Patanjali Yoga Sutras Lecture 044

Full Transcript(Not Corrected)

Om yogena chittasya padena vacham malam sharirasya cha vaidhyakena yo pa karottam pravaram muninam patanjalim pranjali ranathosmi 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 We have been discussing the Patanjali Yoga Sutras the purpose of which is to give us freedom from all sorts of afflictions In our last class we saw how Patanjali has been giving us several aids for meditation specially he had given us five types of aids for meditation One of them is to meditate upon a realized soul veetaraga vishayam va chittam Usually when we are thinking about meditation we mean concentration on a particular object but what should be that particular object if someone meditates say for example on a cow that is also a form of concentration but is it going to be of much use for us what is it that first we need we want to have some purity of the mind so that our past impressions they should not obstruct our meditation as we all experience every single time we try to concentrate not only upon God but upon even reading a book not only reading a book we are here for one hour I am going to talk for an hour and how much time are you able to focus your mind for one hour not merely listening but to observe what is the essence this is a most wonderful technique for example if you wish to read a book before reading a book you just make a sankalpa we call it an intention that I would like to know what is the essence of this book so take that example here is you want to read a book you don't plunge into reading the book you say I would like to know whatever I am reading how much I am going to grasp that very intention itself gives us a great help a funny example you know supposing you are asked you see something for 10 minutes and then after that after 10 minutes ok you come back we all will look at something for 10 minutes suppose somebody says that you look at this for 10 minutes and after that there will be an examination you will be asked some questions what you have seen then we look in another way suppose the same thing is told you know there will be three prizes first prize is 1 million pounds second prize 10,000 pounds last prize is 1,000 pounds first prize, second prize, third prize how much it influences our way of looking at things just because we have a motivation for that so there should be motivation whenever we read a book or whatever we do there must be a motivation even as simple as this you come, you sit, you listen why do you want? well the afternoon I have nothing else to do so let me go and listen to but somebody says this is a particular subject in which I am interested you know our interests differ some people say I am interested in Gita some people say I am interested in Brahma Sutras some people say I am interested in Patanjali Yoga Sutras I have been studying them or trying to read them I can't make head or tail of it so I thought your talks will help me to understand a little better now this motivation is very important in helping us to how much concentration how much comprehension how much retention three things concentration, comprehension and retention these three things otherwise you know we watch a cinema ok it's very nice very entertaining and after that we forget the whole lot this is an example given Patanjali is telling us that everything that we do they leave certain impressions so we are trying to focus our mind on concentration how much time? one year? ten years? some of us have taken initiation more than 50 years back and yet if you are asked how much have you progressed in concentration the answer is very obvious why is it? it could be for two reasons one reason is a very simple reason I am not that much interested in this I do it because I was asked to do it but there are people who are very sincere they would like to progress and yet do not make progress in this case the obstruction is not a lack of effort but it is they pass to life's deep impressions that stand on the way efficient teachers intelligent wise teachers they know how to deal with them let me give you a small example a man came to one great Rishi and he asked Sir, teach me meditation he said ok he said you meditate upon God on this particular aspect of God so he received the instructions he went and he tried to meditate, concentrate after few minutes he came back and said I cannot do it it's impossible for me the teacher was very wise so he asked him what is the subject? he did not ask what is obstructing he asked him whom do you love most? and the man said I am from a village and I have a pet buffalo and 24 hours I am only thinking of this buffalo the holy man said Rishi said ok now you consider that buffalo as Brahman and meditate upon it and it is said that there was a small hut where the door is only just 2-3 feet high so he bent down he went inside the hut and he started meditating hours and hours passed he did not come back so the teacher never encountered such a situation he went and he called him hey come out the disciple was deeply absorbed joyfully absorbed said Guruji I cannot come out why? what is the problem? my horns are so big I am