April 14 2005
Title: Yoga Eight Points to Ponder
Yoga Eight Points to Ponder Nithyananda
Description:
A discourse by Paramahamsa Nithyananda delivered in St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
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Transcript:
[00:00:14]
I welcome you all with My love and respects. The subject for today is ‘Yoga - The the eight points to ponder’. Hope you are all able to hear. Eight points of Yoga. Usually they call it as eight steps. But according to Me it is not eight separate steps, it is eight points. Step means you finish the first and go to the second, finish the second and go to the third. But this doesn’t seem like that. It is like, you will be practicing all the eight at a time. You need to know all the eight at a time. Unless you have the glimpse of the eighth step – Samadhi, you can’t achieve the perfection, the first step – Yama – the disciplines. One small request, today I will be speaking few Sanskrit words. I request, if you don’t understand at any time, I will be always giving the English translation of the Sanskrit words. If you feel that you are not able to understand the translation or my accent or any concept, you are welcome to stop me and put any questions, so that I will give you little more explanation. Please don’t miss any point. Even if you miss a single point you will not be able to understand the next level. Only when you know all the eight points, it will do something to your life. I always tell people never collect any information, any knowledge, which you are not going to use it, which is not useful. So if you are just sitting here to collect little more knowledge, then be very clear, it is not something great. If you are sitting here to get something and transform your life, to use it in your life and transform your life, then it is something really great; it’s worth sitting, it’s worth spending, your time is worth spending only if you are here for transformation of life.
[00:03:54]
Those who have joined today, just for them I will give a few introduction points which I spoke yesterday. Patanjali is a great mystic. I call him as a saintist - saint and scientist both together. A saintist, who wrote this great book Yoga Sutra – means, the Aphorisms of Yoga. We are going to enter into the Aphorisms of Yoga. Yoga means – union with God. You should understand one important point – in the west you always think Yoga is just a set of body postures. Of course it is body postures also, but it is not only that much. It is something more than body postures. It is not only for the body, it is for the mind and the soul and your whole being. Yoga means Union. Patanjali gives eight points or eight steps to experience the Ultimate Union with the Divine, with the Universal Consciousness. Eight techniques he gives to enter into the Universal Consciousness. Before entering into these eight steps or eight points, yesterday we had a beautiful question. One of our devotee asked, “Swamiji, all these techniques can be practiced only by mind, which is after all a dream. How can these techniques awaken us? How can one more dream awaken us from our dreams?” Today we will analyze that question little bit, then we will enter into the points. First thing when you see a lion chasing you in your dreams or when you see some nightmare, automatically you just wake up, you come out of the dream and you come to waking conscious state. Same way, anything which gives you a deep fear or greed, you can see, if you analyze your dreams, you can understand, if it creates too much of greed or too much of desires, both will bring you out of the dream state. Whether it is nightmare or fantasy dreams, both will bring you out of dreams. If it is nightmare it will put you into the fear and you will be out of the dreams. If it is fantasy dreams, too much of greed, the excessive greed, again you will be out of dreams; you will be in the waking consciousness, in the waking state. All Patanjali does is, he adds something into your Being so that you will have some terrific dreams and you will wake up. You will just wake up.
[00:07:43]
There is a beautiful story in Zen Buddhism. One person goes to a Master and asks, “Master, how can I become awakened, enlightened?” Master says, “Just slap your face and get up; nothing else. Slap your face and get up.” All you need to do is only one thing. Just wake up! You will be out of the dreams. Sometimes we will not be able to slap ourself. So Patanjali teaches us eight methods how to slap our self, technically and get up. He is adding something so that we can have either nightmare or fantasy dream and wake up to the Ultimate Consciousness, Ultimate consciousness. These eight steps, the more you practice, the more the clarity descends on you. I can say one thing for sure, I have not seen any other Master, any other book, speaking so clearly with such a perfection, such a straight forward way. He is just a scientist, a+b=c; that’s all. Usually mystics never speak the language of mathematics. They say, “‘a’ put ‘a’ then ‘b’ maybe the ‘c’ or ‘d’ will come”, if the ‘c’ did not appear, “no, no, I think you don’t have enough faith!!!! You did not put ‘a’ properly, ‘d’ properly.” Usually this is the language mystics speak. This is the language spiritual people speak. But here is a person, he is straight and clear cut; he is sharp. He says, no, a+b is c; no doubts. He is ready to bet, he can guarantee. I think he has got so much of confidence about the product which he is marketing and he is so clear, only Patanjali can use the word ‘money back guarantee’ in the whole spiritual world. The word ‘money back guarantee’ can be used only by Patanjali; because he is so sharp, so clear, you cannot miss him. You cannot miss him. In any other system, there is a possibility, some will catch and some will miss; it’s always percentage. In every system, only percentage; 80% catches 20 misses or 60 catches 40 misses or 40 catches 60 misses. But with Patanjali I can say 110% people will catch. Why did I say 110%? Not only the people who are in the planet earth and who were in the planet earth, who will be in the planet earth also can catch because he has created such a fool proof system; not only for the past minds and the present minds, he can work for the future minds also. He has already predicted all possible complications mind can create and given solution.
