Patanjali Yoga Sutras Lecture 100

Full Transcript(Not Corrected)

OM YOGENA CHITTASYA PADENA VACHAM MALAM SHARIRASYA CHAVAIDHYAKENA YOPAKAROTAM PRAVARAM MUNINAM PATANJALIM PRANJALI RANATOSME 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 discussed the 49th aphorism, which says, TATO MANO JAVITVAM VIKARANABHAVAHA PRADHANA JAYASCHA When a yogi attains to such a state, that he can clearly understand all the nature of what we call Prakruti, he attains certain powers. One of these powers is, the body becomes as fast as the mind. What does that mean? The body can be made to run faster than a jet plane for a yogi. He may not use it, but he has that tremendous power. Second, he has so much of control over his sense organs. If he wants to see something 5 million years away, as if he was present there and he can see what is happening there, as though he separates the eye and sends it to 5,000 million years, and then he sees clearly as though that object is right in front of him. So also other sense organs. So also the organs of action. That means his legs, as it were, has already reached that place. He has that tremendous power. But if we have to analyze, we do not need to strain our imagination. It means that everything in this universe, in this cosmos, both visible, invisible, seen, unseen, everything is present to him at the same time, at the same place. And then Pradhana Jayasya will have absolute control over nature. That means he can do whatever he likes. He can assume whatever form he wants. He can also change anybody into anything. Interesting story is there. Once sage Narada, he was walking in a forest and he saw an insect. And great pity had welled up from within himself. Oh my God, how many millions of mutations this insect has to go through. And it becomes a human being. Then it obtains a Guru and then it practices sadhana. Oh, it is unimaginable. Simply blessed. May you attain liberation. The moment he said that, the insect immediately died and was reborn. Within twinkling of an eye, it became a human being and it obtained a Guru. It did sadhana and then it attained liberation. That is the power of the Yogi. But the truth is, if you tell this story to Advaitin, he says, you fool, that he was never born. All this being born, being dead, being mutated, this is all in your brain. Cinema is going on. You blessed the creature. Its ignorance has vanished. It realized I am Brahman. That is the truth. But it is to say, a Yogi can have the tremendous amount of power. The body acquires the power of the mind. The sense organs can be separated as it were and they can travel anywhere in space, in time and they can obtain the knowledge. And he has complete control over what we call Prakruti or ignorance. Another word for Prakruti is ignorance. In ignorance, you can do anything. Supposing, you are a person of tremendous imagination and you sit and fancy. It is to say, a Yogi can have tremendous power. From whose point? From ignorant people's point only. From our point, these are all terrible things. In fact, all these things are utter nonsense. Like Ramakrishna's vision of a public woman upon being requested by Hriday, why don't you pray for powers? Do you think a real Yogi will ever care for it? But all the people who do not have discrimination, they care for it. This is what we discussed. With that, the discussion about the so-called powers is almost complete. Now, we are entering into aphorism 50. By making Sanyama on the Sattva, to him who has discriminated between the intellect and the Purusha, comes Omnipresence, Omnipotence and Omniscience. Very briefly, when a Yogi goes on practicing, attains to a certain state, what happens? All his impurities vanish. And all impurities come from three sources. What are they? Sattva and Rajas and Tamas. Even from the highest point of view, Sattva Guna is also the last obstacle. But it helps. Do you remember the story of Shri Ramakrishna's three robbers? Sattva Guna is a bondage. It cannot take us to our home. But it is the quality which takes us almost to the, almost next door is our home. Says, I cannot come to that place. That is called Sattva Guna. When a Yogi has completely gotten rid of both Rajas and Tamas and increased his Sattva Guna, what happens to him? His mind becomes like a pure mirror. And if there is a pure mirror and any object that is kept in front of the pure mirror, what do you think that pure mirror's function is? To show the exact replica of the object which is standing in front of it. So it does this and two things happen. When a person stands in front of pure mirror, two things happen there. We often do not take cognition of it. The first thing is it shows the object exactly as it is. That we know. But the second point we always neglect. It always brings to our mind unconsciously that I am separate from this reflection. I am separate from this reflection. The most important example is when you stand in front of a mirror and you want to decorate your face, do you decorate the reflection or do you decorate yourself? But you cannot decorate yourself because you cannot see yourself. So the mirror helps us in finding how we are. And if you take this example further, do you know what happens? When a person cultivates holy company, what does that holy company become? As far as this person is concerned, it appears like a beautiful mirror. And then it makes us comparison. Simple example you know. Suppose you sit along with Swami Vivekananda