Kshana Tat Kramayoh Samyama — Samyama on Moments and Their Sequence
Samyama on a single moment (kshana) and the sequence of moments produces the highest discrimination (Vivekaja Jnana) — direct knowledge of the infinitely fine structure of time that is the gateway to liberation.
Sutra 3.52 teaches that Samyama on kshana (a single moment, the atom of time) and tat krama (the sequence of moments) produces Vivekaja Jnana — discriminative wisdom born from direct perception. This Samyama is the most refined possible application of the method: rather than meditating on a gross object, the yogi concentrates on the finest unit of time itself. What is discovered is that the apparently continuous stream of experience is actually composed of discrete moments — that what seems like a continuous self experiencing a continuous world is actually an extremely rapid sequence of mind-moments, each arising and passing. This discovery is mapped in extraordinary detail by Buddhist Abhidharma philosophy, whose doctrine of momentary dharmas (khanas) analyses experience as a rapid succession of arising and passing moments rather than a fixed continuum.
From Samyama on moment and the sequence of moments, the highest discrimination arises.
Neuroscientist Francisco Varela's research on neural rhythms documents that conscious experience is composed of discrete neural oscillation cycles (40-100 Hz) that are experienced as continuous through a process of temporal binding — exactly the kshana structure Patanjali's Samyama investigates.
Yoga Sutras of Patanjali