The Yoga Institute Mumbai: 2012

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Bhagwad Gita Slokas 2.64 & 2.65 (Parisamvad)

Bhagwad Gita Transcribed from Parisamvad at The Yoga Institute.

Chapter 2, Sloka 64 & 65

But the self-controoled man, moving among objects, with his sense under restraint and free from both attraction and repulsion, attains peace.

In that peace all pains are destroyed; for the intellect of the tranquil-minded soon becomes steady.

Dr. Jayadeva Yogendra:

"Maintaining a stable state of mind is an important thing in ancient literature. Same thing is in the Gita, Upanishads and in Yoga also. We don’t follow this and indulge in all kinds of feelings and cause disturbances. In that disturbed condition, real thinking doesn’t happen and that leads to problems. Getting angry, getting confused – these are dangerous things, but we don’t see any harm in them.

If one is sincerely interested in leading a better life then anger will be an important point. We don’t get free from anger because we have lot of intelligence; we believe certain things to be right and react. This is a simple statement, but very hard to believe or follow. Just reading will not help; we have to integrate it into our mind and have full faith in it – it may take a number of years.

There are a few people who have this attitude from childhood and in the end they can do things peacefully and with understanding. These things are rare and to find such persons is also difficult. We get angry on petty things and feel sad. If we want to overcome all this then right from the beginning, we should observe the small small things, face them and not react.

We have a lot of reasons not to follow all this - "If I don’t get angry, people will exploit me." To have control on the mind, and to keep the mind at peace in any circumstance is not our goal. We have to make small beginnings. If anything happens at home, don’t react immediately. Observe, understand and peacefully express. We have to train ourselves. When we burst out a lot and people tell us about it, then we start thinking. This habit doesn’t stop, because we don’t consider it to be wrong. We listen, but we don’t decide not to get angry and in small small things. We have to maintain our peace of mind. No sooner we go out of Institute, something will happen and we will get angry and this will continue. It’s not for a little while, it continues for the whole day. Unless we decide that we have to stop these habits and cultivate the positive habits, there will not be a change."

Smt. Hansaji J. Yogendra:

"We have all the reasons to get attached to someone, to hate someone. The more we are with someone, we get attached. It is a natural phenomenon, but we are supposed to have full control. How to control the senses? Awareness that these things are harmful and not required. When you have a dog in the house, you have to have full control on him. Same with our emotions. Express your love, show your disagreement and gradually a stage should come when nothing disturbs you. Whenever we are suffering we should know we are suffering because of attachment, because of hatred and don’t blame others for our suffering. We have to work on ourself."

About Parisamvad

On every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, The Yoga Institute, Santacruz holds Parisamvad sessions - Free interactive sessions that are open to all. These session begin at 7:20 am and end around 7:45 am.

The Tuesday Parisamvad is dedicated to explanation of the the Bhagwad Gita by our esteemed Gurus, Dr. Jayadeva and Smt. Hansaji.

All are welcome to attend.

Click Here to learn more about The Yoga Institute, Santacruz, Mumbai.

(Picture credit http://www.ishwar.com/hinduism/holy_bhagavad_gita).

Pratipaksha Bhavana, Nispandabhava & Anitya Bhavana (Satsang)

The topic for the Satsang on Sunday, 4th November, 2012 was 'Pratipaksha Bhavana, Nispandabhava and Anitya Bhavana' (English).

Following is the transcript of the speech made by Dr. Jayadeva Yogendra and Smt. Hansaji Yogendra on the topic.

Smt. Hansaji and Dr. Jayadeva Yogendra

“We use this word ‘wisdom,’ what is it? It is this kind of an understanding of the nature of things. We are holding on to certain rigid ideas, and we feel sad, we miscalculate and do wrong things, this should go and it does not. We’ve got a very emotional childish nature; we immediately like it and we want it to stay.

You see, in yoga you consciously learn to make the mind a little free, to make the mind broader and larger, and build up a new way of looking at life, this can be done especially from an early age. Once we reach a certain maturity, then we think we are very clever and we are not able to make any change, but many have carried out these kind of techniques and they are able to face up to anything in a very balanced way and have helped the society also. Because life is rattling us all the time, every moment something is happening to our own people, happening to the place we work and what not. We have to learn to accept and carry on, it’s a very simple advise, but we have to test whether we really can follow it. If we can follow it, we will be successful people.”

- Dr. Jayadeva Yogendra

"In life there are ups and downs. Problems come, people change, someone might love you today and hate you tomorrow. The problem is when we have expectations; and then when problems come, we get shaken up to such an extent that we get a heart attack or depression; the whole world starts looking like a bad place. This should not happen.

