Patanjali Yoga Sutras Lecture 078

Full Transcript(Not Corrected)

OM SAHANAVATU SAHANAVUBHUNAKTU SAHAVIRYAM KARAVAVAHAI TEJASVINAVADHITAMASTUMA VIDVISHAVAHAI OM SHANTI SHANTI SHANTIHI HARIHI OM OM YUGENA CHITTASYA PADENA VACHAM MALAM SHARIRASYA JAVAIDHYAKENA YOPAKAROTAM PRAVARAM MUNINAM PATANJALIM PRANJALI RANATHOSME I bow to the eminent sage Patanjali who removed the impurities of the mind through yoga, of speech through grammar and of the body through medicine. We are entering into one of the deepest discussions in this entire Patanjali Yoga Sutras. In our last class we have discussed Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi. When a person had attained to some extent of proficiency in these three Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi then he is supposed to enter into the lower type of Samadhi called Sampragnatha Samadhi. Now all this time several changes are taking place deep in our unconsciousness. This discussion is also extremely important for all of us who are extremely sincere in spiritual life. If we are not sincere we are satisfied only with superficial practices like Japa, visiting the Vedanta Center, doing a little bit of spiritual practices, going on pilgrimage etc. It doesn't really contribute to deep sadhanas. Swami Yateshwaranandji Maharaj, he used to be asked how to progress in spiritual life. He used to give various teachings but there are two teachings which he used to emphasize again and again and again. These two are first find out your center of consciousness. Where does your consciousness dwell? Second cultivate constant awareness of the mind. Even though we had spoken about it several times it still requires constant reminder until we reach the goal. I will also proceed with some examples. First where is our center of consciousness? Now in the modern psychological language the mind is divided into three categories conscious, subconscious and unconscious and they do not know anything beyond that. Whereas the Vedanta classifies this consciousness into three stages, the conscious state, the semi-conscious or unconscious state and the super-conscious state. The whole of Hindu religion is based on this concept of super-consciousness. Each soul is potentially divine. In the process of going through various transformations in life, slowly we are evolving from a lower state of consciousness to a higher state of consciousness. Here is some food for thought. I have also defined spiritual life. What is spiritual life? I gave two or three definitions. Two definitions here are very relevant. The first definition is spiritual life is a journey involving from a lower state of consciousness to a higher state of consciousness. Second definition is spiritual life is a journey from a lower state of happiness to a higher state of happiness. Now let us combine these two. Lower state of consciousness is called lower state of happiness. Higher state of consciousness means higher state of happiness. During my talks, I also had referred to five different degrees of happiness. I hope you remember them. What are those? Vishayananda, Medhananda, Kalananda, Dharmananda and Brahmananda. Sri Ramakrishna of course makes it a bit simpler. Vishayananda and sensual happiness. Bhajanananda, the joy which one derives from the practice of spiritual life. And Brahmananda, the joy one gets out of God realization. I reclassified them into these five categories. So what is spiritual life? From a lower state of consciousness, lower state of happiness to a higher state of consciousness. It is important for us to connect to these two, relate these two links. Because there are persons among us who think they are in a higher state of consciousness but not happy. They have some type of happiness. But where does that happiness belong? Which degree of happiness are they enjoying? A lower state of happiness. Surely it cannot be a higher state of consciousness. It must be a lower state of consciousness. Now what is the point in it? The point is there is a law. We all know it but we do not give thought to it. And that law is a lower state of happiness automatically drops off when one attains to a higher state of happiness. One need not struggle. It is such a natural thing. Simple example you know. If you are offered a higher salaried job with the same amount of trouble or labor work. Who would be the person who would reject such a thing? Does it require a struggle to say let me think about it and all those things? No. But sometimes let me think about it also happens provided other conditions are not fulfilled. Coming back to our... Find out your center of consciousness. Because this is what the tantras and yoga as well tells us. Any jiva, individual soul at any given time lives in one of the seven chakras. You know a chakra is nothing but a state of consciousness. The first three chakras you know. Muladhara, Swadhishtana and Manipura. This is what Sri Ramakrishna used to call worldly life. What is worldly life? Eating and mating. Ahara, Nidra, Bhaya, Maithuna. Four characteristics. Eating, Ahara, Nidra, sleeping and Bhaya. It is fear. And what is the other