Sunday, November 30, 2014

PATANJALI YOG

Photo: YOGA VASISHTHA SARA (The Essence Of Yoga Vasishtha) : === Vasishtha Teaching The Highest Knowledge To Sri Ram === (Part - 1) DISPASSION : 1. Salutations to that calm effulgence which, is endless and unlimited by space, time etc., the pure consciousness which can be known by experience only. 2. Just as a steady boat, O Rama, is obtained from a boatman, so also the method of crossing the ocean of samsara is learnt by associating with great souls. 3. Not a day should be spent in a place which does not possess the tree of a wise knower of Truth with its good fruit and cool shade. 4. The sages are to be approached even if they do not teach. Even their talks in a light vein contain wisdom. 5. Following the customary method of teaching is only for preserving the tradition. Pure awareness results solely from the clarity of the disciple's understanding. 6. The Lord cannot be seen with the help of the sacred texts or the Guru. The self is seen by the Self alone with the pure intellect. 7. Just as we experience the delusion of hundreds of year in a dream lasting an hour, so also we experience the sport of maya in our waking state. 8. He is a happy man whose mind is inwardly cool and free from attachment and hatred and who looks upon this (world) like a mere spectator. 9. On the dissolution of the body the ether (consciousness) limited by the heart (hrdayam ) alone ceases to Exist. People lament needlessly that the Self is extinct. 10. When pots, etc. are broken the space within them becomes unlimited. So also when bodies cease to exist the Self remains eternal and unattached. 11. Nothing whatever is born or dies anywhere at any time. It is Brahman alone appearing illusorily in the form of the world. 12. The Self is more extensive than space; it is pure, subtle, undecaying and auspicious. As such how could it be born and how can it die ? 13. All this is the tranquil, One without beginning, middle or end, which cannot be said to be existent or non-existent. Know this and be happy. 14. O Rama, it is indeed nobler to wander begging about the streets of the outcasts (chandalas), an earthen bowl in, hand, than to live a life steeped in ignorance. ____________________ UNREALITY OF THE WORLD : 1. Just as the great ocean of milk became still when the Mandara Mountain (with which it was churned by the Devas and the Asuras) became still, even so the illusion of samsara comes to an end when the mind is stilled. 2. Samsara rises when the mind becomes active and ceases when it is still. Still the mind, therefore, by controlling the breath and the latent desires (vasanas). 3. This worthless ( lit. burnt out) samsara is born of one's imagination and vanishes in the absence of imagination. It is certain that it is absolutely unsubstantial. 4. The idea of a (live) snake in a picture of a snake ceases to be entertained when the truth is known. Similarly samsara ceases to exist (when the Truth is realized), even if it continues to appear. 5. This long- living ghost of a samsara which is the creation of the deluded mind of man and the cause of his sufferings disappears when one ponders over it. 6. O Rama, maya is such that it brings delight through its own destruction ; its nature is inscrutable ; it ceases to exist even while it is being obs erved. 7. Dear boy, wonderful indeed is this maya which deludes the entire world. It is on account of it that the. Self is not perceived even though it pervades all the limbs of the body. 8. Whatever is seen does not truly exist. It is like the mythical city of Gandharvas (fata morgana) or a mirage. 9. That which is not seen, though within us, is called the eternal and indestructible Self. 10. Just as the trees on the bank of a lake are reflected. in the water, so also all these varied objects are reflected in the vast mirror of our consciousness. 11. This creation, which is a mere play of consciousness, rises up, like the delusion of a snake in a rope (when there is ignorance) and comes to an end when there is right knowledge. 12. Even though bondage does not really exist, it becomes strong through desire for worldly enjoyments ; when this desire subsides bondage becomes weak. 13. Like waves rising up from the ocean the unstable mind rises out of the vast and stable expanse of the Supreme Self. 14. It is because of that which always, of its own accord, imagines (everything) quickly and freely that this magical show (of the world) is projected in the waking state. 15. This world, though unreal, appears to exist and is the cause of life- long suffering to an ignorant person, just as a (non-existent) ghost (is the cause of fear) to a boy. 16. One who has no idea of gold sees only the bracelet. He does not at all have the idea that it is merely gold. 17. Similarly towns, houses, mountains, serpents, etc. are all in the eyes of the ignorant man, separate objects. From the absolute point of view this objective (world) is the subject (the Self) itself ; it is not separate (from the Self). 18. The world is full of misery to an ignorant man and full of bliss to a wise man. The world is dark to a blind man and bright to one who has eyes. 19. The bliss of a man of discrimination, who has rejected samsara and discarded all mental concepts, constantly increases. 20. Like clouds which suddenly appear in a clear sky and as suddenly dissolve the entire universe (appears) in the Self and (dissolves in it). 21. He who reckons the rays as non-different from the sun and realizes that they are the sun itself is stated to be nirvikalpa (the undifferentiating man). 22. Just as the cloth, when investigated, is seen to be nothing but thread, so also this world, when enquired into, is (seen to be) merely the Self. 23. This fascinating world rises like a wave in the ambrosial ocean of conscio usness and dissolves in it. How then can it be different from it (i.e. consciousness) in the middle (i.e. when it appears) ? 