The world is as it is and we are as we are. But somewhere our Bhavanas (emotions) get disturbed. This is where we have to have some philosophy, some thought on which our life should be based. That is why yoga is called a Darshan Shastra, a philosophical science which deals with what we see.

Once, a king asked the wise men of his kingdom to give him a gift that would make him happy whenever he was sad and make him calm when he got too excited. The wise men gave him a ring which said “This too shall pass.”

This is Anitya Bhavana, where everything is temporary and changeful, nothing is permanent. When we feel that “I know everything” or start feeling comfortable with life, God gives us a shock and we topple down. This is to bring us out of our ego that we know everything. What we think does not matter, there is something else, a law, governing our life and we cannot stop it. So continue gaining more knowledge.

These feelings and the corresponding understanding should come because we get disturbed by our emotions and can come out of it only through emotions. And the technique to stop the mind is Nispandabhava – do not think, just listen, don’t analyse, be quiet.

If we do not want to be unhappy or hurt, nothing can hurt us. So we have to uplift ourselves and bring in balance in ourselves. So when the world starts looking bad and negative, understand that this state is in ourselves. Stop thinking and quieten the mind. Concentrate on slow breathing or a sound. These simple techniques can help. Then bring in the right understanding.

That effort is required. A wise man would say “Don’t worry, everything will be okay.” We also have the same consciousness, why can we not think that way too?"

- Smt. Hansaji J. Yogendra

Q & A

Q. What can be done when others, eg. parents try to change us?

Dr. Jayadeva: At an early age, we have to change or we won’t grow. But after a certain age when we have clarity, we can make judgements and change when necessary or then observe and be balanced.

Smt. Hansaji: Flexibility should remain till we die. We can change, but we can’t impose our ideas on others. If we feel we are 100% correct, fine, but make sure that we don’t bring our ego or likes and dislikes with it, or that will create a problem.

Q. How do we control our mind during adverse situations?

Dr. Jayadeva: We have to cultivate a balanced state of mind and that is an exercise – throughout the day, whenever you get the chance, just enjoy the balanced peaceful state. It can come by viewing nature, keeping the mind without thoughts, by repeating some sentences and words…it can be done in many ways.
Smt. Hansaji: There are two ways. One is preventing the problem. Tell yourself that everyone is justified for their behaviour, according to their nature, Samskaras, etc and not choose to suffer because of them. Fix a time in the morning, afternoon, evening and night t sit quietly and tell yourself to accept things the way they are. The second way is long-term management – when disturbed, use techniques to settle down and quieten yourself.

Q. When everything is changeful (Anitya), then why does the mind not accept something permanent (Nitya)?

Dr. Jayadeva: Because we have Intellect (Buddhi).

Smt. Hansaji: We are ignorant and we should not forget that. So keep learning every time.

Q. How does one deal with one’s emotions when there is a conflict between what you ought to do and what you want to do?

Dr. Jayadeva: We should be realistic, wise and understanding. There is a servant and occasionally he may break a glass vessel. He is scolded for it but he does not get disturbed and says, “Was this particular glassware going to be permanent and last forever? Then why get disturbed?”

Smt. Hansaji: Of course, that does not mean we should be careless, so use the philosophy well.

Q. At times it becomes difficult to keep the mind quiet. What techniques other than Nispandabhava can be practiced?

Dr. Jayadeva: There are many techniques. Every religion tells us of some prayer, some symbolic words. If we can go on pursuing them, then they can help.

Smt. Hansaji: Pooja-Paath (prayer and rituals) can be useful here. If the mind tends to get disturbed, keep a fix time to do them and when you have control over the mind, use it in a constructive way. Other yoga techniques like Asanas, Pranayamas and Kriyas help in settling the mind. Music, a walk in nature, observing birds, trees, animals and the calm atmosphere is also useful.

Q. How to develop a good feeling towards a person who keeps hurting you.

Dr. Jayadeva: If you have decided not to get hurt, then you can manage it. But whenever someone hurts you then immediately you get the feeling of hurting the other individual; that you cannot control.

Smt. Hansaji: This is a tug of war. Someone wants to hurt you, don’t get hurt. If they say something hurtful, take it as a joke. The problem is that we are always ready to feel hurt by others. Become strong. It should be a challenge that if a person is hurting you, then you should enjoy it. Then see how the other person disappears.

Q. If someone is unhappy because of debt, what to do?

Dr. Jayadeva: In the beginning, we get a shock but then we should also understand the laws of nature. This is ..some people can’t forget this unhappiness and some people see, understand and go on with their work.

Smt. Hansaji: When we are unhappy, we should think of a worse situation and work. Even if we get one Roti a day to eat, thank God and do not choose to suffer.

