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Enlightenment!
By MSI
(click book to view)
The
Yoga Sutras of Patanjali:
A New Translation and Commentary
Introduction:
The Yoga Sutras of Maharisi Patanjali are
the most concise formulation in history of the mechanics of the growth of
consciousness from the Waking State to the highest degree of human
consciousness, Unified Consciousness. They present a systematic and
complete understanding of the psychological, emotional and physical
transformations that occur as an individual develops full enlightenment.
This process of development is called Ascension, or rising beyond the
boundaries of ignorance.
Maharisi Patanjali was also known as Govinda
Yogindra, the "The Light-Filled King of the Yogis." He was
commonly considered to be the Teacher of the first Shankaracharya, who
revitalized the knowledge of Ascension some five centuries before the
birth of Christ. Maharisi Patanjali was a fully consciousness human being.
Maharisi, literally means "great sage." A rishi, a
sage, is an individual who has Ascended to the first stage of
enlightenment, Perpetual Consciousness, which is characterized by
recognition that the inner Self is Infinite, not limited by space, time or
causation, one with the omnipresent One, the Creator of All that Is.
A Maharisi is an individual who has
Ascended to Unified Consciousness, in which the inner experience of
Infinite Awareness is also experienced outside, as the essential Reality
of everyone and everything. Patanjali was established in this ultimate
level of human consciousness. His text of Yoga was designed to help anyone
rise to this state of human perfection.
Sutras are very short and concise
statements. Sutra literally means "thread." The Yoga Sutras are
the threads that together constitute the tapestry of Yoga. Yoga comes from
the root, yog, which means to join together. So the Yoga Sutras are the
threads that join together. Yoga is the science of joining together the
individual lower self with the universal higher Self, the indivisible
spark of God that resides within everyone. Yoga is not a belief system or
a religion nor even a philosophy -- it is an extremely practical
methodology for systemically expanding the conscious mind. Said another
way, Yoga is the Science for overcoming the self-destructive and limiting
beliefs and internal programs that keep individual life bound to the
experiences of the Waking State of Consciousness -- the state in which
life is alternately happy and sad, loving and hating, healthy and sick --
in short, dual. Yoga provides a systematic ladder for climbing beyond the
often painful experiences of the Waking State of duality into the state of
non-changing Unified Consciousness, a.k.a. full enlightenment.
This is not a mystical nor even a
difficult or complicated process. Those who have thought that Yoga was
difficult and/or complicated were doubtlessly basing their thinking on
their personal experience, but that level of experiencing is not the whole
story of human life, as this text will make clear. Perfection is within
every human. Given this fact, it is surprising that so very many have
failed to realize this.
Part of the problem has been very faulty
translations of the texts that can serve in the development of
consciousness. The Yoga Sutras are a prime example. Properly understood,
they provide a straight and broad path for realization of the highest
degree of human consciousness. Improperly understood, they are at best
useless and at worst quite damaging.
Indian society is today caught deep in a
quagmire of mistaken belief about the mechanics of realizing
enlightenment. The custodians of the system of Yoga have so poorly managed
its essential teachings that practically no one in the world anymore
understands that Divine Union is perfectly easy to attain. The typical
interpretation of the path to enlightenment is through renunciation, or
giving up of the world. Expansion to Infinity by giving up! Nothing could
be more ludicrous, given a true perception and understanding of higher
consciousness.
Without full enlightenment, the attempt
to understand, translate or teach the Yoga Sutras is doomed to inevitable
and inglorious failure. The reason for this is only partly found in the
vast dissimilarity between
Sanskrit and our Western languages --
even the commentators on the sutras who wrote in Sanskrit did a woefully
poor job of understanding Patanjali's meaning. The root cause of the
perennial failure of the translators and commentators has to be traced to
the dissimilarity of the translators' and commentators' level of
consciousness with that of Patanjali. Even those commentators who were
experiencing a low level of enlightenment did not much succeed in
unraveling the knots of Patanjali's meaning. The greatest of the authors
and commentators of antiquity was Vyasa. But the commentary attributed to
him is deficient in several significant respects. It must be that Vyasa
did not actually write it and someone borrowed his name for it, or else
one of his later followers tried to embellish it and instead ruined it.
