Upanishads · Jābāladarśana 10.9
॥
Devanāgarī
यदा मनसि चैतन्यं भाति सर्वत्रगं सदा । योगिनोऽव्यवधानेन तदा सम्पद्यते स्वयम्
Transliteration (IAST)
yadā manasi caitanyaṃ bhāti sarvatragaṃ sadā | yogino'vyavadhānena tadā sampadyate svayam
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
यदा मनसि चैतन्यंyadā manasi caitanyaṃwhen in the mind, consciousness
भाति सर्व-त्र-गं सदाbhāti sarva-tra-gaṃ sadāshines, all-pervading, always
योगिनः अ-व्यवधानेनyoginaḥ a-vyavadhānenafor the yogi, without interruption
तदा सम्पद्यते स्वयम्tadā sampadyate svayamthen it is attained of itself
Translation
"When consciousness shines in the mind, all-pervading, always, for the yogi, without interruption, — then it is attained of itself."
Version
0746d210ceeb · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
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Worth noting are two words: avyavadhanena, "without interruption," and svayam, "of itself." The first repeats what was discussed when reading the ninth khanda (9.1): the difference between concentration and contemplation is a difference of continuity. The second is more curious. It says it is attained svayam, "of itself" — that is, not by effort.
This combination, on reflection, is an admission worth more than many arguments. Eight rungs have been laid out, exercises charted — and the last comes not from them. This position appears in books on yoga more often than is commonly thought; and we noted it when reading the Yoga-kundalini, where it is stated directly that union is not achieved by practice, but is given from a teacher's mouth (2.5, 2.8).
The Vaishnava side expresses the same through its own notion of kripa, "grace," and distinguishes two things always worth distinguishing. There is sadhana, "the means," and there is sadhya, "the attained." Between them, it says, there is no causal link, but a link of condition: the means does not produce the goal, but without it the goal does not come.
The comparison given is this: one who opens the shutters does not produce the sun, but in a closed room he will not see light. This relation is, in my view, the only correct one, and it explains two things at once that otherwise fail to fit together. Why must one labor, if everything is given? — Because it is not given to the closed. And why does labor not guarantee it? — Because the sun does not shine by our schedule.