24. Just as the foam, the waves, the dew and the bubbles are not different from water, even so this world which has come out of the Self is not different from the Self. 25. Just as a tree consisting of fruits, leaves, creepers, flowers, branches, twigs and roots, exists in the seed of the tree, even so this manifest world exists in Brahman. 26. Just as the pot (ultimately) goes back to mud, waves into water and ornaments into gold, so also this world which has come out of the Self (ultimately) goes back to the Self. 27. The snake appears when one does not recognize the rope; it disappears when one recognizes the rope. Even so this world appears when the Self is not recognized ; it disappears when the Self is recognized. 28. It is only our forgetfulness of the invisible Self which causes the world to appear just as (the ignorance of the) rope (causes the) snake to appear. 29. Just as the dream becomes unreal in the waking state and the waking state in the dream, so also death becomes unreal in birth and birth in death. 30. All these are thus neither real nor unreal. They are the effect of delusion, mere impression arising out of some past experiences. ____________________ THE MARKS OF A LIBERATED PERSON ( JIVAN MUKTA ) 1. The knowledge of the Self is the fire that burns up the dry grass of desire. This indeed is what is called samadhi, not mere abstention from speech. 2. He who realizes that the whole universe is really nothing but consciousness arid remains quite calm is protected by the armour of Brahman; he is happy. 3. The yogi who has attained the state which is beyond everything and remains always cool as the full moon is truly the Supreme Lord. 4. He who reflects in his innermost heart upon the purport of the Upanishads dealing with Brahman and is not moved by joy and sorrow, is not tormented by samsara. 5. Just as birds and beasts do not take shelter on a mountain on fire, so also evil (thoughts) never occur to a knower of Brahman. 6. Wise men also, like foolish men, (occasionally) make others angry, (but they do so only) in order to test their ability to control their innate feelings (that is to say to see how far the anger of other persons will affect them). 7. Just as the trembling (of the body) caused by the (imaginary) snake persists (for some time) even after realizing that there is no snake, so also the effect of delusion persists (for some time) even after getting rid of all delusions. 8. Just as a crystal is not stained by what is reflected in it, so also a knower of truth is not really affected by the result of his acts. 9. Even while he is intent on outward actions (the knower of Truth) always remains introverted and extremely calm like one asleep. 10. Firmly convinced of non-duality and enjoying perfect mental peace, yogis go about their work seeing the world as if it were a dream. 11. Let death come to him (the knower of truth) today or at the end of aeons; he remains untarnished like gold buried in mire. 12. He may cast off his body at Kashi or in the house of an outcast ( lit. one who cooks dog's flesh). He, the desireless one, is liberated at the very moment he attains knowledge (of Brahman). 13. To one who is desireless the earth, O Rama, is (as insignificant as) the hoof-print of a cow, Mount Meru a mound, space as much as contained in a casket and the three worlds a blade of grass. 14. Like an empty vessel in space (the knower of Truth) is empty both within and without, while at the same time he is full within and without like a vessel immersed in the ocean. 15. He who neither likes nor dislikes the objects seen by him and who acts (in the world) like one asleep, is said to be a liberated person. 16. He who is free from the knots (of desires) and whose doubts have been set at rest is liberated even when he is in the body (jivan mukta). Although he may seem to be bound he is free. He. remains like a lamp in a picture. 17. He who has easily (lit. as if in sport) cast off all his egoistic tendencies and has abandoned even the object of meditation, is said to-be liberated even when he is in the body. 18. He who does not, like one blind, recognize ( lit. leaves r behind) his relatives, who dreads attachment as he would a serpent, who looks upon sense-enjoyments and diseases alike, ho disregards the company of women as he would a blade of us and who finds no distinction between a friend and a foe, experiences happiness in this world and the next. 19. He who casts away from his mind all objects of perception and, attaining perfect quiescence, remains still as space, unaffected r sorrow, is a liberated man ; he is the Supreme Lord. 20. The noble- hearted man whose desires of the heart have come to an end is a liberated man ; it does not matter whether does or does not practice meditation or perform action. 21. The idea of Self in the non-Self is bondage. Abandonment of it is liberation. There is neither bondage nor liberation for the ever-free Self. 22. If, by perceiving that the objects of perception do not ally exist, the mind is completely freed (from those objects) ere ensues the supreme bliss of liberation. 23. Abandonment of all latent tendencies is said to be the best (i.e. real) liberation by the wise.; that is also the faultless method (of attaining liberation). 24. Liberation is not on the other side of the sky, nor is it in the nether world, nor on the earth; the extinction of the mind suiting from the eradication of all desires is regarded as liberation. 25. O Rama, there is no intellect, no nescience, no mind and no individual soul (jiva ). They are all imagined in Brahman. 26. To one who is established in what is infinite, pure consciousness, bliss and unqualified non-duality, where is the question of bondage or liberation, seeing that there is no second entity ? 27. O Rama, the mind has, by its own activity, bound itself ; when it is calm it is free. (To Be Continued .....) "Om Shanti Shanti Shanti"
SIDDHIS (सिद्धि) : THE OCCULT POWERS OF A YOGI 