for meditation. What happens after a minute, you find Swami Vivekananda totally merged in meditation. What does that show? How could you find Swami Vivekananda merged in meditation? That means what? You are not merged in meditation. And then what happens you know? You say what is this? Both of us are men and he is sitting there and he is totally absorbed. What a person I am. I could not do like him. Let me try again. After a second you say has he got up? No, he didn't get up. Who got up? I got up. Do you see what is happening? In the company of a great person, we constantly have a tendency to correct ourselves. That is why the cultivation of holy company is most necessary. In other words, this is what is known as inspiration. But before inspiration comes, another condition has got to be fulfilled. Do you know what is that? Perspiration has to come. That means you have to work very hard and then you go on comparing. No, in comparison I am nothing. Like that, this is the inspiration that comes. That's why we have to cultivate the company of great people. When a yogi has removed his mind, his buddhi and becomes pure of rajas and tamas and slowly increases his sattvika quality, sattva quality, that is called buddhi sattva. At that point, the buddhi, that means the understanding faculty, discriminating faculty becomes like a pure mirror and at that stage who is there? Only two things are there. The mirror is there and purusha is there. Purusha is looking at the mirror. Trying to apply the analogy I have given just now, what happens you know? First thing is the purusha comes to know, I thought I was a human being but now I know I am not a human being because now I can see my face very clearly. The second thing that happens is instantaneously, I am not this, I am not the reflection. I am totally different. That means that fine detachment, this is I am purusha, I am pure consciousness and this is called prakriti. I have been identifying myself with all this. As soon as that knowledge comes, that is the highest type of knowledge. That is called sattva purusha anyata khyasik. Anyata means separation. Sattva means prakriti. Purusha means pure consciousness. Pure consciousness and our so-called our ahankara, these are totally, anyata means other, not the same. When that knowledge comes, then instantaneously, sarva bhava adhistatritvam, the person will be able to see the prakriti I am using, not the English word. Prakriti means you come to nature. Prakriti means anything other than the pure consciousness is called prakriti. He comes to know everything from top to bottom, what type it is, what type of power it has got, what is its nature, everything he will come to know about it. The moment he comes, what happens, sarva bhava adhistatritvam, he becomes master of the entire prakriti. Not only that, he has knowledge of everything at the same time. By making sayama on the sattva, here sattva means purified intellect is called sattva, to such a yogi who has discriminated between the intellect and the purusha comes omnipresence, omniscience and omnipotence. What is omniscience? Knowledge of everything. What is omnipotence? Power. Potency means power, power over everything. Now here is a curious thing. So long as we are identified with something, we do not have the power, we do not have the knowledge. But if we want knowledge, we have to be totally separate from that object. This is the secret of power. As so long as I am identified with my body, I know little about my body and at the same time I don't have power to control it. The moment I say I am not the body, I have a body, instantaneously so much of power comes over the body. What is our problem now? We want to have power over our body. We want to say I want to read this book. But the eyelids, what do they do? They droop after some time and after some time poor man's samadhi will come. But for a yogi, he says he can do whatever he likes. I am giving a beautiful example from life. Swami Akhandananda, he started an orphanage and he was the only person and there was no help. He was reminiscing later on, early in the morning onwards, I have to bathe the children, orphan children. I have to prepare food for them. I have to dress them. I have to feed them. I have to take them to the school and afterwards I have to bring them from the school. From morning till almost 8 or 9 o'clock I am completely busy. But he said I have a tremendous desire, thirst for knowledge. Then I used to sit and read books from about 9 o'clock or so until early in the morning. Then start the work. Then the doubt comes, when is he going to sleep? Then he said four or five days once for four or five hours I sleep and that was more than enough for me. Okay, say Ramakrishna, how many hours was he sleeping every day? You all know, one or two hours. Okay, two hours. Holy Mother, how many hours she was sleeping? Practically no sleep at all. Anytime anybody says Ma, immediately she comes out. How many hours Swami Vivekananda was sleeping? Very few hours he couldn't get sleep. Now what is the secret? How could a person be without sleep? Because his mind is so much controlled. Swami Brahmanandaji gives the explanation. He says when a person enters into deep meditation and that meditation is equivalent to whole night's deep sleep. That is why a little bit of sleep for the sake of the body. Our main problem is it is not the body but it is the tiredness of the mind. So much 24 hours practically