A bit more light on yoga

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~
namasté

vivekaja mārga & yogaja mārga were reviewed above….

Is there another mārga ? Yes. One must recognize that of bhakti mārga, or the path of devotion. It is very popular and people gravitate to it most often, and it is my humble opinion it is not fully comprehended. That is, its depth, breath, profundity, and in many cases ( that I view) its ~casual application~ by many, missing it’s a essential nature of approach.

Let me offer a few ideas on this matter.
Bhakti is known as devotion. We must revisit ‘devotion’ in a bit to bring clarity to this term; yet bhakti in the feminine gender use means separation, partition or division. This makes sense when on thinks of it. There needs to be some sense of ‘2’ for bhakti to apply. There needs to be a worshiper and the worshiped. And with this 2 then bringing them together or at a minimum closer ‘yoga’ or union is applied. Hence the path or approach (mārga) of bhakti yoga, and its relevance to this string I have been posting .

So there must be one who practices it, bhakta. Sometimes this bhaktaka¹ poetically (sāhitya or kavitā) considered the dāsa or śliku (slave); that is, the master-slave concept
or the adored and adorer.

Devotion and some building blocks

I am selecting a few terms for devotion to hopefully round-out its true meaning ( as I have been taught).

• The first is kāsū. This term kāsū is defined as devotion, but also as a spear or lance; it is also defined s light, luster, and as understanding. So, it ( devotion) is that one-pointed approach, that is filled with light.
• The second is caraṇasevā. This term is defined as ‘service on one’s feet’. If you read it too quickly you will read service to one’s feet, and your mind will think ‘ oh yes , service to the master or to the Lord’s feet’. This is not the case. The point here is ‘service on one’s feet’ suggesting all the time, occupied all the time with this service/devotion of kāsū i.e. always attentive to devotion.
• The third is spṛhā. It is longing, eager desire. It is the notion of ‘active longing’; that perpetual desire for the Supreme.
• The fourth is akṣamā . This is aligned to the third notion just mentioned. This term akṣamā is unable to endure , impatient Hence ‘longing’. But why these last two terms of spṛhā and akṣamā? It tells you what is on the bhaktaka’s mind all the time.
• The fifth: when svāmī lakṣman-jū talks of this notion of devotion he always seems to mention passion… the passion of devotion , where devotion and passion are on equal terms. It seems to me that ‘passion’ is a very good one as it suggests both heart and mind.
  
  • ​When I think of passion the term māḍhi also arises. One definition of it is in fact ‘passion’ , yet too it is rooted in ‘mah’. This is defined as ‘to magnify , esteem highly , honor , revere’. See the point ? It is that ~passion~ that magnifies, honors and reveres.

With bhakti, worship goes hand-and-hand… some terms considered:

• upāsana – the act of service, homage , adoration , worship
  
• yajatha – worship, sacrifice
  
• pūjā - honor , worship , respect , reverence , veneration , homage to superiors or adoration

Most are immersed in some rigor of worship e.g. pūjā, offering flowers, prayer, japa ( muttering sacred śloka-s) or ajapa ( muttering in the mind, these śloka-s ), some may clean the temple, others may donate, etc. These are all well and good, and are considered supports (bahusādhāra or having many supports) that one may take delight in doing.

We are informed and encouraged by utpaladevacāra¹ and his writings of the śivastortāvalī which he says, wherever one finds the Supreme, His presence ( in this case Lord śiva) it is worth having; he continues and says, wherever you (Lord śiva) are not found, that is worth abandoning. This is from the chapter called rahasyanirdeśanāma dvādaśaṁ stotram. This says, the 12^th stotra or hymn (dvādaśaṁ stotram) revealing of a secret (rahasyanirdeśanāma). This is one of the secrets utpaladevacāra offers us.