[00:12:06]
In the modern days they say, pesticides, which they are using usually for agriculture purposes, to kill the insects, they say, if you use a particular pesticide for one year, the insect, slowly, slowly, they become so strong, they get immune to that pesticide. Next year, if you use the same pesticide, they start eating and surviving. They start surviving the pesticide. So next year naturally you have to improve the strength, you have to increase the strength. Every year you need to increase the strength of the pesticide to kill the insects because the insects learn the art of surviving the pesticides. Same way our mind also learns the art of surviving the Masters. Again and again Masters create techniques to go beyond the mind, but the mind is so cunning it learns the techniques. We all have survived Buddhas, we all have survived Shankaras, we all have survived Krishnas, we all have survived Christ. We are surviving the Masters because we became more cunning. Our mind becomes more cunning. We know the methods to escape from the techniques. But with Patanjali there is no need for any updating or pesticide. He has created such a strong mechanism or system you don’t need to update it. Simply it will work at any time. Simply you can’t survive Patanjali. You can’t survive Patanjali; simply you have to become enlightened. You have to reach his state; no other way. You can say Patanjali is the perfect Master because he has not left even a single chance. That is why his tradition is still alive. As I was telling you, if see from the practical point, from the practical aspect, he is the Master who has inspired more number of people on the planet earth. Practically he is the leading person in the spiritual field. Almost all the Masters are directly or indirectly inspired by him.
[00:15:28]
Let us enter into the first step. The first step, in Sanskrit it is called Yama - means discipline. Yama. We don’t have solid English word. I will translate the concept. Discipline, you can say discipline – means, tuning yourself to the Ultimate. The discipline does not mean dos and don’ts. Please be very clear, that is the reason the Yama word cannot be translated as discipline. Discipline means you understand always dos and don’ts. But Yama is not something to with dos and don’ts. It just gives you some instruction to tune yourself to your Being. I can say Yama means tuning to yourself. Trying to tune yourself to your Self, smaller self to Higher Self. First comes ahimsa means non-violence. Here non-violence is not teach as a morality. No. It is given as a technique, an important understanding. Usually non-violence is always taught to us as a morality – if you are non-violent you will reach heaven, if you are violent you will reach hell. It is like morality; you will be rewarded or punished. But I tell you, no morality can be practiced. Advice is the one thing which everybody is ready to give, nobody wants to take! Everybody is ready to give, nobody wants to take. No morality actually can be practiced. It’s very difficult to practice any morality. And if at all they are successful in practicing some morality, be very clear, you will be schizophrenic. God saved us, we will not be able to practice any morality. If you Master any morality you will just schizophrenia, suppressed, depressed.
[00:18:07]
I tell you, if you understand and practice, it can never be a discipline; it will be just falling in tune. It will be just tuning yourself. Here non-violence is not given as a morality, no; no concept of hell or heaven. If you are supposed to follow morality only based on the fear of hell or greed for heaven, I don’t think you have grown. All morality should be based on Consciousness, not on conscience. Morality based on conscience is only skin deep. You know the depth of skin, you know the depth of skin. If you are a child, you can be made to do something or you can be threatened not to do something with some reward or punishment. If you don’t do that, I will not give you candy. If you do that, I will give you Barbie doll. If you don’t do that I will punish you, if you do that I will reward you. It is ok for a child but not for a grown up man. Even after grown up, even after becoming an adult, if you need somebody to make you dance based on the fear or greed, you need the hell and heaven, means you have not grown, still you are child; it’s not even childlike… childish. Childlike is different and childish is different.
[00:20:18]
Be very clear, morality should be only based on Consciousness not on conscience. Here he speaks beautifully, Patanjali says ahimsa; ahimsa means non-violence. Non-violence is supposed to be followed with an understanding. He doesn’t make this a law; no law. If it is law naturally you will try to rebel when the cop is not around you. You know, if there is no cop at the back then naturally you speed up. And it gives you a taste. I tell you the moment you break some law you feel you are somebody great. 😀 Kids, the moment they say ‘no’ to their father-mother, they feel they have become adult. Why do you think again and again kids say ‘no’ to father-mother? Whatever you may say, simply all they know is ‘NO’. Because they feel, they became adult, they have became somebody, the moment they learnt how to say ‘no’. As long as they are saying ‘yes’ they feel still they have not become matured. The moment they learnt the art of saying ‘no’, they think they have grown up. Same way the moment you get some chance, you try to violate that rule. Any rule, gives you the inspiration to violate that rule. As long as it has not become understanding, either you will be trying to get some time to violate, if you don’t violate and just live the truth you will in fact have a deep dissatisfaction that you have not lived your life.
[00:22:32]
Please be very clear, these are the dangers of rules, these are the dangers of morality. I tell you, all the suffering, all the depression, all the violence on the planet earth is just because of the rules, without giving you understanding; just because of the rules. If you don’t follow, naturally there will be so many problems, and if you follow, you will feel as if you are not living your life. You are living the life according to somebody else. So, no rules will give you the satisfaction. That is why I replace the word ‘conscience’ with the beautiful word ‘Consciousness.’ Not discipline, falling in tune. No discipline, only Yama. Yama means falling in tune. Patanjali explains every concept. He says again and again, the first step of Yama is non-violence; non-violence with understanding why we should not be violent; not because you are going to get heaven or you will not be put in the hell.