accepting in deep sleep the mind is working. Now coming back to our subject, such a yogi who could separate this is me, the pure Purusha, pure consciousness and this is other than me. He will have total control over. When we have conquered nature and realized the difference between the Purusha and nature that the Purusha is indestructible, pure and perfect. When the yogi has realized this then comes omnipotence and omniscience. He can do whatever he likes. He knows everything. This particular power of the yogi is called Vishoka. Beautiful word. Vishoka means grief, suffering. Vishoka means pure joy. Do not use negative words. No grief. No. No grief means what? There is a stupid fellow. He does not suffer anything but he also does not enjoy anything. But here pure bliss comes. That is called Vishoka. Ashoka. Emperor Ashoka. That is the name we have given. Now if we take the example of Sri Ramakrishna that is the state of the Paramahamsa. You know that incident during his last days he was suffering from this cancer, throat cancer and one day later on Savitri Harimaras came and Sri Ramakrishna wanted to test him perhaps and he said look how much I am suffering. What did Harimaras say? No sir. You are swimming in Satchitananda Sagara. Not only dipping his toes. He was literally swimming in the ocean of bliss. Sri Ramakrishna's instantaneous reaction was the rascal had found me out. Now tell me was he suffering or was he swimming in the ocean of bliss? It is for you to meditate. This particular power of the yogi is called Vishoka. Vishoka means again to summarize this yogi who attained to this state of Vishoka. He is completely free from all suffering because he is totally separate from all Prakriti. All afflictions, all so-called joys spring from what? Three Gunas. Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. This man is totally free, totally separate. Therefore it is his own nature. What is his own nature? Satchitananda. He knows I am Satchit and Ananda. Now even this discrimination is also a bondage. Even this discrimination stage for us it is a big achievement. For him, oh I know but what is the highest stage? Why should I be conscious of even this nature? I should be only conscious of pure consciousness, nothing else. That's why he says, Tad vairagya api dosha bijakshaye kaivalyam. Sankhya Yoga uses a very technical term. The term is called Kaivalya. Kaivalya means aloneness, alone. Alone means what? I am feeling lonely. I am alone so I am feeling lonely. No, alone means what? There is no other object besides me. I am the only reality. When a Yogi realizes that and when does he realize even this discriminating power, even that, this is an obstacle in my higher achievement. He knows that this nature is there. What is called maya, ignorance, prakruti, pradhana, it is there. No, it is not there. According to Vedanta, it is not there. But according to Sankhya, it is there. You cannot destroy it. Unfortunately, that is its philosophical belief. But in Vedanta, we say there is only whatever exists is only Brahman. Nothing else is there. Kaivalya means separation from sattva, rajas and tamas. Why do we say separation from sattva, purusha, sattva, rajas and tamas? Because the whole prakruti is consisting of what? Only tamas, rajas and sattva. When a person totally eliminates, that means he doesn't even say I have a body. Because even to say a body is required, even to think a mind is required. He neither says and neither knows. All that he knows is I am. That is the state of Kaivalya, pure aloneness from the yogic point of view. The 51st aphorism says by giving up even these powers. What powers? Omniscience, omnipotence. Even by giving up these powers comes the destruction of the very seed of evil. He attains Kaivalya. He attains aloneness. Very difficult words, aloneness, the moment a person hears, a stranger hears aloneness. Oh, I am alone. That means what? There are so many other people somewhere else. But here at this time I am alone. That is not the idea. Even to say I am alone, he has to be aware of something else. No, he knows I am. To explain this idea, we are using this human language. He attains independence. That man is totally free. When a yogi gives up even the ideas of omnipotence and omniscience, there will be entire rejection of enjoyment, of the temptations from celestial beings, from everything else. When the yogi has seen all these wonderful powers and rejected them, he reaches the goal. What are all these powers? Simply manifestations of Prakruti. They are no better than dreams. Even omnipotence is a dream. It depends on the mind. So long as there is a mind, it can be understood. But the goal is beyond even the mind. What a wonderful truth. Patanjali yogi is trying to convey to us that aloneness. Now when a person is alone, does he need any power? When a person is alone, does he need anything? Aloneness means here, not physical aloneness, total feeling of freedom. I don't need anything. I am absolutely blissful. Such a person, does he need any other knowledge? Omniscience means what? Knowing who is sitting in front of me, behind me, somewhere else. Omnipotence means what? Maybe they will do something to me. Oh I want to know, I want to control them. But when there is nobody, whom are you going to know? Whom are you going to control? This marvelous idea, it is a very abstract idea. But the author is trying to convey to us in human language. And again we shouldn't fall into