Meditation / Memory Interruption

Of the five negative factors which affect meditation and which were listed by Patanjali, the one of memory is perhaps the most difficult to deal with. However it may be argued that sleep is the most difficult one to eliminate. Who can get rid of sleep? What does Patanjali indicate about sleep? Does he mean all sleep, so that if a person achieves yoga, that person will never be observed sleeping ever again?

My information is that the conquering of the sleep impulse should be achieved during the period set for meditation, say for the half hour or more used. At other times the sleep vritti is not a hindrance necessarily because it does not rupture a meditation session even though it may affect other activities.

The imagination tendency may be defeated by a yogi who trained the mind to reduce its imagination exhibits so that eventually the mind ceases involuntary imagination illustrations.

The other two unwanted tendencies of correct and incorrect analysis of the mind can also be reduced considerably by a yogi who self-trains to cease the operations of the mind in those intellectual or rational ways.

This leaves us with memory.

How is that to be stopped by the yogi?

First of all memory should be stopped in terms of its exhibition or illustration within the mind. Memory occurs both by deliberate action and spontaneously even without a specific incidence being requested in the mind. Memories can arise with such force that the person is hypnotized into viewing them even if he is a monk who took vows to maintain a blank mind during meditation sessions.

Let us go over this by an example. Suppose during a meditation session by a fluke or even by mastery of the mind, a yogi eliminates the sleep impulse. Suppose also he stopped the correct and incorrect reasoning. Suppose the mind did not imagine anything afresh. There would be one feature left which would be memory. How would he deal with that?

Here is what Patanjali recommended:

अनुभूतविषयासम्प्रमोषः स्मृतिः॥११॥

anubhūta viṣaya asaṁpramoṣaḥ smṛtiḥ

anubhūta – the experience; viṣaya – the object; asaṁpramoṣaḥ – retention; smṛtiḥ – memory.

Memory is the retained impression of experienced objects. (Yoga Sutras 1.11)

अभ्यासवैराग्याभ्यां तन्निरोधः॥१२॥

abhyāsa vairāgyābhyāṁ tannirodhaḥ

abhyāsa – effective yoga practice; vairāgyābhyāṁ = non-interest, a total lack of concern, non-interference; tan = tat – that; nirodhaḥ – cessation, restraint, non-operation.

That non-operation of the vibrational modes is achieved by effective practice in not having an interest in the very same operations. (Yoga Sutras 1.12)

How do you feel about what Patanjali said?

Does you or your guru have a quicker more effective method?