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Day 1
Yoga is having a say over the modulation of the Mind.
5 modulations of mind:
1. wanting Proof
2. False perception.
3. Imagination.
4. Sleep
5. Memory.
Day 2 Recap:
How to overcome the modulations of the mind?
By Practice and Dispassion.
+ Practice: Respectful, uninterrupted, long-term practice. The practice of coming back to the Dhristha (the seer)
+ Dispassion: Having control over the cravings of 5 senses (experiences of the senses) as well as heard from someone else (appreciation or recognition )
If controlling the cravings becomes very difficult then having a experience of Purasha/Samadhi makes it easy for you to over come these cravings.
Ways to reach Samadhis:
1. By specialised logic: eg ‘Who am I?’
2. Vichara, observing thoughts and noises.
3. Anandanugama samadhi: eg. Bliss during Satsang.
4. Asmitanugama, just with ‘I am’ ( most of us have experienced this during sadhana.
Day 3 Recap
Ways to reach Samadhi (continued)
5. Purna viram: Bringing mind to full stop.eg Temple bell.
6. Immercing totally into the Prakriti (Nature)
7. Shraddha (Faith) in the Unknown or Divinity.
8. Valour. Eg. Adventure or soldier
9. OM, Memory of our origin
10. Intensity of practice: 100% intensity inwards and dispassion outwards.
11. Ishwarapranadina: Surrendering to the Divine.
Who is Divine? (Shlok # 23-29)
1. The pure consciousness untouched by misery, fruits of action, and desires.
2. Seed of all-knowingness lies in that divinity
3. Divinity is untouched by time.
4. It is addressed as OM
5. Repetition of OM makes you free from Misery.
6. From above you get knowledge of consciousness and obstacles get removed.
What are Obstacles? (Shloka #30)
1. Vyadhi (Illness/ disease in the body)
2. Styana (Dullness of Mind, Incomprehension)
3. Samshaya (Doubt)
4. Pramada (Wilfully doing wrong, carelessness)
5. Alasya (Laziness)
6. Avirati (Inability to enjoy or obesssions)
7. Bhrantidarshana (delusion, living in fantasy)
8. Alabdha Bhumikatava (not getting any results from the practice)
9. Anavasthitatava (inability to be established in the practice)
All problems and obstacles are diagnosed as above. We have to understand where we are stuck. Once you know the obstacles you can overcome them.
How to do it?
(Continued tomorrow)
Day 4
What are Obstacles? Detailed answer(Shloka #30)
1. Vyadhi (Illness/ disease in the body)= When you are sick you can’t do any sadhana.
2. Styana (Dullness of Mind, Incomprehension) Innertia in the mind, mental illnesses.
3. Samshaya (Doubt that can clog ones progress)
i. Doubting yourself, ii. doubt in the goodness of others, iii. Doubt in the being aka the Devine aka the unseen hand iv. doubt in Guru, v. doubt in the techinque.**
** Doubt comes when your Prana is Low. There is no doubt when prana is high.
4. Pramada (Wilfully doing wrong, carelessness) You know something is wrong, yet you continue doing it. because somewhere in the mind you think you will derive joy out of it. Knowing it is wrong you still do it.
5. Alasya (Laziness) Biggest enimy of mankind
6. Avirati (Inability to contain the senses) *Unable to let go of cravings.
7. Bhrantidarshana (delusion, fear, anxiety, living in a fantasy, magnolia) eg. You self image: I am this, I am that etc.
or imagination of others that can cause tremendous negativity in you. ones its inside, you get stuck with it and chew on it.
8. Alabdha Bhumikatava (not getting any results from the practice)
Inabality to ATAIN any state.
9. Anavasthitatava: Inability to hold on to any state. eg. you have spouts of devotion and you are unable to hold on to it. Some moments of peace and joy come up and you are unable to hold on to it. eg3. You become very positive but that positivity lasts only a few minutes. eg4. someone says someting about you and that pricks you deep and thats it.
Consequences and symptoms of Obsitcals:
1. Dukha: Misery. Pain in the body and mind.
2. Daurmanasya: Bitterness in the mind and dejection, depression
3. Angamejayatva: Restlessness in your body and lack of control of the body.
4. Shvasha Prashvaasha: Imbalance of breath. eg. frustrated people exhale loudly. staggered inhalation. Disturbed state of mind.
