YOG

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1st Published 2012 by YOG

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ISBN 97881-87603-20-7
C> Geeta S.lyengar 2012
Geeta S. Iyengar asserts the moral right to be Identified as the author of this work.

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 Aum 11
Yogena cittasya padena vacarh I
Malam sarirasyaca vaidyakena I
Yopakarottam pravaram munlnam I
Pataftjalirh praftjaliranato 'smi II
Abahu puru$akarari1 satikha cakrasi dharif)ari1 I
Sahasra sirasarh svetarh praf)amami Pataftjalirh II
Haril) aum II

05
 PROLOGUE
#14

The present situation is such that everyone wants quick and instant
results. Nobody has patience. Pain and hard work are rejected. The
inert nature denies the efforts. The pleasure-seeking mind rejects pain.

This small booklet is a transcription of the lecture delivered in France

in 2002 and may help to change this mentality.

There is a root for the tree so there is a fruit as well. The seed of the fruit
of the tree transforms into fruit and tree. There is an action, therefore
there is a reaction as well. There is an action in the form of mutation,
therefore, there is a fruit It is certainly not possible that you sow the
seed today and see the fruit tomorrow. Saint Muktabai, the sister of
Jnaneswara says,

"carw khave lokhaodache maga brahmapadi nace".

To reach the "Brahmi-sthiti", to realise the 'supreme' is as hard as

eating a gram of iron. It is certainly not an easy process. Yoga is not
meant for those who are lazy, unenthusiastic, infatuated, engrossed in
worldly enjoyment One has to fight on all fronts to reach the goal. It is a
continuity of mutation to have the transformation.

The word mobility indicates the motion, movement, effortfulness,

action and practice. The stability indicates firmness, decisiveness,
establishment to hold on to; progressiveness and settlement Both
these approaches are required for the practitioner.

After the first publication, some queries came from the readers. I
thought that they should be dealt with to clear the doubts. I have given
Lhese clarifications and answers to the questions at the end of the
booklet

cieeta S. Iyengar,
Pune
07
 MOBILI'fY IN STABILI1Y
My dear fellow travellers,

You know I have cough, therefore you have to excuse me in case I

cough out. I hope you will bear with me, when the speech is
interrupted by cough. Various obstacles along with their
associated diseases will always hinder our progress, but in spite of
these obstacles, we need to proceed with mobility towards
stability with a stable practice. I hope I will be able to convey this
hidden message, through the cough, which is bothering me and
you both.

The word 'stability' is a bit hard to comprehend. We mostly imagine

that when everything is fixed and firm it is stability. However, the
stability should not become stale. If it becomes stale then there is
deterioration and devastation. The stability is something that
begins from mobility. The origin of stability is in mobility. Nobody
can reach stability straight away unless one deals with mobility.
Mobility is dynamic whereas stability without mobility will lead
towards stagnation.

Even in our regular life we see, if life has to settle, first there are
efforts. A new-born baby first struggles a lot for breath, since now
onwards it has to become independent from the mother's body.
This first struggle itself is the mobility in order to make the baby's
life stable.

I was told by the organisers of the French lyengarYoga Convention

I lint I should speak on "The significance of stability and mobility in
voqa". It should be the other way as mobility is essential before
•lt:thllity can be reached. Again the mobility is hidden in stability. Let
Il l ... eP what these two words convey.

09
The word stability in Samskrtis called sthirata or sthairya. The word
sthirata conveys different aspects of stability such as steadiness,
firmness, establishment, steadfastness and so on. The word
opposite to stability is mobility. Mobility indicates instability, but in
this context it is not instability but a motion, or rather a progressive
movement. It indicates, in general, motion, action and function.
Both, mobility and stability are essential to make progress. It is said
that several points- dots (bindu-s) make a straight line. When you
put the dots consecutively, a line is formed automatically.

Figure 1-

0
Mobility is kinetic energy whereas stability is static energy. In order
to practise yoga, one primarily needs preral)a -self-inspiration in
order to actuate oneself. Mobility is the inspiring stimulus to
proceed whereas stability is the static energy to maintain self-
balance or a self-force to have firmness. A practitioner of yoga
needs both qualities - mobility and stability, the inspiration to
proceed and the adhesiveness to establish oneself. When you go
to buy a new car, you check its mobility, whether the car runs
smoothly even at high speed and at the same time you check the
brakes in order to see whether it comes under control. The car
needs both the mobility and stability. A moving car or any vehicle
has to come back to a stable or static state after traversing a wide
terrain.

-------------------- 10
-------------------·
Actually, the stability could be achieved on a different level or in
different phases of sadhana which the practitioner of yoga needs
to understand. The word originally conveys the sense of
positioning or sthitT. Take these two examples. When we extend a
piece of elastic, its elasticity ensures that it always extends and
transcends its original limits of stability. When we release the
tension or the pressure on the elastic piece, it resumes its shape
and comes back to its normal, stalble state but at a different level.
Now, coming to the yogic terminology, the Bhagavad GTta uses the
word sthitaprajfla, wherein Lord Krishna says, "The one who has
reached the ultimate goal of one's life, his prajna or intelligence
comes to the stable state. It is never disturbed." One who is
completely stable, who does not waver or get disturbed in spite of
having disturbances and obstacles all around, is called a
sthitaprajiia.

Patanjali expresses the same idea in a different language. If we

look closely into the yoga satra-s, we will come to know the
dphorist's implicit meaning. Patanjali, at every point of time and
level in the sadhana, gives us the bhavana or the feel of that stage
where we need to have complete mobility and flexibility with
dynamic efforts in order to come towards the stability. In order to

... 11
'reach', the mobility is required and when you 'reach', the stability is
required.

Patanjali opens the first chapter,Samadhi pada, with the sOtra -

"atha yoganusasanam ".

In that very word anusananam, he is asking us to have complete

stability since it is a discipline. The word 'anu' when prefixed to the
noun 'sasanam' it means each by each. It means done repeatedly
but methodically. In other words, it indicates the flow of discipline.
Patanjali's first advice is uDiscipline thyself'.

Any discipline has a stable background. Discipline is definite

whereas indiscipline is indefinite. The discipline is not merely
rigidity like a rigid rule. It flows with regularities. In this sense, the
discipline has a stable flow. Discipline and instability cannot go
together and obviously when Patanjali says anusasanam, he
informs us of the need for discipline, which denotes stability. This
discipline is followed by stabilising the mind. He indicates it with
the phrase 'cittavrttinirodha'. This means that the citta or the
consciousness is completely in-filled and saturated with v(tti and
in turn these vrtti-s bring a kind of instability or wavering in that
consciousness. These vrtti-s are vibrating all the time. And
because ofthese v(tti-s which bring instabi Iity, yoga comes into the
picture to give us the tools of restraint. The mobility of vrtti-s is
awakening the want of stability which is nothing but restraint or
nirodha. lfthe consciousness was always stable, with the absence
of vrtti-s, the question of restraint or of practising yoga would not
arise. However, the citta would have been like a still child, whereas
it is lively. This factual awareness of the wavering of consciousnes~;

12
indicated by Patanjali is itself the journey from mobility to stabi lity.
From that movement of modification of consciousness, we have to
re-modify it in such a way so as to bring it to a state of stabi lity.
Obviously it is indicative of a process of involvement, of re-
modifying it, in orderto go towards the restraint.

Then in the very next sotra he says, 'The soul exists in its position, in
its splendour, in its grandeur when there is no movement of the v{tti
in the consciousness ' -

"tada dra$tul) svarOpe avasthanam".

The soul remains in that stable state inside when there is no

modification, no movement, and no disturbance.

It is in its svaropa. Sva means one's own and ropa means form. The
seer remains in its own form only when the mental modifications
are ceased, otherwise its form is identified with the v{tti. In the next
sOtra Patanjali elucidates-

"vrtti sarOpyam itaratra".

At other times, the seer identifies wi th the fluctuating

consciousness.

These two above mentioned sotra-s in a way reveal important facts.

Consider the following. The sun does not move. The earth moves. If
the earth also becomes stable like the sun, there would be no life.
With sufficient mobility, the earth is energising itself by borrowing
the energy from the sun. On the other hand, the sun rotates on itself
to self-generate energy.

••
 D.rect
Rgure 3 ~olution
Sun and the
orbits of planets

As far as the citta is concerned it is all the time encircled and

covered by v(tti-s. The v(tti-s are the ripples or waves on the citta.
The movements of the vrtti-s continue and the citta as a pure citta
is never revealed. The vrtti-s darken the citta, whereas the citta
has to be shining w ith the rays of the soul.

