With the consummation of this last stage of apara vairāgya, comes the para vairāgya which is identical with the rise of the final prajñā leading to absolute independence. This vairāgya, śraddhā and the abhyāsa represent the unafflicted states (aklishṭavṛtti) which suppress gradually the klishṭa or afflicted mental states. These lead the Yogin from one stage to another, and thus he proceeds higher and higher until the final state is attained.
As vairāgya advances, śraddhā also advances; from śraddhā comes vīrya, energy, or power of concentration (dhāraṇā); and from it again springs smṛti—or continuity of one object of thought; and from it comes samādhi or cognitive and ultra-cognitive trance; after which follows prajñā, cognitive and ultra-cognitive trance; after which follows prajñā and final release. Thus by the inclusion of śraddhā within vairāgya, its effect, and the other products of śraddhā with abhyāsa, we see that the abhyāsa and vairāgya are the two internal means for achieving the final goal of the Yogin, the supreme suppression and extinction of all states of consciousness, of all afflictions and the avidyā—the last state of supreme knowledge or prajñā.
As śraddhā, vīrya, smṛti, samādhi which are not different from vairāgya and abhyāsa (they being only their other aspects or simultaneous products), are the means of attaining Yoga, it is possible to make a classification of the Yogins according to the strength of these with each, and the strength of the quickness (saṃvega) with which they may be applied towards attaining the goal of the Yogin. Thus Yogins are of nine kinds:—
(1) mildly energetic, (2) of medium energy, (3) of intense energy.
Each of these may vary in a threefold way according to the mildness, medium state, or intensity of quickness or readiness with which the Yogin may apply the means of attaining Yoga. There are nine kinds of Yogins. Of these the best is he whose mind is most intensely engaged and whose practice is also the strongest.
There is a difference of opinion here about the meaning of the word saṃvega, between Vācaspati and Vijñāna Bhikshu. The former says that saṃvega means vairāgya here, but the latter holds that saṃvega cannot mean vairāgya, and vairāgya being the effect of śraddhā cannot be taken separately from it. “Saṃvega” means quickness in the performance of the means of attaining Yoga; some say that it means “vairāgya.” But that is not true, for if vairāgya is an effect of the due performance of the means of Yoga, there cannot be the separate ninefold classification of Yoga apart from the various degrees of intensity of the means of Yoga practice. Further, the word “saṃvega” does not mean “vairāgya” etymologically (Yoga-vārttika, I. 20).
We have just seen that śraddhā, etc., are the means of attaining Yoga, but we have not discussed what purificatory actions an ordinary man must perform in order to attain śraddhā, from which the other requisites are derived. Of course these purificatory actions are not the same for all, since they must necessarily depend upon the conditions of purity or impurity of each mind; thus a person already in an advanced state, may not need to perform those purificatory actions necessary for a man in a lower state. We have just said that Yogins are of nine kinds, according to the strength of their mental acquirements—śraddhā, etc.—the requisite means of Yoga and the degree of rapidity with which they may be applied. Neglecting division by strength or quickness of application along with these mental requirements, we may again divide Yogins again into three kinds: (1) Those who have the best mental equipment. (2) Those who are mediocres. (3) Those who have low mental equipment.
In the first chapter of Yoga aphorisms, it has been stated that abhyāsa, the application of the mental acquirements of śraddhā, etc., and vairāgya, the consequent cessation of the mind from objects of distraction, lead to the extinction of all our mental states and to final release. When a man is well developed, he may rest content with his mental actions alone, in his abhyāsa and vairāgya, in his dhāraṇā (concentration), dhyāna (meditation), and samādhi (trance), which may be called the jñānayoga. But it is easy to see that this jñānayoga requires very high mental powers and thus is not within easy reach of ordinary persons. Ordinary persons whose minds are full of impurities, must pass through a certain course of purificatory actions before they can hope to obtain those mental acquirements by which they can hope to follow the course of jñānayoga with facility.
These actions, which remove the impurities of the mind, and thus gradually increase the lustre of knowledge, until the final state of supreme knowledge is acquired, are called kriyāyoga. They are also called yogāṅgas, as they help the maturity of the Yoga process by gradually increasing the lustre of knowledge. They represent the means by which even an ordinary mind (vikshiptacitta) may gradually purify itself and become fit for the highest ideals of Yoga. Thus the Bhāshya says: “By the sustained practice of these yogāṅgas or accessories of Yoga is destroyed the fivefold unreal cognition (avidyā), which is of the nature of impurity.” Destruction means here disappearance; thus when that is destroyed, real knowledge is manifested. As the means of achievement are practised more and more, so is the impurity more and more attenuated. And as more and more of it is destroyed, so does the light of wisdom go on increasing more and more. This process reaches its culmination in discriminative knowledge, which is knowledge of the nature of purusha and the guṇas.