As the seeker journeys deeper into yoga, the waves of thought and fluctuation in the mind gradually subside. In this stillness, the mind becomes like a flawless, transparent jewel. It reflects perfectly whatever is placed before it—the perceiver, the act of perception, and the object perceived—blending them all in a state of profound absorption. At first, this absorption is accompanied by reasoning. The mind is still interwoven with concepts: the word, its meaning, and the knowledge of it are not yet distinct, but mingle together. Gradually, as memory becomes purified and the mind is cleansed of its habitual patterns, it becomes empty of its own coloring. Now, only the object shines forth in the field of awareness, and this is absorption without reasoning. This same process of absorption applies even to the subtlest objects. There is absorption with subtle reflection, and then absorption without even that—until the object of focus is so subtle that no distinguishing mark remains. These forms of samādhi are known as “with seed,” for they still hold a trace of object or impression. But when mastery of absorption without subtle reflection arises, a radiant clarity of the inner self dawns. In this state, knowledge is filled with truth—direct, immediate, and unerring. This is not knowledge gained from testimony or inference, but a knowing that concerns the very particular, present object. The impression born of this samādhi is so powerful that it suppresses all other impressions. And when even this last impression ceases—when all tendencies are stilled—there arises the highest absorption: samādhi without seed, where nothing remains. To reach this, the yoga of action is taught: austerity, study, and devotion to the Lord. These practices cultivate samādhi and weaken the afflictions that bind the mind. What are these afflictions? They are ignorance, egoism, attachment, aversion, and clinging to life. Ignorance is the ground in which all the others grow, whether they are dormant, diminished, interrupted, or fully active. Ignorance is to mistake the impermanent for the permanent, impurity for purity, suffering for pleasure, and the non-self for the self. Egoism arises when the powers of seeing and what is seen seem to merge as one. Attachment is that which dwells upon pleasure, while aversion is that which dwells upon pain. Clinging to life persists by its own momentum, remaining even in the wise. These subtle afflictions must be resolved by tracing them back to their source. Their active forms are abandoned through meditation. The impressions left by afflictions become the seeds of karma, experienced in seen and unseen births. As long as the root of affliction exists, it bears fruit as birth, lifespan, and experience—sometimes joy, sometimes suffering, depending on the virtue or vice that caused them. For the discerning, all of existence is tinged with suffering: the pain of change, anxiety about the future, latent impressions from the past, and the inner conflict of the qualities. Thus, the suffering that has not yet come is to be avoided. The cause of this suffering is the conjunction of the seer and the seen. The seen—nature itself—is composed of illumination, activity, and inertia, formed from the elements and the senses. It exists for the sake of experience and ultimately for liberation. The qualities of nature unfold in stages: the particular and the universal, the marked and the unmarked. The seer, in contrast, is pure consciousness, though it perceives through the mind’s lens. The essence of what is seen exists solely to serve the purpose of the seer. Even when the seen ceases to exist for one who has attained the goal, it remains for others, for it is common to all. The conjunction of seer and seen is the very cause for the realization of the true nature of the self and its owner. This conjunction is born of ignorance. When ignorance ceases, so too does this conjunction, and this is the liberation of the seer. The means to this cessation is unwavering discriminative knowledge. For the one who follows this path, wisdom unfolds to its highest limit, in seven ascending stages. Through the practice of the limbs of yoga, impurities are destroyed and the light of knowledge arises, culminating in discriminative knowledge. These eight limbs are: restraint, observance, posture, breath control, withdrawal, concentration, meditation, and absorption. Through them, the yogin journeys from the restless surface of the mind to the deepest realization of the self.