Patanjali Yoga Sutras Lecture 019

Full Transcript(Not Corrected)

Om Yogena Chittasyapadena Vacham Malam Sharirasya Chavai Dhyakena Yopakarottam Pravaram Muninam Patanjalim Pranjali Rana Tosmi I bow to the eminent sage Patanjali who removed the impurities of the mind through yoga, of speech through grammar and of the body through medicine. Om Peace be unto all. So we have been discussing the yoga sutras of Patanjali. We have come, as I mentioned in my last class, to the most difficult two aphorisms, the 17th and then the 18th. The 17th aphorism is describing about the lower type of samadhi and the 18th one describes about the highest type of samadhi. Before we proceed, let us recollect some important points. One, it is the nature of the mind to be in samadhi at all given times. What is the nature of the mind to be in samadhi? What is samadhi? Samadhi is that state of the mind where whatever is in front of it is reflected without the least bit of distortion, like a clean pure mirror. Originally that is the nature of the mind. What happens when the pure mind is there? It comes into contact with different types of objects and with this association, it becomes contaminated as it were. Then we lose or it loses its power of reflecting whatever is in front of it. In rough, this is the essence of what we are going to discuss. What is the goal of yoga? To make the mind become its true nature, real nature. Ramakrishna, Vedanta all tell us repeatedly about one fact. What is that fact? That the mind must be made pure. How can the mind be made pure if in its nature it is not made pure? So many times I have repeated this statement. An object is that particular object because of its nature. A mango is a mango. An apple is an apple. So you cannot change the nature of the apple. You cannot change the nature of the mango. You cannot change the nature of any single object in this world. If you change, then it won't remain that particular object. If the mind by its very nature is pure, then that is its nature. But it appears to be contaminated. Now that is an important point. Becomes contaminated and appears to be contaminated, there is an enormous difference between these two, if we are asked. By say Swami Vivekananda, what do you think of yourself? Are you the Atman or are you an object? What would be our answer? No. If we are asked, then the answer would be we are finite, we are of little knowledge, of little awareness and we are severely limited in everything, unhappy, miserable, etc. Otherwise where was the need for him to come? He came only to remind us, you are the children of immortality. This is what he came for. Amrutasya Putra. It is a sin to call a man a sinner. But is he telling something which is impractical? Do you mean to say a terrorist who is about to kill hundreds of thousands of people by the press of a button? He is also the Atman. Yes. He is also pure. Yes, he is also pure. He is also Amrutasya Putra. Then he is going to kill you. No, he is not going to kill you. In fact, he cannot kill you. Do you know why he cannot kill you? Because the truth is, the reality is, there are no two things called he and something else. In reality, he is the Atman. If he is the Atman, can there be something else besides him? Then what happens? That is where we are ignorant. Then what about our experience? In a dream, you go to bed in London and you wake up in some other place, hell. Are you really in hell or are you thinking you are in hell? This is the idea Vedanta wants to protect. That is why Vedanta is so difficult. You go to a fellow, Sir, I am very miserable. Yes, yes, you are very miserable. You are the lowest of the low. There can be nobody else lower than you. You are a wonderful person. You are telling the truth. But if you say, no, you are a great person, you are pure, then he won't believe. In dream, suppose we are talking like this. In dream, I am terrible, I am miserable, I am unhappy. And you, because you have done a lot of good actions. In dream, mind you, in actual life you don't do it. In dream, in imagination, we are the greatest givers. You encounter, because of some great deeds you have done, in the dream, with Swami Vekananda. And he says, you are Amrutha Putra. You know, you start whimpering, I am a miserable creature. Don't you see, I am suffering from morning till evening. He says, I am telling you the truth. Believe me. No, no, I can't believe you. But he is very gracious to you. What does he do? One big slap. What happens to you? You wake up and say, I am the most glorious being on earth. Though I am putting it in this way, the truth is, that's what they want to tell us. Let us remember this. The mind by itself is very pure. But the mind also doesn't give you liberation. It only reflects what we really are, what is in front of it, like a mirror. Can you say that the soul goes into Samadhi? Have you heard that expression? This person is great because when he sits like that, his soul goes into Samadhi. No, the soul never goes into, it never goes anywhere. In fact, it has never come out of Samadhi. Then what do you mean? The mind with which he is deeply associated, that becomes awakened. And then it attains that state of purity where it reflects. Now, another point, important point. Suppose you are standing in front of a mirror and you are looking at your own reflection. Is it not? Would you be foolish enough to think, I am that reflection? Stand in front of the mirror and imagine you are quite a well-to-do person. But you are standing in front of a mirror