Patanjali Yoga Sutra Part-32

What is life? Why am I here?

Certain questions indicate the maturity of our mind. Do you know what those questions are? They are: What is life? What is the purpose of my life? Why am I here? What do I want?

If these questions arise in your mind, it is a sign of the mind or intellect getting matured. Otherwise the mind is just in routine doing the same thing again and again, not even introspecting looking into the source of life.

These questions are vital. Where am I? Are you aware you are on this planet Earth? Have you ever thought "I am on planet Earth and this planet is in the solar system"? So, I am in the solar system. The solar system is just a dot in the Milky Way. So, I am in the Milky Way. This expansion of awareness to the macrocosm and being aware of where you are in this body is important. Just sit with your eyes closed and ask yourself "where am I in this body"? Am I in the head, in the nose, in the heart? Where am I in the body? Then the sharpness of the mind happens, awareness happens. You are able to perceive that you are nowhere and you are everywhere in the body. A shift in the quality of awareness happens instantaneously. And it is this awareness that can eliminate stresses and sorrows from life. This awareness is called wisdom.

Every living being wants happiness, everyone wants to be in love. Everyone wants to be loved and everyone wants to give love. Right? There is not a single creature on this planet that doesn't like love. And do you know that love is the cause of all misery also? Love is the cause of jealousy, anger, hatred, fear, everything. The basis of all problems in the world is again love! You have two choices.. You can be indifferent or be in love and go through the suffering. Is there any other third hope for being in love and not facing all the miseries? Yes. It is through awareness.

When we raise our consciousness, we become more aware of the sensation that is happening in the body and we see that the sensations change. An intense sensation that is pain and an intense sensation that is pleasure, both become pleasurable. Love and pain, they are very closely related. The symbol of Jesus on the cross means that the cross is pain and Jesus is love. One is with the other. The transformation of this pain into bliss, the love into bliss is what happens with awareness.

The same happens with doubts. Have you noticed doubts are always about something positive? We never doubt anything negative in life. You never doubt someone else's anger or your anger.

You never doubt your depression. Nobody ever doubts his/her depression. But when one is happy, one doubts, am I really happy? If someone tells you they hate you, you don't doubt it but if someone tells you they love you, you say: "Really? Are you sure?"

If we can doubt in the negativity of people, we become close to the reality. Do you see what I am saying? We take it for granted that everybody is a hoax or a fraud and then we try to find somebody we can trust. It becomes so difficult in the world. Sometimes you have a lot of doubts in your mind. But when you increase the energy level in your body, you will see that the doubts disappear. There is more clarity in the mind. Confusion goes away from the mind.

Without this awareness the mind shrinks. When the mind shrinks, the joy diminishes. Whenever we are happy, we feel that something in us is expanding and the expression of sadness is the contraction of mind.

Meditation is a technique where the mind expands and relaxes. And whenever we are relaxed, we are expanding automatically. It is worth knowing this expansion because then nothing can disturb us or take our smile away. Otherwise, some small things can throw us off the balance. It is not worth letting your mind or your life undergo such suffering, such misery. Do you see that?

Patanjali Yoga Sutra Part-31

The Real Truth

Restraint, observance, postures, regulation of breath, substitute food for the mind, ability of the mind to focus, meditation and higher states of consciousness are the eight limbs of yoga. The first limb is Yama or the rules. Non-violence, truth, non-stealing, moving in the Brahman, non-accumulation are the five yamas. We already discussed about ahimsa or non-violence.

The second rule is Satya. It means to be with what is right now, to be with something that is not changing. Satya does not mean just speaking the truth. It is total commitment for truth. It is not just words. Unfortunately people mistake satya to be just speaking words. Many people consider being blunt as being truthful.

The sutra is Satyapratishtayam kriyaphalashrayatvam, meaning When you are established in truth then the fruits of action will follow.

When you become established in truth, any action you do will become fruitful. Many people do their actions, but their action does not bring about results because there is no truth consciousness inside. When there is truth consciousness inside, when you are established in the truth, the fruit of the action will follow the action immediately. It is the quality of the consciousness. Even if you lie, if you are bold enough to say that, 'I am telling a lie right now', you are speaking the truth!

When you lie, your consciousness is not straight-forward or strong. A person who is committed to truth is committed to the presence of the being. For them, success comes easily. The ancient saying in India is Satyameva jayate meaning 'truth alone triumphs'. Truth will eventually win though it may appear not to be winning.

There is a story about Emperor Akbar and his minister Birbal. Once Akbar heard a lecture on truth and he became so enthusiastic and said "Okay, I will make everybody speak the truth." Immediately he ordered that ''anybody who says a lie will be hanged!" He wanted this law to be implemented. As this law was announced, there was a big commotion in the market place. What was the commotion about? All the lawyers gathered together and said "What is this law? Our profession will be finished." In another corner all the merchants gathered together and said, "See, what is happening. This is disastrous. How can we sell anything?"

Next, all the priests gathered and it was the same story there too. The doctors gathered and said "Oh! We have to migrate to some other country. This law is too dangerous."

All of them approached this wise minister in the king's court, Birbal and said, "Come on Birbal, you have to do something. What will happen to our trade? This is outrageous." Birbal said "Okay I will do something." So, the next day Birbal, the minister entered the king's bedroom. As he was trying to enter, the guards stopped him and asked him where he was going. Birbal said "I am going to get hanged." Now, this was a lie! He was one of the top ministers of the cabinet. He was getting into the king's room and saying "I am going to get hanged." That was not a place to be hanged. So the guards said, "Minister Birbal has spoken a lie!" He was brought in front of the king. If Birbal was to be hanged then he had not spoken a lie. Whatever he had said was the truth. Then it means that an innocent man will be punished for no crime of his. It will be a big crime. If he will not be hanged then the law becomes obsolete. Then what to do?