Rgure 4
Pancav(tti-s of citta

If the consciousness has to become stable, the modifications have

to be arrested, reduced, subdued and finally destroyed. Then the
consciousness exists in its pure form which is called as sattva
suddhi. The soul with its luminosity, in turn, has to illumine the citta.
lfthe mobility of consciousness is felt due to vrtti-s, then it is equally

14

'
valid that its stability will also be felt by subduing the vrtti-s. When
vrtti-s are occupying the citta it is dark like night. However the citta
can be made nirv(ttika so that it is fully illumined. Then it is day for
the citta. In order to face the luminosity of the soul the citta has to
become free from vrtti-s. The whole yaugika process is the
"Movement to make Citta Nirv{ttika."

Let me give you the example of a river. The river has got two banks,
and we as the embodiment stand on one side of that bank
representing our bodily existence. The riverbed is our citta and river
water is v(tti. Our bodily existence along with consciousness and
its modifications is one bank and the other side is the soul. In
between the body and soul is the river which is running constantly.
It is the flow of prak[ti, which is either not allowing us to go nearer to
our soul or to remain face to face with the soul. If you need to cross
the river, you need to be mobile. You have to reach the other end
with mobility.

The soul is stable because it is non-changeable. But prakrti

undergoes mutation. It is changeable and transformable. Mobility
signifies this meaning. And this is an important point for us. Since it
has this mutative mobility, yoga is possible. Otherwise yoga would
have been not only impossible but also futile. However, there is a
prerequisite: we should know how to bring the change in its
mutation so it serves our purpose. If we think in that way, we will
know that in order to reach towards stability, a lot of mobility is
required.

Now when I use this word mobility, it does not merely mean having
•1 movement but rather a dynamic and active movement or positive

15
participation. In order to get to the stability, Patanjali has given us
the methodology. In the twelfth sotra of the Samadhiptida itself he
says-

"abhyasa vairagyabhyam tannnirodhal)".

He instructs us to have the abhyasa, the practice, and also develop

vairagya, the desirelessness. We think that he has given us two
methods: abhyasa and vairagya. But abhyasa indicates mobility
and vairagya, stability. It is a perfect combination or chemistry of
mobility and stability.

In abhyasa there is again an indication of what kind of movement is

required. He uses two words for it. He says in the thirteenth sotra-

"tatra sthitau yatnal; abhyasal)".

Abhyasa means practice. Practice of what? Practise of our chosen

path of yoga- the eight aspects of it. Further, he advises us to be
'sthitau' (stable) in 'yatna ' (efforts). The very word, "effort", means
that there is a continuity, continuous process in order to reach
whatever goal we want to reach. This means that effort is
something that does not end until one reaches the nirv(ttika state.
The word yatna- or effort- indicates motion. When we say that we
are putting our efforts in order to achieve something, it is not just a
single effort but also a chain of efforts, continuity of efforts, or even
multi-faceted efforts. The efforts are such that it is a continuous
process of modifications, improvements, or even improvisations,
in order to reach the goal. Pataiijali says that you have to be stable
in that effort. This sOtra clearly signals the presence of the
concepts of stability and mobility.

- 16
Perhaps this will justify the title, 'Mobility in Stability'.

As to the question of efforts, it is a continuous process, and within

this continuous process again. there is stability. We don't
discontinue or drop our practices somewhere. The abhyasa is not
done with breaks. Patanjali clearly says-

"sa tu dlrghaktHa nairantarya satkarasevitaf) drc;JhabhOmif)".

This sOtra is not merely dealing with the continuity of practice. The
practice or abhyasa needs to be done for a long time without any
breaks and with humble devotion and dedication. This is an
indication that stability is not stagnation. It has to remain flowing
like the river water constantly. The river is the best metaphor for our
life.

We say that we are alive from birth to death. Again in that life, when
we lively exist, we say that the life is full of life and when sometimes
we stagnate and do not improve, do not progress and nothing
particular happens, we say it is just like a dead life. In other words,
life is like a live wire where the energy is continuously flowing. The
abhyasa has to be really lively for dlrghakala - a very long period.
There is no limited time or space. The abhyasa therefore might not
be limited to this life alone. You have to continue it in the next life
also. So as a student of yoga, we have to remember these lines.
When we say stability, it is not stability concerned with only this
•.hort life, or just a period of a few years, otherwise Patanjali would
not have used the word dlrghakala. He further qualifies or charges
ti1P word dlrghakala (long period) with the feeling of dedication and
11011 ~top efforts - nairantarya. The word nairantarya indicates
r ontlnuily and satkara indicates stability. You cannot continue the

•• 17
practice mechanically, like donkeywork, but it has to be done with
satkara. Satkara means having the reverence and respect towards
what we are doing. This reverence should not lessen. It should not
deteriorate or diminish. You cannot become dull or lazy. You need
to be ever fresh to practise. Negligence or heedlessness is not
expected. You can imagine how much stable you need to be. When
we are learning or doing some asana and find It difficult we quickly
say, "Oh, it is very hard and painful".lfthe asana is complicated, we
say, "Forget, let me not do it. I won't get it in this life' .This is a break in
practice and not stability. It is a negative approach, a negative
mind. Therefore there is no satkara. Sometimes we may be
practising asana, and hold a wrong posture, yet we continue by
thinking, 'Whatever it may happen, I have to be stable in the
practice with continuity of efforts'. This stability is merely rigidity.
Patafijali is not supporting that. He is asking us to stay with satkara,
respectfully. It means that if yoU" are holding a wrong posture then
correct it. According to Patanjali also, a wrong posture should not
be held otherwise the duality will set in causing disturbances rather
than induce stability. Patanjali asks his followers to respect the
body since it has the divine element. He is against cajoling and
neglecting it. So I hope you understand that even in that abhyasa
(practice), it is not just a question of stability, but stability with
liveliness. Of course he is not talking only about the asana. This is
just an example. For Patai"'jali, abhyasa includes every other
aspect ofyoga.

Now when he speaks aboutabhyasa in this manner, it is not that he

has forgotten about vairagya. Now when it is the question of
desirelessness, he is not just asking his sadhaka-s to become

18
 desireless and begin their practice. There are several stages of
vairagya, which you have to go through. Again it is a kind of stable
approach towards vairagya with progressive mobility. Having full
understanding, we have to follow abhyasa and vairagya with a
stable mind.

The approach towards vairagya is also step-by-step with

steadiness. Read "Light on Yoga Sotra-s of Patafljali", you will get
the details. Patanjali indicates vairagya in two sOtra-s but it has five
steps, namely, yatamana, vyatireka, ekendriya, vasikara and
paravairagya. First you bring control over your organs of action and
senses of perception by disengaging them from alluring actions
and attractions so that your senses of perception become
desireless. Then you have to make the mind desireless by stilling it,
by retracting it from the objects or thoughts which allure you.
Finally, your consciousness has to be completely free from
desirelessness so that you reach the supreme detachment. These
five stages are not a five-day course. Perhaps it may take lives. Yet
we have to know them even if it is not going to happen in one life.
Knowing very well that the desires are deeply rooted at every level
of existence we have to conquer them step by step. This step-by-
step approach is mobility which has to be done with a stable
understanding. That means we need to have the stable
intelligence inside which reminds us all the time that we are yoga
sadhaka-s and our goal is to reach desirelessness with abhyasa.

Often, we think that stability means something like a routine: get up

every day, do pral)ayama, asana, teach classes etc. That is fine as
far as the discipline is concerned. But Patanjali is asking you to
keep on sending a reminder to your mind to have the inner stability
.... 19
with discipline so that it leads towards desirelessness. The
intelligence needs to be stable in order to continue the abhyasa for
dirghakala, a very long period. It has to end at that unknown end.

Now what is this stable consciousness? We would not have

thought of stability unless we have the stable consciousness. For
example, suppose as a member of the family you get a job. You
earn, and as you earn you say, now you are stable. Because you are
settled, since there is no question of starving, or any other
problems as far as your existence is concerned you feel you are
stable. The word stability indicates this settlement in life.

When everything is fine in the family life, you say that there is
stability. But when there is uncertainty and instability and of course
problems, the stability is broken.

However, when Patanjali speaks of stability, it is in a very different

sense, which as a practitionerofyoga you need to understand.

So try to understand what stability is. When Patai"ljali says-

" tadadra~tuf:l svaro peavasthanam"

The soul can be in its position, in its grandeur, provided the

consciousness is stable.

What does he mean by it? Now the consciousness is always stable.

