Patanjali Yoga Sutras Lecture 018

Full Transcript(Not Corrected)

Om Yogena Cittasya Padena Vacham Malam Sharirasya Chavai Dhyakena Yopaha Karottam Pravaram Muninam Patanjalim Pranjali Rana Tosne 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. Till last class we had discussed that preparations are of two types. One is repeated practice and accompanied by intense dispassion. If we had really prepared ourselves then the next step is directing our mind towards the goal which is called Samadhi and that needs to be done. That is discussed in this 17th aphorism. Before we go, this is one of the most difficult of the aphorisms. If you recollect, Patanjali had divided the whole of the science of yoga into four chapters and the first chapter is called Samadhi Pada. Pada means chapter. Samadhi means that state of the mind which is most natural to it. Purusha or pure consciousness or of our real nature, it is by nature pure. Somehow it gets contaminated. That is where we are right now. If we had not been contaminated then I need not give the talk and you need not listen. But since we are doing it, we have to accept there is something we are seeking and what is it that we seek? Perfection. Who seeks perfection? Those who are imperfect. So the first chapter is devoted how to regain not how to gain but how to regain our own true nature. That is called Samadhi. I would like to give certain introduction so that we can understand this aphorism better. The first thing that we have to understand is the mind by its nature is absolutely pure. Let me repeat, the mind by its nature is absolutely pure. That statement seems to be a bit contradictory because you know we all read gospel, we read holy mother's teachings. What did holy mother say about the mind? When someone complained, my mind is always restless. What does mother say? My son, it is its very nature. But that's not that is what mother is referring is not to the true nature of the mind but as the nature of the mind that is now, right now. Now why is this so? Is it really so? Let us take a small example. Have you ever heard that water is dirty by its nature? You know dirty water. Is there something called really dirty water? Water by its nature is always pure. Why do, when do we call it dirty? When it gets contaminated, mixed up with dirt. So the water is always pure just as the water is always pure. Not only water is always pure, every single object in this world is pure by its very nature and it won't change its nature. And if at all it appears to be something else that is because of contamination and however impure or dirty an object is, an object can be made to regain its nature by certain methods. I repeat every object in this world is pure by itself but if it appears to be impure that impurity can be removed. Take this example of again dirty water. If there is dirty water and what is the law? Water by itself is absolutely pure. So can the dirty water forever remain dirty or can it be made pure? It can be made pure. How do we make water pure? We can make it distilled or we can boil by some method. They can be separated. Same case with the mind. The mind by its very nature is absolutely pure. Let me give you a very interesting example. We go through this experience every single day and at the same time we do not take notice of it. Why do we love small children? Say baby, just one month old baby. What do we say? Very pure baby, innocent baby. Don't we say that? Then that very baby after say 30 or 40 years when you look at that child's behavior, at that man's behavior then you'll be horrified. My god when I saw this fellow when he was two months old. How wonderful, how pure he was. Now he is not pure. Did he become impure or does he appear to be impure? It's not an academic question. Can he ever become impure? That means can he change his nature? He who was very pure, can he change his nature? So why did he become such a wicked person? Wickedness and person even though we call that person a wicked person, that wicked person is not, wickedness is not his nature. You see the point? If it were to be his nature, can you ever change him? Can a wicked person become a saint? In fact most of the saints were wicked only before becoming saints. Isn't it? Have you ever heard a saint has become a saint? Always before becoming a saint, what was he? You know words are very interesting. He is a God realized soul. Was he born a God realized soul or had he become God realized? What was he before God realization? God non-realized person by some method he removed his ignorance and became realized. Is it not? In the same way, that is an example. When we come across some object or some person, our mind is always pure with regard to that object or person. Is it not? You see for the first time, meet somebody for the first time. Most often, what is your impression about that person? Very neutral, neither good nor bad. Is it not? That's why we make friends very easily with strangers. But as time goes on, what happens? We have certain experiences, good or bad and depending what type of experience it is, we slowly categorize that person as good or bad. What is the point I am referring to? When we first had an impression about that person, it was most likely to be neutral, neither good nor bad. For the