one? Maithuna, mating. Animals doing it. Human beings do it. There is no difference at all. Find out. Let us find out our center of consciousness. Why? Because if we mistake. If we do not understand that we are at this particular center of consciousness. But assume that we are at a higher center of consciousness. Any amount of efforts will not take us forward. Let us find out where exactly we are. And even to find out that one. The second teaching of Swami Yathishanthi comes into. That is cultivate constant state of awareness. Say a man is eating food. And after eating he talks with people. And after that he sleeps. After that he goes for meditation. These are the activities. Day after day these things are going on. What is the point here? The point is in which of these activities is he deriving more joy, more satisfaction, more longing? He should be able to analyze. Am I getting more joy in eating rather than in attending the devotional songs in the shrine room etc. In doing japa etc. If we analyze we will find out. These two teachings. How are they related to our present topic? Now we discussed dharana, dhyana and samadhi. Now Patanjali is entering into one of the most profound thoughts of this. And says whenever a spiritual aspirant is practicing spiritual disciplines. Obviously he has developed the ability to withdraw the mind. He has developed the ability to focus on a particular object. He has the ability to keep his mind on that particular object for a certain length of time. And he is able to think only the idea about artha, matra, nirbhasa. Only the idea floats in his mind. He forgets I am the meditator. He forgets this is the process of meditation. He only remembers here is an object shining fully. When a person may attain to that state can he also fall down? When a man attains to this state can he fall down? Yes, emphatically and several examples are there in this world. Now these questions even though a person is able. He is able to withdraw. He is able to focus. He is able to meditate. He has almost entered into the lower state of samadhi called sampragnata samadhi. And yet there can be terrible danger. Not only terrible danger the higher we progress the subtle the temptation becomes. The stronger the temptation becomes. Now where does this temptation lie? Where does it lie? It must have a place. Obviously it is not there in the outer court because he is spending all his time only in spiritual practice. Where are these samskaras hiding? Deep in the unconscious. They are hiding in the form of samskaras. Now to be able to understand what we are going to speak today. We have to understand the meaning of four words very clearly. The meaning of four words. First vasana, second samskara, third vritti and fourth pratyaya. A little bit hard to translate into English. But I will explain. Vasana means a deepest form of desire. So deep that it is even pre-seed state in a way of speaking. Now every human being has got five sense organs. If we analyze human beings desires they all fall into one particular category. What is that category? Some may be attached to one particular sense organ. One person may be deeply attached to one particular sense organ. Even we are not conscious even of this gross fact. Of course it is not so gross. But it is not so deep at all. For example some people get great delight in seeing things. Some people get greater delight in hearing things. Some people get greater delight in smelling. And many people get greater delight in eating. Of these sense organs, three sense organs dominate. The first sense organ that dominates from the lowest scale of enjoyment is what is called sparsha sukha. The happiness related to touch. What is your sexual contact? Where is it related with? Touch. The sense of touch. Two beings touch. The next is tongue which is eating food. People suffer from seafood disease. This is the second biggest weakness. The third biggest weakness is called shravanendriya. We want to hear only what is someone praising us. And if it is indirect praising even better. Because direct praising means it may be flattering. Indirect praising never comes from flattering. Somebody tells somebody else such and such a person is a nice person. Flatterers always tell only to the face, never indirectly. So we want to hear all good things. Even if we are bad also we want to hear only good things. So if we analyze each one of us are slaves to one particular sense organ and in that particular order. That is why Sri Ramakrishna he had talked about only two things. Kamini and Kanchana. Now kamini, kama. Kama belongs to which sense organ? The organ of touch. And that is the most dominant thing in the animals. They are not bothered about food. In fact when the mating time comes the animals will be killing each other. They are not at all eating, focusing on food. Animals in fact are not bothered much about tasty food. Okay, food if they can get sufficient food that is enough. Now coming back. Each one of us have developed through several generations, births. Many many births. A deep desire. We become slaves to that deep desire. And that desire remains in