Day 32
We have considered the 9 possible obstacles in the path of Yoga. There is no tenth obstacle. Every possible obstacle has been included in these nine categories.
Patanjali was a scientist. In just a few words, he had said all that was to be said, that needed to be said.
Along with 9 nine obstacles, the 5 indications, or signs of a disturbed mind are mentioned. That is dukha - sadness, dourmanasya - bitterness, angamejayatva - restlessness in the body, or lack of co-ordination in the body, bhrantidarshan - hallucination and irregular breathing - imbalance of your incoming and outgoing breath.
When you are happy, or excited, the incoming breath is longer and you are more aware of it. It is more prominent. If you observe the incoming and outgoing breath, you will note that there is a total imbalance. There is a big sigh, when you are unhappy, indicating heaviness and sadness. When you are joyful, you are just aware of your incoming breath. You are not even aware when you are breathing out.
These are the 5 signs, or side-effects, along with the obstacles. Now, how do you get rid of these obstacles? To get rid of them, just go on doing one thing. When you just keep doing one thing, you will begin to get bored and restless. And the restlessness and boredom will take you to a peak that will bring clarity.
This is the only way out. Our mind is troubled because it is dwelling on duality. It has choices before it and so is more confused. It wonders if it should do this thing or the other. And then it is jumping all around the place, and the mind is further divided.
A divided mind causes misery and a one-pointed mind causes joy. At all those moments when you had been very happy, the mind had become one, had become whole. You had experienced joy, peace and bliss. Then, you had experienced life totally. Duality, or divided mind, is the cause of fear and misery. So, if you keep doing two things or too many things, it is not eka tattvaabhyaasa. It is not one practice.
So what is the eka tattva? It is attending to one principle. This one principle could be God, could be a matter, could be Guru or could be Self. It could be anything but you need to practice just one of those things - eka tattva abhyaasa. Then, you get over all the other obstacles.
All the 9 obstacles can be got rid of. You can attend to one principle, only if there is certain amount of calmness and subtleness in the mind. Otherwise, even that does not seem to be possible.
In one-pointedness there is a certain degree of calmness in the mind. You see that one principle in everybody.
You feel that you are present everywhere, that your Master is present everywhere. There is nobody other than your Master. He is everything for you or God is everything for you. This is the skill in life - holding on to one principle and seeing that principle in everything.
Our life has to be loved in the realm of multiplicity. In he world you live with many people and everybody is not the same. But how can you see the same thing in everybody? Nothing appears to be the same. No two people appear to be the same. But we need to see one thing in everyone. Look at and focus on that one principle.
Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankarji
PATANJALI YOGA SUTRAS
