Swami Vishnu-Devananda in his "Meditation and Mantras", Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Pvt Ltd, Delhi, Om Lotus Publications, 1978, translates a sutra of Patanjali that says, "Liberation (or mukti) takes place when the mind has the same purity as Purusha itself."
From the above sutra we come to understand the importance of purity in mind. Now I understand pretty well this is what Supramania Swami meant when he said we shall keep on polishing the ware (the mind) till it shines. Tvayogi told me we shall try; if not in this birth maybe in the next. But we shall keep on trying.
From the above sutra we come to understand the importance of purity in mind. Now I understand pretty well this is what Supramania Swami meant when he said we shall keep on polishing the ware (the mind) till it shines. Tvayogi told me we shall try; if not in this birth maybe in the next. But we shall keep on trying.
Swami Vishnu-Devananda writes, "The final chapter of Patanjali's Raja Yoga Sutras discusses Kaivalya, - liberation or independence. Although the saints say that it is man's purpose to achieve union with the divine, Agathiyar through his 5 tenets for mankind tells us besides knowing our purpose, we need to carry out the remaining 4 other tenets too namely: to serve Erai, then one's parents, followed by service to society, to care for the lower beings in the form of animals and plants and the mineral kingdom.
For one who is in poverty a vitamin supplement is considered a rare commodity and a luxury while for one who earns well, he swallows a variety of these without figuring out or worrying about its costs. A grandma is forever grateful to Dr. Jana for seeing her granddaughter who is about my granddaughter's age but was malnourished for her age and could not even sit nor stand up the first time we met her. Today she breezes by just like Little Bheema on Netflix.
For one who is in poverty a vitamin supplement is considered a rare commodity and a luxury while for one who earns well, he swallows a variety of these without figuring out or worrying about its costs. A grandma is forever grateful to Dr. Jana for seeing her granddaughter who is about my granddaughter's age but was malnourished for her age and could not even sit nor stand up the first time we met her. Today she breezes by just like Little Bheema on Netflix.
Swami Vishnu-Devananda translates the sutras further, "Those who experience what seems to be undeserved suffering are only working out previously incurred karma. The law of karma is absolute." He continues,
The law of karma is absolute, and the effect of a desire or tendency must definitely be reaped, although it may be in a different lifetime and under different circumstances. This gives an idea of how long man has been going through birth and rebirth. He has been reincarnating as long as there has been desire. It is the desire that binds him to the physical plane.This answers the question put by many, "Why me?" and on Erai being unfair in punishing one for something done in a previous birth.
He tells us that there is no beginning to desire, answering my question when, how and who had the very first desire that started the ball rolling bringing the ball today at our feet?
For a yogi there is no positive or negative about karma. For a yogi, karma is neither white nor black, for others it is threefold - black, white and gray meaning there are subjective reactions to the work that must be carried out and this, in turn, creates new karma.
The irony is that on one hand we are told birth rebirth is because of we carrying unexhausted desires, then we are told that what gives momentum to desires is cause and effect or past karma. It is the chicken and egg story, a matter of which came first? So to play it safe and to save us from a lot of headaches, the elders always told us never to investigate the source or Adhi and end or Moolam so that we shall keep our peace of mind.
Besides cause and effect, we are told that the activity of the mind which creates them and the objects of desire contribute towards this momentum driving us to take birth after birth.
Swami Vishnu-Devananda speaks about the varying perspective of humans as he understands from these sutras.
The object remains the same, but when it is perceived by more than one mind there immediately arise varying views of that object. It is the individual attitudes or karmic situations that determine how a person sees something. What is perceived or cognized by an individual is entirely dependant upon the orientation and tendencies of that mind and not on the object itself, for the object is one.So I remind myself not to get angry if somebody has a different opinion of something.
He adds that an object is either known or unknown to the mind because of the coloring of the mind. Could this be the various veils of varying colors that Ramalinga Adigal reveals as hiding the truth from our eyes, that deceive us, and that creates an illusion?
Patanjali says that we are not of the body; neither are we the mind. We are the witness, Purusha, the self. Sitting alone in silence, only the Purusha remains. The Purusha witnesses the thought go by and overtime loses its attention on it too. What dawns on us during these moments is then self-knowledge.
As Thirumular says even the desire to know Siva should drop, even the desire for liberation must be given up for it is still a desire as any other desire says Patanjali.
Patanjali concludes, "For a person who has transcended Prakriti, the qualities of nature come to an end for they, the three Gunas, have fulfilled their purpose - which is to push him through growth and to create the field for transformations on the path to self-realization." How wonderful. Reaching the finale. The end.
Kaivalya is that state in which the Gunas attain equilibrium and merge in their cause, having no longer a purpose in relation to Purusha. The soul is established in its true nature, which is pure consciousness. End.
Fulfill the purpose and it all ends. Aum.