Patanjali Yoga Sutra - 25/26

The seed of creation

Tatra Niratishayam Sarvagnyabeejam

Sa esha purvesham Api Guruh Kalena Anavacchedath

There are more qualities of God described here. In him resides the seed that is unparalleled that knows all. The seed here refers to the source or origin of all creation. In the tiniest seed lies the blueprint of the most massive oak, elm or banyan tree. Even humans, animals, plants and other creatures are products of the tiniest and invisible essence in a seed.

The biggest buildings and bridges were the outcome of the contemplation that happened in the invisible realms of the architects' mind. this whole universe that we experience through our senses spring out of the seed called God. It is pure consciousness that knows and is aware of everything.

This consciousness is the teacher, Guru of the most ancient teachers. It has always existed without a break, not bound by any time. It always exists - this Master. - Swahilya Shambhavi

Unpublished articles

(swahilya.soulmate@gmail.com)

Patanjali Yoga Sutra - 23 & 24

Surrender to God

Ishwara Pranidhanat Va

Klesha Karma Vipaka Ashayai Hi Aparamrushtah Purusha Vishesha Ishwaraha

Patanjali understands the human mind so beautifully and does not allow the scope for the least confusion. In the 23rd Sutra he says, another way for reaching the state of Samadhi or supreme tranquility of mind is by surrendering one's actions, words, feelings and thoughts and one's whole being to God.

He is quick to explain who or what is God in the very next line. God is the special being that is free from any afflictions, free from seeds that give birth to activity born out of desire and is something that is untouched by anything that is experienced by the senses, emotions or thoughts.

To bring in a modern-day understanding, God is one's consciousness, awareness. Surrendering here means being fully aware of one's thoughts and actions. This leads to Samadhi, which is nothing but the experience of consciousness, an experience of God, being with the creator - the Purusha. - Swahilya Shambhavi (swahilya.soulmate@gmail.com)

(Picture: Ganga at Rishikesh, spreading beneath the Ram Jhoola).

Patanjali Yoga Sutra - 21

Mild, moderate or intense?

Mridhu Madhya Adhimatrathvat Tatah Api Viveshaha


Intensity is the key to reaching the goal of Samadhi. Just as reaching to any target in our day-to-day life, the intensity of our effort matters. Intensity here is not to be confused with speed. It is the focussed conscious effort that is thrown into the practice which generates the heat of Tapas. That dissolves the being and removes the mental barrier that comes in between the inner and outer consciousness.


I had an experience of intensity at a recent meditation programme in which I participated on duty as Editor/Columnist of the Spirituality and Fitness pages for The New Indian Express. I was among 2000 participants gathered at the Anna University grounds and was simply breathing chaotically for about 10 minutes. It was so intense that the simple act of breathing in and out caused profuse sweating in a very short while.


Intensity generates heat. Heat burns and destroys. At the end of the process of burning, there is just the remnant ash which gets easily dissolved and the consciousness shines through in its brilliance. - Swahilya Shambhavi (swahilya.soulmate@gmail.com)

Patanjali Yoga Sutra - 20

Intensity yields results

Tivra Samveganam Asannaha

With intense practise, the goal of Yoga, merging of the individual consciousness with the cosmic consciousness is achieved. This merging, or a state of Samadhi happens when the mind is functioning in tune with the cosmic consciousness and not broken into vrittis or individual thought waves. The means of practise to reach the state of Samadhi has been outlined in the many sutras in the next part of the Patanjali Yoga Sutra, called the Sadhana Padaha. - Swahilya Shambhavi

(The New Indian Express, E-paper, Expresso - Page 6, Fitness, Monday, May 12)

Patanjali Yoga Sutra 19

The need to practise

Shraddha Virya Smriti Samadhi
Pragnya Poorvaka Itaresham



Some are born great. Some achieve greatness. Some have greatness thrust upon them. There are some who are born with the experience of Samadhi very early in age. Samadhi is endowed by nature on some others at different stages of their lives. Samadhi here simply means an equanimity of vision and a personal experience of connectedness with the Unverse. It is important that Samadhi is not or rather need not be some fantastic experience or imaginary expeditions of the mind. It simply means a working knowledge of the interconnectedness applied moment to moment.


There are however a large segment of people who are neither born with it nor can they hopefully wait for such an experience to happen. Those persons, Patanjali says, can reach the Samadhi state of mind with Shraddha - faith in a glimpse of truth that has been revealed to them and holding on to it, Veerya - dynamic energy and enthusiasm, Smriti - constant remembrance of the state of oneness and extending the periods of awareness of a glimpse of any experience that one may have had.


