Upanishads · Jābāladarśana 6.16
॥
Devanāgarī
प्राणायमेन चित्तं तु शुद्धं भवति सुव्रत । चित्ते शुद्धे शुचिः साक्षात्प्रत्यग्ज्योतिर्व्यवस्थितः
Transliteration (IAST)
prāṇāyamena cittaṃ tu śuddhaṃ bhavati suvrata | citte śuddhe śuciḥ sākṣātpratyagjyotirvyavasthitaḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
प्राणायामेन चित्तं तुprāṇāyāmena cittaṃ tuby breath control, however, consciousness
शुद्धं भवति सु-व्रतśuddhaṃ bhavati su-vratabecomes pure, O one true to his vow
चित्ते शुद्धे शुचिः साक्षात्citte śuddhe śuciḥ sākṣātwhen consciousness is pure, pure indeed, directly
प्रत्यक्-ज्योतिः व्यवस्थितःpratyak-jyotiḥ vyavasthitaḥthe inner light stands established
Translation
"By breath control, however, consciousness becomes pure, O one true to his vow; and when consciousness is pure, the pure inner light is directly established."
Version
559edef24f40 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The goal of this whole section is named: chitta-shuddhi, "the purification of consciousness." The word chitta means "consciousness, the substance of thought"; and the Yoga-sutras define yoga itself through it: yogash chitta-vritti-nirodhah, "yoga is the cessation of the fluctuations of consciousness" (1.2). Worth noting is that here breath is named the means, and the purification of consciousness the goal; and this relation is correct, whereas in some books the technique itself becomes the goal.
Pratyag-jyotih, "the inner light," is an expression discussed when reading the Ganapati (2.9): pratyak means "turned inward." It is now worth saying how this differs from the Vaishnava description of the same rung, for the difference here is a single word. By this reckoning, in the purified consciousness a light appears. By the Vaishnava reckoning, He appears.
The Bhagavatam says: nashta-prayashv abhadreshu nityam bhagavata-sevaya, bhagavaty uttama-shloke bhaktir bhavati naishthiki — "when the bad is almost destroyed by constant service to the Bhagavatam, then unshakable devotion to the Lord of excellent renown appears" (1.2.18); and right after: "then the heart, freed from passion and ignorance, becomes prasanna, tranquil" (1.2.19). The order is the same: purification — and appearance. The difference is in what appears; and it is not abstract.
A light that has appeared demands nothing: one looks upon it. He, having appeared, demands relation; and everything Vaishnava books say further on — of service, of separation, of meeting — begins right at this point.