“In Patanjali's Yoga, according to me there are eight points, though…”

In Patanjali's Yoga, according to me there are eight points, though usually referred to as eight steps, since you need to know all eight at a time; these are not sequential.

As long as you are here to understand and transform your lives it is worth spending your time; not for acquiring knowledge.

Patanjali was a great mystic, a saintist, saint and scientist. He wrote the aphorisms of Yoga. Yoga is union; union of man with God. He laid down eight points to achieve this union, to reach divine consciousness.

Some one asked: all the techniques are practiced only by the mind, which you say is a dream? How can one dream awaken another dream? When you see a lion chasing you in a dream, you wake up. Any thing that inspires deep fear or greed will wake you up; nightmare or fantasy. All Patanjali does is add something to your dreams to wake you up.

Zen story: Disciple asks how can I be awakened? Master: slap your face, you will wake up.

Patanjali teaches us eight methods to slap ourselves and wake up. The more you practice these eight steps the more the clarity that descends on you. I have not seen any other Master speaking so clearly with such perfection in such a straight forward way. He is a scientist, saying 2 plus 2 is 4. Mystics don't speak that way. 2 plus 2 to them may be 4 , may not be 4. A plus B may be C or D. if that does not come, wait, may be you did not write A or B clearly. Patanjali guarantees; he is so confident of his product; only he can use money back guarantee offers. In other systems, you may understand 50, 60 or 70 %, here you will get 110% ; for past , present and future minds, not just you present now.

We use pesticides; if we use them continuously the pests get immune and even start using the pesticides food to grow upon; so you need to increase the strength and vary the pesticide. Same way our mind learns the art of surviving masters. We all have survived Buddhas. Christs, Krishnas; we have survived the masters by our minds being cunning. Patanjali has created a system that can not be escaped; it's perfect; you have to get enlightened if you follow him. He has inspired more masters than any one else.

The first step is Yama, loosely translated as discipline. This means tuning yourself to the ultimate; it is not a set of dos and don'ts. It is a set of instructions to tune yourself to your Self. Within this: first is Ahimsa, non violence with understanding; ahimsa is not a moral condition but a technique. No morality can be practiced. It is great to give as advice, not for practice. It is good otherwise you will become schizophrenics. If you understand and practice these you will automatically fall in tune with your higher Self. There is no need to fear heaven or hell. Morality practiced to soothe your conscience is just skin deep, to awaken either fear or greed to make you comply. Morality should be based on consciousness. Otherwise you need cops to enforce; as soon as cops are out of sight you indulge. Breaking any law gives you pleasure. Kids feel they are grown up when they can say no. If you understand then you will not need to violate. All the violence, all the depression, all the sufferings on planet Earth are because of social and moral rules imposed on us. You do not commit sins and go to hell. You commit sins because you are in hell. If you are relaxed and happy with yourself you will never be violent and commit sins. Only when you are restless, not at ease with yourself, you feel it necessary to find faults with others and commit violence. You do god things because you are in heaven not the other way around. There is no exchange counter between this world and the next; if you charity you get no pass to heaven. Do charity for the joy it gives you; that's the heaven on earth when you are still alive. There will be no one waiting at the pearly gates waiting for you with a golden key.

If you are established in non violence even wild animals if they face you will turn peaceful. You will radiate love and compassion. Patanjali says: If a man who is established in non violence, in his presence enemies and animals will drop their animosity and radiate love.

Sankara, the great enlightened master, walked all over Bharat on foot, village to village, begged door to door for food, and lived with the common man, to update himself with what was happening around him. This was required of him as a teacher, as a master. As he went he learnt from various masters, universities, and temples which are spiritual universities. He the wanted to create his own University to spread his message of Advaita, where the energy of love will speak. In a forest on a full moon night as it drizzled he saw a frog about to hatch its baby and a cobra spreading its hood to protect the frog from the rain; born natural enemies; when Sankara saw this he decided here's where I should have my University where animals lose their enmity and pure oneness and love starts happening. Once you experience this love you will never be violent, non violence will happen to you.

Think, when you see someone falling, even if you rush to help, you have difficulty in suppressing laughter. Socially we express sympathy, but inside we enjoy.

Ananda Pappiah woke up to find himself in the hospital with his friend by his side. Last night after a few drinks you wanted to fly down four floors. Pappiah asked, fool, why didn't you stop me? Friend said, at that time I thought you could do it!

Non violence does not come from practice, only from experience. Whether you believe it not, accept it or not, understand it or not, the whole Universe responds to your thoughts. After my enlightenment I was relaxing in front of a cave, sitting with my self. A few feet away a big Cobra was lying. I was not even aware of it though my eyes were open; my mind was not linked to my senses. After some time I woke up to what was around me.

You come back to reality after sometime. Suddenly the thought of the cobra entered my mind. Only then the cobra realized I was a man. Till then both were comfortable with each other. The next thought was fear. This was reflected in the cobra as well and it raised its head. When I moved back, it moved away.