============ Occult Powers Are Real ============

From Patanjali Yoga Sutra, Chapter 4, verse 1 :-

जन्मौषधि-मन्त्र-तपः-समाधिजाः सिद्धयः ॥१॥

" The Siddhis (powers) are attained by birth, chemical means, power of words, mortification, or concentration. "

Explanation By Swami Vivekananda :


Sometimes a man is born with the Siddhis, powers, of course, those he had earned in his previous incarnation. This time he is born, as it were, to enjoy the fruits of them. It is said of Kapila, the great father of the Sankhya philosophy, that he was a born Siddha, which means literally a man who has attained to success.

The Yogis claim that these powers can be gained by chemical means. All of you know that chemistry originally began as alchemy; men went in search of the philosopher's stone and elixirs of life, and so forth. In India there was a sect called the Rāsāyanas. Their idea was that ideality, knowledge, spirituality, and religion were all very right, but that the body was the only instrument by which to attain to all these. If the body came to an end every now and again, it would take so much more time to attain to the goal. For instance, a man wants to practise Yoga, or wants to become spiritual. Before he has advanced very far he dies. Then he takes another body and begins again, then dies, and so on. In this way much time will be lost in dying and being born again. If the body could be made strong and perfect, so that it would get rid of birth and death, we should have so much more time to become spiritual. So these Rasayanas say, first make the body very strong. They claim that this body can be made immortal. Their idea is that if the mind manufactures the body, and if it be true that each mind is only one outlet to the infinite energy, there should be no limit to each outlet getting any amount of power from outside. Why is it impossible to keep our bodies all the time? We have to manufacture all the bodies that we ever have. As soon as this body dies, we shall have to manufacture another. If we can do that, why cannot we do it just here and now, without getting out of the present body? The theory is perfectly correct. If it is possible that we live after death, and make other bodies, why is it impossible that we should have the power of making bodies here, without entirely dissolving this body, simply changing it continually? They also thought that in mercury and in sulphur was hidden the most wonderful power, and that by certain preparations of these a man could keep the body as long as he liked. Others believed that certain drugs could bring powers, such as flying through the air. Many of the most wonderful medicines of the present day we owe to the Rasayanas, notably the use of metals in medicine. Certain sects of Yogis claim that many of their principal teachers are still living in their old bodies. Patanjali, the great authority on Yoga, does not deny this.

The power of words : There are certain sacred words called Mantras, which have power, when repeated under proper conditions, to produce these extraordinary powers. We are living in the midst of such a mass of miracles, day and night, that we do not think anything of them. There is no limit to man's power, the power of words and the power of mind.

