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 20, 2019 41 – Niyamas: Utilization of Mental Energy | Patanjali Yoga Sutras | Swami Tattwamayananda
Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. The Chittam, mental reservoir, accumulates tendencies and impressions from all of our previous life cycles. It is like a lake with many layers. A great spiritual seeker who has become completely pure will be able to see to the bottom of the lake - the eternal present. Aparigraha, total independence cleans up the lower layers of the lake. Becoming indebted to others robs us of spirituality. Saucha, external purity leads to detachment from physicality. Internal purity means mastery of the senses and feeling inner completeness. Santosha means inner transcendental joy even in the midst of scolding or doing unpleasant things. Tapas leads to physical and mental powers, which must be renounced in order to function. II.39, II.40, II.41, II.42, II.43
59 min
February 20, 2019 40 – The Natural Consequences of Perfection in Yamas | Patanjali Yoga Sutras | Swami Tattwamayananda
Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. Nonviolence can be practiced at three different levels. At the highest level of all ethical disciplines, they become a natural characteristic. The words of a person perfected in truthfulness, Satya, have great potency. When a person has perfected lack of theft, Asteya, all jewels come to him. In order to progress, these temptations must be renounced by connecting to a higher ideal. A person established in continence, Brahmacharya, gains higher powers. If you are established in non-covetousness, you are able to see to the bottom of your mental lake and into your past. Perfection in physical cleanliness, Saucha, leads to detachment from physicality. Verses: II.35, II.36, II. 37, II.38, II.39, II.40
1 hr 8 min
February 20, 2019 39 – Ahimsa or Nonviolence: Direct and Indirect | Patanjali Yoga Sutras | Swami Tattwamayananda
Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. Posture becomes steady when we keep one transcendental thought, which is beyond body consciousness. Even indirect approval of evil creates mental obstacles in meditation. Each discipline has three stages of practice: beginning, practicing and perfected. The special example of Ahimsa is discussed. Vyasa explains that you will get back what you have given. This thought will protect you from temptation. Verses: II.33, II.34
1 hr 4 min
February 20, 2019 38 – Countering the 27 Types of Mental Pollution | Patanjali Yoga Sutras | Swami Tattwamayananda
Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. The Yamas, ethical disciplines, form the basis of spiritual culture. The Niyamas, practices of purity and concentration, generate energy. Niyamas without Yamas can be dangerous. A spiritual seeker becomes aware of his Vitarkas, negative thought currents. By holding to a high spiritual ideal, we automatically counter all negative thought currents. The 27 types of negative thought currents are discussed and we are reminded of the great danger of being tempted by them. Verses: II.30, II.31, II.32, II.33, II.34
58 min
February 20, 2019 37 – Yamas Form Foundation, Niyamas Generate Positive Energy | Patanjali Yoga Sutras | Swami Tattwamayananda
Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. The obstacles we face in spiritual life are signposts. They tell us what we need to do to progress. Asana, posture, should be steady and pleasant. A real teacher will tell you the dangers of practicing complicated Pranayama, breathing exercises. The Yamas are discussed. Satya, truthfulness, should be spoken of but in a pleasant way. All five Yamas, Ahimsa, Satya, Asteya, Brahmacharya, Aparigraha, nonviolence, truthfulness, non-stealing, continence, and non-covetousness should be practiced at the action level and at the mental level. They are universal to higher human culture. The Niyamas are observances to divert energy into healthy channels. They are related to purity, internal and external, and concentration. The four healthy social relations are mentioned again in this context – friendliness, compassion, admiration, and indifference – towards the happy, suffering, virtuous, and negative. Verses: II.30, II.32
1 hr 7 min
February 19, 2019 36 – Seven Stages of Spiritual Discernment, Ashtanga Yoga as the Method | Patanjali Yoga Sutras | Swami Tattwamayananda
Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. The lecture begins with a review of the goal of yoga, the power of Kriya-Yoga, selfless action, self-study, and self-surrender, the Kleshas, obstacles that we encounter, and how the Yoga Sutras teach us the tricks of the mind to allow us to get out of the bondage of our obsessions. The cause of suffering is the mistaken identification with material nature and the method of liberation is discerning insight, Viveka-Khati, Prajna, or complete awareness. The seven stages of Viveka-Khati are outlined. Then the famous Ashtanga-Yoga is introduced and the Yamas are introduced. Verses: II.26, II.27, II.28, II.29, II.30
1 hr 3 min
February 19, 2019 35 – Spiritual Awakening: Viveka-Khyati | Patanjali Yoga Sutras | Swami Tattwamayananda
Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. When a person reaches the stage of Parinama Duhkha, a divine discontentment, then spiritual discernment liberates from the ignorance of our true nature. In Vedanta, we say that each soul is potentially divine. The goal is to manifest the divinity within by controlling nature, both external and internal. This can be done through Karma-Yoga, selfless action, Bhakti-Yoga, love of God in everything and everybody, or Raja-Yoga, psychic control as described in the Yoga Sutras. In the twenty-sixth sutra, this freedom is attained through the practice of Viveka-Khyati, uninterrupted higher discerning faculty. Verses: II.24, II.25, II.26
55 min
February 19, 2019 34 – Spiritual Sleep: Avidya | Patanjali Yoga Sutras | Swami Tattwamayananda
Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. Nirodha does not mean the destruction of human sensitivity but developing a higher spiritual sense. A great spiritual teacher’s lack of Samyoga allows him to filter out the negative but without being insensitive. The Yogi is able to control his reactions to experiences. He can handle all five Kleshas, distractions. These Kleshas are accumulated from previous actions. They form a conspiracy against you doing what you intellectually know will be good for you. It is by cutting through the root of ignorance that you become free from the influence of Kleshas. Verses: II.24, I.2, II.3, II.25
1 hr
February 19, 2019 33 – World is a Gymnasium, You Don’t Live in a Gymnasium | Patanjali Yoga Sutras | Swami Tattwamayananda
Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. Yoga and Vedanta do not remove problems, they help us to confront them from a different perspective. The world is your gymnasium. You don’t live in a gymnasium but you use it. By Samyoga, the identification with the world, we are led step by step to transcending the world. It is not nature that is a problem, it is our ignorance about our relationship to nature and our true nature that creates a problem. Sometimes the world gives us blows to help us to evolve and other times we seek out higher culture willingly. Verses: II.17, II.22, II.23
1 hr 1 min
February 19, 2019 32 – The Whole Universe is a Vehicle for Our Realization of Freedom | Patanjali Yoga Sutras | Swami Tattwamayananda
Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. Self-awareness of our knowledge allows it to become practically useful and to become wisdom. Freedom is a state of inner completeness beyond the desire for any further freedom. The Sankhya theory of creation enumerates the categories of material and mental nature. This whole world is an instrument that helps us to realize our true nature. This nature is explained in Brihadaranyaka Upanishad as a dialogue between Janaka and Yajnavaklya. It is Atma-Jyoti, the light of Atman or consciousness. It is the light of all lights, the revealer of all revealers, the essence of all knowledge. Verses: II.18, II.19, II.20, II.21
1 hr 9 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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