Patanjali Yoga Sutras Lecture 086

Full Transcript(Not Corrected)

Om Sahanaavavatu Sahanaubhunaktu Saaveeryam Karavavahai Tejasvinavaditamastumavidvishavahai Om Shanti Shanti Shanti Hari Om Om Yogena Chittasya Padena Vacham Malam Sharirasya Javaidhyakeena Yopakarottam Pravaram Muninam Patanjalim Praanjali Rana Tosmi I bow to the eminent sage Patanjali who removed the impurities of the mind through yoga, of speech through grammar and of the body through medicine. In our last class we had gone through certain explanations which are really marvellous. First we brought out and discussed the definition of yoga. What is yoga? Chitta, Vritti, Nirodha. Complete cessation of thoughts in the mind. That state is called Nirodha state. Purusha and Prakruti, that is to say pure consciousness and everything else, they have certain characteristics. The Purusha is always in a state of rest. That means it never changes. And the Prakruti is always in a state of movement, changing. That is why the Prakruti can never become changeless. It can become almost changeless but not really changeless. If we cannot grasp this point, the problem will come. We want to have peace of mind and peace of mind cannot be had unless changelessness. Absolute state of rest can be attained and that is the goal of yoga. Prakruti will never change. It will always be changeless only. It is Purusha alone that remains changeless. To understand this point, we have brought the analogy of a theatre. What is the essence of what we discussed as the analogy? The theatre is the analogy. What is the essence? The screen is Nitya, unchanging, eternal, whereas the image is always changing. The screen alone is Satya. Satya means real, whereas the image is unreal. What is unreal? What is real and what is unreal? That which never changes is real. That which ever changes is unreal. So the image is always changing. Third point, the screen is absolutely independent. The screen can remain without the image but the image cannot be there without the screen. So which is dependent? The image, which is independent? It is the screen. The screen is unattached, whereas the image is always attached. What does that mean? See the screen, look at the screen. There is a house. It is burning. What happens to the screen? Nothing happens. But whereas the image, one image affects the other image. That's why you say, oh this person looks beautiful. This person acts beautiful. The other person is hopeless case. This is a beautiful house. This is not a beautiful house. Constantly we get attached, like you know a particular song. Oh in this cinema, this particular song is very beautiful. I want to hear it again and again and again. It becomes attached. We become attached. All this analogy is because of what? Our mind is the screen and all the thoughts that are passing are the images. That is why they are called padartha, all the images. The light from the projector is constant. It is eternal. Actually when we are talking about the screen, what we need to understand is pure. Shri Ramakrishna uses the word pure mind. What is pure mind? Pure mind is that it is like the screen, there are no images at all. Even if there are images, it is not attached. It remains without changing. What is happening to us? The moment one image comes, our whole personality changes. We meet somebody and that somebody becomes an image where on the screen of our mind. I like, I don't like, I hate. I like this, I don't like that. Every object is an image and that object produces a kind of attachment. Attachment means what? Likes and dislikes. Attachment means both, not only one. If you don't like something, that is a terrible attachment. What is an attachment by definition? Whatever binds us is an attachment. So if you like something, that binds you. And if you don't like something, that also equally binds. What is the meaning of binding? You remember what is the meaning of binding? It doesn't allow us to move forward. It just makes us and say you are bound. That means your movement is totally restricted. So if you like something, that binds us. If you don't like something, that also binds. That's why we have to go beyond both likes and dislikes. That is just like when you switch off the projector, the film, the projector will be there, the film, then what happens? All the images are totally disappeared. That is the state of Niruddha mind. That is what Sri Ramakrishna means, pure mind. And the goal of yoga is to attain to that mind. Now Patanjali gives a beautiful definition of yoga. What is that yoga? Yogaha chitta vritti nirodhaha. What does that mean? In this analogy, remove the film. Let light be there. Let there be no film at all. Pure screen. That is called Niruddhavasta. Then when we are looking at this screen, that will not do because even that screen is a bondage with regard in comparison to the images, the screen is independent. But with regard to its own illumination, put off the light. Can you see the screen? So the screen depends upon its existence, upon the light of the projector. What is that projector? That is really PC, we call it. What is PC? Pure consciousness. So when Sri Ramakrishna says pure mind is pure consciousness, what he is talking about that when a yogi reaches that state of niruddha state, don't forget that is the state of niruddha, the ultimate state in Patanjali's terminology. In Vedantic terminology, do you know what is that state called? Savikalpa