Citta is a substratum of v{tti-s. The seeming mobility is not of the
citta but the waves of thoughts on it. The mental modifications or
vrtti-s are the ones which create the disturbances or obstacles in
the flow of citta. The consciousness is like a river. It is all the time
flowing. The flowing water is always pure. The stagnated or still
water collects algae or moss. The quality of water is originally pure
20
but it gets polluted with external substances. The water can be
separated frorn all these externally imposed particles. Similarly
consciousness at the pure level is stable. That consciousness
which is pure is called kOtastha citta or mula citta . In other words,
the original consciousness is pure. It is very clear. But you have
come far away from that original, pure consciousness. You have
created the atmosphere of pollution in between and that is why you
see the instability. And if you have to pave your path through that
instability, you need mobility. You are standing on the side where
there is pollution. On the other side, there is amOia citta or pure
citta, consciousness which is absolutely clear and pure. So you
have to remove the atmosphere of pollution in between to reach
the stability. And that is why yoga says to have cittavrtti nirodha.lt is
a journey from polluted or affected area of citta to pure citta. In
order to reach that pure and stable citta, you need to proceed with
mobility. To reach that stable state, the mobility that is required is
indicated by Patanjali in the eight aspects of yoga: yama, niyama,
asana, prat)ayama, pratyahara, dharat)a, dhyana and samadhi.

So if you have to reach the other end of consciousness which is

stable, you need physical, moral, mental, emotional, intellectual
and even the spiritual stability. From this you can well understand
that if you have to reach the stable end within you , you need to have
stability in all these different stages and phasesofsadhana.

When I say to have physical stability in the asana, it does not mean
that you should merely physically hold yourself. You find there are
quite a few gymnasts, wrestlers and weight lifters who have got the
physical stability. A weight lifter definitely cannot lift the weight if he
is a shaky person, so he certainly needs physical stability. This

21
physical stability comes when the muscles, joints and bones have
strength. Undoubtedly, this has to be appreciated. But what
happens when despite this seemingly tremendous physical
stability, such people injure their muscles and bones? Why they
become nervous? Why they suffer from nervous break down? Why
the failure makes them break into tears? How does one then judge
physical stability?

The process of weight lifting requires stability of the body and mind
as well. But the mind aims at bringing the physical stability alone,
whereas while in asana, the physical stability is acquired to further
up the mental stability. As far as asana is concerned, the approach
is the reverse compared to any other physical activity. In asana, the
physical stability leads one towards mental stability, which
includes the intellectual stability.

Patafljali alludes to physical stability in the forty sixth sutra of the

second chapter- Sadhanapada. He says in the asana, one has to
have complete sthirataand sukhata . A person has to be
completely stable and at the same time experience sukha, which
means that he has to feer comfortable and contented in that
position. And that state you cannot compare with that person who
has got strong muscles or bones. You might be stable and
comfortable in that asana but you have to feel the cohesive
firmness. The muscles have to feel the compactness and the
passage between the muscles and bones have to be in-filled with
sinuses. If you are sitting on a chair which is having a soft
cushioning, you will find that after a while even that is creating a
problem. Why is that so? Because the softness also bothers the
seat

22
The sotra•tatl) dvandval) anabhighatal)" is very important in this
sense. The dualities exist in every layer of evolution in human
beings. These dualities exist in the body, senses, mind, ego and
intelligence. When Patat'ljali talks about impediments in the path
of yoga in Samadhi pada, it indicates that dualities exist even in
the higher stages of evolution. In the beginning one may feel, "Oh!
Yoga sadhana undoubtedly helps tremendously." This happens
at the stage of achievements. But when the failure comes one
thinks the other way round. "Oh! I am doing so much. Is it going to
prove futile?" The mind gets caught in duality. Patanjali explains
that doing with these impediments the other problems arise. In
short the dvandva-s do not end. When Patanjali alludes to
'dlrghakala abhyasa', it also means one may face many changes
in life and to tolerate the onslaught of dualities is a big challenge.
The weather. place, environment, atmosphere, neighbours,
circumstances, politics, economics - everything influences life.
However, the practitioner should not feel shaky. Therefore the
continu ity of sadhana indicates mobility and decisiveness in
sadhana indicates 'stability'. The mind is in this sense, a great gift
to us. It has an inherent quality of mobility and stability. It can lead
towards the senses to lose the stability and can lead towards the
intelligence to stop the mobility. The mind can make us to get
caught in dualities and make us to get freed from dualities.
Therefore the sadhana has to be in line with abhyasa and vairagya
so the mind gets trained.

Later, the sOtra-s explaining proper mental dispositions are given

for the establishment of citta- the consciousness which is stability
at all levels of human existence. The stability is established by

- 23
taking the support of aids forcitta to have favourable dispositions.

And that's why I am not using the word "comfort" over there. The
question is of the contentment inside - in the mind as well as the
tissues of the body. Compactness brings firmness thus leading
towards contentment. One does not need to struggle or put efforts
to bring steadiness or contentment

Patai'\jali uses the word prayatna-saithilya. Prayatna means effort

and saithilya means releasing the effort. That means you are
liberating yourself from the efforts. This release from the efforts
cannot happen easily. Efforts cannot be withdrawn easily in a day
or two. This is not the answer for it. Patanjali, in the context of
abhyasa says-

"tatra sthitau yatnal) abhyasal)".

He is using the word yatna. Yatna means efforts. You have to

establish yourself in effortful attempts. However in the context of
asana he is using the word prayatna. Both have the same meaning.
Yatna means efforts; prayatna means the efforts with more
intensity. Pra as a prefix indicates its intensity. The word prayatna-
saithilya is used very much purposefully and meaningfully. If he
had used the word merely as saithi/ya, it would have conveyed a
different meaning since saithilya means looseness or laxity. Then it
wou ld have conveyed the meaning "without any effort". But when
he couples the words prayatna and saithilya, it means that the
intensive effort has to be removed, and saithilya has to be brought
with effortlessness. It seems to be indicating that your efforts have
to reach that height so that the other side of it will be effortlessness.
It looks like a mountain; you can climb up, and you can climb down.

24 ••
So the effortfulness takes you up and makes you effortless. But
here it is slightly different. Your effortfulness has to reach the peak
and the effortlessness is like a plateau on the top of the mountain, a
tableland. And that is what prayatna-saithilya means, which you
cannot apply to any wrestler or weight lifter.

Rgure 5 saithi/ya

The word prayatna saithi/ya is indicating the kind of stability

requi red. Motor nerves in our body are action oriented and the
sensory nerves are knowledge oriented so we have to bring a
proper balance between these two - the motor and sensory
nerves. In other words the motor nerves are karma nac;fi-s and
sensory nerves are jflana nac;fi-s. We have to create mobility in
motor nerves which are action oriented whereas the skin being
knowledge oriented it has to create that sensitivity as that alone
sends a message to the brain for action, reflection and reaction.
This brings the right mobility for stability. Every time you are putting
the efforts, they have to be such that they are ascending in order to
bring you towards the plateau of effortlessness. It is like, when you
send your child to school, there are efforts on the part of the child to
go from kindergarten to the first standard. Then from primary
school you send the child to high school. It means there is an
ascending order of efforts. At the same time when it comes to the
particular standard, there is also effortlessness because the child
has learnt up to that standard. It is again efforts in the new standard
25
and that becomes effortless later. Then from primary to graduation
or post-graduation, you find efforts ascending and then stabilising,
ascending again and stabilising again. In a similar manner, for us
also, during sadhana we have to put efforts to come to a certain
level or plateau and stabilise ourselves.

In other words, if there is an effortful stage I, you reach the small hill
and reach effortless stage I, then you proceed to effortful stage II
and reach effortless stage II and so on.

Rgure 6
- effortful stage Ill

- effortful stage II

- effortful stage I

When you have achieved something, after achieving it, you have to
just stabilise yourself. This stability is the period for consolidation.
That is another facet indicated by the word prayatna-saithilya.

Then Pataf'ljali says the practice of asana aspect has to be such

that it leads you towards ananta samapatti. You achieve an asana
like

26
 Padmasana or Virasana or Stf$asana
and balance the effortfulness and effortlessness in an asana, but
your mastering does not end there. In each asana you have to
reach towards the Lord, 'anantasamapatti'. That means in that
asana your gravitational force has to be such that your entire
instrument is pulled towards the soul. Normally what we do by
practising the asana, we say, "Oh, now I mastered up to this, I have
done my asana level up to here''. whatever level you decide. You
achieve those postures; but it does not mean you have reached the
end because he is asking for ananta samapatti to happen. He is
asking you to interlink with the soul which is eternal. In this word
'ananta samapatti', the 'lsvara praf)idhana' is hidden. The flow of
bhakti is indicated here. Coming to the level of prayatna-saithilya it
is the right time to surrender to God to proceed further. This is
suggested by this sDtra. Normally, any achievements make the
pride to puff. The ego swells with success and achievements;
whereas with achievement of asana-s the ego has to subside and
the devotion has to surface. Therefore in the sDtra, these two words
'prayatna-saithilya' and 'ananta samapatti' go together.

27
Patanjali says further, "tataf) dvandva}J anabhighataf)". It is the
state, where the dualities will not be affecting you. In the path of
yoga, you need to stabilise you rself in spite of having obstacles as
impediments. Even in the practice of asana, the qualities,
dissimilarities, odd feelings in body. imbalances in the mind and
mental agitations will cause disturbances. Asana has to be taken
to the mature state in such a manner that no duality or odd feeling
will be bothering you; no more will they affect you.