It seems simple enough. Within your practice of devotion gravitate to that which the Supreme is most abundant to you , abandon the others.
So, where is the ‘secret’ ? It is, iteyaṁ sārasaṅgrahaḥ - this in essence is saṃgraha, the summary, the epitome, the marrow of what is offered in this view. Pending one’s comprehension this can be viewed as mildly interesting or profoundly insightful.

This says, in very terse words to put all your attention on that where the Supreme is most near, closest. This is at the core the secret of blooming devotion. The gravity of the words deserves another look… let me explain.

Being immersed in devotion is substantial. It is not a fashion; something that is put-on and taken off later. It is kratu, a resolve, that 'this is so, not otherwise'. When this is complete we have niṣpatti avastha.

Niṣpatti avastha

niṣpatti = completion + avastha = state

The highest level ( most bathed-in, immersed, as one would say) is the continuous and perpetual condition of bhakti that occurs every second of every day.
But one must ask, how can this even occur? In between worship I need to shop, pick up food, get my dry cleaning; oh, I have to go pay my bills, I have to….

In this state of doing ( some call kalā śarīra¹) the native is in a differentiated/fractionalized level of awareness. The mind at times is surrounded by devotion, the temple, pūjā and in a millionth
of a second the mind is off doing grocery shopping in the mind; running here and there. There must be more to this, there must be something deeper and more robust to comprehend.
In viśiṣṭādvaita vedānta¹ this view would be called out as a continuous stream of remembrance of God, uninterrupted – like a flow of oil from one vessel to another. There is no break or pause; it is continuous, pure, unending (niḥśeṣa without remainder).

What then is this ? It is bhagavat-cetana (god consciousness). This is undifferentiated awareness… it is without break or pause. Yet one must be mindful that this is not the next stop in consciousness… that is, wake – dream – sleep - bhagavat-cetana. There are plenty of posts¹ on HDF regarding this matter so I will not go deeper.

What are some of the qualities of this is bhagavat-cetana ? Let’s take up in the next post.

iti śivaṁ

words

• kalā śarīra - śarīra= body, that which is easily destroyed + kalā which has many definitions : A division of time, ignorance, weak, crude, undigested, 1/16th division; a small part of anything. In this use it means a body of actions as kalā also means ‘skills’.
• Utpaladevācārya – utpala+deva+ācārya utpala = blossoming, any flower + deva = divine, of highest excellence + ācārya is the master, knowing or teaching the ācāra or rules, the spiritual guide Utpaladevācārya was a luminary within kaśmir śaivism. This work I am quoting from is the śivastortāvalī is devotional to its core.
  
  • ācāra – conduct, manner, established rule of conduct , ordinance , institute , precept
  
  
• Plenty of posts for other views on consciousness :
  
  • ​http://hindudharmaforums.com/showthr...ghlight=turiya
  • http://hindudharmaforums.com/showthr...ng-Tur%C4%ABya

• niḥśeṣa – finished, complete, totally; some say without remainder

[LightofOm]

Namaskar yajvan-ji,

This is golden knowledge that you are sharing. I am getting a lot out of your posts here. Much gratitude to you; keep them coming and I will continue to read.

_/\_Pranams_/\_

LightofOm

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~
namasté

What then is this ? It is bhagavat-cetana (god consciousness). This is undifferentiated awareness… it is without break or pause.

There is a few śloka-s that utpaladevācārya offers in his work śivastortāvalī that I find most interesting on this matter of undifferentiated awareness with the notion of ‘without break or pause’. In the 3 chapter, called praṇaya pr​asādākhyaṁ tṛtīyaṁ stortam¹ , utpaladevācārya calls out this ‘break or pause’ as anusmṛti. This term is defined as ‘a cherished recollection , recalling some idea to the exclusion of all others.’
The verse says, for those that possess one dose for getting rid of the worldly (bhava) disease (roga) which cannot be cured by any medicine, then one is to apply this anusmṛti of your svārupa ( your form śiva) which is khacita (studded, prominent, filled or aśeṣa) with your viśva (universal) beautiful\wonderful being (bhavadvapur¹).

