The Yoga Institute Mumbai: October 2012

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.

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.

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

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.

(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.

Bhagwad Gita Sloka 2.59 (Parisamvad)

Bhagwad Gita Transcribed from Parisamvad at The Yoga Institute.

Chapter 2, Sloka 59

The objects of the senses turn away from the abstinent man leaving the longing (behind); but his longing also turns away on seeing the Supreme..

Dr. Jayadeva Yogendra:

"The Slokas talk about a person whom we call as 'passed', one who has succeeded. The other efforts are there, one might repeat the name of God or pray, visit temples and what not. When the mind is clear, one doesn’t get attracted to anything except God. When that happens it is the final stage. There are stories of old Indian saints – blind at birth, thrown out of the house. As a child wandering about on the streets for food – such a pathetic state. He is told by a good person to sit in the temple and repeat the name of God all the time and everything will come. He sincerely follows – all the time, eyes closed – he had no eyes – repeated the name and became India’s great saint. No other thought except one.

What is intended is concentration, steadiness of mind. When the mind is clear – we give the example of the pond where the water is dirty and you can’t see the bottom. Allow the water to settle and you see clearly the bottom. So the effort is just this – bring the mind to a steady state. We can’t do that. We have so many urgent things to attend to, so many inner compulsions – e.g. food. We are restless and then we want to think of God. Just for a few seconds. Nothing happens. We remain the same all the time.

This is a good Sloka for those who are interested in a serious study. We had a person working at the reception, a very disturbed person. All that he was told was to take a piece of paper and write the name of whatever he considered the highest, God, etc. He followed the instruction. After about 30 years we saw him a few days ago, and he is a changed man. He does other work also but has just that one thought all the time. This can happen. We have a short life and the days are just passing. In between, so many problems come. Sometimes we don’t have time at all. By the time we wake up we are already on the departure lounge. So we keep regretting at that stage and that is too late. We are all wise people so we should direct our wisdom in this direction also and not like children just enjoy when they are playing games, forgetting their studies and future."

Smt. Hansaji J. Yogendra:

"As long as our sensory organs are taking us out and making us to enjoy things and creating impressions, as long as we have interest in the external world, control of the senses is not possible. You may control but sensations will still remain. When my mother-in-law was young and staying in Bangalore, the Maharaja arranged a feast and invited the entire family. There was a sweet in the feast, called mohan thaal. That taste which she enjoyed that day has remained in her system. Every Diwali when we make mohan thaal in the house, she would say that particular mohan thaal was really very good. I tried to make mohan thaal so that it surpassed that taste but I was not successful. The impression remains and the person cherishes that impressions and enjoys it. Because of that impression, you don’t even live in the present. Everything is fine in the world – unless we come to that level – this also is wonderful – but we stick to the earlier impressions.

One should have Vairagya, at the same time one should be able to enjoy whatever one does. We haven’t to get caught in strong impressions – don’t go overboard. We have to learn to handle emotions. Don’t have too much interest and don’t have no interest. It’s a thin line."

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

Bhagwad Gita Sloka 2.58 (Parisamvad)

Bhagwad Gita Transcribed from Parisamvad at The Yoga Institute.

Chapter 2, Sloka 58

One who is able to withdraw his senses from sense objects, as the tortoise draws its limbs within the shell, is firmly fixed in perfect consciousness.

Dr. Jayadeva Yogendra:

"What the Gita is saying is something simple – keep your mind on something for long. Unfortunately, we have not trained the mind like that. The mind wants to find out new things around, trying to act on them and is never able to stay on one object continuously for a long time. The same thing happens in spiritual development. The attention should be on a spiritual goal – mind stable, concentrated on spiritual life. We just can’t stay there. It is not interesting, we do not want to waste time, we have many other important things to do. We have lots of arguments. One keeps on jumping from one thing to another all the time. In the process, spiritual life and spiritual understanding is very very poor for us. We use the words but we don’t know the contents.

The example of tortoise is given. It withdraws its limbs in the shell and remains there for long. It catches the vibrations of any inimical object around and doesn’t allow the head or legs to come out. For a very long time tortoise can stay that way. In the case of humans it is not so. The founder Shri Yogendraji used to tell us how he together with one of the famous philosopher of India, Mr. S.N. Dasgupta, were climbing the stairs of the library in Calcutta. They were having some deep conversation. The great philosopher looks around and sees a young girl walking and he forgets the conversation and is looking at the young girl all the time. If that is the story of the great philosopher; with ordinary people it is worse. We can’t keep stable on any object and not at all on a spiritual object. This is what this Sloka tells us, how we are and what we have to do. Unfortunately we do not see this as our target. How much more money I can make, that is uppermost. How much better I can look, is high in priority. How much I can control the senses, just doesn’t occur. We take it as natural, normal and in fact we enjoy this way. We have never made these things important. Our whole life is going that way.

Occasionally some people like Mr. Buch (a Sadhaka present in the Parisamvad) may set something and work but most of us don’t. For us, the other things are important. These things appear very petty. Actually these petty things have to be taken up. If during the day I did not speak something harsh or loud and I keep watching that – that will be a great achievement. But we take it as very ordinary. We are thinking of conquering Mount Everest and these little things are left. Learning yoga and such systems, we should not think of Samadhi and all these high things. We should think of the low things. In Ahimsa there are 81 varieties – did I allow someone to cause Himsa – was it verbally allowed – mentally allowed –did I make a show? Each of this can be taken care of. Putting efforts at very low level could be the answer, instead of aiming at something high."

