Four Chapters on Freedom Commentary on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali Swami Satyananda Saraswati Yoga Publications Trust, Munger, Bihar, India © Bihar School of Yoga 1976 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted or stored in a retrieval system, in any form or by any means, without permission in writing from Yoga Publications Trust. The terms Satyananda Yoga® and Bihar Yoga® are registered trademarks owned by International Yoga Fellowship Movement (IYFM). The use of the same in this book is with permission and should not in any way be taken as affecting the validity of the marks. Published by Bihar School of Yoga First edition 1976 Reprinted 1979, 1989 Published by Yoga Publications Trust Reprinted 2000, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2008 ISBN: 978-81-85787-18-2 Publisher and distributor: Yoga PublicationsTrust, Ganga Darshan, Munger, Bihar, India. Website: www.biharyoga.net www.rikhiapeeth.net Printed at Thomson Press (India) Limited, New Delhi, 110001 Dedication In humility we offer this dedication to Swami Sivananda Saraswati, who initiated Swami Satyananda Saraswati into the secrets of yoga. Contents Introduction 1 Sutra Chapter One: Samadhi Pada Page 1 Introduction to yoga 31 2 What is yoga? 33 3 The culmination of yoga 42 4 What happens otherwise to purusha? 43 5 Vrittis - main classification 44 6 Five kinds of vrittis 47 7 (i) Pramana - sources of right knowledge 49 8 (ii) Viparyaya - misconception 51 9 (iii) Vikalpa - unfounded belief 52 10 (iv) Nidra - state of sleep 54 11 (v) Smriti - memory 56 12 Necessity of abhyasa and vairagya 58 13 Abhyasa means constant practice 59 14 Foundation of abhyasa 60 15 Lower form of vairagya 62 16 Higher form of vairagya 65 17 Definition of samprajnata samadhi 68 18 Definition of asamprajnata samadhi 71 19 Past merits needed for asamprajnata samadhi 75 20 Otherwise, merits needed for asamprajnata samadhi 76 21 Quicker is intensity of eagerness 78 22 Three degrees of eagerness 78 23 Or by devotion to Ishwara 80 24 Definition of Ishwara 82 25 Attribute of Ishwara 84 vii 26 Ishwara is the jagatguru 84 27 Pranava is verily Ishwara 84 28 Sadhana for Ishwara 85 29 Result of this sadhana 90 30 Obstacles in the path of yoga 91 31 Other obstructions 93 32 Removal of obstacles by one-pointedness 94 33 (ii) Or by cultivating opposite virtues 96 34 (iii) Or by controlling prana 98 35 (iv) Or by observing sense experience 102 36 (v) Or by inner illumination 104 37 (vi) Or by detachment from matter 105 38 (vii) Or by knowledge of dream and sleep 106 39 (viii) Or by meditation as desired 107 40 Fruits of meditation 108 41 Oneness of chitta with object 110 42 Savitarka samadhi 113 43 Nirvitarka samadhi 117 44 Other forms of samadhi 121 45 Extent of samadhi 123 46 Samadhi with seed 125 47 Then spiritual light dawns 127 48 Cosmic experience 129 49 Characteristics of this experience 131 50 Dynamic form of consciousness in samadhi 133 51 Then one attains samadhi without seed 135 Sutra Chapter Two: Sadhana Pada Page 1 Discipline for sadhana 139 2 Why discipline? 142 3 Causes of pain 143 4 Avidya is the root cause 145 via 5 (i) Avidya - ignorance 147 6 (ii) Asmita - ‘I-feeling’ 149 7 (iii) Raga 152 8 (iv) Dwesha 152 9 (v) Abhinivesha - clinging to life 154 10 Kleshas can be reduced 156 11 By meditation 156 12 Karmashaya and reincarnation 160 13 Fruits of karmashaya 161 14 Fruits depend on past merits 164 15 Pleasure and pain are both painful 165 16 Future pain avoidable 167 17 Cause of heya 168 18 Properties of nature 169 19 Four stages of the gunas 171 20 The seer defined 173 21 Prakriti is only for purusha 175 22 Prakriti after liberation 176 23 Why union? 178 24 Avidya is the cause 180 25 Definition of hana 181 26 The means for hana 182 27 Stages of enlightenment 183 28 Necessity of yoga practice 184 29 Eight parts of yoga discipline 185 30 The five yamas 187 31 The great discipline 188 32 The five niyamas 188 33 Way to remove disturbances 189 34 Their degree and nature 190 35 Fruits of (i) ahimsa 192 36 Fruits of (ii) satya 194 37 Fruits of (iii) asteya 196 IX 46 ' Attainment of anima, etc. 290 47 Perfection of the body 292 48 Mastery of sense organs 293 49 Conquest of prakriti 295 50 Omnipotence and omniscience 296 51 Vairagya and knowledge 297 52 Causes of downfall 298 53 Awareness of ultimate reality 300 54 Knowledge of distinctions 301 55 Transcendental knowledge 302 56 Attainment of kaivalya 303 Sutra Chapter Four: Kaivalya Pada Page 1 Sources of siddhis 307 2 Fundamental transformation 309 3 Instrumental cause 311 4 Created mind 313 5 Natural mind directs 315 6 And is free from