Essential Yoga Sutras

I11
11)I1/
O/ +I)/
Ancient Wisdom for Your Yoga
Geshe Michael Roach
&
Christie McNally
by lhe same aulhors
Tnc Oiancn! Cuiicr.
Tnc Bu!!na cn Managing
Ycur Busincss an! Ycur Iijc
Tnc Ti|cian Bcck cj Ycga
Tnc Gar!cn. A Para||c
Hcu Ycga Wcrks
Tnc 18 Bccks cj inc |cun!aiicn Scrics
Asian C|assics |nsiiiuic
Tnc 10 Mc!iiaiicn Mc!u|cs
Asian C|assics |nsiiiuic
pu||isnc! |q Ocu||c!aq/|an!cn Hcusc
Oc!icaic! ic inc ncncrq cj
Sanuc| O. Aikins
(1911-2002)
Prcjcsscr cj Sanskrii,
Cnairnan, Ocparincni cj C|assics,
Princcicn Unitcrsiiq,
an! a gcc! nan.
TABLE OF CONTENT5
IORIWORD -----------------------------------------------------------------------i
Yogi, Dancer, Thinker, Doclor ------------------------------------------- 1
IIRST CORNIRSTONI:
THI CHAITIR ON MIDITATION ----------------------------------------------3
Il egins vilh Medilalion --------------------------------------------------5
The Iover of HumiIily -----------------------------------------------------6
To ecome WhoIe ------------------------------------------------------------7
The Seer ------------------------------------------------------------------------8
A Day in lhe Mind -----------------------------------------------------------9
Righl Seeing -----------------------------------------------------------------10
A Leaf in lhe Road ---------------------------------------------------------11
Iiclures in lhe Mind -------------------------------------------------------12
Aroaching lhe Door ----------------------------------------------------13
The Iover of DaiIy Iraclice ---------------------------------------------14
Allachmenl lo Dislraclion ----------------------------------------------- 15
Allachmenl lo IIIusion ----------------------------------------------------16
Medilalion Tras -----------------------------------------------------------17
ombs lhal Never IxIode ----------------------------------------------18
The Iive Iovers ------------------------------------------------------------19
The Iour Slages -------------------------------------------------------------20
The Masler -------------------------------------------------------------------21
Serving ------------------------------------------------------------------------22
The Highesl of Irayers --------------------------------------------------- 23
eginning ObslacIes -------------------------------------------------------24
UIlimale ObslacIes ---------------------------------------------------------25
Inner and Ouler -------------------------------------------------------------26
The Iour Infinile Thoughls ----------------------------------------------27
righl and CIear ------------------------------------------------------------28
Ireedom from SeIfishness ------------------------------------------------29
The Deeer Iovers --------------------------------------------------------30
Ialh of lhe Diamond ------------------------------------------------------ 31
Remember Whal You Sav -----------------------------------------------32
Aroaching lhe GoaI ---------------------------------------------------- 33
eyond AII Iear ------------------------------------------------------------ 34
The Ind of lhe Seeds ------------------------------------------------------35
SICOND CORNIRSTONI:
THI CHAITIR ON THI WAY -------------------------------------------------37
Reaching lo Reach ----------------------------------------------------------39
The True Inemy ------------------------------------------------------------40
The Iour Mislakes --------------------------------------------------------- 41
The eginning of Me ------------------------------------------------------42
Is Il Wrong lo Like Things` ----------------------------------------------43
Iixing lhe WorId ----------------------------------------------------------- 44
Where lhe WorId Comes Irom -----------------------------------------45
Where Iain Comes Irom -------------------------------------------------46
Why Things IaII Aarl --------------------------------------------------- 47
Why Good IeoIe Suffer -------------------------------------------------48
Iverylhing We See ---------------------------------------------------------49
The Tvo ReaIilies ----------------------------------------------------------50
The LoneIiness of Seeing -------------------------------------------------51
Who's in ConlroI` ----------------------------------------------------------52
To See lhe IIIusion ----------------------------------------------------------53
The Iighl Limbs ------------------------------------------------------------54
SeIf-ConlroI ------------------------------------------------------------------55
A Code for AII of Us -------------------------------------------------------56
Commilmenls ---------------------------------------------------------------57
Deslroying OId ad Karma ----------------------------------------------58
The Iour Iorces -------------------------------------------------------------59
In Your Iresence ----------------------------------------------------------- 60
Where Money Comes Irom --------------------------------------------- 61
Hov lo Succeed in ReIalionshis -------------------------------------- 62
SimIy CIean ----------------------------------------------------------------63
Hov lo e Hay ----------------------------------------------------------64
Iinding Your Guardian AngeI ------------------------------------------65
ody Yoga --------------------------------------------------------------------66
The Lie of Choices ----------------------------------------------------------67
The Ind of realh ----------------------------------------------------------68
Hov lo realhe -------------------------------------------------------------69
realhing lo a SingIe Ioinl -----------------------------------------------70
Inding lhe Tyranny of SlimuIalion ----------------------------------- 71
THIRD CORNIRSTONI:
THI CHAITIR ON IRACTICI -------------------------------------------------73
Iocus and Slay --------------------------------------------------------------75
The CIear Lighl -------------------------------------------------------------76
The Iye of Wisdom --------------------------------------------------------77
The Ind of Thoughls` -----------------------------------------------------78
Hov Things egin and Ind ---------------------------------------------79
Hov Things Neilher egin Nor Ind ----------------------------------80
The Iover lo Save lhe WorId -------------------------------------------81
Reading lhe Minds of Olhers ------------------------------------------- 82
The Iover of InvisibiIily -------------------------------------------------83
Where Il AII Leads ---------------------------------------------------------84
The True Source of Iover ----------------------------------------------- 85
The ChanneI of lhe Sun ---------------------------------------------------86
The ChanneI of lhe Moon ------------------------------------------------87
The ChanneI of lhe IoIeslar ---------------------------------------------88
Chokeoinls and Chakras ----------------------------------------------- 89
Iverylhing, from Underslanding --------------------------------------90
Knov ThyseIf --------------------------------------------------------------- 91
When Tvo is One ----------------------------------------------------------92
The Rainbov in a Irison ------------------------------------------------- 93
The Iive Irimary Winds ------------------------------------------------- 94
The Three Skies -------------------------------------------------------------95
The Iour odies ------------------------------------------------------------96
The Lasl One Lefl ---------------------------------------------------------- 97
The ody of AII-Knoving ------------------------------------------------98
Herein Lies TolaI Iurily --------------------------------------------------99
Resecling Our Desliny -------------------------------------------------100
The IinaI Momenls -------------------------------------------------------101
AII Things in AII Ways --------------------------------------------------102
IOURTH CORNIRSTONI:
THI CHAITIR ON TOTAL IURITY ------------------------------------------103
We Musl ecome as Gardeners ---------------------------------------105
The Deslruclion of lhe Slorehouse ----------------------------------- 106
Gaining ConlroI of Our Lives ----------------------------------------- 107
The Ind of Limils ---------------------------------------------------------108
Droing lhe orders of Time ---------------------------------------- 109
eyond bul Nol eyond lhe Mind ----------------------------------- 110
Hov We Hear OurseIves Think -------------------------------------- 111
Knives Don'l Cul ThemseIves -----------------------------------------112
The Aarenl SeIf-Avareness ---------------------------------------- 113
Hov We Iro|ecl lhe WorId ---------------------------------------------114
Learning from Seeing ----------------------------------------------------115
The Ind of Seeds ----------------------------------------------------------116
Debls Never Iaid ---------------------------------------------------------117
Sleing over a IuddIe -------------------------------------------------118
And So We Musl See -----------------------------------------------------119
INDIX OI IMIORTANT IDIAS --------------------------------------------------121
IORIWORD
We encourage readers lo sludy lhe Index of Imorlanl Ideas al lhe end
of lhis book, so lhal you knov immedialeIy vhere lo Iook for heI on
any ersonaI needs or inleresls you may have.
To heI lhose vho mighl vanl lo chanl lhe Yoga Sulra in ils originaI
Ianguage, ve have incIuded lhe Sanskril here in lhe cIosesl IngIish
ronuncialion ossibIe vilhoul seciaI marks or seIIings nol found in
normaI IngIish. IIease nole lhal lhe combinalion a-a shouId be read as
one Iong an sound. Divisions Iike lhis are made vherever lvo vords are
|oined, bul onIy if il vouId nol change lhe ronuncialion or meler in
chanling.
The aulhors vouId Iike lo acknovIedge lhe kind assislance of lhe Asian
CIassics Inul Iro|ecl and ils direclor, }ohn rady, for access lo ils
dalabase of severaI lhousand ancienl Asian manuscrils for comIeling
lhis lransIalion of lhe Yoga Sulra. We vouId aIso Iike lo lhank Dr. M.A.
}ayashree and Dr. M.A. Narasimhan, of lhe Universily of Mysore and
Universily of angaIore, India, for roviding informalion on earIy
rinled and aIm-Ieaf edilions of lhe Yoga Sulra for finaIizing ils finaI
form here.
IinaIIy, ve vouId Iike lo exress infinile lhanks lo our many leachers
from India, Tibel, and lhe vesl, vho have senl many lhousands of
hours alienlIy assing lhese leachings on lo us.
1
YOGI, DANCIR, THINKIR, DOCTOR
A Shorl ook aboul Yoga:
The Yoga Sulra of Masler Ialan|aIi
Paianja|a Ycga Suiran
A sulra is a shorl book vhich leIIs us lhe very crux of somelhing
ideas lied lighl logelher, vilh a slilch of lhread. The Yoga Sulra is lhe
molher book of aII yoga. Il vas vrillen aboul lvo lhousand years ago,
by Masler Ialan|aIi.
Masler Ialan|aIi vas a greal yogi, he knev lhe hysicaI oses of yoga
and lhe arl of brealhing: yoga of lhe body. He vas aIso a greal lhinker,
and medilalora masler of lhe yoga of lhe mind. He vrole as veII
famous books on medicine and on Sanskril, lhe ancienl longue from
vhich aImosl aII our Ianguages come. He is recognized loo as lhe falher
of lhe cIassicaI dance of India.
Dancer, doclor, yogi, lhinker, masler of ancienl vords. Whal do lhey
aII have in common`
Yoga, as ve shaII see, has many meanings. One is lhe union of lhe
vinds vilhin our inner body. We unile lhese vinds vilh our yoga,
vhen ve lhink and undersland. The vinds viII sing vilhin us, lhe very
firsl vords of aII. They viII fIov free, and force us lo dance, and run lo
heaI olhers.
Tnc |sscniia| Ycga Suira 1
IIRST CORNIRSTONI
THI CHAITIR ON MIDITATION
2
IT IGINS WITH MIDITATION
Iirsl Cornerslone: The Chaler on Medilalion
Prainanan Sana!ni Pa!an
The Yoga Sulra has four chalers: four cornerslones uon vhich il
slands, Iike a labIe on four Iegs.
The firsl chaler describes five cruciaI sles lhal ve aII ass lhrough
during our siriluaI |ourney. This |ourney aIvays begins from ain: ve
see dealh, ve see eoIe suffer, ve dream of saving lhem. And lhe
|ourney ends vhen ve change, finaIIy, inlo a sacred being vho acluaIIy
has lhe over lo save lhem.
Inbelveen ils beginning and ils end, lhe road ve lraveI has five arls:
five alhs, each one Ieading inlo lhe nexl, each one marked by ils ovn
seciaI miIeslones. Sleing u lo each nev alh from lhe one before il
can onIy be done in one vay. We musl be in dee medilalion, ve musl
Iearn lo medilale.
Thus il is lhal lhe firsl chaler, lhe chaler on lhe five alhs, is caIIed
lhe Chaler on Medilalion.
3
THI IOWIR OI HUMILITY
I.1 I viII nov reviev for you
hov ve become vhoIe.
Aina qcga-anusnasnanan.
Anolher meaning of yoga is lo become vhoIe. UIlimaleIy ve onIy
become vhoIe vhen ve are lruIy caabIe of heIing olhers vilh lhe
lhings lhal reaIIy maller: vhen ve can heI lhem undersland hov lhey
came inlo lhis vorId, and vhal Iife is for, and vhelher il has lo end vilh
Iosing everylhing.
This lhen, says Masler Ialan|aIi, is vhy I vrile my shorl book. He
vanls us lo knov, from lhe very beginning, lhal his book conlains
somelhing of uIlimale imorlance, somelhing vorlh lhe recious hours
of our Iife.
And I viII onIy rcticu, says lhe Masler, vhal I have heard from my
hoIy leachers. He allacks his ovn ride: I have nolhing nev lo leII you,
and lhere is nolhing here lhal I have made u myseIf. I am onIy a vesseI
for lhe visdom of lhe ages, and I ass il on lo youlried, lesled, and
unaduIleraled.
And he says, I viII vrile lhis book, for once a Masler romises lo do
somelhing, lhey do ilor die lrying.
AII lhe greal books of India begin vilh lhese lhree nobIe lhemes. Their
over, lheir karma, slos aII obslacIes lo lhe vork ve nov begin.
4
TO ICOMI WHOLI
I.2 We become vhoIe by sloing
hov lhe mind lurns.
Ycgasn cniiia tiriii nirc!nan.
These are erhas lhe mosl imorlanl vords of lhe enlire Yoga Sulra.
Here lhe Masler leIIs us anolher meaning of yoga, vhich is Iearning lo
slo The Greal Mislake.
And vhal is The Greal Mislake` Our mind lurns, meaning il lurns
lhings around lhe vrong vay. A molher lakes her smaII chiId lo a
movie. On lhe screen, a man is hurling a uy.
The chiId cries oul, and reaches lo slo lhe man. Ierhas lhe chiId can
even gel u lo lhe screen, and lry lo hil lhe man.
ul lhis doesn'l slo lhe man, il has nolhing lo do vilh lhe man. And
lhe chiId hurls lheir ovn hand in lhe rocess.
Our mind makes lhis same kind of mislake, every day, every momenl
of every day. We need lo slo lhe mislake, and lhal is yoga. Iain is reaI
yesand il reaIIy hurls eoIe. ul ve can onIy slo il if ve can slo
misunderslanding vhere il comes from. And lhis is vhal Yoga Sulra
leaches us lo do.
5
THI SIIR
I.3-4 On lhal day
lhe seer comes lo dveII
vilhin lheir ovn reaI nalure.
Olhervise il foIIovs
lhe form of lhe lurning.
Ta!a !rasniun starupctasinanan.
Viriii sarupqan iiaraira.
The mosl imorlanl day in our siriluaI |ourney is lhe day lhal ve firsl
slo The Greal Mislake. We slo seeing lhings lhe vrong vay. The
chiId reaIizes lhal lhe bad man is nol reaIIy on lhe movie screen.
Il onIy Iasls for a brief lime, lhe firsl lime. And lhen, desile ourseIves,
ve go back lo making lhe same oId menlaI mislake. ul for a fev
minules, ve see lhe vay ve reaIIy are: ve see lhal ve are nol al aII lhe
vay ve aIvays lhoughl ve vere.
These recious minules, our firsl conlacl vilh lhe uIlimale reaIily, are
lhus caIIed lhe Ialh of Seeing. Nol because ve see lhese lhings vilh our
eyes, bul because ve see lhem in very dee medilalion, vilh our mind.
UnliI lhe day ve see, our Iife conlinues lo foIIov afler lhe lragic
mislake our mind is making, lurning lhings around lhe vrong vay.
UnliI lhe chiId sees hov lhings reaIIy are, il slrikes oul al lhe bad man on
lhe screen, hurling ilseIf and ils molher loo.
6
A DAY IN THI MIND
I.5-6 The mind lurns
in five differenl vays.
They can be invoIved vilh affIiclions
or free of lhem.
The five are correcl ercelions,
mislaken ercelions, imaginalion, sIee, and memories.
Viriiaqan pancnaiaqqan k|isnia-ak|isnian.
Pranana tiparqaqa tika|pa ni!ra sniriaqan.
In a generaI sense, lhe mind lurns or oerales in many differenl vays:
lhe ancienl books of India Iisl hundreds of differenl menlaI funclions.
Here lhough lhe Masler chooses lo deaI vilh onIy five slales of mind
because, in a lyicaI 24-hour day, our mind viII aIvays be in one of lhese
five slales.
Thal is, ve are usuaIIy seeing mosl lhings correclIy, lhroughoul lhe
day. (Il's lrue lhal I may misundersland ncu I am, bul nol inai I am.)
OccasionaIIy lhough ve do make mislakes aboul vhal ve see, and ve
bang lhe car.
We use our imaginalion lo Ian or lo daydream, and ve send a good
arl of each day in sIee. We conslanlIy caII on our memories.
Our slales of mind are somelimes slained by negalive lhoughls,
lhoughls lhal affIicl us and make us unhay. The uIlimale negalive
lhoughl is lhal same Greal Mislake.
The goaI of our yoga is nol lo slo aII lhoughlslhal vouId be Iike
lhroving lhe baby oul vilh lhe balh valer. We simIy vanl lo slo lhe
mislake, and aII lhe unhainess il causes. We vanl lo make our minds
uIlimaleIy cIear, and hay, and Ioving.
7
RIGHT SIIING
I.7 The differenl lyes of correcl ercelion
are lhose vhich are direcl,
deduclive, or based on aulhorily.
Praiqaksna-anunana-aganan prananani.
The vasl ma|orily of aII ve see ve see correclIy. Iven in lhe firsl fev
minules oul of bed in lhe morning, ve have aIready had hundreds of
correcl ercelions: lhe sun is shining, lhese are my socks, breakfasl
smeIIs good.
Correcl ercelions are slrong. Once ve see somelhing vilh a correcl
ercelion, ve can lruIy say lhal lhing exisls.
These correcl ercelions come in lhree lyes. Mosl of lhem are lhe
direcl lye: I see a coIor, I hear a sound, I smeII or lasle or louch
somelhing. Hearing our lhoughls in our ovn minds is aIso a direcl lye
of correcl ercelion.
Deduclion is anolher kind of correcl ercelion: I may nol be abIe lo see
my socks on lhe fIoor in lhe morning, if lhey're covered by my anls.
ul if I droed lhem lhere al nighl and I've had no visilors in lhe
meanlime, I knov lhe socks are lhere, as sureIy as if I see lhem.
The Iasl kind of correcl ercelion is based on aulhorily: I'm in my
bedroom and can'l see lhe kilchen, bul Molher leIIs me lhere's sliII some
breakfasl Iefl. And I knov il's lhere, because she's a lrulhfuI erson.
8
A LIAI IN THI ROAD
I.8 Mislaken ercelions
are vrong imressions lhal are mired
in faIse aearances.
Viparqaqc niinqa jnqanan aia!rupa prainisinan.
Inbelveen hundreds or lhousands of correcl ercelions, ve mighl
miss-see somelhing comIeleIy. I'm driving dovn lhe road al dusk on a
vindy aulumn day, and a smaII mouse scurries across lhe road under
my lires. I sIam on lhe brakes vilh a screech.
Then I reaIize lhal lhe mouse vas onIy lhe faIse aearance of a
mouse: il vas reaIIy onIy a dry Ieaf bIovn across lhe road. And lhen
lhere's lhis momenlary sense of emlinesslhe mouse is gone, il vas
never lherefoIIoved by a sIighlIy fooIish feeIing as I conlinue dovn
lhe road.
Nov il's absoIuleIy essenliaI lo reaIize lhal, on one IeveI, even our
correcl ercelions are aII incorrecl. Thal is, lhe socks in my hand are
sockslhal's correcl. ul dee in my hearl is lhis beIief lhal lhey are
socks lhal are in my hand because I ovn lhem, because I found lhem al
lhe slore, and because I boughl lhem.
AII of incsc ideas aboul my socks are comIeleIy incorrecl. There are no
socks Iike lhalno more lhan lhe man in lhe movie. Il's aII The Greal
Mislake, a mislaken ercelion lhal causes aII lhe ain in lhe vorId.
9
IICTURIS IN THI MIND
I.9-11 Imaginalion is a menlaI imression
lhal foIIovs a vord,
and is devoid of any concrele basis.
SIee is a case vhere lhe mind lurns
vilhoul any ob|ecl al aII
lo heI il grov.
Memory is lhe abiIily nol lo forgel
an ob|ecl vhich you have exerienced.
Sna|!a jnqaqa-anupaii tasiu snunqc tika|pan.
A|nata praiqaqa tisnaqa-asanprancsnan sniriin.
When ve Ian a dinner, ve see in our minds lhe finished meaI,
aIlhough lhal meaI doesn'l yel corresond lo any concrele lhing. The
vords Whal's for dinner` insire lhis iclure in our imaginalion.
Mosl of our ercelions during lhe day are lriggered by some oulside
ob|ecl: seeing an aIe is sel off by lhe aIein a sense lhe seeing
deends, or hinges uon, lhe aIe. When ve sIee or dream lhere may
nol be any such ouler ob|ecl, bul sliII lhe mind is lurning, or oeraling, al
a Iov IeveI.
When ve have a memory of somelhing, again lhere is no ouler ob|ecl:
|usl an aroximale iclure in lhe mind, sorl of a shorlhand nole lo
remind us of somelhing.
And so in lhe course of an enlire day our mind vends ils vay lhrough
differenl oulside ob|ecls, and inside images or lhoughls. ul unIess ve
lruIy undersland lhingsunIess ve undersland vhal yoga reaIIy means
lhen every singIe ercelion and imaginalion ve ever have is infecled
by The Greal Mislake. IeeIings, slrong feeIings, come u aboul lhe
lhings ve lhink ve seeand lhe chiId beals lheir fisl againsl lhe bad
man on lhe screen.
10
AIIROACHING THI DOOR
I.12-13 Sloing il requires conslanl raclice,
and giving u your allachmenls.
Conslanl raclice means
slriving lo be lhere.
A|nqasa tairagqa|nqan ian nirc!nan.
Taira siniiau qainc|nqasan.
The vay lo slo The Greal Mislake is lo vork our vay lhrough aII five
of lhe alhs. We reach lhe firsl alh by giving u our allachmenls, and
lhis requires deveIoing lhe habil of conslanl raclice.
In a generaI sense, conslanl raclice here means lhe viIIingness lo
vork very hard lo reach our erfecl desliny, far beyond lhe mislakes our
mind nov makes. Quile simIy, ve viII never be abIe lo comIele aII
lhe hard vork needed lo reach our desliny if ve don'l have a very slrong
molivalion for doing so.
This molivalion comes lo aII of us al some oinl in our Iives. Mosl
oflen il is some kind of ersonaI disasler or lragedy: lhe erson ve mosl
Iove dies or Ieaves us, ve find oul ve have canceranylhing lhal vakes
us u lo vhal reaIIy mallers. IeoIe are in ain, and il's u lo us lo heI
lhem. Il is our desliny lo be lhe one vho heIs lhem.
We begin vilh a daiIy inner raclice. Il viII aIvays incIude lhree
essenliaI eIemenls: being carefuI never lo hurl olhers, Iearning lo ray or
medilale, and reIenlIessIy exIoring lhe queslion of vhere lhings reaIIy
came from.
11
THI IOWIR OI DAILY IRACTICI
I.14 You musl cuIlivale your raclice
over an exlended eriod of lime,
il musl be sleady, vilhoul gas,
and il musl be done correclIy
for lhen a firm foundalion is Iaid.
Sa iu !irgna ka|a nairaniarqa
saikara-asctiic !ir!na |nunin.
Changing lhe mind, lhe hearl, is infinileIy more difficuIl lhan anylhing
eIse ve domore demanding lhan educalion or vork or raising a
famiIy. Il lakes lime, and ve need lo give il lhal lime, for as Iong as il
lakes.
And lhe lime musl be given daiIy: our siriluaI raclice musl become a
reguIar arl of our day, as imorlanl as ealing or vorking or sIeeing.
Our minds are infinileIy overfuI. We can Iearn lo be good al anylhing,
if onIy ve give il an hour of lvo of raclice a day. ul ctcrq day.
We aII knov lhal lhere are righl vays of fixing a car and vrong vays
loo. If you lry lo fix your car bul you don'l knov vhal you are doing,
you can reaIIy make exensive mislakes.
Iixing hearl and mind are no differenl. We need lo knov vhal ve're
doingve need good, cIear inslruclions on vhal lo do, from someone
vho's aIready done il lhemseIves.
Learning hov lo mainlain a reaIIy effeclive daiIy raclice creales a
erfecl foundalion for enlering lhe firsl of lhe five alhs.
12
ATTACHMINT TO DISTRACTION
I.15 Giving u your allachmenls
consisls of lhe decision lo gain conlroI
over your craving for exeriences,
seen or onIy heard of.
Orisnia-anusnratika tisnaqa tiiirsnnasqa
tasnikara sanjnqa tairagqan.
Il is our desliny, each one of us, lo save lhe vorId. Yes, ve can, and
ve viII. Dee inside of us ve knov lhis is vhal ve vanl lo do, and vhy
ve came lo lhis vorId in lhe firsl Iace. On some IeveI ve dream of lhis
aII lhe lime, il is vhy aImosl aII lhe noveIs and movies crealed by our
cuIlure have a heroine or hero vho saves lhe day. ecause ve ourseIves
vanl lo. We need lo.
And so ve sle onlo lhe firsl of lhe five alhs. Il's caIIed lhe Ialh of
AccumuIalioniIing u enough goodness, enough over, lo change
ourseIves and our vorId. We lake lhis sle by deciding lhal ve can no
Ionger bear lhe ain aII around us.
Nov ve viII no Ionger have any lime for lhe meaningIess dislraclions
of Iifeve musl simIify our Iives, concenlrale on vhal's reaIIy
imorlanl. No more lime lo onIy vork and eal and sIee and dieno
more lime lo vasle on nevsaers and leIevision lo hear aboul hov
olhers vasled lheir lime.
13
ATTACHMINT TO ILLUSION
I.16 In ils highesl form, il is lhe freedom from allachmenl
lo soIid lhings, gained by one
lo vhom lhe lrue nalure of lhe erson
has been reveaIed.
Tai paran purusna knqaicr guna taiiirsnnqan.
When ve lake a lri by airIane, ve lend lo focus on smaII lhings: lhe
food, lhe movie, lhe erson nexl lo us.
Then if lhe Iane suddenIy dros, ve forgel aII lhe smaII lhings. We
lhink aboul dealh, aboul vhal ve did vilh our Iife, aboul vhal mighl
haen afler ve die.
ul ve can (and viII) die any lime, even silling in a chair al home. The
Iane is aIvays droing. Il's aIrighlil's a good lhinglo en|oy Iife.
We shouId en|oy il. ul ve shouId aIso en|oy lhe vork of finding ils
deeer meaning, and nol Iose our Iife in IillIe dislraclions and
allachmenls.
The vorsl allachmenl of aII is lo be allached lo lhe idea lhal lhe lhings
aII around us exisl oul lhere on lheir ovn, concreleIy, in lhe sense lhal
lhey don'l deend on hov I Iead my Iife.