The prime problem area of all the
commentaries is in the interpretation of key verses that make the practice
of Yoga seem complicated or difficult or suitable only for those that are
renunciates -- those that have dedicated their entire lives to being monks
or nuns. With this as the standard interpretation of this system of mental
development, small wonder that Yoga has been considered valueless by many
in the West! Who wants to give up all enjoyment of life to realize
enlightenment? Give up enjoyment to realize Infinite bliss? It even sounds
absurd! Fortunately, it is absurd. It is not necessary; it is actually
easier to continue with a regular, balanced life in the world and add the
effortless and natural techniques to Ascend from the Waking State and
accomplish Union. The mind is quickly absorbed by the experience of the
Infinite when it has the use of valid techniques for the growth of
consciousness; it is never a laborious, difficult or slow process.
As the growth of consciousness proceeds,
every area of life develops -- heart, mind, body, environment. Yoga,
properly understood, is not a system of giving up life. It is a system of
adding to life.
When the world hears and understands this
Teaching, all the age-old problems which have seemed so intractable for
centuries will melt away with graceful and perfect solutions. There is no
problem, mental, emotional, physical, societal, or environmental that can
withstand the wholly beneficial power of Infinite Mind. When the world
hears and understands this Teaching, world peace will be assured for all
ages to come. When the world hears and understands this Teaching, global
health and happiness and progress will be achieved for all future time.
May this day come soon!
-- MSI
FIRST QUARTER:
ASCENDANT CONSCIOUSNESS
YOGA is the Science of Union. The union of what with what? The union of
the Waking State of Consciousness with its most expanded state. This fully
developed state is called enlightenment. There are four stages of this
development of higher consciousness; these are discussed in the four
quarters of the Yoga Sutras.
The first stage is called Ascendant Consciousness. Ascendant
Consciousness is the experience of the conscious mind settling down into
its own essential nature. The self of the Waking State, with its myriad of
contradictory and self-defeating thoughts and beliefs, is only a shadow of
the Self that lies within. The Self within is quite literally
indescribable (Christianity has done as well as possible by calling it,
"The peace which passeth understanding"2) for it lies
forever beyond the power of any words to describe, beyond the ability of
the mind even to contemplate. It can, however, be experienced -- this is
the purpose of the Yoga Sutras, of Yoga in general, and specifically of
the First Quarter of the text. The experience of this transcendental Union
is the topic of the first fifty-one sutras.
2 "The peace of God, which passeth
understanding..." PHILIPPIANS 4:7. Cf. JOHN 14:27.
The First Quarter of the Yoga Sutras describes Ascendant Consciousness.
Ascendant Consciousness is called satori in Japan, Samadhi in India, often
"the Fourth" in the ancient literature, the One or the Absolute
or the Transcendent or the Infinite or Unbounded Awareness or Pure
Consciousness in English. This experience is a fourth major state of
consciousness, distinct subjectively and physiologically from Waking,
Sleeping and Dreaming. In this text, we typically call it Ascendant
Consciousness, for it lies beyond the normal experience of the Waking
State. The name is irrelevant, the experience is everything.
To qualify as a distinct state of consciousness (unlike an altered
state of consciousness, such as one produced by hypnosis or biofeedback),
the physiological correlates must be significantly distinct and so must
the subjective experience. The Ascendant State of Consciousness is
characterized by expanded awareness and deeper rest than that of sleep --
the mind requires less energy to experience consciousness without thought;
this causes the body to settle down to deep relaxation. In that silence
and rest, stress dissolves.
