Episode 3 of the series „Die sieben Bhumikas“ - A poetic-philosophical series about deception, realisation and the quiet awakening in the noise of our time. The Seven bhumikas are the seven stages of spiritual evolution as described in the Yoga Vasishtha and described in the commentary by Brahmananda to the Hatha Yoga Pradipika be described. Bhumika means steps.
There is a point on the inner path where thinking is no longer the measure of all things - but becomes transparent. Not disappearing, not fighting, not defeating. But rather clears itself. Not because it is wrong, but because it is recognised - as a tool, not as a being.
Tanumānasa means: a refined, "thin" spirit. A mind that no longer clings to everything it touches. It no longer has to hold on to, evaluate or interpret every perception. It still feels - but gently. It observes - but no longer claims. Thoughts are still there, but they no longer determine the direction. It is as if the storm is stepping into a wide field. And the person begins to hear what lies behind the thinking.
This step is not a destination - it is a threshold. Whoever stands here does not leave the world, but its entanglement. It is the stage after the first awakening, after the first realisation of avidya, of discernment, of truth as presence. But now the view becomes wider - not because more is known, but because less is needed.
The spirit that refines itself does not flee from the world. It penetrates it. With quiet openness. With a keen ear for the unspoken. With an eye for what is not visible. He does not judge, he does not hold on, he does not place himself above deception - but neither does he place himself below it.
And so the world begins to change. Not externally - but in the way we experience it. A person who no longer reacts as they used to, not only changes themselves, but also the fields in which they live. Tanumānasa is the withdrawal of projection - not through renunciation, but through realisation. Through the silent realisation that much of what previously appeared as "I" was merely a voice - not the self.
This is where trust in not knowing begins. In the gap between thoughts. In what is not named, not controlled, not planned. This is where the transition begins: from a mind that knows - to a mind that is ready to see.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Introduction to episode 3 - Refinement - where the spirit becomes translucent
Tanumānasa - the third bhumika
There is a threshold on the inner path where thinking no longer carries us - but becomes light. Not through knowledge, but through what remains when knowledge fades.
Tanumānasa - the third bhumika - describes this transition. The mind becomes translucent. The inward movement becomes more refined. Not because the world becomes quieter, but because perception changes. Space is created between stimulus and reaction. And in this space: silence.
Refinement is not a method. It is a natural state that occurs when the tension between wanting to become and recognising eases. When questions no longer grasp, but listen. When certainties fade - and sensing takes their place.
This episode is about the art of perceiving without judgement. About seeing without concept. About the quiet maturity that arises when the ego does not disappear, but loses its gravity. Not an escape from the world - but a different existence in it.
What if clarity is not created by adding something - but by dropping something? And what if thinking is not our enemy - but has just become too much to let the essentials through?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
„Die sieben Bhumikas“
A series about deception, realisation and the quiet awakening in the noise of our time
The series consists of thematic impulses inspired by Patanjali, the seven Bhumikas, the Bhagavad Gita and being deeply human in a world full of masks, distraction and longing. Each contribution is a silent gateway - a mirror, a question, a reminder.
Avidya, in the context of yoga and Buddhism, means ignorance or lack of knowledge, but not in the sense of a lack of knowledge, but rather as a delusion or wrong view of reality. It is the basis for suffering and is regarded as the "mother" of all other kleshas (affects or hindrances).
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Note on the series: This series of articles is part of the forthcoming book
"THE SILENCE BEHIND THOUGHTS - Patañjali's Yogasūtra - four stages of inner concentration"
written by Kati Voß | Volume I of the series WEISHEITSWISSEN / Category: Spiritual Philosophy & Wisdom Literature for the Inner Path
This book takes you into the depths of Yogasūtra - not as a technique, but as an inner path. In four sections, a silent understanding of collection, clarity and self-direction unfolds. The millennia-old scripture can be read anew here: poetically, experientially, quietly. Patañjali's path to inner concentration becomes an invitation to counter the noise of thinking with another force - the silence behind it.
Erscheinung: November 2025 – Die Texte der Reihe „Die sieben Bhumikas" sind begleitende Impulse dieses Werks.
English 
German