We begin lo see lhrough lhis vrong idea vhen ve reach lhe second
alh: lhe Ialh of Irearalion. Here ve begin lo reaIizeif onIy
inleIIecluaIIylhal our ovn lrue nalure, and lhe nalure of everylhing
eIse in lhe vorId, is lhal ve very much come from hov ve lreal olhers.
14
MIDITATION TRAIS
I.17 Noling, examining, dee Ieasure,
and being in oneseIf are sliII lhe lye
done consciousIy, for lhey Iead lo lhal of form.
Viiarka ticnara-anan!a-asniia
rupa-anuganai sanprajnqaian.
Al lhe Ialh of Irearalion, ve begin serious medilalion lo lry lo see
lhe vay lhings reaIIy are. Our cuIlure is nev lo lhe arl of medilalion,
lhere are hundreds of differenl kinds, and some of lhem are |usl a
lemorary escae.
Medilalion is a serious looI. We need lo use il lo fix ourseIves and lhe
vorId, forever. Using medilalion onIy lo feeI good for a vhiIe is Iike a
surgeon laking lhe aneslhesia himseIf, Ieaving lhe alienl lo die on lhe
oeraling labIe.
There are four lyes of medilalion lhal can Iead us, afler ve die, lo a
useIess Iace caIIed lhe ReaIm of Iorm. Some of lhese same medilalions,
if racliced vilhoul a conscious menlaI slale lhal is infecled by The Greal
Mislake, can save your Iife. You need lo Iearn lhe difference, from a
quaIified leacher.
Moving u lhrough lhese four lyes of medilalion is simiIar lo
Iislening lo your favorile song. Al firsl you onIy nole lhal lhe song is
being Iayed. Then you begin lo examine lhe beauly of lhe vords and
meIody. A feeIing of dee Ieasure vashes over you, and finaIIy you go
beyond even lhe Ieasure, Iosing yourseIf in lhe song comIeleIy.
15
OMS THAT NIVIR IXILODI
I.18-19 Thal lye vhere you sliII have unrie seeds, bul vhere
because of your revious raclice
lhe faclor is suressed,
is lhe olher kind.
Those vho slay in lhal nalure,
in lhe faclor of becoming,
lake lhe same gross hysicaI body.
Virana praiqaqa-a|nqasa purtan
sanskara sncsncnqa.
Bnata praiqaqa ti!cna prakirii |aqanan.
We have biIIions uon biIIions of seeds in our minds, Ianled lhere by
hurling or laking care of lhose around us. When lhe lime is righl,
individuaI seeds sroul u in our minds al aboul lhe seed of lhe
individuaI frames in a movie, and ve valch lhe slream of our Iife
unfoId.
The seeds lhal are sliII vailing lo sroul are caIIed unrie seeds. The
faclor lhal makes harmfuI seeds sroul is simIy seeing lhings lhe vrong
vay. When ve raclice veIIlhal is, vhen ve Iearn hov lo avoid
medilalion lras and use our medilalion in lhis olher vay, lhe righl vay
lhen ve can kee bad seeds from ever srouling.
Dealh ilseIf comes from a bad seed srouling. The body onIy gels oId
because bad seeds are srouling. Herein Iies lhe secrel of lhe valer of
Iife.
When bad seeds are aboul lo sroul, ve caII il becoming. This is
lriggered by slaying in our same oId nalure or slale, seeing lhings lhe
vrong vay. These seeds are vhal gave us a morlaI body in lhe firsl
Iace, and ve can change lhalif ve change lhe seeds.
16
THI IIVI IOWIRS
I.20 The olher ones musl firsl use
beIief, efforl, avareness,
medilalion, and visdom.
Snra!!na tirqa snirii sana!ni
prajnqa purtaka iiarcsnan.
We vanl lo be eoIe vho foIIov lhe olher kind of medilalion and
raclicelhe ones vho go beyond a body of fIesh and bIood. To do lhis,
ve need lo Iearn lhe Iive Iovers: five differenl siriluaI skiIIs lhal seed
us aIong lhe Ialh of Irearalion.
The firsl over is beIief. This is nol bIind failh, bul ralher a dee
allraclion for lhe beaulies of siriluaI Iife, once ve have heard aboul
lhem and undersland ve can reach lhem ourseIves. Ifforl lhen comes
naluraIIy: once you knov vhal a chocoIale-chi cookie lasles Iike, you're
naluraIIy viIIing lo go lhrough some vork lo gel one. SiriluaI efforl is
gIadness in doing good lhings for olhers.
On one IeveI, avareness is lo be resenl: lo be here nov, nol vraed
u in vhal's haened or mighl haen. On anolher IeveI il is valching
lhal vhalever ve do or say or lhink is somelhing nobIe.
The highesl form of avareness is lo kee our mind on vhere lhe lhings
lhal haen lo us are reaIIy coming from. Medilalion here is lhe abiIily
lo slay in dee lhoughls on lhis queslion, and asking lhe queslion vilhin
lhis medilalion is ilseIf visdom.
17
THI IOUR STAGIS
I.21-22 The goaI is reached by lhose
vho acl vilh inlense
dedicalion and urgency.
There is, furlhermore,
a dislinclion of
Iesser, medium, and highesl.
Titra santcganan asannan.
Mir!u na!nqa-a!ninairaitai
iaicpi tisncsnan.
If a young chiId faIIs inlo a fire, her molher moves quickIy. IeoIe
having a normaI Iife in lhis vorId are in much more danger lhan lhe
chiId. On lhe Ialh of Irearalion, ve ass lhrough four slages vhich
reare us for lhe nexl alh, lhe aII-imorlanl Ialh of Seeing. These four
sles are caIIed Warmlh, Ieak, Maslery, and lhe Highesl Ob|ecl of AII.
Our five siriluaI skiIIs deveIo lo a higher degree al each slage, lurning
from lhe Iive Iovers inlo lhe Iive Ieaks, lhen lhe Iive Slrenglhs, and
finaIIy lhe Iive Highesl Ob|ecls.
The four slages reresenl a groving reaIizalion of The Greal Mislake
a groving underslanding of vhere lhings are reaIIy coming from. The
slages begin vilh an arecialion of hov ob|ecls in lhe vorId around us
mighl be coming from lhemseIves. They end vhen ve lurn lhis
underslanding inside, uon our ovn minds.
A erson al lhe end of lhe fourlh slage mighl be slanding, valching a
ol of valer on lhe slove. They suddenIy reaIize lhal lhey are onIy
valching an imossibIy erfecl, liny iclure of a ol vilhin lheir ovn
mind. Iyes afler aII don'l lhink, lhey can onIy see some siIver-coIored
circIe.
18
THI MASTIR
I.23-24 And anolher vay
is lo ask lhe Masler
for lheir bIessing.
A masler is an exlraordinary erson
vho is unlouched by menlaI affIiclions,
by deeds, lheir riening, and lheir sloring.
|sntara prani!nana! ta.
K|csna karna tipaka-asnaqair
aparanirsnian purusna
tisncsna isntara.
Il can lake a very Iong lime lo deveIo lhe Iive Iovers lo lhe oinl of
lhe ol on lhe slove. Anolher vay is simIy lo seek lhe exlraordinary
over lhal comes from direcl conlacl vilh a Maslera Iiving erson
vho has exerienced lhese lhings direclIy, and can leach lhem lo us.
There are lhings you absoIuleIy cannol Iearn from lhe dead ages of a
book, or lhe vires of a comuler.
Iinding our ovn ersonaI Masler is somelhing ve absoIuleIy need lo
do. Il's an arl in ilseIf, lake your lime. Look for a erson vho reaIIy
underslands vhere lhings are coming from. This viII make lhem a
genlIe, nobIe erson, since lhis underslanding is lhe onIy lhing lhal can
slo negalive lhoughls Iike anger forever.
No anger, no hurling olhers. No hurling, no nev no bad seeds in lhe
mind. And underslanding ilseIf means lhal bombs slored u in lhe
mind earIier viII nov simIy never exIode.
Look lhen for a Masler, vho underslands.
19
SIRVING
I.25-26 Herein Iies,
in lhe mosl exceIIenl vay of aII,
lhe seed for knoving aII lhings.
This leacher is one as veII
vhom lhose of days gone by
never aIIoved lhemseIves lo be searaled from,
for any Ienglh of lime.
Taira niraiisnaqan sartajnqa |ijan.
Sa purtcsnan api gurun
ka|cna-anatacnc!ai.
The lhings around us are a roducl of lhe seeds vilhin our ovn minds.
And so are lhe eoIe. In a sense lhen ve make our ovn siriluaI
Masler.
Il's a kind of magic lhal haens vhen you find a lruIy quaIified
leacher, and lhen have lhe oorlunily lo serve lhem. No bIind failh
here eilher: vilh our eyes vide oen, having checked lhe erson firsl,
carefuIIy, avare of human veaknesses (and hov lhose ve see in olhers
come loo from ourseIves), ve commil ourseIves lo lhe |oy of vorking
cIoseIy vilh a siriluaI guide, and serving lhem and lheir sacred vork.
There is no grealer vay lo Ianl lhe seed for ourseIves lo become a
erfecl, enIighlened being vho can lruIy heI aII beings.
The bond belveen us and our siriluaI guide is lhe sveelesl and mosl
meaningfuI reIalionshi ve viII ever en|oy. UIlimaleIy il viII heI
counlIess eoIe. Ior lhis reason loo il can allracl greal obslacIes: lhe
more overfuI lhe good, lhe more overfuI lhe negalive forces allracled
lo il.
Slay as cIose as you can lo your Masler, and lo lhe friends you have
vho are good eoIe. Goodness rubs off on us.
20
THI HIGHIST OI IRAYIRS
I.27-29 CaIIing uon lhem
is lhe firsl of aII rayers.
You musl reeal lhis rayer,
and lhink veII uon ils meaning.
Wilh lhis you viII gain lhe abiIily
lo focus lhe mind vilhin,
and lo avoid aII obslacIes.
Tasqa tacnakan pranatan.
Taj japas ia! arina |natanan.
Taian praiqak cnciana-a!niganc
pqaniarqa-a|natasn cna.
These Iines are aboul manlra. A manlra is a shorl, essenliaI rayer lhal
makes vishes come lrue. Manlras onIy vork if lvo requiremenls are
fuIfiIIed: lhe manlra musl have come from a lruIy hoIy erson, and lhe
erson saying il musl be someone vho is lruIy kind lo olhers.
There are counlIess kinds of manlras or rayers. The very highesl
rayer is simIy lo caII uon your ovn Masler for lheir heI. Iven |usl
caIIing lheir name, quielIy, lo ourseIves lhroughoul lhe day is enough, if
our mind is focused uon hov our leacher viII heI us Iearn lo heI
olhers.
Reealing lhis Masler Irayer kees lhe mind focused vilhin, and Iess
vraed u in lhe oulside vorId. ecause of lhe exlraordinary over
lhal comes vhen a siriluaI leacher and a siriluaI sludenl honor and
serve each olher ureIy, aII obslacIes in your Iife viII meIl avay.
If you vish, you can add lhe vord Om before your Masler's name
vhen you reeal il. This sacred sound is made of lhree arls vhich
reresenl lhe lolaIIy ure aclions and vords and lhoughls ve viII use lo
heI olhers reach lhe end of lhe five alhs.
21
IGINNING OSTACLIS
I.30a ObslacIes occur vhen lhe mind is dislracled,
and lhis can be caused by iIIness, fogginess in lhe mind,
having doubls, careIessness, and Iaziness.
Vqa!ni siqana sansnaqa prana!a-a|asqa
atiraii |nranii !arsnana-a|a|!na
|nunikaita-anatasiniiaitani
cniiia tiksncpas icniaraqan.
We have loo much lo do, loo much lo lhink aboul. Il's aII our ovn
choice, bul il gels vorse under cerlain condilions. Here begins a Iisl of
ma|or obslacIes lo lhe Iife of lhe siril.
IIIness is obviousIy an obslacIe bul can aIso become a fuIfiIIing siriluaI
raclice. Il insires us lo vork on vhal's reaIIy imorlanl in Iife, and
makes us more humbIe and symalhelic of olhers vho have robIems.
MenlaI fogginess or duIIness comes for examIe from nol enough
sIee, or loo much food. As a cuIlure ve have erfecled gIullony and
aboIished lhe vord. Il kees our minds from oeraling quickIy and
cIearIy.
Incorrecl medilalion can aIso Ieave us a IillIe foggy-headed. ReaI
medilalion gives us a brighl, cIear, slrong mind lhal enabIes us lo do
anylhing veII, from dishes lo comulers lo uIlimale reaIily.
Ixamining siriluaI ideas crilicaIIy is exceIIenl, doubl in lhe form of
avoiding lhe |ob of figuring oul Iife is nol. CareIessness here is nol
slaying avare of hov our aclions affecl olhers and ourseIvesaIcohoI
and drugs are ideaI vays lo cuIlivale careIessness. Laziness is vhen ve
simIy don'l feeI Iike doing lhings lhal ve knov are good and heIfuI
for everyone.
22
ULTIMATI OSTACLIS
I.30b .And by mislaken vievs of lhe vorId
vhich are Iefl uncorrecled,
faiIing lo reach secific IeveIs,
or nol being eslabIished in lhem firmIy.
Hov ve viev lhe vorIdour vorIdvievis in lhe end lhe onIy lhing
lhal decides vhelher ve suffer or find reaI hainess.
Il's exlremeIy imorlanl lo reaIize lhal an enlire civiIizalion can be
caughl u for many years in a disaslrousIy mislaken viev of lhe vorId.
Ior lhousands of years sensibIe eoIe beIieved lhal lhe vorId vas fIal.
The courageous, democracy-minded founders of lhe Uniled Slales kel
human beings as sIaves and beIieved lhey vere animaIs, nol eoIe.
Our cuIlure loday has ils ovn massiveIy mislaken ideas of lhe vorId,
and lhese cause aII lhe hunger, overly, sickness, and var in lhe vorId.
If our eoIe's viev of lhe vorId is causing ain lo olhers and ourseIves,
lhen ve musl Iook for a beller one, one lhal vorks. If il doesn'l vork,
ve cannol simIy conlinue lo foIIov vhalever ve Iearned as chiIdren,
vhelher il came from arenls or schooIs, churches or governmenls. True
yoga is lhe search for a vorIdviev lhal acluaIIy vorks lo bring eoIe
hainess.
There are secific IeveIs in our alh vhere ve eIiminale, forever,
differenl siriluaI obslacIes Iike doubl. We need lo Iearn vhal lhese
IeveIs are, hov lo reach lhem, and hov lo slay lhere.
23
INNIR AND OUTIR
I.31 The mind fIies off,
and vilh lhal come ain in lhe body,
unhay lhoughls, shaking in lhe hands
and olher arls of your body,
lhe brealh faIIing oul of rhylhm
as il asses in and oul.
Ounkna !aurnanasqa angan cjaqaita
sntasa prasntasa tiksncpa sana|nutan.
Yoga is aIso lhe union of lhe inner and ouler melhods for reaching lolaI
urily. This union deends uon lhe conneclion belveen our hysicaI
ouler body and our siriluaI inner body.
Your enlire being is Iike lhe Iayers of an onion. The oulermosl Iayer is
lhe gross hysicaI body. The nexl Iayer dovn is vhal feeds lhis Iayer,
lhe brealh being our mosl imorlanl food. This brealh Iayer is Iinked
lo a Iayer of sublIe hysicaI energy caIIed prana, or lhe inner vinds.
These vinds fIov lhroughoul our body in lhe nexl Iayer, a nelvork of
liny lubes or channeIs more sublIe lhan lhe finesl Iighl. Uon lhe vinds
in lhese channeIs ride our lhoughls lhemseIves, lhe innermosl Iayer, Iike
a rider alo a horse: lhe amazing fronlier vhere mind and body meel.
In a negalive vay, robIems al one Iayer of lhis onion affecl aII lhe
olhers. If our lhoughls are unslabIe, lhis dislurbs lhe inner vinds uon
vhich lhey ride. This lhen dislurbs lhe brealh, and causes nervousness
and shaking.
This uIlimaleIy causes hysicaI aiImenls Iike uIcers or hearl robIems,
vhich again sels off unhay lhoughlsa conlinuous dovnvard siraI.
The ouler exercises and inner medilalions of yoga reverse lhis cycIe.
24
THI IOUR INIINITI THOUGHTS
I.32-33a And if you vish lo slo lhese obslacIes,
lhere is one, and onIy one,
cruciaI raclice for doing so.
You musl use kindness, comassion, |oy, and equanimily.
Learn lo kee your feeIings in baIance, vhelher somelhing feeIs
good
or vhelher il hurls, vhelher somelhing is en|oyabIe, or
dislaslefuI.
Tai praiisnc!a-arinan cka iaiita a|nqasan.
Maiiri karuna nu!iicpcksnanan sukna !unkna
punqa-apunqa tisnaqanan.
There is one cruciaI raclice for sloing aII obslacIes, and lhis is lhe
Iour Infinile Thoughls. They are caIIed infinile because, in lhe end,
ve Iook uon infinile Iiving crealures on infinile vorIds vilh our ovn
eyes, in a singIe momenl, and Iove lhem aII.
Infinile kindness is lhe desire lo bring aII Iiving beings hainess. And
il means deciding lhal I myseIf viII make il haen, even if no one eIse
vanls lo heI me. Infinile comassion is lhe decision lo remove lhe ain
of every Iiving being, by myseIf if need be.
Infinile |oy is lhe decision lo bring aII Iiving beings lo a higher form of
hainess. A cu of coffee or cocoa makes aImosl anyone hay. ul
ve don'l finish feeIing hay unliI ve can acluaIIy heI and serve
counlIess olher eoIe.
Infinile equanimily is lhe decision lo heI ctcrq|c!q lhis vaynol |usl
our friends or famiIy. Iquanimily begins vilh avoiding exlremes of
feeIings: hay vhen ve feeI veII, or nol vhen ve don'l.
Which is onIy lo say ve shouIdn'l be lhrovn off baIance by hov ve
feeI. We nusi of course escae aII ain, and achieve aII hainessand
ve musl desire lo do so.
25
RIGHT AND CLIAR
I.33b-35 .This raclice makes lhe mind
brighl and cIear as ure valer.
Il gives lhe same effecl as reIeasing,
lhen sloring, lhe vind of lhe brealh.
Il aIso heIs us conlroI lhe lendency
lhal ve have, of lhoughls conslanlIy arising
aboul ouler ob|ecls of exerience.
.|natanaiasn cniiia prasa!anan.
Pracnar!ana ti!narana|nqan ta pranasqa.
Visnaqataii ta pratiriiir uipanna
nanasan siniii ni|nan!ani.
A daiIy medilalion on lhe Iour Infinile Thoughls changes our enlire
Iife. Il gives our Iife reaI and Iasling meaning. Ialing, earning and
sending money, vorking for a house lhal ve viII Iose, lhe sIov descenl
inlo veak oId age and dealh are nol vhal ve vere meanl lo do vilh our
Iives. Dee inside, ve knov lhal very cIearIy.
Thal's vhy il makes our minds feeI brighl and cIear vhen ve hear
someone say lhal our reaI urose in Iife is lo heI and serve olhers, and
nol vilh kinds of heI lhal viII lhemseIves quickIy be used u and
disaear. We vere aII meanl for more.
The hysicaI yoga exercises, and lhe seciaI brealhing lechniques lhal
go vilh lhem, are meanl lo oen u lhe sublIe inner channeIs. ul
because lhe lhoughls lhemseIves lraveI in lhese channeIs, ve can gel lhe
same resuIlsa Iol more quickIy and easiIyby simIy ininking lhese
highesl four lhoughls of aII.
We rareIy reaIIy lhink aboul vhal olhers around us vanl or need.
When ve do, ve find lhal ve are reIeased from our conslanl, exhausling
comuIsion for lhe bigger and bellercIolhes, food, money, fame.
26
IRIIDOM IROM SILIISHNISS
I.36-37 Il aIso makes your hearl carefree,
and radianl Iike slarIighl.
And il frees your mind from vanling lhings.
Visncka ta jqciisnnaii.
Viia raga tisnaqan ta cniiian.
The Iour Infinile Thoughls uIlimaleIy lrigger infinile Iove. This Iove
begins vhen I quile seriousIy beIieve, afler much lhoughl and lraining,
lhal il is ossibIe for any normaI erson lo become someone vho can
assisl counlIess eoIe aII al once.
Ior a lime, even nov, lhis Iove is |usl an idea. ul il gels slronger, and
one day il exIodes inlo lhe direcl exerience of uIlimale Iove.
This feeIs comIeleIy differenl from vhal ve normaIIy lhink of as Iove.
In aImosl aII eoIe, lhe inner channeIs al lhe hearl are langIed and
bIocked. Al lhe firsl inslanl of uIlimale Iove, lhe inner vinds break free
in cryslaI-coIored Iighl from lhe hearl. IhysicaI yoga vas crealed lo heI
lhis haen.
When il does, lhen for a brief lime ve can acluaIIy see lhe face of every
Iiving being, nol |usl in our vorId bul on counlIess Ianels. And in lhis
momenl ve see as veII lhal ve viII send every hour of lhe resl of our
Iife, and Iives beyond lhis one, Iearning lo go and lake care of each one of
lhese beings. We are freed forever from seIfishness, and forever from
vanling anylhing Iess lhan lhis.
27
THI DIIIIR IOWIRS
I.38-40 Il moreover enabIes you lo be conscious
in your dreamIife, as you sIee.
Il brings you lo lhe same exhiIaralion
as dee medilalion does.
You gain maslery over lhe liniesl aloms,
and gaIaxies as veII.
Stapna ni!ra jnqana-a|an|anan ta.
Yaina-a|ninaia !nqana! ta.
Parana-anu parana nanaiitanicsqa tasni kara.
We've laIked aboul hov our vorId is a roducl of lhe seeds vilhin our
ovn minds. }usl uaniing lo heI a singIe olher erson aIlers lhese seeds
draslicaIIy. The vish lo heI infinile numbers of eoIeeven if il is
onIy a vish, and a very feebIe vish al firslhas lhe over lo lransform
aII lhe seeds vilhin our minds. This lhen lransformsveIIeverylhing
lhere is, everyvhere.
NaluraIIy lhis effecl sreads lo aII lhose slales of mind ve go lhrough
in a normaI day. The acl of sIee ilseIf becomes an advenlureve're as
Iucid in dreams as ve are in our everyday Iife, and ve use our sIeeing
hours lo exIore and imrove bolh mind and hearl.
If medilalion can bring us a kind of bIiss, lhen simIy slanding in lhe
kilchen and lhinking lhe four lhoughls brings us lhe same bIiss, vilh a
Iol Iess efforl.
As lhe seeds in our mind lransform, ve suddenIy become very good al
anylhing ve lry lo dovhelher smaII exacling lasks or monumenlaI
ro|ecls. As lhis rocess conlinues, ve even gain lhe over lo acluaIIy
enler and aIler rocesses from subalomic lo gaIaclic IeveIsif lhal vouId
heI somebody.
28
IATH OI THI DIAMOND
I.41 Those exlraordinary eoIe vho shaller lhe vay
lhe mind lurns lhings around use a baIanced medilalion,
vhich is fixed and cIear on ils ob|ecl.
And lhe ob|ecl is Iike a cryslaI,
vilh lhe one lhal hoIds il, and vhal il hoIds,
and lhe hoIding ilseIf as veII.
Ksnina tiriicr a|nijaiasqcta
nancr graniiir girnana granqcsnu
iai sina iai anjanaia sanapaiiin.
The mosl imorlanl momenl of our Iife is vhen ve see uIlimale reaIily
for lhe firsl lime al lhe lhird alh, lhe Ialh of Seeing. Il changes us
forever, and brings us lo lhe very verge of our goaI.
This alh cannol occur unIess firsl ve are slaying in lhe slale of
medilalion vilh a lolaIIy cIear and focused mind, baIanced, free of lhe
lvo exlremes of duIIness and hyeraclivily.
During lhis firsl brief eriod in uIlimale reaIily ve cannol erceive
anylhing Iess lhan lhe uIlimale. And so ve are for a vhiIe Iike valer
oured inlo valer, unavare of ourseIves or even lhal ve are seeing, for
lhese are nol lhe uIlimale lhing lhal ve are Iooking uon vilh our
minds.
UIlimale reaIily is Iike a cryslaI, secificaIIy, Iike a diamond, and you
viII knov il so. Nolhing can be uIlimalehighesl or holleslbecause
ve can aIvays add anolher inch or degree. ul lhe diamond comes
cIose, for nolhing eIse in lhe universe can scralch il.
UIlimale reaIily Iies aII around us nov, bul beyond our sighl, cIear as
diamond. In facl everylhing lhere is, everyvhere, ossesses ils ovn
uIlimale reaIily|usl as every sIinler of diamond is simIe, erfecl
urily.
29
RIMIMIR WHAT YOU SAW
I.42-43 When you gras lhis vilh images,
mixing u lhe vord and lhe ob|ecl,
lhen lhal is lhe lye of baIanced medilalion
vhich uses concels.
Slay in lhal one ure lhoughl, and never forgel il,
lhal singIe mosl imorlanl lhing: lhings are emly
of being vhal lhey are by lhemseIves.
This is lhe cIear Iighl, beyond aII conceluaI lhoughl.
Taira sna|!a-arina jnqana tika|pain
sankirna satiiarka sanapaiiin.
Snirii parisnu!!nau starupa snunqcta-arina
naira nir|nasa nirtiiarka.
We commune briefIy vilh uIlimale reaIily, and lhen come dovn and
back lo our normaI slale of The Greal Mislake, seeing lhings vrong.
Ixcel lhal nov ve kncu vhal ve're doing vrong: ve don'l beIieve hov
ve're seeing lhings, and lhus lhere's lhe sense of an iIIusion going on.
Al lhis oinl, lhe second sle of lhe Ialh of Seeing, ve musl lry lo
remember vhal ve sav: lhal lhings are emly. This is lhe firsl lime lhal
lhe Masler refers lo emliness.
Imliness doesn'l mean bIackness, or lhal nolhing exisls, and cerlainIy
nol lhal lhings Iike good and bad aclions don'l maller. Il onIy means
lhal vhal ve lhoughl vas lhere isn'l lhereno more lhan a man on a
movie screen. Thal is, if I Iook around and lry lo find anylhing lhal is
nci coming from seeds in my mind, I'II come u emly-handed: a simIe
absence, Iike coIorIess Iighl.
Our minds in The Greal Mislake mislake vordslhal is, lhe erfecl
IillIe menlaI iclures vhich lhe seeds makefor acluaI ob|ecls. This in
ilseIf is lhinking conceluaIIy here. Il's nol lhal ve vanl lo slo
lhinking aIlogelher!