samadhi or Brahmakara vritti, Kalikakara vritti, that vritti. What does vritti mean? Mental modification. Even that is a bondage because if you identify yourself with the screen, you are never going to be liberated. Until we reach that state, that is our goal. Once we reach that state, then you have to forget the screen. I am not the screen, I am the light of pure consciousness. That is the analogy there. Now how can it be understood in a better way? Again take the theatre. What are the things in the theatre? First of all the theatre, there is a projector, there is a film, there is a screen. End of the matter? Now there is a script writer, there is a director, then there are actors and most importantly there are audience. That is the idea. The stage, the projector, the light, the film, the screen, then the director, the writer, the actors and the audience. That is the composite picture. Then come back to our dream state. That is why it is so very important, dream state. In dream, you go to bed. You have a dream. That entire dream world is a stage. The entire dream world is the stage. In that stage, who is the script writer? You are having a dream. Who is the script writer? You. Who is the director? Who are the actors? Who created all those? You. And who is the audience? Who is the projector? Who is the film? You are the film. You are the screen. Your mind is the screen. You are the reflected consciousness. I won't go into it. It is a little bit technical but consciousness, your consciousness is the light and all the vasanas, all the impressions that we gather from the waking state, they are the images. You are the director. You are the script writer. You are the actor because you have created all those people. Somebody comes and punches your nose. Who created? And that you, whom that fellow punched, who created that? You created your own body-mind complex in your dream world just like this. So you can imagine now who is witnessing. Suppose you are walking in your dream in the street and somebody comes and punches you and there are so many passers-by. Oh, papa, this person is unnecessarily being beaten. Like that they show sympathy. Some people and some other, well done. Why don't you give a little more? Anyway, when you are about it, why don't you give a little more? All that audience, the other person who acts against me and my own body and mind, the whole world, you know, the trees, the space, the water, everything, who created? That is the analogy. What is the analogy there? One light of consciousness is the entire dream world stage, entire light, the light itself becomes light, projected light. How do you know? So wonderful it is. So that light in which you are able to see your body, mind and complex and the other persons and some people love you, some people hate you, everything is created by whom? By, you say, by me. What do you mean by me? What do you mean by me? Me means consciousness because if you are not conscious, nothing exists in this world. Now this analogy is so marvellous. I mentioned a point there. There are two lights there. One light is projecting and enjoying and suffering. Another light is witnessing. How do we know? Because that witness is not the projecting light. How do we know? Because when you wake up, say, I had this wonderful dream. I had this horrendous dream. But when you were in dream, you identified yourself. You are crying. You are laughing. You are happy. You are unhappy. So many things are going on. But when you wake up, oh, I had that dream. And then what are you saying now? I was then in that state. Now I am in this state. How many lights? How many lights? Two, one light that becomes the other light that witnesses. That is called Sakshi. The screen here is useless unless the projector light illuminates it. That is the light from the projector. Only when this light falls upon the screen, whatever images you project onto that screen become really okay. You understand? That projector light. But you as the audience, are you witnessing that? Are we not witnessing the cinema or drama? So what is this witnessing drama? Let me make it a little bit easier or complicated. It depends upon how you look at it. Suppose you are the actor. A film has been taken. You are the actor. And after the film is taken, you are watching yourself acting. So who was that actor? Yourself. Who is the witness? You are the witness. Now do you understand the actor is that light which is projecting the film. But this witness is the Sakshi. So you see there is a Sakshi which is separate. How do we know it is Sakshi? Because even when you are out of the dream, it is the Sakshi who is telling I had a dream. When you are in the dream, oh I am acting. That is the dream actor. But when you come out of the dream, it is telling I had that remembering. That is called Sakshi. So there is within each one of us, every given moment these two lights are there. Means these two aspects of consciousness are there. And both go in the name of the eye. Both go by the name of the eye. That's why all of us have got how many eyes? Two eyes. What are the two eyes? The changing eye says I was a baby. I am a young man. I am a middle-aged man. I am an old man. Man thinks always yes this is there. But on the other side, it is witnessing. Oh I was the baby. I was the middle-aged person. I am the old person. So you see there are these constantly these two eyes. One is the witness eye called