unable to come back then the teacher understood this is the way to direct him and if you think this is a funny story I also referred to an actual incident that had taken place many times perhaps but we know only a few of them one Brahma lady she came to Sri Ramakrishna she said I cannot concentrate I want to think of my God as Krishna but my mind never goes on Krishna Sri Ramakrishna immediately he was a past master what is the problem? I am bringing up my nephew I love him very much whenever I want to think of Krishna then this nephew's smiling face came into my mind Sri Ramakrishna said you know the easiest thing is don't make a separation between Krishna and your nephew you consider your nephew as Lord Krishna himself you bathe him you feed him you play with him and you put him to bed and do everything you are doing don't change it change the idea this is my nephew but my Krishna is here this separation destroy that separation you know as a result within six months she had the vision of Sri Krishna now here is a funny part of it did Sri Ramakrishna teach something wrong? is the nephew really Krishna or not? really everything is God even the woman who was trying to meditate is also God the nephew whom she was trying to bring up is also God that is the real truth Sarvam Kalvidam Brahma this is the truth but he can't say oh you have got too much of attachment to your nephew this is very wrong you cut off your mind you do this no he did not say that he said that is God only in fact the truth is about Sri Krishna Yashoda was bringing Krishna with so much of love was he her son? you see his parents were mugging in the jail Devaki and Vasudeva but she did not know about it she thought this is my son my Krishna my son so what is the point? the point is wise teachers always adopt this is the deep meaning of Sri Ramakrishna saying Jyoto Moth Toto Poth as many opinions so many paths anybody any religion which insists this is the only way there is no other way they will be completely wrong whatever be the method one condition has to be fulfilled that condition is whatever object may be upon which we are focusing trying to meditate that object must never be an object which takes us down it should always take us up this is the secret of symbolism for example simple example would be Shiva Linga or Saligrama for Lord Vishnu there is a small type of stone and it is said this is Vishnu meditate upon him Sri Ramakrishna's father in fact he used to worship that Saligrama Raghuveer Saligrama the point is how come that this small stone it is not even a human being it has no life and it has acquired so much of sanctity because of the scriptures the point is the object is not important what is the idea we bear upon that this is the secret of meditation so if you ask somebody to meditate upon say Krishna himself it depends upon what idea that person has got upon Sri Krishna now what is the point we are discussing if we want concentration of mind we must really be interested in the subject and it must be an appropriate subject as instructed by the teacher not simply you can't pick up some instruction from the internet some general help we can receive from anybody but if we want to progress really then we must have a live guru who gives us the instructions this is our faith invariably everyone had said that we must receive the instructions and we must try to focus so five such hints Patanjali gives us so one of them is meditate upon that heart of a being who had realized God Rama, Krishna, Ramakrishna, Vivekananda, Holy Mother just I will give one example you imagine Holy Mother your mind is hesitated because somebody abused you somebody criticized you that is just before your routine before you sit for meditation this event happened what would be the state of your mind it will be restless hesitated angry or sad whatever it is hurt etc can you meditate? no but if you want to bring that mind into focus there is a method what is the method? simply you think this is the event that happened suppose this event happened to Holy Mother what would happen? another example is it really happened but I will give an imaginary example suppose some event happened to you and you got very hurt and you were at that time in front of Holy Mother and you abused Holy Mother right and left what would be her reaction to your abuse what would be my reaction? I will not describe it but what would be Holy Mother's do you think that she would really react to any of her children because she says these are my children sometimes ignorant children so if they do something that's fine this is an imaginary example I gave you meditate upon that heart of Holy Mother in fact we all rush to Holy Mother do you know why? because we know what's our problem but we know the moment we go to Holy Mother she is not going to look at our fault saguni karoshi every day we sing prakrutim paruham this is ahetunano saguni karoshi doshaan aseshaan saguni karoshi not only she forgives our defects she makes them transforms them into positively beneficial qualities by her grace who could do that? very interesting subject because if you are not happy can you give happiness to another