[00:24:12]
I tell you one important thing. Actually you don’t do some mistake and reach hell. You do mistake because you are in hell. Why are you violent? Because you are not happy with yourself. Only when you are not ease with yourself, you are not happy with yourself, you are not comfortable with yourself, you are violent towards others. If you are ease with yourself, if you are happy with yourself, if you are relaxed with yourself, you will never be violent. See in your own life. If you are happy, cool, comfortable, joyful, even if somebody does a mistake you will say, “All right, leave it.” “Leave it, its ok. We will adjust, what to do, we will do something.” If you are agitated, restless, not ease with yourself, even if people don’t do mistakes, what you will do? You will try to find something; because you have to vomit out. You have to vomit the violence which is inside, the uneasy feeling which is in your being. I tell you, never think you will do some mistake and go to hell. You do mistake because you are in hell. Same way, never think you will do some good and go to heaven. You do good things because you are in heaven. Doing itself is a reward. The mentality or the easeness which you experience at the time of doing good, that itself is a reward. You don’t need a separate reward. If you do some good things for the sake of some reward, please be very clear, you are creating hell for yourself and I tell you, there is no exchange offer. If you give 45 rupees in India you will have 1 dollar in America, money exchange counter. I tell you honestly there is no money exchange counter between this world and the other world. Don’t think if you do some charity you will have the VIP pass there, speed pass. No. Do charity just out of joy, out of the spirit of sharing. You have it, let’s share. Just out of that understanding and sharing spirit do charity; never expecting that you will have a special flight taking you there, caring and all special arrangements will be made for you there, St Peter will be standing at the Pearly gates and receiving you. Please don’t imagine all those things.
[00:27:45]
Any morality or any discipline, if it is based on fear and greed, it is not going to lead you anywhere except hell. It will not even lead to hell, you will be in hell. Any morality should be only based on understanding. Here, he gives a understanding – if you are established in non-violence, even the animals in front of you will forget the idea of violence; they will drop violence. You will start radiating such wonderful love, such an ecstasy, such a grace, such a beautiful energy, such wonderful aura, your very Being will be a blessing to the planet earth. Ahimsa pratishtayam vairatyaha. The Sanskrit Aphorism says – man who is established in non-violence, in His Presence, even the enemies, even the animals will drop their enmity and vengeance and start radiating the love. There is a wonderful story. A great enlightened Master Shankara, he is one of the great Masters who happened on the planet earth. India has contributed many enlightened Masters to the planet earth. He is one of the great Master contributed by India to the planet earth. If we say Patanjali is a technician who created techniques, who created engineering for enlightenment, you can say Shankara is a man who created dictionary. He created unabridged dictionary of world philosophies.
[00:30:30]
In his life beautiful incident happened. He was going all over India by walk. And in India there is a tradition, if you have to become a Master, if you have to become a teacher, you have to go from village to village, beg door to door and live with a common public. Unless you live with common public, you live with a layman, you will not know what they actually need. All the problem in the modern day society is, the people who teach they are outdated. They studied 40 years ago. They don’t know what is going on with the modern man today. No way of updating themself. Neither they are interested nor compelled. That is the reason something lacks or we are missing something in our life. In India anybody who is supposed to become a teacher or a Master he has to go from village to village; length and breadth of India he should walk. He was wandering, learning from many great Masters, many experienced persons, learning from many universities, from different traditions. In India, every city will be built around the university, the Spiritual University. In My own village, the village in which I am born and brought up, there is a temple which is a spiritual university; 27 acre built up area with pure granite stone, pure granite stone, 27 acre built up area. And the tower, it has got nine tower. The height of one tower is 217 feet. Understand all their power, all their energy is diverted in constructing, creating Spiritual Universities. So each one, anybody who wants to become Master should go round learning different universities. He went round, learnt.
[00:33:20]
Now he is searching for a spot, for a place where he should create his own university and where he should settle down and start teaching. He is searching for a place. He decides - I want to spread love and the feeling of oneness. His teaching is called Advaita, oneness, non-duality. I want to spread this love. I will create a place, I will settle down in a place, where the love energy radiates, where the energy of love is in the peak. He decides, he will settle down in a place where the aura of love or the energy of love is in its peak. He goes round. At one place he sees, in a forest on the bank of a river, in a forest, he sees. The night, it was a poornima night, moon is shining and it is drizzling, slowly rain started. One frog is about to give birth, about to deliver a baby, baby frog. So it was raining. So nearby, one big, we call it cobra, the big serpent was lying by. It just saw the frog wants to give birth, wants to deliver a baby and it is raining. Just to protect that frog, cobra just opened its hood and it was protecting the frog. You know, cobras the moment they see the frog what they do? They swallow. They are basically enemies. And frog also, the moment it sees the cobra, it just escapes. Here, the cobra is protecting, the frog is delivering!
[00:35:51]
When Shankara saw this scene he was just shocked. This is the place where I should create my University. Animals lose their enmity, the idea of enmity is totally lost; such a pure feeling of oneness starts happening, such a pure love starts happening. And I tell you, if you experience that love, if you understand that love, you will never become violent again; not for the sake of hell, not for the sake of heaven, not because of the fear or greed. Just the ecstasy of that love is enough, you will never become violent. Simply you will become non-violent. Simply the non-violence will happen to you. Because that very love itself is such wonderful thing, such an ecstatic, deep bliss, you will never become again, even think of violence. As on now, all our non-violence is just show, mask. Deep down we are violent. Look into your life. If somebody falls, you rush, try to help, but how much you have to struggle to suppress your laughter. Tell me honestly. If somebody falls what will be the first reaction? Automatically, inside you giggle and you have to suppress yourself, somehow you have to manage to be polite. Many time, socially we express the sympathy but inside we feel good about the things. We don’t know actually what we are doing.