Satsang is an open meeting held every Sunday from 9:30 to 10:30 am at The Yoga Institute, Santacruz East, Mumbai. It involves an interesting presentation to the public, made by the students of the Teacher Training Course. Each week, a new presentation of a Yogic concept is made in a simple way through skits and decoration for the general public, followed by a short speech from our Gurus, Dr. Jayadeva and Smt. Hansaji Yogendra.

Patanjali Yoga Sutra Ch 1 Sutra 14 (Parisamvad)

Patanjali Yoga Sutra
Transcribed from Parisamvad at The Yoga Institute.

Chapter 1, Sutra 14

Sa-Tu-Dirghakala-Nairantarya-Satkara-Asevitah-Drdhbhumih

It becomes firmly rooted when it has been habituated for a long time, without interruption and with sincere belief.

Sa : that (practice)

Tu : however

Dirghakala : for a long time

Nairantarya : without interruption
Satkara : with devotion, sincerity, respect, positive attitude

Asevitah : Pursued, cultivated
Drdhabhumih : Solid foundation

Dr. Jayadeva Yogendra:

“The sutra gives an importance to Abhyasa (perseverance) of the highest kind. Our efforts are absolutely meager and we don’t succeed or even care. Here, the person is very very clear about gaining that kind of mental attitude and result.

So it is that kind of determination, clarity and certainty. There is no other thought except to achieve the goal. We sometimes come across such examples in different areas. During the Kargil war, a commander asked a team of soldiers to capture a certain very strategic area. They struggled and probably lost half of their men but the orders were to continue. Ultimately there was only 10% of the original team left, but they succeeded. So that spirit is needed. Abhyasa is full-hearted, continuous, non-stop effort.

So to make Abhyasa your cornerstone, you have to practice yoga. It requires extreme faith, respect and totality. One single order and we are just after it. But we just have these things to read, none of it is in practice. Not even the simplest thing like Asana. Tradition says that if you sit in the same place at the same time every day for a year, you will gain what you want. But these are just stories…We, in the deep of our hearts, do not have the determination."

“The problem is that we take things half-heartedly. When learning yoga, there is only half interest, when practicing, there is quarter interest. It is just ‘touch and go’ so naturally, the good of yoga does not come. But if we have a single thing which is done sincerely, it could bring results. As they say, by sitting in Sukhasana every day even for 15 minutes, at the end of the year, you will be a different person.”

Smt. Hansaji J. Yogendra:

“The sutra tells us how we should pursue in yoga.

1. Efforts for a long long time: We should not have anxiety about the result. Many times we complain that I have been practicing for 4 days but did not reduce or see the result. This result oriented mind is very negative and should be avoided. Just be positive and walk the path.

2. Without interruption: It should become part of your personality. Yoga is not like other subjects that we can say I studied for 4 hours today.

3. Have full respect and faith: Do not have a doubting mind. With full dedication, get established in the work you have taken in hand.

The human mind gets bored very easily. However, yoga is not boring, in fact, it deals with life, it is interesting. Efforts have to be applied in these three directions.”

About Parisamvad

The Friday Parisamvad is dedicated to explanation of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali by our esteemed Gurus, Dr. Jayadeva and Smt. Hansaji.

All are welcome to attend.

Click Here to learn more about The Yoga Institute

Goal in Life (Satsang)

The topic for the Satsang on Sunday, 21st October, 2012 was 'Goal in Life' (English).

Following is the transcript of the speech made by Dr. Jayadeva Yogendra and Smt. Hansaji Yogendra on the topic.

Smt. Hansaji and Dr. Jayadeva Yogendra

"You see, there is the goal of living the life, making money, being happy; these are the obvious goals and we don't really search for goals. We are forced into life and we carry it on. Sometimes we see others and feel jealous and start thinking also but we have but done much good work, we just leave it there. So practically the whole life goes in muddling through. Sometime we take up one kind of job, sometime we start with some new business...that always goes on. In the end, we are dissatisfied - our children have not grown up as we want, the family is not that happy, we are not being able to succeed and what not because this kind of thinking does not happen.

See, we are born into this world to fulfill our purpose and the purpose is our duties, and everyone does not understand what our duties are. So we just muddle through and try to feel happy about it. But real understanding does not happen. We see others and sometimes feel jealous but we, on our own, have never done any thinking.

I personally believe in accepting life as it is and not grumbling, not saying I'm rich or I'm poor or this or that. If you are born in a certain family, you can carry out the instructions, study, pass exams and be fit for something, take it up and continue. While doing that, maybe some clarity can happen and you might benefit out of that.

