Yoga Sutras And The World Of Human Mind

Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. In order to gain inner contentment, Citta-Prasada, we can practice regulating our human relationships according to friendship, compassion, admiration, and indifference. Another method is Pranayama, breath work, but this must be undertaken with proper ethical disciplines, Yamas and Niyamas. Spiritual concentration without hatred or obsessive like is the natural by-product of Citta-Prasada. Along the way, we may also experience things beyond the psychophysical realm. Verses: I.32, I.33, I.34

Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. There is a conflict between what our mind allows us to do and what the intellect wants to do. For this reason, many unexpected mental obstacles appear when we try to progress in spiritual life. We do selfless work to purify the mental stream. Having joy without its opposite or inner contentment is the key to progressing in spiritual life. We should cultivate friendliness with fellow seekers, compassion for those who are trying to progress, admiration for those who are more advanced than us, and indifference towards negative influences. This preserve mental equilibrium, mental energies, and gives us clarity of mind. Prana is described as the sum total of cosmic energy. Breath is only the gross manifestation of Prana. Verses: I.30, I.32, I.33, I.34

Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. Obstacles inevitably arise when we take to spiritual life. Bhranti Darshana, false experience is a very dangerous one. It can either come in the form of feeling we have made great progress when we have not or feeling we are not making progress even though we are. Also, there is the problem of not being able to retain higher experiences. The mind sometimes swings back down. Purification is required to stay at a higher plane. Active interest in philosophy and scriptures can provide an intermediate safeguard so we do not need to fall all the way to the bottom when the mind comes down. The types of despair and suffering that are the visible symptoms of these obstacles are also described. Verses: I.30, I.31

Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. Spiritual practice is bitter at the beginning and sweet at the end. When Japa matures and our mind ascends, we find the obstacles to spiritual practice disappearing. Patanjali gives a comprehensive list of psychological obstacles. Being aware of them clears the way for further progress. A sense of sanctity for spiritual practice, Shraddha, neutralizes most of these obstacles. The first set of obstacles are Vyadhi, Styana, Samshaya, Pramada, Alasya, Avirati – Disease, Languor, Doubts, Carelessness, Lethargy, Pleasure-Seeking. These are the manifestations of the unspiritual Samskaras still in the mind. Verses: I.27, I.28, I.29, I.30

Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. God in Yoga is omniscient, beyond all sorrow, and the teacher of all teachers. A seeker’s spiritual practices prepare him to receive God’s grace. He can then recognize God’s grace as his grace. A spiritual teacher helps lead him to that stage by removing darkness. The theory of Pratika, symbols, is explained. OM is the symbol for the ultimate transcendental reality. It is the substratum of all sound and therefore that of all thought. When we practice repetition of a Mantra, our realization of its meaning goes from gross to the most subtle. At the highest stage, we become completely identified with the meaning of the mantra. Verses: I.24, I.26, I.27

Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. With Shraddha, a sense of sanctity attached to spiritual practice, comes complete awareness, Smrti. An example of the development of modern Japan is given to illustrate the intensity of practice. Devotion to God is another option for intensification. In Yoga, God is the teacher of all teachers, not a conventional creator God. By intense devotion, his qualities of purity, knowledge, and dispassion come to you. The difference between him and a liberated soul is his omniscience. In Nyaya, God distributes the results of all actions to everybody. Vedanta accepts all these but goes farther and says that God is present in the world as the indweller. He enters the world and becomes one with his creation. Verses: I.20, I.21, I.22, I.23, I.24, I.25, I.26

Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. The great Indian sage Patanjali wrote major treatises on Ayurveda, Sanskrit grammar, and Yoga. From Samprajnata Samadhi, mastery of nature, we ascend to Asamprajnata Samadhi, freedom from nature. Intensification of practice means constant regulation of the intake of positive food, both mental and physical. Mild, medium and intense levels of practice are possible. The mind cannot keep quiet so it must be fed good spiritual food. In Vedanta, we find that spiritual life is returning to our true home. There is no vacation from spiritual life. We return to our home. That is the meaning of intense spiritual practice. Verses: I.21, I.22

Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. Smrti, memory, is constant remembrance and awareness. Mindfulness is a modern diluted form of a Buddhist tradition, which practices this Smrti. Shraddha is an untranslatable word, which roughly corresponds to sincerity, dedication, faith, and a sense of sanctity. It allows you to persevere and protects you like a loving mother. It leads to Virya, psychic energy. That leads you to Smrti, a constant remembrance. These are the characteristics of a real yogi. Verse: I.20

Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. Good tendencies liberate us from the bad tendencies but they still do not give freedom. In Shunyavada school of Buddhism, the ultimate reality is beyond all description and non-dual. Desire vanishes and the Soul, Atman, is left in its own splendor. The unmanifest-manifest, Ayakta-Vyakta, the theory of cyclicism is reviewed. When we are able to resolve the effect back into the cause we are freed from it. Some yogis merge into nature and become celestial beings. Others reach the ultimate goal. Verses: I.18, I.19, I.20

Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. Samprajnata Samadhi is mastery over nature. Asamprajnata is freedom from the senses. In Samprajnata Samadhi, the old vrittis are controlled. In Asamprajnata Samadhi, the old vrittis are no longer able to function. We are freed from past tendencies. We are free from the cycle of birth and death. Having transcended the mind, we transcend ordinary knowledge and are established in transcendental intuition. We go beyond good and evil. We are finally able to completely surrender to God. The example of Kumarila Bhatta is given. Verses: I.17, I.18

Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. Swami Vivekananda says that Samprajnata Samadhi allows mastery over nature, but Asamprajnata Samadhi allows freedom from nature. Buddha had to negate all the hundreds of memories from previous life cycles when he sat for meditation to reach the highest realization. The eighteenth sutra explains that Virama Pratyaya, the negation of impressions, leads us to the highest. The thoughts that come up in meditation can be resolved back into their fundamental cause, the Chitta, mind-stuff. This process of involution is explained. By constant practice, renunciation, Yamas and Niyamas, the mind-stuff is cleaned and we are able to transcend the mind itself. Verses: I.17, I.18

Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. Dispassion leads to mastery of nature. The Samkhya philosophy explains the evolution of the material universe from Prakrti to the entire physical and mental world. In addition, there is a sentient witness Purusha. Dispassion leads to Samprajnata Samadhi, concentration filled with transcendental insight, into everything in the material world. This leads to mastery over nature. According to Swami Vivekananda, the second method of concentration is to concentrate directly on Spirit. This leads to freedom from nature. Verse: I.17

Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. This lecture beings with a review of Vashikara Vairagya, the first stage of dispassion. The higher vairagya, Para-Vairagya, means going beyond the influence of the three Gunas. The commentators have explained that Pratiprasava, involution, is the process by which these tendencies get dissolved into their causes. At the highest stage, even the desire for Viveka-Khyati, discerning wisdom, is transcended. With concentration, we become filled with Prajna, transcendental insight into the true nature of everything. Examples are given from the life of Sri Shankaracharya. Verses: I.15, I.16, I.17.

Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. This lecture begins with a review of the chapter order of the yoga sutra classes. The world of Vrittis that constitute our mental world, keeps us in a cycle of activities and tendencies. Yoga helps us to break the cycle and evolve. The first step is to use actions, Kriya Yoga, to generate good tendencies. To break the cycle, the root ignorance of our nature must be removed through continuous practice of discerning wisdom, Viveka-Khyati. Ethics, Yamas, and Niyamas are the foundation for the practice of higher concentration. The lecture ends with a brief introduction to the eighteenth sutra, which tells the method of reaching higher concentration. Verses: I.1, I.2, II.15, II.29, II.30, II.32, I.18.

Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. This lecture begins with the reminder that stable Yoga-Sadhana can only come when we develop a sense of sanctity towards practice. The two stages of dispassion are discussed. In the first, all tendencies remain only as tendencies. We are able to control them through dispassion. In the second stage, even those tendencies are no longer functional. To become established in the first stage of dispassion requires disciplined beneficial spiritual associations. Then concentration only more and more subtle objects become possible in Yoga. In contrast, Vedanta is about a direct inquiry into reality. With concentration, Samadhi, come tremendous skills. Yamas and Niyamas are needed to practice higher concentration. Verses: I.6, I.12, I.14, I.17, II.30, II.32

Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. This lecture begins with a reminder of the mental blocks that come from the accumulated Samskaras in our Antahkarana. We can restrain the Vrittis by the practice of feeding good tendencies and remaining indifferent to the negative tendencies of the mind. Swami then discusses the Ishavasya Upanishad’s concept of enjoying the world by renouncing it. The fifteenth and sixteenth sutras discuss the lower and higher stages of Vairagyam, dispassion. At the higher stage, even the idea of craving for worldly enjoyment vanishes. From dispassion comes Samadhi, concentration, which yields many superhuman powers of the mind. The example of Swami Vivekananda memorizing an encyclopedia is given. The seventeenth sutra lists the types of this Samprajnata Samadhi. Verses: I.12, I.15, I.16, I.17

Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. This lecture begins with a discussion of the Vedanta and Yoga explanation of the variety of human beings. At the physical and spiritual level, all are the same, but at the subtle personality level, there is a great variety. The goal of Yoga is to become free from the trap of this subtle body, Antahkarana. For that, the practice of Vairagya, dispassion is essential. Swami discusses that in Yoga hermeneutics words have a specific well-defined meaning. The first stage of dispassion, Vashikara-Vairagya, is described as a turning away from the negative towards the positive. The four relations – Maitri, Karuna, Mudhita, Upeksha – are emphasized at this stage. The lecture ends with a Puranic story emphasizing how good deeds performed early in life can save one late in life. Verses: I. 15, I.16

Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. This lecture begins with a discussion of the meaning of the invocation verse describing the great sage Patanjali. Nirodha state, the goal of Yoga is reviewed. We can either rest in our true nature or identify with changing sense phenomenon. The five types of mental impressions, Vrittis are reviewed. We are kept rotating in a cycle of Karma, action, Vrittis, Impressions, and Samskaras, strong tendencies. Vyasa compares this to the river of the mind, which can flow either in an auspicious or negative direction. Practice and Dispassion, Abhyasa and Vairagya, and ethics, Yamas and Niyamas, are the prescribed methods for channeling the mind towards auspiciousness. Verses: I.2, I.3, I.4, I.5, I.6, I.12, I.13

Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. Most of us are living under the strangle of mental impressions, Vrittis. We must practice detachment from memories, Smrti. Another important practice is to 1) live as much as possible in the company of spiritual aspirants – Maitri, 2) be compassionate towards good people who are struggling to make progress – Karuna., 3) admire the good - Mudhita, 4) and keep a long distance from those who may hurt our spiritual aspirations – Upeksha. We practice the attitude of the witness. We have many chances, many births to practice. Ultimately, it must become natural, spontaneous, and effortless. This requires a sense of sacredness towards our practice. Finally, we reach the first form of detachment called Vashikara, where even heavenly pleasures are eliminated. The difference between this kind of heaven and the spiritual heaven of some Abrahamic faiths is clarified. Verses: I.12, I.13, I.14, I.15

Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. In order to cross over the ocean of our accumulated tendencies, vrittis, Patanjali says we must practice Vairagya, dispassion. Vairagya comes with a realization of the impermanence of sensory enjoyments as well as a positive refinement of all our tendencies toward something higher. By the repeated practice of Vairagya, our mental blocks and negative tendencies are weakened and our mind begins to flow towards wisdom. Repetition leads to Viveka, discerning wisdom. How can we repeat such a difficult activity for a long time and without interruption? Only through a sense of sanctity and sincerity – Shraddha. I.2, I.12, I.14