--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, kaladevi93 <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, t3rinity <no_reply@> wrote: > > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj <vajranatha@> wrote: > > > > > Actually the way it's taught by lineal Patanjali masters is that > > > siddhis are not to be cultivated via samyama but instead are > > > spontaneous side-effects of samadhi. Swami Brahmananda Saraswati > > > emphasized this as well. > > > > Hey there. While in India, I bought a book which was recommended here > > to me, the Bhagavad Gita with commentary by Madhusudana Saraswati, who > > was in the 16th century, a contemporary of Akbhar and a renovator of > > the Dasanami Order. It is because of him that Non-Brahmins are > > accepted into most Dasanami Orders. he was also a great Bhakta who > > synthezised the bhakti philosophies with Shankara Advaita. Here in > > verse 21 he calls samyama "strongest of all disciplines" > > > > > > This is what he says in his Invocation to the Gita. > > > > 20 Through the power of knowledge of reality (tattva-jnana) the > > results of actions (done in past lives) that have not commenced > > bearing fruit (anarabdha or sancita) get wholly destroyed, to be sure, > > and the results of actions (done in the present life after the dawn of > > knowledge) that are to bear fruit in the furure (agamini) do not accrue. > > > > 21 But because of disturbances created by the results of actions that > > have started bearing fruit (prarabdha), vasana (past impressions) does > > not get destroyed. That is eliminated through samyama, the strongest > > of all (the disciplines). > > > > 22. The five disciplines, viz yama (restraint) etc. (P.Y.Su 2.29) > > practised before become conducive to that samyama which is a triad > > consisting of dharana, dhyan and samadhi (see ibid. 3.1.4) > > > > I asked Vajranatha about this as he is over his posting limit. > > Samyama is not a bad practice by itself. It is when it is used to manifest siddhis that it > causes obscuration of the natural state. > > In the context quoted it refers to the triad of yogic absorptions and not to cultivating of > siddhis. Different context, different meaning. > > Other more specific references refer to the Gita and explain that samyama used for siddhis > will lead to emotional and mental obscurations. > > Please be careful of your context as it is not a good idea to be encouraging people to use > samyama to manifest siddhis!
Please see the reference in verse 22: PYS 3.1.4 This is the Chapter followed by the explanation how siddhis are developed through Samyama. It is Vaj ignoring the context here.