All the wise people and all the ministers were called and there was a big debate, "Now, what should we do? Should we hang him or not? If we hang him we violate a law. If we do not hang him, even then we violate a law." The king was in a fix. Everybody else was in a greater fix. So they told Birbal, "You yourself suggest to us as to what we should do?" Birbal then said, "Truth is not what is spoken. Anything you speak becomes a lie. The moment you open your mouth, you are distorting the truth." Akbar realised this and withdrew the law!

Satya or truth means 'to be with what is'. It is not just the words but it is to be truthful in one's life, heart and presence. Truth is not what we speak, but what we are.

Patanjali Yoga Sutra Part-30

Breathing Ahimsa

The next sutra is Jatidesha kalasamayanavachchinnaha sarvabhouma mahavratam meaning 'the great vows are universal and are not limited by life — state, country, time or circumstances'.

These words are applicable everywhere, all the time and to everyone. These five principles mentioned above are universal.. An animal does not go into violence for no reason. Wild animals hunt only when they are hungry and when they want to eat. Human hunt out of pleasure.. Human beings have no qualms about killing in the name of God. Mindless violence is prevalent in the world in the name of country, in the name of religion, in the name of race. This is absolute nonsense. This is total lack of viveka or wisdom. A violent person cannot listen to anybody.

Why does violence arise? Frustration is the answer. The mind gets frustrated and frustration builds up. The question 'why, why, why?' transforms into violence and this contagious, so to speak. A crowd commits violence. Individually, a person may not be able to do that violent act, but when that person is in the crowd he joins hands. Viveka is when a person takes to non-violence saying, "I will not kill any animal or any life on this planet consciously or unconsciously." Already without your knowledge you are destroying many creatures. You walk and many ants are dying under your feet. You are not killing anyone.. It is just happening. But an intention to destroy something, an intention to do violence can destroy your very basis, your very own root. Dropping this intention for violence is ahimsa.

What is the effect of ahimsa? Patanjali Maharishi gives a beautiful explanation in Sutra 35: Ahimsapratishtayam tatsannidhau vairatyagaha, which means "When a person is established in non-violence, then violence is dropped in his or her presence."

If you are established in non-violence, in your very presence, violence will be dropped by other creatures. For example, someone comes to attack you. As soon as they come near you, because your vibrations are totally nonviolent, they drop down. They stop being violent. Lord Mahavira emphasises on ahimsa. It is said that whenever he walked, twenty kilometers around him, people would stop being violent. The story goes even to that extent and says even the thorns would not prick anybody but would instead become soft.

Ahimsa gives rise to tolerance.

Have you ever felt like hitting somebody? Why is that violence arising in your mind? What is the source of the violence? As you watch the source of violence, you will see that violence disappears, dissolves and peace dawns. Yoga brings that inner peace which in turn establishes non-violence. Practice of non-violence is two-way traffic. Ahimsa or non -violence brings about the union of the mind or peace of mind and when you are peaceful or calm within, you naturally become non-violent.

Patanjali Yoga Sutra Part-29

Wisdom of Human life

The next sutra is Tasya Hethuravidya, which means "thinking that these causes are yours is ignorance". What is the way out of ignorance? The only way is definite knowledge in the mind that your body is constantly changing. You must know that you are not the body, you are the self. You are imperishable, untouched and untainted by the probabilities of the world. Every particle in this body is changing. The mind is changing. The world is changing all the time.

The entire universe is in the state of fluidity. It is full of change and it is going on according to its nature. This definite knowledge is the way to get out of the circle.

Human consciousness is like a seed. A seed has the possibility of a tree, of the leaves, of a branch, of fruits, of flowers and of multiplication. A seed needs proper ground, proper conditions, sunlight, and water, soil for it to sprout and blossom. Human consciousness is like that. Either the seed can be dormant for years together keeping its possibility within itself or it starts sprouting. The sprouting of the seed of human consciousness is viveka or discrimination. Freedom comes with discrimination.

All other species in this creation are governed by nature. They do not need discrimination, nor do they have the freedom. So they never break the laws of nature. The human mind has this possibility of freedom and it also has been given discrimination. It is through wisdom and discrimination that the human consciousness can progress or else it can remain where it is. You will never see an animal overeating. They have no choice. But human beings have this freedom to do whatever they want. This freedom is given along with discrimination, along with wisdom, along with the consequences of action. Knowledge of consequences of action helps humans to choose and lead life with wisdom. Are you getting what I am saying? The human life is governed by wisdom and discrimination.

How should this come up? How can this be enhanced? How do you make the seed sprout? A seed has the possibility. But if it is not watered then the possibility remains a possibility and does not manifest.

Time for the next sutra — Yoganganushtanadashuddhikshaye jnanadipthiraviveka khyatehe. It means that by the sustained practice of the eight limbs of yoga, the impurities are destroyed and the light of wisdom and discrimination shine forth.

The husk is strong. The sprout moves through this and the grain comes out. Similarly, by the practice of eight limbs of yoga, the impurities are destroyed and wisdom as well as discrimination shines forth.

What are the limbs of yoga?

Yamaniyamaasanapran? ayamapratyaharadharanadhyna samadhayoashtavangan, the next sutra, is the answer. It means 'restraint, observance, postures, regulation of breath, substitute food for the mind, ability of the mind to focus, meditation and higher states of consciousness are eight limbs of yoga'.

Yoga has eight limbs and each one is connected to the whole. So, if you pull one, everything else will come. When the body is developing, the whole body develops simultaneously. Organs develop together and all the aspects or limbs of the body develop. That is why Patanjali says that these are all the limbs of yoga.

Unfortunately people think that these are all stages, one after the other which has to be achieved. This is wrong understanding or misconception that has crept in yoga.