simple reason, we do not know anything about that person. As we go on remembering or experiencing, interacting with that person, slowly our opinions change. What is the point? The point is before meeting that person, our state of mind with regard to that person, is it pure or impure? Pure. But as we go on gaining experience, then our mind changes with regard to that particular object. Can it not stretch this logic to the very beginning and say, before the mind ever came into contact with what is called this world, what would have been its nature? Absolutely pure because it has no experience. Similarly, let me give you another example. Does any manufacturer manufacture a dirty mirror? Have you ever come across anybody selling a new dirty mirror? Always a mirror would be very clean, very pure when we go and buy. But as time passes on, what happens? The mirror becomes dusty, dirty, etc. Did the mirror ever change its nature? All that we need to do is take a clean cloth and then go on wiping it and again it doesn't attain actually. We are only removing the dirt and it would be as it was before. Let us keep this example in mind. Our mind, before it came into contact with anything, it is absolutely pure like a clean, pure mirror. What is the function of a mirror? When we stand before the mirror, the mirror reflects us. It doesn't distort exactly as the object is. It gives a reflection. So this was our state before we fell into this whatever you call avidya, ajnana, maya, whatever it is. For some reason we come into contact with maya and then we identify with the maya. So we identify ourselves with the reflection and then our misery starts. I am this. What were you before you came into contact with something? I am. I am trying to convey a very difficult idea. In a way it is a very difficult idea. Let me give certain examples so that we can clearly understand. Imagine you had very nice breakfast, very happy. You are sitting in a happy mood and suddenly somebody comes and criticizes you, makes you very unhappy. Just imagine. It is not real. Imagine this is what is happening every moment of our life, happy or unhappy, whatever it is. Imagine somebody made you very unhappy. Now before that person came or you came into contact with that person, what was your state like? Quite happy. The moment he came, what happened? You have become dirty. I am trying to put it. Contaminated. Your opinion has changed. Your mind has changed. Which was in a happy state of mind is always like that. Before you became unhappy, what was the state of your mind? Point I wanted to illustrate is at any given time if a person says I am unhappy, before that person became unhappy, that very statement shows that that person was a happy person. Something came and he became unhappy. You see the point? That means originally before we came into contact with anything we are always pure and happy. Purity means happiness here. Purity means always happiness. Impurity means according to Vedantic language or Yogic language both happiness as well as unhappiness. Sometimes I am happy, sometimes I am not happy. Both are in the realm of ignorance only. Now what is Yoga? Chitta Nirodha. What is Chitta Nirodha? Before the mind, Chitta means mind, comes into contact with anything it was absolutely pure. But when it comes into contact with something then it becomes contaminated. Now let us remember a very important point. We use certain words impurity, contamination when we mean to say only negative words we use. Can we use the words like I was before I was very happy, before I was happy but for some unfortunate reasons I became contaminated with more happiness. Do we ever say that? But actually that's what we are saying. When we say we are in the realm of Maya it means both happiness as well as unhappiness. Not only a negative experience but from the highest point of view it is always even happiness is a negative experience. But from the relative point of view happiness is a positive experience unhappiness is a negative experience. Anyway what is the point here? What is Yoga? Before the mind, the Chitta came into contact with anything it was absolutely pure. What is its state? Nirodha. But after it came into contact it lost its state of purity. And what are we trying to do? Practice Yoga. And what is Yoga? See, we get the point. The Chitta has become contaminated by coming into contact with objects. What is called objects? Anything that it comes into contact is called an object. So many objects we come into contact. Then it becomes contaminated. It becomes restless. What is the goal of Yoga? To make it restful. How do we achieve? There is only one method. What is that method? Before it came into contact with an object it was absolutely restful. After coming into contact with objects it became restless. Do you see the logic? It was restful, came into contact, became restless. If we want to make it restful, very simple, what is the cause of restlessness? Object. Now what is, what would be the cause of achieving that restfulness? Remove the, that is called Nirodha. Chitta, Vritti, Nirodha. That means what? Not suppressing the mind, not trying to control the mind, but to completely remove that object. When the object is not there, what would remain? Only subject. The subject alone will