Tapa Swadhyaya Ishwara Prana Dhana.

If you want immediate solution and ultimate solution, Patanjali is the solution. Sadhana, the method of understanding your immediate problem and going for immediate solution is described so thoroughly, so beautifully in this whole chapter. I can say again and again, I use same word, it can come, Patanjali fulfill all possible problems of all human beings. Let me enter into the sutra. Atha Sadhana Pada.

Now the chapter of spiritual practice: Tapa Swadhyaya Ishwara Prana Dhana is Kriya Yoga. Beautiful verse. I will give you few translations.

• Swami Vivekananda translates the sutra as: Mortification, study, and surrender fruits of work to God are called Kriya Yoga.
• Jaimni translates: Austerity, self-study, and resignation to Ishwara constitute Yoga.
• Swami Prabhavananda translates: Austerity, study, and the dedication of the fruits of one’s work to God, these are the preliminary steps towards Yoga.
• Dwivedi translates: Preliminary Yoga consists of mortification, study and resignation to Ishwara.

I do not want to translate this sutra with few words. I will give you my translation because each word I need to use lot of words to translate. I my own unique way of translating because when you use that word tapa in this context, in this sutra, that word can mean in 10 different ways. I wanted to give you all the 10 meanings so that you have comprehensive understanding. Just like yesterday I was trying to explain the word nirodha, that one word, if you misunderstand, whole life you will be struggling and wasting the life, not knowing your problem or solution. Here I do not want to make that mistake.

Understanding ‘Tapa’ (तपा)

Tapa means the suffering. Even the word suffering is too small. The happening in you, the churning in you, which you may or may not enjoy, but has to be gone through, has to be experienced during your attunement to Enlightenment. Please understand, tapa means the churning which you need to go through, which you need to experience when you make yourself in tune with what you want.

If I want to put it in this way: What you want will be inside you as seed and start expressing itself as reality in your physical bio-memory and in the world which you project from this physical bio-memory. When the seed from the Consciousness penetrates, opens up, occupies your bio-memory, projects itself into the reality, and seen as the world, from the seed moment to this experience whatever process happens which you need to go through is tapas.

If you love it, you call it as joyful tapas. If you hate it, call it as painful suffering. It’s up to you. But tapas is this: When psychological mutation and physiological mutation criss-cross each other, happens chaos. When psychological mutation and physiological mutation is falling in tune, that happens tapas. When psychological mutation and physiological mutation are going hand in hand, parallelly, beautifully, happens is Incarnation.

Physiological Mutation

Understand physiological mutation. What I mean by that word physiological mutation? When you grab an idea from the outer world and digest idea constantly make your body fall in tune with idea without any hypocrisy, your whole physiological system is in tune with that idea. That is what I call physiological mutation: no resistance from physical system for the idea.

For example, Yoga. Yoga postures. You take up an idea: “Standing upside down, Shirshasana, for 15 minutes will help me to be healthy or brilliant”. First, there will be lot of physiological resistance. But you practice, practice, practice. In few days, you are able to do it. So physiological rasna (meaning likely ‘tuning’ or ‘response’) in you one idea I’m expressing.

Psychological Mutation

Then psychological mutation. For example, Ahimsa, non-violence. Idea is conceived in your heart and slowly, slowly, slowly, constantly your heart cherishes idea and compassion is filling whole psychological system. Finally, your whole psychological system is able to respond to any situation, at any crisis, at any moment, at any question, for anything established in the compassion is psychological mutation.

Now the psychological mutation has happened in you with the one idea of compassion, non-violence. When this physiological mutation and psychological mutation criss-cross each other means the social conditioning and the cosmic understanding criss-cross each other, happens chaos. Please understand, many of your physiological mutations are related to social conditioning. They are not the ultimate truth. Many of you are physiologically mutated based on social condition. You can see in your life even if you like to pick up something from shop, your physiological mutation such, your hand will not stretch. I’m not saying you should steal, no, I am saying giving you simple example of physiological mutation. Many time you can see the physiological mutation is such that the social conditionings are observed and lived. See the physiological mutation happening because of social conditioning always creates suffering in you.

So, physiological mutation, when it criss-crosses the psychological mutation, psychological mutation is the idea you cherish and ready to express spontaneous. The idea which has grown in you and expressing itself spontaneously without struggle. When those ideas, when that mutation criss-cross mutation means when there is a fight, conflict, chaos happens in your life. When these two are trying to fall in tune with each other, tapas happens in your life. When these two are completely in tune with each other, Incarnation happens in your life. You become Incarnation.