But basically, living our life itself is very important. Spending time in quarreling, complaining, is not right. See, life is there for us to live, so just live it. Be happy in living that life and duties are there before us all the time. When you sit before food, your duty is to eat, when you're in the office - duty to work. This carries on.
I believe that these very simple things are there - to eat, to drink, to grow, to do our work. Now beyond that, let us not think of the other goals - becoming the President of India, becoming a millionaire and all that. We make mistakes there. In our mind, we dream of things that we are not capable of achieving and we get frustrated and more or less, the life is full of frustrations. Had we taken up the things that have come naturally and done our best, then we would have got our answer. But we don't get answers because instead of doing the things at hand, we try this and that and are not able to feel satisfaction. So I think we should not spend time trying to dream of what is our goal. The goal is what you are doing. You are here to listen, I am here to talk. Let us carry it out."

- Dr. Jayadeva Yogendra

"We need to think of our goal in life. There is the story of King Ashoka who fought the war of Kalinga. There was a lot of devastation. Lakhs of people died, it was a painful sight. When he saw this, he was shocked – “What have I done, just to get more property, possession, more states under me! I had to kill so many people, could it be accepted?” He could have been one of the happiest people, he had everything in life, money, respect, etc. So why wasn’t he happy?

Buddha, earlier was known as Siddharth. He was a prince and had all luxuries. Once when he saw old age, sickness, death, he was shocked. He could not take it. “What is this life? I must find something else.”

So what do you exactly want in life? Name? Fame? They had everything and yet were not happy. What do you want in life? Everyone wants happiness, peace. Do you find peace in all these things? No. Then where do you get peace? It was a search that Buddha went around for and he could find out and then he became Buddha. He finally said that the whole cause of problems for all of us is our own desires. They are the culprit. We are born and we should be happily living but why is that not happening?

Sometimes we have likes and dislikes, sometimes our ego comes in the way. We feel we are running the show. Yoga Shastra says that the root cause of all our pain and suffering is our Klesas which we are born with, we create and we have to work hard to remove them. Ignorance, Ego, Attachment, Aversion and our own Selfishness and love of self are the Klesas talked about in the Yoga Sutras. They are the vitiating factors, the cause of all pain and suffering.

So what goal should we keep? Could it be going beyond the material world and trying to understand consciousness? But before this, we need to reach smaller goals. So, as Dr. Jayadeva said, if you want to live your life, do your duty, whatever you can do at various levels, start doing, not just taking benefits from the world, but giving to the world. And once you start giving, you get happiness. When you are at the receiving end, there is no happiness.

Duty concept is something where you are first doing something for yourself, taking care of your health and then you go ahead and do your duty towards your family, work, society, humanity, etc.

So the basic goal we need to keep is this concept of duty – a healthy body and balanced mind. The body should be free from diseases , so work hard to keep them away and the mind should be level headed so that thoughts will give you the right direction. The final goal would be achieved if this goal is achieved."

- Smt. Hansaji J. Yogendra

Q & A

Q. How do we go towards freedom from pain and suffering?

Dr. Jayadeva: You see, if we understand that we have pain and suffering, then the next move is trying to free ourselves. But as it is, we don’t think we have pain, we feel we are alright. So there’s no way to get out of it.

Smt. Hansaji: We are talking theory when saying ‘How do we free ourselves from pain and suffering.’ Do you really feel you are suffering? First make this clear, then, where am I suffering, what am I doing? If you know that, automatically once you become aware, things will move further. First of all, we don’t understand what pain is, what the Yogis understood it as, and so we enjoy everything that is around. We don’t think it is painful. We don’t think it is wrong to get angry or to tell lies. So if this is the case, don’t think about freedom at all.

Q. How does Citta Vritti Nirodha play a role in ‘Goal of life’?

Dr. Jayadeva:Well, this is a very big thing. Once the mind starts working, problems start. Do you understand that? So here yoga says, stop the mind.

Smt. Hansaji: Whatever problems are there are because of the mind. The mind is the culprit. Stop it, then the problems will be stopped. So we have to work at that level.

Q. Can goal of our life change as per the demanding situations?

Dr. Jayadeva: See, it has been changing all the time because we are not stable, we are unable to understand. So we get attracted by all things and all our life we are just like that, running from one to another.

Smt. Hansaji: Demanding situations are going to tell you where the priorities lie – how much time to give to which area. But the goal will remain the same, we have to see that we move towards that.

Q. If someone from family or society keeps telling us about our goal, then what should we do?

Dr. Jayadeva: You are also something are you not? Others keep playing around and you keep running along with them, that is wrong.

Smt. Hansaji: Family and society are obstacles on your path only if you consider them to be. These hurdles are part of life. Where there is life, there is difficulty and problems. It is all about dealing with them and moving on with life.