The above Indicates Vikshepa: A disturbed mind is caused because of the misperception of Reality.
How to get over the Obstacles?
=> Practice One Principle. One pointedness. Holding on to the one principle. One divinity, one non-changing eternal blissful consciousness. One tatva can be OM, Shiva, Guru or any one eliment.
Let the obstacles come, focusing on the one tatva can get you out of all the obstacles.
Day 5
how to deal with different people , To stabilise your own mind,?:
1. Happy people= Be Frengly (Maytrai)
2. People who are suffering= be Compassionate (Karuna)
3. People who do good work= be happy about them
4. People doing Bad/evil work= Ignore them (upeksha)
Various ways of stabilizing the mind
1. Pranayam. Modulating the natural pattern of breath.
*2. Engagement in your senses: 100% engagement in any of the senses. eg. Chile is complety engrosed in licking a lolipop. and birds chirping, they do it only that time.
Yoga vs Bhoga= Yoga is Appreciating and staying centered. Bhoga is Enjoying, (excessively).
3. Jotishmati= Focus on a state devoid of sorrow then Affuligent Intelect dawns in you.
4. Thinking about enlightened Persons or Gurus.
5. Sleep. Focusing on knowledge of deep sleep and dream state.
6. Whatever thing you like. eg. If you enjoy gardening then that itself gets you in samadhi.
After achieving the stability of the mind what will be the Results?
You gain the ability to recognise vastness and subtleness. the true nature of the consciousness is smaller than the smallest and larger than the largest.
Day 6
We heard and discussed about Samapatties and different kinds of Samadhis. What happens when the modulations of mind go low.
Day 7 Q&A
+Faith- Our faith should be strong. It should not be dependent on happenings, and misshapenings. or cause and effects.eg. Faith between Mother and child.
+ Not going overboard while doing practice. eg. causing newsense/discomfort to others.
+ There are different ways of achieving samadhis but the destination is the same.
+ Mindfulness is the driveway. Meditation is the house.
Day 8
Chapter 2.
What is the path/ way to reach samadhi?
Kriya Yoga:
1. Tap (willfully Experiencing something that the mind denies to bear/spear) eg. Sweating in Gym.
2. Swadhyaya: Self Learning through keen observation of the internal layers.
3. Surrender (Ishwar paradhana): eg. Specially for people with lot of burden and worries, surrender is very important for them.
(Watch Guruji’s video for surrender)
Sudarshan Kriya Yoga, Indluedes all these things. It’s not just an exercise. Willfully breathing, Observings one’s thoughts and surrendering. When you lie down you realise that nothing is in your hand, and so you realise the surrender.
Day 9
5 Types of Misireis
1. Avidya – Ignorance eg. Ignorance of your true nature. Ignorance of what is permanent and what is changing. Ignorance of the cause of all that happens around you.
2. Asmita: Ego, I-ness. eg. I am good, I am bad, I am Useless. All those who think they are overqualified as well as those who think their life is a waste are miserable because of Asmita.
3. Raga: Cravings. eg. 80 YO people getting jailed for misbehaving with a girl, Diabatic craving for sweets.
4. Dwesh: Aversion, repulsion. leads to haterade. eg. Monks running away from ladies out of aversion.
5. Abhinevesha: Fear. little fear makes you alert. Too much of it leads to misery.
Note. All the above are interlinekd and come in order. Avidya leads to Asmita leads to Raga leads to Dwesha leads to Abhinevesha.
Day 10
Avidya= Considering something Pure that is actually unpure, something that is permanent that is actually impermanent.
Asmita= eg someone saying I am not capable or on another side I am great there is no one like me.
eg. Matka from the 1st Teachers training.
eg2. you can’t do things alone in business, you need to take others along with you or else you won’t succed
Craving= Desire for Repeataion of pleasure.
Aversion= Attributing the cause of your misery to some other person.
Hatred = Avoiding sorrow or fear of misery. eg. Self-haterade in children who lose one of their parents.
Also, strong cravings can turn into haterade. eg. woman who wanted to marry a married man.