[00:38:14]
One small story – I brought a beautiful story for you. I will read it out: Ananda Popaya woke up to find himself in the hospital with his friend sitting beside him. Shocked Popaya asked his friend, “What happened last night?” Sadly his friend replied, “You know Popaya, at last night’s party, after drinking too much, you declared that you are going to parachute down from the fourth floor through the window.” Popaya exclaimed, “Why did not you stop me, you fool?” Friend replies, “Because last night I thought you could do it.” 😀 Friend was also drunk. Many time we don’t know what we are doing and after things happen we sympathize or try to sympathize and inside we just have a good time. We enjoy, we enjoy what’s happening – all right let’s have a good time.
[00:40:00]
Non-violence is supposed to be from an ecstasy of love, the bliss which you experience from love. And I tell you, when you experience love, you expand and feel oneness with everybody. Just because of that oneness, just because of that oneness only, you start being non-violent. Non-violence never comes by practice, it comes only by experience; practice is different, experience is different. Please be very clear. It comes only by experience of love, taste of love or the bliss of love. And I tell you, whether you believe it or not, accept it or not, realize it or not, the whole Universe responds to our thoughts.
[00:41:22]
Let Me tell you about My experience. After enlightenment, I was staying in a forest, in a dark cave; a cave which is very dark. One day I was sitting just at the entrance of the cave trying to relax, not even meditating; just my eyes are open but I am totally indrawn. I was sitting with myself. Next to Me, just two-three feet, a big cobra was lying, poisonous snake was lying. But the beauty is, I was so indrawn, I was completely within myself. I was not even aware the cobra is lying next to Me. My eyes are open but the mind is not associated with eyes. Sometimes, if you are reading something very seriously, even if people press calling bell, you will not hear the sound. The alarm goes on, you will not hear the sound. Ears are open, but mind is not associated with ears. Same way, eyes are open but My mind is not associated with the eyes. I was just sitting. How the birds hatch the eggs? When they hatch the eggs, they will be sitting with the eyes open but their mind will not be with the eyes. So, I was just sitting with Myself, the cobra was lying. Maybe after half an hour, suddenly, when I was settling into the body, I saw the cobra; means earlier also I was seeing. Suddenly the thought came in my mind – ‘Cobra’. I was seeing my eyes are open. Because my mind is so indrawn, I was indrawn, the thought cobra never occurred in Me. The moment… actually I have become slowly external 43:44, I have started settling into the body and the moment the thought came - ‘Cobra’, I could see very clearly, the cobra had the thought - ‘Man’. So as long as I did not think it is cobra, the cobra never thought I am a man. He was just lying happily, in a very relaxed way. Neither I was threatened by cobra nor the cobra was threatened by Me. Both of us were ease with our Presence, we were just enjoying each other’s company. He was comfortable with me, I was comfortable with him. Both were happy just sitting next to each other. The moment I had the thought - ‘Cobra’ the cobra had the thought - ‘Man’. And the next thought, the usual fear. And the moment the usual thinking trend started, I saw the same thing is reflected or same thing is happening in cobra also. When I looked, that also raised the head and looked. The moment I started moving, just it moved and went away. I started moving back and that also started going away. As long as I did not have the thought it is cobra, the cobra did not have the thought I am a man. The moment I had the thought, that also responded.
[00:45:21]
You should understand one important thing. When we are established in the love, nothing, nothing, touches us. We don’t have to defend our self continuously. The idea of defending only creates all the possibility or inspiration to offend others. See every country claims their army is defensive army. Then who is offending? Tell me. Every country claims their army is defense. Every country names their army as a defensive army, defense army. Have you heard any country saying their army as offense army? Any country naming their force as offensive army force? No. All countries claim, name their army force as a defensive army force. Then who is offending, who is offending? The very idea - ‘defending’ will make you offend others. The more you try to defend, what you will do? ‘I think better let me put one step ahead and defend myself.’ Naturally you will be entering inside his boundary and trying to defend yourself and he is also waiting to enter into your boundary and defend himself. Violence starts. Our idea about defense is a pure violence. And I tell you, don’t think it is impractical. No. Never think what I am saying is impractical. It is very practical. We always think ‘No, no, no, no, no, how can we be alive without protecting ourself?’ I tell you, now you protect yourself so much, what we experienced in our life except the pain and sufferings, is there anything else we achieved? No.
[00:47:59]
I tell you, even if you are exploited, if you live radiating love, you will be a God on the planet earth. You will live like a God on the planet earth. You will just have such wonderful being, you will be a God on the planet earth. You will be the flower on the planet earth. And if you take the other choice to continuously defend yourself, I tell you, how much you defend yourself you can defend yourself from the neighbors, from your society, from other human beings, from animals, all for 100 years. After that? You can’t defend yourself from death. One day you have to leave. By defending yourself you may add years to your life, please understand, by defending yourself you may add years to your life. By trusting, by loving, you will add life to your years. These two things, you want to add years to your life or life to your years is your choice. By defending, you will add years to your life, by loving, by trusting, by opening up, you will add life to your years. What you want you have to choose. It is up to you to choose.
