Patañjali is one of the rare happenings – the first master who quantified the unquantifiable, who made Enlightenment as a science. Till Patañjali, Enlightenment was taken more as a miracle or as an accident. It is Patañjali who made that more as a science and defined it along with the Yoga Sutras.

Validating Ancient Wisdom: A Personal Journey

I’ll try to breathe life into Hatha Yoga Sutras also, before entering into the Sutras. Today’s Sutra, I just wanted to share with you some of the important truths and revelations I had in the prison. This 53 days I was sitting and continuously reading the Hatha Yoga Sutras and consciously scanning all those sutras and experimenting those sutras on my body and how they work. Because before sharing it with you all, I wanted to see whether that Sutra works today in this body. See, in 2010, I’m sharing this wisdom with the world, so I should be clear that these sutras work today.

I’m having the same kind of human body which you have; physiologically it is the same body. I wanted to scan it, experiment it in this body, only then I will have the right words to transmit that knowledge to your bodies. Unless it is experienced in this body, in this biomemory, I will not have the right words to transmit it to your biomemory.

So I was continuously scanning. I had an important revelation when I was meditating, contemplating on the first Sutra of Patañjali. The first Sutra I’m revisiting; I have spoken on that Sutra already, but I wanted to share with you some of the deeper secrets.

Unpacking the First Sutra: Yoga Chitta Vritti Nirodhah

The Misconception of “Stopping the Mind”

Yoga Chitta Vritti Nirodhah – that’s the first Sutra. Yoga is the sensation of the mind. Unfortunately, the word Nirodhah is translated by so many people in different ways. Somebody translates yoga as stopping the mind; somebody translates yoga as disappearance of the mind.

Based on the person’s consciousness, the consciousness in which the person stays, they perceive the Sutra and give translation or commentary. As long as you understand yoga as stopping the mind, you will be only struggling and suffering. A simple misunderstanding is enough to make your whole life hell. See, when you understand yoga as “yoga is stopping the mind,” we think stopping the mind is almost like a linear movement; some train is moving and we need to stop.

Western vs. Eastern Paradigms: Mind and Body

The same way, thoughts are moving, and we need to stop them. Unfortunately, all the Western systems related to mind teach us mind is a linear movement. No, mind is not linear as Western psychological systems teach us. It is not one thought next one thought next one thought next one thought. No.

Mind is not linear as we think. Only when you move out of body, you will understand everything about the body. Only when you move out of the mind, you will understand everything about the mind. Unfortunately, in the Western system, the people who created the science, declarations, understandings about the mind never moved out of the mind.

The same way, the Western medicine system also—all the research and development and experiments goes on on the dead human body. The moment you remove the flower from the plant, it is no more a flower; it’s a dead body of the flower. So any experiment done on the flower which is removed from the plant will not be applicable to the flower which is still connected to the plant. Any experiment done on the body which is already dead will not be applicable to the body which is alive.

Holistic Healing: The Absence of “Side Effects” in Ayurveda

That is why, as per the Western medicine system, body is a biomechanism; it is a machine. Any part is repaired – “how to repair that part?” – that’s where they look into. But in Ayurveda, it is the expression of consciousness; it is a sheath of consciousness; it’s a layer around the consciousness. That is the major difference. But this one difference makes everything different in whole Ayurveda. Not even once they talk about side effect.

Please understand, in the whole Ayurveda, the word “side effect” does not exist. They talk about everything, they talk about the things still modern science is yet to discover, but they don’t talk about the, uh, they don’t use the word side effect, because there was no side effect, they were not even conceived the idea of side effect.

Some of the funny things we should know: in Sanskrit, in the Vedic tradition, in our social law, the word “divorce” does not exist. We don’t have a Sanskrit equivalent word for divorce, please understand, because in our social system, the very idea of divorce never existed. You’ll be surprised, in our Kama Sutra, we don’t have a word for rape, because that civilization did not know something called rape. Kama Sutra talks about all kinds of perversions which are still not popular even in the Western societies, civilizations – all kinds of perversions – but that shastra, that Sutra, does not have a word for rape because that very idea never existed, that very understanding never existed.

The same way, in our Ayurvedic tradition, the very idea of side effect never existed because the way in which they looked at the civilization and the world and the body and the society was totally different. It was totally different. We do not even know some of these concepts in Western science. The ideas about the body is finalized based on the research and development and experiments done on the dead body.

The Body: Mechanism vs. Organism

The same way, that is why still they think body as a machinery, and they think part by part, individually, separately they can repair it. No, it is not possible. Fortunately, in a living human being, all organs are interconnected. Maybe in the dead body it is very easy: remove the heart, replace the heart; remove the liver, replace the liver. They are all independent. But in the living mechanism, body is not a mechanism; when it is living, it is organism, it is a whole; it is not just mechanism.

So the ideas developed by the R&D done on the dead body is not useful for the living body. The same way, the ideas developed by a person who has not gone beyond the body—his ideas about the body is not useful. The person who develops ideas about mind, who has not gone beyond the mind—his ideas will not be complete.

The Pitfalls of Superficial Understanding

That is why they have to constantly think mind is a linear movement. As long as you think mind is a linear movement, all your techniques to stop, your struggles to stop, your experiments to stop will end up only in frustration.

I have seen some of the yogis, or the so-called yogis, trying to practice yoga for 30 years. Finally, all they had is a flexible body, that’s all. But understand, having a flexible body is not yoga; it is a part of yoga, not the complete yoga. Then the man in the circus can be called as ultimate Yogi if the flexible body is the only yoga? No, flexible body is a part of yoga.

The big problem we face is people who superficially try to understand and try to develop some techniques or practice it. I have seen people 30, 40 years practicing yoga, finally having only flexible body, nothing much happens inside the system. Then they lose trust over the very system.

