PATANJALI YOGA SUTRAS CHAPTER.2 = HOW HABITS ARE FORMED? = THE SCIENCE OF BREAKING THE HABITS = SADHANA PAADHA Vs.15, 16, 17

PATANJALI

YOGA SUTRAS

  

CHAPTER.2 : SADHANA PAADHA

Vs.15, 16, 17 

We have so far analyzed the five kleshaas (or sorrows) which are the major obstructions to our success in Yoga and in life.

These are Ignorance, Ego, likes, dislikes and love of life( or fear of death).

The three stages in extinguishing the five kleshaas are –

(i)      through thapas, bring them from their gross form to their subtle form

(ii)       Resolve them into their causes  and

(iii)     extinguish them through Meditation

Our Karmas (actions) follow us in a cycle. Subtle impressions in the mind prompt us into Karmas. Karmas then leave behind further subtle impressions in the mind. These impressions further prompt us into specific Karmas.

These Karmas result in our birth, our length of life and the good and bad experiences we feel in life. Pleasure results to us from the past good and benevolent deeds done by us. Likewise, pain and suffering result from the past bad and wicked deeds done by us. Our pleasure and pain thus come from this baggage of punya (benevolent deeds) and apunya (wicked deeds). We will now move further to verse.2.15.

VERSE.2.15

 parinaama thaapa samskaara 

duhkhaih guna vritthi virodhaath 

cha duhkham eva 

sarvam vivekinah 

Ø  parinaama = change, transformation

Ø  thaapa = suffering, misery

Ø  samskaara = subtle impressions in the unconscious

Ø  duhkhaih = because of suffering

Ø  guna =  the three Gunas of Sattva, Rajas, Thamas

Ø  vritthih = activities, modifications

Ø  virodhaath = because of opposing reasoning

Ø  cha = and

Ø  duhkham = sorrow or suffering

Ø  eva = is only

Ø  sarvam = all

Ø vivekinah = to the discerning persons

The wise man learns from this clear sequence.

Whatever Karma we are performing right now is prompted by the Fine Samskaaraas or subtle impressions imprinted in the sub-conscious / unconscious part of the mind. The present Karma again leaves its own fine impression or samskaara in the mind (sub-conscious / unconscious).

In simple terms, this is the method of habit formation. Habits once formed prompt us into Karma again. This karma again makes subtle impressions in the mind. So, the mind gets into this continuous cycle.

If we remember the example of drunkards, the cycle becomes easy to understand. Habits are hard, but not impossible, to break.

This cycle gives rise to Punya (good deeds) and Paapa(bad deeds). These, in turn, give rise to sukha (comforts and happiness) and duhkha(sorrows and pains).

For the wise, discerning man, all Karma (giving sukha or duhkha) is sorrowful and painful.  

How is it so? This can be explained easily. When we are anticipating sukha (comforts and happiness) to come into our lives, we feel anxiety whether it will come or not and when exactly it will actually come. When sukha comes and is with us, we develop an inner fear that this sukha may possibly go away soon, from us. When it actually goes finally, we feel deep sorrow for losing the sukha.

When we expect / anticipate Duhkha (Pain or sorrow), then also, we feel anxiety - whether it will come and when it will come. We start praying that it should not come. When Duhkha actually comes and is with us, we pray and do all that is possible, for getting rid of it. When it goes finally, we again fear that it may come again. There is relief that the suffering has gone but there is also fear that it may come again.

Therefore, in both sukha and duhkha, wise man sees only pain. In reality, sukha and Duhkha follow each other in cyclical pattern in our life and neither of them stay with us always. But they leave deep impressions in our mind, which prompt us into Karma again, and into anxiety of all sorts again, and keeps us thus in their cycle. Even opposing the mental attitudes (samskaaraas) which give rise to Duhkha also give Duhkha only.

The discerning man – must understand this cycle and come out of the cycle by the means detailed further in subsequent verses.

VERSE.2.16

 heyam duhkham anaagatham

Ø heyam =  to be avoided

Ø  duhkham = sorrow or suffering

Ø  anaagatham = that which is yet to come 

Let us look at this cycle from the timeline point of view.

Some Sorrows and comforts have already come and gone. They are Past. We can do nothing about them. But, they have left some subtle impressions in our mind –which are with us in the present also.

We are going through some sorrows and comforts right now. This is present. About the present also, there is nothing we can do. We must go through it. This also leaves subtle impressions in our minds – which remain after the comforts and sorrows are gone.

Therefore, past and present comforts and sorrows are not what the wise, discerning man will concentrate on.

The only one which we can and must avoid is the duhkham (sorrows and pains) which is yet to come. In other words – our action to avoid sorrows and pains must be futuristic.