[00:50:10]
When you understand the power of love, the ecstasy of love, not only you will not be non-violent, you will not feel you are a great person by being non-violent. One big trouble, people who start practicing this non-violence, they develop such a big ego, I tell you, this so called goody-goody people, the idea ‘holier than thou’ ‘I am holier than you’ is the most cunning violent attitude. You can trust an atheist but never these so called goody-goody people. Atheist will be more honest but these so-called goody-goody people, they will have so much of coward ego that I am holier than you. If you start practicing non-violence, you will radiate violence in a cunning way. You will start claiming ‘I am holier than you, you are under me.’ ‘I am holy person, I am great person. You don’t who am I.’ Always carrying a big board, bill board, putting all their qualities, big billboard. And if you experience the energy of love, not only you will not be non-violent, you will not feel you are doing something great. You will be non-violent in a very ordinary way.
[00:52:23]
There was a great enlightened Master, Suzuki, a Zen Master. One of the great Master. Somebody asked him, “Master, what is the greatness of your Master? What is the extraordinary thing you found in him?” Suzuki replies, “The most extraordinary thing I found in him is he always thought he is very ordinary.” People who think extraordinary they are all ordinary. Please be very clear. Every one of us have a feeling inside our being that we are extraordinary. We don’t say it very loudly because it is too egoistic. But in a very mild way, in a very nice way, polite way, ‘My religion is great, my country is great, my race is great, my language is great.’ Why do you think again and again we claim ‘my city is great, my religion is great, my country is great, my language is great, my race is great.’ You can’t straightaway say, ‘I am great’. 😀 So naturally you have to be little polite. And just say in a roundabout way. We can’t straight away say. It looks too egoistic. So we have to express it only in a roundabout way. That is why we claim ‘my race is great, my religion is great, my country is great, my language is great.’ We always think we are extraordinary, we are extraordinary. But I tell you, anybody who thinks extraordinary, that is enough, is ordinary. If you think you are extraordinary, be very clear, that is enough to make you understand you are ordinary.
[00:54:55]
Suzuki says, “I have never seen anybody who thought himself as so ordinary as my Master. That makes him extraordinary.” When you live in a ordinary way, you simply become extraordinary. No extraordinary person thinks he is extraordinary. Please be very clear. Somebody came and asked Me, “Swamiji am I enlightened? I have a doubt.” I told him, “As long as you have doubt, please be very clear you are not enlightened.” The moment you became enlightened, not only you will not have a doubt whether you are enlightened or not, I tell you honestly, you will not even think you are enlightened. People ask Me, people who live around Me, they ask Me, “Swamiji whatever is said and done, how could you live such an ordinary life, such an ease life?” I don’t take myself for granted. I don’t even think that I am enlightened. A really enlightened person will not even remember that he is enlightened, will not even think he is enlightened. He will not even have thought he is enlightened. Do you always sit and think ‘I am Sheila, I am Sheila, I am Sheila.’ Do you repeat your name? You don't continuously sit and think I am this, I am this, I am this. No. If you are that, you are that; that’s all. You don’t think, you don’t remember. Same way, a real enlightened person never even thinks he is enlightened and he just lives. An extraordinary person will not even think he is extraordinary. It will be so ordinary, such an ordinary life.
[00:57:06]
And there is one more reason why we miss enlightened people. They will be very ordinary; to live around them they will be so ordinary, you can’t find any difference. You can’t find any difference. People always worship and respect the dead Masters, ancient Masters. Why? Because, lot of stories are created around them. They are projected as extraordinary. But with living Masters they are so ordinary, difficult to recognize them. If you come and see where I am staying, there is a rest room in my room. I also use the bathroom. I also eat just like you all. I just live just like you all. But when you read the lives of Masters, you don’t read or remember whether they used rest room or not. And no Master’s life says whether they used rest room or not. It’s not recorded. So only the miracles are recorded, only the peak incidents are recorded. Only the extraordinary things are linked and the biography is created. Ordinary things are forgotten. The mundane things are missed. So we always think, enlightenment means something extraordinary. I tell you, you will become so ordinary, you will just radiate ordinariness. You will radiate ordinariness. When you experience the glimpse of the love, not only you will not be violent, you will not boast yourself that you are non-violent. You will not even think you are great because you are non-violent. You will not even feel you are some way extraordinary.
[00:59:38]
Next, Patanjali says the next point… in the first point there is five points. In the first point, in the five points, we have finished one and we are going to second. I love him so much, I can’t finish it. Actually, when you start talking about somebody whom you love, whom you feel very near and dear, you can’t finish. You can’t end. It will just go on, go on, go on forever. You can never end. When you talk about some of your enemies, naturally in 2-3 minutes you will say, “Enough, stop talking about him. Let’s do something else.” The person whom you don’t feel comfortable or happy, you say ‘enough, let’s talk about something else. Let’s go to something else. Let’s change the subject.’ But when you talk about somebody whom you love, whom you really enjoy, with whom you feel comfortable, not only you can’t end, it goes on and on and on.