For instance, if one has tasted sugar, there is a remembrance of the taste and a hope to taste it sometime again. Samadhi can happen in very ordinary states of absorbption - while eating a chocolate, while spending silent moments alone watching a gurgling brook, while intensely hugging someone dear to you - a state where you are not there, but the experience is.


(Trekkers' progress: An arduous climb up Parvathamalai.)
(Articles on health, fitness, spirituality including two columns About You, and Zenith on April 28 and May 1 issues on Expresso - Page -6 in the epaper of The New Indian Express)

Something more

Dear friends.
I am writing a page on fitness, wellness and another on spirituality in The New Indian Express. Each of the pages on Monday and Thursday will also feature a column written by myself. If you wish to check it out you may visit http://www.newindpress.com There you have to click on a tab called epaper and then Expresso and move on to Page 6. Today the first column has appeared on Monday, April 28 issue. Good luck if you are trying to find the page!
Last week's issue on April 21 had a lead article on Surya Namaskar and this week it is crystal healing. The page on spirituality will be on the following Thursday.
Swahilya.

Patanjali Yoga Sutra - 19

Merging with nature

Bhavapratyayo Videhaprakritilayanam

Prakritilaya or becoming one with nature or its elements. It is a state of being where the consciousness is able to experience a state of oneness with a stone, a mountain, a tree, a flowing river or flowers. The unifying experience happens between the individual and nature. This happens most to poets like William Wordsworth who sang of host of golden daffodils

This Samadhi sometimes happens without an effort at any age of life. This is a glimpse of the experience of an evened out intellect which leaves its separate state of existence and merges with the bliss that already exists in the Universe.

As I walked up to the origin of the Ganga once in Gomukh, culminating in a spiritual journey, the last lap of the trek was intensely difficult. It was through the nooks and crannies of the rocks and boulders, slippery soft sand and tiny rivulets that I had to take. All exhasted with a parched throat, I sat down on a rock, well into the bank of the mighty Ganga, gushing out of the Gomukh cave. After watching the river for a while, I closed my eyes. It may have been a few minut

es or over a quarter of an hour - I do npot know. There was no voices of my co-trekkers, nor even the roar of the river that I heard. When I opened my eyes, a local resident was telling me to move out of there as the river might swell erratically. Even as I close my eyes now and recollect my experience, I know it was a glimpse of Prakritilaya Samadhi, when the individual merges with nature.

Photo: Waters of the Mandakini gushing past the temple at Kedarnath in the Himalayas.

(Vignana Bhairava Tantra, Tirumandiram, Bamboo Wisdom, swahilya.soulmate@gmail.com)

Patanjali Yoga Sutra - 18

Satori

Viramapratyayabhyasapurvaha Samskarasheshonyaha

The thoughts on Samadhi continue here. There are many methods of Samadhi described in the previous Sutra. This sutra speaks of repeatedly practising of holding on to one thought, an idea or a symbol. The symbols and forms that one thinks about are themselves an idea. But it is nevertheless an idea that can help in dissolving with the source like sugar in milk or salt in water. In this case, the mind that repeatedly holds on to a thought by mentally chanting a name, looking at one symbol, hearing a particular musical note again and again will dissolve into consciousness.

All these forms of Yoga practise is to help this mind to dissolve without resistance, dissolve with ease.

However, in such a state of Samadhi caused by concentration on one particular form or symbol is but a temporary state that will re-energise and revitalise the individual on a spiritual mountain climb. It is a temporary cessation of thoughts because the seeds of the past still continue to be present whih grow in the form of thoughts. The final achievement can happen only when the seeds are no more.

Yoga is like tending a garden. There needs to be daily watering and feeding the tree of this body. It also requires some digging and weeding out unnecessary growth from the surroundings. Unless the digging is done and the seeds of thoughts are destroyed, chances are that the weeds will continue to spring again and again.

To quote a live example to explain Virama is now, as I write this Sutra. An hour ago, I was trying to sleep, but with no avail as there were lots of thoughts and activities to take my attention away. Nevertheless, I sat down to just focus and study this Sutra and almost completed writing it when the contemplation on the form and content of the Sutra dissolved itself with the rest of my mind into a deep sleep. Samskara Sesha are the remaining seeds of thought that does not get destroyed even after a brief period of Samadhi as now when I get up fresh from my sleep, I pick up from the seeds of thought and continue writing this Sutra. - Swahilya Shambhavi.

(Picture: Omjasvin resting a while on a trek up Swamimalai with me in Yelagiri. The age-old practice of climbing mountains is one such method to help stop the formation of thoughts.)

