The states of mind produced by these kleśas are eliminated by meditation.

Bryant Commentary:

We had suggested at the beginning of the chapter that the relationship of yoga defined in I.2 as citta-vṛtti-nirodha, with kriyā-yoga as defined in II.1, is that by the former the vṛttis are weakened, and by the latter the kleśas or mechanisms underpinning the production of the vṛttis are eliminated. By the phrase tad-vṛttayaḥ, Patañjali here confirms that the kleśas produce the vṛttis. They are thus a deeper element of the psyche and unavoidably need to be confronted if one wishes to nirodha the vṛttis produced by them, as I.2 requires the yogī to do.

Patañjali indicated in II.2 that the kleśas are destroyed by kriyā-yoga, yet here he states that the vṛttis produced by them are destroyed by meditation, dhyāna. Vyāsa clarifies that the seed power, or fructifying ability, of the kleśas is weakened by the practice of kriyā-yoga and then eradicated by the practice of meditation, until they become like burnt seeds. He gives the useful example of washing garments: gross dirt is first removed from soiled clothes, and then efforts are directed at the finer dirt. In the same way, the gross manifestations of the kleśas can be easily removed by kriyā-yoga, but the more subtle ones require greater efforts.

The commentators understand the process of eradicating the kleśas as a threefold sequence: First the cloth is cleaned by shaking it in the air or washing it in water, and this removes the larger chunks of dirt. It is then washed more carefully by adding a cleaning agent or beating it against a stone (as is still the custom in India), and this removes the finer, more ingrained dirt. But to completely and absolutely remove all subtle impressions of the soiled spots, says Rāmānanda Sarasvatī, you ultimately have to destroy the cloth itself. Likewise, the grosser aspects of the kleśas are eliminated by kriyā-yoga, the more subtle aspects by meditation, but, as indicated by the last sūtra, the actual burnt seeds, or residual impressions of the now impotent saṁskāras, are not completely dissolved until the mind, along with all its latent saṁskāras, merges back into its matrix at the death of the yogī who has attained the highest state of samadhi.

Their Means Of Subsistence Or Their Gross States Are Avoidable By Meditation.

In their gross form, as patterns of consciousness, they are subdued through meditative absorption.

Their variations are reduced or overcome through meditation.

Their active modifications are to be suppressed by meditation.

Taimini Commentary:

This Sutra gives the method of dealing with the Klesas in the preliminary stage when they have to be reduced from an active to a passive state. The means to be adopted are given in one word Dhyana. It is therefore necessary to understand the meaning of this word in its full scope. The word Dhyana, of course, literally means meditation or contemplation as explained elsewhere but here it obviously stands for a rather comprehensive self-discipline of which meditation is the pivot. It is easy to see that a Sadhaka who is under the domination of Klesas in their active form will have to attack the problem from many sides at once. In fact, the whole technique of KriyaYoga will have to be utilized for this purpose, for one of the two objects of Kriya-Yoga is to attenuate the Klesas and the reduction of the Klesas from their active to the passive form is the first step in this attenuation. Svadhyaya, Tapas and IsvaraPranidhana, all the three elements of Kriya-Yoga, have therefore to be used in this work. But the essential part of all these three is really Dhyana, the intensive concentration of the mind in order to understand the deeper problems of life and to solve them effectively for the realization of one’s main objective. Even Tapas, the element of Kriya-Yoga which outwardly seems to involve merely going through certain selfdisciplinary and purificatory exercises, depends for its effectiveness to a large extent on Dhyana. For, it is not the mere external performance of the act which brings about the desired result but the inner concentration of purpose and the alert mind which underlie the act. If these latter are not present the outer action will be of no avail. No success in Yoga is possible unless all the energies of the soul are polarized and har 143 nessed for achieving the central purpose. So the word Dhyana in II-11 implies all mental processes and exercises which may help the Sadhaka to reduce the active Klesas to the passive condition. It may include reflection, brooding over the deeper problems of life, changing habits of thought and attitudes by means of meditation (II-33), Tapas as well as meditation in the ordinary sense of the term. It is necessaiy to note in this connection that reducing the Klesas to a latent or passive condition does not mean merely bringing them to a temporary state of quiescence. Violent disturbances of the mind and emotions which result from the activity of the Klesas (Klesa-Vrtti) are not always present and we all pass through phases in which Klesas like Raga-Dvesa seem to have become latent. A Sadhaka may retire for sometime into solitude. As long as he is cut off from all kinds of social relationships, Raga and Dvesa will naturally become inoperative but that does iot mean that he has reduced these to a latent state. It is only their outer expression which has been suspended and the moment he resumes his social life these Klesas will re-assert themselves with their usual force. Reducing the Klesas to the latent state means making the tendencies so feeble that they are not easily aroused, though they have not yet been rooted out. Another point which may be noted is that attacking one particular form or expression of a Klesa a is not of much avail, though in the beginning this may be done to gain some knowledge of the working of the Klesas and the technique of mastering them. A Klesa can assume innumerable forms of expression and if we merely suppress one of its expressions it will assume other forms. It is the general tendency which has to be tackled and it is this isolation, as it were, of this tendency and tackling it as a whole which tests the intelligence of the Sadhaka and determines the success of the endeavour.

