Patanjali Yoga Sutra 2.9 (Parisamvad)

Patanjali Yoga Sutra Transcribed from Parisamvad at The Yoga Institute.

Chapter 2, Sutra 9

 

Svarasavahi-Vidusah-Api-Tatha-Arudhah-Abhinivesah

Svarasavahi: flowing on its own momentum
Vidusah: wise person
Api: even
Tatha: the same way
Arudhah: firmly established
Abhinivesah: fear of death, clinging to the life of

Flowing On Its Own Nature, Love Of Life Exists Even In The Wise

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Dr. Jayadeva Yogendra:

“So we are discussing about ‘Abhinievsa’ , the most difficult of the Kleshas. The sense of ‘I’. Even the wisest person can’t get over it. You see, he has to bring the ‘I’ in any discussion, any claims; he can’t cleverly escape that.”

Smt. Hansaji J. Yogendra:

“We are talking about the Klesas, all those vitiating factors that cause pain and suffering in all of us. Among this entire list of the Klesas, the last one is Abhinivesa, the most difficult. It is observed that this is very much there in our personality. Our intellect, our wisdom, all the effort that we put in becoming more wise and understanding, that is not of any use because deep down we have that fear of death in us. The human being, because of his sense of ‘I’ wants to continue, hold on. ‘I’ should remain, my name should remain, my position should remain. That ‘me and mine’, that ego, that thinking is deep down. He may not be consciously thinking about it, but it is there.

In the commentary of the Yoga Sutra they say, how this fear has come in every human. Every human knows that because he is born, he is going to die. But why is this fear element instilled in us? The commentary says that we have gone through so many lives with birth and death, that this death is so much into our subconscious, that the fear is bound to be there. So finally that takes over us. And so they say that with this fear, the wisest person and the foolish person, both behave in the same way and the wisdom is of no use.

So, with this sutra we have to understand that all these fears that we have in life, slowly we have to remove them. Slowly we have to develop so much care and compassion for others and the understanding of life has to come that this ‘me and mine’ has to be removed. If we make a list of all our fears, we realize that even the fear of people talking bad about you or criticizing you or taking over you, or somebody smarter than you, all these fears are very obviously the same.

A simple example, a few days back I was talking to a lady who felt very uneasy about her new daughter-in-law because she was very highly educated and she would take over and after that this lady’s position would be lost. So she went into depression that ‘my management will go away.’ So mother-in-laws go through severe depression because the daughter-in-laws are 100 steps ahead from them. The same is with a boss and subordinate. All these things are very painful for people to take and they feel insecure about ‘my position’. Somehow we have to develop a good amount of understanding. Of course, here Abhinivesa is talking about the main fear of death. But according to me, we have so many little little fears in life, at least we should learn to handle them and then slowly a person will be able to handle that main fear also.”

 

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About Parisamvad

On every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, The Yoga Institute, Santacruz holds Parisamvad sessions – Free interactive sessions that are open to all. These session begin at 7:20 am and end around 7:45 am.

The Friday Parisamvad is dedicated to explanation of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali by our esteemed Gurus, Dr. Jayadeva and Smt. Hansaji.

All are welcome to attend.