The series on Patanjali's yogasutras continues…

Patanjali Yoga Sutra Part-28

Discover your Gunas

The sutra for this week is Drashta drushimatraha shuddopi pratyayanupashyaha meaning the self is pure consciousness, although it get covered when mixed with intellect.

The self, though pure, is a mere witness. But when it becomes one with the buddhi or intellect, it gets coloured. People who are stuck in their intellect, stick to their thoughts and ideas as though they are their own. They suffer as the self becomes the centre of their creation.

Moving on to the next sutra — Tadartha eva drushyasyatma, which means for the unenlightened only the world exists.

Though this world does not exist for the enlightened one, it exists for the one who is not enlightened. To them, the world continues to exist with its opposites. For the one who is awakened to knowledge, there is no more suffering. The world appears different. For the enlightened one, every inch of creation is filled with bliss. But for others it exists as the seed. So, though the enlightened one has realised this world and sees it as separate, but a part of the self, it does not exist for them.

The next sutra says Kruthartham prati nashtamapyanashtamtadanyasadharanatvat, which means that for the enlightened one the world is destroyed even though for others the world is not destroyed. Consider travelling in a bus. The journey may be over for you but the plane keeps moving or the bus keeps going. The bus still goes because it has to take the other passengers elsewhere.

Swaswamishaktyoho swarooppopalabdhihetuhu samyogaha is the next sutra and it means the power of nature is the cause and when united with the seer brings about its effects.

Your body is made up of three gunas — sattva, rajas and tamas and the three act according to the circumstances. When the tamasic guna dominates it creates lethargy. When rajasic guna dominates, you feel restless. When the mind is dominated by sattva, then you are alert. Observe the tendencies that come up in you without thinking that you are those tendencies.

Patanjali Yoga Sutra Part-27

No Pain, No Gain

The next sutra is Tehladaparitapaphalaha punyapunyahetutvat meaning "impressions give you pleasure and pain as the fruits of virtues and vices".

When the impressions are good, they bring you joy, but when they are not, they bring you suffering. It all depends on whether you have done something good or soemthing bad. Good karma accumulates and brings you joy.

If a person is happy it is because they have done some good in the past. If they are miserable, then it is obvious they have done something bad. Patanjali connects happiness and misery to an act of the past.

Patanjali says meditation is the way out of all that. Meditation helps you wash everything out.

If you look into the pleasures or joy that you get in life from birth they all come with a tax. You have to pay a tax for that and that is sorrow.

In the next sutra Patanjali says: Parinamatapasamskaradukhairgunavruttivirodhachcha dukhameva sarvam vivekinaha, which means "The result of an event, anxious wait for an event, feverishness to achieve and the impressions of these events cause sorrow and more so when things happen to the contrary. Therefore, for an intelligent one, everything is indeed considered as painful".

Every event causes some pain. Even if the event is pleasant, when it ends, there is a little pain. The greater the joy, the greater the pain too. Right? Parinama, the effect or the result of an event, brings you pain.

The longing or waiting for a pleasurable event is again pain. Memory of a pleasure too brings pain. Longing for something too causes pain. Then when you get it, the fear of losing it too is painful.

For a viveki or an intelligent one, the one who is awakened, he sees the whole incident as painful. There is nothing that is not painful. You say love is beautiful, but love is also painful. Bodies can get close, but still there is no satisfaction. Often the male takes the female body and the female takes a male body in the next life. That is what craving or longing does to a person. The mind is more prominent. That is why in every male you find a female and in every female you find a male. This is because there is some impression from the past.

The soul is not just satisfied by the physical body coming closer. It wants something more. It wants to merge, vanish and disappear. This is what you call love.

Love also creates tremendous amount of pain. Separation is pain. Trying to please creates pain. You want to know the mind of the other person in and out. How can you, when you do not even know your own mind? You want to know somebody else's mind! It is impossible to know anybody else's mind just by their words and movements of their lips and tongue.

There is a saying that the tongue has no bone. It is not steady. It says something today and tomorrow it may say something else. You cannot trust your tongue. You can trust anything in the world. You experience some good feeling, love, you feel wonderful and joyful and suddenly it is not there the next moment and it is painful.

Pain seems to exist in everything. What do you do? When you realise that everything is pain, then how do you go about it? What do you do? You have to do something to stop this pain. How will you do it? The next sutra will study that.

Patanjali Yoga Sutra Part-26

The next sutra is Kleshamoolaha karmashayo drushtadrushta janmavedniyaha meaning "Suffering has to be undergone because of the karma bank; sSome bear fruit in this birth itself whereas some bear fruit in their next."

Patanjali Maharishi says that there is no other way and you will have to suffer this in this life. You have to undergo this suffering, this misery, not only in this life, but also in the coming life, because they form as karmâshaya, as a bank of karma which is reserved!

But through meditation this karma can be washed off right now, here. Before the body drops, you get rid of the karma and lessen the sheaths of ignorance over you. Otherwise there is no escape for you from there. Drishta adrishta janma vedanîyaha means some will give you fruits in this life itself and some will stay back with you to give fruits in the next life. Now, some people have an argument. They ask, "If you put your fingers in a fire, will it burn today or tomorrow or in your next life? There is nothing like karma. Every action has got its repercussion, but it has to happen immediately. It does not come with you to your next life."

Not all the seeds you sow take the same amount of time to reap. Some seeds sprout in two days. Peanuts take five days. A coconut takes several months. A mango tree takes ten years to give fruit. Similarly, different karmas will give fruit at different times. As you sow, so shall you reap.

The next sutra is Sati moole tadvipako jatyayurbhogaha meaning "If the roots of karma are existing, they ripen and result in the body into which you are born and the fruits of the karma are experiences throughout life."

Patanjali goes on to explain about our births. Jati is the body you come from. Your birth is determined. The length of your life is determined. What you will get in your life, your joy, your miseries are also determined. Why is someone born in Ethiopia and someone else in Switzerland? Is there any explanation?

