie la philosophie a l' art hieratique, cans
la pensee que cet art a pour objet la purifcation du corps lumineux: si en revanche tu
separes cet art hieratique de la sagesse phiosophique, tu trouveras qu' il n' a plus la meme
force. Des elements en efet qui constituent a plein notre perfectionnement, la sagesse
philosophique a d' abord decouvert les uns, et les autres, c'est l'activite telestique qui,
venant a la suite de la sagesse philosophique, les a introduits - par activite telestique,
j ' entends l' art magique qui purife le corps lumineux - en telle sorte que, la philosophie
(
1
38 ) dO| V Oso| ij 0Q080 . . . 1Ol I]
8[77|XQ osxOxppvot 00OIG|, !:ouo. :e
i;" Giliv nov |zv x| X0V Oo (p. )q4] DOV
Y OV :J' QtV !of TGgG0|G Xgt :q ypvtou
&p"OYE(x<; r<; "c IXG ols. ouvppoopvq 'Ot<;
;s. txoow qpv, x0 .t. 0O0pc Tgg G0GgODg x0
7700] Cg 0XX0 lpOodE':. (p. 60) ; o :o.vuv
.o xpo 1Q 6Y '!<; EepOupGt<; &yiOtE(< '
p-v d7Oa0a pst, I0 'E/tnOt :v !v 11tv i nep. 11&'
vmv, : 5 e| OU
((
Stpav x. :d.v O. otqd., :
6/ oe. :q &v''OEI1oi<; /qppse|, lcYc 1
FgO0Og7 f 0/O| pe.t:oo.v qpv cm;pycE'Ct. Kot
225
pqv ouv.vfv s s| x xf fv00V |t|v | xv
vOp|vv 1cpc1A"awv :olnpxdeuv, dv:x:sel
"CL psX O f &ua(c< 1 irso.oup. npsfx.
(pp. 177-78) ; . . . : [EpC't"ct !"EtE(ct 8" :v Oev
fv e|o. ouvOpf. . . 'po'ov : :.v xi t. tjv
afqv EXoUOL 1iYC(W xot 0eo! (p. 66).
(
3
8) A. J. FESTUGIER, Contemplation philo
sophique et art theurgique chez Proclus , in Studi
di storia religiosa delta tarda antichita, Messina,
1968, pp. 7-18.
(
1
4
0
)
Ibid., p. 9.
prise comme tout, la partie theoretique marche en tete a titre de sagesse, la partie pratique
vienne ensuite a titre d' art magique C41 ).
L' ensemble du texte d'Hierocles , Festugiere explains further on, concerne princi
palement la purifcation du corps pneumatique . . . et des lors, parmi les fonctions de la teles
tique, il insiste surtout sur la separation de ce corps d' avec le cops mortel . Thus the
power, i. e. the theurgic art C4
2
), is used for an immediately purifcational end and, indi
rectly, for knowledge. The analogy with Yoga is striing: the siddhis purify the sattva, or
luminous gu1a, thereby encouraging its separation ( viyoga) from the tamas and rajas, tl1at
is, from gross matter and the passions. No less noteworthy is its afnity with the Tantric
radhana also primarily directed towards the rattva C43 ) and endowed moreover with a
"telestic art" not only of a psychic but also, similarly to Neo-Platonism, of a ritual nature.
Hierocles in fact says : Reste done la purifcation du corps psychique, qu'l faut accomplir
en obeissant aux ordonnances concernant les rites sacrees et a l' art de pratiquer ces
rites C
44 ) ; the practices accustom the pneumatic body to sever itself from matter and si
elles sont accomplies avec piete et non a la m aniere d'un charlatan, on decouvre qu'elles
s'accordent aux regles de la vertu et de la verite C45 ) .
The morphological afnity between theurgic philosophy on the one hand and Indian
gnosis on the other is undoubtedly considerable. It is no less interesting to observe,
however, how the passages studied by Festugiere indicate that the theurgic art can coher
ently take its place within the Neo-Platonic context of Proclus and that it is consequently
at the least risky to ascribe its adoption to the "failure of nerve" that, according to G.
Murray, cited by Festlgiere C46 ), was typi cal of the era. The similarity of the contents
leads therefore to a similarity of criticism. \'e have seen how easily a spurious nature and
origin is attributed to Yoga's vibhitis and the same phenomenon, in even more accentuated
form, can easily be noted in Tantrism. B. Faddegon, to give an example among many,
wrote not long ago: We may regard this Sa ktism as an epidemic and social neurosis ; as
(
1
4
1
)
Ibid. , p. 16; our italics. This is Hierocles'
comment on Pythagoras's Golden Verses, cf. F.
G. A. MiLLACH's ed. , Berlin, 1853, p. 178:
o aa IL' cp'?'EfCV olxe( r 1potwv /J.o 'SASLOU'CL1
?l X'c 'O'J'o ouv!lte''L 'i 'iv Eepiiv 'EXV' 7
qLAOCO<[C &, lspl "'v 'Oi cuyoeLioi, ?alcpoLV 1pcypc
'U JEV'` fv et xrp(oaLC 'Oi 'LACfOqOU voi, OU) ihL
"'v cu"iv lvpLV sx ouocv aopijOEt,. K cl rop 'WV oup1A-
1po6vtrv "'v qpa'EpV 'EAS[CcLV 'c (EV o qLAOOOqO'
vof< poseips, "c Ie i "sAeo-L?i Evspre:c ouveLo'rcre,
"c qLACOO<! vc SlOJEV1. TeAao"L?iV as EVSffSLCV Asyr
'iv "oi cfroaLaoi xc&cp'L?'v lvcpw, tvc '' lA'
qLAOOO<[< 'O pEV larp''L?OV lpo'y''L, &, vo';, 'O
Ie pa
?