In other words, if you think that you are stable in thatasana, it has to
take you to the state where no dualities really bother you. The
commentator says whether it is gain or loss, sorrow or happiness,
pain or pleasure, all these things which are opposite forces
causing the dualities, should not be there, giving you any kind of
botheration. If you are not to get bothered about it, then how much
stability you will need has to be understood. One has to come to the
neutral state where the mobility and the stability are in a balanced
state.

Again this is in the satra . The doubt- samsaya is a hidden enemy.

After putting all the efforts the doubt arises, whether you will reach
what you aim at. This doubt has to vanish.

The mind fluctuates and brings instability. The mental and

psychological instability shakes the person to a great extent. The
asana is not an asana if the dualities are all the time bothering you.
Very often people say that they are doing meditation for hours
together, but sometimes after ten minutes or so the back aches or
knee pains. They ask us to teach some asana to remove backache
and knee pain. Now, if after ten or fifteen minutes your back is

28
bothering you, how can you say that you are meditating? The
duality should not come in the asana itself. These aches and pains
shake the mind and it gets agitated. Meditation is in fact the
penultimate step, one step before samadhi. So you can
understand what stability is required in the asana when Patanjali
says, "tatal) dvandval) anabhighatal)" - From then on the sadhaka
is undisturbed by dualities. One cannot complain of disturbances
in dhyana and that is why very often we have to go in details with the
asana ; you need to see that you place every part of the body in that
asana in a proper way, wllich I refer every time as 'posturisation'.
When the milk is boiled and cooled down, it becomes pure; it gets
sterilised and disinfected. This was found by Louis Pasteur. The
pasteurised milk in this sense is pure. Similarly the asana - the
posture should be 'posturized'.

The body has to be placed properly in the asana. The actions

should be properly oriented. In the situation of disorientation
anything can go wrong. The awareness has to remain well spread.
One has to be alert but quiet. The mind should not get ruffled; there
should not be any ripples of thought-waves. There should not be
any under-action or over-action, wrong action or unwanted action.
There should not be any unnecessary movements. There should
not b~ any efforts merely for effort's sake. The doubt should not
arise whether the efforts will go futile. The mind has to be well
established within in the asana. There should not be any tinge of
doubt in intelligence or fluctuation in emotion. The body, mind and
intelligence should remain in an integrated state. In order to follow
this line, the mobility has to go with stability.

Now we come to yama and niyama. Of course, I won't go into the

29
details of it But it is for you to know what stability means there. You
know the principles of yama: ahimstl (non-violence}, satya
(truthfulness}, asteya (non-stealing}, brahmacarya (celibacy},
aparigraha (non-covetousness). Now, the moment Patanjali uses
such big words you are afraid, because you are all absolutely
having the opposite nature. The truth is that as one might call
oneself civilised. well-educated and well-cultured, yet violence,
untruthfulness , dishonesty, cheating , incontinency,
possessiveness are hidden in one's nature. You may not beth ieves
or robbers, but the tendencies are hidden in the citta. People don't
mind stealing somebody's written notes, thoughts or ideas.
Celibacy or brahmacarya is not a simple thing. Thinking about
somebody's wife, to elope with someone, to womanise, to torture
the women is not only non-celibacy but it includes brutality,
cheating and violence as well. What stands for Men, stands for
women too. All these natures are inherent in the consciousness
because of the wrong, bad and evil imprints. Sometimes you may
lie, you may grab; you may cheat, you may become possessive.
Your nature if you study and dissect properly and honestly, then
you will knowthathimsa andasatya are hidden in you.

The behaviour of people in general will be proven to be opposite to

yama. The society changes the individual nature. The instability
sets in. Why do we suffer from emotional and intellectual
disturbances, why are we perplexed and disturbed? Why are we in
agony and worry often? Because, often, there is a breach of yama.
The root cause of the misbehaviour is in the afflictions namely,
ignorance, ego, attachment, aversion and fear. Hence you have to
follow yama , all the time, in whichever state you are in. You need to

30
follow this because your conscience should not prick you at
anytime. I do agree that it is very difficu It but si nee we are practising
yoga, we have to accept what Patanjali says. We cannot run away
from it. Yama is teaching us this process of reflecting on the actions
that we do and behave ourselves so that the conscience remains
clear. So in other words it is a process of stability with a continual
approach or mobility to establish ourselves in yam a. When the final
stability comes by following the non-violence, the animosity drops.
Patanjali is not just saying, "Be non-violent" He says, "Your non-
violence should be such thatthose who are near you also will drop
the feeling of animosity that one has inside". The animals, human
beings around will drop the animosity. This mere proximity, the
vicinity can bring the change. The society can change.

"ahirhsaprati$thayam tatsannidhau vairatyagal)".

This sOtra is very important for us. You have chosen the topic of
stability and mobility. When you are well established in non-
violence, the stability comes. The fear goes. You have the hidden
fear of violence within. When you are sitting for meditation the
hidden fear surfaces which is unknown to you. We are non-violent,
but at what stage we become violent is unknown. The moment you
are intimidated, you become violent. Why people begin to fight with
each other? Reflect on it. The root cause is in behaviour which is
opposite to the principles of yama. Your stability in non-violence
has to be such that if you are really stable in that non-violence you
are reaching that state where the others also will give up the feeling
of unfriendliness, violence and fighting. Now if you read every sotra
of yama and niyama in this manner, you will realise that when the
stability comes in you to establish yourself in the elements ofyama
 and niyama with your dynamic efforts, it results into further stability.
Yama and niyama terminate in mental and emotional stability. I
hope you understand this point.

Undoubtedly the asana and pral)ayama bring mental and

emotional stability. You all do Sif$asana, Viparita DaQr;/asana,
Sarvaflgasana, Halasana, Setubandha Sarvangasana etc... to
bring emotional stability.

Viparlta DaQr;/asana

Salarhba STr$8san Setubandha Sarvaflgasana SB/arhba Sarvaflgasana

These asana-s open up your chest and bring stability. When you
are depressed, you do Ordhva Dhanurasana, U$trasana,
Kapotasana, so that you feel your mind getting elevated. So the
mind, which is depressed, gets elevated and you find the
emotional stability setting in. Yet Patartjali's emotional stability is
quite different He is not denying this emotional stability occurring
through the practice of asana-s. The sOtra "tatal) dvandval)

32
anabhighatal)" indicates that since the emotional instability
causes dualities to set in and we lose our emotional balance,
whereas the right practice of asana protects the practitioners from
the onslaught of dualities. It helps to face the dualities in case one
gets caught in. Patanjali is indicating this through the word
'anabhighata'. One does not get hurt within, with the onslaught of
dualities.

The above mentioned sutra is very important in this sense. The

dualities exist in every layer of evolution in human beings. These
dualities exist in the body, senses, mind, ego and intelligence.
When Patanjali talks about impediments in the path of yoga in the
Samadhi pada, it indicates that dualities exist even in the higher
stages of evolution. The sutra is in the beginning one may feel, ~Oh !
Yoga sadhana undoubtedly helps tremendously." However, this
happens at the stage of achievements. When the failure comes
one thinks the other way round, "Oh! I am doing so much. Is it
proving futile?" The mind gets caught in the duality whether to
continue or discontinue. Patanjali explains that doing with these
impediments the other problems arise. In short the dvandva-s do
not end. Therefore the continuity of sadhana indicates 'mobility'
and decision in sadhana indicates 'stability'. Later, the sOtra-s
explaining proper mental dispositions are mostly meant for the
embellishment of consciousness which is a kind of stability in
which the stability at all levels of human existence is included. I
cannot give the details here butthe fact remains that the obstacles
and impediments in the form of dualities come in the way. It is not

33 ---------------------
an absolute smooth way. However Patanjali gives several methods
which we can use either as a weapon or a healing tool to overcome
the obstacles. In a way it is the method to bring the stability with
effortful mobility.

However the root cause or obstacle is ignorance. In the second

chapter, Patanjali talks about avidya, the ignorance or want of
knowledge. He says, ·anitya asuci dul)kha anatmasu nitya suci
sukh aatma khyatib avidya."Wethinkthatwe know, but we really
do not know because whatever is changeable, transient, we take it
as permanent We take anitya as nitya, the perishable as
permanent; then asuci as suci, impure as pure, non sacred as
sacred, similarly, anatmaas atma, what is not self, we take it as the
soul. Again, what is dul)kha, unhappiness, we take it for sukha,
happiness. In the long run all the happiness terminates into
unhappiness. All these lead us towards the state of duality. What is
not truth, we take it as truth. This is called avidya- wrong perception
or misconception and it is a big obstacle, an intellectual fault It is
also a kind of emotional instability. And basically when he
mentions atma (self) and anatma (non-self)- the one which is non-
self, we take it as the self- it means that, we take our body as a self;
our mind as a self; our intelligence as a self. What is not the self is
considered as self-soul. This is a mistaken identity. We get
emotionally attached to those aspects which we are not and
attached to those which are not ours. Thus the instability beg ins. He
says, it is the emotional instability. It takes a long time for emotions
to get matured with the practice of yoga. For this kind of emotions,
the word bhavana is used. Patanjali gives a mantra for the
34 ------------------~ -
emotional poise and that bhavana. is Let us see this word -
bhavana- what it conveys.

