Thinking, Thought and Thinker.
--
निर्विषय चेतना / The consciousness devoid of object is ever so in the same way is also devoid of the विषयी / subject as well.
Wherever / यत्र through the sense-organs / ज्ञानेन्द्रिय, there is contact / सङ्गः between this pure consciousness associated with a living being (person - विषयी / पुरुष / पुंसः) with an object / विषय, the person as the Thinker / विषयी and the object / विषय as the World appear together at the same time.
Memory creates the illusion आभास / प्रत्यय that the निर्विषय चेतना / pure consciousness where this division takes place is the Thinker, and still the memory persists in the background as a Thought.
I-sense, as the Timeless Reality remains unaffected throughout.
A Practicing Yogi tries to exclude vRitti / Thought either by removing all the 5 kinds of vRitti, or attention fixed on one specific - a mantra or any such object of meditation.
The practice of removing all vRitti वृत्ति is called वृत्तिनिरोधः / vRitti-nirodhaH.
The practice of fixing the attention on a specific vRitti वृत्ति is called the एकाग्रता / ekAGratA.
Abidance in a specific vRitti for a long time is called समाधि / samAdhi.
The perfection संयम / samyama of Yoga is the state of the mind when the above,
विवेकवैराग्याभ्यां तन्निरोधः।।
निरोध-परिणामः / the nirodha-pariNama,
एकाग्रता परिणामः / the ekAgratA-pariNama
and
the समाधि-परिणाम / samAdhi-pariNama are combined in one whole.
Maharshi Patanjali has described how this संयम / samyama is further applied in different ways so as to attain any occult or mystic power : सिद्धि / a siddhi.
This is the Yoga of कर्म / Karma.
However, the Way of साँख्य / sAmkhya is the one where through inquiry into the Core Reality is attempted.
Where one through this enquiry, that begins with the question :
What is that abides for ever and what is that not so?
नित्य क्या है और अनित्य क्या है?
A sincere and earnest seeker soon or later on discovers and comes onto the realization that the दृक् / consciousness alone might be the origin, foundation and the very first, the prime source of and from where arises the appearance - the दृश्य प्रपञ्च Phenomenal Existence.
Accordingly the two spiritual paths are available for all and every sincere and earnest seeker / aspirant.
But in effect both the above two kind of seekers attain the same Realization at the end of their practice.
***
2/59
विषया विनिवर्तन्ते निराहारस्य योगिनः।।
रसवर्जं रसोऽप्यस्य परं दृष्ट्वा निवर्तते।।५९।।
(अध्याय 2, Chapter 2, verse 59)
