LECTURE 12
YOGA PHILOSOPHY AND MEDITATION
Kapil Muni in his Samkhya Shashtra Sutra 1/15 preaches that the Soul is free and independent by all means. Soul is never attached with human body or any worldly matter. The matter is diverted in any different kind of shape and that is why it is destroyed. But alive Soul remains ever independent immortal and does not turn in any shape.
In Sutra the Muni says that Soul is everlasting, pure, alive, learned, unchanged, liberated/set free, unobstructed by own characteristic. But due to the reason that Soul comes in contact with Prakriti (Rajo, Tamo and Sato qualities) i.e., attractive worldly matters through senses, organs and mind. Till such time Soul remains in the contact with Prakriti, she forgets her own everlasting above said characteristic.
Yoga philosophy (Ashtang Yoga) preached in Vedas/Shashtras enables Soul to feel her own liberated characteristic, as said in the previous lecture (Yoga Shashtra Sutra 1/3). Lord Krishna has told this reality in Geeta Shaloka 2/17,18 that no one can destroy the immortal Soul. And in Shaloka 2/23 Lord Krishna preached Arjuna that no weapon/arm/ammunition can make dent the Soul. Neither fire can burn nor water can make wet. The air can also not make the Soul dry. The mere study of Bhagwat Geeta/Vedas/Holy books cannot enable Soul to realise its own immortal characteristic. These Holy Books are full of preachings to practise Yoga education (Ashtang Yoga) to know truth. See, we are learning here about Soul and not only about Almighty God .We pronounce the Holy name of God as ”Sachidananda” also i.e., Sat(immortal) + chetan(alive) + Anand (merriment). So God is immortal, alive and has merriment characteristic. Here two qualities Sat (immortal) and Chetan (alive) are same as of Soul but third Anand (merriment) quality of Almighty God is not same. God does not bear the result of any deeds. God does not need body being Almighty. So God never feel sorrows etc., whereas the Soul to experience the result of deeds needs body/birth and feels disturbances in life etc. So when we do not make contact with learned Rishis/Yogis/Saints and do not worship God properly as preached in the previous lecture (from Vedas/Shashtras/Holy books/Yoga philosophy) then Rishi Patsnjali says in next Sutra:-
“VRITTI SARUPAYAM ITARTRA”
Vritti= various forms of Chitta,
Sarupayam=remains same as is Chitta’s Vritti,
Itartra=inspite of this(besides).
Meaning:- Inspite of the free immortal stage attained by Ashtang Yoga practice (Asampragyat Samadhi), the Soul due to the contact with Prakriti acts like Chitta’s Vritti and experiences sorrows, pleasure, attachment with materialistic world, birth/death etc., according to the result awarded by God to bear the result of good or bad deeds coming from several births. In absence of Asampragyat Samadhi, the Soul looks like Chitta’s Vritti, i.e., no difference looks between soul and Chitta’s (matter) Vritti, this is the reason that the Soul suffers in the shape of death/birth and other troubles. At this ignorant stage of Soul, when Chitta feels happiness /sorrows/ weeping / laughing / sadness / depression / sickness / birth / relations / attachment etc., and the same effects is felt by Soul being forgetting its above said real characteristic due to making contact with Prakriti (Rajo, Tamo and Sato qualities).That is whatever the qualities of the Chitta of Rajo, Tamo and Sato is held the Soul realises it is of same nature . We can say this is the oneness of Soul and Chitta’s Vritti, Soul being injudicious (not wiser). Whereas the real stage of Soul is alive, free from illusion as briefed above and Chitta is non-alive (senseless). And as said above the Soul in absence of practising Ashtang Yoga and in absence of attaining Asampragyat Samadhi, it has forgotten its real, immortal characteristic .This is the injudicious stage of Soul.The conclusion of the above is that after taking birth in human body , it is our duty to do only instigated deeds and discharging duties towards family and Nation, one should practise Ashtang Yoga to attain the stage of Asampragyat Samadhi like our forefathers of ancient Satyug,Treta and Duapar period .Vedas/Shashtras have taught the best way of getting final liberation to adopt traditional Yoga philosophy and too under guidance of a learned live Yogi.