Sakshi. The other eye is which is participating and suffering and enjoying. How do you know? That way you say I was happy. I was unhappy. That is changing. But oh at that time I was happy and later on I was not happy. Again later on I was happy. This constantly that which is witnessing without getting affected that is called the Sakshi eye. So two eyes are there. So one eye binds us. Which eye binds us? It is the eye which identifies and says I am the body. I am the mind. I was young. I am old and I am going to die. It is this which binds us. The other one it liberates us. But we are not getting liberated. What is the reason? Two eyes are there. One is the experiencing eye another is the witnessing eye. What is our problem? Our problem is we are not identifying most of the time with the witnessing eye. We are only identifying with the experiencing eye. What is yoga? Yoga shifts this emphasis from the experiencer or experienced to the witnessing eye. And for that so many steps have to be got to be taken. In this analogy what is most important point we have to witness is this theater analogy is most wonderful. Sri Ramakrishna gives that but he emphasizes more the dream analogy. Many stories are there. One story is very well remembered story. There was a farmer and he had one son and then he died and there was not one tear. And his wife was accused got very angry. Your only son died and you don't have not even one single drop of tear. She got very angry you know. She thought I loved my son. I love my son because tears are flowing. Whereas the farmer you know it is like neighbor. He comes, he shows sympathy, compassion but he is not affected. They go and have after witnessing this one consoling you. They go and have nice breakfast. Their sleep is not interrupted. Their appetite is not interrupted. Nothing is interrupted. Very wonderful experience. Life gives wonderful experience you know. Sri Ramakrishna's story is so wonderful. The farmer was not shedding any tears. Was it because he did not love his son? He loved but he did not say this is my son. Yes, this is Atman. I see everywhere. Then he explained. Sri Ramakrishna said you know last night I had a dream and I was a king and I had seven princess and I woke up. I woke up. What happens when you wake up from your dream? His kingdom is gone. His kingship is gone. His beautiful wife, he did not tell that. I am adding the masala. The queen must have been very beautiful lady but after waking up I had seven beautiful talented children. Shall I weep for them? Because waking up means what? All those seven children, everybody is totally dead. Now what is the point we have to understand? Oh dream, dream, not dream. For him just the reality of that dream and the reality of the waking state have become completely one. When does this happen? What happens then? That is this is one of the objections against spiritual life. When you become so spiritual you lose, you become indifferent, you become careless. You will not love anybody. That is absolutely wrong thing to understand. The more we become spiritual, the more our love becomes deep, intense and permanent. Why? Because previously I was loving an impermanent object but now I am loving a permanent object. What is permanent? This is nothing but God in this particular form. So this kind of love does not bind us. It on the contrary, my love doesn't become less, it becomes more but the attachment not less. There is no attachment at all because I am seeing God. Instead of saying in Vedanta we don't use the word God, we use the word Brahman. A person is able to witness the Brahman and did Sriram Krishna. He was such a man of great realism. Tell me, you ask yourself, has Sriram Krishna's love for the world, for his devotees, for his relatives, for everybody become any bit less after his realization or has it become even more intense? If I ask you that question, what do you think your answer will be? How was Holy Mother able to love even the people whom we call sinners, wicked people? Sadhu Sajjana Jananima Ashadhu Durjana Shruta Tomar, Mother even the wicked people are your own children. And this beautiful truth has been brought out in the Chandi, the Durga Saptashruthi. One of the hymns, it says, Oh Mother, why did you personally get involved in this battle? And the questioner himself gives the answer. So that these children of yours, because who created this Mahishasura, Shumbha, Nishumbha, Madhu and Kaitaba, who created? It is the only Divine Mother. Nobody else could have created and they are also divine and they have accumulated a little bit of impurity. And the Divine Mother battled. What is that battle? She washed them free by the act of removing the impurities. What are the impurities? We call it in Sanskrit, you know, the name Mala. That's why Nirmala. Nirmala means pure. Mala means impure. So to remove that impurity with her own hands, she had removed the body and mind. They are never considered as pure. They are always impure. Holy Mother came and asked Sri Ramakrishna, what shall I do with regard to cooking? And this month, you know, women have this monthly periods. What shall I do? Because the custom was that the woman will be out, not doing anything for three days. What was his answer? He said, what is there pure in your body? Even if you take bath, do you think the body remains pure? What is inside? Do you think the blood, the filth that is all there, do you think you