the deepest, at the very bottom of our mind as it were. And that is called vasana. That is called vasana. But how does this vasana manifest? The next manifestation of the vasana is called samskara. What is samskara? That particular weakness directed and developed through a series of habits. And these habits depend upon the country where we are born. The region of the country where we are born. The norms that are prevalent in and around us. Simple example. Somebody is born in India. And you know India is a big country. And may be born in South India. We think that suppose this person is totally addicted to food. Now incidentally, I remembered Sri Ramakrishna's teaching, a beautiful story. Lakshmana and Rama in Ramayana. This is not in the Valmiki Ramayana. This is some local Ramayana. Sri Ramakrishna heard it. So he remembered it. And then he recollects it for our spiritual edification. Lakshmana and Rama, they were searching for a suitable place in a forest called Dandakaranya. Then they found out a beautiful place. Then Rama asked Lakshmana, can you go and find out to whom this place belongs. So that we can take that person's owner's permission and stay here for some time. So Lakshmana went. Soon he found out a very peculiar thing. This example may look a little bit odd. But you will have to bear with me. So Lakshmana found Lord Shiva in a very peculiar condition. He was bending his mouth and putting the organ of generation in his mouth. And he is in that position. Lakshmana saw Shiva. He could not make head or tail of this. And he came back to Rama and said, Rama, I found out Lord Shiva. This place belongs to him. But he did not talk or anything. I saw him like this. Rama said, alright, Shiva has given us permission. Go ahead, let us build a cottage here and let us live here. Then Rama explains, Ramakrishna explains, what was Shiva doing? He is indicating that if anybody had control over his mouth and sex organ, that person is fit to stay here. Symbolically, what does that mean? Where does Shiva live? You are going to live in Shiva's place. That means you are nearer Shiva. Shiva is nearer to you. God is nearer you. You are nearer to God. In whose heart do you think God will be residing? A person who did not control his sex appetite. What do you think his thoughts will be? I will make a little bit of fun. You know what his thoughts will be? Not Shiva. Shava. Corpse. This is called Shavasadana in Tantra. You know what is Shavasadana? Shava means corpse. Corpse means we are all doing Shavasadana, catering to this body. It is called Shavasadana. We are worshipping a dead body. Dead means, you know, you say, no Swami, what are you talking? I am listening to your talk. How can I be dead? No, that is not the meaning. Consciousness is different from the body. From the Vedantic point of view, the body is inert thing, jada, non-conscious. So we are worshipping this body and that is why we are worshippers of body, asuras, demons we are called. Upanishadic world, don't blame me. So Rama was telling that if you want to live in Shiva's place, then you should be aware of Shiva. If you want to be aware of Shiva, there are two obstructions, greatest obstructions. What are these? Eating, ahara and maiduna. Sex and food. Most of the people, that is all people live for. Now, I was giving an example. What were the four words I said? We have to remember. What was the first word? Vasana. And this vasana is not equal. We are not, all of us are not equally enslaved by all the five sense organs. If we analyze, we see that one particular sense organ is more dominant. Second thing, he said samskara. What is the samskara? Let me first give an example. Suppose a person wants to eat, he derives greatest joy in eating. And suppose he is born in South India and he is being brought up by South Indian parents. What happens? What type of food he derives joy in? South Indian food. And that, if the desire to eat food is called vasana. But the desire to eat South Indian food, that is called habit. That's why English people like English food. Mexicans like Mexican food. Italians, so on and so forth. This is called samskara. And samskara produces vrittis. Vritti means any mental modification is called a vritti. In fact, the whole yoga, what is the definition? Chitta, vritti. Any modification, you are happy, you are unhappy, you are emotional, you are non-emotional, you are having a type of imagination, kalpana or non-imagination. Whatever it is, whatever modification the mind goes through, like a wave, that is called vritti. Thought, simple word, it is a thought. Now every thought can produce a kind of knowledge. Every thought, that knowledge is called pratyaya. Pratyaya means knowledge. So now you know the four words. Vasana, for which there is no proper English translation. Samskara means, vasana modified by particular habits is called samskara. And this produces thoughts called vrittis. Whenever a South Indian person, if he is hungry, where does his thoughts go? To food. And supposing he has a choice of food, both South Indian, North Indian, English or Mexican, where do you think his thoughts would