First one must ask, what is this dis-ease utpaladevācārya mentions ? The worldly dis-ease or bhavaroga ( written in the śloka as bhavarujā) is bhinnavedyatā¹ . This bhinnavedyatā is differentiated knowledge or awareness ( fractionalized perception). It is the dis-ease of the constant view of every and all things of differences, items, localized and totally unconnected things.
This causes one dis-ease on this earth. The dis-ease of not feeling whole and seeing wholly.

He says the cure is anusmṛti, the constant memory without break or pause, some call nirantara or having no interval in space or time, of your universal Being relieves one from this affliction.
Now to the unaided sevaka ( worshipper, servant, devotee, bhaktaka) they begin the quest. They think of Supreme ( in this case lord śiva) the best they can… yet every time they do, they end up thinking Him within the human construct – a moon over His head, a cobra around His waist. If it is viṣṇu then one may think of his blue 4-armed form. They commit to memory the best they can
for as long as they can but then all the noise begins – time to shop, time to get dressed, oh I am out of clean clothes, time to wash, time to pay my rent, time to ( fill in the blank). One’s best intentions come smashing into the rocks of differentiated knowledge and awareness. It even creeps in during pūjā.

This continuous memory of the supreme without break or pause (nirantara) is that awareness that occurs 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. The point to be made is this – if there is effort, with a brute force of trying to do this, then it will fade. While it is noble that one tries to hold that memory as best one can, it still is not the Supreme’s universal form of being. Well what is this universal form then? It is pure awareness, pure being, pure sattā. AND the secret is, it is not outside of you – you need not go fetch it somewhere. It does not need to be ‘developed’ it only needs to be re-recognized once again.

The beauty of this re-recognition is our author utpaladevācārya who not only sings¹ devotion within the hymns and stotra-s of this great work (śivastortāvalī) it too is littered with hints
of how to unfold this level of being within ourselves… He too was the author of the īśvarapratyabhijñā-kārikās. So within this work of devotion is woven the knowledge of the Supreme –
a devotional (bhakti) and jñāna (knowledge) approach well balanced within full, pure devotion.

iti śivaṁ

words

• utpaladevācārya – utpala+deva+ācārya utpala = blossoming, any flower + deva = divine, of highest excellence + ācārya is the master, knowing or teaching the ācāra or rules, the spiritual guide
• utpaladevācārya was a luminary within kaśmir śaivism. This work I am quoting from is the śivastortāvalī is devotional to its core
• praṇaya prasādakhyaṁ tṛtīyaṁ stortam praṇaya = friendship , favor, affectionately + prasādākhyaṁ = graciousness , kindness , kind behavior made known + tṛtīyaṁ stortam = the 3^rd storta ; svāmī lakṣman-jū calls this 3^rd chapter 'pleasing the Lord in humble ways'
• bhavadvapur = bhavad+ vapur = bhavat + vapas = having form or a beautiful form , embodied , handsome , wonderful
• bhinnavedyatā= bhinna+vedyatā bhinna = distinct , different from or other, ~differentiated~ + vedyatā = restrained or held ( yata) knowledge (veda)
• nirantara = having no interval (in space or time) , close , compact , dense , uninterrupted , perpetual , constant
  

• sings – it is said that utpaladevācārya use to be brought out on to Dal Lake by his sevaka’s ( disciples); there he would voice the hymns that came to him, the outpouring of a śiva-bhakta; this came to be the śivastortāvalī.
  
  • The hymns where in no particular order . his śiṣya-s (students) wrote down the verses/hymns and re-arranged them accordingly into 20 chapters.
  • One of utpaladevācārya’s śiṣya-s was lakṣmaṇagupta. He was abhinavagupta’s master for learning the pratyabhijñā ( re-recognition of one’s Self) sytem. Utpaladevācārya was considered the leading exponent of pratyabhijñā which was extracted ( properly considered the nector) from the īśvarapratyabhijñā-kārikās .