be there. That is the state we want to gain. That is, that is called Yoga, practice of Yoga. When a person goes into Samadhi what happens? He leaves every object behind. The curious thing is, in this relative world always subject, object go together. If there is no subject, there would be no object. If there is no object, there would be no subject. Therefore if one removal of one is equivalent to the removal of both, that is called state of Samadhi. And that's what we have got to attain. And all these preparations that we had talked about, it is to achieve that state going back. Shri Ramakrishna gives several examples for this. What is the nature of a new cloth? Very clean. What happens? It comes into contact with dirt. Then it becomes a dirty cloth. Then what do you do? You wash it with soap or water or whatever. Then what does it, does it gain something new or does it only try to become what it was before? That is called, that washing process is called Yoga. Washing process is called Yoga. Then what do you need to become completely pure? You do not need to do anything because that is your very nature. So this is this point you always keep in mind. Our, the mind's nature is always pure only. And what is it that makes him pure? An object. And every object in this world is made up of or what is manifestation of Prakriti we call it, Prakriti, nature. And what is the constituent elements of this Prakriti? Three. What are they? Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. So when the mind, which is again part of Prakriti, but I am trying to explain what is the process of Yoga. When the mind, which is pure by its nature, very nature, when it comes, mind into contact with Tamas. So mind plus Tamas is very, very impure. Very, very impure means very, very unhappy. Mind plus Rajas, it is very, very restless, not so impure, but 50% pure, 50% impure, restless. Mind plus Sattva, that means still it is, the Sattva Guna is still part of Prakriti, but this time it's the, the contamination is so slight, it's very easy to clean. Just you wash it, what is what is called in washing means quick wash, just 15 minutes quick wash. Whereas if it is more dirty, you increase the temperature for 1400 degrees and for two hours. And if it is very, very dirty, then it is for three hours with lot of soap, everything, etc. How do we know what we are discussing is right? So in the very beginning we discussed the mind at any given time could be in one of the five states, if you remember. Kshita, Modha, Prakshita, Ekagra and Nirodha. Kshita, Modha, Prakshita, Ekagra and Nirodha. So what is it? Mind plus pure Tamas, there is nothing really pure Tamas, but most of it Tamas. Mind plus Tamas is called the state of Kshita and Modha. Mind plus Rajas is called Prakshita. Mind plus Sattva is called Ekagra. Mind plus is equivalent to, not Sattva, Mind, equivalent to Nirodha. That is called Yogaha Kshita Vritti Nirodha. You remove all the mental modifications. When you remove all the mental modifications, can there be something called Mind? Will there be something called Mind? No. That is why, whose words are, Shri Ramakrishna clarifies, a pure mind and a pure Atman is one and the same. Because when it comes to that state, the mind becomes so pure, it just breaks like a delicate glass. So that is what we have to attain. That Nirodha state has to be attained. How to attain? I mentioned also, like a staircase. If there is a staircase, there will be stairs. If you want to go to the first floor, from the ground floor to the first floor, first step has to be crossed, then second step, then third step. Imagine there are three steps to reach the first floor. What is the first step? Tamas. What is the second step? Rajas. What is the last step? Sattva. This is the process whether you are Vedantin, Christian or of no religion or no belief, doesn't matter. If you want to improve, this is what happens. Let us for a moment take day-to-day experience. You are very very unhappy. What is the state of mind you are in? Mind plus Tamas. You are somewhat happy, somewhat unhappy. What is the state of mind you are in? Mind plus Rajas. You are in a quite high state of happiness. What is the state you are in? Mind plus Sattva. And you are of the nature of happiness itself. What is the state you are in? There is no mind there because mind only functions with Tamas, Rajas and Sattva. This is what happens. So we also have discussed very important subjects. Let me approach this. This is all introduction to this 17th aphorism where Samadhi is divided or explained and divided and explained to. I will come to that. Now let us see. Whenever we come across any object, certain process takes place. We take it for granted as a homogeneous whole. We do not try to analyze how did it take place. Let us take a simple example. Here is a pin. Have you seen this pin before I showed it to you? Now you are seeing. The moment you saw there was the pin, there you are. And your eyes had fallen on this pin. So what happened to your seeing? A pin is of this nature. Your eyes saw this pin. Your eyes took that information and it presented it to the mind. What happened? The mind reacted. When the mind reacted, the mind became agitated, broke into waves. In this analogy, this is the object. Your mind is the