Day 11 Chap 2 p4
Sholk #9-16
Abhinevesha is there even in the enlightened people. It’s necessary to keep the body alive. How much? Like a trace of butter left on your palm when you throw it at someone. eg. Swami Ramakrishna Paramhans had a craving for food.
Klesha (cause of misery) need to be removed from the gross body and then the subtle body. Can be done through meditation.
These Kleshas have to be experienced in current and future life.
As long as these Kleshas are there, we will have to take birth. These Kleshas decided Jati (Birth), Ayur (Life span), Bhoga (Pleasure or Misireis)
We have control over Ayur and Bhoga but not Jati.
Everything is Misery for the knowledgeable people.
Hayem Dukham anagitam= There will be misery in future but it can be avoided through Sadhna.
Day 12 Chap 2 p5
Misery. Holding on to Fame, Money, and Position are causes of Misery. They are not bad but holding on to them is bad.
You are the cause of your misery, nobody else can give you the misery.
Parinam Dukha= Memory of happiness in past makes you miserable at the moment.
Tapa Dukha= Jelusy, if someone is doing better than you.
Sansar Dukha= Some people have a tendency to be sad without reason.
Day 13 Chap 2 P6. Shloka 18-24
# The Scenery exhibits three characteristics – Luminosity, activity and inertia.
Scenery is meant for experience and liberation.
# Scenery appears – it has manifested out of consciousness. It is dynamic and it also rests. There is inertia.
# There are four stages of qualities – specific, unspecific with an identity and without an identity
Eg. Sugar with sweetness, water being cold or hot
# Though the seer is pure consciousness, it imagines the scenery due to its intellect.
# The seer alone is the reason for the scenery to exist. The body is also part of scenery and if there is no soul, body cannot exist.
# For a realized being, the scenery ceases to be, yet it exists for the others.
Eg: When you are in meditation, you do not feel the body.
For a man of classical chemistry, the differences in creation still remain but for quantum physicist, the whole creation is nothing but a wave function.
# Silence has meaning for someone who can talk. Similarly, nature is there for you to realize the power of the self.
# Whenever the Seer is engaged in scenery, there is avidya.
Day 14 Chap 2 P7.
*8 Limbs of Yoga.
These are limbs and not steps but these need to be cultured collectively/simultaneously. eg. teaching Samadhi to Prisoners. Giving glips of samadhi first then leading them to yama and Niyama.
These limbs take us to
Day 15 Cap 2 P8.
If you cant follow Yama and Niyama, then you should know the consequences.
3 type of -ve activity. One done by yourself. Or instigating others to do it or approving of someone else’s actions.
These actiosn lead to infinite misery.
In what situations your mind does not follow Yama and niyama
Lobh(greed), Krodh(anger), Moha (delusion), Dukha (sadness)
“These are the consequences. So I am not going to succumb to such negativity. I am going to keep my focus on the knowledge, on the wisdom. This is the attitude one has to take.”
Day 16 chap 2 P9
Yamas
“When non-violence is well established in you, in your presence, people near you, who have aggressive or violent tendencies, calm down.”
action. Truth is not just the words but also the quality of straightforwardness of the consciousness. When you tell a lie, your consciousness is not solid. It is not straightforward, there is no strength in it.
Wealth comes to you when you are not hankering for it. When you are not stealing, when you are not trying to take things away from others, you will get what you have to get. Stealing will not bring you wealth.
And others…
Day 17 chap 2 p10
Niyama
Saucha (cleanliness in mind and body)- 5 benefits: Startpess of intellect, Pleasent Mind, focus in attention, Say over your senses, Ability to realise your ‘self’.
Santosha Contentment: Benifit: From contentment comes unparalleled pleasure.
We are miserable with what we don’t have and we are also miserable with what we have. You have to get out of this vicious cycle.
Tapasah (Forbearance): Eliminates impurities from the body and brings perfection to the senses.
Svadhyaya: From Self-study and reflection, one attains contact with the subtle beings.
Ishwarpranidhana: By surrendering to the Divine, perfection in samādhi is attained.
Iśvarapraṇidhāna simply means being like a child in the lap of the mother. You let go of everything. When the child is lying in the lap of the mother to sleep, it does not hold on to anything. It lets go of everything.