Patanjali has an explanation for this. This is the usual question asked, "Why is it that one person was born a pauper and another a prince?" "Why is one person's life full of pain and suffering while another's is full of joy and comfort?" These are big questions. There is no logic that can give you any understanding or explanation. Patanjali Maharishi says that it is because of your past karmas.

It is the strongest impression in the mind that persists. Try this tonight. Just before going to bed, think of something. Think very strongly about it. As soon as you get up in the morning, it will be your first thought. The same thought will also come up in the dream. If you practice this for four months or six months, they will assume those qualities in you.. Those thoughts will begin to take control of you. It gains such a pattern inside you because that karma, that impression has become so strong. So, the wise people say that the last days of your life is much more important than your whole life.

To emphasise this in India there are many, many stories. There is a story about a king called Ajamila. He was an atheist until his death. When he was dying, he called out: "Narayana, Narayana''. His son's name was ''Narayan'' and he was calling his son. God thought that he was being called and he came and liberated him. This is a story. It is an extreme way to say that the last impression carries much weight in spite of whatever one does the whole life.

There is another story about a saint, a very enlightened rishi named Jadabharatha who was on the bank of a river in meditation. He saw a young deer caught in a flood. So he jumped into the water and like any one would and have done, he saved the deer from drowning. The deer had hurt its leg. He cared for it. He got so attached to the deer. When he died he became a deer. This is the only instance where an enlightened person became an animal. It is said that it is almost impossible for a liberated man to be driven back into an animal's body. This is one of the impossibility. This example of Jadabharatha is quoted through out just to tell you that the last impression is most important.

Same thing, when children go to bed in the night after watching horror movies, they get nightmares. They cry and shout and do all sorts of things. How do you get rid of this?

Patanjali Yoga Sutra Part-25

The next sutra is Avidyakshetramuttaresham prasuptatanuvichchinnodaranam, which roughly translated means that ignorance is the field of the dormant, feeble, separated or fully active.

Prasupta means sleeping or dormant. Thanu means feeble, while Vichchinna means when one of them dominates. When a craving is present, aversion is also present, as is fear, but in the background.

Among these five things, when ignorance is present, you are not even aware of these two things in you. You are so totally caught up in the situation.

A person who has gone mad will never believe that he is crazy. Do you see what I am saying? There are times when you get angry but do not express your anger. You know that you are angry but there is nothing you can do about it.

It's not the same when you become full of lust. At that point, you are aware of your lust. The angry person may not know it, but the one full of lust knows.

Sadhana or practice makes these kleshas (difficulties) or the five sources of misery seem less. Before you got on the spiritual path, you would get angry. Even now you get angry but there is a difference. You will find that the anger is much less.

There should be a little fear in the body to maintain it. It should be just as much as the salt in food.

The next sutra is Anityashuchidukhanatmasu nityshuchisukhatmakhyaathiravidya.

What is ignorance? It is when the impermanent is thought to be permanent. For example, a person's opinion is not permanent, it keeps changing. But thinking it is permanent is ignorance. An event can never be permanent. What is impure can later be considered pure or vice versa.

Another example is that of junk food. It is not food at all. It drains the energy of the body, which is why it is called junk food. Considering junk food good food is ignorance. Similarly, we don't really know waht pain is and what pleasure is. Pain is considered pleasure in some cases and pleasure considered pain.

To sadists and masochists pain is pleasure. People become alcoholics and drug addicts because they think of alcohol and drugs as pleasures. Actually it is such a painful thing. Ignorance is not knowing that the body is made up of five elements and it will go back to the five elements. The self is eternal and non-changing.

The next sutra is Drigdarshana shaktyorekatmatevasmitha, which means asmita or ego is thinking that the self or the intellect and the instruments of perception are the same. Have you noticed that in a meeting some people make a point and keep sticking to it and argue about it senselessly.. They do not have the ability to see the self and the buddhi or the intellect and the instruments of perception as separate. This is asmita.

The next sutra is Sukhanushayee ragaha, which means that the attraction to a pleasant experience results in craving.

This craving makes you miserable. Patanjali says that there are only five sources of misery. Ignorance is thinking that which is changing as non-changing. We try to control others mind. How is it possible? Someone may have had love for you yesterday, but not today, or tomorrow?

We expect enlightened behaviour from everybody around us. And when we do not see it, we become unhappy. When you do not behave in an enlightened way, how can you expect everyone else too.

You expect unconditional love from everyone around you. Well, they expect the same too.

The next sutra is Dukhanushayee dweshaha, hatred or aversion comes with an unpleasant experience. Aversion also brings the same misery as happiness. Craving and aversion are both sources of misery.

Patanjali Yoga Sutra Part-24

Root to the misery

What is the purpose of Kriya yoga? The next Sutra says Samadhibhavanarthaha Kleshathanookaranarthascha, the purpose of which is to reduce suffering or misery in life and to bring about harmony or equanimity. The root causes of misery are ignorance, craving, hatred, and the fear of unknown

The next sutra is Avidyasmitaragadweshabhiniveshaha kleshaha, which says that ignorance is the root cause of suffering. What is ignorance? It is when you view something that is not permanent as permanent, something that is not joy as joy and that which is not self as self. Thinking you have certain thoughts and emotions when you do not is ignorance.

You feel the body is not changing, but the body is changing all the time. In 24 hours, your blood changes. In five days, the lining of your stomach changes. Doctors say the skin changes in a month. Every year, the cells in your body undergo some sort of transformation. Your body is like a river, always flowing, always changing. With every passing year, your body is new. Your mind is new. As you are awakened to this truth, you can identify your old fears or yourself.