can wash it? The body and mind are never ever going to be pure. And from the highest definition, do you know what is purity? That which is changeless is pure. That which is changeful is impure. By definition, anything that is changing is impure. That is why the pure, even the pure mind becomes impure, contaminated with some kind of mental modification, even if it is a good thought. Because even a good thought is an alien something that comes and mixes up with anything on the screen. Pure screen is pure. Any image, even the slightest image on that screen, immediately the screen becomes covered up. That is called impurity. Sri Ramakrishna says, the body-mind will ever remain impure only. At best, what it can do? We can take help of it. We can practice yoga or spiritual practice. We can become blessed. It's coming back to our subject. What is the goal of yoga? The first goal of yoga is to attain to that state of niruddha, means total control. That is called yoga. Total control over the mind. What is total control? Not that you will have thoughts and you will control them. Remove all thoughts, like pure screen, no image at all. This is called Sampragnatha Samadhi also. Then what happens? Even that screen is an obstacle. With regard to many other thoughts, that is the highest goal. But once we reach that state, because that screen is taking our attention away. From what? From the light. Because our identification should be not with the screen, but with the light. That is why this Sampragnatha Samadhi. You see, Sri Ramakrishna, again we will recollect, you know, Totapuri came and said, remove all thoughts. When all thoughts are removed, what is the effect? The pure consciousness alone will shine and anything there, it will be an obstruction. Even though it takes a little time, I am going back with a bit of repetition. You know Sri Ramakrishna, once he promised to his disciples, I will tell you what happens when the Kundalini rises to these chakras. He was able to, when the Kundalini comes to the heart chakra, everything is seen in a divine light. Then as it is going up towards the throat, Shuddha, then Ajna and he says, at the state of this Ajna, Paramatma, the divine is seen as if the pure light, but obstructed by a thin piece of glass. This is the sixth chakra, even though it appears as though there is nothing, but there is something, it is still obstructing. He says, I will now tell you the final state, but then you know, final state, who will tell? Until that time you can witness, but after that you become one with that light. So as though somebody has broken, as though the moth has jumped into the flame and he was not able to speak. Then he came out, I will tell you now, again he plunged himself. So he said, somebody is pressing my mouth, divine mother is not allowing. Wonderful! Swami Saradhanandaji is remarking, see this good man wants to tell us what is happening there and this wicked woman, she is standing there and obstructing this good man trying to help us. At that time, did we understand that he is trying to accomplish the impossible. How is it possible? When you become one, there is nobody to tell you. In fact, you do not exist, this man is waiting for me to tell, that will not exist at all. These are the divine mysteries, we have to read and then meditate and try to understand. So in this analogy, the pure screen without any image is the Sampragnatha Samadhi, one step ahead. Until that time, that is our goal, to remove all thoughts, but once we reach there, then there must be a light in this Dottapuri story. What is that light? I can remove all images, but one image remains. What is that image? When there is one image, what do you think that image is? Do you know what that image is? Light of the projector, it is not the pure light, it is the pure light as reflected upon the screen. Dottapuri understood, because he was a man of Samadhi. He said this light also has to be, this screen also has to be removed, because now how many things are there? There is a screen and there is also the light, still duality is there, that duality has to be removed. Advaita means no Dvaita and for that you cannot destroy the light, but you can destroy the screen. That is why he said, remove that thought, now I cannot remove, you know, he took a piece of glass and then pierced and said, now this you, forget about it and then Shri Ramakrishna's graphic, analogical example, I took the sword of discrimination and cut the figure of the Divine Mother into two, I can make a little fun on your behalf. You know what is the fun? Previously how many Divine Mothers were appearing, one, now he cut her into two, now how many pieces are appearing? That is not the truth. The truth is it is appeared, Viveka, means now this image is also Chitta Vritti, this image also gone. As soon as the Chitta Vritti is gone, what is there to illumine that Vritti? When you remove the screen, what is there to illumine that screen? There is nothing is there and then Shri Ramakrishna was plunged into that deep Samadhi. That is the analogy we have to take, two points we have to extract from that. What is it? The goal of yoga is first to remove all images and see the screen alone illumined by the PC, pure consciousness. The mind is compared then as Brahma Akara Vritti, light but reflected on the screen, not direct light, reflected light. The second and then to know that I am the pure conscious. So when Shri Ramakrishna