Patanjali Yoga Sutra- 2-42

 Dear All,

A talk on yoga sutra. chapter 2-42 is shared below.

The Sutra  is :-

संतोषादनुत्तमसुखलाभः ॥ २.४२ ॥ saṃtoṣādanuttamasukhalābhaḥ || 2.42 || (From contentment unsurpassed happiness is gained.)

Please listen and contemplate

Love

Vivekachudamani Post 78

Composed of the seven ingredients - marrow, bones, fat, flesh, blood, dermis and epidermis - and consisting of the following parts - legs, thighs, chest, arms, back and the head . (72)

Here alone we can say Vivekachudamani  begins from this verse alone. All the previous slōkas are preparatory slōkas. What are the seven questions, do you remember?

ko nama bandhah kathamesa agataḥ katham pratisṭhasya katham vimokṣaḥ |

ko: 'savanatma paramah ka atma tayorvivekaḥ kathametaducyatam

These are the seven questions. Sankara does not answer them in the same order as the student asks.

He rearranges the order for our convenience and of the seven questions, the first question he takes up for answering is kaha anatma; what is anatma? What is matter? And he is going to present the anatma as sarira trayam; the three bodies; the physical body, the subtle body and the causal body.

Whether the physical body I am; whether the physical body also is matter ?, there alone confusion comes.

Similarly, what about mind? For many people, mind is conscious principle. That is why they say: Mind and Matter. They think that mind is something different from matter, mind is conscious entity, they think. Sankara  with the help of Upanishads  wants to shows that mind or Sukshma Sariram is also matter. And finally, karana Sariram, which is nothing but all of them in seed form before big bang. 

Before all of them appeared they must be in potential form; because matter can never be created or destroyed; therefore they must be in the subtle most form; that is called Karanam Sariram. 

These three Sariram  come under anatma. If all these three are called anatma or matter; what about atma? He wants to show that the Atma the conscious principle is distinct from all these.

Now what is the physical body? He says it is a bundle of various parts or various limbs; which is called in ayurveda  sastram; as datavaḥ; or datuḥ; so every ingredient of the body is called datuḥ; and all these ingredients put together is the sariram  

Now what is the division of our traditional śāstra? He says Majjaa asthi, medaha, phala, raktha, charma, tvak; seven dātuhs are there. And that is why in Nirvana shatakam, , He says,  na va sapta dātuḥ; na va pancha koshaḥ; na vaak paani padau, na cha upastha akasahu; 

In meditation he says; I am not these sapta dātus; I am not the epidermis, dermis; endodermis and not this hormone and all those things; they are all matter; I am the consciousness which enlivens all of them. There the word used is sapta dātuḥ; you will be wondering what are the sapta datuhu. 

For that you will get the answer in this sloka; 

majjaa; majja means marrow; bone marrow is called majja. 

asthi means bone; 

medhaha means fat; 

phalam means muscle or flesh; 

raktam you know raktam means blood; 

charma means outer skin; and 

Tvak is inner skin. 

So second type of division, which is a layman's division. What is that; pāda, ooru; vakṣa, bhuja, priṣṭa; mastakaiḥ; the external division, you can understand: pada means feet; uru means thigh; vakṣaḥ means chest; bhujam means the shoulders; prisṭam means back; mustakam means head. 

So anga means various limbs. So various limps consisting of leg, thighs, etc. and various ingredients consisting of bone marrow blood etc. this is a bundle of flesh, bundle of blood, bundle of bones; bundle of chemicals, is the physical body. 

The significance of ecplaining the gross body in such detail  is this: that the scriptures have defined consciousness as division less, which is the atma; whereas we are evidently experiencing the body as full of divisions. Therefore, indirectly Sanakra  is asking the question, how can the body full of divisions be the atma, which is free from all divisions? 

How can the decisioned-body; or the divided-body be the undivided- consciousness? This is indirect question which is kept in the mind. 

Love

Vivekachudamani-Post 77

Now I am going to describe the discrimination between the Self and  the not-Self most elaborately. It is what you ought to know. Listen to it  properly and receive it well in your mind. (71)

Earlier the student had asked the Master about the discrimination between the Self and the not-Self (verse - 49). This verse onwards,  Sankara gives an elaborate description of the various layers of matter envelopments which together constitute the not-Self, identifying with which the Self behaves as though it is limited,  bound and conditioned to suffer as the samsarin. 

A mere repetition that, 'viveka' means 'discrimination' between the Self and the not-Self will not in itself be very helpful to a seeker unless he is able to realize the exact meaning of the Self as contrasted with the  perceived world of plurality. 

Here Sankara introduces the topic which is going to start from the next verse onwards. For that he gives the introduction; atma anatma vivecanam boddhavyam. So, among the seven questions that the student has asked, the main topic is atma- anatma vivecanam. 

So, discriminating between atma and anatma; matter and consciousness; this discrimination is that job. It is required because matter and consciousness are together; we are not able to separate them physically, we are not able to separate them experientially; even science has not succeeded in separating matter and consciousness. 

That is why, what is the nature of consciousness is a mystery for science even now. So many theories are there. 

Therefore, all our conclusions regarding consciousness are not science based; because science has not yet arrived at; it is not perception-based; perceptually we are not able to separate; they are all based on what? The scriptural data based.

And therefore Sankara says based on the upanishad, we are going to deal with the matter-consciousness separation; atma-anatma vivecanam boddhavyam; has to be known; idanim tava; right now that is going to be our task; tava, for you and tat maya samyak ucyate; that is going to be very clearly presented by me for you; 

I am going to very clearly present this division between these two and srutva, may you listen very carefully; and having listened; avadharaya; may you ascertain in your mind; it should not be my knowledge; it should not be scriptural knowledge; it should be your knowledge. So avadharanam means niscayah jnanam. 

The Acharya stresses the importance of this theme of discussion by saying that each student should not just listen but  must come through a process of independent, discriminative self-  analysis, to a firm conviction of the Truth of what is discussed hereunder. 

Love