person? go on telling hey why are you worried? you say you be happy but this fellow's face is like castrial face he is telling be happy to others only a person who has money can give money to others only a person who has knowledge can give knowledge to other persons only a person who has inspiration can give inspiration to other people only a person who is happy only his words will be effective because seeing that person oh if he is happy I must also be very happy he is infectious happiness, unhappiness both are infectious similarly the company of bad people or good people is also infectious that is why Shri Ram Krishna advises you may not be a good person but you go on keeping the company of good people and slowly your mind also will acquire willy nilly soon your mind also will become better people that is called Veetha Raga Vishayam Va Chittam a heart which is absolutely free from all attachments absolutely pure then he also says Vishakova Jyotishmati meditate upon that light and everyday again we sing here I mean here we sing only once a month we change Jyotira Jyoti Ujjvala Hridi Kandara Tumi Tama Bhanjana Haar meditate upon Shri Ram Krishna as the light of lights who can destroy all the ignorance of your heart meditate upon it like this he gives five hints and if we really practice then we will progress in spiritual life we are coming to the end of this particular first chapter called Samadhi Pada definition, the characteristics of what is Samadhi and then Patanjali in the very beginning he wants to clarify why this particular chapter with this particular topic because if you don't know where you are going if you don't know why you are going then you will never be able to go Patanjali is giving us what is Samadhi? Samadhi is that state of life where you will be most happy person will there be any unhappiness? absolutely no how long will this happiness last? it will last forever it will last forever that is called Samadhi and what is the problem? our minds are the problem our mind is the problem so our mind longs for happiness you know here there is no controversy there can be controversy about God there can be controversy about the path there can be controversy about everything on earth but about one thing there is no controversy at all do you know what is that thing? you ask anybody even the most vicious person do you want to be happy? he will say no I don't want to be happy do you think he will say? everybody will say from a small child he wants to be happy how he wants to be happy? if a mosquito bites a small baby he starts crying you take a small piece of jaggery or sugar or honey put in his mouth oh his face starts lighting up like an eye of Brahma everybody wants to be happy every creature wants to be happy everything in this world wants there is no controversy what is the problem? what is the variation? what is the differentiation? you know it is so interesting all the differentiation is in the degree of happiness we all enjoy a wicked person has one type of happiness a baby has one type of happiness a grown up person has another type of happiness the difference is not here is a very interesting topic how many types of happiness are there? how many types of happiness? if I put you that question you have been hearing my talks for the last 20 years 23 years how many types of happiness are there? there are no types because you can't say one there is only one you can't say one there is only happiness how many degrees of happiness is there? it is only for one second or 10 minutes or one year etc these variations are there otherwise it is only happiness and happiness and happiness only and we all want happiness and what does religion do? true religion it leads us to that state of happiness this is all so what is the problem? what is the problem for our happiness? the problem is not happiness the problem is our mind this is the speciality of Vedanta tells us you know the sun is there the sun gives us light how many hours does the sun give light? daytime all the time what is the problem? we don't see when it is cloudy when it is darkness night you don't see what is the problem? the problem is not the sun the problem is the obstruction so what is the problem for the happiness? problem is our mind that is why what is yoga? how to control the mind? this yoga is not only beneficial in spiritual life because there are some people who have that unintelligent idea that religion or yoga or spirituality is meant only for a particular type of people I once defined spirituality spiritual life what is spiritual life? it is a journey from a lower state of happiness to a higher state of happiness how do we progress? not by obtaining happiness but by removing the obstacles that is Patanjali's definition Kshetrika Vata there is a field there is a river and the farmer wants the water to come into the field but it is not coming what is the problem? in between there is some obstruction so if he wants the water to come to the field what should he do? remove the obstruction so the whole evolution in a way of speaking a different way of looking at the definition of evolution you know this Charles Darwin this evolution