(Vignana Bhairava Tantra, Bhagavad Gita, Tirumandiram, swahilya.soulmate@gmail.com)

Patanjali Yoga Sutra - 16

Samadhi

Vitarka Vichara Ananda Asmitaroopa Anugamath Sampragnyataha

Samadhi is the goal of Yoga. It means an absorbtion of the individual mind with the cosmic mind. Of the four chapters, Patanjali begins the Yoga Sutras with the Samadhi Pada (chapter).

Samadhi may sound to be quite an esoteric word. But it can actually be a common everyday experience that goes unnoticed. It can happen when driving a car in the midst of a traffic jam and honking vehicles. It can happen while looking at a bunch of flowers. Samadhi is a simple combination of Sama + Adhi - Sama is same and Adhi is cosmic awareness. The individual awareness gets merged with the cosmic awareness.

Patanjali mentions four ways in this sutra for entering into Samadhi, with the help of objects, nature or people outside, thoughts or happiness within or contemplation on one's own self.

If Albert Einstein was intensely absorbed in a scientific theory and comes out with an original discovery - that happens in a state of Samadhi. At that time all the faculties of his mind are directed toward the object of his study and only awareness remains. This is Vitarka - giving all the faculties of the mind to study and analyse somethng.

Next is Vichara. This is reflection within. Sitting with eyes closed in a quiet ambience, you may find thoughts springing up. Being with those thoughts or emotions and observing the source from which they spring can lead to Samadhi.

Ananda is bliss,m exhalted mood, jubilation. It may have causes outside like being in a beautiful natural surrounding, seeing a lovely movie, playing with children, or even sitting quietly may aid in experiencing the bliss within Going to the source of this bliss is Samadhi through Ananda.

Asmitaroopa - This is the most famous technique expounded by Ramana Maharishi. Let us take our bloggers for instance. I say, "I am Swahilya." JJ will say, "I am JJ," and Fruitu will say, "I am Fruitu." The "I" is common to all the three of us , rhough we come from different places, have different names and forms. The technique to reach Samadhi here is to constantly enquire, "Who am I?" That takes you to the source.

So following the steps shown by Vitarka, reasoning and study of the Patanjali Yoga Sutra, Bhagavad Gita, The Holy Bible and the Qur'an, Vichara - reflection on the source, being with the experience of bliss and finding the "I" that we refer to ourselves can take one to a state of Samadhi. - Swahilya Shambhavi.

Photo: Sunset over a lake in Naperville, Illinois. Tranquil scenes of nature are aids to Samadhi if we be fully with that silence.

(Vignana Bhairava Tantra, Bhagavad Gita, Tirumandiram, swahilya.soulmate@gmailcom)

Patanjali Yoga Sutra - 15

Hold on within

Tatparam Purushakhyatehe Guna Vaithrushnyam

*****

By knowing what does one achieve detachment from the world - which is nothing but an amalgam of the three Gunas or characteristics - Satwa - Tranquility, Rajas - Dynamism and Tamas - Inertia. Any person, animal, plant, being, objects and situations that comprise this world is a permutation combination of the three Gunas.

To achieve a steady mind, one needs to be detached from the Gunas and remain a dispassionate observer of people and events. The detachment achieved in this manner does not make one a helpless spectator, pushed by situations and people. On the contrary, a sense of detachment with the world and attachment to the Parama Purusha or the Cosmic Consciousness within one's mind can make an individual strong and steady, ready for action when required.

Take the example of the game of tug of war. A team which is focussed on its strength can easily pull the opposing team to its side. However, if the team members are agitated by fear and confused by focussing on the Gunas (characteristics) of the opposing team, then they lose their balance as the outside forces get an upper hand and scatter them to their side.

This detachment without and attachment within brings to my mind a scientific reply for a question on how the creamy layer forms over milk when heated. The scientist said that one end of the fat molecules that constitute the milk is hydrophilic and the other end is hydrophobic. When the milk is agitated with heat, all the hydrophobic ends huddle together and attach to each other while the hydrophilic ends expand outward to the water element, forming a thick layer of cream. Same with the mind which attaches strongly to the supreme consciousness within and expands from the outer circumference with freedom into the world. Such a mind of dispassion without and compassion within is steadily rooted in Yoga.

(Picture: The earth below, cloud in between like an umbrella over the city of Chicago and the sky above. The Gunas are many which form the world of matter, and the one consciousness is like the sky plain and expanded. The mind that connects the two is like the cloud.)

- Swahilya Shambhavi.

(Vignana Bhairava Tantra, Bhagavad Gita, Tirumandiram, The Himalayas, swahilya.soulmate@gmail.com)