[01:01:23]
The next wonderful point, first he says non-violence, then he says Brahmacharya. This word has to be understood. Normally this word is translated as celibacy. But it is wrong. Please understand, the Brahmacharya, Sanskrit word, cannot be translated by the English word celibacy. No. Celibacy is dead, suppressing, perversion, all possible problems. I tell you, HIV is the greatest gift given to the planet earth by this so called celibates. The word Brahmacharya should be understood in a much more deeper way. Brahma means Existence, Reality. Charya means living with it, living with it. Brahmacharya means, living with Reality. People come and ask me, “Swamiji to become a yogi should I leave my wife and kids and should I become a Swami? Should I become a celibate?” I tell them, “No. Just renounce what you don’t have; that is enough.” You don’t have to renounce what you have. If you have one wife, live with her happily, intensely. Only renounce the fantasies which you don’t have but which you try to have. Actually your fantasies are the wives whom you don’t have, but you try to live with them. Just renounce what you don’t have, that is enough. Live with what you have. Live intensely, happily, as deeply as possible with what you have. All you need to do is just renounce what you don’t have; that’s enough. Renouncing what you don’t have is what is meant by the word Brahmacharya. Just drop the fantasies. Just drop things which you don’t have in your life but with which you are living. There are so many things that are not available in your life but continuously you are living with it. You are living with it; whether it is about your car or about your house or about your wife or about your husband. Living with what you have, drop the fantasies. A real wife or real husband is perfectly all right. Just drop your fantasy husbands, your fantasy wives, your fantasies about wife, your fantasies about husband. Accept the other person as he is or as she is.
[01:05:00]
Accepting the reality. Living with the reality is what is meant by the word Brahmacharya. If we translate the word Brahmacharya into celibacy, I tell you, not even 1% of the world can become yogis; leave about 1% not even 001%. Not even 001%. Once you become enlightened, only then extraordinary energy happens to you and you just live like a flower, live like a flower. I tell you, the yogis, the so called modern day yogis have done a very big mistake by translating this word Brahmacharya with the English word celibacy. No. In Sanskrit, original Sanskrit, it means living with Reality. Brahma means Reality, Existence. Charya means living with. Living like or living the Existence. Living the existence is what we should understand by the word Brahmacharya. You don’t need to renounce what you have, just renounce what you don’t have; that’s enough. If you renounce what you don’t have, you will not renounce what you have. Two things: either you live with your fantasies or you live with your real wife. When you live with your real beloved, you drop your fantasies and your life becomes heaven, ecstasy, joy. If you live with your fantasies, naturally you will feel uncomfortable with your real wife and you will drop, choose something else, somebody else. Again when you come near, you will understand she is also not matching your fantasies. Again you will drop. Again after that you will search somebody and you come up on with somebody, you will understand she is also not matching your fantasy and it will go on and on and on.
[01:07:33]
I tell you, the idea of beauty or fantasy, is just an idea; it is not reality. Where is the scale of beauty, tell me? As long as the things are maintained, as long as we maintain a distance everything looks beautiful. When you look from long distance, long shot, things really look beautiful. When you come close everything becomes flat, everything becomes normal. I will tell you one important secret, even if you marry the Miss Universe or the best great model, the idea about beauty will be there only for 15 days; because in your movies and dreams, you have different, different fantasies, but in reality it will be totally different. The moment you start living together, you start staying together, naturally the idea of beauty will disappear. The idea of beauty will disappear. It will stay only for 15 days. That is why we have a beautiful word honey moon, not honey sun. Have you heard the word honey sun? Why it is honeymoon? A moon will stay only for 15 days. This emotion also will stay only for 15 days. That is why honeymoon.
[01:09:35]
When you start living with the Reality, when you start accepting her as she is without bringing your fantasies in the front, without trying to mold her as you want, you will live ecstatic life. You will be surprised, in India people stay together even for 60-70 years. Actually, when I tell them that in some other countries people marry even twice or thrice, they get shocked. Usually, I can say even 80%, 80% in Indian culture they stay together forever. In Hinduism the idea of divorce never exists. There is no idea of divorce. According to Hindu marriage laws, the divorce is not possible. And I want to tell you one important thing. Still we don’t have a Sanskrit equalent word for divorce. We don’t have a Sanskrit word for divorce. Divorce, as such the very idea is not socially accepted, because, before the marriage they are very clearly made to understand nobody can suit or match your fantasies. Either you live with your fantasies and get frustrated after seeing five-six persons or drop your fantasies and live with one person happily forever. Only in the fairy tales you get the word – ‘they lived forever happily’, ‘They lived forever happily married’. Only in the fairy tales you can get the word, not in reality. In reality only when you drop your fantasies you can experience what I call Brahmacharya.
[01:12:20]
Brahmacharya is nothing to do with outer man or outer woman. Outer man or outer woman can never disturb your Brahmacharya. If they are disturbing, it is not worth having. It’s an inner man or inner woman who disturbs you; not the outer man or outer woman. And I have seen some of these so called celibates, these suppressive people, they will be always attention, because they are sitting on a volcano. Any moment they will open, any moment they can break. They are afraid they are afraid. And they can’t look into your eyes because you can find out what is there in their mind. They are afraid to look into your eyes. Neither their eyes can be relaxed nor their body can be relaxed. They can’t have vacation. The moment they sit with themself, all the fantasies come out. They have all possible dreams, all possible perversions. What to do, nothing can be done. In India there is a faith or stories - if you are meditating and trying to practice celibacy, from the higher worlds from heaven they will send the dancing girls of heaven to tempt you. There are stories. One so called meditator; of course his name is Vishwamitra… before enlightenment. After enlightenment he became a real Master that is different. There are some stories says that before his enlightenment, the heavenly celestial girls came and tempted him and he fell from his vows. I tell you, nobody sends you any women. Nobody is sitting there and allotting people ‘ohhh he is meditating, go and disturb.’😀 ‘He is trying to meditate, go and disturb him.’ If that is the case everybody will start meditating. 😀If at all they are going to get heavenly women, they will start meditating! I don’t think this is the case. These people when they suppress too much, they start seeing their fantasies. They start seeing illusions. They start hallucinating because of their suppressed fantasies. We can be sure that this guy also started hallucinating because of his suppression. I don’t think anybody is sitting there allotting duty. ‘All right, today Rambha you go there and disturb this guy.’ ‘Today you go south zone and disturb all those guys.’ No. No heavenly girls or celestial women are sent to disturb these people. They disturb themself because of suppression.
