**1) In this next section of his Yoga Sutra, Master Patanjali speaks of “extraordinary people who shatter the way the mind turns things around.” Speak a bit about these people; give the Sanskrit word for them, its root, and English cognates.** With this particular verse we enter the third of the five paths: the Path of Seeing, where a person perceives ultimate reality directly for the first time—and thus stops, for a short period of time at least, how the mind twists things around. Anyone who has undergone this experience is extremely close to becoming an angel with a body of light and an all-knowing and compassionate mind; they even see ahead into the future and know *when* this transformation will take place with them. By tradition then these people are considered a completely different and higher being in the evolutionary scale: all living creatures in the universe can be divided into two types, those who have had this experience and those who have not, and by reaching the Path of Seeing these people are now “realized beings” (although not yet enlightened). The Sanskrit word for them is *arya* AayR*,* which comes from a root √*ir* \\*,* meaning “to go.” The word thus means “one who has gone higher, or far beyond.” English cognates are “rise,” “art,” “origin,” and “orient” (place of rising of the sun). There is also the unfortunate misuse of the word “Aryan” in recent history to convey a sense of ethnic superiority. **2) Give three reasons why Master Patanjali compares the direct experience of ultimate reality to a crystal, and more specifically to a diamond.** (a) The diamond is the one most important metaphor for ultimate reality. The first reason for this is that, after coming down out of the direct experience of this ultimate reality, the new *arya* or realized being automatically struggles to find some object in our normal, deceptive reality to which they can compare the ultimate reality which they have just experienced. And each *arya* always arrives at the same metaphor: that of a diamond. This is because—in a world where *there are no ultimates,* no longest or shortest or biggest or smallest or “-est” of anything—the diamond does remain the single hardest physical object in the universe: there is nothing in the universe that can cut a diamond. It is extremely important for us to be thinking about this idea of an *ultimate,* and the diamond is thus an important object of contemplation. (b) A diamond is also completely clear and invisible; if there were a wall of diamond between the two of us right now, we could not even see it. Just so, *every single object around us all day has its own ultimate reality,* but we can’t perceive any of them at all, and this is the source of all our pain, and death. (c) A diamond is composed of pure carbon, with the atoms arranged in absolutely perfect symmetry—which is what makes diamonds so hard (a pencil lead is also pure carbon, but without this perfect symmetry—and so pieces of the lead shave off as we press it across a piece of paper, and the pencil writes). Although diamonds cannot be scratched by anything, they *can* be broken or shattered. When they are, *each tiny piece or sliver of diamond is exactly the same—composed of exactly the same material.* Just so, every example of ultimate reality—the ultimate reality of every single object around us—is 100% and totally the same. That is, it is completely absent of existing from its own side; completely and totally so. **3) What are the “three spheres” in the direct experience of ultimate reality? Give also the Sanskrit phrase for “three spheres,” and some English cognates.** The “three spheres” in the direct experience of ultimate reality are the seer; what they see (ultimate reality); and the experience of seeing itself. The point in the Yoga Sutra is that each one of these three is itself empty, and possesses its own ultimate reality. Even the ultimate reality that we see—the fact that nothing possesses any quality or nature of its own—is itself a projection of our minds upon the blank screen of emptiness. The Sanskrit word for this is *trimandala* iÇm{fl. *Tri* comes into English in the words three, triangle, and tryptych. *Mandala* comes from the root *√mand* m{fœ, which means to adorn or decorate, and that is connected to the Indo-European root *MEN*, “to project.” This gives rise to the English words “mountain,” “monument,” and “promontory.” **4) Master Patanjali then says that we should “stay in that one pure thought, and never forget it.” Describe how this applies to the two stages of the Path of Seeing, and review some of the events that occur on the second stage. ** The first stage of the Path of Seeing is the direct perception of ultimate reality within a deep state of meditation; this is the result of countless lifetimes of effort, and typically takes less than half an hour. One then comes down and returns to deceptive reality: the mind has started twisting things around again. You stay sitting in your meditation area, and because of the influence of seeing ultimate reality directly, you go through an entire series of very deep realizations. These realizations all together are what are known as the “Four Noble Truths,” or more properly the “Four Arya Truths” (real or true spiritual realizations that are only seen directly by someone who has just perceived ultimate reality). They include seeing directly the day of ones own enlightenment; seeing how one will live in the time before that; the knowledge that one has actually seen an enlightened being (and thus confirmed it for the first time); the knowledge that the ancient scriptures are absolutely accurate, and must be preserved in the world; and the fact that before this direct perception of ultimate reality you had never had a single correct perception, ever. In fact, now that you have come down out of this direct perception, you are beginning to see things wrong again—but now you know that you’re doing it, even if you can’t help yourself. And so “staying in that one pure thought,” of how ultimate reality really was, and “never forgetting it” become extremely important. Staying mindful of this ultimate reality, and of the truths one has seen in the immediate aftermath of this experience, becomes crucial for the final effort to reach enlightenment. This effort begins within the following 24 hours, and this is the beginning of the fourth path. **5) A person with the proper training has another extremely important spiritual realization in these hours just after the direct perception of ultimate reality. Name and describe this realization, remembering to mention the relation of this realization to the inner body. And add as well please a note about how the direct perception of ultimate reality itself relates to our inner body, and what this has to do with the practice of yoga as we normally think of it.** A person with proper training also goes through the direct realization of bodhichitta—ultimate love, the wish to become an enlightened angel—in these hours following the direct perception of ultimate reality. You perceive, *directly,* every single living creature in the entire universe. You know too that you will spend every single hour of the rest of your life—or lifetimes—working to serve these beings, and bring them to enlightenment. This ultimate love in these moments is experienced as a torrent of something like an invisible, crystal light pouring out of ones heart and out to each of these beings: the inner knot that constricts the heart chakra is broken open completely for the first time. The direct perception of ultimate reality itself represents a major (although brief) opening of the central channel of the body. The goal of yoga as we normally think of it—as being mainly the physical asanas or exercises—has always been to aid (through external means, or “banging on the pipes”) the process of this opening, so that ultimate reality can be seen. When we continue to practice the inner and outer methods and then finally manage to open this channel permanently, our body and mind transform into an all-knowing, infinitely compassionate being of light, who can travel to countless worlds to help countless beings, all at the same time. **6) Describe the work that is done now on the fourth of the five paths: the Path of Habituation.** One then spends years, and even lifetimes—seven lifetimes is very typical—processing the experience of seeing ultimate reality directly, and the spiritual truths seen just after this experience. One familiarizes oneself—habituates oneself—with the experience, and is thus able, in time, to eliminate all of ones negative emotions, and eventually become an enlightened angel. During this time one “still has seeds” in ones mind that cause you to see things the wrong way—the mind continues to twist things around. When the seeds are finally destroyed, we have reached the fifth of the five paths.