Ignorance is holding on to the past and an image of who you are. People think that it is a good thing to know who you are and have an image of your self. I tell you, if you have an idea of who you are, you are finished, you are stuck! You should not know who you are. You are changing every moment and you must keep the possibility of change open. A fixed idea about who you are destroys you totally. It stops your growth and limits your possibilities.

Patanjali Yoga Sutra Part-23

We are discussing tapas. But what do tapas do? They purify and strengthen our system. But tapas can also make a person egoistic because they think it is something great that they are doing. That is why immediately after tapas, Patanjali Maharishi asks us to indulge in swadhya or self-study.

There is a story about two neighbours who did a lot of meditation. God came to one of them and asked, "What is that you want?" The first neighbor asked God if he was going to give something to his neighbour too. God said, "Of course! You both started tapas on the same day. You started one hour earlier. I came to you first.. What is that you want?" So, the first neighbor said, "Can't you somehow avoid going to the other man?" God said "No. It will become unjust. So, I have to go and see him." The first neighbor said, "Okay, whatever you give to the other person, give me twice as much." God went to the other man and asked him, "What is it that you want?" The second neighbour said, "Wait a minute. Are you coming from my neighbour's house?" God said "Yes." So the second neighbour asked him, "What did you give him?" God was silent. The second neighbour said, "Now come on, tell me what did he ask?" God hesitated for a minute and said, "Well, he asked to be given twice as much as whatever you ask." The second neighbour said, "Okay, so, that is what he wanted? Then blind me in one eye and cut off my ear. I will teach him a lesson. He is always competing with me. Now let him suffer twice as much as I do!" This sort of tapas without self-study leads to ego.

Look into the motive behind your actions. Often you get things you do not really want only because other people have it or because what others might say or think about it.. Many a time, you are not clear about what you want because you have not looked into yourself. You are swayed away by fleeting desires. Your desire is not even your desire.

Self-study means observing yourself. You have purified the body, but are you the body? You have lightened your mind, but are you the mind? Are you the thoughts? Are you your emotions? Who are you? This is self-study.

The first step is to see the Lord as separate from you. Instead of offering candles, incense, and flowers to God, offer every part of your body, offer every moment of your life, every breath, every thought, good or bad.

It is your drawbacks which pull you down and make you feel bad about yourself. If you start feeling bad about yourself you become unconnected to the divine. There is nothing to make you connected to the divine. It is up to you to feel close to the divine.

You start feeling that you are the only one and you are the closest to the divine. Then you will see that it will start happening, you will start blossoming. The seed you sow is what will grow. If you sow the seed of "I am hopeless, I am no good. I am hopeless, I am no good", then that ''no good'' seed will begin to grow!

Often, useless weeds grow without any cultivation. You do not have to make any effort. They just grow, but a useful plant needs some attention. All the unnecessary doubts or thoughts which are there need not be sown. They just come up by themselves. By swadhya or self-study, you can weed them out and keep only those which are essential.

Tapaha swadhya shwara pranidhana kriya yogaha is kriya yoga or yoga of action. Even while doing an activity, see that you are not doing it.. Be a silent witness. There is a depth in you, a silent corner in you, a silence in you and that is the truth. The whole space is silent. In that silence, there is activity.

Patanjali Yoga Sutra Part-22

Fire within

A fortnight ago I had talked about bhutagni and kamagni, two types of fire. The third type of fire is jataragni, the fire of hunger and digestion. This is an important principle of Ayurveda. Jataragni or the fire of digestion more or less affects your health. It affects your balance.

Even before you feel hungry, if one gorges, there are more toxic substances in the body. Many people fall ill or die not because of hunger, but due to overeating. We do not allow the fire of hunger to rise within us. This is the principle of fasting. When you fast, every cell of your body comes to life. Fasting is very good because it cleanses your system.

When your head is clogged with worry, tension and unpleasant thoughts, fasting helps. The jataragni can purify your blood; it can remove the toxins from the body and make you feel much better. In Hinduism, Christianity, Jainism, Islam and in almost all the religions of the world, fasting and prayer are practised. Fasting touches the deepest samskaras in you. But there are people who simply fast without knowing much about it. Jataragni can burn one down if it is done without understanding. There are people who go to extremes, who either overeat or fast too much. Neither is good. Fasting can cleanse your system and bring balance but it should be done with modulation and guidance.

The fourth type of fire is badavagni or fire of social criticism. When people criticise you what happens? A fire awakens in your system. When you stand in front of a big crowd, your heart beats faster and you tremble. This is because of the fear of criticism and of the opinions of people.

Man is a social animal. We live in a society and we have certain rules to follow. Man cannot think he is free and that he can do whatever he wants to. When you drive on the road, you have to drive on the left side. You have to walk by the side of the road, you have to stop at red lights etc. In short, you have to follow certain codes of conduct. When you have to follow rules, the fear of being punished arises. Adhering to certain laws brings up concern over abiding to those laws. Here again if you are too concerned about criticism and what people say about you, your freedom vanishes. Your openness, your sense of centeredness and freedom will all be destroyed. Push aside this fear of criticism. It does not matter what people say; opinions change anyway.

The fifth type is fire of knowledge or love. This is called premagni or jnanagni. Love creates such a fire in you. The fire of love is so strong and all-consuming that it can lift you up from the fear of criticism. Fire of love and fire of knowledge are synonymous.. Fire of love begins with an intense longing. Only in human birth can this fire be experienced. Fire of love or fire of knowledge creates an unpleasant sense of longing in the beginning, but it moves on to the blossoming of bliss.

These are the five fires present in each person from childhood.

Patanjali Yoga Sutra Part-21

Tapas theory:-

What is it that gives you the strength or the force to do something?

In the previous Sutra, Patanjali Maharishi mentioned Kriya Yoga. Endurance (Tapas), self-study (Swadhyaya) and devotion to the divine (Eashwara Pranidhana) constitute the Yoga in action (Kriya Yoga). What do they all do to you?

