Yoga Sutras of Patanjali translated by Yogi Kalinath - Chapter 2, Verse 45

Pada 2, Sutra 45

Sanskrit Verse

Samaadhi-siddhir Ishvara-pranidhaanaat

Translation

Through surrender to God/the Lord, perfection in Samadhi or Cognitive Absorption.

Interpretation

The God / Lord mentioned here is Ishvara, the Transcendental Self (residing in all beings), the Purusha. (the twenty-fifth principle beyond Nature).

One way to break the cage of one’s mind is to surrender to a principle much vaster than one’s limited concept of self. When this is done with sincerity and in totality (through devotion to that principle, here Ishvara) in Sadhana or in one’s concerted spiritual practice, the mind becomes absorbed and dissolved in that principle (Ishvara). This is Cognitive Absorption or Samadhi being of the same nature as that original principle of Pure Undivided Consciousness.

So to start off with, Ishvara and self may seen two. Surrender is the process that builds and annihilates the bridge between the two in order for them to become One Self cognitively.

Reflection

What is designated as God / Lord / Divine / Absolute is That Principle Within All Beings and Things. It is what is called the Self (and not the self denoting the limited ego) and is the Essence of Consciousness expressing itself in what is called Life.

When our consciousness merges (union or Yoga) with the Universal Consciousness (God, Lord, Ishvara) through perfect surrender, we become One with the Universal Self. Only then can we truly know our Original Face:

“There is no self but the Self”