Having a blank mind is only the beginning of samādhi, not the end of samādhi. But to gain perfection in it, you let go of everything that you have held onto and offer yourself to Divinity. That is essential.
Day 18 c2p11
Asana, Pranayama,
Asana: Posture is that which is steady and comfortable. By letting go of the effort, alignment with infinity is attained.
In the beginning, you put in an effort to do the āsana and then later on it just flows. You find yourself aligned to infinity in each posture you do.
You should do āsanas whenever you are confused and your mind is in conflict. Sit in an āsana and there will be clarity right away. The effect of an āsana is clearing out all conflicts and dualities.
Pranayam- Interrupting the natural flow of inhalation and exhalation during an asana.
Benifit of Pranayam: the veil over the inner light is thinned.And the ability to focus one’s mind follows.
Day 19 c2p12
Pratyahara: Alterantaive food for the senses.
Withdrawal of the senses (pratyāhāra) is when as a result of not coming in touch with sense objects, the senses (turn inwards and) follow the nature of the mind.
The light has come from inside but it is getting reflected on a piece of mirror or a glass outside and you think that the light is outside. Pratyāhāra is letting go of the reflector and going to the source.
you will feel contentment, much peace and joy. You will feel real elevation and real completeness. This is the effect of pratyāhārā.
Yogi is a Revolutionary. Not just somebody laid back. They will smile all the time but can also show anger when needed.
Day 20 Chap 2 Q&A
Savitarka samadhi: Being in a meditative state while doing actives is possible. But it comes with practice, time and maturity.
samāpatti and samādhi are same things.
Obstacles come and go but kleśas— deeper impressions— remain longer than that.
Important point on OM!: If you keep chanting just Om, then it will take you to nirguṇa nirākāra— attributeless, formless Divinity. Then you won’t be able to operate successfully in the saguṇa sākāra world— the world of attributes and forms. We have heard this. One may chant Om but should not take it alone by itself as a dhyāna mantra. It is necessary to know this.
Valour vs Anger: A person with valour, you will see, will have all the confidence. He will stand up and face any situation, “Yes I am here, come what may.” Anger, rage, hatred are not valour; a person with valour cannot have hatred. Anything you do with hatred weakens you even further. When you act with valour you feel stronger, and even more energetic and powerful but an act you do out of hatred devastates you.
Day 21 Chap3p1 Vibhuti Pada. Supernatural Powers.
Today Sanyam was mentioned for the first time.
Sanyam= Dharna+ Dhyan + Samadhi
The practice of Sanyam brings our Siddhis in you. Extraordinary abilities.
Dharna= Holding the mind in a place is focus.
Dhyana= an unbroken flow in the content of the mind is meditation.
Samādhi= when you are aware and you are there but you feel as though you are not there. It can be described as a boundless feeling. You are centered everywhere but circumferenced nowhere.
The Three Outcomes
1. Nirodha Pariṇāma= Restraining (rein on) the Tendencies of the mind, the 5 Vrittis: vṛttis— pramāṇa, viparyaya, vikalpa, nidrā, and smṛti.
2. samādhi pariṇāma= tendency to be one-pointed rises. Your mind which is scattered, as an impact of samādhi, starts becoming like a laser beam— one-pointed, focused. The scattered, scared feeling mind gives way to a steady, sharp, one-pointed, focused mind.
3. Ekāgratā pariṇāma= Concentration. Concentration is not an act! Its an effect of stillness withing, contentment within. When you are content, you are not scattered. When you are content, you are more one-pointed, and it is the effect of samādhi.That gives rise to sharpness of observation, perception, experience, and expression.
Both the ability to enjoy and retire come to you simultaneously. And this consciousness is related to time, elements and senses.
Day 22 Chap3 p2.
InterRelationship between Form, Time and characteristics. Everything impacts each other.
Extraordinary abilities!.
Samyama on the form, time and character and you get the knowledge of the past and future.
The name associated with an object, the meaning of the name and the object itself are Blended with one another. By samyama on the distinction between these three, comes the knowledge of the sounds made by all beings. eg. you can undrstand what the animals are feeling and trying to say. You can also understand what the body is trying to say by placing your hand on different parts.