Smt. Hansaji J. Yogendra:

"To gain steadiness, all the senses have to be controlled. The sensory organs create sensations. They are with the sensory objects where you are interested. Then the interest starts, there are likes. If you don’t get what you like, then you get angry, perturbed. So all that starts. The solution is all the sensory organs have to be withdrawn. The example is given of the tortoise. A little danger and it withdraws all the limbs inside. This is symbolic. The Yogis say do not get too much into sensation, pleasures. If you feel that you are going to get lost, withdraw. Otherwise the mind will become unsteady. Unsteady mind means ruin, life is finished. This is a very important Sloka. All of us have to become very cautious in life. Prevention is the suggestion.

There is a story - A man went to Kabir, to keep his valuables as he was going for a long pilgrimage. Kabir refused, he said I don’t want to touch money. The man was sad, so he went to Kabir’s son Kamaal. Kamaal also was a great philosopher and he had a separate house. The man pleaded to him to keep his valuables. Kamaal said, I don’t touch money, but you can dig a hole anywhere in the house, keep the valuables, cover it and go. This is the difference. One side there is total caution; the other side (one is not having personal interest at all) has a helping nature. Kabir was also helpful, but he was cautious. Unfortunately we are very gullible, impressionable. Something will always bother us. Sometimes we think, what will happen if I smoke once, or drink once? There are chances that if there is some problem later then one may start drinking regularly. But if one has never had drinks, then no matter how grave the problem might be, one will not even think of drinking. Let us be away from all wrong things. We have to be very very cautious."

About Parisamvad

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

Bhagwad Gita Sloka 2.57 (Parisamvad)

Bhagwad Gita Transcribed from Parisamvad at The Yoga Institute.

Chapter 2, Sloka 57

In the material world, one who is unaffected by whatever good or evil he may obtain, neither praising it nor despising it, is firmly fixed in perfect knowledge.

Dr. Jayadeva Yogendra:

"In all these ancient writings, the emphasis is on a balanced mind. This was given more importance than anything else. The highest in yoga is such a mind that is steady. Getting excited, angry is not a good state. It disturbs the mind - then decisions are not correct, thinking is not correct. Momentarily we enjoy that state but in reality it is hurting us. A true Yogi just watches, observes, doesn’t go out to stop anyone. These things are seen in the life of great Yogis. The teacher of the Founder (Shri Yogendraji) would just watch and not even comment. Some people make mistakes, his other Chelas would say all this is wrong, but he would say nothing. Let them act, let them suffer and then they themselves will learn. They have that kind of mind, that kind of Karmas when they are acting. When a person is in an excited state, what he says has no meaning. So the ultimate in yoga is to become a good observer, watch this world, which is not going after your wishes, many wrong things are happening, but you can’t do anything. You can’t go to each one and say, ‘This is wrong, don’t do this.’ Get into the condition where you observe and understand and leave it there."

Smt. Hansaji J. Yogendra:

"We are talking about a person who maintains Sthitprajna – absolute steady state of mind – no thoughts – one-pointed. The question is how would he behave? In this Sloka they say that he is not attached to anything – total Vairagya. For him, good and evil are the same. With both, good behaviour and bad behaviour, he will not react. This is a very very important point. The moment bad comes in front of us we are protective, because we are attached to our body, our peace, our happiness, our health. So we are very protective towards our body, our self. A Sthitprajna is not even attached to his body. His behavior is very different, there are so many stories.

Shivaji’s Guru, Ramdas was once travelling in the sun and felt thirsty. There was a sugarcane field nearby and he plucked one sugarcane and started chewing it and quenched his thirst. At the same time, the owner of the field came and when he saw Ramdas, who appeared like the beggar, eating the sugarcane, he got very angry. "How dare you eat my sugarcane?" He got so angry that he took a stick and gave him a good thrashing. Ramdas didn’t say anything and came home. The news spread and when the news reached Shivaji, he was very angry. He ran to his Guru and when he saw his condition he was very very sad. He asked, who did this to you? Ramdas had not even seen the face of that man. He was not concerned. Ultimately, that man was found and brought to Shivaji. Ramdas was asked what punishment should this man be given. Ramdas very politely said, please give him 2 more fields so that he can cultivate more sugarcane. Shivaji was shocked. Ramdas explained that the loss of 1 sugarcane made him so angry, naturally he must be very poor and needy. Don’t punish him, remove his poverty. Only a balanced person can think like that. We always have a tit for tat for that attitude.

You see, it is a very different state. We have to learn something out of all this. Becoming totally detached is difficult. We are all humans – it is the act that is bad, not the person. So don’t develop opinions, don’t hate people. Try and remain neutral. Don’t judge people. Even the worst person can change and become a good human and a good person can also change into a bad human. The suggestion is be objective. A balanced person is not attached to anything – total Vairagya – he alone is Sthitprajna. In our life, someone behaves rudely, we remember forever, someone speaks lies we remember forever. We don’t leave those thoughts from our mind. We can’t forgive and forget. We need to develop a deep understanding of life. There is a larger process and the world is moving according to that larger process. We have a limited job and we have to just attend to that. Good has to exert. We should not tolerate nonsense. Good has to do its role. We need to develop compassion for all."

About Parisamvad

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