subject. Through the instrument of the eye, your mind which was absolutely in a state of calmness, it broke into waves. What is the wave? Eye. What is the wave? Before you saw the pin. As an example, I don't see anything. Who is there? I am there. After seeing the pin, what was your experience? I see a pin. That mind has broken into that wave that is called Chitavarithi and followed by Chitavarithi. I don't like that pin. It is too large. Oh, I like it very much. It is just the right sized pin. It is very beautiful. It's very ugly. Maybe it is shining like gold. Maybe it is gold. Swami may be having a golden pin. Etc., etc., it breaks. What is that thing? Listen, listen to me very carefully. Here is an object. Before you saw, your mind was absolutely like a calm and quiet lake. Again, that is an example Swamiji gives. There is a calm and quiet lake. Absolutely no ripples. You throw a pebble into it. What happened now? The pebble has come into contact with the lake. Immediately, what is the reaction? It broke into waves, wavelets. It goes on. What is the analogy? Our mind before it came into contact, I just mentioned the nature of the mind is very pure like this lake. But the moment it came into contact with an object, it breaks into waves. That means the restful lake, restful mind has broken into a restless thing and that is called knowledge. What is Chitavarithi? Knowledge. What is that knowledge? I see a pin here, but that doesn't stop there. What happens? I like it. I don't like it. It is too big. It is too small. It is too dark. It is golden. It is dull. So many varieties of thoughts would come. The moment we have those kind of thoughts, they result proportionately in what is called experience of happiness and or unhappiness. If it is positive wave, it is a happy experience. If it is negative wave, then it becomes negative experience. All the time, what happens? I am there. This is the process. I am repeating it. I am there. But first step, there is no happiness. There is no unhappiness. I see a pin. I see a pin. What happens? I have become a subject because there is an object in front of me. I like it or I don't like it. That is the experience. It produces the experience. I am happy. I am unhappy. So that knowledge transforms into some kind of experience. And I have lost my original. I am. It is lost. I am happy. I am unhappy. Let me approach this in a different way. The Chitra is compared absolutely like water. Now does water have any shape? Does water have any shape? Now what happens? Whichever utensil, vessel we pour the water into, what happens? It is a very interesting example. So the Chitra is like that. So what happens when it comes into contact with this pin? What happens? What happens, you know, the knowledge goes into us, information, the eyes, the ears, the five sense organs take in this experience. Then what happens? My mind, our mind, it says this is a pin. Until that point the mind is absolutely fine. Then what happens? I like this. I don't like this. What is it? Raga or Dvesha. When it comes, then what happens? Two things happen. The moment this experience, I like this or I don't like this. What is the experience before? I see a pin. Nothing else. I see a pin. I see the stranger. I am meeting this person for the first time. You have no positive or negative comment. I just see the person. But through experience then you know many things happen. This fellow's face looks like that uncle who bit me when I was young. I don't like him. Or that aunt who used to come to my house always used to bring chocolates. This person's nose looks like my aunt's. I like this person. This is how we come to make judgments. What happens when you come to the state of judgments? Two things will happen. What is that? I have become identified with the object first. Like water becomes identified, you know, you put it in a round vessel. What shape does the water take? Round shape. If it is square, what shape does it take? Square shape. If it is a big tall vessel, then water appears to be tall. Suppose the vessel is of blue color. How does the water appear? Blue color. Like that, the moment this object comes, these are the step by step process. First I am there, nothing is there. Then the object is there, I happen to see. And then the knowledge comes. It doesn't stop there. Then I become identified with the object. I am this object. The moment we identify ourselves, I am this object. Immediately judgments come in. I like this, I don't like this. I am happy, I am unhappy, etc. This is the process that takes place. Every single time we come across any object. Keep this in mind because this is, there is a special branch of philosophy called epistemology, dealing with what is knowledge, how does knowledge take place. This is the special, what is knowledge, how does knowledge take place. So according to Vedanta and also yoga, when the mind gets information through the five sense organs, it is like, you know, I'm taking in details, so do not mind even if I take time. I am here and somebody has come with a book there. I have absolutely no knowledge about the person or a book. Then somebody goes and tells, and such and such a person has come. Okay, bring him here. He is brought here. And before he is brought here, I don't know anything about