Patanjali Yoga Sutras Lecture 056

Full Transcript(Not Corrected)

Om Sahana Vavatu Sahana Ubhunatu Sahaveeryam Karavavahai Tejasvi Navadhi Tamastu Mavidvishavahai Om Shanti Shanti Shanti Om Yogena Chittasyapadena Vacham Malam Sharirasya Chavaiyadhyagena Upakarottam Pravaram Muninam Patanjalim Pranjali Rana Tosmi We are discussing the second chapter of the Patanjali Yoga Sutras also called as Sadhana Pada. In this Pada, Patanjali mainly focuses on how we can attain Asampragnata Samadhi. So what is the practice? It's called Kriya Yoga. Kriya Yoga consists of three things. First Tapasya, Swadhyaya, Ishwara Pranidhanani. Tapaha means austerity. Austerity means there are two meanings of austerities. One, to forbear whatever experiences we have to go, we are going through, we will be going through. In every human life there will be undesirable, unwanted circumstances. How do we take them? As austerity, inevitable austerity. Also it has a deeper significance. According to Vedanta philosophy which includes Yoga philosophy, if we are going through certain unavoidable difficult circumstances, who is the root cause? We are the root causes. It is our karmas which bring about these circumstances which will give us pain. Secondly, some people would like to progress in life and they do undertake certain types of voluntary activities which can also be called austerities. For example, to study the scriptures is one of the biggest austerities. It is not understood that you can just take any scripture and then go on reading it. We must have to develop that taste to enjoy it and also to understand it. To enjoy it, we must have love for God because without love for God, without devotion for God, a scripture is not at all enjoyable. Better you enjoy some mystery novels or watch TV. Secondly, the scriptures will also not only give enjoyment but they also give us deep understanding. This is a very common thing. The more we study, the more we are capable of understanding. But there is one condition and that condition is we must gradually become purer and purer in our heart. How do we become pure? Through the practice of spiritual disciplines. So simple example would be, if a person has got a cataract and he wants to see clearly, it would not be possible. He sees something, distorted experience. But if he wants to see properly, he has to get rid of that cataract. We are all 100% cataracted people. I would be generous, not 100%. We would be cataracted, let us say 90%. What is this cataract called? We all know it. That is called maya. Through the haze, through the glass of mind, one way of speaking, through the glass of time, space and causation, one way of looking, through the glass of name and form. This is called our cataract. In simple words, we are seeing everything through maya. Let me dwell on this topic because it is such a beautiful concept. We give the classical example. In semi-darkness, when a man sees, is walking, suddenly he sees a snake. Now is there a snake? No. But what happens? He is seeing a snake. So where is the snake? In him. Why is he seeking a snake? Because that light is not enough. There are animals for whom this vision is so clear. The more the darkness, the better they see. Some animals. The problem is within us. Our eyes are covered with maya. What is the way out? We have to slowly remove it. Cataract has to become less. How does it become less? Through the practice of voluntary austerities. So this is called austerity. Two types I said. One type is undesirable, painful experiences come to each one of us. Be it a householder, a monk, a man, a woman, it doesn't really matter. But there is no point in going on complaining about it. What should we do? We should develop that special type of attitude called tapasya, austerity. Okay, that's fine. What is the second thing? Voluntarily taking up certain activities like japa, meditation is not obligatory, but we do take up those things because we have faith it will help us in the future. So this is austerities. Second, swadhyaya. Swadhyaya means study of the scriptures and we can really study the scriptures only when we get joy. Otherwise, it becomes meaningless routine and the more we love the scriptures, the more we enjoy them. And for enjoying the scriptures, I already told you, we need to love God. We need to love our life. We need to believe that there is something which the scripture alone can tell us. What is that something? That each soul is potentially divine. No chemistry, no psychology, no history, no other secular science would ever be able even to point, not tell, let alone tell us. Only the scripture tells us. But to understand this point deeply, we have to do sadhana. As our mind becomes progressively purer, our understanding also becomes deeper. This is the one meaning of swadhyaya, study of the scripture. There is another meaning. If it is split in another way, swadhyaya, study. Constantly go on studying one's own mind. How did my day go today? Swami Brahmananda used to tell, at night each spiritual aspirant should review the whole day, how much time did I think about God? How much time did I think about the world? How much time was I happy? How much time I was unhappy? You know, people do not tell these things to you. Even Swamis do not tell these things to you. You go on analyzing, how much time was I happy? How much time I was unhappy? Most of the time we are neither happy nor unhappy. And of the remaining time, most of the time we are grumbling, the unsatisfaction comes into the mind and only occasionally we get flashes of what we call happiness, which doesn't long last. So what is the use of this analysis? How much time I was happy? So how much time I was unhappy? Because this is one of the key points of discrimination. Sukha, Dukha, Viveka. Why