Q. It is not easy to be happy or peaceful when one is financially unstable. How does one maintain a balanced state of mind in such a situation?

Dr. Jayadeva: If you cheat someone and steal their money, would you remain in a balanced state after that if the police were after you? If the police did not chase you, then hitting someone on the head with a newspaper and earning a little money, won’t that make your mind more peaceful?

Smt. Hansaji: As long as we have materialistic goals, i.e. ‘we will be peaceful only if we have money’, that is where problems arise. I can show you thousands of people who have lots of money but are sick, unhappy, can’t d their duties well in life and are in a bad state. So we will have to change out thinking.

There is a story of a king who wants his treasure chest to be full always. A Yogi tells him, “I know the trick. Give me the shirt of the person who is happy in life and I will do magic with it.” The king searches but everyone says they are unhappy. Finally he finds someone who claims he has no problems. He asks for the man’s shirt but the man says he doesn’t have one! So, there is no connection between money and happiness.

Q. The moment any small difficulty comes, I get into depression. What to do?

Dr. Jayadeva: Go to a good psychiatrist.

Smt. Hansaji: Think that this is not a problem, it is a situation and do your best in the situation. Whether you call it a problem or not, this is life. In fact, you should gear up yourself and become enthusiastic when a problem comes. Move ahead with full energy and zest and if you cannot think like this, then go to a psychiatrist.

Q. How does one cope up with family members who are always dissatisfied and expect more and more inspite of giving them your best service and time?

Dr. Jayadeva: You see, if you consider them as family members, then you have to accept them and you have to carry on what they say.

Smt. Hansaji: But understand one thing, that if your goal is to make everyone in the family happy, then you will fail miserably. You can’t give happiness. You can work hard to satisfy their needs. But happiness is a very different affair. That is something which has to come in the personality. So differentiate – don’t do an act to make somebody happy. That’s not the way to live life. You do it because that is your family, that’s the need and it is your duty. If somebody is happy, thank God. If somebody is unhappy, still thank God.

Q. If my goal is to be a great man, what should be my motive?

Dr. Jayadeva: The goal of being a great man itself will create problems. What is, is. Live like that and there will be no problem.

Smt. Hansaji: Read Philosophy and you will understand, what does a great man mean? Every human is great. Every human is potentially divine. We are already great. So just understand situations and move along.

Bhagwad Gita Slokas 2.62 & 2.63

Bhagwad Gita Transcribed from Parisamvad at The Yoga Institute.

Chapter 2, Slokas 62 & 63

While contemplating the objects of the senses, a person develops attachment for them, and from such attachment lust develops, and from lust anger arises.

From anger, complete delusion arises, and from delusion bewilderment of memory. When memory is bewildered, intelligence is lost, and when intelligence is lost one falls down again into the material pool.

Dr. Jayadeva Yogendra:

"These human weakness are discussed. We look at things, we just can’t help it. We can’t stop. We create feelings, we remember them, wish for them, want to have them. These things happen in life. When we have them, in the beginning we are attached, we hold on to them. Later on, some kind of disgust also occurs. Anger and all kinds of actions and it goes on. These are no doubt very ordinary statements but they apply to us. We just can’t help it. We can’t look at a thing in a very neutral way and respond correctly. If there is something good, we show our happiness, if it's something bad, we turn away from that. This is not the way we should function. We immediately form opinions, express opinions; we want to form a group of people having similar opinions. It goes on snowballing.

A Yogi can look at things without showing any feeling. In case there is something good, he may show a happy feeling but not go further and further. If there is something bad, he doesn’t look at it again, he turns away. This kind of a self control we don’t have and reactions come and reactions don’t stop. One reaction brings another and this is our life. We can’t sit happily, quietly. We have some feelings for others and that is troubling us all the time. So that peace of mind doesn’t come.

In yoga we are interested in getting into that peaceful state, where understanding can happen. Unfortunately we can’t create that peace. Disturbances get in and sometimes we don’t like that peace also. We want action, occasionally happy, occasionally unhappy. Sometimes terribly unhappy. That will continue. All this sounds pessimistic? All this is logical but it is a fact that we don’t follow. Are we afraid of becoming too sincere? Can it be dangerous? If we put efforts under such fear then on the last day of our life, our condition will be the same. What we call real hard work, real decision making that should happen immediately and we should implement also immediately. Eg. of Mr. Sharad Chauhan. He has been coming for 30 years and doesn’t miss a single day. He keeps coming, keeps learning and there is tremendous change in him. One needs this sort of sincerity. Just to sign the muster, such things will not help. We say, but we are not firm and life just passes away. In no area we are determined, firm. We say and start doing it – this does not happen. We just say for the sake of saying, we make a show; we don’t do any internal homework. We say we will do it, there’s plenty of time and one day we just have to say Good Bye to life.

