J02. Why is Vairagya a nervous system event rather than a decision?
The short answer: Because the attachment that Vairagya dissolves is not held in the decision-making faculty. It is held in…
Questions & Answers
Every article written under the Papneja Method — on consciousness, karma, the nervous system, motivation, the Sound Current, and the mechanics of the inner life.
J01. What is Vairagya — the actual meaning, not just detachment?
The short answer: Vairagya is the natural releasing of the grip that accumulated experience has on the nervous system. Not…
I01. What are the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali actually saying?
The short answer: They are saying: the mind oscillates constantly, and the entirety of suffering comes from that oscillation. Stop…
I02. What does Chitta Vritti Nirodha mean — and what does stopping the mind actually look like?
The short answer: Chitta Vritti Nirodha means the cessation of the fluctuations of the mind-stuff. Not silencing the mind. Not…
I03. What is the difference between Dharana, Dhyana, and Samadhi?
The short answer: Dharana is concentration — the gathering and holding of the attention on a single object. Dhyana is…
I04. What is Pratyahara — and why do most practitioners never actually achieve it?
The short answer: Pratyahara is the withdrawal of the senses from their objects — the point at which the attention…
I05. What are the Kleshas — and how do they operate in daily life?
The short answer: The Kleshas are the five fundamental sources of suffering that Patanjali identifies as the root causes of…
I06. What is Abhyasa — and why does Patanjali always pair it with Vairagya?
The short answer: Abhyasa is sustained practice — the uninterrupted commitment to the inward effort over a long period of…
I07. What does Patanjali mean by Ishvara Pranidhana?
The short answer: Ishvara Pranidhana is the surrender to the source — the offering of the practice and its fruits…
I08. What is the difference between Savikalpa and Nirvikalpa Samadhi?
The short answer: Savikalpa Samadhi is the absorption in which the object of meditation is still distinct — the meditator…
I09. Why does Patanjali place Samadhi at the end of the eight limbs — what prepares for it?
The short answer: Because everything before it is preparation of the instrument. Samadhi cannot be achieved by an unprepared instrument…
I11. What is the difference between yoga as exercise and yoga as Patanjali actually defines it?
The short answer: Yoga as Patanjali defines it is the complete technology for stopping the fluctuations of the mind and…