the same error. Thinking that the yogi knows I am alone. Prakruti is nothing to me. Do you get what I am talking about? He is not even aware of there is anything else besides him. I am all that exists. That's what he says. So when a person reaches this state, that is called the state of Kaivalya. And that is the goal of all yogis. To know there is nothing else. I am the pure Brahman. Next, aphorism tells. What a terrible thing, when Buddha was about to enter into nirvana, do you know what happened? Buddha has not attained. He was about to step. What happened? Mara came. First he came in the form of his mother, assuming the form of his mother. He said my son, why do you want to enter into this useless state? That means once you enter there, all of us will not be recognized. I won't be a mother. You won't be my son. I love you. Simply Buddha kept on waiting. Mara became enraged. Then he took various forms of temptations. But Buddha remained unmoved, unaffected. Then Mara became ferocious. He was bringing all the, what is called hydrogen bomb, atom bomb, hydrogen bomb, nuclear bomb. I will destroy you. I am just imagining. Buddha must have laughed and said, whom are you going to destroy? Are you going to destroy my body? I have already destroyed it before you did it. What kind of temptations can you show me when I am not the body, when I am not the mind? What temptations will be there? This is a point we all have to understand. Temptations belong to whom? You know, there is food, beautiful food, pre-discriminate, sweet food, salty food, savory food, this food, that food, a beautiful fragrance, beautiful music, all these temptations belong to what? To the body. When a person says, I am not the body, instantaneously these things, not only he won't reject, the moment he knows I am not the body, these things just disappear on the spot. I will give a small example also, you know. You have to extend. These examples don't understand only as examples. You will have to extend them and come to the right understanding. Suppose this is the example given, Dale Carnegie. Suppose a young woman wants to catch fish and she decorates beautifully, putting lipsticks and all those things and goes, fishy, look how beautiful I am, please fall into my basket. Do you think the fish is going to, a male fish is going to fall into the traps of the woman? But if you show a female fish, then there is a likelihood it might fall. What is the point of this example? That if you want to be tempted, you should be in a condition of being tempted. Another example, you know, you give a billion pound cheque to a six months old baby. Do you think he will say, oh, thank you, falls head over heels to thank you? What does that mean to that baby? Absolutely nothing. A beautiful woman comes and stands in front of a child. Do you think the child will be tempted? But let the same woman come and stand in front of a young man, there is a great likelihood he will fall, like Swamitra, etc. Moment he immediately falls. What is my point? What is the point I am making? That when a yogi doesn't even feel I am the body, absolutely, not a thought, he knows I am not the body, all the temptations belonging to the body instantaneously evaporate. Similarly, when a yogi comes to say, I am not even the mind and all the temptations of the mind instantaneously disappear. When a being is not the body, not the mind, what is he? Is nothing but pure consciousness only. And what can tempt pure consciousness? Now the point Patanjali Rishi is making is Tad Vairagya Dapi Dosha Bijakshayi and Vedanta, including Sri Ramakrishna, gives a beautiful example. You know, paddy or apple seeds, anything, if you put them in the soil, sow them in the soil, what would happen? The plants will come out, seedlings, seeds will become seedlings. But suppose you roast these seeds and plant, what will happen? Nothing will happen. So Dosha Bijakshayi, when all these impurities compared to the seeds are roasted in the knowledge of ultimate discrimination, you know what happens? Even idea of Vairagya, this dispassion totally disappears from his mind. Then what happens? He realizes, I am me. He doesn't even think there is something else to say, this is I am. Such a yogi, really speaking, does he go on saying, I am, I am? This is for our understanding, how he feels like, he doesn't feel like that. You remember, Moses went up to Mount Sinai, there was a burning bush, he understood it was God and he asked, what's your name? What was the reply given? I am that, I am. What else can you say? You ask a child, who are you? You know what reply he will give? Ami. What else can he say? I am. That's all he says, I. Who are you? I. You know his name, but he doesn't know his name. He knows only one thing, I. So this is the goal, even omnipotence is a dream, it depends on the mind and the yogi says I am not the mind, for our description. He knows he is not the mind. So long as there is a mind, it can be understood, but the goal is beyond even the mind. When a yogi is about to attain to that state, still there is a chance for temptations. He has not yet completely obtained that knowledge. He is going to obtain, but before he obtains, even then there can be a danger. This is what Patanjali is warning us. That's why I said Mara came to Buddha and what did Buddha do? What did he do? What did Buddha do? He did not do anything. Why? Because all the Mara is only unreal mind and when you know the mind is