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~
namasté

I wrote in post 11 above,

What then is this ? It is bhagavat-cetana (god consciousness). This is undifferentiated awareness… it is without break or pause. - bhagavat-cetana.

Utpaladevācārya writes in his śivastortāvalī ( chapter 13) that bhagavat-cetana ( he does not use this term specifically) is that state of being, god-consciousness
that is pūjana mahotsavaḥ or the greatest festival of worship that is continual ( sarvadhā) or perpetual. What an intriguing and wonderful way of expressing this.

Just to mention this using utpaladevā-ji's words is a delight! These words of utpaladevā-ji's equals and surpasses the statement I offered in the quote above:
‘it is without break or pause’. But what does that mean to the developed and blossomed person that has this experience ? We will look in the next post.

iti śivaṁ

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

namasté

pūjana mahotsavaḥ or the greatest festival of worship that is continual ( sarvadhā) or perpetual

When one attends a festival it is a celebration. The mind and senses ( eyes, hearing, etc. the indriya-s¹ as they are called) are engaged in wonderment of what is occurring. Within the realm if bhagavat-cetana or god-consciousness everything takes on ( or is revealed) as Self-luminous or ( svaprakāśa ) Being. That is, what one sees, touches, hears, smells, all that from the indriya-s is experienced in this manner.
No-thing is seen other then an expression of that Divine svaprakāśa. This is why utpaladevācārya says it is like a festival. But why is it worship?
It is the blossoming of Self that allows all that is experienced to land on the entryway of the Divine. It is the Divine experiencing the world though Self…
it is an offering to the Divine via our indriya-s, it is ‘worship’ in the highest sense as there are no intermediaries (paṇḍita, priests, pūjākara, etc.) acting on our behalf.
In the West they would say it is from lip-to-cup. Nothing is in the way of tasting what is contained within the ‘cup’ – the environment around us. And it is without break or pause (sarvadhā).

What does utpaladevācārya say this is like? He gives us many-many hints and ideas . He calls this out in the 8th chapter. I wish to perceive all these worldly things as
one with You (being śiva); I do not want to reject the world, I want to see it only as an extension of You ( this is another definition of bhagavat-cetana). Now this also includes
during wake-dream-sleep.
Utpaladevācārya wishes to see You śiva (code for staying united , undivided) in all states of awareness; this god consciousness of awareness is never lost – it is in continuity.
This occurs when turīya the 4th which is beyond wake-dream-sleep ‘the 3’, is stable and does not waiver in one’s consciousness whether eyes are open or closed.
This is called Self-Awareness. Hence the prerequisite for bhagavat-cetana is Self-awareness, the direct experience of Being/turīya.

This bhagavat-cetana is then one’s frame of reference. It is not, oh I think I will check-in and view the world from
bhagavat-cetana for a while, then return back to this differentiated/fragmented level of existence. This is not the case.

This bhagavat-cetana is now how one conducts his/her business. If there is happiness being viewed is filled with this svaprakāśa ( self-luminous) wholeness;
if there is sadness it is filled with this wholeness; if there things broken or crated around this person it is filled with this wholeness.
This is utpaladevācārya’s request I want to see it as tavaśarīra ( your body).

The Supreme’s ‘body’ within the field of vision is just this wholeness and fullness of Being. Utpaladevācārya says when I get entry into Your nature (śiva’s nature)
during worldly sensations ( that is with the orgrans engaged in perceiving) and that ‘nature’ is soft, white, pure, light ( as in laghu¹), and cooling (śītala¹). We can
see there is an overall easiness, gentleness, purity to what is being viewed. Hence one can see being flooded with this as one’s mode of being is easy, effortless,
yet delightful and light.

iti śivaṁ

words

• indriya-s - are the the five organs of perception ; I am using the term to also include karmeindriyāṇi + antar-indriyāṇi (action related + mind related)
• laghu - light , easy , not heavy or difficult; easy on the mind; causing easiness or relief
• śītala is cooling but also means free from passion , calm , gentle
• alauka – splendor
• balana – act of strengthening

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~
namasté

Hence one can see being flooded with this as one’s mode of being is easy, effortless, yet delightful and light.