was I unhappy? You know that dog was barking when I was going, so I was unhappy. We are all prone to that. So okay, the dog is barking. So why are you barking for such a long time? You are going on barking within yourself. I am unhappy, I am unhappy. Why? Because the dog is barking. The dog's bark ended after a few seconds. But the barking within our mind is going on and on. Somebody tell something. What does it matter? I cannot control the other person. Okay, whether there is a reason, no reason, the other person had taken this attitude and that person is reacting towards me like this. He talks rubbish, he criticizes me and he tries to pull me down. He doesn't honor me. Okay, all fine. But what does it matter? Should you go on being unhappy? There are billions who have cause to be unhappy because they do not have food, their life is not safe and they do not have shelter. We are not thinking about them. So this kind of discrimination, this is only beginning of the discrimination. Let me tell you, what is the deeper discrimination? Oh mind, do you want to be happy? Sure. Then are you producing causes of happiness? This is one of the most important points we are always missing. Does happiness fall from the sky? Does unhappiness fall from the sky? See, simple example, you want beautiful flowers in your garden. What do you need to do? You have to bring the seeds and then cultivate the soil and put the seeds and then take care of them. That is called sowing the seeds of flowers or fruits, anything. What about Sukha and Dukha? They are called fruits. Sukha is the fruit of Dharma and Dukha is the fruit of Adharma. So if I want to be happy, then I have to sow the seeds. What is the seed? Only one seed, Dharma. What is Dharma? Study the scriptures, you will understand what is Dharma. What is your duty as a father, as a mother, as a child, as a teacher, as a worker, as a devotee? Every devotee has got his own Dharma. But all of you know what I am going to speak just now and yet we have to remind ourselves again and again. What is the duty of a Ramakrishna's devotee? Has he got duties or not? I'm not talking about home duties, office duties. I'm talking about devotee's duties. What are the devotee's duties of a Ramakrishna especially? It applies to everybody but I am specifically giving this example. Sri Ramakrishna has given five commandments. You develop Bhakti for God. Then how to develop? Four yogas. Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Raja Yoga, Jnana Yoga. Cultivate Satsanga. Now and then go into solitude. Always discriminate between what is real, what is not real, what is eternal and what is temporary and live like a maidservant in the house of a rich man. Now these are the, according to all of us, according to me, these are the five commandments of Sri Ramakrishna. So what is the duty of every devotee of Sri Ramakrishna? Every night we have to sit and say, did I obey the commandments of Sri Ramakrishna? Do I really want God? Am I cultivating Satsanga? Am I now and then thinking of God in my mind? Am I discriminating always? And am I living like a maidservant, a detached life? Detached life means not indifference but the effects of both happiness and unhappiness do not last. Neither they are deep nor they last for a long time. So this is how each one of us have got our own dharmas. So this is called Swadhyaya. Every night we have to remind if we sincerely wish to progress in spiritual life. What is the third thing? So much is in our hands. We do not know about the future. Therefore Patanjali tells, Bhagavad Gita tells, every scripture tells, Sri Ramakrishna tells, every day we sing also. What is that? Self-surrender. Ishwara pranidhana. Surrender yourself to God. These three constitute what Patanjali calls Kriya Yoga Sadhanapada. Then also what is the purpose of sadhana? To become enlightened. To know who we are. What are the obstacles? So five obstacles are there. Five obstacles, not really five obstacles but in a way five obstacles. We have already discussed it. They are called Klesha. Klesha means pain-bearing obstructions. Of these pain-bearing obstructions one, the root cause, very root cause is called Avidya. Avidya means ignorance. Ignorance means taking for granted I am not the Atman but I am something else. I am the non-Atman. Body, mind etc. That is the primary root cause of our problems, pains, suffering. Out of this how does Avidya manifest? In the form of egotism. That is called Asmita. I am so and so. I am a man. I am a woman. Even to say I am a devotee. The highest type of Asmita which is condemned in the scriptures. I am a knower of God. I am Brahma Jnani. I am the knower of Brahman. That is the anybody who says I am a knower of Brahman is not a knower of Brahman. Upanishad tells us. Why? Because if you are a knower of Brahman you don't say that. To whom are you going to tell? Are you going to attend a party with a big badge and say I am a Brahma Jnani? No. So that Asmita means egotism. This egotism manifests in three forms. What is that? Raga, Dvesha and Abhinivesha. Raga means intense attachment to things which give us pleasure or happiness. Dvesha means intense dislike to those things which give us the opposite of happiness. Suffering and intense clinging to our life. What we call our life. So again the coming aphorisms will give us a very beautiful explanation. Very briefly what I want to discuss that this is what did I say that five pain-bearing modifications of the mind. What is that? Sukha. Sukha means what? Unhappiness. Have you thought about it? We all want happiness and here you are telling that happiness is one of the most pain-bearing things in this world. It is one of the kleshas. Klesha means that which binds us is called a klesha. That