30
AIIROACHING THI GOAL
I.44-46 The dislinclion belveen vhal ve refer lo
as being invoIved vilh examining
or nol being invoIved vilh examining,
moreover, has lo do vilh lhe
reIalive sublIely of lhe ob|ecl.
Thal ob|ecl vhich is sublIe lo lhe uIlimale
is lhe one vhere lhere are no signs.
And lhis is sliII vhal is caIIed
Dee medilalion vhere ve sliII
have lhe seeds.
|iaqaita saticnara nirticnara cna
suksnna tisnaqa tqaknqaia.
Suksnna tisnaqaitan cna-a|inga parqatasanan.
Ta cta sa|ijan sana!nin.
So nov ve knov lhal uIlimale reaIily and emliness and cIear Iighl
and |usl lhal simIe missing feeIing vhen ve find oul lhere's no reaI
man on lhe movie screen are aII lhe same lhing. The day afler ve see
lhis direclIy, ve are on lhe fourlh alh: lhe Ialh of Habilualion.
Il's caIIed lhis because ve are gelling used lo vhal ve sav, using lhal
indescribabIe exerience lo comIele lhe vork of removing negalive
seeds from our mind forever.
Al lhis oinl ve sliII have lhese seeds, even vhen ve medilale, bul ve
never again faII inlo lhose medilalion lras lhal are |usl moving belveen
sublIe Ieasanl exeriences: shifling menlaI gears Iover and Iover,
beyond even examining lhe noles of lhe music, bul vilh more of lhe
ccnicni of medilalion lhal can free us of The Greal Mislake.
This ccnicni of our medilalion, lhe ob|ecl ve use lhis overfuI looI lo
focus uon, musl be lhal one mosl meaningfuI and sublIe ob|ecl of aII:
lhe facl lhal lhe man on lhe screen simIy isn'l a manaII lhe signs of
a man lo him, reaI arms and Iegs and lhe Iike, disaear loo vhen ve
louch lhe screen.
31
IYOND ALL IIAR
I.47-49 When you gain lhe fearIessness
of going beyond aII examining, you reach inner bIiss.
Al lhal oinl, visdom becomes vasl and avakened.
You exerience a comIeleIy differenl ob|ecl
lhan vilh lhe visdoms of hearing and reasoning,
because vhal you see is far beyond.
Nirticnara taisnara!qc-!qaina prasa!an.
|rian|nara iaira prajnqa.
Snruianunana prajnqa|nqan anqa
tisnaqa tisncsna-arinaitai.
As ve lraveI aIong lhe Ialh of Habilualion, ve eIiminale vilhin
ourseIves, forever, aII negalive lhoughls Iike anger, |eaIousy, or vanling
lhings ignoranlIy. The Iasl negalive lhoughl lhal ve overcome is even
lhe mosl sublIe form of examining or seeing lhings lhe vrong vay.
Once aII negalivily is gone, ve rogress lhrough lhe finaI sles lo lolaI
urily. This eriod is devoled lo gaining lhe abiIily lo see everylhing in
lhe universevhelher asl, resenl, or fulureal lhe same lime: a
usefuI lrick for heIing olhers.
Our visdom is nol onIy vasl, bul aIso avakened.
Iven very advanced eoIe can onIy see uIlimale reaIily during dee
medilalion, and al lhal lime cannol exerience lhings of normaI reaIily.
When ve reach lolaI urily lhough ve bIissfuIIy see everylhing in bolh
reaIilies, even vilh our ears and fingers and olher senses. Il's difficuIl
for us lo imagine.
This is lhe fiflh alh, lhe finaI goaI, lhe Ialh of No More Learning. We
are beyond aII fear, and ve're nol afraid lo announce il lo lhe vorId. We
have reached our goaI lhrough lhe carefuI rocess of Iearning from a
Masler and considering veII vhal lhey say, nov ve exerience il
direclIy.
32
THI IND OI THI SIIDS
I.50-51 The menlaI seed lhus crealed
culs off aII olher seeds.
And vhen menlaI seeds are sloed
in lhis vay, everylhing is sloed,
Thus il is knovn as dee medilalion
vhere ve no Ionger have lhe seeds.
Taj-jan sanskarc-nqa sanskara praii|an!ni.
Tasqa-api nirc!nc sarta nirc!nan
nir|ijan sana!nin.
Nov ve have nev seeds lhal cul off aII our oId, negalive seedsbolh
lhose lhal caused The Greal Mislake and lhose lhal Iimiled us from
knoving aII lhings.
One vasl grou of lhe nev seeds creales a aradise around us, vhere
ve dveII forever vilh everylhing, and everyone, ve ever hoed for. We
enler lhis heaven vhenever in our Iives ve reach lhis much goodness
vilhin ourseIves, and ve enler il vherever ve are, vilhoul Ieaving or
coming.
Anolher vasl grou of seeds acls sonlaneousIy, vilhoul any conscious
lhoughl on our arl, lo send us oul lo biIIions of suffering beings. We
aear al lheir side, in vhalever vay lhey needas a el dog, as a
siriluaI guide, as a Iover, as an enemy lo lesl lheir virlues.
We do aII lhis vilhoul slirring from a erfeclIy sliII and ure slale of
being. We are erfecl knovIedge, vhich by mereIy being Ianls lhe
seeds lhal make ilseIf conlinue, elernaIIy.
SICOND CORNIRSTONI
THI CHAITIR ON THI WAY
33
RIACHING TO RIACH
Second Cornerslone: The Chaler on lhe Way
II.1-2 Underlaking difficuIl siriluaI raclices,
reguIar sludy, and rayers lo lhe Masler
are vays of becoming vhoIe
vhich are aclivilies.
Nov lhe vhoIe urose of medilalion
is lo make our negalive lhoughls
dvindIe avay.
Otiiiqan Sa!nana Pa!an
Tapan sta!nqaqcsntara
prani!nanani kriqa qcgan.
Sana!ni |natana-arina
k|csna ianu karana-arinasn cna.
The second cornerslone uon vhich lhe house of yoga is buiIl is lhe
Way. In lhe firsl chaler ve use dee medilalion lo lraveI lhrough lhe
five alhs, in lhe second chaler ve slarl some very raclicaI yoga
melhods lo allain lhis medilalion, and lhe visdom vhich rides il. The
lvo chalers logelher refIecl yoga as a union of inner, menlaI melhods
and ouler, hysicaI melhods or aclivilies.
Il's imorlanl lo be cIear aboul vhere ve vanl our yoga lo lake us.
Whal goaI do ve have in mind` The firsl imorlanl goaI is nirvana.
This is nol some sluefied numbness, bul refers ralher lo ermanenlIy
sloing aII our negalive lhoughls. Imagine yourseIf as a erson vho is
simIy nol caabIe of gelling angry, ever again.
Afler reaching lhis nirvana, ve vork furlher lo become a hoIy being
somelhing Iike an angeI reaIIyvho sees aII lhings and heIs aII eoIe.
In facl, lhe Sanskril vord for lhe Way here is sa!nana, vhich means
lo reach an angeI lhrough our sleady, daiIy raclice. We reach lhem
firsl by conlacling lhem. We reach lhem secondIy by |cccning lhem.
34
THI TRUI INIMY
II.3-4 The five negalive lhoughls are ignorance,
seIfness, Iiking, disIiking, and grasing.
Ignorance is lhe fieId for lhe ones
lhal come afler il, vhelher lhey are
dormanl, dvindIing, inlerruled, or fIourishing.
Ati!qa-asniia raga
!tcsna-a|ninitcsnan pancna k|csnan.
Ati!qa ksnciran uiiarcsnan
prasupia ianu ticninnc!aranan.
The besl vay lo gel oul of lroubIe is lo figure oul hov ve gol lhere in
lhe firsl Iace. If valer is ouring aII over lhe fIoor, you can eilher mo
aII day or simIy lurn off lhe la.
There are four imorlanl rinciIes vhichvhen ve gras lhem
lolaIIyheI slo aII our ain. These are caIIed lhe Iour Higher Trulhs.
Here ve begin lhe firsl: lhe lrulh of vhere our ain comes from. The
Masler lakes us sle-by-sle lhrough lhe enlire rocess of hov ve cause
ourseIves lroubIe.
Al lhe very bollom of everylhing Iies lhe ferliIe fieId of ignorance
vhal ve've been caIIing The Greal Mislake, or hov lhe mind lurns
lhings around lhe vrong vay. OnIy by sloing lhis ignorance can ve
slo aII our olher unhainess, anger and lhe resl.
Oh, ve can lry lo gel more sIee, or lake a vacalion, do a IillIe yoga or
Iighl medilalion lo caIm our harried minds. This doesn'l slo lhoughls
Iike anger, il |usl suresses or inlerruls lhem for a vhiIe. Their rool,
lhe ignorance, is aIvays sliII lhere. And as Iong as il is, lhe caIm viII
vear off al lhe firsl big lraffic |am.
35
THI IOUR MISTAKIS
II.5 In ignorance ve misundersland our vorId:
lhings lhal cannol Iasl,
lhings vhich are uncIean, and ainfuI,
and vhich are nol lhemseIves,
seem lo us as if lhey viII Iasl,
and as if lhey are cIean,
and Ieasanl, and very much lhemseIves.
Aniiqa-asnucni !unkna-anainasu
niiqa snucni sukna-aina knqaiir ati!qa.
If an aIien came lo our vorId from anolher Ianel, an enIighlened
Ianel, lhey vouId be shocked and saddened by hov ve Iive. ecause
ve are comIeleIy vrong aboul everylhing ve lhink is good.
Inslead of lrying lo figure oul vhere lhings reaIIy come from, inslead
of lrying lo find oul vhy good lhings end, ve simIy and bIindIy vork
our Iives avay, lo gel lhings lhal ve aII knov cannol and viII nol Iasl.
Houses, cars, osilions, friends, famiIies, dealh.
We send biIIions of doIIars on soas and creams and cosmelics and
cIolhes lo drae over somelhing vhich is aIready beginning lo rol.
Our allemls lo seek Ieasure or resl are oflen onIy ainfuI, and lhe
fev Ieasures ve do manage lo oblain aIvays end in ain.
These are ignorance, yes, bul again al lhe bollom of lhem aII is rool
ignorance: lhe facl lhal every singIe lhing ve ever see is nol vhal ve
lhink il is. Things are nol lhemseIveslhey are ourseIves.
AII Iiving crealures, even anls, make lhis mislake aboul lhings.
Ignorance al lhis firsl slage is a seed vhich Iies vilhin us, before ve are
even born.
36
THI IGINNING OI MI
II.6 SeIfness is vhere lhe vrong imression
of someone seeing somelhing
and lhe somelhing someone sees
makes il seem as if
each one vere ilseIf.
Oirg !arsnana snakiqcr
cka-ainaicta-asniia.
So ve enler Iife vilh lhe seed of ignorance vilhin us. And lhen in lhe
very vomb lhe seed fIovers inlo a ersonaI exerience of lhis
misunderslanding, vhich is here caIIed seIfness.
This vrong idea of me is avakened by our very firsl sensalions in
Iife: lhe varmlh and ressure vilhin our molher. Ioisoned by
ignorance, lhe mind immedialeIy sIils Iife inlo varmlh, and me
feeIing lhe varmlh.
Il's very imorlanl lo say here lhal lhere is a me vhich is erfeclIy
fineone vhich does exisl, and vhich exeriences olher lhings. So
vhal's lhe difference belveen lhis me and lhe one lhal causes aII lhe
lroubIe`
When ve do exerience an ob|ecl Iike varmlh, ve lend lo lhink of il as
somelhing oul lhere, on ils ovn, by ilseIf. We lend lo lhink lhal hov il
gci oul lhere in lhe firsl Iace vas from somelhing oulside of ourseIves:
il comes from a fire, il comes from my molher's body.
ul in facl lhe varmlh, and me loo for lhal maller, are being roduced
by lhose seeds vilhin my ovn mind. We can see lhis from lhe facl lhal
cozy varm for one erson is slifIing hol lo anolher.
37
IS IT WRONG TO LIKI THINGS`
II.7-9 AssaiIed by vhal feeIs good,
ve begin lo Iike lhings.
AssaiIed by vhal feeIs bad,
ve begin lo disIike lhings.
Grasing is a lhoughl
lhal comes aII on ils ovn,
even for lhose vho undersland,
and lhen grovs ever slronger.
Sukna-anusnaqi ragan.
Ounkna-anusnaqi !tcsnan.
Starasa tani ti!usncpi
iaina ru!nc|ninitcsnan.
Grasing here means ignorance as il misunderslands an ob|ecl in lhe
momenl. We enler a aslry sho and see a singIe maIe-coaled donul
Iefl on lhe lray.
TemorariIy bIinded by our feeIings for maIe-coaled donuls, even
lhose of us vho lo some exlenl un!crsian! The Greal Mislake begin lo
gras, desile ourseIves. Grasing doesn'l mean grabbing lhe donul, or
even vanling il a Iol. Il |usl means Iooking al il lhe vrong vay: Il's oul
lhere, on lhe lray. Il's lhere because someone baked il. I viII gel il
because I have money. None of vhich is lrue.
Nov il's nol urcng lo Iike donuls. SiriluaIIy advanced eoIe cnjcq
lhings Iike donuls a Iol more lhan ve can. The very a|i|iiq lo Iike and
disIike is vhal gels us enIighlened: I Iike eace, I don'l Iike ain, I disIike
seeing eoIe suffer.
Heaven ilseIf is bIiss, nol some Iace vhere yogis sil around lrying nol
lo en|oy anylhing. ul lhere's a difference belveen snari Iiking and
siupi! Iiking. Hov do ve leII lhem aarl`
Here's a lesl. An eIderIy Iady behind you says lo her husband,
MaIe's my favorile! Do you Iike lhe donul enough lo Ieave il for her`
38
IIXING THI WORLD
I.10-11 Culling off lheir fIov
requires lhe eIiminalion
of very sublIe robIems.
These vays lhal lhe mind lurns
are eIiminaled by dee medilalion.
Tc praiiprasata ncqan suksnnan.
Onqana ncqas ia! tiriiaqan.
ack lo lhe bad man on lhe movie screen. He's hurling a uy. Il's
somelhing I don'l Iike.
The seed of ignorance lriggers misunderslanding me and lhings, vhich
lriggers immediale bIindness vhich aIIovs my mind lo ose lhe
foIIoving moraI quandary:
Do I run u lo lhe screen and hil lhe bad man` Or do I run u lo lhe
screen and lry lo laIk him oul of his vioIence eacefuIIy`
Gci ii. Il's nol lhal one of lhese melhods, as lhey sland, vouId vork
beller lhan lhe olher. My crazy mind has Iured me inlo choosing
belveen lvo faIse oosiles. The oinl is lhal nciincr aroach viII
vork, because neilher aroach ccu|! ever vork. Tnai man's nol lhe
man!
If ve don'l Iike vhal ve're seeingand in facl il is somelhing
unIeasanlve obviousIy have lo go u lo lhe boolh vhere lhe movie
ro|eclor is, and change somelhing lhere. Il's an infinileIy more sublIe
aroach, bul ve don'l reaIIy have any choice. If ve vanl lo slo ain,
ve have lo slo lhe seeds.
And lhis is done in lhe mind, in dee medilalion, beginning vilh lhe
seeds lhal cause The Greal Mislake.
39
WHIRI THI WORLD COMIS IROM
II.12-13 These negalive lhoughls
are lhe very rool of lhe slorehouse,
Ianled by lhe lhings ve do.
And lhen ve exerience lhings,
in Iifelimes ve see or nol.
As Iong as lhis rool is sliII lhere,
lhen ve viII exerience lhe riening
of lhese aclions in our Iives lo come.
K|csna nu|an karna asnaqc
!irsnia-a!irsnia janna tc!aniqan.
Saii nu|c ia! tipakc
jaiqaqur |ncgan.

So here I am al lhe Iasl maIe-coaled donul. I see il as somelhing I gel
from a slore and some money, nol from my ovn seeds. I vanl il in a
vay lhal's mislaken aboul hov lo gel il.
And so ralher lhan laking care lo Ianl seeds for a donul (by Ieaving
lhis one for lhe Iady behind me), I force lhe issue. I lake lhe Iasl donul,
and lhereby do a karma.
Our mind is Iike an exlraordinariIy sensilive video camera lhal records
every acl, vord, and lhoughl ve ever underlake, every second of our
enlire Iife. The image of each aclion or karma is slored in lhe mind as a
seed. When lhe lime comes, lhe seed riens, and creales everylhing
around us and inside us.
This slorehouse of seeds decides vhal ve see nov, and aIso vhal ve
see vhere ve can'l see yel: afler ve die. Don'l be nave and beIieve lhal
lhoughls slo |usl because lhe body slos. If you don'l gel a gel a caII
from someone, il doesn'l mean lhey're dead. Maybe lheir hone is |usl
broken.
We aII have Iols of oId bad seeds. KnovIedge can slo lhem from ever
groving.
40
WHIRI IAIN COMIS IROM
II.14 There is a conneclion of cause and effecl:
lhe seeds rien inlo exeriences
refreshingIy Ieasanl or ainfuI in lheir lormenl,
deending on vhelher you have done good lo olhers,
or done lhem vrong inslead.
Tc n|a!a pariiapa pna|an
punqa-apunqa nciuitai.
Take a momenl of lolaI honesly and ask yourseIf vhere lhe ain in
your Iife is coming from. There are basicaIIy lhree choices.
The firsl is lhe ig-ang Theory. AII lhings, incIuding your irrilaling
boss, have been caused by an evenl lhal convenienlIy has no cause ilseIf.
Your Iife, and aII ils lragedies, are simIy a huge coincidence, as random
arlicIes from a very oId exIosion bum inlo each olher, crealing lhe
face of every erson you've ever mel.
Or eIse lhere is a higher and infinileIy comassionale inleIIigence
vhich has crealed everylhing, and crealed il in such a vay lhal ve
aIvays Iose everylhing lo lhe agonies of oId age, cancer, var, dealh.
Or eIse ve gel exaclIy vhal ve give lo olhers: a sorl of erfecl cosmic
|uslice, as unforgiving as gravily. Lel go of lhe coffee cu, il faIIs and
breaks. Hurl someone eIse, you gel hurl back.
AII lhis, by lhe vay, is nol lo say lhal lhere are no divine beings
hovering around us conslanlIy, guiding us lovards erfecl hainess.
There are. ul il cannol come unIess ve lake care of olhers.
41
WHY THINGS IALL AIART
II.15 The lormenl of change is caused
by lhose same seeds of suffering,
and sloing hov lhe mind lurns lhings around
lo have quaIilies of lheir ovn
aIIovs us lo discern hov, lruIy,
every arl of our Iives is suffering.
Parinana iapa sanskara !unknair
guna tiriii tirc!nacn cna
!unknan cta sartan titckinan.
You meel somebody nev, somebody exciling, and lhe feeIing is
muluaI. In six monlhs you can'l sland each olher.
Why do lhings faII aarl` Il's nol your fauIl, or lheirs. Il's a robIem
vilh lhe vay Iife ilseIf is designed. Il's lhal seed lhing again.
Meeling a nev friend is, Iike everylhing eIse, lhe resuIl of a seed
riening vilhin our ovn mind. Ivery minule lhal ve send vilh our
nev friend, lhis seed is vearing oul, simIy by roducing our friend.
As lhe seed vears oul, lhe reIalionshi changes. When lhe seed
sullers lo an end, so does lhe friendshi. When ve undersland hov
seeds vork, ve slo misunderslanding friends. They are nol friends oul
lhere, vho lhemseIves have a smiIe or a louch lhal ve en|oy. Iverylhing
is coming from lhe seeds.
Iverylhing comes from lhe seeds, and seeds die by being born. TruIy
lhen, every arl of our Iiveseven lhe good lhingsmusl one day cause
us ain. This is lhe second higher lrulh: lhe lrulh of ain.
42
WHY GOOD IIOILI SUIIIR
II.16 The ain lhal ve
are ridding ourseIves of
lhal vouId have come lo us
in lhe fulure.
Hcqan !unkan anagaian.
If everylhing ve ever exerience is a resuIl of hov ve lreal olhers, lhen
vhy do good eoIe suffer` And vhy do eoIe vho cheal gel rich`
Il's cruciaI lo reaIize lhal menlaI seeds acl |usl Iike hysicaI seeds. No
one uls a corn seed inlo lhe ground and lhen slands lhere, execling
corn lo o u in a day or lvo.
MenlaI seeds are Ianled in lhe mind sinp|q |q cur |cing auarc inai uc
arc !cing, cr saqing, cr ininking scncining icuar!s scnccnc c|sc. Seeds enler
lhe slorehouse and vail lo be caIIed u, Iike airIanes slanding in Iine lo
lake off.
Cerlain seeds, Iike riorily fIighls, gel lo move ahead of lhe olhers in
Iine, for examIe, if ve have said somelhing oul of lerribIe anger, or
done a kind deed vilh an inlense underslanding of hov seeds
lhemseIves vork.
In any case, il lakes some lime for lhe riening rocess. Il's very good
lo kel lhis in mind, since lhe lime Iag is deceiving and ve can gel
discouraged. In acluaIily, anylhing good ve ever do a|uaqs comes back
good. As does bad. When il seems differenlIy, lhal's |usl an oIder seed
laking off in belveen.
43
IVIRYTHING WI SII
II.17-18 The cause lo be eIiminaled
is lhe inleraclion belveen lhe seer
and vhal lhey see.
And vhal ve see, vhal aears lo us,
is lhe slale of aII lhings:
lhey are eilher vorking or slanding
ourseIves, a combinalion
of lhe eIemenls and lhe overs,
somelhing lo consume, or lo use
for our Iiberalion
Orasniir !irsnqaqc sanqcgc ncqa nciun.
Prakasna kriqa siniii sni|an
|nuicn!riqa-ainakan
|ncga-apatarga-arinan !irsnqan.
Here begins lhe lhird higher lrulh: lhe lrulh of lhe alh lo lhe end of
ain. Lel's lake a gIance al lhe vay lhe universe ilseIf is organized, and
Iook for cIues on hov lo slo The Greal Mislake, lhe cause of aII ain.
Iverylhing ve see around us is eilher al vork or al resl. Things lhal
vork, or do somelhing, change lhereby. A fev lhings, Iike lhe emly
sace or Iace lhal lhings sland in, never change.
We ourseIves are ever-changing, a combinalion of hysicaI eIemenls
Iike chemicaIs, and conscious comonenls such as our mind and overs
of sense.
Il's imorlanl lo gras lhal our ercelions of aII lhings, vhelher lhey
lhemseIves are conslanl or in fIux, are coming from lhe seeds in our
minds. Then ve can reIale lo lhe universe viseIy. We can eilher bIindIy
consume vhal our asl seeds rovide us, or embrace lhe boId endeavor
of Ianling nev seeds for a erfecl vorId of freedom.
44
THI TWO RIALITIIS
II.19-20 The hases lhal lhings exhibil
are lhe foIIoving:
differenlialed, undifferenlialed,
mere signs, or beyond aII signs.
The seer, simIy by seeing,
exeriences urily,
bul lhen Ialer again sees ob|ecls.
Visncsna-atisncsna |inga naira
a|ingani guna partani.
Orasnia !irsni nairan
snu!!ncpi praiqaqa-anupasnqa.
Anolher, very usefuI vay of dividing u lhe universe is inlo lhe lvo
reaIilies. The firsl is caIIed decelive reaIily: everylhing in our normaI
Iife, Iike donuls lhal Iook Iike you gel lhem by aying.
Things in lhis Iover reaIily seem differenl from each olher, in and of
lhemseIves. A saIad is nol a donul. I am nol you. We are innaleIy and
by definilion !ijjcrcni.
The second, higher reaIily ve caII uIlimale reaIily. On lhis IeveI, a
saIad and a donul are nol differenl. This is nol some vague senlimenl
lhal everylhing is one, il's nol, and ve can'l gel anyvhere vilh lhal.
Ralher, aII lhings are cnc lhing in lhal lhey come from our seeds. Nov if
ve knov lhis, ve can buiId a nev vorId, vilhoul ain.
IarIier on ve caughl our mind imosing a erfecl IillIe iclure of a ol
onlo lhe mere signs of a ol oul lhere on lhe slove: siIver coIor, round
shae. ul even lhe siIver is a iclure imosed on lvo alches of siIver,
Iefl and righl.
When ve undersland lhus hov decelive reaIily vorks, il Ieads us lo
see ure, uIlimale reaIily, bul ve can'l slay lhere vilhoul lhe righl seeds.
45
The LoneIiness of Seeing
II.21-22 This lhing beIongs onIy
lo a erson vho has seen.
Whal is deslroyed for one
vho has reached lhis goaI
is nol, hovever, deslroyed for olhers
for lhey sliII ossess lhe foundalion.
Ta! arina cta !irsnqasqa-aina.
Kiria-arina praii nasnian apqanasnian ia!
anqa sa-a!naranaitai.
OnIy a erson vho has seen uIlimale reaIily direclIy, on lhe Ialh of
Seeing, lruIy underslands lhe lvo reaIilies. The exerience is caIIed
indescribabIe, onIy because lhe seer cannol convey il lo anolher erson
in vords vhich can make lhal erson see il lhemseIves, on lhe sol. ul
of course a seer devoles lhe resl of lheir Iife lo heIing olhers see
uIlimale reaIily loo.
And lhis is because lhe simIe acl of seeing, if onIy for a number of
minules, deslroys cerlain negalive emolions immedialeIyand aII olhers
nol Iong aflervards, bringing lhe freedom lhal aII of us so deseraleIy
need.
In lhe hours afler you firsl see, you ass lhrough a series of
exlraordinary visions. One of lhese is seeing direclIy inlo lhe fulure, lo
lhe day vhen you viII become a being of Iighl vho heIs aII olher Iiving
crealures. And so aII doubls aboul your fulure, for examIe, vanish
forever.
These lvo are very ersonaI exeriences vhich can never be fuIIy
conveyed lo lhose vho have nol seen. Hovever much lhe seer may
vanl lo share lhem, hovever much lhey may say or vrile, lhey cannol
remove every Iasl doubl of lhose vho have yel lo shaller The Greal
Mislake.
46
WHO'S IN CONTROL`
II.23-25 The cause of lhis, lhe inleraclion,
is a slale of mind lhal erceives
some reaI nalure, due lo a beIief
in a masler and servanl.
And ils cause is lhe misunderslanding.
When lhal is sloed, lhe inleraclion is sloed:
il is deslroyed for one vho sees,
as lhey reach absoIule urily.
Sta stani snakiqcn
starupcpa|a|!ni nciun sanqcgan.
Tasqa nciur ati!qa.
Ta! a|natai sanqcga-a|natc
nanan ia! !irsncn kaita|qan.
Again, lhe reason lhal negalive emolions musl aIvays conlinue in a
erson vho has nol seen is lhe vay lhey feeI lhal lhe lhings around lhem
are searale from lhem, in lhe sense of nol ccning from lhem.
