“Patanjali is the first man who declared spirituality does not need any…”

Patanjali is the first man who declared spirituality does not need any faith. Just like chemistry A \+ B \= C. You can do this, do that you will have the enlightenment. Till the time of Patanjali it was not possible to put the whole thing across the table in the form of facts and figures. Just because of Patanjali, Patanjali is the only reason, the one and only reason who made we, spiritual people to sit and face directly face to face the great scientists. Because the terms of logic, the terms of mathematics in terms of analysis, in terms of facts and figures we have only one book in the spiritual world. That is Patanjali’s yoga sutras. All the other books they speak about the path and the goal but they never speak about the vow how and the why. Patanjali is the first man who speaks how and the why.

So, few aphorisms, few sutras from the Patanjali I will try to comment on these three days. This is a series of discourses, three day discourse I will be speaking eight steps to enlightenment. According to Patanjali the great spiritual scientist eight step to the enlightenment. The eight steps which he gave I will try to explain, I will try to express My understanding on those eight steps. Of course to show the greatness of the Patanjali I compared the other societies, the other cultures. Please don’t misunderstand. don’t think anybody is low but to make you understand I have no other way to show or to express the greatness of the Patanjali. Only when you understand the importance of the man and his mission you will be able to attend, you will be able to listen totally, carefully. Otherwise you will miss just as you missed the first story. As you missed the first story you may miss the whole story.

Patanjali gives eight steps to enlightenment. The essence of Patanjali is called ashtanga yoga; eight steps to enlightenment. The eight steps I will try to explain, eight steps to Patanjali, eight steps to enlightenment as explained by the Patanjali. Let Me just repeat the steps, eight steps then I will try to explain one by one. Yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana, samadhi. Of course don’t be frightened by the sanskrit words. There is no need for you to remember it, relax. In this eight first three the yama, niyama and asana belongs to the layer of body. All these three are physical. The next pranayama, pratyahara, dharana these three belongs to the layer of mental, psychological. Dhyana, samadhi belongs to the layer of spiritual, consciousness. So, today we will see the first three things belongs to body. Tomorrow we will see the next three things which belongs to the mind. Day after tomorrow we will see the things which belongs to being or consciousness; body, mind and the soul.

He gives a beautiful step by step explanation the way, the path, the solid path. I can say because of Patanjali we can stand with back bone. If only one book, this one book if it has not happened in the eastern tradition, in the eastern mysticism there is nobody, no book, no other Master who can challenge the western scientific thing directly, western logical thinking directly. Because in the western logic they say according to the science, according to their system they say A \+ B \= C whether I do it, or he do it, or he does it, or she does it. A \+ B is C, it is proved. They question you, question the spiritual Masters, “Do you have something like this straight? Do you have something like this a clear cut ? Do you have something like this facts and figure”? Except Patanjali nobody says, “Yes”. Patanjali is the first man and the last man who says, “Yes”. A big capital letter YES. He says very clearly step by step where to start, how to walk and where to stop and where to end. The meditation techniques and the methods to start, the methods to walk, methods to end.

A western mind, a logical mind .. one more thing you need to understand don’t think you are all people of east. That is the big mistake you do. When I say west people who think logically. You also have become west not because you are in.. in America the day when gurukulam system destroyed in Bharat, the english education has entered in Bharat, the day western education system has entered in Bharat the whole east has become west. The whole east has become west. Everybody just questions unless your questions are answered, nobody is ready to do anything. Don’t think only here your kids are questioning, people… people come and tell Me from the America, “Swamiji, my kids are not listening. If I tell them to tell prayers they say, ‘why should I say’? They ask all sorts of questions.” Don’t think it is only your problem, in Bharat they have much worse problems. In Bharat also they have this problem.

Whenever a man gets his own logic, his own understanding he rebels. It is usual, it is usual. He just ask give me the reason, give me the explanation. Why should I do? What should I do? What will I get? What will happen to me? He starts asking you. He starts questioning you. Patanjali is the first and the last man who gives reply for every question. Who gives a logical reason. takes a man to cross the logic. Actually I dissatisfied even after giving so much of introduction of Patanjali. Now what have I given introduction really I feel totally dissatisfied that I have not expressed the glory of Patanjali. Just because of that which I don’t want to do I Am not able to express the glory of Patanjali. Even this I have to use some hard.. harsh words to express the glory of eastern thinking system. Anyhow sometime truth is harsh but it has to be understood. If I explain the way in which he worked, the way in which he designed I can say Patanjali is the unabridged dictionary of world philosophies. Any philosophy the whole world philosophies you can classify in two ways: one is who follows Patanjali and who refuses Patanjali. That's all. But you can’t go beyond Patanjali.