In the 13th chapter of the śivastortāvalī, called saṃgrahastotranāma¹ , utpaladevācārya informs us
that those within this god consciousness this splendor of Self –luminius Being (svaprakāśa) is akutobhayam,
or has no fear, alarm or dread (bhayam). This person is always sukhinaḥ¹ or happy, joyful, pleasant, comfortable , easy.
Why so ? It is the residual effect of seeing the Supreme everywhere… from what direction can fear come from if all
is perceived as Him ?

iti śivaṁ

words

• saṃgrahastotranāma = saṃgraha+stotra+nāma
  
  • saṃgraha = drawing together , making narrower , narrowing , tightening i.e. summing it up
  • stotra = hymns of praise
  • nāma = can mean a few things : however, of course; it also can mean name, by name or named
  • So saṃgrahastotranāma means however, summing up the named hymns aforementioned ( the last 12)
  
  
• sukhinaḥ = sikhin = possessing or causing happiness or pleasure , happy , joyful , pleasant , comfortable , easy

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~
namasté

So, here is the part of kaśmir śaivism that I find most delightful and attractive.
Svāmī lakṣman-jū informs us ( within his commentary on the śiva sutra-s) of
the following ( and for me, this concurs with my teacher’s commentaries and his lectures):

What if, for the time being we were to say that the veil of ignorance exists before you are realized,
and that afterwards, when you are realized , it ( ignorance ) does not exist ?Then, if ignorance does
not exist after realization, it is the truth that is did not exist at all. Why so ? Because at the time
of realization the aspirant realizes and knows that ignorance does not exist at all. Whatever he/she
called ignorance was actually not ignorance but really non-fullness ( wholeness, pūrṇatvan) of knowledge.


So, many-a-teacher uses the example of a knot in a rope. Remove (untie) the knot and ask where did it go?
Like that, ignorance, once realization occurs never existed.


iti śivaṁ

1. pūrṇatvan - the power of fullness/wholeness when limited is turned in to the power of being incomplete, feeling individual, separate from the whole.

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~
namasté

If one reads patañjali’s¹ yogadarśana, it is clear that samādhiḥ is one of the key offerings as a part of a yoga practice (abhyāsa) found within this work. I thought to offer a few ideas on this matter. It is first hinted at in chapter 1, rightly called samādhi pāda¹.

This first sūtra sets the stage for one to begin to appreciate the notion of samādhiḥ

स्मृतिपरिशुद्धौ स्वरूपशून्येवार्थमात्रनिर्भासा निर्वितर्का॥४३॥
smṛtipariśuddhau svarūpaśūnyevārthamātranirbhāsā nirvitarkā||43

memory (smṛti) is pure/clean (pariśuddhau) devoid (śūnyā) as it were (iva) of its own nature (svarūpa), that (state or condition ~samāpatti~) the simplest condition (mātra), shines forth (nirbhāsā) and is nirvitarkā, the substance (artha) (some say object) on which the mind is concentrated on , or rests in ||43

Hence this nirvitarkā is something to know.

• nirvitarkā = nir+ vitarkā
• nir = =nis = free from, away from
• vitarkā = reasoning, deliberation

Yet to know it, one may intellectually comprehend it as we are doing now via a description and discussion. Yet to know it the way patañjali muni is suggesting is to become it. That is why I do not prefer or recommend the term ‘artha’ in this sūtra be deemed ‘object’. Why so? If there is and object then there is a subject that is inferred to view the object, no ?
The sutra informs us that nirvitarkā is beyond thought, hence one does not hold it as an object in one’s mind to inspect. The mind is left to itself ( some say is no more for this period) in a condition beyond the mechanics of reasoning ( free from it).