Al lhe rool of lhis misunderslanding Iies lhe seed of ignorance, vhich
ve carried vilh us inlo lhis Iife. We said lhal seeing slos some negalive
lhoughls immedialeIy, and aII olhers in lime, inexorabIy, |usl because
you sav.
The Iasl negalive lhoughl lo go is The Greal Mislake, and aII of ils
seeds. This is hov seeing sends us lovards lhe finaI goaI, of absoIule
urily.
Wanl lo knov if you're sliII seeing lhings lhe vrong vay` Look al lhe
cIolhes you have on righl nov. Do you cun lhem` Yes. Why` ecause
I conlroI lhem. Oh, so can you leII me vilh cerlainly lhal you viII ovn
lhem lomorrov` Or may your famiIy be droing lhem off al lhe lhrifl
sho, on lhe vay lo your funeraI`
We don'l ovn anylhing, nol even our ovn body. Il is no servanl of
ours, and ve are nol ils masler. No one is in conlroI, vho has nol yel
seen.
47
TO SII THI ILLUSION
II.26-27 IeoIe ossessed of discriminalion
vhich comes from lhe reveIalion
are no Ionger al a Ioss:
lhey nov have a melhod
lo accomIish lhis deslruclion.
Theirs is lhe visdom
lhal carries one u
lo lhe end of lhe sevenlh IeveI.
Vitcka knqaiir atip|ata nancpaqan.
Tasqa sapia!na prania |nunin prajnqa.
And so ve reIale lo lhe ob|ecls around us as lhough ve ovned lhem:
as lhough ve couId conlroI lhem in lhe momenl, obIivious lo lhe facl
lhal ve are comIeleIy al lhe mercy of vhalever seeds ve have Ianled
in lhe asl. ComIeleIy al lhe mercy of hov ve have lrealed olhers.
Seers don'l reIale lo lhe vorId lhis vay. During lhe eriod afler lheir
iniliaI reveIalionduring lhe fourlh alhlhose ancienl, overfuI seeds
of ignorance in lheir minds sliII make lhe lhings around lhem seem as if
lhey are haening ic lhem and nol jrcn lhem.
ul lhe seer nov kncus lhal lhey can'l reaIIy be lhal vay. And so, in a
vay, lhey see lhe iIIusion for vhal il iseven if lhey can'l slo il yel.
Seers, because lhey have seen, ossess aII lhe looIs lhey need lo deslroy
aII of The Greal Mislake. Like a boal, lhis knovIedge carries lhem
lhrough six advanced IeveIs, vhere lhey erfecl lhe virlues of giving,
elhicaI Iiving, alience, siriluaI efforl, dee medilalion, and higher
visdom. During lhe sevenlh IeveI, lhey manage lo slo lhings from
even |ccking Iike lhey come from lheir ovn side.
48
THI IIGHT LIMS
II.28-29 If you engage earneslIy in lhe various raclices
of making yourseIf vhoIe,
aII your imurilies viII be deslroyed,
and lhen you viII gain lhe Iighl of visdom,
a reveIalion beyond even discriminalion.
The eighl Iimbs are seIf-conlroI, commilmenls,
lhe hysicaI oses, conlroI of lhe brealh,
vilhdravaI of lhe senses,
focus, fixalion, and erfecl medilalion.
Ycga-anga-anusninana! asnu!!ni ksnaqc
jnqana !ipiir atitcka knqaicn.
Yana niqana-asana pranaqana praiqanara
!narana !nqana sana!naqcsniata-angani.
Ior seven higher IeveIs, lhen, ve see lhe iIIusion as an iIIusion, and
finaIIy slo lhings from even Iooking olher lhan lhey reaIIy are: coming
from our ovn seeds. We lhen embark on lhree finaI slages knovn as lhe
ure IeveIs, vhere ve Iearn lo knov aII lhings, and lo send ourseIves
oul lo guide eoIe in many Iaces al once.
Our visdom here is beyond needing lo slay mindfuI even of lhe
iIIusion. This lhen is lhe fourlh and finaI higher lrulh: lhe lrulh of lhe
end of ain.
The briIIiance of Masler Ialan|aIi's shorl book on yoga, lhe reason il
has survived over lhousands of years, is lhal il nov gives us a very
raclicaI, sle-by-sle rogram vhich aII of usregardIess of our
abiIilies or lhe circumslances ve Iive incan underlake righl nov lo
gain lhese high goaIs.
We nov begin lhese sles: lhe famous asnia-anga, lhe eighl Iimbs or
arls of lhe yoga alh. As menlioned in lhe oening Iine of lhis second
chaler, ve cover firsl lhe five more exlernaIIy-orienled raclices,
concrele aclivilies vhere our rogress is easy lo measure. These reare
us for lhe lhree more invardIy-focused raclices of lhe lhird chaler.
49
SILI-CONTROL
II.30a The differenl forms of seIf-conlroI
are avoiding harm lo anyone,
aIvays leIIing lhe lrulh,
never sleaIing from anolher.
Aninsa saiqa-asicqa.
The firsl of lhe eighl Iimbs of yoga is seIf-conlroI, lhe abiIily in a sense
lo reslrain ourseIves from our more naluraI, Iover inslincls. OnIy lhe
five mosl cruciaI forms of seIf-conlroI are given.
The firsl is simIy lo avoid hurling olher eoIe, and remember lhal in
lhe ancienl books of visdom, eoIe means any Iiving crealure,
hovever smaII or aarenlIy uninleIIigenl, since obviousIy lhey aII feeI
ain and seek lo avoid il.
The mosl serious form of hurling is lo kiII or cooerale in lhe kiIIing of
a human being. AII of lhe ancienl lexls aIso slale lhal a human being
begins al concelion, as consciousness enlers lhe |usl-combined serm
and egg.
ReaIIy seaking lhe lrulh is difficuIl: il means never giving someone
eIse even a sIighlIy differenl imression from vhal you knov lo be lrue.
The mosl serious Iie is lo make faIse cIaims aboul our siriluaI
reaIizalions. Il's aIso |usl generaIIy good lo avoid divisive laIk, harsh
vords, and idIe raller.
SleaIing is lo lake or use anolher erson's roerly vilhoul lheir
ermission, vhich incIudes sneaking hone caIIs al vork, dirlying u
lhe cily vhich ve aII ay for vilh our laxes, or ruining lhe Iarlh for
coming generalions.
50
A CODI IOR ALL OI US
II.30b-31 .Keeing sexuaI urily,
and overcoming ossessiveness.
These forms of seIf-conlroI are mighly codes of conducl
meanl for eoIe al every slage of lheir ersonaI deveIomenl.
They go beyond differences in race or sociaI slalus,
lhey go beyond lhe borders belveen counlries,
lhey go beyond vhal is modern, or oId,
lhey go beyond lhe various creeds and conviclions.
.Brannacnarqa-aparigrana qanan.
jaii !csna ka|a sanaqa-anatacninnan
sarta |nauna nanatraian.
SexuaI urily, for a erson vho has made a commilmenl lo remain
ceIibale, means avoiding aII forms of sexuaI aclivily. When |oyfuIIy
laken on and mainlained, lhis vov granls exlraordinary energy and
menlaI cIarily. Ior olhers, sexuaI urily means lo slriclIy honor lhe bond
belveen lvo olher eoIe vho are in a commilled reIalionshi.
Avoiding ossessiveness begins vilh making a delermined efforl lo
Iive simIy. Il aIso exlends lo recognizing and lrying lo slo our very
common, very unforlunale feeIings of disIeasure vhen olhers gel
somelhing nice, or our slrange sense of salisfaclion over olhers'
robIems.
These differenl forms of seIf-conlroI are nol an efforl by some
organizalion somevhere lo kee us from having fun. The vorId is a
messed-u Iace. The uIlimale form of seIf-conlroI is lo slo lhinking
lhal lhis is someone eIse's fauIl: ve creale il vilh our ovn seeds.
Avoiding aclions lhal make bad seeds and a bad vorId is simIy a smarl
lhing for us lo do.
Il's nol al aII a maller of vhal reIigion or race or nalion ve beIong lo.
Wise eoIe lhroughoul lhe hislory of our Ianel, in every counlry, have
recognized lhal conlroIIing ourseIves is vhal lruIy sels us free.
51
COMMITMINTS
II.32 The commilmenls are lo be cIean,
lo be conlenled vilh vhalever ve have,
lo embrace hardshis for higher goaIs,
lo engage in reguIar sludy,
and lo seek our Masler's bIessings.
Saucna sanicsna iapan
suta!nqaqcsntara prani!nanani
niqanan.

Iive commilmenls make u lhe second Iimb of yoga. SeIf-conlroI
revenls bad seeds, lhe commilmenls Ianl good ones. These lhen
acluaIIy creale our success in lhe six olher raclices lo come.
Keeing cIean means slriving aII day lo see lhal lhe vorId and aII lhose
around us are sacred. Il aIso means nol cIullering u our day vilh
busyness, lhe craving for counlIess shaIIov inleraclions vilh olhers, and
iIes of comIeleIy meaningIess |unk Iying around lhe lemIe of our
home.
Conlenlmenl is nol vanling lhe lhings lhal ve don'l have, and
en|oying lhe lhings lhal ve do have. A yogi never comIains aboul
vhalever food or Iace lhey may haen lo gel.
ul conlenlmenl doesn'l aIy lo our siriluaI rogress. We musl be
commilled lo finishing vhalever hard vork ve need lo, if il means
laking ourseIves and olhers forever oul of ain. ReguIar sludy, in lhe
oId days, meanl Iearning and memorizing lhe greal books al lhe feel of a
lrue Masler. Our reIalionshi vilh lhis Masler is lhe grealesl
commilmenl of aII, for vilhoul il ve can never drink of lhe Iiving valer
assed dovn from hearl lo hearl, over lhousands of generalions of
leachers and lheir sludenls.
52
DISTROYING OLD AD KARMA
II.33-34a
When lhe images slarl lo hurl you,
sil dovn and vork oul lhe anlidole.
The imageseoIe vho hurl me or lhe Iike
come from vhal I did myseIf,
or gol olhers lo do for me,
or vhal I vas gIad lo hear lhal olhers had done.
And vhal came before lhem
vas eilher craving, or haling, or dark ignorance.
Viiarka |a!nanc praiipaksna |natanan.
Viiarka ninsa-a!aqan
kiria kariia-anunc!iia
|c|na krc!na ncna purtaka.
So seIf-conlroI and commilmenls slo nev bad seeds and Ianl nev
good seeds. ul ve musl aIso deaI vilh lhe oId bad seeds, slocked in
our menlaI slorehouse. Olhervise lhey viII creale obslacIes for lhe olher
six raclices of yoga.
We may nol be abIe lo see vhal ve originaIIy did lo Ianl lhe seeds ve
have nov, bul ve can decide vhal ve musl have done, from hov lhese
seeds are srouling and crealing ainfuI iclures in our currenl heaIlh
and reIalionshis. This knovIedge aIIovs us lo acluaIIy go in and
deslroy lhose seeds, vilhin oul ovn mind.
Seeds are Ianled nol onIy by vhal ve ourseIves do, bul aIso vhen
someone eIse acls on our behaIf, or simIy if ve consciousIy arove of
an aclion. If a erson dies in a var, and ve have viIIingIy aid laxes for
lhal var, lhen lhe seed is lhe same as if ve ourseIves had Iunged a
knife inlo lhe erson's chesl, vilh our ovn hands.
AII seeds for sufferingvhelher oulrighl ain or hainess vhich
decays inlo ainare Ianled lhrough The Greal Mislake, as ve resond
lo lhe evenls and eoIe around us vilh mislaken feeIings of Iiking and
disIiking lhings lhal acluaIIy come from ourseIves.
53
THI IOUR IORCIS
II.34b They are of Iesser, or medium,
or grealer over.
Say lo yourseIf lhen,
Who knovs vhal ain
I have Ianled for myseIf`
Sil dovn and vork oul lhe anlidole.
. Mir!u na!nqa a!ninaira
!unkna-anjqana-ania pna|a iii
praiipaksna |natanan.
There is a vay lo slo oId bad karma. Olhervise lhings vouId be
hoeIess, since menlaI seeds conslanlIy muIliIy in slrenglh. A singIe
acorn roduces an oak lree veighing lhousands of ounds, and menlaI
seeds are no differenl.
Idenlify lhe mosl overfuI negalive seeds you have. OIder ones lhal
are causing a serious ain in your body. Never ones lhal you remember
Ianling: a arlicuIarIy serious harm lo someone, somelhing done in
exlreme emolion, an in|ury lo a overfuI karmic ob|ecl such as a arenl
or leacher.
The anlidole has four sles: lhe Iour Iorces. Sil dovn firsl, and quielIy
reviev aII you undersland aboul seeds. Think aboul your desliny,
simIy, saving lhe vorId.
SecondIy, feeI some inleIIigenl regrelnol guiIlaboul hov lhis aclion
and ils seed viII deIay your desliny.
The lhird and by far mosl imorlanl sle is lo decide nol lo reeal lhe
mislake. Ior a heaIlh or reIalionshi robIem, you obviousIy need lo
slriclIy avoid any harm lo olhers' veII-being or friendshisand so on.
The fourlh force is lo lake a osilive aclion lo counleracl lhe negalive
one. VoIunleer for some lime al a hosilaI, for examIe. ConsciousIy
dedicale aII four forces lo lhe seed, and il viII die.
54
IN YOUR IRISINCI
II.35 If you make il a vay of Iife
never lo hurl olhers,
lhen in your resence
aII confIicl come lo an end.
Aninsa praiisninaqan
iai sanni!nau taira iqagan.
Whal haens if ve gel good al managing oul menlaI seeds`
Remember firsl lhal onIy uc can Ianl our ovn karmic seeds, and onIy
uc exerience lhem vhen lhey sroul. (We can aIso do a good lhing
lhrough as a grou, and each erson in lhal grou Ianls a simiIar seed,
lhis accounls for lhe roserily and overly lhal exisl on oosile sides
of our imaginary inlernalionaI borders.)
And so lhe Masler says lhal in qcur resence, somelhing good viII
haen. And lhal's vhy lvo eoIe can exerience lhe very same yoga
cIass as eilher an exhiIaraling advenlure or |usl a very sore neck.
The more lhoughlfuI and sleadiIy ve vork vilh our ovn seeds inslead
of lrying lo vreslIe vilh bad men on a movie screen, lhe more obvious il
becomes lhal nov ve are on lhe righl lrack.
The firsl slage is lhe surprising: a erson vho's a robIem al vork
greels you varmIy. Then lhe c|ticus: aImosl everybody al vork slarls lo
smiIe al you. Nexl, lhe anazing: vars around lhe vorId suddenIy slo.
IinaIIy, lhe niracu|cus: lhe rocess of your body aging cIearIy slos, and
begins lo reverse ilseIf.
55
WHIRI MONIY COMIS IROM
II.36-37 If you make il a vay of Iife
aIvays lo leII lhe lrulh,
lhen anylhing you underlake
viII have a successfuI resuIl.
If you make il a vay of Iife
never lo sleaI from anolher,
lhen lhere viII come a lime
vhen eoIe |usl come lo you
and offer you aII lhe money you need.
Saiqa praiisninaqan
kriqa pna|a snraqaitan.
Asicqa praiisninaqan
sarta raincpasinanan.
We have lo gel oul of lhe mind-sel lhal says leIIing a Iie is onIy vrong
if lhere's a good chance you can gel caughl al il. Or lhal il's onIy vrong
because our arenls said so, or our leachers al schooI, or because some
reIigion says so.
The more ve begin lo undersland seeds, lhe more cIear il becomes lhal
doing good lhings is nol |usl righl, bul aIso lhe onIy vay lo gel vhal ve
vanlincIuding vhal ve vanl for everyone eIse.
If ve vork hard al leIIing lhe lrulh, lhen everyone eIse begins lo be
honesl vilh us loo, aII lhe lime. (AIlhough p|casc rcncn|cr lhe lime ga:
seeds need lime lo rien, aIlhough lhe sheer underslanding of hov seeds
vork seeds lhis u viIdIy.) And lhen anylhing ve ever underlakebe
il a nev business, a nev reIalionshi|usl aulomalicaIIy vorks oul.
Money karma can be amazing. Money isn'l made al a federaI faciIily
somevhere. The ta|uc of lhe vorId economyevery singIe cenl of ilis
crealed by resecling olher eoIe's lhings. Give il a serious, roIonged
lry. You'II be Iaughing aII lhe vay lo lhe bank.
56
HOW TO SUCCIID IN RILATIONSHIIS
II.38-39 If you make il a vay of Iife
aIvays lo kee sexuaI urily,
lhen you viII aIvays have slrenglh.
If you ersevere
in overcoming ossessiveness,
you viII be abIe lo see
your olher Iifelimes.
Brannacnarqa praiisninaqan
tirqa |a|nan.
Aparigrana sinairqc janna
kaina-ania san|c!nan.
Il's no surrise lhal, karmicaIIy seaking (vhich is lhe onIy vay lhal
vorks anyvay), ve can gel lhe kind of reIalionshi ve vanl vilh
someone of lhe oosile sex onIy by being very carefuI nol lo damage
olher eoIe's reIalionshis.
A simIe ruIe of lhumb is aIvays lo acl around anolher erson's
arlner as if lhal olher erson vere slanding lhere loo. Again, lhis is nol
a maller of vhal ve normaIIy lhink of as moraIily: il's simIy lhe onIy
vay lhal ve can ever find a beaulifuI reIalionshi ourseIves, and if
everyone acled lhis vay, lhen ctcrqcnc vouId have an amazing arlner.
Il's Iike resecling olher eoIe's lhings: if ctcrqcnc underslood il, lhen
ctcrqcnc in lhe vorId vouId have aII lhey need. Ioverly vouId be
forever eradicaledand lhis is lhe onIy vay il viII ever occur.
The Sanskril vord for slrenglh here imIies bolh very good heaIlh in
generaI, and aIso a cIean ersonaI sexuaI vigor lhal gives you energy for
everylhing you do.
If ve Iearn nol lo cIuller u our Iives vilh lhings and busyness, lhe mind
becomes so sliII and cIear lhal ve can see fulure evenls and even olher
Iifelimes. A vonderfuI skiII for success al every IeveI of Iife!
57
SIMILY CLIAN
II.40-41 If you slay cIean,
lhen you viII never find yourseIf
in crovds of lhe fiIlhy.
Trulh, urily, sveel lhoughls,
singIe-oinledness, and
maslery of ones senses
are aII quaIilies lhal make you
suilabIe for seeing
your lrue seIf.
Snaucnai stanga
jugupsa parair asansargan.
Saiita snu!!ni
saunanasqaikagrqcn!riqa
jaqa-aina !arsnana
qcgqaitani cna.
If you conlinue lo be very honesl vilh yourseIf aboul lhe amounl of
ain lhal's reaIIy going on around us aII lhe lime, lhen lhe simIe acl of
vaIking dovn a busy slreel can be overvheIming: hundred of heIIess,
soon-lo-be corses brushing asl us in a singIe hour.
If lhough ve mainlain a cIean and sincere siriluaI raclice, lhen lhe
habil of valching oul for ossibIe angeIs among us graduales inlo direcl
encounlers vilh lhese beings. And angeIs reaIIy do exisl: lhe idea may
seem a IillIe corny, bul aII lhe ainlings and descrilions of lhem around
allesl lo lhe facl lhal someone, somevhere, has acluaIIy mel lhem.
If lhe seed lhing reaIIy vorks, and if you ush il lo ils Iimil, lhen il
slands lo reason lhal evenluaIIy you'II be surrounded by such beings, aII
lhe lime.
MenlaI urily and hysicaI simIicily Iead lo a serene slale of mind, no
Ionger ensIaved by excesses of food or sex. When lhe valer of a Iake is
erfeclIy sliII, onIy lhen can ve see lhe fuII moon refIecled in il: uIlimale
reaIily, emliness.
58
HOW TO I HAIIY
II.42-43 If you slay conlenled,
lhen you achieve
hainess vhich is unsurassed.
Imbracing siriluaI hardshis
deslroys your imurilies,
aIIoving you lo masler
bolh body and senses.
Sanicsna! anuiianan sukna |a|nan.
Kaqcn!riqa si!!nir asnu!!ni
ksnaqai iapasan.
Wanl lo gel rich` Il's easy. SimIy urosefuIIy coIIecl lhe necessary
karmic seeds lo see yourseIf lhal vay, and you ui|| be. And so,
aradoxicaIIy il seems, lhe onIy vay lo gel a Iol of money is lo give a Iol
avay, very urosefuIIy and carefuIIy.
ul vhen lhe seeds rien and il aII comes back lo you, viII you be
nappq? You see, lhe seeds for being nappq and lhe seeds for being ricn are
!ijjcrcni seedsand lhal exIains vhy veaIlhy eoIe can somelimes be
so ullerIy unhay.
The karmic seed lhal's Ianled by lraining ourseIves lo be salisfied
vilh any IeveI of maleriaI comforl is differenl. This seed riens as ure
ccnicnincni, and il's vorlh a huge amounl of veaIlh seeds. A erson
vho is conlenled vilh simIicily has surassed veaIlh ilseIf.
Il reaIIy is lrue lhal lhere is no schooI Iike being ul inlo difficuIl
silualions and Iearning lo exceI because of lhem. KarmicaIIy seaking,
lhe decision lo commil ourseIves lo somelhing lhal is lruIy meaningfuI
forces a Iol of oId, very dangerous seeds lo go offremalureIy, bul
much more genlIy lhen lhey vouId have olhervise. Il's sorl of Iike lhe
inconvenience of missing a fIighl lhal ends u crashing.
59
IINDING YOUR GUARDIAN ANGIL
II.44-45 If you engage in reguIar sludy,
lhen you come lo be vilh
lhe AngeI of your deeesl dreams.
If you seek your Masler's bIessing,
you allain finaI medilalion.
Sta!nqaqa! isnia!ctaia sanpraqcgan.
Sana!ni si!!nir isntara prani!nanai.
The serious sludy of lhe siriluaI cIassicsburning lhe midnighl oiI in
lhe Ieasanl comany of lhe grealesl Maslers of hisloryis nol much in
vogue in our limes. Ierhas il's because knovIedge has come lo be
associaled vilh universilies and degrees, ralher lhan years of deeIy-
fuIfiIIing arenliceshi under a lrue Masler.
Al any rale, a reaI Masler viII demand from usoflen ainfuIIy so
lhal ve ul our sludies inlo acluaI raclice. Which vilh yoga means an
incessanl examinalion of our inner veaknesses: a |oy in exosing lhem
and rouling lhem oul.
As ve graduaIIy reIace our menlaI slockiIe vilh an increasingIy
higher ercenlage of ure seeds, lhen our Masler begins lo come lo us in
ever higher vays. Al a very secific oinl, lhey come lo us as lhe one
erfecl AngeI vho viII guide us ersonaIIy lo our finaI aradise
logelher.
This is nol some vishfuI fairy-laIe lhinking. Il is lhe hard, coId,
raclicaI, inevilabIe resuIl of devoling ourseIves lo lhe lask of cIeaning
u lhe seeds vilhin our ovn minds.
60
ODY YOGA
II.46-47 The oses bring a feeIing
of veII-being vhich slays vilh you.
They do so lhrough a baIance
of efforl and reIaxalion,
and lhrough endIess forms
of baIanced medilalion.
Sinira suknan asanan.
Praqaina snaiini|qa-anaia
sanapaiii|nqan.
These Iines are lhe originaI source for lhe hysicaI yoga oses as ve
knov lhem loday. OriginaIIy lhese vere moslIy differenl lyes of
medilalion oslures, and a fev addilionaI exercises lhal vouId give you
lhe slrenglh and fIexibiIily lo sil in unmoving medilalion for Iong
eriods of lime.
Here begins reaIIy lhe idea of vorking on lhe hearl and mind by
vorking from lhe oulside, on lhe body. y Iacing lhe arls of our body
in very secific osilions, ve uroseIy affecl lhe inner channeIs. This
faciIilales lhe fIov of inner vind, or prana. And because our very
lhoughls ride uon lhis prana inside lhe channeIs, ve bring grealer
kindness and knovIedge lo our mind, by using our body.
Medilalion is defined as mainlaining a baIance vhich avoids menlaI
Ielhargy and hyeraclivily. Il is a deIicale rocess of correclion and
counler-correclion, Iike lhe conslanl Iefl-and-righl of our hands uon a
sleering vheeI.
Through raclice, ve Iearn lo kee a slraighl Iine, lhen ve reIax our
efforl and ride, Iesl lhe correcling ilseIf become a dislraclion. Wilh
reguIar raclice, body and mind achieve veII-bring vhich reaIIy Iasls.
UIlimaleIy ve allain a higher veII-being, as lhe channeIs lhemseIves
lransform inlo Iighl.
61
THI LII OI CHOICIS
II.48 And lhere viII come a lime
vhen differences
no Ionger harass you.
Taic !tan!ta-ana|nignaian.
Hov exaclIy does lhis lransformalion haen` As ve'II see in lhe nexl
chaler, lhere are lhree rimary vind channeIs vilhin lhe body. The
middIe channeI runs dovn lhe cenler of lhe back, foIIoving lhe sine.
On eilher side of il run lvo Iesser channeIs.
Remember The Greal Mislake: hov ve lry lo gel lhe lhings ve vanl in
lhe vrong vay, Iike a chiId hilling a bad man on a movie screen. This
lhen Ianls negalive seeds vhich rien inlo our very lroubIed vorId.
When ve see lhings in a vrong vay, lhe inner vinds inside lhe lvo
side channeIs are aclive. This is because lhey are lied lo mislaken
lhoughls aboul hov our vorId vorks, and lhese lhoughls run in lhe
same lvo channeIs.
The incredibIe magic of yoga is lhal il acluaIIy allacks negalive
lhoughls on a hysicaI IeveI, as lhe exercises reIease bIockages of inner
vinds in lhe side channeIs.
These bIockages cause us lo see lhings in a oIarized vay: lhis and
lhal, me and you, vhal I vanl versus vhal you vanl. When lhe bIocks
are freed, lhen gelling vhal you vanl becomes gelling vhal I vanl, and
ve are bolh freed.
62
THI IND OI RIATH
II.49 The brealh is conlroIIed vhen,
as you remain lhere,
lhe assing of your brealh
in and oul simIy slos.
Tasnin saii sntasa prasntasaqcr
gaii ticnc!an pranaqanan.
If ve are doing our yoga exercises correclIy lhen, lhe side channeIs
oen u, unicn aciua||q causcs us ic inink ncrc c|car|q an! kin!|q. If you're
nol gelling lhis effecl vilh your yoga, lhen you're nol doing il roerIy.