Mortification : You find that in every religion mortifications and asceticisms have been practised. In these religious conceptions the Hindus always go to the extremes. You will find men with their hands up all their lives, until their hands wither and die. Men keep standing, day and night, until their feet swell, and if they live, the legs become so stiff in this position that they can no more bend them, but have to stand all their lives. I once saw a man who had kept his hands raised in this way, and I asked him how it felt when he did it first. He said it was awful torture. It was such torture that he had to go to a river and put himself in water, and that allayed the pain for a little while. After a month he did not suffer much. Through such practices powers (Siddhis) can be attained.

Concentration : Concentration is Samādhi, and that is Yoga proper; that is the principal theme of this science, and it is the highest means. The preceding ones are only secondary, and we cannot attain to the highest through them. Samadhi is the means through which we can gain anything and everything, mental, moral, or spiritual.


Different Types Of Sidhhis :-

(From 'Kundalini Yoga' by Swami Sivananda)

An accomplished, Purnayogi in the path of Kundalini Yoga is in possession of eight major Siddhis, viz., Anima, Mahima, Laghima, Garima, Prapti, Prakamya, Vasitvam and Ishitvam.

1. Anima: The Yogi can become as minute as he pleases.

2. Mahima: This is the opposite of Anima. He can become as big as he likes. He can make his body assume a very large size. He can fill up the whole universe. He can assume a Virat Svarupa.

3. Laghima: He can make his body as light as cotton or feather. Vayustambhanam is done through this Siddhi. In Jalastambhanam also the power is exercised to a very small degree. The body is rendered light by Plavini Pranayama. The Yogi produces a diminution of his specific gravity by swallowing large draughts of air. The Yogi travels in the sky with the help of this Siddhi. He can travel thousands of miles in a minute.

4. Garima: This is the opposite of Laghima. In this the Yogi acquires an increase of specific gravity. He can make the body as heavy as a mountain by swallowing draughts of air.

5. Prapti: The Yogi standing on the earth can touch the highest things. He can touch the sun or the moon or the sky. Through this Siddhi the Yogi attains his desired objects and supernatural powers. He acquires the power of predicting future events, the power of clairvoyance, clairaudience, telepathy, thought-reading, etc. He can understand the languages of the beasts and birds. He can understand unknown languages also. He can cure all diseases.

6. Prakamya: He can dive into the water and can come out at any time he likes. The late Trailanga Swami of Benares used to live for six months underneath the Ganges. It is the process by which a Yogi makes himself invisible sometimes. By some writers it is defined to be the power of entering body of another (Parakaya Pravesh). Sri Sankaracharya entered the body of Raja Amaruka of Benares. Tirumular in Southern India entered the body of a shepherd. Raja Vikramaditya also did this. It is also the power of keeping a youth-like appearance for any length of time. Raja Yayati had this power.

7. Vashitvam: This is the power of taming wild animals and bringing them under control. It is the power of mesmerising persons by the exercise of will and of making them obedient to one’s own wishes and orders. It is the restraint of passions and emotions. It is the power to bring men, women and the elements under subjection.

8. Ishitvam: It is the attainment of divine power. The Yogi becomes the Lord of the universe. The Yogi who has this power can restore life to the dead. Kabir, Tulsidas, Akalkot Swami and others had this power of bringing back life to the dead.

Minor Siddhis :

The Yogi acquires the following minor Siddhis also:

1. Freedom from hunger and thirst.

2. Freedom from the effects of heat and cold.

3. Freedom from Raga-Dvesha.

4. Doora Darshan, clairvoyance or Dooradrishti.

5. Doora Sravan, clairaudience or Doora Sruti and Doora Pravachana.

6. Mano-Jaya, control of mind.

7. Kama Rupa: The Yogi can take any form he likes.

8. Parakaya Pravesha: He can enter into another body, can animate a dead body and enter into it by transferring his soul.

