Sūtra 3.37

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of Sūtra 3.37:

बन्धकारणशैथिल्यात् प्रचारसंवेदनाच् च चित्तस्य परशरीरावेशः ॥ ३.३७ ॥

bandhakāraṇaśaithilyāt pracārasaṃvedanāc ca cittasya paraśarīrāveśaḥ || 3.37 ||

bandha—of bondage, kāraṇa—of the cause. saithilyāt—on relaxation, pracāra—of the passages saṃvedanāt—by knowledge. ca—and. cittasya—of the mind. para—other’s, śarīra—body, āveśaḥ—entering into.

37. The mind may enter another body, on relaxation of the cause of bondage, and by knowledge of the passages of the mind.—143.

The Sankhya-pravachana commentary of Vyasa

[English translation of the 7th century commentary by Vyāsa called the Sāṅkhya-pravacana, Vyāsabhāṣya or Yogabhāṣya]

[Sanskrit text for commentary available]

The mind (citta) which by nature passes into, new states of life and never remains fixed in one state, is bound down to, i.e., comes to stay in a body, because of the power of the vehicle of action. By the force of trance, the vehicle of action which chains it down, slackens its operation. And the consciousness of how the mind acts in the body is also the fruit of trance. By the destruction of the bonds imposed by Karma, and by knowing the method of the mind acting upon the body, the Yogī withdraws his mind from his own body and throws it into the body of another. As the mind is thus thrown into another body, the powers of sensation, &c., follow it. Even as bees follow their king, as he goes on resting or moving on, so do the powers follow the mind as it enters another body.—143.

The Gloss of Vachaspati Mishra

[English translation of the 9th century Tattvavaiśāradī by Vācaspatimiśra]

Having described the power of knowledge, which has its culmination in the knowledge of the Puruṣa, as being the result of Saṃyama, the author now describes the result of Saṃyama which takes the shape of the power of action:—‘The mind may enter another body on relaxation of the cause of bondage, and by knowledge of the passages of the mind.’ ‘By the force of trance’:—This means the performance of Saṃyama on the cause of bondage. Trance alone is mentioned because that is the principal factor of the three. By ‘passages of the mind’ are understood the passages through which and the modes according to which the mind acts in the body. There are nerves in the body by which the mind travels in the body to perform its functions. From the performance of Saṃyama on the passage of the mind along these nerves, accrues the consciousness thereof, which slackens the bond. Then by destruction of the cause of bondage he no longer remains confined to the body. But it may be that even though he may no longer be confined to the body, he may not know how to get out of the body by the proper passage, and he may thus not be able to go out of the body without injury, and may not also be able to enter another body. For this reason the passages and modes of movement also must be known. As the powers of sensation, &c., follow the mind they take their proper places in the body, as the mind enters therein.—37.