that person. That means I am pure with regard to that person. The moment he comes, I get, what happens, how do I get the knowledge that there is a person? Because somebody tells, he tells, there is a person outside, the sound comes, that sound enters into my mind and that information, oh I know, so this person is telling that somebody has come. Okay, bring him. I utter the word, the shabda, and it enters into the person who has informed me and he runs and then he brings that person. Then my eyes look at that person. Then he has a book and my eyes look at that book. Oh, it looks very interesting. What is that book? And then he brings that book. Again my eyes look at it. I read the title. I see the book. Oh, it's very interesting subject. It looks like that. And then it goes inside. Until that point, it is an object. But the moment we get that information, this is a very interesting book. This is a book. I am only experiencing the object. This is a very interesting book. Is it not interesting? That interest means what? You are already hooked with that book. I like this book. I am this book. That is how knowledge comes. Judgment cannot be made until we become that object. What happens? Our chitta has taken the form of that book. As an example. And that book, that taking that shape, identifying with that shape, instantaneously brings about judgments. The moment judgments come, I become either happy or unhappy. And I have lost my original purity. Let me give you also another example what happens. See, I am a devotee of Thakur. So, I like Thakur. Not only that. The nature of my being a devotee of Thakur is, anybody who is a devotee of Thakur also, I like. Suppose two persons come. I don't know anything about that person. And they come to me. And introductions or one person says, Oh Swamiji, I am so glad to see you. I am a great devotee of Sri Ramakrishna. I am very happy to hear about that. The other person opens his mouth and says, What is this Ramakrishna? Vivekananda had made him into an incarnation. He was an illiterate priest. He was mad. He was doing so many bad things. And this Vivekananda came. He wanted to make Sri Ramakrishna his guru into a big figure because he was a powerful orator. He made him into an incarnation of God. The moment I hear even a little bit of that criticism about Sri Ramakrishna, my Kundalini is up in arms. Other times it may not rise. But this time it has risen to the very end. Because I am a monk, I only smilingly I scold it. But if I have the opportunity, it is dark. I have got a gun and all those things. This is what we all do in our mind. With every object we do. I am only bringing it out. Now you see what happens. I identified myself with Ramakrishna. And anybody who is identified with Ramakrishna gives me pleasure, happiness. Because my identity is extended as it were. Oh, you are a devotee of Ramakrishna. So I am very happy to meet. That means what? You are my extension. But anybody who is not a devotee of Sri Ramakrishna, the opposite thing happens. As it were, one of my limbs is cut off. 24 hours a day, from birth to death, not only in this birth, from janma janmantara, we are identifying with something and then it happens. Let me also explain this point very you may not understand it immediately. That's why I'm giving so many examples. You are walking and you see somewhere at a distance one person beating another person. Does it affect you? Usually it doesn't affect you. Oh, somebody, they are quarreling. They are beating each other. It is because it has nothing to do with you. But if he comes and beats your son or your husband or your somebody, then what happens? Not only son or husband, even if somebody looks badly at your dog also. This is how we foolish people fall into this maya. The illustration is, you see something is happening to somebody. I can give you an example. In Brazil, few days back, there was a fire in a night club. 250 or more people died. Did you lose your sleep? Did you stop eating? Suppose that very night when you are watching the movie, you are eating ice cream. Let us imagine. Would you stop? What would you say? Go on sucking and poor fellows, so many people died. That would be your reaction, isn't it? Would it for a second stop your eating of the ice cream? You neither screamed. Why did you not do it? Because you are not identified with those people. But suppose one of them happened to be either your child or your husband, your father or somebody. What would be the reaction? You see what happens. An objective knowledge by itself doesn't make us react. It is there. Yes, I know that it is there. But the moment we identify ourselves with that object, then it brings either happiness or unhappiness. We are always swinging between these poles of likes and dislikes, raga and dvesha and getting attached. What Vedanta wants to tell us, the whole universe has nothing to do with you. It is all a contamination and you have forgotten your real nature. Like in our dream, we identify ourselves with our thoughts. This is a wonderful example for understanding the nature of the mind. You had nice dinner. You went to sleep and then you had a dream. You were walking in a desert. It was blazingly hot and you are feeling hungry and thirsty. Hours and hours you walked. You went to