unreal, do you need to fight? When you are watching a movie and somebody is shooting you, would you run away? But you would run away. If it is 3D, you will run away. If it is SD, you may not run away. But if it is, you understand SD, do you know what is SD? Swami Dayatmananda. If it is 3D, you think, you know, I have seen that one, 3D movie, a dog is shaking. I instinctively, and then some small insect or something, like that it comes to, I don't know whether you have seen, instinctively, even though we know, we put on the specs, if you remove the specs, everything vanishes. We know that and yet such is the human nature of marvellous things, I am not going to describe it in this class, clinging, even though we know, we paid money for that, still we react. So for a yogi, he doesn't care for all those things. But before he entered 100%, 99%, yes, what happens? There could be obstacles. That is what is being described in this Thani Upanimantrane Sangasmaya Karanam Punah Anishta Prasangat. I will give you examples also. The yogi should not feel allured or flattered by the overtures of celestial beings for fear of evil again. Even at that stage, this maya, this ignorance, it can tempt us. The point is, we have to be extremely careful until we know 100% that we are that pure consciousness because many people fall long before that. Even at that stage, one has to be careful. So here the commentator says, there are other dangers too. Gods and other beings come to tempt the yogi. They do not want anyone to be perfectly free. They are jealous just as we are and worse than us sometimes. They are very much afraid of losing their places. You see, Vishwamitra's story, you know, Indra immediately sent all those beautiful women because if one woman is sent, he may not be tempted but a choice, a lot of women were sent and he fell for one, you know, who is that? Menaka. He fell like a pack of cards instantaneously. Why? Because he has not overcome. Very interesting. I mentioned this incident many times. He was determined to become a great soul but he has not purified his mind. Lot of desires were still there in his mind even at that time. So why do they tempt? This is one of the questions that come. Why do gods need to tempt? It is said in our Patanjali Rishi commentary, it is said, beautiful commentary, there are some yogis who have fallen down, like this yogi, they were about to enter and they gave into temptations and then they fell down from yoga and then when they see other yogis, especially their disciples, going to attain to the highest state, you know what, they become jealous. When we have not attained that state, what right you have got to attain, you know, jealousy even at that stage and they try to say, why you come, there is wonderful joy, why do you want God? It is a hopeless place, boiled vegetables in the morning, boiled vegetables in the evening, this is called Svarga Loka, but where I am, wonderful life, all night club life is only there, come on and so many people would fall flat if they do not possess that tremendous power of dispassion. It is to caution us. So this is one type of beings. Then there are malevolent beings. Among the yogis, according to Patanjali, there are four types, beginners, a little bit advanced and still more advanced, almost at the goal. These are called, you know, Prathama Kalpikaha, first stage, Madhubhumika, second stage, Prajnajyoti is the third stage, Atikranta Bhavaniya is the fourth stage. So there is danger at any of these stages that temptations will come. What is temptation? Powers are there, these powers are so alluring, that's why they are called Madhu, Madhu means what you know, honey, so sweet, the moment the power comes, he thinks, I can do whatever I like, not knowing it is a terrible poison, yes, for a moment you will feel elated and after that you will be roasted for a long time, yes, every person who used power, what happens? There is an English saying, you know, power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely. It is absolutely true. This is one of the Vedic statements, keep it in mind. Our whole life is blighted by this kind of power. So the yogis who do not reach perfection die and they become gods, leaving the direct road, they go as it were into one of the side streets and get these powers, again they have to be reborn. But he who is strong enough to withstand these temptations and goes straight to the goal becomes free. This is the warning. So why do these people tempt? First you said fallen yogis, jealousy, they don't want others to progress and then they will drag them, try to drag them down. This is one. Second, well known, there are some human beings who did a lot of good, as a result of that they attain to higher posts like Indra, Chandra, Varuna, etc. and they don't want any yogi to go free. The Upanishads describe this state, for gods all human beings are like animals. Suppose you have two cows and they are giving very good milk. Now if one of the cows is lost, what would you do? What do you think you will do? You feel terribly grieved, my cow is missing. Then you give up sleep, everything until you get back your cow, then you will not have peace of mind. In the same way, for gods we are all animals. In what way you know? We go to the temples, we make prostrations, we give offerings, we go on praising them, we meditate upon them and when we become free what happens? This pranam stopped, pranami stopped, offering stopped, everything