Physiological mutation, psychological mutation. Understand these two truths. When they are not in tune, when they are constantly fighting, chaos. When they are trying to fall in tune, coming to an agreement, MOU, memorandum of understanding signed, then what happens, then tapas happens. When complete tuning happens, both of them, only then the story is written with the word “ever after they lived happy”. But all movies end with that word. Understand, because after uttering that word “they lived happy ever after,” you can’t show any more scene. If you show scene then you are distorting your own statement, you are disproving your own statement.

Anyways, but really, rarely, these two mutations happen in one body. Understandably, very comfortable, beautifully. The body in which both live very comfortable, beautifully expressing, that body only is Incarnation. So from chaos you need to move to tapas, from tapas to the state of Enlightenment, Samadhi. So definition of tapas is the physiological mutation, psychological mutation, trying to fall in tune with each other, signing memorandum of understanding.

Understanding ‘Swadhyaya’ (स्वाध्याय)

Then comes Swadhyaya. Swadhyaya means receiving the technical information for solution, not just ultimate, even your immediate problems. Understand, Swadhyaya is translated by many teachers as spiritual study, relax, no. My experience I tell you, Swadhyaya means receiving the technical information which you need to solve your immediate and ultimate problems. That is Swadhyaya.

Understanding ‘Ishwara Pranidhana’ (ईश्वर प्रनिधाना)

Ishwara Pranidhana. Ishwara Pranidhana means relaxing with deep restful awareness and unshakable arrogance. Please understand, I am using a strong word, any arrogance based on your own intellectual understanding is shakable. The arrogance word may not be the right word when I say unshakable aragous because lack of words I am using that word. When your understanding established by the real awareness or relaxation into the divine surrendering of the divine, you will have something called unshakable arrogance.

Ram Krishna says Vidya Ahankara says Avidya Ahankara.

• Avidya Ahankara means thinking “I have this, I’m in this post, I have this money, I have this power, I am this, I am big”. The Avidya Ahankara always gets shaken, taken away from you.
• Vidya Ahankara means “I belong to Krishna, I can’t be cheated, I am going to rest in space, I am at feet of Shiva and I have direct connection with my Master, nothing can shake me.” Unshakable arrogance.

I can say confidence can be superficial word. Neither the ahankara nor confidence are complete words for the Vidya Ahankara I’m trying to express idea. But neither the ahankara nor confidence is complete word. So understand this cognition, when you have Ishwara Pranidhana, surrendering to Ishwara, soon you will have unshakable, untouchable, undisturbable awareness which even king cannot shake.

I was studying all the religious persecutions happened in last few years in India and around the world. I am looking into the psychology of the religious persecution: who persecutes, who is persecuted, how the persecution happens, what is the situation before the persecution and what happened usually after the persecution. And I really tell you, the people went after us who did the religious persecution on us, unfortunate. Because whenever you persecute social or political groups or organizations, their strength reduces or they die down. But invariably, throughout the history, 100%, all religious persecutions make the organization, religious organization, strong and explode in all direction.

Please understand, I am just outdating the utility value of concept of God.

When you completely relax into the restful awareness, when you experience the depth power of surrender to divine, you just don’t need even the experience of the divine. You just don’t bother whether he really exists or not, because surrender experience is so strong, so truthful, so straight, so full, so overflowing.

I am looking into the psyche of the religious persecution. I realized there is no single spiritual or religious group or organization which reduced, lost its strength, or its intensity, or its value, or its efficiency in contributing to the society, or its size, or its future in any way after any religious persecution. It’s a rule. Because the religious personality established in political or social economical powers, their very mental setup is Ishwara Pranidhana, Vidya Ahankara. It’s not Avidya Ahankara. Vidya Ahankara knowing or unknowing is such cool ego, that’s the right word I will use. Such cool understanding about you and the existence and the human society and the human mind, just you simply know, you simply know the aftereffect of what you are going through.

But unfortunately, religious persecution. First, need to understand the psychology of religious personality. Then understand the effect of religious persecution on religious personality. Avidya Ahankara can be shaken. Abused, brutally beaten, any blow given will shake him. Their power will be lost because the pillar on which they are standing will be removed, they will be just fallen, they will just fall. But the cool awareness, the restful awareness, the way this guy is playing the game amidst all chaos means what? Ishwara Pranidhana.

Understand, a guy established in the surrender to Ishwara can never be shaken. Because the problem is whether it is reality or not is established. Even if you prove him that Ishwara is not reality, he will not be shaken. Because the reality of the surrender and the restful awareness which he experiences because of his belief in the Ishwara Pranidhana and surrender to the divine is so strong, he is not bothered whether Ishwara himself is real or not. Ishwara is just outdated from his life. He just loses the value in his life just because of the restful awareness, of the surrender, restful awareness which experienced by surrendering to the Ishwara.