You can get knowledge of private births. These are the samskāras— past impressions about different characters in the mind and if you hold on too much to them, then you are stuck there. However, if you do samyama on that, the real knowledge comes, not just delusion.
Day 23 Chap 3 p3.
Different Sidhies of Sanyam.
Just by normal samyama and meditation, your intuitive ability increases to the extent that you are able to know everybody very easily.
Your light form, your subtle form can appear in many places or cannot appear in any place.
one is able to suspend the ability of the body to be heard, touched, tasted or smelt.
He also mentions that while you can practise these siddhis, they may also become an obstacle for further progress in life.
You can foresee, you can even fix the time of your death.
Maitri, karunā, muditā— the qualities of friendliness, compassion and happiness— by doing samyama on these qualities you become strong. It brings you inner strength.
When you feel any obstacles you put your attention on an elephant because it doesn’t take anything for an obstacle. It just moves ahead. An elephant doesn’t sneak away like a snake; it walks straight and if anything comes in its way, it just throws it aside. Enormous strength, like that of an elephant, needed to overcome the obstacles, comes to you when you pray to Gaṇeśa.So samyama on an elephant brings you the strength of an elephant.
By doing samyama you can find the hidden or lost articles. Our Intuition Process children also do it. They can tell you where to find lost articles. You can also do it; it is no big deal.
When you do samyama on the right nāḍī i.e. the sūrya nāḍī, you understand the truth and the non-truth.
By samyama on the Moon (the left nāḍī), comes the knowledge of the arrangement of the stars.
Day 24 Chap 3 p4
By samyama on the Pole Star (Dhruva), comes the knowledge of the movement of the stars.
By samyama on the navel centre, comes the knowledge of the arrangement of the systems of the body. you understand your body better.
Kurmanadi: By samyama on the central channel below the throat (trachea), comes stability.
When you do samyama on the top of the head, you are able to see the siddhas, the ṛṣis and the munis. They come to you as a presence or voice or light or just an intuitive message.
Through intuition anything can be known.
By samyama on the heart, comes the knowledge of the consciousness.
By samyama on pure consciousness (which is distinct from the subtlest aspect of intellect) comes the knowledge of the Self.
You have a little glimpse of it in deep meditation, there is something that pulls back. With samyama on that gap, the subtle difference between the intellect and the Self, you get the real knowledge of the Self; who you really are.
Day 25 Chap 3 p5
From that (knowledge of the Self) arises intuitive hearing, touch, vision, taste, and smell. Only when this identity of the Self and the intellect is distanced or broken, do you get access to another realm within you.
these subtle perceptions can happen only when you distance yourself from the intellect.
You find that divine embrace and the touch deep inside. There is a touch from outside the skin and another touch from inside the skin. The touch that comes up from the inside is because of the experiences in the subtle realm. This is possible through the distinction between the puruṣa and the intellect.
“What is the practicality of this in my life?” I tell you, life offers many opportunities to change your vision.
The subtle visions, subtle messages, connection to the subtle world are called siddhis. They are obstacles for samādhi. When you come out of samādhi these are siddhis but when you want to go deeper into samādhi they become obstacles. Samādhi is getting into the nothingness; to the emptiness.
Be indifferent to them. It’s okay if they are there.
There are many such siddhis— entering into other bodies, feeling what is happening in another body in your own body.
The mastery over udanā, the upward flowing prāṇavāyu, brings the ability to remain untouched by mud, water, thorns and the like, as well as the ability to levitate.
Day 26 Chap 3 p6
The mastery over samāna, the prāṇa flowing in the navel area, brings radiance or fire.
Samyama on the relationship between space and the sense of hearing brings about a heightened sense of hearing.
By samyama on the relationship between the body and space, the lightness of cotton is attained and with that comes the ability to move through space.
When the mind can extend beyond the body effortlessly, it is the state of a great disincarnate one. With that, the veil over the light of knowledge is diminished.
When the thoughtless mind is achieved by your practice, that mind can be projected outside and there are many abilities that come along with that.
By samyama on the aspects of the elements (bhūtās)— gross form, essence, subtle form, interconnectedness and purposefulness, mastery over the elements follows.
