February 07 2011
Title:
Dharana Dhyana Samadhi-Ultimate Keys to Absolute Patanjali Yoga Sutra 113
Description:
Living Incarnation and Avatar Paramahamsa Nithyananda got into the more intricate distinctions of these last three limbs of ashtanga yoga. "Many orthodox translations say that Dharana, Dhyana, and Samadhi are more internal than the previous 5 limbs of yoga. Dharana, Dhyana, and Samadhi are not only deeper than yama, niyama, asana, pranayama and pratyahara but Dhyana is deeper than Dharana and Samadhi is deeper than Dhyana."
In Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi, not just your time, your awareness is required. An ordinary working mentality is enough to achieve the previous 5. You don't need awareness or consciousness. Your conscious part is not required to be participating. Just stretch your body, do the breathing, etc. but for Prathyahara to become Dharana, a new entity in You needs to be awakened. An individual need to be awakened should be present - Prathayahara Chaitanya.
Being honest to the position you are holding is Sathya, especially the Guru-disciple relationship. This honesty is required to move from Pratyahara to Dharana. Feeling responsible for the space you are in makes the quantitative shift in you, for you to move from Pratyahara to Dharana, Dhyana, and Samadhi. If you take up responsibility and allow the creativity to happen in that responsibility, then you will sail from Dharana to Dhyana to Samadhi.
Life is for the people who are conscious, life is for the people who are interested in creating, for those who are honest and sincere to the place they hold; the responsibility which they are in. If you are responsible you won't have negativity to be in depression.
Dishonesty leads you to more and more depression. When you take up the responsibility, tremendous courage and security will happen around you. Till you take the responsibility, you will suffer from insecurity. It is an automatic mechanism given by God.
When you feel connected to the object on which you are concentrating, the stuff out of which the object is made, that is Dharana. The mind flows in an unbroken way from the mind to the object. When both lose their boundary and come closer, it's called Dhyana. When the stuff out of which both are made to lose their identity into something from which both came, its Samadhi.
As long as your life is in the hands of the divine, you don't need to be afraid.
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Transcription
(0:35)
Sadāshiva samārambām shankarācharya madhyamām Asmadācharya paryanthām vande guru paramparām.
(0:52)
I welcome you all with My love and respects…. I welcome all the devotees, disciples who are sitting all over the world at this moment with us. At this moment in 612 places, 173 cities and 23 countries…. and I am able to see these six cities Los Angeles, San Jose, Hyderabad, Dallas, Ohio, Seattle, in two-way connection with us. I welcome all of you with My love and respects…. Today’s subject for satsang ‘Dharana Dhyana Samadhi - Ultimate Keys to the Absolute’’. Today’s sutra is 113th sutra in Patanjali yoga sutra and in the 3rd chapter 7th verse.
(3:00)
trayam antarangam purvebhyaha Swami Vivekananda translates this sutra as: these three disciplines are more internal than those that precede. Swami Prabhavananda translates: these three are more direct aides to experience than the five limbs previously described. Swami Sachidananda translates as: these three are more internal than the preceding five limbs.
(3:58)
I will try to give My own understanding and the sacred secret embedded in this sutra. I will interpret this sutra or express this sutra as dharana dhyana samadhi are more internal than each other. Please understand there are eight steps described yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana, samadhi. Many other translations say these three are more internal than the other five, first five. I will say these three are not only more internal, deeper than these five, they are internal and deeper even than even the one next to the each other. This dharana dhyana samadhi is not only more deeper than the yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara. They are deeper than…. dhyana is deeper than dharana, samadhi is deeper than dhyana… You may think what is the difference between these two interpretation! What’s the major difference? Please understand the difference between the first five steps and the last three steps is not only in quantitative; very qualitative. It’s a qualitative difference. If you think the difference is only quantitative you can always be cheated. You can miss your sadhana.
(6:24)
Please understand some of the orthodox translations and interpretations say eight pranayama is one pratyahara, eight pratyahara is one dharana, eight dharana is one dhyana, eight dhyana is one samadhi. I want you to know, if you think this way you think all these steps are only quantitatively different, we tend to misunderstand. No, it is qualitatively different. How many 100s of pratyaharas put together they will not make one dharana. When you practice pratyahara something will click with you. That can lead to dharana. If you are doing dharana 100 hours does not mean it will end up with dhyana. But most probably, usually in that 100 hours something clicks, higher than dharana; that leads to dhyana. So it is not just quantitative, it is qualitative. Sometimes misunderstanding of the words or mismatching of words or mismanaging the words can lead to deeper troubles. Please understand…. So if you just understand dharana dhyana samadhi are more deeper than the first five, it gives you a kind of understanding but not complete. Even among these three they are deeper than each other; dhyana is deeper than dharana, samadhi is deeper than dhyana. You need to understand the very qualitative difference only then you will do your sadhanas in right direction. It is not just your time is demanded.