go? To his habituated food. This is called samskara. Thoughts will come. These thoughts produce a kind of knowledge. What is the knowledge? For example, I am hungry, is a piece of knowledge. And I would like to eat food, is another thought. I would like to go to a South Indian restaurant, which is nearby, is another type of knowledge. Pieces of knowledge. If we analyze, a human being's life is only a whirlpool. We are going round and round and round these four. Keep these four words, meaning of these four words in mind. Now we will come back to what Patanjali wants to tell us. What happens? Here is a person and he wants to progress in spiritual life. What is spiritual life? Just now we discussed. It is a journey from a lower state of happiness to a higher state of happiness. From a lower state of consciousness to a higher state of consciousness. This is why the theory of the chakras, you know. From the lower three chakras, man slowly progresses to the fourth chakra, which is called anahata chakra, heart chakra. And from there he progresses to the throat chakra, shuddha. After that he progresses to that which is in between the eyebrows, which is called ajna chakra. And finally he reaches the sahasrara chakra. It is a journey from the muladhara to the sahasrara. Now I also told you this journey involves in what? To bring about a change in these four. What are those four? Vasana, samskara, thought and knowledge. Bring about a change in these four. Before I proceed, I also have to give you an example. Why it is so necessary? How Patanjali is really helping us, going into the deeper part and trying to help? If we are not aware, what happens? After all should I progress in spiritual life? Do I need Patanjali Yoga Sutras? Of course you don't need. If you are sincere, your sincerity itself will guide you. How does it guide? Here are two examples I will give you. From the life of Ramakrishna and Holy Mother. Most of the time we do not focus upon the spiritual practice he had done. How many of you, if I dare to ask you, how many of you have deeply studied the first part of Sri Ramakrishna's biography which involves only the sadhana part? Now Swami Saradanandaji had written this magnum opus and there he divides Sri Ramakrishna, the great master, into five parts. Usually when an author writes, he starts with the first part and ends with the last part. That is the normal habit of writers. But then Swami Saradananda started with third and fourth part. Then I think he came, I do not remember exactly, into the second part. Then he went to the first part, finally finished with the fifth part and he could not finish the sixth part. He wrote down notes but unfortunately he said, Sri Ramakrishna has taken away my desire for writing anymore. So that notes were later on published in a small booklet. So basing upon, he collected the information but he did not really write the sixth part. Now the point is, someone who studied these things, he asked the Swami, Maharaj, why did you start writing third part and then went back, second part, first part and then the later parts. He gave an answer, very significant answer. He said, if you want to understand Sri Ramakrishna, you have to understand what spiritual life truly is. That is why I have first taken up a deep discussion about the spiritual life in the third and fourth parts and then only he goes forward. There is also a problem here. Now later on we people, later on generally have become very clever. Swami was not intelligent. We simply wrote as the mood came and then we arranged them, what is called chronologically. That is why when you read the great master or Sri Ramakrishna and the divine play, you will start with Sri Ramakrishna's birth etc. It was Swami Jagadananda who translated it. He unfortunately did not translate it according to the division Swami Sharadanaji had given. In any case, all the parts are there. The important point is that unless we understand the struggles that Sri Ramakrishna had gone through, it would be impossible for us to understand his life really. Here also another thought. You know, I have heard so many people, Swami, I read the gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. I said, very fine, it's wonderful. But you will not understand much unless you go through the life of Sri Ramakrishna. First go, because who is the person who is talking and what did he do? To talk in this way, what superhuman struggles he had to go through. Now here is my point. This is all by way of introduction. My point is Sri Ramakrishna did superhuman struggles. Is it a struggle or not? Or did it come very easily? It was a terrible struggle. And like anybody else, he had to go through all these conquering his vasanas. One simple example, you know, how these vasanas can also come up later in life. Even after a person attained, you know, Sri Ramakrishna in his later age, by this time we assume he had all the spiritual practices. He had so many visions. He had samadhi several times. Every day he was going to samadhi. And he used to go to his mother who was at Nabhat and say, Ma, it's a long time since I ate that curry which