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The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali - Book 1 - The Problem of Union
40. Thus his realization extends from the infinitely small to the infinitely great, and from annu (the atom or speck) to atma (or spirit) his knowledge is perfected.

This translation does not adhere to the exact Sanskrit terms. It conveys nevertheless the exact meaning of the original which is the one thing [89] of vital importance. An old verse from one of the hidden scriptures runs as follows and serves to elucidate the idea of this sutra:

"Within the speck God can be seen. Within the man God can reign. Within Brahma both are found; yet all is one. The atom is as God, God as the atom."

It is an occult truism that as a man arrives at a knowledge of himself, under the great law of analogy he arrives at the knowledge of God. This knowledge covers five great aspects:

  1. Forms,
  2. The constituents of form,
  3. Forces,
  4. Groups,
  5. Energy.

Man must understand the nature of his body and of all his sheaths. This concerns his knowledge of form. He discovers that forms are made of atoms or "points of energy" and that all forms are alike in this respect. This knowledge concerns the constituents of form. He arrives next at an understanding of the aggregate of the energy of the atoms which constitute his forms, or, in other words, at a knowledge of the varying forces; the nature of these forces is determined by the rhythm, the activity and the quality of the atoms which form the sheath or sheaths. This knowledge concerns forces. Later he discovers analogous forms with analogous vibration and force demonstration, and this knowledge concerns groups. Consequently he finds his place and knows his work. Finally he arrives at a knowledge [90] of that which concerns all forms, controls all forces and is the motive power of all groups. This knowledge concerns energy; it has to do with the nature of spirit. Through. the medium of these five realizations man arrives at mastery, for realization entails certain factors which might be enumerated as follows:

  1. Aspiration,
  2. Study and investigation,
  3. Experiment,
  4. Discovery,
  5. Identification,
  6. Realization.

The adept can identify himself with or enter into the consciousness of the infinitesimally small. He can identify himself with the atom of substance and he knows what is as yet unknown to modern scientists. He realizes also that as the human kingdom (composed of human atoms) is the midway point or station on the ladder of evolution, therefore the infinitely small is as far away from him relatively as the infinitely great. It is as far a road to travel to embrace the consciousness of the minutest of all God's manifestations as it is to embrace the greatest, a solar system. Nevertheless, in all these ranges of consciousness, the method of mastery is the same - perfectly concentrated meditation, leading to perfected power over the mind. The mind is so constituted that it serves the purpose of both a telescope, bringing the seer into touch with the macrocosm, and a microscope bringing him into touch also with the minutest atom. [91]
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