2. vicāraṇa - The silent enquiry / The second of the seven bhumikas

Episode 2 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.

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The truth is in no hurry. It does not impose itself. It does not shout, it does not discuss, it does not explain itself. It is present, inconspicuous, unimpressed by the spectacle of thought. It does not reveal itself to those who want to grasp it, but to those who are prepared to become still. Not outwardly, but inwardly - where questions soften, where listening no longer seeks answers, but contact.

Vicharana - the second Bhumika from Patanjali - speaks of differentiation. But how do you differentiate when everything is shouting at the same volume? When words lose their origin because they are no longer born of silence but of haste? When every opinion calls itself truth, every voice proves itself right, and even silence has become a position? In a world in which information overflows and meaning flees, it becomes difficult to see where perception ends and projection begins.

But the truth remains silent. Not because it is weak, but because it is free. It does not need a right. It does not need a counterpart. It is not a thought - it is presence. A presence that breathes, that is silent, that does not tell us what to think, but reminds us what we have forgotten.

Differentiation does not mean knowing what is wrong. It means: no longer superimposing, no longer shifting, no longer defending. It means: penetrating, not judging. Recognising, not naming. Truth is not revealed through debate, but through sincerity. By sitting quietly with what is.

Perhaps truth does not begin with a sentence, but with a pause. Not with certainty, but with humility. Perhaps it is not what we see - but what sees through us.

So truth is not a goal, but a memory. Not an achievement, but a return. Not a possession, but a passage. And those who really seek it will sooner or later realise: it doesn't hurt. It makes you quiet.

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Introductory text to episode 2 - Avidya in everyday life (ignorance or lack of knowledge)

Sometimes it is not the lack of knowledge that separates us - but remembering the wrong things. Not as guilt, but as a pattern. Not as darkness, but as a fine mesh of habits, images, concepts that are no longer questioned - because they feel like truth.

This episode is about avidya - the quiet realisation that Patanjali does not condemn, but describes: as the root of suffering, as an inner veil, as an invitation to repentance.

Not morally, but existentially. Not as an error, but as a threshold.
What if what we think is clarity is just well-organised forgetting? And what if knowledge does not reveal itself through new answers - but through the silent realisation that we are no longer asking questions?

PS: 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).

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„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).

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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.

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