(9:21)
Please understand till the pranayama and pratyahara your time is enough. Any dumb guy who spends time on it will have the result. Assured guaranteed. That is why the yoga and pranayama has become so popular all over the world than dharana-dhyana-samadhi. In this dharana-dhyana-samadhi not just your time, your attention, awareness is required. Just a ordinary worker mentality is enough for you to achieve asana, pranayama and pratyahara. You don’t need intelligence. You don’t need intention. It’s like bodybuilding. Stretch your body this time these many number of times with this much of weight you will get built. It will be built. You don’t need awareness. You don’t need to play the game of Consciousness. Your conscious part does not require to be participating. There is no need for it to be alive, aware, awakened. Just stretch your body this way - that way; it is there. And same way pranayama; do this breathing this way - that way, close the nostril - open the nostril it is there.
(11:05)
But for pratyahara to become dharana a new entity in needs to be awakened which we call pratyakatma chaitanya; individual consciousness, an individual interest, individual need to be awakened; very important, very important, very important. Please understand! Pratyahara-dharana-dhyana-samadhi; till pratyahara; yama, niyama, asana, pranayama pratyahara; till pratyahara your individual consciousness need not even participate in this. You can just be in the consciousness of a worker mood. Even if you are cursing the guru who taught you or guru who is forcing you to do this yoga and pranayama, and do, you will have the result of yoga and pranayama even if you are not interested you are forced to do. That is why the yoga and pranayama has become so widely popular all over the world; because it does not need your conscious participation. You don’t need to enter into the leader consciousness. You don’t need to enter into the responsible consciousness. You don’t need to fix yourself to the time and place you are and take up the life as your responsibility. It doesn’t need to be. Just kind of a unaware life is more than enough. You can go on be telling lies.
(13:40)
Please understand, satya - honesty makes you responsible to the seat you are in. It makes you responsible for the place you are in…. Satya means feeling responsible for the position you are in. Being honest to the space you are in. If you are wife of somebody be straight in the truth. If you are husband of somebody be honest in the truth. If you are son of somebody be strong in that position. If you are disciple of some Guru be honest and straight to somebody. I know you will have doubt. Should I be honest to my wife position or husband position or Guru-disciple position? I tell you be honest to your Guru-disciple position; your Guru and disciple position is much more important and straight especially after this age than the wife and husband position.
(15:15)
Understand being honest, straight to the position you are holding is satya…. Satya makes you responsible. This responsibility is required for you to move from pratyahara to dharana. Till pratyahara you don’t need responsibility. But from pratyahara to dharana it is not just quantitative it is qualitative shift…. Feeling responsible for the space you are in makes the quantitative shift in you for you to move from dharana-dhyana-Samadhi; for you to move from pratyahara to dharana. Of course after that naturally it moves from dharana to dhyana, dhyana to samadhi. I will give you the two major components in the spiritual practice evolution. One, intense practice; second feeling responsible for your space, the space you have chosen. I can say now, I can divide the whole spiritual practices as, as these two category. First a person should be taught to do the strong exercises, the tapas; like 1008 surya namaskar, two hours of intensely working out, intense pranayama. This will teach you the quantitative work; means will make you, give you the training of hard tapas, spiritual practices. Next thing should happen is becoming responsible for the space you are occupying for the commitment you make; satya. That makes you to experience the qualitative shift in your sadhana.
(18:07)
From pratyahara you move to dharana only if you become responsible. I have seen people who are stuck in pratyahara 40 years. I have seen sadhus, seekers, who blow their nose for 40 years, who bend their body for 50 years, but they are stuck just with pratyahara. Unfortunately they never learnt how to be responsible for the position they are in, to move from pratyahara to dharana, dharana to dhyana, dhyana to samadhi. If you take up responsibility of the position you are holding and allow the creativity to express in that responsibility…. then naturally very smoothly you will sail from dharana to dhyana, dhyana to samadhi. The sacred secret embedded in this sutra is not only the dharana-dhyana-samadhi is deeper than the yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara. They are not just quantitatively deeper, they are qualitatively deeper. And in dharana-dhyana-samadhi each of them are qualitatively deeper than that other.