Patanjali uses the word "bhavanam" in four places. In the first

chapter he refers it during the topic of "lsvara" - the God - "tajjapal)
tadarthabhavanam".

The word 'arthabhavanam' is not significant here. The mantra aurn

is to be repeated constantly with feeling, realising its full
significance. The japa has to get transformed into arthabhavanam.
It is not merely the verbal repetition of the syllable 'aum'. It has to
reach the heart, penetrate into the heart

Then in the second chapter w ith reference to kriya yoga he

explains-

"samadhi bhavanarthal) klesa tanukaral)arthasca".

The practice of yoga reduces afflictions and makes one to

conceive the idea of samadhi, the feel of samadhi. One may not
reach samadhi at once but a matured emotional intelligence has to
be acquired and conceived.

Later while discussing yama, niyama he says-

vitarkabadh anepratipak$a bhavanam.

The thoughts which run contrary to the principles of yama and

niyama are to be countered with the knowledge of discrimination.
The external world, the worldly matters, the people around us, the
surroundings influence one on all levels. These factors reflect

35
one's behaviour, character, work, thinking process and so on.
Under the influence of desire, anger, greed, infatuation, pride and
jealousy, one loses the physical, mental, emotional and intellectual
balance. In this imbalanced state one loses the control on oneself.
The thinking goes wrong so the action goes wrong. Here one
needs the intelligence of the brain and the wisdom of the heart.
That is bhavanam.

Lastly in the fourth chapter, he indicates how you should get rid of
the emotional attachment -

"vise!jadarsinal) atmabhava bhavananiv[ttil)".

For one who realizes the distinction between citta and atma, the
sense of separation between the two disappears. The atmabhava
is also a feeling. We get attached easily, very naturally. In fact, this
atmabhavahas to be in atman , but unfortunately the atmabhava is
in anatman. All the attachments are outgoing therefore the atman
is forgotten, neglected. It is a virtuous wisdom to remove these
attachments and direct the attachments toward the soul. The
atmabhavana in 'anatma' is the unwanted bhavana whereas
atmabhavana in atma is wanted emotion. It is a pure emotional
attachment.

The words chosen such as arthabhavanam, pratipak!jabhavanam,

samadhibhavanam , atmabhavabhavanam are very significant
which express the process to go for emotional stability with
dynamic efforts and intellectual maturity. As I said earlier the efforts
indicate mobility and maturity indicates the stability. Though these
sutra-s appear in different pada-s, there is a sequence.
36
 Let us look into it.

The human nature is such that it is the storehouse of good, bad,

evil, righteous, unrighteous, pure, impure, auspicious and
inauspicious thoughts. If thoughts are corrected, then actions are
correct. The thoughts come first and action occurs. Therefore, one
1 has to correct the thinking process. Before the action is done, the
thought behind the action has to be checked. The intention behind
the act plays a great role. The action may be good, but the intention
behind the action may be wrong. Therefore, the intention has to be
corrected. The mind has to be changed thoughtfully. This is
pratipak$a bhavanam. If I harm someone, somebody else will
harm me. What will be the state of my mind if I have harmed? Why
should I harm anyone? Is my selfish motive causing me to harm
someone? These are the questions coming under pratipak$a
bhavanam. This allows one to make a self enquiry and mental
deliberations and leads one to follow the right path. Therefore,
pratipak$a bhavanam is first which corrects the karma.

Then comes 'samadhi bhavanam', if yogic path is adopted to

correct oneself. One has to understand that one is practising yoga
for samadhi, though it cannot be reached at once. Therefore, the
intention to attain samadhi has to be conceived. The ultimate aim

l of life has to be notified. This leads towards jflana. From here, one
has to proceed towards arthabhavanam.

In connection with isvara praf)idhana andjapa sadhana , Patafljali

brings forth the sotra-

37
"tajjapal) tadarthabhavanam".

You should have devotion in your mind, the bhakti towards God.
The heart is the storehouse of devotion. If you have to surrender to
the Lord, to the God, to Jsvara , do the japa of aurh; know the
meaning of aurh. Then you have to hold the concept of aurh in your
heart as a bhavana. Patanjali does not say that emotional stability
means to eradicate the emotions which disturb you or to bring the
emotions to the surface which do not disturb you. It is not a zero
level of emotions. On the contrary, he asks you to direct your
emotional energy, power and strength on that eternal entity which
is permanent and pure, which gives permanent happiness. Such
emotions need to be nurtured so they flourish. This is bhakti.

In this process of devotion, the principle of saral)agati is hidden.

Saral)agati means total surrendering. Bhakti that is devotion and
saral)agati that is total surrender, have to go together. Obviously, in
this state there remains nothing to bother the sadhaka. This is the
state of atmabhava bhavana nivrtti. There is no atmabhava in
anything. There is no 'I and mine', that is these emotions do not
remain attached to '1', 'mine' and the world around. The sadhaka
himself belongs to God. That is how the emotions terminate in God
only. This is the process of bringing about the maturity of emotions.
There establishes the stability after the mobility of emotional
energy.

The stability of emotions is possible only in that entity where

everything terminates and that is God. The Jsvara pral)idhana or
the surrendering to God is paramabhakti. Paramabhakti is a
continuous flow of emotions which is called as prema or love. It is a
juicy love or prema-rasa or essence of love. This essence of love
has to flow continuously in lsvara pra(lidhana for which one needs
a stable emotional heart.

The paramabhakti, paravairagya -total dissociation with the world

with dispassion and desirelessness - and lsvara pra(lidhana are
the states which indicate the union with Supreme - the yoga. All
these bhavana-s are indicating the one single path of karma, jflana
and bhakti through yoga.

We very often use the word God realisation, but we do not

penetrate deeply into it. The word 'realisation' indicates an
intellectual disposition, an intellectual process. One may realise
through analysis and reasoning - vitarkaand vicara - the single,
supreme, universal entity. That is an intellectual deliberation. So
realization is an intellectual process but one also requires the
emotional experience which comes only through anand and
asmita- the inner feeling of bliss and the pure existence of oneself.
In this sense, vftarka and vfcara help to stabilise our intelligence in
God but anand and asmita help to have mobility or flow of
intelligence in God. Intellectual stability and emotional mobility
both are required in Tsvara pra(lidhana. Why do you need to do
kriya yoga - tapas, svadhyaya, lsvara praQidhana? Patanjali says:
·samadhi bhavanarthal)". Though we don't know what is samadhi,
we have to conceive this samadhi as a concept, a feeling in our
consciousness. Every time we have to conceive it in our heart to

39 ---------------------
say, "Let my emotional intelligence be stable.n

Sarna means bringing evenness, stability or levelling; and dhi is

buddhi- intelligence. Samadhi means bringing the buddhi to be
in level with the Soul. In other words it means to make buddhi
crystal clear. Adhi means also over and above. The Soul -the seer
being a pure entity is over and above. Sarna means evenness.
When the rain pours from clouds it pours evenly on the ground.
When the source or essence being the seer gets defused evenly,
equally and impartially in all the elements of our existence namely
body, mind, intelligence and consciousness, then that state is
called sarnadhi.

In the second chapter, Patanjali is telling that since you have not
reached sarnadhi, follow kriya yoga so that your mental tendency
gravitates towardssarnadhi. That is "Sarnadhi bhavanartharn". The
stable mind should be sure that your practice is meant for sarnadhi
bhavana but the dynamic mind should gravitate towards klesa-
tanukaraQa. This is the subtle difference between stability and
mobility. Your emotional maturity should be such that you are able
to conceive the idea of samadhi in your heart and your dynamic
efforts should be such that the afflictions are attenuated, because
until the attenuation is initiated, the feel of sarnadhi is impossible.

Let me now come back to pratipak:jabhavanarn. When you are

disturbed with the thoughts of himsa, asatya and steya, that is the
opposite behaviour to the principles of yam a, Patanjali prescribes
pratipak:jabhavanarn. But this is not just a thinking process or

40
intellectualisation or deliberation. On the contrary, knowing very
well that since the violence and untruthfulness will lead one
towards the wrong action and an evil end, you have to have in your
mind the feeling that let me not harm anyone. If cruel thoughts are
juxtaposed at the emotional rather than the intellectual level, the
mind changes. If a rapist thinks of his mother and/or sisters at the
time of rape, he may not be morally inclined to do so. In a way, the
pratipak9abhavanam helps to bring the stability even at the level
of action, if you have the emotional touch to your deliberation.

