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Sutra number 13 of the Vibhuti Pada is another most important sutra in which in the following few sutras Maharishi Patanjali will be laying the foundation for the description and explanation of the vibhūtis. So sutra number 13 is another most important sutra in the Vibhuti Pada. The relation between the manifestations, unmanifestations, changes, modifications from 13th to the 15th sutra. These three sutras are very very important and as I said it will be a foundation for the explanation of the various vibhūtis powers which will be described in the later sutras. So the 13th sutra of the Vibhuti Pada
ए॒तेन भू॒तेन्द्रियेषु ध॒र्मल॒क्ष॒णा॒व॒स्थाप॒रि॒णा॒मा व्या॑ख्या॒ताः ॥ ३.१३॥
Etena bhūtendriyeṣu dharmalakṣaṇāvasthā pariṇāmā vyākhyātāḥ.
Vyākhyātāḥ is explained, described. So what is explained? What is described? Etena- by this - iti en - eten - by this bhūtendriyeṣu, bhūta is the beings, it can be living beings, it can be non-living beings, both, that is called bhūta, living or non-living beings. Beings it is that is bhūta. Indriyeṣu - indriyas it is, plural. Dharma is the basic nature, basic property, Intrinsic basic property. Lakṣaṇa Intrinsic characteristic, property and characteristic. Dharma is the property, lakṣaṇa is the characteristic. Avasthā is the condition, state. And pariṇāma is the transformation. Vyākhyātāḥ is explained. That is dharma, lakṣaṇa, avasthā of the bhūtendriyeṣu pariṇāma is explained here. Bhūtendriyeṣu, the pariṇāmas of the bhūtendriyeṣu dharma, lakṣaṇa and avasthā are explained.
Dharma is the intrinsic nature and character of a thing. Bhūta is pañcabhūtas we have - pṛthvī, āpas, tejo, vāyu, ākāśaḥ. And there is a tanmātras connected to it - śabda, sparśa, rūpa, rasa, gandha. So five tanmātras are the subtle causal side. And the five bhūtas- pañcabhūtātmikaṁ jagat it is called - the whole world is nothing but an expression and manifestation of pros and cons and mixture of the pañcabhūtas. So dharma is the intrinsic nature of the bhūta. It can be only pṛthvī, only Earth. The intrinsic nature of the Earth. The intrinsic nature of the water. The intrinsic nature of the fire. The intrinsic nature of the ākāśa. The intrinsic nature of the vāyu, air. That is called dharmaḥ. So very very important to understand dharma in this particular context - dharma of an object, dharma of a being.
Lakṣaṇa is an intrinsic quality of a thing of a bhūta. If the nature of the water is to flow the characteristic of water is to wet. If the nature of the fire is to burn, the characteristic of the fire is to be hot. If the nature of the wind is to blow, the characteristic of the wind is movement. That is what is the difference between dharma and lakṣaṇa. Avasthā is the state of that particular bhūta. The condition of the object. So dharma, lakṣaṇa, avasthā it is and pariṇāma it is - transformations.
So transformation of dharma brings transformations in lakṣaṇa and avasthā. It is very important. It is a very powerful point which is to be noted and understood. Because dharma is the basic fundamental basic intrinsic nature it is. If that changes, lakṣaṇa will change, avasthā will change. Lakṣaṇa is the character, characteristic. A unique special characteristic of it. Avasthā is the state of the bhūta it is.
If you take up a simple example, it will be very easy to understand. Take for example, say water. The dharma of the water is to flow and wet. If water gets transformed into ice cube pariṇāma took place. Dharma pariṇāma took place. Once water was transformed into ice, the qualities of water also changed, lakṣaṇa has changed. And the avasthā of the water also changed into the ice avasthā. From water dharma to ice dharma and lakṣaṇa of the water to the lakṣaṇa of the ice, avasthā of the water into the avasthā of the ice. So from water dharma, water lakṣaṇa, water's avasthā transformed into ice or snow dharma, snow lakṣaṇa, snow avasthā. The dharma of the snow, dharma of the water are different. Lakṣaṇa particular to the dharma of the snow is different from the lakṣaṇa particular to the dharma of the water. And the avasthā, the state, the condition of the snow, the ice is different from the condition of the water. Everything changed. Because of the dharma changed, all other things changed. It can be same. From ice if it becomes steam, it is different and it becomes rain, it is different.