impressions 316 7 Influence of karma 317 8 Manifestation of vasanas 318 9 Memory and impressions 320 10 Source of vasanas 321 11 Disappearance of vasanas 323 12 Past and future exist 325 13 Factor of existence 327 14 Essence of object 328 15 Theory of perception 329 16 Mind and object 330 17 Reflection of object 332 18 Purusha knows the mind 333 19 Chitta not self-illuminative 334 xii 20 Limitation of mind 335 21 Confusion of memories 336 22 Knowledge of its own nature 337 23 Apprehension of mind 339 24 It works for purusha 341 25 Cessation of distinction 343 26 Heading to kaivalya 345 27 Pratyayas still arise 347 28 Their removal 349 29 Dharmamegha samadhi 350 30 Freedom from kleshas 352 31 Infinity of knowledge 355 32 Gunas retire 357 33 Krama apprehensible 358 34 Kaivalya 360 Appendices 363 A: Phonetic Pronunciation Guide 364 B: Freedom in a Nutshell (Sanskrit) 366 C: Freedom in a Nutshell (Transliteration) 374 Glossary 382 Index 399 xiii Introduction Two pandits entered the ashram to attend satsang. It was a cool, refreshing evening and a large mat had been laid out on the lawn. The pandits were the first to arrive and they sat on the mat directly in front of the guru’s seat. Soon many other people arrived and when the guru took his seat, the satsang began. Initially, the satsang was concerned with asana, pranayama and other yogic practices, but after some time the pandits said to the guru, “We’ve come here to discuss more important things; we have come to ask you about the philosophical implications of samadhi according to Patanjali.” The debate began. One pandit insisted, “Asamprajnata samadhi is surely the same as nirbeeja samadhi.” The other disagreed, “No, no you are totally wrong, they are different.” Each began to quote widely from various scriptures to prove their point of view and soon they were having quite a furious argument. The guru could not get a word in edgeways so he sat in silence. The pandits became oblivious to him, though at one stage one turned to him and asked, “What do you think? Is samprajnata different to nirbeeja samadhi, or not?” But before the guru could reply, the same pandit continued, “The books that I’ve read say that they are definitely differ¬ ent.” The guru remained silent and the pandits continued 1 their discussion. Eventually they started yelling at each other and almost came to blows. The heated discussion continued for about half an hour. Then a big, fat, contented cow casually strolled onto the mat as though it owned the place. Everyone was amused at the arrival of the new visitor, everyone that is except the two pandits who were so involved in their debate that they did not see it. People moved out of the way and the cow quietly sat down behind the pandits. The cow seemed to be intently interested in the debate and seriously contemplating the meaning of every word that was spoken. Suddenly the cow bellowed, “ M-o-o-o-o-o-o-owith full approval. The two pandits jumped with fright. For the first time in half an hour they were lost for words. Everyone laughed and the cow slowly arose and lumbered away, perhaps to find another interesting satsang elsewhere. The cow uttered the wisest words in the satsang. Unknow¬ ingly, or perhaps knowingly, it told everyone, including the pandits, that the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali were not written for intellectual debate and speculation. They were written to explain the process and practical methods of raising levels of awareness, gaining deeper wisdom, exploring the potential of the mind and eventually going beyond the mind. The text is primarily practice-orientated; it is not intended to be an intellectual exercise on samadhi. Surely Patanjali himself would have smiled at the appropriate wise words of the humble cow. Many of the verses indicate things that are beyond the range of normal mundane experience and comprehension. This is not done to bring intellectual understanding; it is so that a sadhaka (aspirant) who practises the yoga of Patanjali or any other system will progressively gain insight and under¬ standing of the deeper aspects of his being. He will gradually understand Patanjali’s cryptic verses through his own experi¬ ence. The verses tell him if he is going in the right direction 2 or not and also help him to proceed further. The verses can never be understood intellectually, nor are they intended to be understood in this manner. The verses were written as a map, a guide for the journey from mundane levels to higher levels of consciousness and eventually to liberation. The text shows the path to perfect freedom through sustained yogic practice.