9. Iccha-Mrityu: Death at his will.

10. Devanam Saha Kreeda and Darshana: Playing with the gods after seeing them.

11. Yatha Sankalpa: Can get whatever he likes.

12. Trikala-Jnana: Knowledge of past, present and future.

13. Advandva: Beyond the pairs of opposites.

14. Vak-Siddhi: Whatever the Yogi predicts will come to pass by the practice of Satya, Prophecy.

15. The Yogi can turn base metal into gold.

16. Kaya-Vyuha: Taking as many bodies as the Yogi likes to exhaust all his Karmas in one life.

17. Darduri-Siddhi: The jumping power of a frog.

18. Patala-Siddhi: Yogi becomes Lord of desire, destroys sorrows and diseases.

19. He gets knowledge of his past life.

20. He gets knowledge of the cluster of stars and planets.

21. He gets the power of perceiving the Siddhas.

22. He gets mastery of the elements (Bhuta Jaya), mastery of Prana (Prana Jaya).

23. Kamachari: He can move to any place he likes.

24. He gets omnipotence and omniscience.

25. Vayu-Siddhi: The Yogi rises in the air and leaves the ground.

26. He can point out the place where a hidden treasure lies.

Power Of A Yogi :-

A Yogi forgets the body in order to concentrate the mind on the Lord. He conquers heat and cold by mastering breath-control and by controlling his nervous system.

A Yogi generates psychic heat in the body through the practice of Bhastrika Pranayama.

He can bear extremes of climates without discomfort.

He sits on the snow and melts it by the warmth generated in his body.

A Yogi covers his body with a sheet dipped in very cold water and dries it by the Yoga heat given off from his body. A few adepts have dried as many as thirty sheets in a single night.

A perfect Yogi cremates his body in the end by the Yogic heat generated by his power of Yoga.

Instructions On Siddhis :-

1. By the process of Hatha Yoga, the Yogi attains perfect physical body—Rupalavanya Bala Vajrasam-hanana Kaya Sampat. “The perfection of the body consists in beauty, grace, strength and adamantine hardness.” The power to bear extreme cold and heat (Titiksha), the power to live without water and food and other powers come under the category of Kaya Sampat (perfection of body).

2. Since the body of the Hatha Yogi is perfect and firm, his mind also is firm and one-pointed. By the practices of Dharana and Dhyana, he reaches the highest rung in the Yogic ladder and attains Immortality through Yogic Samadhi. The Yogi who has reached the highest stage, will have the 8 major and all the minor Siddhis.

3. Attainment of powers depends upon the amount of concentration at different Chakras and Tattvas and awakening of Kundalini. The practice of Mudras, Bandhas, Asanas and Pranayamas will also help a lot in acquiring Siddhis.

4. The Siddhis that are obtained by the practice of Mudras can be obtained by the practice of Bandhas, Asanas, Pranayamas and also by the concentration on different Chakras. That depends upon the temperament and capacity of the aspirants. One can obtain the desired goal by one exercise and others by different methods. Therefore if one is not able to get success by a particular exercise, he will have to have recourse to other exercises.

5. Many of the 8 major Siddhis are not possible at all at the present age (Kali Yuga), when the body and mind of the vast majority are not fit enough. Even today there are several Siddhas who have the power to perform some of the Siddhis. When people approach them to do this and that, they hide themselves or generally say:—“I do not know.” They are not much particular about these Siddhis. Their aim is to ignore these as unreal and aspire to reach the highest. They are the only real Yogins. Many are able to use some powers and they do not know how they are able to do them.

When one gets certain powers, he stops there by the influence of Maya and false Tushti (satisfaction) and uses the powers for his livelihood or for fame. Therefore he is not able to proceed further and attain perfection. It is not the mistake of the Yogic Kriyas. You should not lose faith. Faith, attention, sincerity and earnestness will lead you to success.

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A Warning :-

Occult powers does not help even a beat in Self-Realisation but are considered as hurdles in the path of Self-Realisation. A true Yogi/ Spiritual seeker should never pay attention to obtain such powers. It is accepted if Siddhis appear naturally in a person but to perform Sadhana for obtaining Siddhis is utter foolishness. One gets trapped by his Siddhis and wants name and fame. By constant application of the Siddhis, the person wastes his valuable energy accumulated by him through Sadhana. So in the spiritual life, a real spiritual seeker will not cry for this kind of occult power. He will only cry for God-Realisation, and if God wants that particular person to work for Him, naturally God will give him spiritual power, inner power, to manifest Him on earth.

We all know of the great spiritual Master, Sri Ramakrishna. His dearest disciple was Swami Vivekananda. Once the great Master said to his dearest disciple, "Naren, I have all kinds of occult powers. I want to give you some of my occult powers."
Immediately the disciple said to his Master, "Please tell me, will these occult powers help me in my God Realisation?" The Master said, "Oh no. Occult power has nothing to do with God Realisation, but if you want to do some work here on earth, at that time occult power can be of some use." Then Vivekananda said, "No, I want to realise God first-first things first."
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