Patanjali Yoga Sutras: Ashtanga Yoga - Asana-New Revelations - Patanjali Yoga Sutra 97
Title
Ashtanga Yoga - Asana-New Revelations: Patanjali Yoga Sutra 97
Description:
Living enlightened master and avatar Paramahamsa Nithyananda began this discourse with a new interpretation of the word. "Asana is roughly translated as Posture. I want to translate it as 'Tuning yourself to the Cosmos'."
Sthira and Sukha - the way in which you tune yourself to the cosmos should be stable, sturdy and comfortable for you. There are 1000s of ways to tune yourself to the cosmos. For every act you have a particular posture. If you lie down in a relaxed way and try to shout at someone, it won't work! Posture, your consciousness, and action - all 3 are connected closely. By lying down you can't shout at someone and by standing up you can't sleep.
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Ashtanga Yoga - Asana-New Revelations: Patanjali Yoga Sutra 97
Transcript
Sadashiva samarambam shankaraacharya madhyamaam Asmadaacharya paryanthaam vande guru paramparaam. 0:52 I welcome you all with my love and respects. I welcome and bless all the devotees around the world who are sitting with us now, live. I bless all of you. Again I remind all of you sit in padmasana and samana mudra in unclutched way. Now you will have eN effect on all of you. The kundalini awakening will start happening in all of you. Just sit with a restful awareness padmasana and samana mudra and listen with restful awareness. 1:49 Today’s subject for the satsang is ‘Asana - Tuning yourself with the Cosmos’. Today we are entering into the next step. In the ashtanga yoga, in the eight steps we completed yama and niyama. We are entering into the third step, asana; roughly translated as posture. But I do not want to use the word posture to translate asana. Asana means, I want to translate this word as tuning yourself with the cosmos; 97th sutra in Patanjali yoga sutras, in second chapter 46th verse. Sthira sukham asanam. 3:28 Swami Vivekananda translates this sutra as posture is that which is firm and pleasant. Swami Prabhavananda translates this as posture is to be seated in a position which is firm but relaxed. Swami Sachidananda translates as posture; asana is a steady comfortable posture. Dwivedi translates as posture is that which is steady and easy. Sthira sukham asanam. I will translate this word asanam as tuning yourself to the cosmos. The word sthira and sukha I'll translate as, the way in which you tune yourself to cosmos should be stable, steady and comfortable for you. 4:54 Please understand stable, steady and comfortable. There are thousands of ways to tune yourself to cosmos. For every act you have a particular asana; posture. For example just lie down in a relaxed way and try to be angry, shout at somebody; you can’t. Just try to be completely relaxed or just lie down, let your head rest; lying down in the bed try to shout at somebody. Posture, your consciousness, action; all three are closely connected. Posture, your consciousness, your action all three are closely connected. By lying down you can’t shout at somebody, scream at somebody. By standing up you can’t sleep. So each posture creates a particular state of consciousness in you and helps you for a particular action. 6:42 The posture for the ultimate state of consciousness is what we call mahasana or maha mudra. For that posture, for that happening, you need to evolve your body step by step. That evolving should be steady and comfortable. Please understand each posture creates a particular state of consciousness in you. You can see a simple example. You can experientially see. Sit in padmasana or sit holding the leg. Both you will see the mind. Same way, sit with the chin mudra; this way and this way. If you sit with this way you will have a different feeling. If you sit, just turn the hands, you will have a different feeling. Just keep the hands like this and inhale and exhale, keep the hands like this and inhale and exhale. You will see the difference. Change in body posture brings change in the state of your consciousness. So there is a particular body posture for you to have the ultimate state of consciousness. You need to find out and move towards that body posture. 8:36 One of the biggest crime happened; I don’t even want to use the word mistake or blunder; crime happened in Indian vedantic tradition is disrespect to asana. The Indian vedantic tradition or the Indian religious traditions, many of them have started somehow I do not know how, why, disrespecting body and necessary to keep the body fit, alive, in right posture. That is the reason you do all kinds of dance only when you are asked to sit. Here pain, here pain, here pain, uncomfortable feeling; because somehow you learned the lesson; the Indian conscience itself this idea not to respect body, revere body has penetrated, as if body is the villain; the villainity is painted on body; it is not. Just like how I am the victim in this whole scandal but villainity is painted on me. The villainity being painted on me, same way your body is the victim of you. We go on abusing the body. 10:55 See continuously for your enjoyment and excitement you take the body to its extreme, like you take the body to the extreme. Whether it is eating or seeing, I have seen these youngsters, till late night 2 O clock sitting and watching cricket or base ball. Your eyes will be begging please let me rest. No. You will force yourself; means what…..abusing your body. Your body is victim of you. Your body is not villain. Your body is victim. Whether it is seeing or listening high, loud, music.... because it gives a kind of a kick, excitement or the taste; extreme hot chilly food because it gives a kind of a kick, boiling; especially that Andhra gongura chutney. Eyes will be pouring but these fellows…… nothing will be added just chilly, means your tongue is a victim of your pleasure. You can’t handle your craving for excitement, you abuse your tongue. 