and say, oh, you poor fellow, I am the most miserable, poorest person on earth. Your words echo. You hear them. But do you believe them? You never believe because you know what is the truth. In the same way, when the Atman stands in front of the purest mirror, the mind can never say, you are miserable, you are me. Just as we never identify ourselves with our reflection. The scriptures or the Shastras are called Darpana. Darpana means mirror. They only tell us. Our mind tells us. So what is the point here? The point is, when the mind becomes so pure that it is able to reflect our true nature, because who is standing in front of our mind? We are standing in front of our mind. Then we understand, this is the most glorious being. I am the most glorious being. And then at the same moment, say, I have nothing to do with this mirror. I am not the mirror. I am not the reflection in the mirror. Do you identify yourself with the mirror? No. Do you identify yourself with the reflection in the mirror? In fact, both of them cannot be really distinguished, philosophically you cannot distinguish between the mirror and its reflection. Tell me, where is the reflection? Inside the mirror or outside the mirror? Outside the mirror. It is the mirror is the reflection. That part of the mirror which is covered is your reflection. You don't see the reflection and the mirror as separate things, though we do not give much thought to it. The moment the mind becomes so pure that it is able to see its real nature reflected, and it can be reflected only in a pure mind and then without distortion, then the first thing that I am not the reflection. I have nothing to do with the reflection. So even, let me point out here something very, very interesting. Are you having ego? If I ask any one of you, what would be your answer? Yes. How many egos have you? How many egos? Is it one? Is it two? Or is it three? How many egos you have? All of us. Do you know the truth? We have three egos. What is the three ego? The real ego belongs to the Atman, pure self, I am. That is true ego. Then there is a reflected pure ego. That is, when the mind becomes very pure, then there is a reflection. It is that reflection which is identifying itself with everything else. But that reflected I is a pure I. This is called also Sakshi Chaitanya, Jeevatma. Jeevatma never becomes contaminated. It appears to be contaminated. Now what is the third I? The third I, when this reflected pure I, reflected pure I, it becomes identified with body, mind, etc. Then it assumes, I am a man. I am a woman. I am young. I am old. I am miserable. I am happy. I am knowledgeable. I am ignorant, etc. How many egos? Three egos. At this moment, with which ego are we identified? With the third ego. Okay. Now let me proceed to find out what is that pure reflected but pure ego. Pure reflected ego. Now you go to witness a game, cricket, football. But mind you, here also there are traps. A trap is if you are a fan of one party or the other, you are contaminated. But let us imagine that you are a lover of the game, not the fan of any party. Whichever party is playing all right, you will admire them. Okay. Or another example is a judge. I am talking about not a bribe-taking judge but a real judge. A real judge, he looks both the parties absolutely with impartial mind and decides what is right, what is not right. So in this analogy, who is the judge? It is the reflected pure ego. And then when that judge has nothing to judge and then he goes back home. Then analogically, don't stretch it too much, then that is the real Atman. When a judge goes home, is he a judge or is he a human being? He is a human being. When do we become that kind of human beings? There is a state and that state is called deep sleep. When we are in the deep sleep, there is no other identity, I am. This is not 100% true but for clarity I am giving that example. Because even that also is a state of ignorance. But that is a state where we are nearest to our true self because there is no identity with either the mind or the body. There is only a slight subtle part of the mind which is called egoism. And that egoism is I am. The moment you wake up, then you don't say I am. What do you say? I am so and so, I am this and that, I am the owner of this etc. etc. etc. Interesting point here is in this analogy, when you say I am so and so, the real language should be I am the owner of this body and mind. You should never say I am the body. Why? Because the body is changing. But you are not changing. You are merely identifying out of ignorance. You never change. We discussed this point. Whenever we look at any object, especially a living object, there are always two types of knowledge come to us. One is the changing aspect of that object, another is the unchanging. This is so and so. This is Swami Dayatmananda. Since how long did you know? Since 20 years, since 40 years, since even 60 years. That is the unchanging Swami Dayatmananda. But 40 years back was Swami Dayatmananda as he looks now. Now he changed a lot. That is the important point. The mind by its very nature is absolutely pure and it is its nature to be in Samadhi. What is Samadhi? Samadhi is to remain in its own pure uncontaminated state. If you recall, the mind at any given time will be in five states. If you recall, what are those? Kshita, Modha, Prakshita, Ekagra and Nirodha. They are not five different states of the mind, but five different states of its purity. The lowest is Kshita, the highest is Nirodha. To attain to that