Commentaries by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar on Patanjali Yoga Sutras chapter of discipline of Yoga.
Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras begins, Atha yogaanushaasanam. Shaasana means rules that somebody else puts on you. Anushaasana are the rules that you impose on yourself. Now, why is Yoga called a discipline? Where is the need for a discipline? When does the need for a discipline arise? See, when you are thirsty, and you want to drink water, you do not say, “Oh! This is a rule, I must drink water,” When you are hungry you eat. You do not say that, “Oh! I have a discipline of eating when I have hunger.” Or you do not even say that, “Oh! I have a discipline of enjoying the nature.” When it comes to the question of enjoyment, no discipline is necessary. Where does discipline come? Not somewhere, where it is enjoyable, the very first step, a child never says, “I have a discipline of running to my mother when I see her.” Discipline arises where something is not very charming to begin with, when you know that something that would give a fruit that is very good and enjoyable, but the seed to begin with is not that enjoyable. When you are abiding in yourself, when you are in joy, when you are in peace or happiness, true happiness, then you are already in yourself, there is no discipline there. But when that is not so, the mind is wagging its tail all the time, then a discipline is essential. So that mind could calm down, it could come back to itself. The fruit of which is eventually blissful, joyful. Like a diabetic patient says, “I have a discipline not to eat sugar,” or someone with cholesterol says, “I have to be disciplined. I should not take too much fat,” because fats are very nice to eat at that moment, and then later on it gives complicated results.
Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras begins, Atha yogaanushaasanam. Shaasana means rules that somebody else puts on you. Anushaasana are the rules that you impose on yourself. Now, why is Yoga called a discipline? Where is the need for a discipline? When does the need for a discipline arise? See, when you are thirsty, and you want to drink water, you do not say, “Oh! This is a rule, I must drink water,” When you are hungry you eat. You do not say that, “Oh! I have a discipline of eating when I have hunger.” Or you do not even say that, “Oh! I have a discipline of enjoying the nature.” When it comes to the question of enjoyment, no discipline is necessary. Where does discipline come? Not somewhere, where it is enjoyable, the very first step, a child never says, “I have a discipline of running to my mother when I see her.” Discipline arises where something is not very charming to begin with, when you know that something that would give a fruit that is very good and enjoyable, but the seed to begin with is not that enjoyable. When you are abiding in yourself, when you are in joy, when you are in peace or happiness, true happiness, then you are already in yourself, there is no discipline there. But when that is not so, the mind is wagging its tail all the time, then a discipline is essential. So that mind could calm down, it could come back to itself. The fruit of which is eventually blissful, joyful. Like a diabetic patient says, “I have a discipline not to eat sugar,” or someone with cholesterol says, “I have to be disciplined. I should not take too much fat,” because fats are very nice to eat at that moment, and then later on it gives complicated results.
That pleasure which comes after a certain discipline is really sattvic and long lasting pleasure. That pleasure which is pleasurable to begin with, but ends in misery is no pleasure at all. So discipline is necessary to have this authentic, sattvic pleasure, which comes after certain discipline. Discipline is not torturing oneself for nothing. That is no discipline. The purpose of discipline is to attain joy. Certain times people impose discipline on themselves, which does not give any joy to them, or any joy to anybody else, at any time. This is tamasic.
There are three types of happiness. One is sattvic happiness, that to begin with it is not so pleasurable, not so nice, but the end always leads to joy. This is sattvic happiness. Rajasic happiness in the beginning appears very good, but it ends up in misery and suffering. This is rajasic happiness. In tamasic happiness, there is no happiness, it appears to be happiness, but it is misery from the beginning to the end. No discipline is necessary for tamasic happiness. Lack of discipline is tamasic happiness. Wrong discipline is rajasic happiness or a lack of discipline, To bear what is uncomfortable is discipline. It need not be uncomfortable all the time. But if it is uncomfortable, to be able to bear, and move through it. You need discipline.
That is why Patanjali begins with “Now.” When? Now. When things are not clear, when your heart is not in the right place.
Now, yogaanushaasanam , the discipline of Yoga. It is nobody’s imposition, it is self-imposed. See what all you have imposed on yourself. Morning you wake up, you brush your teeth, before going to bed, you brush your teeth. This is your discipline. But this has been imposed, self-imposed from childhood. When you were a kid, your mother had to impose it on you. Once it became a habit, and when you understood that it is good for you, it is no more mother’s rule. It is now your rule. Like that, keeping yourself clean, hygienic, exercising, meditating, being kind, considerative, not being rude. All these rules that you have imposed on yourself are all disciplines.
Now, what does this discipline do?
