Yoga Sutras And The World Of Human Mind

Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. The eight limbs of Patanjali’s Yoga completely remove the impure inherited tendencies of the mind. First, one practices ethical disciplines and then acquires a good posture for meditation. Then, one is able to obtain an effortless and free yogic concentration. This concentration leads to spiritual insight and the power to break through all bondages of the mind. Verse: II.28

Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. This lecture constitutes a review of the process by which Yoga leads us beyond mental conflicts and to inner contentment. Mental conflicts come from hidden inherited tendencies from past lives - Samskaras. This idea is Patanjali’s major contribution to psychology. By taking care of these samskaras, we can transcend the conflict between intellect and the accumulated habits and memories.

Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. The mind is not the real I, the real I is Purusha. Reason has its limits but this instinctive wisdom goes beyond this. That’s why great prophets could do things and say things whose meaning only become apparent after a long time. They had special insight. They found the whole foundation of truth within themselves. By not using such power for selfish purposes, we are able to prevent a fall. Then only Prarabdha Karma remains. Verses: IV.28, IV.29, IV.30

Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. This lecture contains a detailed analysis of the nature of the real seer, Purusha or Atman, according to multiple approaches. Verses: IV.17, IV.18, IV.19, IV.20

Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. Vivarta Satkaryavada in Advaita Vedanta is reviewed. Nominalism of Buddhism is also explained. Advaita, according to Shankaracharya, is a combination of Absolute Idealism and Realism. Verses: IV.15, IV.16, IV.17, IV.18

Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. A comparison is made between Buddhist schools of philosophy and Yoga on the question of the relationship between minds and objects. Verses: IV.14, IV.15

Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. Our tendencies from previous life cycles are re-expressed when put into an appropriate environment. When we suddenly feel at home with a profound philosophical idea, it means we have some previous acquaintance. This allows us to continue our spiritual evolution. Verses: IV.9, IV.10, IV.11

Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. There are good, bad, and mixed actions. These actions lead to tendencies that will manifest when the appropriate environment is available. Even though there is a separation in time and place, these manifestations form a continuous link. The different kinds of karmas are discussed in this context. These tendencies are without beginning. However, they come to end when we identify ourselves with our transcendental nature. Verses: IV.7, IV.8, IV.9, IV.10

Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. All power is already within us. We remove the obstacles to manifest the divinity within us. Verses: IV.1, IV.2, IV.3, IV.4, IV.5, IV.6

Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. Kaivalyam, liberation means liberation from ourselves. We are trapped in a cycle of actions, mental impressions, tendencies, and then repeated action. By changing our identification we begin to evolve. Our obstacles are in the form of Klesas, obsessive likes and dislikes. This creates a conflict between what the intellect wants to do and what the mind allows us to do. The root is a wrong identification of who we are. To overcome this, the first step is the practice of friendliness, compassion, admiration, and indifference towards the happy, unhappy, virtuous, and negative. The higher powers mentioned in the Vibhuti-pada can be obtained by birth, herbs, mantras, austerities, and concentration. The only safe ones to practice are mantras and concentration practiced with ethical disciplines - Yamas and Niyamas. Verse: IV.1

Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. With Ritambhara-Prajna, the higher intuitive insight also comes with the confirmation that it is true. This knowledge creates a great Vritti that counters the innumerable conflicting Vrittis in the mental system. This knowledge goes beyond all ordinary tools of knowledge such as direct sensory perception or inference. Swami Vivekananda says that a high ideal is necessary to counter all negative ideals. When this Ritambhara-Prajna comes, all accumulated tendencies react with great force. Finally, when even this Vritti is repressed, one reaches a state where all tendencies, Vrittis, have been burnt. Verses: I.50, I.51

Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. Ritambhara-Prajna is a kind of spiritual intuition filled with infallible truth. It goes beyond all normal human tools of epistemology. A person with this insight is a Rishi, seer. The testimony recorded in the scriptures is the authentic testimony of those endowed with this knowledge. By Guru-Disciple tradition, a line of authentic teachers has preserved this knowledge. Ritam is the harmonizing link we realize in ourselves. The experience of truth is non-remote. Swami Vivekananda says the experience of this truth is religion, the rest is preparation. Verses: I.48, I.49

Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. Shabda, Artha, Jnana, sound, meaning, and knowledge are still mixed up in Savitarka-Samadhi. At Nirvitarka-Samadhi, the three are no longer mixed, only the resulting knowledge remains and therefore there are no more conflicting thoughts. Prakriti is the source of material evolution in Sankhya philosophy. All of the created things in the mind can be taken back to their unmanifest form in Prakriti. A Yogi withdraws his identification with different evolutes of material nature. It is a process of dehypnotization. By withdrawal of the senses, we reverse evolution. At this stage of meditation, the seeds of past actions still exist, Sabhija, but they do not trouble us much. Verses: I.42, I.43, I.44, I.45, I.46

Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. Shabda, Artha, Jnana, sound, meaning, and knowledge are usually mixed up. When we reach Savitarka Samadhi, we are able to gain deep insight into things. At this stage, Shabda, Artha, and Jnana are still mixed up. A Sanskrit verse explains that geniuses are known to have deviations in life if they do not have spirituality. At a higher stage of meditation, Nirvitarka-Samadhi, the three do not mix, memory is purified, and conflicting thoughts subside. Verses: I.42, I.43

Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. Deep inner contentment gives us a feeling of being spiritually rich. When the Vrittis have become weakened, a person’s mind becomes like a crystal. It reflects the light of whatever it meditates upon clearly. This concentration with freedom comes only when it is preceded by the practice of Yamas and Niyamas, the 10 fundamental ethical disciplines. When he concentrates on a holy thought or person, he reflects it clearly. St. John wrote the same about the purest divine love. It is a state of blessedness. Verses: I.17, I.33, I.35, I.41, I.39

Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. The higher aspiration of Yoga is to reach a state of Nirodha, complete freedom from obsessive likes and dislikes, Vrittis, of the mind. Before reaching that stage, several stages of concentration are classified: restlessness, dullness, swinging between extremes, and one-pointed. Kshina-Vrtti is a state when the mind’s vrittis have been weakened or transcended. The mind then attains a state of Yogic concentration, which is free. Verses: I.1, I.2, I.41

Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. Patanjali explains that regulating human relationships, Pranayama, transcendental experiences, and meditation on the heart of a holy person can lead to deep contentment. We take on the characteristics of that which we meditate upon. Some dreams give a feeling of blessedness. They can also be a support. The mental system is a mirror which reflects our spiritual nature, Atman or God. The impurities are our obsessive likings and dislikes. When they are cleaned up we reflect our divinity more clearly. The Vedantic analysis of the three states of consciousness: waking, dreaming, and deep sleep is described. Verses: I.33, I.38, I.34, I.35, I.36, I.37

Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. The practices of Pranayama and friendliness toward fellow spiritual seekers can help us conquer our obstacles. Intellectual conviction only goes skin deep. Pravrtti, transcendental experience, will reinforce our belief that we are on the right track. There is also a higher type of experience, which is beyond all sorrow and destroys all doubts. You can tell if it is a valid experience by the result. The result should be a deep-rooted contentment and friendliness towards all. Another method is meditation upon the life and mind of a saint who is beyond all desire. This thought purifies the mind. Verses: I.35, I.36, I.37

Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. Indifference is a vaccination towards contagious negativity. It is not insensitivity but enlightened sensitivity. Pranayama can lead to peace of mind. The breath is a thin thread linking us to the cosmic energy. Prana cuts new channels through the mental system. When we try to cut new channels, the mind and body may react. The mental system has tendency to run in the same conservative ruts. For this reason, the aspect of religion involving changing the world is always more popular than the aspect of changing ourselves. Verses: I.33, I.34

Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. What makes a Buddha or a Christ is the sense of Atha, the desire for something higher in life. When this higher aspiration comes, obstacles and despair are inevitable. In order to conquer them focusing on one chosen high ideal is recommended. We can conserve our energy resources by a developing an inner filtering mechanism toward negative ideas. The four kinds of relations – friendliness, compassion, admiration, and indifference – are four doors to peace. Proper practice of Pranayama for linking our energy to the infinite cosmic energy can also yield peace when practice with ethical disciplines, Yama and Niyama. Verses: I.30, I.31, I.32, I.33, I.34