So all the five elements are present in you. Tanmātrā, a little part of it, the subtle part of it is present in you. Light is present in you, so you can see the light. The light that you can see or understand is below the tanmātrā of what you have. Now, an owl’s tanmātrā of light is different from your tanmātrā of light. It can see more light where you cannot. The elephant’s tanmātrā of smell is more than your tanmātrā of smell. You can only smell up to some distance but elephants can smell even from several kilometres away. By doing samyama on these five different aspects of the elements, your arena of experience expands.
Through that (mastery over the elements), come powers such as making the body small. Perfection of the body is attained as well and the elements cause it no harm.
Day 27 Cap 3 p7
Perfection of the body includes beauty, gracefulness, strength, and unyielding hardness in receiving blows when struck.In the world you have to take blows. Nature gives you blows. People give you blows all the time. If you run away from it, you are a coward. If you stay and face it; without whining, no matter what anybody may say, you stay strong. This strength comes from the samyama.
By samyama on the process of perception by senses, their essence, I-ness, connectedness and purposefulness, comes mastery over the senses.
As you look at a gulab jamun, the process is, saliva appears in your mouth. You want to eat it. Are you aware of all the things that are happening? There is a chemical reaction that is happening inside your body. Whether it is a beautiful sight, sound, taste, smell or touch, something is happening. Dopamine, serotonin, and endorphins are getting secreted in you. Are you aware of this process?
That conscious eating of even one grape brings immense satisfaction. Such satisfaction doesn’t happen even if you eat a bunch of grapes or even kilos of them. When you do samyama on the essence of the action, the I-ness inside you—‘ I am enjoying it’, ‘I am happy’, ‘I am miserable’, ‘I am insulted’— and the purposefulness of the senses and actions, it gives you mastery over the senses.
By that (mastery over the senses) comes sharpness of mind, perception beyond the senses and supremacy over the Primal Cause (the cause of all existence).
Upon being established in the knowledge of the distinction between the intellect and pure consciousness, one attains mastery over all kinds of feelings and also omniscience..
Day 28 C3 p8
When invited by the celestial beings, there is no reason to accept the offer or smile with pride as it may again lead to undesirable events.
Samyama on the present moment and its flow results in knowledge that is born from discrimination. Samyama on the present moment can lift you into another level of knowledge.
This knowledge (born from discrimination) brings awareness of the difference between two similar objects, which are not distinguishable by type (or category), qualities or location. What you cannot distinguish from a normal level of understanding, can be discriminated by heightened awareness, with a special knowledge, when you practise samyama on this.
This knowledge born of discrimination is intuitive and applies to everything, by all means, and arises spontaneously (unlike knowledge born of logic which follows a sequence of inferences). This higher knowledge is beyond logic. Sometimes when Gurus and Masters speak, it appears to be illogical because it is beyond logic. Not all those who speak illogically are Masters!( Laughter) It transcends normal logic because the knowledge of discrimination which is coming up is from a higher or a subtle plane, not the gross intellect.
When the intellect and the consciousness become equally pure, that is absolute liberation.
Lord Buddhā said three things— first, śīla is your character. Your character should be so solid, so strong. You should be well established in ethics, in morality— you don’t do what you don’t want others to do to you. Even if others do something which you don’t like, you don’t repeat it. Tit for tat is not at all śīla. Śīla is being well-founded in ethics.
Third, prajñā. This gives rise to discrimination, awareness and heightened consciouness. That is prajñā.
When you find the distinction between the puruṣa and the buddhi, the intellect, then puruṣa and buddhi disappear immediately.
That is what sādhanā is about. Taking out, shaking all the fear out of you and making you realise the distinction between the puruṣa and the intellect.
Day 29 Chap 4 p1
The different kinds of perfection come with birth or are attained through herbs, mantra, penance or samādhi.
Siddhi means perfection. Perfecting the consciousness, its attributes and its abilities is siddhi.
siddhi. Perfecting the body is also a siddhi. It is called kāya siddhi, then there is vāka siddhi. There are numerous such siddhis. Kāya siddhi means mastery over the body. Gymnastics, six- pack abs— all these are kāya siddhi. Ability of the body to resist diseases, to stand up to heat and cold, and come up with its extraordinary abilities is kāya siddhi. When there is vāka siddhi, whatever you say will happen. When there is citta śuddhi, purity of mind, then it is called ātma siddhi, that is mastery over the Self.
