Scattered Subtle Energy / Vikshepa Citta

One puzzling event which happens over and over and over again, is the inability of a yogi to ceases the scattering attitude of the mento-emotional energy in the mind. I feel that Patanjali did not go into sufficient details about this type of incidence in meditation. It may be that during his composition of the Yoga Sutras, the atmospheric energy around planet earth was more conducive to meditation (samyama), where the scattering of the energy in the psyche did not occur as frequently as it does currently.

Many meditators begin with the premise that the self is absolute even though for the time being it appears not to be. Then there is another set of meditators who deny that there is a self. Thus there is no need in their view to consider the self as a target of scattering energy.

For inSelf Yoga™, one begins with the premise that there is a self which is subjected to desired and unwanted states of mind. Another important admittance is that there is an environment in the psyche in which those self lives or resides. Then there is yet, another admittance. There are environments which surround and affect the psyche. Some of these dimensions, facilitates meditation. Some obstruct it.

Those yogis who begin with the idea that the self is absolute, do not consider that it can be obstructed by an environment which is outside the psyche. This makes sense because it is logic that if something is absolute it should not be affected by anything besides itself.

Then there are the yogis who have the idea that there is no self which could be targeted by anything. These persons also conclude that since there is no self there cannot be anything which will adversely effect the self. Their defense is that something which does not exist cannot be targeted by something else.

However for the purpose of inSelf Yoga™, the self, the limited principle can be targeted by what is in the psyche as well as by what is exterior to the psyche. There is scattered energy in the psyche. It may block attempts to meditate with total stillness. This happens as well if there is scattered energy outside the psyche. That energy causes the energy in the psyche to assume a scattered state.

This can happen because of the relativeness of a self. Hence in some meditations no matter what the yogi does, he/she may find that a scattered state persists. A quiet state is not experienced because of the dominance of the scattered energy.

Breath infusion before meditation accelerates the state of high energy quietude in the mind but in some instances, this process causes a partial increase in the scattered condition. In others one notices a full or near-full quietude,

The suggestion is that one must have internal as well as external assistance in terms of the type of energy which is current during the meditation session. One should practice regardless but one should not expect that in every session one will have the ideal inner or outer conditions for meditation.

The technical term for full quietude during meditation is paravastha.