They reduce the misery in a person's life and give rise to samadhi or equanimity. There are certain people who walk in very hot weather without wearing shoes. It may seem like some type of torture and you may wonder why the person is torturing himself or herself but if you actually talk to them you will realise that they are accustomed to that. Their bodies are strong — they can bear heat and strong weather. But for some one else it is unbearable.

So, tapas makes you strong. If someone travels from California to Switzerland, they need to wear several sweaters and even a coat. But for someone from the North West province or higher, the cold weather in Switzerland is bearable. They may even walk around without a sweater. This is because their body is used to such harsh weather.

Willingly going through that which is not very easy is tapas. This strengthens you. People can stretch this to another extent. They can become masochists. They torture themselves.

Three types of Tapas

Fire sustains life. There are five types of fire.

One is Bhutagni. Bhutagni is the physical fire by which you heat your home and yourself. It sustains life. This maybe obvious but may not be so in tropical countries. They might not give much value to fire there. But in cold countries people know how important fire is. Without physical fire life gets extinguished. This physical fire is present in the body to some extent.

We do not allow fire to rise within us. The moment we're down with fever, we take a pill and force the symptoms to subside. Not that you should not take medicine. Take it, but attempt to tackle the root cause of the problem rather than just attending to the symptoms of fire in your system. When a foreign body enters the body, your whole body turns up the heat –— that's fever. Fever is a defense mechanism which burns all the foreign particles that have entered the body. As soon as these foreign bodies abandon the body your fever comes down. The purpose of fever is to purify your body. Naturopathy and Ayurveda deal with all these things.

Your body develops your own air conditioning. If you put on the air conditioner all the time, then you are not letting the self-modulating system of the body function. Our body brings out sweat, which is cooling. Unfortunately, many are used to air conditioners from childhood. I have nothing against the use of air conditioners, but make sure your body temperature agrees with the fresh prana environment. It will make a difference. Then you will have the ability to work in a cold place without having to wear too much. Or to be in a hot place without feeling suffocated..

There is a second type of fire known as Kamagni, the fire of desire, lust or passion. It is because of this fire of passion that life continues on this planet. This fire is present in all living beings. We do not let the fire of desire remain in us for long and burn us. The moment desire strikes, we fulfill it. The promiscuous have absolutely no kamagni. They do not allow this fire to burn them, let alone even bake them. The moment lust strikes, they fulfill their desires. In such cases kamagni does not awaken in you. Sex is one of the oldest samskaras, apart from eating. Throughout all the ages living beings have done two things for sure — eating and having sex.

When this passion arises observe it. It is present in every cell of your body. It engulfs you, burns you. If one immediately succumbs to desire, their power or shakti decreases. That is when you become more inert and less sensitive. Then there is no vigor, joy or enthusiasm in any activity one does. That is why people who are promiscuous do not have that enthusiasm. They do not have the force or will or strength to do any action.

Patanjali Yoga Sutra Part-20

Looking within:-

When someone is anxious, they are unaware of time. They are not aware of the moment that is passing. This is because their focus is on the event, on the happening, rather than on the moment. When someone is waiting for a train to arrive, they wait and wait and wait. Next time, try and be aware of the moment.

When the mind is lost in the moment, then that is yoga. When you wait for nothing, yet you wait. It adds a different quality to the conscious mind. This aspect sharpens the mind, the intellect and the heart. This is the yoga of action.

This is the next sutra in Patanjali's second chapter known as Sadhana Pada. Sadhana pada is a 'practice on the path'. Tapaha swadhyayeshwarapran idhanani kriyayogaha is the sutra and it means "Endurance, self-study, devotion to the divine constitutes the yoga of action."

Kriya yoga is the yoga of action. Action is a part of creation. There is activity in everything in creation. Right from a little atom, to the sun, to the moon, and stars, there is activity. There is nothing that is stable or static in this world. Everything is busy, active. The Brahman, the infinity, is filled with infinite activity. There is absolutely no silence at all!

Even in sleep there is activity. You think you are sleeping, but in sleep, there appears to be more activity. The body grows more in sleep than when you are awake. Do you know that? In the child, every cell is multiplying as he sleeps. That is why a growing child sleeps longer. The young sleep longer than the elderly because there is a lot of activity, mostly metabolic, going on in the body. The body is built when you are young. If you deprive somebody of sleep, their growth is stunted.

Even in silence, there is activity. At the same time, in every activity there is a corner which is silent. Krishna tells Arjuna, "Arjuna, do you know who is really intelligent and clever? One, who sees silence in activity and activity in silence. That is a truly intelligent person."

Now, how does one see silence in activity and activity in silence? It needs sharpness of awareness, alertness of the mind and keenness of the senses. That keenness can come when there is skill in your activity. That skill in activity is Kriya yoga or the yoga of action.

What is Kriya Yoga? It comprises of three parts. First, there is Tapas, which means endurance or acceptance. Say for example, you are traveling in a plane on a long distance flight. You have been sitting for long and you find your legs are getting numb. You are tired, yet you keep sitting. You feel heavy, yet you keep sitting. You cannot say.. "Oh! I cannot sit any longer; I am going to get out of the plane." No way! If the plane is delayed or held up in the air, you still have to sit there. There is no choice. Now, if you had a choice, you would not sit for eight hours like that in one place. But in a plane you sit, accepting it, willingly, without grumbling. That is tapas! In the same way, if you are hungry, you say, "No, I am fasting. I want to have a cleansing diet. I want to cleanse my body. So I am just going to fast on juice or water." You decide on your own to do some action, which is not usual. and you do it, without grumbling. Tapas is really experiencing the opposite values without grumbling.