[01:16:09]
And I tell you, the Brahmacharya should not be practiced as a morality. It should happen as an understanding. When you drop the inner woman, start living with the outer woman intensely, something extraordinary happens between you and your beloved. You start accepting the other person as he is or as she is. When you accept the other person as he is or as she is, you start accepting, you start accepting yourself as you are. When you accepting the other person as he is or as she is, you start accepting yourself as you are. In a way Brahmacharya also has to be experienced or you have to fall in tune with it, not to be practiced but to be experienced.
[01:17:42]
Next, beautiful word Satya. Satya means the truthfulness. Please be very clear, not fact-fullness. Being factual is not being truthful. When Patanjali says Satya he means the Truth, not being factual. People understand Satya means being factual, telling the facts as it is. No. That is not Satya. Satya is something more – living the Truth, not only speaking the Truth. Speaking the Truth any fool can do. I think only fools do. That’s not a big thing. Speaking the Truth is not a big thing; Living the Truth. When Patanjali says Satya, he means something more than being factual. Actually I’ll tell you one important secret – if you have to break any law, all you need to do is, you don’t have to go against the law, just follow it verbally, verbatim, simply you will break the spirit. You start following verbatim, literally, you will break the spirit. Two thing: catching the spirit or catching the letter. When you catch the letter there is every possibility you will miss the spirit. How do you think, why do you think people fight in the name of God? Jesus says, ‘love thy neighbors as you love thyself.’ Krishna says again and again ‘I am in everybody. See me in everybody and love everybody as you love myself.’
[01:20:27]
Every Master says we have to spread love, we have to radiate love. But finally what happens? Why so much of religious terrorism? Why so much of violence? They catch the letter, not the spirit. They catch the letter not the spirit. They catch the personality, not the principle. Each one wants to spread the peace and love as they want, not what others feel. These so called preachers of love and peace, they are the people who create all possible chaos. If you say you are already in peace and you are already happy, they say, ‘No, you have to be peaceful or loving as we want you, not as you are.’ If you are already peaceful, then how will we have job?
[01:21:56]
Three friends, one great preacher and a lawyer and doctor, all the three were sitting and discussing. The doctor said, “God must be a doctor” Others asked “How? How can it be?” “Because he removed one rib and created Eve. He removed one rib from Adam and created Eve. So he must be a doctor.” Lawyer said, “No. He must have been a lawyer or a judge.” Others asked, “How?” “Because he was giving judgment. He was trying to pacify the problems of Adam and Eve.” The preacher said, “No. He is a preacher. I know for sure.” Others asked, “How?” “Arey… Before the Adam and Eve, Bible says there was a chaos. Who would have created it? Who else can create a chaos? He must have been a preacher.” Most of the time it is they who create chaos, so that they will have their business. When you just catch the letter not the spirit, you create chaos.
[01:23:44]
Rama, the great incarnation of India, his birth place, he named that city as Ayodhi. Ayodhi means where there is no war. Yuddha means war, Ayodhya means where there will be no more wars; where peace will radiate. And if you know little bit about India, you will know, today that is the biggest controversy of India. So much of violence is going on just because of that one place. The whole spirit of Rama is lost. All he wants is that city should be peaceful without wars. That is why he named that city as Ayodhya. That was his fantasy that was his idea. But the followers, they catch the letter, not the spirit.
[01:24:54]
A small story, beautiful story. There was a great enlightened Master living in the banks of Ganges, India’s holy river. He had one copy of holy book, the Hindu holy book – Bhagavad Gita. He used to read that book. He used to worship that book. That book is the only property which he owned. And almost that book has become his life. It has become part of his life. One day, every day he used to sit and pray with that book, read that book, recite it and pray to the God or practice it. One day a poor guy, old man, came and begged, “Sir, please give me something. I have not eaten for last two days. I am hungry. Please help.” The Master felt deeply moved. He thought, “I myself a beggar, what can I give you? I have nothing except this one book. I can do one thing. Please take this book and go to the market. I am very popular and respected in this city. And go to the market and auction this book. Say that this book is from me. This is from that Enlightened person. So many of my disciples are there. They will surely give some money and purchase this book because they know that this is the only property or this is the only thing which I keep. So they all respect this book. They will purchase this book and give you money. Have that money and eat and be happy. This is the only thing I can do.” This beggar said, “OK. Please give me. I am happy.” The Master gave that book to him and the beggar went away. Next day morning, the time for prayer came. He is supposed to open this book and pray. But there is no book. He has already given away that book. Now he says, “Ohh God, I have given away your words, to keep your words.” He prays, “I have given away your words to keep your words.” The story says, immediately Lord appeared and blessed him, “My son you have done what I said. You have caught the spirit not the letter.”
