Richard, thanks, this is wonderful. BUT! I've heard Maharishi explain that at
the deepest level of reality, Purusha IS Prakriti.
On Wednesday, December 11, 2013 7:05 AM, Richard J. Williams
<pundits...@gmail.com> wrote:
Y.S. II. 40. "The habit of cleanliness, if it is not mechanical and ritualistic
but intelligent with an understanding of the nature of decaying physical
organism, reveals the impure nature of the physical body: and, there arises
disgust for the body and a disinclination for contact with those of others."
This sutra is almost verbatim the words of the Buddha, Shakya the
Muni, the first historical yogin in India and pertains to the
habit of denigrating the physical body, and matter in general,
based on the idea of asceticism, which apparently has it's origin
in South Asia. Patanjali, whether he is conflated with Pannini or
not, is probably a composite character, and he is not listed in
the TMer parampara, simply because he is not a real historical
person.
The Yoga Sutras by Patanjali are generally attributed by scholars
to be written either 200 BCE or even later. Scholars such as S.N.
Dasgupta, claim this is the same Patanjali who authored the
Mahabhasya, a treatise on Sanskrit grammar.
But, these yoga sutras have of course been replaced with the
tantras, which give details on yoga practice. So, this sutra
pertains to mental cleanliness, not particularly physical
cleanness. I mean think about it: compared to modern notions of
cleanness, people that live in tropical climates, even if they
bathe in the Ganges three times a day, can hardly be considered
"clean" by modern standards.
Most people these days have bathrooms, toilets, running hot and
cold water, instead of latrines, in which to deposit their night
soil. Sitting on the ground, even if you sleep on a tiger skin, is
now at all clean in the modern sense. And, this passage obviously
doesn't refer to the habit of hatha yogis who use various
techniques for inner cleaning of the body, since hatha yoga wasn't
even invented until the 16th century. So, this passage can be
pretty much neglected as so much prattle. Go figure.
The first time I read the Yoga Sutras I misunderstood a lot, even
for a smart guy. However, now that I have learned how to
transcend, I've put the right commentaries together with the
correct translations and I've been able to understand the main
idea behind the ancient Yoga System. It might be auspicious if we
begin with a short review of where we're coming from.
So, let's review what we know:
Our tradition begins with the Lord Narayana, the first meditator,
who thought the first thought and set in motion this science of
sound vibration. In a long line of illustrious masters comes this
tradition from Naryana, Shakti, Vasistha, Parashara, Vyasa, down
to Gaudapada, Shankara and Brahmananda Saraswti.
According to Patanjali: "Artha Yoga nusasanam." (This is
instruction in Yoga.) - Y.S. I.1
Shakya taught meditation based on causation and demonstrated a
program called the Eight-fold Path leading to full Enlightenment.
Badarayana, the immediate progenitor of our sampradaya, arranged
the Upanishads into sections called the Vedanta Sutras. And later,
Yogi Vasistha composed a short hymn on Yoga explaining yoga in
terms of non-dualism. Patanjali, who compiled the 'Yoga Sutras'
from ancient sources around 200 BCE, salutes the Buddha as the
wisest of men. Vyasa has written a special commentary on the
Patanjali's Sutras for our understanding.
So, based on these compositions, we can understand the yoga praxis
in it's entirety - a person reading the Sutras alone would
probably be confused, since these passages have been superseded on
most counts. So, in an effort to further our understanding, the
Adi Shankaracharya has fortuitously prepared a very nice
sub-commentary to Veda Vyasa's 'Vivarana' on the 'Yoga Sutras of
Patanjali'.
Are we agreed so far?
Patanjali says: "Yoga citta vritti nirodha." (Yoga is the
cessation of the mental turnings of the mind.) Y.S. I. 1. 2.
After learning TM practice, this sutra would not be a cause for
any misunderstanding - it is quite clear. Cessation of thought is
the goal of any meditation that is transcendental.
Both Sankhya and Yoga are concerned with the two principles:
Purusha and prakriti. Prakriti is composed of the 32 Tattwas which
are maintained by the three constituents of nature, namely the
three gunas. You should know that the Purusha is completely and
totally separate from the prakriti, that's why they call it the
Transcendental Absolute and everything else, the relative. So, we
have relative and the Absolute qualities of life, a material
existence and another - which is beyond the forces born of nature.
The force of prakriti is called "samsara", which has been compared
by an analogy as a 'wheel', eternally in motion, with twelve
spokes symbolizing the Twelve-fold Chain of Causation, much like
the whirling flames as God Shiva as He does the Tandava Dance. The
analogy is that of a fire-brand, which is a single flame, but when
directed in a circular motion, appears to be a line of fire in one
continuous loop. The wheel then, symbolizes the revolving cycle of
transmigration, brought about by the law of cause and effect or
karma.
According to the Shakya, the purpose of yoga is to "thin out the
taints" of past karma, the samkaras - Patanjali agrees with this.
Patanjali then says: "tada drastuh svarupe vasthanam." (When
thought ceases, the Transcendental Absolute stands by itself,
refers to Itself, as a witness to the world.) Y. S. I. 1. 3.
"Chit" is thought; "citta" is consciousness. "citta vriti" means
the turning of thought in the mind. "nirodha" is cessation - the
turnings have stopped, ceased, come to a halt, stilled, blown out,
made peaceful, "nirvana" means release; thought has been totally
left behind - consciousness all by itself; there is no returning;
no more. This is the main purport of the Yoga Sutras. Any TMer
would understand this - those who have never experienced the
transcendental, maybe not. Go figure.
Note: All transliterations by Swami Venkatesananda Saraswati.
Works cited:
'Sankara on the Yoga Sutras Vo. 2 Means'
The Vivarana sub-commentary to Vyasa-bhasya on the Yoga Sutras of
Patanjali: Sadhana-pada
Translated by Trevor Leggett
London, 1983, Routledge & Kegan Paul
'Yoga-As Philosophy and Religion'
By Surendranath Dasgupta
Kennikat Press, 1924
'Enlightened Living'
Commentary on Patanjali's Yoga Sutras
by Swami Venkatesananda Sarswati
http://www.swamivenkatesananda.org/Enlightened%_Living.pdf
On 12/10/2013 4:52 PM, cardemais...@yahoo.com wrote:
What does "asaMsargaH" really mean in Patañjali II,40:
