पातञ्जल योगसूत्र (स्वामी विवेकानन्द भाष्य एवं सूत्र व्याख्या)

Patanjali Yoga Sutras
any need to create. Secondly, it says the theory of God is an
unnecessary one; nature explains all. What is the use of any
God? But Kapila teaches that there are many souls, who,
through nearly attaining perfection, fall short because they
cannot perfectly renounce all powers. Their minds for a time
merge in nature, to re-emerge as its masters. We shall all
become such gods, and, according to the Sankhyas, the God
spoken of in the Vedas really means one of these free souls.
Beyond them there is not an eternally free and blessed Creator
of the universe. On the other hand the Yogis say, “Not so,
there is a God; there is one Soul separate from all other souls,
and He is the eternal Master of all creation, the Ever Free, the
Teacher of all teachers.” The Yogis admit that those the
Sankhyas called “merged in nature” also exist. They are Yogis
who have fallen short of perfection, and though, for a time
debarred from attaining the goal, remain as rulers of parts of
the universe.
19. भवप्रत्ययो विदेहप्रकृतिलयानाम् ॥ १९॥
bhavapratyayo videhaprakritilayanam
(This Samadhi, when not followed by extreme
non-attachment) becomes the cause of the
re-manifestation of the gods and of those that become
merged in nature.
The gods in the Indian systems represent certain high offices
which are being filled successively by various souls. But
none of them is perfect.
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