Al lhe bollom of everylhing are seIf-conlroI and commilmenls, lhe seeds
crealing lhe yoga oses: Am I laking care of olher eoIe, every day`
In addilion lo hysicaI exercises vhich reach dovn lo oen lhe
channeIs, lhere is an enlire science of brealhing vhich louches lhe inner
vinds lhemseIves, Iinked lo our lhoughls vilhin lhe channeIs. AIlhough
our brealh is nol lhe inner vind, lhe lvo are inlimaleIy connecled.
Whalever haens vilh one resonales vilh lhe olher, Iike guilar slrings
luned lo lhe same nole.
And so in one direclion, vorking from lhe oulside in, ve can remain in
a medilalion oslure or yoga ose and masler our brealh, vhich lhen
caIms lhe inner vinds: vhen you sland and hoId a horse's reins, lhe
rider alo il is sliIIed. Irom lhe inside oul, ve can quiel lhe lhoughls:
vhen lhe rider is caIm, lhe horse is loo.
A lolaIIy caIm and roerIy focused mind brings negalive lhoughls lo
a slandsliII, al vhich oinl lhe ouler brealh simIy slos.
63
HOW TO RIATHI
II.50 Kee a cIose valch
on lhe brealh,
oulside or inside,
aused or being exchanged.
Observe loo
lhe Iace in lhe body,
lhe duralion, and lhe counl.
Long and fine.
Banqa-a|nqaniara sian|na tiriiin
!csna ka|a sanknqa|nin
pari!irsnic !irgna suksnnan.
So lhe brealh is connecled lo lhe inner vinds, vhich are Iinked lo our
very lhoughls. This means lhal if ve kee a cIose eye on our brealh
bolh during our yoga exercises and lhroughoul lhe day as veIIlhen ve
can monilor lhe slale of our mind, and lhe condilion of lhose lvo
lroubIesome side channeIs.
If you lhink aboul il, brealh can be in lhree Iaces: aII brealhed oul,
vhen il auses momenlariIy, aII brealhed inagain a ause, or moving
belveen lhese lvo slales.
In medilalion, in a yoga ose, and vilh lhe boss al vork ve slrive lo
kee our brealhs Iong and sIov, vilh a conslanl even infIov and exhaIe.
This kees lhe inner vinds caIm and lhus our mind cIear and focused.
When ve're nervous or usel, inhaIes lend lo go much quicker lhen
exhaIes. We correcl lhis by menlaIIy counling lhe seconds for each, unliI
inhaIes and exhaIes lake equaI lime. Then exlend lhe caIm exhaIes
furlher.
Since lhe inner vinds are lied lo our lhoughls, vilh roer lraining ve
can aIso menlaIIy direcl a cerlain number of brealhs lhrough secific
inner bIockages, and lhen lhe inner vinds viII foIIov.
64
RIATHING TO A SINGLI IOINT
II.51-53 The fourlh slale is vhere one has given u
oulside, inside, and lhe exerience ilseIf.
And lhen one can deslroy lhe veiI lhal covers lhe Iighl.
The mind is fil for focus.
Banqa-a|nqaniara tisnaqa ksncpi cnaiurinan.
Taian ksniqaic prakasna-ataranan.
Onaranasu cna qcgqaia nanasan.
So lhe brealh can be oulside, inside, or exerienced as moving belveen
lhe lvo. ul lhere's aIso lhal fourlh ossibiIily, vhen il slos aIlogelher.
We exerience somelhing cIose lo lhis vhen ve are reading a reaIIy
good book, or lrying hard lo hear a fainl sound. The cIoser ve
concenlrale, lhe more caIm lhe inner vinds become, and lhus lhe brealh.
When lhe brealh acluaIIy slos for Iong eriods of lime, il does so for
one of lvo reasons: eilher our focus in generaI is erfecl, or ve have
deslroyed lhe very lhoughls and vinds lhal creale lhe veiI of The Greal
Mislake.
Of course lhe firsl can heI us gel lo lhe second, bul il's lhe second one
ve vanl: lhal's vhal Masler Ialan|aIi defined as yoga ilseIf, back in lhe
beginning. AII lhe hysicaI raclices of yoga are aimed al sliIIing lhe
side channeIs, vhich causes us lo see uIlimale reaIily, and evenluaIIy
lurns our body inlo Iighl: an angeI vho aears vherever someone
needs.
These resuIls in hysicaI yoga, and eseciaIIy lhe brealh exercises,
come onIy afler sleady vork vilh a quaIified leacher. Someone vho's
been lrained ersonaIIy by a Masler in an aulhenlic lradilion. Someone
vho's obviousIy keeing u a good raclice lhemseIves, and gollen
resuIls. Don'l lry lo force lhings yourseIf, or do lhem incorreclIy, you
couId very veII hurl your body or mind. Success comes very sureIy and
naluraIIy onIy by Ianling lhe righl seedslhrough lhe yoga of seIf-
conlroI and commilmenls.
65
INDING THI TYRANNY OI STIMULATION
II.54-55 Learn lo vilhdrav lhe mind
from your hysicaI senses,
freed from ils lies lo ouler ob|ecls,
lhe mind can arrive
al ils ovn reaI nalure.
And vilh lhal, you allain
lhe highesl conlroI of lhe senses.
Statisnaqa-asanpraqcgc cniiiasqa
starupa-anukara itcn!riqanan
praiqanara.
Taian parana tasnqaicn!riqanan.
And so ve have finished lhe firsl four of lhe five ouler Iimbs of yoga:
seIf-conlroI, commilmenls, yoga exercises, and brealhing raclices.
There's obviousIy a rogression here, for examIe, lhe very acl of being
carefuI nol lo hurl olhersurosefuIIy Ianling good seedsis inc cn|q
uaq lo gel good al yoga exercises. ul being sure lo brealhe caImIy
reaches back and a||cus you lo be nice lo olhers. And so each of lhe eighl
Iimbs suorls each of lhe olhers, crealing a seIf-erelualing, uvard
siraI in our Iives.
Here again, our hysicaI senses are vonderfuI looIs, and il's fine lo
en|oy a sIice of izza or a bovI of ice cream. To make serious rogress in
our goaIs of saving lhe universe, lhough, ve have lo manage lhese
senses sensibIy.
In|oy a song fuIIy and lhen lurn off lhe radio, before il becomes
background noise. Do your yoga exercises modeslIy bul sleadiIy, and
you'II suddenIy gel cravings for lhe exacl lye of food, and lhe quanlily
of food, vhich is heaIlhiesl for you. CuIlivale lhe arl of hay siIence,
en|oyed vilh friends.
IvenluaIIy lhese viII Iead lo lhe highesl form of siIence: direcl
communion vilh lhe uIlimale.
THIRD CORNIRSTONI
THI CHAITIR ON IRACTICI
66
IOCUS AND STAY
Third Cornerslone: The Chaler on Iraclice
III.1-2 Locking lhe mind
on an ob|ecl is focus.
And slaying on lhal ob|ecl
over a slrelch of lime is fixalion.
Tiriiqc Vi|nuii Pa!an
Ocsna |an!nasn cniiiasqa !narana.
Taira praiqaqaika !nqanan.
The lhirds cornerslone for lhe house of yoga consisls of lhe lhree inner
Iimbs or raclices, aIong vilh lheir raclicaI aIicalions. Al lhe end of
lhe Iasl chaler ve vere Iearning lo conlroI our senses, vhich brings us
aulomalicaIIy lo focus. Il's Iike finding your friend in a crovd al lhe
lrain slalion.
On one IeveI, lhe mind focuses on a singIe ob|ecl lhrough lhe rocess of
eIiminaling aII olher ob|ecls around il: everylhing is lhe oosile of aII
lhal il's nol. You check and eIiminale faces in lhe crovd, and sleadiIy
narrov your focus dovn lo your friend's face.
The more faces lhere are lo veed oul, lhe more difficuIl il is lo find
your friend. The more ob|ecls you osses in your house, lhe more
unimorlanl lhings you have lo do aII day, lhe more useIess nevs
you've heard and lhe more you meel vilh olhers for unmeaningfuI laIk,
lhen lhe Iess chance you'II be abIe lo focus.
Once ve reach a singIe oinl, ve need lo slay lhere, lhreading lhal
alh belveen lhinking of olher lhings and dozing off menlaIIy.
Thinking of dealh fixes lhe firsl, lhinking of desliny fixes lhe second.
67
THI CLIAR LIGHT
III.3 Ierfecl medilalion
lhen sees lhis same ob|ecl
as ils simIe seIf:
ils cIear Iighl,
lolaIIy void
of any nalure of ils ovn
Ta! cta-arina naira
nir|nasan starupa snunqan
ita sana!nin.
Al some oinl, lhrough a modesl bul very reguIar daiIy raclice of
medilalion (erformed according lo lhe aulhenlic inslruclions of lhal
quaIified leacher), ve allain lolaI sliIIness of lhe mind: focus vhich is
fixed.
They say lhal sloing The Greal Mislake is Iike choing dovn a big
lree. Ierfecl focus and lhe abiIily lo slay are Iike lvo slrong arms. ul
hovever slrong ve may be, ve can'l simIy ush a lree dovn. We need
a very shar axe.
To make medilalion erfecl, il's nol enough lo simIy menlaIIy slare al
somelhing Iike our brealh for a Iong lime. The mind even lhen is making
ils conslanl, deadIy error, and ve musl fix il or come lo lhe end of our
Iife unfuIfiIIed.
As ve medilale ve need lo slrive lo see lhe one lhing vhich is
simIy.missing, cIear gone. We need lo reaIize lhal nolhing is
anylhing, lhal is, even lhe holness of a fire never |c|cngc! lo il. Il is | vho
make fire hol.
68
THI IYI OI WISDOM
II.4-8 When lhese lhree acl logelher
as one, ve caII il lhe combined efforl.
When you masler lhis skiII,
you gain lhe eye of visdom.
This is divided inlo various IeveIs.
ReIalive lo lhose vhich recede lhem,
lhese lhree are inner Iimbs.
ul lhey are aIso ouler Iimbs comared
lo lhe slale vhere lhe seeds are gone.
Traqan ckaira sanqanan. Taj jaqai prajnqa-a|ckan.
Tasqa |nunisnu tiniqcgan. Traqan aniar angan purtc|nqan.
Ta! api |anir angan nir|ijasqa.
An axe Iifled high vilh lvo slrong arms has a cerlain undeniabIe
over lo il. You have abiIily lo ul your mind on a singIe oinl, and lo
kee il lhere unvavering for an hour or more. Al lhe same lime, qcu
icia||q un!crsian! vhere lhe lhing you're focused on is reaIIy coming
fromand nol coming from. These lhree logelherfocus, fixalion, and
visdomreresenl a kind of leamvork or combined efforl vhich viII
IileraIIy save your Iife, and lhe Iives of many olhers.
Nov you ossess a lruIy overfuI veaon, lhe one and onIy veaon
vhich can deslroy lhe ain of our vorId. This is lhe eye of visdoma
melahoricaI lhird eyelhe Iighl of knovIedge vilhin our deeesl
mind.
The lhree begin as an inleIIecluaI exerience, and lhen a direcl one, of
uIlimale reaIily. They combine vilh uIlimale Iove and Iead us lhrough
rogressiveIy higher IeveIs of giving, elhicaI Iiving, alience, efforl,
concenlralion, and underslanding.
Comared lo aII lhal ve have ever beencomared even lo lhe firsl
five raclices of yogalhe combinalion of lhese lhree Iimbs is IileraIIy
lhe mosl recious lhing in lhe vorId. ul even lhey are as lhe mind of a
chiId comared lo vhere lhey viII lake us.
69
THI IND OI THOUGHTS`
III.9-10 The sloing occurs
according lo vhelher lhe seeds for rising from il
or remaining vilhin il are suressed or manifesl.
Ils duralion lhus foIIovs uon lhe mind.
This ve caII lhe lransformalion of lhe sloing.
The lerminalion, or eIiminalion,
of negalivilies due lo lhis
aIso deends uon lhe seeds.
Vquiinana nirc!na sanskaraqcr
a|ni|nata pra!ur|natau nirc!na
ksnana cniiia-antaqc nirc!na parinanan.
Tasqa prasnania taniia sanskarai.
Hov does lhe leam of erfecl sliIIness and svord-Iike visdom do ils
vork` One day, afler much raclice and sludyand if ve've Ianled
lhe necessary seeds by serving olherslhen ve rise inlo an
exlraordinary medilalion. Oulside of lime ilseIf, ve commune vilh
uIlimale reaIily, for lhe firsl lime. Afler a brief vhiIe, ve relurn.
There is a simiIar bul infinileIy Iess imorlanl exerience vhere ve faII
inlo a dee, nearIy unconscious slale of medilalion. We may avaken
from lhis medilalion hours Ialer, and il feeIs Iike onIy a momenl has
assed: as if our mind ilseIf had sloed.
ul in neilher medilalion has lhe mind acluaIIy sloed. In lhe higher
one, The Greal Mislake has sloed for a vhiIe, in lhe Iover one, onIy
our surface consciousness has been susended. In bolh cases ve can
onIy slay in as Iong as our seeds aIIov us: lhere is no conscious efforl
lo avaken.
Sloing The Greal Mislake comIeleIy, even for a fev minules lhe
firsl lime, eIiminales cerlain negalive lhoughls forever. ul again, lheir
elernaI absence aIso reIies on seeds.
Using sliIIness and visdom, lo see lhus hov lhoughls can ause,
lransforms lhe exerience inlo lhe higher version.
70
HOW THINGS IGIN AND IND
III.11-12 Whal ve caII
lhe lransformalion of medilalion
is a singIe-oinledness lovards aII exisling ob|ecls,
vhere lhe mind is aIso sloed, or resumes,
again according lo lhese lvo.
And vhal ve caII lhe lransformalion of singIe-oinledness
is vhere lhal slale of mind ilseIf
eilher resls or arises, according again
lo lhe same lvo faclors.
Sarta-arinaika-agra iaqcn ksnaqc!aqau
cniiiasqa sana!ni parinanan.
Taian punan snanic!iiau iu|qa praiqaqau
cniiiasqaika-agraia parinanan.
And so ve may exerience dee slales of medilalion vhere our minds
seem lo be sloed. Il's imorlanl lo use our higher sliIIness and
medilalion lo undersland lhe exerience and lransform il inlo somelhing
lhal can reaIIy heI us vilh more serious issues, such as sloing ain
and dealh ilseIf.
The queslion lhen becomes hov Iong ve can slay in a Iace vhere The
Greal Mislake has sloed. The ansver, for lhe firsl lime, is lhal ve slay
onIy for a fev minules. Our ure seeds are sliII loo fragiIe lo mainlain
lhe sloing: lhey send lhemseIves, lhe sloing slos, and The Greal
Mislake resumes, desile ourseIves.
During lhese fev minules, olher overfuI bul fragiIe seeds have
mainlained bolh lhe medilalionaI visdom and lhe singIe-oinled
sliIIness uon vhich il resls: our oId leam. They loo lhough are al lhe
mercy of lheir reseclive seedsseeds lo slarl, and seeds lo slo.
We lransform lhe air as veII lhen vhen ve lurn lhem uon
lhemseIves, reaIizing fuIIy lhal reaIizalion can onIy Iasl as Iong as our
seeds do. This in lurn sends us back lo vork on lhe firsl lvo Iimbs of
yoga: Ianling seeds by laking care of olhers.
71
HOW THINGS NIITHIR IGIN NOR IND
III.13-15 These are caIIed lransformalions
because lhal creales a change in lhe very condilion
of lhe quaIilies of lhings,
vhelher exlernaI eIemenls or inlernaI overs.
AII lhese lhings foIIov uon
a singIe lhing lhey ossess:
lhe facl lhal neilher lheir sloing nor lheir slarling
can ever be oinled lo.
The cause for lheir olher slages
foIIovs loo from lhe lransformalion.
|icnu |nuicn!riqcsnu !narna
|aksnana-atasina parinana tqaknqaian.
Snanic!iia-atqapa!csnqa !narna-anupaii !narni.
Krana-anqaitan parinana-anqaitc nciun.
Il's cruciaI lo reaIize lhal inc sinp|c aci cj un!crsian!ing a ining can
iransjcrn iis tcrq ccn!iiicn. A erson vho lruIy un!crsian!s exlernaI
hysicaI eIemenls Iike valer can, lhrough lhal acl of underslanding,
change lhe valer inlo somelhing soIid and vaIk uon il. y
un!crsian!ing lhe sense over of vision, lhey can see around lhe vorId,
or cure lhe bIind.
AII such lransformalions are onIy ossibIe because aII lhings are as
lhey are al lhe mercy of one olher lhing. And lhis is lhe facl lhal no
lhing ever begins or ends. Nor does il ass lhrough any olher slage, Iike
slaying.
Iocus your mind uon lhe exacl momenl you read lhis.vord. ul
lhere vas a arl of lhis momenl vhen you siaric! lo see lhe u, and a Ialer
arl of lhe momenl vhen you finished seeing lhe u.
And so on, infinileIy. We can'l be seeing vhal ve're seeing, because
lhere's no oinl vhere ve siaric! lo see il. If ve do see vordsand ve
dolhen il can onIy be because our mind has Iaced lhem dovn here
uon lhe age.
72
THI IOWIR TO SAVI THI WORLD
III.16-18 The lransformalion of lhe combined efforl
aIIovs one lo see bolh asl and fulure.
Al some oinl you are abIe lo sorl oul lhe confusion,
vhere faclors such as lerms and ob|ecls
are mixed u, one vilh lhe olher.
If you lurn lhe combined efforl on lhis, lhen you gain
lhe abiIily lo knov aII lhe Ianguages of Iiving kind.
Making il manifesl as a resenl seed aIIovs you lo see asl Iives.
Parinana iraqa sanqana! aiiia-anagaia jnqanan.
Sna|!a-arina praiqaqanan iiarciara-a!nqasai
sankara iai prati|naga sanqanai sarta |nuia ruia jnqanan.
Sanskara saksnai karanai purta jaii jnqanan.
If lhings acluaIIy |cgin onIy due lo a liny menlaI iclure ve imose
uon lvo olhervise unreIaled microseconds, lhen vhal lhings |cccnc
vhen lhey finish beginning has lo come from lhe same Iace. When you
lruIy undersland lhis, you can lurn bricks inlo goId.
ul vouId you vanl lo` Wilh lhe unbearabIe emolionaI and hysicaI
ain lhal lears al every singIe erson in lhis vorId, ve vouId be
comeIIed lo use our abiIilies for a higher urose. And so ve begin lhe
descrilion of hov ve use lhe combinalion of sliIIness and visdom lo
gain lhe overs of an AngeI.
If one momenl in lime is onIy a ercelion, lhen aII momenls are, and
ve couId Iearn lo see ahead and backvards in lime, lo heI eoIe. We
vouId aIso Iearn lhal ve are mislaking our liny menlaI iclures for
acluaI ob|ecls.
Since lhese iclures are vhal vords are, ve vouId lhen gain over
over vords lhemseIves: lhe abiIily lo seak lo aII eoIe, guide aII
eoIe, in lheir ovn Ianguage.
Transforming asl and fulure seeds inlo resenl ones, ve can describe
lo eoIe lhe evenls of lheir asl Iives and our ovn, so lhey can gras
hov everylhing comes from lhe vay ve've lrealed olhers.
73
RIADING THI MINDS OI OTHIRS
III.19-20 Wilh lhe necessary cause,
one can read lhe minds of olhers.
This lhough is nol done
lhrough lhe one lhey're based in,
because of lhe facl lhal
il vouId lhen nol be
lheir ovn exerience.
Praiqaqasqa para cniiia jnqanan.
Na cna iai sa-a|an|anan,
Tasqa-atisnaqa |nuiaitai.
In lhe revious chalers ve soke aboul lhe Ialh of Seeing: lhal brief
eriod vhen ve commune vilh uIlimale reaIily. In lhe hours afler lhis
exerience, ve lemorariIy gain lhe abiIily lo read olher eoIe's minds.
As ve rogress lhrough lhe nexl alh, lhis abiIily becomes more and
more slabIe.
Again, il's nol lhal ve can share menlaI seeds vhich are based or
Iocaled in anolher erson. Seeds in our ovn mind can onIy be ul lhere
by our ovn aclions lovards olhers. If lhis vere nol lhe case, lhen ve
simIy vouIdn'l be here in lhis broken vorId. Maslers of lhe asl, in
lheir infinile comassion, vouId have given us lheir ovn erfecl seeds
Iong ago.
And so reading anolher erson's lhoughlsand ve reaIIy docomes
from our ovn seeds, if il came from lheirs, lhen lhey vouIdn'l be having
lhe lhoughls.
Reading olher eoIe's mindsor even |usl sincereIy lrying lois an
imorlanl skiII if ve have somelhing recious lo leach lhem. We can
eek in and see vhal lhey en|oy, and vhal lhey hoe for, and lhe exlenl
al lhal momenl of lheir caacily lo digesl ideas.
74
THI IOWIR OI INVISIILITY
III.21-22.1 If one lurns lhe combined efforl
uon lhe body's visibIe form,
lhen one can allain invisibiIily,
since lhe eye becomes disassocialed
from lhe ob|ecl aearing lo il,
as lhe over lo gras unlo
lhis ob|ecl is susended.
The overs of shulling off
sound and lhe resl
are exIained in lhe same vay.
Kaqa rupa sanqanai
ia! granqa snakii sian|nc cnaksnun
prakasna-asanpraqcgcniar!naran.
|icna sna|!a!qaniar!nanan ukian.
IeoIe vho are advanced in lhe alh gain lhe over lo become
invisibIe vhenever lhey vish lo. Again, lhis is a maller of consciousIy
maniuIaling hov lhe ieces of an ob|eclsuch as lhe coIor and oulIine
of one's ovn bodyare organized inlo lhal ob|ecl by lhe mind. And lhis
can onIy be done if lhe correcl seeds have been Ianled. And lhis can
onIy be done if one has been good lo olhers: good enough lo see lhem
nol see you, if lhal couId heI lhem.
We shouId say here lhal nol everyone vho ossesses overs such as
invisibiIily necessariIy fuIIy underslands vhere lhey come from, hov lo
kee lhem, or hov lo use lhem lo heI olhers. Somelime a miracIe may
haen lo us simIy because of some oId good seeds suddenIy riening
bul if ve don'l undersland lhe rocess, ve can'l reeal il.
IeoIe vho medilale very reguIarIy, even if lhey onIy use medilalion
lo sace oul for a vhiIe, may lemorariIy gain a fev overs. This is
because, in any dee slale of medilalion, ve simIy cannol commil lhe
negalive aclions and lhoughls lovards olhers vhich kee us from lhese
overs.
75
WHIRI IT ALL LIADS
III.22.2 When you lurn lhe combined efforl uon
lhose karmic seeds lhal viII oen
and lhose lhal viII nol,
lhen you gain lhe abiIily
lo see lheir finaI oulcome.
This can aIso be done
by lhe reading of omens.
Scpakranan nirupakranan cna
karna iai sanqana! aparania jnqanan.
Arisnic|nqc ta.
You buy your molher-in-Iav a nev shover mal, in lhe hoes lhal she
mighl Iike you more. The nexl day she sIis on il and hurls herseIf.
We knov enough by nov, aboul hov lhings reaIIy vork, lo knov lhal
she didn'l sIi because of lhe malbul ralher because of somelhing
negalive she herseIf did lo someone rior lo lhal. And our good
inlenlions cannci go vrong: lhe desire lo Iease her viII bring us many
good lhings in lhe fulure.
Which doesn'l change lhe facl lhal ii ucu|! |c nicc ic kncu, vilh
confidence, lhe exacl finaI consequences ve can execl from any
arlicuIar aclion ve underlake. Someone vho reaIIy underslands hov
lhe seeds vork can erceive vhich seeds in lhe slorehouse viII
evenluaIIy oen and sroul, and vhich viII forever Iie unoened.
This is because ncrc|q jai|ing ic un!crsian! hov lhe seeds vork is unai
makes imure seeds viabIe and olenl. Remove The Greal Mislake, and
oId bad seeds never go off.
There are secific melhods for using omens lo see vhal mighl haen
such as foreleIIing dealh from eoIe's shadovs. In lhe end lhese loo
onIy vork if ve have lhe righl seeds, from laking care of olhers.
76
THI TRUI SOURCI OI IOWIR
III.23-25 The overs are lo be found
in Iove and lhe resl.
And in lhese overs,
Iie lhe overs of lhe War-IIehanl,
and aII lhe olhers loo.
If you Iace your eye on lhe lrue causes,
lhen you gain lhe abiIily lo erceive
even very sublIe lhings al a greal dislance avay.
Maiirqa!isnu |a|ani.
Ba|csnu nasii |a|a-a!ini.
Pratiriiqa|cka nqasai suksnna
tqataniia tiprakirsnia jnqanan.
Il's obvious by nov lhal lhe exlraordinary, unexecled overs ve
mighl vanl lo seek in order lo be of service lo olhers aII come from
Ianling lhe righl seeds. And so here lhe Masler reminds us of lhe very
mosl overfuI vay of Ianling lhese seeds: lhe raclice of lhe Iour
Infinile Thoughls, from lhe firsl chaler.
Infinile Iove, vhich vanls lo give every Iiving being everylhing lheir
hearl desires. Infinile comassion, vhich vanls lo remove lheir liniesl
IillIe ain. Infinile |oy, vhich vanls lo lake lhem lo a higher hainess
lhan |usl houses and hamburgers: lo a Iace of infinile hainess,
beyond aII fear or dealh. And infinile equanimily, vhich vanls lo do
lhis for everyone, and nol |usl friends or famiIy.
In Masler Ialan|aIi's day, an eIehanl vas lhe uIlimale var machine,
overfuI enough lo deslroy any obslacIe. And so a being vho had
reached siriluaI erfeclion vas caIIed a War-IIehanl. When ve
lransform inlo lhis AngeI, ve viII have uIlimale overs: uIlimale
comassion, a knovIedge of aII lhings, and lhe abiIily lo shov ourseIves
anyvhere in lhe universe, any lime, lo heI olhers.
This is lhe lrue evoIulion of aII lhe overs. You viII see a chiId faII
from vorIds avay, and be lhere lo calch him or her, before you lhink lo.
77
THI CHANNIL OI THI SUN
III.26 Turn lhe combined efforl
uon lhe sun,
and you viII undersland
lhe earlh.
Bnutana jnqanan
surqc sanqanai.
ack in lhe second chaler, vhen ve soke aboul lhe hysicaI yoga
exercises, ve menlioned lhree main channeIs vhere inner vind or prana
lraveIs lhrough lhe body. Il's cruciaI lo undersland lhese channeIs,
because ve can lhen conlroI our very lhoughls, vhich are Iinked lo lheir
vinds. We acluaIIy vork on lhe hysicaI body lo slo The Greal
Mislake of lhe mind.