[01:28:02]
When you catch the letter, you always miss the spirit. Being factual does not mean being truthful. Being factual is very easy. Speaking only the facts is very easy. And you can play with words such a way, you can always prove that you spoke only facts and do what you want. All you need is only little intelligence or little logic. You can always say so called facts and do what you want. So much of corruption is there in all the countries, in all the fields, because we understood this Satya as being factual, not as truthful. Being factual means speaking the fact through your words. But Truth is, living the Truth not only through the verbal language, through your body language also. Truth is something more than being factual. The Truth has got three dimensions. One is speaking the Truth, thinking the Truth and expressing the Truth in your life. The three dimensions of the Truth if you understand only then you can call yourself you are Truthful or you have fallen in tune with Truth, Satya. So tomorrow we will see all three dimensions of Truth.
[01:30:20]
Description:
Once Again Science Proves…
Once again, science proves the power of healing! Dr. William Collins, a leading researcher and a practicing neurosurgeon at St. Louis requested to study Swamiji’s brain and patient’s brain during healing. Swamiji readily agreed to his request. Dr. Collins was amazed at the results he recorded! Read on for an initial report of his observations.
Swamiji met with Dr. Collins on April 14th, at his office in Washington University, St. Louis, where Dr. Collins wanted to measure and analyze Swami’s and patient’s brain during healing. The patient was David Collins, son of Dr. Collins, who was injured in a car accident 10 years ago. The accident affected the motor nerves and David is now disabled. He cannot walk, talk, move his hands or control most his body much. He communicates with his eyes mostly.
There were 4 main states in which brain readings of Swami and David were recorded and compared: (a) just sitting normally, (b) Swami meditating, (c) Swami healing David and (d) Swami radiating healing energy, without directing it specifically towards David. The key observations of Dr. Collins in each of these phases is summarized below.
Just sitting normally:
When Swami was just sitting and his brain waves were recorded, Dr. Collins observed the following:
• Swami’s brain was unusually quiet (especially the right side of his brain).
• Brain metabolism was 1/20th of normal people – this is significantly less that what he has seen even in very calm persons.
o This implies there is an enormous conservation of energy. o Oxygen and other chemicals consumed by the brain to process information is greatly conserved.
• The activity was a minimum, only the energy required to run vital body functions were being consumed.
• The readings of brain activity and metabolism were at such low levels that Dr. Collins changed electrodes to more sensitive ones and even adjusted the them a few times to make sure he was getting the readings. Despite the adjustments the readings still showed unusually low levels!
• Left and right side of his brain were working simultaneously.
• Strength of Alpha waves, which is generally high for people who are stressed, was significantly lower than normal.
Dr. Collins couldn’t believe that Swami was in his normal state with this activity level in the brain… he remarked “there is no such thing as normal state for you!” And Swami replied that he was right, because even during normal state Swami is really in samadhi.
Meditating:
While Swami was meditating: • Higher frequency brain waves increased… this was found only in people who had meditated for 20 yrs, etc. • Lower frequency waves decreased in strength. This was the reverse of what is normally observed in average persons, where lower frequency waves become more prominent during meditation.
o The reason for this unusual reading is, as Swami pointed out, that when average persons meditate they concentrate, but Swami enters into awareness.
Healing:
While healing David, from Swami’s readings Dr. Collins noted: • Swami’s brain readings were dramatically different. • Right side of his brain became much more active. The difference between the right side and the left side was dramatic!
o Right hemisphere does global thinking and rapid processing.
o Whatever takes the left brain several minutes to process, the right brain will process in half a sec (i.e. the right is 100s of time
faster than left brain)!
o Swami’s right brain was much more active compared to the left.
o Right brain is also in the timeless zone (no concept of time).
• The strength of the waves implied a tremendous level of metabolic activity… o Dr. Collins stated “If I had done this, I’d be fatigued and sleeping by the time its over!” o But of course, Swami felt refreshed after healing, and this was unbelievable for the doctor.
At this same time, from David’s brain readings, these observations were made: • Certain high frequencies that we don’t normally produce, were being produced by his brain.
o Those high frequencies are generally produced when we integrate information, or an epiphany happens.
o If and when they are produced, they occur for a very short duration (about one second) and are easy to miss.
• In David’s brain, not only were these waves being produced, but they were maintained during the entire healing period! • Dr. Collins commented “The world is not going to believe this! This is extremely unusual….its seems as if his brain was changing and 100s of 1000s of neurons/nerves in the brain was being re-wired!” • The sustained levels of high frequency waves also meant a very high metabolism of the brain.
o Dr. Collins described it as equivalent to running at your fastest speed for 20 minutes
o Based on that, he concluded that David will be exhausted after the healing.
o On the contrary David didn’t feel tired, and instead he was refreshed and he wanted to walk!
Radiating healing energy:
In this phase, Swami created the same healing energy, but instead of directing to one person, he just radiated it. The doctor once again recorded the brain activity in Swami and David, and found that:
o The high freq waves continued to occur in David’s brain (i.e. re-wiring of the brain continued to occur). o There was still a significant difference in the strength of the high frequency waves in David’s brain. o Both sides of David’s brain became like the right brain of Swami. o Swami’s brain activity was quite similar to the levels during one-to-one healing.
Swami says – in normal state, myself, the person getting healed and the cosmic energy are all different, but during healing all 3 get connected. That could be the reason why David’s brain behaved like Swami’s brain.
Following are some pictures taken during the test.
Photos: