Day 10
The craving for any of the sense objects or celestial heavenly places that the mind gallops towards is an obstruction. Any expectation in meditation is an obstruction.
You may have heard that someone had seen a light or somebody coming from heaven and taking them by hand. So, you sit with your eyes closed and wait for an angel to come or to have a light shine on you and then to burst into million stars.
All these ideas and thoughts become an obstruction. If you have dispassion, you will feel that you are not giving up anything for nay of these pleasures. Your desire for pleasure or happiness will make you unhappy. If you examine yourself whenever you are miserable or unhappy, you will find that your misery is due to your desire to be happy.
Craving for happiness brings misery. If you don't even crave for happiness, you are happy. You crave for happiness and you invite misery. When you don't care for happiness, you are liberated and when you do not even care for liberation, you are liberated and when you do not even care for liberation, you attain love.
This is param vairagya. But that is the second step. The first step is when you do not care for happiness. Then you are free. You are liberated. Happiness is a mere idea in your mind. You think if you have something, you will be happy. If you have whatever you want, are you happy?
Then, you will think it was not the way that you had thought it would be. Vairagya is putting a stop to the craving for happiness. This does not mean you have to be miserable. It does not say you should not enjoy. But if you can retrieve your mind from the craving for joy, you can meditate.
Then, you can still all the five modulations, and Yoga happens. You need to shatter all your dreams and fantasies. Offer them to the fire. Burn them down. What great happiness do you want? How long can you have it? You are going to leave this life at some time or the other.
This is certain. It is all going to end. Before this earth eats you up, become free. Free yourself from feverishness that is gripping your mind. What great happiness are you having? Every object of pleasure that you have experienced will become like Styrofoam, the packing material - absolutely tasteless.
You should study every craving that you have and remember that you are going to die. You may have a craving for sweets, sugar, food, etc. Have the craving and check consciously what is in it. You will find that there is nothing. You may crave for beautiful scenes. Keep looking at them. How long can you look? Your eyes will get tired of even the most beautiful place.
Then, you will close them. You will forget the scenes. What other craving can come up in you - sex? How much sex can you have? Have it and finish it. You will see there is nothing in it. A few moments of it and that body, which was so attractive, looks like Styrofoam. All these objects that titillate the scenes have their limitations. But your mind is not ready to accept these limitations.
It wants unlimited joy and pleasure which the five senses cannot give you. You simply get burnt down going over and over the same thing. Vairagya is skillfully coming on to the Self by honouring all the objects of senses and not blaming them. This is dispassion - Vairagya.
Often, people who think that they have dispassion keep blaming the world and the objects of sensnes. They are afraid of objects of senses and try to run away from them. They think that they are big temptations. The fear of temptations is worse.
Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankarji
PATANJALI YOGA SUTRAS
