- Dr. Jayadeva Yogendra
11th Mar 2013 – Monday – Vikshipta
“We have this new word- Vikshipta. Earlier we had Khipta the distracted mind. This is better. This is distracted sometimes and sometime not and beyond experience. Sometimes we are mentally quite steady and sometimes we are not. In yoga, of course, this has no meaning. In yoga, the mind has to be steady all the time. And it means control, which we are unable to exert. I just got an example of one of our most well-known lawyers who was arguing in High Court and he quoted some judgment which we was relying on and the judge intervened and said “No, that’s not what was said,” and so brilliant was the contending lawyer, that he called for the book and found out the page and found out the footnote where similar judgment had been given. Such is the brilliance. But we don’t possess that. We just talk in a loose manner. In yoga or course, it is required that the mind is very clear, very steady, one pointed. See, when Yogendraji was in America, he was in the midst of all the rich people who went out one day in the jungles for some archery. There was some tree and they wanted to hit the trunk and since Yogendraji was also there, they said, “You also try.” Yogendraji said, “I have never touched even a gun, how will I try?” They said, “No, no, try.” And very surprisingly, when he did shoot, it was a perfect shot. The Americans were surprised, they said, “It must be just a chance fluke. Try again.” When he tried again, again the same thing. So when the person is mentally very steady, it doesn’t require practice. So we are occasionally steady and Ekagra is continuously steady. This is the way they are dividing the mind. Any comments?”
12th Mar 2013 – Tuesday – Bhagwad Gita 3.42
“Today we have a verse from the Gita that talks about superiority of various parts of the body. The senses are the most important thing. The blind man doesn’t see anything and doesn’t understand. In the same way, a man who cant think is also handicapped. But what is the most important thing is consciousness, which we don’t appreciate. If we are conscious, then the various senses can provide us information. We can make a meaning out of it. This we have to understand. You see, we instead regret for loss of some small thing, but the fact that we are conscious, aware, is more important than anything else. This is a difficult proposition for us to understand because we have been thinking the other way. If I lose a 10 Rupee note, and that is a big thing for me the whole day. So the little things are important, the real big thing, we don’t care. That’s what the Shloka says. I don’t know what you say.”
14th Mar 2013 – Thursday – Ekagra Citta
“The topic is Ekagra Citta. Ekagra is one-pointed. And that is THE thing in yoga. The other kinds that areMudha – dull, stupid, Kshipta – distracted, Vikshipta – occasionally steady, all these are kept away, they are not fit. Only a mind that can stay steady for a long long period, can be considered fit. Just as an instance, the Founder, after his studies, was in America. Rich people were around, they took him to a shooting range where they were trying to shoot at some given target and they asked him also to try. He had never seen a revolver, he had never tried such a thing. They insisted. So he took that revolver and that target and the very first shot was correct. They thought it was a fluke. He tried a second time, third time and every time was correct. That becomes a personality. See, when you learn yoga, the mind has to be very clear, very steady, one-pointed. Then there is progress. Otherwise, having learnt some lesson and immediately going to some other area doesn’t serve the purpose. The question is whether we can maintain that. Whether we can maintain a mind that is one-pointed all the time.”
15th Mar 2013 – Friday – Yoga Sutra 1.41
“See in our usual thinking, we get easily strayed away. We may be thinking about some matters, but other distractions will come. The result- We have not gathered enough knowledge. At certain levels, adults accept,and those who understand, they know, that they have missed out the point. So the suggestion is to control that mind, concentrate, and keep it fixed. These are the higher techniques of yoga, when mind becomes the object, no other thoughts. Of course it’s not easy, but they are just laying down the steps, of how one proceeds. Any comments?”