What are the impediments of Yoga?
How to abandon them?
⦁ One should seek to acquire this Knowledge by abandoning those five impediments of Yoga which are known to the wise, viz., desire, wrath, cupidity, fear and sleep.
⦁ Wrath ---disposition.
⦁ Desire -- giving up all purposes.
⦁ By reflecting with the aid of the understanding upon topics worthy of reflection, one endued with patience succeeds in abandoning sleep.
⦁ By steady endurance one should restrain one's organs of generation and the stomach (from unworthy or sinful indulgence).
⦁ protect one's hands and feet by using .
⦁ protect eyes and ears by the aid of mind,
⦁ mind and speech by acts.
⦁ avoid fear by heedfulness, and
⦁ pride by waiting upon the wise.
⦁ Subduing procrastination, ,
subdue these impediments of Yoga.
⦁ pay adorations to fire and the Teachers (Enlightened Souls),
⦁ bow head to the deities.
⦁ avoid inauspicious discourse, and
⦁ malicious speech and
⦁ words that are painful to other minds.
Meditation, study, gifl, truth, modesty, simplicity, forgiveness, purity of body, purity of conduct, subjugation of the senses, - enhance one's energy,
which when enhanced destroys one's sins.
By behaving equally towards all creatures and
by living in contentment upon what is acquired easily and without effort,
---- one attains to the fruition of all one’s objects and succeeds in obtaining Self knowledge.
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Rooted in equanimity, doing whatever happens to be the appropriate action in each given situation and not ever thinking about what has thus befallen you unsought, live non-volitionally -doing yet not doing what has to be done. Consciousness minus conceptualization is the eternal
Brahman. (V:13}
[Bhaktha Prahlada to Lord Vishnu:]
Whatever comes, let it come;
whatever goes, let it go.
Let notions of diverse experiences either arise or set in the body:
I am neither in them nor they in me.
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Without self-inquiry and the consequent inner tranquillity, neither devotion to Lord Vishnu nor self-knowledge is possible.
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Rama replied ------------------------Respected Sage, Please hear me.
"Paramatman (God) alone is real; This world is unreal. The latter appears as real in man's vision,
hearing and thoughts, but it lasts only as long as the things seen in a dream last. There is not
even an iota of happiness in this world. Men are born to die and they die to be born again.
Therefore all are illusory in this world."
I have
developed discrimination and
discarded all thoughts of sensual enjoyments.
One should know about the deceptive nature of the mind. The mind pictures the world as if it is real. I am trying to ?nd out means which will relieve me from the pains of repeated births. This thought consumes me like a wild ?re"
Wealth - Wealth cannot give happiness. It is a source of misery. It is temporary and unsteady. It moves
from one to another. It makes people evil by tempting them into sin. It hardens the heart of men. It
destroys all our good qualities and gets caught us in a trap of desires. The fire of desires has burnt us.
Body - This body is composed of ?esh, bones, fat, nenres, tendons and blood. It is a home to various
diseases and is ?lled with impurities.
Ego lives in this body as the master with greed as the mistress. It is being bitten by the serpent of the ever-increasing desires of the ?ve senses. People without this true Knowledge begin to droop in their minds and thus shorten their lives. I do not rejoice in this life of mine which darts like a ?ash of lightning in the cloud of delusion and ignorance.
The body is like a bubble that will burst at any time. The shining skin is subject to wrinkles in old age.There is nothing so hurtful as this life which is perishable and temporary in nature."
Ego - I am much afraid of this Ego which generates actions, desires, pains and is the source of all evil.
Ego is illusory and deludes people. Ego is nothing, but it is everything for the worldly people. Ego is born
of ignorance. Pride nurtures it. There is no enemy greater than Ego. Ego has its seat in the mind. Ego
makes man commit evil and wrong actions. Ego is a disease. Pride, lust, anger, delusion, greed, jealousy
love hate are the servants of this Ego. Therefore the real secret lies only in the renunciation of this Ego.
Teacher of Great wisdom - Please bless me so that I may free myself from this Ego.“
Mind - Mind arises only through Ego. Mind (mind) is tossed about in objects of love and hatred, like a
storm. It ever whirls far and wide in vain in sensual objects away from the association with the wise like a
strolling dog ; but no results accrue therefrom. This baneful mind does not hold the joy (or enjoy the
happiness) within, but whirls at the sight of the superficial outward appearances. This ferocious dog of
mind follows its desires and preys upon ignorant. This monster ofa mind is more terrible than fire itself,
more insurmountable than mountains and more obdurate than a huge diamond. All pains are generated
by mind. If this mind is annihilated through discrimination and Spiritual Enquiry, all pains and the illusory
world will vanish"
Desires - Desire is the enemy of peace.The pack of owls called passion and anger play in the Ether of
Consciousness during the night of restless desires enveloped with the intense gloom of dire delusion.
Being without a mind of Atma Knowledge, I am enmeshed by them, like a bird caught in a trap and droop
thereby. The ?re of desires has burnt us. The desires follows people in the hope of inciting them to earn
wealth but in vain.
Like a dancing woman who, though enfeebled by age, dances in vain without true joy, all my desires (play
in me in a similar manner and) af?ict me. They will try to encompass things beyond their reach; but even if
such things are within their grasp, they will pass over and again long for happiness in other things . Like
monkeys, they roam about without any ?xed seat..
"This body which is composed of the cool intestines, muscles and is subject to changes, being at one
time fat and at another time lean, shines in this mundane existence simply to undergo pains.
What more palpably fruitless, painsgiving and degraded thing could be conceived of than this body which
oscillates with pains or pleasures through the increase or decrease of the experiences of objects ?
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0ne’s limited understanding and one’s own notions are the cause of bondage, and liberation is their
absence. Hence abandon all notions (sankalpa). If you are attracted by anything here, you are bound; if
you are not attracted at all you are free. Whatever you do and whatever you enjoy, you do not really do,
nor do you enjoy. Know this and be free. (Vl.1:123)
Only as long as one believes in objective existence does desire arise! This alone is samsara: the feeling
This is. Its cessation is liberation (moksha). This is the essence of Knowledge or wisdom. Recognition of
objects gives rise to desire. Non-recognition of objects ends desire. When desire ends, the Individual Self
drops its self-limitation. The great man therefore abandons all thoughts concerning what has been
experienced and what has not been experienced. I declare with uplifted arms that the thought-free,
notion-less state is the best. It is in?nitely superior to the sovereignty of the world. Non-thinking is known
as yoga. Remaining in that state, perform appropriate actions or do nothing! As long as thoughts of I and
mine persist, sorrow does not cease. When such thoughts cease, sorrow ceases. Knowing this, do as you
please.
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