Either you have to accept Patanjali or reject Patanjali but Patanjali will be the center. Patanjali is the center, there is no going beyond Patanjali. He will be the center either you agree or you disagree. Patanjali is the basic, Patanjali is the base for the whole world’s philosophy; all the miracle powers, all the spiritual energy, all kinds of samadhis, all kinds of spiritual experiences, all kinds of enlightenments, all kinds of techniques. If you light the lamp in the house and sit in front of the lamp even that is a technique, even that is from Patanjali. The origin is from Patanjali from the first simple thing of lighting a lamp to the level of dropping your consciousness and merging into enlightenment. Anybody who enters into spiritual life what do you do first? First step is you will learn how to light the lamp in the puja room. From the step of lighting the lamp to the last step dropping your consciousness, dropping your ego and entering into the enlightenment becoming god; from this step to that step totally Patanjali covers and explains every step.

That’s why I say he is an unabridged dictionary of world philosophies. I will give core of his teachings what he means by his sutras. He has written a beautiful book called - Patanjali yoga sutras. He has written a three great books. One is Vyakarana - the mahabhasya on Panini’s sutras, another one is on medicine and the third is on yoga philosophy on yoga sutras. Patanjali is considered to be the incarnation of Adisesha the snake on which Visnu is resting, Vishnu’s bed. On the small story of how the yoga sutras are created, the Patanjali was staying Chidambaram. Chitambaram mis a place in south Bharat where the big Natarajah temple is there. He stayed in Chidambaram. He used to conduct classes and meditation courses. He had a beautiful ashram. Whenever he sparks on this yoga sutras the one tongue will not be sufficient. Actually now I understand why the one tongue is not sufficient to speak about Patanjali itself feel so dissatisfied. I feel I have not exactly expressed the glory of Patanjali.

To speak about him itself one tongue is not sufficient then how much he would felt insufficient to speak his philosophy. So, he feels that one tongue is not sufficient so he used to take the Adisesha avatara his original form and he used to speak in thousand tongues and one thousand disciples used to sit and write down whatever he speaks. For each face one disciple will sit and write down. When he takes that form his energy will not be tolerated the energy will be too much so disciples cannot directly sit in front of him. So, they used to put a big curtain in front of him. He will sit behind the curtain and he will speak, disciples will note down. He said to the disciples for no reason you should either pull the curtain or nobody should go out of the hall. Nobody should leave the hall because you know in front of the Master itself people sleep, doze and all sorts of things. And if he is not there what will they do? Sometimes they run away or sometimes …. anyhow they doze off or they run away. Patanjali want nobody should leave the hall one thing next thing nobody should remove the curtain.

Because if you remove the curtain the energy you cannot bear the energy all of you will be burnt away. Anyhow Patanjali has started the class. Everyday it goes on, goes on, goes on in one thousand heads he is giving the discourses and in one thousand disciples…. one thousand disciples are recording. Today the discourse is getting finished, today the whole programme will be over, all the sutras will be recorded just on that day out of curiosity one disciple just pull the curtain. And the energy has flooded all the disciples who are there in front of him, the disciples and the copy works, the palm leaves everything is just burnt. Whole work of Patanjali is just wasted, become dust, become ash. But somehow fortunately or unfortunately one disciple just at that moment he has gone for outing, he has gone for outing. When Patanjali first saw the disciples and in front of his own eyes all of them are getting burnt and everybody is become ash. Then he felt very sorry and he came down, he become normal, he become his ordinary form, the human form. Then he saw one disciple is slowly coming back from his house.

He felt in a way happy. At least that one man is saved. At least his recordings are alive. That one man’s one recording only what we have as Patanjali yoga sutras. All the nine hundred and ninety nine has disappeared. Don’t think I Am telling story. I Am not telling story. I Am telling you history. I Am not telling you the story, I Am telling you the history. Because if you see the depth in which he has written, the depth in which he analyzed the human consciousness you cannot imagine the unimaginable expression and unimaginable experiences he writes.