Finally , in Kaivalyapada, Patai'ijali says ,

"atmabhavabhavananivrttif)". The feeling that you carry within you
for several lives, that the non-self is 'Self', the body is the self, the
mind is the self, the intelligence is the self is a kind of ignorance. He
then says "anatmasu atmakhyati"- this impression of believing the
non-self to be the self goes only when the wisdom gets matured.

Here in Kaivalya pada, Patanjali also says that this avidya of

misidentification of non-self with self will go only when the
practitioner becomes a seer with the specific quality of clear
distinction - vi5e$a darsin. The emotional attachment, that is
taking anatmanas atman is a long-standing one. The knowledge
and understanding comes only at the last stage of samadhi. So you
remove this atmabhava in anatman- the attachment to that non-
self. This is the very final, subtle, emotional attachment ofthe self-
the soul- to yourself. He says remove it and untie that emotion. That
only brings the stability. That is the final emotional conquest.
Therefore in the process of 'bhavanam' there is mobility and from

41
the mobility stability is established.

I explained to you the ~sana aspect and the factors like mobility
and stability which are involved in it. If, at alii have to conclude, I will
say that the very practice of asana and praQayama that you do, the
process is such that you learn technically what is right, what is
wrong, what should be done and what should not be done. You
keep on doing certain things that you know, but at the same time,
you have to improve your attitudes, emotions, intelligence while
practising asana, praQayama, dharaQa and dhyana or any of the
eight aspects. In that doing process again, you have to see what
are the things you have to undo, because with that 'doing', you also
carry some garbage of that which should be undone. So we need
to inculcate the un-doing process. So in TrikoQasana . certain
things have to happen in a particular way, that is abhyasa; and
certain things should not happen. that is vairagya. When they are
balanced, then the stability will come. Similarly, when we are doing
praQ~y~ma , we have to carry the feeling or bhavan~ from soul to
the skin in inhalation and from the skin to the soul in exhalation.
These outward-going and inward-coming processes have to be
balanced, not only with effortfulness and effortlessness but also
with bh~vana so that it eventually brings stability.

In our asana and praQayama practices, we have to closely see at

what point of time we are attached to the different dimensions of
ourselves. Are we protecting ourselves out of fear or is there a real
danger of getting attached to new attachments and where and when
do we need to remain unattached so that we may become stable.

42 ----
We also need to reflect on the fact that whether the stability has
come at a price -further attachment or has been achieved with an
unattached feeling. And that is called emotional stability.

Suppose if something is not correct, we should be prepared to give

it up right away, and we should be quick enough to accept that
which is correct. That is mobility. And that is how the
consciousness has to be modified. Because it is very quick to
catch some modifications - vrtti-s, such as wrong things, wrong
doings, habits, wrong approaches, erroneous thoughts etc., we
need to remove these wrong, bad and unwanted attitudes fast. And
when we bring this kind of balance. then comes the stability. The
mobility is essential to bring stability and the stability is essential to
bring mobility. The mobility is hidden in stability and stability is
hidden in mobility.

Therefore know the kind of stability you need. Know where you
have to reach every time. Your journey has to be towards the core of
the being, for which yourcitta, the consciousness, has to reach that
kOtastha citta or t he mula citta, which is a pure conscience state.
Through that pure conscience we are supposed to go towards the
soul. So that is a complete journey, a continuous journey. When
that continuity comes, then only will we be going towards that
stable, ultimate end and not somewhere in between.

If you understand this much, I hope it will guide you in your

sadhana. So tomorrow when you begin your practice. perhaps in
the beginning, it will be a physical stability, which is requ ired atthe

·~----------------- 43
first stage. This physical stability alone will establish the mental
stability. The mental stability consists of intellectual and emotional
stability.! hope I have done justice to the subject.

I don't want to keep you awake any longer, because it was a wrong
time chosen. For good stability, 9.30 to 11 pm is not a good lecture
time. And if it is too much of an intellectual dose, perhaps you will
not sleep well. And tomorrow when you come in the morning, I may
find you unstable. I don't want this to happen.

So when you go back, go with a stable mind, have a good stable

sleep, and when you wake up and come tomorrow for the c lass,
come with a stable mind. Your stable mind may catch the
instructions correctly to get the mobility. Let us see whether we can
travel with mobility from this outer, flickering and shaky citta to the
steady, unruffled and stable kOtastha citta.

Thankyouverymuch

44
 W~l

Questions
And
Answers

45
....
Q.1- You said something about 'sthitaprajfla'. We would like to
know aboutthis state.

Ans.- Prajfla is a pure wisdom, a crystal clear knowledge. Sthita

mean a stable mind, that is a stable citta. Lord Krishna
mentions it in the second chapter of bhagavad GTta called
'Sarilkhya-yoga'. Earlier t o the sthitaprajfla state Lord
Krishna explains thatthe karma (action) though seems to be
inferior to jflana (knowledge) needs to be carried on
because everyone is born with certain mental
characteristics or the mental make-up. This mental
characteristic is called 'svadharma'. As I mentioned that a
new born baby too by nature, on its own, struggles to
breathe, when it becomes an independent body from his or
her mother. That is also an action - the mobility. The
significant nature of liveliness is mobility. Apart from this, the
nature of the person pushes him to do the work according to
his calibre or the mental! make-up. The tendencies are
inborn. In fact, the concept of 'var!Ja' is based on this in-born
nature, which is indicated as brahma, k$atra, vaisya and
sadravrtti. This concept of var!Ja is universally applicable.
The meaning of varf)a is colour or hues. The mind is
colourful with in-born attitudes and tendencies, the
sarilskara-s (imprints of previous lives). We inheritthese with
our genes by birth. It is inherent in this sense and makes the
person to create his own pathway in life. He designs his life
on his own with his tendencies. You often find the children
picking up the profession of their parents. In one family, you
find one is a lawyer and the other, a doctor. The inner

47
tendencies pull them in that direction though we call them
as interests.

Arjuna was a born k$atriya- the warrior. He had unsolicited

opportunity for war. Above all, it was a righteous war. He had
all the rights to fight since, it was his in-born duty. He did not
invite the war, rather the enemies, his own kith and kin were
keen to go ahead with war. The karma theory is such that it is
a chance to get a good and righteous karma which
depends upon our own karma which were done in previous
life. The destiny is formed on the previous karma, the nature
of karma, the mental set-up that is behind the karma, the
desire of fruit behind that karma and so on, and the person is
born having this base, this foundation of mind, this frame of
mind. And Arjuna had the opportunity to do the karma - to
fight the war.

When you look deeply into it, the first stage of life is karma.
The karma has to be done to purify the mind. The desires
have to be reduced. Therefore, Lord says to Arjuna that he
should not run away from his duties and responsibilities. He
should not be afraid, having shaky and wavering mind. So
the karma has to be done with the stability of mind without
having the doubt or any mental wickedness. The action
should not be sinful. It should be done with the freedom of
mind where there is no desire, anger, greed, infatuation,
pride or malice. This approach to sadhana leads towards
the state of sthitaprajfla. The one with doing all the karma-s
as mentioned earlier becomes free from the defects of mind,
his nature changes totally. He (sthitaprajfla) dismisses all
 the cravings of mind; he is contented within. His mind
neither gets perturbed with sorrows nor gets attached to
pleasure. He is free from anger, fear or passion. His earlier
inner expressions thougln seem to beloud, later, after
becoming a sthitaprajfla these expressions totally vanish.
He is free from attachment or aversion. Though he involves
in action with mobility, he remains withdrawn with stability.
He exists in this world taking part in every activity as per
need but he remains connected to his heart, his soul. The
war outside but the peace is inside. These are the signs of
sthitaprajfla.

Mobile outside, but stable inside. That is the state of

sthitaprajfla.

Q.2)- Which is that 'abhyasa" with which the restraint of mental

modifications becomes possible?

Ans.- Abhyasa means to practise again and again, effortfully, to

restrain the citta. One needs the decisive intelligence to do
so. This practice is nothing but a$tanga yoga namely yama,
niyama, asana, praf)ayama, pratyahara, dharaf)a, dhyana
and samadhi.

Now, the mind gets disturbed with impediments; Patanjali

comprehensively enumerates them in twosOtra-s-

vyadhi styana sarhsaya pramada alasya avirati

bhrantidarsana alabdhabhOmikatva anavasthitatvani
49
cittavik$epal) te antarayal) II

These obstacles are disease, inertia, doubt, heedlessness,

laziness, indiscipline of the senses, erroneous views, lack of
perseverance, and backsliding.

dul)kha daurmanasya angamejayatva svasaprasvasal)

vik$epa sahabhuval) II

Along with these obstacles the accompanying problems

are sorrow, despair, unsteadiness of the body and irregular
breathing which distractthe citta further.

