Taylor-Rugman. Dharmamegha Samadhi in the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali

United Kingdom, Wales: University of Wales, Trinity Saint David, 2012. — 53 p.A thesis submitted to the University of Wales Trinity Saint David in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the Study of Religions: Indian Religions.
This dissertation will examine the meaning of the term dharmamegha samadhi within the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali (henceforth referred to as YS). This is a timely review of this area of the YS and seeks to explore the ideas of Ranganathan (2008). He proposes that dharma is used as a direct synonym for morality in Indian philosophy and that the entire yoga project, as outlined in the YS, is geared towards the yoga practitioner achieving moral perfection. This moral perfection that finds its expression in the dharmamegha stage. The term dharmamegha appears just once in Patanjali’s work (YS 4.29) but it is reasonable to assume that this samadhi state is central to the whole yogic endeavour as outlined in the YS. The introduction and description of the dharmamegha state appears within in the last ten sutra-s of the YS, at a point where the yogi is on the threshold of achieving kaivalyam, the aloneness that marks the fruition of the yogic journey. I will attempt to establish whether an accurate and plausible understanding of dharmamegha can be established. In order to do this I will refer a variety of translations of the YS and also examine the available literature on this topic by other scholars.