was seeing the Divine Mother, he is in that state, first state. Then with the help of Tautapuri, I am that light, he is not saying I am witnessing the light. Who was that screen? Shri Ramakrishna, I am that screen, I see the light but no, you have to remove that, that is called reflected light, that has to be removed and that has been removed with the help of Guru or Divine Mother's grace. And then what remains? Pure light. And then what do you think his experience would be? Aham Brahmas. That is the thing, this is the goal of yoga. You don't need to say I am, oh now I removed the screen, now what is my next step? You don't need to say. The moment you remove that one, your identity will be I am that pure light, this is human language. The yogi is not going to tell I am Brahmas, if anybody says I am Brahma, he is not Brahma, he is Brahma according to Upanishadic statement. This is what we have discussed and how to attain to that state of Niruddha. So we also reminded ourselves in the very second sutra of Patanjali, at any given time the mind will be in five states, what is that mudha, kshiptha, vikshiptha, ekagra and nirudha. So the goal is to move from mudha to kshiptha, kshiptha to vikshiptha, vikshiptha to ekagra, ekagra to nirudha. In other words, from tamas to rajas to a little bit of sattva and then ultimately vishuddha sattva one has to go. So how do we go about it, that is why the Ashtanga Yoga is there. What is it? Ashtanga Yoga actually is Navanga Yoga, nine steps, in a way of speaking. You know what is the nine steps, yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana, sampragnatha samadhi and asampragnatha samadhi. That is the only way, there is no way, oh this lecture is nice, tomorrow I will practice sampragnatha samadhi. It is not going to happen. So you will have to serve the Swami for a long, long time, not only in this life, in the coming lives also and then even the Swami says all right, who is the Swami, Ramakrishna Swami or Sharadama or God, Narayana, whatever you call it, that love, they have got that compassion, they want to teach us, all this is maya within maya. How? How does that act? This dual acting, not acting, one is acting, one is real. How does it go? See supposing you are acting in a drama, at that time you are not the live, you know maybe you are Rama, Ramanasura, whatever it is, when you are acting, you have got two types of consciousness. What is it? At this reality I am, but at this I am somebody who is an actor. You have that one? Same thing we have got right now, only we are not emphasizing it. As though the actor has become totally identified with that acting and he forgot his Indra, but he never forgets it. How do we know? As soon as the acting is over, he will go into the green room and this was so illustrated, beautifully illustrated by Sri Ramakrishna, there was a drama, one man acted like a monk and he acted so beautifully, one of the rich people called him and said, you acted so beautifully, I am giving you one rupee and this man said, no, I am not going to take it now, with which part he was identified at that time, monk, yes actor, monk, as a monk, as a monk I should not accept. Then he went to the green room, removed this and then came back and said that rupee, you refused at that time, he said no, at that time I was acting like a monk and so I cannot accept it as a monk because that is an ideal I have to show, I have to act totally identified with that, but now I am back to my original nature, you give me money, it is not going to affect me. What is the point here? This is very peculiar thing. That is why once somebody asked Swami Turiyananda, do realised souls dream and go to sleep, two states you know, waking state, dream state and dreamless state and you know what Turiyananda said? He said yes, when a Jeevan Mukta is in the waking state, he is in two states and one side he says I am in the waking state and the other side he says I am a witness of the waking state. On one side he says I am dreaming, but I am fully aware what I am dreaming about. In our case we become totally identified and either happy or unhappy, but in his case he is witnessing because he has been practising that witnessing in the waking state for so many years. He is practising, what is sadhana? To practise witnessing, that is it. God is playing, I have nothing to do, this is also God playing there, I am just a witness. And not only that, he says when a Jeevan Mukta goes into sleep, what happens to you and me when we are in the sleep? We don't know what happens, but he says I am standing, this body and mind, it is in a state of waking. He is witnessing, he is witnessing waking, he is witnessing the dream, he is also witnessing the dreamless. Now I will tell you something very interesting, supposing, okay, waking state, okay, he is witnessing. Dream state, no, he is not witnessing, what does he become? If he is not witnessing, what does he become? He becomes one with the dream and when he becomes one with the dream, suppose somebody comes and gives him a slap, will he suffer or not? Do you think a Jeevan Mukta is going to suffer? He is not going to suffer, he says you know this is my dream body and somebody in the dream body is coming and interacting with somebody in the dream body, that is all. I am separate, nothing happens to me and the most mysterious thing is he is sleeping and not sleeping. That is why there is a song in Bengali, I