The experience of the Ascendant is not enlightenment, but it is
required to grow into enlightenment. The Second Quarter of the Yoga Sutras
defines the first stage of enlightenment, Perpetual Consciousness; the
Third Quarter deals with the second stage, Exalted Consciousness; and the
Fourth Quarter describes the ultimate fulfillment of human evolution,
Unified Consciousness.
The Yoga Sutras have been misinterpreted as the means to walk down the
path to enlightenment. They are not. They are a description of the nature
of enlightenment. Patanjali included no actual techniques of Ascension or
Yoga in this text. His descriptions of the mechanics of enlightenment are
so brilliant and clear, however, that many of the sutras have been widely
misunderstood as actually being the techniques themselves. One purpose of
this translation and commentary is to correct such unfortunate
misunderstandings. Attempting to move ahead in consciousness by taking the
Yoga Sutras as techniques for Ascension is impossible -- that would be
rather like attempting to build a working electrical system and wire a
house by reading a text on the nature of electricity.
Pada I. Sutra 1
Atha Yoga anushasanam
Now, the Teaching of Yoga.
The typical experience of the adult human
mind is that awareness is rarely in the present moment. Scientists have
estimated that the average adult thinks some 50,000 thoughts every day;
these are almost without exception concerned with the past or the future
or the distant. There is little or no experience of life as it is Now and
Here. When we do rarely for an instant slip beyond the continuous barrier
of our unending thought streams, we find that life suddenly becomes vastly
different from our typical Waking State experience. Instead of being
caught by regret for the past or worry for the future, we are free to
experience life as it is right now, free from self-defeating beliefs and
judgments, free from the limitations imposed by past experience,
established in peace and joy.
Therefore the Science of Yoga begins and
ends in the present moment. Everything to be understood about the
transformation of life from suffering to permanent happiness, from failure
to success, from ignorance to enlightenment is to be found in the present
instant of time. Life in freedom is the result of learning to turn from
the imperious demands of our past experience. Nothing can be done for the
past, it is over; nothing can be done for the future, for it never comes;
all that can be done is to make the present Ideal. Then the future will
take care of itself. Perfection of the present instant is at once the goal
and the means of the Science of Union.
In this, the very first sutra, Patanjali
describes the entire process of the growth of consciousness from bondage
and suffering to enlightenment. With the grace of a consummate artist, he
opens his sutras in a wholly traditional manner that nevertheless contains
in seed form the entire story of the 195 sutras that follow. All the rest
are a commentary on the first three words: Now, Teaching, Yoga. But
Patanjali is generous. In case anyone fails to catch this (and we have to
assume, since no other commentator has mentioned the magnificence of the
teaching in this first sutra, that very few if any have caught this), he
will elaborate in detail.
The first word, Atha, is built up of A +
th + a. "A" is the representation of the Universal sound of
creation, the cosmic hum, the Alpha and the Omega of the West. It contains
in the fullness of its silent vibration the totality of all that is at
this moment of time. "Th" is derived from Dha, which means
"bestow" or "give" or "compassion." The
Universal wholeness of "A" with compassion gives the totality of
the Universe. And to what is it given? Back to "A" again! The
Wholeness gives itself to Wholeness, over and over again, eternally. The
Eternal Now is recreated from within its own Self. Atha therefore
describes the essence of the Ascendant: it is universally expansive, it is
ever new, it is eternally the same. "A" is fullness; it moves
from fullness to fullness by passing through fullness; it recreates itself
perfectly in itself. The Universal Force for Good of the cosmos manifests
itself in the Universal Force for Good in the individual. The Universe is
contained within and furthermore is given to every spark of individuality.
And all of this is contained, continually new and ever-new, in the present
instant of time, in the Now. All of this and much, much more is hidden
within the vibratory matrix of Patanjali's first word, Atha.
"The Teaching of" translates
anusashanam. Anu means "again" -- this is the repeated sequence
of experiencing the Now over and over again until it becomes permanent. A
wise Teacher repeats the lessons with great patience and compassion until
the student fully understands. Yoga or Ascending is a process of gradually
refining the perceiving mind and senses until consciousness fully
remembers its Infinite status. Anusasanam can also be translated as
"rules, royal decree or governor" -- the role of the Eternal Now
is to be forever in charge of the life, of the process of the growth of
consciousness, of Yoga, of the creation of Ascendant Consciousness.
