Patanjali Yoga Sutra - 51

The last word too drops

There is just a day left to shake hands with a New Year of the Solar Calendar. And here, with this Sutra we come to the end of Samadhi Padaha, the first of the four chapters of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. We will soon move on to the Sadhana Padaha or the practical part. Practising the methods outlined in the Sadhana Padaha, we can reach the ideal state of union of the mind with the one consciousness that has been vividly described in the Samadhi Padaha. Just before that, here is the last Sutra -

Tasyapi Nirodhe Sarva Nirodhath Nirbeejas Samadhihi

Here I would like to repeat a story in the Upanishads called Simha Swapnavat. A man is sleeping. In his sleep, he has various dreams of people, places and lots of vague thoughts cluttering. He walks in a forest, enjoys the view of sunlight filtering through the trees, dried leaves crunching beneath his feet as he walks. He is tired and sits on a rock beside a fresh spring of water and kneels down to sip a palmful of water. At that time, when he is thirsty, he hears a lion roar. He turns and begins to run, sweating and as the lion stretches its claws to catch him, our man wakes up from the dream!

So here we are, with all our confusing thoughts, stuck with the ever-changine phenomena of the world outside. There are pleasant patches when we learn a bit of Yoga, meditation and contemplation. Then the lion of contemplative flashes of truth surfaces. Even that has to go finally and what remains is an empty sky of consciousness, with no singular thought or thoughts that usurps its attention.

This Sutra says that even that one thought - of Om, a mantra, a Sutra, a text, Guru, form or anything with which the other thoughts are driven out - should ultimately go. When we reach the last step, we got to let go our hold on the ladder and walk freely into the vast consciousness which is our true self.

Wishing you all a very happy new year - Swahilya Shambhavi