bed at 11 o'clock and at 11.05 you had this dream. And at 11.06 you wake up shivering, dying of thirst and hunger. That one minute of waking time, how much time it took in the dream, what is the point of this illustration? Even though the dream is only your thought, is it not? Is there any real object? But it is only an idea, a thought. But if that thought is there, it won't affect you automatically. Only when you identify yourself with that thought, this is me, then it will affect. So what is the point we are discussing here? When we encounter an object, first I am there, nothing is there. Then an object is there. I am there, the object is there. Then the object comes through our five sense organs, enters into our mind in the form of information and when the mind gets it, then you get an idea this is such and such an object. Until that point you have knowledge of that object, but the mind doesn't stop there. What does it do? It becomes identified with the object and then it starts making judgments and when the judgments come, always mind you, judgments come only when we identify. If you don't identify, judgments will not come. I just now made that point clear. If something is happening, somebody is doing such a something, somebody else, it won't affect you because you know, you see it, you hear it, you have the knowledge, but you have not become identified with it. Only if you become identified in some way, it will affect us. Then it affects us. So let us divide this example into four parts. I am there, object is there, knowledge of the object is there, identification is there. It is only when the identification comes, instantaneously the judgments will come. I am happy, I am unhappy, etc., etc., will come. Whenever we encounter any single object, every millisecond of our life, this is what is happening to us. What is this introduction for? Why did I spend so much of time on this introduction? Because now we are entering into this 17th aphorism which says, according to Patanjali, Samadhi is of two types. What is that two types? Lower Samadhi, I am trying to make it clear in English language, in Sanskrit it says Sampragnata Samadhi and Asampragnata Samadhi. In yogic language, Savikalpa Samadhi and Nirvikalpa Samadhi. In English language, there is no way to translate it. So let me put it this way, lower Samadhi and higher Samadhi. And lower Samadhi is divided into, or subdivided into four categories. And higher Samadhi, how many categories? Only one. Asampragnata means only one. What is it? What is lower Samadhi? It's called Sampragnata or Savikalpa Samadhi. What is Savikalpa Samadhi? It is a Samadhi, a state of concentration or meditation where there is an object. Meditation, the mind meditating upon an object is called lower Samadhi. Then what is higher Samadhi? When the mind having no object itself disappears, that state is called Nirvikalpa Samadhi or Asampragnata Samadhi. Let me give Sri Ramakrishna's example. You know once he gave a beautiful example, there are 10 water pots and the sun is shining. Very important, you hear very carefully about it. Sri Ramakrishna is telling this, giving this example and asking the devotees. Suppose you break one pot. Imagine there is 10 pots with water, not empty pots. 10 pots with water. That means what? There are 10 reflected suns. One real sun, 10 reflected suns. Now one pot is broken. How many suns remain? How many suns? One real sun and nine reflected suns. He goes on like this. Two pots you break. Then you know one real sun and eight reflected suns. Then nine pots are broken. How many suns are there? One real sun and one reflected sun. Listen carefully. That is where the whole understanding of this parable comes in. The last pot also is broken. How many suns are there? That is the natural answer is there is one real sun. No, because who is there to tell? Who is asking? One reflected sun is asking the other reflected suns. How many of us are there? When the last pot is broken, who is asking? Who is answering? There is nobody. So what happens is you see nine pots are broken. One sun is there, reflected. The pot is there, the reflected sun is there, the real sun is there. So the reflected sun is asking. Whom is it asking? Itself. How many suns are there? Yes, there is one sun here means I and there is another sun, real sun, the sun there. Suppose by some process, who breaks now? Who breaks that pot? Somebody else has to break. So listen carefully. Who is there? The real sun is there, the reflected sun is there. Is there anybody else? So if that pot is to be broken, who breaks that? He cannot break himself because he is only reflected sun. He cannot break. Who can break? Only that Paramatma can break. He says it shines so brightly. What happens? The water becomes evaporated. When the water becomes, that's called destruction of the pot. Then will the reflected, where would be the reflected sun then? How many suns are there? Who is to tell? Because the person who is asking, the person who is questioning, the person who is answering, all of them have disappeared. See all this is like you know Sushupti. You enter into Sushupti. Try to understand what was all that Swamiji was talking about in that class. Ask this question in your Sushupti. It is not possible. Do you see the point? So