which brings bondage always means suffering. Always remember simplest simplest translation of the word bondage means suffering. Our scriptures tell us we are of the nature of Sat, Chit and Ananda, bliss and any type of suffering that is an obstruction that is called avidya, non-atman. Okay so how can happiness be a bondage? We are all running after happiness and here is there are certain things which give us happiness but why is it called bondage? Because first of all we have to distinguish between the bliss that comes from knowing who we are, God realization and in every other type of happiness that comes. We are talking about the second type of unhappiness which comes from experiencing objects in this world and every experience of any object in this world has three defects. How many defects? Three. What are those three? First of all it is the happiness that we get, the pleasure we get is very very limited, time limited. How much time can you enjoy a sweet? Very little time. Every experience is very very limited in time and in quality and in quantity. First. What is the second thing? Every experience of pleasure in this world instantaneously brings its opposite which is pain. As soon as you finish eating the sweet then first of all it is painful to digest it. Secondly you are in this what you call oh this is okay but the other one would have been better. The other one. How many things you can enjoy at a time? Only one and that too for a short time and it brings its opposite. This is what Swami Vivekananda told. Happiness comes with a crown of misery on its head but though we hear it, though we read it, it doesn't go into our minds. This is the second. Every experience of pleasure brings in its way its opposite instantaneously. Third. Every pleasurable experience binds us because the mind says I want it again. That creates a desire. That creates what you call samskara. People are not able to get out. You know people eat so much. Why? They want pleasure. Whatever drugs, drinks, all these things bring some amount of satisfaction, pleasure or happiness but what happens? It brings a bondage. I want more. That means what? I want more means what? I do not want to move from this state. I want to be always in this state. So these are the three defects, inherent defects. Then we move on to the third effect of ignorance which is called abhinivesha. Abhinivesha means intense clinging to life. Here this first of all is a sva-rasa-vahi that means this fear that I may die. It is there from the lowest insect to the highest evolved soul. Even this Gaudapada who was out and out Advaitin, he says even the most advanced yogi when the time comes for plunging into asampragnata samadhi or nirvikalpa samadhi he shudders. Why? It is the death of the ego. Do you recollect any examples? I know you know the but it's just now it is not right now it is not coming. Ramakrishna wanted to give nirvikalpa samadhi to Swami Vekarananda. Instantaneously withdrew. Of course there are reasons why he did that. I had already discussed about it but in case you have forgotten the reason is not that he was not ready for the experience but there was a mission awaiting him which is to be a teacher of humanity. Therefore he had to go through certain experiences so that he could empathize with people who are in that condition but who want to get out. For example atheists or skeptics or for those who do not believe in a form of God etc he had to go through. It was for that purpose he could not take it by divine will. Otherwise Ramakrishna used to tell that he was what you call a dhyana siddha, perfect in meditation. He came from that state so the question of that he was not ready to accept Ramakrishna's touch was very irrational it becomes. Okay what is this we are discussing? This intense clinging to life as in the ignorant so in the learned this firmly established inborn fear of annihilation is the affliction called abhinivesha. All creatures fear death every creature always has this craving let me never be non-existent let me be alive. One who has not felt the dread of death before cannot have this kind of craving. Okay I will give you the essence of the arguments given beautiful arguments. One of the first arguments derivations that Patanjali derives from this why do we fear death this fear where from this fear comes after all we are just even a just born baby or even an insect you put your foot it wriggles it is telling in its language do not destroy me I want to be alive I want to be alive so why is this because of reincarnation the theory of reincarnation why is this fear because millions of times before we had gone through this death experience and we know that is the most fearful experience in our life there is nothing equivalent to that do we fear going to bed at night do we fear going into deep sleep why why is it that we do not fear do you know why because we are 150 percent sure we are going to wake up I will also put you another question if you want to understand it properly just imagine that every night you go to bed and next morning you wake up to something totally new the people are new the house is new everything is absolutely new now when you go to bed before would you would you be happy or would you be unhappy we'll be unhappy you know why because this fear comes because of other reason what reason fear of losing what we know already firmly and fear of the unknown we have never experienced anybody coming after death and telling us okay I am alive I am in such in such a place it's a nice place or it's whatever it is there are instances only some people know it I'll give an example also you know this Ram Krishna's younger brother you know his second brother Rameshwar he was dead people knew that he was going to die he had a