stopped, the fellow gets up in the morning, nobody to tell him you are great. Feels very bad. That's why they don't want anybody to progress. They want us to be in ignorance so that they can get benefit from all of us. Similarly the Upanishad describes this to us, we are all like animals. If one of the animals we lose, we get so much grieved. If we lose all the animals, what would be our state? That is why the Devas do not want. So what is the way, one of our Swamis is telling, suppose you have a very great cook and he would be the source of your greatest delight, at the same time he will be the source of your greatest suffering, do you know? All the neighbouring friends, their eye is on home, then secretly they say how much salary are you getting? I will double your salary, come on. If you extend this imagination, you can do it in so many ways, I am only telling, I should not be telling all those things as a Swami. This is what is happening in the world, going on tempting, tempting, tempting all those things. What is the point? When the Devas look, they don't want anybody to be free, this is the second interpretation. That is why Yogi in advanced stages, he gets all these temptations, don't go and sit for five minutes in the temple and say which God is coming to tempt me, that is not going to happen. Third reason, I feel is the most appropriate interpretation of this phenomena, is not God looking after us? When we are earnestly practicing spiritual disciplines, don't you think God is looking after us? Then why does all these temptations come, why does he disappear, why is he watching for us falling down, why is he doing that, do you know? He is not trying to do, he says my child, you have got so many desires of which you are not aware. These are the occasions whenever we fall, we don't fall because of outside object, we fall because of our weaknesses. If we are not having the weakness of being tempted, no object in this world can tempt us, it is to help us and if we are not intelligent, we have to fall down and then get up. But God always helps us to get up, he gives the discrimination, that is what happened in the case of Vishwamitra. What happened? As soon as he fell down, then immediately discrimination came and then he said, I have committed a mistake, let me go back. The moment that discrimination came, instantaneously he left everything and went to it. You know the rest of the story, again he was tempted, again he was tempted but ultimately he attained a higher state. This is the proper explanation and it is also true that there are other malevolent beings who do not want us to be spiritual and progressing. You know if you have attended our puja, there is a process is there, if you still have observed, we take a little bit of rice and with ringing of the bell, we throw the rice in all the four directions. This process is called bhuta-apa-sarana, removing the obstructing malevolent beings, bhuta-apa-sarana. There is another process, it is called Agni Mantra, Agni means fire and the bija for it is called Ram. By uttering that seed word Ram, when we throw water all around us, a wall of fire is supposed to spring between protecting us from any malevolent being. If you have studied and remember Sriram Krishna's life in the great master, a graphic description is given. The moment he sat down for puja and took up a little water, uttering Ram, he throws the water all around him. You would notice it here also, it really works. So the mantra I was talking about, there is a mantra during this puja process, it is called bhuta-apa-sarana, removing the malevolent beings. Om apasarpantu te bhuta, e bhuta bhuvi samsthitaha, e bhuta bhuvi vijnakartaraha, te nasyantu shivagnaya. Have you read it anywhere? Om apasarpantu te bhuta, all the bhutas who are surrounding me, who intend to harm me by the command of Lord Shiva, let all of them be removed, destroyed totally, this is the essence. When Sriram Krishna utters that mantra, he really means it and if there is any bhuta, it will simply vanish, it cannot harm until the puja is over. These are all true things, only we have lost faith. Now why have I brought that point here, because when a yogi is about to enter into the highest state of his own being, he has not yet entered, he is about to enter into that room, there could be beings who want to harm. How do they harm? They don't come in the form of ferocious forms, sometimes they come, sometimes they don't come. They come in the form of most sweetest temptation. Because that is what he is telling, the invisible beings in high places are the fallen yogis already referred to, who have reached the state of disincarnate gods or become merged in the nature. Such beings having failed to find liberation precisely because they yielded to the temptations of the psychic powers, therefore it is said they are jealous of those who seem about to overcome these temptations and they try to drag them back into ignorance. What do they do? They come, they are all great yogis, fallen, they have tremendous powers, they have become gods, they have tremendous powers in their hands. What do they do? Sir, will you seat yourself here, will you rest here, you might enjoy this pleasure, you might find this maiden attractive, this elixir will banish your old age and death. In this chariot you can fly through the air, over there are trees which grant all your wishes, that heavenly stream will give you the highest happiness, those