evolution one species is mutating a lower species is mutating into a higher species no the lower species is not mutating into a higher species a lower species is removing the obstruction so that it is manifesting its own real nature that is Vedantic explanation I also told you Swamiji makes points so clear says if you are talking of evolution you must also talk of another evolution and what is that? yeah if you are talking about day time it automatically implies there is a night time if you are talking about this is beautiful there is always the idea of something the opposite without that our minds will not function at all so if there is to be an evolution then it must be opposite to something what is that something? that something is you cannot attain to something unless it is your nature so we have come from God to put it in simple language we have all come from God the whole universe has come from God where is it going? so it is going towards God that progress towards God we have come away from God and we are going nearer to God that concept is called evolution now what is necessary for us to understand why I am mentioning it is we are not trying to attain something new which we were not we were only going back to our own true nature why is this concept so necessary? because if it is something new we cannot retain it whatever is not our nature we can never retain it and what is our whatever is our nature you cannot lose it so we are always trying to become immortal we want to live as long as possible want to be know as much as possible we want to be as happy as possible from morning from birth to death from morning till evening until the last breath this is our unconscious attempt to remove the obstacles what is a desire? you know when we say language is very important I want to be happy no you don't want to be happy you are expressing that's fine meaning is ok but what should be the real language I am trying to get rid of the my unhappiness you say I want to drink water that's fine why do you want to drink water? because you want to remove your thirst you want why do you want to eat food? you want to remove the hunger why do you want to sleep? you want to remove your tiredness but if you are not tired do you want to sleep? if you are not hungry do you want to eat? Vedanta is very clear every religion in fact is very clear every religion says the whole world is created by whom? by God so therefore what is the goal? to go back to our true nature which is God only Vedanta makes the point very rational very clear very logical absolutely without any doubt so when a spiritual aspirant has sincerely acquired a Guru and then the Guru instructs him here very important Patanjali Rishi though he did not directly mention it but even Patanjali Rishi says if you up to certain point books information fine after that you must have a living person to guide you otherwise you will not go any further here he says you are trying to become a Yogi and you meditate upon God so why should we meditate upon God Ishwara you know surrender yourself to God Ishwara Pranidhana why should we surrender for two reasons he says by the grace of God you first thing that happens is the obstructions are removed second thing that happens is God reveals himself you cannot make God reveal only he has to reveal himself and the thing is he is already revealed it is a Siddhasya Siddha already revealed we are not able to is this do you need to say oh Sun you are nowhere to be seen please come in front of me already the Sun is existing but we need to do two things first thing is remove the clouds second thing is open your eyes when a person reaches such a state then what happens he will reach such a state of concentration slowly by the grace of God that the yogi's mind thus meditating becomes unobstructed from the atomic to the infinite this is the 40th aphorism paramanu parama mahatva antaha asya advanced spiritual practitioner had practiced concentration to such an extent there is no object in this world upon which he cannot focus what does that mean if it is the smallest he can focus if it is the biggest he can focus if it is the grossest he can focus if it is the master wherever whatever object he wants to meditate upon he can immediately meditate concentrate become one with that object so this would come only when a person had practiced for lives after lives under a qualified guru I am emphasizing again and again why Shri Ram Krishna had so many gurus do you know that a teacher is needed if you want to really become an adept in a particular field we need even science even PhD you need a guide so paramanu means the subtlest of the matter paramahatva the greatest anoraniyan mahato mahiyan he will simply say I want to focus and he will be able to do that any object is good enough is a grist to his mill he can focus at will how much time as much time as he wants and why does he do because he wants to do good to the world not only to himself but to the world 41st aphorism says very tough Sanskrit words what it really means is the yogi whose vrittis have thus become powerless or controlled by him obtains in the receiver receiving and receiving