very intimate friend close friend a little a few a little distance away from his home and he was he also knew that this Rameshwar is not going to live for a long time anytime death may come but of course we do not know what time it comes at about midnight there was a knock and he opened he looked there was nobody so he was wondering at this I heard this I opened the door then suddenly voice came I am Rameshwar just now I have given up my body you cannot see me I have come to bid you goodbye he must have loved him very much nicely and then this man ran to Rameshwar's house and then just a few minutes before Rameshwar had left they were all weeping there now the point is what will you do if somebody knocks and then you open the door and then say I am dead you don't see anybody I am dead what will be your reaction I think mostly will be fearing but anyway coming back to our subject what is the point we are discussing why do we why do everyone fear death that's because we are losing what we know we know whether it is happy or unhappy second fear of the unknown so the objection to this that comes is instinct so that's instinct now what is instinct you say this is what psychologists and scientists and ordinary people no no it is instinct what what do you mean by instinct when you are when you have learned to driving very well you sit in the car and you may be talking on the mobile phone or talking to somebody you drive nonchalantly isn't it instinctively or driving so we have got so many so many things are instinct within us we are creatures of instincts is what we say creatures of habits we react automatically to some foods to some people to some places to some circumstances to some setups we do not sit there and think why am I reacting like this we just react that is what is called an unthinking life unexamined life in in Plato's words okay so this the objection for reincarnation no no you don't need to bring the theory of reincarnation it is just instinct what is in how did you get instinct when do you get instinct instinct is nothing but involved reason before you had experience can you understand this what Swamiji says instinct is nothing but involved reason do you understand what is the meaning of involved we had through some experiences we had come to certain conclusions and that conclusion is rational conclusion for example this man dies that man dies the other man dies so any man that we know either he is dead or he is going to die is there any exception therefore by this experience we reason out that death is the normal nature of everybody this is called reason and afterwards it becomes an instinct once we come to that conclusion and until something proves opposite to that reason we instinctively without thinking without thinking means we thought of it before that is called instinct you know you type you learn typewriting after even 50 years instinctively it comes you know bicycle riding the same thing happens so if this is the reason given fear is instinct a Hindu or a Vedantin asks a small baby why does he fear death this is one Swami Karananda gives another example somebody had put ducks eggs under a hen and then the hen hatched there and imagine this hen is living near the edge of a small pond what is the instinct of these ducklings instantaneously they jumped towards the water and the mother hen is don't go there you are going to drown because the hen it is not the nature of the hen or chickens to go into the water whereas it is instinctive where from this duckling got this instinct of jumping into the water anyway this is one of the arguments given by Patanjali is that this is the doctrine of reincarnation that means we had many births before we are going to have many births later on also so I gave they discussed that what is instinct it is nothing but involved reason or many times when we experience something which we come to certain definite conclusions thereafter it becomes instinct within us it's instinct means unthinking reaction so the other objection that is that comes is you know you don't need to have this reincarnation theory after all you know you see other people die we all see okay that means oh we don't this person died and no none of us has ever seen any dead person coming back to us and telling us therefore that as if that man's life is totally extinct that means we don't know whether he's alive whether he is totally gone or whether he's having some experience we have no experience at all excepting scripture telling us what happens so this is this argument seeing others this comes but you cannot apply that why because just because you don't see just because hundred percent of the people don't know doesn't mean there is no life afterwards now a stronger reason against this argument that we develop fear of death seeing others die and never coming back to life is is every every scripture tells us even those who do not believe in reincarnation for example christianity judaism islam they do not believe in reincarnation but even those scriptures bible quran etc tell us clearly that after some time if you have lived a good life you will go to god or if you have misbehaved you will go to the other place that means what you are not really dead but here specifically hinduism jainism buddhism believe in the theory of reincarnation why there are certain reasons i will discuss briefly the doctrine of reincarnation is exceedingly unpalatable to many people because it makes each one of us directly responsible for his or her present condition you know why are you like this so is it because of my karma this is what hindus say buddhists say jainists say but this idea was not there in the law of karma if you accept and it and it is there as you sow so you reap but they don't take it to past