Discipline to unite yourself, to unite all the loose ends of your existence.
Tadaa drushtuhu swaroopae avasthaanam.
It puts you on to yourself. Tadaa drushtuhu swaroopae avasthaanam. Otherwise, what has been happening?
Vrutti swaroopyam itaratra.
Your mind is engaged, is caught up in the outside world all the time, eyes open, you are caught up in all that you see, you smell, you hear, you touch, you taste, and when you are in the waking state, you are constantly engaging in the activities of the senses, or else you go back to sleep, or to dreaming state where you are completely shut off.
In sleep and dreaming, the same memories come but you are never yourself, calm and quiet. Uniting all the loose ends of your existence, you become the object of your perception. You know, if you see villagers, or innocent people, or children, when they are watching a movie, they are so totally involved in the movie. Nobody exists, just the movie is existing at that moment. If you are sitting simply without doing anything, you may have backache, pain, legs will hurt, back will hurt or something will happen. But when you are engaged in watching a movie then you do not feel any pain, you do not feel your body at all. You do not even know that you are sitting.
What has happened? Your consciousness assumed the form of that movie, of that vrutti. The whole purpose of Yoga is to be unto oneself, to bring an integrity in you, to make you whole. Yoga is making you whole. Abiding in the form, in the nature of the seer, is Yoga. Whenever you experience joy, ecstasy, bliss, happiness in life, knowingly or unknowingly, you are abiding in the form of the seer, in the nature of the seer. Otherwise, at other times you are with the different activities of the mind. You become one with the different activities of the mind. Vrutti swaroopyam itaratra. You assume the form of the mind, activities of the mind. What are the activities?
There are three types of happiness. One is sattvic happiness, that to begin with it is not so pleasurable, not so nice, but the end always leads to joy. This is sattvic happiness. Rajasic happiness in the beginning appears very good, but it ends up in misery and suffering. This is rajasic happiness. In tamasic happiness, there is no happiness, it appears to be happiness, but it is misery from the beginning to the end. No discipline is necessary for tamasic happiness. Lack of discipline is tamasic happiness. Wrong discipline is rajasic happiness or a lack of discipline, To bear what is uncomfortable is discipline. It need not be uncomfortable all the time. But if it is uncomfortable, to be able to bear, and move through it. You need discipline.
That is why Patanjali begins with “Now.” When? Now. When things are not clear, when your heart is not in the right place.
Now, yogaanushaasanam , the discipline of Yoga. It is nobody’s imposition, it is self-imposed. See what all you have imposed on yourself. Morning you wake up, you brush your teeth, before going to bed, you brush your teeth. This is your discipline. But this has been imposed, self-imposed from childhood. When you were a kid, your mother had to impose it on you. Once it became a habit, and when you understood that it is good for you, it is no more mother’s rule. It is now your rule. Like that, keeping yourself clean, hygienic, exercising, meditating, being kind, considerative, not being rude. All these rules that you have imposed on yourself are all disciplines.
Now, what does this discipline do?
Discipline to unite yourself, to unite all the loose ends of your existence.
Tadaa drushtuhu swaroopae avasthaanam.
It puts you on to yourself. Tadaa drushtuhu swaroopae avasthaanam. Otherwise, what has been happening?
Vrutti swaroopyam itaratra.
Your mind is engaged, is caught up in the outside world all the time, eyes open, you are caught up in all that you see, you smell, you hear, you touch, you taste, and when you are in the waking state, you are constantly engaging in the activities of the senses, or else you go back to sleep, or to dreaming state where you are completely shut off.
In sleep and dreaming, the same memories come but you are never yourself, calm and quiet. Uniting all the loose ends of your existence, you become the object of your perception. You know, if you see villagers, or innocent people, or children, when they are watching a movie, they are so totally involved in the movie. Nobody exists, just the movie is existing at that moment. If you are sitting simply without doing anything, you may have backache, pain, legs will hurt, back will hurt or something will happen. But when you are engaged in watching a movie then you do not feel any pain, you do not feel your body at all. You do not even know that you are sitting.
What has happened? Your consciousness assumed the form of that movie, of that vrutti. The whole purpose of Yoga is to be unto oneself, to bring an integrity in you, to make you whole. Yoga is making you whole. Abiding in the form, in the nature of the seer, is Yoga. Whenever you experience joy, ecstasy, bliss, happiness in life, knowingly or unknowingly, you are abiding in the form of the seer, in the nature of the seer. Otherwise, at other times you are with the different activities of the mind. You become one with the different activities of the mind. Vrutti swaroopyam itaratra. You assume the form of the mind, activities of the mind. What are the activities?