The mind fluctuates with disease, mental laziness,

indecisiveness. carelessness, idleness, incontinence,
illusive notions, inability to hold on to what is achieved or
whatever has become possible, failure to maintain the
progress along with sorrow, dejection unsteadiness in the
body, irregularities in the breath and the rhythm of the body.
All these affect our body, sense, mind, intelligence, !-
consciousness, consciousness and conscience too. Then
the practice of a$tanga yoga is inevitable.

The mental modifications are so rapid that even we fail to

recognize them. If Patanjali had not mentioned them then
we would not have recognized, identified or classified them.
The thoughts remain crowded in the brain. Moment to
moment these thoughts change rapidly and even overlap
each other. For instance, when you study the text book at
least the mental disposition is focused. The focus remains
for few minutes. If there is any disturbance from outside like
sound of accident, the cars banging with each other, the

so
 touch of the mosquito bite, the sudden blow of the wind
causing the pages to turn when you are reading or the still
air which makes you to get hot or suffocated, the bad smell
of garbage, or the breeze, bringing fragrance of the flower,
the thirst or hunger or even the nature's call, or a friend
calling you, mother shouting at you or the child crying, all
these disturb you. All of a sudden your thinking faculty is
burdened by several thoughts which could be connected
with your previous experience of accident, whether
uncleanliness, too much growth of gross, neglected or
nurtured garden, unwanted guest or wanted friend, the
memory of past, the imagination of future and so on.
However, all these are summarised in five v(tti-s by Pataiijali
as correct knowledge, wrong knowledge, imagination,
sleep and memory.

Again all these vrtti-s, the modifications remain dependent

on the calibre or the capacity of the person who could be
either very intelligent, wise or dull and stupid or controlled
and contended, agitated or distracted. Similarly, our
attitudes and behaviour ~ ike fear, attachment, aversion,
abhorrence, ego, ignorance which are deeply rooted along
with age, old impressions of desire affect our thoughts and
actions. The desire, anger, greed, infatuation etc. affect not
only our thoughts but actions too. Therefore abhyasa or the
practice of all the eight aspects becomes essential to any
sadhaka.

The abhyasa is transformed from gross to subtle state. In the

beginning there is an all s ~ded approach. Along with eight
aspects of yoga one has to engage one's mind to bring the
favourable attitudes which make one to further the practise.

------------------- 51
 The aim is to bring the mental modifications under control.
Therefore unwanted thoughts, tendencies have to be
removed. The modifications rooted in afflictions also need
to be eradicated. That is called abhyasa.

03)- We would like to know the five types of vairagya-s.

Ans.- There is nothing like types ofvairagya as there are no types

of yoga. There is only one vairagya and one yoga. Vairagya
has two words - vi and raga. Vi means without or absence
and raga means colouring, attachments. Having no colour,
no attachments means viraga and from viraga, comes the
conceptual word vairagya. We are so much attached with
the world around us that we do not separate ourselves from
it. We, all the time identify ourselves with it. Our existence is
not separated from it. To give up our attachment to it and to
detach ourselves from it is not an easy job. Our involvement
in it is so much that the dissociation with it is impossible.
Renouncement of the world is also not possible since we
are within this world. The fish remains in the water, it cannot
give up the water since death is certain. Similarly, we cannot
give up this world unless the death occurs. However even
after the death the sarhskara-s are carried forward,
therefore, there is no end to it.

But Patafijali says that only with vairagya one can dissociate
from this world. Vairagya is a process in which one has to
discipline oneself so that non-attachment begins to occur
and infatuation is eradicated gradually.
 First of all, when one begins to practise asana and
praf)ayama these aspects are to be done by the sadhaka
practically. The sadhaka who undertakes this endeavour to
doasana and praf)ayama, the partial dissociation begins.

Simply, if you have to come to class conducted by your

teachers, don't you keep all other activities aside and attend
to yoga class? The more you practise regularly everyday
there is a gradual non-involvement in other activities wh ich
prove to be futile. Obviously, the involvement in sadhana
(practice) increases. Then a time comes where you do not
feel like giving up your sadhana. Often, your food habits
change. The regulation gets established on its own. Your
system gets compelled and refuses to eat which is
bothering you or not needed by you. The tongue no more
relishes it How those who could not eat anything except
meat or flesh earlier began to feel the same food as
nauseous? It is not surprising.

Secondly how one begins to get the feel of responsibility?

Earlier to practice, the callousness made you to avoid the
responsibility which you need to fulfil. But after disciplining
yourself you realised that you cannot I should not avoid the
responsibility. That is the great change.

As the practice of asana-s and praf)ayama-s become

intensive, the discipline of yama and niyama sets in since
the quality of mind changes.ln fact, the approach to asana-
praf)ayama sadhana should be such that the mental
deliberation remains towards adoption of yama and
niyama. The principles of yama and niyama are such that
... 53
 these aspects train mind gradually to decide whatto give up
and what to retain for the further development in sadhana. In
this sense, the whole physical and mental system of a
person begins to change. The transformation begins to
occur. Adoption of yama and niyama curtails his
involvement with the world around. He chooses to get
involved when necessary, otherwise he keeps himself aloof.
The practice of asana and pral)ayama makes him to have
the self-interrogation, self-study and the self inquiry. He
loses the interest in the worldly matters gradually which are
unwanted, unnecessary. I do not mean that he breaks with
his kith and kin. He does not remain isolated. It is not a
negative approach or the responsible behaviour. Rather he
begins to understand his own faulty habits and erroneous
actions. His senses begin to get withdrawn. The behaviour
and character of the person gets purified, polished.

The organs of action and senses of perception get

disciplined. The sadhaka realises that all this time of his life
he was engaged in enjoying this world which was attractive.
Now, he realizes how futile is this. In fact, each organ of
action and senses of perception has its own enjoyable
objects and the attraction which is obvious. Their nature is
outgoing. Though it takes time since one by one, the organs
and senses learn to withdraw because all the ten cannot
come under control at once. The mind behind the senses
does not come under control at once. Again, the objects of
their enjoyment is different. This first stage of control is
through the organs of action and senses of perception and
this stage of vairgaya is called yatamana sariljna vairagya.
Yatamana means to march towards the aim, the vairagya. lt

54

-
 is a starting of efforts in that line.

Often there is a mistaken notion that as though one has

conquered all the ten organs of action and senses from their
object of enjoyments. If the sadhaka remains under this
mistaken notion then he will be misguided by his own
notion. Therefore, his duty is to recheck himself. The desire
may remain covered and therefore unknown. So, one has to
recheck. This is called as vyatireka sarhjna vairagya. Vya
means cover and atireka means surplus or redundancy that
means whatever attachments has yet remained and not yet
reduced has to be taken care of to make the double check. It
is a cross check process to make sure that at the level of
organs of senses and actions nothing wrong is done. The
karmendriya-s and jnanendriya-s are made to go on the
path ofdesirelessness.

Then comes the level of ekendriya. The karmendriya-s are

arms, legs, organs of speech, genital organs and excretory
organs and jflanendriya-s are the ears, nose, tongue, eyes
and skin. All these have their own way of enjoying the
objects of the world. The organs of action involve in the
action itself to enjoy and fulfil the hidden desires; and the
senses experience and feel those desires to store them in
the cupboard of memory. Now what makes them to enjoy
this? From where it originates? It originates from vasana -
the deep desire. This inherent desire expresses itself
through mind. The mind becomes first instrument and
instigates the organs of action and senses of perception to
fulfil the desires which exist from time immemorial, since the
vasana is also eternal.

·~----------------~ 55
When the arresting process begins from these five senses
and five organs through yatamana and vyatireka, it is a time
for the mind to participate mindfully in order to eradicate
those feeble desires. The mind has to become desireless
and dissociate itself from the objects of enjoyment. This is
called ekendriya samji"'ti vairagya.

In the fourth state, all these eleven senses get subjugated

(five senses plus five organs plus mind). They remain free
from attachments. No more do they long for enjoyments.
The person does not feel any more attraction towards it. This
detachment is known as vaslkara samjna vairagya

From this point of time the sadhaka has to take a high leap
and bring the transformation. The three guf)a-s or qualities
namely, sattva, rajas and tamas are imbibed by birth which
forms our very nature. The experience of enjoyments
around us, physically or mentally, depend upon these
inborn guf)a-s of sadhaka. The sadhaka needs to get rid of
these inborn tendencies. He needs to know that the root
cause is in the qualities. Therefore, he needs to progress
towards sattva guf)a by conquering rajas and tamas and
finally, get rid of all the guf)a-s. This kind of endeavour to get
rid of the three guoa-s is known as para vairagya. However,
one goes beyond the triguf)a-s when the self-realisation
takes place.