life and future life they take only one life which is going to god if you live it a good life then god will keep you in heaven otherwise bye bye bye means not death bye bye means what if this fellow is completely extinct there is no problem you are going to suffer for eternity which is very irrational for hundred years of misbehavior even hundred years how much time a man really misbehaves like a man saying to his wife i love you the most in this world wife asks how do you know you love me because i always remember you all right let us sit down and argue it out how many hours do you sleep eight hours do you remember me at eight hours how many hours more remaining 16 hours out of 16 hours when you are eating when you are bathing when you are working in your office do you remember me no no how do you expect me when you are driving do you remember me how do you expect me to remember you how much time the man really remembers very very short time for this few years of some kind of misbehavior a man goes on suffering eternally that is very irrational hinduism doesn't accept it all but it does accept we are solely responsible for our own actions i'll give you some hard arguments also you know there was one football coach in england it is some 10-15 years back once he made a remark about this you know disabled people it is because of their past karma instantaneously he was removed from his job but the point we have to understand is who is responsible why is this child born autistic or disabled why who is responsible is it are the parents responsible or is the child responsible yes the child is responsible this is what vedanta tells how is it just now born no it has its past birth but anyway the argument here it is uncomfortable for most of us because especially when we are at a disadvantage or we are suffering we are poor oh this is we don't want to accept that we are responsible for our suffering everybody accepts responsibility for their happiness i worked hard i earned money i am enjoying life but no one wants to own that why we are suffering and especially just born babies or whatever it is this is one and this doctrine of reincarnation which at first seems so grim and heartless actually implies a profoundly optimistic belief in the justice and order of the universe what does that mean that means that maybe we have suffered a lot but is there any hope yes there is a hope what is the hope from now on you lead a good life and your future both in this life and also in the future life would be really bright that is the hope oh i have nothing done nothing wrong but i am being persecuted every time would people always suffer wicked people always enjoy most some of us have got this kind of weird ideas for a religious aspirant such idea should not be there god is there and he is the embodiment of justice and whatever is happening there is a reason for that if you don't believe you are not a devotee of god not only that you are not a practical vedanti you who suffers if i don't accept justice of god it's we who suffer so every devotee must accept only thing is instead of saying accept the justice of god which is the will of god every devotee says happier happiness or unhappiness it is the will of god and if any devotee protests i don't accept this will i only accept one will of god when he keeps me happy i accept his will but when he keeps me unhappy see that kind of argument doesn't prove we are devotees whatever happens we have to accept okay so this belief in the reincarnation it gives us hope it gives us the faith that everything is there is a reason there is a justice in any case the problem is none of us want to die so this is the meaning of this intense clinging to life those who are devotees what is the lesson we have to derive the lesson is you are a devotee that means you believe in god that means you believe in the scripture and what is the scripture telling that as a good person if you behave properly if you are leading a life of righteousness dharma then your future is absolutely assured this is what the meaning of this suppose another argument that comes is suppose i become a devotee and i am pursuing my spiritual practices i am not able to progress much suddenly death intervenes do i lose everything whatever i have done no because you you will take up exactly where you've left off in future life there is a future life so that is why some of us have this really faith but only thing is we do not allow it to come back so these are the arguments that patanjali gives to us even most learned learned people who are talking who are giving talks on do not fear there is future life the scripture tells pundits scholars you see i am talking all the time but supposing today evening doctor comes and you have only two hours do you know what i will do it's a doctor can i have a second opinion you know i don't want to die of course if it is inevitable i i forcibly resign and i accept it okay i accept it but given a choice i would not do that whereas you go to sri ram krishna or holy mother or swamiji they have no fear why why they have no fear because they know that this life is only one passing experience that's all they know it okay now we move on to number 10 when these obstacles or glaciers have been reduced to a vestigial form they can be destroyed by resolving the mind back into its primal cause reduced to vestigial forms through the practice of kriya yoga through the laya of the mind in samadhi they are destroyed even though they are experienced they lose the power of binding for the yogi 11th aphorism then i will come back to this in their fully developed form they can be overcome through meditation we are talking here about what pleasures all our mind all our life life after life we are moving through