So, why do people use the term ‘object’? It is ~as if~ what one is experiencing is the ‘object’ of their experience. In terms of words this makes sense, but is not equal to the actual experience. If one’s memory (smṛti) is pure/clean then one is not using it or is engaged in it. One therefore cannot say, ‘oh this nirvitarkā is like this, or like that ‘ . ‘Like this or that’ is predicated on recalling a past idea , feeling, tought, etc. If one’s memory at this time of nirvitarkā is pure/clean then there is no database to go to , to make an comparison. See the point ?

What then is this samādhiḥ, based upon patañjali’s instruction/darśana ? Let’s look to chapter 3:

तदेवार्थमात्रनिर्भासं स्वरूपशून्यमिव समाधिः॥३॥
tadevārthamātranirbhāsaṁ svarūpaśūnyamiva samādhiḥ||3

We will review it in the next posting….

इतिशिवं
iti śivaṁ


words

• abhyāsa - repeated or permanent discipline , use , habit; in yoga is is considered the practice of th mind to remain in its unmodified condition , some say purity of mind or sattva.
• patañjali - some say the derivation of his name comes in this manner pata + añjali
  
  • añjali = open hands placed side by side and slightly hollowed
  • pata – falling

The legend says that śeṣa ( the divine serpent) incarnated and fell (pata) into open hands (añjali) of a brahmin (realized being) no less; and this incarnation was none other than patañjali. We can see why he would be called śeṣa-patañjali. We can even get fancier than this for the derivation of his name but will leave it here.

• 4 chapters of patañjali’s yogadarśana or yogasūtra-s
  
  • samādhi pāda
    
  • sādhana pāda
    
  • vibhūti pāda
    
  • kevala pāda

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~
namasté

So, what then is this samādhiḥ, based upon patañjali’s instruction/darśana ? Let’s look to chapter 3:

तदेवार्थमात्रनिर्भासं स्वरूपशून्यमिव समाधिः॥३॥
tadevārthamātranirbhāsaṁ svarūpaśūnyamiva samādhiḥ||3

There are a few ways of looking at this śloka:

One view
samādhiḥ is truly/really (eva) that (tad), the only (mātra) substance ( some use ‘object’) (artha) that shines forth (nirbhāsam), and the self (svarūpa) is absent (śūnyam), as it were (iva)||3

• mātra is one key term and means measure , quantity , sum , size , duration , measure of any kind; the whole or totality , the one thing and no more i.e. there is no parts, it is the whole.
  
  • ​The term ‘only’ is used for mātra and carries much weight. It is ‘only’ from the standpoint of being all inclusive, undifferentiated, without parts.
  
  
• Another key term is tad ( or tat) – it is pure Being; another name for brahman. It is this that shines forth in wholeness, unobstructed.
  
• What is absent (śūnya) ? One’s self (svarūpa). In this case ‘self’ means condition , peculiarity , character , nature, and suggests the relative field of life, differentiated/fractured awareness of one’s ‘in the world of doing’ nature.

So, in this definition, samādhiḥ is where ‘tad’ or brahman only shines.

Another view
samādhiḥ is truly/really (eva) that (tad) only (mātra) substance ( some use ‘object’) (artha) that shines forth (nirbhāsam) when empty (śūnyam) of one’s own form (svarūpa) as it were (iva)||3

See the slight difference? You may need to read it a few times. It suggests when your nature is out of the way (śūnyam) as it were (iva), then samādhiḥ 'that substance' (or artha) only (mātra) shines forth (nirbhāsam) or remains.