you used to prepare when I was young with panch phoron. You know, five types of spices she used to eat, that lady. Now, do you think that supposing I am in samadhi? Supposing. And somebody comes, you know, Sri Ramakrishna's mother had prepared this beautiful curry. Sri Ramakrishna is enjoying. Would you like to have? I don't want to hear anything about it. You know why? I don't have the samskara. Sri Ramakrishna, he used to eat it in boyhood and he retained that, you know, samskara. And he wants to eat it now and then. Do you think that really Sri Ramakrishna had that samskara of eating after all these samadhi? If you don't understand it, you have not understood anything about Sri Ramakrishna. Then why was he telling? Because Jeevan Mukta behaves exactly like an ordinary human being in all respects. That's one point. The second point is, see, if you tell to some devotee, you know, last time you prepared that curry. It was so tasty. So will you not prepare it again? I am longing. How happy that devotee would become. To make his mother happy, Sri Ramakrishna would do anything. Do you think he is a slave to all these things? No. Unless he had conquered these things. This word means permanently, total elimination, complete elimination. That is called Nirodha Parinama. We are going to come to that. So let me give an example. Sri Ramakrishna had tremendous struggle. In that struggle, naturally, the mind also must be going somewhere. What is the problem in concentration? The mind becomes restless. And when we use that word restlessness, is it a random restlessness or is it a meaningful restlessness? What do I mean? What I mean is, if you take two people and ask, are you restless? Yes. Are you restless? Yes. Is it random thoughts? No. Is it random thoughts? No. These thoughts are restless. There is a definite subject. And that subject is nothing but their vasana getting expressed. So Sri Ramakrishna was sitting there. You know this incident. He later on recollected, one day I suddenly saw a vision of another Paramahamsa resembling exactly like me. He was a young man. Sri Ramakrishna was very young when this sadhana was taking place. Don't imagine. Sri Ramakrishna is this old man with white beard, black and white beard. Somebody had colored Sri Ramakrishna's beard really. What is the point? He was struggling. Then I saw his Paramahamsa exactly resembling me and he had a trident. And he said, I will pierce you if your mind deviates from the lotus feet of the mother. Now, why did he require to have that kind of vision? If he was a perfect man, a man of Samadhi, do you think that his mind will go here and there? That means he had his own struggles and he kept his own mind as a watchman. And that watchman is saying, look your mind seems to be deviating, going here and there. So, be cautious. Now, what a wonderful thing it is. The mind becomes aware of another part of the mind which is keeping a watch over his mind. So, when I become aware you are watching me and you become aware that I know that you are watching me, my behavior will be much better behavior. But here we are not talking external watching. Here we are talking about internal watching. That means what happens to my mind, here none of you will know, neither I know what is happening in your mind. But if you sit in the presence of Sri Ramakrishna, two things will happen. He knows what is happening in your mind and you know that he knows what is happening in your mind. That's why you can't wag your tail here. So, either you stay there, control your mind and stay there or you run away from that place. So, Sri Ramakrishna had to go through these struggles, samskaras. Holy Mother's life, she gives a simple example. She said once I was sick, I used to get up at 3 o'clock and because I was sick, I could not get up. I got up maybe 6 o'clock or something like that. And few days passed, sickness also has passed away, I became better but I was getting up at 6 o'clock only. Few days passed, she was observant and then she said, Oh, I have fallen a victim to laziness and slowly, slowly she has gone back and then the mind has accepted it. Now, what is the point of these examples? The point is where from these distractions are happening, where are they happening? They are happening deep within the mind. Are we aware of those samskaras? That is where Swami Yathishwara Maharaj's teachings will come to greatest help I found and it will help everybody. Be aware. The whole Zen practice or Vipassana practice is to be aware. Be aware how you are sitting. Many times we are not even aware how we are sitting, what our body parts are doing, twiddling our thumbs etc. And all these things happen and blissfully we are unaware of those. If we are not aware of what is happening to the body, do you think we will be aware of what is happening in the deepest samskaras? Okay, now I will come to a real example. This example I have given quite a number of times but it is worth recollecting in this context. Vishwamitra, he was a king and he saw once Vasishtha and he wanted to fight with Vasishtha. He could not fight because his physical valour had to