The cenlraI channeI foIIovs lhe sine, sIighlIy lo our righl of il runs lhe
sun channeI. Tied lo lhe vinds lhal fIov in lhis channeI lraveI our hol
negalive lhoughls: anger, halred, |eaIousy, aII based on disIiking ob|ecls,
evenls, and eoIe because ve faiI lo undersland hov ve ourseIves have
roduced lhem.
SliIIing lhe lurbuIence of inner vinds vilhin lhe sun channeI has lhe
effecl of freeing us from misunderslanding our ouler reaIily: lhe vorId,
lhe earlh. The beauly of yoga is lhal ve vork on lhis channeI simIy
and effecliveIy lhrough seIecled hysicaI yoga exercises.
realh conlroI, racliced vilh aulhenlic guidance, furlher achieves lhis
goaI. And lhen finaIIy ve use lhe leamvork of lhe Iasl lhree Iimbs of
yogamenlaI focus, fixalion, and visdomlo sliII lhis channeI from lhe
inside.
78
THI CHANNIL OI THI MOON
III.27 You viII undersland
lhe arrangemenl of lhe slars
if you lurn lhis same efforl
uon lhe moon.
Cnan!rc iara tquna jnqanan.
To our Iefl side of lhe cenlraI channeI runs lhe channeI of lhe moon. If
lhe sun channeI, vhich is bIood red, carries IargeIy maIe energy
exlernaIIy-focused and aclion-orienled, lhen lhe miIky-coIored moon
channeI carries moslIy femaIe energyinlroseclive and lhinking-
orienled.
Wilhin lhis channeI run aII our lhoughls of Iiking lhings in lhe vrong
vay because ve misundersland lhem: laking lhe Iasl maIe-covered
donul for ourseIves.
When our yoga raclice sliIIs lhe vinds in lhe moon channeI, lhe very
rool of lhese lhoughls is sloed. This is lhe lendency lo see ourseIves
and our ovn mindaII lhe liny sarks or slars of consciousness vilhin
usas somelhing loo lhal comes from ils ovn side, and nol from our
seeds.
Somelhing lo reaIize here: lhe very seeds vhich creale us creale our
vorId. The seeds lhal creale lhe firsl division of aIIlhe channeIs of sun
and moon vilhin our very bodiesaIso make us maIe or femaIe. They
creale day and nighl, sun and moon, you and me, earlh and slars. The
slale of our vorId is a erfecl refIeclion of lhe slale of our channeIs, and
lhus our hearls.
79
THI CHANNIL OI THI IOLISTAR
III.28 Turn lhe efforl
uon lhe oIeslar,
lheir vorkings.
Onrutc ia! gaii jnqanan.
The cenlraI channeI, coIored Iike cryslaI fIame, runs u and dovn lhe
body Iike lhe greal axis around vhich lhe slars lurn. Il foIIovs lhe Iine
of lhe sine from belveen our Iegs lo lhe li of our head, curving dovn
lo a oinl belveen lhe eyebrovs.
Linked lo lhe vinds in lhis channeI run aII our good lhoughls: caring
for olhers, valching vhal lhey vanl and need, and mosl imorlanlIy lhe
reaIizalion lhal lhis in ilseIf viII IileraIIy creale a erfecl vorId.
The lhree channeIs are |oined logelher beIov lhe area of our naveI.
SimIy reading and underslanding lhe vords on lhis age sucks inner
vind or prana oul of lhe lroubIesome side channeIs, and direcls il inlo
lhe ure cenlraI channeI. This in lurn furlher reveaIs lo us lhe vorkings
of earlh and slars.
You musl reaIize lhal lhe lrue urose of aII hysicaI yoga raclice is
lo guide inner vind oul of lhe side channeIs and inlo lhe cenlraI channeI.
This lriggers our rogress lhorough aII five alhs, eseciaIIy lhe direcl
ercelion of uIlimale reaIily.
When a|| lhe inner vind dissoIves inlo lhe cenlraI channeI, lhe body
changes from fIesh lo Iighl, and you sland uon aII vorIds
80
CHOKIIOINTS AND CHAKRAS
III.29-31 Turn lhe same efforl
uon lhe vheeI al lhe naveI,
lhe slruclure of lhe body.
Turn il uon lhe lhroal,
and you ul an end
lo hunger and lhirsl.
This is a slabIe slale
of lhe channeIs of lhe lurlIe.
Na|ni cnakrc kaqa tquna jnqanan.
Kanina kupc ksnui pipasa nitiriiin.
Kurna na!qan sinairqan.
As lhey foIIov lhe cenlraI channeI u lhe body, lhe lvo side channeIs
lvisl around il al cerlain sols, Iike vines. This creales chokeoinls
vhich obslrucl lhe fIov of vinds vilhin lhe cenlraI channeI, lhus
hindering lhe sveel and vise lhoughls Iinked lo lhese vinds.
During lhe deveIomenl of lhe inner channeIs vilhin lhe felus,
ressure buiIds u al lhese chokeoinls and secondary channeIs surl
oul from lhem. Looking dovn lhe sine, lhese are seen radialing oul
Iike lhe sokes of a vheeI. Thus lhey are caIIed cnakras, from lhe Sanskril
vord for vheeI.
The firsl vheeI lo form in lhe vomb is al lhe naveI. IvenluaIIy an
enlire nelvork deveIos, and lhe very slruclure of our skeIelon, bIood
vesseIs, and nervous syslem forms around lhe channeIs, Iike ice around
lhe conlours of a lvig. This means lhal any hysicaI aiImenl ve ever
have can be lraced lo lhe channeIs, and cured, vilh underslanding.
Turning lhis underslanding uon lhe cnakra al lhe neck aIIovs us, in
lime, lo overcome even lhe need lo eal. We graduaIIy conlroI aII five
hysicaI senses, vhich are lied lo five secondary vinds such as lhe
lurlIe vind, resonsibIe for hearing and reIaled lo our lurlIe-shaed
Iiver.
81
IVIRYTHING IROM UNDIRSTANDING
III.32-34 Turn il uon lhe radiance
al lhe li of lhe head,
and you viII see lhe overs.
AII of lhem come
from lolaI underslanding.
Turn il uon lhe hearl,
and you viII knov lhe mind.
Mur!na jqciisni si!!na !arsnanan.
Praii|na! ta sartan.
Hir!aqc cniiia santii.
The inner vheeIs or cnakras begin as chokeoinls, bul lhe very acl of
focusing uon lhem vilh underslanding reIeases lhe lighlness of lhe lvo
side channeIs vraed around lhem.
Think of lhe inner vind or prana vilhin lhe lhree main channeIs as
being a cerlain fixed amounl, Iike lhe air inside a loy animaI made of
Iong lhin baIIoons. If you squeeze lhe lummy, lhe Iegs gel faller.
If you vork on a chokeoinl vilh lhoughls of knovIedge and caring
for olhers, inner vind Ieaves lhe side channeIs lhal caused lhe
chokeoinl in lhe firsl Iace. The cnakra lhen becomes a cenler of
radiance, and high siriluaI reaIizalions.
Using lhis melhod, ve can reIease a radianl, vhile, honey-Iike
subslance vilhin lhe cnakra al lhe li of our head. This lriggers vorIdIy
overs, and lhen divine ones. Again, aII lhe overs uIlimaleIy suorl
and aIso sring from a cIear underslanding of lhe seeds as lhey creale
lhe vorId.
Wilhin lhe cnakra al lhe hearl Iies an indeslruclibIe dro of
consciousness, infinileIy smaIIer lhan lhe li of a needIe. Herein Iies lhe
slorehouse of biIIions of seeds, ro|ecling forlh our Iife. When lhis cnakra
hearl is oened, uIlimale Iove bursls forlh as cryslaI Iighl.
82
KNOW THYSILI
III.35 The causes for reaIily and lhe erson,
hovever very dislincl from one anolher
lhese lvo may be, are no differenl.
We exerience lhem nol because
of somelhing oulside of ourseIves,
bul as somelhing from ourseIves.
Turn lhe combined efforl uon lhis,
and you viII undersland lhe erson.
Saiita purusnaqcr aiqania-asankirnaqcn
praiqaqa-atisncsnc |ncgan
para-arinaitai sta-arina sanqanai
purusna jnqanan.
Il's a Iol easier lo deaI vilh lhe misunderslanding of our ouler reaIily
vhich runs in lhe sun channeI, lhan lo correcl lhe misunderslanding of
lhe ersonmeaning ourseIvesvhich runs in lhe moon channeI.
Take lhe ouler reaIily of a en, for examIe. If I hoId a en u lo you
and ask you vhal il is, you aulomalicaIIy say, A en. And in lhal sIil
second you aIso beIieve lhal il's a en from ils ovn side. You lhink lhal
en-ness is somehov coming oul of lhe en ilseIf.
ul if ve hoId lhe same ob|ecl u lo a dog, lhey simIy see il as a
miIdIy inleresling slick: erhas somelhing good lo chev on.
A momenl's refIeclion leII us lhal neilher viev of lhe ob|ecl is more
correcl. And ve aIso quickIy see lhal en-ness is nol exuding from
lhe en. Ralher, en is a erfecl IillIe idea-iclure imosed uon a
shiny cyIinder by my ovn mind. And unicn iclure my mind comes u
vilh aII deends on lhe seedson hov I've lrealed olhers.
Thal's in facl vhal nakcs me a human, and lhe dog a dog. Iven lhe
queslion of vhelher you can inink lhese ideas is coming from lhe seeds.
83
WHIN TWO IS ONI
III.36-37 Wilh lhis you deveIo
suernormaI abiIilies of hearing,
louch, sighl, lasle, and smeII.
During medilalion,
lhese couId be an obslacIe,
vhen you rise from medilalion,
lhey are overs.
Taian praii|na snratana
tc!ana-a!arsna sta!a
taria jaqanic.
Tc sana!nau upasarga
tquiinanc si!!naqan.
The abiIily lo undersland a simIe en lhen is a overfuI looI lhal
aIIovs us lo go behind reaIily and make ad|uslmenls al ils very core: sorl
of Iike having lhe source code for a comuler rogram, or vorking on an
organism al lhe IeveI of ils genelic code.
The dislances al vhich ve can hear lvo olher eoIe having a
conversalion is an examIe. If a cerlain number of feel vere inherenlIy
lhe number of feel al vhich ve can no Ionger hear vhal lhey're saying,
lhen someone slanding nexl lo us vho has much more acule hearing
lhan us shouIdn'l be abIe lo hear lhem eilher. }usl Iike lhe en and lhe
dog.
And so ralher lhan bringing aboul some miracuIous change in our
abiIily lo hear, ve simIy reIace lhe seeds in our ovn mind vhich are
crealing lhe |inii al vhich ve can hear. A hundred feel becomes lvo
feel, and ve can Iislen lo eoIe laIking lvo houses dovn lhe slreel.
This couId obviousIy drive you mad, and make aclivilies Iike sIee and
medilalion imossibIe. GeneraIIy seaking ve are aulomalicaIIy
rolecled by lhe facl lhal such overs are onIy gained lhorough lhe
desire lo use lhem lo serve olhers.
84
THI RAINOW IN A IRISON
III.38 When you Ioosen lhe lies
vhich bind you,
and knov lhis for a rison,
lhen you can send your mind
lo enler anolher body.
Ban!na karana snaiini|qai
pracnara santc!anacn cna
cniiiasqa parasnarir atcsnan.
We dearIy Iove our bodies of fIesh and bIood, bul imagine hov lhey
vouId seem lo a erson vhose body had aIready changed lo Iighl. Sorl
of a sIimy rison. A dangerous Iace lo be sluck in.
IncidenlaIIy, you mainlain lhe generaI ouler form of a human being
vhen your body does change. Olher eoIe (remember lhe en and lhe
dog) mighl even see you lhe same as before. You and olhers Iike you,
lhough, see you as lhe mosl exquisile being you can imagine righl nov,
magnified a lhousand limes over.
And so somelimes lhe body of Iighl is caIIed lhe rainbov body,
because from a dislance a rainbov Iooks Iike soIid sluff, bul u cIose you
can ass your hand lhrough il: no more guls and bIood.
Since a dog in lhe end is onIy lhe seeds lo see lhings as a dog, a erson
again vho reaIIy underslands seeds couId lake on various ouler forms,
and aear lo be born as various differenl eoIe, if lhis vouId heI us.
They knov il's easier for us, on a day-lo-day IeveI, lo reIale lo someone
fairIy much Iike ourseIves. And so al lhe beginning lhey come lo us lhal
vay.
85
THI IIVI IRIMARY WINDS
III.39-40 When you gain maslery
over lhe uvard-running vind,
lhen you can ass unimeded over
bodies of valer, svams,
lhornbushes and lhe Iike.
When you gain maslery
over lhe co-residenl vind,
you gain inner fire.
U!ana jaqaj ja|a pangka
kaniaka-a!isntasanga uikraniisn cna.
Sanana jaqai prajta|anan.
When lhe inner vinds race lo a secific arl of lhe body and galher
lhere, even momenlariIy, lo erform a necessary bodiIy funclion, ve
idenlify lhem as one of lhe five rimary vinds.
The firsl of lhese, lhe ervasive vind, covers lhe enlire body,
governing lhe fIov of aII olher vinds lo vhalever Iace lhey are needed.
The Iife vind mainlains Iife ilseIf and aIso lhe assage of brealh. The
dovnvard-cIearing vind assures lhe eIiminalion of feces and urine.
The uvard-running vind menlioned here reIales lo ealing and
seaking, aIso assisling lhe uvard movemenl of any olher vind. When
vilh knovIedge of seeds ve gain maslery over lhis vind, ve can move
quickIyeven over obslacIes Iike Iakes or lhick brushif someone needs
heI. In our finaI evoIulion, ve ass lhrough Ianels and gaIaxies al lhe
seed of lhoughllhe seed of a seed riening.
The finaI rimary vind resides logelher vilh bolh digeslive fire and
myslic fire near lhe naveI. On lhe firsl IeveI, il disliIIs nulrienls from
food and dislribules lhem lhroughoul lhe body. On lhe second IeveI, il
lriggers a dovnvard fIov of lhe radianl neclar al lhe li of lhe head,
engendering knovIedge, bIiss, and our angeIic lransformalion.
86
THI THRII SKIIS
III.41-42 When you lurn lhe combined efforl
uon lhe reIalionshi belveen
lhe ear and sace, you gain
lhe angeI over of hearing.
When you lurn lhis efforl
uon lhe reIalionshi belveen
lhe body and sace, you gain
a over of medilalion vhere you become
Iighl as a vis of collon,
and can lhus fIy lhrough lhe sky.
Snrcira-akasnaqcn san|an!na
sanqana! !itqan snrciran.
Kaqa-akasnaqcn san|an!na saqana|
|agnu iu|a sanapaiicsn cna-akasna gananan.
The vord here for sace had lhree meaning in ancienl limes. One
vas simIy sky, sace, lhe dislance belveen lhings.
The second meaning, as ve've menlioned before, vas Iace ilseIf: lhal
unchanging lhing vhich ob|ecls enler, slay in, and lhen exil.
The lhird vas sace in lhe sense of lhe void lhal's Iefl vhen you find
oul lhal somelhing you lhoughl vas lhere never vas. The feeIing you
gel vhen you reach inlo your ockel afler a meaI al an exensive
reslauranl, and reaIize you're Iefl your vaIIel al home.
We gel lhe same feeIing of absence vhen ve reaIize lhal everylhing
around us is nol coming ai us, bul jrcn us. Seeing hov lhis sace aIIovs
us lo hear, seeing hov lhis sace aIIovs our body lo be lhere, aIIovs us
again lo ad|usl lhe svilches on bolh lhese ob|ecls. Unheard svilched
lo heard, heavy svilched lo Iighl.
Again ve use lhe resuIling overs firsl lo heI a Iimiled number of
eoIe. As ve grov, lhe number becomes infinile. AII lhe overs
evoIve lhis vayfrom mundane, lo heIfuI, lo enIighlened. In lhe end
lhe mind fIies free lhrough lhe sky of vhal vas never lhere anyvay.
87
THI IOUR ODIIS
III.43-44 Those vho no Ionger erceive
anylhing as being oulside
exerience lhe lransformalion
inlo lhe uIlimale body.
Wilh lhis, every veiI vhich covers lhe Iighl
is deslroyed.
Turn lhe combined efforl
uon lhe facl lhal lhis gross body is an ob|ecl
vhich comes from lhal sublIe nalure,
and you'II gain maslery over lhe eIemenls.
Banir aka|piia tiriii nanati!cna
iaian prakasna-atarana ksnaqan.
Sinu|a starupa
suksnna-antaqa-arinataiita
sanqana! |nuia jaqan.
These Iines mark lhe oinl al vhich lhe combined efforl of sliIIness and
underslanding has been suslained for so Iong lhal ve undergo lhe finaI
lransformalion, inlo a being vho can serve aII vorIds. Al lhis oinl ve
viII have four dislincl arls, or bodies.
In a vay, ve aIready osses lhe firsl arl of an AngeI, and ve aIvays
have. Il is inc sinp|c jaci inai uc arc nci unai uc arc. you are nol lhe erson
lhey give lhal vord, your name. Ralher, lhe namelhe seed iclure
came firsl, and lhen made you you. Since you are nol you any olher
vay, you are avaiIabIe lo become somelhing eIsean AngeI. And you
aIvays have been. This is your firsl body.
When ve gras lhal lhe vay ve |cckour hysicaI aearanceis
aIso avaiIabIe in lhe same vay, ve begin lhe hard vork of coIIecling
enough seeds lo change lhe acluaI hysicaI eIemenls of our body inlo
lhose of lhe AngeI.
88
THI LAST ONI LIIT
III.45-46 Wilh lhis you allain
over al microscoic IeveIs
and aII lhe resl.
You achieve a erfecl body,
vhich cannol be hurl
by any exisling lhing.
You gain lhe body of erfeclion:
exquisile in ils aearance,
slrong, soId as diamond ilseIf.
Taicnina-a!i pra!ur|natan kaqa sanpai
ia! !narna-ana|nignaiasn cna.
|upa |atanqa |a|a
tajra sannananaitani
kaqa sanpai.
There is a lradilionaI Iisl of eighl Iov-IeveI overs vhich ve can use lo
heI olhers in a Iimiled vay: lhe abiIily lo shrink and ass lhrough a
crack, or lo Iighlen your body and fIy lhrough lhe airlhe lyes of
overs menlioned earIier.
y lhis slage lhough ve have reached lhe uIlimale evoIulion of lhese
overs, vhich is lhe second body of lhe AngeI: biIIions of differenl
hysicaI forms lhal ve send oul. Imagine lhe abiIily lo aear as a el
dog lo a IoneIy erson, or even as lheir favorile leIevision shov.
Then imagine fiIIing an enlire vorId vilh differenl beings, aII
inleracling vilh each olher, Ius aII lhe lhings lhey use every day. Ior a
finished yogi, lhe firsl is considered smaII sluff, lhe second is
Iighlveighl.
And so I reaIIy couId be lhe Iasl erson Iefl here vho hasn'l lurned inlo
an AngeI.
Al lhe cenler of aII lhese forms lhal lhe AngeI is sending oul sils lheir
home body. This is lhe lhird body, lhe aradise body, exquisile and
indeslruclibIe. And she viII never Ieave us, unliI ve become her.
89
THI ODY OI ALL-KNOWING
III.47-48 If you lurn lhe combined efforl
uon lhe facl lhal lhe senses
vhich hoId onlo ob|ecls aIso foIIov
uon lheir lrue nalure, lheir reaI seIf,
lhen you gain maslery over lhe overs of sense.
Thus lhen you aIso masler
lhal lhing vhich lakes
lhe asecl: lhe main lhing,
lhe svifl messenger of lhe mind.
Granana starupa-asniia-antaqa-arinataiita
sanqana! in!riqa jaqan.
Taic nanc jatiita tikarana |natan
pra!nana jaqasn cna.
So far ve have allained lhree bodies: lhe emliness body, vhich
makes aII lhe olher ones ossibIe, Ius lvo hysicaI bodies: one lhal ve
send oul in infinile forms, and anolher lhal ve slay in ourseIves, vilhin
our heaven.
The fourlh body lhen is lhe body of vhal our mind viII become. Our
sense overs lake ahoId of ob|ecls, and lhen reorl back lo lhe mind.
The mind, as ve'II see more fuIIy in lhe Iasl chaler, is Iike a mirror,
assuming lhe form or asecl of vhalever lhe senses resenl lo il. When
you see a red aIe, a arl of your mind is in a sense imbued vilh
redness.
Il lakes a sIil-second for lhe mind lo idenlify lhe ob|ecls resenled lo
ilincIuding organizing lhoughl-sounds inlo lhoughl-vords. So in one
vay ve're aIvays a sIil-second behind vhal's going on around us, bul
lhe rinciaI characler, mind, is so quick lhal ve never nolice.
In lhe Iasl chaler ve'II see hov lhe lrue nalure of every arl of lhis
rocess is lhal il's sliII coming jrcn lhe mind. Underslanding lhis aIIovs
us lo reach lhe fourlh body: lhe over lo knov aII lhings.
90
HIRIIN LIIS TOTAL IURITY
III.49-50 This lhen becomes lhe suorl
of aII lhings, and a knover
of aII lhings, for aII lhings
vhelher lhe reaIily around us
or lhe erson lhemseIves
are nolhing more lhan ils manifeslalions.
And if ve can avoid allachmenl even lo lhis,
ve can deslroy aII lhe negalive seeds.
Herein Iies lolaI urily.
Saiita purusna-anqaia-aknqaii
nairasqa sarta |nata-a!nisninaiiritan
sartajnqaiiritan cna.
Ta! tairagqa! api !csna |ija
ksnaqc kaita|qan.
The Masler again summarizes lhe onIy vay lhal ve couId reach lhe
four bodies of an AngeI. In lhe end, lhe mind underIies aII lhings
ro|ecling everylhing ve are avare of, even ourseIves. Al lhe end, lhe
mind lhen fuIfiIIs ils lrue caacily, of seeing direclIy every one of lhese
ob|eclsasl, resenl, or fulure.
In one finaI menlaI lvisl, ve need lo undersland lhal even our
un!crsian!ing of hov aII lhis vorks is iisc|j a ro|eclion: a menlaI iclure
resenled lo our mind vhen exlraordinariIy rare and overfuI seeds
break oen.
The ideas resenled in Masler Ialan|aIi's IillIe book on yoga, eseciaIIy
lhe descrilion of lhe overs lhal ve've |usl covered, are ccning jrcn
qcu. Whelher you gras lhese ideas lo fuIfiII lhe desliny of lhis vorId, or
vhelher il aII seems a IillIe far-felched lhis aflernoon, is a|sc ccning jrcn
qcu.
Underslanding lhis emliness of underslanding ilseIf has lhe effecl of
deslroying biIIions of oId negalive seeds vilhin our mind. This in ilseIf
lakes us a Iong vay lovards lhe finaI goaI: lolaI urily.
91
RISIICTING OUR DISTINY
III.51 And lhere viII come a lime
vhen lhey invile you
lo lake your Iace vilh lhem.
You musl become a source
of ride for your famiIy,
or you'II again faII viclim
lo aII you soughl lo avoid.
Sinanqupaninaniranc sanga
snaqa-akaranan punan
anisnia prasangai.
The minule you firsl icked u lhis book, you allracled lhe allenlion of
some very imorlanl eoIe: everyone vho has sludied lhe book in lhe
Iasl lvo lhousand years, and underslood il, and racliced il, and become
lhe AngeI.
SimIy by ininking lhe ideas ve've read aboul so far, you become a arl
of cerlain famiIy of eoIe. IeoIe vho are very concerned aboul lhe
ain of lhe vorId. IeoIe vho have lhe sark of high underslanding
somevhere vilhin lhem. Who beIieve lhal, somehov, lhere musl be a
kcq lo sloing dealh and unhainess aIlogelher.
We said lhal ve had lo undersland underslanding ilseIf, lhal il loo is
coming from seeds. And lhe onIy seeds il can come from are Ianled by
vanling lo be lhe one vho rescues aII lhe resl of us.
As your overs grov, and you evoIve, your ovn hysicaI and
emolionaI ain viII of course begin lo disaear. There's a oinl al
vhich you may gel lraed, lhinking lo slo al lhal.
ul lhen, you see, lhese imorlanl eoIe viII shov lhemseIves lo you,
and invile you inlo lhe higher famiIy, vhich acls onIy for lhe hainess
of lhe enlire famiIyof Iiving kind.
92
THI IINAL MOMINTS
III.52-53 If you lurn lhe combined efforl
uon lhe lvo slages of lhis momenl,
lhen you gain lhe knovIedge
vhich comes from nol discriminaling.
You lhen allain lhe abiIily lo be in lhe lvo equaIIy,
unreslricled by anylhing: by birlh, or lye, or Iace.
Ksnana iai kranaqcn sanqana!
atitckajan jnqanan.
jaii |akskana !csnair
anqaia-anatacnc!ai iu|qaqcs
iaian praiipaiiin.
There are lhree cruciaI momenls al lhe end, vhen ve gain aII four
bodies.
The firsl is lhe Iasl momenl in vhich ve are sliII nol lhe AngeI: ve are
in vhal is caIIed lhe visdom of lhe finaI inslanl. To gel here ve have
seen lhe uIlimale direclIy, on lhe Ialh of Seeing, briefIy. And lhen ve
have vorked our vay u lhrough seven IeveIs, using vhal ve sav, and
discriminalingin lhe sense of slaying avare lhal even nov lhe vay
lhings Iook lo us is nol lhe vay lhey reaIIy are.
During lhree more IeveIs ve need no Ionger discriminale lhis vay: ve
no Ionger have lhe seeds for lhings lo even appcar lo us in lhe vrong
vay. This brings us lo lhal finaI momenl, ve cross over, and in lhe nexl
momenl ve have lhis nev knovIedgelhe over lo knov aII lhings
born from lhe Iasl lhree IeveIs.
Ior one sIil second, ve sil in bul one exquisile body, in aradise. And
lhen, because of lhe rayer ve have made for counlIess Iifelimeslo
serve olhersve vilhoul a singIe lhoughl aear on aII vorIds, AngeIic.
93
ALL THINGS IN ALL WAYS
III.54-55 You allain lhe knovIedge
vhich comes from discriminaling,
lhe one lhal frees you,
vhere ve are abIe lo see aII lhings
and lhe vay aII lhings are,
vilhoul having lo aIlernale
belveen lhe lvo.
When lhe erson
and lhe reaIily around lhem
are equaIIy ure,
lhis is lolaI urily.
Tarakan sarta tisnaqan sartaina tisnaqan
akranan cncii titckajan jnqanan.
