Śivasaṃhitā 3.58

The certainty (niścitam) with which the text affirms past karma’s destruction through prāṇāyāma is not enthusiastic rhetoric but a philosophical position: karma is crystallized energy, and prāṇāyāma works directly on energy. Pūrvārjita (previously acquired, earned in the past) encompasses karma from both this life and that accumulated in previous existences — the distinction is relevant because the text indicates prāṇāyāma dissolves both.

The verse’s second part introduces a bhāvanā (active contemplation) practice: considering every perceived object as ātman, as the Spirit. This is one of the most direct practices of Śaiva non-dualism: not suppressing sensory experience but transforming the attitude toward it. The color seen, the sound heard, the texture touched — all become entry points for recognizing the universal nature of consciousness.

Knowledge of the modes of action of the senses — how each indriya processes its specific object — is the prerequisite for their «conquest.» Vijaya (victory, conquest) in yogic vocabulary does not mean suppression but mastery: the sense that previously dragged attention outward can now be directed inward by the practitioner’s will. It is the difference between being led by the horse and knowing how to ride it.