the receiving and received that is the self the mind and the external object concentratedness and sameness like the crystal before different colored objects I will explain to you very simply imagine a crystal pure that what it means is whatever type of object you keep behind it the crystal as though it had become that object not really become as though it had become that object you keep it behind you and you are that crystal and you are that object you are that object you are that object you are that object you Now suddenly an animal which is completely green, he was excited, he came back and then he started telling to everybody, I have seen a wonderful animal, I have never ever seen in my life, it is totally green. Another fellow came and said, you are right, I also had seen that animal, but why do you say it is green, it is totally red. Another fellow said, both of you are wrong. There is another third fellow came, he said no, both of you are wrong, it is a blue color, it is a yellow color, whatever, they started quarreling. They said, let us go and see it, then we will decide. Then they went there, the animal was not there, but there was this man who always lived under the tree. Then they asked him, what is the color of this animal? He said, whatever color you want, it can assume. Sometimes it is red, sometimes it is green, sometimes it is blue, sometimes it is yellow, it can take any number, sometimes it is absolutely colorless at all. Now what is the meaning of this parable, it is a parable, what was Shri Ramakrishna trying to convey? See, he is trying to convey to us that whatever a man's concept of God, that is absolutely true. But don't think one man's concept alone is the absolute reality, but other person's concept is wrong, that is the meaning of as many opinions, so many paths. And what is the most wonderful thing about this is, they are all paths. A path is not a destination. You reach the destination, like you know, here is Ganges, here is Yamuna, here is Saraswati, here is Kaveri, here is Godavari, all these rivers when they fall into the ocean, do they lose their names and forms or what will they be called from now onwards? Ocean. In a similar way, these are all, this Jesus form, Krishna form, Rama form, anybody's form, XYZ form, these are all ways to reach the destination, don't quarrel about these things. First go and reach the ocean, afterwards you will have eternal time to quarrel because you will attain eternity, you know, then all of you can quarrel for eternity. So what is this Ramakrishna, what is he trying to, is God having all these forms, yes and no? What do you mean by yes or no? Is it to say yes or you say no? It's not possible to say yes or no. Is God with form, without form? Yes or no? Yes, he is with form because when we are living in a world of duality, he is having a form. But when you reach the state of non-duality, then he is without any form. Let us not quarrel because these quarrels come because of this illogicality, irrationality. This is what Sri Ramakrishna meant that God can assume any form, any colour, any name, do not quarrel with that. A man who knows the truth, means one who has become one with the absolute, he says all of you are right, God is with form, God is also without form. Everything is true. Now, what is the, I gave earlier the crystal example, you know what is the crystal example? See the crystal example, this light that we see can be clearly divided into so many colours. But when do you see all those colours, when do you see? When only you put a crystal against the light, isn't it? Suppose there is no crystal, how many colours do you see? You don't see any. What does it mean? It means so long as we have a mind, all these variations are seen, experienced, they are all real, they are all nothing but manifestations of the same light. But the moment we go beyond the mind, then there is nobody to question, there is no second person even to quarrel with, that is why one of our Swamis made up a joke out of it. God is always busy, do you know why? Because he is one without a second, no assistant, that's why he is always busy. This is the most wonderful teaching Sri Ramakrishna is trying to convey to us. Are you sincere? Do you want to go to that state where you will be always happy? What is the way to become always happy? You become, you don't obtain happiness but you become happiness, then nothing can separate you from that. If you have happiness, if you have ayaram, gayaram, if something comes to you, it will also go away. But if you are that, then nobody can take you away from that. This is the most wonderful teaching Sri Ramakrishna gives. So coming back to this 41st aphorism, when the mind which has created so many obstacles and all these obstacles are because of two reasons, you know what those two reasons are? How many gunas are there according to our understanding, sattva, rajas and tamas. Now what are all these, any type of obstacle that can be created in the mind in the past, now and in future must be the result of the influence of two gunas. What are they? Rajas and tamas. When a yogi, he gets rid of a tamas and the rajas, gets rid of means not