This path is the most scientific, realistic and positive way of life. Patanjali is held in very high esteem precisely for such highly scientific approach to life and its problems. Patanjali is not talking of going to some heaven or hell after death. He is talking of HOW TO LIVE ON EARTH IN THIS LIFE !

VERSE.2.17

 drashtru drishyayoh 

samyogo heya hethuh

Ø  drashtru = the one who sees or experiences (usually with the five senses and mind)

Ø  drishyayoh = the object (to be) seen or experienced

Ø  samyogah = Meeting or Union

Ø  heya = the cause / thing to be avoided

Ø  hethuh =  the cause 

The external object or experience is called Drishyam or scenery. We see or experience the universe and all the things and beings in it with our five senses and the mind. So, the Universe is the Drishyam – that which is seen and experienced.

First, the drishyam must reach the gates of the body, namely the five physical sense organs. At that point, the external universe is the seen object and the five sense organs can be taken as the one who is seeing , or the seer.

From there, the nerve points take the impressions taken in by the sense organs. At this point, the impressions in the sense organs are the scenery and the nerve points act as the seer. The nerve points take them to the mind. In this process, the mind is the seer, and the impressions in the nerve points is the object or scenery.

Now, the mind, ego and Buddhi start acting on them in varieties of ways. There arises  in the mind different kinds of subtle impressions of the drishyam. The ultimate seer is the Purusha or the Real self – who sees through the Buddhi and mind.

All the sukha and duhkha are experienced by the ego and the manas (mind) – but it looks as if the Purusha is experiencing them – as his vision is blurred by all these impressions in the mind.

For all practical purposes, we stay in the ignorance created by the mind impressions and go through the cycles of sukha and duhkha. We stay at the Mind + Ego levels assuming our self as the mind + ego and suffer the sukha and duhkha.

When we look at the real cause of this cycle, we find that - the meeting of the Drisyam (seen or scenery) and Drasta (the seer) creates these problems in the Drasta. This is the cause of our cycle of sorrow and is the one to be avoided. We need clarity on Drisyam and Drasta – which follows in in subsequent verses.

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PATANJALI= YOGA SUTRAS = CH.2 : SADHANA PAADHA Vs.12, 13, 14 = PLEASURE & PAIN = KARMA PHALAM

PATANJALI

YOGA SUTRAS

CHAPTER.2 : SADHANA PAADHA

Vs.12, 13, 14

We have so far analyzed the five kleshaas (or five sorrows or difficulties) which are the major obstructions to our success in Yoga and in life.

These are Ignorance or avidya (Ignorance), asmitha (Ego), raaga (likes), dvesha (dislikes) and abhinivesha (love of death/fear of death). Ignorance is the first and the root of all the other four sorrows. These kleshas may be in totally dormant state, or in attenuated state, or in low or high intensity states in different individuals at different times.

When these are in their gross, highly manifest forms, they should be brought to their subtle / Sookshma form through thapas.

Once they are in their subtle (Sookshma) state, they can be resolved into their causes. Once they are resolved into their causes, it is easy to extinguish them completely through meditation.

Thus the three stages in extinguishing the five kleshaas are –

(i)          through thapas, bring them from their gross form to their subtle form

(ii)               Resolve them into their causes  and

(iii)             extinguish them through Meditation

VERSE.2.12

klesha-moola karma-aashayoh drishta adrishta janma vedaneeyah 

Ø  klesha-moola = having sorrows as its origin

Ø  karma-aashaya = birth Place of karma

Ø  drishta = visible, present

Ø  adrishta = unseen

Ø  janma = in births

Ø  vedaniyah = to be experienced 

All of our fine samskaaraas or latent, subtle impressions recorded in our mind - are the birth place of our Karmas or actions. These fine samskaaraas themselves were the result of similar karmas earlier. The Karma may be visibly completed and over. But, it leaves a subtle impression inside the mind in us. Thus, there is a huge reservoir of such impressions of all of our Karmas inside us.

Next time, an incident happens, the connected or similar latent samskaara or impression in us comes up again and brings out an action or emotion from us, according to the nature of this latent samskaara already recorded in us. Since these impressions are very subtle and latent, they may be remain as visible in the present or invisible in the present – but will be experienced in this birth and the unseen births to come in future.

Samskaaraas are like our habits. Habits govern our actions in most circumstances. Anger can be a habit. Jealousy can be a habit. Every type of reaction is a habit. Our actions emanate out of our habits. Many habits are known to us. Many are unknown to us. They are deeply entrenched inside the mind. All thse are the effects of our Past Karmas. But, the irony is – they also tend to govern our future karmas, and our future actions / reactions to outside stimuli or even they themselves can act as inside stimuli. Samskaaraas are such deeply ingrained habits of the mind. It is not that a samskaara must form from a series of actions. Even a single action of a kind leaves an impression inside the mind.

