संवित्स्पन्दो मनःस्पन्द ऐन्द्रियस्पन्द एव च । एतानि पुरुषार्थस्य रूपाण्येभ्यः फलोदयः ॥ ४ ॥
saṁvitspandō manaḥspanda aindriyaspanda ēva ca | ētāni puruṣārthasya rūpāṇyēbhyaḥ phalōdayaḥ || 4 ||
Translation
A movement of awareness, a movement of mind and a movement of the senses: these are the forms of effort, and from them the fruit arises.
Word by word
- saṁvit
- of awareness
- spandō
- (spandaḥ) a movement
- manaḥ
- of mind
- spanda
- (spandaḥ) a movement
- aindriya
- of the senses
- ēva
- indeed
- ca
- and
- ētāni
- these
- puruṣārthasya
- of effort
- rūpāṇy
- (rūpāṇi) are the forms
- ēbhyaḥ
- from them
- phala
- the fruit
- udayaḥ
- arises
Meaning
Here Vasiṣṭha takes effort apart to see how it works. It has three stages, all called spanda, "throb" or "movement", the word the Yoga Vāsiṣṭha will later use for the stirring of consciousness itself. First comes saṁvit-spanda, says the commentary, the flash in awareness of the aim and of the means to it. Then mana-spanda, the wish for those means, a firm resolve. Then aindriya-spanda, the setting in motion of the organs and limbs, the work itself. This is a useful analysis. When an effort fails, we can ask at which stage it failed: did I never see the thing clearly, or never really decide, or decide and never begin?