Smt. Hansaji J. Yogendra:

"If we don’t control our sensory organs, if we are terribly interested in the world, we start getting attached, we expect something from the world, we start taking joy and sorrow from the world, then we are stuck with the world. Then we have desires and when desires are not fulfilled then we get angry. Whatever you do in life, don’t get stuck with any situation. See, understand, and leave it. Situations will occur. After all, we are in the world. We have to deal with it. Right from the body, everything is matter. We don’t take pain and suffering because of it. We should not expect anything, we don’t desire anything. The expectations that I should always remain happy, always remain healthy, is wrong. People come to me and say that I want to die happily. I don’t want to suffer, be hospitalized and die. Now who has control over what? Why think about it? Why desire for it? Just live properly. One needs to have proper understanding of the world and not have expectations. Expectations lead to anger, frustration, negativity. We have to work on our self. It is very easy to get entangled in situations."

Q : To reach God, does one have to leave ‘Bhajiya’ (a fried food item)?

A : Don’t leave it. If it is the time to eat, eat. Don’t overeat. Always keep the duty idea as the uppermost .

About Parisamvad

The Tuesday Parisamvad is dedicated to explanation of the the Bhagwad Gita by our esteemed Gurus, Dr. Jayadeva and Smt. Hansaji.

All are welcome to attend.

Click Here to learn more about The Yoga Institute, Santacruz, Mumbai.

(Sloka and its English translation taken from http://www.ishwar.com/hinduism/holy_bhagavad_gita).

Bhagwad Gita Slokas 2.60 & 2.61 (Parisamvad)

Bhagwad Gita Transcribed from Parisamvad at The Yoga Institute.

Chapter 2, Sloka 60 & 61

The turbulent senses, O son of Kunti, do violently carry away the mind of a wise man though he be striving to control them.

Having restrained them all, he should sit steadfast, intent on Me; his wisdom is steady whose senses are under control.

Dr. Jayadeva Yogendra:

"The attempt in the Gita is to control the mind and set it on God. The mind gets distracted, mainly the senses. To control the mind, one has to set it on something higher. Ultimately according to these Slokas, it is the Prana that is the disturbing factor. We see it also in our life, the mind is continuously distracted, even though we are thinking about God, praying.

That is where this concept of Prana comes – just very ordinary things, like watching the breath makes the mind quieter. If one can hold on that mind for a very long time, the mind becomes absolutely quiet. In that condition, thinking of God is possible. These are steps that have to be followed. Just merely saying I pray to God or remember him is not enough. The deeper machinery has to be understood. Beginning with the senses, then coming to the mind, then going further to a concept like God and ultimately, that discriminative wisdom – all these are necessary.

Our efforts are very incomplete. Just wanting the mind to be stable would not be enough. We have to control the senses, the mind. These are the central things. Then we come to the concept of God, faith, remembrance and ultimately a decision, understanding, Pragna – that is to be continuously strengthened. If I have arrived at this kind of clarity that ultimately it is God, who is responsible for everything, if I am able to hold on to the God concept, the mind will get controlled. If we work at it that way then there are chances of success.

Just picking up one idea is not enough. Understanding is the central thing. When the mind is clear then it is easy. Generally the mind is not clear. This is true in all our activities in life. We do many things but all half-heartedly and don’t succeed much. We just carry on. Creating that sort of a determination is the beginning of any good work. We have allowed the mind to remain free and the nature is to run from one thing to another. Even when we are thinking about God, God is not totally into our mind. This state of discrimination, Pragna is necessary and that we can gain through reading, thinking, discussing, sharing. All that builds up this discrimination. But we are investing all our energies after money, sex, pleasure, property, position in life etc. etc. That is 99% in control. So the question of keeping the mind steady on God or on discriminative understanding is not there. We may use these words but internally we are not ready. So efforts are made and we fail and this goes on all our life. We are talking about gaining spiritual understanding, gaining the highest, how can that happen? That’s the problem."

Q : Does intense belief of God come to some special persons who are born that way?

A : If you have been thinking about God right from the start, most of your time then it can come. If you are in love with some person, its not just once, it has to be constant, all the time. Then it becomes a real friendship and love.