admit defeat in front of the spiritual valour of Vasishtha, great soul. Then he decided, he was a man of tremendous amount of great will power. He said I will become like Vasishtha and he went and did 1000 years. Hard austerities, superhuman austerities. What happened? In Indian mythology, this is a very common theme, whenever anybody sits for deep concentration, then somebody will send some woman. If it is a man, a woman will come. If it is a woman, a man will come. Why? Why is it? Because we just now discussed, most of us are only first, the line of offence is only pure, pure dispersion. We are all, whenever there is cold, two people sit together, two animals huddle together. Why? For what purpose? Sparsha shukha. What is sparsha shukha? They get a little bit of warmth. As soon as the woman came, you know the story, Vishwamitra fell like a pack of cards and he started living with the woman. That is the story, finished. What is our point? Our point is, 1000 years of hard austerities. Why was he not aware that he has these deep vasana and samskara lying within him? Why did not he become? Now I will also deviate slightly and tell you. Supposing instead of Vishwamitra, it was a child or it was a man who is deeply addicted to eating. What would be the obstacle would have been? God would have sent what? Delicious food. Because he is not, what is called, he is immune to everything else. But he is not immune to food. So he will send food. That is why God sends a temptation for which this man has a weakness. All the time it is like that. So this Vishwamitra had fallen down. Why was he not aware? Because two points. Swami Yudhisthira Maharaj, had Vishwamitra been aware, where was his centre of consciousness? Where was his centre of consciousness? He was doing 1000 years of hard austerity. But where was his centre of consciousness? Was it on God? Where is it? I want to become like Vasishta. That was his centre of consciousness. That is what he wants to achieve. I want a title like Vasishta. I am a Brahmarshi. He is not bothered to become a Brahmishta. He wants to be called as Brahmishta. This is the first point, centre of consciousness. Why was he not aware? When he was thinking about God, obviously, the thoughts of these samskaras, would they have arisen or not? What type of thoughts arise in your mind when you are sitting for meditation and trying to focus? They would be thoughts of your samskaras, your vasanas, not anybody else. This is something which you have to take note of. Everybody is restless, but not for the same reason. Every person has different reasons why that person is restless. So, Vishwamitra, had he cultivated that intense awareness of what is happening in his mind, he would have precluded all this. He would have been very… So, my mind, why are you sitting for meditation? I want to become like Vasishta. Had he been aware of it? Oh, is this the reason why you want to meditate? So, you don't want God. You want God to give you a title like Vasishta. Is it not? And that's what is our problem. Our problem is you sit for meditation, before meditation, in between meditation, after meditation, make a point and say, am I distracted? Of course, I won't expect any answer from you. I know. How do I know? Because if you had been an expert in Samadhi, you would not have come and heard this talk. You would have been practicing meditation at your own home. So, you will find out what is it, what is the type of desire that I have in my mind. Next point is, if we are not aware, is it possible for us to progress? What is progress? To find out and to overcome and move forward. That is the meaning of going forward, isn't it? If I have not conquered this step where I am in, where is the question of going to the next step? So, this is what Patanjali is trying to tell us. Now, all this long introduction I have given because this subject is very tough. Let me recollect what we had discussed. When we are doing spiritual practice, constantly changes are taking place. Journey means what? Every second of the journey, there is some change taking place. But not always necessarily forward. A travel can be forward as well as could be also backward. If you are climbing a hill, steep hill, it is quite possible we can slip more than we have climbed also. It is a struggle. So, what has happened? Changes take place. What type of changes take place? Patanjali gives us in these five verses, five aphorisms, three types of changes. He gives three types of changes. He calls it Nirodha Parinama. I will come to the English. Nirodha Parinama, Samadhi Parinama, Ekagra Parinama. Nirodha, Samadhi and Ekagra Parinama. Parinama means change. Now, what is change? Let me give again a slight background. Maybe I am sounding a little bit confusing to you. But we have to be very clear about these concepts. According to Sankhya Yoga, Sankhya and Yoga are very interrelated. Yoga is nothing but Sankhya philosophy, Yoga practice. But totally dependent upon Sankhya philosophy. What is the Sankhya philosophy? This whole universe, it has come from one source. This whole universe, our universe, Jagat, has come from one source. What is the name for that source? Prakruti. Prakruti, you can roughly translate as nature. Prakruti is nature, inert, but it is an independent principle. It is not Vedanta. According to Vedanta, the whole universe has come out from where? From Brahman. But according to Sankhya Yoga, the whole nature has come from Prakruti. And this Prakruti constituted of three parts, three strands as it were. It is a rope consisting of three strands. What are those? They are called three Gunas. Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. Now, even according to our simplest understanding, what is progress? According to Sankhya Yoga, what is the progress? From Tamas to Rajas to Sattva and then beyond it. But that is not the realm of Sankhya Yoga. We will come to that later. Purusha is different. Consciousness is different. What we can do is, we can find out, go up to the source of our original matter and the rest will take place in a different way. What is a journey? When you are journeying, what is happening? Constant change is taking place. From one step to the other, the scenario is changing. Everything is changing. Your mind is changing. Your thoughts are changing. Your circumstances are changing. Your knowledge is changing. Four things change. Changes take place in how many things? Four things. What are they? Vasana, Samskara, Vritti and Pratyaya. Vasana, deep desire. Habits, Samskara. And then thoughts and then the knowledge. This change is taking place. I want to make these points clear. I will give some examples. You have to bear with me. Supposing one day you are in a foul mood. What is your knowledge of another person? Suppose you come across another person. When your mind is in a depressed, negative, foul mood, what is your opinion about the other person? He is a foul man. That means you look upon him in a negative way rather than a positive way. Am I correct? Supposing when you are in this foul mood, you happen to read a passage of Swamiji or something from Sri Ramakrishna and somehow it impressed you and that moment something has happened. What has happened? There is a change in your outlook. And this change takes place from the Samskara and then Vritti and Pratyaya, ultimately affecting the Vasana. So this is how the circle goes. Immediately, as soon as the first thing that happens, your habitual way of reacting is negative. And now for this moment, that negativity is gone and you have become positive for a short time. Positive. And then the thoughts will be, what type of thoughts? Positive thoughts. And positive thoughts manifest in what form? Positive knowledge. Positive knowledge, it manifests in the form of positive actions and reactions. And positive actions and reactions, they go and affect the Vasana again. Slowly, that is how the change takes place. Now here also, an important point we have to discuss. That point is, he said that these four words mean four stages. The Vasana, the Samskara and the thoughts and the knowledge. Now if we want to change, do we change from inside to outside or outside to inside? No. We change it from outside to inside, then from inside to outside. That is why the spiritual progress always takes place in four stages. Steadfast routine, it is called Achara, steadfast routine. And when we adhere to it sincerely and practice it, then it matures into Nishtha. Nishtha takes us to Shraddha and Shraddha ends in Dhyana or meditation. And meditation ultimately takes us to realization of God, which is called Samadhi. So what is the point here? Already there are deep Samskaras out there and it is not possible to go and change the Samskaras. But there is a way to change it. It is like program change, a little bit of a world in the programming, then the whole program application changes. Like that, you first start with external actions, which are easiest to do. And that slowly goes back, the ripples go back and they control the ultimately Samskaras. This is how our Samskaras also alter our Vasanas. Vasanas again alter our Samskaras. This is how we progress in spiritual life. So what is the important point here we are discussing? That during every moment of our spiritual practice, changes are taking place and these changes take place at four levels. Vasana, Samskara, Vritti and Pratyaya knowledge. Whatever we do, if you shake a rope, do you think only the upper part will shake or the entire chain will shake? The entire chain will shake. That is what Patanjali is trying to tell us. There are three types of changes possible. And all these changes take place in Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. And this combination of Sattva, Rajas and Tamas is called Prakruti. And this Prakruti manifests in the form of Gunas, Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. The change that takes place is in the Gunas. So how many changes? We just outlined three changes. Nirodha Parinama, then Samadhi Parinama, then Ekagra Parinama. These are technical terms used by Patanjali and it is not easy to translate them into English language. Only explanation we will do, which we will do in our next class. Om Shanti Shanti Shanti