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.