13:24 Same way physical touch; in every level your body is not villain, it is victim. But in Indian conscience, religious traditions and Vedanta somehow we started neglecting, rejecting, disrespecting body. That is why even the great vedantis who study these ideas for years, never experience; because for experience your body need to evolve to a certain posture asana where you experience the highest state of consciousness in your body. The very body you have, need to be aligned. If I need to give an example, your body is like a mirror and this light is the cosmic light cosmos. Now that light is reflecting on the mirror by accident in some direction, in some angle. But you need to tune align the mirror to such a clear posture where the cosmic light reflects itself straight, complete, 100%. Aligning of the mirror to the right posture where it completely reflects itself without any distortion, deflection; that aligning, tuning is what I call asana. 15:46 You have only two option; either you align your body or malign your body. Aligning means exactly reflecting the super consciousness in its pure form; experiencing the highest transcendental consciousness, then you are aligned, aligning or maligning. Other than aligning everything else is maligning. That aligning is what I call asana. For this you need to do two thing; one trial and error, second developing the capacity. In trial and error you find out; is this asana works for me? Is this posture works for me? Is this system works for me? Second, once you find out this routine works for you then increasing the ability through practice, steady and comfortable sthiram sukham. 17:20 What is steady? Let me describe the, translate the word sthiram. Steady is a simple translation. Sthiram means any posture imbibed by you should become bio memory. You are able to do that posture now but after five days or five months suddenly because you did not have the practice you are not able to do. No. Then it has not become sthiram in you. Sthiram means which has become bio memory in you, which cannot be shaken, which cannot be disturbed, which cannot be abused, which cannot be lost. sthiram and sukham What is sukham? Understand first part which you need to find out, that trial and error, in that you will find out which posture is sthiram for you. Means all of you came down with a certain bio memory. For you there will be some postures. The moment you do even once, it will become sthiram for you. The moment you lock yourself in that posture you will feel oh God so comfortable. This is my very nature.
19:29 By trial and error, find out the posture of sthiram, then sukham. I am translating sukham in a new way, in my own way; having the sweet pain of that asana whole day by increasing the practice in you is what I call sukham. Understand once you find out that posture, increase the time of practice more and more. Once you find out that set, that anushtana which you need to do, the posture need not be always one; it can be sequence. It may be sequence of twenty posture or twelve posture like surya namaskar; twelve postures is a surya namaskar. So you will be able to find out through trial and error or by the gurus prescription, set of postures which you need to do; which is sthiram for you. 20:47 Then comes sukham. Sukham means increasing the capacity to do and be in those postures continuously practicing and experiencing the sweet pain whole day is sukham. Sukham does not mean luxury or pleasure. It means experiencing the sweet pain. I tell you when the right posture is discovered; when you do that you will feel the nectar is oozing out of every joint. It will not be pain; it will be sweet pain. Nectar oozes out from every joint. In Sri Vidya tradition we call it amrita. Nectar is available in every joint. The proper mudra and asana makes that nectar ooze out. Having the sweet pain; I don’t even want to use the word pain; having that sweet experience in every joint through the practice of the postures, vinyasa, vinyasa krama, the set of postures, practicing those set of postures more and more and increasing the capacity of your body and experiencing the sweet nectar feeling in your body is sukham. 23:04 So for asana, for the right posture, you need to do two thing. One, respecting your body; understanding only by aligning your body properly you will be able to experience the highest transcendental consciousness; raising your body to the highest possible spiritual conscious coherence. Second, very important thing; through trial and error method or the Guru’s prescription, finding out the right set of postures for you, vinyasa krama. I can add one more thing, third, increasing the ability to practice those asanas by doing it again and again and again, experiencing sweet nectar like pain in your body whole day. 24:45 So sthiram sukham asanam. Understand the concept and the truth which Patanjali is trying to express through this sutra. So spend little time to find out through trial and error; the right sequence of postures for you, by trial and error method or by the prescription of the guru. Second not only practicing that postures increase the ability by practicing more and more, again and again, so that, that sweet pain remains in your system and the taste of the nectar from every joint happens in you continuously.
25:50
So please understand the sweet pain which comes in your system by practicing is what Patanjali calls sukha. So align your body immediately you will see the levitations will start happening. It is nothing but just aligning your body properly. Levitation is not some magic. It is just aligning your body. When your body can float in the water once you align it with water, why can’t it float in the air if you align it? It is possible. When you align your body it levitates. When you malign your body, it gravitates; that’s all. Aligning brings levitation, maligning brings gravitation. Sthirm sukham asanam.
27:29
I bless you all to achieve, experience, live, express, radiate and share the eternal bliss Nithyananda.
Thank you.
27:46
Title
Q&A Session Nithyananda Morning Message 12 Jan 2011