Losing trust over the very system is the most dangerous thing that can happen to a yogi. The shraddha is lost. Even if a little misunderstanding happens in the translation or in the understanding, you may be wasting years and years of your effort, almost wasting the whole life.

“Nirodhah” Re-Defined: Spontaneous Disappearance

Yoga Chitta Vritti Nirodhah does not mean “yoga is stopping the mind.” No, the word Nirodhah should be understood. Please understand, I have different translations of the word Nirodhah.

The word Arudha means “not hindered, flowing.” Ruta means “stopping.” Virodha means “to obstruct, hinder.” Again, different, different levels of meaning. Finally, Nirodhah means spontaneous disappearance. It’s a very deep technical thing, but I need to explain only then you will understand how you can stop the mind, how you can experience yoga.

The Importance of Tapas: Digesting Deeper Truths

See, if you want to achieve something in the field of money, you need to break your head over money, understanding money, at least for a few days. If you want to achieve something in the field of politics, you need to break your head on the concepts, the truths, the ideas about politics at least for a few days. If you want to achieve something in any field, you need to break your head for a few days. That is what I call Tapas. When things go above your head, having the patience to digest those ideas is Tapas.

Now what I am talking will really go above many of your heads, but have little patience, try to digest, because understanding this one Sutra can save 30, 40 years of unnecessary efforts.

Please understand, understanding this one Sutra can avoid 30, 40 years of unnecessary struggle in the wrong direction. The wrong direction—putting your time and energy and struggling is the worst thing that can happen to any disciple. This one word, Nirodhah. Nirodhah means not stopping, means spontaneous disappearance.

Actually, when Patañjali uttered the Sutra Yoga Chitta Vritti Nirodhah, he did not visualize mind as a linear movement. If he has visualized mind as a linear movement, he would have used the word Arudha because those words only mean “stopping.” But Patañjali is not using those words like Arudha or Virodha; he’s using the word Nirodhah. Then what was in his visualization? What he was thinking when he was delivering this word Nirodhah? What was the understanding in his consciousness when he used the word “spontaneous disappearance”?.

If we can get a glimpse of what Patañjali was thinking when he uttered the word “yoga is spontaneous disappearance of the mind,” then we will realize the truth. If you think somebody says something and you understand something, it means you will be struggling, struggling, struggling for years, nothing can be done. But if Patañjali’s words are understood as he expressed, then suddenly you will see immediately that experience is transmitted.

The Peril of Misguided Teaching

I always tell people, do not learn these great truths from a person who has not experienced that Consciousness; it’s a danger. A person who has not experienced that Consciousness, only read the book, he will translate and say, “Yoga is stopping the mind.” Then what you will understand? “All right, like a train, something is moving inside you, you need to stop.” You go on struggle, you either start doing some japa or start putting some barricade, you try all your best, finally land up in frustration.

Because any barricade you put, that becomes one more train. It is not stopping the train; it becomes one more bogy in the train, and the struggle continues continuously. I have seen people who try to meditate or do japa or something, something, something for 30, 40 years. One young brahmachari goes to a senior old monk, 90 years, and asks that monk, “Sir, how long does it take to control the mind?” The monk looks around and calls him near and says, “How long? I do not know, but surely not till 90.” Wrong understandings lead to waste of time, energy, struggle, and finally frustration. Either self-worthlessness—people start feeling that they are not worthy of anything—or losing the trust over the system itself.

Reclaiming India’s Yogic Heritage

That is the worst thing happened to India. We India, Indians, need to be awakened to the very tradition of India. Around the world, yoga is accepted as a life science and it is a $6 billion industry only in USA, but unfortunately still we don’t feel proud about this great science. We don’t even think it is something great we contributed to the human.

We don’t understand even the economical or touristic value of yoga. Somehow we wanted to discard all our past, and we got into the syndrome of feeling shy about our whole tradition because British taught us, “You are fools, you are coolies, you have nothing worth in your life”.

We digested the same ideas, same lifestyle, same thinking, and we continue to carry the same mental setup, and we feel shy about anything our ancestors gifted to the world. We feel shy about that lifestyle, we feel shy about that way of clothing, we feel shy about that way of dress, eating. We feel shy about that way of living. Yoga was not just an exercise; it was a lifestyle for us.

The Master’s Role: Beyond Teaching to Enlightenment

Teacher vs. Master

The person who translates the sutras and gives the technique to you is a teacher. The person who makes the Sutra alive and gives you the savikalpa samadhi is a master.

Understand this one Sutra; you will straight away have samadhi. Savikalpa means the movement of mind which leads you beyond moments. I can say in a way, “last moment nightmare.” Nightmare will be the last dream because after that you’ll wake up. You can’t sleep after that. If it is not waking you up, it cannot be called as nightmare.

The Lion in the Dream: Awakening by the Master

Very beautifully Ramana Maharishi answers somebody who goes to Bhagavan and says, “If this whole world is a dream, we see you also in the dream, we see the Satguru also in the dream. How is it going to help us?” Bhagavan says, “If you see a lion chasing you in the dream, you will wake up”.

The same way, if you see a master even in this dream, you will wake up from this dream. Simha Swapna, he says. Master is a Simha Swapna. Even if you see the lion in the dream, you’ll wake up from the dream, you will come to the higher Consciousness. So if you see the master even in this Consciousness, ordinary Consciousness, you will wake up and come to the superconscious state because he:

• makes every Sutra alive
• gives the Savikalpa, means the thought which leads you to thoughtlessness
• the understanding which takes you beyond understanding
• the life which takes you beyond life
• the Consciousness which takes you to superconsciousness

source: Importance of Enlightened Master in Correct Understanding