Tag Religion & Spirituality

Yoga Sutra 1.17 Samadhi Contemplation

In this Sutra, Patanjali talks about the characteristics of Samadhi' (Becoming the Being, more correctly to revert to the original State of Being).

Samadhi is ' a non-dualistic state of consciousness in which the consciousness of the experiencing subject becomes one with the experienced object.'

After discussing Knowledge, instruments of Knowledge,Patanjali goes straight down to Samadhi.

But the narration of the Sutras are not being followed by him here in the order Astanga Yoga is to be practiced.

The reason is that, like all Vediac Mantras, these slokas are not made after deliberation, noting points to write.

These are Revelation,Apauresheyam,not created by Man and are Anaadhi(Timeless)

The sound waves are intuitively grasped by the Seers and are expressed.

At the mundane level, anything creative is born this way, be it Newtons' Laws or the Dramas of Shakespeare, they are expressed spontaneously with out deliberation).

As this is good place as any let me say a few words about the Eight Limbs of Yoga-Ashtanga(Eight Limbs)

The Eight Limbs or steps of Yoga Are.

Yama

Niyama,

Asana,

Pranayama'

Pratyahara,

Dharana,

Dhyana and

Samadhi.

These are the eight steps to be followed in that order.

Now I find people have Meditation Courses(?) as if it is an ordinary text book subject staright with out going through the earlier steps of Yama, Niyama, Asana,Pranayama(some times they teach you Asanas as though it is a simple physical exercise and Pranayama is just a matter of regulating Breathing).

This is incorrect and has no sanction from Patanjali's Yoga.

I am also amused by the people who tell me that they are doing meditation half an hour Daily.

If one were to Meditate and achieve it for 30 seconds, I tell people, He/She would have become a Ramana Maharishi.

Jumping to Meditation is akin to joining Post Graduate Course with out going through LKG to Degree.

And Yoga, I repeat, is not a Physical exercise., though Physical fitness is a spin off of Yoga.

It is a Spiritual exercise,has to be practiced over years by following the Rules of Ashtanga Yoga.

I ca guarantee those who do not follow the correct procedures to develop Backaches,Spinal Problems and in extreme cases, mental disturbances.

Please do not take Yoga lightly for we are dealing with something very fragile as Mind and something that is an expression of Ourselves, Consciousness.

Yama.

The Five Don'ts.

Ahimsa - Non-violence
Satya - Truthfulness
Brahmacharya - Control of the senses and celibacy
Asteya - Non-stealing
Aparigraha - Non-covetousness and non-acceptance of gifts
Each of these require a detailed analysis.

Niyama, Five Do's:

Saucha - Purity, cleanliness
Santosha - Contentment
Tapas - Austerity
Swadhyaya - Self-study, study of scriptures
Ishwara Pranidhana - Surrender to God's will.

I shall post on each of these as we go along at the appropriate places.

Think Out Your Emotions

I have started writing on Yoga Sutra of Patanjali about 16 days back.

Then suddenly I decided to write on Isa Upanishad a couple of Days back.

While dealing with the Isavasya(Isa Upanishad) Upanishad, I thought of writing on performing Actions without attachment in detail.

Some how it got postponed.

Now I find that Isa Upanishad also speaks on the subject in the sloka I have commented upon.

Hence I decided not to postpone this subject and this post.

(As I was writing on Isa Upanishad, I wanted to write on Nirvana Shadgam of Adi Sankaracarya. I misplaced the Text ; I found it to-day and posts will follow)

Action arises out of desires,

Desires of Feelings,

Feelings of satisfaction of instincts.

We can not help acting on our instincts. they are our Swabhava,Nature' impelled by Gunas.(Refer my posts on Yoga sutra nd Gunas)

We continue seeking the objects that give us satisfaction and happiness.

When we interact with the Object for the first time, we do not have a preconceived notion that it would give us Pleasure.

We come to know of it after we experience them.

So the feelings of Joy oy pain do not reside in the object but in our perception of OUR enjoyment of them.

To remain detached, it is useless to address the issue to these objects, but we need to address the instrument of enjoyment, ourselves.

If we can think out our experiences after our experience of the Object, we will be able to outwit our propensity for enjoyment.

Mere removal of Objects will not drive way your desires, they will haunt your memory and your mind will seek them.

Remaining amidst sense Objects and remain unaffected is true renunciation.

There is this story of Rishyasrunga , a Great Seer, in Ramayana.

Rishyasrunga was a Celibate, A Naishtika Brahmachari.

A Niashtika Brahmachari is one whose semen does not flow downwards, that is, it is not discharged.