Yoga Sutras and the World of the Human Mind

By Vedanta Society, San FranciscoReligion & Spirituality Spirituality

Yoga Sutras and the World of the Human Mind episodes

February 23, 2019 61 – Regulating Relations With All to See God Everywhere | Patanjali Yoga Sutras | Swami Tattwamayananda
Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. The lecture begins with a review of Prarabdha, Sanchita, and Agami Karma. The mind becomes steady when the spiritual idea, the God idea comes automatically. Then, life and death are both spiritual experiences. The four qualities – friendliness, compassion, admiration, and indifference- towards the happy, unhappy, virtuous, and negative help us to regulate all external relations. They are essential for achieving Chitta Prasada, clarity of mind needed for spiritual life. By Samyama on these qualities, we acquire these qualities. The highest devotee sees God everywhere and everything in God but at the same time knows how to deal with negative factors. Verses: III.23, III.24
56 min
February 23, 2019 60 – Prarabdha Karma: The Karma Responsible For This Life | Patanjali Yoga Sutras | Swami Tattwamayananda
Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. By analyzing your own samskaras you get an idea of your previous lives. This is part of the Kamra Vritti Chakram, wheel of actions and tendencies. We get an intuition. Samyama on the distinction between external form and perception allows a yogi to disappear from sight. Swami Vivekananda could memorize a book in one reading due to his concentration. Karma is the residue of an action. There are different kinds of Karma, which are working themselves out, could work themselves out in the future, or will only be accumulated in the future. A Yogi’s knowledge of these things in his own body allows him to know the time of his death. God’s grace allows him to deflect some of the already fired arrows and let them run their course even after a Jivanmukta stops making new Karma. Verses: III.18, III.19, III.20, III.21, III.22, III.23
1 hr
February 22, 2019 59 – Yogic Intuition: Going Beyond Reason in Spiritual Life | Patanjali Yoga Sutras | Swami Tattwamayananda
Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. Instinctive concentration does not lead to the freedom of Yogic intuition. At the higher level fo creative work and in mysticism, a faculty of higher intuition develops. It goes beyond reason but it does not contradict reason. You analyze the scriptures with reason, but it doesn’t give the full picture without intuitive understanding. At the highest level, you become one with what you contemplate. By Samyama, we can separate sound, meaning, and our reaction and therefore learn the universal dimension of sound. Proper Yama and Niyamas are needed to prevent these powers from becoming a liability. Verses: III.17, III.18, III.19
1 hr 1 min
February 22, 2019 58 – A Yogi Can Cognize the Whole World | Patanjali Yoga Sutras | Swami Tattwamayananda
Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. Patanjali systematically classifies the mental powers that come with mental purity, concentration, Samyama. By Samyama on changes in Dharma, Lakshana, and Avastha, past, present and future become generally clear. Samyama on sound, meaning, and knowledge disentangles the three, allowing understanding of animal sounds. The same Samyama on behavior patterns of people around, allow detection of Samskaras and past lives. Verses: III.16, III.17, III.18
57 min
February 22, 2019 57 – Krishna’s Smile: Intuitive Understanding of Past, Present, Future | Patanjali Yoga Sutras | Swami Tattwamayananda
Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. Yogic powers are nothing supernatural, they are a natural consequence of mental purity and concentration. That’s why Swami Trigunatitanandaji felt quite certain that Jesus Christ was a yogi and a painting installed on the altar with Christ in a Yoga posture. The thirteenth sutra mentions changes in Dharma, Form, Lakshana, time, and Avastha, state. By taking the position of witness and becoming detached we can gain insight, through Samyama, into the past, present, and future of things. Ramana Maharishi said that when the mind turns inward it functions as Atman. Krishna’s smile is a wise man’s smile. He sees through you and understands everything. Verses: III.13, III.14, III.15, III.16
1 hr 1 min
February 22, 2019 56 – All Past Impressions Washed Off | Patanjali Yoga Sutras | Swami Tattwamayananda
Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. Swami describes once again the lake of accumulated samskaras, impressions, and memories, which constitute our character. The practice of Yamas and Niyamas can take us out of the trap of these accumulated tendencies. Even if we cannot, we can surrender ourselves to God. Then we can move towards the positive, naturally, the negative go away. If you are a Buddhist, you don’t need to be concerned about this option that Patanjali points out. Their goal of Nirvana is very much related to the Nirodha state. It is not a state of repression but a state of transcendence. The tenth sutra says one then is able to permanently dwell in a state beyond the influence of Samskaras. Verse: III.10
1 hr 3 min
February 22, 2019 55 – Where Do Our Invisible Mental Blocks Come From? | Patanjali Yoga Sutras | Swami Tattwamayananda
Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. The lecture begins with a review of the great contributions of the Indian sage Patanjali. The three Klesas, distractions are Raga, obsessive attachment, Dvesa, obsessive hatred, and Abhinvesa, fear. Their root is Avidya and Asmita, Ignorance and Identification with experiences. It seems simple to identify with our transcendental dimension and therefore end all difficulties but in reality, an endless cycle of Karma, Vritti, Samskara, Vasana from past lives create invisible mental blocks. Yamas and Niyamas, good mental food and good deeds purify the character and allow us to eventually remove our deep-rooted samskaras. With the Nirodha-Parinama stage, all such obstacles are removed. Verses: III.9
59 min
February 22, 2019 54 – Reaching Freedom: Facing all Temptations with Indifference | Patanjali Yoga Sutras | Swami Tattwamayananda
Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. Nirodha-Parinama is the highest level of mental transformation. Sankhya philosophy’s explanation of the creation of the world is reviewed. Transformation also takes place at the level of our mind. At the highest level, we have perfect awareness with the ability to choose to focus on things with freedom. By this power, all of our Samskaras and obstacles get conquered. With the practice of Yamas and Niyamas, these conflicts will be much reduced. Still, every seeker before reaching Nirodha will face the temptations and obstacles from all previous lives. Having this knowledge prepares us to remain indifferent to the negative obstacles that come. Verses: III.9, III.10
1 hr 9 min
February 21, 2019 53 – Effortlessness is the Sign of Freedom | Patanjali Yoga Sutras | Swami Tattwamayananda
Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. The practice of Yamas and Niyamas determines whether concentration leads to freedom or to slavery. In Samadhi-Parinama, one great meditative Vritti is able to counter the multifarious vrittis to a great extent. It is a blissful, effortless thought current which is natural to the mental system. At the stage of Ekagrata-Parinama, we reach Samprajnata Samadhi and mental conflicts are settled. The rest of the lecture discusses the fundamental philosophical question: are these mental transformations real or only apparent? What is the relation between cause, Karana, and effect, Karya? Verses: III.11, III.12
54 min
February 21, 2019 52 – The Emergence of a Secondary Personality | Patanjali Yoga Sutras | Swami Tattwamayananda
Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. The four fundamental values of Dharma, Artha, Kama, and Moksha are discussed. Yoga sutras teach the method for treating the disease of Sarvarthata, mind chasing after every kind of thing by indirectly purifying the mental system through the practice of Yamas and Niyamas. Ekagrata, one-pointedness, allows us to learn from our experiences. In spiritual life, we actually develop a secondary personality, which witnesses the first personality and slowly develops into our spiritual personality. When concentration, Ekagrata, is achieved, the same cognition, Pratyaya, comes in a stream and there is no conflict. The mind becomes sharp and you do not forget. Verses: III.11, III.12
1 hr 7 min