TLov, &, Iuv
a
JL;, gl'"L. On this subject G.
R. S. MEA's booklet, The Doctrine of the Subtle
Body in West ern Tradition, recently reprinted
( London 1967) , may be of some utility as a general
introduction.
226
( 142)
Cf. the expression 7 -eAeo"L?1 EvspyeLa.
( 143
)
Cf. for example A. AvALON, The Serpent
Power, Madras, 1964, p. 53 : The object and
the efect of the evolution, as it is of all sadhana
is to develop sattva-guta , a "development" that
can only be understood in the sense of gradual
separation from the other gutas and of entire
recovery, since the sattva is already present and
can thus be neither removed nor added.
( 14.5
) FESTUGIERE, op. cit. , pp. 14-15, MiL
LACH, op. cit. , pp. 1 69-1 70: Ae1E'oL a o5v '
cUXL?'U OW(0'C ' ?aopCL., Yv lOL'ooo0aL Iat 'Ot tspot<
!lOJiVOV &aOJOt,, :Gt "ot 'WV (epiv 'EXVOL,, . . (lc''O
Ia "c 1apl "oi"o lpWJav:), Mv &eo1pa1ii' ?al p1
Uf'LXf yv''cL1 OUVI10JSVc "Ot' "' Xf!'' ?c; cA'&sc<;
?CVOOLV s6po?E'CL,
(
1
46
)
Op. cit. , p. 13.
such it is not without signifcance for neurology C47 ) ; while the drastic judgement of an
anthropologist, F. Sierksma, who in dealing with Tantric Yoga expresses himself as
follows, is quite recent : Their jealous secrecy alone betrays that they have stuck halfway
between actual ieriority and imagined superiority, halfway between natural sexuality and
sublmated mysticism, in ritualism and magic. This is not ridiculous or contemptible.
Humanly speaking, it is saddening, ahnost tragic, and completely understandable, le
that <aping the white man. of primitives who have not the possibility and the means truly
to follow him
(
14
8
)
.
Certainly, no one would wish to question the fact that the late ancient
period in the West was a temps de credulite massive C49), nor that Yoga, Buddhism and
Tantrism are little more than magic, at times degeneratig, at certain levels . But this by
no means exhausts the subj ect. It has been noted, in this connexion, that the "power"
element, far from being isolated and gratuitous appears rather, in various Indian traditions,
as an integral part of a wider structure balanced equally on the three conceptions of puri
fcation, knowledge and power. Now as we have suggested earlier, Tantrism, when ex
amined in its more cultured and advanced expressions, proves to take up this "structure"
in full, developing and enriching it and in no way evoking the image of a "social neurosis"
or a "failure of nerve" . With regard to the earlier doctrines, we have felt the need of
pointing out how unfounded are the frequent imputations of magism to Yoga. As to Bud
dhism, it has been sufcient to emphasize the interaction of the three elements in question,
an interaction that implies a considerable and precise function of the abhijnas in the general
context of the Buddhist marga: oddly enough, modern historical literature, particularly
with regard to Hinayana, is much more cautious in the imputations of magism noted in the
case of Yoga, although in view of their simi lar contents, an analogous reaction might logi
cally have been expected.
Now the comparison between these Oriental doctrines on the one hand and the aspects
of Neo-Platonism referred to above on the other is not merely a cultural curiosity in our
opinion. On the contrary, we believe that confrontation of the two areas may prove
mutually stimulating in various directions . For example, how far is the continuity to be
found in India between relatively modern doctrines such as Tantrism and other more an
cient ones to be traced between Neo-Platonis m and its close and distant antecedents ? In
other words, the parallelism with India can lead one to wonder in what degree the close
relation between knowledge, puri:cation-sep aration and power associated to ritual is a
peculiarity of a certain type of Neo-Platonism and of its age and, on the other hand, in what .
measure and in what manner and forms it may be found in earlier ( or later) periods and in
related cultural areas. Specialists of the various branches of studies can judge on
the prospects of research in this direction. What would seem undeniable, considering these
.( 147 ) Brahmanisme en Hindoeisme , De Gods
diensten der Wereld, ed. by G. VAN DER LEEU,
Amsterdam, 1940, cited and translated in K. W.
BoLLE, The Persistence of Religion, Leiden, 1965,
227
p. 3.
(
1
4
8 )
Tibet's Terrifying Deities, cit. , p. 53.
( 149) FESTUGIERE, op. cit., p. 13.
examples, is the stimulus to historical investigation ensuing from an initial observation ot
structural and morphological afnities . As R. Pettazzoni has written: In sede metodo
logica si tratta di vedere se la comparazione non possa essere altro che una meccanica re
gistrazione di somiglianze e di di:ferene o se non si dia - invece - una comparazione
che, superando il memento descrittivo e classifcatorio, valga a stimolare i pensiero ala sco
perta di nuovi rapporti e al' approfondimento della coscienza storica e
5
0 ) .
( 15 0 )
R. PETTAZZONI, Religione e societa, Bolo
gna 1966, p. 108. See also La religione di Zara
thustra by the same Author, Bologna, 1920, p.
XVI: La comparazione, come ravvicinamento idea
le e sintesi di elementi estranei a prima vista
gli uni agli altri, va applicata ai fatti non tanto
228
CoRRADO PENSA
come punti nello spazio quanta come momenti nel
tempo; e dunque non ai fatti avulsi dal loro am
biente cuturale e fissati in un isolamento che e
astrazione fuori della realta, bensl in particolar
modo agli svolgimenti organici, alle linee dinami
che del dvenire .