By deriving the word a different way
(from sham instead of from shas), this first sutra could be translated,
"The attitude of repeated Praise creates Union with the Now."
Praise is one of the fundamental tools of Ascension. Another valid
translation is, "Sitting in stillness again and again creates Union
with the Now." Stillness, sham, can also be translated,
"quietness, tranquillity, cessation." When the mind stills its
noisy activity, consciousness experiences the Now, which is eternal peace.
All activity ceases in that silence. By repeating this experience over and
over, the mind becomes habituated to the Silence and stays there
permanently, even in the midst of the most dynamic activity.
Which is the correct translation? They
all are. The glory of this discourse is that so many equally valid
meanings can be found in a single series of vibrations. The Yoga Sutras
are a perfect expression of a fully enlightened mind. Anyone who desires
to free life from suffering need only follow through on this wonderful,
magical Teaching. All secrets of space and time are open to those who
sincerely ask; there are no limits to the human other than those we
artificially impose.
Life is meant for freedom, joy and
continual progress. How is this to be accomplished? By freeing our
experiencing machinery from bondage to past experience. Union with the
universal Higher Self is easy to accomplish; it is only necessary to turn
the mind away from the noise of the internal programming and experience
the perpetual peace of the present instant, already present within.
Force or effort is often included in the
typical translation of this sutra -- it is commonly said that Union is the
result of repressing or restraining the movements of the mind. This
thinking betrays an unfamiliarity with the natural condition of the mind.
The natural condition of the mind is silence. If you drop a handful of
pebbles into a still pool, the surface erupts in chaos. If you continually
barrage consciousness with the movements of thought, it will be impossible
to see what consciousness really is. But let the movements still -- even
for an instant! -- and consciousness recognizes its Union with its higher
Self, the omnipresent spark of Eternity that exists inside everyone,
everywhere, always.
It must be emphasized that this sutra
does not tell how to still the movements of consciousness. Nor does it
suggest that strenuous effort is required. It is precisely the
misinterpretation of sutras such as this one that has led to the demise of
the effectiveness of the Science of Yoga. If we wish the mind to still,
introduction of strain or effort will not serve us. On the contrary, by
trying to force the mind to calmness, we will raise the physiological rate
and tire the mind. Have you ever studied hard for a test? It is tiring
work. Stimulants such as caffeine will succeed for only so long --
eventually the mind will be exhausted and impose stillness -- but it will
be the stillness of sleep, not the stillness of expanded consciousness.
What is required to still the mind is an
object of attention that charms the mind, thereby allowing it to settle
down to more and more universal and silent levels of functioning. This
object could take any number of possible forms, but the one universal
requirement of the practice of Ascension must be that it is increasingly
effortless. If it is desirable to still the mind, it is necessary to begin
from where the mind is, active in the midst of motion.
Systematically quieting down the mind is
the purpose of the Science of Yoga. It is not only natural, it is
extremely easy. There are only three requirements. There must be 1) a
functioning nervous system, capable of thought. There must also be 2) a
suitable vehicle for the mind to follow in this process of stilling, a
vehicle which naturally and effortlessly pulls the mind inward to ever
deeper levels of silence, until even the faintest level of activity is
Ascended and the conscious mind experiences its true form, the higher
Self. And there also needs to be 3) competent guidance to ensure the
necessary feedback that verifies the correctness of the practice. Thus it
is extremely difficult for tapes or books to teach techniques validly, for
the third requirement is missing. Even if the prospective student is
proceeding completely correctly, how would he or she would ever know
without verification from a qualified instructor?
What happens if the movements of thought
do still?
If
you'd like to know the rest of the story, you can order the
Enlightenment! book.
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