Patanjali Yoga Sutras

 

Patanjali Yoga Sutras

During the giving of Vazhipaadu, Sage Agastya said, “No matter who teaches meditation or with what method, the foundation of all types of meditation is the one developed by Maharishi Patanjali.”

So what are these? They are Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi. There are a plethora of articles online and in the form of books and one may peruse them if they feel they need additional information. However, here is a brief explanation.

Yama and Niyama are how one applies righteousness behavior in one’s life. It is about discipline and restraint in curbing unrighteous thoughts and actions and practicing right behavior. We know this is the basis  of Vazhipaadu. Sage Agastya repeatedly urges us to walk on the path of righteousness in Vazhipaadu.

Asana and pranayama are connected to posture and breathing techniques. Sage Agastya explained pratyahara beautifully.

“Pratyahara/Withdrawal of Senses means getting disconnected with the external and internal environment. Body consciousness and sense consciousness must be cut off. It is just like turning off the lights, so you can have a calm place to go to sleep. The only difference here is that, instead of sleeping, you are disassociating yourself from the outer world.

The action of letting go of outside disturbances is called the withdrawal of the senses. It is that action that comes from withdrawal of the mind from such external stimuli like light, noise, touch and promotes inner consciousness.

When the mind achieves complete withdrawal from the senses including touch, when one reaches a stage where they are no longer aware of the outside world, then the state of concentration is reached.

Dharana is the next step of concentrating which leads to Dhyana where one begins the practice of meditation. Sage Agastya says, “When we attain the state of dharana (state of immersion) while meditating, the awareness of our mind and body is removed step by step and vanishes. “

 I am taking Sage Agastya’s words directly from Vazhipaadu to explain these: “After pratyahara, you get into the next stage known as dharana. It is the state of being, during which your mind is fixed on just one thing.

Each teacher uses a different idea for the student to focus on. Some use colors, others syllables or a mantra like aum and still others light or a flower.

Having disassociated yourself from the surroundings including light, sound and other things that affect your sense organs, you can then focus on your heart or your Ajna^[1] chakra. When your mind is fixed on just one thing, you enter the stage of dharana.

After withdrawing oneself from all the outer senses, it is important to withdraw all thoughts from one’s mind. It is a state which occurs when one lets go of thoughts that emerge from the depth of the mind like little snowflakes without getting entangled in them.”

Then comes meditation or dhyana. Sage Agastya says, “During meditation, you are trying to contact your inner self. It is when you contact your inner self that you go into nothingness. So, from mantra you have gone to dhyana and from dhyana to samadhi. Once you go into samadhi, nothing exists.

It is not an easy task to pull the mind and tie it up in one place. To aid you with this, you can either chant the name of a deity that you like, or the mantra given by the Guru.

This then leads to Samadhi, where one after regular practice of meditation, reaches of state of complete awareness and God contact. It is in this stage that one experiences bliss or the inexplicable joy that wells up from within.  Sage Agastya says:

Samadhi/State of Intense Concentration: When a person in meditation forgets himself and the outside world and has no consciousness of his own self and becomes engrossed in the joyous state, that state is called samadhi or state of intense concentration. There are two types in this Savikalpa Samadhi and Nirvikalpa Samadhi.

Meditation includes both thought and thoughtlessness. In the preparatory state, you train your thoughts to develop focus. Once you reach that spot, you stop chanting the mantra. You do not have to chant anymore because you become merged with the atman. Such a samadhi is called Savikalpa samadhi^[2]. In this case you are temporarily linked to the Supreme Consciousness.

If you can remain in that state all the time, it is called Nirvikalpa samadhi^[3]. That is what many of the great Gurus and Paramahamsa’s enjoy. They are in a perpetual state of oneness with God.

In modern society, when you are expected to fulfill your responsibilities in samsara, it is difficult to do all this.”

On another occasion, Sage Agastya gave a specific information about this state: On a question about attaining Nirvikalpa samadhi[4], Sage Agastya said: When you are able to sit for five hours and 24 minutes in meditation, that is the Nirvikalpa samadhi state. It is very rare. Not everyone can ordinarily do that.”

So, Sage Agastya said, each must follow the path to which they are drawn. From the simple Vipasana method to the more complex methods like Kriya Yoga.

 

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[1] Ajna chakra: The spiritual energy center between the eyebrows.

[2] Savikalpa samadhi: When one loses consciousness of the external world and consciousness is focused fully on the bliss within.

[3] Nirvikalpa Samadhi: A perpetual state of divine consciousness when one is completely untouched by worldly stimulus.

[4] Nirvikalpa Samadhi: A higher state of consciousness where only consciousness remains, ego disappears.

Why Meditation?

Why Meditation?

Before we embark on any sustained practice like Yoga, we must understand why we are doing it. What motivates us? What is the goal? How shall we achieve it?

The common dictionary meaning for the word Meditation or Yoga is to engage in mental exercise for the purpose of reaching a heightened level of spiritual awareness. However, for those of us who are ready to follow the Agastya Yoga Siddhanta (AYS), we need a deeper understanding.