(20:16)
I have seen in My own experience. Just the other day I was telling one brahmachari that till you feel responsible, you will never be able to rise out of depression or live your life as you want or have fulfillment in your life. Unfortunately he was trying his best to justify he is responsible. But when I just dig deeper his life in two or three questions just his irresponsibility comes out…. If you are feeling stuck in your spiritual practice, ‘oh you are doing 108 surya namaskar, you are doing eN kriya, you are doing this meditation, that technique, that practice, this practice; but you are feeling you are stuck. You are not able to move’ catch! you are stuck in pratyahara. You are stuck in pratyahara because you have only worker mentality. You have not become responsible to your position. Just add responsibility. The same 108 surya namaskar, same eN kriya will push you from pratyahara to dharana, dharana to dhyana, dhyana to samadhi. Maybe corners of your mind you are playing double game. You are not honest to the commitment you have taken up. I tell the brahmacharis if you have taken one department honestly commit to that and intensely take the responsibility. You will move from pratyahara to dharana, dharana to dhyana, dhyana to samadhi. Otherwise you will be stuck; not only stuck you will be completely in depression.
(22:34)
Some of these people they claim that I don’t have anything to offer, I don’t have any work to do, I am not that creative. Then suffer in depression. You are doomed to die in depression. Life is for people who are conscious. Life is for people who are interested in creating. Life is for the people who are honest and sincere to the place they hold, to the responsibility which they represent. If I am sitting in this throne I have to do all the actions and creations needed for this space. I cannot be just sitting in this and avoiding the responsibilities. No. Being responsible if you are responsible you will not have negativity to be in depression. Pratyahara becomes dharana when you are responsible. Dishonesty leads only to more and more depression. It can be useful at some times few places.
(24:06)
I have a story: Dad asks his son “did you use my car last night my son?” Son said “Yes dad I took some of my boys some of the boys for a ride.” Dad says “Well tell them I found two of their lipsticks”. Your dishonesty can be useful to cheat your dad. But you cannot change the girls to boys and you cannot change the boys to girls. It can be used to divert the attention of your dad but it cannot make change boys to girls or girls to boys. I tell you when you take responsibility you have the tremendous energy and courage to see the truth. Some extraordinary security happens around you. I can tell you from My experience. When I took the courage and stood up suddenly I felt oh God! There is an extraordinary security happening around Me. Till you take the responsibility, you will suffer in insecurity. It is automatic mechanism given by God to remind you that you have not yet become responsible. If you are suffering with insecurity, understand still you have not taken up the responsibility of the position you are holding, commitment you are holding, identity you are showing to the world.
(25:49)
One sailor and his wife are traveling in a ship. Suddenly due to cyclone the ship has started shaking. Wife was completely shaken; started crying, shouting. The sailor was in deep peace, praying and meditating towards the God. Wife was shouting “what are you doing? Are you not feeling insecure? You should do something. What to do? How can you escape?” The sailor just took a knife put it near the throat of the wife and said “are you afraid now I am going to kill you?” She said “no as long as the knife is in the hands of my beloved, you, why will I be afraid.” He said “Yes same way as long as life is in hands of God why will I be afraid?” The knife is in the hands of beloved you don’t need to be afraid, be insecure of being killed. As long as life is in the hands of God, Divine, you don’t need to be afraid of getting destroyed.
(27:09)
Understand when I tell this, if it does not click with you, still you have not taken the responsibility of your life. Somehow when I read this line it just clicked in Me, because My inner space was ready to feel secure. If the land is ready, plowed, then the seed can grow. If the land is not plowed, ready, rocky, no seed can grow in it. Same way, if you have taken the responsibility for the position you are there, life you are interested, suddenly your inner space gets ready to feel secure. Making your inner space ready to feel secured is the basic requirement for feeling security. To feel secure your age insurances, your home insurance, flood insurance, fire insurance, medical insurance, accident insurance and malpractice insurance and any number of insurances you have, you will not feel secured in your life. You cannot have life insurance, you can have death insurance. You cannot have love insurance, you can have divorce insurance. Understand the insurances cannot ensure security.
(29:02)
Feeling security is a quality which happens in you when you take responsibility. Yes, taking responsibility is a work, is a thing to be done, quality to be cultivated. But when you shrink, when you escape, when you move away from it; life is not for you. Consciousness is not for you. You are not qualified even to breathe. Taking air from the prana is stealing. If you take responsibility naturally your inner space will be ready for security. This one story which I said will suddenly click. Yes my life is in the hands of God. Why should I feel insecure? How can I be insecure? But if your logic says no, no who knows whether it is in the hands of God or not, who knows my husband is my beloved or not, who knows by mistake he may cut my throat, who knows after cutting my throat he may justify that cutting the throat is good for you. If you are struggling with all these great philosophies be very clear you have not taken responsibility. Your inner space is not plowed, it is rocky, die. You will be in depression, nobody can save you. Nothing can be done till you take the responsibility and stand up as a leader.