state of Nirodha and to remain there, that is the goal of Yoga. So for that all the steps are involved. Now when we attain to that state, how do we attain? There must be steps. That is where all this time the preparations are given. First the definition and then what preparations? What are the earlier preparations? Two important preparations. If you remember, two important preparations without which it is impossible to make the mind attain to its natural state. What are those two important? Abhyasa and Vairagya. Repeated practice for life after life. Second, accompanied by at the same time, dispassion. And in the last verse, that is in the 16th verse, it says, the highest definition of this supreme dispassion is when the mind, the pure mind is not interested in anything including itself. It is not interested. You know, dispassion means you have to exercise your willpower to wrench yourself away from something. No, that is not dispassion. That is two words dispassion. What is dispassion? I am not interested at all. Simple example, not a very elegant example. You know, the droppings of a crow. This is the classical example. Droppings of a crow, a guest comes, an honorable, loving guest comes to your home, says, would you like to have Rishagulla or there is an alternative, the droppings of a crow. Would you say that? You will never say that. Why? Because nobody will have any interest in the droppings of a crow. No value is there. I am trying to illustrate a point. The point is when a man's mind has attained to that state where it looks upon all the enjoyments of this universe, not only this earth, but until one reaches the Brahmaloka, even the highest joys of Brahmaloka as the droppings of a crow, not by effort, but very naturally, that is the peak of supreme dispassion. It is called Para-Vairagya, supreme dispassion. This is what we discussed. We have to keep that in mind because when the next euphorism we are discussing is the Asampragnatha Samadhi, what it is, I will tell you. It is also of two types, attained once by some effort, but again the man falls down. Why does he fall down? Because he has not attained to this supreme dispassion. That's why he falls down. This is called Yoga-Bhrastha. Fallen Yogi. Fallen Yogi means what? He has interest. He has not attained to the state of real knowledge. We will come back to that. Samadhi, how to attain? These two preparations, having taken for granted that we or some aspirant had practiced these two, Vyasa and Vairagya, now the mind has been honed to the finest degree of concentration. He is capable of doing the greatest amount of concentration possible for any human being. So one has to take up slowly this mind, fully disciplined, with full of dispassion and completely powerful, absolutely powerful, so that if the man decides, I want to focus this mind on this object, then he is entering the lower kind of Samadhi. Now very briefly let me describe. Do not forget, I warrant you, these 17th and 18th aphorisms are tough nuts to crack, but intellectually we can understand and for that also we need purity of mind and prayer. Only by the grace of Saraswati, Sharada, can we really understand. Let us come to that. Let me describe first. Samadhi, according to Patanjali, is divided into two categories. In Sanskrit, first Sampragnata Samadhi and second is Asampragnata Samadhi. Savikalpa Samadhi and Nirvikalpa Samadhi. Now, again this Sampragnata Samadhi in simple English language is the lower type of the highest Samadhi. The lower type of the highest Samadhi. Why do I say the lowest type of the highest Samadhi? Because there is a reason. What was it just a few minutes before I mentioned? It is the nature of the mind to be in Samadhi. What is that Samadhi? To become identified with any object, take it as a temporary working definition of Samadhi is called Samadhi. Now, an example would be a cat is intent on catching a rat in a hole. Do you know? This has been given as a classic example. Excepting a yogi, nobody will have that kind of concentration. It is sitting outside the hole. It doesn't move at all. Because if it moves, the slightest movement, the rat is listening. That is a kind of Samadhi. A driver completely absorbed in driving in heavy traffic, especially December 24th. He is having a kind of Samadhi. You are watching a very very interesting movie. You are in Samadhi. You are listening to a beautiful piece of music. You are in Samadhi. I hope you are also listening to my talk. That is a kind of Samadhi. I don't want the other kind of Samadhi. Do you see what is the point? All these absorptions are different types of Samadhis. Why do we call it Samadhi? Because what is the nature of Samadhi? If it is true Samadhi, then corresponding result will come. And what is that result? If a scientist is focusing upon a scientific matter, that knowledge will come to him. If a doctor is focusing upon the patient, the nature of the disease and the remedy etc. will be revealed to that person. If a cook is cooking with Samadhi, then his cooking comes out the best etc. You can multiply. So at any given time, many many times we are in Samadhi. Do not forget it. What is the problem? The problem is our mind is absorbed no doubt, but it is in worldly things. And that is why we are also bound. So we have the capacity to turn the same mind towards the higher thing. If I can focus my mind and watch a movie absorbedly, then I have also the same capacity. But then I have to train, not the mind, because the mind is already somewhat trained. What do