The path to eternity
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!
Friday, October 23, 2009
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Patangali Yog Sutra
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.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Patangali Yog Sutra
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.
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.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
The 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.
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.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
patangali yog sutra
The roots of 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.
Who are you really?
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 neighbour 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 neighbour 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 neighbour 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.
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.
Who are you really?
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 neighbour 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 neighbour 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 neighbour 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.
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