Smt. Hansaji J. Yogendra:

"One point is strongly emphasized in the Gita and that is control over your senses. It says that the wisest people also lose their control. We say, "I don’t get angry," "I don’t get upset", "I don’t worry". We very comfortably talk like that. We have to be continuously vigilant of our own mind. If we are getting irritated, immediately stop. Once it overpowers you then you can’t do anything. Just control doesn’t mean anything. The next Sloka says control, meditate, divert towards God. Otherwise just control has no meaning. Just control will create more agitation and anger. Mirabai didn’t have to control; she didn’t react to the people who spoke against her, or Tukaram or any other sages. Their minds were totally focused on God. When that occurs, control on the senses takes place naturally."

About Parisamvad

The Tuesday Parisamvad is dedicated to explanation of the the Bhagwad Gita by our esteemed Gurus, Dr. Jayadeva and Smt. Hansaji.

All are welcome to attend.

Click Here to learn more about The Yoga Institute, Santacruz, Mumbai.

(Shloka taken from http://www.ishwar.com/hinduism/holy_bhagavad_gita).

Saints of India (Satsang)

The topic for the Satsang on Sunday, 21st October, 2012 was Bharat ke Sant (Hindi) i.e. Saints of India.

Following is the transcript of the speech made by Dr. Jayadeva Yogendra and Smt. Hansaji Yogendra on the topic.

Smt. Hansaji and Dr. Jayadeva Yogendra

"You see, these kind of perceptions, they don’t happen usually. Seeing individuals who are experiencing difficulties in life and yet they are able to maintain their calm quiet state of mind and carry on with their work, this is a unique thing. We use these words like ‘Sant’ and ‘Mahatma’, sometimes these words are also misused, so we lose faith in these words. So the fact is that a person who can rise to this level and face situations, and yet carry on ones duties wholeheartedly, happily, is the right kind of person. Because in life, problems will come, there will be insurmountable difficulties. We have only one thing to do - carry on our work. Nothing other than that we can do; however much we cry and weep and think but we have limitations. We have two hands, two feet, and we have strength, and we have some things to do, so let us engage ourselves in the things we have to do and leave the other things away. I think this is a message, which will do each one of us a lot of good."

- Dr. Jayadeva Yogendra

When we talk of Saints, an inner strength develops because these are models that teach us how life should be lived. They are totally harmless people. Helping others is part of their nature. There is no Ahamkara (Ego) and so no anger, worry, etc. because all these are the outcome of ego. In place of ego, they have God.

The first chapter of the Yoga Sutras says – Citta Vritti Nirodha. Why should it be done? The next sutra says, Tada Drstuh Swaroope Avasthanam. Our true Swaroop (Self) which is God-like is understood when the Citta Vrittis are stopped. The next sutra says Vritti Saroopyam Itaratra, which means that our attention can either be on the material world or on Isvar, not on both together.

We tend to try that. To improve business, we keep taking God’s name at work but in the mind we are thinking only of material gains and business. If a little serious attention is given to God for a while, a man can become better and do honest business and walk on the right path.

Saints are different. They see God in everything. “Zarre Zarre Mein Khuda Hai.” They don’t just say this, they feel and experience this. The ‘I’ sense is nowhere to be seen.

Once, a man invited a Saint for a meal to his house because he believed that with just the presence of such a person, problems of the house go away. So he forced the Saint to come visit. When the Saint reached there, the man was not there and the family did not know about it. They thought he was a beggar and told him to get out. So the Saint went and sat under a nearby tree. When the man returned home and saw the Saint, he invited him in and went to get some food. Again a family member entered and asked him to get out. This happened around four times but the Saint had no complaints. He remained there because the man had invited him and would feel bad if he did not stay. When the man found out about this, he felt very sad and said to the Saint, “Didn’t you feel bad at such an insult? You are great!” The Saint replied that he was not great, even a dog would behave the way he did. We can learn from animals. This is the perspective of a Saint.

Another example is of Allah Diya Khan, the Guru of the sitar player, Ravi Shankar. The Guru was to be felicitated and a lot of decoration was done. He was called at 6 pm and he reached there on time but there was no one there. The watchman did not allow him to enter as he was very simply dressed in a dhoti and he did not recognize him. When people started coming, he tried to enter again but the watchman still did not allow it so he went to the foot path opposite the gate and sat down on the ground. Later people came searching for him, found him and his only reply was, “What could I do? I tried entering twice but was not allowed.” Such a simple answer with no anger. A normal person would have reacted very differently, getting insulted and angry.

Such people have a very different outlook to life. Seeing beauty in everything, seeing God in everything and everyone, no ego or expectations, no anger or hatred, all these are qualities of a Saint.

Meerabai was asked to drink poison and she drank it but did not die because she was one with God, detached from the body. Life or death meant nothing to her. She began walking and visiting temples of Krsna. In one of them, she was stopped because ladies were not allowed in. She said that for her, the only Purusa is God and all the rest are women. The man who stopped her was wise and he let her in. In spirituality there is no man and woman, it is just a small physical difference. In Samkhya, Purusa Vishesh is considered the highest and the rest is Prakriti which is female. We have both in us.