I need to train? The interest. My interest. I have to shift to my interest. So these are some of the examples. So lower type of Samadhi, lower type of the highest Samadhi. That is by Abhyasa and Vairagya. Let me give an example. Suppose there is a businessman, very very successful. Or a scientist, highly disciplined, highly focused. He is not going to get liberation because of that. Why? Because he has the equipment. He has the discipline of the mind. He can focus really. All great scientists are like that. They don't care for food. They are not aware of time and space. But what is the problem? Their object, it is temporary passing object. They are getting the knowledge of that object because they are also yogis. In our Vedas, there are several people have been described as Rishis. A mathematician like Aryabhatta is a Rishi. An astronomer is a Rishi. Why do we call them a Rishi? Because he is a discoverer of something new. And how did he come to discover? Because he focused his mind. But then, in our true spiritual sense, we can't call him a Rishi. He is just a great discoverer. He focused his mind. You know, all scientists, they are all contributing tremendously to the knowledge of the world. Which comes falls under, according to Vedanta, Aparavidya. But it is not to be neglected, not to be insulted, not to look down. Because we are all taking help of it. Otherwise, we will be fools like those stupid fellows. There were people anti-technology. They hate technology. So, they organized a big meeting with the help of mobile phones and all that. Lower Samadhi, Air Samadhi. The lower Samadhi in Sanskrit, specially, is called Sampragnath Samadhi. What does that mean? Sam is a Sanskrit word, not English word. Sam means with, accompanied by. Pragna. Pragna means knowledge. So, accompanied by some knowledge, objective knowledge. Whereas, Asampragnatha means unaccompanied by any objective knowledge. So, the lower Samadhi is not to be despised. Because only when the mind is trained, then only it can think. Someone asked, how do I meditate on the formless thing? In fact, if you read the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, Ramakrishna chides him in which, how do you like to think about God? I like to think of God without form. Is it possible? What is your idea of formlessness of God? Is it like the space? Space is a form, a subtle form. Space is a form because you can never think of space without an object. You cannot think of time without an object. Think of space without an object. What is space? Are you in the space or is it 500 feet above us? Are we not in space? How do we know? This is my left side, this is my right side. What is your left side and right side? If you sit in the opposite way, your left side and right side will change. If you are looking at your photograph, your left side and right side will change. Left has left you. So, these are all relative things. Time also, if there is no object, can you think of time? It is impossible because only when you perceive the changing object, it is here, now after sometime it is somewhere else. Baby is like this, now baby is like that. Baby also six feet baby. Swami Vivekananda used to call them moustached babies. We are all babies in that sense, don't worry. So, lower samadhi, higher samadhi. Accompanied with an object, unaccompanied with an object. The lower samadhi is called sampragnata. Now, sampragnata samadhi has four steps. The first step is called vittarka. The second step is called vichara. The third step is called ananda. The fourth step or fourth object is called asmita. Most marvellous analysis I have ever come across. How does it happen? I will give a brief introduction before we go there. But let me complete this. How many types? The lower part of the highest samadhi, how many parts it has? Four parts. Savitarka, Savichara, Sananda and Sasmita. All are called samadhi. Savitarka samadhi, Savichara samadhi, Sananda samadhi and Sasmita samadhi. Now, Savitarka samadhi and Savichara samadhi again is of two types. Meditation done on any object, gross object, in time and space is the one type. And the same meditation so absorbed one is that he forgets time and space. That is called nirvitarka. Savitarka and nirvitarka. Similarly, Vichara with meditation on a subtle nature of the same object. On the subtle nature of the same object in time and space. And the next step is, fourth one is meditation on the same subtle nature of the same object but forgetting time and space. Then the meditation on Ananda is one and the meditation on the egoism that is only one. So six types in time and space, outside time and space is a gradual progress. Many times we will refer to it in the next classes, in this and further classes. But it is a little bit slightly confusing but we must be alert to understand this. So the next is the second type of, highest type of the highest, higher step of the or highest step of the highest samadhi. It is called asampragnath samadhi. Unaccompanied by any object. Complete absorption on no object. That is called Nirvikalpa samadhi also from Vedantic point of view. That is of two types. What is the first type is raw meditation. That means he doesn't have that much of dispassion. What happens? Even if he attains to that, he thinks that I have attained completeness. I don't need to do anything further. Either he attains to a higher loka or what happens is he is reborn again. But if the same person takes the help of Shraddha, Smriti, Virya etc. which we will come later, certain qualities