these five what is this avidya ignorance then avidya manifests as what mainly egotism and egotism manifests in what ways attachments likes then hatreds dislikes then intense clinging to life do we know anything else other than these three ahankara and raga dvesha and abhinimish our whole life this is called bondage now how can we get rid of them this is what patanjali comes here then he says first of all through the practice of kriya yoga kriya yoga means three first austerity then study of the scriptures constant study of oneself and surrender to god through the constant practice of these three practices all these kleshas or pain-bearing obstructions become less and less and less and less and less and remain very in a very very fine form that is called sukshma but as we discussed elaborately in my last class before left for usa they these kleshas can be in in any of those four forms they may be totally sleeping they may be totally operative or they may be temporarily obstructed by some other pleasure or they might have become very tano tano means very very thin through the practice of spiritual disciplines so in these two aphorisms what patanjali wants to tell us meditation becomes fruitful and useful only when we have already made these kleshas very very thin through a long long practice of kriya yoga then the kleshas become very thin how do they become thin very briefly i will discuss it now he says patanjali says and it is practical experience you go on observing yourself swamiji gives a beautiful example he says supposing a bubble wants to rise in a lake how does where does it start somewhere deep inside you can't see it and but it is there and it is slowly coming up and when it comes to the surface becomes a bubble then it is noticeable so any desire that comes into our mind and all our desires are classified into these three what a practical beautiful all our desires are classified into three categories we know what are the three categories just now we discussed we want happiness we want to avoid unhappiness and the root cause of both our happiness and avoiding unhappiness is life therefore intense clinging to life these three are their life after life what happens through the practice long practice of kriya yoga our our what is called attachments become very thin how thin say ramakrishna gives an example you draw a line over water what happens next second it disappears i'll give you an example one swami brahmanandji scolded somebody and after some time the person who was scolded he came back and maharaj was behaving as though nothing happened as though everything is absolutely he didn't scold at all then he was asked maharaj were you not angry you get it in eternal companion he said our anger is like a line drawn on water the moment you you draw the line already it is disappearing and when they get angry no it is not they who get angry it is god for some reason wants to bestow his grace and all their anger is a real blessing on each one of us when do we realize that very difficult that's why holy mother said misery is a gift of god so these attachments a person do you think a a spiritual aspirant hates anybody dislike is there what is the strong form of dislike hatred what is the very thin form of hatred dislike i don't like it but it's not hatred it's not hatred nobody hates a cockroach you know you we dislike cockroaches nobody likes even i don't like cockroach but we don't hate the cockroaches only a person who is very wicked we hate such person but do you think say ramakrishna was kicked do you think that he cherished cherished hatred towards that man who kicked him not at all in fact he he doesn't even remember only occasionally he remembered in a yogi this raga and dvesha attachment and its opposite likes and dislike become very very thin next abhinivesha what is abhinivesha when a person has progressed so much in spiritual life his attachment to body becomes absolutely minimal how does it become minimal because for two reasons one reason is it's such a beautiful thought when a person really really dives deep into meditational state he gets such a tremendous happiness that is there any bodily happiness which can be compared to that you know the happiness which we derive even from reading a nice novel what bodily happiness can equal to that there is nothing do you get what i'm talking about bodily happiness or pleasures are very very insignificant compared to the joys that one gets through intellectually that's right ananda or bliss or it has five layers i think i discussed it before but just for our sake five layers each layer is incomparably unimaginably greater in both quality and quantity than the lower one the first one is called vishayananda that is the pleasures we derive from when our sense organs come into contact with sense objects the second is intellectual pleasure called medhananda the third is called aesthetic pleasures that one an artist gets the fourth is the happiness one gets from practicing dharma this is called dharmananda and the last is the happiness one gets one becomes one has the vision of god brahmananda sri ramakrishna simply reduced these five into three said vishayananda bhajanananda and brahmananda i discussed it bhajanananda doesn't mean singing songs bhajanananda means that tremendous joy one gets from leading a dharmic life devotee's life so so much of difference is there now what is my point my point is when a person when a spiritual aspirant has progressed so much through years or lives of spiritual practice he must be getting the very high type of happiness in fact in that state the body becomes positively obstructive because he wants to dwell on it simple example would be sri ramakrishna would like to be in samadhi i'm going to ask you a question