this is the most important part. What is Savikalpa Samadhi? Is like that, one reflected sun drawn by the real sun and feeling its identity. I am the reflected sun by the kind permission of the real sun. No, I am the real sun by the kind permission of the real sun. I am the master of the house with the kind permission of my wife. It's like that. That is called Savikalpa Samadhi. This is the parable of Ramakrishna. It is so Vedantic. It's wonderful to meditate upon it. There is nobody to say when the last part is broken, first of all who breaks? He cannot break. Who breaks your eye? I break. Then you remain there. Who breaks that eye? I break. Then you remain there. At infinitum, infinite regress, you cannot break yourself. There must be somebody who should break your legs and that is only, and then he will not question how many suns are there. Do you see the point, logical point? If I am alone in the room, do I go on asking how many of me are here? It is only the moment some more enter, then the question comes. So Sampragnatha Samadhi and Asampragnatha Samadhi. We will talk about Asampragnatha Samadhi later. Sampragnatha Samadhi or the lower type of Samadhi is subdivided into four categories. Meditation upon the gross object. Meditation upon a subtle object. Meditation upon Ananda. Meditation upon the reflected eye. Not real eye. You can't meditate on the real eye. You can only meditate upon the reflected eye. This is a wonderful point again. Can you at any time meditate upon God? Real God. What is the God we are meditating upon? That is a reflected God only in our mind. Do you see the point? Here is a photo of Sri Ramakrishna and you open your eyes and meditate. Are you meditating on God or are you meditating on the photograph? Similarly, what is the photograph? Our thought is nothing but a photograph in our mind. If it is outside, you call it outside photograph. If it is inside, you call it idea, thought. So when you are thinking of God, are you meditating thinking of the real God or reflected God? It is only the reflected God because you cannot think of the real God at all. It is not possible because whatever you think is limited and whatever is limited is not real God and this thinking also is of two types. I am trying my level best to explain something which is so difficult. You can understand it. My words are only a suggestion to you. But you will have to deeply think about it and I cannot convey my understanding to you. I can only convey information to you. So there is this what is called Savikalpa Samadhi. In Savikalpa Samadhi, you can come only by God's grace. It is He that is called in devotees language self-surrender. It is interesting. Self-surrender means what? You surrender yourself to God. Can you surrender? Really speaking, can you surrender yourself to God? It is not possible. You cannot surrender yourself to God. Only God has to pull you into himself. Do you see the illogicality of it? What did you do? I surrendered myself to God. After you surrendered yourself to God, who are you? Where are you? Do you see the point? Imagine there is a glass of water and you take it to a lake and put it there and then you ask, hey fellow, who are you in that glass? Come on, I want to see you. Can you see how our Puranas are giving beautiful examples? When Shukadeva, it is said after he was born, he was running away, 16 years old, naked and his old father was running after him. My son, my son and the whole nature, trees, rocks, mountains, rivers, yes father, yes father, yes father. They were answering. Who was answering? What happened to Shukadeva? Whom was Vyasa calling? His son. Who was replying? The entire world was replying. That means what happened to that? What Vyasa thought his son, what did he become? He became identified. Now tell me, who is then Shukadeva? Who are you? So I am a tree, I am a rock, I am a river, I am a pebble, I am a pin, I am a microphone, I am everything that is there. Does it confuse you or not? I am asking, I want to know who you are. Everything is answering, this is me. Then who are you? Because individuality is totally lost in that thing. That was Shuka's very natural state and that was Sri Ramakrishna's natural state. From devotional point of view, I am giving you the answer. A devotee of Rama comes. What does he see in Sri Ramakrishna? Rama. A devotee of Krishna comes. What does he see? A Madhur Babu looks at Sri Ramakrishna. What does he see? Shiva and Kali. And a Christian comes and looks at Sri Ramakrishna. What does he see? Then who is Ramakrishna? He is everything. When something is everything, everything is nothing. I am deliberately confusing you to this. Everything is nothing means nothing means you have no identity. You cannot define and say. Only when you say this is this, then that becomes that. When it is everything, everything means nothing means it is not Shunya. It means it is beyond human comprehension. That is the idea. It's a holy mother. Every day you do that. Every day we do that. Sarva Deva Devi Swaroopaya Ramakrishnaaya Namaha. This is a very interesting topic, you know. Sarva Deva Devi Swaroopinyaaya Sarada Deviaya Namaha. It's a mantra. Sarva Deva Devi means she is the embodiment of all gods as well as all goddesses. Now tell me, is she only the embodiment of gods or