then he says enough is enough. I don't want to come back to this world and he will be firmly established. Only such a person will become really totally free. When we come to the 18th aphorism we will discuss about it in more detail. First let us focus. Before focusing let me try to explain in simple English language. I am trying my best. You have to excuse me if I am not able to convey it is my fault. Let me put it in simple way. Now to understand this what we are going to discuss. We need a slight background of Sankhya philosophy. All these objects that we experience, in fact there are two principles according to Sankhya philosophy which consists of everything. One is called Purusha or the soul or consciousness and the second is called Prakriti or Pradhana. Pradhana means important, Pradhana, Pradhana Mantri, most important, that is he is the chief, he is the king. Prakriti or Pradhana, that is the raw material from which the whole universe has become changed, modified. That is called Prakriti. From that Prakriti, I won't go into the details, I am giving the simplest possible way. The first thing that comes is called Mahat. Mahat means pure intellect. Mahat means pure intellect. From the pure intellect comes out Ahamkara, not to be confused with individual Ahamkara. This is called cosmic egotism. Pure intellect, from pure intellect comes pure egoism, cosmic egoism from which the whole thing comes out. Let me illustrate to make this point clear. Before you go to bed, imagine your cosmic mind because your own mind, cosmic mind. But when you go to bed and start dreaming and create your, then what happened to your one mind? How many Ahamkaras are there? How many egotisms you have before going to sleep? One. But when you start dreaming, you know, X, Y, Z, 100 objects you created, 100 people you created. I am dreaming that I am giving a talk. And then you are all sitting there. In my dream, who are you? So I have my own egotism within the dream and all your egotisms also belong to whom? Exactly in the same way, in what we call this waking state, it is this cosmic egoism which is having its own sweet dreams and in that dreams we are all made to think that we are all separate from each other. This is the first dream. And there is a second dream. What is that? Dream within dream. When we go to sleep and have a dream, that is the second dream. So wonderful, this analysis is wonderful. But I don't want to confuse you more than what is absolutely necessary. So coming back, first there is this Prakruti. Prakruti evolves, modifies into so-called Mahat. Mahat means cosmic intellect and this cosmic intellect evolves further. Evolves actually means that word is not a correct word, though we use it. The real word should be involves, that is coming down. And its power is coming down and its nature is coming down. It is becoming more and even more limited as though God is coming down and becoming like this. So the cosmic intellect degenerates through modification into what is called cosmic egotism. And from that cosmic egoism, it divides itself into two parts. Five subtle elements, pancha, sukshma, bhutas and five gross elements. I will also come to the very easier analysis, but let us take. All these pranas, our individual ahamkara, egotism, our individual intellect and five types of pranas or vital energies, all these consisting of, they come out the result of five subtle elements. And whatever we are seeing here, five types of, you know, the space, the air, the fire, the water and the earth, out of which this whole universe has evolved. This gross, which we are experiencing through this gross physical body, all these evolved out of modifications of five gross elements. That's why constantly we are being replenished by these five gross elements. This is, keep this in mind. Then I will, from another angle, the same matter, but from another angle, the whole prakriti consists of how many gunas? Three gunas. What are they? Sattva, rajas and tamas. Now whatever we see, this table, this microphone, this paper, this body, this shirt, anything that we experience is the modification of these three gunas. Sattva, rajas and tamas. And now let me go back and coordinate how this happens. Until the cosmic intellect, cosmic ego, it is all predominantly consisting of sattva guna. Predominantly consisting of sattva guna. Then individuals are formed of individual intellect, individual ahankara or egotism and what we call our life force, pranas. And our mind is what we call the mind. Egoism, buddhi, all these are called sukshma sharira. To be more precise, more technical. Sukshma sharira means subtle body. Now this subtle body is the resultant of what? The modification of the rajas. The cosmic intellect, cosmic egotism, cosmic will, whatever you call, all these are the modification of sattva guna. The individual mind etc., subtle body is the modification of what? Raja guna. And all these gross things that you are hearing me, you are seeing me, I am seeing you, all this is the result of tamo guna. This is the coordination. Why am I giving such things? Why can't you Swami plainly come to the subject? I can't come because we are going to deal with that. Now I will come. This much you understand? Let me also give an illustration. It will be very very interesting. Just take any example. Pay close attention please. Here is anything, a pen, clip. What is this? It is a gross object. What do you see? It is a black object. It is small, one inch and it is of this particular shape. What do you see? Actually