About Yoga Sutras and the World of the Human Mind

From the publisher's feed

Swami Tattwamayananda’s exposition of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras was given at the Vedanta Society of Northern California, San Francisco (founded by Swami Vivekananda in 1900) from October 10, 2014 to…

December 21, 2018 in a series of 111 lectures. These lectures include a mixture of philosophy both Eastern and Western, history, psychology, comparative theology, mysticism, classical parables, and simple everyday examples.

Patanjali was a great Indian sage who wrote major treatises on Ayurveda, Sanskrit grammar and Yoga. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali contain 195 sutras organized into four chapters. It gives a complete analysis of the mental system, how to transcend mental conflicts by linking the mind to a transcendental spiritual reality and how to become established in our true nature.

The classes are given from the viewpoint of Vedanta, one of the oldest philosophies of the world, which constitute the universal spiritual essence of the Vedas, the foundational scriptures of Hinduism. During the exposition, the Swami has drawn extensively from authentic Sanskrit commentaries and interpretative works like ‘Yoga-Bhasya’ of Vyasa, ‘Tattwa-Vaisharadi” of Vachaspati Mishra, ‘Yoga-Varttika’ of Vijnana Bhikshu, ‘Raja-Martanda’ of Bhoja Raja, ‘Yoga-Sudhakara’ of Sadashivendra Saraswati, with occasional references from ‘Yoga-Maniprabha’ of Ramananda Yati, ‘Patanjala-Yogashastra-Vivarana’ of Sri Shankara, and interpretations of Yoga-aphorisms by Swami Vivekananda and Swami Hariharananda Aranya.

“By the Vedas no books are meant. They mean the accumulated treasury of spiritual laws discovered by different persons in different times.” “The moral, ethical, and spiritual relations between soul and soul and between individual spirits and the Father of all spirits, were there before their discovery, and would remain even if we forgot them." (Paper on Hinduism, Swami Vivekananda, World's Parliament of Religions 1893)

According to this series of classes, the Yoga system of Patanjali reaches its ultimate fulfillment in the conclusions of Vedanta, that there is one all-pervading, immanent, eternal spiritual reality, which is our own true nature.

In the original text of Patanjali the order is 1. Samadhipada 2. Sadhanapada 3. Vibhutipada 4. Kaivalyapada. But in this exposition of the Yoga-sutra the speaker has followed a different order, which seems to be more logical from the standpoint of actual Yoga-sadhana, i.e., 1. Sadhanapada 2. Vibhutipada 3. Samadhipada 4. Kaivalyapada. To help beginners in the study of Yoga philosophy, the basic definitions from the first few aphorisms of Samadhipada are explained at the beginning.

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