The conquest of tendencies to go after the pleasures has to

be conquered in this manner. Therefore in order to become
desireless there has to be mobility to go towards stability.
These are not the types of vairagya rather the procedure to
conquer them which you as the practitioner of yoga need to
remember.
 '•'U~
The
Thoughts
To Be
Pondered Upon
I~

... 57
1) Mobility is like the water in a live river flowing continuously;
and stability is the river which is still lively and does not
become dry and dead.

2) The river should be like Ganga which is flowing eternally

from the time unknown and at the same time it has not lost
its sacredness.

3) The Earth planet revo lves around its axis and

circumambulates the Sun without losing its orbit providing
the required heat and cold, the essential light and darkness
in order to keep the living befngs alive. This is its karma -the
action with mobility. The consistency without any failure is
its jiUi.na. The circumambulation with reverence to the ever
blazing luminous Sun God even if it is parching and
scorching is bhakti. Will we imbibe these qualities?

4) Mobility indicates the kinetic energy and stability indicates

the static energy. For the human beings both are essential,
for their progress in yaugika marga.

5) The origin of stability is in mobility.

6) Abhyasa is practice wh ich is mobility. Vairagya is

desirelessness which is stability.

7) Yaugika journey is from effortfulness to effortlessness.

8) Time bound approach to yoga is stressful since it has the

rajasika element. Time-free approach is stressless since it
has the sattvika element. Do not put the sadhana in the limit
of chronological time. To be in yoga is a matter of
involvement.

59
9) Yoga is a journey from mobility to stability. Citta has v{ffi-s;
therefore nirodha is expected. V(tti-s signify mobility and
sam adhi signifies the stability.

10) Yoga is a dynamic method, not static.

11) Yoga means union- the union of the body, mind and soul.
There has to be mobility for union and once there is a union
then there is stability.

12) The puru$a is stable - indifferent to the world but prakrti is

mobile. We have to use its mobility to reach the puru$a so it
becomes stable as puru$a. It is the journey of prakrti
towards puru$a- M obi lityfor stability.

60
 _ _ __.....!~~I_
Sutra-s
and
their
Meaning
lmnnn;JflWI -

··------ 61
 Herewith, I have enlisted the referred sutra-s during the
lecture, along with the meaning given In the
"Light On The Yoga Sutra-s Of Patanjall"
published by
Harper Collins Publisher London

and

2) Astadala Yoga Mala Vol-1-

publlsed by
Allied Publishers ltd. New Delhi.
Both books have been authored by
Yogacharya B.K.S. Iyengar

SAMADHI PADA
(Chapter on Total Absorption)

1.1 atha yoganusasanam

LOYSP With prayers for divine blessings, now begins an

exposition of the sacred art of yoga.

ADYM-1 The treatise on the discipline of yoga for enlightenment

begins now, with auspiciousness.

1.3 tada dra$tuf:l svarupe avasthanam

LOYSP Then, the seer dwells in his own true splendour.

ADYM-1 When consciousness is silent, the seer (atma) radiates in

his own grandeur.
...
1.4 v{tti sarupyam itaratra

LOYSP At other times, the seer identifies with the fluctuating

consciousness.

ADYM-1 At other times, the seer becomes entangled with the

objects seen by the consciousness.

1.12 abhyasa vairagyabhyarh tannirodhal)

LOYSP Practice and detachment are the means to still the

movements of consciousness.

ADYM-1 Practice (abhyasa) and detachment (vairagya) are the

means to still the consciousness.

1.13 tatra sthitau yatnal) abhyasal)

LOYSP Practice is the steadfast effort to still these fluctuations.

ADYM-1 Practice is an effort to still the mind's fluctuations in order

to silence the consciousness.

1.14 sa tu dirghakala nairantarya satkara asevital)

drcjhabhDmil)

LOYSP Long, uninterrupted, alert practice is the firm foundation

for restraining the fluctuations.

ADYM-1 Long, uninterrupted, alert practice is the firm foundation

for stabilising the consciousness.
 1.28 tajjapal) tadarthabhavanam

LOYSP The mantra aurh is to be repeated constantly with feeling,

realising its full significance.

ADYM-1 This aurn must be constantly uttered while feeling its full
significance.

1.30 vyadhi styana sarhsaya pramada alasya avirati

bhrantidarsana alabdhabhOmikatva anavasthitatvani
cittavik~epal) te antarayal)

LOYSP These obstacles are disease, inertia, doubt,

heedlessness, laziness, indiscipline of the senses,
erroneous views, lack of perseverance, and backsliding.

ADYM-1 The causes which obstruct serenity and purity of the

consciousness are: disease, doubt, carelessness,
laziness, sense gratification, living in the world of illusion,
inability to persist in what is undertaken and being
unable to maintain the achieved progress.

1.31 dul)kha daurmanasya angamejayatva svasaprasvasal)

vik~epa sahabhuval)

LOYSP Sorrow, despair, unsteadiness of the body and irregular

breathing further distract the citta.

ADYM-1 Besides these nine obstructions, sorrow, despair,

depression, tremor of body, nervousness and laboured
breathing run concurrently, distract ing the
consciousness further.
... 6s
 SADHANA PADA
(Chapter on Practice)

11.1 tapaf) svadhyaya isvarapraQidhanani kriyayogaf)

LOYSP Burning zeal in practice, self-study and study of

scriptures, and surrender to God are the acts of yoga.

ADYM-1 Discipline, study of the spiritual scriptures and surrender

to God are the fountain for yogic sadhana, termed as
kriyayoga.

11.2 samadhi bhavanarthaf) klesa tanukaral)arthasca

LOYSP The practice of yoga reduces afflictions and leads to

sam ad hi.

ADYM-1 Through kriya yoga, afflictions get reduced and it helps

as a precursortosamadhi.

11.5 anitya asuci duf)kha anatmasu nitya suci sukha atma

khyatif) avidya

LOYSP Mistaking the transient for the permanent, the impure for
the pure, pain for pleasure, and that which is not the self
for the self; all this is called lack of spiritual knowledge,
avidya.

ADYM-1 Accepting mundane things as permanent, impure things

66
 as pure and sensual pleasures as spiritual is lack of
knowledge.

11.29 yama niyama asana praQayama pratyahara dharaf)a

dhyana samadhayal) a$tau angani

LOYSP Moral injunctions (yama), fixed obseNances {niyama),

posture (asana), regulation of breath (praf)ayama),
internalisation of the senses towards their source
(pratyahara) , concentration (dharaf)a), meditation
(dhyana) and absorption of consciousness in the self
(samadhi), are the eight constituents of yoga.

ADYM-1 Yoga is an eight-petalled discipline. These are yama,

niyama, asana, praf)ayama, pratyahara, dharaf)a,
dhyana and sam adhi.

11.33 vitarkabadhane pratipak$abhavanam

LOYSP Principles which run contrary to yam a and niyama are to

be countered with the knowledge of discrimination.

ADYM-1 When one is affected by wrong, illogical thoughts, it has

to be encountered with the knowledge of discrimination.
To think of contrary or contradictory thoughts which are
against the principles ofyama and niyama are known as
vitarka badhana.

-· 67
11.35 ahimsaprati!?tayam tatsannidhau vairatyagal)

LOYSP When non-violence in speech, thought and action is

established, one's aggressive nature is relinquished
and others abandon hostility in one's presence.

ADYM-1 Non-violence in word, thought and action causes one to

abandon one's hostile nature.

ll.46sthira sukham asanam

LOYSP Asana is perfect firmness of body, steadiness of

intelligence and benevolence of spirit.

ADYM-1 Perfection in asanas brings firmness in body and

benevolence in mind.

11.47 prayatna saithilya ananta samapattibhyam

LOYSP Perfection in an asana is achieved when the effort to

perform it becomes effortless and the infinite being
within is reached.

ADYM-1 When the effort to perform becomes effortless,

perfection in an asana is achieved.

11.48 tatal) dvandval) anabhighatal)

LOYSP From then on the sadhaka is undisturbed by dualities.

ADYM-1 From then on, the practitioner is undisturbed by dualities

and is fitto begin pral)ayama.
68
 KAIVALYA PADA
(Chapter on Absolute Liberation)

IV.25 vi5e$adarsinal) atmabhava bhavananiv(ttil)

LOYSP For one who realizes the distinction between citta and
atma, the sense of separation between the two
disappears. Y.S., IV.25.

ADYM-1 But the intelligence cultures the consciousness to

develop purity to dwell closer to the seer.

••
Other Books By Miss Geeta S. Iyengar

• Yoga : A Gem For Women

• Yoga In Action : A Prelim~ nary Course

• Iyengar Yoga For Motherhood

(Co-authored By Rita Kelkar and Kerstin Khattab)

70