You know that it is beneficial and the result of this action is very good, and therefore you go ahead with it however difficult it is. People go to the gymnasium. It is difficult and gives no pleasure yet one does it. Why? They know that it is good for their system. This endurance is called tapas.

Second is Swadhyaya or self-study or introspection. This means observing your own thoughts and emotions. Where do these emotions come from? Where do the thoughts come from? What is happening inside you? Studying yourself is swadhyaya.

Third is Eashwara pranidhana, which means devotion to the divine or love for the divine.

These three things make up Kriya Yoga.

Patanjali Yoga Sutra Part-19

The next sutra is Tasyapi nirodhe sarvanirodhannirbëjaha samadhi, meaning the Samadhi of no seeds in which even the feeling of impressions is removed along with the removal of the impressions themselves.

This is another kind of Samadhi, where even the feeling of impressions is not felt.

There is no end to this. These are many different types and states of awareness in Samadhi being described. The path is long. Every step is complete in itself. It is not that you are aiming at a goal to be attained. The goal is in every moment. Yet the path is long. Do you get it? The path is very long, but the goal is in every moment. The goal is at where you are in patience. It is not that you are in a hurry — you cannnot say you want Samadhi today, this moment. Yes, there should be enthusiasm, but, at the same time, with that enthusiasm there should be patience. Do you see this?

This is an interesting point. Those who are very enthusiastic have no patience. People who have patience are very lethargic — they believe they have a lifetime ahead of them anyway. Others are restless — they want things at that very moment. You can see this everywhere. They are either of this extreme or that extreme. It is like sleeping a hurried sleep. It is not possible. You cannot tell yourself to sleep quickly.

In the same way, you cannot remember in a hurry... "Okay, let me remember, quick, quick, quick." The hurry in remembering delays the remembering. When you want to remember something, the more you hurry, the more restless you are to remember, the longer it takes for you to remember. It is the same with meditation or Samadhi.

You cannot say, "I am going to meditate quickly. I have no time!" Not possible. So this path, the middle path or the golden path, is wherein you are enthusiastic, at the same time, you are patient. You are patient, at the same time you are not lethargic. You do not postpone things. You know, often when people have to do something good, for their personal development, they say, "If God is willing, I will do it. If God is willing, it will come to me." They leave it to God when it comes to one's practices and development. But when you have to do something in the world, you do not say, "God willing, I will build a house or if God is willing I will make a relationship". You do not do that! You look for a relationship; you look for a house, look for a job, look for money. For all this you put your hundred percent, but, if you have to do something for others or some practices of self-development, you say, if God is willing it will happen.

Infinite patience and dynamic enthusiasm is the golden middle path!

Patanjali Yoga Sutra Part-18

Grace of Spirituality:

The most difficult things appear and sound difficult when they are removed from experience. But when it comes to oneself, the most difficult things look simple. When you read scriptures about Samadhi it appears very difficult. But I tell you, every individual experiences glimpses of Samadhi in life and that is why there is joy. Unfortunately, we don't pinpoint or identify it and we don't know how to maintain, retain it or recreate it.

Patanjali gives us a scientific step by step methodology of recreating this experience. It is not experience of the object but experience of the experiencer which is the self referral value of our own inner divinity..

Let us once again go through the four types of Samadhi which Patanjali Maharishi has mentioned. They are Savitarka Samadhi, Nirvitarka Samadhi, Savichara Samadhi and Nirvichara Samadhi.

Savitarka Samadhi is the Samadhi in which there is a dialogue or argument in one part of consciousness with the other part of the same consciousness. Here, there is a dialogue happening between the knower, known and knowing, meaning a dialogue with logical subtle reasoning happening within oneself.

Nirvitarka Samadhi is the one which has no dialogue where there is no reasoning.

Savichara Samadhi is the Samadhi in which there is some knowledge flowing. In this state of deep Samadhi some faint thoughts move through.

Nirvichara Samadhi is the one where there is no thought .This is a thoughtless state which is the experience of nothingness or just emptiness.

Now comes the question — why did Patanjali Maharishi make this distinction considering a dialogue cannot happen without words? This is due to reasoning where there is a little logic flowing through and you are trying to grasp something. Logic always has a tendency to grasp. Even in Samadhi there could be a slight tendency to grasp the experience and that is called Savitarka Samadhi, which is not a very deep Samadhi. In Nirvitarka Samadhi that desire to grasp is not there.

Our consciousness is much older than the stones. Our consciousness has impressions of so many life times. So, when we go deep in Samadhi, some faint thoughts or ideas that have no logic may arise. Just like in dreams you get thoughts and ideas which have no logic. Your experiences in dreams have no logic. Sometimes you don't even need to have a language to understand the Vichara. It is just a feeling. A subtle or faint feeling arises and that is called Savichara and when there is no feeling or no trace of faint thought, it is Nirvichara Samadhi. These two samadhis take you deeper because they continue to exist in the subtlest levels of the consciousness.

For logic to come across, you need an object. If the mind has to understand or to reason, it needs an object. In fact it needs not just one object but many objects. But if the subject itself is the object it becomes self referral and that is called Nirvitarka Samadhi. In this state there is no dialogue where just the seer is left. But in this Samadhi there is subtle understanding about very subtle things. These subtle objects continue even to the primordial nature of the universe where you cannot even point your finger and say "this is this". It takes you towards a realm of unknown beyond the logic. Subtle objects of perception continue even beyond identifications. That means it is the journey from the known to unknown. These four kinds of Samadhi can be only understood when we go deep into experience.

Many people experience things in meditation but they don't know what to make of it. That is where Patanjali's beautiful guidance becomes very valuable. Five different experiences of the senses — sight, smell, sound, taste and touch — these five modes of experience continue at a very subtle primordial nature. Though there is no object of touch, when you go deep in Samadhi, you can feel some sensations of touch, you can hear some sound or you can see some light. Though there is no thought, the experience is also considered as thought and these experiences continue till there is "shoonyatha" or nothingness.

