Patanjali’s Scientific Approach to Enlightenment

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

Revelations and Experimentation in Prison

Before entering into the sutras, today’s Sutra, I just wanted to share with you some of the important truth and revelations I had in the prison. This 53 days I was sitting and continuously reading the Swatmarama 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 a 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 that 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 Patanjali. 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.

The True Meaning of ‘Nirodha’ in Yoga Sutra 1

Yoga Chitta Vritti Nirodha. That’s the first Sutra. Yoga is cessation of the Mind. Unfortunately, the word Nirodha is translated by so many people in different ways. Somebody translates yoga is stopping the mind, somebody translates yoga is 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 the Yoga as yoga is stopping the mind, we think stopping the mind means almost like a linear moment. Some train is moving and we need to stop. Same way, thoughts are moving, we need to stop.

Critique of Western Psychological Systems

Unfortunately, all the Western systems related to mind teaches us mind is a linear movement. No, mind is not linear as Western psychological systems teaches 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 will you understand everything about the body.
• Only when you move out of the mind will you 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.

Beyond Western Medicine: A Holistic View

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.

That is why in the as per the Western medicine system, body is a bio-mechanism, 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, there was no side effect, they did they were not they were not even conceived the idea of side effect.

Some of the funny things we should know in the Sanskrit, in the Vedic tradition, in our social law, the word divorce does not exist. We don’t have Sanskrit equivalent word for divorce, please understand. Because in our social system, the very idea divorce never existed. You’ll be surprised in our Kamasutra, we don’t have word for rape. Because that civilization does not know something called rape. Kamasutra 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 in our social law. Same way, in our Ayurvedic tradition, the very idea 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. 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 lever, replace the lever, 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 Problem with Incomplete Understanding of Mind

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. That is why they have to constantly think mind is a linear moment. As long as you think mind is a linear moment, 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 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.

‘Nirodha’: Spontaneous Disappearance

Yoga does not mean yoga is stopping the mind, no. The word Nirodha should be understood. I have a translation, different translations of the word Nirodha.

• The word Arudha means not hindered, flowing.
• Ruta means stopping.
• Virodha means to obstruct, hinder.

Again, different different levels of meaning. Finally, Nirodha 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.

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 few days. If you want to achieve something in any field, you need to break your head for 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 can happen to any Disciple.

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

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

The Danger of Learning from the Unexperienced

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, 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. 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 Role of an Enlightened 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.

Very beautifully, Ramana answers: somebody goes to Bhagavan and says, “If this whole world is 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”. 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, 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 and gives the Savikalpa.

• Means the thought which leads you to thoughtlessness.
• Which leads you to Nirvikalpa.
• The understanding which takes you beyond understanding.
• The life which takes you beyond life.
• The Consciousness which takes you to superconsciousness.

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source: Nithyananda on Yoga Sutras: Importance of Enlightened Master in Correct Understanding