(31:01)
Asana can lead to pratyahara just by… asana can lead to pranayama just by the practice; pranayama can lead to pratyahara just by practice. But pratyahara cannot lead to dharana just by practice. Pratyahara becoming dharana, you need one more quality to be added that is pratyatma chaitanya jagrata. The individual inner conscious awakened, inner awakening has to happen for pratyahara to become dharana. That is why one sutra is spent to show the difference between these two. I am here to say, the difference between these two is not just quantitative, it is qualitative and even after entering into the dharana the difference between dharana to dhyana, dhyana to samadhi is not just quantitative; it is qualitative…. It’s very qualitative…. I will explain clearly the difference between dharana, dhyana, samadhi.
(32:53)
There is a beautiful story, Zen story I have. I will explain. Four monks were meditating in a monastery. All of a sudden the prayer flag on the roof started flapping. The younger monk came out of his meditation and said flag is flapping. A more experienced monk said wind is flapping. The third monk who had been there for more than 20 years and meditating, he said mind is flapping. Fourth monk, an Enlightened monk says mouths are flapping. Understand, first younger monk came out of his meditation and said flag is flapping; is trying to do pratyahara; trying to concentrate because he is disturbed by the flag irritated. Always these guys who are trying to do pratyahara will be in constant irritation. They will be in constant irritation.
(34:25)
You can see the housewives who are sitting in their house and trying to chant Vishnu sahasranama..............if the cell phone rings ‘these idiots no business. I have to constantly be running behind this cell phone and the telephone’. In Vishnu sahasranama how did these idiots come? Vishnu will have one more sahasranama. The very meaning of the Vishnu sahasranama which she is chanting is ‘vishwam vishnuas...bhoota bhavya bhavat prabho’, which is all pervading, all knowing, all controlling. At least she should know even her cell phone ringing is controlled by the God towards whom she is chanting. But she forgets “these idiots no...no sense. Is this the time for them to call” and throw the book go and attend the cell phone or telephone and talk back and come back... om vishnu....daga daga daga goes on. The mood of Vishnu sahasranama and telephone answering both are one and the same…. Understand pratyahara always leads to irritation.
(36:00)
The second, an experienced monk, he comes out and says wind is flapping; means he is in the state of dharana; he is in the stage of dharana; wind is flapping…. Understand he has gone little more subtle. Flag is not flapping, wind is flapping. He has moved from kaarya to kaarana. Karya means the happening, karana means cause. He goes from karya to karana. He is in the stage of Dharana. So he understands the karana; wind is flapping not flag. Flag is there as it is. The flapping is happening because of wind not because of flag. Without wind the flag will be there. So the flapping happens because of wind, not because of flag.
(37:08)
Third monk he comes out and says…. he has gone to the adhikarana; not ordinary kaarana which is seen by the senses. He has gone to the adi karana. Why do you experience the wind is flapping? Because your mind is ready to perceive the wind is flapping. The same moment when the wind was blowing and flag was flapping, 1000 other things would have been happening around them. But the mind has recorded only the wind flapping and got disturbed only by the wind flapping. Why you did not get disturbed by so many other things; because you did not attend or record or you did not want it. If the wind is flapping the flag and you are disturbed, your mind wants to record it and get disturbed by it. The third monk has gone to adi karana, means he has gone to the state of dhyana.
(38:13)
The fourth monk, an Enlightened, who is in Samadhi; he just makes fun of this whole thing. Mouths are flapping neither the wind nor the flag or the mind is flapping; just the mouths are flapping. He is making fun of the whole scene. He is very clear neither the karya is happening, neither the flag is flapping nor the wind is flapping even the karana is also not responsible or the mind is flapping even the adhikarana is not responsible. He is saying nothing is happening only your mouths are flapping. He is making fun of the whole thing. He has gone beyond kaarya-karana-adhikarana. He is in samadhi.
(39:12)
Understand, now I will explain dharana-dhyana-samadhi. This is the best story I found to explain the dharana-dhyana-samadhi. Dharana means the object on which you are concentrating or putting your awareness; the stuff out of which you are made and the stuff out of which the object is made; these two feels connected, that is dharana. There is an example in vedanta that tail dharana; if you pour the oil from one cup to another cup how unbroken way the oil flows, same way the mind flows. That is called dharana. The stuff out of which your mind is made and the stuff out of which the object is made, both of them lose their boundary and merge or come closer it is called dhyana. The stuff out of which your mind is made and the stuff out of which the object is made, both of them lose their identity completely into something else from which both of them came out is Samadhi. So the difference between dharana-dhyana-Samadhi, a clear technical understanding is required before you proceed and experience those states…. Find out in your life whether the flag is flapping or wind is flapping or mind is flapping or mouths are flapping. You will understand in which stage you are in.
(41:40)
I bless you all. At this moment 715 places, 196 cities, 24 countries are sitting with us. I bless all of you to achieve, experience, live, express, radiate and share the Eternal Bliss, Nithyananda. Thank you.
(42:12)