The sixth yoga sutra speaks about the consciousness of the perfected beings and how can one attain a cultured and silenced mind. Patanjali advices that it can be achieved thorugh sound meditation. Intense meditation not only has the capability to free the mind from past experiences, it also frees the mind from malevolent feelings, like greed, envy, pride, lust or rage. A mind thus needs to be cultured to gain such a status, free from every worldly entanglements.
tatra of them, of these
dhyanajam born of meditation
anasayam free from impressions or influences
Of these activities of consciousness of perfected beings, only those, which proceed from meditation, are free from latent impressions and influences.
Having explained the creation by the single mind of multiple thoughts, which disturb the poise of the original mind, Patanjali explains here that this sprouted mind should be cultured, tranquillised and silenced through profound meditation. This puts an end to the influence of impressions, and liberates the consciousness from entanglements with objects seen, heard or known.
Meditation not only liberates consciousness from past impressions, but also removes the hindrances towards progressive evolution of the mind. Impressions of attachment and affliction continue to torture others.
These obstacles, lust, anger, greed, infatuation, pride and jealousy, are the spokes of the emotional wheel. Meditation assists to subdue them, so that the emotional centre (the consciousness of the heart) can expand in a new dimension of spiritual growth. Then consciousness will have neither merits nor demerits, virtue nor vice, fluctuations nor afflictions. It becomes `cultured` (samahita citta), and is conducive in experiencing kjnalya