What would be the goal of the development of higher objective perceptions? Could not this be distracting or kind of dangerous?

 

This could potentially be distracting, however it is also one of those practices that can be encouraging, too. If you can gain some expansion of your perceptive abilities, and experience the dropping of some filters, it can lead to a greater conviction that yoga works on a subtle level. If we can remember that all of the practices in Yoga Sutras serve the overall project of stilling the mind so that we can know (or remember) who we are, then we will more likely do the practices in such a way that they serve that end, and then even the experience of some supernormal perceptions will not be a hinderance to you.  

 

How does the Ashtanga Yoga practice recommend the incorporation of meditation practice for daily sadhana?

 

Pattabhi Jois did not really teach meditation all that much. He taught asanas, pranayama, and a little chanting on occasion. He taught trataka to a few people, and seated meditation to only a couple that I know of. Some like to say that the asanas are a moving meditation, but I am not so sure about that. I think that asanas are a moving concentration, but for meditation you generally need hold yourself still for extended periods of time. So you indeed meditate while seated in asanas, but I don't think that performing vinyasas is truly a meditation as spoken of in Yoga Sutras. I would suggest that if you are interested in learning meditation to find a teacher who you like, and incorporate that practice as part of your daily routine. It is ok to practice different disciplines from different teachers. My wife has a meditation teacher she studies with, and I have a practice of puja and chanting that I do as well, and then we both still practice Ashtanga Yoga.

 

Who is the commentator for the Bhagavad Gita version that you are reading? Please share

 

My favorite translation of the Bhagavad Gita is Swami Swarupananda, from the Ramakrishna Mission (https://estudantedavedanta.net/Bhagavad-Gita-translated-by-Swami-Swarupananda.pdf). This is the version I used when I was attempting to memorize the Gita (I learned the first eight chapters by heart then lost steam).  My favorite easy-access commentary is Eknath Easwaren’s three volume set. The first is called The End of Sorrow.

 

Is the I-ness similar to the witness who watches your objects? When we are aware of this witness—is that the awareness you were speaking of during today’s lecture.

 

Asmita (I-ness) and witness are different. The awareness is what powers the I-sense. However, it is easier to first meditate on I-sense and then meditate on what/where the I-sense arises. That’s why you don’t start with meditating on awareness, but meditate on what awareness illuminates—such as the tanmatras and mahabhutas—and get subtler and subtler until all that is left is awareness.

 

Going back to the special “untouched Ishvara”, it seems very removed from us “purushas” bound by karma etc. how does the two relate? Or what is the purpose (for lack of a better word) of this special Ishvara in relation to us?

 

The purpose of forming a relationship with Ishvara is for the purpose of becoming established in samadhi: samadhi siddhir ishvarapranidhanat. The purpose of Yoga according to Patanjali is for the Self to remain as the Self alone, and that occurs from becoming established in the special type of concentration called Samadhi, which leads to Kaivalya. So everything we are going to encounter, even worship of a God-like figure, serves that purpose in Patanjali’s Yoga.

 

Do you feel that there should be a profiency in asana before practicing the suspension of breath (1.34)?

 

Before practicing kumbhakas I do think there should be a proficiency in asanas, but for practices that do not involve extended kumbhakas, I do not think proficiency is necessary. This particular practice of pracchardhana vidaranabhyam is indeed a type of pranayama, but it is a very natural and unforced practice, which I think can be done in stages by just about anyone. 

 

I read some translations of equanimity of mind as "indifference," but it doesn’t seem the right feeling... can you detail a little more this state of mind?

 

I prefer to translate upeksha as equanimity of mind because indifference is a little cold and unfeeling. Equanimity means that you are not shaken or thrown off by something which is apunya, but you still might care. Indifference means that you don’t really care one way or the other, and that is not a Yogic state of mind. In the Gita Lord Krishna says that Yoga means samatvam, which means equanimity or equilibrium. So I take it in that sense.

 

Sutra 31, can we decide to stay consciously in this duhka etc to make an experience and not getting involved in the chitta vritti?

 

One of the definitions of duhkha is that it is a citta-vritti, so no, we can’t have the experience of duhkha without it being an activity of mind. What we can do, and what is reflected in the Boddhisattva vow, for example, is that we work to remove the suffering that exists in the world, and have compassion for those who suffer, but all the while striving to maintain a clear mind.

 

When I'm frustrated or angry and I have already acted in a manner that's not appropriate, I realize I could have reacted in another way. I see awareness is there but unable to bring it during the situation / when required. how can I consciously practice on it?