goddesses? What is this table? What is this book? You know, Hindus, they have all this idea. If you imagine, here is Sri Ramakrishna's name written and it is there. Will you willingly put your foot? Why? Because you identified this with Sri Ramakrishna. That means what? Anything, any book, any page that is written, it is none other than Mother Saraswati herself. So if Holy Mother is Mother Saraswati and here is a piece of paper with Sri Ramakrishna's name, what has happened to this piece of paper? It has also become manifestation of Saraswati. And if you step on this, upon whom are you stepping? On Holy Mother herself. That is why for Hindus everything is deified. Take, let us take another example, Annapurna, Mother Annapurna. Where is Mother Annapurna living? That is what we are thinking. But every grain of food that we eat is nothing but Mother Annapurna. I am trying to shock you. Every grain of food. Don't fall into the notion what you eat alone is food. What a, what is called dung beetle eats, what is it? Is it food? So suppose there is a, what is called devotee, dung beetle. And before eating what does it do? Brahmarpanam. What is the dung now? What you call dung, what is it? Brahma. Brahman. Brahmarpanam means it is Brahman. Everything is Brahman. This is Sri Ramakrishna's example. But living example, you know. Holy Mother was there at Jairambati and one of her attendants, one day she kicked, he or she kicked a cat. What was Holy Mother's reaction immediately? My son, do not do that because I reside even in the head of that cat. From that day onwards he would never again touch because he feels he is touching. Now we do all these things. But whether you do it or not, is it a fact that she is living in every creature? Whether you know it or not? In which creature she is not living? In which object is God absent? In every object is a manifestation of God. Therefore that is why you call Sarvam Kalvidam Brahma. That is why every object is sacred. That is the ultimate knowledge we have to come. Anyway, the point that we are discussing, we will stop here, is that Samadhi is divided into two types, lower Samadhi and higher Samadhi. Lower Samadhi is subdivided into four categories, like four steps of a staircase. What are those? The first is meditation on a gross object. Second, meditation on the subtle nature of the same object, not different object. The gross meditation on the gross nature of an object is the first step. Meditation on the subtle nature of that very object is the second step. Then meditation as the result of that meditation called Ananda. Then you remove all the experiences. Simply say, who is the experiencer? Until now we are meditating upon the experience. Now we meditate upon the experiencer, which is again the mind, I, Asmita. So in Sanskrit it is called Savitarka, Nirvitarka, Savichara, Nirvichara, Sananda and Sasmita. Asmita means Ahamkara. Ananda means joy. How every experience is a joyful experience? And when is every experience a joyful experience? This we will discuss. So four steps, Vitarka, Vichara, Ananda and Asmita. Again, Vitarka, that is meditation on an object with a gross nature, is subdivided into two categories. Don't worry, we will make it clear. I am here to make it clear until you forget it again. Meditation on the gross nature of an object in time, meditation on the gross nature of an object outside time and space. Meditation on the subtle nature of an object in time and space, within time and space. Meditation on the subtle nature of an object without or outside time and space, four. Meditation of a gross object, gross nature of an object in time, outside time, two. And the subtle nature of an object in time and outside time, another two. How many? Four. Then meditation on the Ananda, the result of this interaction. Then afterwards, Ananda is what I have experienced. But who is the experiencer? That is called Asmita. Some children's name is made Asmita. Asmita means I am. Ultimately, I am is the last statement I am going to make. What is the first before we experience anything? I am. Then what happens? I am seeing. Then what happens? I am happy. So I am seeing an object and I am happy. So meditate on the object. Then afterwards, meditate on the subtle nature of that object as an idea. The idea is there. Do you see? Do you get what I am talking about? And let me illustrate. You see this watch. Before you saw this watch, I am. Then you said, I am seeing a watch which is in the hands of Swamiji. That is because the object is in my hand. Then what is the next thought? I close my eyes and I imagine the watch in the hands of Swami. Where is the Swami and watch now? Inside your mind. And I am quite happy. It is a beautiful watch. I am quite happy. The experience of that knowledge. And then I am. So what is Samadhi? Get rid of object. Get rid of the knowledge. Get rid of the experience. What you were before? Before you saw the object? I am. Go back to that I am state. That is only lower Samadhi. What is higher Samadhi? Even that I am, get rid of it. That is called Asampragnata Samadhi, Nirvikalpa Samadhi, meditation without any object. These are the topics we are going to discuss. It is only just a brief introduction to introduce you. Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti.