02 Oct 2008 Vrindavan, India
Category: Philosophy
I told you already that I have some lectures for the yoga students during their stay in the Ashram and of course I will also write some parts of it in my diary.
Yesterday in the afternoon I continued talking about the Yoga Sutras that Patanjali wrote. The meaning of each Sutra is very deep and I already explained that there are thousands of interpretations. All Sutras together explain what Yoga really is, the basic philosophy of Yoga.
I heard that in Christianity the idea of a trinity is also important, there you talk about the father, the son and the Holy Ghost. In Yoga Patanjali talks about sat, chit and anand which form a unity that is then called Satchidanand. Sat means truth, chit means consciousness or awareness and anand means bliss.
With this Patanjali explains who we are but unfortunately we see ourselves in another way. You think you are the body, you think you are the mind. This is not true, you are in the body and you have the mind but who are you? You can watch, you should be the seer, not the doer. Yoga and the Vedanta want to tell you that you can become the witness. If you believe that you are the doer you will suffer. Any experience, good or bad, comes from the ego of being a doer. When you experience hunger, it is not you being hungry, it is your body. Only if you believe that you are the body you will think you are hungry. When you feel sleepy, it is your body that is tired. You enjoy good experiences and bad ones make you suffer. You get affected by believing that you are the body or you are the mind. Imagine that you are only a witness, not a doer, not the body and you are not involved in this all. Then the suffering is finished, there is no more pain.
You are in this illusion that you are the body. When you see the shadow of the moon in a lake and you throw a stone in the water, the water is disturbed, there are waves vibrating on the lake. And the moon seems to be disturbed, too. Actually nothing disturbed the moon; it is not vibrating. The vibration takes place in the water but you see the reflection of the moon which seems to move. If you have the illusion that the moon is really there, the moon moves, too. And the same thing happens with us. When you feel hunger or pain you think you are hungry or hurt but actually you are only in the illusion that you are the body. You can realize that this is not you. This is what yoga wants to do. You can realize who you really are.
The yoga students have a lot of program and I will go on writing about the lectures I have here. Today in the afternoon the students were doing karma Yoga, helping cleaning the Ashram and the garden. Kanu, with his three years the youngest member of the Ashram, started a water fight with the pipe that waters the garden and everybody joined in. We had lots of fun and it was a nice distraction for the students.
Click here to see more photos of today's fun
Tags:: Body, Mind, Philosophy, Yoga, Ego, Truth, Consciousness, Awareness, Illusion, Patanjali, Vedanta
4 Comments
Posted By Swami Balendu
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This entry was very wise and meaningful to me. First of all, I honor and enjoy the meaning of satchidanand-- truth, consciousness, bliss. How lovely to embody all three. :) Also, the realization that we are not our minds or bodies is so powerful! As I was reading this I was thinking..."I'm so hungry!" But then I realized, my body desires food, but I am just witnessing this experience...what a change in perspective! It helps to let go of our humanly problems and troubles when we realize that the true Self is just witnessing it all. Ahhhh, feels good to remember this. Thank you!
Reply By Emily on October 21, 2011 07:17
I agree. Both are connected, but the real you is behind that, watching you happen.
Reply By Saundra on January 26, 2011 09:14
Haha, whatever you do don't think about it. Haha you are not your body and not your mind. Let these words flow over you. Be open to them. Take a breath, relax and experience them and you will know that you are not your body and not your mind.
Reply By Butch C. on October 29, 2010 08:24
Today was the last day of the school year 11/12. The children got their report cards, the olde...
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