really but he becomes a master. He knows how much, when he has to become rajasic, he knows when he has to become tamasic. Then he becomes a master of his mind because the mind is composed of what? Sattva, rajas and tamas. You know, you noticed at certain times the mind becomes quiet very, very, very much. What is the state? It is in sattvic state. Then it gets agitated. What is the state? It is in rajas. And then sometimes it becomes absolutely dull, you hear 50 times, you read 50 times, nothing is going on. Have you not experienced all that? You hear 50 times and 50 times again, what did I hear, what did I read, what is that state? Tamas. But what happens when you are possessed of sattvic state, sattva? What happens you know, your mind becomes absolutely still to the great extent and as it becomes calm and serene, your capacity to focus, your capacity to understand and your capacity to retain, focusing, understanding and retaining becomes greater to the amount of sattva that happens. When a yogi practicing yoga for a long time, when he had obtained mastery over rajas and tamas and he retains only that sattvika state, such a person's mind becomes like a crystal. What does that mean? That means any object that passes near, it becomes, it reflects. So I mentioned already, here is a crystal and here is a red flower and you look at the crystal. How does the crystal appear to be? Red. But has it become red, it always stays completely detached. That means what? Somebody comes and then praises you. What happens to our ordinary mind? Somebody comes and praises you. What happens to you? Your blood pleasure goes up. Somebody comes and criticizes you. What happens? Blood pleasure goes up. That means we have become victims to these two qualities, rajas and tamas. But suppose your mind is full of sattva. Somebody comes and praises you. What will you say? It remains exactly same. And suppose somebody abuses you. What happens? I will give you some illustrations. One from Buddha. So one day Buddha went for begging and a man went on abusing him. But there was no change in Buddha's face. Then the man, he got tired and he came and said, I gave you so much of abuse and you were not moved at all. Buddha said, look here my friend, supposing you give me a gift and I do not receive it. To whom does the gift belong? To you. So you tried to give me a gift but I rejected it. Now it belongs to whom? Only to you. So if you are not reacting, whether somebody praises you or somebody criticizes you, it does not really matter. The mind remains absolutely quiet. So this is from Buddha's life, Swami Brahmanandaji's life. He was doing austerity in North India. One day he was sitting under a tree. It was winter. It was cold. He didn't have a woolen wrapper. He was just sitting and then a merchant had passed. He was a devoted person. He understood, here is a holy man, he is trying to meditate and he is suffering from cold and I have extra blanket, so let me give. So he brought a new blanket, put it silently in front of Swami Brahmanandaji, bowed down and went away. After a few minutes, another man came that way, saw this beautiful blanket, he bowed down, he took it, thank you for this wonderful prasada and he went away. And Swami Brahmanandaji was witnessing both these without any reaction in his mind. These are all we are repeating, whenever we do Ramnam, here we don't do it in India. Prasannatam yagata nak abhishekata, tathanam amle vanavasa dukkhata, mukhambuja sri raghunandanasyami, sadastu sa mangala manjula prada. The meaning of it is, you know when Sri Rama heard the news that he was going to be coronated as a prince, there was absolutely no change in his, you know, if you hear that a million, you won a million pounds lottery ticket, can your blood pleasure be contained? Supposing somebody, you have lost something, then what does it become? Your face. But Rama heard the news, no change, the same smiling face, tathanam amle vanavasa dukkhata. After a little time, his Kaikeyi told him that Dasaratha wants you, your father wants you to get out of this kingdom for 14 years. Tathanam amle vanavasa dukkhata. There was absolutely no change in his face. Such a face, let it remain all the time in my heart. Sadastu sa mangala manjula prada. This is our ideal. What about Bhagavad Gita? What is sthita pranjala lakshana? Dukheshu anudviknamana, sukheshu vigataspraha, vita raga bhaya krodha, sthita dhi muni jyate. Even in the greatest of unpleasant circumstances, a person will not feel any depression. Even in the greatest good fortune circumstances, he will not feel and also I am reminded of all these incidents, you know, Shri Ramakrishna mentions the incident of Shukadeva. Shukadeva was sent by his father to Janaka Maharaja. For seven days, nobody cared for him. He was sitting there right in front of you, people were coming, going, they were looking at him, but they don't care. Seven days, nobody asked him, do you want some food, do you want some water, can we help you in some way, what do you want, why did you come, nobody asked. Why did they not ask? Because Janaka commanded, nobody would pay attention to him. After seven days, Janaka with all