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The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali - Book 4 - Illumination
12. The past and the present exist in reality. The form assumed in the time concept of the present is the result of developed characteristics, and holds latent seeds of future quality. In this sutra the three aspects of the Eternal Now are formulated for us and it is seen that what we are today is the product of the past, and that what we shall be in the future is dependent upon the seeds either latent and hidden, or sown in the present life. That which has been sown in the past exists and nothing can arrest or stop those seeds from coming to fruition. They must bear fruit in this present life or be concealed until a more favorable soil and more suitable condition can cause them to germinate, unfold, grow and flower forth into the clear light of day. There [399] is nothing hidden or concealed which shall not be revealed nor anything secret which shall not be made known. The sowing of fresh seeds, and the originating of activities which must bear fruit at a later date is, however, a different matter and one more completely under the control of the man. By the practice of dispassion and of non-attachment, and by the strenuous control of the desire nature it becomes possible for the man to reorient himself so that his attention is no longer attracted outward by the stream of mind-images but is withdrawn, and fixed one-pointedly upon reality. This is first attempted through the control of the vehicle of thought, the mind, and the conquest of the modifications of the thinking principle, and then the work of using that mechanism and its employment in right directions and for the achieving of knowledge of the soul-realm instead of the matter realm proceeds. Thus again liberation is brought about.
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