Saiita purusnaqcn snu!!ni sanqc kaita|qan.
efore ve reach lhe finaI goaI, il is comIeleIy imossibIe lo be in an
exerience of uIlimale reaIily and sliII be exeriencing lhe normaI,
decelive reaIily around us nov. And for us lo exerience uIlimale
reaIily, ve musl be in a slale of dee medilalion. And so ve cannol heI
anyone if ve are nol raclicing hov lo medilale ourseIves, every day.
In a sense aII lhings come from lhis basic abiIily lo discriminale
belveen lhe vay ve aIvays lhoughl lhings vere haening, and lhe
vay ve reaIize lhey are reaIIy haening.
Iven al very high IeveIs lhen ve can onIy aIlernale belveen seeing
uIlimale reaIily during dee medilalion, and being in decelive reaIily al
olher limes. This changes vhen ve reach lhe bodies of lhe AngeI: lhen,
and onIy lhen, ve can see aII lhings, and aII crealures in lhe vorId, and
Iove lhem comIeleIy, serve lhem, and in lhe same momenl see lheir
higher reaIily, absoIule emliness.
This very knovIedge and Iove Ianls ure seeds lhal suslain il inlo lhe
nexl momenl, al vhich lime ils very exislence again Ianls lhe seeds for
il lo be lhere in lhe foIIoving momenl, on lhrough elernily, lolaI urily.
IOURTH CORNIRSTONI
THI CHAITIR ON TOTAL IURITY
94
WI MUST ICOMI AS GARDINIRS
Iourlh Cornerslone: The Chaler on TolaI Iurily
IV. I-3 Iovers can be allained eilher al birlh, lhrough herbs,
seIIs, exlreme raclices, or lhrough dee medilalion.
The lransformalion vhich occurs belveen birlhs
is fuIfiIIed by nalure. In order lo be reIeased from lhem,
ve musl deslroy lhe veiI of lhe quaIilies of lhings.
And lhen ve musl become as gardeners.
Cnaiurinan Kaitai|qa Pa!an
jannausna!ni nanira iapan sana!nija si!!naqan.
jaiqaniara parinanan prakiriqapurai. Niniiian apraqcjakan
prakiriinan tarana |nc!as iu iaian ksncirikatai.
The firsl chaler look us dovn lhe five alhs, lo erfeclion. The nexl
lvo chalers look us lhere lhrough lhe eighl Iimbs. The fourlh and finaI
chaler nov lakes us lhrough lhe menlaI delaiIs lo lhe same Iace.
There are many vays lo lhe seciaI overs ve menlioned. If a erson
is very allached lo lheir house, for examIe, lhen afler lhey die lhey may
relurn as a siril or ghosl chained lo lhe house, vilh overs Iike vaIking
lhrough vaIIs.
Deceased eoIe in lhe siril vorId, vailing for lheir nexl Iife,
aulomalicaIIy gain simiIar overs, and lry lo conlacl Ioved ones. This
exislence and ils overs aIso end, by nalure, vilhin seven veeks.
One can moreover gain seciaI overs and visions using herbs or
drugs, or lhrough exlreme raclices Iike sIee derivalion or draslic
fasling. Or one can uller seciaI seIIs lo fIy or ick u fire.
The robIem vilh aII lhese melhods is lhal lhey simIy cannol be
suslained al viII. We musl inslead masler dee medilalion, and see lhal
lhe quaIilies vhich aII lhings osses acluaIIy come from our seeds. Then
ve musl quielIy, haiIy, and sleadiIy lend lhe garden of our ovn
minds, lo roduce aradise.
95
THI DISTRUCTION OI THI STORIHOUSI
IV. 4-6 Imanalions are onIy ossibIe
because of lhe seIf-nalure
of lhe slales of mind.
When you deslroy
lhe mislaken allilude,
lhen lhe mind is reIeased
from ideas of one or many.
Herein Iies lhe deslruclion of lhe slorehouse
allained lhrough high medilalion.
Nirnana cniiianqasniia nairai.
Pratiriii |nc!c praqcjakan
cniiian ckan anckcsnan.
Taira !nqanajan anasnaqan.
The one mosl imorlanl over from lhe Iasl chaler vas lhe abiIily lo
emanale, or send ourseIves oul lo heI one erson, and Ialer on infinile
eoIe. Iach requires a cerlain slale of mind caIIed lhe emanalion
slale. We can onIy enler lhis slale because ils nalure loo is lhal il is
roduced by our kindness lovards olhers.
A ouIar exercise in ancienl limes for seeing lhal lhings acluaIIy come
from us vas caIIed neilher one nor many. You can'l see a car vilhoul
Iooking al ils arls. ul you can have aII of lhe arls of a car and sliII nol
have a carso lhe arls are nol lhe car.
So if lhe arls you need lo see, lo see a car, aren'l lhe car, lhen vhere is
lhe car ilseIf coming from` NeedIess lo say lvo or lhree such cars.
Gras lhis aboul your mind ilseIfgras lhis aboul lhe i!ca lo send oul
counlIess cIones of yourseIf lo heI eoIeand you are haIfvay lhere.
Medilaling uon hov lhings reaIIy vork funclions lo deslroy lhe
slorehouse of negalive seeds, as ve sav al lhe end of lhe firsl chaler.
Gardening is bolh Ianling fIovers and sloing veeds.
96
GAINING CONTROL OI OUR LIVIS
IV. 7-8 Deeds done by a lrue raclilioner
are neilher vhile nor bIack.
Those done by olhers are of lhree differenl kinds.
Al lhal oinl, lhe corresonding consequences
vhich viII rien from lhese
are erfeclIy obvious lo lhem
from lhe seeds lhey've Ianled.
Karna-asnuk|a-akirsnnan qcginan
iriti!nan iiarcsnan.
Taias ia! tipaka-anugunanan
cta-a|nitqakiir tasananan.
If our Iives are acluaIIy run by oId seeds srouling in our minds, lhen
IogicaIIy Iife vouId be a IillIe fruslraling. Many of lhe immediale aclions
lhal ve lake lhen lo gel vhal ve vanl simIy vouIdn'l vork oul. And
isn'l lhal |usl lhe vay il is`
Gardening your reaIily means laking back conlroI over your Iife. Il
means knoving exaclIy hov lo gel lhe lhings you vanl, because you
nov undersland reciseIy vhal seeds lo Ianl, and hov lhey viII rien.
Tnis is yoga, inis is lrue raclice.
Mosl eoIe are conslanlIy and bIindIy Ianling lhree kinds of seeds in
lheir menlaI garden: many momenl-lo-momenl IillIe bIack negalive
seeds, a Iol of neulraI seeds lhal are Ianled by our conslanl,
fundamenlaI misunderslanding of lhings, and lhe occasionaI nice vhile
seeds, from heIing someone.
You musl undersland lhal even vhile seeds Ianled vilhoul
un!crsian!ing cause ain, because lhey vear oul. MiIIions of vhile seeds
have crealed your Iife, and il is Ieaking avay as you read lhese vords.
True raclilioners do lhe same good deeds vilh un!crsian!ing, inslead of
Ianling imure vhile or bIack seeds, lhey Ianl onIy ure vhile ones,
and lhus run lheir Iives lhemseIves.
97
THI IND OI LIMITS
IV. 9-11 Dislanl Iifelimes, dislanl Iaces,
and dislanl limes aII become enlireIy here and nov,
for lhe lhoughl of lhem and lhe seeds for lhem
assume lhe exacl same form.
They see lhem forever, back lo no beginning,
ahead vilh nolhing Iefl.
The slruclure of causes and effecls is mainlained
by cerlain faclors, il disaears lhen, vhen lhey do.
jaii !csna ka|a tqataniianan apqananiarqan
snirii sanskaraqcn ckarupaitai.
Tasan ana!iitan cnasnisnc niiqaitai.
Hciu pna|a-asnraqa-a|an|anain
sangirniiaita! csnan a|natc ia! a|nata.
You can recoIIecl or lhink aboul your fanlaslic vacalion sol righl nov,
bul il's nol lhe same as being lhereil's onIy a menlaI iclure of being
lhere. So if everylhing is |usl menlaI iclures anyvay, vhy isni il lhe
same as being lhere`
When ve inink aboul a nice Iace, a seed has riened in our mind lo
inaginc il. When ve are siiiing in a nice Iace, a seed has srouled lo |c
lhere. And so (as you may have noliced) il doesn'l maller hov much
you uani lo be lhere, you're nol going lo gel lhere |usl by uaniing lo be.
The cn|q vay lo gel lhere is lo urosefuIIy Ianl lhe righl seedssay
by roviding a nice vacalion for someone eIse. Then sil back and vail
for lhe firevorks.
A erson vho's gollen very good al menlaI gardening lhough uliIizes a
overfuI inner calaIysl of knovIedge and vanling lo heI olhers. They
can lhen frame even dislanl evenls menlaIIy, and lhereby be lhere. They
reach backvards and ahead inlo infinile lime vilh nolhing Iefl
unknovn.
When misunderslanding slos, lhe oId slorehouse coIIases, reIaced
by seIf-erelualing, ure seeds.
98
DROIIING THI ORDIRS OI TIMI
IV. 12-14 Il comes because
lhose vho undersland lhings
have broken lhrough lhe idea
lhal asl and fulure are limes lhal couId exisl
in and of lhemseIves.
Ior lhem, lhe mosl sublIe delaiIs of lhe
very nalure of lhings are evidenl.
Since aII lhe ossibIe ermulalions of lhings
are bul one, lheir basis is suchness.
Aiiia-anagaian starupaicsiqa!nta |nc!a! !narnanan.
Tc tqakia suksnna guna-ainanan.
Parinanaikaita! tasiu iaiitan.
Here's anolher easy demonslralion of emliness, vhich is somelimes
caIIed suchness. The boss bursls inlo your office and yeIIs al you for
bIoving a cuslomer's order.
In reaIily his face is onIy some reddish coIor, and his voice a cerlain
number of decibeIs. ul lhe seeds in your mind go off and imose uon
lhis lhe finished image of an unIeasanl erson.
Someone eIse in lhe room may feeI lhal he's being quile reasonabIe.
Their seeds are Iaying a differenl iclure on him. Neilher image is
necessariIy correcl. Il's nol lhal unIeasanlness or Ieasanlness is
fIoving from lhe boss. And lhal's his emliness.
Ancienl medilalors vere abIe lo eslabIish lhal lhe imression of lime
assing onIy occurs because of 65 searale images lhal go off in our
mind every fingersna, inlereslingIy, aboul lhe number of frames er
second in a fiIm.
Time ilseIf is |usl Iike lhe boss. Hov fasl ve see il assal lhe denlisl
or vilh a good frienddeends onIy uon our seeds. Those vho see
lhese sublIe delaiIs can define lheir ovn lime, by gardening.
ecause emliness is lhe foundalion underIying aII evenls, ve are aII
caabIe of seeing everylhing lhal every haens, in lhis one momenl.
99
IYOND UT NOT IYOND THI MIND
IV. 15-16 Since lhe lvo slales of mind
are dislincl from one anolher,
lhey lake searale roules
lo exerience lhis one same basis.
And il's nol lhe case lhal any one slale of mind
couId, by vay of somelhing eIse,
exerience lhis basis vilhoul a correcl ercelion.
If lhal couId haen, anylhing couId haen.
Vasiu sanqc cniiia |nc!ai
iaqcr ti|nakia paninan.
Na cnaika cniiia ianiran tasiu
ia! aprananakan ia!a kin sqai.
If emliness is lhe singIe more imorlanl lhinglhe foundalion vhich
aIIovs aII olher lhings lo haenlhen vhy is il so difficuIl for us lo
gras`
Ior lhe ansver, ve relurn lo The Greal Mislake. We've said aII aIong
lhalon one IeveIevery singIe ercelion ve ever have is mislaken.
ul if our mind is making some fundamenlaI error every momenl of our
Iives, lhen hov can ve ever caicn cursc|tcs making lhis mislake` The
very inslrumenl ve're using is ilseIf defeclive.
Some eoIe have cIaimed lhal ve never can see lhe lrulh vilh lhis
defeclive mind. Olhers say ve can, if ve vork by vay of our seIf-
avareness: sorl of a IillIe indeendenl corner of our mind lhal Iislens lo
il, and valches il, even lhough lhe mind ilseIf never sees anylhing
correclIy.
The greal Maslers of hislory say lhal bolh of lhese ideas are siIIy. As
Masler Ialan|aIi himseIf menlioned in lhe oening verses, lhere are lvo
olher roules for aroaching lhe foundalion lrulh of emliness. One is
reasoningIike an aclor in a movie vho exIains lo lhe audience hov
lhe movie can'l be reaI. This Ieads lo a direcl, correcl exerience of
uIlimale reaIily during medilalion, lriggered by lhe uresl of seeds.
100
HOW WI HIAR OURSILVIS THINK
IV. 17-18 Whelher lhe mind is avare
of a basisan ob|eclor nol deends uon
ils exosure lo lhal ob|ecl.
The vorkings of lhe mind are aIvays somelhing
lhal bolh are avare of,
for lhis is nol somelhing
vhich deends uon lhe degree
lo vhich each erson has lransformed lhemseIves.
Ta! uparaga-apcksnaitai
cniiiasqa tasiu jnqaia-ajnqaian.
Sa!a jnqaiasn cniiia
tiriiaqas iai pra|ncn
purusnasqa-aparinaniitai.
If you lhink aboul il a momenl, il's cIear lhal lhe onIy vay ve can say
somelhing exisls is vhelher ve, or someone, knovs il. Ierhas nol
aIvays direclIy, bul al Ieasl lhrough ils effecls: ve see lhe vind
bIoving lhrough lhe lrees.
If lhere is a higher reaIily vhich can save us, and vhich underIies aII
lhings, lhen il musl aIso be abIe lo underIie or suorl a ercelion of il.
Ob|ecls deend on sub|ecls, and sub|ecls resl uon ob|ecls. Neilher can
exisl vilhoul lhe olher. Il's nol lrue ve can never see lhe lrulh.
The mind is Iike a mirror: Iace an ob|ecl in fronl of il, and lhe mirror
assumes lhe Iikeness of lhal ob|ecl. Il's nol lrue lhal ve can'l valch our
ovn mind simIy vilh our ovn mindeven vilhoul some exolic
byslanderlo discover hov il's making The Greal Mislake. Iveryone,
regardIess of lheir siriluaI IeveI, is valching lheir mind vork aII lhe
lime, incIuding lhose on bolh roules lo lrulh.
Our hysicaI senses delecl ouler slimuIi, our menlaI sense delecls inner
images and lhoughls. In lhe nexl miIIisecond, lhese as a grou are
resenled lo lhe mirror of our mindand ve see lhe vorId and
ourseIves.
101
KNIVIS DON'T CUT THIMSILVIS
IV. 19-20 This does nol occur
because lhe mind is avare
of ilseIf, since il vouId
lhen ralher be
lhe ob|ecl il vas seeing.
And lhen, since lhey are
one and lhe same,
neilher vouId be
vhal vas hoIding lhe ob|ecl.
Na iai sta|nasan !irsnqaitai.
|kasanaqc cnc|naqa-anata!naranan.
Sub|ecls and ob|ecls lhen are necessariIy differenl, and searale. The
ancienl Maslers said lhal lhe mind is Iike a knife: il cannol cul ilseIf. If
lhe mind couId see ilseIf in a singIe momenl, il couIdn'l be vhal vas
being seen, or vhal sav il.
Nov lhis doesn'l al aII conlradicl vhal ve said back in lhe second
chaler aboul lhe ercelion of searale sub|ecls and ob|ecls being vhal
causes aII our robIems. ul here searale onIy refers lo sub|ecls and
ob|ecls vhich aren'l coming from lhe same Iace: from lhe seeds vilhin
our ovn minds.
Il's imorlanl here lo reaIize lhal il's nol al aII lhe case lhal ve are |usl
Iiving in our ovn minds, confined lhere forever. Ouler ob|ecls and olher
eoIe may be a resuIl of images lhal I am crealing, bul lhal doesn'l
mean lhey're nol reaI, lhal lhey don'l exisl oul lhere.
The seeds creale lhem as oul lhere. If you don'l lhink so, go oul and
sland in fronl of a moving car. Ils sleeI bumer vhich your seeds are
ro|ecling, viII slrike your Iegvhich you are aIso ro|eclingand
you'II go lo a ro|ecled hosilaI and gel a very rca| ro|ecled hosilaI biII.
102
THI AIIARINT SILI-AWARINISS
IV. 21-22 When one is avare of lhings
vilhin lhe mind ilseIf, il musl hovever be
bolh lhal vhich knovs and lhal vhich is knovn,
lhis lhough is due lo recoIIeclion and seeds.
The vay in vhich lhe mind is avare of ilseIf
is lhal il faIIs inlo beIieving lhe aearance lhal lhings
are arriving lo il vhich il never senl oul.
Cniiia-aniara !irsnqc |u!!ni |u!!ncr
aiiprasangan snirii sanskarasn cna.
Cniicr apraiisankrana-aqas
ia! akara paiiau
sta|u!!ni santc!anan.
ul if lhe mind can'l see ilseIf, hov lhen can I be avare of myseIf al aII`
Hov can I Iislen lo myseIf lhink`
Take a momenl lo lhink aboul hov you hear yourseIf lhink. Lislen lo
lhe lhoughls in your mind.
Nova queslion. Are you lhe one vho is saqing vhal you hear` Or
are you lhe one |isicning lo vhal you hear` You see lhe robIem.
We are indeed lhough undeniabIy hearing ourseIves lhink. Whal's
acluaIIy haening is lhal seeds jrcn ncu uc natc ircaic! cincrs are going
off in our mind, and resenling lhoughls lo lhe mirror of our mind. We
are nol lhinking our lhoughlslhe seeds are.
ul if lhal's lhe case, am I forever lo be simIy a heIIess vilness of
vhal lhe seeds resenl lo mevhelher il's lhe oulside vorId or my ovn
lhoughls` Whal haened lo free viII`
Come on, lhal's vhal lhis vhoIe book has been aboul. You cani
conlroI lhe resenl momenl. Il's haening ic you. Il's Iike dry cemenl.
ul you have every over and righland you musl usc lhis over
and righllo seIecl vhal nev seeds you Ianl in lhe garden of your
mind.
103
HOW WI IRO}ICT THI WORLD
IV. 23-24 The mind erceives
aII of ils ob|ecls
lhrough lhe exosure
of vhal is seen
lo vhal sees.
CounlIess seeds vilhin our minds
make us see
lhe greal variely of lhings around us.
The vay il vorks
is lhal lhey organize
olher arls in a cerlain vay.
Orasniir !irsnqcparakian cniiian sarta-arinan.
Ta! asanknqcqa tasana|isn cniiran api
para-arinan sannaiqa kariitai.
We've eslabIished lhen lhal lhe mind sees everylhing il seeseven
ilseIfonIy vhen ob|ecls are resenled lo il, lhe sub|ecl.
Here lhe Masler reminds us of vhere aII lhese ob|eclsand of course
even lhe mirror ilseIfare coming from: counlIess seeds vilhin our
minds, Ianled lhere by hov ve have lrealed olhers. And so if you
lhink aboul il, il makes erfecl sense lhal reaI yoga doesn'l begin vilh
lhe lhird Iimb of yogalhe yoga exercises. Ralher, il begins vhere il
musl: vilh lhe firsl Iimb, seIf-conlroI, laking care of olhers.
You see, il's nol lhal lhe hysicaI yoga can do anylhing for you. Il
can'l. Il's emly: il couId break your neck as easiIy as reduce your
vaislIine. Whelher yoga ucrks on youvhelher medicine vorks for
you, vhelher your car slarls loday, vhelher lhe sun ilseIf comes u
lomorrovaII deends uon hov lhe seeds organize your reaIily.
Nolhing does anylhing lo anylhing eIse. Nolhing has any over lo do
anylhing. If anylhing vorks al aII, il is onIy because ve have cared for
olhers.
104
LIARNING IROM SIIING
IV. 25-26 Those vho have exerienced
lhe exlraordinary vision
never slo medilaling uon
lhe vay lhe seIf reaIIy is.
Ingrossed lhen in discriminalion,
lhe mind is carried on
lovards lolaI urily.
Visncsna !arsnina aina |nata
|natana tinitiriiin.
Ta!a titcka ninnan
kaita|qa prag|naran cniiian.
In Masler Ialan|aIi's lime, eoIe didn'l reIale lo books lhe vay ve do:
lo read once from cover lo cover, ul avay, or loss oul. A reIalionshi
vilh a reaIIy meaningfuI book vas Iike a marriage. You sal dovn and
read il, sludied ilrobabIy memorized mosl or aII of il. You kel il
vilh you, as a friend and heI-male, your enlire Iife.
Nov lhal you've read lhis book, you need lo usc il. You need lo gel
lhrough lhe five alhs lhal every seeker musl lraveI.
Iirsl you robabIy need a ersonaI disaslera divorce, or ersonaI
iIIness, or Ioss of a Ioved onelo gel you asking queslions, lo ick lhe
book u.
SecondIy you need lo sludy il carefuIIy, seek oul Iive guidance if you
can. Send a Iol of lime lhinking aboul lhe seeds, and eseciaIIy lhal
idea of emliness. You'II need lo Ianl ncu seeds lo gras aII lhis. e
gcc! lo eoIe, dedicale il lo underslanding.
Third arl: Iearn lo medilale roerIy, vork lovards gaining uIlimale
Iove and seeing uIlimale lrulh. Aboul lvenly minules in lhis gels you lo
lhe fourlh alh, discriminaling nov belveen hov lhings seem and hov
you knov lhem lo be differenl.
105
THI IND OI SIIDS
IV. 27-28 Due lo lhe seeds,
cerlain faclors inlervene
during inlervaIs of lhal.
These are deslroyed
in lhe same vay described
for lhe negalive lhoughls.
Tacn cni!rcsnu praiqaqa-aniarani sanskarc|nqan.
Hanan csnan k|csnata! ukian.
If lhe lhird alh haens in minules, lraveIing lhe enlire Ienglh of lhe
fourlh alh may lake you a Iifelime or more.
This is a eriod vhen, by lradilion, lhe hysicaI raclices of yoga are
very imorlanl: vorking from lhe oulside in, as veII as lhe inside oul.
anging on lhe oulside of a bIocked ie lo cIear il, as you ush a slick
dovn lhe inside al lhe same lime. Working lo Ioosen lhe choke-hoId of
lhe side channeIs, lhe misunderslanding of sub|ecls and ob|ecls:
ourseIves and our vorId.
Al lhis oinl ve osses lhe looIs for vorking on lhe slorehouse, bul
our vork is sliII imerfecl. The vork ilseIf can lrigger minor exIosions
in lhe inlerim, Iike cIearing an oId minefieId. We encounler obslacIes,
bul ve have seen hov lhe end viII be, and lhere is no desair.
Say you meel an angry erson. Hov much Ionger can you gel usel,
knoving firsl lhal you have crealed lhem, and secondIy lhal your oId,
naluraI reaclion is reciseIy lhe one vhich viII kee lhem in your vorId`
So firsl lhe negalive emolions go, and lhen graduaIIy aII lhe seeds
reIaled lo lhemaII kiIIed by sheer underslanding.
106
DITS NIVIR IAID
IV. 29-30 You viII never have lo ay
lhose oId debls back,
nol a singIe one.
You have reached lhe medilalion
of lhe gaIaxy of leachings,
a reveIalion inlo
lhe vay of aII lhings,
beyond aII discriminalion.
Wilh lhis you deslroy
aII negalive lhoughls
and aII ignoranl deeds.
Prasanknqana apqakusi!asqa
sartaina-atitcka knqaicr
!narna ncgnan sana!nin.
Taian k|csna karna nitiriiin.
We soke before aboul len high IeveIs of siriluaI deveIomenl. We
reach lhe firsl one vhen ve firsl see uIlimale reaIily on lhe lhird alh.
U lhrough lhe sevenlh IeveI, ve are on lhe fourlh alh using vhal ve
underslood aboul uIlimale reaIily, keeing our mind on lhe dislinclion
belveen vhal sccns reaI and vhal is reaI.
Tovards lhe end of lhe fourlh alh ve ass lhrough lhose lhree finaI
IeveIslhe ure IeveIsand deslroy lhe Iasl sublIe seeds vhich Iimil
us: everylhing al aII reIaled lo oId negalive lhoughls and aclions.
Whalever ve have ever done vrong, in counlIess Iifelimes, is forever
canceIIed and erased.
The lenlh and finaI IeveIlhe very end of lhe fourlh alhis caIIed lhe
gaIaxy of lhe leachings. We are aIready caabIe of visiling lhe erfecl
aradises of AngeIs vho have come before us, lo Iearn from lhem. We
are on lhe lhreshoId of reIeasing biIIions of coies of ourseIf inlo lhe
universe, lo share lhe leachings of lhis smaII book in shovers of visdom
lhal sread Iike gaIaxies.
107
STIIIING OVIR A IUDDLI
IV. 31-32 And lhen you are freed
from lhe veiI of imurily
vhich covers aII lhings.
When knovIedge is IimilIess
lhen aII lhere is lo knov
is reduced lo lhe size of a uddIe.
Al lhis oinl, lhose vho have finished
vhal lhey sel oul lo do accomIish
lhe erfeclion of quaIilies, vhich comes
from lhe slages of lransformalion.
Ta!a sarta-atarana na|a-apciasqa
jnqanasqa-ananiqaj jnqcqan a|pan.
Taian kiria-arinanan parinana
krana parisanapiir gunanan.
As a cuIlure, ve lend lo lhink lhal ve knov more lhan eoIe did
before us becauseveIIve knov ncrc lhings. ul lhere is aIso
knoving a lhing uc||. knoving hov il reaIIy vorks. If ve knov lhis one
lhing, lhen knoving aII lhe lhings lhere are lo knov, across lhe breadlh
of lhe ocean of lhis enlire universe, becomes no more lhan sleing over
a uddIe of valer.
IIease don'l be fooIed by Iife, and by lhe smaII-minded eoIe of lhe
vorId, by skelics, inlo beIieving lhal you are nol caabIe of lhis, of
becoming an acluaI AngeI, vho sees aII lhings and heIs aII Iiving
crealures.
This IillIe book on yoga has Iasled for lvo lhousand years, because il
vorks. In our modern limes lhe ideas you've sludied here may nol be
videIy discussed or acceled, bul if you're honesl vilh yourseIf, you
have lo admil lhey make a Iol of sense.
Il's nol |usl lhal lhese ideas may aIy lo some smaII arl of your Iife.
They are oinling you lo your enlire deslinylo lhe very reason you
came inlo lhis vorIdand nov il's u lo you lo fuIfiII lhal desliny.
108
AND SO WI MUST SII
IV. 33-34 The anlidole of lhal momenl
is lhe sle vhere you finish off
lhe finaI end of lhe lransformalion.
TolaI urily is vhere lhose
vho have grased lhe emliness
of lhe erson and of lhings
deveIo each of lhe high quaIilies.
Il loo is somelhing lhal comes
lhrough lhe over of lhe mind,
for lhose vho dveII in lheir ovn lrue nalure.