The Yoga Sasthra considers all impressions as sorrow-giving only in their ultimate nature – as they drive you from behind. There are no good or bad habits, from this view point. All are sorrow giving – or Kleshaas. Karmas – to latent impressions – to similar karmas – to similar reactions – to further latent impressions becomes a cycle – resulting in the birth-death-birth cycle.

Yoga enables us to bypass all these impressions – and become the master. As some Yogis have demonstrated in the past -  they can generate any type of body and mind impressions according to their will.

The utility of Yoga is to break this cycle of karma-impressions-karma cycle  or birth-death-birth cycle and become free of them.

VERSE.2.13

 sati moole thath vipaako jaati aayus bhogaah

Ø  sati = being present

Ø  moole = to be at the root

Ø  thath = of that

Ø  vipakah = ripening,

Ø  jaati =  type of birth in a species

Ø  aayus = span of life

Ø  bhogaah = what we experience 

As earlier said – the birth-karma-death-rebirth cycle is produced because of these kleshaas and their fine impressions in us.

As long as these fine impressions remain as roots in us, they produce the three consequences in us, namely: 

1.   birth(including its type in a species)

2.   span of life, and

3.   All good and bad experiences in the life.

This is of course the essence of Karma Yoga. It may look, as if, our whole life is governed by our past karma and their latent impressions in us.

We certainly cannot escape our Karma Phalam or fruits of Karma. This is true. But, how we take that karmaphalam – depends on us. There is an independence given to us in this cycle. Lord Krishna had stated it in his Bhagavad Gita.  

You can break the Karma cycle. While the external environment is what Karma phalam actually is – your internal environment, namely, your response, can still come from an independent source, and not necessarily your latest samskaaraas. The past samskaaraas will be there, egging you on – in a certain direction.

A drunkard is tempted heavily to walk to the drinks shop by his past samskaaraas. But, he does have a freedom to walk away from it. His past samskaaraas are temptations – but, one still has an element of freedom, which he needs to exercise. 

It is the oldest question in Yoga. Are you controlled by the mind – which is the bundle of your past samskaaraas; or, do you try to break free from it, and control it yourself? The science of Yoga is the latter process. At one time, we become capable or erasing all past samskaaraas. 

VERSE.2.14

 the hlaadha-

parithaapa-phalaah 

punya apunya hethutvaath 

Ø  the = those who continue in this birth-rebirth cycle

Ø  hlaada-parithaapa-phalaah = pleasure and pain as fruits

Ø  punya = virtuous and benevolent actions

Ø  apunya = non-virtuous and evil actions

Ø  hethuthvaath = because of the cause (punya or apunya) 

Pleasure results to us from the past good deeds and benevolent deeds done by us. 

Likewise, pain and suffering result from the bad and wicked deeds dones by us in the past.

As we say in English – as we sow, so we reap. This is Nature’s Law. This also is the Law of Karma. You must reap what you sow and how you sow it. You cannot get away from it.

It will come along with you even into your future births.

This is the answer to the question – why me? Which we some times ask. Why is this happening to me. I am good. But, all evil fruits are coming to me. All sufferings are falling on my head. Why so – even though I am now good.

It may look like fatalism – but, what you sow you have to reap. You cannot get away from the fruits of your Karma of this birth or of a past birth. There is a huge bag of Karmaphalam we are carrying and that needs exhaustion, before your present good karma starts giving its fruit.

If you are enjoying now because of past good karma, but are committing apunya (bad, evil karma) now – you may feel, I can get away with everything that I do. No again. Your old bag of good Karma needs exhaustion – then, the effects of present bad karma starts.

Our pleasure and pain thus come from this baggage of punya and apunya.

So – where is our freedom in the present. In two things, do you have your freedom :

1.    Your present Karma can still be free from past impressions. You can control your mind from past, fine impressions – which means, you need not be committing evil acts in the present.

2.    Karma Phalam comes to you as pleasure and Pain. But, how do you receive it? As ordinary man, You can enjoy the pleasure and suffer the pain. This means – you are under the control of your fine samskaaraas, or the mind. Or, you have the choice of receiving both of them with equal indifference. They, then cannot make you suffer. For instance, a sage may be jailed or beaten for an act he has not committed. Physical suffering may be there. But, his internal peace and his Aananda (Joy) is in no way disturbed. Big diseases did not have any inner effect on Great Sages like Ramana Maharshi, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa – though, physical suffering was there. Ramana and Gandhi went through major operations without any anesthesia. The detachment from body and its pleasures and sufferings is so easy for the Yogi.

In these verses, Patanjali also is dealing with Karma and its effects – from a Yoga Sasthra view.

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