The topic for the Hindi Satsang on Sunday, 1st September, 2013 was ‘Anitya Bhavana, Pratipaksha Bhavana, Nispandabhava‘
Following is the transcript of the Q & A between the audience and Dr. Jayadeva Yogendra and Smt. Hansaji Yogendra.
Listen to the audio:
Q. How to overcome the habit of strong likes and dislikes?
Dr. J: The simplest answer is, don’t like too much. If you like too much then the dislike is too much.
Smt. H: Do not get into extremes. My personal opinion is that we have no right to have likes and dislikes. We have to, in any case, accept things as they are. If you dislike something, it is your problem, your blood pressure will go high, you will fall sick. Don’t develop likes and dislikes, stay above such things.
Q. How to control the worried and restless mind?
Dr. J: These are conditions that come through our own knowledge. They don’t just happen. So when they start happening, you can immediately check them.
Smt. H: When something goes wrong, feeling restless, upset or angry is a natural phenomenon. Now if we become aware that we are getting angry and move away from the situation, then problems will not increase as we will not act. This is why it is important to increase awareness. Our attention should always be on ourselves.
Q. When we have some pain for many years and know that it cannot be cured, then
how will Pratipaksha Bhavana come useful?
Dr. J: There is no limit to time. There is no such thing as too much. The moment you learn about the problem, slowly start working on it.
Smt. H: Who are we to say it is too much? Sometimes inspite of doctors telling people that they won’t live long, there have been cases where a person lived for many years. Keep doing whatever you can at this moment, with faith. I remember an incident, there is a student who comes here, an industrialist, lost his young son in a plane crash. The media swamped him with rude questions like ‘How are you feeling?’ Naturally a person will feel bad. There was a long wait for six days for confirmed news as the plane was stuck in muck in the jungles and each day people would ask him these questions. His only answer was, ‘I have faith. I will accept whatever happens.’ In such a situation, these kind of Bhavanas and feelings come useful instead of crying over the loss. Doing Nispandabhava to focus the mind, keeping a balanced state of mind helped him to manage well.
Q. Is there any right time to do these Kriyas? End of the day or first thing in the morning?
Dr. J: Is there any right time to remember God? All the time.
Smt. H: Anywhere, everywhere it can be practiced. Stay alert always.
Q. Negative actions have become part of today’s world. How to apply the concept of Pratipaksha Bhavana in this situation?
Dr. J: Everything happens with the mind. If the mind is kept under control and we are checking if it is getting uncontrolled, we will be able to get it.
Smt. H: The mind has to be controlled. Control will come only if there is wisdom. A man can have lot of knowledge but still shouts if disturbed. Wisdom is required. If this can be acquired, anything can be handled.
Q. ‘Nonjudgmental, nothing is permanent, peaceful and stable mind.’ How can we achieve all three together?
Smt. H: You don’t need to do all together. Choose any one which suits you and the situation. If you feel negative, try and become positive. If the mind is restless, try and make it quiet. That’s it. Whenever you get some free time, develop some philosophy that everything is impermanent and we should not get disturbed.
Q. How long can one understand oneself and become totally aware of oneself?
Dr. J: See, I don’t know, but there will be special clocks that will tell you how long it will take.
Smt. H: This is only possible slowly, with practice. There is no other way.
Q. If a difficult decision is not in our hands and others are getting impatient, what is the best that we can do?
Dr. J: You don’t become impatient.
Smt. H: Others can become impatient but you can peacefully take the right decision at the right time. Time has a very big role to play and can solve many problems. A storm will come and pass. Keep saying that everything will be okay.
Q. There is space and even necessity to criticize. Is criticism to be avoided at all cost as it is opposed to Pratipaksha Bhavana? Many times criticism leads to healthy and positive change. Please give your views.
Smt. H: We need not use the word ‘criticism,’ we may say ‘analyzing.’ If people are discussing something from different angles, nothing is wrong with it. We have a public speaking class here, where after a student comes and speaks, other classmates analyze and discuss the good points as well as where the speaker can improve. Now if you take this discussion as criticism and feel bad, then you are getting negative. A person in a learning state should never become negative. Take whatever you want from what people say and leave the rest.
Satsang is an open meeting held every Sunday from 9:30 to 10:30 am at The Yoga Institute, Santacruz East, Mumbai. It involves an interesting presentation to the public, made by the students of the Teacher Training Course. Each week, a new presentation of a Yogic concept is made in a simple way through skits and decoration for the general public, followed by a short speech from our Gurus, Dr. Jayadeva and Smt. Hansaji Yogendra.