how long would sri ramakrishna like to be in samadhi forever but can he he cannot why what is the problem body because body requires he has to eat food he has to drink water he has to take some rest also and that's what swami vekananda asked if you remember when sri ramakrishna asked swami vekananda narendranath what do you want what was his reply no you have to be very clear about it otherwise partial understanding comes i want to be all the time in samadhi then he put a clause every few days three four days i want to come down have food because if food is not there body will not be there so in that state of exuberant bliss this very idea of body becomes abominable i'll give another example also you know holy mother once she had an experience went into another state after a long time she came later on she was describing that what did she say i was in such a high state i was there with sri ramakrishna and somebody made me sit by the side of sri ramakrishna and i was in supreme bliss then what did she say i had to come down you know she you know she made a very beautiful expression he said into this filthy body i had to come down it was abominable to me but i made up because my children are there i have to come down that is why we can't understand why they want to go all the time into samadhi sri ramakrishna said the very nature of my mind is always to be merged in samadhi so i bind myself with some desires so that i can come down and then talk to devotees and pass on the knowledge etc anyway so these within with these two aphorisms what patanjali is going to tell us is that first of all through the long practice of kriya yoga we have to thin all these kleshas our ahankara and our attached raga attachment our dvesha dislike or hatred and our intense clinging to life we have to make it thinner and thin as we progress in spiritual life they naturally become thinner but they remain there they cannot wake up so how long will they remain until the mind is existing therefore what we have to do second he says dhyana heya tad vrittaya all this through deep meditation here through deep meditation he means asampragnata samadhi through the highest state of samadhi and what is the highest state of samadhi it is also called nirvikalpa samadhi nirvikalpa samadhi means what where there is no mind it is beyond the mind that's what sri ramakrishna is to call pure mind if there is no mind where are the kleshas because all this egotism attachment hatred this clinging to life they all exist where now so that we can understand clearly i am going to give this example we all suffer through our waking state dream state through all these five avidya when you are in deep sleep do you have attachment do you have hatred do you have clinging to body why because the mind in that state is practically non-functional i said practically not there is a bit of mind but i won't go into that topic now but it is practically as though there is no mind and that is why it gives us the greatest happiness having discussed the dhyana heya tad vrittaya then comes i mentioned klesha moolah karmasayo drishta adrishta janma vedaniya a man's latent tendencies that means tendencies created through many past births have been created by his past thoughts and actions and these tendencies will bear fruits both in this life and in lives to come sati mole tad vipako jati ayur bhoga so long as this root root means these past impressions remain in the mind it will bear fruits what type of fruits three type of fruits such as rebirth a long or a short life and the experiences of pleasure and pain what pratyajali wants to tell each one of us are the result of our past karma done in the past life and that the result of that past life is three in which species we are born how long are we going to live in this world and what type of experience whether we we are born for pleasant life happy life or unhappy life and what type of happiness how deep is that happiness or unhappiness these three which species is the length of life and our experiences this is all according to vedanta and patanjali the result of our past actions in the form of this karmasaya then he says experiences of pleasure and of pain are the fruits of merit and demerit dharma and dharma punya and punya respectively but the man of spiritual discrimination regards all these experiences as painful for even the enjoyment of a present pleasure is painful since we fear its loss past pleasure is painful because renewed cravings arise from the impressions it has left upon the mind and how can any happiness be lasting if it depends only upon our moods for our moods are constantly changing as one or another of the ever-varying gunas seizes control of the mind so what we are going to discuss is these most wonderful things after he had elaborated how these kleshas have to be thinned out and then finally merged that is the our goal but where are we here right now as men as women of such age of such job of such experiences so he is dwelling wherever we are we have to start there and every one of us are not certainly in the same state what is the cause of this state our the result of our karmas and they make us happiness happy or unhappy but ultimately what is our goal very often we say our goal is pleasure or happiness but then Patanjali comes and tells and says this life even if it's most pleasant life life in heaven itself is a most painful thing how can it be painful in comparison with our present life heavenly life is very very pleasurable happy but in comparison with what we are really and which we have forgotten in comparison with infinity any amount of finite thing is absolutely rubbish so he wants to bring the dispassion the discrimination which we will take in our next class om shanti shanti shanti