Some are born with it, some attain it by chanting mantras, some with herbs, and some trough samadhi, by practising penance,Tapas!
Transition into another life-state or form (in the next birth) comes as a result of what is filled in one’s nature (forms natural tendencies).
The attainment is not based so much on action, but on the being and the attitude. It doesn’t depend on the action. Action is very gross but the attitude is what causes the impression. The attitude with which you do an action determines your karma and your next life also.
eg. Doctor vs a Decoit cutting open someones stomach. One wants to save someons life other wants to kill.
Doership comes solely from a sense of I-ness.Here Maharṣi Patañjali is not telling you whether it is good or bad. But, he wants you to recognize this nirmāṇa citta, the doership, that is coming out of asmitā.
It is the one mind that is the director of different activities (or tendencies).
There, the tendency or activity born of meditation is free from latent impressions. When you are meditating on this big mind, you are free from all impressions.
Nuances of Karma
The actions of a yogī are neither white nor black. They are three-fold for others.
As they (the three-fold actions) lead up to fruition, they manifest corresponding latent impressions. Whatever karma you have inside; the good karma, the mixed karma or bad karma, you are accordingly drawn in those directions. When good karma is active, you start doing good things.
When bad karma appears, then you do all sorts of wrong things and start justifying.
When it is mixed, there is a little guilt, but there is a little justification as well. You think, “Oh I shouldn’t be doing this.” But then you may also think, “That is okay. I should do this.” The yoyo effect is a result of mixed karma. As is the type of karma, so is the type of impression we accumulate. This is how patterns develop in us. You have come to the planet with some patterns, you develop on those patterns and then those patterns rule your life. It also attracts similar patterns towards you.
Even if there is interruption in life-state, time and space, karma unfolds with unbroken continuity because memory and latent impressions are of the same nature. Time and space have an impact on karma. Though you may have some karmas, when you come to where a siddha or a sādhaka is, they change.
Day 30 chap 4 p2
Impressions are held together by cause, motive, basis and support. Disappearance of these four factors causes the impressions to disappear as well.
The karma has become strong because you connected your pain to a cause. And when there is a cause, then you have a motive to give it back to them. Correct? You cannot keep quiet. When someone is the cause, you react. That reaction again results in another cause. Thinking someone else is the cause creates one karma. The motive to do something in vengeance is another karma. And when you react, it is yet another karma. So how to cut the cycle of karma? Do not react and do not see the other person as a cause.
take responsibility for all your experiences. What happens when you take responsibility for your experiences? You stop building karma. You become powerful. You become solid, strong. Isn’t this amazing?
The past and the future exist in reality, owing to differences in characteristics.
Manifest (when in the present) or subtle (not manifested when in the past or the future), they (characteristics) are of the nature of the (three) guṇas (sattva, rajas and tamas).
The reality of an object comes from the uniformity in change (of the guṇas).
This explains why mango seeds produce only mango fruit, human beings give birth to only human beings. If human beings start giving birth to dogs, there will be no continuity after that. Though all the forms are made up of one thing, the guṇas help sustain a particular pattern in every form. The whole thing is made up of one consciousness. Yet the forms are continuing because the impact or effect of consciousness is very particular.
The characteristic of an object appears to be a single unit. Though there are changes happening, the change is the same. There is continuity in the change. This is very subtle, very technical.
Do you think either things are uniform or they’re changing? No. Change is also uniform. Your DNA gets transferred to your children and this continues to their children. You can go back up to 40, 50, 60 generations, the DNA has been continuous since then. Though it is changing; you are not your grandfather, but your grandfather’s DNA is continuing in you. The same change is continuing in you.
Same objects may be perceived differently by different minds because of the difference in paths of perception.
The (existence of the) object does not depend on any one mind. If it does, what happens to the object when it is not perceived by that mind?
The object needs to influence or colour the mind and accordingly it is known or unknown (by the mind). You are able to see certain things, which other animals are unable to see. And you are unable to see certain things which other animals are able to see. Similarly, different people see different things; different characteristics. So whatever colour falls on your mind that is what you perceive.