 

One of the ways to practice that is to begin to catch it sooner and sooner. Right now, you catch yourself after the fact. The feeling and insight you have after the fact is a teaching for you: if you can remember that feeling, and meditate on it after you have acted in a way you wished you hadn’t, it will start to stick in you a bit; you’ll basically be using neuroplasticity to wire a new awareness in your brain, so that the next time around you are prepared for it. Maybe you’ll catch yourself while you are in the act instead of after, and then after meditating on your reaction and lack of awareness, then the next time you might even catch yourself before hand. That can happen – and when it does, it’s a big win.

 

In my lineage there has a lot of discussion regarding the premise: “Yoga is the answer to everything.” Would you comment on this, it’s very difficult, we have the tools, but it’s not always so easy.

 

If they mean yoga practice as in asanas and pranayama, then I would offer that it’s not enough. If they mean that somewhere within the yoga teachings you can find answers to most problems, then it’s probably somewhat close to true. A favorite slogan in Ashtanga Yoga is “Take practice, all is coming.” I find that sentiment really irritating, mainly because it hasn’t really seemed to work. People also need to think, be autonomous, engage in service, debate, and have their positions challenged in order to grow. It doesn’t just come from standing on your head.

 

I am very new to meditation and sometimes while meditating, there are moments when I’m not sure if I have fallen asleep or if I actually had brief, thoughtless moments. How can we tell?

 

If you wake up, then you were asleep :)

 

In the meditation that we did today, when we extended the exhalation, ujjayi breath comes spontaneously, is it ok?

 

Yes, that’s fine, though it is not really ujjayi proper, it is just breathing with sound.

 

If we are supposed to be indifferent towards the wicked, how should we go about opposing evil or the bad according to the sutras.

 

Fight and oppose injustice but try to not let your mind get swept away into uncontrollable anger or righteous indignation. We are not effective when our emotions are running wild. Anger is not a bad emotion and the energy of it can be channeled into a force for change. However, most people are not able to use anger, so anger uses them. So, therefore, it’s better to keep the mind calm so you can identify injustice clearly and then figure out what you can do about it. If the mind is too upset, you can’t think clearly. Equanimity of mind is not a way out of action, it’s a way to ensure that our actions are effective because we are in control of our minds.

 

In the last lecture you spoke about embodying Divine. By tapping on body parts. Can you please tell us how with a few examples. You do it during your chanting too!! Thank you

 

This is called nyasa, and it means placing or installing the names of deities or protective armor of sacred names on your body. It can also mean to self-identify your body with the deity that you are going to worship, so that you have the idea that your own inner being and the external deity or even the mantra you chant are one and the same. It is used in the Tantric rituals and practices (Tantras are a corpus of texts that teach and contain many mantras and rituals in them.)

 

I am confused. You said, "Pure I Sense is the final cognition because it illumines all objects, even the object of the I-Sense." I thought that object of the I-Sense was pure awareness and wasn't an object?

 

I probably didn’t say that well. Hariharananda is speaking of two levels of I-ness, the relative level: "It should be remembered that the awareness of oneself is Asmita," and the "pure" or infinite Asmita: “Pure I-sense being the final stage of cognition in respect of reception is the illuminer of all objects. That is why it is infinite or all pervading.” When we covered Sankhya we saw that prakriti creates buddhi (or mahat), ahamkara, the movement of the gunas, etc. Buddhi in this sense is the cosmic potential of knowing, and in the individual, buddhi is the individual potential for knowing. Ahamkara is cosmic I-sense, and asmita is individual I-sense. In this sutra, I believe—but I could be mistaken—that Hariharananda is speaking in the second instance of ahamkara, by calling it "pure asmita."

 

Could you suggest a simple meditation on asmita?
 

Sure. Sit quietly and listen to the sounds around you and ask yourself, “Who is the one who is listening?” When you feel a sense of who the listener is, meditate on feeling the listener. You can do that with every sense organ. So, you also can sit quietly and sense what it is that you are feeling in your body, or around your body, and ask, “Who is the one who is feeling this sensation?” Then, you can begin to feel that everything that we perceive through the sense organs is simply an experience. Having a body is an experience. Awareness is an experience. The sense of awareness as an experience is the I-sense. When there is no one to experience awareness because awareness is all there is, that is Kaivalya.

 

Pardon my asking, but are the recordings accessible?

 

Yes, on our website, and the password is #VIDYA