When we are established in love nothing touches us. We do not need to defend ourselves against anything. Defending is what creates the thought of offending. All countries say that they have armies only to defend themselves. Who then is offending? The more you try to defend you enter into offense. Violence starts. Violence starts with defense. What I say is not impractical. This can be practiced. What have we achieved by protecting ourselves, except suffering. On the other hand, if you radiate love, you will be a God on planet Earth. Can you defend yourself against death? By defending yourself you may add some years to your life; by trusting, by loving you will add life to your years. What would you like to do, add years to your life or add life to your years.

A great Zen master Suzuki was asked: what was the greatness of your Master. Suzuki replied: the most extraordinary thing I found in him was that he always thought he was very ordinary It's only people who are very ordinary who think they are special, extraordinary. Even if we are too polite to say I am great, we say our country is great, out language is great, our religion is great etc. Why not come out and say I am great instead of in a round about way? We always think we are extraordinary. When we live in an ordinary we way we become extraordinary.

Some one came and asked, Swami, am I enlightened, I have a doubt. I said, as long as you have a doubt be very clear you are not. The moment you do become enlightened, not only will you never have a doubt about it, nor will you even think that you are enlightened. You will not even remember you are enlightened. You don't continuously go on thinking who you are and keep repeating your name. People worship dead masters about whom stories are spun as to how special they are. You do not see anything extraordinary about living masters. We live as you do. I also have rest rooms. No dead master's life talks about his rest rooms. Only their peak experiences are recorded. Their miracles are archived. Enlightened masters radiate ordariness.

When you experience glimpse of love, you will become non violent and you will not think you are extraordinary.

The second point Patanjali takes up is brahmacharya . You can not stop talking about something you love. When you talk about people you do not like, you ill change the subject. I love Patanjali and am so comfortable with him that I can go on and on. Normally brahmacharya is translated as celibacy. This is wrong. Celibacy is suppression, perversion. Brahma means existence, reality, chariya is to walk in it, to live with it; brahmacharya is living with reality.

People ask to become enlightened do I need to leave my wife and children. I tell tem renounce only what you do not have; live comfortably, intensely, happily with what you have. If you have a wife live fully with her not with the fantasy of some other woman. Renunciation is brahmacharya , it is dropping your fantasies Brahmacharya is accepting reality as it is. When you drop your fantasies and accept your beloved for what she is your life becomes heaven. If you live with your fantasies you will be uncomfortable with your real wife, and the same will happen to every one you meet and choose.

The idea of beauty is just an idea. As long as distance is maintained things look beautiful. Close ups are always ugly and flat. Even if you marry the Miss Universe the idea of beauty will not last more than 15 days. The moment you start living together reality comes in. That's why you call it honey moon, not honey sun. When you drop your fantasies you can live with reality for ever. That's why in Sanskrit there is no word for divorce. If you feed your fantasies you can change your partner any number of times and still be unhappy. Only in fairy tales do people live happily for ever. Dropping your fantasies is brahmacharya. Outer world can not disturb you or feed you fantasies; only inner fantasies can. People forcing themselves into celibacy are sitting on a volcano. They can not look into your eyes for fear you will see their suffering. If you meditate and practice celibacy, Hindu mythology says that the gods above send celestial beautiful women to disturb you. Nobody sends women; if that's true everyone will start meditating. These meditators start hallucinating because of his suppressions, suppressed fantasies. Brahmacharya can not be practiced as morality, but as an understanding. When you accept your partner as he is or as she is, your fantasies drop, and you start accepting yourself as you are. Your partner then becomes your beloved.

Nest is Satya, truthfulness. It's not factual but truthful. Living the truth, not just speaking the truth is what Patanjali talks about. If you wnt to break a law, all you have to do is follow it verbatim, literally, you will break the spirit of that law. You will catch the letter of the law not its spirit. That's why people fight in the name of God. Jesus says love thy neighbor as you love yourself. Krishna says see me in everybody. Religious zealots follow the letter not the spirit of what their masters said. People who talk about peace say that they ant you in peace want you to be in peace as they want you.

A preacher, lawyer and Doctor were in discussion. Doctor said that God must have been a doctor because he made Eve from Adam's ribs. Lawyer said no he was a lawyer because he was passing judgment. Preacher said no, there was chaos first, and who else but a preacher can create chaos. Rama called his capital Ayodhya, a place without strife. Today it's a city strife torn in the name of Rama.

An enlightened Master lived on the banks of Ganges. He used to read the Bhagavat Gita which was the only possession he had, It had become his life. One day a poor man begged him saying he had not eaten. The master was deeply moved that someone was begging from him, who had nothing. He gave the beggar his book and told the beggar to sell the book in the market place where one of his followers may buy it and give him money. Beggar took the book away. The next morning Master prayed: God, I gave away your words to keep your word. Legend says that God appeared to him and blessed him, as one who believed in the spirit not just the letter.

There is so much corruption because we think Satya is factual, not truthful. You have to live the truth by living through your body language. You have to think, speak and express the truth in your life. You have to observe all 3 dimensions to be in Satya.