Some too can argue that truly that when one is empty then one’s true form or essential form (svarūpa) shines forth. But that begs the question, empty of what ? Of vṛtti or modes of the mind; conditions of the mind, moods, actions, impressions ( vāsana-s or impressions) and then stored as memory (smṛti, suggested in post 18 above). But where does this vṛtti come from within patañjali’s instruction yajvan ? We find it in chapter 1, the 2^nd sūtra:
योगश्चित्तवृत्तिनिरोधः॥२
yogaścittavṛttinirodhaḥ||2

yoga (yogaḥ) is the destruction (nirodhaḥ) of the modifications (vṛtti) of mind (citta)||2

Some use the term suppression for nirodhaḥ of which I am not a fan. Suppression suggests that the modifications will then return, they are only suppressed.
What leads me to this view of ‘destruction' ? It is the words of abhinavagupa found in the parātrīśikāvivaraṇa tantra¹:
Just as by washing the dirt or impurity lying in the inner fold of a cloth, the dirt lying on the upper portion ( the outer folds) gets automatically washed or cleansed ; even so, by the removal of the dirt (mala) lying at the subtle levels, the dirt residing at the madhyamā ( central ) levels get automatically removed.

Now a logical question can be asked: what then needs to be ‘cleaned’ ? We will take a look in the next post.

इतिशिवं
iti śivaṁ

1. This work is also known by the name anuttarasūtra-s or the essence of the Unsuprassable. Some to refer it as the trikasūtra-s.

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~
namasté

what then needs to be ‘cleaned’ ?

How can we think about this ? When we clean do we work on the level of dirt ? What is done ? We take the dirt to a higher level of cleanliness for its purification. Let’s take an example.
Take a white cloth we use for dusting. All the dust particles cling to this cloth, yet it really is not the cloth. Now take this cloth and immerse it into pure water. We just leave it there. What occurs ? The particles are released; the cloth is purified, returning to its original purity of white.
All we needed to do is bring it to a higher level of purity for this to occur.

That was the example. But one must ask, what in us needs to be purified ? In a word 'limitation'. This is saṃkoca , defined
as diminution , limitation , restriction.

A bit more knowledge, at the expense of being a bit more technical... for some this may be too much, for others just right.

The upaniṣads say the Self realizes itSelf to itSelf. We find this reviewed in the kaṭha and muṇḍaka upaniṣads.
So what to do if this happens , what are we suppose to do? Prepare. We prepare the soil just like the farmer does so a rich harvest can take place.
We are that soil. Our actions are the seeds that are dropped in. The water is our behavior. Our meditations is our yajñya.
The sprout that begins from one'syajñya is a more rested composure and point of view, more relaxed and insightful. The fertilizer we use is the knowledge from the śāstra-s and āgama-s.

But one must ask how is this even possible? This Self realizing itSelf ? This Self or ātman , the Supreme or anuttara ( using śaivāgama words ) is filled with vimarśa-śakti. What is vimarśa ? It is defined as deliberation , examination. We know what śakti is, energy, vibration, liveliness. Yet let's take a closer look at vimarśa, as an important construct mainly in kaśmiri śaivism.

Vimarśa is composed of vi + mṛś . This mṛś is defined as to touch mentally , consider , reflect , deliberate ; vimṛś is to touch (mentally), be sensible or aware of , perceive , consider , reflect on , deliberate about. Yet the beauty here is in this phoneme vi (वि) and stems back to dvi , meaning " in two parts " apart , in different directions , to and fro.

Here is the point to offer
The Supreme (aforementioned as anuttara or unsurpassable) is not only filled with light (prakāśa) or luminous consciousness it also exhibits vimarśa - the ability of its own Self-reflection, Self-awareness, my teacher called Self-referral.
This anuttara is aware of its own Being. We can appreciate then this notion of vi + mṛś as reflecting on its own Self , to and fro.
The Supreme is not stagnent, but lively in its own Self. This is why it can realize itSelf by itSelf because of its nature to be conscious of its own Being.

Why then is the Self/Supreme/anuttara not part of our daily experience? It goes 'as if' unnoticed , yet no one could exist for a moment without It. What then do we need to do?
śodhaka शोधक - purifier
śodhana शोधन - the act of cleaning , purifying
śodhya - शोध्य - the purified ( the native)

This then is a good subject that we can turn back onto patañjali’s instruction/darśana for guidance...

इतिशिवं
iti śivaṁ