his retinue, he rushed and said, oh, I am so sorry, we have neglected a great holy person like you and he lifted him to the highest heaven, carried him in a palanquin and then young beautiful, beautiful women were, half-naked women, were waving all the fans and whole night, seven days, he was simply immersed in the highest pleasures that are possible anywhere and then Janaka Maharaja noticed, there was no change in the expression of his face cut, when nobody was asking him, he was absolutely serene and peaceful. When everybody was entertaining, it is absolutely the same face. After that Janaka said, you don't need any more instruction, you have reached already this state, only you think you have not reached, I am certifying, I am giving you certificate and you take it. This is, Shri Ramakrishna mentions this. So when a yogi, he attains to this state, his mind becomes like a crystal, whatever happens, happiness, unhappiness, good, evil, birth, death, friends, enmity, whatever happens, it remains like a crystal. It appears to be taking on the form of a, that particular event, but in his heart, really nothing happens. I will close this talk, one real incident, Swami Brahmananda, once he scolded a person, a Swami, very severely and after that he came, for no reason, absolutely for no reason. His sevak Swami, Prabhavanandaji, he came and he said, Maharaj, why did you become so angry with that other Swami? Then Raja Maharaj, you know, he showed like this and said, a sadhu's, a holy man's anger is like a mark on a water. We pretend to be angry, we are not really angry. How do we know that they are not, they were simply saying like that, but not really angry, how do you know? We do know because, suppose you are very angry with somebody, inside, your face is not showing, your boss is scolding you or your wife is scolding you and your face is absolutely calm and quiet, but inside you are seething, you sit and try to meditate, read a book or go to sleep. What happens to you? You won't be able to do it. But suppose Ramakrishna is very angry with somebody and then he scolded and he could scold really or Swami Vivekananda, somebody severely, next second he says Shiva, Shiva and then what, do you know what happens? He goes into samadhi. That means what? Nothing of these events had ever affected that person's mind, that means they were masters. They do this for our good. But let me also add a small bit of commentary on this, it is very important. When a holy person or even an unholy person, I will add that comment also, when a holy person gets angry with you, is it because it is in his interest or is it because in our interest? It is because he wants to bestow his grace upon us. So what is the, this is a comment on the holy persons, but the fact I am telling you, you have to believe me, not a holy person. The ordinary person, he comes and scolds you or robs you, cheats you, tells a lie or whatever. Is it for your good or for that other person's good? You know that God has brought about such a situation so that our soul can learn that lesson, can become really strong and through this only it attains that state of what you call sthita prajnatva and then only there is a chance that we can really progress in any life, any life. So we will discuss further, a yogi who has gotten rid of the power of rajas and tamas, his mind becomes like a crystal. When his mind becomes like a crystal, then whatever happens in this world, it appears to be as though it is like our experience, in reality it doesn't touch him at all. This is one. The second point I gave you, when you look at light through a crystal, what happens? You see seven colors. You can analyze all the constituent parts of that light. In a similar way, whenever a yogi has a special thought in his mind and that thought consists of three objects that is the object, the instrument which carries to the brain to our mind that is nervous system, mind etc. and the ego which identifies itself with that, the combination of these three, an object and the instrument which carries that information and the ego which receives it and reacts to it. This is what in normal terminology it is called knowledge. Knowledge means what? See here is a watch. If I ask you what is this, what would you say? This is a watch. What do you mean by watch? Watch means here is an object. This object is carried into your mind through the eyes etc. and suppose you are asleep, can you do that? Suppose your consciousness is not paying attention, even though it is carried but no reaction will come. So you are paying. Egotism is a reflection of pure consciousness, I-ness, so that reflected I-ness and the information carried through the instruments and this object, a combination, mixture of these three is what is called knowledge. But for a yogi, his mind becomes like a crystal. When this knowledge falls upon that crystal, he says this is an object, this is the information, this is my ego, which is reacting to it. These three, absolutely no connection with each other. Such a crystal mind, then what does it obtain? It obtains his own real nature. We will discuss about it in our future class. Om Shanti Shanti Shanti