don't remember the lyrics, where he says I have come from such a place where I learnt the secret of sleep and I have put to sleep to sleep. What is that putting sleep to sleep? What does that mean? That means he is witnessing that oh body mind, if you want to sleep, you sleep but I am sleepless because I am Turiyam, you have to understand all those things. With all this background for the last 5-6 classes, I don't remember how these yoga steps compare with Sri Ramakrishna's life and then the last two classes, we are talking about changes. What is it? Prakruti means body mind will never stop going through the changes and if we identify with those changes, that is cause of bondage. How to get rid of bondage? To become a witness, not stop them, you can't stop them, you need not identify with that, you can be separate from that. That is the state of practice of yoga through any, whether it is Bhakti Yoga, Karma Yoga, anything. I will tell you something very interesting, Bhakti Yoga, how it happens? You see, there is one Stotra, it is called Stotra Ratna, South India it is very famous, Yamanacharya has written one of the most marvellous Vedantic Stotras, you know Stotra hymn. So in that he is telling, oh Lord, your title, you have a title, Olympic title, nobody can remove God from that Olympic, you know what is the title? That he is the uplifter or the helper of the poor, Dheena Bandhu and every time he has to keep his title, that means anybody who is in distress, he says you have got a title, that is why it is my right, you will have to come and help me and if you don't help me, you will lose your title because even once you fall from that state and for that time you will remove. You may be saving 99% of the people, but 1% if you don't save. So he says, oh Lord, I am the worst of the helpless people, so this is a grand opportunity for you to re-establish your Dheena Rakshaka title. So please come and help me and then one of these things, you know what he says, oh Lord, you know all these people, they are blaming me and I surrendered myself to you, I surrendered myself to you and they are blaming me. So if you don't take action, whom are they blaming? Because I belong to you, when I belong to you, whatever happens to me also happens to you and therefore, so you see that nobody blames me, you see that I don't do anything bad. Another, I am reminded because they are such wonderful ideas, Purandar Dasa, one song is there, Kannada, Nena go, ena go, aane ranga, this is an agreement contract between you and me. What is the contract? If I don't meditate upon you, if I don't pray, then I am a sinner. But having prayed to you, if you don't take my responsibility, then you will be a sinner. I will lead a good life but if you don't protect me from bad people, you see to do good is my responsibility and to protect me from bad people is your responsibility, like that he gives you know, these are my duties and these are your duties and this is our contract, employer-employee contract, what a beautiful song, later on if you remind, I can translate it, so beautiful, ena go, ena go, aane, aane means it is you know, sabat gochi, like this is the response. What is the point we are discussing here now, how to attain to that state, the prakriti, body-mind never will change, changelessness, changelessness will not come, it is its nature to change, the purusha will never change and what is bondage, to identify ourselves as changing is bondage, why bondage, what is bondage, I am happy, that is fine, it changes, what does it change into, I am not happy, that is bondage, so happiness is also bondage because it is going to change, unhappiness is also a bondage because that is also going to change, so how to get it, that is why all this Ashtanga Yoga or Navanga Yoga, that is the way. So with this background, we will just discuss one of the, what is called the third chapter, Vibhuti Yoga, ninth sutra, Vyatthana nirodha samskarayo abhibhava pradurbhavau nirodhakshana chitta anvayo nirodha parinamaha, I will read out the translation, Swami Vivekananda's translation. By the suppression of the disturbed modification of the mind and by the rise of modification of control, the mind is said to attain the controlling modifications, following the controlling powers of the mind, this is the translation. That is to say, in this first state of Samadhi, the modifications of the mind have been controlled but not perfectly because if they were, there would be no more modifications. If there is a modification which impels the mind to rush out through the senses, the yogi tries to control it, that very control itself will be a modification. One wave will be checked by another wave, so it will not be the real Samadhi. When all the waves have subsided, as control itself will be a wave, yet this lower Samadhi is very much nearer to the higher Samadhi than when the mind becomes bubbling out. Let me now explain, Vyatthana means arising, nirodha means suppressing, samskara means habits. What does it mean? I am illustrating because these are performed ideas. Say a thought arises in your mind, that sweet which I have eaten 5 years back, it was wonderful, I want to eat it now, this is the desire. Again why is it rising? Because of samskara. What samskara? For the last 50 years, you have been eating that sweet but for the last 5 years, that sweet was not available but the desire for that sweet has not disappeared, that