Ramakrishna gave very beautiful example. “When I can be satisfied just with two, three bottles of arak, what am I going to do knowing the whole stock of the arak which having in shop? What am I going to do taking the whole stock? How many barrels you have, the owner going, shop owner, ‘What you want? Maximum five, six bottles. Have it and go. Why are you bothered about stock I have?’”.

Same way, the restful awareness which you experience when you relax to awareness of Ishwara Pranidhana, surrendering to the God, is so strong, so palpable, so clear, untouching, undisturbable, you don’t even bother whether he really exists or not.

Beautiful story. Nayanar (Saint from Tamil Nadu, also known as Appar), great saint from Tamil Nadu. Yes, another name Appar. Was put in prison, religious persecution, just because of the idea he believed. He was put in the prison and the guy put him in the prison also believed different idea, different value. Appar was established in Ishwara Pranidhana, relaxed in Ishwara Pranidhana, even if the divine does not interfere and perform miracles, the surrender, the juice and strength which he receive by the surrender is so strong. He will not expect divine to do anything. He will not be shaken even if the divine does not interfere.

He is put behind bars. Shiva did not come and open the prison. He did not break the prison. Not tell the devotee, “Come on, come out.” No. But strength of Ishwara Pranidhana is so strong. The strength of surrender is so strong, he did not bother. He does not insist for Shiva to come and open, break that there. And sing beautiful song. Very beautiful song.

Maasil nay mal madhuram vasnal wing vey moos wander payi pad. Nala mangave moos wander payi pad.

Appar sings sitting in prison that ‘In the very sweet and romantic season, where the bee drink the honey from lotus flowers and just after drinking in the kick creating sound and running around, flying around. That kind of lotus pond, all this put together how pleasant you feel. Even by remembering, he says that is the plus feeling I am having now being at the feet of Shiva sitting in prison singing this‘. Understand, this is what I call Vidya Ahankara.

The power of Ishwara Pranidhana. When you are completely in rest with surrender, in tune with surrender to God, the Vidya Ahankara expresses itself so powerfully, beautifully. Nothing can be shaken. People asked me in my own ashram: “Swami ji, really expected when you are put in prison you will do some miracle come out and walk and all”. I said, “Going through the whole thing, being established in Ishwara Pranidhana and showing to the world the power of Vidya Ahankara is purpose of my Incarnation”. Just breaking few grills or walking through few grills, just getting out of the prison. You don’t need an Incarnation. Just a lawyer is enough. Every day lawyers are bringing thousand of people out of prison. Just get out of prison, you don’t need an Incarnation.

To show the power of the Ishwara Pranidhana, Vidya Ahankara, you need an Incarnation. This time I took the powerful job, most important job of showing the importance of Vidya Ahankara. That is much bigger lesson which need to be told to the world than how to come out of the prison. For those lessons you don’t need Incarnation to teach you those lessons. How to come out of prison? All you need is simple few instruments how to cut the bar and come out. You don’t need an Incarnation to teach that lesson.

People asking, “No, no, Swami ji, when scandal broke out, we should have shown our resistance, we should have done some protest.” “Areh, to do some protest and to throw some stones, you don’t need an Incarnation. Just rowdy is enough to create chaos, you don’t need Incarnation. How to handle the whole thing silently established in Ahimsa, for that you need an Incarnation. Let me do my job, let me do my job. Let us not do somebody else’s job. Let us be very clear”. They were asking me, “No, no, Swami ji, at least legally we should take revenge.” I told them, “Areh, I just assumed human body for this itself, this guys have tortured me so much, tried to torture me so much. The tendency of the human mind is taking revenge. If I assume human mind also what will happen? I don’t want to assume human mind. Assuming the human body, that is torture enough, I don’t want human mind. Relax, just show the power of Ishwara Pranidhana.”

Spiritual leaders, enlightened beings, saints and sages, and Rishis, Masters, Incarnations go through religious persecution. They go through religious persecution just to show the world the strength and power of Ishwara Pranidhana.

Conclusion: Kriya Yoga in Practice

So now all of you know what is Tapas, what is Swadhyaya, and what is Ishwara Pranidhana. Just do this three in your life, you will be doing Kriya Yoga. Patanjali says this is what is Kriya Yoga.

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source: Practice, Psychological & Physiological Mutation, Surrender and More