what are you looking at? Two things. What are they? Nama and Rupa, name and form. Actually you are looking at the form and you give it a name to distinguish it from anything. This is only a clip, this is not a microphone, this is not a paper, this is not Swami, but this is called clip. You see that? Nama, Rupa. You are looking at it and you close your eyes. Then the object is here, but there is an idea inside. Is that not there? Even if this is destroyed, that idea of the clip, that knowledge is constantly, that cannot be lost, that is eternal, permanent. Now what happens? As a result of having this, seeing this, forming this idea in your mind, what happens is you get knowledge. What is the knowledge? This is a clip. The idea has come, I am going slowly, so that the idea is understood properly. Now whenever we have knowledge, it modifies our experience. What is from? I like it. It is too small, it could have been a little bigger, it could have been of different color, and why is Swami called Maharaj? He should have had a golden clip. Why only this iron clip? You are having some type of reaction and that reaction is called Ananda. That reaction is called Ananda. I will come why it is called Ananda. Ananda means bliss. Why is it called Ananda? Sometimes it could be pain, misery, but I will tell you. So listen carefully. You have some experience that every piece of knowledge brings definite type of reaction in the mind and behind that most important is I like it, I don't like it, I know this is a clip. I did not know this was a clip. There was a clip. Now I know there is a clip and I know definitely what is a clip and I don't like this clip or I like this clip. Do you see now? Four things happen. What happened? First thing is egotism. Second thing is knowledge, experience. Third thing is an idea of an object in the mind and then there is an object outside with a name and form. Let me point out something very interesting now. This is an object with name and form. It is gross. There is an idea in our minds that is then the knowledge which has nothing to do with anything, it is a modification of our intellect and that modification brings a certain type of experience by habit etc. That is the third thing that happens but all these three things will be totally invalid, useless, non-existent without the presence of one. What is that one? Ego. If I am not there, all these things are totally absent. In deep sleep what happens to you? Everything is there, nothing is there. Even though everything is there, nothing is there because what is absent? The I is totally detached from everything else. This is very brief. So I, then knowledge and its reaction, idea in the mind and the gross object. Now the lower type of the highest Samadhi consists of these four. What is it? Let me very briefly put it. A person, all of us, you are focusing on this object. What are you focusing now? You are trying to focus, say, let us say on this clip. You can take the example of Sri Ramakrishna's photograph. Jesus Christ. Whatever it is. It is nothing but gross. It is a photograph. You look at the photograph. Otherwise you will not have an idea how Sri Ramakrishna looked. Sri Krishna. Have you ever seen Sri Krishna with beard and big moustache and beard? Have you ever seen? Do you think that he had no freedom to shave off his beard? It is all because anybody who chose to draw, they like to draw. Have you ever seen an old man, Krishna? Eight years old man. Why? Because nobody had drawn. The simple fact is, if you choose, you can do that. After all, you know, if he has a body, he will have all these problems. Do you think Krishna never had headache, stomachache and diarrhea and dyspepsia? Depression? He will definitely have. If I go on telling these stories from the Mahabharata, you will be astonished. When a person is trying to focus his mind on a gross object, trying his level best, he has disciplined his mind. He means he, she, any spiritual aspirant. Discipline his mind. Focusing on that. And he advanced a lot. But still he is conscious about time, space, time, space. What happens? After half an hour, the knees start rattling or the stomach starts rumbling, etc., etc. That means he is aware of time and space. But he has disciplined so much, he is not thinking anything else. He is only thinking that particular object. That is called meditation on any gross object in time and space. It is called, what Samadhi is it called? Samadhi has got four steps. This is the lowest step. Sa-Vitarka Samadhi. Vitarka means, with question as well. Tarka means argument. But that is not the correct translation. Tarka means question as it were, the elements, who are you? Reveal your truth to me, etc., etc. But you are focusing. And this is how knowledge comes. Swami Vivekananda's commentary is superb. He says all the powers, all the knowledge that we get, all the powers we obtain, including the eight Astra Siddhis, they come, one who is expert in meditation, in some Pragnata Samadhi, these will come. But even focusing, if somebody is focusing on this, say he is focusing on a disease, bacteria, what happens to that scientist? That knowledge will be automatically revealed to that focused mind. That is the result of that. Power of concentration. That is why concentration is most wonderful thing. Even if you don't believe in God, in soul, doesn't matter. Develop concentration. When you read a book, you will be absorbed. You will save a lot of time. And that knowledge will be permanent. Because your memory is dependent