Day 31 chap 4 p3
Wisdom is latching on to that non-changing aspect in you. From there, you get stability. Your perception changes or improves. Your expression improves. Your attitudes don’t get stuck. A whole lot of change happens the moment you latch on to that non-changing aspect of your consciousness.
That (mind) is not self-illuminating as it is an object of perception (by the puruṣa).
A meditator cannot be hypnotized.
And both (the mind and the puruṣa) cannot be cognized simultaneously. When there is a mind, the self-illuminating consciousness is obscured. When you go into meditation, deep samādhi, the mind is not there.
Having established your mind in the ātman, don’t think about anything else.
If one mind is known by another, which is known by another and so on, there would be an endless progression and a mixture of memories. eg moon and the sun.
Consciousness is unchanging and when the intellect assumes its form, self-cognition is possible.
When you realise this unchanging mind of yours, itself is taking the form or shape of the changing mind, there is a realization, “Oh! This is only me.” It is not just internal. When it can be externalized, you will see this mind, that mind, every mind is part of my mind only; my big mind; my Self playing this role, that role, all these roles. This is a siddha’s state; the state of a perfected being. All these different bubbles that are arising on the surface of water, the water knows that they are mine only. It is all a game. It is all a dream.
Don’t think the vāsanās and eṣaṇās, impressions, are just present only in your mind. It is present in the whole atmosphere; in the mindfield as such. If you go to Wall Street in New York or to Dalal Street in Mumbai, your mind can catch all those thoughts related to money; creating greed. Those eṣaṇās can catch you. Similarly, if you go to a red light area, the feverishness of lust can catch you.
That is why satsaṅga is very important. The type of company you keep is very, very, very important. Yogīs and siddhas always say— your company should be of satsaṅga, of Truth; of people who are positive. If you sit with people who are depressed, you are sure to get depressed.
Day 32 cap 4 p4 FINAL!
For one who distinctly experiences the Self (distinct from the intellect), the curiosity about the nature of one’s own Self vanishes.
For the one who has experienced the distinction between the seer and the scenery, the false identities simply fall away all by themselves. Then you don’t even have the curiosity about your own nature—“ Who am I? What is my nature?” You no longer remain a seeker.
Then, the mind starts inclining towards discrimination and gravitates towards absolute liberation.
Absolute Liberation
When there is no interest even in the fruits of being established in that discriminative awareness, there comes the samādhi which brings a cloud of virtues.
Dharma megha— megha means cloud. When you are in samādhi, your state of being is full of that positive energy of dharmā. Then anyone who comes near you feels uplifted. Anyone who comes near you mentally, not physically. Anyone can be close to you but covered in his own māyā. When anyone connects with you mentally, they experience all the virtues right there. So in the state of dharma megha samādhi— a samādhi or state of mind which is full of virtues— others can feel it too.
Thereafter, all afflictions and impressions are removed.
Kleśa means pain; karma means impressions. All kinds of kleśas and karma get removed.
Then, free from all the veils of impurities, with knowledge that is infinite, there is almost nothing to be known.
Every being is divine, but has three veils— mala, āvaraṇa, vikṣepa. Mala means impurities; āvaraṇa is the veil of wrong understanding, ignorance, and vikṣepa means restlessness. These three have to go in order for you to shine forth as yourself. They keep you shrouded, limited and obscure self-knowledge. When the three things are done away with, self-knowledge shines through you.
Ayurveda, Pranayama, meditation and Satsang help a lot.
Thereafter, the purpose of the (three) guṇas is fulfilled and their sequence of transformation comes to an end.
Thereafter, the purpose of the (three) guṇas is fulfilled and their sequence of transformation comes to an end.
Absolute liberation is when the guṇas, now devoid of the puruṣa’s purpose (having attained it already), resolve back to their source or when the consciousness is established in its nature. It is very obvious. Kaivalya— all the primary elements resolve back to their origin. What is the purpose of human life? Human life is a cyclic journey to get back to the source. From where the spirit became matter and in its different manifestations moves around to get back to its true nature. That is the human cycle; the universal cycle of life.