The fluctuations of consciousness created by gross and subtle afflictions are to be silenced through meditation.

Iyengar Commentary:

Both II.10 and II.11 point to a way of controlling the modifications of thought-waves. In II.10, the mind is stilled through involution, the practice of renunciation or folding-in of the mind. Here, Patañjali offers meditation as another method to quieten the mind. By these means, the mind’s impulses are reduced to their subtlest point and it is compelled to rest silently in its source, the soul.

Afflictions are of three intensities: gross (sthula), subtle (suksma), and the subtlest of the subtle (suksmatama). Tapas, svadhyaya and Isvara pranidhana eradicate the gross, the subtle and the subtlest afflictions respectively (see 1.17).

In the active state, they can be destroyed by meditation.

Satchidananda Commentary:

The hindering thoughts come in two stages: the potential form, before they come to the surface and get converted to action, and the manifesting ones which are being put into action. It is easier to control manifested things first; then from the more gross, we can slowly get into the more subtle. Thought forms in a potential state (saṁskaras) cannot be removed by meditation. When you meditate on these impressions, you bring them to the surface. You can’t destroy them by this means, but you can see and understand them well and gain control over whether or not they should manifest in action. You can trace them back into their subtle form and see directly that the ego is the basis for all these obstructing thoughts. Then, when you transcend the mind in the higher samādhi, even the ego is lost. When you let go of the ego, all the impressions in it will be lost also. But until that occurs, the impressions will not go away. It is something like using the herb asafoetida. Asafoetida is a product that aids digestion and helps control gas. In India it is used in curries and kept in a mud pot. But it smells so much that even if you clean the pot hundreds of times, the smell will stay. How can you get rid of the smell? The only way is to break the pot. The ego has the “smell” of your thoughts in a very subtle form. But you can only understand the smell and see that the thoughts are there when they manifest. To get rid of the impressions completely, you have to break the ego. So, first you clean the superficial things, and ultimately you break the pot. By meditation you can understand the thought forms and clean them up. Then when you have gotten a glimpse of where and how they are, you can slowly trace them to their root and finally cut it out. When you want to uproot a tree, you cut the branches first and then dig to the very root.

By meditation, their modifications are to be rejected.

SV Commentary:

Meditation is one of the great means of controlling the rising of these big waves. By meditation you can make the mind subdue these waves, and, if you go on practising meditation for days, and months, and years, until it has become a habit, until it will come in spite of yourself, anger and hatred will be controlled and checked.

When, however, they exist as retaining their seed-power, their modifications are destroyed by meditation. The modifications of the afflictions which are essential are attenuated by the Yoga of action and having been so attenuated, are destroyed by the high intellection of meditation, so that they are rendered potential, i.e , their seed-power is, as it were, burnt up. As the gross dirt of clothes is at first shaken off, and then the fine dirt is washed off by. effort and appliance, so the gross essential modifications need but small antagonistic efforts, whereas the potential ones need very powerful antagonists.

~ Rāma Prasāda translation.