has become a samskara. And samskara means deep rooted impression, it is coming but now also you have become a spiritual person. Then what should you do when that desire arises? What should you do? This is an example. You say I don't want that sweet, so whenever one side, I want this sweet, another side I don't want that sweet, go on with this habit. After some time, I don't want this sweet becomes the samskara and I want this sweet, that samskara is totally eliminated. Now what happens you know, Ramakrishna's analogy, one thorn has entered, you take another thorn and remove the first thorn but what happens now, after removing the first thorn, you have stuck the second thorn in your foot but see already that first thorn had made you a little bit holey, understand, a little bit that hole was there and you removed it, so it is still loose. What happens when the second thorn is put there, it is not that difficult to remove. This is called nirodha samskara. So what is that? You have to throw it out and in our superficial understanding, oh thorn, such a wonderful analogy you know, every thought is a thorn. Any thought, even the thought of God is also a thorn but what happens, this second thorn, I don't want that, I don't want the other one, I don't want the other one, infinite number of things but with one thorn, you are negating every other thorn. Imagine all the other thorns are removed but this thorn has become so deeply embedded, I don't want, I don't want, I don't want, it looks one thorn. Who wants a thorn to put but according to Vedanta, even a good thorn is really a binding thorn. What is that? Sri Ramakrishna was able to remove all the other thorns, means every other thought with the help of one thorn. What is that thorn? The Divine Mother but that thorn is so sweet, it is so intoxicating, it is so pleasant and he doesn't want to throw out that one. That is the thought of Parimalas comes and what, you can't forget your Divine Mother means you can't remove the second thorn, I will help you, you are going to, this is called Guru Kripa. Guru Kripa means you know what, Bhagavad Kripa, God's grace. Guru's grace means God, that's why Guru is not a human being, through Guru who acts is the Divine. So the Divine Mother herself came and said until this point, this thought of mine helped you to remove every other thought, you have succeeded, you have now identified yourself in that analogy with the pure imageless screen but the screen itself is a Asvatantra, dependent. What is it dependent upon? Screen is dependent upon what? Upon the light because if the light is put off, you can't even see the screen. So that is dependent, even that dependency has to be destroyed. That is where Totapuri Maharaj came and said that you will have to take another thorn and remove the second thorn and the merit of the third thorn is it removes itself, it destroys itself after destroying the second thorn. Now coming back to our Sutra, this one, Vithana means arising, that is Divine grace because the second thorn is self-effort but the third thorn is Divine grace, comes in the form of a thought but that thought after like an acid you know, it destroys everything and it also like, that is only one thing can do it. What is that? The last thought can be destroyed only by somebody, not by another thought otherwise it becomes ad infinitum. What is that? Divine grace. Bhagavat Kripa, that is why Sarva Dharma Parityajya. At the end of explaining all the Yogas, Shri Krishna comes and says that is the very wonderfully applicable in the case of Shri Ramakrishna. What was Totapuri saying? Sarva Dharma Parityajya. What was that Dharma? There was one Dharma with the help of which you destroyed all other Dharmas but that last Dharma with which you destroyed other Dharmas also needed to be destroyed. How can it be? Mamekam Sharanam vraja. I will just explain briefly because it is such a marvellous shloka. What does it mean? Dharma means every Dharma belongs only to non-self. So Sarva Dharma and Parityajya, anything that belongs to body and mind, give it up. Mamekam Sharanam, take refuge in me alone. Who am I? Atman. Purushottama. I am the Paramatma. Take Paramatma. Paramatma does not have any Dharmas, no Dharma. All Dharmas belong to body or mind complex. Take refuge in me because you can practice all the Dharmas only by the grace of God but once they serve their purpose, they take you to some distance and after that you will have to take refuge in God. That alone can ultimately save us. This is what it is telling. By the suppression of the disturbed modifications of the mind and by the rise of the modifications of control, the mind is said to attain the controlling modifications but when these controlling modifications themselves become an obstruction but that is the first change we have to bring up. Then the other ones we will discuss in our next class. Then Nirodha Kshana, there comes a moment when there will be no thought in the mind. That Kshana you prolong, go on prolonging because two thorns are fighting with each other and both destroy each other, then there will be nothing to destroy, to get destroyed and that gap is called Nirodha Kshana, widen that gap. In that Nirodha Kshana, who are you? I am Brahman, pure consciousness, that is the idea. Some more explanation is necessary. We will discuss it in our next class which would be in the month of February, first week of February. Om Shanti Shanti Shanti