Patanjali Yoga Sutras - Knowledge Sheet 10

Patanjali Yoga Sutras - Knowledge Sheet 10

Explanation of the Patanjali Yoga Sutra #15 continues…

Vitrushnasya vashikara sanjna vairagyam

The mind that gallops is an obstruction. An expectation in meditation is an obstruction. You have heard somebody’s experience that light appears, somebody comes from heaven and takes them by hand and you see it with your eyes closed. All these ideas are the construction of fiction. 

Your desire for pleasure or happiness makes you unhappy. You examine that whenever you are unhappy or miserable, behind that is your wanting to be happy. You got it? Craving for happiness brings misery. If you do not even crave for happiness, then you are happy. You crave for happiness and you invite misery. When you do not care for happiness, you are liberated and when you do not even care for liberation, you attain love. The first step is when you do not care for happiness. The second step is param vairagya (supreme dispassion). When you do not even care for liberation, then you are free. You are liberated.

If you have whatever you wanted, then are you happy?

Happiness is just a mere idea in the mind. You think that if you have this you are happy. If you have whatever you wanted, then are you happy? Vairagya is putting a stop to craving for happiness.

That does not mean you must be miserable. It is not that. It does not mean you should not enjoy yourself, but the craving for joy, only when you retrieve your mind from it, only then can you meditate. Then yoga happens.

Your dreams and fantasies, just shatter them. All your dreams and fantasies, offer them to the fire. Burn them. What great happiness do you want to have? How long can you have it? You are going to be finished. It is all going to end. Before this earth eats you up, become free.

Free yourself from this feverishness that is gripping your mind.

Free yourself from this craving for happiness

Look into every craving you have closely and remember you are going to die. Your craving for sweets, sugar, food. Ask yourself if you want to keep eating them. Ok, eat for as long as you like. See consciously, what can they do? Nothing. What else do you crave for? Beautiful views? Keep on looking at the view. How long you can go on looking?

Sex. How much sex can you have? Then you will see that there is nothing in it. How long? Few moments later, the body looks like styrofoam, that which was so attractive before.

What other thing? All these substances you see have limitations, but your mind is not ready for limitations. It wants unlimited pleasure, which the five senses cannot give you. It is impossible. You simply get burnt down, over and over again.

Skillfully handling the objects of senses and bringing it to the Self is dispassion or vairagya.

H.H. Sri Sri Ravishankar ji's visit to Gujarat on Diwali 2011

I am sooo HAPPYYY...
I am sooo EXCITED...
GURUJI is coming to Gujarat on this Diwali.
HE is landing on 25th Oct 2011 and then HE will go to Valsad for Rudra Pooja and Mahasatsang.
26th Oct 2011 HE is in Surat for Maha Laxmi Homa and Mahasatsang.
27th Oct 2011 HE is taking Pranayam Dhyan Shibir at Surat.
28th to 31st Oct 2011 we have Art of Living Part II Course for World Peace.

I am desperately eager to meet my beloved Guruji.

If you are in Gujarat don't miss an opportunity to meet the DIVINE.

Story time - God, King and Commitment

There was a King. He has taken one commitment that any bhikshuk (needy one) will come to him and ask anything he will give it. King has decided one day in a week so that particular day all needy ones would come to him and ask whatever they want and King would satisfy them. One beautiful day God thought of testing the King. And that particular day God came in the form of Bhikshuk, He was standing last in the queue. One by one every bhikshuk used to go to King and ask for land, money, food, etc… and King would satisfy them. Now it’s the turn of God. Now

King - Tell me what do you want???

God (in the form of bhikshuk) - I need something to eat.

King ordered delicious food for that bhikshuk(God).

Bhikshuk(God) – No, I don’t want this kind of food.

King – Then what kind of food do you want???

Bhikshuk (God) – I want non-vegetarian food.

King ordered good quality meat for Bhikshuk.

Bhikshuk (God) – No, I don’t want this kind of meat.

King – Then what kind of meat do you want???

Bhikshuk (God) – I want the meat of human body.

King got shoked…

King – how can I get meat of human body???

Bhikshuk (God) – You are also a human, don’t you???

King was utterly in dilemma. Now he understood that Bhikshuk (God) wants to have meat of his own body. And Kind has to stick to his commitment to satisfy bhikshuk, but King has full faith on God that my God will not allow this to happen. Let me do my karma and God will definitely save me.

King – ok take it. If your hunger will be satisfied by the meat of my body then take it.

Bhikshuk (God) – No, I don’t want to eat like this.

King – Then how???

Bhikshuk (God) – your body should be chopped with the huge cutter into the two pieces of the same size. Then one piece will be taken by your wife and the other by your son. They have to make your meat eatable and then give it to me. And then I will eat that and satisfy my hunger.

King’s wife and son has full faith on King’s faith on God and also they respect King’s commitment. So they also agreed to do so.

After listening to this he realized that only God can test me such a way. Suddenly he became so happy that God has come to test me and he offered his body in a way that Bhikshuk (God) wanted.

God was very happy with his commitment and before the huge cutter chop King’s body, God came in his own form. God gave many blessings to the King and his family and disappear.



I like this story so much that I decided to put this on my blog. What I learnt from this story is When you are in the path of spirituality, God will definitely test you to grow stronger in this path. Parents want their children to be the best. In the same way God wants us to be the best. So whenever the tough time comes feel that God is testing me and feel happy. Have you seen that whenever we are sad, we are more with the divine and when we are happy, we are more stuck in the outer world. Whenever we are going through tough time or whenever we are sad, we are with our own self and we get time to do introspection and whenever we are happy, we are more with material world. So feel the presence of divine in the both situations and get ready for the new challenges.

Jai Gurudev…