So, in meditation don't sit and wait for something. When you experience these things, do not try to hold on to it. This is what he mentions as "Sabeeja Samadhi".

When you are experiencing bliss or a vastness of consciousness, there can be traces of sound or light or touch or fragrance. This is a common phenomenon when people get into meditation. From this, Sabeeja Samadhi we skilfully go to the Nirbeeja Samadhi where there is no duality. The purpose of Samadhi is not just Samadhi itself but "adhyatma prasada", which means spiritual awakening or spiritual grace. Samadhi is one of the means to attain the grace of spirituality.

Patanjali Yoga Sutra Part-17

A steady state of mind:-

The steadiness of prana is known as samadhi. Just by knowing that, in few moments the prana becomes steady and brings you to a space where you are completely hollow.

Patanjali tells you to become like a crystal, which is solid but allows light to pass through it totally. Though you exist with a body, in the state of samadhi you are not there at all. In other words you can live as though you don't exist.

When you are with the Self, you are just with the just the self — steady, blissful and joyful and when you are with your senses, you are so totally in the senses.

The samadhi that you experience during activity is sabheej samadhi. Have you noticed a child? His eyes do not flitter here and there. They are steady. A child stares at things and there is depth in the eye of a child. This indicates the soul, how steady and stable it is. Your eyes are the window to see the world. If someone is very ambitious or greedy, their eyes will indicate that. If a person is kind and compassionate, the eyes will reflect that.

When I say eyes, I do not mean just the physical eyes but the face, the behavior, the senses, appearance, walk, words, your entire life reflects what you are deep inside.

This is the job of the senses. They tell you about the world and tell the world about you. The soul in you reflects the dignity in you. This is sabheej samadhi. Do you get it? You look at the mountain and the mountain reminds you of the self, of the consciousness.

You look at the ocean and the ocean reminds you of consciousness. Your mind is steady, your senses are steady. Steadiness is dignity. Steadiness is strength and steadiness is dispassion. You can experiment this. For a few moments you keep your body steady and keep your eyes steady and you will see almost immediately that the mind becomes steady and the breath comes to a standstill. This is when time stops, death stops, and immortality begins. Before time swallows you, before this earth gulps you, you wake up, and you swallow time.

Samadhi is a state of mind in which you can stay for a million years.

Every experience of your senses becomes complete. Have you observed your feelings when you are happy? You feel you are expanding. And what happens when you are sad, uptight or sorrowful? You experience tightness, reduction, isn't it? Also when we feel expanded, our awareness is expanding, we tend to fall asleep. And when we want to have keenness of awareness, we seem to be more uptight, not relaxed.

Samadhi is a state of mind where you are sensitive to others feelings too. When you become sensitive to the world, nature becomes sensitive to you and listens to you. How can this happen? What is the condition? We will explore this in the next sutra.

Patanjali Yoga Sutra Part-16

Is your breath steady?

Yathapimatha Dhyanatvad (Sutra 39)
''Or by meditating as per your choice''
There are many different types of meditations . You can take on whichever suits you, whichever you love. Take one path and go into one path. All ways are good, but, you take one way and go deep into it without criticizing others.

Paramanu Parama
mahatvanthayoranyah (Sutra 40)
''Then the minutest atom, to the greatest and the infinite comes under your purview''

The nature loves you, starts supporting you. When earth shakes for few seconds, you know how much disaster happens. You exist in this planet because earth is steady. Once in a while earth shakes and it throws you off your place, a few seconds can make your life stand still for many days. Any type of natural calamity, whether floods or torrential rain or scorching heat disturbs life. You can be at peace when nature is at peace, when nature is steady, when nature doesn't behave in a funny manner. Few years ago, in the middle of the summer in Sahara desert there was snowfall. And in the same year, you also have read in the papers the usually cold England was so hot. Winter months & the day became so hot, never heard of before, first time in the century. Once in a while nature shakes, but your senses are shaking every day. When the senses are shaky, it is unable to behold the Lord within. It disturbs the peace in you. Like nature when it is steady, there is peace, when your senses are steady, there is peace. Meditation can happen when there is harmony in nature and there is harmony in your senses. If your eyes are going all over the place, the mind is not in a meditative state. Is your breath steady? Is the prana going smooth and normal or going haphazard? When your senses are steady, your soul also becomes peaceful, your being, your spirit inside you becomes steady.

Instead of realizing that joy is the nature of self, the senses see joy in the objects that are outside That is when the senses shake. Senses are the bridge, one side is the object and the other side is the Self. When senses think pleasure is coming to me from the objects or more pleasure will come from the object, they shake. Even during the few minutes when the senses shake, they become tired and they become unable to enjoy or experience joy. Are you getting what I am saying? I had been to a Blind school in Bangalore; they sang bhajans for half an hour with all their heart. It was so powerful because there was no distraction for them, they didn't have to look here and there. It was as though they were singing from a very deep meditative state. There whole being was in those songs. Because the eyes were steady already, there was no way for the eyes to move here and there. The same eyes which you think guide you and bring you light can shake you and bring you darkness too .It is also the same with ears. See, some time people switch on the radio and every five minutes they go on moving the tuning, keep on tuning to different stations. Their entire time would be spent in tuning, little bit from here, little bit from there, may be a better song will be played in that station, they will change the band ! Same could be true for some people with the the sense of smell. They put this perfume on and then use the other one.

When the senses are steady, then the prana, which is shaking inside you also becomes straight. Those of you who are introduced to Pranayama, you would have noticed when you do pranayama see how your prana becomes steady. And all those moments when you are feeling not so good, when you are unhappy or when fear is there, observe the prana. These states are nothing but indications that the prana is shaky. And samadhi is steadiness in prana.