“Kaya Indriya Siddhi Ashuddhi kshyat tapasaha’’ (II Sutra 43)
Kaya = body; Indriya = senses; Siddhihi = strong; Ashuddhi = impurities; Kshayat = eliminated; Tapasaha = by penance.
“By penance or purifying actions, the body and senses become strong as the impurities are eliminated.”
By tapas, the body and the senses become strong. While you are fasting, you are not pleasing God or you are not going to heaven or getting enlightenment. What happens by practicing all this? Your body becomes strong. Your resistance power increases. By the effect of tapas, the body and senses become strong. Ashuddhi kshaya, the impurities in you is eliminated.
Tapas means endurance.
“Tapo vay dwanda sahana”
Tapo = tapas; Vay = indeed; Dwandwa = tapas; Sahana = endurance
“Tapas is indeed endurance of the opposites.”
Life is full of opposites of pain-pleasure, good-bad, friends-enemies, and praise-blame. These things do come in life. Just take them with equanimity. Ability to endure heat and cold. How much ability you have to endure the opposites, that much is tapas. What does tapas do? This brings strength to your body and mind. Body gets prepared to hold the infinite consciousness. The body-mind complex gets prepared to emit the divinity that is there in everyone. Kayaindriya siddhi.
“Swadhyayadishtadevatasamprayogaha’’ (II Sutra 44)
Swadhyayat = by self-study; Ishta = desired; Devata = deity; Samprayogaha = presence is felt.
“By self-study, the desired deity’s presence is felt.”
By self-study, by observing, by becoming hollow and empty, we become the Divine’s channel. You are part of the Divine. You are able to feel the presence of the divinity. All different agents of the devas, all different forms of consciousness starts blossoming.
Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankarji
(Extract from Patanjali Yoga Sutras)