upon your power of concentration. You understand better, you retain better, you enjoy better, and its secrets will be revealed. I will give one small example. You know, 4000 years back, our Rishis had found out that the earth is not flat. It is round. And it is moving. That is why the very name for this world, do you know? Jagat. Jagat means what? That which Gati. That which is constantly moving. How did they get the knowledge? Did they have some telescopes? Did they look? Some scope is necessary. Either it should be microscope or telescope, ultimately Vedanta scope. They had the Vedanta scope. What is Vedanta scope? Perfect focus or concentration. The knowledge of the stars, the knowledge of so many wonderful things they got and so accurate. How did they get it? Solely through the power of concentration. And that is why Swami Vivekananda, a great Rishi that he was, he understood and he preached. What did he preach? What is the essence of education? The power of concentration. It is as simple as that. Train a student in the power of concentration. Don't give him anything. But what about this chemistry and physics and astronomy and politics and economics and all that? Once a person has all that in, like a torchlight, once you have a torchlight, you focus it on anything, it will reveal itself. If you don't have that torchlight, you focus on anything, nothing is going to happen. You are absolutely right. And so many accomplishments, how can one have? It is not directly related right now to our subject. How can one achieve that focus? Again, two factors. What are those two factors? Abhyasa and Vairagya. Repeated practice. And Vairagya means what? Don't allow the mind to go here and there. Just focus on what you want to focus. It is even more applicable in the spiritual field, but it is also applicable in any field. If you want to become better, you have to better have concentration. What is the difference between one man and the other man? Only concentration. But that word is a loaded word. It is full of meaning. I will not go into the details. That is a totally different subject. Maybe I will take some other time. But very briefly I indicate, in order to achieve that power of concentration, then you must have observed what is called perfect continence, Brahmacharya. It is very interesting. Controlling one's sexual thoughts, words and deeds is called Brahmacharya. Why is it called Brahmacharya? What is the connection between controlling sex and Brahmacharya? Brahmacharya means you think of God. Why is it called Brahmacharya? In English language, what is the word used? Continence. Observe continence. They are not using be absorbed in God. They are selling observe continence. Observe continence is impossible unless a person thinks of God. In fact, if one observes continence, what happens? The mind automatically goes to think about God. This is, as I mentioned, is a subject which I am not going to enter into now. Just giving a hint. So how can one have perfect concentration? You must have all these things. Where is it written? Who said that? Kriya Yoga. Astanga Yoga. This yoga is also called Astanga Yoga. Eight step. What is the first step? Then second step. Niyama. Asana. Pranayama. Pratyahara. Dharana. Dhyana. Only the last three steps are related to what we are talking right now. But you cannot go to that three steps unless you have already climbed the previous five steps. We will come to that because the second chapter is called Kriya Yoga and that is where it is. This here, the principle, the ideal, what is our goal and what type of goal and how can we understand it intellectually. That is the whole first chapter deals with which is called Samadhipada. It is only theoretical knowledge. But the practical knowledge, he starts in the second chapter. And the third chapter, if you are really following, on the way there will be so many obstacles. What is the first obstacle? You will get tremendous powers. You can do whatever you like with people. You can obtain whatever you want. You can do whatever you like. You can bend anyone, anything to your will. That is why it is called Vibhuti Pada. Vibhuti means supernatural powers. And only in the last Pada again he is coming back to the subject and cautions us. Anyway, what is the point we are discussing? That the first meditation should be on a gross object. Then which object? Meditate, focus your mind, not even meditation, focus your mind, concentrate your mind on any gross object. It doesn't matter whatever object you take. But ultimately what happens is whatever object we choose to meditate upon, how many different varieties of objects are there? How many different varieties of objects are there in this universe? It appears like that. But how many types of waves are there in this ocean? Small wave, big wave, etc. But if you analyze all waves, finally all waves boil down to what? Like that. This is what physicists are telling that every object in this world is coming out of matter. You know the law of conservation? Energy cannot be created, cannot be destroyed, but it can be modified. So what happens? When a person goes on meditating, even on anything, you take this blank paper and then you meditate. Really if you focus what happens, as it were, the curtain covering this piece of object, it removes itself. The curtains. You know in Vrindavan, what do they do? Curtains. Whenever the Lord is brushing his teeth, I wonder how a Vedanti became God and why does he need? Vedanti means without teeth. Why does he need to brush his