When ever we are upset, sad or anxious, it is important to remember that these problems were faced even by Saints. In fact, Meerabai was given poison, whereas we would just be given a few bad words by someone. If they can remain in a wonderful state inspite of all that, why not try the same?

Accept the different personalities of people and don’t get sad. Remember these models and take inspiration from them. We just have to try.

- Smt. Hansaji J. Yogendra

Q & A

Q. Can Saints exist in today’s world?

Dr. Jayadeva: Saints will be there but we will have to search for them because there are too many wrong kind of people and false people around. So it is difficult to judge who is a true Saint and who is not.

Smt. Hansaji: It is definitely difficult to find out because they all look alike. In old times, Gods and Raksasas looked different so it was easy to identify them but now everyone looks alike, very lovely from outside but internally different. There are Saints now also and even good people, we just have to be careful. In any case, Saints are just models, we don’t have to go to them or worship them because every human has that purity within. Every human is potentially divine.

Q. When will our ego end?

Dr. Jayadeva: It will never end, not as long as we are alive.

Smt. Hansaji: Yoga is the path to follow to reduce ego. Just practice Ahimsa alone and you will see how much your ego reduces. Yamas help reduce ego but we have to work on ourselves, otherwise till we die, ego remains.

Q. If God is in everyone, then why was there fighting in Mahabharat?

Dr. Jayadeva: Well, these are questions only, we don’t know the answers.

Smt. Hansaji: Do you understand the word zero? If zero is removed from zero, it remains zero. If zero is added to zero, it remains zero. This is the whole point Krsna was making to Arjuna (in Bhagwad Gita) that you are killing but you can’t kill anybody. A soul cannot be killed. It is eternal, permanent. But Adharma had to be removed. Arjuna was a soldier and it was his duty to remove anyone who came in Dharma’s way. This is why Mahabharat occurred.

Q. In a family life, where there is materialistic thinking, how can a saintly life be lived?

Dr. Jayadeva: We do not need to ask anyone to live a saintly life. Just keep doing the right thing. There is no need for a certificate for it.

Smt. Hansaji: All the Sainta that we are talking of were not considered Saints when they were alive. They had many threats. It is only now after 5-700 years that we consider them as Saints. A person should be good, should have a certain understanding and be on the path of spirituality if you want to handle problems with care. So let us be on that path.

Q. Is it true that with the blessing of a Guru or Saint, wealth showers upon us and there are no problems in life?

Dr. Jayadeva: See, Isvar Kripa (God’s blessings) is on all of us and on the Saint also. Saints have such qualities that they do right things and are later called Saints. Every person is a Saint but they do not do these things and so become normal people.

Smt. Hansaji: If you think that abundance of money removes all problems, you are mistaken. People with lots of money have different problems and people with little money have different problems, but problems are there. In life, pain and suffering keep coming. We don’t have to run away from problems, we just have to look at them from a different perspective so that we can live a good life.

Q. Is it possible to accept the life of a Saint leaving the family which is a reality?

Dr. Jayadeva: See, when a person reaches a certain state of understanding, the person considers that important. Gandhiji, like an ordinary man could have set up a business and looked after his wife. He took up another work – good of the people, trying to bring independence to India and may have neglected the care of his children, but he did more work this way in bringing independence to India.

Smt. Hansaji: Actually Saints are not leaving their families. They are living in the world but are detached from it. There is no ‘I’ or ‘Mine’ and so there is no ‘My family.’ The whole world becomes their family. They are beyond that. We should understand them as they are.

Q. My wife has too much blind faith and I don’t. What to do?

Dr. Jayadeva: Since you have married her, you have to accept her.

Smt. Hansaji: Live and let live. Let her have blind faith. If she forces you to do some ritual, do it, what’s the harm? After all, you have to live together.

Q. Even after being very careful in business, I keep getting loss. What to do?

Dr. Jayadeva: Now it won’t happen.

Smt. Hansaji: Why not believe that? Keep doing your work and maybe what you think is a loss may not really be so. A man who did not earn much money had a family that had good habits and which worked together, united. Sometimes there is a lot of money but no such thing as a family. So there might be loss on one side but gain somewhere else. Do not see from your angle. Keep doing your work and believe that what happens happens for the good.

Q. What is the first step towards becoming a Saint?

Dr. Jayadeva: There is no step at all.

Smt. Hansaji: Saints do not need organized systematic steps. But follow the path of yoga, of spirituality and that will come to you on the way.