sages know everything. These nymphs are peerlessly beautiful and you will not find them cold, your eyes and ears will become supernaturally keen, your body will shine like a diamond. In consequence of your distinguished virtues honoured sir, you are entitled to all these rewards, please enter into this heaven which is unfailing, ageless, deathless and dear to the God. And these will come. I will give you some examples also because I find it so interesting. Remember Katha Upanishad, when Nachiketa approached Yama and said, I want self-knowledge. What did Yamadharma Raja do? What was his reply? Why? You are a young man, why do you want all these things? You can enjoy the heavenly world, you will not have death for a long time. What I find interesting is, you go to Brahma Loka, you go to Swarga Loka, you go to any Loka, what do you find there? Only two things, Kama and Kanchana, may be in a refined form, Kama and Kanchana, you don't find anything else, it's only a repetition, little here an old woman and there you find a young woman or young man, whatever. Here two days old Rasagulla, there you find fresh, just from the oven. That is all the difference, nothing else is there. What will you gain there? You will fall and you have to suffer for a long time, once you enjoy those things and afterwards your merit comes to an end and then you fall down, do you know what happens after that? To regain that position, one has to work very hard. I want us to remind ourselves of this psychological fact, what is it? Once we attain to a certain state, if we do not maintain it, we happen to fall down, to regain to that state again, will take ten times more effort. That is why, what is the remedy? Never stop spiritual practice, even if you don't gain anything, go on keeping following your Guru's instructions, you will get it. So the great Hindu teachers all believed that a yogi's spiritual development might be interfered by these external forces, by the disincarnate gods, by beings on the psychic or subtle plane of matter or by earth-bound spirits and this belief is symbolized in the traditional Hindu ritualistic worship and just now I described during puja, we have to do these two things as part of that. There are other things, I did not mention them, these two things. What are those two things? First is called removal of the obstructing elements, bhuta, apasarana. The second is protecting yourself from all obstacles, possible obstacles. For that, you have to create a wall of fire by uttering that mantra Ram and we know from Sri Ramakrishna's life, that is the point here, we don't need to go into that. One has to be extremely careful. Now it's very difficult to be careful, therefore is there an easy method? Yes, there is an easy method. In fact, the easiest method, you know what it is? Before you do anything, you surrender yourself to Sri Ramakrishna and Holy Mother and say Ma, I am a weak creature, I cannot stand all those things, you please see that no obstruction comes in my way. If you sincerely pray, Thakur and Ma will safely take you across, but the condition is you have to be absolutely sincere about it. Then we are coming to the next aphorism, kshana tad kramayoh sanyamat vivekajam jnanam. By making sanyama on a particle of time and its multiples comes discrimination. It is a little bit technical, it is a little bit too tough to understand. We need a little bit of abstract power to think. The whole universe is consisting of three things, time, space and causation, time, space and causation. Now are these objects or are these concepts? What are these? Are these objects or are these concepts? They are not objects, that means an object is independent of us. You are sitting in front of me, you are separate from me. A concept is through which our mind functions, our mind obtains oneness with everything else. So here the Patanjali Yogi is talking about time. Now what is time? Is it an object? No. What is it? It is a concept. But we have got a concept, what is the concept? Yesterday was part of the time, today is part of the time, tomorrow is a part of time. To illustrate it figuratively, means for us the concept of time is always vertical or linear. What do you say? Like a line goes on and on and on, an interesting concept. Those who are mathematics students, you know when you start mathematics in college, not in the elementary school, college, you know what it says, parallel lines never meet. That is taught for whom? For beginners in mathematics. But when the same student advances, the opposite idea is given. Parallel lines do meet in infinity. Now have you got any idea what is infinity? Have you got any idea how parallel lines ever going to meet? This is our concept of time. It is an unbroken, unending line going on and on and on into infinity. But for a Yogi, this is totally unacceptable, it's a wrong concept. What is it? All that exists is one moment. Next class, I will discuss this point more elaborately, I will give you a small hint. Three things we have to know. The smallest building block of any object, atom, do not go further and say atom is also split. I am just giving an example. Atom is the smallest building block of this entire universe. Idea about space, at the moment I utter the word space, this was to something that I have an idea comes into our mind. The smallest idea of space is also called atomic idea of space, atomic idea of time. This is a subject we will continue in our next class.