This is how Patanjali is putting it, Maharshi Patanjali is explaining it that bhūtendriyeṣu dharmalakṣaṇāvasthā pariṇāma is taking place. A very standard, powerful example is the example of a caterpillar. A caterpillar becomes a butterfly. There is a transformation of a caterpillar becoming into a butterfly. But once the caterpillar is undergoing the transformation into a butterfly, everything belonging to a caterpillar is lost. And everything belonging to the butterfly is coming into it. One transformation is taking place by the elimination of the other transformation. It is a very very important point. As the caterpillar is becoming the butterfly, the caterpillarness is lost. The dharma of the caterpillar is lost. The lakṣaṇa of the caterpillar is lost. The avasthā of the caterpillar is lost. And in its place, dharma of the butterfly is coming. The lakṣaṇa of the butterfly is coming. And the avasthā of the butterfly is coming. One transformation setting into the other transformation or vacated by the earlier transformation. One transformation is filling up the emptiness created by the previous transformation.
Exactly another beautiful example for all of us to understand easily. This particular sutra is a very powerful sutra. Another example is the milk, curd and ghee. Milk transforms into curd, curd transforms into ghee. But let us understand more deeper in this. Curd was already there in the milk in unmanifested form. It may seem to be surprising, but curdness is there already in the milk. So milkness contains curdness. And when the milkness gets śāntaḥ, curdness uditaḥ. That was the earlier one. And similarly, bhūtendriyeṣu dharmalakṣaṇāvasthā pariṇāmā vyākhyātāḥ. This is the explanation. The bhūta, the milk as a bhūta, as an object. And the curd is unmanifested form in the milk. And ghee, which is also in the unmanifested form in the curd. But to get ghee, milk to curd, curd to ghee. The reverse is not possible. That will be explained in further sutras, in future sutras. Curd is present in the past, but it was in unmanifested form. Curd was present in unmanifested form. That unmanifest in the past became manifest in the presence. And when the unmanifested curd became manifested in the presence, the milk became lost, transformed. So all the dharmas, all the lakṣaṇas, all the avasthās are temporary, and they are changeable, and they are transformable. This is a very, very, very powerful, most important sutra to understand in the future vibhūtis. One object can be transformed into another object. One bhūta can be completely transformed into totally different bhūta. But we should remember that, that which was transformed was already exist in that, in unmanifested form. Because we all know that, that what comes out was already available in that. Without that it is not possible. But for this, there is a time lag is there. This time lag is not an essential part. There can be instant. And it is not necessary to have a common, equal fixed time lag. The time taken for the milk to become a curd, and the time taken from curd to the ghee should be same. No, need not be. Because avasthā is different, lakṣaṇa is different, dharma is different. From the dharma of the milk to become the dharma to get the dharma of the curd, what time? That depends on the lakṣaṇa and avasthās. And the same is not for the other. This is also very important. For one object to get transformed into another object, the time varies, kāla varies. The timeline differs for each of the transformations. The latent becomes the potent, and the potent becomes the latent. And this is a powerful sutra of this particular Vibhuti Pada, the thirteenth sutra which we have just said, that is etena bhūtendriyeṣu dharmalakṣaṇāvasthā pariṇāmā vyākhyātāḥ it is. And that is the indriya. Indriya is not just senses, it is the tools. And that is why the avasthā is a state and it is not just implied a particular stability of the state for a specific time length. But it implies that when it is said a state and the state means it is bound by a time limit. So the avasthā pariṇāma is mentioned in the end because wherever there is a transformation in dharma or lakṣaṇa, the state is inevitably changed. When dharma changes, avasthā changes. And the lakṣaṇa changes, avasthā changes. So actually it is dharma pariṇāma, lakṣaṇa pariṇāma and avasthā pariṇāma it is. Three transformations. One preceding the other and the one following the other. And this is how the beautiful sutra is wonderfully, it's a vyākhyātāḥ it is explained like this. And the sutra is to be understood forms a very very important powerful implication when we understand how one object changes and transforms into another object. Seems to be totally unconnected in the vibhūtis. And that technicality, that system has been brought in this particular sutra number 13. Let us see the next sutra.
To Be Continued.. ---------------------------------------
These are transcription of session delivered by Vice-President of Vivekananda Rock Memorial & Vivekananda Kendra, Sri M. Hanumantha Rao Ji.
Audio Link - https://youtu.be/808dR1ufm98?si=JSgVXTejoH2PER20
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