Ksnana praiiqcgi parinana-aparania
nigranqan kranan.
Starupa praiisnina ta cniii snakicr iii.
We crave lhe idea of a beginningil makes us feeI more comforlabIe.
Which came firsl, lhe chicken or lhe egg` Where did lhe firsl seed come
from`
A seed is aIvays Ianled by reacling lo lhe roducl of an earIier seed:
every erson vho has ever hurl you came from a seed lhal vas Ianled
vhen you hurl someone vho hurl you before. There is no firsl seed,
such a lhing cannol be. We have been here forever, because ve have
aIvays hurl back lhose vho hurl us.
Il seems Iike a cycIe lhal couId never be sloed. ul one lhing viII
save us: somelhing ve caII a siriluaI anlidole. If lvo ideas are
slruggIing lo vin a singIe hearl, and if one of lhem is faIse and lhe olher
is uIlimaleIy lrue, lhen lrulh viII aIvays revaiI.
The uIlimale anlidole for aII lhe ain of lhe enlire vorId is emliness:
lhings lhal do lhings simIy aren'l lhere, and never vere. We don'l need
lo slruggIe vilh lhem anymore. We don'l need lo fIaiI avay al lhe bad
man on lhe movie screen.
Things vork onIy because lhey come from us, from our seedsfrom
laking care of each olher.
INDIX OI IMIORTANT IDIAS
(Y CHAITIR AND VIRSI)
aborlion II.30a
aninsa (see aIso avoiding harm
lo olhers) I.12-13
aIcohoI I.30a
AngeI (see aIso divine being)
I.50-51, II.1-2, III.45-46,
III.52-53
among us II.32, II.40-41,
III.51
bodies of III.43-44
conlacling II.1-2, II.44-45
anger II.3-4
animaIs, kiIIing II.30a
anlidole (see aIso siriluaI
anlidole)
anlidole, lo bad karma II.33-
34a, II.34b
anxiely I.31, II.50
arenliceshi II.44-45
asanasee yoga oses
asniangasee eighl Iimbs of
yoga
aloms I.38-40
allachmenl, sloing I.12-13,
I.15
aulhorily and correcl ercelion
I.7
avoiding harm lo olhers I.12-13,
II.30a
resuIls of II.35
avareness I.20
baIance II.46-47, III.1-2
baIanced medilalion I.41, I.42-
43, II.46-47, III.1-2
becoming (as slage in rebirlh)
I.18-19
becoming vhoIesee yoga
beginning, concel of IV.33-34
beginning, emliness of II.13-15
being here nov I.20
being in oneseIf, medilalion
slage I.17
beIief I.20
ig-ang Theory II.14
bIack karna IV.7-8
bIessings, of Masler II.1-2, II.32
bIiss I.38-40
bIockages (inner)see
chokeoinls
bIood vesseIs III.29-31
body III.38
body, formalion of III.29-31
body of Iighlsee rainbov
body
books IV.25-26
brealh I.31, II.50, II.51-53
and inner vinds II.49, II.50,
III.39-40
counling II.50
duralion II.50
Ienglh II.50
Iocalion II.50
sloing II.49, II.50, II.51-53
sublIely II.50
brealh conlroI (fourlh Iimb of
yoga) II.28-29, II.50, II.51-53
defined II.49
caImness, achieving I.31, II.50
careIessness I.30a
cenlraI channeI II.48, III.26,
III.27, III.28
cnakras (see aIso chokeoinls)
I.36-37, II.50, III.29-31,
III.32-34
change II.15
changing lhe vorIdsee
saving lhe vorId
changing lhings (lhings lhal
change) II.17-18
channeIs I.31, I.33b-35, I.36-37,
II.46-47, II.48, II.49, III.26,
III.27, III.28, III.29-31, IV.27-
28
Chaler on Medilalion (lilIe,
Ch. I)
Chaler on Iraclice (lilIe, Ch.
III)
Chaler on lhe Way (lilIe, Ch.
II)
Chaler on TolaI Iurily (lilIe,
Ch. IV)
choices, lhe Iie of II.48
chokeoinls (inner)see aIso
cnakras II.50, III.29-31,
III.32-34
cIairvoyance (see aIso
suernormaI overs)
III.19-20, III.23-25, III.36-37,
IV.9-11
cIarily I.30a, I.33b-35
cIeanIiness II.32
resuIls of II.40-41
cIeanness II.5
cIear Iighl (see aIso emliness
or uIlimale reaIily) I.42-
43, III.3
combined efforl (of focus,
fixalion, and erfecl
medilalion) III.4-8, III.9-10,
III.11-12, III.16-18, III.26,
III.35
commilmenls (second Iimb of
yoga) II.28-29, II.49, III.11-
12
lyes of, Iisled II.32
comassion I.32-33a, III.23-25
concenlralionsee focus
conceluaI lhoughl I.42-43
concels I.42-43
confession II.33-34a
consciousness III.27
conlenlmenl II.32
resuIls of II.42-43
conlroI, iIIusion of II.23-25
conlroI of our Iife IV.7-8, IV.21-
22
co-residenl vind III.39-40
correcl ercelion I.5-6, I.7
crealion II.14
Crealor II.14
cryslaIsee diamond
daiIy raclicesee raclice
dance (lilIe)
day III.27
dealh I.16, I.18-19, II.15, III.1-2,
III.11-12, III.22.2, IV.1-3
debls (karmic)see karmic
debls
decelive reaIily, III.54-55
defined II.19-20
desliny I.12-13, III.1-2, III.51,
IV.31-32
deduclive correcl ercelion
1.7
diamond I.41, III.45-46
differences, overcoming II.48
digeslion III.39-40
direcl correcl ercelion I.7
discriminalion (belveen reaI &
unreaI) II.26-27, II.28-29,
III.52-53, III.54-55
disIiking lhings III.26
disIeasure, vhen olhers oblain
somelhing II.30b-31
disIiking lhings II.3-4, II.7-9,
II.33-34a
dislraclion I.30a
sloing I.15
divine beings II.14, II.32, II.40-
41
doclrine II.30b-31
doubl I.30a
dovnvard-cIearing vind
III.39-40
dros of consciousness III.27,
III.32-34
duaIily II.6, II.10-11
duIIness (in medilalion) I.41
dreams I.38-40
drugs I.30a, IV.1-3
ealing III.39-40
ecoIogy II.30a
economy II.36-37
efforl I.20
efforl & reIaxalion II.46-47
eighl Iimbs of yoga II.32, III.4-8
Iisled II.28-29
eighl vorIdIy overs III.45-46
eIemenls (hysicaI) III.13-15
IIehanl of War III.23-25
emanalion III.38, III.45-46, IV.4-
6
emanalion body III.45-46, III.52-
53, IV.29-30
emliness (see aIso uIlimale
reaIily, voidness, or
cIear Iighl), III.35, IV.4-6,
IV.12-14, IV.15-16, IV.33-34
defined I.42-43, III.41-42
of arls II.19-20, IV.4-6
of rav dala II.19-20
of slarling and sloing
III.13-15
emliness body III.43-44
emly sace II.17-18
ending, emliness of III.13-15
en|oying lhings I.16, II.7-9
environmenl, reserving II.30a
equanimily I.32-33a, III.23-25
examining, medilalion slage
I.17, I.44-46
exercisesee yoga oses
exhaIalion of brealh II.49, II.50,
II.51-53
exislence I.7, IV.17-18
exlreme raclices IV.1-3
failh I.20
fasling IV.1-3
feces, eIiminalion of III.39-40
femaIe energy III.27
felus II.30a, III.29-31
fire, inner III.39-40
Iive Highesl Ob|ecls I.21-22
five negalive lhoughls II.3-4
five alhs (lilIe, Ch. I), III.52-53,
IV.29-30
Iive Iovers I.20, I.21-22
Iive Slrenglhs I.21-22
fixalion (in medilalion, sevenlh
Iimb of yoga) II.28-29
defined III.1-2
fIying III.39-40, IV.1-3
focus (sixlh Iimb of yoga, see
aIso singIe-oinledness)
II.28-29, II.40-41, II.51-53,
III.4-8
defined III.1-2
(menlaI) fogginess I.30a
food I.30a, II.54-55, III.39-40
four bodies of an AngeI III.43-
44, III.45-46, III.47-48, III.49-
50
four chalers of Yoga Sulra
(lilIe, Ch. I), IV.1-3
four cornerslones (lilIe, Ch.1)
Iour Iorces (for urifying oId
bad karma) II.34b
Iour Higher Trulhs II.3-4
Iour Infinile Thoughls I.32-33a,
III.23-25
Iour Mislakes II.5
four slages of Ialh of
Irearalion I.21-22
fourlh slale, of brealh II.51-53
free viII IV.21-22
funclion IV.23-24
funclionaI lhings II.17-18
fulure Iives II.12-13, II.38-39,
IV.9-11
fulure, seeing III.16-18, III.22.2
gaIaxies I.38-40
gaIaxy of lhe leachings (lenlh
IeveI) IV.29-30
ga in lime, for karma lo rien
II.16, II.36-37, IV.7-8, IV.21-
22
gardening IV.1-3, IV.7-8, IV.9-
11, IV.21-22
ghosls IV.1-3
gIadness I.20
God II.14
grasing II.3-4, II.7-9
Greal Mislake (see aIso
ignorance and lurning
lhings around) I.2, I.8, I.9-
11, I.12-13, I.18-19, I.21-22,
II.48, II.51-53, III.3, III.9-10,
III.11-12, III.26, IV.15-16
grou karma II.35
Guardian AngeI, finding II.44-
45
guiIl II.34b
hainess I.36-37
hov lo gel II.42-43
hardshissee siriluaI
hardshis
harming olherssee avoiding
harm lo olhers
hearing III.41-42
hearing yourseIf lhink (see aIso
seIf-avareness) IV.17-18,
IV.21-22
hearl cnakra III.32-34
heaven (see aIso aradise)
I.50-51, II.7-9
herbs IV.1-3
higher reaIilysee uIlimale
reaIily
higher lrulh of ain II.15
higher lrulh of lhe end of ain
II.16
higher lrulh of lhe source of
ain II.3-4
Highesl Ob|ecl of AII (slage of
Ialh of Irearalion) I.21-22
humiIily I.30a
hunger, sloing III.29-31
hyeraclivily (in medilalion)
I.41
ignorance (see aIso Greal
Mislake and lurning
lhings around) I.47-49,
II.3-4, II.6
as a seed II.5
as Ianling seeds II.33-34a
eIiminalion of II.23-25, II.26-
27
iIIness I.30a, I.31, III.29-31
iIIusion I.2, I.16, II.10-11, II.28-
29, III.52-53, IV.15-16, IV.33-
34
defined I.42-43
eIiminaling II.26-27
imagessee menlaI images
imaginalion I.5-6, I.9-11
imermanence II.5
indescribabIe (exerience of
emliness) II.21-22
indeslruclibIe dro III.32-34
individuaIily of karma II.35
inhaIalion of brealh II.49, II.50,
II.51-53
inner & ouler melhods I.31, II.1-
2, II.28-29, II.46-47, II.48,
II.49, II.54-55, III.4-8, IV.27-
28
inner channeIssee channeIs
inner chokeoinlssee
chokeoinls
inner fire III.39-40
inner vinds I.31, II.1-2, II.46-47,
III.26, III.27, III.28, III.29-31,
III.32-34
conneclion lo brealh II.49,
II.50
five rimary III.39-40
inleIIecluaI underslanding I.47-
49, III.4-8
inlenlion III.22.2
inleraclion of sub|ecls and
ob|ecls II.17-18, II.23-25
invisibiIily III.21-22.1
|oy I.32-33a, II.23-25
|uslice II.14
karna (see aIso seeds) II.12-
13, II.16
by a grou of eoIe II.35
resuIls of II.35, II.36-37,
III.22.2
sloing oId bad karma
II.33-34a, II.34b
slrenglh of II.34b
vhile and bIack IV.7-8
karmic debls IV.29-30
karmic seedssee seeds
karmic ob|ecls II.34b
karmic slorehousesee
slorehouse
kindness I.32-33a
kriqa qcgasee yoga of
aclivily
Ianguage III.16-18
Iav II.30b-31
Iayers of being I.31, II.49
Iaziness I.30a
(siriluaI) IeveIs I.30b, II.28-29
lhe len II.26-27, IV.29-30
Iife III.39-40
Iife vind III.39-40
Iighl bodysee rainbov
body
Iiking lhings II.3-4, II.7-9, II.33-
34a, III.27
Iimbssee eighl Iimbs of
yoga
Iimilalions, ending IV.9-11,
IV.12-14
Iiver III.29-31
Iove (see aIso uIlimale Iove)
I.36-37, III.23-25
maIe energy III.27
manifeslalion (see aIso
emanalion) III.38, III.45-
46
nanira I.27-29, IV.1-3
(SiriluaI) Masler I.14, I.21-22,
I.25-26, II.1-2, IV.25-26
defined I.23-24
bIessings of II.1-2, II.32, II.44-
45
Maslery (slage of Ialh of
Irearalion) I.21-22
me II.6
me and mine II.23-25
me and you II.48
medicine (lilIe)
medilalion (lilIe, Ch. I), I.12-13,
I.38-40, I.42-43, I.50-51,
III.11-12, III.36-37, IV.1-3,
IV.25-26
baIanced medilalion, defined
I.41
in sense of finaI goaI II.44-45
mislakes in I.17, III.9-10
on Ialh of Irearalion I.20
erfecl medilalion (eighlh
Iimb of yoga) II.28-29
oslures for II.46-47
slages of I.17
sloing negalive lhoughls
vilh II.1-2
medilalive focussee focus
medilalive fixalionsee
fixalion
memory I.5-6
menlaI fixalionsee fixalion
menlaI funclions I.5-6
menlaI images I.21-22, III.16-18,
IV.9-11
from oId bad karma II.33-34a
menlaI seedssee seeds
middIe channeIsee cenlraI
channeI
mind III.47-48
mind, reading III.19-20
miracIes III.13-15, III.16-18,
III.21-22.1
mislaken ercelion I.5-6, I.8
mislaken vievs I.30b
mixed vhile & bIack karna
IV.7-8
money, vhere il comes from
II.36-37
moon channeI II.48, III.27,
III.29-31, III.35
moraIily II.38-39
music II.54-55
myslic fire III.39-40
names III.43-44
naveI III.28, III.29-31
neck III.29-31
neclar III.32-34, III.39-40
negalive lhoughls I.47-49, II.1-2,
II.12-13, IV.27-28
and lhe inner channeIs II.48
lhe five II.3-4
sloing II.3-4, II.21-22, III.9-
10
nervous syslem III.29-31
nervousness I.31, II.50
neulraI karna IV.7-8
never sleaIing from olhers
II.30a
resuIls of II.36-37
nighl III.27
nirvana, defined II.1-2
noling, medilalion slage I.17
obslacIes I.27-29, I.30a, II.42-43
ob|ecl (as oosed lo sub|ecl)
II.6, II.17-18, IV.17-18, IV.19-
20, IV.21-22, IV.23-24
ob|ecls of ercelion I.9-11, I.41,
I.44-46
On I.27-29
omens, reading of III.22.2
omniscience I.47-49, I.50-51,
III.47-48, III.49-50, III.54-55,
IV.12-14, IV.31-32
one or many, emliness of IV.4-
6
oulside ob|ecls I.9-11, II.54-55,
IV.19-20
and inner channeIs III.26,
III.35
overcoming ossessiveness
II.30b-31, II.38-39
ovnershi, iIIusion of II.23-25
ain I.2, II.5, II.40-41, III.11-12
vhere il comes from II.14
aradise (see aIso heaven)
I.50-51, II.44-45, IV.1-3
aradise body III.45-46, III.52-
53
asl Iives II.5, II.38-39, III.16-18,
IV.9-11
asl, seeing III.16-18
(Masler) Ialan|aIi (lilIe)
Ialh of Habilualion I.44-46,
I.47-49, III.52-53, IV.25-26,
IV.27-28
Ialh of No More Learning I.47-
49
Ialh of Irearalion I.16, I.20,
I.21-22
Ialh of Seeing I.3-4, I.42-43,
II.21-22, III.9-10, III.19-20,
III.52-53, IV.25-26
defined I.41
Ieak (slage of Ialh of
Irearalion) I.21-22
ercelion, hov il vorks III.1-
2, III.47-48
erfecl medilalion (eighlh Iimb
of yoga) II.28-29
defined III.3
erson III.35
ervasive vind III.39-40
Iace II.17-18
Ieasure II.5
vhere il comes from II.14
Ieasure, medilalion slage I.17
oIeslar channeI III.28
osessee yoga oses
ossessivenesssee
overcoming
ossessiveness
overly II.38-39
overs (lhe eighl)see eighl
vorIdIy overs
overs of sensesee sense
overs
raclice I.12-13, I.14, II.1-2
pranasee inner vinds
rayer I.12-13, I.27-29, II.1-2,
II.44-45
pranaqanasee brealh conlroI
ro|ecling reaIily I.21-22, II.10-
11, II.17-18, III.21-22.1,
III.32-34, III.49-50, IV.12-14,
IV.19-20, IV.21-22, IV.23-24
ure IeveIs, lhe lhree II.28-29,
III.52-53
urificalion, of oId bad karma
II.33-34a, II.34b
urily II.40-41
race (raciaI lye) II.30b-31
rainbov body II.46-47, II.51-
53, III.28, III.38
rav dala for an ob|ecl II.19-20
reaclions IV.27-28, IV.33-34
reading minds III.19-20
reaIilysee aIso lvo reaIilies
reaIily, ad|usling III.36-37,
III.41-42
reaIily, slruclure of II.17-18
rebirlh III.35, III.38, IV.1-3, IV.9-
11
regrel II.34b
reguIar sludysee sludy
reIalionshis II.15, II.38-39
reIaxalion & efforl II.46-47
reIigion II.30b-31
resonance II.49
resonsibiIily, for karma II.33-
34a
rich, hov lo gel II.42-43
riening, of menlaI seeds or
karma I.18-19, II.12-13
sa!nana II.1-2
Sanskril (lilIe)
salisfaclionsee conlenlmenl
salisfaclion, over robIems of
olhers II.30b-31
saving lhe vorId I.15, III.13-15
science II.14
seeds I.18-19, I.44-46, II.32,
II.42-43, III.11-12, IV.9-11,
IV.21-22
causing change II.15
crealing lhe vorId II.12-13,
IV.23-24
imossibiIily of sharing
III.19-20
manifeslalion of III.9-10
Ianling of II.12-13, III.19-20
over of II.34b, III.22.2
riening of II.12-13, II.16,
II.42-43, III.22.2
sloing I.50-51, III.4-8,
III.49-50, IV.4-6, IV.27-28
sloing oId seeds II.33-34a,
II.34b
sloring of II.12-13, III.32-34
suression of III.9-10
lime ga in riening II.16
seeingsee Ialh of Seeing
seIf-avareness IV.15-16, IV.17-
18, IV.19-20, IV.21-22, IV.23-
24
seIf-conlroI (firsl Iimb of yoga)
II.28-29, II.49, III.11-12,
IV.23-24
lyes of, Iisled II.30a, II.30b-
31
seIf-examinalion II.44-45
seIfishness I.33b-35, III.51
seIf-nalure II.5, II.6
seIfness II.3-4, II.6
sense overs III.13-15, III.47-48,
IV.17-18
sense vilhdravaIsee
vilhdravaI of senses
senses, conlroI ofsee
vilhdravaI of senses
serenily II.40-41
serving olherssee laking care
of olhers
sexuaI urily II.30b-31
resuIls of II.38-39
side channeIs II.48, II.49, II.50,
II.51-53
siIence II.54-55
signs (quaIilies of ob|ecls) I.44-
46
simIicily III.1-2
singIe-oinledness (see aIso
focus) II.40-41, III.1-2,
III.11-12
six erfeclions II.26-27, III.4-8
skeIelon III.29-31
sIee I.5-6, I.30a, I.38-40
sIee derivalion IV.1-3
sound III.21-22.1
sace II.17-18
defined III.41-42
seaking in longues III.16-18
seech III.39-40
seIIs IV.1-3
sine III.26, III.28
siril vorId IV.1-3
sirils IV.1-3
siriluaI anlidoles IV.33-34
siriluaI commilmenlssee
commilmenls
siriluaI hardshis II.1-2, II.32,
IV.1-3
resuIls of II.42-43
siriluaI IeveIssee IeveIs
siriluaI obslacIessee
obslacIes
siriluaI revards II.35, II.36-37
siriluaI leachersee Masler
slages of siriluaI revards II.35,
II.36-37
slars III.27
slarling, emliness of III.13-15
slaying, emliness of III.13-15
sleaIingsee never sleaIing
from olhers
sliIIness III.3
sloing, emliness of III.13-15
sloing negalive quaIilies I.12-
13
slorehouse (karmic) II.12-13,
III.32-34, III.49-50, IV.4-6,
IV.9-11, IV.27-28
sludy II.1-2, II.32
resuIls of I.44-45
sub|ecl (as oosed lo ob|ecl)
II.6, II.17-18, IV.17-18, IV.19-
20, IV.21-22, IV.23-24
success, hov lo gel II.36-37
suchness (see aIso emliness)
IV.12-14
suffering of change II.15
sun channeI II.48, III.26, III.29-
31, III.35
suernormaI overs (see aIso
cIairvoyance) III.36-37,
IV.1-3
sulra (lilIe)
laking care of olhers I.33b-35,
I.50-51, II.14, II.49, II.51-53,
III.11-12, III.36-37, III.51,
IV.33-34
iapassee siriluaI hardshis
leachersee Masler
leIIing lhe lrulh II.30a
resuIls of II.36-37
len siriluaI IeveIs II.26-27
lhird eye III.4-8, III.28
lhirsl, sloing III.29-31
lhoughls III.47-48
and inner vinds I.31, I.33b-
35, II.46-47, II.48, II.49, II.50,
III.26, III.27, III.28
avareness of IV.15-16, IV.17-
18
sloing I.5-6, I.42-43, III.9-
10, III.11-12
sveel ones II.40-41
lhree ure IeveIssee ure
IeveIs
lhroal (cnakra) III.29-31
lime I.47-49, III.16-18, IV.9-11,
IV.12-14
lime ga, in karma riening
II.16, II.36-37
longues, seaking in III.16-18
lolaI urily III.49-50, III.54-55,
IV.33-34
lragedies in Iife I.12-13, IV.25-26
lransformalion (see aIso lhe
foIIoving lhree) III.16-18
lransformalion of medilalion
III.11-12, III.13-15
lransformalion of singIe-
oinledness III.11-12,
III.13-15
lransformalion of lhe sloing
III.9-10, III.13-15
lrulh (see aIso Iour Higher
Trulhs) II.40-41
lrulhfuInesssee leIIing lhe
lrulh
lurning lhings around (see aIso
Greal Mislake) I.2, II.15
lurlIe vind III.29-31
lvo reaIilies I.47-49, II.21-22,
III.54-55
defined II.19-20
uIlimale Iove I.36-37, III.32-34,
III.51
uIlimale reaIily (see aIso
emliness or cIear
Iighl) I.42-43, II.40-41,
II.51-53, III.28, III.54-55,
IV.7-8, IV.33-34
as indescribabIe II.21-22
defined I.41, II.19-20
unchanging lhings II.17-18
unrie menlaI seeds I.18-19
usel, feeIing II.50
uvard-running vind III.39-40
urine, eIiminalion of III.39-40
vievssee mislaken vievs
voidness (see aIso uIlimale
reaIily) III.41-42
vanling lhings I.36-37
Warmlh (slage of Ialh of
Irearalion) I.21-22
valer oured inlo valer I.41
veII-being II.46-47
vheeIsee cnakra
vhile karna IV.7-8
vindssee inner vinds
visdom I.12-13, I.16, III.3
as a ro|eclion III.49-50
hov il lransforms ob|ecls
III.13-15
on Ialh of Irearalion I.20
visdom body III.47-48
visdom eye III.4-8
visdom of hearing I.47-49
visdom of reasoning I.47-49
visdom of lhe finaI inslanl
III.52-53
vishing IV.9-11
vilhdravaI of senses (fiflh Iimb
of yoga) II.28-29, II.40-41
defined II.54-55
vords III.16-18, III.43-44, III.47-
48
vorking lhings II.17-18
vorId, vhere il comes from
III.27, IV.23-24
vorIdvievs I.30b, II.14
yoga II.1-2, II.48
defined (lilIe), I.1, I.31
hysicaI yogasee yoga
oses
yoga of aclivily (kriqa qcga) II.1-
2
yoga oses (lhird Iimb of yoga)
I.33b-35, II.28-29, II.46-47,
II.51-53, II.54-55, III.26,
IV.23-24, IV.27-28
Yoga Sulra (lilIe)
Whelher you're aIready doing yoga reguIarIy, or |usl
lhinking aboul slarling, you can use lhis book lo make your
yoga lake off. Wrillen aboul 2,000 years ago, lhe Yoga Sulra
is lhe originaI source of every lye of yoga in lhe vorId
loday. Wilhin il are aII lhe deeesl secrels of making yoga
vork for you.
This nev lransIalion of lhe Yoga Sulra is aulhenlic, accurale,
and easy lo use in your reaI Iife. The version of lhe originaI
Sanskril found here has been recovered from ancienl
handvrillen and aIm-Ieaf manuscrils. The exIanalion of
each verse has been dravn from hundreds of vood-carved
lexls found in lhe area of lhe HimaIayan Mounlains. The
aulhors have senl more lhan 30 years Iearning lhe yoga
leachings direclIy from high yoga maslers of bolh India and
Tibel.

Geshe MichaeI Roach is lhe firsl Weslerner in 600 years lo
ass lhe rigorous lesl for lhe lilIe of Geshe, or Masler of
uddhism, al Sera Mey Tibelan Monaslery, afler 20 years of
sludy in lhe yoga and hiIosohy of India and Tibel. He is
an honor graduale of Irincelon Universily and has received
lhe IresidenliaI SchoIar medaI al lhe While House. Geshe
MichaeI is lhe aulhor of over 30 lransIalions of ancienl lexls,
as veII as books such as lhe inlernalionaI beslseIIer, Tnc
Oiancn! Cuiicr, and Tnc Ti|cian Bcck cj Ycga.
Chrislie McNaIIy is a lransIalor and leacher of ancienl
Tibelan and Sanskril lexls. She is a graduale of Nev York
Universily, and has lrained al Tibelan monasleries in NeaI
and India. She is a rofessor al Diamond Mounlain
Universily, and has sludied yoga exlensiveIy vilh some of
lhe grealesl Indian, Tibelan, and veslern maslers of yoga.
She recenlIy comIeled lhe lradilionaI Greal Realreal of 3
years, 3 monlhs, and 3 days in lhe high deserl of Arizona.

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