In Vazhipaadu Sage Agastya says,

“It is a time when people are in search of meditation after going through much trouble and suffering. While there are many who are available to teach meditation, there are differences in the way they teach it. No matter who teaches meditation or with what method, the foundation of all types of meditation is the one developed by Maharishi Patanjali.

Changes have been made in the way of practicing the different steps given by him. Some have their students sit in meditation straightaway, give them a mantra, and ask them to chant it. If we observe it closely, there are very few who have progressed with this method of teaching meditation.                               

Knowledge must be the foundation of all types of meditation. It is easy for one who has understood knowledge to take up meditation. So,
let us explore what type of knowledge is the foundation for meditation?

Those who desire wisdom must first understand themselves. Who am I? Where have I come from? Why was I born? What are my duties? What is soul? What is the mind? What is the body? What is the relationship between these three?

Once a person has understood this, they must understand what meditation is, and how to meditate. Importantly, they must understand why they are meditating. I have already given explanations for the questions posed above.”

As Sage Agastya says in the last sentence there, Vazhipaadu contains the knowledge that he is talking about and that is why I reiterate over and over again, that one must read Vazhipaadu to understand AYS.

So, this then is the foundation of AYS as laid down by the greatest of Rishis – Sage Agastya. In reading Vazhipaadu, we have understood what creation is, why were we created, what is the purpose of our life, what is karma, and how we can end all this suffering. This is imperative for all Yoga practitioners, no matter what method one follows.

Now, we are going into the next phase. Of making conscious, concerted effort to go beyond the world as we perceive through our senses. We are trying to reconnect to the inner world. We are trying to turn away from the external.

At the very basic, this involves regulating breath, and maintaining a correct posture, and sitting for longer periods of time. In the modern world, this is perhaps the most difficult step.

We are so used to being bombarded by stimuli from the external world, that sitting quietly itself becomes a challenge. So, the first step then in understanding the goal, is having that determination to accomplish it. Just as an athlete trains to run a marathon, just as student studies to pass an exam, we are now training and taking the greatest test known to mankind. The test of knowing your ‘self.’

As Sage Agastya says,

“Mere imparting of the knowledge of the world and the art of living is far inferior compared to the knowledge that shows the path to attaining Parabrahman.” This is exactly what we are going to do. We are taking that knowledge given by Sage Agastya in Vazhipaadu and applying it in our lives.

Becoming conscious of our life, moment by moment, we are changing ourselves. Changing the way we think, changing how we react to situations, understanding fully well, that the onus of having a good future is squarely on our own shoulders!

As he says, “Righteousness is the evidence of wisdom. The speech, action, and thoughts of one who is wise, should be like that of a lotus that is untouched by dirt.”

Yet, we know that it is not achieved easily! Every day is a struggle, as we begin to know our own selves. When we acknowledge that some of our behavior may be wrong. And we try to correct ourselves. Yet, if you look closely, your path of Self Realization begins at this level! At the very basic, day to day interactions and behavior!

We also know it is unrealistic to wait for the day when we are perfect in our daily life, when we have accomplished the fine art of walking on the razor edge path of righteousness carefully, to embark on meditation practices. Everything goes hand in hand. As you progress in your meditation, so does your lifestyle improve. So does your ‘knowing’ improve.

Sage Agastya says in Vazhipaadu, “It is important to include meditation as part of one’s daily activities. We eat to help nurture our body; meditation will help sustain health in our growing physical bodies as well.

To sharpen the mind, intellect is essential. Meditation is that which will help harness the mind. It also helps control emotions.

If we can include meditation in our worship to gain benediction  of God during worship, it will help us understand who we are. When we reach a higher state in meditation, we can understand our soul.

Method to gain health

It is usual to employ exercise or yoga asana postures to maintain health. Because of this body and mind work in tandem. We must learn the different postures from your Guru. When we do these postures, the elements work in conjunction. The Chakras that are not visible to our eyes get cleansed. It is through the Chakras that cosmic energy enters the body and promotes health. This helps man get rid of diseases.

Control of the mind

It is natural to compare the mind to the monkey that jumps around on the trees. The monkey never remains in one place. The human mind is also like that. It is constantly thinking of things that are unnecessary and weighing viable solutions; or ruminating on events that have already passed. Thinking about all these things, it is constantly affected by these thoughts.

In meditation, breathing techniques, withdrawal of senses and concentration help the mind to focus. They also help in clearing the mind of unnecessary thoughts.

Controlling emotion

Emotions are brought under control during meditation when we use breathing techniques, undergo withdrawal of senses, and reach the stage of concentration. The do’s and don’ts in life, as delineated by Patanjali, helps us in walking on the right path in our life.

Understanding that we are the Soul

When learning meditation, we progress in stages to reach the stage of intense concentration (samadhi). When we withdraw our senses from the outside world, the waves of emotion in our heart is removed and we understand ‘self.’ As we progress in meditation, we understand that we are souls. Along with meditation, we must gain knowledge as well as walk on the path of righteousness, and that will lead us to the path of liberation.”