teeth? And now he is having breakfast, every time they pull in the curtain, draw out the curtains, and then the devotees go into ecstasy. What is the point? Why do they put? Oh man, with your ignorant mind, you are unable to see the God. What is the symbolism? You have come here, you pray to God, so I am removing the curtains. Look at the Lord, to your heart's content. And the devotees of Shri Ramakrishna remember that when Totapuri went to commit suicide, he couldn't come in. He went to the other side of the Ganges. What was the description that followed? The Divine Mother removed, one after the other, all these curtains. This is modern language I am using. What is Vedantic language? Kosha. What is the kosha? Your body, you are covered with a kosha, a sheath called food, made out of food. Then it is covered with the sheath made out of prana. Then it is covered with the sheath made out of the mind, and the intellect, and the anandamaya kosha. And behind all these is the Atma. That is the lowest realization. Lower realization. What is the higher realization? When you look at it, it is the same which appeared to be converted into the sheaths. Like Ramakrishna gives a very, very interesting example. Onion. Peel out the onion. Ultimately what do you get? Nothing. But all the things, is it onion or is it something else? Even the outermost layer of an onion is nothing but onion only. In the same way, even the grossest object is nothing but Brahman, in Vedantic language. It is nothing but Atma. But in the beginning, you will have to go there. It is a wonderful analysis that we get. You focus on this, and the moment you focus on any object, you go to the cause of that object. What is the nature of that object? What is the nature of this paper? Some object. Something. Metal. Pulp. What is the nature of this? There will be some metal. Is there any relationship between the pulp and the metal and human being? And a star? Apparently it appears like that. I will give an illustration again. I want to convey this idea as clearly as possible. Ultimately if you go on doing, ultimately you come to one substance which assumed as it were different names and forms. I will give an illustration. You go to sleep, and you see a tree, you see a man, you see a tiger, you see a cloud, you see the sun, the stars, the moon, anything. Tell me, are all those things, the stars, the mountains, the rivers, the human beings, the plants, the animals, you yourself made out of what substance? Not nothing. Your mind. Ultimately your one mind had, but if in your dream if somebody says, you know, this cloud of earth and you are exactly the same, would you believe it? But when you wake up, you know that it is all made out of a manifestation of one simple metal. That is the example. So, what is the idea? What is the point? The point is you meditate on any object, it doesn't matter to you. It removes the curtain after curtain. Ultimately, that substance which is the root cause of everything in this universe, what is it? That is Brahman. You know, when you are in the waking state, what is the root cause of all the objects in the waking state? Your consciousness. Your consciousness takes the form of this, this paper, this clip, this everything. We discussed it many times. When you are in the dream state, what is the source of all this? Again, the same consciousness. When you are in deep sleep, what is the source of all your experience in the deep sleep? Again, the same consciousness. It is the same consciousness looked through three different prisms, as it were. One you call it gross, one you call it subtle, another you call it causal. So, that is what the the aphorism boils down to this. You take any gross element and all these things came out of how many elements? Five. But actually, all these things have not come out of five. They came only out of one. So, all these physical forms you get came out of earth. The earth came out of water. Water came out of fire. Fire came out of air. Air came out of space. And the space came out of pure consciousness. We will discuss these points because it may look very confusing, very un-understandable. But, is this not the truth? I will close it with this Ramakrishna's illustration. There is water. There is ice. There is water. There is steam. How many objects are there? How many? So, what are all the three then? Three different manifestations of exactly the same thing. Like that, the conscious, pure consciousness has become the Mahat. Pure consciousness has become the Ahamkara or cosmic ego. Pure, this consciousness has become the five subtle elements. Pure consciousness has become the five gross elements. Now, we are going back from the gross to the subtle to the causal and ultimately beyond that causal also. Do you see the logic of it now? Step by step. How this meditation on a gross object within time and space leads one to the higher part of the same meditation which is when you are so much absorbed you forget time and space. It could be for a second. You know you are watching something and you forget time and space. It may be for a second, for a millisecond, for a minute, for one hour, whatever it is. But you have gone beyond time and space because we are experiencing it, isn't it? I think I started my talk about one hour and ten minutes back. How much time did you really think that the time has passed? I hope you are not out of time and space. So, we will discuss this interesting point in my future class. Om Shanti Shanti Shanti Shanti Shanti Shanti Shanti Shanti